Retracting Norwalk Smack

Did some reading on what Norwalk is all about. I won't go into details, but it's plausible that the bug we all picked up was Norwalkian. The thing about Norwalk is that it doesn't exonerate the restaurant from responsibility, but it does open the door to other "guilty parties". If you really really want to, you can read this about Norwalk (not for the squeamish).

Last Lap

I happily signed up to have my name appear on either Paul Tracy's or Patrick Carpentier's car for the final couple of races under Player's colors.

I forwarded this site to Paul The Skeptic, who "can't wait to see "Black Lung" emblazoned on the front wing."

Update: Sam & Ella Have Left The Building

The dumbdumbs at the Ottawa Health Unit think that rather than food poisoning, the lot of us came down with Norwalk (not The Furniture Idea, but the virus).

How nonsensical is that?

If we did come down with some manner of contagion rather than ingest some freaky little bacteria, I would think that we would have spread it around like cheese from a tube in our homes and offices, rather than having a distinct subset, of which we all consumed a specific dish, come down with the badness.

Anyway, I'm over the "sprint-to-the-loo-before-I-p**" feeling now, but I won't soon forget it.

Ad Challenge

Paul The Skeptic noticed something interesting about the blog. Check the ad at the top of this page, above "the view from suburbia" title. Notice the blog*spot ad? Now, check the text within the ad. Blogger has some sort of wacked searchy thing that scans blogs, and then inserts ads appropriate to the content posted in the blog.

For example, I recently wrote on reel mowers. Now, an ad for Brill reel mowers is up top. I was thinking of upgrading to BlogSpot Pro to get rid of the ads and allow for images on my blog, but now I'm thinking I kinda like this wormy ad creator thingy.

Paul The Skeptic suggests that I create content with the purpose of generating a certain ad insert from Blogger. It will be amusing to see how good this ad engine is. Stay tuned!

Never Again

Stay far, far away from Star of India, on Merivale Road.

A dozen of us went there for a team lunch yesterday, and at least half of us were rudely awoken by a nasty knock at our respective back doors, all at approximately 2 AM. Each of us spent a most unpleasant night on the throne. I for one, didn't dethrone for hours.

The City of Ottawa Public Health Unit is on the case.

No Pants

Arrived at Wednesday morning hockey without my hockey pants. Had to drive home, get the pants, get back to the rink, suit up, miss warmup. Nice start to the day.

Fort Knox of Compost Boxes

After just six short years, I've decided to use my compost box for it's intended use - to create usable compost. Until a few weeks ago, my compost box housed a collection of yard waste, mostly grass clippings, twigs, pulled weeds, and various instances of garden mulch. Evidently not the best environment for creating a usable heap of gunk.

The whole composting thing seems a bit cultish to me, but, if necessary, I suppose I can find a deprogrammer to rattle me to my senses. But apparently deprogrammers can't be trusted. So I might be up the compost creek if I become a convert. Feel free to intervene if you see fit.

One of the interesting sidebars to the whole proper composting project is the carnival-like atomosphere it has created for various four-legged rodents in our area. Big black squirrels, the rats with good PR, were into the new found buffet the very first night actual decaying food stuffs were added. The squirrel(s) dug directly under the unit, ejecting the majority of the heaps' contents - potato peels, apple cores, and past-due hamburger buns included. To prevent further invasions, I have placed the compost box on top of a large cement patio stone.

While this has prevented sub-terrainian incursions, the squirrel(s) have been able to clamber up the sides of the unit with their dexterious mitts, and have succeeded in opening the door at the top. I suppose then then repell down to the feast below, and then, once they've made a squirrly glutton of themselves, somehow are able to scramble up the inside of the box and free themselves.

I've taken security to the next level - I have secured a bungy cord across the top of the box, effectively locking the cookie jar. Tonight I will check to see if this enhancement has been breached. If it has, I will have no choice but to take the steps necessary to protect my compost. I do so not really knowing the benefits of the compost, but rather, I take it as a personal challenge to protect what is mind from these scheming pests. I liken myself to Carl Spackler, the dean of all varmint fighters.

It was Carl who once said, "License to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations. Man, free to kill gophers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior firepower and superior intelligence. And that's all she wrote."

Truly inspirational.

More Room In The Garage

Many thanks to Caroline for freeing up some space in my garage!

Caroline was in need of a conveyance to transport small people to various activities around the neighbourhood - and Martine suggested the Chariot. The words were barely out of Martine's mouth before I had the Chariot wheeled across the street and parked in Caroline's walkway. The excitement with which I removed this smooth riding yet space-consuming object from my garage was obviously too much for me, as a glimmer of hope that one day I may once again see a garage void of vehicles, mostly plastic, intended for use by those under the age of seven, would be a thing of the past. I may yet have another five or six years of wheeled zebras and push cars to stumble over while I attempt to navigate between the minivan (which really isn't that mini by the way) and the long-handled yard tools, but at least I have this over-priced wagon-replacement out of the way, for a while.

Weekend Update

Dad came down to Ottawa Friday to deliver my sister's car to a Jennifer, a friend of Martine's. After the transaction, which went smoothly, I drove Dad back to North Bay - it was a very nice drive, despite the "hurricane", which by this time was reduced to not much more than a breezy, drizzly evening.

Went to Average Joe's for dinner - a fine eating establishment that overlooks Trout Lake. I always have the fish & chips there.

Saturday morning we teed off at 8:12, an hour that worked well for me, but I got the impression that it was a bit early for Dad. The pace of play was excellent however - we were done by 11:30. I had a decent front nine 41, with two doubles, and a birdie. Back nine was non-descript until the 16th. I hit it OB there, ending up with a triple. Finished with 89, once again turning a potentially good score into something mediorce. It's always good playing with Dad though - he told me he had been working on his short game, and it showed.

Drove straight back to Ottawa after the round, home by 4 PM. Kids had been at an apple orchard that day, so apples were the snack of the weekend. Madison and Matthew both seemed to constantly have an apple in their hand.

Sunday was pretty low key. Perhaps because Martine and I consumed a bottle of 2002 Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon on Saturday night, of which Martine only had two glasses. I suppose I drank the rest. Might explain why I didn't get outside until noon on Sunday.

Cut the grass using Joe's Lee Valley reel mower. I want one, but I definitely can't let the grass get too long before cutting with this fine tool - too many clippings. Unless I get the grass catcher option.

Buffalo-sized guinea pig revealed

I couldn't let the day go by without sharing this "stunning" news. Apparently, this rodent had a vat-like gut. Oh to have a vat-like gut! Read all about the Phoberomys pattersoni here.

Almost Forgot...

We now have a minivan. There are no words to describe exactly how I feel about this purchase.

Paul The Skeptic - Pencils

Friend and writing device lover Paul The Skeptic (PTS) has enlightened me on his choices for best implements for recording information the old-fashioned way - by "hand". This exchange stemmed from my request for recommendations on manual pencil sharpeners.


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PTS: I have a very exciting life. Did you know that sharpening pencils is one of my great pleasures? That's why I love the start of the school year.

Mike: I need a top-notch pencil sharpening device. Any recommendations?

PTS proceeds to send some salacious JPGs of pencil sharpeners that I fear are going to get me in trouble because they excite me so! PTS then sends me this:

Wait until you see my favourite pencil and mechanical pencil (The silver Rotring 600).
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... and we call ourselves men.

Am I Playing Golf This Weekend?

I'm not sure. Missing-in-action friend Ken mentioned yesterday that he wanted to play this weekend, but so far, I haven't heard back from him. I had a tentative invite to play tomorrow morning with Andy L., but as of yet I haven't confirmed that I'll be there or not... I haven't played with Ken all summer, and feel that if I get the chance to get out with him I should, but Andy's invite provides me with a round I can count on... Why must my life be so very difficult?

Fresh Purchase

Props to Fraser for convincing me that a static-memory based MP3 player wasn't the way to go when it came to selecting a portable audio device for running / working out. Fraser correctly pointed out that this Sony NetMD device was the way to go. Each minidisc can store approximately 256 MB of music - and a minidisc costs only a few dollars per.... therefore, no need to swap music on and off the player, just record directly to as many minidiscs as you like - I was able to get approximately 5 albums worth of music on one disc. Sweet.

Nothing Is Happening

Nothing is happening today. I had left over pork tenderloin for lunch today. Mmmm.

Went to the gym. Did the workout.

Now, I'm back at work. Good times.

Hockey Guy

Hockey Guy asked me, for the third or fourth time since I started here at Cognos 18 months ago - "Hey Mike, you play hockey, right?"

Mike: "Right. Why?"

Hockey Guy: "Well, I don't mean for this to sound weird, but, how good are you?"

Mike: "How good am I?"

Hockey Guy: "Yea, how good are you?"

Mike: "You mean how many goals do I score every game against old doodes who are just happy to get through the hour without keeling over?"

Hockey Guy: "Umm, yea, I guess."

Mike: "Why do you ask?"

Hockey Guy: "Well, there's an opening in Div One of the high tech hockey league team and I was wondering if you want to play."

Mike: "But you want to know if I'm good enough right?"

Hockey Guy: "Right."

Mike: "Let's assume I'm not good enough. Besides, I have a policy against playing with refs. Guys try to see how much they can get away with when refs are present. Seeing as at 35 years of age I'm probably NOT going to make it to the bigs, I prefer to play with guys I know who police themselves."

Hockey Guy: "Well, if you're worried about fights..."

Mike: "I'm Irish, I'm not worried about fights."

Hockey Guy: "Well, if you were worried about fights, we've got rules against it... if you get in one fight you're suspended for four games, and if you get in another after that you're gone for the season."

Mike: "I think you've just illustrated why I don't play "competitive" hockey anymore. Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass. Besides, I'm not good enough, remember?"

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Backstory: Hockey Guy is also manifested in other regions as Softball Guy, and Baseball Guy. He's the mid-30s doode who can't seem to give up the organized team competitions that are geared specifically for those 18 years of age and younger. "Insert Sport" Guy here always has a chip on his shoulder - some coach didn't like him, and prevented him from "making it" or some college scholarship "just fell through at the last moment"... Puleeze. If we had enough talent, and we worked hard enough to exploit that talent, we'd have made it. Look for "Insert Sport Here" Guy at your local rink, diamond, or even around your office. I'm sure there's one nearby.

First Day of School

Matthew started school today, entering his second full year... He loves school, loves being with his friends - it's almost as if he prefers going to school to staying home for the summer. I can't see it being this way for his entire school career however - but who knows?

I Don't Feel Funny

I'm not really feeling like making an attempt to be funny these days, not after hearing about a good friend of mine who had a bit of a health episode this past weekend. He has Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, something that he was born with, and has been in the hospital for a few days. Today he'll have a procedure called "radiofrequency ablation", a non-invasive procedure, to treat the condition. The outlook is good, but when this sort of thing happens to an athletic 32 year old doode, it kinda makes your head spin.

It's a good thing he's in such good shape - as his heart rate was up around 280 beats per minute - a rate that a strong heart muscle built over years of physical / cardio activity made easier to handle.

So, for everyone who says that working out can actually be a detriment to your health - and you know who you are ;), this is the case that blows that myth out to the water. I grow weary of reading about people who are so-called "fitness fanatics" (of which I suppose I am one) who die from heart attacks - the only reason those stories get any ink in the papers is because those instances are the glaring exception rather than the rule. People can cite cases like Jim Fixx all they want, but I'll take my chances with a fit ticker.