Ahhh holidays!

Stardate Unknown

That's right. Another unknown date. I don't care much right now, because holidays feel great.

Christmas went nicely and we spent a quiet family Christmas together, though we did run my mom some dinner later in the evening. I got a ton of tools which will be really handy considering we are going to be rebuilding our fence this summer. My wife got her treadmill finally, and we got our son a bass guitar and amp to learn to rock out :)

So far, the rest of my time off has been fantastic. The last day of work was fun as our "company" hockey team took on a contractor and they won 11 to 3 with a really loud cheering squad consisting of about 4 of us... After the game, I spent some good time with a friend and frequent commenter here, listening to some good music and drinking a few average beers. Great way to start the holidays off.

I've played a lot of music with my friends (and even more this weekend) and yesterday, we packed up my gear, the boy's new stuff and headed to the friend's place to teach the kids some music. They got a new guitar and a small drum kit, so it is interesting with all of the players of various experience! Good fun anyhow, and the boy already has a good riff down pat.

Best get busy doing nothing, as I have finished chores for the day already!!!

Heh, I love holidays!

Twas the night before Christmas

Stardate Unknown


Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

Sick just in time for Christmas

Stardate 6863.23

Well with all of the hubbub surrounding the capitalist dream of Christmas, and fighting with angry shoppers and SUVs in parking lots at Wal-Mart, a certain level of stress is always apparent. Now that the shopping and spending is done with until after Christmas, there is some time to relax, visit friends and prepare for a few days of fun with family and friends and great food. Naturally, I have decided to develop what looks like a nasty cold, a mere handful of days before the holidays. maybe it will pass, and the weather is definately allying itself with me, but I am not so pessimistic...

Oh well, some Nyquil and Neo Citron should do the trick :)

Au Revoir Rona

Stardate 6863.09

Ambrose is out. Gee ya think? Was it the hair? Not likely...

Bad toys for bad girls and boys...

Stardate 6838.90

Ever wondered what some of the worst toys ever made are? Well we can deduce that Lawn Darts was a bad idea right from the start. And indeed, they are number one on the list. Number 2 is the "Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab". I never saw one of these, but I would certainly like one to mess around with :D


I am proud to say however, that I still own all of my Battlestar Galactica ships (number 9) and they still fire their little "blind you little brother" missiles as if they were brand new. I remember that they recalled them at one point, and all fo the new models came fixed so that the missiles only popped out a few mm...

Elections are fun...

Stardate 6833.40

On the heels of Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe threatening to topple the minority Tory government over their ridiculous committment extension and mission scope "change" in Afghanistan, the buzz everywhere seems to be springtime election. Newly elected Liberal leader, Stephane Dion, is also ready for what could happen. He suggests the budget cuts that we all knew were coming to the environment and education in particular will be only the beginning if the Tories win a majority. However, many polls are suggesting the Liberals now have the lead, and are gaining ground in Quebec at the expense of the Conservatives...

It's kind of funny actually as I watched H-Dawg spew some rubbish out on the news about how the rest of the world is taking notice of Canada again. Yeah, he may not notice that the majority of global attention is likely of the negative sort... especially after our embarrassing presentation of well, squat, at the Kyoto meetings.

It IS time for another election in my opinion. Hopefully the promise of pocket change as a day-care solution won't lure so many this time...

Of meetings, parties and service

Stardate Unknown

Well I needed a few days to recover from our companies AGM. Every year, everyone from all of our offices across Alberta get together for 3 days of meetings, seminars, drinking and awards. It kicks off on thursday and runs through until the Christmas party saturday night.

Thursday wasn't too bad, and our drafting group had to do a presentation that really went so well I was surprised. We had originally allotted about 4 hours and spent countless time preparing our presentation, and most importantly, our reference handouts for all of the drafters in our sub-offices. The times were changed, and after much ado, we ended up finishing our presentation in about 20 minutes! It was alright however.

That night was special, as we have a large dinner provided (though the bloody roast beef could have been actually killed and cooked), and then the awards for safety and other things are handed out. I received my 5 years of service award, which is a beautiful silver and rosewood clock for in the office. There is always a "fun" networkign event that is held for a few hours as well, so I basically ignored the goings on and conversed with colleagues I haven't seen in some time...

Friday was a really dry day for topics and seminars. We had an interesting "Instigational" speaker at lunch, and I won two tickets to the Red Deer Rebels game that night, so it wasn't all a bad day. Naturally, many folks are hung over from the exciting night life in Red Deer, so some seats are vacant most of the day. I took the boy to the game that night, and cheered and booed the Rebels on to a shootout loss against Prince George.

Saturday morning is the wrap up for speakers. We always get a safe driving oriented speaker, and this year was no different. An english chap that was far from politically correct provided some insight of the serious nature, as well as some laughs to go along. The afternoon was spent trying to fit myself into my suit for the dinner and party later in the evening.

The party kicked off around 6:00 pm and being one of the first there afforded me the chance to find a nice spot to sit and rot all night. Supper begins at 7:00 and it is always an adventure watching about 500 people (it gets bigger every year) patiently wait for their tables to get called up for food. We ate, and drank, and by about 8:30, the band began playing. I had planned to leave at 9:00 and go to visit some friends, so I listened to the crummy band for a while and then left. They had the same crummy band last year, and after everyone told them how much they disliked them, they hired them again... Go figure. A 7 man band with a drum machine that plays easy listening soft country versions of the Eagles all night. Wow.

My wife picked me up and me and my ill-fitting suit left with her to enjoy a visit with friends. That consisted of hockey and a viewing of a movie I would not recomment waisting time on, "THE DAVINCI CODE". IT IS CRAP. DON'T WATCH IT. Okay, sorry, raving a bit there.

Sunday was really spent reviving myself, and now it is back to the grind stone at work until Christmas holidays. Fun fun! Maybe next year, I'll stay until 10:00 and throw things at the band...

Bush: A New Iraq Strategy...

Stardate 6798.73

It seems that it takes several think-tanks, and the studied opinions of a whole lot of folks to decide what many of us have know all along... Iraq is a failure and things need to change now.

Of course, it takes Chimpy McFlightsuit even longer to get it. I remember when he said there was no comparison between Iraq and Vietnam as well... Oh well.

New Blogger

Stardate Unknown

Well I have made the jump over to the new upgraded Blogger... Bare with me while I check out all of the changes, tweaks and new features :)

Dion takes the reigns

Stardate 6783.18

With a surprise move, Gerard Kennedy placed his support behind Stephane Dion, giving him enough momentum to win out over the person I thought had it, Michael Ignatief and Rae.

Dion seems to be okay, and most of his policies and ideas fit in quite nicely with my personal outlook. The fact that Kennedy supports him really sets the stage for a leader who has some good ideas in the works with regard to both the economy, environment and the unity of our nation.

The latest polls are showing that the majority of Canadians consider Dion a good choice for Liberal leader, and in fact, 37% would vote Liberal in a federal election...

Where did the Christmas tree originate?

Stardate Unknown

I was sitting in the living room, looking at the beautifully lit tree and I wondered... did they have evergreen trees in Jerusalem?

It is interesting to read that in fact, the idea of the Christmas tree was likely derived from pagan beliefs... In ancient germanic tribes, the Yule season was celebrated by sacrificing male animals and slaves, and hanging their bodies from such trees... There are other interesting mentions as well, but the modern useage of the tree seems to stem from the late 16th century, when Ingeborg Weber-Keller, a professor of European ethnology in Germany, set a similar tree up inthe guild-house and decorated it with fruits, nuts and dates so that the children could pillage it on Christmas day...