Man, That Is Very Good

2009-01-31T14:03:00.002-07:00

I think I am done with this blog. As far as I know, everyone that reads this is now also on Facebook..and I just end up doubling every post, or linking on to the other.

If anyone is still reading this that isn't on the 'book, let me know if you're out there...

2009-01-16T08:49:00.002-07:00

Holiday pictures!

2008-12-25T16:32:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-12T13:29:00.005-07:00

Want.

Also want.

2008-12-05T16:08:00.002-07:00

An oldie but a goodie...Farting Elves 12 Days of Christmas.

2008-12-03T18:22:00.004-07:00

Some new pictures...

2008-12-03T11:51:00.001-07:00

First post in over a month..woo hoo! This year's Smashin' Spruce with new improved Death Star...

2008-10-31T12:26:00.006-06:00

I had this terrible nightmare, I woke up one morning and looked just like this other guy at work...

Good thing I woke up to find I was still a zombie.

Happy belated Halloween!

2008-10-29T08:59:00.002-06:00

Some new pictures...

2008-09-16T08:54:00.001-06:00

Fungus!

2008-08-21T11:13:00.001-06:00

So who is this, anyways? Click to find out...

2008-08-21T08:13:00.002-06:00

More pictures of kids and pets...

2008-08-03T09:23:00.003-06:00

Summer photos, including a few from the Valley Zoo.

2008-07-20T10:32:00.001-06:00

We are grieving the loss of Randall right now. Knowing that it was the right thing to do doesn't make it any easier. We love you and miss you already, kitty.

2008-07-10T16:44:00.002-06:00

Holly loves her some Elwood, that's for sure. No one has claimed him, and he is fitting in quite well with the gang, all things considered, so I guess he is part of the family, Cat Number 9.

Riley is the first one to show him any affection in between beatings. From the others, it ranges from indifference to hostilty, but only when he gets too close. Meadow is the only one who has crossed the room at a high rate of speed in order to administer rapidfire beatings. Hopefully that won't last long, it is a pathetic sight. Most of them are content to just hiss at him or leave when he gets too close.

2008-07-07T14:50:00.001-06:00

All right, I bet this is a hit with the ladies at parties.

Now, if I could only learn to do this at the same time, that would rock. Talk about your merger of mad skillz.

2008-06-30T09:35:00.003-06:00

New pictures!

Plus, what is it, do we have a sign out front (or back) saying "If you have four legs and need a place to crash, come on in!"?

I mean, seriously....

So the wife goes to bed on Friday night..window is open, and she hears a high pitched "meeeeeeew!!". What does she find in the alley, but a skinny, lost kitten.

We started calling him Oreo, but eventaully it became Elwood (our little Blues Brother). We tried to start calling him McLovin after that, Holly won't call him anything but Elwood, so Elwood it is.

He's about 10-12 weeks old, really cuddly. Anyone want him?

2008-06-20T07:10:00.003-06:00

Spring family photos.

And, I think British Columbia needs some new promotional material...

2008-05-28T15:10:00.003-06:00

OK, posting this here and on Facebook..time for some creativity from my artsy friends..

When Holly was born, I got this tattoo on my chest, near my heart...

Yes, get the collecrive "Awwwww..." out of the way. Now..

I need one for Aislinn.

Aislinn means dream or vision. Damned if I can find a celtic/tribal symbol that means dream or vision. I did find the kanji for "dream"...

and while I quite like it, Aislinn is an Irish name, so a Japanese symbol doesn't make the same amount of sense as finding a Celtic, tribal, or at least, something that could be given the same kind of influences in a design..something that would not look out of place next to my holly.

So, my friends..any ideas? I'm stumped..and I'll warn you now, that if you google "dream symbols" or anything like it, you get links to dream interpretation, what things symbolize in dreams, not symbols that mean dreams.

I could always get a Sandman tattoo, but somehow I don't think the wife would be too happy with that.

2008-04-30T21:51:00.005-06:00

The kitchen...almost done..well, the contractor part anyways. We will be doing the floors, painting, tile backsplash...hopefully soon. It is so awesome compared to what we had before...

2008-04-30T21:43:00.001-06:00

Click for more...

2008-04-30T07:17:00.002-06:00

I just realized that I've neglected to update here for awhile. Allie and Aislinn came home on Saturday, and everybody is well. We're getting used to the off-and-on sleep schedule again, but somehow, after the first night, she seems to have settled into almost a nighttime routine..it isn't like we're up every 1/2 hour or anything..more like every 3 hours. That's only twice during the night..not too bad.

Holly is acting out a bit, but she does love her new little sister, and she'll be just fine. Hey, she's only two, she's been acting out for a few months now anyways, testing us and limits of everything at every turn..there's a reason the Terrible Two's got their name...

The kitchen is 99 percent finished..just a bit of electrical to complete. Well, of the contractor's role, anyway..now we get to do the floor, paint and tiled backsplash ourselves. Pictures to come..it's so nice! My niece said "You have a TV kitchen!!"

When we finish it and a few other renos, I'd be really curious to get our realtor in to see what she would list this place for now..it is a totally different house than the one we bought. Not that we want to move just yet..at least that's what I keep telling myself.

Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes this laast week or so. Aislinn had a shaky start that spooked us all, but she came through it just fine, and is the picture of health now. Again, pics to follow.

2008-04-25T10:58:00.004-06:00

Introducing the wee girl, click the pic for more.. She'll be in the hospital for a few more days to be safe. Basically, this is what happened, but she's doing well.

2008-04-23T14:50:00.001-06:00

Hi all,

Aislinn Jennifer Lyle O'Keefe (pronounced Ashlynn) joined us at 11:35 AM on April 23, 2008, weighing 8 lbs even. She had a bit of a breathing problem "out of the gate", and will need a few days at the hospital to get over it, but other than that fairly common and quickly remedied problem, both mum and baby are doing fine, and should be home in a couple of days.

Bye for now...

Rob, Allison, Holly & Aislinn

2008-04-23T06:40:00.000-06:00

off to the hospital at 6AM!!

2008-04-22T19:36:00.000-06:00

Our sad, sad looking backyard, that I am entering in a Home Depot sad backyard contest. Link to come..vote for me!

2008-04-17T13:57:00.001-06:00

Welcome to my arrival of new baby, life of old baby, and renovation blog.

Until we decide to renovate one or both of the babies.

2008-04-17T08:33:00.006-06:00

More kitchen pics up, same link as below..they're all in the same album, newer ones at the end.

Baby alert- From Yellow to Blue (Guarded). *sigh*

And yesterday was Holly's birthday. Two years. Wow.

Click the picture for more pics in an album (Mom, that's for you..click the other pictures for more as well..love ya!)

2008-04-16T07:50:00.001-06:00

Yellow alert..back at work until The Call comes in...

2008-04-15T23:37:00.002-06:00

Orange Alert- went to the hospital..spent an hour there..downgraded to Yellow and sent home to labour a bit longer..could be back in a few hours, or in the morning, or...

2008-04-15T21:18:00.002-06:00

Wow, what a couple of days. With the kitchen reno in full swing, we're also alternating between Baby Orange Elevated Level and somewhere between Blue and Yellow Alerts.

After a slow week of the guys coming in, pulling electrical and fixing drywall, (mudding, taping and waiting for it to dry,) , finally we're seeing some cabinet action. I can't wait, it is going to be so functional, and look as awesome well!

The wife called me at work Monday afternoon, and said something along the lines of "I'm not in labour yet, but you may want to tell work that you may not be in tomorrow". So, I let them know, but alas, the series of contractions were a very convincing false alarm. A visit to her doc the next morning revealed slow progress, nothing new, and a slowdown in the contractions.

Tonight, more of the same, and she is sure she is going in tonight..the big gulp of castor oil (eeyyuucckk!) to help induce labour may have done the trick. Will post here if I can before we go to the hospital.

By the way, she took the castor oil, not me.

2008-04-15T20:58:00.006-06:00

Some action on the kitchen renovation front!

Our winter snowstorm last weekend.

2008-04-14T13:51:00.004-06:00

As someone who plans on seeing The Machine Girl (the same weekend as Stephen "Kung Fu Hustle" Chow's new one, CJ7), I bring you
Tokyo Gore Police. I can't decide if it looks like the most awesome thing ever, or deserves a full MST3K'ing.

I have dreams like this...

A LOOK BACK AT CCW

2008-04-03T11:57:00.001-06:00

For those of you that aren't on facebook where I previously posted this, an old buddy found this highlight reel of my old CCW promotion. Crazy..brings back some memories...

2008-04-02T08:09:00.001-06:00

Our kitchen renovation project so far...

2008-04-01T17:11:00.005-06:00

Spring pics.

2008-04-01T14:43:00.002-06:00

What if Charles Shulz created Watchmen? Heh. via Wil Wheaton.

2008-03-21T10:18:00.000-06:00

Happy Easter!

2008-03-20T13:55:00.001-06:00

Top Ten reasons to see the new season of Battlestar Galactica...

Colonel Tigh...? Noooooooo!

From Letterman.

Death Metal Puppy

2008-03-17T17:48:00.001-06:00

They Might Be Giants - Anaheim

2008-03-12T17:20:00.001-06:00

I'll never think of the Anaheim House of Blues the same way again after this song.

2008-02-29T08:54:00.003-07:00

Too busy, or too bored to post lately. Bleah.

My girls are both sick. We went to Holly's one-year-old cousin's birthday party, and one of the little brats there obviously infected us with some contagion. Allie got a sore throat, it kinda got better, Holly got a runny nose and cough, then Allie lost her voice completely..not altogether a bad thing, there, but she doesn't feel well either, so that's not so good.

Even worse, now I feel like I am getting it too. I hope I can fend it off until A. feels better, at least.

What else is new..hmmm. Found mold in our pantry..yuck. Using it as an excuse to finally get our kitchen redone. Hopefully before the baby comes.

After staring blankly at the screen for a few minutes, and coming up with nothing else, I guess that really is about it.

2008-02-14T19:21:00.001-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

moar humorous pics

2008-02-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

American Idol - Paul (Or as I say, STALKER)

2008-01-22T16:37:00.001-07:00

Stalkers rock'er.

American Idol 7 James Worst Auditions

2008-01-22T16:36:00.001-07:00

I only watch American (or Canadian) Idol during the auditions, for stuff like this.

Powerthirst 2

2008-01-22T16:35:00.001-07:00

Powerthirst 1

2008-01-22T16:34:00.001-07:00

2008-01-09T08:36:00.001-07:00

This is going to be a good year for comic book movies..off the top of my head, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, the reboot of the Hulk (hopefully better than the first one)..and Hellboy 2 looks freakin' great!

If only Watchmen was coming this year...

2007-12-31T16:28:00.000-07:00

Christmas 2007

2007-12-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

Last year's blog post at this time is suspiciously similar to this one..I predicted that Holly would be much more into Christmas this year..I was half right. She still isn't with the whole concept, but she loves Santa, trees and pretty lights. And tomorrow, I am sure she will love the gifts!

As usual, I am grateful and thankful for what I have, while missing some of those that aren't near to share it with.

As I've done before, I'll leave you with this...

Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?
Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.

Lights please.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

2007-12-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

There was a mama mole, a papa mole, and a baby mole. They lived in a hole outside of a farm house out in the country. The papa mole reached his head out of the hole and said, “Mmmmm, I smell honey. Doesn't it smell like honey out here?”

The mama mole reached her head outside of the hole and said “I don't think so, I think it smells more like maple syrup.”

The baby mole tried to reach his head outside the hole but couldn't because of the two bigger moles. The baby mole said, “I don't know about you two, but the only thing I can smell is mole-asses.”

heheheh.

2007-12-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

We went to see Winter Harp at the Arden Theatre in St. Albert on Sunday, their first time back in the area in about three years or so.

Just checked out their website, and the link to their blog, and found out we were lucky to have seen them at all.

2007-12-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

Christmas party pics...

2007-12-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

Via comicbookresources.com..regarding the writer's strike..

"Some bored writers have completely spoofed the AMPTP's official website with a lookalike mockery that has a URL so close it'll fool many.

"And on the TV side, we've got enough reality shows to choke a horse. Literally – one of the shows is "Can You Choke This Horse?" And for the fall, we're already working on "Can You Choke This Horse With the Stars?" (Pepsi, you want a logo on the horse? Consider it done.)"

Bad thing to read first thing in the morning..good thing there aren't many students here yet. I'm picturing some regular guy alongside some B-list celebrity trying to strangle a horse in front of a live studio audience.

2007-12-05T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I'll be damned...Big Brother, my guilty pleasure, back in February instead of summer, thanks to the WGA strike. Heh.

I am so ashamed to actually admit to looking forward to this crap.

2007-12-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

Cat pictures, yes, you can find them here.
And here.

2007-12-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

From the blog of Greg Beeman, one of the producer/directors of Heroes. Behind the scenes photos make productions like this look like fun, and this made me laugh.

SYLAR WANTS PUDDY-TAT POWER!

2007-12-03T20:17:00.001-07:00

I have been searching for good almond chicken ever since my old favourite Chinese restaurant closed its doors. The thing is, every place batters theirs in that thick, greasy batter like they use for deep fried shrimp. Lee's (the now-defunct restaurant in question, and no, not Lee Garden's..two totally different places) breaded theirs..they also had the tastiest sauce.

I found one a few weeks ago that was not bad, the sauce was good, but still with the greasy batter.

I tried making it myself once a year or two ago, and it was a close approximation, but the chicken breasts I used were too thick, and the sauce was just lacking something.

Somewhere along the line, recently, something clicked..while doing chicken a few weeks ago, I cut the breasts nice and thin, and made a mental note, "This is how I should do it for almond chicken." And, damned if I can remember what I was reading that inspired me to do it, but I figured I should substitute the water in my sauce recipe with chicken broth.

Damned if I didn't just make the God-damndest best tasting almond chicken I ever made, a really REALLY close second to Lee's, still ranking as the best.

The only drag now is, if I want it, I still just can't go order it, I have to make it myself.

But it is worth it.

And on a side-note, the short season of Heroes sucks! It was just getting good, and the final episode felt so rushed in their need to wrap things up.

2007-11-23T13:48:00.001-07:00

Another one..another language warning.

Sesame Streets

2007-11-22T13:35:00.001-07:00

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
(warning...foul language.)

That's mostly for my mom. :)

Holly

2007-11-21T10:34:00.001-07:00

Updated- trimmed the extra music off the end.

A video of the kid, as I tested out a new camcorder and Windows Movie Maker. Yes, she has a shiner, from taking a head-first dive onto a plastic Disneyland popcorn bucket. I promise, we don't actually beat her.

2007-11-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

I feel a Zombiethon coming up...not only do I have SPECIAL dEaD, but also:
the wonderfully-titled Die, You Zombie Bastards!,
Enter, Zombie King (which I have had for over a year and still haven't watched)
Fido,with Billy Connolly, and
Zombie Self Defense Force, with the charming little quote from the reviewer "And don't tell us that flying, cackling undead fetus isn't just the most adorable little thing you ever saw!"

And even though it isn't a zombie movie, there's Black Sheep as well.

Might have to stretch this one over a couple of weekends.

2007-11-14T08:05:00.000-07:00

More Halloween and other photos here.

2007-11-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

Zombie movie night coming soon...I finally have, in my grubby little hands, a shiny little gem called SPECIAL dEaD.

I can't wait!

2007-10-29T10:19:00.000-06:00

This year's Halloween photos..Never did get a photo of Dave and his shower costume, but here's the rest of us before heading out on the Edmonton Queen riverboat party..it was a good time. V, StrongBad, and Britney Spears...

2007-10-26T13:18:00.000-06:00

Forgot to post this one from Disneyland..Happy Halloween weekend, everyone..hope you're all going to some Friday/Saturday parties, getting dressed up and having fun! And doing it all over again on Wednesday!

2007-10-21T21:59:00.000-06:00

I don't really want to move my vacation photos farther down the page by posting that nothing much is going on right now.

2007-10-09T13:40:00.000-06:00

Some more pictures from the trip.
I wish I was there again already.

2007-10-06T18:41:00.000-06:00

It's Saturday, in October, and I saw the ocean this morning.

I also saw a big freakin' garage sale/fleamarket thing, that I can only describe as part Super Flea Market, part Dollar Store, part garage ale, and part Tijuana, Mexico, all on a college parking lot in Orange County. It wa so big I actually got burnt out on looking at crap about 1/2 way through and had to give up. Crazy.

2007-10-06T09:49:00.000-06:00

Not from the actual show (no cameras allowed at the House of Blues) but very similar to the view I had from RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE STAGE!! Yes, I was that close..I could have untied Flansburgh's shoes, and it is very disconcerting when Linnel makes eye contact with you and holds it.

That was so freakin' awesome I can hardly describe it. What a band, what a show. Funny as hell, too.

And I'll be able to tell Holly later in life that they even played "Alphabet of Nations" from "Here Come the ABC's", one of her favourite DVD's. If only it was "Go Go Go, Go for G!"

I want to buy Holly so much freakin' cute crap from Disneyland, it is unbelievable.

2007-10-05T16:49:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning and said to myself, "Self, it is October. You are in California." Later on, I said te same thing, but substitute "Disneyland".

Camera phones rule. I will bring the real camera next time, as I wanted to travel light to the park today.

Haunted Mansion Holiday is awesome with a capital "A". Sorry J., I think the vampires were left out, but when I go on 5 more times, I will quintuple check.

They Might Be Giants in a few hours!!

2007-10-05T01:44:00.000-06:00

OK, no post from Calgary's airport..my flight left Edmonton a good 45 minutes later than it wa supposed to, so by the time I got my bag and cleared customs, I was waiting in a hallway instead of a lounge, as there was some issue with letting us into the departure lounge until an arriving flight (late of course) was cleared out of the area. By the time we got in, I didn't bother starting the laptop..I might as well have, as OUR flight was then delayed by about an hour.

Arrived in LA, just missed my shuttle to the hotel, and had to wait another 45 minutes for it to arrive. Finally, 12:40AM local time (my head feels like Edmonton time of 1:47AM), I am here and trying to wind down.

Celebrity sighting of the day (and I hadn't even left Edmonton yet...)..Walter Gretzky was being rushed to his flight while I waited for mine.

2007-10-04T15:34:00.000-06:00

All right, found a free wireless network at the airport. The one called Free WiFi didn't work, the Airport-Sponsored one would have cost ten bucks to use for the day, but I found this one for free. It was a pretty weak signal, so I wandered around and found a stronger spot. Cool.

So yeah, at the airport. My departure is 15 minutes late, leaving at 4:45PM now. Probably about 30-40 minutes now before boarding the plane.

I had a weird idea for a movie script as I was waking up this morning. You know those half-formed ideas that come to you either in dreams, or just befor falling asleep or waking up, that seem to be perfectly sensible at the time, then if you are lucky enough to remember them later, you're lucky if they make any sense at all, or you wonder "Why did I think that was such a good idea??" I'll try to write some sense into this one, and see if it lives up to the dreamy potential I thought it had.

Maybe I'll find another free network in Calgary..if I do, talk to ya's later.

2007-10-04T09:56:00.000-06:00

Just a few short hours till I take off..will try to post from Anaheim!

WooHoo!!!

2007-10-03T10:49:00.000-06:00

So, this is the set list that They might Be Giants played last night...My comments after certain titles...
Setlist:

* The Cap'm
* New York City (YES!)
* Ana Ng (YES!)
* Upside Down Frown
* Take Out The Trash
* She's An Angel (YES!)
* Upside Down Frown
* It's Not My Birthday
* Meet James Ensor(YES!)
* Memo To Human Resources
* I'm Impressed
* Damn Good Times
* Phone Calls From The Dead (Vincent Price)
* Older(YES!)
* James K. Polk(YES!)
* Birdhouse In Your Soul(YES!)
* The Guitar(YES!)
* Mammal

With Velcro Horns:

* Mr. Me(YES!)
* With The Dark
* Withered Hope
* Museum of Idiots
* Ant
* Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (YES!)

Encore:

* Maybe I Know (John & John only)
* Fingertips(YES!)
* The Mesopotamians

Second Encore:

* Mr. Tambourine Man
* Doctor Worm I hate this song

If this is the set list when I see them, I'll be happy. There aren't many songs of their I actually dislike, and glad only one of them is on the list. SOme of them, I'm "meh" about, but there's a good selection of my favourites. Would really love to have "Cyclops Rock" on the list.

Should be a great show!

2007-09-27T08:20:00.000-06:00

Some new photos...

2007-09-20T18:23:00.000-06:00

Wow, the house is a disaster. We have no carpet in the living room now, getting ready to put down laminate flooring. It will look great when it's done. Right now..I HATE IT!

Holly is growing by leaps and bounds..her talking is pretty amazing to me. When "Big Comfy Couch" comes on, she drops everything and says, "Couch?", and last night, she said "Are you ready?", the opening words of the theme song. She said "Drop'd the ball?" the other day, when she, well, dropped her ball. And today she said something that sounded alrmingly like "Bull-shit!" I hope it was something else, and I just misunderstood.

She is 17 months old. And another on the way. What am I getting myself into?

My Halloween costume parts should be here soon. Now I just need to find somewhere besides work to wear it, though work will do OK. I have a rep to uphold now, after two years of dressing up. If we have our house in some kind of liveable condition by then, maybe we'll have a Halloween party.

I still want to go as a zombie or vampire clown someday, but Allie won't let me. She could care less about the zombie or vampire part..she would honestly find even going as a real clowny clown too scary.

My trip to California is coming up..two weeks today as a matter of fact. I can hardly wait!!

2007-09-11T20:53:00.000-06:00

Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored.

2007-09-02T11:17:00.000-06:00

And while I am here, I popped by Space to see if they had the November Battlestar Galactica: Razor movie on the schedule for the same say as Scifi in the USA (November 24). No, don't see it yet, but I did find this info on Evil Dead: The Musical. Whoah.

2007-09-02T10:54:00.000-06:00

Work has been pretty damn busy lately..gearing up for first day of classes, which is usually busy enough, but this year there are a couple of special projects that also have to be ready by day 1, and of course, special projects are never ready to be completed two weeks beforehand..I satyed late 2 hours on Friday, and will likely be goig in about 2 hours early on Tuesday morning to finish up. All part of the new job description.

Been figuring out what I will be doing with my time in California..hard to decide what is must-see when you only have a few days. I figure Disneyland on Friday, the concert Friday night, avoid D-land parks on Saturday, California Adventure on Sunday, maybe hop back to D-land to see the fireworks. Saturday, not sure if I want to try and get to Knott's for some roller coasters, and to see what it is like since I haven't actually been to it in more than 20 years, or if I just want to relax with no schedule at all, maybe hit a mall or something. I should look into if there is cheap transport to Huntington Beach from the D-land hotel area. All those trips to D-land over the years and we neve, ever, went to the nearest beach to see the ocean. Closest I remember was a day trip ferrying over to Catalina Island on our first trip there, when I was 8. Also, on our honeymoon, our LA trip had us spend a 1/2 hour at Venice Beach. We'll see how it goes..knowing the price of "tour" transport, and the lack of good public bus service in the area, I am thinking it will end up being the mall.

The wife and I have some tickets to some upcoming shows. End of October, we will be seeing Henry Rollins do his spoken word show again, it is always a good time. It is usually funny as hell, though I wouldn't call it a stand up comedy show by any means. Spoken Word Performance sounds so pretentious, but as of now, I can't think of anything else that describes it, other than saying it's a guy in his late forties who used to sing with a punk band that I didn't like when I was in school more than twenty years ago, getting up on stage by himself and telling amusing anecdotes about his life and current events. That doesn't sound so great either. So Spoken Word it is.

We're also going to Winter Harp in December, they're first show in Edmonton in three years.

Wow, all these things out of the house..you would think we didn't have a kid or something. We even got to go see a movie last week. We are so bad at asking people to watch the wee one, and we don't plan ahead, so we haven't been out much to anyplace that we don't take her with us. Gotta start going on more of these dates.

The little one is walking and talking up a storm. Keeps us in stitches most of the time. Her favourite thing, to say and to eat, is "Grapes".

2007-08-23T21:31:00.000-06:00

Aaaah, Billy Connolly...Warning, multiple uses of the F word.

The documentary that the clip comes from isn't that great, but Billy rocks. I would love to see him live again someday.

2007-08-23T21:04:00.000-06:00

Heh heh.

Oh, and by the way, Holly is going to be a big sister in about 9 months.

I tell ya, if I ever catch the guy responsible for all this...

2007-08-22T08:52:00.000-06:00

Last spring, after waiting in a passport lineup to finalize everything, I went to the food court at Canada Place for breakfast, and got a darn good meal of bacon and eggs from the Chinese food place, with the menu obviously adapted for breakfast.

Last week, while spending a day at Alberta College, I got there early to get a place to park, and walked over to Scotia Place to see if I could find a similarly good breakfast from a place you might least expect it.

The food court kiosk that I found- Chicken For Lunch. And yes, I did have a very good, very inexpensive bacon and egg breakfast there.

But, the best part about it, was this sign..

2007-08-18T08:53:00.000-06:00

What's up this week? Let's see..just got word I am changing positions at work..no raise to start, but higher potential pay down the road.

I'm going to California in October to see They Might Be Giants, air-miles funded, mostly. I'm excited, I've wanted to see their live show forever, and if the last 15 years are any indication, they ain't never coming here. My choices were Vancouver or Anaheim, and the Vancouver date would have required several days off from work in September, not something I wanted to ask for. One or two days in October, that was do-able. Plus, what else is located in Anaheim, California that I could do when I am not at the show? Hmm?

Argyll is settling in better. Not as much hissing and screaming as there was last week.

Oh yeah, and I am excited that Heroes starts Sept 24!!

2007-08-12T21:44:00.000-06:00

So, a few new things...

This is Argyll..Allison almost ran over her on her way home from work at 4:30AM last week. She couldn't leave her there on a busy semi-residential, semi-industrial road, so she came home as a houseguest. No microchip or tattoo, no luck on a city pound online registry..so I guess we are back up to 9. Argyll (named for her location, Argyll Road) is about 4-5 months old..rail thin..pretty cute.

And..guess what else we got?

Now we are only ONE component short of a James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub Party!

My bro in Waterloo will be SO jealous..:) Hey D! When are you coming to visit? Or should I call you Anonymous?

More pictures here.

2007-07-30T16:45:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I'm still here, just haven't had much to say lately.

Holly has had lots to say, however.

2007-07-15T22:12:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, there is just not enough time or money to do the things a person wants to do. Ever feel that way?

They Might Be Giants is playing in Toronto on July 23, likely the closest they'll ever get to here (not closest as the crow flies, but one of the only Canadaian cities I can ever imagine them playing). There is no way I could make that one, due to my having just used up all my holidays, among other things.

You all know that I want to get to Disneyland during a Christmas season to see not only the park's decorations, but the Nightmare Before Christmas re-theming of the Haunted Mansion.

Well, guess who is playing in Anaheim at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney on October 5?

If I were able to use Air Miles to go, I could not only see a band I've wanted to see for years, but I could see the Mansion, as the ride closes in September for the seasonal overlay. I would miss the rest of the Xmas theming at the park, but that could wait for another someday.

The last few years, I missed out on two concerts that will likely never be seen again. When I was in Medicine Hat, I missed the Van Halen/Sammy Hagar reunion, and I have alwqays kinda regretted it (and they did play both Edmonton and Calgary, not so far away). And last year, the Rollins Band lineup that did the Weight album reunited for a series of shows in the USA, some of which were in Vegas and Southern California. Now that was a lineup of band whose music really meant something to me, and I couldn't justify even trying to go. Rollins himself may or may not make new music at all, with any lineup, time will tell, but if he does, it won't be with that lineup. They're done. I got that in an e-mail from the man himself, when I wrote to ask (for the hell of it) if there was any future tours or records with that line up.

So, yeah, I hate missing out on things that are "so close, yet so far". I know my life is not seriously any poorer in any way that matters at all having missed those, or any other entertainment-type eventa. They're just things I would have enjoyed doing.

Now this.

Anyone want to come to California with me?

2007-07-08T11:28:00.001-06:00

I just remembered some of the funny tv ads I saw while in Scotland..here they are..two of them are Youtube so they embed (below), but the first one is from a different site, so you have to click.

Booty Shakeis Anywhereis

It's the guy with the oranges that gets me, and any commercial with surreal little people in it is my kinda nightmare.

Skoda Fabia Advert - Full of lovely stuff

2007-07-08T11:21:00.001-06:00

Irn-Bru Goth Holiday

2007-07-08T11:20:00.001-06:00

2007-07-06T19:30:00.000-06:00

Walkin' pics!

The secret is out. While we were in Scotland, the wee one went from taking one or two steps at a time to full-out walking. Had to keep it a secret from the family until they saw it for themselves, or at least, until most of them did. Now, the "lost photos" of a walking crazy baby can be seen. Some of them are kinda blurry..she's moving fast!

2007-06-28T19:39:00.000-06:00

We're home..tired, filthy, jetlagged, and home.

Seeya all in about 95 hours when we feel human again. It's 3AM to us right now..been up since 5 AM..me even earier due to upset gut. Little, and I mean less than 10 minutes sleep since then.Three flights in one day leaves brain and body exhausted.

Good to be home, more later..:)

2007-06-27T12:41:00.000-06:00

Last batch of photos before we come home.

Well, this is it..hittin' the airport tomorrow, and once we get to London, we hit it hard as we beg Air Canada to let us on the London-Edmonton direct flight instead of the London-Calgary, Calgary-Edmonton run. We'll have Holly turnin' on the charm. I wanted to have a fake oxygen tube coming out of her diaper bad and rubber-banded to her her nostrils, figuring sick and cute outdoes just plain cute, but Allie won't go for it.

You'll notice in the photos that there is no Aberdeen..I had the good fortune to get a stomach bug the day before, and that killed the trip. I was quite looking forward to it, both seeing the ocean from up there, and the art museum that has the Waterhouse paintings. Another one for the "next time" file.

Today, however, was the perfect capping off of the trip by visiting Doune Castle, a Mecca of sorts to people like me, as it is where many scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail were filmed. I stood on the same stairs where John Cleese as Sir Galahad sliced and chopped his way through a mass of terrified wedding guests..it was awesome. Also stood on the upper wall from which Cleese again taunted the knights. I can't say it was on my lifelong list of things to do before I die, but once the opportunity presented itself, it shot right up there. "Fetchez la vache!" "Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelled of elderberries!" Classic. I was there.

After the castle, we wandered around Doune, and has a bite at a pub, which has the distinction of, food-wise, being terrible value for money, lovely inside, and having vegetable spring rolls created by someone who apparently has heard of spring rolls but has never actually had one. It had peas and corn in it. They were good..not great, and not even spring rolls, in my mind, but good. And not worth almost $9 after conversion! There were only two of them! They were big, but not that big. They's have to be, like, the size of jumbo corn dogs at the EX to be worth $4.50 each.

Rant over. I love the UK.

Finally got a photo of the William Wallace Monument in sunlight. We drive by it virtually every day, each time saying, we'll go there tomorrow, right? Never did. Next time.

Oh yeah, back to Doune..in the gift shop, they have a smattering of toys, Python books and videos, and such, but what made me chuckle (and I may have bought it if not for the coversion factor again..you almost get desensitized to dollars vs pounds after a while, and you have to remind yourself that £10.50 is $21 back home. They had taken a £7.50 toy catapult and rubber banded a £3.00 toy cow to it, sidways and ready for launch. Almost got me.

I forgot to post this one before-
We had to pay 20p to pee at the Glasgow train station.
Our day in Glasgow and Doune Castle are tied for the niciest, most relaxing times I had this trip.

And, if you don't have time to check the above link for all the photos, here's the group photo from the lodge that we just got from Steven, plus a few from the castle, and a Python shot for comparison. Look closely at the Python shot for the cow.

Look forward to seeing you all when we're back. Later, dudes!

2007-06-24T06:04:00.001-06:00

The latest pics of Stirling, Stirling Castle, and some baby.

And here are the places we've been, including tomorrow's trip to Aberdeen.

2007-06-22T04:29:00.000-06:00

More pics
More pics part 2

Well, what did we do the last few days? Went to Lochend Farm again for some more yummy soup, and the sun actually came out a bit for some pictures. We went to the Kingdom of Fife for the afternoon to do some shopping and see the sea. Kirkcaldy for shopping, Anstruther for award-winning fish and chips..apparently Camilla was in town a few weeks ago and sent her aide in to get some for her. Not sure if she had fish or oats. I guess they left her tied up outside.

Afterwards, into St. Andrews to see the ruins and the golf course.

Yesterday, we went into Stirling again for a few hours, toured the Old Town Jail, saw Argyll's House and had lunch at the Portcullis, at the base of the castle, but lunch took so long thanks to the busload of rude American septagenarians that arrived before we did, that we had to put off the actual castle for next time.

Went to Fiona and Grant's (Allie's cousin and husband) for a bbq, which was lovely.

Today..who knows?

2007-06-20T03:10:00.000-06:00

New photos!

So, yeah, we had a great time at Ryvoan Lodge. So relaxing! Wish the weather had been nicer. When we arrived, we could see the Cairngorms, but by Saturday morning, they were gone, not to be seen again until Monday morning, when we were leaving. Managed to get some good pics, though, as the cloud lifted. The clouds are so low here!

The lodge was so cool! Out in the middle of nothing but farmland, it didn't look like much on the outside, but even peeking in the windows as we got the keys sorted out, it looked amazing. Such a modern interior, with wall-to-ceiling windows in the living room, in this plain looking lodge out in the middle of nowhere.

It was also great to spend the time with Anne and Les, and their boys Graham, Christopher and Steven and their respective ladies Emma, Nicola and Moira. They are a great bunch, and they were all so wonderful with Holly. We want them to all come live in Canada.

We had fun in Glasgow yesterday. It's not as historic a city as Edinburgh or Stirling, but still featured some interesting buildings, thus it was mostly a shopping/browsing trip for us. We did find the theatres and saw Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, as well.

It's raining again, and it will, off and on, it seems, until maybe Monday? We booked a train trip into Aberdeen for that day, where they have a Waterhouse gallery. We found out that if we had planned in advance, we could have taken the train into Alton Towers or elsewhere for cheap. But alas, with a week left in our trip, no deals to be had, nor do we really have the extra time now. Next trip...

Talk to y'all soon...

Update, we're going back to Lochend Farm for soup today! MMMMM!

2007-06-19T03:24:00.000-06:00

Hey y'all, we had a nice weekend at Ryvoan Lodge, about two hours north of where we are. Nearest major thing to there was the ski resort town of Aviemore. Pics and more descriptions to follow.

Now, on yet another rainey day, Allie and I are off to Glasgow (solo!) as Anne watches the wee one for us for a few hours. We're taking the bus or train, not sure. Should be an adventure.

More later..bye for now!

2007-06-14T07:11:00.003-06:00

Second bunch of photos.
We've been taking it slow these last few days. It has been cold and cloudy, but not much rain. So far this trip, on various day trips, we've been to Callendar, Striling (a few times) , Edinburgh, and Perth (to the Caithness Glass factory and showroom). This weekend is Ryvoan Lodge up north, next week should include some visits to castles, hopefully on sunnier days to get some good photos. We'll be going to Glasgow as well.

Alton Towers, as it turns out, is a lot farther away than I thought it was, so that part of the trip isn't going to happen. It's a long way to go just for me to go on rollercoasters, though Anne and Les were perfectly willing to take us there for that purpose. We'll be spending so much time in cars going to the other, local places, I can't justify strapping the kid into a car seat for 7 hours each way, plus dealing with Manchester traffic, which I had overlooked. We don't have the time to do it in 3 hour jaunts and stay overnight and sightsee at each stop. Maybe next time, when Holly is older and can have fun there as well.

2007-06-09T11:57:00.001-06:00

First batch of photos for the trip.