O-Zone

The Great Debate

2009-11-15T08:07:00.003-08:00

I'm a geek. I won't go so far as to say I'm a nerd because I don't know enough about nerdy things to be a nerd but I like nerdy things so I'm a geek. Anyway, one of the things I love is my computer. I really love my iMac but I've used Windows for years. The nice thing about Windows is that you can use just about any kind of hardware and there are millions of different little apps you can download over the net (some are bad so don't think it's a good idea to install every pop-up). It's pretty customizable and let's you have quite a bit of control over your computer. The bad thing about Windows is that it tries to support all kinds of hardware and there are millions of different little apps that you can download over the net. This increases the potential for problems and instability and bugginess. Since Windows is great for gaming and a Windows PC is pretty cheap, despite it's downfalls, it's still a good option.

The funny thing about Apple is that all the things we like about Windows PCs aren't there in a Mac. You're stuck with the hardware they give you, not a lot of software (especially games), and it's expensive. However, all these restrictions make for a very stable computer that works like a dream. I like their designs as well. It may not be for everyone, but I like the look of their stuff. What's it worth to you to have a sweet-looking computer that has very few problems?

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T09:35:00.002-08:00

Last night was a perfect night for Halloween. Clear skies, warm weather, scary H1N1 atmosphere... what more could you ask for? Anyway, we didn't end up taking the kids door-to-door because they still don't get it. That's fine with me, I'm a pretty lazy person anyway. The twins were pretty damn cute in their recycled Star Wars costumes. Last night was the very first time ever that I've worn face paint/makeup for halloween. I usually hate having stuff on my face like that.

There Are No Ads

2009-10-28T00:57:00.004-07:00

You know what I just found out? I can make money off this blog. Not really off the content of the blog, but basically I can have ads added to my page and when you click on it, I get paid. There's more to it than that but that's kinda what it's about. Sounds great. Sign me up. Click on the ads.

I'm not going to sign up for this. Don't look for ads. I'm not getting paid. I'm just here for my fans.

Probably. Most Likely. For Sure.

2009-10-28T00:43:00.003-07:00

A friend of mine told me about this research that showed white people are more reluctant to talk about the differences in people's cultural norms for fear that they may be labelled as racist. People of a visible minority, however, were far more likely to talk about it without that fear. I wouldn't be surprised if this also applied to other forms of prejudism and discrimination. Just saying...

Can't Sleep

2009-10-28T00:33:00.002-07:00

There are very few nights when I lay in bed with my eyes wide open. Usually, by the time my head hits the pillow, I'm out for the night within 10 minutes. Tonight, I was laying in bed for over an hour and not once did I even feel the slightest hint of sleep. So I got up and here I am, writing about how I can't sleep. The funny part is that you're reading it.

Sick

2009-10-27T12:16:00.003-07:00

Over the weekend I was sick again. At least this time I could eat drink normally without worrying about it being violently expelled from my body. Too much information? Tough. Anyway, on Saturday I had a bit of a cough. I went out to the pub that night anyway because, well, I needed to get out of the house. I think the people I went with are all going to get sick but then again, what do you expect when you go drinking with a guy that's coughing all over the place? Anyway, I went home feeling totally sober (seriously, I was) but when I woke up in the morning I felt like I was hungover like a David Hasselhoff at church. It couldn't have been the drinks, could it? Then I put my hand on my forehead and realized why I was sweating like crazy through the night: I had a fever. I guess that would also explain why I felt so crappy. Anyway, it kinda got worse throughout the day. I didn't go to work yesterday, I didn't go to work today and I kinda don't expect to go to work tomorrow. I still have my cough and I'm all congested. I don't think spreading this around the office would be appreciated. Oh, and yesterday the daycare called and asked me to pick up Lucas because he was running a fever too. This morning he was sweating so much his pillow was soaked. I took him to the doctor but of course by the time we got in to see her, he was feeling and looking much better. Right now he's playing with his brand new Hot Wheels car and he doesn't even look sick. I think he's going to daycare tomorrow if he keeps this up.

Insight

2009-10-25T21:22:00.002-07:00

I often wonder what kind of advice I will give my children as they grow up. Will I be a wise father with a lot of insight or will I be the clueless dad with the stupid jokes? At the moment, I can only think of a few things to pass onto my children. You decide what kind of parent I am.

To Lucas:
Learn to dance, chicks will really dig that.
Be polite, no one likes a prick.
All your girlfriends must be approved by your sister. No hos and no biatches.
Have confidence in yourself and others will have confidence in you (just don't be a conceited a-hole).

To Amelia:
You're not going out in that skimpy dress.
All your boyfriends must be cleared by your brother.
Whatever you do in life, be honest with others and to yourself.
Do not throw caution to the wind. I realize it sounds romantic but it only works out in movies.

I have to admit, a few of these I've learned the hard way (not the skimpy dress one though). All of them, however, will help you have peace in your life.

Thanks

2009-10-10T10:56:00.005-07:00

As it is the weekend to give Thanks, I have to look at my life carefully and consider what it is that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for my children, for sure. They bring a great amount of joy to my life and I can't imagine my life without them (actually I can and involves a lot of irresponsible activities).

I am thankful that I have a home. It isn't much and it still needs a lot of work, but it's a home and it's more than many others have.

I am thankful for my job and that these tough economic times haven't affected it yet.

And finally, I am thankful for my beautiful wife.

A Word Not From Our Sponsors

2009-10-05T20:34:00.002-07:00

I have no ties to any advertisers or companies wishing to advertise through me on my blog. Probably because they would have to pay me a whole lot of money for, like, 7 people to see their ads. Anyway, the reason I tell you this because I just read something about how people have to disclose any information about sponsorship. I don't know exactly what the article said but it was something like that. Just to make it clear: No one is paying me to write this crap. With that being said, let me tell you that I love Coca-Cola, Beard Papas, and A&W Teen Burgers. Those guys are just wishing they were paying me now.

Flock That

2009-09-21T20:10:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of web browsers out there. From what I've read, Chrome is the speed king but is a little light on features. Safari is pretty fast now too, but only on a mac. Firefox, the fan favourite, is customizable like a mofo. Internet Explorer is still the most used but that's because a lot of big enterprises don't let their users install anything else. Anyway, a new-ish one that not a lot of people have heard of is Flock. This one is geared towards the Web 2.0 users that are big on social networks and such. I've been playing with it but because I'm mostly just a casual surfer, I don't really take advantage of all it's features. It has some neat things but I'll let you find them out yourself. I'm not reviewing or anything. Flock may not be the fastest browser but its kinda fun to use.

Now What??

2009-09-21T20:06:00.001-07:00

We tried cutting Lucas' hair again. We didn't want to shave it all over, just the sides and a little longer on top. Well we started and it wasn't so bad but then he started to freak out from the shaver and wouldn't let us finish. We got most of done but it looks really bad and uneven. He won't let us get close to him anymore with the shaver. I guess we let it grow out a bit and take him for a real haircut somewhere.

Review

2009-09-19T08:39:00.002-07:00

So on our last day in Edmonton, we made a quick stop on our way to the airport. We stopped off and picked up a netbook at Futureshop. As an aside, that was the worst FS I've ever been to. It was like it was every staff member's first day on the job. No one knew anything about the products or services and it took us almost an hour just to buy a netbook. Stupid. Anyway, now that I have it and have used it for a couple of weeks, here's what I think of it: it does exactly what I need it to do. I don't need it to encode video or do any 3D rendering, I don't need it for photo editing and I don't need it to help make me super-productive. I just need it to surf the internet and be as portable as possibl and it does that just fine. What I would like it to do is have a bigger screen and a bigger touchpad and have more memory and a better processor and gpu and run Snow Leopard but that's what we call a Macbook Pro.

Speaking of Snow Leopard (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you're missing out), I recently upgraded to it and it's grrrreat!! Come cool new minor features and I think I can actually see that it's faster. Good shit man, good shit

11 Days Later

2009-09-16T16:25:00.002-07:00

It was 11 days ago that we were in Edmonton standing at Cathy and Dan's wedding. The twins, in their unbeatable cuteness, walked down the aisle and for 15 seconds stole the show. We were a little worried that they wouldn't walk but they did it and they were pretty damn good too. The rest of the wedding was a resounding success, even Celia's role as MC for the reception. I have to be honest here, I was a little worried for her. Anyway, I hear the reception after dinner was a lot of fun, but I wouldn't know because I was watching the kids for most of it in a little room. Bitter? Not at all. I'm pretty used to it now and I don't expect anything else anymore.

Hurry Up and Decide!

2009-09-04T01:13:00.003-07:00

So I've pretty much accepted the fact that I won't be able to afford my macbook pro anytime soon so I've been playing with the idea of buying a netbook. Nothing superfancy, just something around the $300 range. All Celia wants it for is to surf the web, read/write email, and maybe store pictures on from school/work. A 10" screen sure beats a little 3" screen. Now that we're in Alberta, we figure it would be a perfect time to buy because we would save on PST, right? Right. So we decided that we would just go for it and get one. Until I started talking to my brother-in-law and realized that Windows 7 is being released next month and new netbooks will probably come with that installed instead of XP. So now, do we wait and buy it here and save 7% or do we wait and buy it with W7? Tomorrow is pretty much our last chance to get it so I have to decide pretty damn quick. Also, I'm writing this on a netbook so I can say with more confidence that it would meet my needs for now.

Day 1

2009-09-03T08:57:00.003-07:00

Holy crap, it's hot in Edmonton. We arrived yesterday afternoon and it was already 30 celsius. I didn't really pack for this kind of weather because the forecast was for slightly cooler weather, like 23-24. Oh well, we'll survive. Anyway, all the relatives are starting to trickle in so it's been fun and will only get better. The kids have have been pretty good. So far, they've only broken one vase, spilled a couple of drinks, and they weren't too loud at 6am.

Day Off

2009-08-31T15:17:00.002-07:00

I love having weekdays off. I mean I'd be willing to give up my weekends just to take a couple of days off mid-week. Why? I'm home alone. It's like when I first moved out and I had the entire place to myself to do whatever the hell I felt like doing. Kids are in daycare, wife's at school, I'm sitting here in my underwear surfing the web. Hey, if you didn't want too much information about me, you probably shouldn't be reading this. Anyway, as I'm sitting here doing nothing productive, I was reading some of my old posts from 2004. My first thought was, "holy crap that was 5 years ago." and my second thought was, "I'm a boring guy." Anyway, the real reason I mention the old posts is because I read some of my old hospital stories. Ever since I took this desk job and stopped working at the hospital, I don't have any really good stories anymore. No more messy, bloody stuff, no dead or dying people, no sad tearjerkers, and no exciting codes. Oh well, the only ones that really suffer from this are you, the readers. I just know I don't come home smelling like shit anymore.

Funny Shit I Got in My Email

2009-08-27T09:43:00.004-07:00

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction fromwhich you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.
Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or faq's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighbourhood.
Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
Bad decisions make good stories.
Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
The best thing about sex is that part where I have it.
I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.
Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

Big Brother

2009-08-14T20:37:00.002-07:00

Today I was picking up my kids at the daycare and while I was there, one of the other little boys was playing with the hood on Amelia's jacket while she was wearing it. She was not happy about this so she was kinda getting mad. Lucas, suddenly walks up and yells, "Stop!" It was awesome. He was protecting his sister! Then, as the other little boy stood around, Lucas gave him the eye and wouldn't let him out of his sight until the boy walked away. I was the happiest dad in the world.

Don't Quit on Me

2009-08-09T22:33:00.002-07:00

In my browser, I keep all my bookmarks pretty organized. Everything is categorized and placed in the proper folder. I have a folder with all the blogs I read too. It used to be pretty big but that was when everyone jumped on the blog bandwagon, wrote in it for a few months and then quit. Quitters! For a while, I was reading close to 20 blogs but now I only read a handful and two of them are by people I haven't seen in a while (20+ years now). Anyway, after writing in my blog for 6 and a half years, I only have one thing to say to all you people that started and then quit: you suck. There, I said it. You all suck. How the hell am I supposed to kill time when there's nothing to read? Facebook only takes up a few minutes of reading one-liners and Twitter is lame.

Who Said That? Level 9

2009-08-09T09:38:00.002-07:00

This one is easy and hard at the same time. As a tribute to the Great John Hughes, I'll tell you right now that this is from a John Hughes movie (easy part). You just have to tell me who said each line (hard part).

I'll do anything sexual. I don't need a million dollars to do it either.
You're lying.
I already have. I've done just about everything there is except a few things that are illegal. I'm a nymphomaniac.
Lie.
Are your parents aware of this?
The only person I told was my shrink.
And what did he do when you told him?
He nailed me.
Very nice.
I don't think that from a legal standpoint what he did can be construed as rape, since I paid him.
He's an adult.
Yeah, he's married too.
Do you have any idea how completely gross that is?
Well, the first few times...
The first few times? You mean you did it more than once?
Sure.
Are you crazy?
Obviously she's crazy if she's screwing a shrink.
Have you ever done it?
I don't even have a psychiatrist.
Have you ever done it with a normal person?
Didn't we already cover this?
You never answered the question.
Look, I'm not going to discuss my private life with total strangers.
It's kind of a double edged sword isn't it?
A what?
Well, if you say you haven't, you're a prude. If you say you have you're a slut. It's a trap. You want to but you can't, and when you do you wish you didn't, right?
Wrong.
Or are you a tease?
She's a tease.
I'm sure. Why don't you just forget it.
Oh, you're a tease and you know it. All girls are teases.
She's only a tease if what she does gets you hot.
I don't do anything.
That's why you're a tease.
OK, let me ask you a few questions.
I already told you everything.
No. Doesn't it bother you to sleep around without being in love. I mean, don't you want any respect?
I don't screw to get respect. That's the difference between you and me.
It's not the only difference I hope.
Face it, you're a tease.
I'm NOT a tease.
Sure you are. Sex is your weapon. You said it yourself. You use it to get respect.
No, I never said that she twisted my words around.
What do you use it for then?
I don't use it period.
Oh, are you medically frigid or is it psychological?
I didn't mean it that way. You guys are putting words into my mouth.
Well, if you'd just answer the question.
Why don't you just answer the question?
Be honest.
No big deal.
Yeah answer it.
Answer the question, Claire.
Talk to us. Every one: C'mon, answer the question. Come on. Answer it.
C'mon, it's easy. It's only one question.
NO I NEVER DID IT.
I never did it either. I'm not a nymphomaniac. I'm a compulsive liar.

I'm a Little Cold

2009-08-08T21:06:00.002-07:00

Last week we had a bit of a heat wave. Temperatures all week were up in the 30's during the day and then at night it would only go down to about 21. It was actually a really great week cuz it was always sunny and beautiful outside. It was a bit warm for my taste but I can't really complain because it only gets like this for about 1 or 2 weeks out of the year. We had our A/C going full-time during the heat wave so I'm a little worried about our hydro bill but whatever. If I'm going to go down, I'm going down in comfort. The past couple of days have been warm (early/mid 20's) and just right for wearing anything you want and going out and doing stuff. Very comfortable. Tonight, I'm not sure why, but I'm feeling a little cold. Maybe this beer sitting beside me will warm me up a bit. Or maybe the one after it will. Nothing wrong with having a beer at home after a tiring day with the kids. They're asleep already so I'm just saying that I think I deserve a little treat. It's nice to just kick back and have a beer in peace. I'm just saying...

Make Them Feel Special

2009-08-07T22:11:00.002-07:00

I find it funny when you look at the responses on evites or facebook events and people say, "I've got another party to go to that day." Really? Really? Do you really have to say that? Can't you just say that you've got some other appointment instead of saying that there's another party you'd rather go to? I mean, if you said, "I have another party that I can't get out of." Well, that's okay. Or even, "I've already accepted an invitation to another party and it's too late to cancel." That's okay too. I just think that if you're invited to a party and you just have to say that you're going to another party instead, at least make the host feel like you would rather go to his/her party instead. I'm just saying...

Dreams

2009-08-01T23:27:00.003-07:00

Look at me, three posts in one night. Don't get used to this, I doubt that it will happen very often. Tonight is special though. I put the kids to sleep, Celia's out, I have a brand new bottle of my favourite cheap wine, and a full pack of smokes (I had one earlier, but I doubt I'll be having another one until Monday - yes I still smoke once in a while, so what? Eat me.). I kinda miss having time to myself to blab about nothing and sit at home and do nothing. What I really dream of is having a whole weekend with no kids so I can go do whatever the fuck I please for 48 hours starting on Friday evening until Sunday evening. Right now, THAT would be a better vacation than going to Vegas.

Double the Fun

2009-08-01T23:22:00.002-07:00

As I was putting my kids to sleep tonight, it hit me again, as it does once in a while: holy shit, I have twins! The other day, Linda came by the office with her son and I made joke about how some parents are just lazy cuz they only have kids one at a time. It was kinda funny at the time but just now I realized that to me, I wasn't really kidding. I'm sure Lisa and Steve will agree that after having twins, just one kid is a fricken vacation.

Life Sucks

2009-08-01T18:42:00.004-07:00

Being a single parent is tough. Not that I ever thought it was easy, I just thought that maybe I wouldn't have to be one. I just need a chance to whine about it. Shit just happens that gets in my way of fun, no not fun, but just life in general. Yeah, shit happens that get in the way of my life. Nothing that is anyone's fault, mind you, just shit happening. Someone has to be the responsible one in life, I suppose. Someone has to make the sacrifices and someone needs to just suck it up. That doesn't mean I don't get to complain about it once in a while because it really really really really sucks. I was thinking about looking for a new job just for something different and maybe more money but then I thought, "who the hell is going to pay me for doing what I do at work?" If you know what I do then you'll understand that lately I don't really feel like I've been doing much. Plus, I don't think a new job would be so flexible with my hours or give me more time off. I can't start earlier than 8am because I have to take the kids to daycare and I have to be off by 4:30 so I can pick them up before 5 (that would also mean working in the same city). So basically, I'm stuck in my job. Overtime would help with the bills but I don't have time to pick any up. Someone has to be home. Geez, it sucks to be me.