Noticed a couple of green ideas that are interesting.
The first is painting your roof white or at least making it as light a colour as possible. Simple, and supposedly if everyone did it, it would help counteract global warming. But that seems to be debatable and the likelihood of everyone doing it is pretty slim. Still, it makes a lot of sense that a white roof should reflect the UV and keep your house cooler.
http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/events/2008_conference/presentations/2008-09-09/Hashem_Akbari.pdf
The second idea has a clear benefit. There are a couple of companies in the US setting up residential solar power purchasing agreement. Basically you get solar panels on your roof for zero down. The power generated offsets up to 90% of your utility power. When you send watts into the grid you pay the company for that amount. This is how they make money on the deal, after 15-18 years you own the panels free and clear. Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything like this in Canada.
http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/003737.php
GDC
2009-05-28
2009-05-06
First US face transplant
Absolutely amazing!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8035316.stm
The before and after photos are absolutely incredible:
Yahoo News Photos
The fact she survived the gunshot is astounding.
GDC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8035316.stm
The before and after photos are absolutely incredible:
Yahoo News Photos
The fact she survived the gunshot is astounding.
GDC
2009-04-20
Feel like some Tetris?
Got some time to kill? This should take you awhile:
http://sovietrussia.org/f/src/tetoris.swf
Ha ha!
GDC
http://sovietrussia.org/f/src/tetoris.swf
Ha ha!
GDC
Oh, the good old days!!!
Dug out this gem over the weekend! The plan was for both of us to look like we were bored but I copped out while Kelly stuck to plan!!
This was taken at the PNE on the old wooden rollercoaster. Built in 1958 it reaches speeds of 45 mph. The cars are pulled to the highest point and then the rest of the ride is all gravity driven. The beauty of the coaster is the noise it makes plus the rough and unpredictable ride.
GDC
2009-04-09
2009-04-06
Funny picture in April Fool's Day Toronto metro newspaper
This cracked me up:
I don't know if metro intended it to be funny but what's with the guy sneaking into the isolation chamber??? The other two guys probably wouldn't be so jubilant if they knew they were going to be stuck with him for 105 days!!!
(sorry about the poor quality scan...)
GDC
I don't know if metro intended it to be funny but what's with the guy sneaking into the isolation chamber??? The other two guys probably wouldn't be so jubilant if they knew they were going to be stuck with him for 105 days!!!
(sorry about the poor quality scan...)
GDC
Lord Stanley's Cup!
While Rachael attended a yoga conference, Chloe and I played tourists in Toronto from Thursday to Sunday. We took in the AGO, the ROM, and the HHOF! Also, lots of swimming in the hotel pool. Chloe can now swim around in a life jacket without clinging to me!!
Here's a sweet photo of us with the Stanley Cup:
Chloe also loved taking shots at the digital goalie thing they have. You shoot five pucks at a screen showing a goalie and his net. It measures your average speed and accuracy. Most of Chloe's pucks reached the screen but didn't set any records ;-) I was impressed that she could connect with the puck!!! She'd really only held a hockey stick and handled a ball/puck once before this.
Oh, and she really enjoyed eating M&Ms in the little stands they have to watch all the other people trying out the hockey skills tests.
Seeing everything through 3 year old's eyes is very entertaining.
GDC
Here's a sweet photo of us with the Stanley Cup:
Chloe also loved taking shots at the digital goalie thing they have. You shoot five pucks at a screen showing a goalie and his net. It measures your average speed and accuracy. Most of Chloe's pucks reached the screen but didn't set any records ;-) I was impressed that she could connect with the puck!!! She'd really only held a hockey stick and handled a ball/puck once before this.
Oh, and she really enjoyed eating M&Ms in the little stands they have to watch all the other people trying out the hockey skills tests.
Seeing everything through 3 year old's eyes is very entertaining.
GDC
2009-03-30
Another poem that strikes a chord with me...
Meditation on Ruin
or the con game gone bad, or the beating
Taken in the alleyway. But the lost car keys,
The broken shoelace,
The overcharge at the gas pump
Which we broach without comment — these are the things that
eat away at life, these constant vibrations
In the web of the unremarkable.
The death of a father — the death of the mother —
The sudden loss shocks the living flesh alive! But the broken
pair of glasses,
The tear in the trousers,
These begin an ache behind the eyes.
And it's this ache to which we will ourselves
Oblivious. We are oblivious. Then, one morning—there's a
crack in the water glass —we wake to find ourselves undone.
From: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2009/03/27
GDC
2009-03-18
2009-03-11
Audrey...
So our cute little Westie/Bichon has left us. Well, actually, we decided it was time for her to move on.
When we got her about 4 years ago, she was a great little puppy. Tons of energy but could also be cuddly. Then we had Chloe and she got an attitude. Especially when it came to potty training!! Very annoying to say the least. Also, she didn't like Chloe around. She generally slept somewhere on our bed and when Chloe came in in the morning she would start to growl. We never got the feeling she would bite Chloe but she sure resented her being around.
Despite all that it's hard to see her go!!
She came from a breeder in Forest Grove, BC, near my hometown!!
(If you follow the link and search the page for "Audrey" you will see her picture.)
My favorite Audrey incident:
Rachael named her after Audrey Hepburn. Not long after we got her we went to a doggy weekend at the Westin in Whistler. I took her out for a bathroom walk and when I got on the elevator to go back up a middle aged couple got on too.
Them: "Oh, what a cute little dog! Is she a Westie?"
Me: "Yah, she's a Westie/Bichon cross actually."
Them: "What's her name?"
Me: "Audrey."
Her: "That's my name."
The remainder of the ride was spent in silence!!
Au revoir Audrey! They're not all bad memories ;-)
GDC
When we got her about 4 years ago, she was a great little puppy. Tons of energy but could also be cuddly. Then we had Chloe and she got an attitude. Especially when it came to potty training!! Very annoying to say the least. Also, she didn't like Chloe around. She generally slept somewhere on our bed and when Chloe came in in the morning she would start to growl. We never got the feeling she would bite Chloe but she sure resented her being around.
Despite all that it's hard to see her go!!
She came from a breeder in Forest Grove, BC, near my hometown!!
(If you follow the link and search the page for "Audrey" you will see her picture.)
My favorite Audrey incident:
Rachael named her after Audrey Hepburn. Not long after we got her we went to a doggy weekend at the Westin in Whistler. I took her out for a bathroom walk and when I got on the elevator to go back up a middle aged couple got on too.
Them: "Oh, what a cute little dog! Is she a Westie?"
Me: "Yah, she's a Westie/Bichon cross actually."
Them: "What's her name?"
Me: "Audrey."
Her: "That's my name."
The remainder of the ride was spent in silence!!
Au revoir Audrey! They're not all bad memories ;-)
GDC
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