Going to the Cottage, Suckaz!

As they sing in the song;

"No boats, no light no motorcars,
Not a single luxury.
Like Robinson Crusoe,
It's primitive as can be."

Except...it's a nice cottage on an island on Lake Nippising. Not, I repeat, NOT Gilligan's Island.

Be back Monday! Happy Dominion Day!!! Canada Day, you say? Newfangled legislation from '82 ain't gonna make me change my tune.

Little Declan. Ten Months Old.

I'm posting this late, since I'm just now getting little D to sleep. Declan is now ten months old. He's having a lot of trouble sleeping from teething, but during the day he's totally awesome.

We had a nice weekend at Libs' parents and they have a wicked hammock.


A second later, the little scamp tried to launch himself off the hammock.


Actually managed to get him with a closed mouth.


Doesn't this look like he's saying "Lionel, if I get out of this chair...Well, you remember Libya."?

Oh yeah, and I got my very first speeding ticket. The officer brought it down from 20 km's over (a $140 fine) to 10km's over (a $40 fine). I think that was thoughtful.

Best Idea. Ever.

Instead of spending money on a new BBQ, which I considered. Since there are so many nice, fancy, shiny BBQ's out there, why not? However, it makes it difficult to spend more than 200 bucks on a new Q when you have a little boy crawling around.

So I did the next best thing, I shopped from the manufacturer's of my current BBQ and bought new parts; top rack, main grill, vaporizer bar and burner assembly.

Voilà!



As good as new. And the lighter works again! Whee!

Father's Day

My first father's day. Most notable for the lack of Libs, who's in New York visiting her sister.

It's been a lot of fun so far. Libs' mother took me out for brunch as a father's day gift. The real gift, in my opinion, was her staying with Declan and I this weekend while Libs is away. I am positive taking care of him alone would have been exhausting.

Declan and I came back from the pool moments ago and he's just going down for a nap courtesy of Libs' mom. Good stuff, Josie!

I had my first week at Organic. I'm their new Manager, Integrated Media. A little trepidacious about it but it's a whole new experience and I'm more excited than nervous.

Oh Google Maps, I Love You.

Today my friend Alex sent me a ping via messenger with a crazy link to google maps. In it was a street image. I thought it was a joke. But no. Apparently, google now has street views in select cities.

For instance, the New Yorker at 8th and W 34th. That is so friggin cool.


A street view of The Embarcadero and Townsend St. in San Fran.

The Re-Inventors

This is one of the weirdest things I've experienced in a long time.

I was watching TV and saw a commercial for a show called The Re-inventors. One of the hosts looked really familiar. I said to Libs, "You know, that looks like a guy I went to college with."

And what do you know? It is. Jeremy MacPherson. Weird. Did a little google search on it and found the link above. Neat.

I hope I can reconnect with Jeremy. He was always a really funny guy. Good luck with your show, man!

Flashbelt 07

I had the good fortune to meet Dave Schroeder of Pilotvibe fame at this spring's FiTC.

In a week's time, he is putting on Flashbelt 07 in Minneapolis. There's a tremendous lineup and I hope it's a great success. I only wish I could be there.

Good luck, Dave!

Week Off, Day Four

Yesterday was uneventful but still good. Libs went for a tattoo session and I played with Declan after I fed him lunch. When he got to be a little much, I plunked him in his exersaucer and put on Baby Einstein's Discovering Water. Then I split screened the tv and played a little Fable Lost Chapters. We had a good little afternoon.

I also got the opportunity yesterday to watch two movies; Apocalypto and Pan's Labrynth.

Mel Gibson made a pretty good flick there. Shame he made those drunken comments to those cops. When I get to see a hunter make a blow gun with big thorns rubbed on some crazy poisonous toad's back and a rolled up leaf so he can take some suckah down, I know I've watched a good movie. Oh, and decapitations are always a blast.

As for Guillermo Del Toro. I honestly thought "El Laberinto del Fauna" was a kid's movie. Boy howdy, was I mistaken. You've got civil war in Spain, rebels, shooting, torture. Throw a good solid face-crushing with a bottle and some child abuse and you've got Pan's Labrynth. That being said, it was a fantastic movie. I really got taken away and enjoyed every minute. It was never too slow, never too fast. And that main theme? Haunting, repetitive and stuck in my head. I'll be humming that to Declan in place of "A Very Good Year" by Frankie.

Week Off, Day Three

Yesterday I guess I didn't take the opportunity to post, but it was still a good day. I tore down an offensive tin shed that was in our driveway and made it impossible to open both gates. We went back to Birchmount Pool for a swim. There was a track meet going on at the neighbouring track so there was also an ice cream truck. Libs got some soft-serve and I got a Slushie. Blueberry. Hoobaby.

For the Senators, I am sorry you lost. To Anaheim, congratulations. At least we can all take comfort in the fact that Anaheim has a huge number of Canadian players (with 22). More than the Senators (with 14). So if we were hoping for Canada's team to win, those of us with a silver-lining perspective will say they did.

Week Off, Day Two

Today wasn't quite as eventful as yesterday, but still a lot of fun.

I made my very first BBQ sauce from scratch. Super tasty. However, I added my own little kick of two tablespoons of Tabasco and a tablespoon of Cajun chicken seasoning. I can't help myself. To be honest, if I hadn't, the sauce would have been too sweet.

The ribs were excellent. I think Libs was suitably impressed. Once again, I helped get Declan down for his naps and just helped him get back to sleep a few minutes ago.

On the Camgasm front, I found a cool TransformManager class from Jack Doyle at Greensock.com. Very nice.

Week Off, Day One

My week off has begun in a really great way. I was the one to put Declan down for his naps. BOTH morning and afternoon naps! Way to go, me!

We went swimming at Birchmount Pool. Really nice, and we had the pool to ourselves. Afterwards, we went to Sneaky Dee's for nachos and wings for lunch. Libs, Declan, Dude and I all went to the park for a little evening walk.

Now Libs is feeding Declan and I am eagerly waiting for Game 4 of the Sens vs. Ducks. Pronger's out on a suspension and McCamond's out because of Pronger.

If the Sens win, it's been the perfect day, if not, near perfect.

I know I'm a bandwagon-er with the Senators, but they're a Canadian team playing in the finals where there hasn't been a Canadian team in 13 years. So, go Sens go!