[  Mood: Amused ]
[  Currently: Watching My son play ]
Well the bus strike and the deep freeze drag on here in Ottawa. Next plan of city council? A consultant’s report. And that is going to cost us how much? By the time they settle this, the city will have spent all the money they hoped to have saved several times over. (P.S. Geeklet’s new favourite toy – an old pot. Just so you know.)

Photos of Hudson River Plan Crash and Rescue
You may have heard this on the news Thursday. These are still photos of from someone’s window. The most inspiring part is the ferries that pull up to rescue the trapped passengers. Humanity at its best.

Military uses Barack Obama stand-in at the dress rehearsal for presidential inauguration
Kind of cool to see the rehersal for the inaguration.

Handmade Toy Alliance
A side affect of the lead paint/tainted toys scandal. In the US, little handmade toys like the truck we bought Geeklet for Christmas could be a thing of the past.

Teen Graduates Early, With a Double Major
Feel inadequate yet?

Ultra-Minimalism: 19 Cool Products That Are Almost Impossible to Use
Like something out of a sci-fi movie.

If You Can Read This, You’re In Range!
I believe I have lived this on a Rememberance Day while in the SJA mobile when our driver decided it would be a smart idea to pull into the convoy of really big trucks returning the artillery guns to base.

10 Worst Hotel Reviews of All Time
Here’s a tip. Do not stay in any of these places.

Last Supper Together
Touching and heartbreaking.

[  Mood: Cool ]
[ Currently: Guess ]
I have been pretty vocal in my criticism of businesses that provide crappy customer service. Now I have a chance to talk about some good stuff.

Long story made short. Husband Unit and I have been having some problems with our grocery store. The service from certain cashiers has been, at best, surly. The photolab keeps messing up our orders. Attempts to bring this to the attention of management both in person and via web forums hit dead ends.

Then yesterday I got to speak to the store manager about my concerns. And wow, talk about service.

First, she appologized. Second, she asked for more details of what happend. Third, she outlined what they had already done to rectify the situation. Fourth, she asked what else she could do to keep my business. She pretty much had to force a $50 reimbursement on me for some calendars that had been misprinted. Sixth, she agreed with me that the website had not been helpful in their response and pointed out how they could have done their job better. Finally, she stated that her store needed this feedback because this is how they grow to serve the public better.

Believe me, I will continue to shop at Loblaws Vanier Market because of this woman. The company should give her a raise, because she kept my business.

[  Mood: Silly ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
So it is time for Ottawa’s annual coldsnap. And that means it is time for me to bring that news to you.

In the next three days it is going to be cold. Very cold. It is currently -26 C. For my fareinheit friends this is -15 F. And then we add the windchill, which makes it feel like -39 C or -38 F. Exposed flesh freezes in about five minutes at that temperature.

And it is only going to get colder as the week goes on.

At my school, I can guarentee that the kids will be kept inside during all recesses. Oh boy! Some of my favourite days! Too bad I am on mat leave.

Did I mention that we are in the 36th day of a transit strike in Ottawa? With no imminent end in sight. Cause our mayor is an idiot who thinks negotiating through the media is a good strategy. And is going to court for election fraud in April.

Hey, I didn’t vote for him.

And at this temperature, it is too cold for salt to work melting ice on the roads. So they are slippery. And given the strike, there are lots of extra cars on the road. And given the temperature, there will be more as the people who are walking take their cars today.

Downtown parking has been a premium during the strike. Apparently all the spots are pretty much gone by 7:30 am. Now let’s add more cars because of the temperature.

These next three days could be the most chaotic days of the year.

Needless to say, the boy and I are staying home.

[  Mood: Distorted ]
[ Currently: Guess ]

Starclimber is the third installment of Kenneth Oppel’s steampunk saga that began with Airborne. This volume sees Matt and Kate heading to the stars. The Canadian Space Agency wants to be the first in space. (That’s right – the Canadians!) Their plan is a ship that rolls up a counterweighted cable to the stars. (The French are building a tower. That’s right – the French!) But can they go higher than anyone else has ever gone and comeback safely? What about the Bablelites who don’t think humans should be in the relm of God and are sabotaging all of the various efforts?

This book is an an exciting read, full of action, romance and imaginative world building. (For example, the people who will be pilotting the spaceship are called astralnaughts. Oh, so clever.) Oppel has again proven that he is a master of young adult fiction and the science fiction genre. And while this wraps up the story of Matt and Kate quite nicely, I can’t help but wish for another installment, but I don’t see an obvious way to contniue without weakening the overall series.

This was an amazing, engrossing read. EVERYONE should read this series, regardless of their age. This is so going into the next After Harry.

[  Mood: Cool ]
[ Currently: Breastfeeding My Son ]

This the third installment of the Anne of Green Gables Saga. In this one, Anne is finally off to university. And as anothedr reviewer has noted, it is hard to see Anne grow up. Simply she is not getting into scrapes the way she used to, which robs the book of some of its charm. Montgomery tries to mediate this with the character of Davy, but it is not the same.

Still it is a lovely book. First off you get the resolution of the Anne/Gilbert love story. Secondly, you get to see the wonderful Phil, who is flighty and just fun, and really closer to what Anne should be like as she ages. Thirdly, you get a wonderful treates on cats in the characters of Rusty and Sarah-cat. Finally, Anne grows up through the romance with Royal where she realizes what real love is.

A fun read.

Well, we here in Ottawa have all survived another week of work, no buses and winter’s wrath. I think you deserve some light reading. I give you this week’s FS&O.

Lake Superior State University 2009 List of Banished Words
These are the words that are overused in the English language. Stop using them now.

The new £4.7m school that won’t call itself a ‘school’… because it has ‘negative connotations’
Don’t get me started.

World Juniors – Big Flag
It’s really too bad this is so short cause it was a cool phenomenon that happened at the World Juniors.

What Cats Do While You Sleep
A revealing video.

American Freedom
Ironic.

When Traffic Signs Tell a Story
Funny.

A New Cigarette Hazard: ‘Third-Hand Smoke’
Interesting reading.

Organisation is the secret to a long life
No one point fingers at me.

Dark Sky Over Death Valley
Beautiful!

Cool Cloud Pictures
More beautiful.

Bad Gods
Lore Sjöberg is a very funny man. These are a mix of animations and cartoons on a fantasy/sci-fi theme. Some are NSFW.

10 Lies Told By Graduate Students
Funny cause I was a graduate student.

Gordon Ramsay would not want me to call him a celebrety chef. Yet that is what he is, a chef who is a celebrety. He has three tv shows in production, Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen and The F Word. He has restaurants all over the world. He has cookware.

Fast Food is part of his campaign to get more women to go back to the kitchen. His company did a survey and found out that the majority of British women don’t cook. He wants to make cooking easy and fun.

Unfortunately, while there are some lovely recipes in this cookbook, I found that Ramsey has left some crucial details out. For example, he will tell you to heat some oil on the stove, but not at what temperature to do so. He also assumes that the home chef has better knife skills than they do. Both of these leadi to some burnt food. For someone who purports to be trying to "get women back in the kitchen" these vague directions could lead to a non-cook getting discouraged and giving up.

So if you do use this book, be sure to chop things up first and keep things at a lower temperature

[  Mood: Amused ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]

Turbo Man is an action figure, who with his faithful sidekick, Scrubbing Brush, have many adventures while playing with the boy. That is, until the day Scrubbing Brush gets too dirty and is thrown away by the boy’s father.

Turbo Dog, who bears more than a passing resemblance to K-9 of Doctor Who fame, is introduced to replace Scrubbing Brush. This new, electronic dog proves to not be up to Turbo Man’s adventures, and the action figure tries to figure out a way to rescue his friend.

This is picture book is not an easy, stand alone read. The text is fairly complexly organized, not always following a linear plan. The drawings are whimsical and reminiscent of 1960s picture books and comics. This is a wonderful story that subtly rails against commercialism while extolling the value of imaginative play. Author Mini Grey has created a wonderful book for all ages.

[  Mood: Amused ]
[  Currently: Watching My son go after anything out of his reach ]
Happy New Year!!!

Well since the last installment of wacky links, my Geeklet has had his first tooth errupt. It is
still a little tiny bud on the gums, but trust me and my nipples, it is there. To celebrate let`s look at the listé

Obama Nativity
If only I made this up.

Far Side Reenactments
Got some spare time? How about recreating them. live action style?

Magic Hockey Helment
In case you haven’t seen this. This was originally a speech the boy made at school, which his parents taped to send to relatives. The kid manages to hit the nail on the head when it comes to bad hockey parents.

Chilling game of hide and seek with a hungry polar bear
Oh my goodness.

Be a Bond Baddie
This is cool. Have fun!

Jewelry for Geeks
I admit, I might wear the <head></head> earrings.

The Geekiest Toilet Ever : Souped Up John
Add a fridge and I would never leave the bathroom.

Idea: A building shaped like Godzilla
Imagine how cool this woould be. And then you could have the Mothra Outlet Mall. Oh goody!

Geek Desks
Pretend you are in Star Trek!

Drunken Trooper Pulling People Over in the Drivethrough
I do not make these up people.

Hello 911? I’m driving drunk’
Guilty conscience got the better of her.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Watching From the Ground Up ]
Gregory Maguire is a current literary celebrity, with one of his novels being turned into a hit Broadway musical. An expert in children’s literature, Maguire takes classic children’s tales and fables and reqorks them.

A Lion Among Men is the third volume of Maguire’s reimaining of the Wizard of Oz. This installment focuses on the Cowardly Lion, Brr who has been sent by the authorities to interview Yackle. Those in power want to find out what has happened to the Wicked Witch Elphaba’s book of spells, the Grimoire.

In order to get the information he requires, Brr is forced to barter stories from his past. Through this we find out how a lion can become a coward. We also find out more about second characters from Elphaba’s story. We also see how intertwined Brr is with Elphaba’s story.

As with all of Maguire’s writing, it is a wonderful. immersive read. He has also left the way open for another installment.