Ubalblog

[  Mood: Shocked ]
[  Currently: Eating Breakfast ]
So remember when I mentioned a record breaking snow fall?

Well it ain’t over yet. Environment Canada is tracking a system coming up from the Gulf of Mexico that will give us a minimum of 20 cm and upto 50 cm starting tonight.

For those of you that are counting, that’s about half a meter to a meter of snow in a week. For you Imperial users, that’s a foot and a half to half a yard. So far this winter we have had 357 cm – that’s about 12 feet of snow.

The largest snow fall in Ottawa history was in 1970-1971. I was actually gestating in my mommy’s tummy in Winnipeg that winter. Husband Unit was around, but he was very little and doesn’t really remember. We got 444.1 cm of snow that year. That my friends is over 14 and a half feet of snow. Take that Yao Ming!

That winter had people tossing their kids on the roofs and taking snapshots for posterity. They were also using their roofs as the beginning of a killer toboggan run.

This winter is not as bad cause we have had a couple of warm snaps to melt away some of the snow, but the banks outside my house are taller than Husband Unit who is 6’3".

And think of this man. I am pregnant. I can not shovel. So he has been doing this all alone. Wednesday saw him out there before dinner and after dinner, trying to get the way clear. Thursday he was out again at 7:30 am after the plow dumped a windrow at the end of the driveway. (A windrow is that mound of snow the plows leaves. We Canadians have a name for it.)

So this Saturday, as you sleep in, think of Husband unit, shoveling. He really is the best man ever.

(Tomorrow I will rant about my School Board’s inability to clear snow, thereby endangering the lives of students and teachers.)

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[  Currently: Eating Breakfast ]
So I was going to blog about the record snowfall yesterday, but this morning something way more interesting popped up on the morning news.

Specifically about the meeting Obama’s people allegedly had with Canadian officials about NAFTA.

Now this has been getting lots of news media attention on both sides of the border and apparently cost Obama Ohio. Clinton’s people have been spreading this far and wide.

Well, apparently Hilliary’s people also contacted the Canadian government to take her statements "with a grain of salt".

Yet Hilliary was so quick to attack Barak on this issue and use it as leverage to win Ohio.

Plus ca change.

My American friends – please feel free to pass that link on to your local media. And I wish I could vote, cause you guys have a way more interesting race going on right now than we have had in years.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Eating my 30 g of carb snack before bed ]
The third book of the Temeraire series finds our celestial dragon and his captain Laurence winging their way to Turkey to pick up some dragon eggs for the British government. On the way there , they encounter feral dragons. On the way home they get embroiled in the French/Prussian conflict. And there is a whole bunch more stuff that goes wrong.

Not as good as the first two, this book is still one of the most interesting dragon fantasies out there. Well written, meticulously researched, this ain’t your father’s alternate history.

Go get this.

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[  Currently: Eating Breakfast ]
So let me clarify my issues with this article cause clearly when I wrote the first entry, I was seething.

1. The methodology.
Nowhere in these stories does it state that the researchers factored in/out factors like drug/alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, witness to violence, etc. as other causes for the risky sexual behaviour, coercion or masochistic sex. So how do we know that the behaviours that are sited as a result of spanking don’t come from another source? Note: I am not advocating for spanking your children. I am annoyed with what may be bad science if those factors haven’t been accounted for.

2. The moral judgment the researchers applied to sexual practice.
Let’s be blunt. What happens between two consenting adults in their bedroom is no one’s business. It is clear from the comments made by the researchers that they feel that "spanking" during sex is deviant behaviour. Clearly they have applied their moral values to what is supposed to be an unbiased study. Is there a conservative agenda behind it, I wonder?

Think I am over reacting? Remember that homosexuality used to be considered "deviant" behaviour, was blamed on parents’ actions (or lack of actions) and was a psychiatric disorder. Remember that there were cases of white women being institutionalized by their families for marrying outside their race at late as the 1960s. Their behaviour was considered deviant by scientists who used science to justify their own racist attitudes. To me, this study shows more about the puritanical leanings of the researchers than it does about spanking.

3. The media not asking the hard questions.
Once again, the media has jumped on a story about sex and violence without asking any hard questions. Our modern media has turned into a joke. They simply print up press releases, rather than actually do some leg work, investigate and ask hard questions. My background is not in science, yet as you can see above, I asked some pretty tough questions. Why can’t the media do this? Two reasons: 1) Because sex sells and 2) Because this story fits their publishers’ political agenda/spin. It disgusts me.

[  Mood: Neutral ]
[  Currently: Watching Days of Our Lives ]
According to this article, because I was spanked as a child, I may be at a higher risk of being a sexual deviant.

Huh?

I have some problems with this article. I can guarantee I have never co-orced anyone into sex. In addition, some of the articles on this list spanking as masochistic sex.

Huh?

So a pat on the butt for old times sake makes someone a freak? Did this study account for other factors such as verbal and mental abuse? How about having parents who practiced co-oercive behaviours? Drug and alcohol abuse?

No indication that they did any more than just ask about spanking, and the media is jumping all over this. How about probing a little deeper? Oh wait, we are the media, we don’t do that.

A far more important part of the articles is that children who aren’t spanked are generally better behaved than those who do. That would be a reason not to spank.

Let’s be clear, I don’t plan to spank my child. I plan to discipline my child and be consistent. Husband Unit and I are actually looking forward to the teenager telling us they hate us cause I say no. Remember, I am the woman who assigned a kid to a week in the kindergarten room helping them get ready for the bus because he tied the shoelaces of two classmates together.

But I don’t think a swat on the bum condemns anyone to a life of pain and suffering. Cause let’s be honest, what happens in the bedroom between consenting adults is not deviancy. Labeling it that reveals far more about the researchers’ (and media’s) puritanical leanings than the effect spanking has on children. It also passes judgment on those who choose to be in loving relationships and engage in sexual practices that are not the traditional missionary position.

No, this study shows me that the North American media is still using sex to sell papers. So much so that they are willing to not ask the tough questions.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Watching The Daily Show ]
Well I have shown my letters to the school and I have 12 teaching days left until I leave.

To say I am excited would be an understatement.

Ya see my mat leave starts April 28th, but I can take upto 10 weeks of sick leave before the due date. My doctor wrote me the note yesterday to excuse me starting March 28th.

She also gave me "the head office is blind" letter that confirms that I am pregnant. Yup, that’s right, I have to send my employer a doctor’s letter saying I am pregnant. Cause I might be faking it.

The sad reality is that this rule exists because someone tried to pull a fast one and pretended to be pregnant to get some time off.

And by the way, we get a year off here in Canada for maternal/parental leave. Partial pay from the government insurance plan. So here comes my paid "vacation".

Twelve more days!

[  Mood: Amused ]
[  Currently: Eating My fabulous 1 serving of carbs breakfast ]
So ThinkGeek sent me a lovely newsletter outlining some of its new offerings. One of the things that caught my eye was this Heroes inspired t-shirt.

And my immediate reaction is "Cool! Whip out the credit card!’

But it only comes in black.

But that is the geek colour of choice, you tell me. Well first, the art teacher in me tells you that black is a shade, not a colour, but I digress. I am a natural blond. I am very pale naturally. Black washes me out. I like bright, happy colours. Would it kill geek merchants to offer a few reds, purples, and blues?

I had the same problem when the Husband Unit wanted to order me Geek Inside.

Again, it only comes in black. We contacted Think Geek and begged for pretty colours. They have yet to respond.

Come on people! Colours don’t hurt! Let’s embrace them!

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Watching Rick Mercer Report ]
l8r, g8r is the third and final book of what has come to be known as the "Internet Girls" series. What is unique about this series is that it is written as an instant messenger conversation between the three main characters. These books are hugely popular with the kids I teach.

This book finds the three protagonists, Maddie, Zoe and Angela are in their final year of high school. They are worrying about getting into college and boyfirends. They also still find themselves in an ongoing struggle with Jana.

The book moves at a good pace, but lacks the freshness of the first book. The situations are more adult, making it not appropriate for my classroom. I am glad that Lauren Michaels has decided this is the last book of the series, cause I don’t think it would last them at college.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Watching American Idol – Top 24 Women ]
So remember the Gestational Diabetes?

Well they put me on a special diet. I am down to 12 to 13 servings of carbohydrates a day. A serving equals 15 grams of carbs. This breaks down to two servings of dairy, four servings of fruit and nine servings of grains. I can eat a lot of lean meats and even more vegetables. Fats are also AOK!

So by the third day of this diet, I was alternating between hormonal crying and homicidal ranges. Seriously, I cried more in three days than I have my entire pregnancy. You can send your condolences to the Husband Unit.

I had gone out an bought three diabetic cookbooks, but since they are written for poeple eating three meals a day, not the six that I have been told to eat, they din’t help that much. It took me three hours to plan the week’s menu and coming up with a shopping list.

My blood sugars were also bizarre. There was at least one day that my blood sugar one hour after dinner was lower than my blood sugar after a night of sleep and fasting.

So I emailed the nutritionist suring one of my sobbing fits and she called me right away Monday. After several questions, she decided to adjust my meal plan. Now I can eat my grains mostly around the big meals. Fruits and dairy get eaten as my snacks. I also get more of them.

And surprise, surprise, I am fine now. I get to eat normal meals and have stopped packing heat. I’ve even been able to have a couple of pieces of chocolate. Carbs are my friend.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Listening to Kung Foo Fighting – I love YouTube ]
Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in a small town in Louisiana. She has a small problem. She is telepathic, so she hears exactly what patrons want to do in the back seat of their car with her.

Into this bar walks a man she can’t read. His name is Bill and he is a vampire. Yup, Bill the Vampire. He has just moved to town and Sookie is intrigued.

A small problem crops up. Women who have been to frequent Vampire bars looking for dates begin to turn up dead. And Bill is the prime suspect.

This murder mystery/supernatural romance was a good read. Charlaine Harris has created an interesting world that I plan to revist.