Web Fun

Had a little fun on the web. It seemed like every search brought up something cool. Here are a few of the fun places I visited today:

Crash Testing MINI Cooper Vs Ford 150 This was cool. Freaky. But cool. Look at the legs of the crash test dummy. Yikes!

Nissan Versa The latest in small cars from Japan. I used to drive their Micra, which is the former version of this car. (Sort of.) I plan to enter their contest to win one, but you never heard about winning one, okay? You see, I never win anything and this is a pretty big item, that I would really like and could really use. Therefore, don’t enter so I have a better chance of winning. Thanks. I appreciate it.

Along that note, the car is still in the shop as the mechanic is still sick. So eventually, they will find out what is wrong with the wobbly exfoliating car and let me know. Until then, it is bicycles for me.

Urban Dictionary This was pretty cool too. All sorts of strange expressions and slang. I signed up for their daily word/expression definition. Example: Clicking Teeth. Definition: An awkward make out session, in which the two participants both are bad kissers and have there mouths open so wide that their teeth hit each other, thus clicking. (Man, Kyle and Nikki were totally clicking teeth last night at the movies, I hope neither of them chipped a tooth.)

It’s like that book of strange mad up definitions by Douglas Adams ‘The Meaning of Liff’ that came out ages ago. Only this one is interactive and can email you a new word or phrase each day. Lovely. I hope I don’t have a ‘Facebook Surprise’ in the morning. (Damn, Facebook IS everywhere!)

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation I now have no excuse. Oh yes, unless laziness is an excuse. I am trying, I really am. Maybe they could email me a rule everyday. It’s like painless learning–almost.

Anyway, those are some of the fun places I hung out today. I hope you enjoy them too.

Life: The Mundane

I’m tired today. I hate cleaning the house. I really do. It took me all day. Well, procrastinating and then doing it, took all day. And you know what? It’s just going to look all crappy again in a few days. Grrr.

I’m also waiting around to do a favour for a friend. Sometimes I wonder about my sanity. Why do I agree to things where I never have all the details and then I worry about them? You know, it seems like people are asking a lot of favours lately. Hmm. Interesting.

And I’m hungry. I feel like I could sit in front of the couch and eat junk food all night. I think I’m hungry because it is getting colder out and my body wants to put on a layer of insulation. Or something.

You know what? I haven’t heard about my car…I’d better call. Oh god, do I really want to know what they found when they took a look at it today? Eeeekk…

Called about my car. Evidently the mechanic was not in today. So, thanks a lot there people. They did try rebalancing the tires. I know it is something like a joint or something in the front end. Something that is going to cost money. So whatever. They will look at it on Monday. And hopefully they will actually find something and fix it and cheap.

G Words: Google Earth, Geocaching and Globalization

I must say, Google Earth is definitely one of the coolest toys. (Even though Google is starting to scare me it is so into our lives.) I particularly like using Google Earth with the geocaching option. I have been going out caching lately, and have been having a fair amount of luck finding the caches–which always makes me want to find more, more, more! Today between a dance class and doctor’s appointment, I was like, ‘Hmmm. What to do so us ladies don’t get bored? Ah yes, let’s geocache.’ And voila, lots of caches right where we were going to be anyway! YAY!

Tomorrow we drop off the car to see what is wrong with the front end. Oh please, let it be something cheap. And in case we have time to kill, or are looking for a little adventure…a geocache or two along the way! I’ve located some caches in the areas we’ll be going to using Google Earth (what would I do without it?) and then zipped them off into my GPS.

Speaking of cars…where the heck is my environment rebate for the Toyota? The attitude of the government’s website is all like, ‘oh we’ll get to it.’ You’re eligible after March something-or-other.

Ummmm…hello, but it is now September and some of us would like our $1000!

I have a question about China. Or maybe it is a concern. Or maybe it is just a question about our own values here in North America. Either way, here is some randomish babbling held together with a few nouns.

Awhile ago I noticed that most of my daughter’s toys were being made in China. (Lately a few more in Vietnam–is it the new China?) I’m all for giving a country our business and all that. Maybe China could use our company’s hiring their citizens. Maybe they could use the money that is generated.

Questions are:

Do the citizens actually get to benefit from our purchasing products made there? Sure they are cheap labour to us, but what are the employee benefits like there? Wages? Conditions? Are we just taking advantage of them all because they are cheap and won’t squawk?

Are we just keeping a country like China down as a second world country (or whatever they are classed as)–or are we helping them out? Because, really do you want to piss off someone that size with a whole pile of tough factory workers? (I’ve heard they are very organized and obedient.) I know that it makes ‘business sense’ to ‘keep them down’ where we can abuse and take advantage of them.

What about the environment? Their laws may not be as stiff as ours. So then what? Are we not responsible? Should we not act like we are building these items on our own turf? Shouldn’t we uphold the ideas of the environment we hold dear here? Just because these countries can’t or won’t stand up for us or simply are unaware of the environmental things we have learned, or can’t afford it, does that mean that we should take advantage of the situation?

On a more personal level and therefore a more alarming one…are the quality controls.

Sure, I’ve bought junk at dollar stores that doesn’t work. And it does bother me. How much has gone into making that product and having it shipped all the way over here, just so I can throw it out? But, whatever. It bothers me not because of my wasted dollar, but that lots and lots of useless crap is made. We don’t need it. Someone makes money, but look at the waste. Power, gas, plastic, all that stuff.

But, what about things like contaminated food? Pet and human food? How does mercury or whatever it was end up in cat food? How do we let that happen? Do we have them so pinned in the corner that they will slip something deadly into the product in order to make their profit? How do we appear in their eyes? It must be pretty bad.

And scary, scary is that some food items may not be labeled totally truthfully. For example, I heard that apple juice that is made from trees in China and made into concentrated juice there, is shipped to Canada, diluted with water and then packaged as Product of Canada. Not. Where do we get off with that? What could be in that apple juice? It is not produced with the quality controls that we assume. Part of the reason companies use China is because of the fact that the quality controls are not the same. They are lessened. What kind of morals are everyone operating under? Oh yeah, the morals of make the most profit possible.

What about Argentina honey? Do they allow sugar to be added? Canadian honey controls certainly do not allow that.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I realize that to maintain our lifestyles we need globalization. We do. But at what costs? How many people have to get sick? How many rivers, airways and countries have to become polluted?

And what about toys? The whole Mattel thing? Lead paint? Hello? Lead??? Since when was lead back in style? On children’s toys? Scary, scary.

How many recalls have their been lately on products made in China?

And what does that cost? I mean to the environment. I don’t care about me or the company. It serves the company right as for as I am concerned. Trying to get away with that. I think they should be fined too. The buggers.

It really makes a person think.

Maybe like how the book ‘Slow’ suggests, we should try and become more localised in our shopping and eating.

Crap. Like who is going to do that? Okay, okay. I mean, I do buy local when I can. I go to the Farmer’s Market. My daughter calls the FM carrots ‘delicious’ every time she has them. Partly because the ones from California taste like wood. Yum. But, in a few months when there is snow on the ground, that is what we will be enjoying again at our table. Wood.

Anyway, I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t even know what I can do–other than to try and buy local and that sort of thing. I just know that I don’t like seeing what is happening here.

(An aside here while talking about global issues…did you hear about British banks running out of money due to citizens coming in and clearing out their accounts because of worries about the American dollar. Cripes! It is like the ’30s all over again. Very scary. But I do know what they mean. I fear too.)

False Alarm

Last night our smoke detector went off. Just a friendly, beep, beep, beep. Still, it scared the pants right off of me and had me leaping out of bed like a ton of snakes had suddenly been dumped on me.

Oh lordy, that gives the heart a workout. Freaky thing was that my husband was like, ‘mmmfph?’ and pretty much rolled over and went back to sleep. My daughter? Not even sure if she actually woke up. Meanwhile, I am storming around the house, freaked out, sniffing like a drug dog for hints of smoke.

False alarm. I guess with three little beeps, you kinda know that it is a false alarm. But still.

A few weeks back it went off for a minute or two, which did actually wake up my daughter and did manage to get my husband all the way out of bed.

Still, both nights, I lay frozen in bed afterwards, freaked out and concerned that the house would burn down the moment I closed my eyes. So, to keep myself from falling asleep, I tested various escape scenarios in my head. Easy to get out of our bedroom, but what about my daughter? Would she know what to do? Even so, she wouldn’t be able to get her window open by herself. What if her room door was blocked? Well, let’s see…I could rip the large mirror off the en suite wall and hack away at the drywall until I could get an opening into her room, then we could escape together out her window. Or I could drag her through the hole into my room. If she doesn’t keel over from a heart attack first–you know her mother hacking through her bedroom wall with a shredder or part of her metal lamp. Yeah, that.

Anyway, I checked out the manual online tonight and it says nothing about false alarms or anything. And then I got to thinking, maybe it is humidity? We have been running the dehumidifier as it has been dampish. So maybe? Would that be setting it off?

Hell, I don’t know. I just don’t want more false alarms scaring me to death.

That and I don’t want people prowling through my car.

‘We’ left it unlocked the other weekend and when I went into it a few days later, the glovebox and console cubby were both open and pens and stuff were spread around. Nothing really of value was taken. Oh yeah, because there really wasn’t much of value in there. Except the CDs I lost a few months ago under the seat–which I then found. They even left our change in the ashtray. So, I guess they got scared off or didn’t find the drugs and cash they were looking for.

Still, leaves me paranoid.

Top Ten Fun

Top Ten Reasons Why High School Librarians Should Have Books Like ‘Lady Cynthia’s Forbidden Lover’ in Their Collections:

10. It teaches kids about sex ed in an entertaining way.
9. Parents no longer have to have the birds and the bees talk with their kids.
8. It will up your circulation statistics.
7. You’ll get really good at making ‘requests’ in Horizon (automated library program).
6. It will bring kids into the library.
5. You’ll see and hear from more parents.
4. Students will be quiet during reading time.
3. Students will beg for a few more minutes of free reading time.
2. You’ll get to spend extra time getting to know your principal, your board members and the superintendent.
1. You’ll get lots of ‘time off’.

P.S. This is a joke. I really don’t think hot and heavy bodice ripper novels really should be in high school library collections. Although, sometimes it is fun to make fun of yourself and the seriousness of the occupation.

Where Were You?

Where were you six years ago today? I was at work, disbelieving what everyone was saying about a third world war and that a plane had crashed into the Pentagon. Like really. Get real, guys.

My hubby’s latest issue of Discover magazine came today and it has an article about the health side effects of 9/11. So, not just the mental stuff, but breathing stuff for those that breathed in the asbestos and whatnot (glass and piles of chemicals) when the towers fell. Pretty scary stuff. It sounds like the health problems are just going to get worse too as time goes on.

My daughter and I walked by the junior high during our morning walk and all the classes were outside. Fire drill. And I thought, sure it is the weather for it, but really? Bad timing. A bit morbid. Let’s do a fire drill on September 11th! I’m sure it was a coincidence. But, still.

Geocachers are everywhere! When you least suspect it–there is one! :)

My daughter ended up going to two of the playschool orientations last week, which I found a bit embarrassing. One with me, and then one with the babysitter. I don’t know why that bugs me. I guess because the second one wasn’t her class and therefore, she shouldn’t have been there–even though she was with her friend who was in that class. I dunno. I just feel strange because I didn’t think it was going to work out that way and therefore didn’t talk to the teachers about it before hand.

Anyway…

Tried a Cafe version of Chai Tea today. Actually, it was a Chai Tea Latte. Oh la-la! Yum. Whipped cream. Honey on top. Cinnamon on top. Yum. Can feel stomach gurgling with the steamed milk that it doesn’t know what to do with…

Moments

Why I love and want to be Meg Cabot: When doing revisions on her book, she wrote in her blog: “I am so close to being done I can taste it. And it tastes like chicken.”

Why my cat is weird: He loves his blue glue-on claws. He rips the clear ones off. He is also a big burly guy who walks like a bulldog, is missing one ear and half his tail. Conclusion: he’s secretly gay.

Most satisfying moment of the morning: Having a hot, steamy shower and fogging up the bathroom, then plugging the dehumidifier in and telling it to go for it.

Why my cat owns me: He is starving himself away to nothing so I will relent and feed him nothing but wet food. Which of course, I now am doing at $1.34 a can since he has kidney problems.

Why my cat likes to lick the water from the shower: He refuses to drink like a normal cat from the water dish. Instead, he chooses to dab a paw in the water and then delicately lick the water from his paw, hence making the water bowl water undrinkable due to the murky greyness of clumping kitty litter that he then leaves in the bowl. Or water glass left unattended. Or toilet. Or shower. Or bathtub. Or…

Why you never do business with siblings: They have bullied you all their life. Why would they stop now?

Moment of joy last night: realizing that I didn’t have to get up and go to work this morning!

Moment of insanity: A small child who is so excited that you are not working that they have to show you every tiny little thing every tiny little second, because they are just so happy, they need to share it.

Moment of heart warming satisfaction: A small child who is so excited that you are not working that they have to show you every tiny little thing every tiny little second, because they are just so happy, they need to share it.

Latest addiction: Chai tea. Oh. My. God. Yum. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s not just tea. It is like tea and water and milk and honey and warm yumminess. And really awful if you are a bit lactose intolerant. But what can you do, it is the best of coffee and tea combined. Ohhhhhh god. Could you imagine it with a bit of vanilla? I think I’m going to have to go buy some Chai tea. I wonder if it would work with Earl Grey? Let me go check my cupboard…

‘Ah Nuts’ moment: I may actually have to learn how to use Dreamweaver–which I have totally been putting off. And I suppose that means that I should also get off my butt and go and get with it and find an actual blog program. Ah nuts.

Where did The Summer Go?

Listening to: I Will Survive a remake by Cake. (Kinda funny. Kinda slow. Kinda monotonish. I love it.) It`s on Satellite radio.

Another summer gone.

I keep hoping for a bit of Indian Summer out this way, but I think I may have to give up that little dream.

Anyway, at work, the whole ‘you rock for working here’ has sort of worn off and everyone is back to normal and their own lives and worries. I guess I knew it wouldn’t last, but yet, it was REALLY nice having a day in the sun like that. You could really get used to that. There is the risk of such fawning to go to your head and affect your ego, but it would be fun to experiment and see how long it would take before that sort of worship (or just appreciation) went to your head. I could offer myself up as the guinea pig. Anyone? Anyone?

We went shopping for shoes–specifically running shoes–for our daughter today. She wears a toddler’s size 10 or so. And man, is it hard to find decent running shoes for a kid. By decent, I mean, not $45. And not out of the hardest, heaviest, nonflexible rubber ever found on planet Earth. And velcro. And well…I guess that is about it. Oh yeah, and isn’t advertising some cartoon character like my kid is some billboard for Disney or Nickelodeon.

As well, I became curious about the ever so popular shoes with lights in them that light up and flash when kids step. What powers the lights? Batteries, most likely, right? So, what do you do when the shoes wear out? Toss them? And what becomes of the batteries? The landfill no doubt. So how many batteries are going into the landfill that we don’t even think about?

Anyway, we found some good shoes after some agony. Or what felt like agony as I hate shopping. Sorry, didn’t hear me? I HATE shopping. If I get rich and famous–I would totally hire someone to do that for me. Okay, just rich. Anyway, we found some shoes–on sale. YES! And they had winter boots too. Hmm…last year I got stuck after the first snowfall with no boots for our daughter. And these are Sorrels. The king of winter boots. And they are pink. And they almost have my daughter’s size. Hmm… But they are $50. OUCH! But if you buy one pair of something, the second pair is 50%. So, we bought them. In the end, it was like paying $30 for the shoes and $30 for the boots. It adds up, but now she has decent footwear and we got to go home.

Thank god.