Gimme Gimme
'Tis the season to hope you get what you really want for the holidays. Yeah, I know. Writing about what I want doesn't seem to be in keeping with the spirit of Christmas. Tough bananas. Growing up in a Jewish household, I didn't celebrate Christmas. Except for the inconvenience of having my favourite TV programs get bumped for Christmas specials, all the holiday meant to me was some time off school. When I grew up and owned my own retail business, it meant I had to expect people to ask for time off during the holidays (beyond the statutory holidays). I didn't mind that either, because before I owned my own business, I was the one asking my boss for time off.
It's only since I got married (outside the faith) that I've really come to detest Christmas. Whether it's because I got married within a year after my business failed, and I've been too "poor" (a relative word, to be sure, but to me "poor" means not having the money to buy whatever I want, whenever I want it) to buy the types of gifts for my wife and children that I'd want them to have, or whether it's because we're too poor for me to get the kinds of gifts I'd really like to have; or whether it's still because of the physical length of the season, and the many disruptions it causes to my routine... it still sucks.
To make things worse, I started getting a pain in my leg two days ago out of the blue. It turns out that after my last blood test, the doctor noticed elevated levels of uric acid and prescribed medication. I didn't get the prescription filled. Now, my wife thinks the pain I'm having is gout; and that the whole thing could have been avoided if I'd taken the meds. So, just when shopping season starts in earnest, and I have to think about getting around to do my Christmas shopping, I can't walk worth a damn.
I've just returned from the pharmacy, having finally filled the prescription (thank goodness I hadn't tossed it). The pharmacist said it should take two to three days for the pain to subside. The info sheet that came with the medication said it could take two to four weeks to notice any effects. It's going to be a long December...
Saturday, November 29, 2003
Until next year
Winter approaches. We had our first noticeable snowfall yesterday - no accumulation, just wet flakes. It was the perfect day for my parents to leave the city for the winter. They won't be back again until April. Each year, as my parents age, I wonder whether my goodbye to them will be my last - whether the unthinkable will happen, and, G-d forbid... I can't even say it in print.
My father sounded old - I've never heard him sound quite like that - when I spoke to him just an hour or so before he was scheduled to catch the shuttle bus. I asked him what was wrong, and he said he wasn't feeling too well. This is a guy who has maintained his weight, within a span of +/- 3 lbs for the past 50 years. He could take me in a fight any day, and is in better shape than I've been since age 35. But he's still getting older - 84 on his next birthday, and time is catching up. My mom is aging gracefully too. She hasn't changed much in the past 30 years or so, and I don't think anyone passing her on the street would know she's nearly 78.
I've been trying to get my parents on the internet for several years now, telling them it's the perfect way to communicate, and to get instant photos of their great-grand-children. About a week before departing, my dad told me he's ready to get it - that, upon their return, he'd like to talk to me about getting hooked up. Bless his soul. G-d willing, they'll be online come next April.
Winter approaches. We had our first noticeable snowfall yesterday - no accumulation, just wet flakes. It was the perfect day for my parents to leave the city for the winter. They won't be back again until April. Each year, as my parents age, I wonder whether my goodbye to them will be my last - whether the unthinkable will happen, and, G-d forbid... I can't even say it in print.
My father sounded old - I've never heard him sound quite like that - when I spoke to him just an hour or so before he was scheduled to catch the shuttle bus. I asked him what was wrong, and he said he wasn't feeling too well. This is a guy who has maintained his weight, within a span of +/- 3 lbs for the past 50 years. He could take me in a fight any day, and is in better shape than I've been since age 35. But he's still getting older - 84 on his next birthday, and time is catching up. My mom is aging gracefully too. She hasn't changed much in the past 30 years or so, and I don't think anyone passing her on the street would know she's nearly 78.
I've been trying to get my parents on the internet for several years now, telling them it's the perfect way to communicate, and to get instant photos of their great-grand-children. About a week before departing, my dad told me he's ready to get it - that, upon their return, he'd like to talk to me about getting hooked up. Bless his soul. G-d willing, they'll be online come next April.
Friday, November 28, 2003
Games people play
I was surprised, and quite pleased, to hear about U.S. President Bush's impromptu visit to Iraq for Thanksgiving. I say "impromptu" because, despite the weeks of advance security planning, the actual decision was last-minute, right down to the decision to actually land Air Force One. From the evening news, it was clear that none of the soldiers on the ground knew he was coming (the reaction to his arrival was spontaneous and heartily positive). While it's no secret that my political leanings are more conservative (I support the war effort), I still think it was a classy move for the commander-in-chief to visit the battle zone for the holiday.
It was a bit disconcerting to hear of all the back-and-forth commentary about the reasons for this trip. Comments ranged from "first campaign stop" to "copycat of Hillary", and so on. God forbit someone gets a spur of the moment (even months ago) idea to visit somewhere; then gets called a copycat just because some other dignitary happens to get the same idea. Clearly, there's no way to know who had the idea first (though my suspicion is that the president's lead-time for security purposes would be longer), but does it really matter. Who cares who moved first, or what the motivation was, or what the ramifications will be. Can't we all accept that both parties wanted to do something special for the troops?
I was surprised, and quite pleased, to hear about U.S. President Bush's impromptu visit to Iraq for Thanksgiving. I say "impromptu" because, despite the weeks of advance security planning, the actual decision was last-minute, right down to the decision to actually land Air Force One. From the evening news, it was clear that none of the soldiers on the ground knew he was coming (the reaction to his arrival was spontaneous and heartily positive). While it's no secret that my political leanings are more conservative (I support the war effort), I still think it was a classy move for the commander-in-chief to visit the battle zone for the holiday.
It was a bit disconcerting to hear of all the back-and-forth commentary about the reasons for this trip. Comments ranged from "first campaign stop" to "copycat of Hillary", and so on. God forbit someone gets a spur of the moment (even months ago) idea to visit somewhere; then gets called a copycat just because some other dignitary happens to get the same idea. Clearly, there's no way to know who had the idea first (though my suspicion is that the president's lead-time for security purposes would be longer), but does it really matter. Who cares who moved first, or what the motivation was, or what the ramifications will be. Can't we all accept that both parties wanted to do something special for the troops?
Thursday, November 27, 2003
Wanna bet?
There's something you just shouldn't do... bet against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. It really doesn't matter how bad they are, year to year. And once in a while, you'll actually guess right and they'll lose. But overall, the Lions are blessed on Thanksgiving Day. Today was no exception. They beat a stronger Green Bay team for only their fourth win of the season. However, the Lions are on a three-game home game winning streak, so things are looking up.
There's something you just shouldn't do... bet against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. It really doesn't matter how bad they are, year to year. And once in a while, you'll actually guess right and they'll lose. But overall, the Lions are blessed on Thanksgiving Day. Today was no exception. They beat a stronger Green Bay team for only their fourth win of the season. However, the Lions are on a three-game home game winning streak, so things are looking up.
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Bang!
At the risk of shooting myself in the foot, I've reorganized some of the pages on my FTP site. I had learned long ago that if you didn't put a default index page on each of your directories, people who surfed to your site could see all the files sitting there. I realize that a determined hacker or spider program can still find files on directories protected with an index file, but it's harder than when the door has some kind of lock.
Well, yesterday, I installed the lock. There were a few directories that didn't have an index file, and now they do. Which means that the meagre number of hits I have each day on this blog will now be reduced to maybe 10% of that total - yup, a full 90% of my visitors get here "accidentally". Reducing the traffic to only those who really want to be here is always what I had intended, since, let's face it, I wouldn't rush to a site like this to read anything significant.
Anyway, we'll see what the traffic numbers look like once my image files make their way out of Google's cache.
I may have to rename the blog to Jack's Ghostland.
At the risk of shooting myself in the foot, I've reorganized some of the pages on my FTP site. I had learned long ago that if you didn't put a default index page on each of your directories, people who surfed to your site could see all the files sitting there. I realize that a determined hacker or spider program can still find files on directories protected with an index file, but it's harder than when the door has some kind of lock.
Well, yesterday, I installed the lock. There were a few directories that didn't have an index file, and now they do. Which means that the meagre number of hits I have each day on this blog will now be reduced to maybe 10% of that total - yup, a full 90% of my visitors get here "accidentally". Reducing the traffic to only those who really want to be here is always what I had intended, since, let's face it, I wouldn't rush to a site like this to read anything significant.
Anyway, we'll see what the traffic numbers look like once my image files make their way out of Google's cache.
I may have to rename the blog to Jack's Ghostland.
Sunday, November 23, 2003
Notice anything different?
Yeah, it's about time. I had some time to kill today, so I spent it integrating the new template into my blog. I still haven't filled out the "About" information, and I haven't tested all the links to see if any of them were screwed up in the transition. But it should be done shortly. Thanks to Yve for her template.
So... what do you guys think?
Yeah, it's about time. I had some time to kill today, so I spent it integrating the new template into my blog. I still haven't filled out the "About" information, and I haven't tested all the links to see if any of them were screwed up in the transition. But it should be done shortly. Thanks to Yve for her template.
So... what do you guys think?
Saturday, November 22, 2003
Don't get me started
I don't read the editorial page of the local newspaper very often. It's not that I don't enjoy the opinions... I enjoy them too much. Rather, I enjoy disagreeing with them too much. Over the past three weeks, I've sent three different letters to the editor. Now, this is a fairly small city, so letters to the editor take only about two to three days to appear in print. Funny thing is, people in this city must read them. I went to my old public school's 75th anniversary celebration last weekend. All the guests wore name tags. A complete stranger came up to me and said "Aren't you the guy that wrote that letter to the editor"? Yes, I was flattered, but I wonder why someone would remember the name of a complete stranger - unless I said something profound???
Beats me.
I don't read the editorial page of the local newspaper very often. It's not that I don't enjoy the opinions... I enjoy them too much. Rather, I enjoy disagreeing with them too much. Over the past three weeks, I've sent three different letters to the editor. Now, this is a fairly small city, so letters to the editor take only about two to three days to appear in print. Funny thing is, people in this city must read them. I went to my old public school's 75th anniversary celebration last weekend. All the guests wore name tags. A complete stranger came up to me and said "Aren't you the guy that wrote that letter to the editor"? Yes, I was flattered, but I wonder why someone would remember the name of a complete stranger - unless I said something profound???
Beats me.
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Sunday, November 16, 2003
A fun movie
Just returned from seeing "Master and Commander" with my wife. She's a real fan of historical fact/fiction. This movie was right up her alley. Thankfully, the acting, plot, and action were up to my standards, so I also had a great time.
I don't think I'd call it Academy Award material, but it was certainly entertaining.
Just returned from seeing "Master and Commander" with my wife. She's a real fan of historical fact/fiction. This movie was right up her alley. Thankfully, the acting, plot, and action were up to my standards, so I also had a great time.
I don't think I'd call it Academy Award material, but it was certainly entertaining.
Monday, November 10, 2003
And the winner is...
Six weeks ago, you may as well have called off the municipal election. In this union town, home of the "Big 3" in Canada, Bill Marra had received a hearty and very public endorsement from the powerful CAW union, as well as several other unions. In addition, Marra had the support of the large and influential Italian community.
Tonight, Bill went down in defeat to Eddie Francis, the 29-year-old lawyer, award winning entrepreneur, and darling of the masses. In a vote that wasn't even close, Eddie stunned the confident Marra camp. Gracious in defeat, Marra conceded quite early after the polls closed. Gracious in victory, Francis congratulated Marra on his campaign, and indicated that Marra's dedication to the city would still be welcomed.
In my own ward, an underdog candidate with a low budget, whose election signs were almost all removed by unknown vandals, had the last laugh as she defeated one of the incumbent city councillors to get a seat on city council.
Congratulations everyone!
Six weeks ago, you may as well have called off the municipal election. In this union town, home of the "Big 3" in Canada, Bill Marra had received a hearty and very public endorsement from the powerful CAW union, as well as several other unions. In addition, Marra had the support of the large and influential Italian community.
Tonight, Bill went down in defeat to Eddie Francis, the 29-year-old lawyer, award winning entrepreneur, and darling of the masses. In a vote that wasn't even close, Eddie stunned the confident Marra camp. Gracious in defeat, Marra conceded quite early after the polls closed. Gracious in victory, Francis congratulated Marra on his campaign, and indicated that Marra's dedication to the city would still be welcomed.
In my own ward, an underdog candidate with a low budget, whose election signs were almost all removed by unknown vandals, had the last laugh as she defeated one of the incumbent city councillors to get a seat on city council.
Congratulations everyone!
Destiny
I believe in destiny. There are so many examples in history where you hear about someone who worked hard toward a goal. A goal they had set early on in life, and that they knew they would attain, just as certainly as they knew the sun would rise the next morning.
In this blog, I've spoken about my nephew, who had set a goal early in life to be premier of Ontario. He has yet to attain that goal, but I have no doubts he will. There have been two other people I've met through my life who had well-articulated goals, and I decided to follow up on the careers of both those gentlemen.
The first, Douglas Phillips, was a school-mate of mine in highschool. He was among the very brightest of the bright, and had set a goal of being a supreme court justice. Douglas, as I understand, was granted admission to lawschool after only two years of undergraduate work. That is an option in Canada, providing you show promise and pass some very difficult entrance exams. He quickly flew through law school and passed the bar. By the age of 30, he was already a Family Court Judge. He is currently an Ontario judge, and gained some notoriety this year as the Judge to first declare that possession of marijuana is NOT illegal in this country.
The second, Andrew Leslie, was a young college student when he joined the Army Reserve Unit I served with in the late '70s. I was an officer in that unit, and he told us that he joined the reserves because his father and grandfather had served as senior officers in the Canadian Army, and he intended to carry on the family tradition. His grandfather had served as a general during the Second World War (at least that's what I remember him telling us), and he claimed in no uncertain terms that his destiny was to follow in the family footsteps and become a general himself. Andrew would have been about 20 years old when he made that claim. Today, while doing a google search for "Leslie RCHA" (since, quite frankly, I had forgotten his first name over the span of the last 26 years), I came across his military biography. Well, I'll be damned! If we assume an upgrade in rank every four years, as has been the pattern since his transfer to the regular forces, (2-star) Major-General Leslie will become a (3-star) Lt. General in 2007, and a (4-star) full General by 2011. That will make him supreme commander of the entire Canadian forces by age 54. I imagine he could even be named supreme NATO commander during that timeframe, who knows!
I believe in destiny. There are so many examples in history where you hear about someone who worked hard toward a goal. A goal they had set early on in life, and that they knew they would attain, just as certainly as they knew the sun would rise the next morning.
In this blog, I've spoken about my nephew, who had set a goal early in life to be premier of Ontario. He has yet to attain that goal, but I have no doubts he will. There have been two other people I've met through my life who had well-articulated goals, and I decided to follow up on the careers of both those gentlemen.
The first, Douglas Phillips, was a school-mate of mine in highschool. He was among the very brightest of the bright, and had set a goal of being a supreme court justice. Douglas, as I understand, was granted admission to lawschool after only two years of undergraduate work. That is an option in Canada, providing you show promise and pass some very difficult entrance exams. He quickly flew through law school and passed the bar. By the age of 30, he was already a Family Court Judge. He is currently an Ontario judge, and gained some notoriety this year as the Judge to first declare that possession of marijuana is NOT illegal in this country.
The second, Andrew Leslie, was a young college student when he joined the Army Reserve Unit I served with in the late '70s. I was an officer in that unit, and he told us that he joined the reserves because his father and grandfather had served as senior officers in the Canadian Army, and he intended to carry on the family tradition. His grandfather had served as a general during the Second World War (at least that's what I remember him telling us), and he claimed in no uncertain terms that his destiny was to follow in the family footsteps and become a general himself. Andrew would have been about 20 years old when he made that claim. Today, while doing a google search for "Leslie RCHA" (since, quite frankly, I had forgotten his first name over the span of the last 26 years), I came across his military biography. Well, I'll be damned! If we assume an upgrade in rank every four years, as has been the pattern since his transfer to the regular forces, (2-star) Major-General Leslie will become a (3-star) Lt. General in 2007, and a (4-star) full General by 2011. That will make him supreme commander of the entire Canadian forces by age 54. I imagine he could even be named supreme NATO commander during that timeframe, who knows!
Sunday, November 09, 2003
First time for everything
I linked to a blog today. No big deal, right?
But this one was different. It's the very first time I've linked to a blogger that:
a) I had not discovered through another blog I read
b) Had not previously visited my site
c) I had not sought out due to publicity about their site
The blogs in my list are ones I read daily. I confess that a couple of them have become stale or otherwise unsatisfying, but I hadn't considered removing them because, well, they've been there almost since the beginning of my blogging experience. I don't like change (I'm still procrastinating on a site revamp, despite the fact that I have a new template available), so it took a while to decide to remove them from my list.
And since I am such a creature of habit, I found that now, there weren't enough blogs to take up the alloted reading time - hence the search for something new.
I was looking for a specific type of blog - one with a slant and style that I can't really put into words, but that I'd recognize when I saw it. I found it a week ago, and have been reading it daily, but hadn't added it to my list until today.
Since the official name of the blog is too long to fit in the available space, I've taken liberties, and am simply referring to it as Warrior Princess.
Enjoy!
I linked to a blog today. No big deal, right?
But this one was different. It's the very first time I've linked to a blogger that:
a) I had not discovered through another blog I read
b) Had not previously visited my site
c) I had not sought out due to publicity about their site
The blogs in my list are ones I read daily. I confess that a couple of them have become stale or otherwise unsatisfying, but I hadn't considered removing them because, well, they've been there almost since the beginning of my blogging experience. I don't like change (I'm still procrastinating on a site revamp, despite the fact that I have a new template available), so it took a while to decide to remove them from my list.
And since I am such a creature of habit, I found that now, there weren't enough blogs to take up the alloted reading time - hence the search for something new.
I was looking for a specific type of blog - one with a slant and style that I can't really put into words, but that I'd recognize when I saw it. I found it a week ago, and have been reading it daily, but hadn't added it to my list until today.
Since the official name of the blog is too long to fit in the available space, I've taken liberties, and am simply referring to it as Warrior Princess.
Enjoy!
Romance is in the air
With the imminent arrival of Christmas, the holiday movies have started. Yesterday, I saw "love actually" with my wife. I so enjoy Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson. Having them all in one movie, along with cameos by Rowan Atkinson and Billy Bob Thornton was just too good to pass up. This was a light, utterly unbelievable love story, but it was so silly and enjoyable, I just couldn't keep from smiling. And unlike some love stories where the boy and girl are always missing signals and where things finally work out in the end, this movie was blissfully transparent. That's good, because the former genre always has me wanting to jump through the screen to strangle the dumbells, whereas this movie had me celebrating the loving relationships throughout the movie.
This is an absolutely great date film, from the opening frame to the very end.
With the imminent arrival of Christmas, the holiday movies have started. Yesterday, I saw "love actually" with my wife. I so enjoy Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson. Having them all in one movie, along with cameos by Rowan Atkinson and Billy Bob Thornton was just too good to pass up. This was a light, utterly unbelievable love story, but it was so silly and enjoyable, I just couldn't keep from smiling. And unlike some love stories where the boy and girl are always missing signals and where things finally work out in the end, this movie was blissfully transparent. That's good, because the former genre always has me wanting to jump through the screen to strangle the dumbells, whereas this movie had me celebrating the loving relationships throughout the movie.
This is an absolutely great date film, from the opening frame to the very end.
Monday, November 03, 2003
Sunday, November 02, 2003
Silly Coincidence
I just finished watching a rerun of Law and Order CI. It was an episode about a contract killer who placed a corpse in his home freezer until some time later when he could conveniently leave it to be found by police. The storyline involves the police tricking the assassin into believing that a freezer-burn mark on the corpse indicated that there was a tear in the plastic wrapping around the body - a tear through which a dental cap on the victim had escaped.
So, what's the coincidence? The commercial at the very end of the show was aboutGladZiploc Freezer Bags, and how they prevent freezer burn.
If only the criminal had known!
I just finished watching a rerun of Law and Order CI. It was an episode about a contract killer who placed a corpse in his home freezer until some time later when he could conveniently leave it to be found by police. The storyline involves the police tricking the assassin into believing that a freezer-burn mark on the corpse indicated that there was a tear in the plastic wrapping around the body - a tear through which a dental cap on the victim had escaped.
So, what's the coincidence? The commercial at the very end of the show was about
If only the criminal had known!
Saturday, November 01, 2003
Hallowe'en
It was probably the best one my wife has ever had. Usually we have cold and rain this time of year. But yesterday evening, temperatures were in the 20's (celsius), or about 72 farenheit. And with the front porch on this house, my wife decided to hand out candies while sitting out on the porch.
And for the first time, she put up a baby gate across the stairway and allowed our two big black dogs to accompany her. They were really well behaved - barking only twice during the entire evening (in truth, they barked at the same leashed-dog twice, as it came up, then back down the street).
It was probably the best one my wife has ever had. Usually we have cold and rain this time of year. But yesterday evening, temperatures were in the 20's (celsius), or about 72 farenheit. And with the front porch on this house, my wife decided to hand out candies while sitting out on the porch.
And for the first time, she put up a baby gate across the stairway and allowed our two big black dogs to accompany her. They were really well behaved - barking only twice during the entire evening (in truth, they barked at the same leashed-dog twice, as it came up, then back down the street).