Greg’s weblog

Last night I switched the TV to Movieola last night, and couldn’t manage to switch away. For those of you who don’t want to bother following the link, Movieola is a channel that shows short films.

It started with some sort of strange short film about a clock repair guy (Richard Dock) and his wife (Hickory.) I tuned in halfway, so I don’t really know what was going on. Then we watched a bunch of surreal National Film Board of Canada cartoons.

After supper we took a break, and watched Bedazzled – on DVD, then went back to Movieola – some very strange Mexican short film involving a flat tire and corpses in the trunk, and one where a guy gets convinced that he’s trying out for the job of Cupid, then ends up killing someone in the “tryout” process

I still haven’t seen the “Lucas In Love” that they keep advertising though – it looks interesting as well.

Simpson’s quote of the day:
Bart: “Nothing you say can upset us. We’re the MTV generation.”
Lisa: “We feel neither highs or lows.”
Homer: “Really? What’s it like?”
Lisa: “Ehh.” [shrugs]

Not much time today, so I’ll make up for it with a good link. Star Wars Origami looks like fun. (Via BoingBoing)

Simpson’s quote of the day: “These unfortunate people here will be instantly killed. This circle, which I am sad to say we are in, will experience a slower, considerably more painful death.” – Professor Frink

Christmas was good, as usual. Erin got me a really nice table hockey game, so now I’m planning a table hockey tournament for some time in January. If you want in, let me know.

Yesterday, we played a couple of games of Puerto Rico. Very interesting game, and lots of fun. I’m not just saying that because I won both games either ;-). Erin is getting into the swing of being home all the time now, having made a great ceremony of setting her alarm clock to a normal time, and setting the thermostat to not shut right off when I leave for work. Erin’s Dad is expected to show up here at some point today, so that should lead to an hectic week, and more Christmas festivity to come.

I hope everyone had a good holiday as well. I’m going to be at work next week too (well, except for Wednesday I guess) so the relatively uninterrupted flow of posts should continue. The baby countdown is sitting at less than 8 weeks now (for those of you who are interested, but not interested enough to do the math)

Simpson’s quote of the day: “It’s not easy to juggle a pregnant wife and a troubled child, but somehow I managed to fit in eight hours of TV a day.” – Homer

As I write this, Erin is done working. She’s on vacation until Jan 1, then on Maternity leave for three months, then Parental leave for nine more. It’s going to be an adjustment for both of us, but we’ve got almost two months until the baby arrives to get settled in a little bit.

Our plans for the holidays are pretty simple this year – tonight, Erin and I are going to spend a quiet night at home, just the two of us (well, I guess the baby will be there too, but he/she isn’t likely to say much :-)) then tomorrow morning, we’re going to my parent’s place to make banana pancakes and lemon sauce. I suspect we’ll be over there on Boxing day as well. Friday, I have to work, and Erin’s Dad is coming into town. Saturday we’re having a bunch of Erin’s family (and their family) over for Christmas dinner.

The hope is that we’ll have a relatively stress free holiday, and be recharged for next year, and all the challenges that await us.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “Dear Santa, if you bring me lots of good stuff, I promise not to do anything bad between now and when I wake up. Amen.” – Bart

Sorry about the lack of a post on Friday – the department Christmas lunch was the usual two hour affair, so didn’t really have time for one.

Anyway, this past weekend went by way too fast. I spent Friday night trying to get the sound card to work, which I finally think I did, but it’s still difficult to work with. I’m missing a hard drive somewhere (Erin keeps telling me it’ll turn up) which is kind of hard to believe. It was only 2 gigs I think (unless it was the 6gig one) so it’s not a huge deal, but it would really simplify the issues. Saturday I went to Al and Becca’s for a Caribbean Christmas party. They’d turned the heat way up, and everyone was in shorts. It was actually a little too hot, so it was just like being in the Caribbean.

I think I finally got home around 4:00, so I slept most of Sunday away. Erin and I went out to pick her sewing machine up from the cleaners, got some groceries, and didn’t do much beyond that. I played a bunch of Star Control 2 again – I’m slowly running out of Spathi Eluders, which makes me sad.

I’m at work today, tomorrow and Friday, then all but Wednesday next week, with everyone on vacation, it’s pretty quiet around here. Lucky me, it’s my week to stock the fridge – not only is nobody around, but it’s only a three day week. Woohoo!

Simpson’s quote of the day: “Attention. This is an emergency broadcast, all is well in the school, my authority as principal is total.” – Principal Skinner

I spent a lot of time trying to get my new sound card to work, but it wouldn’t recognize the optical input. As a result, there are computer bits strung all over the livingroom (sorry Erin.) I’m hoping that I can get it working tonight though, because I’m really looking forward to being able to snag sound clips off of the TV with no quality loss.

Speaking of TV – Erin and I were at breastfeeding class last night (stay with me here – the segue will make sense) Anyway, they gave us a handout on “Shaken Baby Syndrome.” On it, it listed one of the common causes of people shaking their babies – interrupted TV viewing. Erin read this, turned to me and said – the world needs more PVR’s.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…Ask your mother.” – Homer

City Council voted 6-5 against holding a binding referendum on the casino question. The reasoning that I’ve heard from the councillors (and the mayor) who voted against the referendum was that Saskatoon needs this casino, whether the citizens of Saskatoon know it or not.

Let me say right off that I don’t think the casino plans are a great idea, so we can get that out of the way. If a referendum were to happen, I would be right there to vote against the casino development. Like I’ve said many times, a casino would have been a great idea 50 years ago, but due to the fact that casinos are now everywhere, it doesn’t make nearly as much sense. Maybe I’m misinformed, and maybe it is a good idea, but the fact remains that this is my opinion.

Anyway, the people of Saskatoon clearly want a referendum, witness the quotes of the councillors who voted against it – specifically Ms. Paulson (the quotes start about halfway down the page.) Clearly, those who voted against this referendum voted against the wishes of those who elected them. I’m not sure when they decided that we were living in a benevolent dictatorship, but it seems that this is what they think.

I don’t think the councillors are particularly stupid people, though they could be – I’ve seen it happen before, though that particular idiot has moved to provincial politics, where she can do more damage… Anyway, what I’m getting at is that they either thought that the people of the city wouldn’t remember their names come election time, or they subscribe to the theory that no publicity is bad publicity. The councillors could very well be right, but mayor Maddin will not be back for another term (in my opinion.) As I said above, they might be right on the casino issue, and maybe the majority of people in the city would thus be wrong, but given that we live in a democracy, that’s the people’s right. Voting against the referendum because you’re certain that the vote will go a different way than you want is not only stupid, it’s anti-democratic.

I like Don Atchison’s quote, so I’ll reproduce it here (courtesy the link above): “It seems to me that the proper and ethical course for us to take, is to let the democratic process prevail. The people of this community must determine the fate of the proposed casino complex. If there ever was a public issue that should be decided by a binding bylaw vote, this is it. A new casino will affect the character and direction of the city in such a major way, that council has a democratic duty to defer to the wishes of the community. Our citizens deserve ownership of this watershed decision.”

Simpson’s quote of the day: “They’re like trained seals, toss em’ a fish and watch em’ slap their fins together.” – Mayor Quimby