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<channel>
	<title>Mundane Ramblings</title>
	
	<link>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog</link>
	<description>about kids, dogs, news and technology.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:48:58 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>There is no reason for this:</title>
		<link>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/03/07/there-is-no-reason-for-this/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/03/07/there-is-no-reason-for-this/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:48:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Court</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Video Diversions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/?p=2112</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[http://trololololololololololo.com/
but thank you anyway, Internet.


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://trololololololololololo.com/" target="_blank">http://trololololololololololo.com/</a></p>
<p>but thank you anyway, Internet.</p>


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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Happy 9th Vallenversary</title>
		<link>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/03/03/happy-9th-vallenversary/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/03/03/happy-9th-vallenversary/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:42:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Court</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vallenversary]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/?p=2109</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[March 3, 2010 is our 9th anniversary.
or
3/3/2010  =  9th
or
3 + 3 + (2+0+1+0) = 9th
9 = 9
Cosmic.
I love you honey.  The universe wants it so.
This sort of number geekery has happened before here.  It seems I am a one-trick pony.


Related posts:I love you forever&#8230; Well after reading Court&#8217;s blog about no content for a...
Happy Birthday [...]


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<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/04/01/happy-birthday-mom-2/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Happy Birthday Mom!'>Happy Birthday Mom!</a> <small>She&#8217;s looking fine at 39, the wonderful woman who blessed...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/08/20/nikkis-birthday-3/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Nikki&#8217;s Birthday'>Nikki&#8217;s Birthday</a> <small>Happy Birthday to my best friend in the whole world....</small></li>
</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>March 3, 2010 is our 9th anniversary.</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>3/3/2010  =  9th</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>3 + 3 + (2+0+1+0) = 9th</p>
<p>9 = 9</p>
<p>Cosmic.</p>
<p>I love you honey.  The universe wants it so.</p>
<p>This sort of number geekery has happened before<a href="http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2007/02/26/march-3-2001/" target="_blank"> here</a>.  It seems I am a one-trick pony.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/03/17/i-love-you-forever/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: I love you forever&#8230;'>I love you forever&#8230;</a> <small>Well after reading Court&#8217;s blog about no content for a...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/04/01/happy-birthday-mom-2/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Happy Birthday Mom!'>Happy Birthday Mom!</a> <small>She&#8217;s looking fine at 39, the wonderful woman who blessed...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/08/20/nikkis-birthday-3/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Nikki&#8217;s Birthday'>Nikki&#8217;s Birthday</a> <small>Happy Birthday to my best friend in the whole world....</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>“Boozy Ape Sent to Rehab”</title>
		<link>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/26/boozy-ape-sent-to-rehab/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/26/boozy-ape-sent-to-rehab/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:20:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Court</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[which boozy ape are you referring to?]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/?p=2106</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s ok folks, it&#8217;s not me.
Still here, just unusually silent.


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s ok folks, <a href="http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Boozy+sent+rehab/2616616/story.html" target="_blank">it&#8217;s not me</a>.</p>
<p>Still here, just unusually silent.</p>


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		<item>
		<title>My Lucky Secret Weapon</title>
		<link>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/18/my-lucky-secret-weapon/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/18/my-lucky-secret-weapon/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:17:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Court</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scientifica]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[make your own luck]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/?p=2103</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I am lucky.
In general I think I have been one of the luckiest people I know.  I have been employed steadily at a job I generally love for the past 16 years without any real interruption, I have the best family and wife I could ever hope for, I&#8217;m healthy, I have great friends, the [...]


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</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I am lucky.</p>
<p>In general I think I have been one of the luckiest people I know.  I have been employed steadily at a job I generally love for the past 16 years without any real interruption, I have the best family and wife I could ever hope for, I&#8217;m healthy, I have great friends, the list goes on and on.  I&#8217;m sickeningly happy.</p>
<p>I have always felt that this was a direct result of me simply expecting to be that happy and successful.  It makes no real sense, and I had no reason to believe that it would actually work, but it did.  I am one of the more, ah, relaxed people I know, and it&#8217;s probably because of that very fact; I expect things to probably be just fine, so I&#8217;m not worried about them, and because I&#8217;m relaxed they do in fact turn out fine.</p>
<p>Now this has been basically &#8220;proven&#8221; in a sort of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3304496/Be-lucky-its-an-easy-skill-to-learn.html" target="_blank">long term study</a>.  The article gives lots of detail, but the main point is: being lucky can be learned.</p>
<p>You can become luckier just by trying, and upon reading the article I understand now that I have been doing this for years without realizing it.</p>
<ul>
<li>Lucky people tend to look on the positive side of misfortune</li>
<li>Lucky people trust their instincts</li>
<li>Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine.</li>
</ul>
<p>Way cool.  Saw the article on <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5472904/create-your-own-luck-by-changing-your-perspective" target="_blank">Lifehacker</a>.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/07/02/im-a-lucky-guy/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: I&#8217;m a lucky guy.'>I&#8217;m a lucky guy.</a> <small>Steve Earle, Sparkle and Shine My baby sparkle and shine...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<title>Westminster Dog Show</title>
		<link>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/16/westminster-dog-show/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/16/westminster-dog-show/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Court</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[caped Corgi of death]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/?p=2100</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Ottawa Citizen has a great photo gallery from the Westminster dog show, which of course is a humongous deal for a teeny tiny fraction of dog owners, and for the rest of us just provides sheer amusement.
I subscribe to the &#8220;dogs are incredible, loyal, often hilarious companions, but they are not my life&#8221; group, [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Ottawa Citizen has a great photo gallery from the<a href="http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Photos+updated+Westminster+Kennel+Club+Show/2566899/story.html" target="_blank"> Westminster dog show</a>, which of course is a humongous deal for a teeny tiny fraction of dog owners, and for the rest of us just provides sheer amusement.</p>
<p>I subscribe to the &#8220;dogs are incredible, loyal, often hilarious companions, but they are not my life&#8221; group, like most folks I think, so the shots of these pampered pooches casting long-suffering looks balefully into the camera are pretty funny.</p>
<p>The caped Corgi shown here in particular seems to be saying &#8220;Oh, keep laughing.  I will keell you slowly and taste your hot blood on my tongue&#8230; aaas soon as I am done perching here like an eediot.  What is this?  A bird house?  What the hell are these things I&#8217;m standing on?  Corgi stilts?  Why am I wearing a purple cape?  Bah, I shall keel you all for this.  Tremble before me&#8230;.Tremble!&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/corgi.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2101" title="Intense Corgi of Death" src="http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/corgi.jpg" alt="" width="319" height="363" /></a></p>
<p>Almost every picture there is caption-worthy, I had a hard time deciding which one to make fun of&#8230;.  This guy&#8217;s super-intense gaze spoke to me.</p>


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		<title>You Can’t Win Them All</title>
		<link>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/16/you-cant-win-them-all/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/16/you-cant-win-them-all/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:16:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Court</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quinn's hockey wisdom]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/?p=2097</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Saturday Quinn had a hockey game, and they lost 3-2.  He wasn&#8217;t too worried about it, they just have too much fun playing to get all that worked up over it.  We were walking out of the rink and I said to Quinn, &#8216;well don&#8217;t worry buddy, you can&#8217;t win them all&#8217;.  His response?
&#8220;No, [...]


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<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/05/05/what-are-my-options/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: What are my options?'>What are my options?</a> <small>Every night for the past few weeks Cael has been...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/01/20/a-total-blast-from-the-past/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: A Total Blast From the Past&#8230;.'>A Total Blast From the Past&#8230;.</a> <small>I was sifting through some old emails last night that...</small></li>
</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On Saturday Quinn had a hockey game, and they lost 3-2.  He wasn&#8217;t too worried about it, they just have too much fun playing to get all that worked up over it.  We were walking out of the rink and I said to Quinn, &#8216;well don&#8217;t worry buddy, you can&#8217;t win them all&#8217;.  His response?</p>
<p>&#8220;No, but you CAN lose them all.&#8221;</p>
<p>After I stopped laughing, I started thinking that this was actually fairly profound.  In the grand sense, any &#8220;win&#8221; should be a reason to celebrate.  We should be grateful for what we have, in essence.  It can always be worse.</p>
<p>As I prepare to work again this weekend (which is 4 out of the last 5 weekends in a row) it is rather important to remember that it&#8217;s better to be working hard than hardly working.</p>
<p>Thanks buddy, I needed that.</p>


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<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/05/05/what-are-my-options/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: What are my options?'>What are my options?</a> <small>Every night for the past few weeks Cael has been...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/01/20/a-total-blast-from-the-past/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: A Total Blast From the Past&#8230;.'>A Total Blast From the Past&#8230;.</a> <small>I was sifting through some old emails last night that...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Smell like jet fighters and punching</title>
		<link>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/09/smell-like-jet-fighters-and-punching/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/09/smell-like-jet-fighters-and-punching/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:06:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Court</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Video Diversions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I'm on a horse]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/?p=2094</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Good lord, these are good ads, I have been laughing my butt off at them this morning.

They strike just the right combination of silly and funny.
This one is my favourite, for sure.

The OldSpice YouTube channel has more, and the video descriptions are part of the joke, which is where the title of the post came [...]


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<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/06/18/one-liners/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: One Liners'>One Liners</a> <small>The best part about the Internet is how it self-organizes...</small></li>
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</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Good lord, these are good ads, I have been laughing my butt off at them this morning.</p>
<p><!-- Smart Youtube --><span class="youtube"><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ekn36qfsi74&amp;rel=1&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=&amp;showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;showsearch=0&amp;feature=youtube_gdata" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ekn36qfsi74&amp;rel=1&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=&amp;showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;showsearch=0&amp;feature=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355" ></embed><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /></object></span></p>
<p>They strike just the right combination of silly and funny.</p>
<p>This one is my favourite, for sure.</p>
<p><!-- Smart Youtube --><span class="youtube"><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/owGykVbfgUE&amp;rel=1&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=&amp;showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;showsearch=0&amp;feature=youtube_gdata" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/owGykVbfgUE&amp;rel=1&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=&amp;showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;showsearch=0&amp;feature=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355" ></embed><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /></object></span></p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/oldspice" target="_blank">OldSpice YouTube channel</a> has more, and the video descriptions are part of the joke, which is where the title of the post came from.</p>
<p>Saw this on<a href="http://www.neatorama.com/2010/02/09/old-spices-manmercials/" target="_blank"> Neatorama</a>, nice find.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/12/21/owls-are-scary-and-awesome/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Owls Are Scary and Awesome'>Owls Are Scary and Awesome</a> <small>I have watched this incredible video at least 20 times...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/06/18/one-liners/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: One Liners'>One Liners</a> <small>The best part about the Internet is how it self-organizes...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/09/10/they-might-be-giants-here-comes-science/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: They Might Be Giants &#8211; Here Comes Science'>They Might Be Giants &#8211; Here Comes Science</a> <small>They Might Be Giants (who until now I had never...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<title>It’s the principle, not the Principal of the matter</title>
		<link>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/08/its-the-principle-not-the-principal-of-the-matter/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/08/its-the-principle-not-the-principal-of-the-matter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:07:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Court</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Security Theatre]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stupidity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LEGO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[moron]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/?p=2090</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m not a fan of guns, and would think that most reasonable people would agree that guns in schools are a bad idea (Remember when the pro-gun boys showed up on the blog to have a say and hilarity ensued?  Good times.).
It seems that some school boards have a no toy gun policy to support [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/06/29/lets-mess-the-kids-up/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Let&#8217;s Mess The Kids Up'>Let&#8217;s Mess The Kids Up</a> <small>I took Quinn to see Transformers, The Rise of the...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/06/15/summer-begins/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Summer Begins'>Summer Begins</a> <small>Well the summer is almost here, we are in that...</small></li>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;m not a fan of guns, and would think that most reasonable people would agree that guns in schools are a bad idea (Remember when<a href="http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2008/10/13/ok-anybody-with-a-bigger-gun-than-mine-raise-your-hand-both-of-them/" target="_blank"> the pro-gun boys showed up on the blog</a> to have a say and hilarity ensued?  Good times.).</p>
<p>It seems that some school boards have a no toy gun policy to support the no real gun thing, which probably makes sense to most folks too.  Some toy guns look pretty real, and that could result in mistakes and tragedy.</p>
<p>Still, sometimes you just have to wonder what some folks are thinking:  a fourth-grader got hauled into the principal&#8217;s office in New York for playing with his LEGO in the school cafeteria (the horror&#8230;), one piece of which was a 2 inch toy gun.  The principal (decided her life was in danger and) ended up threatening the boy with suspension.  Here&#8217;s a chilling picture of the murderous weapon with which she was threatened.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/nc_toygun02_04_500kmsnbc_100204.300w.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2091" title="scary LEGO gun" src="http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/nc_toygun02_04_500kmsnbc_100204.300w.jpg" alt="" width="296" height="222" /></a></p>
<p>Um ya.</p>
<p>This is exactly what the folks who wrote the policy were thinking, I&#8217;m sure.  You know what else?  I&#8217;m thinking they should remove all of the capital &#8220;L&#8221; magnets from the kindergarten rooms because if those suckers ever fall over just so, my god!  It&#8217;s a perfect replica of a Luger, and it&#8217;s pointed right at Timmy!  Heaven help the poor kid that tries to pick it up, he will probably be swarmed by three cops.</p>
<p>Sigh.  Doesn&#8217;t this sound a little nuts?  I mean, a LEGO gun?  Even the kid&#8217;s police officer father thinks they went a tad far beyond reason.  The mom is thinking of suing, and I say go for it.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s<a href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35234742/ns/today-today_people/" target="_blank"> the whole story</a>.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/06/29/lets-mess-the-kids-up/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Let&#8217;s Mess The Kids Up'>Let&#8217;s Mess The Kids Up</a> <small>I took Quinn to see Transformers, The Rise of the...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/06/15/summer-begins/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Summer Begins'>Summer Begins</a> <small>Well the summer is almost here, we are in that...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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		<title>They Seem to Still Might Be Giants</title>
		<link>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/03/they-seem-to-still-might-be-giants/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/02/03/they-seem-to-still-might-be-giants/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:55:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Court</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Scientifica]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video Diversions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids nerd rock rules]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/?p=2087</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A nice little follow up to my glowing review of They Might Be Giants&#8217; new CD Here Comes Science on Time.com.  It&#8217;s cool to see pro-science folks do well by not dumbing things down, contrary to the norm.  Those songs are still favourites around the house, I will often put it on while we are [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/09/10/they-might-be-giants-here-comes-science/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: They Might Be Giants &#8211; Here Comes Science'>They Might Be Giants &#8211; Here Comes Science</a> <small>They Might Be Giants (who until now I had never...</small></li>
</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A nice little follow up to my glowing review of They Might Be Giants&#8217; new CD <a href="http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/09/10/they-might-be-giants-here-comes-science/" target="_blank">Here Comes Science</a> on Time.com.  It&#8217;s cool to see pro-science folks do well by not dumbing things down, contrary to the norm.  Those songs are still favourites around the house, I will often put it on while we are having dinner and the whole family bops along and sings the words.  Actually Cael usually also acts out the words, which has to be seen to be believed.</p>
<p>Anyway, it&#8217;s way cool stuff.  Check these guys out.</p>
<p><object id="flashObj" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="420" height="236" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=60412239001&amp;linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.time.com%2Ftime%2Fvideo%2Fplayer%2F0%2C32068%2C60412239001_1954746%2C00.html&amp;playerID=42806370001&amp;domain=embed&amp;" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/42806370001?isVid=1&amp;publisherID=293884104" /><param name="name" value="flashObj" /><param name="flashvars" value="videoId=60412239001&amp;linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.time.com%2Ftime%2Fvideo%2Fplayer%2F0%2C32068%2C60412239001_1954746%2C00.html&amp;playerID=42806370001&amp;domain=embed&amp;" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed id="flashObj" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="236" src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/42806370001?isVid=1&amp;publisherID=293884104" name="flashObj" allowscriptaccess="always" swliveconnect="true" allowfullscreen="true" seamlesstabbing="false" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" flashvars="videoId=60412239001&amp;linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.time.com%2Ftime%2Fvideo%2Fplayer%2F0%2C32068%2C60412239001_1954746%2C00.html&amp;playerID=42806370001&amp;domain=embed&amp;" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"></embed></object></p>
<p>Special bonus, which I didn&#8217;t know is: they did the theme songs for Malcolm in the Middle, and The Daily Show.  Cool.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/09/10/they-might-be-giants-here-comes-science/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: They Might Be Giants &#8211; Here Comes Science'>They Might Be Giants &#8211; Here Comes Science</a> <small>They Might Be Giants (who until now I had never...</small></li>
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		<title>Sniffy Stuffy Stiffy</title>
		<link>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/01/28/sniffy-stuffy-stiffy/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2010/01/28/sniffy-stuffy-stiffy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:32:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Court</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Llife with Lloyd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[in which the stuffy gets it]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/?p=2084</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently bought Lloyd and Harvey some new dog toys, along with some new gear getting ready for Lloyd&#8217;s obedience class (no doubt the topic of a future blog post all by itself).
Taking Lloyd to PetSmart is an amplified version of what happens everytime I take Lloyd anywhere.  The amount of attention this dog gets [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/05/18/there-will-be-lloyd/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: There Will be Lloyd'>There Will be Lloyd</a> <small>It&#8217;s done.  A recent fit of insanity, and we now...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/10/13/lloyds-sock-diet/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Lloyd&#8217;s Sock Diet'>Lloyd&#8217;s Sock Diet</a> <small>I mentioned a few days ago that Lloyd had lost...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/11/24/environmental-impact-of-pet-ownership/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Environmental Impact of Pet Ownership'>Environmental Impact of Pet Ownership</a> <small>Just happened across an article in the Ottawa Citizen about...</small></li>
</ol>

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I recently bought Lloyd and Harvey some new dog toys, along with some new gear getting ready for Lloyd&#8217;s obedience class (no doubt the topic of a future blog post all by itself).</p>
<p>Taking Lloyd to PetSmart is an amplified version of what happens everytime I take Lloyd anywhere.  The amount of attention this dog gets is insane.  He&#8217;s a rock star everywhere he goes.  The looks, the grins, and the conversations with people are a constant.  What is it about St. Bernards that attract attention like no other breed?  Harvey is a beautiful dog, but he can&#8217;t hold a candle to this kind of attention.  The best part of the whole thing is Lloyd is completely indifferent to it.  He really doesn&#8217;t care about the people.  The dogs are another thing entirely.</p>
<p>Lloyd loves other dogs, whether or not they love him.  Most return the affection, but some don&#8217;t.  Lloyd has no sense of personal space if you are a dog butt.  Some dogs aren&#8217;t all that keen to have a wet nose the size of a baseball attached to 130lbs of unstoppable dog rammed into their butts, no matter how friendly he is.  I know I wouldn&#8217;t be.  When Lloyd sniffs, he really sniffs, in the draftiest, snuffliest sense.  There is nothing lost on Lloyd when it comes to smells.</p>
<p>Anyway, I got home from the pet store, Lloyd promptly stole the stuffy I bought from the bag as I was taking my boots off and ran off to show Harvey.  In approximately 15 minutes, this was the scene that greeted me when I came downstairs.<br />
<a href="http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/p_1600_1200_7ECF813B-BAD6-4791-92B1-09184CAF784D.jpeg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2082" title="Harvey and Lloyd look guilty" src="http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/p_1600_1200_7ECF813B-BAD6-4791-92B1-09184CAF784D.jpeg" alt="" width="480" height="640" /></a><br />
They look guilty, and well they should.  The stuffy is no more, or just a shell of it&#8217;s former self.  Oh well, easy come, easy go.  If you look carefully you will notice that Lloyd doesn&#8217;t quite look as guilty as he should, it&#8217;s exceptionally hard to look properly remorseful with a stiffy.</p>
<p>That is a universal lesson that all males should take to heart when trying to get away with something: with a stiffy, your chances are iffy.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/05/18/there-will-be-lloyd/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: There Will be Lloyd'>There Will be Lloyd</a> <small>It&#8217;s done.  A recent fit of insanity, and we now...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/10/13/lloyds-sock-diet/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Lloyd&#8217;s Sock Diet'>Lloyd&#8217;s Sock Diet</a> <small>I mentioned a few days ago that Lloyd had lost...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.vallentyne.com/blog/2009/11/24/environmental-impact-of-pet-ownership/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Environmental Impact of Pet Ownership'>Environmental Impact of Pet Ownership</a> <small>Just happened across an article in the Ottawa Citizen about...</small></li>
</ol></p>
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