CityRat's Nest

No coffee: week 1

2010-01-12T14:57:00.001-05:00

Well, I've made it a whole week without coffee, or any form of
caffeine for that matter. I meant to post everyday giving status
updates but you know how life is. So I'll give you a quick run down of
how the week went.

Monday (day 1): I already posted about Monday (see previous post No
coffee: day 1), but I have something to add. Due to the extreme
feeling of having been kicked in the head I skipped my Scout meeting
to go to bed early.

Tuesday (day 2): Headache, but not quite as bad as on Monday. Savannah
brought some pain killers to me at lunch time to take the edge off. My
head was foggy, and thinking was very difficult. Very tired. Start
drinking caffeine free herbal tea.

Wednesday (day 3): Headache getting better but still taking pain
killers every 4 or 5 hours. The fog in my brain is lifting, but I'm
still not the brightest bulb on the tree. Still very tired.

Thursday (day 4): Headache is almost gone, one dose in the morning and
no more. Fog is also thinning. Still very tired, but sleeping much
better.

Friday (day 5): Headache gone, no pain killers required. Fog is gone.
Still very tired.

Saturday (day 6): Got to sleep in a couple hours, so I'm feeling pretty good.

Sunday (day 7): Slept in again for a couple hours. Nice to catch up on
my sleep, and I'm sleeping so much better now.

Monday (day 8): Week 1 without coffee completed. Stomach is feeling
better, and I'm sleeping much better. I'm still pretty tired all the
time, but not falling asleep on my feet like I was at the start of the
week. Drinking herbal tea like it's going out of style.

So there we have it. The current status of my effort to kick the
coffee habit. Still....so very tired....Zzzzzz...

End transmission...

No coffee: day 1

2010-01-04T18:42:00.003-05:00

For any of you who know me, you'll know I drink a lot of coffee...well, used to drink a lot of coffee. I've decided to give it up. The present thought is, I'll sleep much better if I'm not drinking coffee all day, and I won't have so many stomach problems.

So, day one without coffee. The day didn't go as bad as I thought it was going to. I was tired, most of the day, but I'm usually tired, just slightly more so without coffee. My desk is just outside the kitchen at the office, which didn't help matters, people going in and out all day getting coffee, and a fresh brewed pot is always there. The headaches hit in the afternoon, making me feel like I was just kicked in the head by a combat boot. Unfortunately I had forgotten to take any pain killers to wok with me. Oh well, I survived. Must remember pain killers tomorrow.

End transmission...

Victory Science

2009-12-15T22:01:00.000-05:00

Let us never forget just what's at stake in the war in Afghanistan: nothing less than the success of the war in Afghanistan. This war may be a mistake, a blood-soaked blunder, an unholy carnal house mindlessly consuming the bodies and souls of untold thousands, an open sore on the pockmarked face of history and an abomination before the sight of God and men, but it is first and foremost a war, and wars must be won. If the United States doesn't win this war, then will it not lose it? And if the United States loses this war, then won't the Unites States have lost it? And if the United States has lost this war, will that not then make the United States a kind of thing that loses wars? And then where would we be?

And just as America can't afford to abandon this war, surely it can't afford to abandon the Afghan people, who without the American military would be left to the savage whims of their hated enemy, the Afghan people. Indeed, it remains America's solemn duty as the leader of the free world to bring freedom and security to the Afghan people by hunting down and eliminating the Afghan people. Nor can America forget its own national security, and the dire threat posed by the Afghan people to our war against the Afghan people.

But we must also remember that the Afghans, menaced even though they are by the evil of the Afghans, are not blameless here. Have they sufficiently appreciated our efforts to kill them? No, they have not. Have they effectively and efficiently rebuilt their nation whenever we've had cause to blow it up? No, they have not. Have they become full and effective participants in the ongoing mission to kill them? No, they have not. It is long past time for the people of Afghanistan to step up their efforts to kill themselves, and not merely rely on American generosity to finish the job for them.

And so the President will be sending additional troops to Afghanistan - but a precise number of troops, carefully determined by the nation's top warologists after long months of carpet-bombing villages of laboratory mice - and they will kill Afghans there, but only for a precise period of time, calculated to be the exact interval necessary to protect our freedoms, or restore our security, or for all of us to grow bored and forget.

End transmission...

I'm gonna be a bear!

2009-11-30T20:09:00.003-05:00

Capture the Flag fundraising almost there + Nuit Blanche!

2009-09-26T13:38:00.002-04:00

Dear friends and supporters,

Thank you for your contributions so far! We are only $336.00 away from our goal for Capture the Flag fundraising to make sure the event that sees us jumping over cars and invading parking garages happens this year.

If you can find it in your heart and your wallet to donate, please direct your browser to http://newmindspace.com/donate.php

Thank you so much!
Here is the Facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=180392448760
October 2nd 2009! @ 9 PM

And the Newmindspace.com event:
http://newmindspace.com/capturetheflag2009.php

Please forward widely!

***

Nuit Blanche Renegade Parade! October 3rd!

Begins at the SW corner of Bloor St. @ & Avenue Rd. at 10:01 PM.

All of the information is up at http://tinyurl.com/freecupcakes

See you sooooon
Newmindspace

Toronto Bubble Battle today! Queen/University @ 3

2009-07-11T07:28:00.000-04:00

Get your bubbles ready! The bubble battle is here!

SATURDAY JULY 11th 2009
QUEEN + UNIVERSITY
STARTS 3:00 PM SHARP

As always, full info on http://www.newmindspace.com

JULY 11: Bubble Battle @ Queen/University + more

2009-07-04T11:55:00.001-04:00

*** JULY 11: BUBBLE BATTLE T.O 2009 ***

Millions of bubbles fly through the air as we converge at Queen + University for a magical bubble battle! Loosely based on the Dr. Seuss Classic The Butter Battle Book. Bring bubble toys, bubble generators, bubble solution, and plenty of AA batteries :) We will meet at the South African War Memorial, fill our weapons and pull the trigger!

Be creative with your contraptions and take sides: butter side up or butter side down!

Bubble Battle T.O
Queen + University (steps of obelisk, north side)
Saturday, July 11th 2009 @ 3:00pm
Rain or shine. Free and all ages!

http://newmindspace.com/bubblebattleto09.php

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126294083135

Newmindspace
http://newmindspace.com

Playing catch up!

2009-06-11T11:31:00.001-04:00

A lot of things going on around here...so much to keep up with. Even without a job both Savannah ad I seem to be constantly on the run. Soccer, school, dentist and doctor, then keeping up with the housework, as well as keep the baby happy and busy. Doesn't seem like much when I type it out though.

So, what have we been doing around here? The garden has been expanded, dug, and planted with peas, beans, carrots, radish, beets, potatoes, and lettuce. Tomatoes were supposed to go in but that hasn't happened yet, so i might have to buy some seedlings to cover that area. Potatoes went into a potato box i built, although only one seems to be sprouting now....wonder what happened to the rest of them. Oh well, we'll wait and see how that goes.

Sunflowers were planted at the back of the yard...again, something dug them up and ate them the first time. This time i covered them with some lattice until they sprouted...and now something has been nibbling the leaves, but at least they're growing!

Raspberry bush was planted, and doing pretty good. It's still small, so we won't get to much off of it this year, but it's flowering already.

Rhubarb root went in, and seems to be doing well. It's still small too, but those things grow almost anywhere so I'm not worried about that one.

Wildflowers in the front yard appear to be coming up, but it's hard to tell between the "weeds" and the "wildflowers".

End transmission...

cause Winston Churchill said so

2009-06-09T21:17:00.003-04:00

I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.

Anonymous

2009-06-05T20:06:00.001-04:00

Be optimistic: everyone you hate will eventually die.

End transmission...

There comes a point in your life when you realize:

2009-05-28T13:08:00.004-04:00

Who matters,
Who never did,
Who won't anymore...
And who always will.

The Fat Cats Neighbourhood Adventure

2009-05-14T14:20:00.002-04:00

Raven (aka the fat cat because he weighs almost 20 lbs) decided to have himself an adventure the other day. He is entirely an indoor cat so I have no idea what possessed him to want to take a jaunt outdoors but he waddled out the door none the less.

He then spent the rest of the day taunting us by walking by the open windows and meowing so that we would come look for him. Of course we never found him on these occasions but I am sure he was close by laughing at us.

He finally decided to come home just after it got dark and the temperature dropped. I am sure than main reason for his reappearance was his desire to have food served to him since he is not agile enough to catch his own dinner.

Of course, he could not just come to the door and meow to be let in. No he made CityRat come out to retrieve him from his hiding spot beneath the outdoor bar. Not the easiest place to get a fat cat out of. At least I didn't have to be the one too pull him out. I still bear the scars from the last retrieval attempt.

Plants, and gardens in the Bubbledom

2009-05-12T11:51:00.001-04:00

So we've been busy here in the Bubbledom, digging up overgrown flower beds, widening other beds for vegetables, and basically getting the yard cleaned up so we can use it.

The beds in the front yard have been planted with packs of wildflowers, and the other random bed in the middle of the front lawn has been seeded with grass seed. I know, not very homesteader like, but we just moved into the place, and it's a rental, so we have to take things slowly here in regards to taking over the property with the way we'd rather have it. Savannah has also added some hanging pots with Geraniums up on the front steps, which make the place look a little more cheery too.

The back yard has had our composter added to it, the rain barrel moved behind the shed (although the downspout hasn't been completely moved yet�.which caused a small basement flood one day), and the bed behind the shed (hey, I'm a poet, and don't know it) has been widened to at least twice what it was. We also planted a raspberry bush down near the back of the yard, and a rhubarb plant up closed to the house. In one of the planters that was left behind I've discovered that it�s been planted with chives, so we now have fresh chives in a pot out back.

On the downside of the Bubbledom, the upstairs washroom floor is soggy, and we�re patiently waiting for it to dry out so we can fix it up. That and we're still getting organized and unpacked from moving here last February, so we�re always busy busy busy!

On a side note, the site will be going through some changes in the next little while, please bear with me as i get everything sorted out.

End transmission...

Ontario's new tax hike

2009-04-16T14:07:00.007-04:00

As a concerned taxpayer I feel it is important to have you all understand what the new HST or "blended tax?" means to Ontarians. It amazes me that this announcement has slipped by without a ripple, and yet when I tell people about the impact to them they are all shocked.

The intended purpose is to blend the GST and the PST into one tax. This will cut down the paperwork burden for Ontario businesses and, in theory, lessen staff by merging both departments. This could be a noble attempt to cut costs. There is just one problem. Rather than just blending the products and services that now charge both taxes, the provincial government has decided that it will apply this new tax to almost all goods and services that you do not pay PST on now!

You are about to become the victim of the largest tax hike in our history. How will this affect you? Let's start with just a few things that are to be charged the extra 8% and see if it will affect you or your family.

Gasoline
Home heating fuel
Water
Hydro
Used cars
Government and city services
Any service you now use for your home or business such as repairs, professional services of any kind, construction materials etc.

These are just a few.

See this article about how the 1000.00 BRIBE they are offering will not even cover half of the increased cost to the average family. This tax hits Ontarians hard, but ESPECIALLY the low income ones! They will have an 8% increase in everyday life, and yet you will not see their benefits or salaries rise.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/269917

Actually almost everything currently without PST in your life except children's clothing, prescriptions, diapers, and feminine hygiene products will now cost you 8% more. Oh and here is a kicker. The fuel tax will slide with the increasing cost of that fuel.

Our premier is counting on taxpayers to do what they always do when a new tax is added. Nothing! It is very important that you start to research and discuss this with your friends and family. It is not too late to stop this if you are willing to do something as send an email to the premier asking him either to a) stop the tax grab all together or b) do what was originally intended and blend the tax on the products that now have both taxes and not to extend the new tax to everything else. If you just sit there remember you lose the right to complain about taxes ever again. Get UP and start telling everyone about this injustice and we can stop this today. Don't think your email will not count. Most MP's get 10 emails, they consider it a catastrophe!

Send your objection to:

Dalton.McGuinty@premier.gov.on.ca

www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/feedback.asp

End transmission...

Pillow fight Toronto: Saturday, Dundas Square @ 3 !!!

2009-03-20T21:01:00.000-04:00

The moment is here! The pillow fight is so soon! Please bring a soft pillow, yourself and your friends to Dundas Square at 3 PM tomorrow. Subway is Dundas.

Please also bring garbage bags to help clean up! :D

http://www.newmindspace.com
http://tinyurl.com/pfto09

Newmindspace
http://newmindspace.com

Toronto Pillow Fight this Saturday! +more

2009-03-16T20:04:00.000-04:00

All this and more at http://www.newmindspace.com
Hello friends,

The pillow fight is one of our favourite events to put on, and it is only a few days away! Saturday March 21st @ 3pm :)

We just wanted to remind you of three things: One way we could really use your help is to spread the word. Share the event (http://tinyurl.com/pfto09) on Facebook, write your favourite blog about it, or post this image on forums:

http://newmindspace.com/images/pillowfightTO.jpg << repost widely plz

Secondly, because the goal of the pillow fight is to have fun, not make a mess, please reduce or eliminate your use of feathers this year. This is something that all pillow fight groups around the world are adhering to.

And third, please help clean up! Bring trash bags and gloves and please, please, please do not abandon your pillow in the square. We'll see you then!

The afterparty has been scrapped in favor of an all-ages pre-party the night before by our friend to support a great cause. Here's the info!

***** MARIO PARTY MARCH 20 *****

Nintendo's original Mario Party was innovative in that it recreated in the digital world the rules and mechanics of a board game and then spruced the formula up with a wealth of mini-challenges. That was in 1999 - exactly a decade ago.

Don't get yourself down! Sure, you're old now, but that just means it's time to step it up a notch! So let's celebrate by doing what gamers do best. Stay up all night with friends and have fun until our eyelids are heavy and our thumbs bleed!

This Friday, Toronto's west end is going to get lit up and shaken down by laser lights and heavy bass.

A gorgeous private venue, transformed for one night in to a Nintendo-themed all ages utopia of huge sound and moving bodies, featuring some of Toronto's mainstays and a few rising stars.

Featuring art created by:
the talented youth at Sketch art studio, Michael Archibald and The Loft.

March 20th, 2009
ALL AGES
1610 Bloor st. w.
9pm - 3am
$10-b4-10pm
more after

All proceeds will be donated to the Nook Afterschool Program
For more information about The Nook, visit: http://www.conccommunity.org/index.php/nook/mission/
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=62351398161

***** LOVE *****

Newmindspace
http://www.newmindspace.com

Honk if you're annoying

2009-02-18T22:08:00.001-05:00

The guy in front of me keeps honking...and he's not in a car, he's sitting in the train seat in front of me. I don't know if he has a sinus problem or he thinks he's the Road Runner, but he's honking. Maybe he's a goose disguised as an annoying person.

I'm just sitting here, synchroni*HONK*ng my laptop with my *HONK* USB key and bloody hell that's completely unnecessary.

Not really all that much to say today. I've been running test scripts on a data warehouse I've been building at work, and each test takes about half an hour to run, which has given me some time to rework some of the *HONK* site. I'll most likely be cutting out a lot of the site that is no longer relevant...like the network section. I've sold, or given away lot of the stuff listed as part of my network, not to mention the parts that I've anonymously donated to the scrappers in various neighbourhoods. I think the last time i updated the network section was in 2003...maybe sometime in 2004...so it's just a wee out of date. The RPG section never really had anything in it at all, so that's no big loss. *HONK* The workshop section will still exist in one form or another, although it may disappear for a while until it get resurrected. Maybe it'll just be merged into the main site...i dunno yet.

Sure are a lot of ugly people in the neighbourhood. OH! There goes one!

Any suggestions for improvements to the site will be greatly welcomed. Please be aware that i know my spelling is horrid, so that doesn't *HONK* count.

End trans*HONK*mission...

Welcome to Homestead Bubbledom

2009-02-17T21:10:00.002-05:00

After a brief hiatus (which basically means being too lazy to do shit) I'm back. And holy crap is this train track bumpy! Posting from the train now, pretty much the only time i have to post anything, and with my new bite size laptop i can. So let's get to it! Now if only the guy beside me would stop picking his nose.

We've moved the Bubbledom over a bit, south west of where we were, from the confines of the apartment over to Homestead Bubbledom. Yes, that's what I'm naming it. Although we're still renting we now have a yard for the youngins and a garden, a driveway, a basement, and even heat (yes, heat, which was lacking in our apartment...possibly more on that later). We've been at the new place for a couple weeks now, we're still unpacking and getting things setup and organized of course. The cats love the extra space, and the stairs. Maybe Raven will finally lose that gut.

So far we've got the bedrooms almost completely set up, just need a bed for Peanut to finish their room i think. Our room i think is setup, just needs some more organization....or me to put my clothes away. Wickets room is still a crazy place, and needs a door knob as the last one was shot.

So, the basement toilet blew the seal, we replaced the upstairs toilet with a new dual flush (and a proper wax seal), cleaned out the shed, replaced the crazy 3 headed homebrew showerhead in the upstairs shower, cleaned up the backyard a bit, removed the frozen uncooked hamburgers from the BBQ....not sure how long they've been sitting there, and threw out tons of garbage that had accumulated from the previous tenants who basically were slobs who did nothing.

I now have what my wife calls a 'man cave' in the basement. It has the computers, some shelving, and the fish tanks. Right now there's mostly just bits of shelving and boxes everywhere. The fish tanks are on their shelf, they still need more attention though. I'll be building a small aquaponics system there too, so keep an eye out for that.

That's about it for now....this site needs an overhaul....it's on the list.

End transmission...

Technorati : Homestead
Del.icio.us : Homestead
Zooomr : Homestead
Flickr : Homestead

Darryl's random thought for today

2009-01-13T08:35:00.001-05:00

Today is Tuesday. Originally spelled Twosday it is thus named because it is the second day of the week. It was forcibly edited to its current spelling by the Catholic church when Sinday (otherwise known as 'repent or you are going to hell day') muscled in as the first day of the week.

The spelling of Sinday was revisited centuries later when a priest sneezed on an official document, blurring the word and causing the spelling to be changed to the now known Sunday.

The creation of Sinday also altered the spelling of the once first day Oneday. It was converted to Monday because pope jimmy the second liked the letter M. When the spelling of Sinday was changed to Sunday debate raged for a while to change the spelling of Monday to Moonday as to have the sun and the moon following each other. Despite the pleasing symmetry to this idea, it was eventually vetoed by pope jimmy the third because his daddy had spelled it with a single O and he wanted to honour that. A common known fact is that behind jimmy the 3rds back, the widespread rumour among the clergy was that the new spelling was disapproved because the two O's in a row secretly aroused the pope because they looked like a little boy's butt cheeks and he couldn't handle looking at that once every seven days.

Ewoks in the house!

2009-01-12T14:11:00.002-05:00

I'd like to make a little announcement. We have an addition to the family, well, almost 2 months ago now. A little one we like to call Wicket, as he makes little ewok sounds when he sleeps. His arrival has completed our little family, and has made us very, very happy. Yes, very happy, even though he doesn't let us sleep, and constantly spits up on me....especially right after i put clean clothes on him...or myself. Here's a pic of the little guy. -:)

Diary of a Snow Shoveler

2009-01-08T18:32:00.000-05:00

Feel so good. I just love those little white pills
they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

Diary of a Snow Shoveler

2008-12-31T18:31:00.000-05:00

I set fire to what's left of the house. No more
shoveling.

Diary of a Snow Shoveler

2008-12-30T18:30:00.000-05:00

Roof caved in. I beat up the snow plow driver, and now
he is suing me for a million dollars, not only for the
beating I gave him, but also for trying to shove the
broken snow shovel up his ass. The wife went home to
her mother.
Nine more inches predicted.

Diary of a Snow Shoveler

2008-12-29T18:29:00.000-05:00

10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or
it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever
heard. How dumb does he think I am?

Diary of a Snow Shoveler

2008-12-28T18:29:00.000-05:00

Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed in. The BITCH is
driving me crazy!!!