What a suck I am. I had good intentions do do all sorts of honest and productive things this weekend — pausing momentarily of course to visit with the various people who passed through the house. I was going to catch up on some writing, take down the christmas lights, and maybe even bake some of my infamous monster cookies. Instead, I made the mistake of installing a version of Settlers — the one that came in the box with the actual board game [...]

Apparently, our bout of unseasonably warm weather is coming to an end. It’s weird observation of the humanity around us that everyone tries to blame the weather on themselves. A superstition, I guess. But so many people I’ve talked to lately have some cornball theory about how their actions have doomed the string of warmth we’re experiencing, like they actually have some effect on the outcome of the global climate. I’ve heard car related reasons: “Oh, I just switched my tires!” or “I just [...]

My little sis, Sharyl, bought me a coffee grinder for Christmas. As requested. And, as I told her just this past weekend, that at the current level of usage it might need to be an annual gift. Yes, it’s being well-used. So, I’ve been sampling from the world of whole-bean coffee lately. Not only does this mean I don’t need to either (a) drink the expensive pre-brewed stuff occasionally at Starbucks or (b) drink the swill from the office, but it also means I [...]

Awaiting me at work yesterday, an email from my boss: “Educated as a political scientist and, until now, proud of that fact, I’m currently reflecting on some of my major life choices and contemplating retirement as a pundit, to avoid further embarrassment. So, let’s all give appropriate and due honours to Brad, the mighty oracle, and lets buck up and pay our gambling debts.” Apparently, listening to CBC in the mornings on my way to work has made me something of a political “realist” [...]

“Oh, Brad!” You say, your upper lip quivering in a pitiful, graceless display of mental anguish. “Why aren’t you writing more? You said you’d be writing more in 2006.” “Ah!” I reply, shrugging. “But I have been writing more. I’ve been writing lots and lots more.” “But, but…” You stutter back. “You just can’t see what I’ve been writing.” I grin wryly in your direction. “Thousands and thousands of words. Dozens of ideas. Multiple projects. And I’ve hidden them away until such time as [...]

Someone stop me. Okay, fine. I’ll say it: I made fun of this channel when it first premiered, shifting all the stations to confusion. It didn’t bother me, or anything. Flipping through our digi-cable listings, all I saw for that first week was movies from the thirties and forties, in their own right fine, I’m sure. But well, black and white mid-century romance is not exactly a target for *my* interests. So, whatever. Really. Who’s going to watch THAT? But, alas, last night between [...]

(a) what I feel like after a tossing-and-turing night near a conehead of a dog who, not that I can blame her, had a sleepless time in her bed, a big plastic sheath wrapped cumbersome around her neck. She whined for a long while, unsettled, before dozing long enough for us to do the same. But she had me out of my bed by before six, and we cuddled up in the Lazyboy, a blanket pulled up and the plastic cone replaced with one [...]

Sparkle curled up in the Lazyboy with me last night for a solid two hours, the election debate burning a hole in my brain, and her looming surgery (today, soon, perhaps as I write this, in fact) lingering like a brick in my mind, and completely without care in her’s. I think, last night, her biggest wonder was why I would not let her have any rawhide to chew, an addiction (if anyone wonders how to buy the love of my dog) that seems [...]

I realized (after the fact) that this was a recovery weekend. No travel. No visitors. No expectations. We spent some quality time with Sparkle. A few hours (and dollars) were spent at West Edmonton Mall where the hoards had reduced to a tolerable level post-holidays. We took the tree down, sad as it was, tossing it (literally) to the curb, and putting the vacuum to good work. And watched a couple odd movies, neither of which were bad, but not worth deeper analysis either. [...]

It was inevitable, I suppose. After a essay-slash-manifesto of dog-food information arrived (as requested) from Karin’s wandering pal Liz this morning, forwarded for my information, Karin apparently felt compelled to finally make that vet appointment for Sparkle. It seems she’ll be having a bit of a lesson in minor surgery next week as we pay to have her maternal capacity diminshed to nearly zero. No baby Sparkles for us. But I can picture it now: that look of betrayal in her eyes as we [...]

No one doubts for a moment that I was a strange kid. But those memories tend to percolate on occassion, and as such, I realized that one of my oddly notable temporal markers came due the other day. [Beep] Picture it: New Years Day 1986. I was sitting in a closet in my aunt’s house in Berkeley, California, with a large pad of art paper and the heady fumes of some colourful permanent markers. I remember this, because on that paper, with those markers, [...]

What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before? Business Taxes. Yup. Filed a good ol’ T2 for Starkware. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Resolution: Avoiding the Walmart — and I didn’t even go in their parking lot in ’05! This year, of course. I’ll let you know how they turn out. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yup. I got a new once-removed cousin, and also first parental new-year-congrats out [...]