Last one for today, I promise

And the kitchen. There you go Jim. A brief look at the tile-looking-vinyl floor.

Check out the old fridge magnet collection! Darlene would be caught dead with that now. Funny how our tastes change over the years, huh?

Next time, I'll show you the guest bedroom....

Well, why stop now, eh?

A look down the hallway from the reading room.......

A lot of people don't like this style of hardwood - too many colours and shades and imperfections. But I love it. It's like a piece of art on the floor. Some of the detailing is downright superb.

Another before & after

This time, we'll contrast the old and new reading room. It's actually a dining room, but because it's just the two of us, we decided to make it a reading room instead.

Good riddance to that awful green carpet..... and the standard ugly chandelier.

Je suis fatigue [ I am tired]

Sorry folks......... I taught computer classes all day, so I'm a little wiped.

I did go to my favourite breakfast place - Cora's Breakfast & Lunch. Will somebody please pony up a half million and open one of these things in the northwest quadrant so I don't have to drive 30 kilometres (each way) to get to one?

Sheesh!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.....

I was going through some old pictures of our house and comparing to more recent shots. Wow! What a change and it's only been 9 years. I'll post more of these, but let's start with the living room.

100 things in 100 days - number 65

65. I met the only Mom I know when I was 3.

My birth mother died when I was barely a week old - complications of some sort. I can never remember the details because frankly, it's not something I can really identify much with. Don't be sad - I never knew her.

My father's parents (Oma and Opa) raised me until my Dad re-married when I was 3 years old. That's when I was introduced to my current mother. It didn't start out well. I was spoiled beyond rotten by my Oma and Opa, so Mom had an uphill battle from day one. Between her and my Dad, she assumed the role as disciplinarian, so that didn't work much in her favour either.

Our relationship finally improved after I left home to join the military. I guess growing up changes your perspective. Looking back, she gave me some great life lessons, but I was too stubborn to appreciate them at the time. I loves you Mom.

Pictured is Mom, my brother Bob, me and my sister Heidi.

100 things in 100 days - number 66

66. I can make the 'live long and prosper' sign.

See number 89.

Since this one has no amplification, I'll throw in a bonus one.

Spring is here...... finally

It got to a balmy 17C today (63F). The snow is gone. It doesn't get dark out until 9pm now. I wonder what it is about the urge to crank the car stereo, step on the gas pedal and smile - there's just this feeling of spring fever in the air I guess. We must still have this latent 'spring' gene in us, because I swear there's some extra testosterone coursing through these veins right now.

100 things in 100 days - number 67

67. I freak out when people don't answer the phone, or alarms go off unattended.

Want to see me flinch? Want to see me slowly go insane? Just let a phone go unanswered in my presence. Or let an alarm clock or timer go on uninterrupted. Continuous crying baby - just as bad. I have no explanation for why this is an issue with me. I can be downstairs on the computer and the timer is going off upstairs, but Darlene is oblivious to it and I have to race up there to turn it off. Sometimes I wonder if she does it on purpose.....

Needle-free future?

Here's some exciting news. Diabetics who received stem-cell therapy were able to stop taking insulin, after their bodies started to produce the hormone naturally again. The best part is - the stem cells come from your own body.

I know a certain someone that might be interested in that........

Lee is not impressed...

Remember Lee Iacocca? He used to run Ford and Chrysler. He has a new book out called Where Have All the Leaders Gone? In it, he lambastes the 'gang of clueless bozos' in charge of the US.

Here's a short excerpt:

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!

Read more of the excerpt here.

100 things in 100 days - number 68

68. Dogs love me.

I don't know why. I've been in situations where the owner of a dog has warned me of their canine's ferociousness toward strangers yadda yadda. Then as soon as the dog sees me, it's like all whining and getting all excited like it knows it's going to play with me or something. Dobermans, German Shepherds, Wolf crosses - they are like putty in my hands. The weird thing is - I'm not even really into dogs. I don't hate them, I just have no desire to ever own one.

But dammit they love me.

Karl's Personal Pie Charts 2

Chart #2

% of life living in Canadian provinces (so far)

Inspired by http://www.flipflopflyin.com/personalpies/index.html

A-la whose line is it anyway, but with new players each episode

If you're a fan of improvisation like me, you might want to watch out for the new TV program "Thank God You're Here". It stars 4 different actors each episode who are thrust into scenes they have no prior knowledge of and have no script to follow.

Elton Improv

Watch Elton John turn the instruction manual for an oven into a song, completely ad libbed.

Hannibal blogs

If ancient Rome had the internet...........

• The destruction of Pompeii in 79AD is the most viewed video at YouTube. The first comment is..."OMG so cool! Volcanos ROCK!"
• "Naked Cleopatra" is the top search term on Google.
• The Colosseum is renamed the eBay Colosseum, with free wireless hotspots outside the lark's tongue restaurant.

Screaming guests, hookers demanding room keys...

Hotel workers blog about their jobs.

It's plain old good readin'.

100 things in 100 days - number 69

69. I can recite the alphabet backwards very fast.

It's true. I can. Backwards. 5 seconds. No letters missed or out of order. It is my super-power. If some villain ever threatens the world and offers that the only way he/she will not destroy the Earth is if humanity can find someone who can recite the alphabet backwards........... find me.

My secret? I used to watch Sesame Street as a kid. A lot.

Picture by Leo Reynolds.

'Splody bubble thingies! With music!

Bored? Want an addictive flash game that will keep you occupied for at least 10 minutes? One word....

Boomshine.

It's like a drug. Remember that episode on Star Trek The Next Generation where they all get weird playing that video game? Yeah.........

A writer with a sense of humour

Now this is how you promote a book on the web...............

Now look what you did....

Cool CG advertisement trying to shed some light on the effects of littering. Very well done.

So that's why they call me pompous.....

Here's a site that lists (in order of submission only) pompous ass words. Meaning: words that shouldn't be used on the grounds that doing so makes you sound like a pompous ass.

It's user submitted, so it should get big in a hurry.

Floyd tributes

Everywhere I go, I hear (old) people complain about Myspace. Come on! If it wasn't for Myspace, I never would have found Polka Floyd, a band that does Pink Floyd in a polka style. Oh yeah...... these cats could be the next Dread Zeppelin.

If polka's not your thing, you could always check out Dub Side of the Moon, the Floyd done in a reggae style by the Easy Star All-Stars. I-rey!

100 things in 100 days - number 70

70. I used to think that because I didn't like salmon salad, I wouldn't like salmon. I was wrong.

The first time I ever tried salmon was in the form of a salmon salad sandwich whilst still just a wee lad. Already a fan of tuna salad, I assumed salmon salad would be just as tasty. It wasn't (not to me anyway). But of course I made the gigantic mistake of thinking that all forms of salmon tasted like that - bad. I avoided salmon like the plague for much of my adult life, thinking it was gross.

Then one day, someone was cooking some salmon on skewers on the BBQ and, there being much left over, I decided to give it a try. What the....! Salmon is frickin' great! Holy!

Stupid childhood prejudices.........

Photo stolen from blork blog.

Art remix

Some artists were challenged to find a framed piece of artwork at their local thrift store and manipulate it into something new. What a riot! I especially love the one pictured.

I could tell you what Darlene's siblings used to do to their parent's paintings to see if they'd notice (they didn't). But then I'd have caused a whole lot of trouble. Oops! Or maybe I made the whole thing up............ ha ha! The world will never know......

Awwwwww

This cute picture made me smile today.

Kittens are so damned cute.

Acting - take 3

So now that I'm finished the Epcor Centre's fine class 'Intro to Acting for Adults' (both terms), Darlene says to me, "So you're going to join some of your classmates and sign up at A Company of Rogues for more training, right?"

And I'm like, "Uhhhh.............. well............. "

And she's like, "Right?"

So then I'm all like, "Yeah.......................... OK."

Nobody's telling me what to do................

If I had my own radio station - Travis

One of the bands I discovered thanks to music blogs is Travis. Travis is not the name of a person, it's the name of the band. This is well crafted UK pop-rock.

Their 1999 album The Man Who produced a handful of songs that I fell in love with, including the hit Why Does It Always Rain on Me, plus As You Are (check out the sly Hendrix lick in the sample) and She's So Strange. The melodies that these lads produce just hit a chord with me.

Their next album, The Invisible Band, from 2001 also has a couple tunes that I had to add to my music collection. Flowers in the Window is one. But the song I always let others audition in an attempt to entice them to want to hear more from Travis - is Side. I don't know how you could not like this song. If you like folk-pop-rock type music with great melodies, give these boys from Glasgow a listen.

A bonus episode!

As I cannot possibly pull off the logistics of sending all my faithful readers a chocolate Easter bunny, I give the only gift that I can share with the world..........

My attempt at art.

Episode 16. More of a rant than an episode, the hosers complain about other drivers. Video.ca link coming soon.

This has got Wes Craven all over it.......

Right now, the screams of perhaps hundreds of millions of chocolate bunnies have pierced the air, as their ears get bitten off. Unfortunately, because they can no longer hear, they will never receive the warnings from their brethren that the rest of their heads and bodies will soon follow.......

Oh............... the horror!