My friend, who works at Heritage Canada, was rather frustrated at the use of the beaver for the PIPWatch toolbar. Because, as she said, there are more clichéd Canadian symbols out there than just the beaver. For example:
The moose
The lumberjack
Igloo (can you imagine? The privacy igloo)
The Bluenose
The Rocky Moutains
Tuques
Hockey, hockey hair, hockey players
The Great White North
Northern Lights
Mounties
The maple leaf
Anyhow, you get the idea. It's hard for me to know whether those PIPWatch people were being deliberately funny when picking the beaver, or just kind of lazy. Post it in comments if you have other fine clichéd Canadian symbols.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Conference Fun
I spent the day at the Internet Privacy Symposium, hosted by uOttawa's Law & Technology program and the Privacy Commisioner of Canada. All quite interesting, but we still managed to have some completely distracted fun, which I've received permission to blog (all anonymously, as usual, but anyone who actually knows who I am will be able to guess who the culprits are. I officially have to come up with blog names for all of my friends who appear).
So there was once session that talked about the PIPWatch toolbar. It's kind of a long story, but it's a Firefox extension that essentially has to do with rating the privacy policies of websites. And one of their symbols is - I'm not kidding - the privacy beaver. It shows green, yellow or red as a quick visual indicator of the "acceptability" of the privacy policy. So my small group friend Vimutra (he picked that name for himself, not me!) leans over to me and says, "I thought everyone's beaver was private." Except maybe Paris Hilton on the Internet, so I wonder what colour her privacy beaver rating would be? Ok, I apologize immediately for that, but I'm not retracting.
At some later point, during the post-lunch attention span lull, I'm sorry to say that we devolved into a bit of note passing. In our defence, this did honestly start out as academic discussion ("What about the potential privacy apps that are counter to corporate interests? Are they funding that?"), but it degenerated into a very short game of primary school check box and "Who would you do?" (listen, it's not that I engage in this kind of behaviour a lot, but we all do it so stop being so judgmental already). I did have a couple of good ones, but the only one I'll admit to is "The PIPWatch beaver or the Greyhound dog". Once again, I apologize, but I think this is maybe the kind of behaviour the emerges at conferences for short 10 min periods.
The rest of the time I was totally focused and learning really interesting things. For example: Some company called Citywatcher.com was requiring some employees to implant RFIDs in order to enter into a secure data centre. Did you all get that? Some job is requiring their employees to implant RFIDs in order to carry out their duties. As in your boss requiring you to implant a device into your body. Wow, I can't imagine I'm the only one who's a bit spooked by that. As I said to TF&C, "But can't you see how secure that data site is now? Someone would have to hack off their arm to get into that place." A real victory for secure data. [sarcasm]
Then there was this cool guy, Yves Poullet who spoke on the subject of third generation privacy laws. He's not a native English speaker (though, like many Europeans I've met, totally competent) and his Power Point slide had this sentence:
"Governments have lost the control"
To which TF&C immediately deadpanned:
"It's between the cushions of the couch."
Am I the only one who thinks that funny? TF&C also brought up the notion of being a data terrorist. The fact that I've written the word "terrorist" on my blog will probably have me indexed somewhere now, but anyway, I think it's kind of an interesting concept. What exactly would a data terrorist do, and would one be considered to work on the side of good or evil? (Good and evil being quite subjective notions in the realm of privacy. Please discuss.)
Also totally fantastic is the fact that Yves Poullet's bio says that, in addition to having a PhD, he holds a "License in Philosophy". Holy Christ! Some university (in Europe, I suppose) grants a license in philosophy. As TF&C said (ok, he's everywhere in this post, but we were sitting beside each other), it's harder to get than a license to kill. Oh my God! Could you imagine if it was a "License to Philosophy"? That would be the cat's meow. Then, afterwards, I actually chatted with Poullet for a minute and he said I could come see him in Belgium. I am SO into that.
Also on the subject of "Poullet" (and this will be my last point because this post is becoming unwieldy), at some point I had to notice that in English, you don't find anyone with the last name "Chicken". You don't even find anyone with the last name "Chiken". Why do you suppose that is???
So there was once session that talked about the PIPWatch toolbar. It's kind of a long story, but it's a Firefox extension that essentially has to do with rating the privacy policies of websites. And one of their symbols is - I'm not kidding - the privacy beaver. It shows green, yellow or red as a quick visual indicator of the "acceptability" of the privacy policy. So my small group friend Vimutra (he picked that name for himself, not me!) leans over to me and says, "I thought everyone's beaver was private." Except maybe Paris Hilton on the Internet, so I wonder what colour her privacy beaver rating would be? Ok, I apologize immediately for that, but I'm not retracting.
At some later point, during the post-lunch attention span lull, I'm sorry to say that we devolved into a bit of note passing. In our defence, this did honestly start out as academic discussion ("What about the potential privacy apps that are counter to corporate interests? Are they funding that?"), but it degenerated into a very short game of primary school check box and "Who would you do?" (listen, it's not that I engage in this kind of behaviour a lot, but we all do it so stop being so judgmental already). I did have a couple of good ones, but the only one I'll admit to is "The PIPWatch beaver or the Greyhound dog". Once again, I apologize, but I think this is maybe the kind of behaviour the emerges at conferences for short 10 min periods.
The rest of the time I was totally focused and learning really interesting things. For example: Some company called Citywatcher.com was requiring some employees to implant RFIDs in order to enter into a secure data centre. Did you all get that? Some job is requiring their employees to implant RFIDs in order to carry out their duties. As in your boss requiring you to implant a device into your body. Wow, I can't imagine I'm the only one who's a bit spooked by that. As I said to TF&C, "But can't you see how secure that data site is now? Someone would have to hack off their arm to get into that place." A real victory for secure data. [sarcasm]
Then there was this cool guy, Yves Poullet who spoke on the subject of third generation privacy laws. He's not a native English speaker (though, like many Europeans I've met, totally competent) and his Power Point slide had this sentence:
"Governments have lost the control"
To which TF&C immediately deadpanned:
"It's between the cushions of the couch."
Am I the only one who thinks that funny? TF&C also brought up the notion of being a data terrorist. The fact that I've written the word "terrorist" on my blog will probably have me indexed somewhere now, but anyway, I think it's kind of an interesting concept. What exactly would a data terrorist do, and would one be considered to work on the side of good or evil? (Good and evil being quite subjective notions in the realm of privacy. Please discuss.)
Also totally fantastic is the fact that Yves Poullet's bio says that, in addition to having a PhD, he holds a "License in Philosophy". Holy Christ! Some university (in Europe, I suppose) grants a license in philosophy. As TF&C said (ok, he's everywhere in this post, but we were sitting beside each other), it's harder to get than a license to kill. Oh my God! Could you imagine if it was a "License to Philosophy"? That would be the cat's meow. Then, afterwards, I actually chatted with Poullet for a minute and he said I could come see him in Belgium. I am SO into that.
Also on the subject of "Poullet" (and this will be my last point because this post is becoming unwieldy), at some point I had to notice that in English, you don't find anyone with the last name "Chicken". You don't even find anyone with the last name "Chiken". Why do you suppose that is???
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
I Eat Food Yum Yum!
A Humble Chef has started a recipe blog. Apparently one of my lady friends tried out the brownie recipe he posted and brought them to work and they sort of, ahem, went down really well. So her colleagues been asking where on Earth did she get that fantastic recipe. So I made AHC make a new blog.
Prepare to be impressed!
CHALLENGE: Whom among you is astute enough to catch the reference to Canadian children's lit? Show me the reference, and I'll show you the delights of AHC.
Prepare to be impressed!
CHALLENGE: Whom among you is astute enough to catch the reference to Canadian children's lit? Show me the reference, and I'll show you the delights of AHC.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Don't Let The Catty Out of the Bag
So my roomie had to call the landlord to come in and fix the faucet of our bathtub because it was leaking to the point that it could practically run the shower. The following exchange took place between Roomie and the Landlord between 10:00 a.m. and 10:01 a.m.:
Ll: Ok, I'll come tomorrow. You have any pets?
Rm: No, but my roommate might be there, so just knock.
Ll: Your cat? You have a cat?
Rm: No, a roommate.
Ll: Ok, you don't want me to let the cat out.
Rm: I don't have a cat, I have a roommate!
Now I can be catty but not, you know, literally.
Ll: Ok, I'll come tomorrow. You have any pets?
Rm: No, but my roommate might be there, so just knock.
Ll: Your cat? You have a cat?
Rm: No, a roommate.
Ll: Ok, you don't want me to let the cat out.
Rm: I don't have a cat, I have a roommate!
Now I can be catty but not, you know, literally.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
From the Margins
I've taken to scribbling "blog this" in the margins of my text books when I come across funny, profound or egregious statements. Here are some from Contracts: Cases and Commentaries:
- "[...] but in my opinion such a person must bear the consequenses of his own exceptional ignorance[...]" Mellish LJ in Parker v South Eastern Ry. Co. (1877), 2 C.P.D. 416 (C.A.). Tee hee. Sometimes ignorance is less than bliss and not equal to a defence. And such a nice example of the business efficacy argument.
- "Without knowledge there is nothing." Lord Devlin in McCutcheon v MacBrayne Ltd. [1964] 1 All E.R. 430 (H.L.). You can't get much deeper than that, inadvertent as it may have been.
- "And some people would sign a contract even if ' THIS IS A SWINDLE' were embossed across its top in electric pink." ("Contract as a Thing" (1970), 19 Am. U.L. Rev. 131 at 157). If only that were a statutory requirement for contracts, I could at least have a sense of humour about the really horrible ones, instead of getting my indignant self in a twist.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Welcome New Baby!
This morning around 4:30 a.m. my Big Sister brought into this world her fourth beautiful baby! So welcome New Baby to the world and to the family. NB weighed in at 9 lbs 1 oz (which is, according to our mother, the exact same weight as my sister was) and she is 23 inches long. So I'm resisting the urge to call her Big Baby, instead of New Baby.
Curiously, her name is spelled with the first initial of Big Sister's* other three kids first names (in order of arrival), plus the first initial of the Big Boy, and it is the Card Shark's** middle name, so it is like a little homage to the all of the kids in our family so far. Also curiously, it is just a weird coincidence that the initials form a totally normal name. So don't worry, my sister hasn't saddled the poor child with some made-up name that will get her beat up in school. I will have to figure out blog names for all of the kids and then re-name NB with whatever word the inials form when she is no longer a new baby.
Congratulations, we're all so happy :)
*It would just be wrong of me to refer to her by the initials "BS" because that is so not her. That would actually make it ironic, and therefore funny...
**Fiorellina has been renamed, at the urging of AHC, who never liked it in the first place. I'm not sold on CS either, but we'll see.
Curiously, her name is spelled with the first initial of Big Sister's* other three kids first names (in order of arrival), plus the first initial of the Big Boy, and it is the Card Shark's** middle name, so it is like a little homage to the all of the kids in our family so far. Also curiously, it is just a weird coincidence that the initials form a totally normal name. So don't worry, my sister hasn't saddled the poor child with some made-up name that will get her beat up in school. I will have to figure out blog names for all of the kids and then re-name NB with whatever word the inials form when she is no longer a new baby.
Congratulations, we're all so happy :)
*It would just be wrong of me to refer to her by the initials "BS" because that is so not her. That would actually make it ironic, and therefore funny...
**Fiorellina has been renamed, at the urging of AHC, who never liked it in the first place. I'm not sold on CS either, but we'll see.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Incentivize: Most Certainly A Word
Re: This comment
Oh, Aitch, how could you doubt my vocabulary?! I have the Canadian Oxford Dictionary beside my bed. Which is both a badge of honour and total nerdiness, but I have that thing about language. You know, I dig it. And I have a girl crush on Katherine Barber, because she gets to edit (in chief) the Canadian dictionary. Wikipedia calls her a lexicographer. That sounds so exotic. Or is it just me?
Well, to be sure I wanted to actually check the COD, but it had to wait until I returned to Ottawa. And indeed, incentivize (or incentivise if you prefer the British spelling) is a word. You can find it on page 713 of the 2001 edition.
Why would I need to make up words when there are so many good ones we so rarely use?
Oh, Aitch, how could you doubt my vocabulary?! I have the Canadian Oxford Dictionary beside my bed. Which is both a badge of honour and total nerdiness, but I have that thing about language. You know, I dig it. And I have a girl crush on Katherine Barber, because she gets to edit (in chief) the Canadian dictionary. Wikipedia calls her a lexicographer. That sounds so exotic. Or is it just me?
Well, to be sure I wanted to actually check the COD, but it had to wait until I returned to Ottawa. And indeed, incentivize (or incentivise if you prefer the British spelling) is a word. You can find it on page 713 of the 2001 edition.
Why would I need to make up words when there are so many good ones we so rarely use?
Saturday, February 03, 2007
The Doctrine of Estates: Make. It. Stop.
It's taken me six days to read 40 pages on estates. I find it to be exceptionally dull, and yet it's one of those things that rips families apart. Lesson learned: Make sure you get a damned good lawyer to write your will, for crying out loud. Mercifully, there's only one class on this before we move to aboriginal property law, a far more intriguing proposition.
Poor, poor property law, keeps getting interupted by my afternoon naps, the February issue of Vanity Fair, Margaret Atwood, The Children of the Lamp (book three), jaunts to Chinatown, cards games, and the occasional trip to the drug store for Advil and Buckley's cough syrup. Because no vacation is complete without a wretched virus. No vacation is complete without a little LOTR, either. I myself am partial to The Return of the King, because Viggo is all over that movie. I don't get tired of LOTR, though I do tend to skip a lot of the hobbity parts, except when AHC is around. He makes me watch the hobbits, even though I would rather skip ahead to the world of Men.
What was I talking about? Oh, right, property law.
A CHALLENGE: Draft a clause for your will guaranteed to confuse and dismay your heirs! Surely you don't need to know anything about the doctrine of estates to do a bang up job of this. The courts are filled with the confusing self-written instructions of people now dead. But I'll expect a little creativity from my law peeps. Impress (or confuse) me and you may be rewarded.
Poor, poor property law, keeps getting interupted by my afternoon naps, the February issue of Vanity Fair, Margaret Atwood, The Children of the Lamp (book three), jaunts to Chinatown, cards games, and the occasional trip to the drug store for Advil and Buckley's cough syrup. Because no vacation is complete without a wretched virus. No vacation is complete without a little LOTR, either. I myself am partial to The Return of the King, because Viggo is all over that movie. I don't get tired of LOTR, though I do tend to skip a lot of the hobbity parts, except when AHC is around. He makes me watch the hobbits, even though I would rather skip ahead to the world of Men.
What was I talking about? Oh, right, property law.
A CHALLENGE: Draft a clause for your will guaranteed to confuse and dismay your heirs! Surely you don't need to know anything about the doctrine of estates to do a bang up job of this. The courts are filled with the confusing self-written instructions of people now dead. But I'll expect a little creativity from my law peeps. Impress (or confuse) me and you may be rewarded.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Comment And You May Be Rewarded
I'm feeling kind of lonely here on my blog. I hear from people that they read this, but who would know it? So I've decided to incentivize the Comments in order to reward you for posting.
What does that mean? It means that if you post funny, witty, thoughtful, intelligent, and/or clever comments you may be rewarded. Doing good deeds such as this is its own reward, but maybe you'll get a TCO t-shirt, or maybe I'll make AHC make you soup (it's worth it, believe me!), or I'll buy you a beer sometime. If it's really good, maybe I'll get AHC the cook you an entire meal. I don't really know for sure, but there will be something commensurate with the relative merit of your comment. I will make all decisions. No time limits, comment as often to any and as many posts as you like.
Come to think of it, why don't I post more comments on the blogs I read? I should think about that.
P.S. No names, please. Mine, AHS's or the kids. Don't feel obligated to post your own name, either, but if you want the goods, you'll have to identify yourself to me at some point.
Good luck!
What does that mean? It means that if you post funny, witty, thoughtful, intelligent, and/or clever comments you may be rewarded. Doing good deeds such as this is its own reward, but maybe you'll get a TCO t-shirt, or maybe I'll make AHC make you soup (it's worth it, believe me!), or I'll buy you a beer sometime. If it's really good, maybe I'll get AHC the cook you an entire meal. I don't really know for sure, but there will be something commensurate with the relative merit of your comment. I will make all decisions. No time limits, comment as often to any and as many posts as you like.
Come to think of it, why don't I post more comments on the blogs I read? I should think about that.
P.S. No names, please. Mine, AHS's or the kids. Don't feel obligated to post your own name, either, but if you want the goods, you'll have to identify yourself to me at some point.
Good luck!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Best Judgment Today
From Wickman v Shuler [1974] at the House of Lords (the court not the hair salon), judgment by Lord Reid:
"But on any view the interrelation and consequences of the various provisions of this agreement are so ill-thought out that I am not disposed to discard the natural meaning of the words which I have quoted merely because giving to them their natural meaning implies that the draftsman has forgotten something which a better draftsman would have remembered."
...
"The contract is so obscure that I can have no confidence that this is its true meaning but for the reasons which I have given I think that it is the prefereable construction."
I love it when the judges are funny, intentionally or not.
"But on any view the interrelation and consequences of the various provisions of this agreement are so ill-thought out that I am not disposed to discard the natural meaning of the words which I have quoted merely because giving to them their natural meaning implies that the draftsman has forgotten something which a better draftsman would have remembered."
...
"The contract is so obscure that I can have no confidence that this is its true meaning but for the reasons which I have given I think that it is the prefereable construction."
I love it when the judges are funny, intentionally or not.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Funny. Very Funny.
This blog has been cracking me up lately. It's worth the trip, especially since the iTunes EULA has this disclaimer:
That's not a joke. I copied that from the agreement (which I felt compelled to read, now that I'm a law student).
That's not a joke. I copied that from the agreement (which I felt compelled to read, now that I'm a law student).
Genetic Mutation: Card Shark
So last night I had all of these really weird dreams about sharks. There was one in my mother's kitchen and it didn't like me very much, though my mom didn't seem worried about it, and the giant shark kind of laid at her feet as she made dinner.
I couldn't really figure out the significance of the sharks at first, until I realised that I've spent a lot of time losing at Crazy Eights to my 5-year-old in the past few days. She now officially calls herself a card shark, with pride. I'm thinking of teaching her how to play poker or something and letting her loose in an online casino (easier to fake her age in front of a computer!) to pay for my tuition.
She's an incredible strategist, though she needs to work on her game face a little. I can't even beat her when I try to cheat. I'm actually trying to cheat in order to beat her!
When I told my mom about the sharks, the first thing that came to her mind? Law firms.
I couldn't really figure out the significance of the sharks at first, until I realised that I've spent a lot of time losing at Crazy Eights to my 5-year-old in the past few days. She now officially calls herself a card shark, with pride. I'm thinking of teaching her how to play poker or something and letting her loose in an online casino (easier to fake her age in front of a computer!) to pay for my tuition.
She's an incredible strategist, though she needs to work on her game face a little. I can't even beat her when I try to cheat. I'm actually trying to cheat in order to beat her!
When I told my mom about the sharks, the first thing that came to her mind? Law firms.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Law Student Fun
As expected, the details of the Tremblant trip are better left in the fond memories of the participants. This may be because it was a totally rowdy affair, or I could be trying to conceal the fact that we're just pretty tame. Which is it? Only precious few will ever know. I will say that we had the best food and the best drinks in our room and so we had some good times and I met a few people by name who'd I'd only known by face in the past. We did come up with a new drink (more out of desperation than of good planning), so here's the recipe:
The TreMMbling
1 shot vodka
2 shots Alize Red Passion (I think...but it might have been Sunset)
Mix in cocktail shaker with ice, pour into handpainted Dollar Store wine glasses
Top up with Pink Lemonade.
No kidding! It was pretty good. And it was more or less the colour of that text.
Also, last week at dinner with law friends, there were a couple of non-law partners and I felt bad for them (all the law talk can be such a bore for others), so I suggested we play a drinking game where every time you talk about law you have to take a shot. We'd be drunk all the time if we played that game. But seriously, kudos to partner of my TF&C, who is an exceptional cook. I'm a total food snob, and I was duly impressed.
The TreMMbling
1 shot vodka
2 shots Alize Red Passion (I think...but it might have been Sunset)
Mix in cocktail shaker with ice, pour into handpainted Dollar Store wine glasses
Top up with Pink Lemonade.
No kidding! It was pretty good. And it was more or less the colour of that text.
Also, last week at dinner with law friends, there were a couple of non-law partners and I felt bad for them (all the law talk can be such a bore for others), so I suggested we play a drinking game where every time you talk about law you have to take a shot. We'd be drunk all the time if we played that game. But seriously, kudos to partner of my TF&C, who is an exceptional cook. I'm a total food snob, and I was duly impressed.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
For Fun, I Wrote Myself an Obituary
The Closet Optimist, wife of A Humble Chef, mother of Fiorellina and the Big Boy, died last night of a fatal attraction to the law, which eventually broke her heart in spite of its - and her own - best intentions. Throughout her early life she was prone to melodrama and confusion, until she met AHC, the love of her life; after their fated courtship, TCO's life had new happiness and meaning, though she maintained a flair for the dramatic, and a proclivity for stupid mistakes, throughout the rest of her life. In a perfect world, TCO would be remembered for the unending love she had for her family, for her sharp sense of wit and humour and for the fact that Ian Kerr gave her a job in her first year of law school (which hopefully indicates a reasonable level of intellectual curiosity and decent intelligence). She will, however, probably most be remembered for talking a lot - the uncomfortable silence left in her absence will forever remind us of her.
Amusing AND Justifiable
A shout out to my property law professor who put me on to two law blogs, which he quite correctly predicted I would enjoy, while I was in his office getting peace of mind on the issue of joint and common tenancies. There it is: my peace of mind now depends on the law.
I haven't had much of a chance to read them, but based on his description and the stuff I read today, they look both amusing and a justifiable way to pass the time. It's not a waste of time if it's law- related!
Above The Law and Precedent are linked to the left in the Law Links section.
I haven't had much of a chance to read them, but based on his description and the stuff I read today, they look both amusing and a justifiable way to pass the time. It's not a waste of time if it's law- related!
Above The Law and Precedent are linked to the left in the Law Links section.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Best Roommate Ever
I am pleased to announce that I have the Best Roommate Ever. Well, we all have our flaws (I'm sure living with me has its moments), but since no one is perfect, she wins the award for:
- Letting me take a substancially full bottle of Tanqueray, an unopened bottle of Absolut, and a bottle of creme de banane (in her defence, this was left over from a former roommate of hers. And I googled it and found some recipes that sound not half bad) for my weekend in Tremblant. This appears to be a no strings attached kind of deal. She's not using it due to unfortunate circumstances, so she is unselfishly letting me have it. I told her I'd take picture so she could live vicariously through me.
- She totally has a great CD collection. She pulled out a dozen+ CDs for me to copy to my computer in order to make my ears happy during the cocktail party that will be happening tomorrow evening at the hotel (in my room, which I will share with three other fantastic ladies). This is not the first time she has done so. Eventually I will have her entire collection and I will cease to be a music loser. The process is already happening. I knew who George was talking about tonight on The Hour. You know, George formerly of The New Music? It's a miracle that I understand anything he says about music. And it's all because of my roommate.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Neglect! Dereliction of Duty!
When I said "A Flurry of Holiday Posts" in my Dec 28 missive, I guess I meant "flurry" in a way very closely related to the weather we've been having. So by "flurry" I actually meant "not so much at all." I had good intentions. I've got some posts in the works that require actual thought (I like to be pseudo academic at times). But January is a bit of a weird month at FTX (the "January Term") so my routine is off. Not that I've ever been good at routine.
Alright, I've been a little lax in the posting department. No excuses. Okay, well, there might be some excuses, but usually no one cares.
Coming up (as soon as Optimistically possibly) on The Closet Optimist: A Jane Doe By Any Other Name, A Short History of Skepticism, So I Gave Birth to A Card Shark, and my delectable recipe for Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Crockpot Chicken. Also, the ridiculous (and quite possibly better-left-unsaid) details of my trip with The Law to Mont Tremblant this upcoming weekend. But I'm actually going to have to go before I can post that one.
Alright, I've been a little lax in the posting department. No excuses. Okay, well, there might be some excuses, but usually no one cares.
Coming up (as soon as Optimistically possibly) on The Closet Optimist: A Jane Doe By Any Other Name, A Short History of Skepticism, So I Gave Birth to A Card Shark, and my delectable recipe for Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Crockpot Chicken. Also, the ridiculous (and quite possibly better-left-unsaid) details of my trip with The Law to Mont Tremblant this upcoming weekend. But I'm actually going to have to go before I can post that one.
2007 Firsts
First real negotiation simulation: We settled and our client was happy.
First time I've been on a school bus in Ottawa: From FTX to the Scotiabank Centre (if that's what it's called).
First professional hockey game: Sens v Bruins. Sens won 5-2.
First time at The Drink: Should do a study of female behaviour in bar toilettes.
First Scotch with my TF&C: I think I'm a natural.
Happy New Year!
First time I've been on a school bus in Ottawa: From FTX to the Scotiabank Centre (if that's what it's called).
First professional hockey game: Sens v Bruins. Sens won 5-2.
First time at The Drink: Should do a study of female behaviour in bar toilettes.
First Scotch with my TF&C: I think I'm a natural.
Happy New Year!
Friday, December 29, 2006
Go Fish Smackdown
Fiorellina is at a great age (5). She's totally confident with her numbers and letters so she can play games now. We got a game box from one of the grandmas with some board games as well as Go Fish, Old Maid and Crazy Eights.
She's not fooling around with the Go Fish. We've been in a tournament since yesterday afternoon and she's really good. No need to let her win, since she beats me 1/2 the time. And she's so proud of herself! She gets a devlish little laugh when she gets the cards she needs and she's also figured out how be sneaky - as in when she knows I've got a card (because I've been asking for it) as soon as she draws it, she remembers to steal if from me! And she even looks sneaky when she does it.
The tourney recently had to close when one of the 9 cards went missing. It's around here somewhere, but we're going to move onto Crazy Eights. Let's see how she does when the stakes get a little higher and the game gets a little more complicated.
She's not fooling around with the Go Fish. We've been in a tournament since yesterday afternoon and she's really good. No need to let her win, since she beats me 1/2 the time. And she's so proud of herself! She gets a devlish little laugh when she gets the cards she needs and she's also figured out how be sneaky - as in when she knows I've got a card (because I've been asking for it) as soon as she draws it, she remembers to steal if from me! And she even looks sneaky when she does it.
The tourney recently had to close when one of the 9 cards went missing. It's around here somewhere, but we're going to move onto Crazy Eights. Let's see how she does when the stakes get a little higher and the game gets a little more complicated.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
A Flurry of Holiday Posts, Part I
I guess I needed to be off the grid for a few days. I've spent most of my time since returning from Ottawa with the kiddies, getting ready for Christmas (which came and went in a hurry), and making up for some lost time. We spent two days up north at my parents house. A Humble Chef returned to T.O. on Boxing Day so he could go to work early the next morning, but the kids and got home yesterday afternoon.
My favourite thing at Christmas, except for watching the kids get whacked out on excitement, is sitting in my parents' living room in front of the Christmas tree and the fireplace. The snow was missing this year, but I read a good book - A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright. It was with a bit of reluctance that I took leave of the couch in front of the fire and packed up the gifts, and the luggage and the kids and drove home. I think I may be a little less fond of the city after that book. The country makes me crazy for its own reasons, but it's hard to beat for pure relaxing.
My favourite thing at Christmas, except for watching the kids get whacked out on excitement, is sitting in my parents' living room in front of the Christmas tree and the fireplace. The snow was missing this year, but I read a good book - A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright. It was with a bit of reluctance that I took leave of the couch in front of the fire and packed up the gifts, and the luggage and the kids and drove home. I think I may be a little less fond of the city after that book. The country makes me crazy for its own reasons, but it's hard to beat for pure relaxing.
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