Tuesday Newsday (an urbandaddy original)

Stories in the news that tickle my fancy, thanks to google.ca;

1. Ontario bans lawn and garden pesticides' It's the right of kids to play in the grass ... without compromising their health,' Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says.

TORONTO — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says he hopes a new ban on the sale and use of lawn and garden pesticides will allow children to again roll around on the grass.
"Our generation has taken to the cosmetic use of pesticides and I think, perhaps unwittingly, not fully understanding the dangers it represents to ourselves and, most importantly, to our children," he told a news conference in the back yard of a mid-Toronto home.
"It's the right of kids to play in the grass .. without compromising their health."
The new law, which is expected to come into effect next spring, would prohibit 80 chemicals and 300 products that experts say pose a potential health risk.
I can't believe I actually agree with the Premier on something that makes sense like this. And to think, it was just yesterday that I walked outside with my boy and took a deep breath of my neighbours freshly sprayed lawn. Last year we asked her not to spray the grass we share due to the horrible chemicals. She didn't. This year... She did.

2. Bank of Canada signals economic woes, slashes interest rates by half-point. The Bank of Canada signalled concern over the stalling economy Tuesday, slashing interest rates half a percentage point for the second time in two months and signalling further reductions in the future.
The latest move makes it cheaper to borrow money by dropping the key overnight rate to three per cent, a full 150 basis points from where it stood at the beginning of December.
"The bank is now projecting a deeper and more protracted slowdown in the U.S. economy," it said in a statement.
"This has direct consequences for the Canadian economic outlook, with declining exports projected to exert a significant drag on growth in 2008."
What does this mean? It means the US is bordering on an economic slowdown (or recession) and that Canada - although very dependant on the US economy - does not wish to go down that road. It also means hopefully lower mortgage rates for us variable guys and of most importance, if you have debt, now is a pretty fine time to get a consolidation load from the bank to reduce your debt load and reduce monthly payments.

3. Ice hockey: Sixteen arrested after playoff win by NHL Canadiens. Sixteen people were arrested for riots overnight, breaking shop windows and trashing police cars after the Montreal Canadiens advanced in the National Hockey League playoffs, police said Tuesday.
The Montreal Canadiens eliminated the Boston Bruins 5-0 Monday night to win their best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff first-round series four games to three.
Afterwards, thousands spilled onto downtown Montreal streets to celebrate the hard-fought victory, but festivities quickly degenerated into rioting with several police cars smashed and set on fire.
Sixteen people, aged 14 to 25 years, were arrested for break-ins, assaulting officers and damaging a total of 17 vehicles, including 16 police cars, of which five were set ablaze, said police spokesman Laurent Gingras.
Damage to the municipal vehicles was estimated at 500,000 dollars, authorities said.
$500G's in damage and this was only the first round of the playoffs... I guess hooligans need any excuse to damage other people's property. I did laugh however when I saw the headline used the word "Ice Hockey"... Stupid Associated Press... Like field hockey would have this problem...

4. Book Teaches Kids About Plastic Surgery - My Beautiful Mommy is a new kids book about plastic surgery. It was written by Michael Salzhauer, a plastic surgeon in Bal Harbour, Florida. The book details the conversation and process a mother and daughter go through as the mother gets a tummy tuck and nose job. Salzhauer says he came up with the idea to help parents explain cosmetic procedures to their children"It sounds like a joke but there really is a need to address this issue," Dr. Salzhauer told Reuters. "Hundreds of thousands of women have this operation in the United States. This is for a specific consumer at a specific time in their life that is going to turn their household upside down for a couple of weeks."
I really thought this was a joke. I passed over this story a few times thinking it could not be real, but it is. About a conversation between a mother and a daughter about size EE breast implants. "Dear, Mommy needs these to feel better about herself..." Says to her daughter, "You can have EE's too when you are 14". Oy vey. How come this is for women only? What? Guy's don't have plastic surgery too?!? Hey little dude, Daddy is having pectoral implants put in and his penis lengthened to make it with the ladies... Geez. Of course it's not for guys, cause we don't care. What a vain society!!! Now excuse me while I pluck my wayward eyebrow hair and shape my pubic hair into the rebel logo from Star Wars...

5. Toronto Jazz Festival Unveils Lineup.
The most important part of this story is the fact that my neighbour is playing June 22nd, 9pm @ The Pilot in Yorkville, as the Andrew Scott Quintet. Go check him out. We've been to the Pilot as a family to see him and the place was jammed. The show... Awesome. Need I say more! Here is the URL. http://www.tojazz.com/Pages/Toronto_Downtown_Jazz_Festival_pgS96.asp

Changes are in the air...

I feel left out.

I had my list of blogs to read in my very little spare time from years ago when I started this thing and over time I have only added bloggers kind enough to leave comments on mine as a show of respect... But now, after attending 2 blogger meet and greets (I refuse to call them blogger girls nite outs), I have decided to totally revamp my blogroll to include many of the new blogs I have started reading and actually commenting on, and a great deal of them are from the very talented bloggers I have met over the past 6 weeks. I found a great reference list from Our Little Funny Bunny, whom I relied on to help me put blog names and faces to real names and places at the Panorama and I have vowed the next blogging event to make sure I am within a seat or 2 of Gabriella to help me ID the person I intend on speaking to. Gabriella, you rock!

So look for these changes soon.

I'm still trying to find a niche here at UrbanDaddy. Tried the Daddy talk, the sports talk, the random stuff, the business stuff, the Tuesday Newsday concept and the Thursday Thirteen but cannot find that great format to get me to post more regularly. Maybe I'll have to stage something, or post pictures... Who knows.

I will try to return to a Tuesday Newsday for today - I am off work today - allergies have killed me over the past 4 days. UGH.

P.S. To former Jays DH Frank Thomas... It was not about the $10 million dollars you would be owed next year. You were released because your batting average sucked and you can't play any other position. You should be thankful the Jays extended your career and gave you all that money. You should be embarrassed for your output not trashing the team for not wanting to be on the hook for your option. Go steal money from another team... please.

So I want to write a screenplay...

... For a movie concept I have. For a reality show I thought up, and for a TV series that I could see on either the CBC or on Showcase.

Problem is...

... How the hell do I do it.

Anyone have any connections???

I'm still looking at the mens magazine and thanks to Denguy, have re-thunk my strategy (was that a word?) and need to start anew at a later time and date.

... and ... since the blogger meet up (as many of you call it, a "girls" nite out) I have decided to read up on some of these new found blogs and last night I found a "Mamalouper", and boy did I enjoy the read. If you need the link to it, I found it through "Our little Funny Bunny" in my blogroll to the right of the page.

More gems to find I'm sure!

Cheers.

I need a weekend to recouperate from the weekend...

I'm in a creative baking mood, so here are a few "ingredients" from my weekend and we'll mix them all together and see what we get at the end...

Add:

• Around 30 bloggers - most female
• 51 storey's above Toronto
• A Metro Mama
• Some Mac and Cheese
• A tired - yet refreshed looking - Redneck Mummy (no pictures being molested this time)
• A Don Mills Diva
• A couple Silky White Russians - YUM
• Rain
• Swimming
• Just Ducky ignorant parent chaos (lady, please take your stinky feet off the train table so the children who paid to play and use the table... Grrrr.)
• 2 cranky boys - both under the weather
• Birthday party vomiting
• Short naps (for the boys means no naps for Daddy)
• Pending Passover cleaning and organizing
• Coffee table dancing - the kids, not me... caught on video. :)
• Stress
• A slightly (more than slightly actually, but always great to talk to as the other Daddy blogger at the past 2 events) intoxicated Denguy
• 2 funny bunny's (Better than 1?)
• Assertagirl - and great gardening tips
• An UrbanMummy and Daddy
• Low Grade fevers
• A Sith Lord - I am
• Nothing to eat in the house
• and little desire to go to work on Monday...

Mix it all together, bake at 350 for 45 minutes and what you get is...

... a pretty great weekend!

If I forgot anyone from the Panorama outing, please feel free to comment and I'll make sure you are on my blogroll for the next get-together.

I'm still here...

Hi
It’s been a while. I’ve had a lot to say, but no time to type it out. It’s all my fault… really. It all started just over a week ago when I unplugged UrbanMummy’s router to improve service to my lap top, and in doing so, I shorted the router and now it is destined to find a new home in a landfill somewhere. No laptop, no posting.

So what has been happening to me in the past week?

First of all, it looks like we are going to the local blogging get together somewhere high above the city of Toronto to a place that I (of course) have never been to. That’s what happens when you are born in the city…

Also happening to me in this life: The work / advancement / degree situation once again came up and again I am destined to remain where I am… Overqualified and underappreciated. Sigh.

I hate the rain. More than that I hate stupid transit riders who slow down at the subway entrance to shut their umbrellas thereby holding the rest of us up, and then have the audacity to shake the water off their umbrellas further soaking the people behind them. Then… They take their time strolling down the stairs. Fuckers!!!

I hate wind and rain because that means I cannot hold my umbrella in a position to keep me dry but I have to hold it in a position to keep the umbrella from folding upwards and in doing so I get wet and I bang my elbow on those stupid mutant garbage cans… OUCH.

I reconnected with an old classmate who works not too far from my office and owns a salon. Coincidentally I need a haircut, instead of butchering it myself. I love facebook for that.

I finally got Linus to eat some of my steak. He said he likes it now that he is three. When he was 2 he didn't and when he was a baby he couldn't eat it.

My kids... take a stool and the potty over to the coffee table and use it to get onto the table after which they turn on the music in the electric keyboard, then they dance on the table while Linus watches himself in the mirror... OY VAY.

New favourite show for a 3 year old... Wonderpets! Wonder pets, wonder pets, we're on our way...

NHL playoffs: Sens out in 4. Hope the Flyers and Wild lose too. Goon hockey is so 10 years ago...

Have you bought your toddler a "Smickoz" yet?? You should!

It's raining so I expect a kid or 2 in our bed very soon.

Yeah, thanks for the help... I think...

What a great way to begin a Sunday morning... Looking forward to work on Monday. Not good. The irony is that 10 times out of 10, I'd rather be home with my family. Work politics suck! This is going to be a very rough week for me. I know it. It will define my future are my current employer (or lack thereof), but since I make it a policy not to talk about work in this vehicle, lets leave that alone for the time being.



Sunday. Today. 6am. Crying. Not over the monitor because I turned it off for Earth Day - and all the lights in the house (even unplugged a ton of stuff) leaving my mother to eat and read by candlelight while UrbanMummy and I went out for dinner with the baby group. Oy. Offtrack again. Crying. Yes. Calling for Mummy. So I went and fetched the little boy and brought him to the room. Very wet. Changed his diaper, UM breastfed him and we both thought we could score another hour of sleep before Linus woke up.



Nope.



Stewie talked, sat up, wanted water, to eat, his blankie... all that jazz. So I took him to the kitchen and he ate, and ate, and drank, and ate. 7am downstairs waltzes Linus, and he sits down to eat too. During this time I am getting food for them and Stewie is done so I let him down, Linus needs to pee. I take him to the washroom and while deciding if he has to pee or poo, I hear what sounds like a kitchen cabinet lock being shut and cereal pouring into a glass bowl... Odd... We finish up in the bathroom and upon walking into the kitchen I step on something that crunches. Then more. Then I look up and see Stewie chasing the cat with a scoop of her food, then dumping it in front of her, saying "Feed Lucie". She eats some. He rushes back, scoops up another and dumps it near her while uttering the same phrase.



The entire floor is full of cat food and the cat is trying to eat as much as possible.



I demand he clean it up. He sits down and starts putting it into the bowl. Then while I'm getting the food off the carpet under the table, I hear another noise... He went and got the broom and is sweeping the cat food towards me. Then his brother took over and within minutes was pushing to broom in little Stewie's face... Tears!

I can't wait to see how Linus' preschool swim class will go - swimming on his own, as he has been telling us for 2 weeks that he does not want to go to camp this summer because he does not want to swim. He even said he did not want to take swimming lessons... Should be a dandy!

Update:

Swimming was fine. 3 parks and rec. instructors and 6 kids. For everything they wanted Linus to do, he shook his head, no, then did it, in most cases quite well. That's my boy! Already suffering from a lack of internal motivation!

Help me!

Who is the idiot?

· Me and my cheap ass payless winter boots that can’t grip the icy sidewalks, yet again this winter, or the ignorant asses who don’t clear ice and snow from the sidewalk in front of their properties allowing there to be dangerous ice all over.

· My old high-school friend who told us today during lunch that he was attacked by an elk at Jasper National Park for not running when he heard the animal hiss, or for whacking in between the eyes with a stick because it got too close to him.

· Me again for thinking that when you offer someone tickets to an event for free it’s because you want them to go, or them fir accepting the tickets by stating that they are looking forward to going, then telling you after the event that they gave them to a family member instead.

· Me for wanting to buy a replacement battery pack from our cordless phone at home, for $24.99, instead of buying the same phone brand new for $29.99.

· The guy who got on the bus with my work colleague and pestered people to talk to him, then when a young woman got scared from his talking and asked him to move - he refused - until my friend got up and demanded he move by yelling “NOW” at him, much to the delight of the entire bus.

Monday, Monday...

News today that peaked my interest...

Canadian dollar dips to 97.42 cents US. OK.

Some US company called Bear Stearns did something today which leads the business news headlines and tells me that I need to find out what happened and what the hell this company does... News at 11. :)

So I googled "Bear Stearns" and the first listing was for the NY Times and the article is titled, "The Bear Stearns Crisis".

Hmmm.

Now I'm curious, so I read this article:

The subprime mortgage meltdown made 2007 a disastrous year for Bear Stearns, one of the nation’s largest underwriters of mortgage bonds. Beginning this summer with the housing slowdown, Bear Stearns has stood as the prime example of how
Wall Street’s big bet on securities based on risky home loans went south.
While many of its peers, including Merrill, Morgan Stanley and
Citigroup, have announced far more in devaluations, Bear Stearns draws far more of its profit from its trading operations. That was reflected in its fixed income unit, which reported a net loss of $1.5 billion, down sharply from the $1.1 billion in profit the bank reported for the same time last year.
While there were rumblings about the weakness of the subprime mortgage in the spring of 2007, it was the collapse in June of two internal Bear Stearns hedge funds that had been heavily invested in mortgage securities that kicked off the
full-fledged market panic that peaked in August.

This doesn't tell me enough about the company or what is going on...

Still curious.

JP Morgan Chase was in talks on Sunday night for a deal that would quintuple its offer for Bear Stearns, the beleaguered investment bank, in an effort to pacify angry Bear shareholders, according to people involved in the negotiations.

JPMorgan Chase initially offered $2 a share for Bear, angering the beleaguered firm’s stockholders who said the offer was too low. The sweetened offer is intended to win over stockholders who vowed to fight the original fire-sale deal, struck only a week ago at the behest of the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department.

Under the terms being discussed, JPMorgan would pay $10 a share in stock for Bear, up from its initial offer of $2 a share — a figure that represented a mere one-fifteenth of Bear’s going market price.

The Fed, which must approve any new deal, was balking at the new offer price on Sunday night after several days of frantic, secret negotiations, these people said. As a result, it was still possible the renegotiated deal might be postponed or collapse entirely, said these people, who were granted anonymity because of their confidentiality agreements.

If the Fed were to reject the new proposal, it could set off a furor among shareholders of both firms that the government was preventing them from making a fair deal.

The renegotiation, which would set a sale price of more than $1 billion, comes after a tumultuous week on Wall Street and in Washington because of the near collapse of Bear and the hastily devised deal to save it.

While the initial agreement appeared to have defused the financial crisis of confidence that undid Bear, the initial terms of the deal — and the government’s controversial role in reaching them — drew criticism from those who say the takeover amounts to a government bailout of Bear, a firm at the center of the mortgage meltdown.

A new deal could raise even more questions about the Fed’s involvement in the negotiations. As part of the original deal, the Fed guaranteed to take on $30 billion of Bear’s most toxic assets. The central bank also directed JPMorgan to pay no more than $2 a share for Bear to assure that it would not appear that the Bear shareholders were being rescued, according to people involved in the negotiations.

In television interviews last week, the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., who has been closely involved in the negotiations, sought to portray the agreement not as a rescue effort but as a way to provide stability for the entire financial markets. “Let me say that the Bear Stearns situation has been very painful for the Bear Stearns shareholders,” Mr. Paulson said, referring to the $2 a share price. “So I don’t think that they think that they’ve been bailed out here.”

If the price is increased, however, some critics could have more ammunition to complain that taxpayers are helping to bail out a Wall Street firm that should be responsible for its own risky behavior. That is one reason the Fed was hesitant on Sunday night to approve the transaction at $10 a share, people briefed on the talks said.

Ahhh. Here is why it is so important to keep this company alive...

Inside Bear, the vitriol over that bargain-basement price was palpable last week. Bear employees own more than a third of Bear’s stock, and many longtime employees faced the prospect of losing all their savings. On Monday, some were seen crying in the hallways of the firm’s Midtown Manhattan headquarters.

One employee started a Web site to rally opposition to the deal. Some employees said they talked back to their new supervisors from JPMorgan, which commandeered desks and conference rooms after being given operational control of the firm last week.

The new price would still be a small fraction of what Bear Stearns was worth before its recent meltdown. Its shares were trading at about $67 two weeks ago and as high as $170 a year ago. So $2 a share, or even $10 a share is a fraction of what the company was worth.

Even after JPMorgan announced that it would acquire Bear for $2 a share, investors bid up the stock to close at $5.96 on Friday in anticipation that a better deal would be reached.
Some of Bear’s largest shareholders have even considered voting down the deal to send the firm into bankruptcy protection, where they speculate they might get more than $2 a share from creditors.

The British billionaire financier Joe Lewis, the firm’s largest shareholder, who had invested $1.26 billion in Bear over the last year at an average price of about $104, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he would seek to block the deal by taking “whatever action” necessary and would “encourage” the firm and “third parties to consider other strategic transactions.”

He and James E. Cayne, Bear’s chairman, were talking informally to friends and others about finding investors to mount a rival bid.

A major aim of a new agreement would be to provide assurances to investors who trade with Bear that it will continue to be open for business. Even with JPMorgan’s original agreement in place last week, some of Bear’s largest customers would not trade with it, still nervous that the deal might unravel.
James Dimon, JP Morgan CEO even offered certain employees cash and stock incentives to stay on and made calls to his rival chief executives on Wall Street — John J. Mack at Morgan Stanley and John A. Thain at Merrill Lynch, among them — pleading with them not to recruit Bear employees during the transition.

Moreover, Mr. Dimon, who had indignantly told associates that he would “send Bear back into bankruptcy” if the deal was struck down, was persuaded by his advisers that he had less leverage than he thought, according to people briefed on the conversation. Such vindictive behavior, they told him, would turn into a legal and public relations nightmare.

So interesting that all these US companies that made so much money giving out mortgages to US citizens who would normally not qualify for one, and then after taking they interest payments and foreclosing on their houses when they missed payments (being able to then sell the house for close to full resale value) and now crying foul and seeking government relief when their business hits a downturn and they can no longer continue to operate and earn $107/share. I'm crying for them... NOT. This is exactly why I refuse to play the market AND should there not be some sort of legal action against company's that make money praying on the poor and uneducated - the majority of people who lost their houses and savings in this type of situation. Very similar to the problem with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, two US mortgage firms who went belly up and lost a ton of cash doing the same thing... Will people never learn???

So if you made it this far, congratulations, you get an "A" in economics too. You must also surely have some strong feelings towards government (taxpayer) bailout of firms like these and I would love to hear about it. I know somewhere, my professor, Dr. Moody would be proud.

I really agree that the type of instruments being traded, and greed, which has brought this about - sharing blame with the fall in the real estate market. It is the private trading of complex instruments that worries regulators and Wall Street and that have created stresses in the broader economy. Economic downturns and panics have occurred before, of course. Few, however, have posed such a serious threat to the entire financial system that regulators have responded as if they were confronting a potential epidemic.

A big problem has to do with the dizzying array of innovative products created by the biggest banks and brokerage firms that experts now acknowledge are hard to understand and even harder to value. In the past decade, there has been an explosion in complex derivative instruments, such as collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps, which were intended primarily to transfer risk. These products are virtually hidden from investors, analysts and regulators, even though they have emerged as one of Wall Street’s most outsized profit engines. They don’t trade openly on public exchanges, and financial services firms disclose few details about them.

Used judiciously, derivatives can limit the damage from financial miscues and uncertainty, greasing the wheels of commerce. Used unwisely — when greed and the urge to gamble with borrowed money overtake sensible risk-taking — derivatives can become Wall Street’s version of nitroglycerin.

Bear Stearns’s vast portfolio of these exact instruments was among the main reasons for the bank’s collapse, but derivatives are buried in the accounts of just about every Wall Street firm, as well as major commercial banks like JPMorgan Chase.

What’s more, these exotic investments have been exported all over the globe, causing losses in places as distant from Wall Street as a small Norwegian town north of the Arctic Circle, so more fallout is expected.

Only time will tell.

So here is how it all played out... JPMorgan Chase bought 39.5% of the shares - newly issued stock - at $10.00 a share, and this leaves JPMorgan on the hook for the first billion dollars of losses, then the US government on the hook for any losses after that. As of 10:12 this morning, trading in Bear Stearns was up over 75% and the stock was climbing to $11/share. JPMorgan stock was also climbing on the news.

The week that is / was...

I joined a ball hockey team to try and get into some shape other than the one I'm in right now and so far it's been just like I suspected it would be... If you hate sports, tune out right now.
I missed this teams first 2 games and in those games, they lost 8-1 and 9-0. I was told they needed defense. I play defense. Hmmm. 1st game on the team, 3-0 loss. I barely make it through 3 shifts and stagger to get off the bench for the rest. Too fucking tired. Stupid 11pm games. I'm now wondering if this comeback was a good idea... Game 2 was Good Friday night and it went MUCH better. We lost 2-1, but I made it though the game without getting tired at all. So in two games, I have not been on for a goal against, or one for, but I'm holding my own. Fun. It helped that I went for a jog twice this week. One 15 minute sleep fest and one 30 minute jog that
I had to halt because it was late, or I could have gone longer!


I love my kids. They make me laugh. Little Stewie almost made me throw up the other day. You see, when he hurts his hands or arms, he holds it up to us, grunts something and then we lean over and kiss it. He stops whining or crying and goes back to what he was doing. So what did he do??? Well I was changing his diaper and failed to see him picking his nose, so when he held out his finger and grunted at me, I instinctively kissed his finger. UGH. Came away with a wet booger on my lip. UGH UGH UGH. Told you. Pretty fucking gross, eh? Needless to say, I look at his fingers now before I kiss them.


On March 15th we went to see We Will Rock You, the gift UrbanMummy bought me for my birthday and had a great time. The music was GREAT and the play... Well... corny, but the music made it alright. I even really got into the play as it went on. Good character development.

So I put up a "no solicitors" sign on my mailbox to stop the numerous illegitimate peddlers that come to our door, and the first day it was up a kid came by selling something. I answered the door. Stood looking at him, and every time I tried to speak he talked over me. I was not listening. I pointed to the sign. He kept talking. I said, "hey, no solicitors". He kept talking. UrbanMummy came down, said "We're not interested" and she shut the door. Hmmm. Shutting the door. Nice!

The Leafs keep winning and are still not going to make the playoffs. All they are doing is missing out on a good draft pick. Stupid. I cringe when the win. So very sad.

My sources tell me we are heading into recessionary times... Interest rates are going down. Time to consider buying a bigger house!

If I had pictures...

... or if UrbanMummy would share the pictures she takes of the kids and us, I would be able to:

1. Change my facebook profile picture... finally.
2. Show a picture of Linus standing beside the snow on our front lawn, and how it towers over him.
3. Post a picture of Linus standing on the giant glacier that was our front lawn.
4. Post a picture of Linus climbing into the tunnel I started to dig for him into the side of snow mountain that became the place he keeps his sled.
5. Post a picture of Stewie trying to help me shoval, not with his shoval, but with my shoval.
6. Post a video of my boys playing the keyboard and having a hell of a good time rocking out to it.
7. Post a picture of a beautiful mummy and her gorgeous boys looking into each others eyes.
8. Change my MSN profile picture.
9. Change my computer wall-paper.
10. Email pictures to my neighbour - of my neighbour - asking them to close their blinds in the dusk...
11. I could post a picture of my 2 boys eating dinner. The older one, eating bread, rice and plain pasta (carb-boy), and the younger one eating meat, grapes and pasta only with sauce.
12. I could post a picture of the closet we were having installed into the basement - which began over 7 months ago - still NOT finished, and ask if any local bloggers have a reliable handyman to recommend.
13. I could post a picture of UrbanMummy sleeping at night with all the covers in the middle of the bed, then one of me in the morning with all the covers, somehow. Actually a video might prove to be more entertaining.
14. I could post pictures of my boys with their security blankets - g-d forbid if one takes the others... That is worth biting over...
15. I could post a picture of my smile (I've been told I have a nice smile) after tomorrow night when we come back from seeing We Will Rock You, with the tickets UrbanMummy gave me for my firthday last month.
16. I would totally post 2 pictures of me from yesterday. One would be from 9:30pm as I paced the house frantically waiting to go play my first game of ball-hockey in 2 years at 11pm, and the other from when I finally got into bed just past 3am, looking way too exhausted and old to be playing kids games... Eh Denguy? :)
17. I would post pictures of all the shit in the garage that we are trying to sell on craigslist and freecycle, like the small wineracks, baby toys, dresser, books, rollerblades, etc., that has been clogging up the garage all winter.
18. The last picture I'd post would be the one I have of my family. The most precious things in my life. The four of us take quite a smiley picture whenever we can get someone to offer to snap pics of us.

Coda Magazine

My friend and neighbour is the editor of a Jazz magazine called Coda. This year it is celebrating it's 50th year of publication. The magazine's web-site is http://www.coda1958.com/. Go check it out! I was there Friday with a few colleagues who are jazz musicians themselves.

Better yet, buy a subscription for that family member or friend that loves jazz.

Support your Canadian Jazz musicians!!!

Calling all wannabe writers...

... I may have an opportunity for you.





But first I need you to keep it secret.





OK?





Great.





Thanks.





I'm starting an online men's magazine. For real men. Men like your husbands, neighbours, fathers, and the kind of men you want your boys to grow up to be and daughters to marry. That guy. Or if you are one of the few men who read my blog, then it is for you!





Why you ask?





Let me tell you a little story... It all happened a long time ago in a Shoppers Drug Mart across the street from my office. My friends checked out the magazines and I decided to look too. I was dumbfounded that all the magazines for men were either ones like Maxim - air brushed women, or like Men's health - steroid pumped up men, offering "rock-hard abs in 10 days". Unrealistic. Then there was GQ, hunting and fishing, some financial ones, and other crap and more crap. There was nothing for me. Nothing for the middle-class - above middle-class dude who wants to know about women, finance, health, education, etc., to help them with their life, their kids, discussing real issues, not to figure out how to lie to a girl you met in a bar by telling her you are a diplomat...



So this is the magazine I want to create.



I have an editor, and a few interested parties to co-publish the magazine in conjunction with a new - yet to be released - dating site and online talk show. It looks like it is really going to happen. But I need writers. If you are interested in potentially getting on board at the beginning, send me an article on any topic you think would be applicable to the average guy, and I'll forward the lot to the editor and see if something works. I'm not sure how this magazine goes from creation to a money-making venture but I'm assured that once sponsors and advertisers get wind of it, it'll be a success. That being said, once it gets backing, you will be reimbursed if you are selected.



Even if you toss in one article, or a bunch of them, we'll make you proud.



Thanks!

Sucks to be me...

I'm sick. I hate being sick, I really do. Have no patience for it.

Worse of all is the fact that I'm coughing for the first time since I herniated a disk in my back almost a year and a half ago, and then, it killed me every time I coughed... This time... It's put my back out and I'm having a hard time moving, walking and picking up the kiddies. Especially in the morning. Thank goodness for Aleeve and Tylenol (Advil too).

Last night managed to feel well enough to go to my first Toronto Rock lacrosse game of the season. I have season tickets but the games are lousy times lately - Friday or Saturday nights - so I've been giving away or selling my seats, my sister being the beneficiary of 2 games thus far this season. Well, the game was great - Rock came from behind to win 9-7 (9th was in an empty net) and the crowd of just about 14,500 were as noisy and into the game from the get-go. Although I already sold my seats for the next game, I'm looking forward to the game after!!

I need meds and sleep... Not gonna happen.

I need to get over it!

This is my 202nd post

Wow. Who would have thunk it?!?

So the trade deadline was a bust for the Leafs, so lets move on to something more timely.

My son. Linus.

He's a cutie. He's just over 3 years old... He's awesome.

Here is what happened on our walk over to his pre-school today:

He told me that he was tired (he used to say that all the time so I would carry him, or we would drive him) but he clarified his comment by stating that he was tired because he woke up very early and did not go back to bed... He should have.

Then he told me that he was hungry and he justified it by saying that he was hungry because he did not finish his breakfast this morning but instead he wanted to play and he should not have done that...

Sweet.

He gets it!

Of course this was the same kid that 2 days earlier had gotten himself and his brother dressed in jacket, boots, and hat and with the car keys he took out of the drawer, announced that he was taking Stewie with him outside... They were going shopping. Geez. And he didn't even ask me what I needed...

Yes, I admit it, I'm a geek...

Today at 3pm is the NHL trade deadline and I can't wait. It's one of the most exciting days in the entire hockey season and 2 days ago I was hoping - not praying - that the Toronto Maple Leafs would sell off every valuable asset and tank it for the rest of the season to get a high draft pick. But what does this ass-backwards franchise do??? First they give everyone a no-trade clause in their contracts, then when every player states they will stay with the team, it blows the chance of getting better players in line. Take Mats Sundin for example, one of the greatest Leafs of all-time. He's 36, or 37 and he is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year meaning he can choose to play with any team next season. So what he should have done was waive his no-trade clause, get trade for young players and draft picks, then in the off-season, re-sign with the Leafs (if he so desired). But nothing like that is going to happen now unless it was a ploy to get more from other teams (please may that be the case)

In other non-sports related news:

Stewie poo'd on the potty yesterday. Happily. Had his potty book, kept pressing the button which made the flushing sound, and away he went. Yay. That would be so much easier, considering the little dude is 16 months old! I welcome an end to diapers as we did with Linus at just over 2 1/2.

It's snowing outside... Again. Sigh. Or should I say, still.

I'm waiting for Linus to get dressed so we can walk to his pre-school in a few minutes. It used to be such a chore for him, all I would hear were cries of, "I'm tired, I don't want to go to that school, or I want to go home", but his Tuesday / Thursday school he gets Daddy in the morning and Mummy picks up and Thursday he gets either Gramma both ways or a combo of Mummy and Gramma. Fun, fun, fun!

Time to go!

Saturday night is alright...

.. For heading out in the cold to downtown Toronto to hook up with a bunch of very cool bloggers for a few drinks, and that is exactly what UrbanMummy and I did last night.

Once we got home and settled down - sent the babysitters home - I wanted to track down the blogs of all these fun people I met and start reading but after a quick stop at facebook (sorry, hun) and my email, I got only to the first blog and was ready for some shut-eye. Today, on the other hand is a new day!

So let me briefly add some comments about last night...

The meet-up was scheduled for 7pm and we arrived fashionably late, just before 8pm. Ok, we were not trying to be late, we had to ensure the kids were in bed. In the car heading downtown, I asked UrbanMummy for a rundown of who was going to be there that I would know and who she would know, and I asked for a little bio, if possible. Her reply, that she didn't really think she knew anyone made me a touch nervous and a whole lot excited. I mean we all blog... How bad could it be, right???

We found the bar - stupid directions from Google maps were wrong, but UM is a human GPS so we were fine the location, parking and I even got a history lesson of the area. I grew up in the 'burbs so downtown to me has always been a whole lot of weird and crazy people just wandering around looking to get in trouble... I know it's not like that all the time, buy hey, I digress.

Once inside there were a few people scattered around and right inside the door was a group of about 8 women and one guy, and I leaned over and asked them if they are bloggers (how else do you ask that question?). They were and we got introduced, sat down and let the evening unfold.

We chatted, drank, told stories, talked about our kids, our gardens, and we laughed... and laughed and laughed. Did I mention there was some boob action going on every now and then? Something to do with a blogger called the Redneck Mommy... I'll have to check out her blog to see if our "contribution" made the list. LOL. We met up with Kgirl, whom I have been reading for a few years, and Denguy, whom I have never read, but we have - as it turns out - played ball-hockey against each other for years. I had a nice chat with b*babbler of blithelybabbling, and got a book to review from MetroMama. I know there were more, and I will add you guys to my blogroll as I take out some of the old links I do not go to, and add some new ones from last night.

All in all, I had a fab time and can't wait for the next get-together so I can talk to the rest of the group that were too far away to chat with. Be warned! LOL. I hope to get a listing of the bloggers that were there last night and I look forward to some new reading material.

P.S. I hope that CAA arrived sooner rather than later for our poor out of city bloggers, and that the bill got covered in full...

Send pics!

Thank you

For the very kind birthday wishes, the facebook greetings, the phone calls and the yo, dude, happy birthday man... You look great for 40. (I'm not. Not for a few years now, thank you).

Thank you wife and children for the awesome tickets to We Will Rock You... I CAN'T wait!!!

Thank you to my work colleagues for making me pay for my own coffee that day and for my lunch. ;)

Thank you to my mother and sister for the underwear (not just for Hanukkah, I guess), tea and token money.

Thank you to my in-laws for dinner, more token money and for having your daughter.

It was a fun day, I had a great time! I really hope my kids grow up to be close to each other.

Re-introducing the UrbanDaddy family...

First, I need to steal a great post from my wife's blog (with permission).

"For future reference, we are now referring to The Happy Boy as Linus.
The similarities are striking.

Let’s take note:
Though young, Linus is unusually smart.
Everyone likes to think their child is smart. I don’t know if my Happy Boy is unusually smart, but he does have very strong language skills (often using words like actually, & similar). He makes interesting connections, and has a fabulous memory. He hasn’t quoted philosophers or found the Great Pumpkin yet, but he is just 3!

Linus is almost never without his blue blanket.

Well, in our case, it is striped. And we don’t let it out of the house, although, if we did, believe me, it would be with him everywhere. And like Linus’ blanket, Blankie has magical powers. If The Happy Boy falls and hurts himself, blankie makes the pain feel better. If The Happy Boy is scared, Blankie makes him feel less so.

The younger one, the one formerly known as The Weed, in future to be referred to as Stewie. Yes, him:

He’s a character and a half. He’s stubborn, he’s tough and I swear he's trying to kill us. He's very on the ball, he's very bright and has been known to mutter obscenities in a British accent. No. That last bit I made up.

But this is my family. For better stories, go to visit UrbanMummy.

The stress that is Valentine's Day...

I know it's just one day in a year and I know that if you need to make a grand gesture on this day and not all others, you're probably in deep shit with your wife, but still... It's an important day but not for the reasons you may think. You see Valentine's day, with children, is all about showing their mother that they think of her this day and that they love her, on February 14th. Sure she needs something from her husband too, but really, a guy could go nuts and buy a ton of expensive, beautiful stuff, but that handmade card with the baby's hand print on it is what makes her day... no?

Here is my story.

My wife, UrbanMummy... according to www.helpaguybuy.com, is a DIY mom. DIY, of course, meaning do it yourself. By definition that means the following;
She can make her own jewelry, design a room, and make a handmade gift, all while her oil painting is drying in the corner. The DIY Gal enjoys eclectic music, funky art and curious collections. She can scrapbook with the best of them and has a sense of style and taste that is uniquely her. The DIY Gal may also bring her inspiration to the kitchen where she enjoys making homemade breads, cakes and delicious dishes for her family.

Yup, that's her. So what does this site of sites (sponsored by WalMart) recommend I buy for her this wonderful Valentine's day???

Well, this... A robe, pink iPod, or a digital camera, heart pendant, heart paperweight... and the list goes on. But here is the problem, and I'm hoping UM reads this after I have given her gifts tomorrow... She has all that stuff. We just bought her a new laptop... She has enough jewellery (that may be up for debate) to go out for 2 months without repeating the same piece(s), she has a video iPod, we have a nice digital camera. She doesn't like (read: hates) dust collectors... So what to get her.

Well, how about the same as I get her every year.

A bouquet of flowers, not roses (she dislikes them), but real flowers like the ones you draw. If they have a calalily, I'll toss a few in too (her favourite flower). Dark chocolate from me, and from the kids. This woman I married almost 7 years ago LOVES her chocolate, and she's still breast-feeding so she NEEDS it.. Right dear. :) Jewellery is going to be left aside this time around because I found something I want to buy her, but I have to save up my loonies and toonies and pick it up for her birthday, in a few months instead. For dinner, I think it will be fondue. This Valentine's Day is also going to be big in the homemade cards and stuff, cause I know she loves that, and well, pretty much that is good enough reason for us to do it for her. I mean, unless I'm reading this holiday wrong, it's not about accumulating possessions, isn't that for Mother's Day, birthday's, Hanukkah / Christmas, Anniversary... Need I go on?!?

Honey, I love you.

If you hate the gift we got you, please be kind in the comments. IF you love them, please be kind in the comments...

I have a foot massage with your name on it! Just say the word!


Anyways... According to some magazine or another, this is the ultimate list.

Gift Ideas for wife
Valentine poems
Earrings, celtic jewelry
Animated valentine cards
Bracelets, necklaces
Flower bulb, wild flower
Cappuccino mugs
Fur lamps - not real fur, that's cruel.
Scented candles
Victorian jewelry, antique jewelry
Personalized romance novel
Theme gift basket, candles
Erotic perfume - as opposed to non-erotic?!? Like what? Eau du Dog Pee?
Romantic gift baskets
Marriage, intimacy, private parts
Homemade gift
Bubble bath
Fitness tapes - Yikes! What does this tell her? Honey, I think your fat...
Hawaii vacation, surf - Clearly written by a woman!
Romantic spa, bath baskets
Erotic massage oils, sensual massage oils

Gift Ideas for Mummy
Soak in the bath
Time on her own
A week's worth of precooked food
Florida vacation - without kids?!? :)
Italian food - but not Indian, or Chinese, or Ethiopian...
Boyfriend - WTF?!? This must have been a typo...
A bottle of wine
Camping trip, barbecue
Chocolate candy
Beauty treatment
Spa gift certificate
Ultimate relaxation basket
Bracelets, necklaces
Silver jewelry, celtic jewelry
Designer perfume
Old fashioned candy
Candles, candle holders
Easy meals, brownies - Cause brownies are easy meals...
Handmade gifts, handmade jewelry

So pick a few from this list and you're on your way! No thanks needed, just send money. ;)

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things on my mind today:

1. I think I need a reader to tell me who has new posts and a stat counter to tell me who, if anyone visits, and where they come from.

2. How can I be expected to apply for internal positions at my current employer if experience is needed that I do not have and probably will never get.

3. An older colleague that sits beside me in the office told me upon my return from the washroom that my, "blueberry" was ringing and beeping off the hook.

4. I have Toronto Rock lacrosse season tickets but so far cannot attend the first 2 games... There are only 8 games in the season...

5. I need a fancy header for my "Tuesday Newsday" blog feature (that I have not done in a while, mind you).

6. Make hockey more skilled by removing what they call, "finishing your check". Popping someone after they have passed the puck or along the boards is a penalty and should be called that way.

7. While I disagree with drug use in sports, remember that these performance enhancing drugs were not illegal at the time these guys were doing it. Was it wrong?!? Damn yes! Illegal, nope. We should pity those that abused it - they will regret it - and despise those that do it from this day forth.

8. Those kids that bring knives to school and those adult that stab people in places other than appendiges should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. When someone gets stabbed in the neck, chest, back... they are being stabbed to kill them, not to send a message and this law should be black and white. Stab in a kill-zone and you go to jail for 15 years. Kill someone and its life. This way we can take the decision making out of the hands of judges and into the hands of doctors.

9. I don't mind snow, and I have no problems trudging to the office, but it really bugs me when people don't shoval their walks, or when neighbours shovel their sidewalk in front of their house but can't take the extra few seconds and shoval a path in front of their neighbours house so people like me don't have to walk knee-deep in snow on the way to the office / subway.

10. Why can't I find a good, honest, recruiter / head hunter???

11. After losing 8-0 to the Florida Panthers last night, is it not time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to trade and release absolutely everyone so they can tank the season and get a high draft pick??? Steve Stamkos would be quite the prize for stinking all season...

12. Why is a spelling bee, dog show or poker considered a sport and shown on a sports station??? Golf too, for that matter.

13. The Buffalo Bills are coming to Toronto for eight games over 5 years, 5 will be pre-season games. . Does anybody really care???