HiR:tb Toots (@warwalker)

Flashes of Inspiration

A new experience: Spouse and I finished watching Spiderman for the umpteenth time earlier tonight. I got up to let Popeye in the house; more accurately, I got up to persuade Popeye to please vacate his now habitual spot in the garden just outside the back door and to come at least temporarily into the […]

No: Smoking! Then, No Smoking.

The Province of Ontario has a new law, as of May 31st, requiring variety stores (and most other tobacco retailers , except for designated “smoke shops”) to conceal all tobacco products on the premises. Cigarettes cannot be displayed openly on the familiar racks behind the counter; instead, most stores have adopted a system of shelves […]

Let me tell you about The Pond.

If a person were attempting to describe my day yesterday in monster-movie terms (and I’m guessing there’s more than one of you out there who does this regularly), it would have been called “Junior vs. The Pond: The Draininating of the Slime”.

Juniorvania is mostly a land-locked little paradise, having few riparian rights to speak […]

Infectious African Diseases at the Mapleview Mall.

I made a quick trip to the mall today, hoping to get some spare parts for the People’s Lawn Improvement Tractor so that it might actually start up and become mobile, which is an excellent quality in a tractor of any kind. The People’s L.I.T. is a Craftsman, and I thought I might be able […]

Brought down by the devil’s horns. And a bunch of car nerds.

I love it when virtual communities act like real communities and come together to achieve a common purpose. The special joy I have from this phenomenon is enhanced when the virtual community uses the everyday technology tools at their disposal to achieve their ends. For that very reason, I spent some time a couple of […]

Just laugh at me and I’ll buy your underwear

Spouse and I made a quick – well it was supposed to be quick – trip to the mall this afternoon; her wedding band and engagement ring have been suffering mightily, we believe from the riding Spouse does, and our mission was to deliver the subject jewellery for repair. The staff at the store had […]

This just in…

It would appear that the long and arduous search for a homeland for our people has come to a conclusion; a tentatively successful conclusion, subject to some conditions that will be satisfied over the next week or so, and one contingency over which we can exert no influence, but a conclusion nonetheless. For the moment, […]

Because I have so much free time.

I must be the King of Beginning Projects. I have decided to pick up a new hobby over the last few weeks. I was trying to take a picture of our Christmas tree (for posterity – no doubt the Smithsonian will be calling within a week or two) three or four days before Christmas, which […]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

I was reminded of the passing of time the other day in an unusual way. I was in the local Canadian Tire store (kind of a giant combination hardware-automotive-gardening store, for those of you south of the border) on Saturday; in addition to doing some last minute Christmas shopping, I was getting some very […]

On Conferring.

As advertised on TV, I was away from the ol’ homestead for a few days earlier this week while – cue the high pitched scream offstage – at a conference for work. There were a series of odd little incidents and observations that I’m pretty sure Larry David could quickly turn into a half-decent episode […]