Mood: :smile:

I take the Fourth of July off each year because most of the customers I speak to are Americans. Last year and this year we went to Playland, since it’s pretty dead on that day.

Last year we brought both kids, but this time just Geoffrey. This worked out much better because we could both go on rides with him instead of one having to remain with Emily, and he’s just 42″ tall so he could go on the flume ride, which really helped us cool down as the clouds burned away.

Speaking of burning, the back of my neck is scorched because when we woke up this morning it was raining and overcast so we didn’t pack any sunscreen. It stayed overcast for half of our time in Vancouver, and the rest of the time it was HOT! I have a bit of heatstroke right now, making it difficult to think and stay awake.


Mood: :roll:

Yes, I’m still here!

Ball hockey season started up again, and with all the stuff I have to do at work and the family at home I haven’t had much time for myself.  When I do get time alone I tend to just vegetate, except when I’m forced to figure out why my Usable Freeware site stopped working with its PHP database (host’s PHP upgrade broke my code).

I got sick quite a bit during the early part of the year, so I’ve hit my paid sick day limit already and it’s only halfway through the year.  An air conditioned office is comfortable, but when someone gets sick and comes in because they’re out of sick days, everyone else gets sick and brings down the overall efficiency.

Emily is repeating lots of words.   She’s still mostly babbling, but understands when we tell her to do basic things.  She smiles all the time, loves hugging and kissing, and charms pretty much everyone.

Geoffrey is loving the new Dr. Who episodes.  I suppose I’m going to have to get him a Sonic Screwdriver for Christmas…

I tried to update my ATI video card drivers and it couldn’t find an INI file. I tried to skip it and now my computer boots to 640×480 with 8 colours and no option to go higher. I tried System Restore, uninstalling and reinstalling, but no joy unless I use the Microsoft drivers from Windows Update, and they’re not great. Even DivX video is choppy. With all the problems I’ve had with ATI cards I think my next video card will be a GeForce and I’ll stick with those; never had any problems with nVidia.

I’m posting this with the Performancing Firefox plugin, which allows me to browse in a split-screen while I blog.  If I like it I’ll probably give their free blog metrics service a go.


Mood: :sad:

When I think of something to post here it’s forgotten within minutes because of how busy I’ve been. It’s been incredibly hard to relax. My freeware advocacy site, which was supposed to be updated every week, gets updated once a month.

My mother, for those of you who are unaware, has Huntingdon’s disease and is mid-range through the cycle, which will end in her death in a few years. She’s on medication so she can keep her involuntary movements down, but last week she got dizzy, falling and hitting her head, requiring 5 stiches. My dad had to separate from her a couple years back because of the symptomatic mood swings, but she still calls him nearly every day and he’s near his emotional end. He’ll be going on a long, well-deserved trip next month but this will mean she’ll have to depend on the staff at her care home, and her symptomatic antisocial tendencies have alienated them. I expect calls. She’s been calling ambulances once every week or two because she claims she’s unable to breathe, but she’s nowhere near that stage of the disease yet.

Yes, Huntingdon’s is hereditary. I’ve already been tested, and am clean. It ends with her.

On nicer things, Emily looks ready to walk. She’s been cruising, and Mellissa said she stood for 7 seconds before realizing she wasn’t holding on to anything the other day.

Geoffrey is currently obsessed with Toy Story 1 & 2, and Indiana Jones. His grandpa got him a fedora-like hat for Christmas and he’s been wearing it everywhere. He’s also been leaping off of furniture yelling, “To infinity…and beyond!” When he does it in the hat and his Buzz Lightyear pajamas it’s a weird cross-genre thing.

Work is busy busy busy as always. Being the only person testing the software is stressful, because if any bugs get through I’m pretty much responsible (well, the programmer too, but it’s very hard to test your own work because of ‘tunnel vision’ for your code).

My best friend moved to Vancouver earlier this month. It’s not like I went over to his place all that often, but it was “the place to go” to get away from here for awhile.

Mellissa is still pushing herself too hard for the SCA. Last night she didn’t even come to bed because she was fashioning “garb” for the kids ALL NIGHT. She neglected to tell me until yesterday that she needed me to take care of the kids this morning, and since I had told me boss that I would come in today to take care of some work I now have to push it to tomorrow. Whee, working on a Sunday… :mad:

Shaw Cable started throttling Bittorrent uploads in my area. Fsckers. I mostly use it to download TV shows, which I would watch on Shaw anyway but I hate being forced into a timetable.

The furnace in our house started having problems a couple months ago. Two of the five burners don’t light properly, so the gas builds up until it finally creates a small explosion, which blows out one of the other burners, which then builds up and explodes, etc. The explosions, while small and not dangerous, are very loud and shake the house. Yet one more thing adding to my stress level. We can’t have it looked at right now because the furnace would have to be completely disconnected for a couple days and it’s COLD outside.

I finished Call of Duty 2 within a few days of getting it. Great game, but I think it wasn’t as long as the first one. That, or I played it so damn much that I just breezed through it.

I managed to find a couple Fallout 2 mods, so am currently enjoying more turn-based killing, um strategy/RPG.

Oh, and I never want to have my wisdom teeth taken out now. Cripes!


Mood: :grin:

I was sick right up to Christmas eve, but only had some coughing on Xmas day, so that wasn’t so bad. My mother-in-law has been super-sick due to a viral infection (not contagious), and my father-in-law had a blood vessel pop next to his eye, so it filled with blood and was really gross. We were a real mess that day. Mellissa was exhausted and is just now starting to experience cold symptoms, now that the holidays are over. The kids are fine, though.

I got the LG DivX player from Future Shop, since it was $70 on Boxing Day and I got a gift card that would cover it. So far it has been great; much better than the RJTech or Kosch ones.

I also got Call of Duty 2, which is better than the first — no mean feat.

Mellissa and I will be going on MediFast soon. I look forward to losing some weight and eating things that won’t get stuck in my throat.


Mood: :???:

Just because my writeup for why Wednesdays are going to suck obviously wasn’t good enough, Mellissa’s grandmother just went into the hospital and it doesn’t look good. She coded and came back once already.

Update: She’s gone. Not unexpected, given her state of health over the last few weeks. Rest in peace, Bumma.


Mood: :mad:

On Monday I dropped my fresh-out-of-the-microwave lunch down my leg and onto the floor. Plus, it was Monday.

I hate Tuesdays because Mellissa goes off to D&D and leaves me with the kids. I’m not really all that good at it, being easily frustrated.

Wednesdays are now getting dark too early to continue playing ball hockey after work.

Mellissa goes off most Thursdays but thankfully takes Emily with her. I can handle Geoffrey.

Fridays I have to cook.

Saturdays and Sundays are good just because they’re the weekend, but then I have to help take care of the kids too. I enjoy myself more when Mellissa takes them out somewhere.

Man, my outlook on life sucks.


Mood: :mad:

This morning I woke up to barking and some guy yelling outside. Because of where our bedroom is, such loud noises tend to echo. It sounded about a block away. The last thing I heard him yell was, “Get away from that cat, goddamnit!” That woke me all the way up.

When I got downstairs, I found Mellissa crying. A couple of young adult pit bulls had come into our yard, chased Pasha into our carport, pulled her out from under the car and savaged her. The old fatty didn’t have a chance. The yelling was from one of our neighbours. By the time Mellissa got out there with a hockey stick she couldn’t tell if it was Pasha or Muggins, they had ripped her apart so badly. The cat died shortly thereafter.

These pit bulls reportedly had no collars, and were running free around the neighbourhood. They ran off in different directions. Animal Control was called, but who knows if they’ll catch them?

I hate stupid people who get “tough” dogs and can’t take care of them properly; this is what happens. Now that they’ve got a taste for blood and have enjoyed a successful hunt, what’s to keep them from pulling a baby out of a stroller?

Update: Pasha is alive! Someone else’s gray cat was killed, but it was such a mess that they had no idea until Pasha finally came out of hiding.

Second update: The dogs were captured and are being held. Apparently the owner of one of them is “known”.


Mood: :smile:

We found a replacement alternator for $85 at Riteway and they threw in the brace FREE!
$500 in parts (new) for under $100!
Van’s all back together, and with labour it cost under half of the original estimate.

The mechanic found that the original brace hadn’t been properly secured. It had been shaking itself loose since before we got it, then finally snapped.

In my mind’s eye I see some yokel scratching his head looking at an extra screw in his hand after he put the engine back together (it’s an ICBC rebuild).

Luckily it happened when she was going slow and not when bearing down on a curve on the highway (no power steering at 100+ km/h?)! :eek:


Mood: :mad:

Today, Mellissa was taking the kids to New Westminster and all of a sudden she lost power steering and there was lots of clunking in the engine compartment.

We had to get the van towed to a garage to find that the alternator had ripped out and the fan belt was hanging off. We originally thought that it was only the fan belt, given that we could see it hanging under the vehicle, but instead we’re facing a $700 bill, before taxes. The alternator brace is a GM-only part, so it costs more than the alternator itself.

With taxes and towing, it’s going to be about $1,000 to fix it.

We’ll try to find a replacement part at a junk yard, but what a pisser…


Mood: :grin:

Emily Anne Faith Allison: