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Red Fridays To Support Our Canadian Troops

Mulder

A few months ago, the families of Canadian soldiers based in Petawawa started wearing red on Fridays as a show of support for our troops overseas.

Tomorrow, Friday September 8th, I will be wearing red for the first time in support of our troops. I hope you, too, decide to wear red to show you care about them.

Many may say that the troops would never know, but their are family members of our troops all over Canada and many of them could use the show of support too. They speak to their loved ones often, and if we all wear red, maybe, just maybe, we can put some lift in the heart of our soldiers that may carry them through some of the tough battles they are facing.

Red Fridays. Spread the word.

Opinions Needed ASAP On A PDA/Cellphone

Mulder

I am probably going to be getting a new cellphone/PDA over the next week or so and need some input.

I currently use a Treo 600 and have used a Palm device for several generations going back to Palm III devices. I have also used both the original blackberry and one of the newer blue tinted models that are being offered for $150 by Rogers.

If anyone has an opinion on a specific Blackberry model or PDA/Cell that they can give, I would really appreciate it. My main concern is that I hear the sound quality on the blackberry’s is not up to snuff.

I would appreciate feedback in the comments below.

T-Bone Brings Home A Bronze

Mulder

Today was T-Bone’s summer soccer league year end tournament.

6 teams in the league and they played three mini games of 45 minutes and the top four records went on to the semi finals.

After a hard fought 2-0 loss in the 9 am game, T-Bone’s Orange Crush team had two games off to rest up. We headed back to his 12pm game and they evened up their plus/minus by winning 2-0. Their third game at 1pm was a yawner (0-0 tie).

Their 1-1-1 record garnered them a tie with two other teams for second place but they took the official spot on goal differential.

In the semi finals they got their butts handed to them by a team they had trouble with all year by a score of 4-1 which put them into the match for the bronze medal against the team that beat them in the morning match.

With a little motivation and some great defence, they managed to reverse their morning score and took the game 2-0.

Way to go T-Bone. It was a great season.

Salad Anyone?

Mulder

After digging Darcey’s tomatoes, I had to do a bit of bragging for my wife.

We’ve got more veggies than we know what to do with. Tomatoes, banana peppers, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers. We also have some onions that are almost ready to pull and our first try at strawberries has garnered a half dozen worth eating. They take a few years but I suspect by next summer we will have vines sprawling all over.

We can’t eat the tomatoes fast enough!! I think we need a good Salsa recipe.

Veggies

An Order of Edamame, A Rainbow Roll, and A Sleeman's Honey Brown Please!

Mulder

My friends know I am a big fan of Sushi. They also know that on the rare occasion when I hoist a brew or two, they are inevitably Sleeman’s, and in particular, the Sleeman’s Honey Brown.

Today it was announced that Sapporo of Japan is buying Sleeman’s Brewery in Canada. The deal is expected to make Sleeman’s more competitive.

I think what I like most about this deal is being able to get a good Sleeman’s when I head out for some edamame and sashimi!!!

Domo Arigato Sapporo!!

Algonquin, Muskoka, and Toronto – A Vacation Made In Heaven

Mulder

Why is it that when you return from a vacation you need another vacation to unwind? After rolling through Algonquin park on Thursday, we made our way west to to cottage country.
The family and I spent three nights at a small resort right on the Muskoka River and despite no air conditioning, we didn’t complain. The first night, our cottage had no power due to the storms that rolled through the area the night before, but we made the most of it playing cards by moonlight and candlelight.

The rest of the time it was swimming, kayaking, peddleboating and hiking around the area. We were blessed at a part of the river that was pretty much a lake with a very light current and we had the beautiful view of the waterfalls below.

Muskoka 1

We took a small hike around the river up to the falls where I proceeded to find a rock out in the middle of the falls. And as sure footed as I think I am, there is always room for a spill into the river as I made my way back to shore. The funny part is that I enjoyed every second of the splashing.

Muskoka 2

After three solid days of living by the river, we headed down to the Big Smoke where we spent a couple of nights with my family.

We spent the Civic Day holiday at Canada’s Wonderland (a yearly excursion for us), where we proceeded to make our way onto just about every rollercoaster the park had to offer. This was the first year Cookie was tall enough to ride every major ride so we had a blast.

Now it’s back to the grind.

P.S. For Joanne, we didn’t make it to Weber’s burger joint, but we did see it on our cruise down to Toronto. It was just too early in the day to be eating burgers Maybe next year.

Ottawa Blog Mafia Goes Mexican

Mulder

It was a great night to sit out on the patio at Mexicali Rosa’s at the Dow’s Lake Pavillion last night. We equalled the numbers we got last time around. A good sign considering it’s summer.

I picked up ShamTheToryMan (Shameer Ravji) who lives nearby and off we went. Already waiting for us at the bar outside with a beer was Brent Colbert. PhantomObserver (Victor Wong), with his fedora, found us outside shortly after and Matt McGuire from a Step To The Right strolled on in with a buddy of his his buddy Sean not long after.

Two hours, a couple of brewskis and an evening of political gabbing made it nice way to spend a Friday night in July.

Here we are surrounding a copy of “An Army Of Davids”.

Ottawa Blog Mafia 3rd meeting

The Tao Of Steve (Harper)

Mulder

Stephen Harper and the whole “Steve” thing got quite a bit of play last week and I think my view on this counts somewhat since my name is Steve.

Now I must add, my legal name is Steve. (not Stephen or Steven) and every conversation with an administrator who took information inevitably ended up like this.

Admin: First name?
Me: Steve
Admin: Is that with a V or a PH?
Me: I said Steve, not Stephen

And I would then proceed to receive a dirty look. That was the only negative.

Positive Number 1

There is this Indie movie called The Tao Of Steve which an old co-worker told me about.

The “Steve” whose philosophy is espoused in Jenniphr Goodman’s indie film is every studly Steve who ever lived in movies, Steve McQueen being the prime example.

These are the men who never seemed to care about getting the girl, but who always got them anyway. “Steve is the prototypical cool American male,” says Dex (Donal Logue), the film’s protagonist and chief advocate of the Tao of Steve.

It’s a really good feel good movie for the average guy and worth a rental.

Positive Number 2

Then there is the whole one syllable angle. One syllable names just sound “cooler” (in general). In multicultural Canada, only Stefano might be slightly cooler.

Positive Number 3

Moving from a 7 letter name to a 5 letter name means less paper so it is more environmentally friendly. (ok, that one’s stretching it)

Tainted Blood Victims To Be Compensated – Conservatives Get It Right

Mulder

I have a special vested interest in this news. My dad was one of those who received tainted blood that gave him hepatitis C. With this being such a personal issue, I have never spoken about it on my blog because of a deep seated resentment. You see, the Hep C flareups my dad had during his battle with a beatable cancer made his condition very hard to handle for the oncologists.

He was in his late 50’s. He had several years of work left in a good paying job that would have made life in their retirement much easier than it has been for my mom. The proposed payment should make life a bit easier for her in the coming years. Knowing my mom, she will probably outlive me so this is in no way tied to any greed on my part. I just don’t want her worrying about the monthly bills in her gardening years.

My dad taught me so many things that I can only mention a few. He taught me to play backgammon on an old board he had. I have been teaching Cookie on the same board and everytime I roll the dice I think of him. He taught me how to kick soccer balls and every one of T-Bone’s soccer games, I think of him. He taught me my love for hockey, which for a Greek immigrant was a major feat and every game I think of those Wednesday and Saturday nights watching Borje Salming and Darryl Sittler. He taught me to respect my elders which I still do to this day although more and more I notice that the number of people older than me is dwindling. He taught me how to work hard for what I earn and he taught me how to care for my possessions, which I think about everytime I spend a dollar or get something fixed on my truck. He taught me to tease, something Cookie reminds me of everytime she says “daaaad, quit being so sarcastic” which she has been saying since she was 6.

But most of all he taught me to joke and laugh as much as possible. I am reminded of this every bad joke my wife rolls her eyes at. (but I see the sides of her lips curling up a bit in a smile everytime.)

I miss you Pops. You can stop worrying about mom now. Stephen Harper is making things right.

In My Front Yard

Mulder

I went out front to shoot some hoops with the kids tonight when my daughter started squeaking “Daddy, a deer, a deer!!”. I turned around, looked across the street and sure enough there was a deer. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped a couple of shots.

Deer Out Front July 8th 2006

We didn’t want to spook it but considering I live in suburbia (with the houses across the street not built yet) it was a nice treat on a Saturday evening.