To the National Hockey League and its Players Association;
Thanks. I'm done with you now. All the posturing and media spin? I'm over it. I don't miss hockey anymore. I don't care if you come back in January. I don't care if you kill the rest of this season. I don't care if you make it back for NEXT September. Call it a day. It was a good run of about 100 years, but you're done. Or, at least, I'm done with you. I've lost all interest in hearing about your latest non-negotiations. I'm not interested in hearing about how you can't agree on how to split BILLIONS of dollars between owners and players.
I'll tuck my (formerly) prized jerseys away in the closet and they'll become memories. My eyes (and DOLLARS) will not be turned your way anymore. Maybe I'll go see what all the fuss is about NFL Football. (Probably not, I prefer the CFL game) Maybe I'll just find other things to do with all this spare time you've given back to me. Pick up a new hobby. Take some classes. Go for a walk once in a while. Who knows? I just know that I won't be watching if you come back.
I won't be keeping tabs on you either. No highlights. No picking up a paper to check points and standings. Nothing. You've crossed the line into ridiculousness now. Seriously. BILLIONS of dollars and you're fighting over a couple of percentage points either way.
I got over the stupid "$5000 won't pay for my dog food" comment from a previous fight. I got over there being no hockey at all, last time. I still bought (OK, accepted a gift of) tickets once a year and wore my jersey all season. I'd over pay for popcorn and a drink. I'd yell myself hoarse. No More.
I Am Done.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
What I've learned from playing Bejewelled Blitz on FB
I was playing one of my favourite time-wasters this morning. ("Lost" almost an hour of my day on FB, in fact.) As I played, I thought about how some of the gameplay could be used as "life lessons". (If you bend your mind the right way...)
1) Sometimes, you just can't see your next move. Someone will have to show you a path before you can take a step. You get so consumed with scanning the whole board, that your only move just slips out of sight. While you're busy looking over here, you next step is actually over there. Waiting for you.
2) Sometimes, people will not point to the move that works best. You've gotten a little lost. A step gets illuminated for you. You may leap on that chance. You might pause and see that the move right next to it makes more sense. Remember, a hint is just a hint. You need to decide what works for you.
3) Sometimes, you forget to look ahead. You're plugging away at life. You might just be going through the motions. You might think you're working it like a champ. Then, you make a move. Before that move has even finished, you're trying to move again. That's when you realize if you had just taken a moment to look ahead, you could have scored an even bigger move. Now it's gone. Your moves have taken the best play off the board before you could even try them out.
4) Sometimes, there are short term challenges or goals put in front of you. Don't get lost in them. If you focus too much on a short term gain, you may miss your chance for the big score. (See above) Little goals are fun to work at, but don't lose sight of your big picture.
5) Remember, more often than not, "it is what it is." Some days, you'll feel like you're playing like a champ, but still get a short score. You might feel like you're playing like the dog, but score better than you thought you could. Sometimes, you might play the same game twice and score radically different results. In the end, you get what you get. I'm not saying don't try to get better, I'm just saying don't beat yourself up over it. "It is what it is." That's all.
Speaking of "that's all", we're done here for now. As usual, I promise to try to get better about this. My gaps are sometimes just ridiculous, aren't they? But the title is "Un-Randomness" I'd being breaking my rules if I wrote about just anything, just to fill space. Right?
Namaste.
1) Sometimes, you just can't see your next move. Someone will have to show you a path before you can take a step. You get so consumed with scanning the whole board, that your only move just slips out of sight. While you're busy looking over here, you next step is actually over there. Waiting for you.
2) Sometimes, people will not point to the move that works best. You've gotten a little lost. A step gets illuminated for you. You may leap on that chance. You might pause and see that the move right next to it makes more sense. Remember, a hint is just a hint. You need to decide what works for you.
3) Sometimes, you forget to look ahead. You're plugging away at life. You might just be going through the motions. You might think you're working it like a champ. Then, you make a move. Before that move has even finished, you're trying to move again. That's when you realize if you had just taken a moment to look ahead, you could have scored an even bigger move. Now it's gone. Your moves have taken the best play off the board before you could even try them out.
4) Sometimes, there are short term challenges or goals put in front of you. Don't get lost in them. If you focus too much on a short term gain, you may miss your chance for the big score. (See above) Little goals are fun to work at, but don't lose sight of your big picture.
5) Remember, more often than not, "it is what it is." Some days, you'll feel like you're playing like a champ, but still get a short score. You might feel like you're playing like the dog, but score better than you thought you could. Sometimes, you might play the same game twice and score radically different results. In the end, you get what you get. I'm not saying don't try to get better, I'm just saying don't beat yourself up over it. "It is what it is." That's all.
Speaking of "that's all", we're done here for now. As usual, I promise to try to get better about this. My gaps are sometimes just ridiculous, aren't they? But the title is "Un-Randomness" I'd being breaking my rules if I wrote about just anything, just to fill space. Right?
Namaste.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Dads Doing Laundry (or: Domestic Dud to Domestic Hero)
Today is one of many laundry days around here. As I was gathering up the various outfits of the household, it occurred to me that maybe some people would like some assistance with this particual chore. So here's my crash course. (It's not quite detailed enough to be called "Laundy 101". Sorry)
First off. Doing laundry isn't a terrible chore. Folding and putting away clothes, on the other hand, is. Some would argue that folding and putting away is part of "doing laundry". I disagree. I treat them as separate chores.
Next. Labels are important. I can not stress that enough. Nothing drops you from Hero to Zero faster than ruining clothes. It's one thing if your kids outgrow their clothes. It's something else entirely if you shrink them. Do yourself a massive favour. If you have any control over it, READ THE LABELS BEFORE THE CLOTHES ARE BOUGHT. I know you can't control gifts and hand-me-downs. You've got to control what you actually buy, though. I'm not saying don't buy "tough to wash" stuff. I'm simply saying "beware". Same thing for ladies goods. That bra that does all the right things to your wife's front? Don't ruin it by washing it with your jeans!
Here's a basic chart explaining washing symbols.
Some clothing manufacturers are nice. They'll write it out in plain English for you. "Machine Wash Cold. Gentle Cycle. Tumble Dry Low." Simple directions. Lots of tags don't do that, though. Hence the chart above. Watch out for the "Hand Wash" symbol. It's probably the second most important symbol out there. Why only second? Well, chances are that the Hand Wash symbol is only going to be on 1 or 2 items in the whole closet. They're also usually items that you'd guess they were on, anyways. That cashmere pullover? Probably Hand Wash. So what's the most important symbol? The Drying gang take that prize as a group. If it says "Hang", "Lay Flat" or "Drip Dry", then the Dryer will KILL it. I mean it. I've seen Large men's shirts become kids sized. Trust me.
You can cheat some of the system. As long as the item in question isn't labelled "Hand Wash", you can almost never go wrong using a COLD WATER/GENTLE cycle. For front loading machines, the Gentle Cycle relates to the spin speed. Clothes come out a bit damper because the spin cycle doesn't mash them as hard against the drum. Really, though, this is for beginners. If you're doing a load of jeans & T-shirts, you probably know you can use the NORMAL cycle. You can still shift to COLD WATER to save on energy costs. It won't change the clean factor. (Exception to this rule: SHEETS. HOT WATER those bad boys. You're killing bugs here. Second Exception: You work as a Mechanic or in Trades. You're greasy. You can up your washing temp.) If you're doing all the lacey "goodies" you'd better have read those labels before they enter the machine.
Next is soap. You can use less than is "recommended" by the soap maker. (See "Second Exception" above, however.) I'm not saying that two drops is sufficient. I am saying that you don't need half a cup to see results. I find you get less fading with lesser amounts of soap. I like "natural" stuff. Stuff that has bio-degradable elements and fewer chemicles. I don't like scents. They drive me bonkers. (Although I have had women compliment me when the "wrong" soap comes into the house.) Watch for "BLEACH" symbols in your labels. Non-chlorine bleaches are a bit more forgiving if you make a mistake. Think about that when you're buying your laundry stuff.
So that's my crash course on laundry. Hope you found it helpful.
J
PS- I think I still owe Garage Loft pics. Here they are.
First off. Doing laundry isn't a terrible chore. Folding and putting away clothes, on the other hand, is. Some would argue that folding and putting away is part of "doing laundry". I disagree. I treat them as separate chores.
Next. Labels are important. I can not stress that enough. Nothing drops you from Hero to Zero faster than ruining clothes. It's one thing if your kids outgrow their clothes. It's something else entirely if you shrink them. Do yourself a massive favour. If you have any control over it, READ THE LABELS BEFORE THE CLOTHES ARE BOUGHT. I know you can't control gifts and hand-me-downs. You've got to control what you actually buy, though. I'm not saying don't buy "tough to wash" stuff. I'm simply saying "beware". Same thing for ladies goods. That bra that does all the right things to your wife's front? Don't ruin it by washing it with your jeans!
Here's a basic chart explaining washing symbols.
Some clothing manufacturers are nice. They'll write it out in plain English for you. "Machine Wash Cold. Gentle Cycle. Tumble Dry Low." Simple directions. Lots of tags don't do that, though. Hence the chart above. Watch out for the "Hand Wash" symbol. It's probably the second most important symbol out there. Why only second? Well, chances are that the Hand Wash symbol is only going to be on 1 or 2 items in the whole closet. They're also usually items that you'd guess they were on, anyways. That cashmere pullover? Probably Hand Wash. So what's the most important symbol? The Drying gang take that prize as a group. If it says "Hang", "Lay Flat" or "Drip Dry", then the Dryer will KILL it. I mean it. I've seen Large men's shirts become kids sized. Trust me.
You can cheat some of the system. As long as the item in question isn't labelled "Hand Wash", you can almost never go wrong using a COLD WATER/GENTLE cycle. For front loading machines, the Gentle Cycle relates to the spin speed. Clothes come out a bit damper because the spin cycle doesn't mash them as hard against the drum. Really, though, this is for beginners. If you're doing a load of jeans & T-shirts, you probably know you can use the NORMAL cycle. You can still shift to COLD WATER to save on energy costs. It won't change the clean factor. (Exception to this rule: SHEETS. HOT WATER those bad boys. You're killing bugs here. Second Exception: You work as a Mechanic or in Trades. You're greasy. You can up your washing temp.) If you're doing all the lacey "goodies" you'd better have read those labels before they enter the machine.
Next is soap. You can use less than is "recommended" by the soap maker. (See "Second Exception" above, however.) I'm not saying that two drops is sufficient. I am saying that you don't need half a cup to see results. I find you get less fading with lesser amounts of soap. I like "natural" stuff. Stuff that has bio-degradable elements and fewer chemicles. I don't like scents. They drive me bonkers. (Although I have had women compliment me when the "wrong" soap comes into the house.) Watch for "BLEACH" symbols in your labels. Non-chlorine bleaches are a bit more forgiving if you make a mistake. Think about that when you're buying your laundry stuff.
So that's my crash course on laundry. Hope you found it helpful.
J
PS- I think I still owe Garage Loft pics. Here they are.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Be careful what you ask for
I take it back. Almost immediately after I posted about "not getting" the whole percocet addiction thing? Yeah. I got "dreams". Intense ones. Not sure if they would count as hallucinations or not. I say that because I was aware that what I was experiencing wasn't real. Yet I could seem to stop it either. So I "get it" now.
Those things were damned intense. Might have been nicer if they were pleasant as well, but what are you going to do? I got "attacked" and got to live through a nice long dream about having a seizure at work. Lovely.
I need to get off these pills sooner, rather than later.
Now I'm off to see if my throat can handle scrambled eggs yet. God I hope so. I'm starving.
Until next time.
Those things were damned intense. Might have been nicer if they were pleasant as well, but what are you going to do? I got "attacked" and got to live through a nice long dream about having a seizure at work. Lovely.
I need to get off these pills sooner, rather than later.
Now I'm off to see if my throat can handle scrambled eggs yet. God I hope so. I'm starving.
Until next time.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Oh the pain
So I did finally get that loft built. Looks good too. I'll get you some pictures a little bit later. No before shots, though. Once I finally got started on it, I didn't have a camera with me and stopping to go and get it would have probably killed the momentum. I have the car parked in there now!
So here's today's "real" scenario. Tonsils. More specifically, tonsillectomy. In adults. That's right. I had my tonsils yanked out last week.
Oh. My. God. The pain. The pain. I'm sure it will all be worth it eventually, but oh my God! All the warning I got from the ENT was "expect the worst sore throat you've ever had, for about a week, and then 3 more weeks of pain." Well, that doesn't do it justice at all. I was saying to everyone before hand, "This is what they told me, but I don't know what that means. Maybe I'll be out of it over the weekend, in pain for a few days and back to work by Thursday?" Um...No. Not a damn chance. My boss actually called today and it was all I could do to answer the phone to tell him that, "No. I won't be in before Friday, sorry."
It's been super fun trying to keep my mouth hydrated. Especially at night. As soon as I lay down, I slip into "mouth-breather" mode and dry myself out. Then I have to start the whole swallowing anything process from scratch. For some reason, my snoring has gotten out of control too. I was physically removed from the bedroom last night. I can totally hear it, too. I won't even have fallen asleep and I can hear the air rattling around in my nose. It's pissing me off to no end. My wife, too obviously.
I'm still having trouble downing anything thicker than a liquid. Smoothies are a pain, applesauce seems to be OK. I'm going to give chicken broth a try after I'm done typing this. Hopefully that goes down well. I definitely need to add more stuff to my menu or I'm never going to get better. (I'll be hungry a lot too)
As for the pain medication...I really don't get how people get hooked on percocets. They do nothing for me. Well, they take the edge off the pain, but that's about it. I can't imagine I'd take them for their magical goody-wooshy feelings that they bring. (Hint: They don't) I just feel slightly less pain and then get tired. Big whoop.
Well, I'm going to go see if my soup has cooled off enough to give it a try. Then I'll have to pick a movie to keep me awake, or go pass out. I haven't decided which path to take yet.
Next time!
So here's today's "real" scenario. Tonsils. More specifically, tonsillectomy. In adults. That's right. I had my tonsils yanked out last week.
Oh. My. God. The pain. The pain. I'm sure it will all be worth it eventually, but oh my God! All the warning I got from the ENT was "expect the worst sore throat you've ever had, for about a week, and then 3 more weeks of pain." Well, that doesn't do it justice at all. I was saying to everyone before hand, "This is what they told me, but I don't know what that means. Maybe I'll be out of it over the weekend, in pain for a few days and back to work by Thursday?" Um...No. Not a damn chance. My boss actually called today and it was all I could do to answer the phone to tell him that, "No. I won't be in before Friday, sorry."
It's been super fun trying to keep my mouth hydrated. Especially at night. As soon as I lay down, I slip into "mouth-breather" mode and dry myself out. Then I have to start the whole swallowing anything process from scratch. For some reason, my snoring has gotten out of control too. I was physically removed from the bedroom last night. I can totally hear it, too. I won't even have fallen asleep and I can hear the air rattling around in my nose. It's pissing me off to no end. My wife, too obviously.
I'm still having trouble downing anything thicker than a liquid. Smoothies are a pain, applesauce seems to be OK. I'm going to give chicken broth a try after I'm done typing this. Hopefully that goes down well. I definitely need to add more stuff to my menu or I'm never going to get better. (I'll be hungry a lot too)
As for the pain medication...I really don't get how people get hooked on percocets. They do nothing for me. Well, they take the edge off the pain, but that's about it. I can't imagine I'd take them for their magical goody-wooshy feelings that they bring. (Hint: They don't) I just feel slightly less pain and then get tired. Big whoop.
Well, I'm going to go see if my soup has cooled off enough to give it a try. Then I'll have to pick a movie to keep me awake, or go pass out. I haven't decided which path to take yet.
Next time!
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