2003 - 2006 Thoughts
	Tuesday March 27, 2007 My threading aid broke. It's a simple device but not having one causes me great pain whenever I drag out the sewing machine.
	Sunday March 25, 2007 Which episodes of M*A*S*H do you remember? Hunnicut and Hot Lips having sex. Potter saying "The thing I miss most is not having anyone my own age to talk to." The mother killing her baby in the last episode. Near the end where Klinger didn't feel the need to dress up anymore. Killing off Trapper. Radar finally getting drunk. The "from the eyes of a soldier" camera angle I just remember bits - that's all.
	Friday afternoon March 23, 2007 Day three of my veggie experiment.. Yesterday I indulged in fried potato dumplings with a store bought somosa and improvised tamarind sauce, (ketchup and a little worcestor). Wish me luck - the weekend's coming.
	Friday March 23, 2007 The thing Conservative Christians -- really most people perhaps should be concerned about with evolution... is that natural selection puts an extraordinary emphasis on sex - specifically getting it . Sometimes I -- a moderate liberal -- even have trouble with this -- that our species getting better and better through natural selection ---- well -- you know -- I'm confused because where does just living a good life come into it -- specifically ugly people living a good life? Is our virtue only good for the moment? Is nature so brutal that she wants good works and physical beauty? In other news, I've gone veggie for one and a half days now -- totally by accident. I think I'm consciously going to continue this trend for another day or two.
	Thursday March 22, 2007 I never have more motivation to do the dishes than when... I'm frying an egg and don't have a clean flipper thingy.
	Wednesday March 21, 2007 Eyeglasses aren't a novelty for me anymore. It took about a day but relatively constant use of my "readers" -- magnifying eyeglasses, at work has made them a bother.
	Tuesday March 20, 2007 Went to the eye doctor yesterday. She said, as she gently wiped away my tears, that we'd never see eye to eye -- (mostly because my close-up sight was deteriorating). I understood, I thought as I handed over the prearranged sixty-five dollars. I knew I'd come back to her -- that was what consoled me as I made my way back to the car and turned the key in the ignition.
	FSaturday March 17, 2007 I happened upon a great food combination this evening. Warm lentil salad with tomatoes, feta, limp onions, parsley and oil/vinegar dressing teamed with seed filled whole wheat bread. the nutty taste of the lentils complements the nutty texture of the bread -- very good.
	Friday March 16, 2007 Day 2 of the cable TV hookup. So far... about 1/2 hour of George Strombolopolis on CBC --- full episode of Scrubs --- 10 minutes of CBC news.
	Thursday March 15, 2007 I had an interesting conversation at lunch today. We were talking about the illegal practise of back-dating stock options for employees. It's called stealing. But because no one is skulking around in the night with gloves on, the blame is spread so thin it doesn't touch anybody. I don't know how to fix this.
	Wednesday March 14, 2007 When the temperature reaches 5 degrees celcius in March... the snow begins to leave. Bittersweet? The white blanket that has become familiar is hitchin a ride outa town. We welcome Spring, yes -- but that doesn't mean we can't mourn the passing of winter a wee bit.
	Tuesday March 13, 2007 It's gonna be one of those days when... you think you've run out of clean socks but then you look in the drawer where they're supposed to be and find a whole bunch.
	Monday March 12, 2007 I try to do without my reading glasses... in the faint hope it qualifies as enough penance to get my perfect vision back.
	Saturday March 10, 2007 Virtual worlds like VLB, (MTV's Virtual Laguna Beach), aren't... really virtual at all -- you still react with other people -- just filtered by some commands you give a machine.
	Friday March 9, 2007 The posh bar down the road has stopped selling half pints. They have also stopped selling Hoegarten Belgian beer. There really isn't any reason to visit the place now -- except perhaps for the attention of the wait staff. and they are beautiful there.
	Tuesday March 6, 2007 Is it possible to detect a distinct smell for soggy toast? I thought I did yesterday as I went down to the cafeteria for my morning cup of coffee. It took me back to lifting the top off a breakfast tray while a patient in Ajax General Hospital.
	Monday March 5, 2007 I redecorated the spare bedroom ... It's sparcely furnished with stylish linens and retro flooring. I've been sleeping in it - like a hotel room - foreign and familiar all at once. And since it's small -- it's like a Manhattan hotel room.
	Saturday March 3, 2007 I bought a chocolate Easter Bunny yesterday... Its ears and half its head is already gone.
	Friday March 2, 2007 Something I don't like... Those plastic hair combs that close with a spring like a clam shell. I think the reason I don't like them is that they're too easy.
	Thursday March 1, 2007 Do you ever yearn to see a non 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper? The ubiquitous laser printer has made non-standard sizes exotic, nay erotic in their scarcity.
	Wednesday Feb 28, 2007 How's this for a simile? --- as ugly as rust on a white car.
	Monday Feb 26, 2007 Some weeks go as you planned... Other times you learned when you wanted to party, rested when you anticipated working, got restless when you thought you could snooze.
	Wednesday Feb 21, 2007 I just saw a woman in the cafeteria with 3 and a half inch heels. Where does she think she is ---- Montreal?
	Tuesday Feb 20, 2007 it's just one of those days... when you wished you smoked.
	Monday Feb 19, 2007 I bought a set of three pillar candles. --- for charity - you understand. Anyway when I lit them tonight, one of them flickered wildly as if possessed. The others calm and cool.
	Friday Feb 16, 2007 Did you ever notice... A lot of what managers do is just -- talk, (and preparing to talk).
	Thursday Feb 15, 2007 No problems getting it up this morning... .
	Wednesday Feb 14, 2007 The Mazda couldn't make it up the hill this morning. I spun, swerved and was passed by two impatient Subarus. So like in life, I turned around. and all the while the radio wailed Josh Grobin's "You Raise Me Up" !!
	Tuesday Feb 13, 2007 I'm planning a trip. I want to go to the Paris Air Show in June.
	Monday Feb 12, 2007 Lipstick on a coffee cup. When I see it I always think of when I was a wee lad cleaning up after my paternal aunts. The white styrofoam stained with Mabyelline's "Ruby Red" and filled with DuMaurier butts.
	Friday Feb 9, 2007 Romance Quiz. 1/ Have you ever lit candles for breakfast? 2. Have you ever taken a drive and not known where you'd end up? 3. Have you ever bought whipping cream in February without a recipe in mind?
	Thursday Feb 8, 2007 At work I'm working on two projects. Both have been instigated by "audit". Funny that -- it's pretty basic stuff we're doing and should have been in the initial design of the system. My point is that I'm embarrased that we needed "audit" to tell us our system was crap.
	Wednesday Feb 7, 2007 In the paper today... an ad for a BMW truck: "It's now one of the most entertaining entry-level premium sport-utilities on the market."
	Monday Feb 5, 2007 The thing about learning to knit... is that you can never look at a sweater the same way again. you're constantly trying to figure out how they did it
	Friday Feb 3, 2007 Today my Google was... Blockheater -- connect -- how long.
	Thursday Feb 1, 2007 Like the Koran is organized in chapters shortest to longest perhaps refrigerators should be lined up worst energy hog to least energy hog at the department store, (speaking environmentally that is).
	Wednesday Jan 31, 2007 Are morning people really morning people... or do they just skip breakfast and don't read the paper and don't put the dirty towels away before getting a new one after their shower? Just wondering.
	Tuesday Jan 30, 2007 What I'd really like in an attache case... is that it be wide enough to accomodate my lunch bag and my portfolio. If it succeeds in this, it is also hideously thick. A classic form vs function dilema. Thought Two. I consider it a successful day when... I convince one of the idiot lights in my car to stop blinkng.
	Tuesday Jan 30, 2007 What I'd really like in an attache case... is that it be wide enough to accomodate my lunch bag and my portfolio. If it succeeds in this, it is also hideously thick. A classic form vs function dilema.
	Monday Jan 29, 2007 Do you remember your first... phone number? 942-0972. My parents made me memorize it at the kitchen table in our split level in Ajax Ontario.
	Friday Jan 26, 2007 Am I capable of an emotional response? Sometimes I get a lump in my throat while singing. A G major chord could reverb off a happy or sad memory -- sending my cortex into spasms of flashback. That --- or I just love how a choir sounds. when I like the song
	Thurs Jan 25, 2007 I'm very sleepy this afternoon. No reason, really. 11 months 'til Xmas!!
	Wed Jan 24, 2007 Please email me with a movie recommendation. and none of that art house stuff -- I live in K-town for God's sake.
	Mon Jan 22, 2007 You know what gets me through January? About a week ago I baked up a big batch of brownies. I freezed them and I take one out every day.
	Wed Jan 17, 2007 I've been kind of Howard Hughesy lately about germs. I'm coming up to a critical time on a project at work and I don't want to get a bug. It's funny -- I avoid communal pens. I don't touch candy containers. Tomorrow I'm bringing my own lunch.
	Tues Jan 16, 2007 I don't like the current President of the United States. I'm not interested in bashing him though. I'm much more interested in disecting why I didn't think it was that big a deal that the invasion of Iraq took place in the summer of -- when was it 2002, 2003?. Key I think is that the media didn't make it clear enough of the plans for reconstruction after the "victory". And why we should be interested in reconstructing anything in Iraq -- a country that with the right social skills should be rich enough to develop their country themselves -- if development is their goal. If not, then the oil under their land is useless to them and would be unavailable to us. I'm rambling now, (one step removed from a rant).
	Sat Jan 13, 2007 Like a Christmas carol in a minor key... The crisp, clean New Year is swathed in January's greyness. Our task, (should we choose to accept it), is to wallow in the muck - take a break from the frantic. Or To cut through it and start the "new" in New Year right away.
	Fri Jan 12, 2007 I'm at that point in a project at work... where I've done all the "hard" tasks and I'm rapidly losing interest. This is where I wish I had an intern to just "close" -- you know put cosmetics on reports and fill out all the forms.
	Thurs Jan 11, 2007 I was in a bad mood last week. I know - I know you couldn't tell the difference. Anyway -- I'm coming out of it -- not because of any Fabulous Pleasure Filled Event, (F.P.F.E.), but because I've let simple, beautiful things into my life again.
	Fri Jan 5, 2007 Last month I lugged my humidifier up from the basement for the winter season... I forgot to put a wick in it. (I was wondering why that single bucket of water was lasting so long).
	Thurs Jan 4, 2007 I should really be paid for an extra 10 minutes a day... to make up for the ideas I get while sitting on the can in the morning. My mind seems to be clear then --- and often turns to thoughts of maximizing data flow in a perl/PHP environment.
	Wed Jan 3, 2007 I bought a New Yorker magazine last week. I've been reading it while on the elliptical trainer at the Y. So far every piece of fiction had something to do with sex.
	Tues Jan 2, 2007 I received some Columbo DVD's for Xmas. The last three nights I've been watching them. I now just assume women wear bright flowing dresses everywhere and men smoke with abandon. I think I'll go to Rona after work and pick up some sheets of pannelling and some rolls of big print wallpaper. now where did I leave my zippo?
	Sun Dec 31, 2006 I like 2% fat yogourt. I do. Or rather -- I did until I tasted 10%. I inadvertently bought the rich thick gorgeous stuff at the market yesterday and scooped it out into a bowl this morning. It touched my lips and wrapped itself around my tongue. It held me in its embrace. Oh what a beautiful way to end the year I thought as I slouched down in the kitchen chair. It'll take me all of 2007 to get used to 2% again.
	Saturday Dec 30, 2006 I work in insurance Information Technology. This is how the I.T. world has changed since I started in the early 1980’s. Instead of managers guiding projects that develop custom designed systems from scratch, they have become nothing more than professional shoppers out to buy the latest system off the shelf. Their only real job is to take care of all the interfaces and wonder why it all doesn’t fit together well. There was a day when insurance companies and banks gave specs to IBM and Digital to challenge them to come up with new machines. Now we cower in a corner feeding money to leasing budgets. Granted, all the “new” technology frees programmers from running endless reports for business users . They run them “themselves.” And those reports put more pressure on the field staff to provide services where the data says it’s needed. And that helps the poor consumer – provided he has enough money left over from his high speed internet and downloadable music budgets to actually buy more insurance and money market funds.
	Friday Dec 29, 2006 I might finish knitting my hat... by New Year's. It's my first project with wool.
	Thursday Dec 28, 2006 It's amazing and a bit disconcerting how easily... I forget about my paid work while on holidays.
	Tuesday Dec 26, 2006 Things learned over the Xmas holiday: 1... My mother needs more poker chips 2... I need some jeans that fit me. 3... There are never enough batteries 4... The weather as conversational topic can last days. 5... It's nice to arrive and nice to leave.
	Friday Dec 22, 2006 I drank too much last night. Merry Christmas.
	Wednesday Dec 20, 2006 Why do companies have deadlines around Christmas and September 1? In December we all have social deadlines and in the summer we want to live.
	Tuesday Dec 19, 2006 Adults and Children look at Christmas from very different eyes. I know it's obvious but I gotta say it ---- adults can only experience Christmas by watching children.
	Monday Dec 18, 2006 Don't you just hate it when... you think of something work related two seconds into your shower? You've got to spend what may be the only 10 minutes you'll have to yourself in the day thinking about ---- whether or not there are negative values on those financial records.
	Friday Dec 15, 2006 I bought an expensive department store stick of deodorant yesterday... because -- well - I wanted to feel more manly. It didn't work -- the stick was stuck and wouldn't go up.
	Thursday Dec 14, 2006 Three people came out for caroling yesterday. Fortunately that included a seven year old who stole the show.
	Tuesday Dec 12, 2006 I'm not a marketing type person... That's why I find it so hard to get people, (church members and friends), to come out for caroling tomorrow. Maybe if I had more sex appeal I could pull this charity thing off better?
	Monday Dec 11, 2006 I'm a very spatial person... On my desk at any given time are carefully positioned pens and highlighters. They point to places in documents that I'm working on at the moment.
	Friday Dec 8, 2006 I don't like artificial Christmas trees set up in offices and malls. Wreaths, garlands and baubles -- all fine. But I think Christmas trees should have gift potential. Trees in offices and malls don't. The Christmas tree is personal where garlands are public. and by the way I don't think this opinion is Grinchy -- quite the opposite. I'm preserving the special place decorated trees have in homes everywhere.
	Thursday Dec 7, 2006 There's nothing like the day after you get your car fixed. The birds sing louder, the sun shines brighter... and that annoying noise - gone.
	Tuesday Dec 5, 2006 I like humour. The best thing about it is that it acknowledges that the world isn't perfect. Wars are fought over differing senses of humour.
	Monday Dec 4, 2006 I'm not a morning person but... I most feel like working in the morning. I like cooking in the afternoon. It's not a perfect world.
	Friday Dec 1, 2006 I'm going to a choral concert tomorrow in Toronto. A friend of mine is in it. But beyond that, I just find the music director fascinating. He's trying new things - some of which click, others not so much.
	Thursday Nov 30, 2006 You can tell your car's getting old when... * Driving along you smell smoke and just assume it's your car instead of some garbage. * You drive through populated areas instead of the bypass so you'll be closer to a phone should you need a tow * Your trunk release is a well placed hit with the hand * climatologists want to study the leaves blowing out of your vents for pre-global warming evidence. * you don't bother changing your tires because you swear, "This is the last year."
	Wednesday Nov 29, 2006 Did you ever play a scratch-n-win ticket and wonder if the big prize had already been won? You probably didn't think about it. If it has been won and you knew about it it would really take the fun out of it ---- hmmmmm.
	Tuesday Nov 28, 2006 I tell different people different stories. When talking about my recent trip to Cobalt, my mother gets the weather, my curling buddies get the mining tour and Martin's wife hears all about the 80's music, drinking beer in the rec room.
	Thursday Nov 23, 2006 Bought a Moleskine today. Not a marital aid, a Moleskine is a notebook. This one is a weekly planner. Apparently the brand is legendary counting Van Gogh, Picasso and Hemingway as purchasers. My reminders for hair cuts, oil changes and birthdays take note -- greatness is just around the corner.
	Wednesday Nov 22, 2006 I don't understand something... Burg Dubai is going to be the world's highest building when it is completed. It will stand essentially alone. When New York and Chicago were building high buildings it was phallic -- yes -- but also they were running out of room in the best business areas of town. Now it appears that Dubai just wants to join the party -- because it can.
	Tuesday Nov 14, 2006 I've started to read the Business Section before the Front Section. A bit of self-interest perhaps. But I think I'm at that stage in life where I want to read books on geography and to do research on political movements. Since I don't understand what's behind the headlines, I've lost interest in them.
	Monday Nov 13, 2006 It took me 6 hours... to put the shelves in my new Ikea Wardrobe and drill the holes for the handles. -- don't ask.
	Friday Nov 10, 2006 I don't want to base my opinion of a war on media treatments, casualty numbers and one sided rhetoric. I want to send my warriors overseas because something has become ajar in the house of humanity. Oh - just heard of a book about non-violent opposition -- must read it.
	Thursday Nov 9, 2006 I wonder about the overuse of the word, "Power" People like presidents and dictators are supposed to have it. One of the most "powerful" things the current American President has done is invade Iraq. He did it by lying, intimidation and deception. I don't call that power - I call it lying, intimidation and deception. Thought II. Why does "Coming of Age" require experimenting with a vice? Sex, drugs, coffee. Becoming an adult means taking on something to help you forget you're becoming an adult.
	Friday Nov 3, 2006 My boss retired this week. There wasn't any big shin-dig - no party -- just a few lunches and a little speech. The day after he left it didn't even seem like he was missed that much. I remember when my aunt retired from a measily secretary's job there was a big party at the Holiday Inn - dancing and drinking -- a real "do" ! What is it about geeks?
	Thursday Nov 2, 2006 I like talking to strangers in elevators... This morning a stylish big boned European woman and I kibitzed about the onset of winter weather. I think I'm in love.
	Tuesday Oct 31, 2006 I have a new unified theory on why electronic devices like Blackberries and iPods are popular... You often see people fiddling with these things while waiting for elevators, in lunch lines -- anywhere they don't know what to do with their hands. This has replaced smoking. God forbid you don't know what to do with your hands.
	Friday Oct 27, 2006 I was waken up this morning by my clock radio... at precisely that moment a man in my dream said to me, "And the thing to remember is..." --- BOOM - The Bare Naked Ladies are suddenly singing, "So I'm lying here, just staring at the ceiling tiles" (from Brian Wilson).
	Wednesday Oct 25, 2006 When someone holds the door for you and it's just a little extra effort... well -- really effort is too strong a word for it ---- do you say "Thank You" to them? I don't personnally think it merits the full phrase --- usually something like "...Yuh" comes out.
	Monday Oct 23, 2006 I just read on the weekend that China uses the profits from all those trinkets it sells to the West... and invests them in the West -- perpetuating a dependency on their cheap products. And it is important that they are cheap. If they actually paid their workers what they were worth, the prices of the trinkets would go up and we wouldn't buy as much and China wouldn't have as much to invest in us. Or maybe their workers would have proper homes and heat in the winter and produce things they or the world actually needs. I'm going for a coffee.
	Friday Oct 20, 2006 I was in a rush this morning... I knew there was some stew in the freezer so I grabbed a tupperware container and threw it in my lunch pail. It was apple crisp.
	Thursday Oct 19, 2006 Have you ever bought motor oil in a convenience store? The clerk had to dust it off before pricing it, (it seemed a little thin). My car loses oil at a rate fast enough to do damage yet slow enough that I forget how important it is to check it --- thus the panic this morning when I suddenly realized half way into the first left turn of my commute that I hadn't checked the dip stick in a while.
	Friday Oct 13, 2006 We put Grandma's worldly possessions out on the dining room table yesterday. It was in preparation for all the grandkids and kids to take it away when we get together this weekend. In talking with my mother last night, she seemed most moved by a $5.00 glass plate that she remembers cutting up cheese for countless times. Kids like the cardboard box the best.
	Thursday Oct 12, 2006 I'm averaging 6 hours of sleep a night this week... Painting, letter writing, curling -- all are to blame. Ironically, I've also been pretty successful in solving problems at work this week. It'll all come crashing down by Sunday -- I'm sure.
	Tuesday Oct 10, 2006 My new neighbours arrived last week... They've already put up their halloween decorations. I don't think we're going to get along.
	Saturday Oct 7, 2006 I've started to fiddle with my reading glasses... Holding them to my lips as I think... Using them as a pointer... throwing them down to emphasize a point. This is a whole new world.
	Friday Oct 6, 2006 I also remember the sights and sounds of my grandma... She always believed it was better to sew or read by sunlight -- so she'd position herself that way as often as she could. When darning socks, (a rare thing now a days), I'd hear the dull bangs of the handle of the scissors against the kitchen table as she flattened out the stitches at the toe.
	Tuesday Oct 3, 2006 I ripped out a knitting project yesterday. The hat was just way too big. I started another of my own design, 111 stitches on 4 mm needles, rib stitch. I plan on about 35 rows of that before purling to the end. Wish me luck!
	Monday Oct 2, 2006 My employer expired my logon this morning because my original contract ended on Sept 30. They extended and after a help desk call and physically going over to security, I'm happily computing again.
	Thursday Sept 28, 2006 I was caught behind a school bus this morning. I waited as the children got on - slowly. On the curb the mothers waved good bye, cigarettes dripping from their mouths, some still in pagamas. Cars kept piling up. The kids came late; they wouldn't sit down on the bus. For goodness sake, parents -- let your kids wait by themselves. Then the bus driver might feel he can yell at his charges to settle down without fear of reproach. (and maybe the kids would start to learn they can take care of themselves).
	Monday Sept 25, 2006 My grandma died on Friday. This morning a bird flew into the kitchen window It was ok - but I wonder...
	Thursday Sept 21, 2006 Just installed Mac System X 10.4. It was easy.
	Monday Sept 18, 2006 At the market on Saturday morning... The roasting pig is gone. A man walked by with the same mannerisims as my late father. I almost invited him over for a coffee.
	Sunday Sept 17, 2006 I burned my stew yesterday. It can be done. I ate it anyway.
	Friday Sept 15, 2006 I have to buy new pants. I spilled an oily mess onto my favourite Dockers and now they aren't appropriate for polite company.
	Tuesday Sept 12, 2006 Ummm - if we need more help fighting terror in Iraq... how come China isn't sending troops?
	Tuesday Sept 12, 2006 Upon considering the latest Cadbury Thins chocolate bar ad and the Coffee Crisp (Nice Light Snack) ad... I can only conclude that women eat chocolate as a substitute for sexual gratification and men eat it because they're hungry.
	Monday Sept 11, 2006 I'm in the "Sliding Season"... In the summer I have my car ventilation controls on Cold and Vents. In the winter it is Full Heat and Defrost. Now and in the spring I adjust daily - hourly in between.
	Friday Sept 8, 2006 Just as I sailed under an amber light the song... "Into the Mystic" came on the radio by Colin James. Near the end of the song he says, "Can't stop now..." and I didn't
	Tuesday Sept 5, 2006 Canadians: What news story did you find out about first yesterday? Steve (Crocodile Hunter) Irwin's death or..the friendly fire killing of a Canadian soldier?
	Monday Sept 4, 2006 I'm on the home stretch... of my latest knitting project. I've started decreasing for the last raglan sleeve. It's quite pleasureable knowing that the rows are getting shorter.
	Saturday Sept 2, 2006 All right I'll admit it -- I look at other gentlemen's penises in the locker room. This morning at the YMCA I was at the sink throwing water on my face. Next to me a well built man was rubbing shaving cream all over his chest. Strange but I could still feel envy welling up inside of me until I noticed a huge pimple on his left ass cheek.
	Friday Sept 1, 2006 You can't make a pie with just what's in your kitchen. You have to go out -- search for berries or fruit -- you have to live life! thought 2: Who are the rich jealous of? The richer? The more creative? The free?
	Wednesday Aug 30, 2006 Sleep Preparing for a dinner party Recycling cardboard It's no fun when you actually have time to do it.
	Monday Aug 28, 2006 In order of "Importance." Academy Awards Golden Globes Emmy's Grammy's Tony's Nobels
	Sunday Aug 27, 2006 How do you know when something will be a "First Annual?" I've gone to the same nursery to pick up my geraniums four years in a row now. I leave my VISA number at the Burlington IKEA it seems every spring.
	Friday Aug 25, 2006 Guys: When you think you just don't measure up south of the border... think metric.
	Thursday Aug 24, 2006 I get more satisfaction from... doing the recycling than going to work. - I get immediate feedback, ("Wow -- they took all my junk!"). - I sweat a little. - I can feel less guilty about buying more stuff. Second Thought: I've misplaced my day-timer book It's kind of freeing - to not really know my commitments. I think I know where it is - this feeling won't last.
	Tuesday Aug 22, 2006 I've lost my innocence, again. A house was broken into just a few doors down from me. They ransacked the place. I guess I've lost some trust in my fellow human beings.
	Monday Aug 21, 2006 I'm seeing little psychadelic animal heads in the carpet pattern at work. I didn't sleep very well last night.
	Sunday Aug 20, 2006 There's a wild rose outside my dining room window. It doesn't conform to any rose standard. It sends a shoot down into a window well if it feels like it. Flowers profusely or not at all. Some vines - the feminine - are delicate and wind gracefully around the wire support. Others - the masculine - are thick and turgid, thrusting straight out into the backyard as far as they can.
	Thursday Aug 17, 2006 My tape is stuck in my tape deck. My router is stuck at a half inch. There's something tar-like on my dining room table. I started to knit with honey coated fingers last night. One of my teflon frying pans is coming undone. A jagged toenail grabbed onto a strand of my sock this morning.
	Monday Aug 14, 2006 I replaced my rusting licence plate on Saturday. It was my first - how proudly I screwed it on my 1981 Ford Escort. How I cursed it when the nuts broke off on my '92 Mazda Protege.
	Friday Aug 11, 2006 My Mom's coming down today for a visit... so I got rid of all my smut - you know, naked statues, porn, Ikea Catalogues.
	Saturday Aug 5, 2006 Champagne does some funny things... Fifteen new years eve's or so ago a champagne bottle got out of hand and sprayed bubbles all over my walls -- it was a rental. But some got on my tape deck and slowly but surely over the years it worked its way into the mechanism so that now a tape is stuck in there but good. Be careful out there folks.
	Friday Aug 4, 2006 Had a lot of energy in the evening a couple days ago... and this morning I ate steak, weeded the garden and mopped the floor. But last night it was all I could do to press the buttons on the remote. Go figure.
	Wednesday Aug 2, 2006 Shopping trip this evening... found me at Sears perusing the clearance rack of men's shorts. There were none in my size --- which is a good thing I guess --- all the average sizes are sold -- so I'm average.
	Tuesday Aug 1, 2006 It's soooo hot today... that no one complains about going to work ---- air conditioning ---. Cooperators where I work has turned off unnecessary lighting to save power --- way to go Coop!!
	Sunday July 30, 2006 You know what laminate flooring is, don't you?. It's a photograph.
	Wednesday July 26, 2006 Every morning this week... the woman in the car behind me at the Fountain Street - River Road intersection has lit up a cigarette while waiting to turn left. Perhaps her first thought upon seeing me is to engage in an alternate pleasure? I'll try to be more upbeat tomorrow.
	Monday July 24, 2006 Me and Miss Universe... were sick on Sunday night. in separate incidents in different countries
	Wednesday July 19, 2006 It feels so good... to get rid of old furnishings. I'm anticipating another major visit to IKEA so I have to make room. Out went a fake faded persian carpet and an old humidifier.
	Friday July 14, 2006 When I retire... If I ever have more than enough money to live on, I hope I spend it on something other than a fancy car. -- I'm just saying that that purchase shouldn't be the default when I can't think of anything else to buy. I think I'm leaning more towards air travel and fresh food.
	Saturday July 8, 2006 It's the oldest metaphor but... I'm drunk with sunshine this time of the year.
	Thursday July 6, 2006 I hate driving... commuting mostly. Yet the dance was almost elegant at Tim Hortons this morning as cars and pedestrians crossed in front of each other. I love driving... mostly on the first day of vacation leaving the house and hitting the highway as the sun comes up - it doesn't matter to where.
	Thursday July 6, 2006 I hesitate before heading to a film directed by an actor... Just as fighter pilots can't quite cut it in the left seat of a 757, actors are actors generally because they have no vision for film making.
	Wednesday July 5, 2006 I finished my first knitting project... It's a hat. It's too big. I think I'll have to rip it out and try a few things until it works -- kind of like adjusting a garage door spring so it lifts the door but doesn't fling it off the tracks.
	Friday June 30, 2006 The thing with Chocolate Chip Muffins... is you can't even pretend they're healthy for you. Bran, berry, banana - sure - you overlook the tablespoon of saturated fat and bleached flour but Chocolate Chip? --- you're goin straight to hell. I bought some Frozen Choc Chip muffin dough last week to help out a school fund raiser.
	Thursday June 29, 2006 I had an erotic dream last night... Nothing happened of course. I was sitting next to Scarlett Johanson on the couch when a political documentary came on the TV. She didn't stand a chance, really.
	Monday June 26, 2006 When a woman cuts her long hair she gives up trying to attract people... and joins the camp of the one she caught. Sometimes this happens before she sleeps with someone, sometimes well after (or never).
	Sunday June 25, 2006 I was instructed to put out both dry and canned food every morning for the kitten I'm babysitting She finishes the canned food first. Pleasure seeking hedonist.
	Saturday June 24, 2006 Went to my grandmother's retirement home "Talent Night" last Thursday. There was the usual piano playing, singing, ethnic dancing and --- cross dressing! There's no statute of limitations on "I've Got a Loverly Bunch of Coconuts."
	Friday June 23, 2006 The kitten I'm looking after likes to sleep on the bed covers when I'm in the bed... She goes after my big toe when I move it. Let's just say I've been trying to sleep on my side.
	Thursday June 22, 2006 If most of the people in North America pick up a penny every week... that's $50,000,000.00 in one year, (alltogether).
	Wednesday June 21, 2006 I've been wearing short sleeve shirts lately because... well -- it's summer (but it's so cold).
	Sunday June 18, 2006 The beautiful people... spend their days earning what is just given to them.
	Sunday June 18, 2006 Coffee Hour at the church... Sometimes I'm just left hanging -- conversations peter out, my partners are pulled away, my coffee cup emptys.
	Tuesday June 13, 2006 Grocery List this week... Olive Oil gin Breakfast Cereal Bananas Trail Mix sardines cheap scissors softener salt envelopes
	Monday June 12, 2006 Does anybody...know the rules of Monopoly?
	Wednesday June 8, 2006 I 'm blond again...
	Wednesday June 7, 2006 I barbecued a pork tenderloin last night... tasty but it kinda looked like a dead rat lying over the grill.
	Friday June 2, 2006 I promised myself a sip of beer at the end of each row of knitting... a way of rewarding myself for getting through the sometimes tedious new hobby of mine. It worked and my stitches aren't too off. (it's a good thing I don't smoke -- there'd be burned bits of yarn everywhere).
	Wednesday May 31, 2006 You know it's going to be a long day... when you promise yourself a chocolate when you finish little tasks and the candy is all gone by lunch.
	Tuesday May 30, 2006 I succumbed... I bought a window air conditioner for my bedroom. The noise reminds me of being in a cheap motel room. All I need now is a quarter for the vibrat-o-massage bed. ...and I suppose this is one time it's cool to be in David Ingard's bedroom. Oh and apparently there was a bear siteing in my neighbourhood yesterday! This makes a walk to the local Tim Horton's an adventure indeed!
	Sunday May 28, 2006 I got two compliments today... One was my looks, the other my mind. Not a bad day.
	Thursday May 25, 2006 Seven months... until Xmas.
	Wednesday May 24, 2006 I just want to play with the neighbour's dog in the morning. I'm always in a rush - he looks at me with big brown sad eyes and I just want to stay home and throw balls and sticks all day.
	Friday May 19, 2006 I'm drinkng a cup of home made hot chocolate. The sentimental fool that I am, I always think of the Ripley arena when my Dad gave me hot chocolate he brought in a thermos. I was in a skate-a-thon to raise funds for the new "complex".
	Wednesday May 17, 2006 I'm reading a really crummy book right now. It's a Reader's Digest Condensed Book about the Watson's and IBM. So far I've gotten through Tom Watson Jr's formative years. It's amazing how much his father introduced him into relationships of all kinds. Poor people have no hope.
	Monday May 15, 2006 Sex is an important drive. So is Hunger. You can eat BBQ'd sirloin with shiraz or hang around McDonalds.
	Sunday May 7, 2006 Wanted wine with dinner - only red left was Wolf Blass Red Label... drank it.
	Friday May 4, 2006 Are hub caps purposely ugly nowadays? All the better to convince us into buying expensive alloy wheels I suppose.
	Monday May 1, 2006 Took a look at the Honda Fit yesterday. I'm thinking of buying it some day. I like it over the Civic because it has less windshield to scrape in the winter.
	Friday April 28, 2006 Casual day is pretty stressful for me. My jeans are too tight so I don't wear them on casual day. I usually end up pulling on a pair of Dockers with the threads hanging from the cuffs.
	Wednesday April 26, 2006 I was blessed today by a stranger. Coming down the frozen foods aisle I sneezed. A guy in bakery noticed my distress and said, "Bless you." This doesn't happen every day.
	Friday April 21, 2006 Two things have been iritating my frontal lobe lately... I read a very gloomy article in Time magazine about global warming this week. I'm a commuter and I waste quite a bit of fuel at my house so it cuts close to home. My ignorance on Iran-Iraq-United States-Saudi Arabia-Israel-Palestine issues pains me. In particular a preemtive strike against Iran seems wrong to me and yet inevitable. I long for a commentator to form a rebuttal with experience and a high soap box, (and handsome or cute of course).
	Thursday April 20, 2006 Lately I've been intrigued by the sense of humor of managers... It's extremely rare for me to share a sense of humor with one. I think most of my workplace humor is concerned with the utter uselessness of work while managers have by definition bought into the corporate world and ... well... I really don't know what they laugh at.
	Tuesday April 18, 2006 A 747, a soprano, a dinner party... The effort of the world comes together for some great things.
	Sunday April 16, 2006 Sometimes I think less when I have opportunity to think more... and that's a good thing.
	Friday April 14, 2006 I bought a paper shredder... Some documents I don't have to shred. Sometimes when I don't like what's printed on them, I send 'em down the cutters anyway. Some kind of satisfaction.
	Tuesday April 11, 2006 When you make friends later in life... You may learn about their earlier days only gradually. It may make you more objective about the things you discover about them. It may always be a mystery.
	Sunday April 9, 2006 I'm not one to stereotype... Well - yes, I am. I had my beautiful new Samsung washer/ dryer delivered Saturday morning -- setting up my entire weekend for basement cleanup. Anyway -- one of the delivery men, (and they are men), bent over to unscrew the packing bolts exposing the biggest butt crack I've ever seen.
	Friday April 7, 2006 I'm so excited... I'm taking delivery of a new washer/dryer, (front loading, variable speed spin, with dryness sensor). The only thing is I need to install a new dryer plug. If the cable is 4 wire, I can do it myself but if not, not.
	Thursday April 6, 2006 Much has been made of Katie Couric's move to anchor the CBS Nightly News But because CBS is shifting its emphasis away from "hard news" to "health and lifestyle", the appointment of a woman, (more sensitive person), to the anchor can't be compared to the past appointments of males to the position. In fact, it's a continuation of the exclusion of women from "hard news" anchoring. The "softening" of network news is good news for no one.
	Wednesday April 5, 2006 How do you eat your trail mix? one individual fruit or nut at a time or just dive in?
	Saturday April 1, 2006 I went to the mall and had coffee with a crazy lady today. I didn't mean to. I was sitting in Second Cup reading my newspaper when she said she wanted to sit down. I let her. She was only a little insane -- maybe just overly lonely. We had a lively conversation and then parted ways.
	Friday March 31, 2006 Normally I don't comment on ultra-cute things... This morning I saw a father patiently walk his little two year old child across the street. Hand in hand, they took the entire length of the light. It was painful, (yet irresistible), to watch them.
	Wednesday March 29, 2006 On my shopping list today is: White T-shirts, Orange Juice, 240 Volt dryer outlet.
	Tuesday March 28, 2006 Everyone is lonely... in different ways. I hear a song coming on.
	Saturday March 25, 2006 The only thing about starting a new job on the first day of Spring is... I feel like it's the first day of Winter.
	Thursday March 23, 2006 The best thing about starting a new job... is that your in-basket for email is empty.
	Sunday March 19, 2006 So what do I find myself doing on this last day of unemployment? Shelling peanuts, reading the Books section of the Globe & sipping an espresso at the kitchen table. The TV is on but the sound is turned down so you can't hear it. You couldn't say my free time was spent wisely. I got some stuff done in February - painted the livingroom, completed a web page, took the garbage out on a regular basis -- (that'll never happen again). Overall these things contributed in no way to humankind. I slept in -- an amazing feat seeing as how I was sliding into insomnia before being severed. The odd thing is that I find myself taking pride in sleeping in. When I was working I'd often lie awake in my bed in the early morning thinking. Now I can sleep. I've accomplished sleep. It's over now.
	Wednesday March 15, 2006 Overheard at the hardware store... "I need another 1 1/2 inches."
	Tuesday March 14, 2006 You know you're driving an old car when... You consciously park in a way that would be convenient if you needed a tow.
	Sunday March 12, 2006 Two thoughts today. There's something about filling a dishwasher. It's a little project -- organizing the space, lining up the cutlery, making sure nothing extends below the rack. I mean at first it's just a chore but as the racks fill, a certain pride develops. Thought Two: Not all people but some people who ask me how my job search is going are insincere. I think they ask because they fear that I'm not looking anymore -- that I've found something else - or worse -- am happy anyway.
	Monday March 6, 2006 Here are the odds of winning something in the RRRRoll up the Rim to Win sweepstakes at Tim Hortons: donut or coffee: 1 in 9 BBQ: 4 in 100,000 cash: 2 in a million TV: 4 in 10 million Toyota: 1 in 10 million
	Sat March 4, 2006 "Go out and love again." A dying Maude to Harold in the movie, Harold and Maude.
	Thurs March 2, 2006 Two thoughts today... 1) The longer I'm unemployed, the more I feel the need to talk to the tellers to do my banking. 2) I hate it when I bring my purchases up to the cashier and like an automaton it's, "Did you find everything you wanted today?" and "Do you have a points card? - do you want a points card?" I mean, I've just navigated through the marketing moras to buy a useless thing. The last thing I need is to be bombarded with more. I just want a little weather talk and to flirt a little with the cashier. I'm asking for too much, I know.
	Tues February 28, 2006 I'm not saying I change jobs frequently... but I keep the records of my resumes and job applications in binders with the year stamped on them.
	Monday February 27, 2006 The lousy thing about cleaning a closet... is that you can't see it.
	Sunday February 19, 2006 I write a newsletter once a year. I always put in at least one thing that's a little off center - that's cuts a little too close to the bone. That's why I love it -- why it's art -- why I'm slightly terrified that you won't like it - why I'm so happy that you do.
	Tues February 14, 2006 To celebrate Valentines Day I decided to try 14 reps at the bench press during my workout at the Y. Perhaps I sacrificed form to achieve this sentimental number. I don't know.
	Wed February 8, 2006 I missed it again! The A380, biggest airliner in the world, is in Iqaluit, Nunavut for cold- weather testing. It's on the same continent as me!
	Sat February 4, 2006 It took me about 15 minutes this evening... to turn off all the lights in the church. I was just about to go out the door when I felt the urge to pee. Well -- I suppressed it 'cause I sure wasn't going to go back and turn on the lights I had taken such pains to shut off.
	Fri February 3, 2006 I was spot priming my walls today. The white blotches looked like Clearasil.
	Wed February 2, 2006 You know what retired people say... "I don't know how I ever found the time to work!" Well -- I'm not retired but I am taking some time off --- painting, volunteering, eating well, getting finances in order. It's amazing how much time good food preparation takes -- and how satisfying it is.
	Tuesday Jan 31, 2006 I went e-shopping for tax preparation software this morning. I have to pay TAX on it.
	Thursday Jan 26, 2006 Ok, I admit it -- I was a little bit taken yesterday. I went to Sears to check out the Docker Sale. When I brought the pants to the cashier, she complimented me on my trenchcoat and brushed against my arm. I added a golf shirt to my bill.
	Tuesday Jan 24, 2006 Ever heard that saying -- When God closes one door, He opens another? What they don't tell you is that the experiences aren't particularly commensurate. Yesterday was my last day at my current job. Today I picked up the new hobby of knitting.
	Thursday Jan 19, 2006 Lots of work to do today... AND I packed a great boxed lunch -- meat pies, ketchup, mashed turnip, red wine and chocolat pudding for dessert.
	Tuesday Jan 10, 2006 I'm not like other people... January - the new year - is often a time of reflection and resolution -- to tone, temper and tune- up. phooi I can't wait to get to the grocery store to stock up on whipping cream, butter and potato chips. January is dull and cold and there isn't even Christmas to look forward to. It's not comfort food -- it's survival. Lent will come soon enough.
	Tuesday Jan 10, 2006 The reason why I've been one handed lately... I cut my left hand while trying to save a hundred year old clock from falling. I was successful but there was colateral damage - the clock has shattered glass and I have broken skin.
	Monday Jan 9, 2006 Really -- I'm not that kinky... While applying shaving foam this morning, I tried doing it with one hand, (I'll explain tomorrow). When I pushed the button (the overly sensitive and small furry animals stop reading here) a stream of white foam shot out onto my privates. Oh - yeah -- I probably forgot to tell you that I usually shave in the nude.
	Friday Jan 6, 2006 How a couple grows old... When young, a man can live alone but the woman can't. When you retire, a woman can live quite happily by herself but a man needs his wife.
	Thursday Jan 5, 2006 Some people bare their souls during sex... I can only do that while writing. I don't think you can do it both places unless you're a poet. (Irving Layton died yesterday).
	Wednesday Jan 4, 2006 I need a hair cut... any volunteers?
	Tues Jan 3, 2006 Sometimes chit chat makes you stop thinking... and sometimes that's desireable.
	Monday Jan 2, 2006 I think I'm off work today... I'll drop in just in case.
	Friday Dec 30, 2005 I just bought my day-timer for 2006... ... "lets see -- if I move the dinner party to thursday and go early to the Y" ... I'm already overbooked!
	Friday Dec 23, 2005 It's nice to get away sometimes... you know -- somewhere where the presets on your car radio don't work.
	Friday Dec 23, 2005 It's the Christmas season -- which means... let's just say I've not slept in my own bed 2 out of the last 6 days.
	Thursday Dec 22, 2005 I was late for the bus this morning and it set off a chain of unstoppable events... Realizing I now had 12 minutes to kill to wait for the next bus, I walked across the street from the bus stop for a coffee. I spilled that coffee onto my daytimer book, (not so bad since it's the end of the year). When I got on the bus, I sat down as soon as I could to tend to the mess. A handsome mustachioed man with blond highlights sat down in front of me. He was doing fine, staring at the air in front of him until an old woman squeezed in next to him. A type "A", she immediately asked Mr. Highlights about his Xmas preparations and his family. Thank God he wasn't a gay Muslim! After grandma left, he continued his air-stare, seemingly unaffected by the whole thing.
	Wednesday Dec 21, 2005 I have this urge... to buy some art -- something that's been agonized over by someone who's been misunderstood his whole life.
	Tues Dec 20, 2005 I love travel... I love it as a kick in the pants to see what's been hidden, feel what's been far away. I also love not being by a TV or radio all the time. I don't have to go far.
	Mon Dec 19, 2005 As I took off my boots at the office this morning... I thought about how yesterday they were tramping around a beaver pond in Gatineau.
	Fri Dec 16, 2005 Ralph Benmurgie will not die. I heard him on the morning show of JazzFM, 91.1 today.
	Wed Dec 14, 2005 What's that word for giving inanimate objects human characteristics? A few days ago I had an electrician give an estimate on installing a new bathroom fan. Yesterday my bathroom light burnt out in a fit of jealousy.
	Tues Dec 13, 2005 I'll tell you what made me happy yesterday... I threw out the string of Xmas lights I couldn't get to work!
	Mon Dec 12, 2005 I try to wedge my car pooling commitments... between visits to my mechanic. In other news, The second coat of paint is now drying on the hallway walls. I also put up my Xmas decorations yesterday, (and most of the light strings work).
	Fri Dec 9, 2005 For once there is balance in my life... It snowed last night and today I'm getting my brand spanking new snow tires!
	Thurs Dec 8, 2005 I'm going through a job search... My employment councilor says I should examine my work. I either like big projects where I'm working with good people who get along well and support each other or small jobs I can see done in a day or week. Well - doesn't everyone?
	Wed Dec 7, 2005 I'm in a cooking mood again... This means I want to try a Tortierre.
	Mon Dec 5, 2005 I bought myself a pair of curling pants and a curling jacket on Saturday. I went to an industrial park in Mississauga, parked behind a garbage dumpster and entered unit #6. After the exchange, I hightailed it out of there blending in with the holiday crowds at the Erin Mills Town Centre before celebrating with my co-conspirators at the local Keg.
	Thurs Dec 1, 2005 Yesterday I did something that made me feel like I was in some big foreign city... I hailed a cab from the curb. I had to pick up my car from the shop before 6:00 p.m. and I missed my bus connection at the Charles Street Terminal so I hoofed it outside and raised my arm.
	Wed November 30, 2005 The new guy on Arlington Blvd -- the one who bought the "Home-Grow-Op house"... pulled out all the stops for Hallowe'en --- lights, skulls and spider webs so I was thinking Xmas would be likewise garrish. Well -- the first Sunday in Advent has passed and so far there's just a piddly string of bulbs around the livingroom window -- and they're not even on a bloody timer!
	Tues November 29, 2005 noon I painted my hallway yesterday evening. First thing you should do is make sure you've got all the necessary equipment. Second thing is to make sure you wear a hat. I spent an hour looking for a spare roller I was sure I had around the house somewhere. I bumped my head against the wall -- natural highlights. After I executed an "emergency shampooing", (two words I thought I would never write next to each other), I put on a hat.
	Tues November 29, 2005 When I was a kid I had a minor operation. I asked my parents how much it cost, (curious bugger). They mumbled something about not knowing -- OHIP took care of it. Not a real satisfying answer - as so many in childhood are. Today I was arranging some work for my employer with a web development firm. I have no idea how much the work costs. I asked, (curious bugger), and got the reply that only accounting knows. Not a real satisfying answer - as so many in adulthood are.
	Mon November 28, 2005 Forget about Iraq or Pakistan... The guys at the back of a Grand River Transit bus don't even know what's going on at the front of a GRT bus. They don't know the FIFO stack is reaching its limit. The other day I yelled, "MOVE BACK!" as I tried to squeeze between a pregnant lady and a rapper --- and I'm shy.
	Sat November 26, 2005 I don't like checking the air in my tires. The little screw-caps on the valves like a losing roulette spin always seem to stop at an inconvenient spot. I bought a top of the line digital pressure gauge at Canadian Tire but it has to settle perfectly over the valve to get a reading. The hose is never long enough and kinks easily. The only thing positive about the whole experience is the good feeling I get when I'm done that I've averted a disaster on the road.
	Wed November 23, 2005 Some current pleasure and/or pain sources... Car repair and or replacement improving audio equipment at church phoning to get someone to decorate at church Xmas newsletter prep looking for new job developing new online databases Curling bonspiel painting hallway booking electrician for home improvements
	Tues November 22, 2005 I just found out... I have the power to create pdf documents from word processing documents on my home computer. The command was hidden in the "print" options. I'm very happy.
	Wed November 16, 2005 You know what helps when you've done something stupid... to hear a story of how someone else did something stupid.
	Tuesday November 15, 2005 It's not everyday I undress in the same room as a beautiful woman... A man collapsed in the men's locker room last night at the Y. She was among the paramedics attending him.
	Sunday November 13, 2005 Found them. They were just hanging around downstairs.
	Saturday November 12, 2005 If you were a string of Christmas lights... where would you spend the summer?
	Wednesday November 9, 2005 I'm vulnerable right now... I'm in the process of not really buying a new car -- it's more like -- leaving the old one as gracefully as possible while going out every night with a different 2006 model. I like my car but it's burning oil and I'd really like snow tires. That seems a waste for a car on its last legs.
	Tues November 8, 2005 The thing with taking up the offering when there's a baptism in church... is that it means there are new people in church -- which is good --- I'm all for evangelism. But in all the excitement, they often forget that you have to "pay the piper" so to speak. So they scrounge around and come up with a few coins and bills. The passing of the plate is fairly democratic -- it doesn't discriminate between new people and old, fat and tall, even poor and rich ---- and the heating bill has to be paid somehow.
	Sat November 5, 2005 Guns and Roses' "Now you're messin with a Son of a Bitch"... came on the radio as I entered the on ramp to go to the curling rink. Oh man, I love that cow bell!
	Fri November 4, 2005 I plan on selling my Manulife stock... Far from a winfall, it'll help offset my hi-tech losses of the last few years.
	November 2, 2005 A little car repair was necessary this morning... I had to change wiper blades. It went ok after I realized that I was shoving it the wrong way. Postscript: It's been a blindingly sunny day ever since
	November 1, 2005 I went to the Leaf's game last night at the Air Canada Centre... They won! It didn't look good at first. Florida scored within the first 30 seconds.
	Sunday Oct 30, 2005 I've always looked upon a vacation as an adventure... but now it's escape qualities seem to lure me more.
	Fri Oct 28, 2005 Great workout at the Y yesterday! Or at least I thought it was until I discovered I was lifting 5 lbs less than normal.
	Thurs Oct 27, 2005 Have you ever been somewhere dirty... and then pretended afterward that your little finger is still clean?
	Wed Oct 26, 2005 I was shopping this week for transportation. Monday I checked out the local VW dealership for a new Golf CL. Tuesday I went to Runners World for a new pair of running shoes. Funny thing is the sales associate at the shoe store was better looking and was quite the witty conversationalist while the German Autohaus provided a plain female to efficiently answer my questions about 6-way seats and colours. You would have thought when $20K was on the line the Germans could have come up with a blond or at least someone with a sense of humor. but alas ... German engineering is seduction enough
	Tues Oct 25, 2005 Yesterday I was feeling, well -- quite frankly -- shitty. But things started to turn around after I got a primo parking spot at the Y, then after a good workout, (where I indulged both the sauna and the hot tub), I peeled out of the parking lot with the tunes blaring. At the liquor store my favourite Shiraz was on sale. What bad mood?
	Mon Oct 24, 2005 No home reno progress last week. The only improvement I did was fix a rack on a kitchen door.
	Fri Oct 21, 2005 Why do men's ties only come in one length? Pencil necked or knuckle dragger -- it's all the same to the habdasher.
	Thurs Oct 20, 2005 Caulking didn't go so well... My caulk hardened up too much or something because I couldn't get it out. Maybe a bad tube. I'll try again.
	Wed Oct 19, 2005 Caulking today... I'm rushing home at lunch to squeeze the tube. I hope it's not too cold tonight.
	Mon Oct 17, 2005 I had company on Saturday... so naturally I cleaned up a bit. I swear that without people visiting me my place would be cleaned only once, twice a year.
	Sat Oct 15, 2005 Over 25K humans died in an earthquake in Pakistan... and it's little more than a sound bite on my TV news. Why is that? I know it's a half a world away and all that and it affects me economically eventually but.
	Fri Oct 14, 2005 I stopped for coffee near my work this morning... When I got back in my car and hauled it out onto the parkway I twiddled with the radio stations for a THREE MINUTE ride. What is that?
	Thurs Oct 13, 2005 I painted a part of my hallway with chalkboard paint... It looks surprisingly modern. Sometimes the risk is worth it. However, my carbon monoxide detector was a casualty -- the fumes gave a false positive reading and now I have to replace the sensor.
	Wed Oct 12, 2005 I gave my usually even-keeled mother a beginner computer lesson on the weekend... it took about 10 minutes before she started swearing.
	Wed Oct 5, 2005 You know you're getting old... when companies advertise that they've been around "since ____" (the year of your birth).
	Tues Oct 4, 2005 On Outsourcing: Why is everybody so freaking serious at work lately... it should be fun lowering one's standards.
	Mon Oct 3, 2005 I was feeling lousy this morning. Luckily I had enough gumption to drag myself out of bed and head over to the Y before 7:15 a.m. I saw Dave who used to help me at the Internet Cafe - so I talked with him for awhile. I also saw Cathy sweating away on the cross trainer. I'm glad I went. I got out of my funk a bit.
	Fri Sept 30, 2005 3:44 p.m. Reading glasses should be UPS'd in a plain brown wrapper. Vanity, as you know, is the last thing to go. Eyesight is the first.
	Fri Sept 30, 2005 I went to a little breakfast reception my company was giving this morning... I wore a suit. And so did the lawyer, the mailroom guy, the retired guy and the head salesman. (we're small)
	Mon Sept 26, 2005 9:35 a.m. I plan on setting my VCR... to catch the live Will & Grace episode tonight. (I'll be out listening to Bluegrass at my grandmother's retirement home).
	Mon Sept 26, 2005 9:35 a.m. There is no process for change. Whether introducing new hymns at church or outsourcing an I.T. department --- it's a bit of a mess. And if the results aren't great, change again.
	Mon Sept 26, 2005 The Internet and other modern media demand graphics... at the same time they cheapen them.
	Fri Sept 23, 2005 I bought a size "L" underwear last night. Assuming it stood for "Large" that's what I wear. It was tight. Wouldn't a number stating perimeter of elastic be a better guide? It's really a numbers game down there.
	Thurs Sept 22, 2005 Commuting story #236 I saw a boy standing beside a BMW on the shoulder of the King St off ramp this morning. I think he ran out of gas and was waiting for the CAA to come. I never think of teenagers owning or driving such cars. He looked so lonely kicking gravel with his Nikes.
	Wed Sept 21, 2005 What is that cusp of time called... when suddenly your toenails become hideously long and you have to trim them --- or that instant when your bananas turn?
	Tues Sept 20, 2005 What happened... to crinkle cut fries?
	Mon Sept 19, 2005 The highest paid call girl... in NYC, (there are people who ascertain such), is a Canadian who listens. Any surprise? It's just another example that for a man, the most reliable aphrodesiac is his partner's ears.
	Fri Sept 16, 2005 I'm usually not interested in hindsight. I'm tormented by what I perceive was my state of mind the spring and summer of 2002 as the United States prepared for "war". I admit I was beginning to be sucked in to the idea that the U.S. should invade Iraq. Now it seems every media commentator thinks it was a bad idea and has many examples why. Well -- I say "Why wasn't this clear before the U.S. went over to Iraq?" Forget the 20/20 hindsight commentary -- start preparing me for becoming a citizen of the world --- Oh sorry -- only I can do that by reading, travelling and living life with humor, lust and compassion.
	Thurs Sept 15, 2005 I got the most severe mustard stain yesterday... on my right ring finger. The pigment is right between the knuckle wrinkles.
	Tues Sept 13, 2005 I tingled... on the expressway this afternoon. My whole body shook as I listened to Gorden Lightfoot sing If you could read my mind. I can't explain it. I'm usually not a slobering idiot.
	Mon Sept 12, 2005 No matter how much I complain while I'm planning an event... I was beaming ear to ear as I rushed around during the church BBQ on Saturday, (I think I just like people asking me what to do).
	Fri Sept 9, 2005 Some of the things I need passwords for: kit locker Y day locker Y code for men's Plus door at Y curling club locker code for church door yahoo email password theorem email/SSH client password Golden internet access FaithLife windows password life insurance app passwords 3 unix password production access password general ledger password health benefits online frequent flyer NWA frequent flyer AC bank pins 4 incl debit COGS website online maintenance page
	Thurs Sept 8, 2005 I lost my mind before going to bed last night. After taking off my sweaty golf shirt, I folded it before throwing it on the floor.
	Wed Sept 7, 2005 I made Curry last night. It was a little runny but just the right temperature.
	Friday Sept 2, 2005 When I run out of something - when I suffer... that's when I get creative. This morning there were no eggs when I checked the fridge. Despondent for a moment, I soon popped some bread in the red toaster and pried open a tin of beans. Leonard Cohen wrote, "When there are cracks -- that's how the light gets in."
	Friday Sept 2, 2005 Is it Salt water or Fresh? Hurricane Katrina flooded 80% of New Orleans. The Mississippi is filled with fresh water. Lake Pontchartrain is a real lake or is it connected to the ocean somehow?
	Thursday Sept 1, 2005 I bought a tennis racket last night. A salesman came over to help me with my purchase. When I said, "Oh -- I think I'll take this one", he walked up with me to the cash register. There was already two girls maning the two tills so we waited there, the two of us, trying to chit chat. It seemed awkward.
	Tuesday August 30, 2005 When snacking with a guilt complex... do you ever just start by eating the broken ones?
	Saturday August 27, 2005 Putting a bedroom suite up for sale had an unexpected side effect. Today was the first day I welcomed a woman wearing a burkha inside my house, (well - an abreviated form of one). I hope that doesn't seem racist -- it just hadn't happened before. Ultimately the dresser proved too big and they didn't buy. Bummer.
	Thursday August 25, 2005 I've been reading some weird shit lately... No sooner had I finished No god but God than I picked up a Camille Paglia collection of essays one of which discussed the Presbyterian church and no-holds-barred sex. religion, religion, religion --- that's what my summer's been --- All God, All the time. Well September's coming and I'm gonna take a breather -- maybe it's time for that Steinbeck.
	Wednesday August 24, 2005 Although not an addict... I had the vague feeling today of what it must be like to be one. I recently got over a compulsion to itch my upper chest. Maybe it was related to some allergy. Anyway It's over. Today though I scratched a bit at the same place. Benign?--- or the beginning of a destructive craving spiraling me down into a dark hole never to see the light of day again. I'll keep you posted.
	Monday August 22, 2005 My grass needs cutting... so I stopped in at my lawn boy's house before I headed off to work this morning. He told me a tale of woe about his ailing father. They're looking for a nursing home for him. Things change.
	Friday August 19, 2005 All my geraniums seem to bloom at the same time... like a houseful of co-eds whose periods all sync up.
	Thursday August 18, 2005 I spent a sizeable chunk of last night... watching little movies and flash animations on the internet. They weren't all dirty although I did like the talking penis.
	Tuesday August 16, 2005 I'm confused about Retirement. If you had an engaging successful career, why would you want to suddenly quit? Wouldn't you want it to evolve into a mentoring position? And if you hated your job, well -- you have your whole retirement to wonder why. There is no such thing as just enjoying doing nothing -- taking it slower or different, yes -- but enjoyment still comes from doing things and stimulating your mind.
	Monday August 15, 2005 We have a virtual co-op student here on the basement level at work. His name is Stefan and he's from Vienna.
	Sunday August 14, 2005 Peter Jennings - the news anchor - died... and the media is falling over themselves doing tributes. The media has such an interest in itself --- witness ham radio operators talking about - what else - ham radio. Likewise the internet is obsessed about information about computers.
	Friday August 12, 2005 Only religion could turn a story... about star crossed lovers, (Layla & Majnun), into an inspiration for monasticism. I was reading the book No god but God by Reza Aslan on the stationary bicycle at the Y this morning. An acquaintance came by and we chatted for a few seconds. I noticed my pedalling got faster. I guess I'm not cut out for the monastic life.
	Thursday August 11, 2005 (evening) I really can't believe it... I ran out of onions tonight. I'm still getting over the shock.
	Thursday August 11, 2005 It always amazes me that you can hear jet planes miles above your head. Distance demands our attention now and then.
	Monday August 8, 2005 Proposed new definition for existing word. Existing word: Tailing New Definition: Arranging your vacation for the weeks after or before your boss' so you don't have to see them for most of the summer.
	Monday August 8, 2005 I tried to play tennis yesterday... It went pretty well - it's quite a workout -- and the smashes really make you feel good when you connect.
	Saturday August 6, 2005 When you share your house with someone... Sometimes you have to share your morning newspaper too. I'm territorial.
	Wednesday August 3, 2005 What's great about taking a vacation at home... is that you can live. -- all the little things about life become possible -- making the garbage truck deadline, cooking a good breakfast, reading the editorials, working out at the Y -- all are possible when you aren't working.
	Tuesday August 2, 2005 I'm on vacation this week... So far I've ventured into Cambridge, (Ontario) for a latte and a vegee sandwich. More in the days to come.
	Friday July 29, 2005 afternoon You'd be lucky in this life... to have had a love affair with a body or a mind. Both and you'd be blessed.
	Friday July 29, 2005 Sometimes I get horny... Ironing my shirts doesn't really cut it.
	Thursday July 28, 2005 Sometimes I get lonely... Sometimes the solution is a walk to the coffee shop --- On occasion it's baking that'll snap me out of it. --- Ironing my shirts even does it, (unfortunately).
	Monday July 25, 2005 Whenever I ride the bus... I'm reminded that it's not a sign of success. I ride for my own redemption, (and ironically that's a kind of success).
	Thursday July 21, 2005 I save my passion for... 1) The golf course 2) Bad news reporting. It irks me that suicide bombers are called "Religious Fanatics". "Fanatics" I can understand but there is nothing "Religious" about them. I propose just "Terrorists." Attempts to describe what brought them to terrorism are for the courts. You know -- it took me a long time to write today's thought and I still haven't got it right --- Just go for a beer and try to leave the waitress a decent tip.
	Thursday July 21, 2005 Do you ever justify... enjoying a silly TV show because a friend likes it?
	Wednesday July 20, 2005 I drank some wine from the bottle yesterday... Uncouth, maybe. Enjoyable, definitely. Mitigating Factors: I was alone; there was less than a wine glass's worth left; I was a little depressed. It turned out to be a fairly decent way to imbibe. A chug was like a sip making portion control easy. There was no glass to wash. I'm going to do it again.
	Sunday July 17, 2005 Sometimes when I commence to saw wood or prune the hedges I don't change clothes. It's as if dedicating myself to the task in the most basic way is something I don't want to do. If I don't prepare, I can say, "Hey -- I'd really rather be creating database tables or watching Seinfeld."
	Friday July 15, 2005 Coincidence? - I think not... I just finished the Reader's Digest Condensed book, "Naked Came I" about Auguste Rodin and last night I caught a TVO special on "The Kiss."
	Thursday July 14, 2005 I'm taking the bus again... It's a bit of a luxury - time wise. But I enjoy having someone else drive and the A/C. And sometimes I'm squeezed up against a good looking person.
	Wednesday July 13, 2005 Yin Yang in the summer tang... Two concerts are currently being advertised on the bulletin boards where I work. One is a Christian Rock Concert and the other is Ike Turner and his band.
	Monday July 11, 2005 Not one to brag... but I'm a minor celebrity at my grandmother's retirement home. It seems my entry in the "Name the new Cafe" contest was chosen. You'll find me hanging out at the "CornerView Cafe" soon.
	Friday July 8, 2005 In the unified theory of the world according to David... Terrorism will be non-existent eventually in all civil societies. In fact, it's presence is an indicator that everybody in a society that aspires to be civil has some work to do.
	Wednesday afternoon July 6, 2005 Do you ever wonder in all those nature shows... what happens to those poor schmucks that don't win the right to mate with the lionesses? Do they just lounge around the water hole eating sugar cane thinking up ways to fake a behaviour for the next Mutual of Omaha camera crew?
	Wednesday July 6, 2005 Do you ever get pissed off at what's just been said on the radio? It usually satisfies me to turn off the radio immediately. The pictures are here
	Tuesday July 5, 2005 I've got some pictures coming soon. Fireworks, (Stunning); Toilets, (Stellar); Christian Rock, (Stupefying); Big Trucks, (Sexy) and a Sunset, (Stun-a-rific). I'll explain later.
	Monday July 4, 2005 Kincardine: A study in contrasts. Sandy beaches, stunning sunsets, gentle breezes, high paying jobs, low paying jobs, bagpipes, sailboats and parades. And a local brewery that can't ship out enough 8% beer.
	Friday July 1, 2005 What happens when American troops pull out of Iraq? President Bush says eventually the Iraqi police will curb the insurgency. This would allow Americans to get out. But Americans will not turn over a sovereign country in the classic sense. America will still have influence over Iraqi affairs even after a turnover. Why is this? Why doesn't America just leave? Let Iraq sell it's commodities to whoever it wants to. Let Iraq develop an armed forces. Let Iraq set it's own banking holidays. I'm naive. But at least I'm asking the questions.
	Thursday June 30, 2005 Day 3 of Basement Living. Connected to the earth, as I now feel, I planted some flowers yesterday. I even fertilized.
	Tuesday June 28, 2005 I woke up in a strange place this morning. It was so hot upstairs last night that I took my alarm clock and pillow down to the basement to sleep. I further skewered my normal routine by taking the bus to work. All this makes me feel like I'm visiting some foreign land -- where you don't know how to flush the toilet or how much a coffee is. I like it.
	Monday June 27, 2005 I'm reading a Reader's Digest Condensed Book. I know -- I know. It's the story of the early life of Augoust Rodin, the french sculptor. It's eerie how innocently the author, (or editor/translator), whips in the most profound statements when you least expect them. Example: Rodin's sister esentially dies of heartbreak after her lover marries someone richer. A friend of Rodin comments, "A Man doesn't always marry the woman he falls in love with."
	Sunday June 26, 2005 Incredible music at church this morning! It was the organist's last day and she went out with a bang. She invited a flutist to accompany her on several numbers to rave reviews. We're going to miss you, Jeannie.
	Thursday June 23, 2005 I only scanned the newspaper this morning... but I wanted to read almost everything. I think Judy Sgro, (parden the spelling), is being eaten alive for no reason. That's my theory.
	Tuesday June 21, 2005 Tom Cruise is on his way... to becoming the next Michael Jackson, (as in wacked out, crazy - wishing he was someone else).
	Monday June 20, 2005 My Grandmother's things are in a half dozen boxes downstairs at the house I live in. When she dies, they will be opened up and the contents distributed to assorted relatives.
	Friday June 17, 2005 I saw an old snapshot yesterday... Memories flooded in. Not all good. Not all bad. Like evidence for your thoughts.
	Thursday June 16, 2005 My Rose bush is NOT dead... I didn't fertilize it last year and I didn't shore it up with soil and leaves for the long winter. But it's Alive!
	Wednesday June 15, 2005 The thing with consensus is... Nobody really wants it -- you have to cajole, barter, inform, seduce and then - maybe - you get it.
	Tuesday June 14, 2005 The thing with democracy is... It evolves, gets better. And when it gets worse, it tries to fix itself. It's not that it has good points and bad points -- it's just the system humans are using for now. Tomorrow: Consensus.
	Monday June 13, 2005 Noticed an over-zealous lawn maintenance worker on the way in to work this morning... He was mowing short brown grass. That's like me programming a report that no one will read.
	Friday June 10, 2005 Didn't really have any supper yesterday... -- came home around 9:30 and made myself a peanut butter and jam sandwich -- with a NEW jar of jam.
	Thursday June 9, 2005 Good game of golf yesterday... I must stay on the fairway on par 5's though.
	Wednesday June 8, 2005 Somebody stole my golf shoes... I went out to my car this morning ready to motor down the freeway to my job typing in computer programs when I noticed that the trunk lid was popped. They were gone. Maybe I can put their picture on a milk carton or something.
	Sunday June 5, 2005 On Garage Sales... I sat on my friend's porch looking out at the Saturday morning shoppers; wealthy, poor, handsome, ugly, crazy. But generally, the haggard merchandise seemed to bring everything down. My car, noble enough in my own driveway, looked all of its 13 years surrounded by all that second hand lucre. My body was hardly immune. It's unshowered fatigued self covered in what was proved to be an unkempt T-shirt. After lunch I sped away ... to nap.
	Friday June 3 2005 Don't garden... while drunk. I had two classes of red wine last night before I set out ripping all the bloody unwanted Lily of the Valley from my front bed. I got a little zealous and started tugging at my star rose bush. I really don't look at gardening as a calm activity.
	Thursday June 2 2005 This morning... I didn't turn on my car radio. I don't know why. Maybe it was the sunlight streaming down - I was just caught up in nature and didn't want the news or a pop tune to take me away from that. In other news, I finished Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men".
	Tuesday May 31 2005 Work is going better... but since my job has changed, I think my salary should be reviewed. I am now what I call a "duty programmer". I do this & do that without being in on any of the planning.
	Monday May 30 2005 The first thing I did when I got back to work was... check to see how many vacation days I had left, (not a good sign).
	Saturday May 28 2005 The thing about the way I travel is... I only see one or two things a day. Most of my effort is put into just getting somewhere. And that's fine by me. In Miami I had both good and frustrating experiences on public transit. The bus routes all converge downtown so it was difficult to locate my transfer to Little Havana. I suspected I was lost so I asked the bus driver and she scratched her head a bit but saved the day. Coming back that evening my fellow bus riders and I waited over an hour to make the transfer to Miami Beach, (I suspect buses were diverted to take the basketball fans home).
	Thursday May 26 2005 I'm home.
	Tuesday May 24, 9:00 pm 2005 I'm in Fort Pierce. Splurging on a Holiday Inn, I'm anticipating a good nights sleep before my flight back tomorrow afternoon from Orlando. Just your typical tourist -- I hit Little Havana and Coconut Grove in Miami --- as different as night and day. I knew something was up when I rested my bum on the curb of the Ritz-Carleton Residences to change a bandaid on my foot where my new sandal rubs. I had a lousy bus/train ride back to the hostel --- I waited for over an hour for the "C" bus. Luckily I met a fellow traveller from Brazil and we discussed the good, bad and the ugly of Miami. Oh - by the way -- lots of cops around downtown Miami -- no security fears here.
	Sunday May 22, 6:30 pm 2005 I'm in South Beach!! I'm at the Clay Hostel. The beach is huge -- hundreds of feet wide. Beautiful people, beach emergency vehicles, Vintage planes flying overhead, cruise ships one after another leaving port, Segway scooters. It's Sunday and the Clevelander Hotel is rockin. Yesterday was the Kennedy space Center tour -- WOW! Tax dollars like I never have seen them before. Saw the Space Shuttle Discovery on pad 39B. They're putting her back to the VAB on Tuesday. There's aligators, wild pigs, turtles, eagles and egrets there -- it's a wildlife preserve. And so is South Beach by the looks of it. It was hell to park but I did it, (for a price). More later.
	Wednesday May 18, afternoon 2005 Carly Simon said it best. I love the few days before a big trip -- the "anticipation." There's nothing like it. My PC wallpaper this week is the interior of jetliner.
	Wednesday May 18, 2005 I almost hit a bicyclist on the drive in to work this morning... I saw him when I checked my blind spot --- but still -- I was fiddling with the radio and the heat and I could have easily been distracted. It made me think.