There is an amazing drama unfolding in Ottawa. You might have heard of it. Remember a few months ago, when GC and I were looking for a dog and we had that bizarre experience with Friendly Giants Dog Rescue? Well, we didn’t lose faith in the rescue community, in part
Continue readingTag: F. The Whole Enchilada
knitnut.net: Another reason to love GC
He made me a lemon bread to take to the office potluck.
Continue readingknitnut.net: I actually kind of like my new job
At my new job, I phone people. Don’t you think that’s ironic? I’m phonophobic, yet somehow I ended up with a job that involves phoning taxpayers all over the world and asking them questions in an effort to sort out their residency and world income and so on. I
Continue readingknitnut.net: Safe injection sites: Treating people with addictions like they matter
Last October, the Supreme Court ruled that Insite, Vancouver’s safe injection site, could stay open despite the Harper Government’s objections. The arguments hinged on whether addiction was primarily a health issue or a crime issue. If it were a health matter it would fall under provincial jurisdiction; if it were
Continue readingknitnut.net: Financial Planning for Kids
GC and Rosie and I were out walking on Saturday afternoon, when we encountered the following scene. Two boys, perhaps eleven or twelve years old, had climbed up on top of a structure by the fountain in Centrepoint Park. They were perched up there dispensing financial advice to a somber-looking
Continue readingknitnut.net: Heartwarming goodbyes
CCOC (Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation) wasn’t just a nice place to work. It turned out to be a nice place to leave, too. On my last day of work, they took me out for a lovely lunch and presented me with a swap box (!) filled with goodies like antique
Continue readingknitnut.net: A long hard week with a happy ending
Thursday was one of those days. I’m still figuring out the buses on my commute to and from work, and I somehow got myself turned around at the Billings Bridge Transitway and ended up taking the 148 in the wrong direction. And then, when I got to work, I realized
Continue readingknitnut.net: Feeding Time at the Zoo
This is what a typical Birdie Breakfast looks like around here. Going clockwise from the left, that’s Simon’s breakfast, Kazoo’s breakfast and Oboe’s breakfast. By suppertime, Simon’s breakfast dish will be empty, Kazoo’s breakfast dish will be half-empty, and Oboe’s breakfast dish will be upside down on the floor of
Continue readingknitnut.net: Do you put your children or your marriage first?
I was scanning my google reader the other day and I saw Dumb Little Man had a blog post called Five Surefire Ways to Kill Your Marriage. It’s hard to live up to a killer title like that. The article itself was predictable: Date night, sex, mind-reading, negativity, blah blah
Continue readingknitnut.net: The meaning of life
I’m working at home this week and next. I like walking to work, so I go for a walk each morning before I get started. We’re not talking a quick spin around the block, either. No. GC and I recently downloaded the app Walkmeter for our iPhones. We can now
Continue readingknitnut.net: Prisoners in my basement
I spent all day Friday as a prisoner in my own basement. My tub and shower were being replaced with a Bathfitter acrylic surround, and there were some smelly chemicals involved. Birds are extremely vulnerable to chemical toxins, which can cause their delicate little lungs to hemorrhage, so I wanted
Continue readingknitnut.net: I’m starting to wish I hadn’t joined the NDP
I can hardly wait until March 24th when all the NDP leadership candidates stop compaigning for my vote. My phone has been ringing off the hook with recorded messages from different candidates and their various supporters, telling me why I should vote for them, or inviting me to participate in
Continue readingknitnut.net: French parrot needs translator
As you might recall, my double-yellow-headed Amazon parrot, Kazoo, came to me at the age of 13 from a Francophone family. Although she has a fairly limited vocabulary, she’s a very, very expressive bird. She can say Hello like a harried mother, or like a kid getting home from school,
Continue readingknitnut.net: Am I sick or am I stoned?
Many years ago, when I was in my teens, I spent a pleasant afternoon with three friends drinking Tussionex, which is a prescription cough syrup. Personally, I preferred to spend my time at the other end of the spectrum, doing amphetamines and staying awake for days on end. But these
Continue readingknitnut.net: A controversial facebook status
I’m shamelessly copying and pasting this from a friend’s Facebook status. As you might expect, it generated some controversy there, and I’m curious to hear what you think. “There’s a couple of women in my area at work who are newly pregnant. They walk around smugly, waiting for everyone
Continue readingknitnut.net: Dog vs. Cat
One of my colleagues sent this around yesterday. I’ve watched it about five times since. I laughed so hard the fifth time I almost wet my pants, so I better not watch it anymore. Make sure your speakers are on. <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/tbKejK2fDTo” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
Continue readingknitnut.net: Grumpy stuff and happy stuff
I have a cold and it’s making me uncharacteristically irritable. Little things are getting to me, like slow web sites, and disappearing menu bars in my browser, and Rosie’s squeaky toys. (I’ve never met a dog who likes her toys as much as Rosie, and especially her squeaky toys, which
Continue readingknitnut.net: New Job
The place I’ve been working since September – Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation – is great. It’s a private non-profit housing organization, and I was a tenant of theirs for years. I’ve always liked the organization, and I couldn’t ask for better colleagues. But, it was always intended to be a
Continue readingknitnut.net: The Macbook, the Geek, and the birds
I took my Macbook into Best Buy the other night because it was making funny noises and the three-year warranty hadn’t run out yet. Apple calls their technicians Geniuses. Best Buy calls their technicians Geeks. I guess there are good Geniuses and evil geniuses, just as there are good Geeks
Continue readingknitnut.net: The Ottawa Citizen needs a new website
The Ottawa Citizen needs a new website. The current one is way more frustrating than any website should be in 2012. It’s intermittently slow and unresponsive, and if you watch the status bar, you can see that it’s choking on layers of advertising. It’s waiting for things to be delivered
Continue reading