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…
C. Death, Mayhem, and the Collapse of Civilization
The politically (and otherwise) incorrect former mayor
I see Larry O’Brien has apologized. At the official unveiling of his portrait at City Hall last night, he told a reporter he was sorry about the racial slur. Instead…
A sign
Yesterday morning I was walking to work along Gladstone Avenue when all of a sudden a dead bird came hurtling out of the sky and crashed head first into a…
The high cost of loving an animal
Oboe at the Vet's I know there are people out there wondering why anyone would spend twelve hundred bucks to save the life of a bird that could be replaced…
Duncan’s business trip
I think Oboe has turned the corner! He seems a little brighter and livelier today, and he ate a little breakfast on his own. He’s still spending all his time…
The art of worrying in the middle of the night
It is 1:53 in the morning and I am up worrying. I got tired of lying in bed worrying, so I got up. Some people are prone to worrying in…
Welcome home, Oboe
We brought Oboe home from the hospital last night. There hadn’t been any improvement since Friday, but no deterioration either. Poor little guy. Life’s tough right now. But so is…
Good news!
We went to visit Oboe in the hospital again this evening, and he seems to be improving. His breathing still isn’t great, and the vet says it might be a…
Oboe update
He’s still in the hospital. He’s not out of the woods yet. The vet wants him to get a little better on his own before she treats him, because she…
Oboe’s in the hospital
Oboe’s luck ran out tonight. Duncan finally caught him. We took him to the vet and they admitted him. He needs pain meds, antibiotics, tube feeding, x-rays, and I forget…
Everybody wants a piece of Oboe
Duncan tested negative for hyperthyroidism, so now we’re treating him for irritable bowel syndrome. If he responds well to the treatment, then that’s probably what he’s got. If not, we’ll…
2011 in Review
January I spent January raising my second (and final) clutch of
The light at the end of the Effexor tunnel
Today is my 5th day without Effexor. Yesterday was brutal. I had all the symptoms of the other four days (only worse), plus a migraine, fatigue, and bouts of profound…
Effexor Discontinuation Syndrome: brain whack
Remember about a year and a half ago I got depressed and started taking the anti-depressant Effexor? Well, after a little while I didn’t feel depressed anymore, but I couldn’t…
The Tenant
We accidentally watched the worst movie EVER on Friday night. We meant to watch a highly rated psychological thriller called The Tenant. But we somehow downloaded a phenomenally bad horror…
The fusses on the buses
Things have been a little crazy on the city buses lately. First there was the driver who was videotaped shouting, swearing and intimidating the student. (If you haven’t seen that…
Oboe and the ceiling fan
Ceiling fans are one of the leading causes of death among pet birds. It’s so common, there’s even a term for it: shredded tweet. I only have two ceiling fans…
Sometimes I miss Larry O’Brien
The main drawback of Jim Watson being elected mayor of Ottawa is that we don’t have Larry O’Brien to kick around anymore. He was such an irresistible target. I don’t…
Oboe flew away
It was 4:30 on Saturday afternoon. The birds were all out of their houses and I was sweeping the floors. As I stepped outside to empty the dustpan into the…
Jack is not his real name
I’ve known Jack (not his real name) a long time. We were room-mates when I was still in high school and he was in university. He was never a shining…