DISQUS

Congrats, Steve! That must be exciting. And Bubelah will soon have female backup in the house!

I'm sure spending a day aone with a toddler is nough to wear anyone out.

Best of luck, and thanks for the link.

Excellent post, Bubelah. Fun to hear about other customs and traditions. Reminds everyone that their way is not the only one, a lesson most of humanity could stand to learn. ;)

Happy New Year!

Great question.

My tastes have actually become harder as I've aged, though that's probably more due to freedom from my parents' tastes and the influence of Hubby than anything else. I used to listen mainly to the Beatles, REM, Classical and 80s stuff like Madonna. Now I tend more towards harder rock like Nickelback or AC/DC, even occassionally liking Eminem (much to Hubby's dismay), though the Beatles still rock, of course, and Vivaldi and Bach are still my first choice when mellowing out with a glass of red wine. Oh, and I've loved the Barenaked Ladies since they started. I doubt that one will change much.

Not too much I used to listen to embarrasses me now, though I suppose if anyone came forward with a video of me doing the macarena in university, I might have to crawl under a rock and die. Oh, and I knew all the lyrics to Walk Like an Egyptian. Does that count? And, er, there was that Milli Vanilli phase...

Oh, and Steve, the Kodak gallery link goes to Rowling's wikipedia article.

Some of these are great ideas. I hadn't heard of iStockPhoto. Might be a fun thing to try since I just splurged on a better digital camera for myself a couple of months ago. And buying touristy trinkets for cheap and then reselling them looks like a good idea too.

A word of caution: While the J.K.Rowling example does show it's possible to find the time to write best-selling novels when you are truly busy, do keep in mind that not everyone will be able to write well. Rowling had a wonderful set of ideas, she created a unique fictional world, and she fleshed it out beautifully. If you want to write a novel, fantastic. Go for it. Just realize that you have to read your genre to know what sells and what has been done to death. You have to learn about writing techniques (points of view, tenses, etc.), and you have to practice. A lot. You also have to learn about the industry. Just because you and your mom like your work, doesn't mean an agent will, or that it will sell. You also have to learn to take (constructive) criticism and apply it, no matter how much it hurts at the time.

Oh, and I'll also go in on the bet that Guinness won't be buying a Wii this Christmas. It was a subtle vibe, but I picked up on it. :)

Last year Hubby wanted a Wii for Christmas. I couldn't find one, so I got him a $400 gift certificate to Best Buy instead. He used it in February and got his Wii for regular retail price, along with an extra controller and two games. I suggest anyone who's looking for one do the same rather than paying through the nose for it. Patience is a virtue, people. Unless you're currently selling one on eBay; then you want the impatient masses banging on your auction door.

Thanks for the link, Steve.

That’s exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about!

I had a feeling you might be.

Great post, Steve. If you're managing to at least try to follow these, Bubelah is indeed a lucky gal.
I second the motion of you and Bubelah collaborating on a similar post on how to be a good partner to a working spouse. As long as I won't have to put on a dress and pearls and meet Hubby at the door with a drink... ;)
Loved the second photo, though I agree it is a tad creepy.

Thanks for the link, Steve!

I enjoyed the post by Penelope. She had some very valid points and made me think about a few things.

I love the idea of everyone having a set number of holidays (religious or otherwise) that they can take when they want, it would be much more fair than forcing people to take vacation time for non-majority cultural or religious holidays while those in the majority get a free ride. I do see a few administrative problems with that idea, though.

What happens in the office on those days when 80% of people want the day off? Christmas Day comes to mind. Or when almost everyone wants it off, like Canada Day (or July 4th for you South of the Border folks)? Will a certain number of people be denied the holiday because the office needs them to stay open? What if those that are voluntarily staying are three managers and a director? Will an admin assistant and a janitor be forced to work on their holiday to accomodate those people's needs? Is it worth paying the money to remain open if no clients will call and no money will be made?

My office is closed from Dec 24th to January 1st, and it's quite popular, even in our multicultural atmosphere. Everyone likes to have a week off with pay. But I would wager that many people would be keen on being able to move that to a more culturally appropriate time, whether it's for Yom Kippur, Diwali, Eid or whatever.

Just keep in mind that such a policy change would require a lot of planning and discussion to keep it feasible and fair. In a lot of cases it would have to happen nationally and simultaneouslyy. For example, my company would have little reason to be open if the universities, research labs, academic libraries and federal/provincial/territorial governments aren't open.

Bubelah: I'm happy to say that has never happened to me at the office. At my parents' place or at a wedding or something I just bow my head and go with it, but I'd probably look out the window at work. It's one thing to say grace quietly to yourself before eating at an office function. It's quite another to basically force it upon everyone else.

Mike: I can just see Santa bopping to some death metal. You never hear those bands put out Christmas albums...such a shame. ;)

Thanks for the pointer to the contest, and for providing a great example of SMART goal.

I'm not sure I can continue to associate with anyone whose RIGHT side is purple. That's just weird, man. Purple Lefties all the way.

Bubelah, I'd say it makes you fluent in Russian in general, but non-fluent in for a business job requiring Russian. However, you could become fluent easily enough because you already have the basic grammar and structure down. If it's your field (i.e. you're applying for a job that would need it) you would already know the English concepts and would merely need to memorize some vocabulary.

I work in health research. I can't ask someone in Spanish what the weather outside is doing, and I certainly couldn't function in an interview setting, but I can extract data from medical literature because I know the terminology well enough to recognize it, I know the patterns of reporting common in clinical trials, and I'm familiar with the roots of Spanish as a language descended from Latin. Definitely not fluent by anyone's standards, but functional in my job.

Did you know the Spanish word for pump is the same as the word for bomb? Proton pump inhibitors (inhibidores de la bomba de protones) are medications for reducing acid in your stomach. About 15% of adult North Americans are on one right now. Proton bomb inhibitors sound like something Homeland Security would be interested in, and certainly not something you would want to ingest. The English abstracts (summaries) published with Spanish articles often contain this mistake. It's a good example of why you need to be fluent in the terminology in question as well as in the language as a whole.

Er, 20/01/09. Whatever.

Steve: I've seen T-shirts up here as well, although they either spell the date out or write it as 20/01/07.

Pretty much everyone outside the US is ready for a change too, I believe.

Jan 20th, 2009 marks the start of a new American presidency.

Have a great Thanksgiving, Steve.

Interesting post on an interesting concept. I'd never really thought about the possible 'pay it forward' aspects of one generations generosity (or lack thereof) on things like an education and cars.

I think you are responsible to give your children the best leg-up in the world that you can. If you feel that paying for education is the best way to do that (and can afford to), go for it. If you think having them be responsible for paying for their own education to instill certain values is the best way forward, go for that.

We have every intention of saving for our child(ren)'s education, but also the intent to instill in them the need for them to save as well. Maybe we'll give only a certain amount a year. Or maybe we'll cover rent and tuition and things like books and hydro will be up to them. Whatever plan we come up with, it'll be intended to raise financially-savvy kids who aren't saddled with a ton of debt right out of the gate.

Maybe just a smidge of it so they can feel good about getting rid of it, though.

I'm thinking if they want a car, they can work for it. But maybe I'm just reflecting what I was told when I wanted one as a teenager.

As for the religion question, let's just say I'm expecting at least one knock-down, drag-out fight (figuratively, of course...at least, I hope so) with my mother when the subject comes up. I suspect that the neighbours may set up lawn chairs and make popcorn for the show.

"In the Night Kitchen." That was it! Excellent. Thanks Ruth.

And having Bibles and Korans in the house of two lapsed individuals isn't so strange, Guiness416. Even if you don't believe in the books in a religious way, they are still literature and still an important part of world culture that it helps to be educated about.

I've never been fond of LOTR, which is odd as I'm a big fantasy buff. My husband loves it. I did love the Stand. I've always preferred Koontz to King, but that one was fantastic. Haven't read Battlefield Earth. I trust it was better than the movie...pretty much had to be.

When I'm visiting my parents for Christmas this year I have every intention of rummaging through their basement in search of my old books, mostly with an eye on what will be handy for our kid-to-be, but also to find some beloved favourites. I've already salvaged The King with Six Friends, which I can clearly remember my father (repeatedly) reading to me. It seems to be out of print, so I'm grateful they still had it. I'll be looking for The Velveteen Rabbit, the Anne of Green Gables series, Where the Wild Things Are, The Secret Garden, Thirteen O'Clock, and one that I can't remember the name of but it had a bunch of bakers with some amazing illustrations in it.

I'm sure I'll run into a lot of forgotten friends too.

Great post. Now I'm all nostalgic.

Great parable, and a good deduction of the moral.

I think it could also be summarized as "Think Outside the Shoe", though I may have played one too many rounds of Buzzword Bingo lately at the office.

Interesting point on the US government having a vested interest in heavily medicated, somewhat ill citizens. Kinda makes me happy to be living in Canada where the government has a financial incentive to keep the citizens as healthy as possible. Sick people cost a lot of money to a government covering their basic health care.

On the other hand, there's probably still an 'optimal' number of sick people for the Government of Canada to have. Too many and the health care costs are crippling (i.e. the situation now). Too few and they lose all the lovely tax dollars and employment garnered from the pharmaceutical and pharmacy industries, not to mention the increase in payouts necessary from the Canadian Pension Plan when everyone lives that much longer.

In any case, I'm guessing that 'optimal' number is lower North of the border than South.

[...] a collection of things that may help you lose weight, see Brip Blap's 101 Thoughts on losing 100 pounds. A few of them will also save you money. Note number 75. Let that reinforce the idea that I am an idiot. [...]

Congratulations. Losing 100 pounds and keeping it (mostly) off is a wonderful achievement.

Oh, and I did #75 last night. Because I'm an idiot.

Yikes! That's quite the trail of comments.

The way I see this is that brip blap is going with things that are statistically correlated with living longer (guns in the house, wearing a seatbelt), things that give him peace of mind (being kind to the elderly, meditating, religious resolution, enjoying reading) and things that science has shown to be good for your health (not smoking, going easy on the red meat and alcohol, cutting back on salt).

Obviously none of these things guarantee a long life, but each will improve the quality if not the quantity of his life.

Do I agree with all of his points? No. I like to read the news from time to time, I like to watch TV, I hate that I've had to give up caffeine during my pregnancy (not to mention my beloved red wine and brie ), and I won't be becoming an agnostic anytime soon. But if all of these things work for him, then he's statistically increased his odds of a long and happy life.

If you're like Hank and you're opening up a real discussion of various points of view of these items, great. I'm all for exchanging knowledge, values and considered opinions. But if you just dislike some of the points here, come up with your own list. I'll be pondering mine over the next few days.

Oh, and as a pharmaceutical worker I have to say: alcohol is not more dangerous than heroin. Alcohol is an addictive substance, and has caused many problems for many people. However it is less addictive than heroin (as in a far smaller percentage of people who use alcohol will get hooked then people who use heroin), has caused less crime (except during prohibition) than heroin, and is less likely to kill you simply because it's regulated by the government. Alcohol manufacturers must follow safety standards and labelling requirements or they have their ability to sell their product revoked. The same can't be said for heroin, pot, cocaine or any illegal substance.

Unfortunately for him, poor Brip brap is unable to be one thing that is highly correlated with exceptionally long life: being female. Enjoy it while it lasts, girls. The advantage is fading fast.