Russell Day 1

Night number 1 was not nearly as bad as I had feared. Russell had woke only twice through the night so Julianne tried to feed him and he was very quiet.... the after effects of the epidural were fantastic... the gift the keeps on giving you might say.



Our first full day with Russell turned out to be a pretty full day. Great Granny Chow came..


Obasan and Ojiisan Tabata came...


as did Pansy, Luma, and Hannan.

Even the Yam's made a late day appearance...



sadly, with all those guest, eating took a bit of a back seat, that combined with the epidural effects worn off, Russell was set for a cranky night.

Russell Day 0

... so around midnight, Julianne has to lie down and breath deeply for each passing contraction. By around 12:30, we are in motion to get back to the hospital. We enter the triage room around 1am, and it is almost full (4 beds)... funny because we were the only ones there a few hours earlier. Anyways, we actually have to wait for someone to get admitted before we have a bed for them to look at us.

It turns out that Julianne had gone from 1cm to 4cm's in about 2 hours.. very quick so now I'm thinking this could really happen anytime.... They check us into a birthing room around 2am and strap Julie up to all the monitors... the contractions continue to intensify. Julianne's original plan was to deliver naturally, but her judgment got the better of her. She figured that she had already been up for over 16 hrs so far, and if she couldn't get any rest, she might be having to push the baby out without rest for over 24 hrs, so she elected to opt for the epidural. I was pleased with this decision because it was already difficult to see her dealing with the pain of her contractions.

One problem.... the anesthesiologist was in emergency surgery and could not administer the epidural for some time. 2 hrs later (around 4am), he appeared and inserted the enormous needle into my wifes back. Shortly after, we both nodded of to sleep.

That morning, Julie was re-examined, and was only at 5cm's... (for the uninitiated, 10cm is the target to start pushing) They added some medication to strengthen her contractions, and figured that we'd be around 10cm's around 2pm.

Deanne, arrived around 8am to support Julie so that afforded me a few more hours sleep. Julie's mom and auntie Pansy arrived around 10am and the gallery increased. My mom, arrived around 1pm, and we were still waiting for the final act to commence.

Around 5pm, (24 hrs after the initial regular contractions) it was 'go' time... time for the first push. Julianne was focused like a marine... she breathed strong, pushed well, through all the pain and discomfort. I thank her endlessly for this as I wouldn't have been able to deal with the experience of her crying in agony as i heard from several other birthing rooms later that night.

At 6pm our baby boy Tabata was born...


He weighed in at 7lbs, 12 oz.

As you can see, the newly minted Grannys were there to get in on the action shortly after.

LCBO night!!! (aka - Russell day -1)

WooHoo !!! Tonight is my L.C.B.O. For the uninformed, LCBO stands for Last Call Before Offspring. Julianne is due with our first child on May 2nd.

HISTORY... the LCBO was born to be a 'rite of passage' event for guys as the enter fatherhood. We discovered that the transition from bachelorhood to marriage is relatively easy as you've most likely been exclusively dating your fiance before marriage anyways. The transition from a couple to a triple (or more) is significantly more impactful on ones social life with the boys. Thus the concept of the LCBO was born.

Ironically, we realized that we had infact celebrated our first LCBO inadvertently. When Brian asked me to be his best man, i was living on the other side of the country and was unable to organize a proper bachelor party for him. In consolation, I promised him I would throw him a proper send off prior to the birth of his first child, a claim I made good on prior to the birth of his son.

... back to our story... tonight Brian scheduled my LCBO... a simple cards, bbq & cigars affair at his house. Earlier in the day, around 1pm, Julianne started experiencing some "tightening" around her belly. This came and went throughout the day, and increased in frequency and intensity. Around 6pm, Julie still expected me to go to Brian's and considered inviting her sister over to stay with her in case something happened. Her "tighting" feelings were stronger now and happening every 5 minutes... I recall this was significant, from my vague recollection of child birth classes. I insisted she call the hospital to confirm this was 'normal' at this stage before Todd was scheduled to pick me up.

The nurse suggested "I think you should come in".... and the LCBO went out the window. We slowly got our stuff together to go to the hospital. We casually ensured all of our hospital bags had everything, Julianne took time for a shower and we arrived at the maternity ward around 8pm. There, they attached two monitors to Julianne, one for the baby's heart rate, and one to measure the intensity of the contractions. After around an hour, the Doctor examined Julianne and informed us that she had dilated to only 1cm. At around 10pm, she sent us home to wait for the contractions to intensify to the point where Julianne could "no longer talk through them" She told us that this could take anywhere from 2hrs to 2 weeks.

We got back home a little after 10pm, watched some tv and started to prepare for bed.

The Bed is in !!!

It has been a 12 round battle royal to get our new bed into the master bedroom. Here's a recap... dates are approximate.

Feb 24... visit Sleep Country to select a king sized mattress for our new bed.

Feb 25... purchase a new "Bachelor" king sized bed from UpCountry at a promotional price.

March 1... Move from the condo to the townhouse amid the worst snowstorm of the year

March 3... Mattress is delivered, but can't fit up stair case, is left in kitchen.

March 6... For an additional $100 a 'rope team' is hired to lift the mattress to the bedroom

March 16... Bed is finally delivered from UpCountry (see blog entry)

March 18ish... knowing a $2000 credit from UpCountry is worthless unless you wait to get something on deep discount once in a blue moon, I figure I'll get the bed upstairs somehow and have them "re-deliver" it at the cost of another $100.

March 21ish... bed is redelivered, this time, the two pieces that make up the base are removed from their boxes and again tried to negotiate the stairs to no avail. Other problems are that the headboard is missing, and one of the drawers in the base has a deep scratch through the stain to the wood..... wonderful.

March 23ish... headboard is delivered. Neighbor hires onsite crane operator to lift his furniture to his 3rd floors for $200, but i have a quote from the mattress guys for $100, and they're scheduled to arrive next week.

March 26ish... company that lifted the mattress comes back to lift the bed for the $100 quote... however, feel that they can't do it once they see the boxes.

March 28ish... UpCountry dispatches the "Furniture Dr." to fix the scratched drawer. I'm pissed that I'm paying full price for a damaged bed but I'm too exhausted to fight it anymore. He did do a remarkable job, but its not perfect.

April 8th... optimistically, invite a bunch of people over to attempt to lift the bed via rope and manpower upstairs, but wisely abort the plan at the last moment.

April 10ish... Building site proj mgr insists crane will be back "any day now"

April 21st... Get $400 minimum quote from crane operator to bring equipment onsite and move my bed and stuff for my neighbor. The plan is to hire him if we don't hear from the builder by Wednesday.

April 22nd... The mattress has been sitting in the master bedroom, still wrapped in original plastic since March 6th... Julianne and I break down and unwrap it and sleep on it on the floor.

April 23rd... 5pm the building site, crane guy arrives !!! I have no photos as i was too nervous watching a 100+ lbs piece of my bed being balanced on a tiny 4x3 cherry picker basket without straps or ropes holding it down, 30 feet over the roof of my garage. Ring up another $100 for the 30min work and the total delivery charges on the bed are $400. ($100 rope guys, $200 Upcountry (delivered twice), $100 crane guy)... oh and last thing, we debated on whether to lift the head board in its box or unpack it first.... (it had been boxed since it was delivered).... so we open the box and the fabric insert... is the wrong colour!!! ...forget it, it stays.



.... so it took from Feb 24 till April 23rd, 58 days to get the bed in order and we slept in it on the 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 26th. Yes.... 4 days!!! 4 days, and we're back to the 2nd bedroom and later posts will explain.

Hmmm.. so I wonder what else the new guy is going to get rid of ???

Catholic Church buries limbo after centuries

By Philip Pullella 1 hour, 1 minute ago

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic Church has effectively buried the concept of limbo, the place where centuries of tradition and teaching held that babies who die without baptism went.

In a long-awaited document, the Church's International Theological Commission said limbo reflected an "unduly restrictive view of salvation."

The 41-page document was published on Friday by Origins, the documentary service of the U.S.-based Catholic News Service, which is part of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Pope Benedict, himself a top theologian who before his election in 2005 expressed doubts about limbo, authorized the publication of the document, called "The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptised."

The verdict that limbo could now rest in peace had been expected for years. The document was seen as most likely the final word since limbo was never part of Church doctrine, even though it was taught to Catholics well into the 20th century.

"The conclusion of this study is that there are theological and liturgical reasons to hope that infants who die without baptism may be saved and brought into eternal happiness even if there is not an explicit teaching on this question found in revelation," it said.

"There are reasons to hope that God will save these infants precisely because it was not possible (to baptize them)."

The Church teaches that baptism removes original sin which stains all souls since the fall from grace in the Garden of Eden.

"NO NEGATION OF BAPTISM"

The document stressed that its conclusions should not be interpreted as questioning original sin or "used to negate the necessity of baptism or delay the conferral of the sacrament."

Limbo, which comes from the Latin word meaning "border" or "edge," was considered by medieval theologians to be a state or place reserved for the unbaptized dead, including good people who lived before the coming of Christ.

"People find it increasingly difficult to accept that God is just and merciful if he excludes infants, who have no personal sins, from eternal happiness, whether they are Christian or non-Christian," the document said.

It said the study was made all the more pressing because "the number of nonbaptised infants has grown considerably, and therefore the reflection on the possibility of salvation for these infants has become urgent."

The commission's conclusions had been widely expected.

In writings before his election as Pope in 2005, the then
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger made it clear he believed the concept of limbo should be abandoned because it was "only a theological hypothesis" and "never a defined truth of faith."

In the Divine Comedy, Dante placed virtuous pagans and great classical philosophers, including Plato and Socrates, in limbo. The Catholic Church's official catechism, issued in 1992 after decades of work, dropped the mention of limbo.

Global Warming???

I find it very interesting when predictions come to fruition. 1999 Ron Howard released the movie Edtv. Figure the concept for this movie was hatched a few years before that. The movie is about a regular guy they put on TV to follow around his daily life. It's interesting how the film pre-dated the flood of reality tv, but accurately illustrated how it can make a celebrity out of anyone.

So what does that have to do about Global Warming aside from all the additional hot air for psuedo celebrities produced from reality junk.... might be on to something there???

Okay, so if you haven't read State of Fear yet, it follows a lawyer who learns of a group that questions the assumption of Global Warming. Somehow, Global Warming has been marketed to become the key issue of today. Amazing considering how the promotion of supporting the cause of Global Warming is a component of the book, and it has actually happened.

Anyways, in the video, he talks about his next book "Next" for the first 22 minutes, but the rest is about his views on the issue of Global warming. (for those who don't want to read the book)



IQ2 Debate: Global Warming
Is Not a Crisis
Listen to Podcast or Read Transcript
On March 14, 2007, Michael participated
in a debate, speaking as part of the team
in favor of the winning motion "Global
Warming Is Not a Crisis".

Get me some gamma rays !!!

Today was supposed to be a happy day. Bed was coming. Looking forwards to finally sleeping in the master bedroom. First, the boxes the bed is packed in wont get up the stairs. Then, I find out that UpCountry's policy is for credit note only, so now I have over 2k tied up in the f'n store.

Gets worse because today is bonus day. I received my 'variable' pay today but the bank deposit looks much lower than i anticipated. 60% !!! They deducted 60% tax on the income !!! Fricken hell... drop another 14% if I actually chose to buy anything with it, I'm down to keeping 25 cents on the friken dollar!!!

That's it, i'm starting St Patty's early. Get me a drink!

Okay something usefull from the internet !!!

Yes sir... those crazy Japanese shows are more than just people kicking each other in the nuts. Finally, an awesome video from the web. My closet is going to look like a Gap Store by tomorrow.

Moving... week 1

Friday... Rogers came and said there was no line to the house.... "maybe around the 15th?" he said.

I also get a call from UpCountry saying our bed has arrived. However, I dont dare call them back until i see the mattress has made it to the bedroom.

Saturday... Sleep Country delivers our new king size mattress. We barely got the Queen size up the stairs so I'm genuinely concerned about the king. On the phone they assure me.. no problem, no problem. The get the mattress into the house and suddenly, "Houston, we have a problem." Have to reschedule a "rope job" to get the mattress in on the top floor balcony.

Monday...
All the stuff we laid deposit on came in so we had to pay the balance...Central Vac installed, security installed, speakers installed.... chaching, chaching, chaching.

Tuesday...
A/C unit installed and mattress guys got it upstairs.


Wednesday/Thursday/Friday... (all a blur)
window screens, garage heater (for the hydraulics), Bell, Rogers (with a temporary cable) cabinet touchups, re set a new tub faucet....

unending....

Moving Day

okay... i was too busy loosing my mind to take any photos myself but you get the idea.

So this time, I figured I'd hire movers and everyone could relax as they did all the work... well it didn't quite work out that way....

11:00am
So Thursday morning started with my parents showing up to help pack up the last few things in the condo. They're seem a little surprised that there is so much stuff still not boxed up. In our defense, all the closets and cupboards had been cleared and packed. The rest plus the fridge contents had to be boxed up.

12:00
Moved everything from the storage locker to the moving room so the movers would only have to get to one place.

1:00pm
A little later Tim and Louis are there to help to. Again, i figure they'd just be there to watch the movers if I had to finish up any paperwork or do something at the new house. The movers also arrived 30 min early. I was concerned because i didn't have a key to the new place yet. Work started on loading the truck.

2:00pm
Julianne, my parents and I walked over to the new house to do a final walk through. The site mgr, gave us permission to lay down drop sheets over the hardwood in preparation for the move. The snow started to fall around this time too.

4:00pm
The truck is still being loaded and i get a call from my lawyer. The clerk says they dispatched the courier to with the cheques at 2:30 but the are nowhere close to the builder's lawyers office.

5:00pm
The courier is cannot reach the lawyers office within business hours because of the weather/traffic. The office is now closed to let people get home. The deal cannot close today.

The site manager contacts his boss to see if a fax showing the certified cheques are appropriate proof of payment and he can give me the keys. At this point, the condo is packed on the truck, the blizzard is in full effect, and my condo is officially sold and closed. The !@$*X4'ing builder tells the site manager not to release the keys basically screwing us for the night. (details available in person)

Basically... a completely hellish day.

T minus 1 day...

I haven't really made mention of it but moving day is tomorrow. I'm anxiously waiting for my lawyer to receive the final paperwork from the builder so i can pay up the outstanding amount and get the 'dance for the keys' music started.

On the packing front, pretty much everything from the closets and cupboards are now packed up. There are still some loose items in various piles around the apartment right now and the TV & Computer are holding firm to their positions. Luckly, we have no crawling children or dogs right now. It's definitely a high choking risk environment.

Of course, the Tabata's milestone plans continue to be a magnet for extreme weather. Our engagement cruise was into the eye of the hurricane, the wedding was the second coming of Noah, and now they are predicting an ice storm tomorrow. I won't be surprised to see an entire burg fall from the sky. Wish us luck, and we'll be back to ranting the day after tomorrow.

I love this kind of stuff....(back to ranting)

So has anyone watched the movie "An Inconvenient Truth"?

In it, champion of the blue planet, Al Gore (and inventor of the internet too isn't he?) lectures that our current energy use is causing a dramatic increase in the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. He builds a case that the level of carbon dioxide is directly related to the global temperature, and we will melt the ice caps, cease the ocean currents, flood a gazillion miles of prime real estate, and plunge us back into another ice age at our current pace. Basically, if you've seen "The Day After Tomorrow" that's what will happen if he's not voted president when he announces he'll run.

Anyways the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has published the following on it's web site.

Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own “Inconvenient Truth”
Gore’s home uses more than 20 times the national average

Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.

Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

Like i said... I love this kind of stuff.

Today's Random Photo

Another photo

In honour of Julia's birthday, here's a picture of her and Mommy in one of my all time faves.



child services can relax.... all of the boozing guests emptied the bottle before Mommy could get a grasp of it.

Keeping it fresh...

Okay... not much to write today. On the townhouse front, the cabinets and counter tops are now in, and they have set a delivery date for the appliances. Basically, everyone is starting to line up to be paid.

In a shameless attempt to increase blog traffic, I have new photo of the day theme. (okay, maybe not every day)

Anyways, here's today's photo. Please use the comments to log an appropriate caption.

Cheers.

All Aboard !!!

Okay, last nights game wasn't what you could call a "convincing" win but 5 in a row ain't bad and I wasn't the only one wearing a Leafs Toque on the streetcar today.

Of course this preamble is just an excuse to post this....

Getting Policital

Okay... i must be getting old cuz now it's politics that is pissing me off. Everyone has now seen the new Conservative party ads.



I may be 'pro' liberal but still you have to admit that these are the stupidest ads you've seen in a long time. Why didn't they just use voice over to say: "Mr. Dion, are you a racist, kitten kicking, animal tester that sucker punches preoccupied pregnant women in the gut?" then splicing in some video of him saying "Absolutely" from some unrelated press conference.

Does anyone actually feel that this sways their vote away from the Liberal party? It could be just me.

There really should be a law outlawing commercials by any political party when there is not an official election scheduled. Really, I could have been watching some of the American Superbowl commercials instead!!!

Celebspotting

Check it out !!! Mike's dad hanging out with Paris, Nicole and the king of Pop !!! He looks a little pre-occupied... the Jays game must be on.

Live Rant... just opened my mail

Okay, the bane of my customer service existence sent a letter today. Rogers sent a notification of rate increases. Within the letter was this line:

"The regular monthly rate for your Rogers Digital VIP Cable package will increase by $58.97, plus applicable taxes." By $58.97 ?!?!?! WTF !!!

Chalk one up to the proof reading police because it should have read "to $58.97"

Not to be out done with incompetence, Talvest Mutual Funds is writing to inform me that a backup computer file has recently gone missing while in transit between offices!!! This file may have contained by Name, Address, Signature, DOB, bank account numbers, beneficiary info and Social Insurance Number!!!

Unfriken believable !!!

Quick update.... (no photos)

So we walked by the house today to check on the progress. I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll be good to move on the 1st of March, but as some point I guess you have to commit to the date.

From the front door, we were pleasantly surprised to the walls painted, all the base boards and trim was in. The stairs leading upstairs had been stained so it looked like it just needed pot lights finished and the under pad & carpet laid.

Going around back revealed the main floor was in similar shape with the paint & trim, but it also had the hardwood floor completed as well. I'm just waiting to see those cabinets we ordered.

Fingers are still crossed.

Photo test for Danny

Warning.... Photo geek posting ahead.


So Dan was asking about how different the depth of field is between f1.4 and f1.8 I had the same question when I was thinking about getting a 50mm lens. Is the f1.4 worth the price?

Here are the results. All shots were from the same range, all focused the "Favorites" text. Also, the camera was set on aperture priority so the shutter speed was calculated automatically.

Dont forget you can click on the photo to zoom in for details.

Shot @ F1.4 shutter 1/125



Shot @ F1.8 shutter 1/100



Shot @ F2.8 shutter 1/40



Shot @ F5.6 shutter 1/10 (so if its blurry is probably me)

The Voice of the Nation

So we're at the home show on Sunday and are approached by this reporter & photographer. He asks us what we think of the energy conservation program announced that day. We're expecting some lifestyle question about what you're shopping for etc. but really, i had no idea what he's talking about. So he gives us this 3 minute synopsis of the announcement and asks what we think.

"Ron Tabata, of Toronto, who was wandering through the Home Show with his wife, Julianne, also had misgivings. "I don't think you will get as many people taking advantage of it simply because of the upfront costs and then you don't know if you are going to get it.""

from todays Toronto Star

Makes me think about quotes in the newspaper. What value is my comment on something I really didn't know anything about?

Thinking more about it, the act still sounds stupid. I mean anyone who wanted to renovate to conserve energy would have already done it for the energy cost savings, not a stupid rebate. If you did upgrade, you probably don't have the cash to do so anyways so a rebate is no help. The group that would benefit the most would be a real estate speculator who's buying a dated property and planning a full renovation to flip it anyways.

Either way... i guess i still got to go out and pick up a copy of todays paper.

Boxing Day Shopping

So with no clear purchase agenda, Julianne and I drove down to the Eaton Centre to see if there were any bargains to had. HBC gift cards in hand, we checked out the Bay... but there was really nothing that we really needed. We did pickup 8 bowls to match our current dishes, but of course they were regular price.

Venturing into the mall, Julianne was keen to check out Thyme Maternity and Motherhood stores... both had very unimpressive deals. I mentioned to Julie that I thought the GAP had a maternity section and that's where she hit the mother load. (so to speak) Everything was 30% off the price that was already discounted. The find of the day was a pair of white capri pants for $6.99 All in all, I think she got about 10 items for under $100 total.

Here are a few she picked for Baby Bata.

Merry Christmas !!!

Julianne made her contribution to the ongoing quality of content of the blog site by presenting me with a 50mm Nikon f1.4 lens for Christmas. She explained to me how she debated between the f1.8 and f1.4 FYI the 1.4 cost about double what the 1.8 does, but she felt that it would 1.4 was worth the price for the better image quality. What a great girl.

So I'm totally digging the superflat depth of field. However, the non-zoom nature of the lens is forcing a little unplanned exercise in getting the shot just right. Here are a few shots from Christmas dinner at Nelene's

Deanne & Timmies wedding day

So as the pictures show, the weather cleared for the wedding day.

It was an interesting experience to be around the brides place on the big day. It was really a hive of activity with videographers, photographers, hairstylists and makeup artists negotiating around family members, all making the last minute preparation. It was definitely a far cry from the scotch and pizza pre-wedding snack we had on my day.

After a morning of preparation, we trekked down from the Villas to the city of Scarborough (yes, Scarborough is the capital of Tobago). Scarborough is very hilly and the church is on the side of a hill that overlooks the bay. The ceremony was performed in a full church. It went off without a hitch. The only slight unforeseen event was that the rings may have slightly shrunk in the island heat as rumour is that they were a little tight to squeeze on.

We returned to Stonehaven Villas for the reception. Dinner and dancing was great by the highlight for me was the dunk in the pool to end the evening. More photos can by found by following the "my photos" link

Tobago days 1-3

Okay, well really day one and two. At least it wasn't snow... and actually it only rained in short bursts and dried pretty quickly. I'd still take the occasionally wet 28 odd Celsius over the big zero it was back in Hogtown. We stay the first few days on the Tobago Hilton properties, Plantation Villas. It's an assortment of the hotel, semi-detached condos and detached villas. Our place was very nice, two bedrooms and bathrooms with a large private deck. Julianne's dad also was nearby in one of the detached villas. A 4 bedroom home with a private pool backing on the golf course.

Honestly, the first few days were pretty low key thanks to the rain. We visited Storebay, a public beach and market but is was pretty quiet due to the unpredictable weather.

On the 3rd day I did get a chance to play the Tobago Plantations course. A PGA ranked course and stop on the seniors tour.



Definitely a nice course with great weather but the highlight was the 3rd hole where the rolling waves against the rocks backdrop the green. (an impressive single bogey on the most difficult hole on the course)

So for the LuMBeR crew... the verdict...well read it for yourselves... and only 6 lost balls.

Movie review... I mean finally...

Okay, finally a movie review. I felt this one was worth blogging because many people probably never saw it or will likely not see it.

Two things you should know about myself as a reviewer.
1. I am NOT and environmentalist. I believe that climate changes are a natural part of the big eco-bubble we call earth and dramatic changes have happened in the past. Also, i don't believe the last hundred years of temperature data we have is enough to draw conclusions on a weather system that has existed for billions of years. (for some interesting 'fictional' arguments about global warming, read Michael Crichton's book "State of Fear")
2. I am a car enthusiast as my prior entries illustrate. I love the power of my 333hp BMW even though it gets less than 100km/10litres on most tanks. I believe any car should have enough power to go when you want it to go, regardless if your doing 40km/hr or 140km/hr.

So that brings me to the movie... I don't know if it's because i'm getting older, but it seems like there are a lot more entertaining documentary films than there was 20 years ago. All of the Michael Moore films, or one with the guy that ate all the McDonalds food (name escapes me right now... brain cramp)

So the electric car follows the birth and death of the GM EV1. It does a great job in establishing the force and technology and promise behind the birth of the car. For those unfamiliar with it, its an odd looking car, definitely has a cuteness factor... feels a bit like Herbie by the midpoint of the film.



This is important, because if you don't root for this little car, you'll miss the impact of its demise. The film does a great job of portraying various 'evil empires' by attempting to erase history.

I can't ever see myself protesting over a car but I would say that it's an engaging movie and it was successful in having me raising the question of why not having an electric car.

Especially if it was this one. I just need to figure out how to come up with the 100k or so pay for it. Tesla Motors

336 accepted !!!

Quick update today.... I don't want to go into too much details yet because it's still pending financing so I won't consider it done until Monday.

Cheers

Offer Update...

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Interestingly, from all sources (comments here, email, the S2ki forum) it feels like the vote is split between take the money(or split the diff) and wait for a better offer.

I like the comment Brian, and I don't like bending from my "firm" counter offer but I'm re-countering at 336k otherwise were done for today. Keep your comments coming and I'll keep you posted.

Offer on the table... (finally a real "rant")

So after a flurry of visits (well, two more) to beat the 7 pm submission, we now have 1 offer. (Thanks Todd, for the delusions of grandeur)

As you know, our listing price was $339,900 and the initial offer was $333,000. Once the offer was presented, the agent left us to discuss the offer. We and Nick (our agent) then reviewed the recent selling prices of the similar units and noted the pluses and minuses of each unit. All of the recently sold 2bdroom units were on the 3rd floor, as opposed to our top (forth) floor unit. The prices were all around $335,000. We are now the only remaining 2 bedroom available under 400k.

Now, when I purchased the condo, I paid a $7,000 premium to be on the top floor. Now $7,000 plus the initial offer of $333k takes us over my initial asking price of $339,900. Obviously, I can't expect to recoup full value of my premium on a counter offer.

I told Nick, that based on the other sales, a premium over $335k should be set due to the difference in floor. So I picked $337k as a fair recognition of the floor premium, and showing the buyer we are willing to compromise. It was given as a final offer. The buyer then countered at $335k.

Being true to my word we rejected their counter and $335k and asked the agent to thank the buyer for her interest. I talk with Nick to ensure my rational is clear. By accepting any offer, I am precluding any offer to do better. So although the difference is $2000, I'm sacrificing my possibility of getting my asking price or better.

$2000 extra on your mortgage amortized over 25 yrs is nothing in terms of monthly payments. Of course, the same argument can be had by the buyer... is it worth not getting the place you want for $2000. The buyer owns a house and is looking to downsize and give up the chores of home ownership, and find a pet friendly building in the neighborhood.

However, $2000 in the short term, means that Julianne and i can take a vacation before the baby is due. Or buy a new bed, or two bugaboo strollers.

Even though $2000 is less than 1% of the purchase price, the entire price is really irrelevant. I could sell at $320k within a day, so lets say 320k of the price is irrelevant, thus 2000 of 15k is now 7.5% Two thousand dollars now become a much bigger piece of the pie.

So anyways, we had left the TV on the lobby cam channel. We notice the agent is standing in the entrance on her phone. Obviously she has received further instructions. Our agent's phone rings. They have come back offering to extend the duration of the offer from 9pm that night to 11am the following morning. (tomorrow)

The offer has a clause for financing approval, but the closing date matches what we've asked for in our listing.

What do you all think ???? Should i concede on my price, or see what else my come in? It was listed on Tuesday and we've done only one open house.

Open House aftermath...

So its Sunday night, and we've experienced our first weekend of open houses. It's kind of an adjustment. I didn't brush my teeth this morning because I failed to look in my sock drawer in my search for my toothbrush before I had to get out of the house today.

Anyways, the weather was excellent for November and it yielded 31 visitors on Saturday and another 21 on Sunday. Too bad I don't have a frame of reference for what is a good turn out and the expected ratio of serious shoppers versus tourists. I guess we'll find out on Tuesday if any of those visitors convert into firm offers.

Wish us luck.

Back to another car vid.... This time the next Skyline

Here's to the hope of a frantic and completely irrational bidding war. :-)

The listing is up !!! MLS# 1032013

Here we go !!!


Well after a few days of re-decluttering and re-cleaning, the condo is ready for it's first showing. Agent tour today and open house on the weekend. Let's see how Nick does with selling it now.

I like how he picked the photo with the massive tv and the primary picture for MLS.

Showdown in the Beach

So we met with our agent to list the condo on Wednesday. He informed us that another unit with the same layout as ours, except 1 floor lower (3rd) was listed on MLS for $339,900 that same day. At the time, no photos were available, so I only knew from the listing that it had hardwood floors. So we decided to list at the same price. Can you spot the differences? Also, please post your opinions.

Our Place vs. Their Place

or for the blow by blow comparison....

Living room 1


Living room 2


Kitchen


Master Bedroom


2nd Bedroom

More video diversions....

This is just like the RPM tapes, but with video.

Hmm... PS3 or Wii ??? what should i get?

My first original video....

Speilberg and Lucas better watch out!!!

The Perfect Game ???

October 14, 2006... My 37th birthday and we're at the Air Canada Centre to watch the Leafs and the Flames. I had some high expectations tonight as this was my first pick in the season ticket draft.

The night started off great with Julianne buying me a medium Rickards pale before we headed up to our seats. This was my first game of the 2006 season that i've attended so its always fun to catch up with our neighbours.

The Leafs jumped out to a two goal lead in the first period. A two goal lead in the ACC is party time, the beer flows faster, and all the old time ticket holders are all in their happy place.

The first intermission was quite unusual. We stay to watch the timbits play. The blue team's goalie stoned the most talented forward on the ice for about 20 shots over the 5 minutes they play for. I then traversed down from row 18 of the ACC down to the mens room lineup... did my business, got a new medium sized beer and returned to my seat with almost 5 minutes left in the intermission. It was already proving to be an unusual night.

The second period played out like a Hollywood script. The leafs not only lost their lead, but fell behind in the game to enter the final period. In the 3rd, Raycroft somehow crosses the net to steal away an open net goal and Mats Sundin takes the puck down the ice to score and the game is tied. With only seconds to go, a very questionable penalty is called against Darcy Tucker of the home team. Entering overtime, the Leafs are short handed.

With the Leafs in full defense mode, Sundin takes the puck into the Calgary zone and unloads a long shot that beat Kipper. It's a hockey pool dream goal... short handed, overtime, game winner for the Hat-trick which goes down as Mats' 500ths career goal!!!

Happy Birthday to Me !!!

House Progress

So it seems like we've nailed down the upgrades and as you can see, the place is really progressing. You can't see from the photos but the finished stairs are sitting in the main floor waiting to be installed.

When I forget about how much everything costs, i'm really excited because I think the place will be beautiful. Julianne and I have really been good about choosing what we want now, and what can wait. I'm honestly a little surprised that we haven't butted heads over any thing. (okay, a 2nd closet in the master suite took some convincing, but seriously, she's getting the walk-in to herself)

Oh yeah... so rants... hmm, I should have tons of material to rattle off about the whole new home thing..... and I have had my momments, but right now, i just can't wait to move it and plant some new roots. I'll recap some of the crap on a future post.

How do i convince my wife we need one of these?

To hell with the M5... this is what I should replace the M3 with !!!

1 down.... 81 to go

10 minutes in and I picked up Patrick Eaves in the hockey pool. But what about the leafs? Looked okay for the first 10 minutes but after that it was painfull. McCabe looks ready for the golf course, and the young guys look like kittens scrambling with the charmine.

Sure it's only the 1st game, but i saw no cohession, no chemistry, just a few solo efforts to swat the puck towards the net. The most irritating thing wasn't the game being lost, but the fact that no one even breathed on Chris Neil late in the third once the game was lost and he was still throwing the body around.

I'm not holding my breath for game #2....

I have nothing to rant about...

...except that everywhere I go now, I am surrounded by young women being back at school full time. Best thing is I don't look any older than they do, even though my birthday is around the corner......hahaha even

Hockey Season Starts Tomorrow !!!

Too bad we won't see anything like this for a long long time.

test photo 4 Danny

shot from his D80....

okay... one more

I just can't help myself.

Photo Phun

So tonight, Dan and I geeked out with the camera stuff. Fortunately, the dorky stuff didn't frighten our lovely model.

RAW image


JPG image

September means the PVR is in full effect..

So hear is a list of what's chewing up space on the PVR now that the new fall season is upon us....

CSI (orginal LV edition) ... that model is wicked!!!
Amazing Race... feeling a little diluted this time around. Not feeling it.
Survivor... again, suckered in with the race thing.. too bad it ended so soon.
Hockey a Peoples History (recorded every sunday.. difficult to catch up on though)
Dancing with the stars (yeah cheesey, but thumbs up for an HD broadcast)
Ugly Betty not a bad start, bonus clips of Salma Hayek keeps this show in good standing.
Heroes .. awsome opening episode, lots going on in the background... definately the "new show" of the season for me.
Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares : great show... so good that it doesnt matter that it's on fuzzy standard definition.

upcoming:
Batchelor : Rome... yeah.. will watch with the wife. Should have some promising venues.
24 : will be watching weekly
Restraunt makeover : can't wait for the Jerimiah Bullfrog's episode... what happened to my Jerk Burger !!!

feather in any Toronto Maple Leaf broadcast in HD, i think i'll need some more storage space on the PVR.