Todd's Old Blog

Category: Personal

  • Happy Canada Day

    I hope yours was happier than mine, anyway.  The morning was  good, certainly.  Government Museums in Ottawa had free admission today, so my family and I visited the Canada Science and Technology Museum and the Canada Agriculture Museum. Good stuff, particularly the family-friendly activities at the Experimental Farm. My afternoon was considerably less enjoyable. I…

  • Favourite Socks

    These are my 4-year-old’s favourite socks — black, red and orange, emblazoned with flaming skulls. If there is a drawer full of anything, they are guaranteed to be the first ones selected for that day’s outfit. Some of you may be thinking, “Cool!” or “Weird!” or “Boys will be boys”, except my 4-year-old isn’t a…

  • I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me…

    At my workplace, people will periodically upload snapshots of their workspace to allow remote co-workers a virtual visit via Twitter.  I was asked to contribute this photo on Friday. Visible are: An obviously fake Master of Locksmithing degree from Yale University, a Doctor of Esotericism degree from Billy Bo Bob University, Opus the penguin, a…

  • Too Stubborn to Die

    I first saw Brandywyn in November 2000, I think.  She was on a poster in the stairwell of a building on campus, where my wife was studying.  It read “Beautiful Yellow Labrador Found Wandering Fall Creek Park”, or something to that effect, and I knew that I wanted this dog. She was three years old at the time…

  • Goodbye Facebook

    So, it’s a month to the day since I posted my most recent tirade against Facebook, but this time I’m writing to report that I finally kicked Mark Zuckerberg’s travesty to the curb.  Granted, there wasn’t much left there to delete… And that was the aspect that made it more difficult, actually. I didn’t have much…

  • My Tweets about Twitter

    January 26, 2010 My love of #Twitter remains strong, provided I pause to shoot the noisiest bird out of my tree every once in awhile. April 28th, 2010 It’s pretty easy to miss important stuff on Twitter with constant, pesky interruptions like work and sleep. May 4, 2010 Every so often I discover / unfollow…

  • Lateral Epicondylitis? It’s the New (Unimproved) Me.

    Since late February I’ve been coping with pain in my right forearm.  At first I thought I’d just temporarily strained something—reached too far too fast—but the pain just got worse over time. This past Monday I reached my breaking point and saw a doctor.  The diagnosis was Right Lateral Epicondylitis, a repetitive strain injury (RSI).  Even though…

  • We Miss You, Murph

    It was one year ago today that our beloved Golden Retriever passed away from cancer.  We still think of her often…  Several times a week —  sometimes even daily — her antics and indelible personality are an element of  our conversation.  While her presence is still greatly missed, thankfully we are now able to focus…

  • On Parental Leave

    When my wife became pregnant with our third child, I’d just ‘officially’ graduated with my Master’s degree and was working on casual contract for the Government of Canada.  A few months later, I became a permanent (‘indeterminate’) and among the benefits I was eligible to receive was Parental Leave Without Pay.  Admittedly, this sounds like…