Category Family

Cat Litter

I may have mentioned from time to time that I am not a fan of either of my daughter’s cats, particularly this one. She’s a needy animal, more dog than cat and always in the way as she begs for affection. I was pleased therefore that she decided to package herself for disposal. The box […]

First Sunday of Advent…

…and nothing has really changed from last year. My daughter’s cat, who usually behaves like a dog (all the worst dog features imaginable), for some reason spends Advent thinking she is a Christmas tree ornament. I’m sure I’ll get some much better shots of her in the tree before Christmas Day arrives.  

No Fortune For Me

When I was seventeen I was offered the opportunity to become a millionaire. I turned it down. I have no regrets. It was 1973 and I was working at the time for the local McD‎onald’s, making the princely sum of $1.12 an hour. Summer was ending and I had decided not to return to school, […]

Thanksgiving 2016

Monday I had intended to post something about being thankful, then I got sidetracked by the presidential debate and the baseball game. In some ways though it is more appropriate for today – the first anniversary of my wife’s heart surgery. Monday was Thanksgiving Day today in Canada. It is a celebration of the harvest, […]

Nanny State

The Government of Ontario has announced it will create 100,000 new daycare spots over the next five years. Am I the only one who has questions about that? Daycare is always a sensitive election issue at the provincial and federal level in Canada. Politicians have learned that there are votes to be won by promising […]

Technology Scares Me

Don’t forget to take my five question reader survey if you haven’t done so yet. It wont take long, and I’d really appreciate the feedback. Click here and enjoy. My car is insecure. I don’t mean that I left it unlocked. It sent me an email; it wants me to answer some questions about its […]

Golf For The Average Person

I am not, and have never claimed to be an athlete. Couch potato is more my style, though with a book, not watching television. So it might surprise you to discover that in my teenage years I gave serious consideration to a career as a professional athlete. Mind you, it wasn’t one of those physically […]

The Pet Debate

When my children were younger I wrote a weekly column, “Modern Parenting” for The Pembroke Observer newspaper. Being a stay-at-home dad was rare in our small town in 1991; people wanted to hear about my adventures. When I started this blog I promised to republish some of those old pieces, then I got sidetracked.   Today […]

When my children were younger I wrote a weekly column, “Modern Parenting” for The Pembroke Observer newspaper. Being a stay-at-home dad was rare in our small town in 1991; people wanted to hear about my adventures. When I started this blog I promised to republish some of those old pieces, then I got sidetracked.   Today […]

Somebody Is Watching Me

Think of yourself as a snail. Whenever you surf the Internet you leave behind a small trail of slime for others to see. And exploit. I know there are ways to cover my tracks online, to disable “cookies,” to use proxy servers and various other methods to give a certain amount of anonymity. That knowledge […]