Weblog and Playground of Gord Fynes

BEING ON VACATION THIS WEEK, I’ve been able to catch up on watching recent DVD rentals by mail after the household has gone to sleep for the night. This would be because a) I’m able to watch them uninterrupted b) most of ’em would not be suitable for a three-and-a-half year old to watch c) the sooner I watch ’em, the sooner I get new ones and d) my wife didn’t really express a great desire to see most of ’em anyway.

Last night, I finally got to see The Weather Underground, which I’ve been meaning to see since it was in theatres last year. During some of the interviews with former members, I found my thinking swaying back and forth from the “yeah, you tell it like it was man” to “these guys were fuckin’ terrorists.” A very potent political and thought-provoking presentation that is more valid now, especially since Iraq, as during the Vietnam War.

Happy Birthday Nico!

Having turned 34 last month, I’d joked with my wife that I can now say I’m in my mid-thirties. I figure “mid” to be from about 34 to 37-ish. As I don’t drink that particular brand of beer, I refuse to call this period my Carlsberg years.

I’ve been mentally compiling a list of things that tell me that I’m older/more mature than years past. This will probably continue until I get either bored or fed up and just accept that age is inevitable. So far:

* I’m jogging and exercising because I REALLY would like to get rid of the spare tire that I was proud of having in my early twenties.

* Not so much in the warmer (ie. sweatier) months, I’ve been tucking in my shirt for work, which then accentuates my gut (see first point).

* I’m eating Bran Flakes and drinking V8 juice, and not just for the healthy benefits. I actually enjoy their tastes and prefer them over other drink and food stuffs in the same categories.

* In bed by ten, up by six. That’s PM and AM respectively. Just about every day of the week. Weekends included. Ten or twelve years ago, it would be AM and PM on the weekend.

* I tend to buy beer at the Liquor Store more often than at the Beer Store.

* Tim Horton’s medium coffee with double cream instead of regular (cream and sugar). No donuts.

* Green tea, no milk, no sugar.

* When I open my mouth to scold the boy for something, my Dad’s voice comes out. I know, I know. Payback’s a bitch 8)

* I actually shop around for gas.

Whew, glad to have finally gotten that off my chest.

UPDATE: I’m now adding titles to the posts since the CMS already has a date and/or time stamp feature. Just in case you’re wondering why older posts appear to have been dated by the Department of Redundancy Department.

First up, the archive pages now looks somewhat like a proper page rather than just a big ol’ centered, scrolling list on an otherwise blank page. Perhaps I’ll get the CMS happening over there for next month. Or not.

What better way to kick off a stay-at-home vacation than to have a hacking, snotty, drippy three-and-a-half year old to spend it with. At least this time he hasn’t got a fever and it’s nice and sunny out, so we’ll be able to get outdoors and kick this cold’s ass once and for all. Just in time for allergy season.

Happy belated birthday, Canada. You got your minority government as an early present this year. Just don’t look the gift horse in the mouth. Even though it’s the same colour, you should be flattered that it’s a few sizes smaller. Sorry about not getting you a card. It would appear that Hallmark doesn’t make one for that occasion. Yet.

UPDATE: Okay, the timing of this article is just too weird after just hearing about Brando. I know they’re something like 16 hours ahead of us, but that doesn’t mean that Australians can predict the future. Although, they would’ve known who shot J.R. before North America did.

So, you’ve noticed the slight change in appearance going on here. I’ve decided to get rid of the access keys to navigate around here as it was looking like shit in IE 5 on the Mac. It’s probably the most popular browser for those that haven’t made the switch to OS X, even though there’s diddly-squat in the upgrade department. To each their own.

Another change is the page layout, which has been expanded to make the very text you’re reading this moment flow better on the page, er, screen. Things were looking pretty cramped around here for quite some time, non?

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we take the time to make your stay with us all the more enjoyable. If you should have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact us via the link above. The operator may be standing by.

After several months of really getting comfortable using an SLR camera, starting to train the eye and mind to work in sync within a certain photographic style and making the time to scan a bunch of slides, a new and slightly improved photos page has been posted. It now incorporates that good ol’ javascript slideshow feature, just to keep things fairly simple. Think of it as a work in progress.

Enjoy!