no one of consequence.

The holidays went well I think. Good giftmas happened, and I now possess a shiny happy teeny Canon Elph. (The 6.0MP SD600, with 3X optical zoom for the camera/hardware geeks) Im still playing with the settings and whatnot on it. Battery life is a bit of a concern, so Im going to have to pick up a spare Li-ion, but otherwise Im delighted with it. It’s truly pocket sized… smaller than a pack of smokes, so once I get the spare juice-box for it I can take up random photography again.

Sadly, I didnt get to make my Mate his birthday cake yesterday, since everything in the vicinity was totally locked down. So Im taking care of that tonight.

My good knee has gone on strike though, leaving me slightly hobbled. That delightful burning sensation has settled in, so I figure I’m pretty much off my feet for the duration. Good thing I dont need my knees to cook. ^.^

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Brain not working so good today.

It’s like… part of my mind thinks I’ve got lots and lots of stuff to do, so Im in “hurry” mode.

Now, Hurry mode is defined by picking up each task as I can, fitting things together in such a way that I can get multiple things done at once. Having the methodology messed with by being unable to get things done properly (IE: the dryer in our building obviously having been PWNED by the electricity gods) fucks me up, causing entirely-out-of-proportion frustration and pissiness.

Except I dont really have much to do today.

So Im frustrated and pissy for no real reason. I realize this, and I try to shut it down and relax, but that part of my mind is still shrieking in my ear that OMFGELEVENTYONE! IT’S A HOLIDAY AND YOU HAVE ELEVENTYTHOUSAND THINGS TO DO WHY ARENT YOU WORKING!?!?!

Anyone got any valium?

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Fuck, I screwed up.

I’ve been forgetting off-and-on that Aunt-In-Law requested I make the butternut squash dish I slapped together at Canadian Thanksgiving (When my SLI showed me the squash she’d picked up with a slightly befuddled look on her face). Simply done, just cubed, sprinkled lightly with brown sugar and nutmeg, then roasted.

Problem is I forgot again untill a little while ago.

Threw on my coat and raced up the block to the supermarket praying they’d have some (more often than not they dont have things im looking for. Fantastic for staples, incredibly hit-and-miss for anything else).

Bastards. They closed just as I got there. Two hours early. Tomorrow being both xmas eve and Sunday, I think im fucked.

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Hamilton PD up here have posted to youtube.

And it actually got them an arrest.

*boggle*

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OK, Texas is just insane. There has been a bill introduced down there that would allow the blind to hunt game with laser sights.

Now, I have nothing against the blind… I’m not far from being legally blind myself. I certainly am not interested in seeing anyone’s civil rights curtailed. But the question begs to be asked. Why the hell are legally blind persons allowed to hunt at ALL? One would think that such a disability should completely preclude a hunting license. If your vision is bad enough, you cant drive, but you can go shoot things with a high-powered rifle for fun? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG HERE?

Im sorry, but this is common sense. A projectile weapon in the hands of someone with a severe visual disability is a menace to society at large.

When hunting is necessary for putting food on the table, I can understand it. But no one in this day and age NEEDS to hunt for food. So it’s pure recreation. Personal recreation should not outweigh the personal safety of the general public. To quote Emerson, “The right to swing your fist ends where another man’s nose begins”.

Laser sights are of course currently banned for all hunting use in TX, and so are presumably pretty much banned period. All this law would do is make them more available to the general public. So this is really just a game of loopholing through weapon control laws. Good show Representative Kuempel. Lets hope you are fond of hunting with blind people.

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More fuss going on about the new Liberal party leader here in Canada’s dual citizenship. Mr Dion has now oh-so-graciously announced he will renounce his French passport “If it’s a problem for a significant number of Canadians, and if it’s a liability that may keep Mr. Harper in power”.

Um, Okay?
Well, to be honest, I dont believe anyone who holds a dual citizenship should be permitted to hold political office, in any nation. It’s unnecessary, and only brings loyalties into question.

After the mess of finger-pointing after this summer’s evacuation of Lebansese-Canadians (almost half of which have already returned to Lebanon) you’d think this kind of thing would have raised a flag in the guy’s head. Yeah, Of course people are going to be sensitive to this right now. Canada spent in the realm of 85 billion to rescue a bunch of people who have no intention of ever living as Canadians. Well, maybe not ever, maybe they intend to retire to Canada, having never paid taxes here.

Last summer’s rhetoric over ’second rate citizenry’ doesnt apply either. I’m not talking about extended vacations, Im talking about people who are holding a passport as an ace in the hole. And this goes for the States too.

What I want to see? I want to see legislation requiring that naturalized citizens must spent a minimum of say, four months of the year in their nation-of-choice, paying taxes and living in the new culture they’ve chosen for themselves. Or see their passports revoked. Set up some kind of application process if more time out of the country is needed for an emergency situation, not because you want to live or raise your children in you country-of-birth. Because yanno, if your birth nation is so fantastic to you that you need to be there, why the fuck do you want citizenship in another nation anyway?

This is and should be a serious life change, not a ticket out of a war-torn nation in case of trouble, or a place to make enough money to set yourself up somewhere else. That is bullshit. Shit or get off the pot people. Hold your native passport, I certainly intend to, but dont build yourself a bomb shelter in someone else’s backyard unless you intend to buy the house.

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OK, the glow in the dark Russians thing is starting to weird me out. It’s just the most bizzare thing, and now two more dudes turn up who met with him the day before Mr Ex-KGB guy met his maker and are now also apparently nicely radioactive.

And speaking of radioactive, we’re now going to sell nuclear fuel to India? Um, HELLO? Jah baby, lets just hook EVERYBODY up with a crapton of weapons! Cuz then we can do this whole Middle East wardance again in ten years when either India or Pakistan finally decides to knock the shit out of the other. Well fucking done. *headdesk*

Oh and yesterday’s brawl in Union Square? WTF? Isnt that supposed to be neutral ground? Or has this changed from when I was in High School?

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Christmas looks like it’s going to be very thin this year. Basically, the water folks are stalling on the final invoice for that project. The one that’s earmarked to finally pay for my paperwork for my PR status here in Canada. This is incredibly depressing. It was also slotted to cover us for some bills, so we could do our $WINTERHOLIDAY stuff. *sigh*

But there’s a wreath on the door which I made myself, some lights to go in the windows, and a fairly large box of decorations and stuff in storage for as soon as we get the main room painted. The kitchen stinks of polyurethane, since I just sprayed the cabinet frames down with the first coat. Polyurethane in a spray can. Fucking brilliant. I wish they’d had this stuff for some of the projects I did when I was younger. No fuss about bubbles or overbrushing.
Oh, and I didnt mention our new/old furniture. Lee’s old armchairs, while really good sturdy pieces with great “bones” were really badly worn and threadbare, and we havent had the funds to replace them. Someone in the complex tossed out a whole Living room set last week. Absolutely nothing at all wrong with them, except for being that ugly velveteen pastel-on-black 80’s upholstery. So I dragged Lee out and we snagged the loveseat and armchair. Pulled my slipcovers over them and they look great.
We also got a big scary gift basket thingy today from The Old Man, AKA the Boss behind our bosses. it’s from Denningers, the local international market chain, so it’s full of lots of stuff I’m not too sure about what to do with. Including a Black Forest ham that’s much too big for just the two of us, even if I split it in half.
What the devil do I do with an English Christmas pudding? Anyone know? I’ve never even seen one of these things in real life.

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