Prognosis: Broken

I've broken the Proximal Phalange in my little finger. That's the third known broken bone I've experienced. So far, this is the easiest to handle. Last time was when I got shot.

Stephen Harper

Thanks to Warren Kinsella for this one. Mr. Harper, our leader of the opposition, is seeking to reinvent his image. You can help.

Medical Advice

If this was your hand, would you:

A) Seek immediate medical attention.
B) Let it heal on its own, likely with a slightly askew little finger, to match the other hand (ask me about it sometime).
C) Put it in a vise and try and straighten the finger on my own.
D) Cut it off so that it doesn't cause me to sin any more?



So, here's how it happened:
I play soccer, and I'm the goalkeeper. People tend to fire the ball in my general direction several times a game, and since our team isn't the greatest, it happens quite often. Last night, a guy took a point blank shot which was right at me, and kinda handcuffed me a bit, and I jammed my 'pinkie' fingers on each hand. Really weird. I wear gloves when I play and didn't take them off until the end of the game, and for the last 20 minutes of the game after the injury I avoided touching the ball with my hands as much as possible. The finger on my left hand was actually dislocated at the first joint, which was easily fixed with a deep breath and a good tug on it (slightly weird feeling your finger pop back into joint), but the finger on my right hand didn't fix so easily. So, I'm going to get it looked at this afternoon.

It's not easy being Green

I've been doing some research in my 'down time' for my boss on LEED, Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, a new classification for buildings. Buildings are awarded points for things such as brownfield redevelopment, water use reduction, HVAC energy reduction, recycled building material content, innovation in design, light pollution reduction; you can even get points if you provide a proper bike storage area and changeroom for employees. Anyway, in my searches, I came across an article about a new Green Wal-Mart building. I hate Wal-Mart. Immensely. They're in the process of tearing up acres and acres of land in Peterborough to create a massive new shopping adventure centre, a couple kilometers away from their existing store. Anyway, while I'm pleased that Wal-Mart is at least taking a risk on one of their 3700 stores, that's hardly called being a leader in environmental design. MEC on the other hand is doing a fine job.

In other news, type the word 'failure' into google. It's good for a laugh.

FIGHT!

Stick figures, fighting. Wow.

Manly Man

I am a MANLY MAN!

For an interesting read relating to energy, oil, and the 'inevitable' collapse: I cannot yet skin a deer.

Christian Violence?

15 Theses for a New Reformation

"God is changing the Church, and that, in turn, will change the world. Millions of Christians around the world are aware of an imminent reformation of global proportions. They say, in effect: "Church as we know it is preventing Church as God wants it." A growing number of them are surprisingly hearing God say the very same things. There is a collective new awareness of age-old revelations, a corporate spiritual echo. In the following "15 Theses" I will summarize a part of this, and I am convinced that it reflects a part of what the Spirit of God is saying to the Church today. For some, it might be the proverbial fist-sized cloud on Elijah's sky. Others already feel the pouring rain. "

...the article

Secrets

You've probably seen this already, but if not, check it out. I'm no psychiatrist (I'm not even sure if I can spell the word), but this site is certainly an interesting window into what people feel guilt for and what they hide from others.

Bluegrass Hits, Vol 2

... kind of a slow one. One of the great things about my office is that we're allowed to listen to music while we work, as long as it doesn't disturb others. Consequently, I've built up a fairly decent library of tunes on my computer, bringing in cd's from home from time to time for a bit of ripping. I'm certainly not gonna get into downloading at the office though. I did that once at another job and was suspiciously asked 'Just what are you downloading?' 'Lots of music, sir. Why, what did you think?'
Anyway, I engineer little playlists, which I'm slowly burning onto CD for the enjoyment of car rides and such. Making a mix tape is an art, one that I'm not too good at yet. They've been all over the place so far. John Cusack offers some advice in 'High Fidelity', which is a must see. However, I need some practice.
In other news, some days I wish I was a teacher. Those days are typically the months of July and August. They're the best days to be a teacher. Those days, and the ones at the end of December, and that week in March. I'm planning on using one of my 2 (TWO!!) weeks of holidays soon, and I plan on sitting on my ass between a tent and a camp fire, or on a beach, reading some good books, playing some good guitar, and drinking some good beer. I'm looking for recomendations on books to read, so feel free...post a list of your Top 5 novels for summer reading.

Politics

This, in my opinion, is what a good politician should do. Admit, with humility, that mistakes were made, and take action to fix them...

Custom Bikes are cool. I've got a friend who wants to learn how to weld so that, among other things, he can make custom bikes. This guy biked by the office a couple minutes ago. I happened to have the company camera on my desk so quickly snapped a shot. I think it's cool. It's hard to tell, but it looked like he's got a bucket seat on it. That's sweet.

I've got an incredible view at work. Out of my window there's a parking lot for a water company (fill your own 18L jug with spring/distilled/RO water). Anyway, sitting in this chair for the last year and a half I've noticed a few regulars, usually based on the car they drive. I really like this car. I have yet to identify it though. I just think it's a fantastic little car. I think it's great when people keep old cars running and in good condition. Who says you need a new car every 5 years.

Success

Just in time for the heat wave, my first batch of homebrew has successfully been finished. I've had a couple of bottles so far, and it turned out surprisingly well. I brewed an Australian Ale, but I have nothing really to compare it to, as I've only ever had a couple bottles of Foster's. Feel free to send in label suggestions for my bottles. My 'brewery' is still nameless as well.
In other news, watching a bunch of skinny guys ride bikes, as my brother puts it, has somehow peaked my interest in biking again. I'd be more of a climber, I think, than a sprinter, which sucks, cuz then I'd have to wear the pink polka dot jersey. What do you think? Will the rider with one nut win yet again???

This past weekend I was caught on film attempting to canoe in some white water. Approximately 3 seconds after this picture was taken I was swimming.

Class action

Hey, if you're into astrology, maybe you can get a piece of this action. Apparently NASA's recent mission, 'Deep Impact', which sent a probe directly into a comet has ruined the cosmic balance of the universe. I have felt slightly off today. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep and excessive coffee consumption of late...

In other news, I killed a spider this morning, and it's been raining ever since. Sorry World, please don't sue me.