Author: gfox (old content)

Gate Behind

Yesterday when we got home from work we discovered that we had forgotten to close the gate at the top of the stairs, and Yoshi had spent most of the day on our bed. This happens occasionally, and the worst part is that we need to change the bed due to all the dog hair/sand/dirt he leaves behind.

Yesterday was a little different. Sox discovered he had pawed at the bed at some point and had torn the duvet cover (not so bad since it was very old and thin and already had holes), and had torn the duvet a little (that is bad). After duct taping the hole closed we decided to leave it like that for a bit, and sew it a little later.

Bad dog!

Detectors Linked

After we moved into our new house, we had an electrician come by and wire in some smoke detectors. The one in the basement is a combo smoke/CO2 detector.

Yesterday we had an opportunity to test them in the most glorious manner. Sox was blow drying her hair, and I think some dust dislodged from inside the dryer, hit the heating coil and burned. The downstairs smoke detector went off and started beeping. Then I head it talking “Fire …. fire”. The next thing that happened was the upstairs one went off as well. The two detectors are linked together. Cool!

Unfortunately for Yoshi he hates loud noises. Unfortunately for me the front door was open and he bolted. When I next saw him he was heading down the sidewalk away from the house, two houses down.

LOTD – Bikes Stunning

This post is all about bikes. It is a bunch of links to cool/interesting bikes I have found on the net.


This advanced looking bike features an onboard computer that collects data about how you ride, in order to help you ride better.
via Gizmodo


This wooden frame biek simply looks gorgeous. I can’t imagine the longevity of the frame though. Headtubes on metal bikes oval over time. Wood is pretty soft in comparison. Still, it is a stunning looking bike.
via BoingBoing

Now for the city dwellers, come a couple interesting ideas.


This folding bike looks extremely simply to use. Arrive at your destination, fold it up, wheel it around. Nice.
via BoigBoing


This bike has a locking mechanism built into it. Ride up to the bike rack and snap it in. No reason to carry an extra lock.
via Gizmodo


This looks like a fun stroller/bike combo unit. Looks like a stable way to carry a couple kids to daycare, or to the park … once they have their helmets on.
via Gizmodo


This looks like oit would be a blast to ride off road. At our local trails we have some excellent fireroads this thing would rip on. Not so sure about the trails though.
via BoingBoing

Replacement Transition

Last weekend I had a few minutes to spare, so my daughter and I headed out to Petsmart to get some new fish for the tank. Unfortunately the big Platy I had that had grown from a baby had just died. I was hoping to get some friends for him, but ended up getting a replacement.

Before visiting the store I had two Albino Cory’s, two Leopard Danio’s, and a Tequila Sunrise Guppy. I ended up buying two more fancy Guppies, and two Sunburst Platy’s. The guppies are a beautiful blue color, with bright red tails. The Platy’s are a softer orange, with a black spot on the tail, but one of them didn’t make the transition. In total I now have 8 fish in my 30 gallon tank.

The extra fish in the tank make a huge difference. The whole tank seems much more alive and full of movement. It is awesome having the bigger tank.

Now, to get those crayfish from my co-worker!

Double Push

Last night was supposed to be a double header at Ulti, but I was only able to stay for the first game. It was a great game though.

Before the game, the team showed up early and we got in a good warm up. We did a drill called three man that was good for getting handlers to remember to break their mark. At game time we only had 2 subs while the other team had what looked like 9.

We played well on a near windless night. My throws were pretty good, although I did lead one guy a little too much. He had made a break for the end zone which was perfectly timed with me getting the disc. I had an opening and put the disc up high in front of him. As it was coming down I could see he was a couple steps too far behind it and wouldn’t be able to catch up.

Defensively I was pretty solid. My running legs felt strong, and I never felt mismatched against an opponent. I even managed to block a couple throws.

We even used the opportunity to work on our zone coverage. This was good to do since it helped everyone remember the different positions and what they are supposed to do there. One thing I like about Ulti is learning. It still seems like every game I am learning something new. Putting that into practice during the game is the hard part.

I was even able to incorporate a push pass for a point into the game. Whenever I warm up I try to practice every throw I know, including the push pass. This is a short distance pass, and isn’t very safe. I had the disc right in front of the end zone line. We were about to score and my mark was forcing me home. A teammate passed my mark on the break side, and cut to the home side. I saw him coming and would have had to turn more to do a flick, so instead I did a quick push pass which happened to work out since he caught it for the point.

At the end of the game I packed up, and as I was walking back to the truck I was very happy with how I had played. I felt great too, and was sure I could have played another game. God thing we have a few more double headers later in the season.

Racers Frustrated

When you have two young children, and you get time off from parenting, you always want to make free time count. Today there was a DH race out at the dump, and since I wasn’t going to be racing in it, I thought it would be fun to go take some pictures.

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t block off enough time. I hiked up the course, and took a few photos along the way. A few racers went by, but then there was a huge break. I kept watching the time but it was quickly fading. I needed to be home because Sox had an engagement today too. Reluctantly I started heading down to my truck.

Along the way I talked with a couple other spectators, and one of them told me that there was a 10 minute break between the different classes of racing. 🙁 Sucky. Driving home I was extremely frustrated and angry. I had just wasted a couple hours, and hadn’t really enjoyed myself at all. Such a disapointment. Here are some of the pics I did take though.


Sand Sight

I finished off the sandbox yesterday. At 8 in the morning, as we were thinking about getting ready for swim lessons, Sue thought I should call the sand place and see what time they opened. They were already open, so I went and picked up a half yard of sand.

In the afternoon after assembling our new wheelbarrow, I hauled it from the truck and dumped it in the sand box. Success!

We were having some friends over for dinner that night, but before they arrived, Sprout was out playing and digging. After dinner my son, our friends two kids, and the neighbours daughter and her friend were all in the sandbox diggin and playing.

It was a glorious sight! All my worrying about a less than perfect sandbox flew away.

Here is the final construction pictures.


Movie Inclination

Friday my mom was down looking after the kids, and she stayed Friday night. This allowed Sox and I to get out for a bit on Friday evening.

We were wanting to go see the new Star Trek movie since it came out, so that was our choice. After buying out tickets we headed to Kelsey’s for a drink. We didn’t watch the clock close enough, and ended up having to down the drinks pretty quick.

The movie itself was awesome. If you have any inclination, I would recommend going to see it, even if you weren’t a Star Trek fan.

I was actually glad I got to see the previews too. The trailers for both GI Joe and Transformers 2 looked awesome. I can’t wait for those ones to come out.

Sand Imperfections

On the way home from work today I stopped at Rona to get the rest of the supplies needed for the sandbox. I grabbed a few 2X6’s, and some landscaping fabric.

I built the framework I needed, and laid the fabric down. It is done as I can make it without filling it with sand.

Unfortunately some of the angles with the cement pad mad cutting the wood difficult. This has left a couple gaps in places. Turns out that I am more of a perfectionist than I thought. Right now the imperfections are bugging me, but time is running out. Also, I don’t have the tools, nor the know-how to fix these small imperfections.

I know that in a while it won’t matter, and I know the kids are going to have lots of fun in it, but I can’t help but be a little disappointed. I want it to be perfect for my kids.