The Zealots Come Out

The iPhone 5 was released to the public this past week.  Have we become desensitized to the crowds of barely sane fanboys camping out and begging Apple to take their money.  It doesn’t matter whether the product is off the charts or a small improvement over the last iteration.

The iPhone 5 looks like, well all the other iPhones, just stretched a bit.  I’ve been reading a lot about how Apple isn’t innovative anymore, only cautiously making small improvements over previous versions of a product.  I read a very interesting article on the problem of being Number 1 in the Globe and Mail.  You can check it out here.  The long and short is that Apple had nothing to lose before, but now it has to think about stockholders and protecting its’ market share.  Very interesting stuff.

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t hate Apple.  I do find the Apple phenomenon a very interesting psychological study in fanaticism and mob like behaviour though.  I can’t remember a company making products that sell for so much money and having so many people be so eager to buy them sight unseen simply because of who makes it.  The other part of the puzzle is people buying expensive goods because other people they know have one.  “Why did you choose an iPhone?” “Because that’s what everyone is using.”  Fascinating stuff.

Technorati Tags: apple,fanatics,iPhone 5

The Weekend I Never Wanted To End

We have had some of the best Fall weather I can remember this hear.  The past week or so, we’ve had consistent daytime highs in the mid to high 20’s.  I can’t believe I’ve been able to wear shorts and a t-shirt everyday when usually I’m choosing which sweater and jacket combo to wear.  This is the first year I’ve lived up here that we haven’t had snow by the middle of the month.

The long and short is that I’ve been spending some time outside and I’ve taken quite a few pictures.  Jen and I went for a walk on the Fish Creek Community Trail on Sunday and I took some photos.  I can’t wait until we can add smells to pictures.  If these photos had the smell of dried leaves that was in the air, you’d know exactly what I’m talking about.

The Hunger Game

I've been on the Weight Watchers (WW) program for just over a week.  I joined because Jen was on the program and I thought it would make it easier if we were both on the same page.  Its tough to not eat certain foods when the person beside you is chowing down.  Second, I put on a bit of weight over the summer and could use to lose the chub.  Besides, my Mother-in-law has had tremendous success on the program.

I thought that WW would be a breeze.  I mean, their advertisements say how you can eat all of your favourite foods and have a wonderful life.  They lie.  Don't get me wrong.  If you love eating carrots and celery and your favourite drink is water, you can eat yourself retarded.  However, if you like...well, real food, then not so much.  The way the program works is that you get a certain number of points for food each day.  Everything but fruits, vegetables and water has a points cost.  Your goal is to end the day without going over your points limit.  You do get a pool of points to be used throughout the week on splurges or when you want to feel full some day.  You can also earn more points by exercising.

What I have learned during my first week on WW:

1.  WW hates anything with a carb in it.  I spend a quarter of  my daily points on oatmeal (not the instant kind) and a glass of skim milk in the morning.  Forget having a piece of toast.  That's just crazy talk.

2.  You must like chicken.  Any other kind of meat will send you over the deep end.  I used almost half of my daily points on a pork chop the other day. Come on! I have to exercise for two hours to eat a pork chop?  No more of those in my life.

3.  It doesn't matter how many carrots, apples or celery sticks you eat, they don't keep you full.  If somebody tells you different, kick them in the shins and stuff some broccoli in their gaping pie hole.  I am generally hungry every hour.  I mean hungry.  Like I will start gnawing on the bark of a nearby tree kind of hunger. 

4.  I am a miserable S.O.B. when I'm hungry all of the time.  Sorry Jen.

In short, I'm on the third world diet.  I'm stuck eating roots and berries and water with no bread to be found.  I don't want to eat the family goat because I'll starve the rest of the week.  I can't believe that I'm paying to give up the first world diet that my ancestors worked so hard to let me enjoy.

 

Flatutastic

An interesting side effect of my WW experience is that I am eating ridiculous amounts of fruits and vegetables.  As you may or may not know, these are very high in fibre.  This has made me more gassy than the Hindenburg.  I sound like a bloody motor boat walking around the house.  I may actually feel sorry for my little darlings at school this year.  You know, I'm not above blaming the little ones for dropped bombs in the classroom if someone smells it.

I'll try and give periodic reports on my standing in the Hunger Game.  So far, I'm losing badly and someone is likely to pick me off in my weakened condition.

Technorati Tags: Weight Watchers,hunger

First Day Follies

I found out yesterday that I was going to be teaching a straight Grade 1 class this year.  To say the least, this class is…challenging.  However, I went in with an optimistic attitude and gave them aa clean slate.

The little darlings were golden up to recess. I thought that I had hit the jackpot and all the little cherubs had grown up over the summer.  I was very abruptly made aware of my mistake after recess. One little fellow who comes from an environment where structure is in short supply started flopping and rolling around on the carpet.  After repeated warnings he acted up further.  I put on my serious teacher face and asked him if he would like to remain with his friends in the classroom.  Children always answer yes because they don’t like to be singled out.  This little fella just smiled, SMILED and said “No”.  Damn!  What was I supposed to do?  I couldn’t be thwarted by a six year old on the  first day of class.  I quickly turned it around and told him “Too bad.  Sit still and be quiet!”

Then, just before lunch I heard a wailing from the far side of the classroom.  I walk over to see two students standing beside the pencil sharpener.  The little girl  is sobbing like her dog died and the little boy (the same one from the last paragraph) is looking pretty unconcerned.  I asked what happened and the little girl said “He hurt my hand with the pencil sharpener!”  Seriously?  In five years of teaching, I’ve never had anyone hurt by the pencil sharpener.  I looked at the boy and he explains that he said sorry like that should resolve the whole matter.  Upon further questioning it seems that the girl had stuck her finger into the pencil sharpener and the little boy decided he’d give it a few cranks to see what would happen.  I had to give them both what for.  One for the bone head move of sticking her finger in a pencil sharpener and the other for trying to sharpen her finger.

The afternoon was much calmer.  I only had to make a couple of kids sit out of gym for being little turds. 

I told Jen that she had better take a good look at my hair, because its going to be a lot greyer by the end of this year.

Thank God its Friday! 

Pretty Amazing

 

I just thought I’d pass this video on.

 

The End is Nigh

I’m sitting on the couch this morning savouring the last day of summer vacation.  The past few years at this time, I’ve been trying to soak up the end of summer because the past couple of months had been…well, less than satisfying.  Last year I worked all summer.  The year before that we had moved into the house and I had a load of stuff to fix (and Jen had been fallen on by a horse).

I sit here this year savouring summer because it has been SO DAMN GOOD!  We accomplished a lot on the house.  We have painted the kitchen and installed new light fixtures.  We had an amazing trip down to Vancouver Island where we saw lots of friends, saw lots of new places and had heaps of good times.  Finally, we did a mini-reno on the basement.  We painted, put in new carpet and bought new furniture.

 

So, I’m satisfied with my summer and ready to go back to work.  Let’s face it, two and a half months is a long time to go without a paycheck and I look forward to contributing to society again.