December 30th, 2007

Wish Photon was like this…    

Posted by Laura.

Laura Cute vid of cat in bath—who seems happy about it! (via Neatorama)

As opposed to Photon, who spends most of bathtime on her hind legs trying to get out, and so who needs two of us to keep her in the tub.

Comment by James — December 30, 2007 @ 6:16 pm

Cobalt gets almost all her baths at Urban Dog, but we keep getting A+++ report cards about her behaviour. And she’s been very cooperative the few times we’ve bathed her at home.

Has Photon taken to swimming yet?

Comment by Tamiko — December 31, 2007 @ 2:37 pm

I thought it was just our dog, Teagan, who hated baths! She looks like a drowned rat in the bathtub and she makes it known once we let her out that she is NOT happy with us!

Comment by David "Legal Beagle" Barker — January 3, 2008 @ 11:32 am

I had them sign a waiver that I didn’t have to bathe her while they were away. But I still had to take her to see “I Am Legend” because of the dog, and she can’t jump off the couch to get her own tennis wiener, because, as she tells it, it’s too far.

Comment by Laura — January 6, 2008 @ 1:06 pm

The annoying thing is: Photon loves swimming. She’ll plunge into the lake at the cottage for hours. She even likes getting soaked in the rain—maybe not at first, but once wet she’ll get super-energized and happily tear around outside and inside. Even after the bath she doesn’t seem to hold too much of a grudge against us (and that’s saying a lot, since she can certainly hold a grudge!) as she’s too busy rubbing herself on the couch trying to get rid of the shampoo smell.

December 29th, 2007

What Meghan got for Christmas…    

Posted by Peter.

Wii Chores in shrink wrap
Wii Chores, shrinkwrapped

Peter Laura and I (but mainly Laura) faked up the packaging for a Wii game, modelled after one of the ones Nintendo itself created. Erik contributed great hunks of the promotional copy for the back. We inserted the label into a spare DVD case, labelled a DVD inside and added a little instructional handbook (that acutally contained a gift certificate), and with that we had Meghan and Austin hovering between belief and skepticism for a good three minutes. The coup de grace was that I had carefully removed the shrink wrap off of one of Jon’s DVD presents and more or less seamlessly got it on the fake, adding that extra bit of verisimilitude. (Jon was sold; he wanted to play it before we gave it to Meghan.)

Wii Chores front and back cover
Click for larger image

Patti (Meghan’s mom) was right though: the top right chore gave it away. We should have put one of the other chores there, no one would send this to market with the scooping of dog poop so prominently featured.

Wii Chores disk

Comment by aiabx — December 29, 2007 @ 10:40 am

Umm… I want a copy too. Not that anyone around here needs some chore hinting, of course…Oh.. I need a Wii to go with it too.

Comment by Diane K. — December 29, 2007 @ 11:28 am

I’m particularly impressed with the translation into French…or whatever that is.

Comment by Lena Coakley — January 4, 2008 @ 4:58 pm

Hilarious! But you know, I don’t think it’s that far fetched. Have you seen these waitress games like Cake Mania–dealing with nasty customers, getting lousy tips, bussing tables. I love playing, but I always wonder why because I hated waitressing. Yup…I’d play Chores. And the real dishes in my sink would pile higher and higher.

Comment by Mireille — January 5, 2008 @ 3:58 pm

Oh la la! That’s the funniest present (and translation) I’ve seen in years! After spending three days in her pjs playing video games I think I may need Wii Personal Hygiene for Vivi. Kudos to both of you for an amazing idea (but please don’t quit your day jobs and go into marketing or translation).

December 19th, 2007

Continuing the Christmas Theme, on the Broccoli Occarina    

Posted by Peter.

Peter I know only two things about this gentleman. He goes by the name Heita3 on YouTube, and he makes wind instruments out of vegetables.

December 19th, 2007

Photon    

Posted by Jon.

Jon I love my doggy Photon. I like to give Photon some kibbles and I also like to give Photon a kiss and a hug. When I see her I say, “Photon kisses for me”. I like to play ball with her. On Saturday, December 15/07 my daddy is going to help me video tape the ski conditions and the highway conditions.

Jon

December 15th, 2007

The Boy in the Moon, Part 3    

Posted by Peter.

Peter Wow. The final part of the The Boy in the Moon is up, and once again Ian Brown sums it up with grace. This time he touches on the future for his boy, and frankly, maybe our boy too. Get out the Kleenex, but read it.

I’ve been wondering about Jon’s adulthood for his entire life; Laura has too. We’ve never discussed it directly, but have occasionally touched—just grazingly—on it. When I’ve alluded to it in converstation with friends and colleagues, without fully broaching the topic, there’s often a knee-jerk response: “Every parents worries about their kid.” I don’t know how to respond. Is this an attempt to soothe my fears, or do they genuinely not understand the situation? Or not want to, perhaps.

Brown even touches on the Latimer case with very similar thoughts to ours—so much of the analysis I’ve seen over the years strips the case of the context, and the context is the key.

A superb series. Thanks for this, Ian. Give Walker a hug for us.

December 14th, 2007

The Klein Four do The Twelve Days of Christmas    

Posted by Peter.

Peter The Klein Four is a group of mathematics students at Northwestern University, whose cleverness knows no bounds.

Addendum: The original by the even cleverer Straight No Chaser, as mentioned by Reid below:

Comment by Reid — December 16, 2007 @ 11:31 am

You might want to check out the original by Straight No Chaser (as credited by the Klein Four at the end of their video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

It’s a bit longer and more varied. Then again, they have about 10 guys instead of just 5.

Comment by Peter — December 16, 2007 @ 3:23 pm

Oops, thanks Reid! I’ve added the movie to the page!

December 13th, 2007

What’s cuter and grosser than a Pee or Poo doll?    

Posted by Laura.

Roadkill stuffed raccoon

Laura How about roadkill stuffed animals?

Comment by David "Not Throwing Stones" Barker — December 13, 2007 @ 6:26 pm

Cool. Laura’s got a dark side.