E-books turn page on paper - thestar.com

E-books turn page on paper - thestar.com

rumours abound about the new Apple offering, as mentioned in this article, it may be called 'islate' .

i am still considering the merits of a Kindle (amazon) but also as stated, the availability of titles perturbs me.

recent airline troubles also give me pause about purchasing such a machine because on of the biggest reasons for buying it is to travel with in lieu of a dozen or so paper books and then reading whilst in said transit. so, hmmmmm.

will look for news about apple's newest machine as it becomes available.

oh, and in other gripes, my beloved apple has a big character flaw! we here in canada are always getting the short end of the stick, this is a long time reality and well, one must live with it. but this goes beyond just denying us cool services or options on itunes. now it seems that apple is playing with our money. itunes gift cards. a great way for teens and trying to be responsible adults to buy music, videos and ebooks off of their itunes website. iphone and ipod touch apps too would be a natural assumption and alas, never has it been made evident that our itunes cards are different than those sold in the US so, why would anyone think so? turns out, itunes cards in canada only can be used to purchase music, ebooks and video content (films, tv series, ...) and NOT APPS as was their original purpose. i don't buy much music online as i'm happy with what i already have and can procure from elsewhere! so i feel misled and like i've been victim to some sort of false advertising! arggg. Apple i'm disappointed.

kindle competition!

hmmmmmmm, what to do?!?!

http://www.thestar.com/business/companies/apple/article/736899--apple-takes-on-kindle-with-tablet

Kindergarten

what my kindergarten experience has given me is an appreciation for the colours mother nature offers us each morning. that said, i can see them again usually at more respectable hours at the ends of each day as opposed to the dawn.

presently i am replacing in a KG class about 120 KM from where i live. each and every day i travel to and from dutifully in an effort to continue with my private students as well as this other job. to be brief, i'm tired!

i like driving, i love my car. i'm bad at making the best music lists in my car's ipod and or mp3 cd's so i listen to whatever i last made and put in there and while i sing along, it's getting boring. i'm officially taking submissions of cd's or ipod lists for those that care.

my drive takes me all along the st. lawrence river as i continue to drive east/north and even through an indian, er, native canadian/american, er indiginous persons reserve. i'll be safe and just call it, Betsiamites. so i get to go through 2 police territories! it's only notable 'cause on the reserve they don't really stop people so, we all tend to drive a little faster there to make up for time lost behind turtles or big tractor trailers.

it's a beautiful drive, a fun road for the most part and early, there really isn't much traffic. coming home though, it's blinding as i'm driving into the sun and often you can't see the road or lines or anything. makes for some instinctual maneuvering!



each morning, i find myself extra alert for any animals who are on their way to their fave. breakfast spot or watering hole (ha! i get to use that in it's literal meaning!!!) i am terrified of hitting one and killing it or worse injuring it. forget the other drivers or other people to be mindful of! seriously, i so badly wanna see the moose, bears, wolves, groundhogs, foxes ect. that are all over the place but not on the hood of my beloved rav4. that's reason enough to stay alert on the most exhausting of mornings most of the time.

anyways, here's the proof positive of my dawn experiences and that when needed, i can be a morning person but i'll tell y'all, i'm still tired!

Digital book reader, Kindle, now available in Canada

http://www.canada.com/news/Digital+book+reader+Kindle+available+Canada/2231952/story.html

finally!!!!!

it's officially on my b-day / x-mas list along with whatever forms of payment i can get. for amazon and itunes!!!

i love technology!

-r

hallowe'en surpsises!

so, amidst the drama in life these days, was a nice and much needed surprise.Today I had a student in grade 6 who came to me and upon entering, claimed to have 'found' this package on the back of my car.

huh, a likely story.

I accepted the bag from his hands and read the 'warning' lable and corresponding image and decided that i could risk looking at it's contents. (it smelled good so why not?!?)

lo and behold, i found nothing slimy or messy but instead, witches fingers (or troll toes as i think the resemble!)

I've never seen this idea before and i think it's marvelous!!! i was touched by my student's thought of another person (me). i also think these cookies are so simple and very effective for the occasion, i'm surprised i've never seen them before now.

i have every intention to try this another year and pass on the yummy goodness.

btw: shortbread cookies with almonds are yummy!!

maybe bella thinks so too?

the snowman that could!

This morning, it looks like winter!!! Yippee!!! The snow is steadily falling and yet it's warm enough to melt all but the most determined flakes pretty quickly. But today seems to be all about determination since my young neighbours got out there and with not even enough snow to cover the ground really, somehow managed to scrape it from somewhere and build a very respectable bonne homme.

Adding perfectly to the fall colours are the eyes, nose and mouth all in correct orange carrots!

way to go neighbours!!!

**************************************************

as a follow up, today, sunday oct. 25, it was 11 degrees at one point and what snow there was, there is no more alas, the happiness was short lived. one good thing: the new snow suit for Jérémy is now broken in - too well, it acquired 2 holes yesterday with outside playing - more specifics than that are not known at this time and may never be. alas, time to get yet another snow suit for when the season really begins. a tough one!

seasons

One of the cool things about living in Quebec is watching the seasons change. For me, the end of summer brings on a happier time of year with the coming of autumn and winter. I love these seasons for their freshness and easier breathing.

Autumn means alot of yard work, much of which I must admit, we don't bother with. Point in fact: instead of raking this last weekend, we decided to try mowing the lawn to eat up all the leaves and thereby accomplishing 2 tasks at one time. Upon reflection, given that the lawn mower isn't ours, it was maybe a risky idea but it worked more or less as planned but involved many more emptyings of the bag/catch thing than usual.

To help make life easier for our borrowed mower, I also came outside into the beautiful day to rake a few piles of leaves and dispose of them in the traditional manner involving a bin and my hands. At the end of our street is a lake and the road just kind of drops off so most people just take their yard waste and drop it down the slope. I was no different (nor was Daniel with the mower bag thing...) and made many trips that day to help with our decided task. When I made my first trip over to the end, I noticed a group of ducks enjoying the afternoon sun and going 'bottoms up' with a certain glee

.

2 days later a bear was spotted next to my neighbor's house and the local gamekeepers came and tranq'd him/her while the relocated the animal to another safer place for all to be.

Mid-week, we had our first snow and Thursday morning I woke up to a light coating of white outside. It was pretty cool with the still very red berries on the trees and various colours of fall, made for an interesting contrast.

all in all, a fun week to watch the outside in. Now, my next task is to go shopping to find that perfect and most effective (read 'warm') winter jacket. Having returned last years due to faulty craftsmanship, I presently don't have one at all. I know, poor me, shopping just sucks!

From my iPod!

A pic of my and my girls from the last visit to toronto!
-


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My U2 show / experience!

So, where to start? we just got home (like an hour or so ago) and after a big cuddle with my babies (aka the cats) here i am ready to share the U2 experience! firstly the show was awesome. Before and after the show i was on some U2 fan forums and have read some criticisms and opinions both good and bad about the show but, for me it was just awesome and super-duper!

the opening band was snow patrol. they were ok. here in quebec i suspect that they've passed more on the radio than in toronto and i found i knew more of their repetoir than many others around me, excluding the few quebecois we encountered not far away. below, see a pic of 2 members of the band 'having a moment'. in general, the skydome stayed about half full until after they finished and then people began to stream in to get ready to welcome U2 for the 2nd performance.

Another fun thing about the evening was the fact that the skydome - ahem, sorry, i mean rogers centre, was open. it's apparently the 2nd time in history that it has been open for a concert. (bruce springsteen being the first...)

an open roof permitted us to watch the cn tower as the sun set and then as it lit up. i read the next day that 'the edge' (guitarist U2) reportedly asked who was playing the cn tower on the same night as them since the colours often fit with their own lighting/effects scheme and songs. truly it was awesome and there are a few pics of that peppered amongst the others from the show here. enjoy!

this is a pic of me, waiting - PATIENTLY- for the show to begin. to pass the time after this was taken, i went 'shopping' for t-shirts and found 2 we liked!

before we descended the steps/levels to the GA (general admission) area where the (red)zone and we were located was, we got to see the set and 'claw' stage design from afar. while it's been dubbed 'the claw' it's actually supposed to resemble the bottom of a space ship with it's supports/feet out.

this was the line to get in on our special entrance side. not bad eh?

Bono during the first song.
bono again
one of the effects just before the band took the stage.
cn tower, pretty!
the happy couple during snow patrol. I must say, we met some fun people where we were standing and it made the show that much better for the atmosphere was jovial and there were no 'crazies' or angry people as i hear there were in other places. it appears to be some question as to the etiquette of cameras at shows. typically now, we can take non-professional cameras into shows but people tend to always have them up in the air obstructing other people's views or shots. personally i found it annoying that the taller guy in front of us was always taking video and shots of the same things i was and wished he'd give his cam. a break every so often like i did. but some people get a little crazy about it and complain and make issue with it it seems.

i got lucky with were we were able to stand for the show. one of the benefits of the type of tickets we had was that there was a special section for us reserved at the catwalk of the stage, but we were also permitted to enter the 'inner circle' or 'golden circle' where the die hard fans try to be and where there is the most possible interaction with the band and show. when we arrived, there was tons of space in the inner circle so we advanced there and got oh so close! yes, it was awesome. maybe Bono saw me?!?!?!?

more pics later but there's a start on the night!

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The lead guy from snow patrol (name to come later) opening for U2!!!!
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Here @ the gate and waiting to open up. Have been part of an amnesty international petition so far and received a thing since we have a blackberry .... So far so good!
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U2 kids! Tickets in hand now we must wait till gates open! Yahoo!!!!
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So while travelling to toronto we noticed the first red and yellow leaves on the trees. Now while the full fall swing of colours is a way off, this still Portents the end of summer, something I always rejoice like most people do with winter so, here's to the start of autumn and the fresh air to come!!!
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annual camping weekendinthe

Every year, Daniel's gang of friends get together for a week or weekend of camping. Most of these people have been in the gang since high school or there-abouts. the newbies are mostly the girl friends/boyfriends added over the years to the core group of people. i am one of the last ones to enter the group.

most years, they organise a theme or some challenge to add 'spice' to the planning and activities. this summer it was the

'mustache challenge'. People like Daniel's

brother seem to be un-furry in the face department but then there are others - like daniel, who 12 hours and they have a respectable forest pushing out of their skin. Daniel let it grow all week and had quite a scratchy face and on Friday, before leaving, he shaved all off but the 'stache. he hated the look

I

added a similar effect for Jérémy since it seemed

only fair to include him in the fun!

Now, of course, like with all things planned months in

advance (to permit for people to plan their vaca. dates/times....) the weather decided to Not cooperate and we had a tolerable first evening with time to set off the fireworks and roast some marshmallows, drink, make toast on the fire and take dumb photos; but at roughly 2am it

decided to pour - thus sending the group still up and at the fire to their tents to finally close their eyes

with their girlfriends! It was after a few hours of listening to the rain fall and h

it the tent roof that i decided that it must be what popcorn in the microwave bags must feel like! it was almost the same ceaseless sound and kept sleep at bay until at ab

out 6am i thumped Daniel in the chest and sweetly asked if we could go home and sleep for a few hours in the dryness of our bed. he and jérémy thought that this was a fine idea and we ran for the car and 15 mins later, i was cozy in bed with the kitties - peace at last! i think i'll hold off on making popcorn for awhile though.

it then rained all day and around brunch time we returned to the chalet and made lunch and proceeded to pass the time indoors - all 15 of us. Scattergories, word games as a group and Jérémy with daniel went out to spend time in the lake in a pedal bo

at - why not?

all in all it was a damp bu

g infested time but we had fun. there were dogs, kids and more bugs as well as a few moments to be outside and play horseshoes and football.

oh, did i mention the bugs? they bit through jeans and other pants all along thighs and bums in camping chairs making us all scratch in embarrassing ways but we were all doing it so, that's life!

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I'm here @ kiss!!!
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End of June family party all bundled up!
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Smoke Show - blech!

Here's a rant for ya.

Last weekend, Forestville was host to the 'forestvill toasté' event. Junior hockey ass'n sort of asked/obliged us to volunteer for the event in the food area - hotdogs and beer.... so dragging our feet a little, we went. I was curious about what a smoke show was, explanations hinted at cars doing some simple stunts while spinning their tires and it gave off a fair amount of smoke.

Once there, we discovered that the price for entry was a whopping $15 which is more than most events cost out here. luckily (?) we were volunteering and so, got in for free.

It seemed that I was an extra volunteer and not immediately needed so while daniel got to the hotdogs and started cooking, i stood around and looked to see what all the fuss was about. what a disappointment.

What the show was all about was smoke. ok, i can deal with that but, the smoke was created by cars/trucks/ 4x4's... coming into the 'ring', some being attached by a strap to ensure that they didn't move too much and then spinning their back tires until they popped or shredded and sent pieces of hot rubber out into the coughing and applauding crowd.

My big problem here was first that i saw women with strollers and very young children at the show - with faces in the smoke! (it was tough to avoid it due to changing wind directions...) also, all the kids in general present standing on benches to see better and be in the clouds of burn rubber stinking smoke and also, that it was the junior hockey ass'n as well as the local gymnastics club that did the majority of jobs to be done at an event like that. what kind of model are we giving to our kids to support such a stupid, unhealthy and terrible event?

this town is called forestville. kinda inspires thoughts of nature, trees, healthy living....
in our 'newspaper' we see lots of stuff about recycling, govm't subsidies for various earth healthy projects ect. happening in our area. Then, there's this contradiction of a show happening. it polluted out air, i mean, there's a reason why we cant just burn our old tires in the back yard when we want to now isn't there? what do they think was happening when the tires were spinning and creating sparks (and fire in 2 instances) and smoking? i'm sure someone somewhere thought it must be good for our ozone layer!

This was a disgusting example of 'fun' at an irresponsible price and i am ashamed to live in a place that would host this kind of activity! I know that these things happen all over the place and probably too in toronto, but i my case, my ignorance was bliss and for every activity, there had to be people opposing it (that's life in the city folks!) but here, no one seems to have said 'boo' about this.

photos: various machines participating, the snow mobile was turned on and revved at full capacity at the same time as the pick-up under it. note the debris on the tarmac that had to be swept off to the side after almost each vehicle!

gross and very sad are my last comments about this particular experience of life out here. maybe i'll go plant a few trees next week to feel better about what i witnessed last week.

track and field comp.

Jérémy competed in his first track and field competition a few weeks ago. This was his first time, he was among the youngest competitors and it was cold while we were there - despite it being very warm and pleasant in Forestville.

While there are no pics of his sprints (due to photographer stupidity!), the javellin ones are here for posterity!

here are a few photo highlights from then, all taken on my cell phone so, don't diss the quality!

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An email entry test!
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groundhog day?!

A happy ground hog looking for his spring home (or so daniel tells me) and in my back yard! i don't think he found a way into the wood pile though and he moved on to another place to look :0( but still, it was fun to watch him check out the possible 'digs'!

this was on the weekend and now today there's pretty much no snow left around the wood so we're beginning to look like spring finally!