Things That Make Rob Go Whhaaaatt??

Rob is not an environmentalist.  He'll burn pressure treated wood, plastic, and styrofoam in the fireplace,  he constantly puts things in recycling that don't belong there, or put recyclables in the garbage.  He hates the compost bins.  While Rob does love the outdoors, he's not about to go chain himself to a tree, or put solar panels on the roof.

I'm not about to chain myself to a tree either, but my geography background involved learning about the environment here, and around the world, and how people and their environment interact.  I have learned about the environmental plights of people around the world.

Recently, we were watching the news, and a story came on that I thought would be interesting.  An area of Kenya was getting home water filters that would mean potable water without boiling it first.  In order to boil water, women and children must first collect or buy firewood.  This is a significant use of their time and meager financial resources.  My first thoughts about eliminating the need to boil water is about the local environmental and financial savings, and of course about the health benefits to potable water (as unsafe water is a HUGE cause of illness and death).  The announcer though, made comments regarding the significant reduction of CO2 emissions from less wood burned.

Of course, the next question is cost.  The announcer said these families were getting the filters installed for free.  Wowee.  Who's footing the bill for this?!  The world's largest producers of CO2 emissions.  Yes, sirree bob!  By buying into this program, these companies can ease their guilt and improve their social standing...while still producing just as much CO2 emissions! 

On one hand, this is awesome.  Getting some of the world's largest companies to use some of their profits to fund development projects around the world is great.  Share the wealth.  For sure.  And this is a great device--minimal investment with outstanding results.  But wouldn't it be great if those companies would also reduce their CO2 as well?  Or just pay for these filters out of the goodness of their corporate hearts, not as a way to reduce their carbon footprint on PAPER only.

Edit to add:  I forgot to include WHY Rob went "Whhhhaaaatt?!".  LOL.  Despite having been in manufacturing, and the plastics industry, and not particularly caring about the environment, local or foreign, even he could seen the absurdness of this venture.  LOL.

Things That Make Me Go Mmmmm?

I finally got around to signing Meg up for swimming lessons since we moved back here.  It's a fairly "new" facility, popular with young families (despite the lack of a family change room).  There is a "parent and tot" class before Meg's and one during her class.  I've noticed that a lot of the new moms (the babies have to be 6 months old) are quite slender, compared to the new moms I've seen in Orangeville.  Maybe cause there's way more fitness/health opportunities here.  Anyway, many of the moms of the older kids are quite slender too.  But of course, not all. 
For week 5, parents are invited to get in the pool with their child.  I thought this was a cool idea; we never had that in O'ville.  But what surprised me?  The skinny moms stayed on deck and the fluffy moms got in the pool.  Fascinating.

The other thing I've noticed?  The strollers.  OMG.  It's crazy!  Those babies, as I said, are 6+months, yet many of them come in, in the carseat in the stroller.   It's surprising, since the parking lot is not big, and they have to wait for a small elevator.  Not only that, but strollers are allowed on the pool deck (you have to go through the showers to get on deck, there's no way to stay dry!).  Some of these siblings of swimmers spend an hour (or more) in their carseats and/or stroller.  Some are bundled up for the outside weather.  It's not surprising that many of them are cranky!  And the ones that aren't cranky have a zoned-out look.  There is one toddler that is allowed to roam the deck, and he is the most happy, bubbly child there.  Co-incidence?

Your Local School Board

The local school board publishes a calendar full of lots of usefull info about the schools, and of course, multicultural awareness.  For example, for the month of May, here is the list of important days:

Wesak
International Day of Families
International Day Against Homophobia
World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
Victoria Day
Declaration of the Bab
National Missing Children's Day
Ascension of Baha u Ilah
Asion Heritage Month
South Asian Heritage Month
Speech Language Hearing Month

Mmmm.   See any familiar North American "holiday" missing for May?

Absorbant Minds

(How can I change the background colour of the typing area?  Not what shows once it's posted, but right now, the background is dark grey and I can't see the cursor).

Back at Christmas Meg was having a lot of trouble with getting to sleep.  Most nights she stayed up on the couch with me, while I watched TV.  I chose shows that were okay to watch while she was there, but hopefully, not too engaging....like Dr. Oz.  What 5 year is going to watch, and absorb, Dr. Oz at 11:30pm?

Meg.  That's who. 

Last night I was cleaning her toilet with some cheap  children's shampoo.  She asked why I was using that shampoo.  I said cause it was cheap and not a good shampoo.  She says "Yeah, Dr. Oz says not to use watery type shampoo, you need to use creamy shampoos".

She can remember THAT, but not to not stand on the arm of the couch?!

Jason McCoy Concert

I don't remember listening to any particular type of music while growing up, we listened to just about anything it seemed. In high school, I was a strange mix of hippyness, rocker, 80s stuff, but no country. I had a good friend who did listen to/sing country and people teased him and called him "Dwight (Yoakum)" and "Randy (Travis)" and I never really understood who they were referring to. Later on, I started to date him, in June 1991, in the early days of "New Country" and I was in for some major eye opening...and ear opening, LOL. New Country was cool! The singers were hot! The jeans were tight! When we broke up in 1995, I kept listening to country, as well as popular music.

I don't know when I first heard of Jason McCoy. Surely I had heard of him before "The Road Hammers" (2005). Looking at his album/song list, his first was in 1989, before I knew about country. The first songs on the list that I recognize are from 1994-1995 (so why did he have a mullet?!) but I wasn't a big fan back then (I'll admit I wasn't; there was something holding me back...the mullet, the too slick sound combined with the mullet and forced styling?  Something just didn't jive with me.) The first song I really liked was "Still", from 2003. What a difference in those 9 years!

When I heard that he was having a "concert" here in Whitby, at a small dinner theater, I jumped at getting tickets. I had no idea what the show would be like...then I started watching his "Monday Minute" videos on YouTube and got more and more excited. It's a concert, but interactive. I still didn't know exactly what it'd be like until it started. We walked into the theater and to our table....FRONT ROW, off to the right. We later learned that it holds only 150 people for shows like this. Wow. The show is unlike a regular concert, and I suspect the small theater makes an impact too, much easier for audience interaction. We really loved the slide show of personal photos of his (and his wife's) youth. He's a great example of how you never know how someone will turn out during those awkward teen years, LOL. I wish I had gotten a photo of one of those screen shots, LOL. He started out singing along while his early videos played on the screen. It was awesome to see the contrast between the confident, handsome man on stage, and the young guy in the videos. I had guessed he was around my age, but watching those videos made me wonder when he had gotten his start, so I found him on Wikipedia and was stunned to see that while he was indeed my age, he was MUCH older than I thought in the early videos...around 25-27!
It just goes to show what an impact facial hair and dentistry can make! LOL (I'll admit I have a thing for country singers with facial hair....Tim McGraw and Gary Allan....oh my! Perhaps that's why I don't really remember Jason's early songs?).

Some parts of the show were interactive with video of other people. Here he is with Johnny Reid in the background. Now, you know he's not there live, and that Jason has done this "routine" at all the other concerts, but his personality REALLY shines and it sounds fresh and not contrived/routine at all. Jason is really funny! Not in a "Have you heard the one about...." but with a true love of life, ability to see life as funny, a quick wit, etc. Now, I will say, I was a little surprised at the number of seniors at the show, and perhaps some of the jokes about Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan went over their heads, but everything else was funny. It was great to see him interact with the audience.

Here's a short clip of Duelling Banjos (despite that he's not playing a banjo):

It was a fabulous show. I would have loved to hear even more music, but getting to "know" him a little bit more was also REALLY, REALLY cool. Not to mention just getting out with Rob for the night, LOL. If you get the chance, check out his YouTube channel and watch some of his Monday Minutes! Even better, go to a show! I can't guarantee that it'd be the same in a large theater, but music is music and it will still be great!

Editing

Why is it, no matter how many times I hit enter to get a blank line, between paragraphs, none ever show up?!

No Need to Get Cranky

So, I actually got a comment on my last post. I can't get "copy and paste" to work, but you can go back to the last post and read it yourself. I've got it in a window so I can comment along... "Yu know those ebil monitors you and your ilk go on about--they would have detected a problem". Not necessarily. My last two births were monitor-free, so, Mother X, you can't assume she would have had a monitor on. Having an "ebil" (LOL, I think she means 'evil') monitor on probably did save my son's life, so to say I think they are 'ebil' just shows that you're here to troll and create controversy, because obviously you haven't read my birth stories! LOL. So, no feathers ruffled here (and gah, "ebil" is used more than once, and who is "your ilk"?). Monitors can be a very useful tool, but they are also over-used and studies have shown that they have probably led to more c-sections than were necessary due to poor readings and impatient doctors. If the labour is progressing normally, there is no reason to use a monitor continuously, and intermittent use doesn't always co-incide with when there is trouble happening. So, Mother X, to assume that being in a hospital would have prevented the death, shows that you have blinders on. Babies DO die in the hospital. "...people like you who refuse to see the benefit of medicine..." Oh, get real, LOL. Once again, her ignorance is showing. I have open files at 3 different medical doctors currently--cardiologist, endocrinologist, and family doctor. I used to have an OB/GYN and an internist before we moved. To say that I don't see the benefit of medicine would imply that I should have "let" my father die after his heart attack, or that I should ignore my hypertension, or that I should just suffer the consequences of Hashimotos Disease rather than seek MEDICAL attention. LOL. The woman wasn't having a home birth because she valued the "story" of her birth more than the health of her baby. She had a homebirth because for most of the world, it is the safe, normal, natural way to give birth. She had no indications that there would be trouble. Some women are willing to trust birth and accept any risks because they know the chances are so remote that there will be a problem. Other women won't accept even the slightest risk and feel that a hospital is the best choice (although it should always be noted that a hospital is NOT fail-safe). No woman should be insulted, belittled, or interrogated because of whichever choice she makes. Especially not a woman who has just suffered a loss like this. And, for what it's worth, I didn't SAY that Dr. Amy said that the mother had turned the birth/death into a spiritual event, I said that the mother had said that and Dr Amy interpreted it (to suit herself). So, my final comment still holds true. How is Dr Amy's post going to help the mother deal with her grief? How does it even further her "birth is a medical crisis" ideology? It's not about home birth vs hospital birth, Mother X totally missed that. The woman could have had (and many do) the EXACT same feelings about her son's death, no matter WHERE THE BABY WAS BORN.