We're off to see the wizard...

I was away last week to give a presentation to an industry group...crazy weather. One night it was bloody cold, then next morning it was pouring rain, then later it was the WINDIEST ever. It was so powerful, that I was literally stopped in my tracks and could not move forward. At some points I felt as though I could have been lifted right off the ground. I was right downtown, so it could have been a 'wind-tunnel' effect.

Later that day, there were two massive 40+ car pileups that resulted in several deaths as a result of freezing rain on the major highways. Luckily I had taken the train down and I continued home without incident...

A is now just eating like a bird. I swear that all she lives on it milk and the occasional (like one or two a day) snack. She's been really "two" the past week or so. I guess that's why kids are so cute. E was speaking French for us a few days ago...WOW...he has an AMAZING accent. And he has a lot of vocabulary as well!!!

We are trying to move the closing dates up on all the deals for our house and the new house so that we can move in the beginning of July rather than August...we'll see!!!

I finally installed my fuel computer in my car. It should be significantly better on gas and more powerful too...I know, I know...I'm crazy. Installing it involved contortionist types of manoevering and painful crouched positions for several hours in the cold. I love soldering in the winter. Really. I do. I guess that's why I bought a bunch of speakers on eBay as well and I'll need to solder them in too...

House is conditionally sold!!!

194,500 with a closing date of August 4! Normal conditions are on it.

YAY!

TWO offers!

Well, last night two offers came in. Nothing amazing, but reasonable. One was 190, the other was 192 (we listed at 194,900). They both had reasonable and normal conditions like: the appliances are in good working order, house inspection, financing, etc. The higher offer wants an earlier closing date that we don't think we can agree to. The place we are buying has an August 4th date, so that's what we have to go with until we receive something in writing from the sellers.

We decided that since it is only six (!!!!) days after listing, we will counter-offer high at 194,500 with an August 4th closing date. If they walk away, oh well. There is still 6 months!

The bug brothers rock!!!

The Bug Brothers!

--> Click this --> What Japanese bug are you???


This is me:

You're a DANGOMUSHI (roly-poly; pill bug)! You are friendly and playful and often the life of the party. You have a good self-esteem and are proud of your body. However, you are a chicken at heart and abhor fighting. You would rather be seen as a coward than result to violence. You delight in novelties and don't mind being seen as one.

and more and more showings and the house inspection

So, I went around the new place with the inspector yesterday. No major issues. There is some exterior caulking to fix, a railing to go on the stairs off the deck. Not too much really. There was a minor crack in the foundation, but no evidence of moisture. We'll just have it sealed as soon as we move in as a preventative measure, unless it only goes a short way down the wall. If the latter is the case, I'll just parge the outside and monitor it for changes.

I took a lot more pictures...so some will be posted here within a few days.

We had another showing last night, one this morning and then another is scheduled for Wednesday (repeat showing!). There is one family that wants to move in mid-July, which works fine for us. We can move July 1 at the earliest to keep E in school.

Anyone can post comments here now!

Anyone can post comments here now! I just activated the word verification feature.

Comment away!

T

And more house showings!

There were two on Saturday and another on Sunday. One of the people through on Saturday requested another showing after asking some questions about the furnace and the roof age. The furnace was new in 2002. Roof is original except for one small part. We had priced it with these things in mind, so I don't think it will be too much longer. The people through on Sunday stayed for over an hour, so that's good too!!!

Yesterday, E had his bday party at the Sci/Tech Museum.. It was a blast (haha).

We are going to attend the other house's inspection this afternoon. I'll stay for the whole thing and the fam will just come for a little bit. There is another showing tonight at 7-8!!

More showings and some feedback.

So, one woman came through and thought it needs 15,000 in windows and carpet. Well, maybe. If we installed 24 karat gold windows and silk carpets. Maybe realistically it could be 8,000. Whatever. She's obviously not interested. She'll see that we priced ours with that in mind anyway.

The next person through was from out of town...like 'country' folk out of town. They thought that the traffic was too loud. There is a street about 150 metres away. Pretty far if you ask me. Why are they moving into the city if they are complaining about traffic noise that is so far? Oh well.

The next one after that hasn't commented at all.

So, we have two more showings on Saturday (tomorrow) and one on Sunday. It's certainly making us keep our place very tidy. I just spent the better part of two evenings steam cleaning the main floor carpets. I hope that they will dry in time for the viewings...otherwise I'll just leave a note to take off their socks and then dry their feet with a papertowel when they leave... ;-) H has been sick, so she is working as hard as she can to keep it clean...but I know she's exhausted.

A didn't nap today. Man, she was cranky all evening. She's very two.

E got some money from H's Nana and my parents and bought a "Pokeball" which has a whole bunch of blocks in it which can be used to build all kinds of different Pokemon characters. He's very excited and built two already tonight. EDIT: E also bought a Batman book for his Leap Pad and has been playing it almost constantly. Thanks guys!

House showings!!!!

We have two showings tonight. Wow! It was only listed this morning.

The first is at 5 pm and the second at 7:30 pm.

We are going to do a house inspection on the other place on Monday. I'll be accompanying the inspector.

fish stuff

The tank has been driving me nuts. Lots of algae for the past 2 months.












So we bought two of these cute little Brazilian filter-feeding shrimp. They are siiiiiiiick (as the kids say these days). They seemed to help, but there is still lots of suspended algae.














Awwwwwww....what a cute little hand in the rainbow.

Wow - 2 posts in one day...

OK, so it has been a long time again. Work has been crazy busy. I have been stressed. I gained about 10 pounds...did a lot of sleeping (or feeling sleepy anyway)... Now I've lost the weight...for the most part. I feel better anyway. I've started to do a bit of excercise, but it's hard to find the motivation. The short daylight period defintely does NOT help.

We are trying to sell our house and it is supposed to be listed tomorrow! The pics are being taken tomorrow morning and the signs are going up on the front lawn and on the back fence. We had to do a few days worth of work in order for us to be comfortable in selling it. H painted the main floor bathroom, I finished the trim in the ensuite and I finished the tiling around the fireplace. It all looks great.

















A is talking like crazy now. She's sleeping in a toddler bed too! It was a tough transition for a few days, but she goes right to bed fairly easily now.

E is still talking like crazy. We've had to deal with a few 'fibbing' issues this year, but whatever, he's developing his independence. He just had a concert...cute to see them all up there singin'. We just started watching Harry Potter - The Philosopher's Stone this morning before work. He thought that was pretty great.

The car is running better now. I had to get the timing adjusted recently because it was advanced about 4 degrees too far, which I think caused too much knock and then rough running because it destroyed one plug...luckily no engine damage.

I am having steering issues. I had to replace a tie-rod (below...attached to steering)...no biggie...that only cost about $40 and about 1 hour of my time.






























Unfortunately the CV boot is torn too. All the grease has made its way out of the boot and is now all over the wheel. And of course the ubiquitous salt and dirt has made its way into the joint. I'll have to work on it in the spring...kinda a big job. It sounds terrible right now.

There was an incredible snow storm a couple of weeks ago. LOTS of snow. Fun to drive in! Woohoo all wheel drive!
















I wanted to install my SAFC-II tonight, but I need sleep...

Cheers
T

OK fine. You win...I'll post.

4 Jobs I’ve had in my Life
McDonald's cashier at the late night drive-thru (worst job EVER)
General labourer (including driving tractors and skidsteer loaders) and salesperson at a tree nursery
Plant tissue culture lab technician
Microscopist that identified asbestos fibres and airborne mould spores

4 Movies I could Watch Over and Over, and Have
The Princess Bride
So, I Married an Axe Murderer
Top Gun (got it on DVD from my kids this year)
Any Indiana Jones movie (got a box set from H last year)

4 Places I Have Lived
Sherbrooke
Fredericton
Edmonton
Guelph

4 TV Shows I Love To Watch
Desperate Housewives
Kids in the Hall
The Simpsons
Anything with fast cars in it

4 Places I Have Been On Vacation
Morocco
Iceland
Gaspé
Florida

4 Websites I Visit Daily
http://www.ca.dsm.org/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?
http://login.passport.net/uilogin.srf?id=2
http://www.inspection.gc.ca
http://bnjendouble.blogspot.com

4 Favourite Foods
H's cashew pilaf
H's risotto with feta and carrots
BBQ chicken legs
Does red wine count?

4 Places I Would Rather Be Right Now
At home with the fam
At the new place with the fam
Out to dinner with the fam
Vacationing with the fam

4 People I Am Tagging With This
no one

fuel pump is FINALLY in!

as many of you know...I have been waiting to put in my fuel pump ever since I got the dang car! well, i put it in recently. wow does it ever run well now! i just have to put in my SAFC2 so that I can tune the car to run leaner (less fuel) at idle, cruise and mid-throttle, and a bit richer (more fuel) at full throttle. it has proven to be much more fun to drive lately!!!!!

"messy" stamp

so yesterday, E came home with a page of pictures that he was supposed to colour. well, I guess he was in a rush or something cause he scribbled the crayon on each... so the teacher puts a "Messy" stamp on the sheet. E was devestated. I mean...imagine...as a 5 year old all the stamps you are used to seeing are stars, or happy faces, but now there is one with an unhappy face with scribbles on a few places.

like this one, but much meaner...









Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!

So, I just thought that this was totally hilarious...I almost feel bad for them...








Now here is something just amazing. Talk about a dream car...
































Here is a spec list:

Exterior:
-- Hot Red Mica paint (by PPG)
-- Carbon fiber roof panel
-- Carbon fiber hood
-- Carbon fiber front fenders
-- Carbon fiber front and rear fascias
-- Carbon fiber rear wing
-- Carbon fiber mirrors
-- 20 x 9 carbon fiber wheels
-- AVS Sport 255/35R20 Yokohama tires

Interior:
-- Recaro leather and Alcanterra trimmed seats
-- Custom harness bar
-- Four-point harnesses
-- Rear seat delete
-- Rear seat filler panel with integrated storage
-- Lancer Evolution steering wheel
-- Racing gauges
-- Rockford Fosgate sound system

Performance:
-- Turbocharged 4G63 engine (inline 4-cyl.)
-- Estimated 400 hp
-- All-wheel drive
-- HKS turbocharger kit
-- HKS 264 cams
-- Custom 2.75-inch turbo-back exhaust
-- Custom air intake
-- ARP head studs
-- HKS air-fuel controller
-- High-flow fuel pump
-- High-flow injectors
-- HKS dyno tuned
-- Endeavor rear suspension
-- Lancer Evolution VIII rear differential
-- Evo VIII MR 6-speed manual transmission
-- RPS triple plate carbon-fiber clutch
-- Road Race Engineering/Muellerized coil-over kit
-- Brembo brakes:
front: 8-piston calipers, 15-inch slotted rotors
rear: 4-piston calipers, 13.5-inch slotted rotors

new happenings.........

So we put an offer in on a different house. We must thank my parents so much for this. They have helped us a lot and we wouldn't be able to afford this house otherwise (nor the current one that we are in...).

This place is a bit south of the city, but maybe only 5 or 10 minutes mroe to drive. It could certainly be called rural...it is on a drilled well, septic system and oil heat. We have looked into the oil heating thing...for a while we thought we would either convert it, or buy something else. As it turns out, new oil furnaces are much more efficient that gas furnaces. That's good. Plus our short term goal is to supplement our electricity with solar panels. For only a few thousand, we can likely produce enough to supply most of our demands. The province has a program called 'net metering' for which they only bill you for the 'net' amount of electricity that you need to use from them...hence the name.

Anyhow...here are the pics.

click it to enlarge!













click it to enlarge!


I will post more later...

spiders

So there's this dude (or dudette) spider hanging out in our backyard. He/she has three separate (and HUGE) webs. It's big enough to freak you out if you are just casually walking down the stairs to the deck and BAHBAHHHH, SPIDER! Man. Gives me the willies just thinking about it.

we're aquarists...just another way to say "we're geeks"

We LOVE being geeks... ;-D

been a while

so. not much is too new... i just realized that i haven't posted anything for over a month!

we bought an aquarium! some of you have seen the pics. for those who haven't, i will put some up shortly! we now have 14 fish! there are 4 platys, 5 guppies, 2 black phantom tetras, 2 orthorincus and 1 plecostomus ('the monster fish' as e puts it). i took a while building the stand...but all in all i'm pretty happy with it considering the time that i put into it.

re: the house below. it just got moved back a few feet and they built a concrete foundation. there wasn't one there before. there's a little cracking along one corner of the house, but no biggie. i'd take pics, but the traffic has been nuts up there. i stay away at all costs. there is a bus only lane that is going up W avenue. cool. there is also a bike lane that is separate just like up G avenue.

i put a 12" subwoofer and an amp into the talon. it sounds great in there. the funniest thing is that the woofer itself was the first one i ever bought and in fact it was installed into my parents' car way back when i first started driving in high school...still sounds great. it looks a little 'ghetto' but whatever. i don't care.

just a couple pics

I have been meaning to take some pics of the car at night...but never find a good spot (haven't looked either). I had just finished replacing my alternator...*groan*...good thing I had the old one hanging around!!! all in all it only took about 2 hours start to finish!









Here's the 'alleged house'...still not moved!