Author: Kirk

Introducing The Newest Bridger

Now that everyone has kind of settled into their new year we thought it would be interesting/cool/completely-freak-out-ish for everyone to see some of the cool things that we’ve been doing with the pregnancy. First up – the ultrasound.

Here’s a picture of the exam itself. They make the father wait out in the waiting room while the mother has the exam with the technician. During the exam the screen is turned away from the mother so only the tech can see the screen – supposedly to give the tech a chance to work and gather the data required at the exam. Well it seems that our little one was either shy or stubborn. Knowing myself and Alisa, either is totally possible. But the typical 45 minute exam turned into 1.5 hours of waiting for me. I was starting to wonder if maybe some kind of black hole had occurred in the exam room, and a temporal shift had slid into existence for a brief nanosecond. Or something … whatever it was, it was the longest 90 minutes of my life thus far.

Sonogram room - small

And during the exam we got to see this image, and several like it. In fact we got to see it in real time – including the beating heart and the moving limbs. My actually looking at the screen was a surprise for Alisa as I hadn’t planned on looking. Ask me about it some time if you’re interested. Anyhow, here are the stills they provided us with. Click for a larger version. A better res is available if anyone is interested.

Ultrasound - small image

Next time we’ll wow you with some pictures of how Alisa’s been growing in all the right ways.

Chuck Norris Facts

Someone pointed me to the Chuck Norris Facts page. Good for a quick laugh if you’re familiar with who Chuck Norris is. Might want to look back further in time than Walker: Texas Ranger though – he was a badass before that show.

For your pleasure, here are the top 5 facts:

  1. Chuck Norris’ tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried. Ever.
  2. Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
  3. Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
  4. The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.
  5. If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can’t see Chuck Norris, you may be only seconds away from death.

Chuck himself thinks a few of these are funny.

High Tech Prison in the Netherlands

Yahoo has news and a picture of a new prison being opened this week in Lelystad.

Electronic monitoring is nothing new, nor is closed circuit television. What caught my eye though was the idea of monitoring the cells via microphone, and having a software programme analyze the sounds to determine what is going on.

Cells are equipped with microphones that relay information to the prison’s control center, where software analyzes sound volume and rhythm to alert guards when a violent confrontation between inmates may be taking place.

This means that the cells are not totally monitored via television, and that fewer guards need to be hired to monitor the cell blocks. An interesting approach to cost-cutting to be sure.

I just think that technology is never applied so cleanly to a problem, particularly when people are involved. I wonder how many glitches and issues will be found in the system within the first month. Inmates will no doubt come up with some very non-technical ways to trounce this electronic monitoring system.

Election 2006 – LGBT Positions

No, this isn’t some dirty post about sexual positions. EGALE Canada has posted its opinion on each of the party leaders and the parties themselves with respect to LGBT issues (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans).

They’re also collecting information on how your particular candidates have voted on LGBT issues – and where they stand publicly on these issues. You can see where your candidates stand on these issues via your postal codes.

The Goggs Inaugural Puzzle is Complete!

Our very first puzzle at Goggs Avenue is finally complete! Alisa and several of our friends have been determinedly plunking down Simpson-esque puzzle pieces for weeks now. Well, we took a short break there and flew to Mexico, but I digress.

At last, tonight, Alisa’s very last night as a 28 year old, we crossed the finish line. We stayed the course. We chased down terrorism in … oh heck … Ta da!

The Puzzle is complete!

It really is All Good.

Happy 2006!

Alisa and I want to wish everyone reading this a Happy New Year. Here’s hoping 2006 is a landmark year full of good luck, wonderful moments of peace, quiet and reflection, and a few belly-laughs thrown in for good measure.

Anyone interested in seeing pictures from our Mexican holiday?

Guayabitos Picture

Here you go. Be warned – there are a few pictures of sunsets in there. Feel free to leave comments!

Best Song Review Evar

The Georgia Straight has delivered its annual Music in Review article.

Included is what I consider to be the best song review ever: succinct, accurate, and utterly hilarious.

The Black Eyed Peas – My Humps

The fact that Fergie pissed her pants on-stage this year is only one reason that even the most righteous, reconstructed-male-feminist type among us is moved to scream “Skank!” at the very thought of her. This ghastly song about Fergie’s “lovely lady lumps” is another. It breaks new ground in bad taste-and not just because a “lump” is something you see a doctor about-but once it’s in your head, “My Humps” is as sticky as the residue in Fergie’s crack pipe, and it inspires the kind of exquisitely conflicted feeling of pleasure one normally assigns to a Preparation H applicator.

Happy Holidays 2005

Everyone at Goggs Ave wishes you a Happy Holiday filled with family, friends, love and laughter.

We managed to get our lights up some weeks ago, but only recently grabbed a picture – so here you go. Goggs Avenue in all its Holiday splendor.

Goggs Avenue Holiday Lights

Click the image for a much larger version (6.5 MB)

We did not offically turn the lights on until December 1st, so don’t shake your heads quite so quickly when I say we got them up weeks ago. They were up, just not lit – I swear!

We still have to put up the Christmas tree and interior decorations, but we’re well on our way to being offically ‘decorated’.

Podcasting At Last

I finally found a reason to hook into the Podcasting phenomenon. CBC Radio3 is available as a podcast now!

CBC Radio 3 is a great show that showcases the great Canadian Music scene. Sure you may have heard of Arcade Fire and Bedouin Soundclash. But this show tries to find time for all kinds of Canadian Music you haven’t heard yet. FalconHawk anyone?

Here’s a direct link to the CBC Podcast page. Download a client (I can recommend Juice (formerly ipodder) but there are many others), subscribe and download the old episodes.

As another note, CBC Radio is trying this podcast out as a pilot – if you like or dislike it, let them know.

Finally, I love “Morning Becomes Eclectic“, and they have a podcast too!