Mike Browne’s Blog

We heard about this when we were travelling. It sounds pretty cool. It’s subscription based ($9.99 USD per month) but commercial free.

Two of the companies doing it are:

XM Radio (I’m listening online right now) and Sirius

You can travel far and wide and still be listening to what you want to. Saves from skipping the weird to find the wonderful radio stations in an area you don’t know very well.

What’s stopping me from posting pictures of my lunch here? I don’t have to put them in the old place do I?

Just for fun, here’s a picture of me with my ‘nanner (that’s banana to you who don’t live with Carol and I).

It’s from Ecuador! There are lots of endangered or threatened in Ecuador.

In my headphones is Mystikal rapping about Big Truck Drivers on his Tarantula CD. Hell yeah!

Another online lunch is coming soon. You’ll see.

I’m a star!

Me

Thanks, Heather! *Blush*

I guess the organization would be PAPoMP.

I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. I’m a little out of sorts prior to coffee and a muffin in the morning anyway, but today – ARGH!

I take the train to work in the mornings. That’s fine. I understand that with a large group of people sitting in a confined space for any amount of time can create emotional tension – e.g. air rage. People need their space or we become like rats in overcrowding experiments.

I am no exception. This morning for example a moronic woman decided to answer her cell phone and blather on about a cake and running for the train while everyone else was either trying to sleep or read. (see fig 1a for a reenactment of what went, briefly, through my mind)

I guess if you’re a surgeon or have a child with a major disease who may expire momentarily, I understand having to answer your phone on a quiet train. But otherwise – uh uh! Shaddup!

Dad, for example, was a veterinarian who was on call 24 hours a day when it was his turn. He had a pager and a cell phone, both set to vibrate. If in a theatre or a restaurant he would leave and do his yacking elsewhere so as not to disturb other people. Yay, Dad! See important job, but considerate of others. Not yimmering like a buzzard on a corpse about tucking your pantyhose into your skirt by acciedent.

If you have a cell phone please practice a little cell phone ettiquette. For God’s sake, have some manners.

Myaaaaaaaaaaaah!

One of the Russian women who work here is cooking the most repellent smelling fish based meal in the microwave. Sometimes I wish my sense of smell was a little duller.

I have a headache now. I had to medicate.

My tired old lunch has inspired more whackiness form Heather Blakey, the wrinting teacher in OZ. She is encouraging her students to become a Lunch Box Spy. She gave me a nod in the article as well. It’s a strange feeling knowing that, even though I haven’t scanned a lunch since March, something started as a lark is still making people giggle on the other side of the world.

Weeeeeeeeeee!

Here’s the real estate listing for my parents’ summer place in Nova Scotia. Dad’s getting tired of taking care of two properties, so he’s selling this one. Carol and I had our wedding reception there in 1998. It’s a beautiful place with very fond memories and we’re sad to see it go (especially Carol).

There’s been offers and counter-offers made already. It’s only been on the market for three weeks. All the people looking have been Americans. They’re coming to Claussen & Walters through Sotheby’s. People with money shop there, so Ma and Pa’s place will be like a drop in the bucket for some of them.

Dad told me that he thinks it’ll go this week or next. =(

Here’s a picture of Carol’s garden.

Let’s play a little game; just like Where’s Waldo. It’s called Where’s Moosh (our 10 year old Springer Spaniel). One thing I can tell you for sure, Moosh shouldn’t be where she is. Lucky for her, Carol is out at yoga right now.

Next time we go away she’s going to obedience school rather than Camp Good Dog where she went last time. get out of the garden. Eek.

On a side note she came home from Camp Good Dog last time after having a stick related accident (i.e. she ran into a tree carrying a stick) costing over $800. She’s better than ever now, but it was a bit shaky. She had to have surgery to repair a punctured larynx and tonsil. Ow! Poor dog. But out of it we learned about Glucosamine for doggy arthritis. It works like a hot damn and she’s like a puppy again.

Thanks to my buddy Big Al Mac for the following:

A Newfoundlander was walking up the wharf carrying two – at least three pound live lobsters – one in each hand. It was three weeks after the season closed! Whom should he meet at the end of the wharf but the Fisheries Officer who, upon viewing the live and wiggling lobsters, says: “Well me Laddie I got you this time – with two live lobsters three weeks after the Season closed!”

The Newfoundlander says, “No – My Son you are wrong! These are two trained lobsters that I caught two weeks before the season ended.”

The Fisheries Officer says, ” Trained like how?”

“Well my son, each day I takes these two from my house down to the wharf and puts them in the water for a swim. While they swim I sits on the wharf and has me a smoke, or two. After about 15 minutes I whistles and up comes me two Lobsters, and I takes them home!”

“A likely story”, the Fisheries Officer says! Let’s take them on down the wharf and see if its true.

So, the Newfoundlander goes ahead of the Fisheries Officer to the end of the wharf where, under supervision,he gently lowers both lobsters into the water.

The Newfoundlander sits on a wharf piling and lights up a smoke, then another! After about 15 minutes the Fisheries Officer says to the Newfoundlander:

How about whistling?”

The Newfoundlander says ” What for?”

The Fisheries Officer says, ” To call in the lobsters”

The Newfoundlander says, ” What lobsters?”