So the debates happened.

Last night Jon Stewart had his final show, the states had their conservative face off and sandwiched somewhere in between Big Bang Theory and Elementary, Canada had it's National Leaders Debate. 

I usually vote Green Party. And honestly while it would be great to have Elizabeth as our PM.. my main objective is to put my vote to getting Harper out. 

So, sorry Elizabeth, you did a great job and I love how you talk with your hands, but after ten years of assholery it's time to get serious. 

I was truly torn between NDP and Liberal. (I mean we really NEED to get Harper out - it's time). After Mulcair's podium performance... I've swung pretty much all the way Liberal. (Sit down Panther, up here it's not all red or blue panties.)

Still early days yet though.

So I dug for more dets. 

A few things crossed my mind: 

As usual, each of them are courting the 'middle class'.. but they're all so out of touch with the middle class it's like watching Tom Haverford go on about feminism.  The journalism coverage is just as bad. Good gravy we're paying our CBC correspondents too much apparently. They should all take a pay cut to a middle class level while the campaign is running... ooh, see there's a good idea, somebody write that down.

NDP: Tom Mulcair

Here's the NDP soapbox: http://www.ndp.ca/issues

The NDP website/campaign seems to be based more on slandering the other players. Mulcair insists in every paragraph opening on every single issue that he'll do a better job than Harper. Well jeesuz don't be an ass, my goldfish would do a better job than Harper. Tom is thorough only in how vague he is about how he's going to do a better job... "create more middle class jobs".. uhm..right okay how? Do you even know the problem? The jobs are there, they just don't have benefits, job security or training. Give your head a shake. 

Go on, look at his page. Under "Issues" All he's done is pick a handful of easy headlines (nothing on indigenous issues, Bill C51 or science funding), and draws lines to how it effects the middle class. 

Oh for crap's sake, Tom, pull yourself together man, we KNOW we're pretty, now if you don't stop pulling out our chair for us we're all gonna fall on our ass. 

Conservatives: Stephen Harper (current PM)

Harper was just a complete douche, when he was attacked, well guess what he did? He blamed it on us. 

You're right Stephen, we did this to ourselves. Next time we'll make sure to wear longer skirts and higher necklines before we ever assume being Prime Minister means you get your shit done. 



Then he out and out lied when full on confronted about his decimation of our environmental protection laws and inhibiting of alternative energy resources. 

Here's his site: 
http://www.conservative.ca/

THIS you gotta see. It's big (compensating) but insubstantial. Stephen is that douchebag we all went out with in college. You know with the fancy car and good hair. The one who never told his friends to back off when they got a little too fresh. The ass who insisted on paying for dinner but - but the reality of him was just plain sleazazoid. 


From his website he slaps up two recognizable graphics distracting us with two main things he seems to think we worry about the most: a Netflix tax and terrorists. 

So we don't read the fine print on his 'tease' of a "home renovation" tax credit*, and really.. THATs IT. 

This is how Harper sees us. Ignorant and afraid. Can I even begin to get across how actual fucking insulting this is? 


WHO THE FUCK DOES HE THINK WE ARE? 

This is so fucking condescending, I want to puke in his face. 

Seriously. I do. But I'm sweet that way.

The tax credit he waves out there? That is for people who can afford to renovate their home! ! ! this is not the middle class. He's not giving you money to fix your flooded and now mouldy basement or insulate your windows. He's giving a tax 'credit' which means if you spend the money on ANYTHING for your house (pool, gazebo, patio, or even TREEHOUSE) you get to claim it under home renovation and he'll not take quite as much as he will from the rest of the neighbourhood (who can't afford to fix their leaking roof!). This is for rich people, not the middle class. 

Liberals: Justin Trudeau

Justin Justin Justin. Son of one of our most celebrated Prime Ministers. I am not shitting you. His dad was a total badass. 

And now his son, Justin. Yes, he's a young 'un, wait. - what? Young? He's 43 for crissakes!  

Hang on a minute.  and at 43 he's the same age as the United States President WHO PUT A MAN ON THE MOON. 

So, can we please stop about his age? 

He's been in and surrounded by politics his entire life. He is young enough to still think about a thorough plan and how he's going to roll it out. Seriously, if you take a look at his website, and a lot of his campaign ads/marketing, Justin talks more about what he's going to do, and very little about what everyone else is doing wrong. If this is the difference between a "plan", "issues" and Harper's words "breaking" well that says it all I guess. 

You know me, just stop whining and start doing. Doing ANYthing is better than nothing. 

He did screw up big time in my books, when he voted for Bill C51 to go through. So there is that and I'm having a bit of a hard time getting over it.

But, he is enthusiastic and has a lot of ideas. He lets us know what he wants to do to implement them and in some cases gives us an expected timeline. No kidding. He does. 

A few highlights that are important to me: 

Canadian Research and Reporting:

http://realchange.ca/unmuzzle-science

Economy: combining employment with environmental technologies.(seriously someone on his team actually gets this).  

http://realchange.ca/creating-clean-jobs-and-investment

He has other good ideas on the indigenous issues, and of all the top three candidates, seems to really know what the middle class want: not tax credits but tax breaks. 

To actually understand the difference between a credit and a break, you have to understand that in order to qualify for a credit you have to have spent money on the "thing" they're crediting you for. Harper has this one credit that was supposed to make us feel better about his cuts to education, where if we enrol our kids in extracurricular activities (you know, like hockey or piano) we can put that down and have a portion of that credited toward what we have to pay. I don't know about you, but I can't afford to sign a kid up for hockey or piano - not if I want to pay for his tutor or send her on the class field trip. A tax break is just that, it's a break a reprieve. It's the tax man saying "you've done enough, thank you". THIS is helpful -  to everyone qualified to pay taxes! A credit is not. 

Details on the Liberal platform. 
http://www.liberal.ca/realchange/ 

So, for information-first strategy alone I have to right now say my money's riding the Liberal wagon. For general good person strategy and incredible vagueness NDP lost points massively. And the biggest loser least likely to win my favour any time soon the Conservatives. 

Again, apologies to Elizabeth, I really do wish I could holler 'Green' again this time around - I just can't risk my vote enabling the Harpoon we have any further. You did really good last night! 


Thanks to you Stephen, for spending ten years of my money destroying our science programs, decimating our environment, obliterating our freedoms and stacking our economy... it makes it so much easier knowing you think we're all just a bunch of idiots. 

CBC has some of the highlights, while I don't particularly get a kick out of their editing style it's there and accessible. 

Go watch for yourself  http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics then come back here and tell me what you think. 

If you're thoughts are different, can you tell me why? No really I want to know. This is my opinion right this second based only on last nights debates and the individual party websites. 

Buttercups or Poison Ivy?

Scents-itivity Management

OMG! People: Learn to adapt!

In the winter when it’s blowing snow, do you get better results by stopping the wind or wearing a coat?

Similarly, people with sense reactions to their environment (scents, sights, sounds, touch and tastes) serve themselves and their social groups better by learning to adapt rather than change or attempt to modify their environment bubble.

If you don’t like bright lights, you wear sunglasses.

If you don’t like to feel cold or hot, you wear a sweater or short sleeves

If you don’t like loud sounds, you wear ear plugs

If you don’t like the taste of coffee, you drink tea

If you don’t like a smell – you mask it.

Some perspective:

Most elementary schools today have ‘nut bans’ this means no nuts or product that’s been in contact with nuts are permitted on the school grounds. Nut allergies are serious and require constant vigilance. An army of teachers, monitoring a school yard of children cannot be held responsible simply because kids will be kids, and contact could mean death – the ban is put in place.  Makes sense right?

However, we also need to step back and look at the bigger picture.

Once these children enter high school, they are required to learn to adapt and monitor their own allergies – as if they were adults. It’s the schools responsibility at this stage to prepare these kids for the real world and adult hood. This means self-control, environment awareness and wise decision making.

And this is a peanut allergy – which can lead to DEATH. Yet they are required to deal with it.

They have to.

Because that’s what being an adult means.

Scents-itivity is the new ‘poor me syndrome’.  In the past, most people respond with “Suck it up Buttercup”. But the current politically correct policies are now pandering to this sorrowful group. EVERY ONE has smells they don’t like. Yes! Most people DO get headaches from some of those smells. This is why aroma therapy is so effective – duh. But most grownups simply deal with it either by avoidance, or self-adaptation.  Forcing the group to modify their behaviour when it’s simpler for an individual to adapt their own is ludicrous. It’s like telling the wind to stop blowing.

We have too long travelled the dangerous path of eliminating some of the very traits that made us the dominant species. Already common sense and self-reliance is fast becoming a recessive gene. By continuing to pander and coddle the weakest and most vulnerable in the herd we will stop the only trait we have that will take us into the future beyond our global crisis; adaptation.  Human’s greatest survival skill has always been adaptation.

We lose that and we can

kiss our ass good bye.

Cull the herd?

No! We need to take care of our sick and dying. We need to begin as early as possible to

provide them with the skills, tools and abilities to adapt

to their environment – stop bubble wrapping the world. Stop inhibiting freedoms of the many to cater to the view. Stop. Just stop.  You’re not doing them any favours by safety-sealing life.

Some great tips from professionals, who deal with odours far more sickening than patchouli oil, body spray, hair products, fabric softeners, or whatever other mystery substance the ‘scents-itive’ individual has come up with, include:

·       Find a favourite hand lotion and dab a small amount on your philtrum

·       Sucking on a menthol or peppermint candy helps refocus your senses

·       Breath through your mouth, this bypasses your olfactory nerves and is one of the quickest ways to counter act an unfavourable odour

·       Breathe deeply. Not always effective, but in most cases you can fool your olfactory senses to no longer react to some over powering scents

·       Aroma therapy of your own.  Unlit candles, or other room deodorizers can help elevate strong odours

As for modifying your environment, this is an impossible task particularly when in a public place or populated work space. Please, regardless of how much more ‘scents-itive’ you may think you are, do yourself a favour and show some consideration and respect for others – keep it to yourself.

It does nothing but cause frustration and bad feelings.  

So Suck it up Buttercup. Grab an air freshener and move on. There are more important things in life that trying to change everyone one else.

The Power of a Name

[Insert title here]

We all have a million titles we might be Ms., Miss., Mrs., Mr., Dr., Rev., Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, Neighbour, Collegue, Supervisor, Minion, Client, Master of the Universe. We're all different people under each of these different hats. I know I certainly talk to my supervisor differently than I do my sister, I would never say things to my mother that I would say to most other human beings. 

We reflect differently when we are around different people. It's just a by product of being social creatures. 

Call me what you will but...

Does the role we play reflect who we are? I think it does to some degree absolutely. Should we be restricted by that role when it comes to interacting or striving forward to other roles? No. Absolutely not. 

Birth Names, Nick Names & Sonograms

Maternity wards are full of exhausted women and stressed out men smiling happily down on a bundle of wrinkly, bald baby.

Some of those babies had their names chosen long before they were born, some were applied the minute the parents spotted their shadowing profiles in a sonogram, others might goes days after their birth before 'just the right' name was selected.

Names are so important.

In a lot of cultures around the world a name is more than just a label to call something.

In the Catholic church when a child is confirmed they have to select a name for themselves. This is a heavy load for a kid just before he/she steps into puberty. (what is it 10? 11?)  Some put a lot of thought into it, others choose odd names.

In some Eastern cultures a person has a 'child' name and takes an adult name as adolescents.

Some people are lucky and have a name that dissembles as the situation allows. A Robert might be Robert at the office, Bob amongst his friends, Bobby with his family or Bobert with some inane airhead on the bus.  An Elisabeth can be Elisabeth, Elsa, Beth, Betty, Betts, Liz, Lizzy, or well.. I think there might be a million various of that one.

The name my mother gave me at birth is not as adaptable. People who know me often give me different names. I am frequently told it doesn't suit me. I agree. I've never liked it nor have I ever felt it fit. But it is alas how I am known at work.

That said  I can honestly say no one I know in my personal life calls me that.

My father called me Robin due to my A.A. Milne addiction... or when he was feeling particularly endearing I was Pooh. Or Bear. I don't remember him ever using my real name.... oh unless he was mad at me... but no even than it was overshadowed by a wide variety of curse words. lol

Rumplestiltskin

Folk tales are full of stories that tell us a name holds power. That if you know someone's true name you have power over them. It's true. Think about being in a crowded auditorium. You're surrounded by buzz and noise.. but if someone says your name your ears can pick it out immediately.

My birth name is not Miskinak. Miskinak is a Cree word for Turtle. Mikisew Awasis gave me that name ages ago. And I have been answering to one form of it or another for the past five years.

I may one day change it legally.

There's a problem with your Google+ profile

Our system has determined that the name you provided on your Google+ profile Miskinak Periwinkle may not actually be a name.
It may be that the name you provided is that of a business you represent. Or it may be that this is actually your name and our system has made a mistake.We've got a few options for you:

• If this is the name of a business, brand or other organisation, please change this profile’s name (by clicking edit profile below) to a representative of the organisation. You can then use this profile to create a Google+ Page for the organisation. Pages are designed specifically with the needs of organisations in mind, while profiles are designed for individuals.

• If this is your name, please click [Edit your profile] below and follow the instructions to submit more information and help us fix our mistake.

• If you want to change the name provided, please change this profile’s name by clicking [Edit your profile] below. You can also optionally add Miskinak Periwinkle as a nickname, previous name or transliterated name in addition to your common name, if appropriate. Learn more

• If none of the above options are appropriate and you use your Google+ identity on YouTube, you can unlink your Google+ profile from YouTube. This will ensure that regular YouTube access will continue but your Google+ profile will be suspended until you take one of the actions above. If you manage a brand channel, we will soon have a better option for creating a Google-wide identity.

If you don't take one of these steps by 22 October 2012, your Google+ profile will be suspended. While suspended, you will not be able to make full use of Google services that require an active profile, such as Google+, Reader, Picasa and YouTube (if you use your Google+ identity on YouTube). This will not prevent you from using other Google services like Gmail.
We're sorry for the inconvenience.

Thank you

I won't use my professional name in this G+ account because I like talking about ALL kinds of STUFF and the nature of my job is public related. I don't think it's fair to have my opinions and observations reflect on my place of employment. 

If you ask me my name I'll happily tell you in a private post... it's not a deep dark secret. It's just one shear layer that helps people take one step away from connecting me directly to my place of employment. It allows me to be honest in my discussions without having to worry about how it reflects on the institute I work for. 

Fortunately after Google sent me the above message they have accepted that Miskinak D is sufficient for their needs. I appreciate that, thank you Google!

Me circa 2011

[Edit: I re-read this and feel the need to make it clear that my professional name is not a stripper's name... cause I am not a stripper. I work at a university in Canada and am in charge of web content, recruitment  admissions and a graduate program delivered on line.]

whew

Am I glad that's over.


Halloween. I don't love it.

I do love Halloween kisses and candy corn but halloween scariness? No thanks.

I don't like scary movies.

I can't watch them..

...Ghostbusters is about as scary as it gets for me.




I like the costumes and the kids... and the candy and the pumpkins and the skulls.

But I don't like scary that's all.


I was disappointed this year I only had a handful (maybe 10 or so) kids come to my door.

Confession: House (film) I actually liked this one.

 It made me sad, until I realized that that meant more candy for me!

Snog: The following blog is a true story.

Déjà vu

Definition of DÉJÀ VU

1

a : the illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time

b : a feeling that one has seen or heard something before

2

: something overly or unpleasantly familiar

So last night I was snogging Sean Bean ...oh yes he made my toes curl (ten out of ten).  

Somewhere around second base, as he was stealing third, I stopped him (damn me) and said "Holy Toledo! Serious case of Déjà vu Sean!"

Then he said in his sexy thick Yorkshire accent "you know what would be really weird? If you really did dream this and the other conscience is the reality." 

Then I woke up.  

True story.

O.M.G.

...or Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

You may hear tones of distaste from me when talking about religion. I want to apologize.. hopefully this will give you a bit more perspective.

Smidge of background:

I was raised in an ultra religious environment. A super zealous mother and extended maternal family.

While I was not brought up in the Old Order Mennonite church, my mother was. The church I was made to attend was a Mennonite church - with electricity.

My father was most absolutely NOT a church member, of any denomination I ever heard about. How they met, married and mated is another blog altogether.

So, there it is. Somewhere in the middle of those two vast divides came I.

That's the basics. I have a lot of theories, ideas and thoughts on it. But in general. I seem to have landed somewhere closer to my father's theological camp.

If I were to be completely honest, I may even fall further afield than he. Possibly because of the total submersion technique imparted by my mother - I develop a bit of a lip curl when it comes to religion and discussion of 'god'. For this I apologize it's a bias on where I come from and how I was raised more than it is a bias on you or your beliefs. -Unless somehow my mother found this blog, in which case sit up an listen, bitch... oh sorry.. I still struggle.

I get a bit of a twitch when I hear people say "I'm not religious.. I'm spiritual".. it's such a taffy remark. Safe. Unobtrusive.

Me? What am I?

I am me. I have adopted some Buddhist beliefs but don't consider myself a Buddhist, I value some Wickan traditions but don't consider myself Wickan. Diesm is very attractive to me but even there, I'm not a diest. There are a million and one ideas I've picked up and put in my basket of beliefs and values but I don't consider myself an expert let a lone a convert in any of them.

In the explorations I've done so far theology wise I believe I may be more Agnostic.

I claim only that I don't KNOW.

I do know a few things:

I know I'm alive.
I know I will die.
I know I have reason, thought and feelings that reflect that.
I know this is a big world, surrounded by a bigger solar system surrounded by an even bigger universe.
I know we've only begun exploring it.
I know great minds have historically tested theories on god and come up with nothing.
I know I could be wrong.
I know I'm okay with that.

I know about energy. As a universal life force. It's what separates life from death. It's the active molecules inside of you and me. This is measurable. They are still exploring and finding news ways of measuring it, and defining it. I believe that is what runs our guts, it makes trees grow and wind blow.

Energy = E

Mass = Our Guts

Speed of Light = maximum speed that all energy, matter travel...

Squared = in a nutshell.

I know I love the word GUTS.

But I'm not a physicist. (←I can't even spell that without spellcheck). I'm just an ordinary girl with some wide spread education, and a keen interest in almost everything.

Since moving over here to G+ I've circled a handful of science-type profiles. Smithsonian, National Geographic, NASA a few more that don't jump to the top of my brain waves this instant. But those are my "Big Three".

I love them. I love NASA giving us peeks into Curiousity daily doings, some amazing satellite footage, and excellent posts on some of the stuff they've been studying. I love Smithsonian history stuffs and National Geographic posts some fantastic articles.

One thing that I am having a super hard time dealing with are the religious zealots who troll these waters like something icky and dark. They are angry that theories not including their religious beliefs are being considered by great brains at NASA and SETI. I mean really angry. I wish they would just shut up. If they want to discuss religion go do it in a religious post where other people wish to discuss it. If they are curious to follow what science and technology is revealing, theorizing, discovering and making possible.. then by all means join the fun - but please keep your religion out of it.

In my real life I deal with religion by avoidance and smiling silently. I rarely engage in heated debates, because if there is one thing I've learned from them it's that they really don't get it. Mostly you can see it's a fear of what might happen if they don't believe. I know - I had it too. From the time I was young I was told that if I didn't believe in god and do as I was told ('cause Jesus said so) I would be bound for hell. It took a lot for me to shake that feeling. When I was in my mid twenties I dove into the church head first. meaning I studied everything and anything they could give me to study.

... except the more I read, the more I dug.. .the less it actually made sense.

They have had as much exposure as I have to science, and the reality of their religious texts. And if there is one thing they will hold fast to it's their beliefs. Creationism vs. Evolution is a big one.  Whatever. Even the 'suedo church scientist' who try to bridge the gap by saying god created the big bang. I say. Okay, whatever.

Sure when we drill down to what the big bang was caused by and it's found to be this energy force that makes us breath, think and grow... that may well be the god they are referring to.. and they may at the end of the day say 'see I told you so'.. but what they don't want to hear today is that the god of the [insert whatever religious book you like here] is a Myth.

I've read the bible cover to cover - a few times. I read and took notes I discussed with a variety of religious leaders. I really made a sincere attempt at 'believing'... but the more I looked for answers the more I came up with just more questions and that feeling of 'oh, c'mon now...seriously?'.

There is so much aggression, bigotry, religious zeal - throughout the entire old testament women are murdered, mutilated, thrown to rapists, family members beaten, killed, used as shields, sold, bred and raised as property... and all this by the "good guys!".  Then you get to the new testament and it's full of faerie stories of god and the devil, some pretty hard to believe miracles.. it just doesn't wash.

Now, I'm not saying it's all bad. It's not. There are some pretty good life guidelines there.

The Big Seven

Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, Wrath, Envy and Lust.. they're basic human traits that EVERY one experiences... it's a good rule of thumb not to let them rule your life. But deadly sins? ... sure you could eat yourself to death and sloth won't get you anywhere... greed creates this feeling of have not which makes for unhappy.. lust...well that gets you into all kinds of trouble.. wrath?.. waste of energy.. Envy .. see greed.

The opposite of this are the virtues..

Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness, Humility. (yes I had to look them up). These are all positive learned behaviours that help a person with the vice or natural tendancy of the sins outlined before.

A great blueprint for a life well lived but beat ourself up over a sin here or there? I don't think so.

The ten commandments.. another good guide to help us get along in society. Let's see if I can name them all without peeking.

Don't murder
Don't steal
Don't bear false witness
Don't commit adultery
Honour your parents
No other gods before me
Love thy neighbour
Go to church don't work on Sunday

.... what else?

Oh good gravy.. it's worse than I remember.

Don't covet your neighbour's house, wife, servants, land or ox - in that order.  Basically... avoid the ten commandments - they're a fundamentalist wet dream.

I think even Jesus had some opinions on them that weren't very respectful.  Let's talk about him for a minute. I do believe he walked this earth... do I think he was a son of god? No more than you or I. Was he smart? Yes. Charismatic? Hell yeah. Clever? Yup. A religious nut? No, but I think his followers were. Did he do everything they say he did? No.

I also don't believe Paul Bunyan created the Great Lakes. I think every story that's passed from generation to generation will have its exaggerations - especially in a two thousand year old cult following based on oppression under an umbrella of love thy neighbour.

Not that there isn't a place for mythology. Fairy tales taught us not to talk to strangers, to help little old ladies,  not to be vain, don't judge a book by its cover and always pay the pied piper. There are stories in the bible that do the same. Hurrah.

It's safe to say I don't pray.

I hope, I dream and I accomplish. But I do not pray.

What happens when we die? I've no idea but I'll let you know when I can confirm anything. I'm pretty sure something happens. People have been dying since time began... how bad can it be?

Heaven? Not likely.

Hell? Just as unlikely.

What happens to the "bad guys"? ... *shrugs* no idea.. probably same thing that happens to the 'good guys'.

I do know that good creates happy. Bad creates sad.  Knocking someone down may be satisfying in the moment but lifting someone up gives happy that lasts a lot longer... and often has it's own rewards. Call it Karma if you will, but mostly you get a lot further in life minding your manners and respecting people.

If you do all that. and it still doesn't work out for you?.. you have to ask yourself what is it exactly you want to do?.. you really won't get anywhere without an end goal in mind. I don't care how nice you are.

Crime doesn't pay. -really?

Sure it does. I know of a lot of really rich criminals. But who cares? I don't need a religious faction to tell me stealing is not something I want to do. Earning a reward is much more satisfying... and I don't have to live a life looking over my shoulder either. ... but if I found a bagful of money in the woods... it's not likely I'd be looking for the nearest lost and found either.

Buddhism believes that god resides inside each of us and we are all able to achieve that level of consciousness that ties us into the starry dust of the universe. I kind of believe that too. We are each and every one of us a god like entity.

We can achieve great things on our own and incredibly wondrous things collectively.

We can fly! We can soar! We can feed the hungry! We can heal the sick! We know adding fermented grape juice to water turns it to wine - not always a very good wine. We can walk on water! We can explore the stars! We can pay the bills... sometimes.

But we keep slagging around in the muck of religion and the god spectre.. we won't get very far very fast.

I say believe what you will.. but don't harsh on science if it proves you wrong. If you really have faith you'll believe regardless of the facts..and just let well enough alone. Go discuss theology somewhere else.. like a blog post challenging you. But keep your hisses and myths out of the laboratory.

Hibernation

Did you know that the continuous brain recordings that led to the discovery of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep were not done until 1953 - partly because the scientists involved were concerned about wasting paper?

According to the Australian National Sleep Project .. this is a fact.





They also say that ducks can sleep with only half their brain while the other half is alert for predators.

AND they say that before electric light the average person moderated their sleep naturally by sunrise and sunset - no surprise there. But it means they actually slept ten hours a night - that's almost two hours longer than we consider normal sleeping hours. Do we deserve less sleep because we're so evolved we don't have to get up with the sun or be in bed by dark?

Did you also know that the hour gained each fall in Canada (for day light savings time) usually coincides with a reduction of traffic accidents? Coincidence - I think not!

I say this fall we turn back our clocks and TAKE BACK that hour of sleep. go on.. turn the clock back and pretend you didn't.

I did it one year and have to say it ROCKED.

I'd be going to bed at ten instead of eleven waking up at six instead of seven.. and all day I felt way awesome. I'd use that extra hour in the morning and do my laundry, clean the bathroom, one hideous mundane chore a day... then let myself relax at night.. and by the time the weekend came around - all my regular chores were done and I could play with projects and festivals and well, just play. I think that was the year I made a quincy village in my backyard for the dog...

Where is all this sleep talking coming from?...

Last week drained my entire self of any and all energy.

I didn't realize how much until I got home Friday night, and by eight o'clock my head was on the pillow, and my eyes stopped reading the pages.

I woke up sixteen hours later.  SIXTEEN HOURS LATER?!!??!?  Yes.

I slept that long. I NEVER sleep that long unless I'm sick.

I was stunned. But there it was.

I woke up got some massive cleaning done... and by nine oclock THAT night I was falling asleep at the computer again.

I basically spent the weekend hibernating. Do I feel any better for it? No.

Bleh.

Hey... does anyone here follow someone on Twitter JUST so you can get that thrill in your mailbox that "Gerard Butler has a Tweet for you"... *sigh*...

Sadly...

←...not a Twit...that I've found anyway.














Summer is Obviously over...we have COLD rainy fall weather now. I'm glad for the rain (this summer's drought was SCARY) but it makes me ick.

Oh, but I have noticed that all the local produce at the grocery store and farmer's market is eensy weensy.

And we completely skipped corn on the cob season.


Sad.

That's really all I have to say...