Simon our squirrel enjoying our birdfeeders.

Hmm, not really sure what to make of the surging NDP in the polls. Sure I want to avoid the Republican-like anti-democratic way of the PC party but I also don’t think Canada is in a great spot for the free spending NDP. I’m disappointed at how hammered the Liberals are in the polls, currently polling at under 20%. Frankly I don’t any of the leaders… so another check and balance minority government might be fine. They might also not be able to get anything done. Whatever the outcome… it looks like a government will be formed that won’t last too long. I thought Canadian’s didn’t like voting?

We were out most of yesterday. We walked the dog mid-afternoon and chatted with a few neighbours and met new ones (new to us) at the end of the street. Yesterday was beautiful out, today, not so much… more rain. After the walk we got ready to ventured to Upper Canada mall in Newmarket to meet up with B.’s sister. While getting ready I heard a *POP!* from the bathroom as bdot was drying her hair. The hair dryer exploded had she been slightly closer to bottom end of dryer she would probably been injured. Yikes… kinda scary. We carried on however. Our nephew was involved in a ‘flash mob’ dance in one of hallways near the food court. I couldn’t see anything at a wall of parents formed around the dances and people got up on tables to try to get a look. Security eventually gave up on telling people to get down. There was a row of ‘dancers’ beside us in the open. So we did see some of the dancing. It looked like fun choreography. As quickly as it begun it was over. We ventured over to B.’s sister’s for dinner and relaxation. The dinner had a Indian theme, everyone brought a little something… and there was tons of delicious food. I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t plagued by a nagging canker sore. This little demon has found a great place in the soft tissue under my tongue causing me constant discomfort and occasionally pain. Gah.

I discovered another HBO series called the Game of Thrones. (I think I love HBO) To quote from the site ‘Based on the bestselling fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin (Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author), this sprawling new HBO drama series is set in a grounded fantasy world inhabited by ambitious men and women of both honor and ill-repute, much like our own real world. In the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, whoever controls the Iron Throne holds unbelievable power, and the series centers on the rise and fall of several families that covet that power at all costs.’ I’ve only seen one episode. Certainly curious to see where it goes.

Developed a painful debilitating migraine in the afternoon which knocked me on my ass for about 6hrs. What a waste of a day. Sigh………

Ubuntu was updated on Friday to 11.04! There is a bit of a learning curve to it. But it is pretty slick. From ubuntu.com : ‘The release of Ubuntu 11.04 has seen the arrival of a new look and feel for Ubuntu. A whizzy, new launcher and dash, and a clever workspace manager are some of the biggest changes. Take a look at what’s new and then feel free to choose between the classic and new desktop experiences at login.’ The most dramatic change is The Launcher everything functions from it… it is a powerful piece of UI and pretty useful once understood. I ❤️ ubuntu!