One of a kind!

I was pretty sure I was a 'singular sensation', I mean really, was there any possible question otherwise? Now, if this website is not a hoax (isn't everything on the net true?) I can definitively say that there is only one Stacey Diffin-Lafleur in North America. And that would be moi. Dear readers, try it out for yourself, how many of you are there out there?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Wait for it....

P.S.this actually doesn't work after all and yes...how disappointing.
But it's kinda cool..and hey had ya looking, me too. Singular sensation..you bet

Gas Companies - taking the Piss

News item tonight "Exxon is enjoying it in gushes. They've made record, yes even greater record profits than ever before - $75K a minute!" We're worrying about gas and how much it takes to go across town. We are fools. There has got to be a better way, we are being robbed, and you and I can't afford to take this anymore. Someone give me a suggestion besides a bike - and I ride my bike alot - but next summer a bike to work is looking pretty darn good. Winter here is too cold and snowy to consider it. Anyone out there wanna carpool, reasonable rates, good music? Get in touch. The more I can get in my car, the better. Robber barons make us all sick. They are criminals who feed off the war, and fear.

G'bye CBGBs...Hi again to the Stooges!

CBGBs - the bastion of punk rock in Manhattan closes it doors after some 33 years - the very same week the Stooges announce that they're recording their first album after some 33 years. What's old is new again. I think I'll pull out my Live at CBGBs vinyl and give it a spin just for old times sake. I like it, punk will never completely die, it just continues to morph and grow and change, just like the rest of us. Jeez, I saw the New York Dolls last year and while they still have very little talent they can boast a hell of a stage presence. It was fun to be up front, but scary to be so close to David Johannsen - what a face! Buster Poindexter where are you now?

Pouring freaking rain in Ottawa t'night, dark all the way home.

Cold is back!?

Yep, I'm fighting a sore throat battle again, the voice is fabulous and deep, and the stress level is high. What can I say, it's October...and it's as usual. Rick and I took a day's holiday today, went for a long hike in the greenbelt and then [finally] I went to see the Pirate Movie, number 2. Johnny is cute, Keira is a waif, and what was Orlando doing (?)...he seemed to be sleep walking. I found the movie too silly and way too long. The giant octopus which looked cool in the trailers was far too over the top - the first time we saw it was enough. After the second sighting it had lost all its impact. Very boring ending. I wanted to leave 25 minutes before it ended. And I walked out on the credits, something I never do. Sorry Johnny, amuse your kids if you wanna, you're not amusing me. Too bad, potential was there.

Back to work tomorrow, launching a new website on Thursday. Yep, stress is a good thing, but it's like Tennesse Tobacco, it's killing me and all I want is more. Thanks Danny Michel for that line, I love it.

Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada

Thanksgiving for everyone...for everything. It's sunny and warm, family is coming over. Turkeys are roasting, pumpkin pies and cheesecakes fresh from the oven. Potatoes are getting aquainted with butter and cream. Veggies are carmelized in the oven. We're together, we're healthy, we're happy. Yep, thanks!

Cranky

It's raining, cold and I have a cold. Not much else to add. Oh, yeah, as usual the stereo is blasting, and hey I like music. But I'm sick, gimme a break - I don't need Billie Joe Armstrong screaming about being an American Idiot. But I agree with him.

Kerr-azy

Funniest story last week - in a bout of bad news in Ottawa, this made me smile. Sorry Willie - you know I love you.

Willie Nelson is 'on the road again.' He's been there for some 40 years at least, and he loves it. He and the boys in the band like to tour, sing, pick, twang, have a couple of drinks, and yep, smoke some pot. I think it's common knowledge, crikey, he's been doing it for years. Willie is young at heart and you've gotta love that. He's got a lotta miles on him and has inhaled more THC than most human beings I'm sure. He's also not hard to find either, the bus has a big sign on the side..."WILLIE NELSON BAND."

The disguise didn't fool some good old boys in blue. They got a tip...seems there might be some dope on the bus - who knew? Well, the word was out. APB posted: Watch for "WN" labelled bus, bust the star ::::hint, he's old, has braids, might be mellow:::: Call the press and extract the weed-tax. So they pulled the greyhound over. The state troopers found a pound and a half of pot and some mushrooms. Hey, I'm condoning nothing, but Willie is 71 years old - give the old fella his dues, he's on the road for crying out loud. So it's a big bag of pot, I'm pretty sure he's not selling it, more like stock piling his stash so he doesn't have to hit the mean streets and get ripped off. Big story. Willie Busted Again. Could it be his name came up on some IRS chart as having not made his regular payment? Not sure, but one late night comedian summed up the situation nicely...."Bin Laden, still on the loose and wreaking havoc, but not to worry citizens ..we've GOT Willie." Barney and the rest of your law enforcement agencies - working for you!

I don't make these things up. Keep scampering BinLaden, true crime is being solved - you're safe for now.

Teamwork

It is a social skill that is critical to succeeding in business - in my humble opinion. I've worked on a lot of teams, and had a lot of fun doing it. I've watched small, early stage teams mesh, excel and succeed - be it on the sports field or in the business arena. If you've got this skill and understand the value of it, you're on the right track. People naturally gravitate towards you. You're sought out for your ideas and your energy. You're part of the team.

I've also watched people who don't have it and don't realize what they're missing. Each and everytime they self destruct. It's not great to watch.The end is always the same. They twist and shout clawing their way to the top; only to find once they are solitary at the top of their peak, no one cares. How many times have you asked these kinds of people for their advice, or to join your team? That's what I thought. You avoid them like a pariah. It's human nature. Be as smart as you can, but don't be an island, 'cause no one will give a damn. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Shooting in Montreal - Naked Cowboy..this is news

September 13, 2006: someone walks into a CEGEP school in Montreal and opens fire in a cafeteria. 20 are injured by the blasts, two dead, including shooter, no count on the psychological damage, it's there though, I know. Why did this happen, where was the security? There is sensational news coverage, eye witness reports, minute-by-minute coverage. Was it because it was a rainy 13?

October 18, 1975: Robert Poulin (Nepean) has an interesting day. He kicks off with raping and murdering a 17 year old friend. He then sets his house on fire and bikes to St. Pius X High School. There he kicks open the door of the grade 12 religion class and opens fire - my friends are injured, my friend was killed, pyschological damage? You bet, lots of it. Poulin ends it with a blast in his own mouth. No explanation about what made him do it. Why did this happen? There was no security. There is sensational coverage, the papers are all over it for a while.

In other news reported today....wait for it. Time Squares' Naked Cowboy is going to make an album. Yep, there it was reported as one of the featured stories on MSN. Can't wait to pick up that little ditty. He has only one song actually, but he can twang it up at least 20 ways.

What's news? You tell me.

Death wish

Ok, this is truly trivial. But, there is a fly in my house - I am working from home - it keeps dive bombing me. I'm going to kill it.

It has the whole house, but it chooses to buzz around me. It's got to go.

It's gone. CBC Radio should be on the scene shortly.

Community Radio ... or silly soapbox

Yesterday CBC Radio broke the story about a stray dog that was put down - euthanized - by the Ottawa Humane Society. Stop the presses, get the chief. Seems this small black dog was found in a yard by an Ottawa couple; it was apparently lost. The couple thought they liked the dog, but they took it to the Humane Society to help its rightful owner find it. If it wasn't retrieved,they were interested in keeping said pooch. As part of SOP the Society assessed the dog for aggressiveness and adoptivity - it failed the test. The Humane Society put the puppy down. Sad end for a dog, but the end.

So you would think..... This 'news' story ran in the morning news broadcasts, had a feature interview with the Society's president, ran again at noon, and low and behold during the drive home there was a promo about how the story would continue tomorrow, with input from a Vancouver animal shelter. Heck it's even on the website and it ran again today. This is (sorry for the pun) overkill. There is news happening in our world, news that needs indepth research. News that would take time, thought and skill to report on, dare I say real news, the kind I, and most people care about. The morning personality may be new to the show, she may also be a dog owner, the show's producer may be an animal lover too. I'm an animal lover. But to fill the airwaves two days in a row - about a dog? We at are the centre of the Canadian government. Is there any news in the wars, science, politics? True, Parliament isn't sitting, but I'm certain you could find some other nugget out there that would appeal to a wider audience than dog owners, or wannabe dog owners. What's next swans?

Five years..that's all we've got (Bowie)

Five years ago this morning I was being driven to work - the day before I'd had an allergic reaction to a pickle and ended up in hospital; they'd pumped me full of benadryl - feeling a little lightheaded and vaguely listening to the radio. When the sudden alert when off on the CBC, I barely opened my eyes, but when the words finaly made their way through my hazy thoughts and resonsated with me, I bolted upright. 'Oh my God - it's the end of the world.' The announcer in a voice that defied belief said that a tower had collapsed. It was the end for too many people, innocent people, just doing their jobs. Rick dropped me off at work and I entered what was a state of confusion at AcceLight (the startup that melted down). Friends from the states called, saying they didn't know why they were under attack, but it was some guy named Mohammed. They'd never heard of Osama at this juncture. Debbie went home and got a TV and we watched and watched ..and watched. I got an email from my sister in Washington DC. "We're ok, tell mom". Another tower collapsed. A plane crashed in Pittsburgh, DC was in flames. My director at the time - a real bright bulb - said 'enough of this, we've got to get back to the budget - things need to be done." No one understood that this would change so much. No one ...it did, it still does. Is the world better...or worse. You tell me.

Speechless

I can't think of anything to blog about, so I'm just posting a hi! Had lunch with friends in Westboro Village; sunny morning, great new restaurant "Caffe Mio" - as usual too much food for me, but the conversation was terrific. Westboro Village is where I'll live next.I love that neighbourhood. Great shopping, feels like a community and it's in the westend. Mark my words.

Back to school

Just a qick note, this is my last back-to-school year. The last year of the anticipation and excitement the end of summer brings. No more buying new clothes, school supplies, a new lock and lunch supplies. Can it be true? Con is in his last year of high school. Pat's finishing his college. It's an end of an era.

Get out punk!

I used to love going out. Staying out, in fact staying out late late late, getting loud, jumping up and down, screaming to punk music and yes, I still do. It's just so fun...I have to do it more, and I urge everyone else to do it too. Although now it's more Flaming Lips than Screaming Trees, Elliott is near and dear and the Ramones are in high rotation. A bit calmer, but still bop. I went out twice this weekend, one night downtown - yes, it's been ages. And one night to a friends home for a BBQ. I danced all weekend. That's another love of mine, dancing, but not with anyone. Just with me, with the music inside my head, and like that old Stan Rogers' song, I dance like no one's watching, truely I do. And I could care less how silly I look. It's nice to know there's just a little bit of the old Stacey still bopping around.

On another note, Angelina Jolie is on the Actor's Studio. Jaysus, she's beautiful, and she sounds intelligent and has a delightful laugh. Damn...I ask you how fair is that?

Sunday night, school starts this week. The kidz party is over.

The MEATRIX....smart swine!

If you haven't checked it out yet, take a few minutes to view the Meatrix. Jamie Oliver told me about it. He thinks it's important, so do I. It's a perspective that just may change your grocery shopping habits forever. The Meatrix I and II offer insight into how your milk and meat gets to your table. It concludes with some ideas and suggestions that will give you healthier and safer eating options. You'll thank yourself, your family and community will thank you too.

It IS a risky business....Tom Cruise just found out how...!

Say it ain't so! Tom Cruise has been axed by Paramount. The once "uber popular" star of the Mission Impossible action films who's boyish good looks made women and even some men swoon, has proven it is possible to be too weird for Hollywood. Hey it even sounds weird saying that...

But it's true, Paramount has severed its lengthy and profitable relationship with the star who made 'Y fronts' famous in Risky Business. A source at the studio said ...It's regrettable, but Tom's recent behaviour was just not suitable for Paramount.

What a summer it's been, first we see Mad Mel slip up and mouth off - it's gotten rather quiet about that now don't you think? And now the milk'n'cookies and Scientology star has been given the shove. Is it all because Mars is so close to the earth? No wait, that was a hoax, just like the enduring charisma of the above mentioned former most beautiful men.

Not that I give a darn about Hollywood or its inhabitants, it just seemed bloggable and I had it before the National at 11. Nice!

SL, making the crap credible..and loving it!

Hey happy birthday to our Sher, an absolutely fabulous individual and role mode to us all. She indeed makes the crap credible. I wish you were here darling, we'd celebrate with some Stoli and Bolly and a right rave. Maybe even rest under the table at Bern's. Have a terrific day, and yes, why not a ride, oh sorry darling... make that a drive up Snaefell. Kiss kiss sweetie darling ... Eddie...

Does Air Canada Care? Sure, but help customers? Neah!

On Sunday, my youngest was on his way home from a trip to the UK, he's a minor and travelling alone on his first international vacation. He was flying Canada's airline...Air Canada. Unbeknownst to me, he'd missed his plane connection in Toronto. I was in Ottawa at the airport to pick him up, but his scheduled 5:00 plane arrived and....no sign of Con. I went to the 'customer service' desk to inquire as to whether he was on the 4:00 plane outta Toronto, and had I perchance missed him? Or was he on the next plane due into the Ottawa airport at 6:00? Simple requests I thought, and as a mom and guardian, my right to know.

The extremely helpful (not) attendant informed me that "they can't tell me who is on the plane" ! I said it's my son, he's a minor, and travelling alone. Blank eyes stared back, and then I was rewarded with a shrug, and "yeah, well too bad, but we can't even tell the police who's travelling on planes, it's all about privacy." Right! Well thanks Air Canada, I know I can trust and rely on you to keep me informed.

He did turn up on the next flight, he'd been delayed due to long lines in customs. Would it have hurt Air Canada to let a mom know her son was ok, and on the way? Was I being unreasonable? Safety is safety, I'm all for it, and the same for privacy, but can they not understand or have a little consideration for a mother's concern. Wouldn't you want to have an answer. You bet you would!

It all worked out fine for us, but here I am blogging about Air Canada, and their spectacular lack of caring or customer service. Hey I was polite, I just wanted to know.

I would have called to make a complaint, but they don't have a customer service complaints phone number...go figure. You can always send a fax though....Let's fly together. You and me and Air Canada. You can travel and rest assured that no one else will ever find out if you're on the plane, or lost in an airport.

Note: Con had a cellphone for emergencies, but that had to be packed in his luggage due to terrorist activities...see early note about getting nekkid.

Achieve this!

Canadian Junior Achievers Conference - sound like a room full of underage overworkers? Well you may be partly correct, but it's much more than that. It is probably one of the neatest way to get a look at and meet the future leaders - from all over this planet, and it's one heck on an inspiration. Chipworks is a sponsor for the this event which takes place annually in different cities across the nation. This year it was in Ottawa. The conference attendees are the best of the 'best' from their high schools. To start the day, we hosted a tour of our facility, answered questions and let the kids see first hand how exciting the world of reverse engineering is, and how we use our technical and patent expertise to provide services to our customers - how we help them solve problems. Ok, commercial off. We also fed 'em lunch.

In the afternoon, we attended the Canadian Junior Achievers "Fulfilling the Vision" conference at Carleton University. These are cool kids, smart, curious, energetic and eager to learn. We chanted and chatted. I was on hand to discuss Marketing with the Red House, 26 really cute and keen students. We were working with the bilingual team that included delegates from the Bahamas, across Canada and from as far away as Guam and across Europe. They wanted to know how we help to fulfill our company's vision. I was joined by a colleague CAM - a true marketeer - for a Q&A session following the day's keynote from a well recognized and highly-successful marketing 'tour de force" Wendy Kennedy. It was a blast to talk about ourselves, our strategies, startpoints including some of the campaigns that worked, where we got our ideas, our successes and hey we even talked about some failures. The two hour session flew by, before I knew it, the clock said 4:30 and we were done.

They were very sweet, they gave us pen sets as a thank you, but more than that, they gave us a look at who the next leaders are going to be - a sneak preview. Tell ya what? I'm impressed.

Don't Eat This Book

That's how I've spent most of my weekend, reading this book and becoming increasingly freaked out over food. I'm not a big eater, I don't eat red meat, but potatoes? I can't eat potatoes anymore? Damn! I thought it was the texture I didn't like, but it could be the pesticides that are making me gag. I'd gotten over, or perhaps forgotten the dire warnings of "Fast Food Nation" - but it's back, my growing and exponential fear over the pesticides and other poisons in our foods.

Here's a quick little view, taken from "Don't eat this Book" Morgan Spurlock, Penguin Books Ltd....

"...collective insanity, the meat producers of this country (USA) are feeding all sorts of animals to the animals they feed to us. Dead pigs and dead horses are ground up for cattle feed, and so are dead chickens."

"...you want to hear something really disgusting? The cattle industry buys millions of dead cats and dogs from animal shelters every year, then feeds them to the cattle who end up in your burger."

According to this book, they do the same with roadkill.

I don't want to scare ya, but ewww!

I don't eat fast food, I barely eat food at all. I am so-so about 'casual food' such as the fare dished out at the chain food outlets masquerading as family restaurants that have recently opened in my neighbourhood, but the more I learn about our food, the more I hesitate to even take a bite.

I've got a dear friend who's suffering with CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). It's terrible - truly terrible. I don't want to see anymore.

What can you feed yourself, what can you feed your kids, what can we do to not poison ourselves? It's early on a rainy Sunday, but I want some answers, I need to know what I can buy, where I can shop and what is safe. Am I over reacting? I don't know. What do you feel safe with? What do you feed your loved ones?


=======rant mode off.

Da Boyz of Summer

The youngest comes home tomorrow. Con's been in England on the Isle of Man for the better part of the summer. His first international vacation. While on the island he took in lots of music, festivals, food, pubs and fun. In fact he even busked a couple of days and made some extra dosh.

Today he's in Liverpool on his way to Manchester tomorrow to take his flight home. He's hoping to see some cool sites, the Beatles Museum and anything else Liverpudlian. I've got to say I'm a bit green with envy, and am planning a trip myself across the pond, later this year for a short visit and definitely for a longer stay in 2007.

On this side of the Atlantic...

There's always a great deal of excitement around my place on this August weekend. Not that I'm involved, but it's the annual Baseball tournament for Rick and Pat. Honestly, you'd think it was the World Series! To them I guess it is. But really it's just a mixed beer league. They play three pitch for several games of a two day tournament. This causes a lot of early morning stomping around, cooking, talking, roaring and whistling. All this while I'm trying to sleep (see earlier post about not being a morning person. They're up banging around the house at 7:30, game time however is not until 11:30. But what the hey, it's once a year, I can live with it, I even have been known to go watch a game or two, and have some suds with the team.

Popcorn

Don'tcha love popcorn? Salty, buttery kernels that melt in your mouth (and get stuck in your teeth unfortunately.)

I love it, always have - but I hate what they're trying to pass off as popcorn at the movies and ballparks lately.

Petrified styrofoam coated in canola - or whatever that crap is - and it's cold! Who wants to eat 3000 calories worth of that genetically modified wall insulation.

I say we stand up for our rights, give me popcorn, and make it the real stuff. No more cheez flavoured or buttery flavoured cow corn for me.

If they won't give me the goods, I'll bring my own, and just try to stop me.

Scored again

When you're hot baby, you're hot! Another article from Chipworks was published today. This time on IP Frontline there is an article entitled "Don't Get Caught with your Patents Down" written by Terry Ludlow, the CEO and Founder of the company.

But enough about work. Last night we went to the Ottawa Greek Fest, great food, I had a delish greek salad, Rick went for the souvlaki. Yum. The music was fun - not your typical bousiki music - the band was actually rocking out. In addition to the great unwashed that usually attend these types of events (and yes, they were there in force) I also ran into a ton of people I hadn't seen in yonks; all getting loaded on Retsina and beer. Festivals bring out the beasts and the best.

Tonight I'm off to see the Ottawa Lynx play the Buffalo Bisons (they get a prize for the stupidest sports team name ever.) Going with a crowd, so should be a laugh.

Blogging is fun, more should do it, beats EMail update, and almost as good as instant messaging! Yeah!

Reverse Engineering...from Stacey at Chipworks

You bet! Score! I manage the PR and Marketing Communications work for a very cool reverse engineering/competitive intelligence company called Chipworks. Today on IPLaw360.com there is an article written by a brilliant fellow I work with - Dick James - that explains reverse engineering, how it is done, and what the results are used for - a really good read on the industry and published around the world in several languages.

People (uneducated) sometimes think reverse engineering is illegal, or cheating. Nothing could be further from the truth. This practice drives innovation and is promoted around the world in Semiconductor Protection Acts Read the article, learn the facts and understand.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Other....

It's a double bill at the AIDS Conference in Toronto - Bill Gates and Bill Clinton share the spotlight and discuss priorities to end the AIDS epidemic. Still no sign of Steven Harper.

Schroeder Flu

It's Monday, it was a beautiful weekend, but alas, I have succumbed to the Schroeder Flu. Haven't heard of it? You've probably had it, but under some other name.

The Schoeder Flu is legendary in our family. It usually makes its appearance - or is characterized by a lack of appearance of its namesake Bernie. He is famous for partying like a wild person on New Years Eve and then not being seen till a fortnight into the new year. I'm no saint, having had a few Schoeder Flu New Years in my life. But yesterday - following a lovely bike ride - Bernie and family came over to dinner on the deck. My immediate thought was...uh oh, it's Sunday. Well, wouldn't you know it. One thing lead to another bottle of wine, and yet another and some laughs, pictures and conversation and lots of Danny Michel's music and voila, Stacey is feeling the pangs of Schroeder flu between her ears, and won't be out to play today. Sherrilynne recently suffered through a bout of the aforementioned virus, and posted this highly appropriate article on her blog. I'm feeling very beige, and so I'm using her idea and doing the same. Enjoy..and yes comments please.

News notes:
AIDS conference in Toronto - Steven Harper choses to ignore - demonstrates his disconnect with the Canadian people.
And while I whine about the flu the world reports that the life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 37 years. We in Canada have it good.

Shameless self promotion:
I participated in a silent auction at the Ottawa Blues fest and my bid won me a laminated poster of Xavier Rudd in action. Xavier is a fabulous digerrido, guitar, percussion artist/singer/player from Australia. We're big fans, and now we've got this cool autographed poster for my wall of fame. yeah!

Not a morning person - Thanks Jim

I'm not, nor have I ever been, one to bounce outta bed in the morning. Rick wakes up early and starts whistling every day. I pull the covers over my head on weekdays until about 7:45, but on weekend I head to the basement where the darkness lingers and sleep till 10:00 or so. Today was such a day, and I awoke to the sounds of Jim Bryson singing about being tired of sleeping in Toronto. Nice! Got me right up, thank you CBC for playing one of my favorite musicians on a sunny Saturday morning, and not too early to disturb my sleep. Jim Bryson should be a really big star, he writes gorgeous songs. But his record label dumped him after the North Side Benches failed to make great sales, despite the fact that it is loved by critics. We went to see Jim this summer at the Ottawa Blues Fest and he was awesome. A quite confidence in his playing and lyrical ability; a real artist who doesn't give a damn about the business side of the music industry. Too bad 'cause in some ways cause more would know about his gift, but he's happy backing up Kathleen Edwards and touring the world with her band, so go for it Jim. At the Fest we watched him ply his craft and totally charm the audience. That's what got me outta bed today....hearing Jimmy sing. I love when a Saturday starts that way.

Get to know us

I'm in, you're in, we're all in the blogosphere. Check out my innovative friend Chris, at Prospectics. He got some cool ideas, useful tips, and a nifty little slant on the world. Sherrilynne lead the way across the pond at Strive Public Relations on the Isle of Man.

Git Nekkid?

After reading all about yesterday's airline/terrorist fiasco and the ensuing new 'restrictions' as to what we can and cannot take on plane, I've come to the conclusion that the only safe way to fly is naked. Check your passport, wallet, clothes at the gate, board to your left, get your buttocks snug into a seat and the attendant will pat you down and buckle you in. After all better arrive safely than dead. What a world, it's going to make travel the ugliest part of our lives, and it should be the most exciting. Wanna see the world? You bet! Strip us down and squeeze us in.

Have a safe weekend.

Today's the day

OK, today's the day I start my blog. I'm online all the time I'm not sure why I waited so long to set up one of these - could be I couldn't think of anything to say? Let's see if I can pull this off daily and not sound like so much sludge.

So these terrorists...who do they think they are anyway? Causing all this airline trouble and fear fear fear - I'm selfish, this is happening just when my youngest is visiting the UK and due to fly back in 10 days. Doesn't bear thinking about. I truly wish they'd expend their energies on eliminating themselves; what they're doing just doesn't make any sense to me.

===Rant mode off.