The Birth of the Clap Award

The Clap Award came about one day while I was out with my wife, returning from shopping. We were stopped at a red light when I saw a driver opposite us take advantage of an advanced green to make a U-turn and proceed back the way he came. He then made an illegal turn, crossing two north and two south bound lanes. All this so he could go to the Tim Horton's coffee shop. I decided that such a bonehead moved like that required some sort of recognize, so I started clapping. My wife asked what I was doing, and I replied, "I'm giving that driver the clap." And thus, The Clap Award was born.

Update

Due to a lack of time, and ideas, I have not been posting as often as I would like. I always thought it was important to post something that had substance - that had meaning, or was about something. Unfortunately, that made it hard to come up with something to post. The ironic thing is that once I start writing a posting, I find it very easy.

I hope to make regular posting a habit, and to help with that, I am creating two new features. The first is called "Tales From My Wife - Stories of a Fast Food Cashier". My wife works as a cashier for a fast food chain. Every week she comes home wild or strange stories the customers she had served. This feature will chronicle those stories.

The second feature is "The Weekly Clap Awards". This will showcase those individuals who deserve "the clap" - not to be confused with the STD, but you get the idea. The award is given out to acknowledge the actions of people who do something that makes you say "What the ...".

Stay tuned as I will start posting the new features soon.

Warning Labels

On Thursday, January 24, my family and I went shopping at the Vaughn Mills mall, just north of Toronto. One of the features of Vaughn Mills, is that it contains a NASCAR Speed Park. This has many impacts on the mall itself, some obvious, like the huge volume of people that it brings in. As well as some not so obvious, like the fact that they have shopping carts that look small race cars. And this is what today's post is about. These shopping carts allow you to put one or two children in the front of it, and at the back is a space to put your purchases. At the back of the cart, where the handle connects, is a large, mesh bag. Printed on this bag, was a sign that read "Do not place child in bag."



Now, odds are, that if the mall went through all the trouble of printing that sign on all of those bags, it was because somebody saw fit to put a child in that bag. You see stuff like this all of the time, fast food coffee cups now come with a warning advising the consumer to be careful because the contents are hot. Duhhh, what kind of an idiot need a warning on a cup to tell them that the coffee they just bought is hot? What's next, a warning on soft drink cups warning the consumer that the ice may stick to their tongues?



Now many companies will argue that they need this warnings to protect themselves from lawsuits. Many people will also argue that we have become a very litigious society. Now, that may be true, but that is a result of people not being responsible for their own actions. Is it McDonald's fault if, after leaving the Drive-thru, while you are driving 100kmh down the highway, that you spill your hot coffee in your lap and severely burn your genitals? I think not! Some people will complain that it was too and therefore the fault of McDonald's that they got burned. A lawsuit gets launched and an even dumber jury awards the person millions of dollars, all because of their own stupidity.



This whole thing of warning labels makes me wonder what is next? I can see it now, razors with warnings by using this product, you may suffer nicks or cuts that may cause bleeding.

New Feel, New Look

It occurred to me the other day that I really have not been writing about what I had intended to when I first started this blog. Many of you will remember that I started this blog to better understand the phenomenon of social networks like blogs, Facebook, and My Space. At that time, my idea was to post random thoughts that I had. You know, the kind of things that make you go hmmm. When I started, they were a lot of things going on in my life, and these made there way into my blogs. Things have quieted down a lot now, and I have been thinking that it may be time to get back to the original theme.

Hopefully, with this idea, I will be able to post more often, and maybe reach a wider readership. I am planning (hopefully) to add pictures, links to stories on other sites, etc. This is not to say this I have abandoned posting stories on exciting, or interesting things that happen it my life. These will still appear, and with the new content, I hope to provide a fuller, richer space for my readers.

So, please stay tuned for the new blog, complete with a new look, and new content.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a good time on New Year's eve. Everyone in the family is doing well, and had a good Xmas. I received a my own laptop, so I hope to be able to post more frequently (no fighting with the kids for a computer).

Caroline and I had entered the 5km Resolution Run for charity that took place at 6:00PM New Year's Eve. It was a great night for a run, clear, around -2C, and no wind or snow. This was Caroline's first 5k competition run, and she turned in an excellent time of 36 minutes. This was my second 5k, and I completed it in 30:58 - shaving six minutes off of the first 5k I ran in September's Run for The Cure. Afterwards, we went back to The Running Room for free chili and prizes. I hope to continue this, and complete my next 5k in under 30 minutes, and by the fall, I hope to complete a 10k event.

Today was the day that we dropped Justin off at college. He is in student residence, just off campus, sharing a place with two other guys. Monday will be his first day in the heavy equipment course. He still needs to pick up his text books, but he does have most of his tools. The college is only a two hour drive from home, so he will be able to come home on weekends. I think once he starts getting in the swing of being back in school, he will really enjoy it, and will come less often.

Well, that's it for tonight, please stay tuned for more posts for 2008. Have a safe New Year.

Justin is Off to College!!

My oldest son Justin, decided at the end of high school, that he wanted to go to college and become a heavy equipment mechanic. We researched two colleges in our area, Centennial College in Toronto, and Sir Sandford Fleming College in Lindsay. Justin decided that he wanted to attend Fleming, as their program looked better, and was designed by Tormont Caterpillar. Caroline and I talked him in applying at both, thus increasing his chances of being accepted. A short time later, Justin received a call from Centennial, asking him to attend an interview. My wife and son made the 1.5 hour drive for the interview that only lasted 10 minutes. A few months later, a letter from Centennial arrived. The letter explained that the Heavy Equipment course was full, but they would be pleased to offer him a position in the Heavy Equipment Operators course. This was not what Justin wanted, so he declined the offer. A few weeks later, another letter from Centennial arrived, this time they were offering him the course he wanted. As he had five or six weeks before he had to confirm, he decided to wait to see if he would hear from Fleming. A few weeks later, a letter from Fleming arrived. Carline checked on line, and confirmed that he had been accepted. We then went out and bought a cake and some small toy construction vehicles to place on top. When Justin arrived home from work, we surprised him with a pizza dinner, the cake, and the acceptance letter. Justin is off to college!

The program at Sir Sandford Fleming starts in January 2008, and runs until December 2008. The program includes a paid summer co-op period as well. After graduation from the program, Justin will be ready to assume an apprenticeship with an employer.

We just returned from a visit t the college in Lindsay where we met with some of the instructors. We also had the chance to talk to a former student. He told Justin about the many prospects that await him.

The Accident (Number 2)

Well, it happened again -It was mid-August and I had just started my new job. I was at work when I got the call from my wife. My eldest son was it by a car while at work! For those who have not read the post "A Parent's Worse Nightmare", this is the second time in a few months that he has been involved in an accident involving a car. Justin works at a local oil change franchise, and on this day, was working upstairs. They had just finished working on a Jeep, and Justin was standing in front of the vehicle, waiting for the driver to start it up so he could guide him out of the shop. The driver, an older man, jumped in, started the Jeep, and revved the engine. Unfortunately, the Jeep was a standard, and when he revved it up, it jumped forward, hitting Justin and knocking him down. The bumper caught him on the knee, and it started swelling right away. Justin was unable to walk or put weight on it, so his boss called 911. While in the ambulance, Justin called Caroline to let her know what happened, and to have her meet him at the hospital. Before she left, Caroline called me to let me know. Justin was sent for x-rays, and fortunately his injuries were limited to a sprained knee. Three days later, he saw the doctor and was cleared to return to work. The whole family is hoping that this ends his run in with cars!