"Montreal is falling down, falling down, falling down ... "

The Mercier is dubious. The Champlain is suspicious. Turcot is troubling. And now you can add the Ville-Marie tunnel to the (increasingly lengthy) list of places I'd really rather not drive in Montreal.
Yesterday morning a 15-metre by about 1-metre thick slab of concrete (25 tons worth!) crashed down across all three lanes of the eastbound tunnel. It was a Sunday morning miracle that nobody was killed. But it certainly doesn't inspire confidence in the state of the city's infrastructure.
Of course investigations are still ongoing and a large part of the tunnel is closed indefinitely as we ponder what exactly is going on here. One theory in yesterday's collapse is that people working on the tunnel walls somehow jarred the section loose with their vibrations. But it obviously wasn't a concern at the time because the tunnel was wide open to traffic. And if it's really that fragile, what about the vibrations from the hundred thousand plus vehicles that use the tunnel every single day?
This province has a sad history with our roadways and bridges. The du Souvenir and de la Concorde overpass collapses are still all too fresh in people's minds, and we certainly don't want any repeats. A combination of age, extreme weather, excessive traffic, questionable construction quality and inadequate maintenance can be deadly. Hopefully this very narrow escape from tragedy will wake up the province to the realization that we have to be far more diligent with our roadways. I know Quebec City is the jewel in the province's crown, but Montreal is its driving engine and if people don't want to drive here - or live or work here - the whole province will suffer. It's high time our biggest city gets some big investments. Next time we might not be so lucky.

We're Having a Heat Wave

My annual battle with the heat has begun. And this year it's especially urgent as poor Topaze is really feeling her age ... and the heat. The very first warm days, a month or so ago, she started being sick. She would cough up her meals or parts of them, she's panting and wheezing, and is listless and lacklustre. She wants to walk but has trouble coming back from the walks. One sad day I actually had to carry her the two blocks up from the lake. And she's not a light dog; it took several stages. For now she's limited to walking up or down the street to the stop signs (either four or seven houses).

Yesterday was the worst yet. The humidex was somewhere in the 30's and we spent a good part of the day in the basement. It's actually quite nice down there now that it's all fixed up. I had my handy new Canadian Tire camp cot, my iPad and laptop (wireless reception is fairly good); I ate my lunch down there too. But no matter how nice, the fact remains that it's still a basement - and I really don't like basements. I do like my dogs, however, so we even ended up sleeping there last night. I threw my memory foam mattress pad on top of the cot and had a surprisingly good, comfortable sleep.

I don't really want to spend every night there, though, so today it's on to Plan B. Dan isn't about to give up the bedroom (and has never been too hot in his life, hence is very unsympathetic) so I'm experimenting with our little portable air conditioner in the library. [I keep watching the thermostat to see if it's falling. No change yet.] Our windows are not designed for air conditioner vents so I've improvised with cardboard and duct-tape. And I'm hoping. It might just be my imagination, but it feels dryer if not actually cooler. Topaze seems to be breathing a little easier too, although it could just be masked by the noise! That, along with the blocked window of course, is the downside. But for happier dogs and a happier me it will be worth it. [Yay!!! We're down a degree to 77!]

When Everything's a Big Deal, Nothing Is

A rather sad trend in parenting these days is to celebrate every accomplishment - no matter how minuscule - in increasingly elaborate ways. Used to be that graduating high school and university were pretty much the only truly noteworthy events in a young person's life. Now, though, grade six graduations, kindergarten grads, even preschool grads are matters of pomp and circumstance too. It's all going just a little bit far. Same for sports teams where everybody gets the trophy even if they were the worst player on the lousiest team. Kids have so many medals and certificates that they become meaningless articles shoved in a drawer and forgotten the next day.

Kids aren't stupid; they know if they really worked hard at something or excel at something and actually merit an award. It's too bad more and more parents feel they have to make a big deal out of absolutely everything. It's sad because it debases the genuine accomplishments, which of course will be different for every child. Getting a high school diploma was actually no biggie for me because I knew I didn't have to work particularly hard for it. I cherished the English prize I received far more because that was my toughest subject; I felt I truly earned it. I felt proud of it.

So why do it? I guess the "keeping up with the Jones" factor is always at play. If every other kid is having a graduation party for kindergarten you probably should too or your child might feel left out. Perhaps some parents are feeling sorry for themselves and trying to recapture and reinvent childhoods where they didn't feel enough attention was paid to them. (I've never won a trophy for anything - guess I'm deprived!) And I'm sure a lot of it started with parents feeling guilty about not being there for all the little moments that are really what matter most in life. So they try to compensate - overcompensate - by putting special emphasis on easy to delineate events, even ones as small as finishing up the soccer season their kid missed most of the games of!

I worry a little about kids whose self-esteem is so fragile (or is being made that way by misguided parents) they have to get extrinsic rewards for every minor achievement. Life doesn't really work that way. How much better it would be to skip most of the medals and certificates and have a parent who sits across the kitchen table from their child and talks about each day, who knows what their child thinks and feels ... and, most importantly, when their child has done something truly special, no matter how small, and praises it. Now that's a child who will feel valued - and know what to value in life. That's a child who will be happy and successful even without a single trophy to show for it. Of course you should celebrate your big achievements with gusto. But knowing inside that you've tried your hardest and been your best is something to cherish even more.

Pandora, Three Months On

I've had Pandora, my iPad, for three months now. Am I still as smitten as I was at first and, more importantly, how has having her changed me? Am I better in any way for it? Are there any unexpected consequences that I didn't foresee?

Well, yes, yes, and yes. I am still totally in love I must admit. I use her every single day; it's almost as if she's an extension of me. It hasn't exactly been the easiest three months of my life and I haven't accomplished as much as I would have liked, but now that I'm on holiday - and finally sprang for the Pages app - hopefully I will become more productive.

How do I use her? That's surprising me a little. I do read on her, but probably less than I expected to. I'm way behind on my magazine list; ditto for books. I have so many it's a bit overwhelming. To narrow myself down and focus on just one or two at a time is tough. Once I'm into a book, though, I'm into it - a good read is a good read and I see little difference between reading a print version and an iPad version (if one is available). I haven't written much either though I also have the Blogsy app. Like I said, I hope to change that this summer. My rough goal is at least four blog entries (or some other equivalent writing) a week. I definitely like the writing experience a lot better than I expected. I can type pretty darn fast now.

Besides reading and writing, I'm surprising myself with how acquisitive I am. I check three app sites faithfully for new freebies (I've only purchased a very select few apps) and have downloaded hundreds. I just can't pass up a bargain. Even if I'm not sure I'll ever actually need or use an app, if it's free for the day, I'll download it on the off chance I might want it someday. It's so bad I have less than a quarter of what I thought would be a spacious 32gb free! And that's with only one cd and one movie - and even after having removed a significant number of apps. Of course I've discovered some pleasant surprises doing that too - favourite games like Fishdom, Hand of Greed and, just this weekend, Fishdom H2O; a TV Guide, a great web browser, Maven ... there are a few apps I really enjoy and use regularly.

It also surprises me immensely how many games I've amassed. I've never ever been a gaming person, but now I really enjoy playing a variety for a few minutes here and there. I guess I'm basically a games dabbler by nature. I'm especially attracted to a whole new genre for me though: hidden object games like Fishdom H2O, and BigFish's Amazon HD. Sometimes I feel a little guilty playing when I could be doing more practical things, but I also think a little play might be exactly what I need these days. It's nice to be so immersed in a game that I forget everything else for awhile.

Overall I do think I'm a happier, if not a better, person for having Pandora. There's always something new to do or learn or try with her. She's a fun companion and a useful distraction from any bad things. My brain really seems to like the stimulation she provides. At first I felt a bit antsy using her - especially gaming before bed, but that's dissipating a little now. I know how to mange her - and me - better. A quite hidden object game or reading a book, not a magazine, is best. My biggest negative comment would be that it is pretty easy to let yourself get distracted on her. I can be reading along but then stop for a definition, then want to just check out a link or reference online, then want to just pop onto one of my sites to check for new apps for a sec, then just want to play one of my games for a minute ... you get the picture. And I'm a fairly focussed person. I can imagine some kids just hopping all over the place and not accomplishing anything at all. It's hard to resist the allure when you have so much quite literally at your fingertips. But for me that's a small price to pay. For me, Pandora is one of the best things to have happened in quite some time, and I truly love her and expect to be using her for a long, long time (or at least until the iPad 3 arrives next year!)

Stress and the Urban Brain

There was a very interesting item on CBC News a week or so ago on how the stress of living (or having grown up in) an urban environment can cause very real physical changes in the brain. It's disturbing to think how many lives are potentially being compromised, since more and more of us are living in cities. If you think about it, though, it really is a "no-brainer".
Being constantly surrounded by the hustle and bustle of other people, vehicles, noises of all sorts, not to mention being confined by buildings and endless stretches of asphalt and cement can really wear you down. And there is no down-time to speak of. It's a constant assault on the senses 24-7.
I didn't exactly grow up in the heart of a city, and my biggest "stress" as a pre-schooler was attending nursery school a few mornings a week. Yet when we moved from NDG to the more ... spacious ... Valois, it was as if my world lit up. Before then my memories are dark (not in the sense of depression, but actually physically dark as in the absence of light. I'm sure we had plenty of sunny days, but they just didn't register.
As a child and still today I sought out the peace and tranquillity of nature. Whether it was a walk in woods and fields or climbing up and reading in my beloved old willow tree, I craved that contact and escape. Vacations to the true country were even better. It felt so liberating to be able to run for miles along a stretch of beach or empty road, to even just see vast empty spaces.
I am so lucky today that even though I live in what is officially a suburb, I am still exposed to an abundance of nature. I can sit out in my back yard canopied in green listening to songbirds. I can walk barefoot through the grass. I can stare out at the open vista of Lac St. Louis, hear the waves, wade right in if it's warm enough. When I drive down my quiet, sidewalk-less street and hear the crackle of gravel on my driveway and the omnipresent sound of the wind through the trees, it's as though my whole soul breathes a big sigh and my whole body untenses.
Unfortunately millions of people aren't so fortunate. And as this photo shows, their brains may be paying a price. The areas representing fear, stress and anxiety are clearly more active in urban dwellers. Supposedly there are more instances of schizophrenia too. Now I stress enough as it is; possibly due to a genetic predisposition, maybe my earlier more citified years had some influence, most likely just because of the series of unfortunate events that has encompassed much of my last ten or fifteen years. I do know that if I didn't have the contact with nature my soul so craves, I would be infinitely more stressed-out and miserable. Nature, in a way, is helping me stay sane and grounded. Nothing is better after a tough day than a long walk by the lake. I really hope lots of city dwellers heard this story and that they too can find their own little urban Edens for the good of their souls and, ultimately, the good of the world.

Just a Test

Ok Blogsy, you have a new update so we'll try you out while I actually have an Internet connection (sadly no wifi at home since last week's thunderstorm). First thing to check is if images actually get imported at a decent size ... And don't resize themselves after you move them. Secondly -and apparently it could be the CSS on my blog and not Blogsy itself - have to see if alignment works. I want my pics beside my text. Not above. Not below. Not alone in the middle but beside. Here's hoping everything works and that my favorite little blogging program earns an A+!
Well, no, resizing doesn't stay. If you move the image you have to resize it all over again. But I can live with that if the alignment works. I'll take a screenshot just before posting to see if the before and after actually match.

Phew!

That was so stressful. Just a quick followup: sought help at the Blogsy site and found out I wasn't alone. (You rarely are on the Internet.) Others had had just the same issue. And yes, it had to do with their update. Anyway, I had to not just sign in, but delete each and every blog associated with my email address. The scariest one of course was this blog, because as soon as I did that my whole post disappeared. But I re-signed in, my blog names all reappeared, and my entire post showed up in the local category. Hit publish and this time it flew away happily to cyberspace. Worked so well, I'll do it again now!

Second Blogsy Post

Sad to say this is only my second real Blogsy post. They've already had a chance to update the app since last time! And supposedly it's improved. I can (in a workaround kind of way) get photos from my iPad into my blog. First I have to upload them to a service like Picasa, so it's not a perfect situation, but once they're there, you're good to go. I have to admit I was actually quite surprised to discover that I had photos from all my previous blog entries already there waiting for me.

Now I'm wondering about getting the pic in my entry. Last time I had a few frustrations with that aspect. I wasn't too happy either since a picture really enhances a post in my opinion. So ... here goes. Cool! Blogsy made its own little folder in Picasa (or maybe it was the other way around). Whatever the case, my pic was there ready to go. Got it dragged in and placed almost effortlessly too. More than ever I love Blogsy. All I need now are some fascinating topics to start writing about regularly. Who needs a laptop? I've got my Pandora (that's my iPad's name) and Blogsy - two of my newest best friends!
Aaaargh! An error! I happily hit Publish and was horrified to read that I can't. The application doesn't have permission to access the account. Checked settings and everything seems to be correct. Will be copying all my text in case a draft doesn't save right either and trying again. It's probably because of the recent update, but still .... aaaargh! I've tried going to settings and signing in again (had to say create new user account to do this) - I seem to have been signed out, perhaps when I reset my iPad earlier over Internet issues. Hope that does it because I couldn't even save a draft. Fingers crossed, let's try publishing again. Wish me luck!

So Where's the Blog?

Okay ... let's recap:
iPad? Check.
Blogging app? Yup, Blogsy bought and paid for.
Sufficient time to actually write entries? Mm-hmm; it poured rain all weekend.
Blog entries? Well, no, not yet.

I don't even know what the excuses are. Guess there aren't really any. But I will try to keep my eyes, ears and mind open for the ideas that are all around me. And I will really try to write at least a few times a week. Even if it's really about nothing - like now - at least it's an effort. So, hopefully, expect to read more in this spot soon!

Browser vs. Blogsy

This is just a test to see if I can blog fine on the iPad without Blogsy, or if I should spend my hard-earned money on this app. (A whopping $2.99 - minus 20% discount on my iTunes card, plus 14%-ish Quebec sales tax.) Also for my test I'll make a link to google right here. Okay, making a link seems to work (although you can't test it in preview) - if I know the precise address off by heart, but I've found my first annoyance with trying to blog via browser: I'm stuck seeing the HTML codes. Can't go to the usual compose view. That alone could make Blogsy worth it. Now what about adding an image? Okay: service unavailable. If I want pictures it will have to be Blogsy again (not that I use them all that often, but the option to is nice - especially if I ever revive my Wii games review blog). No options for lists or styles in the browser either. Blogsy is starting to sound better and better all the time. Nothing's perfect but if I want to give myself even half a chance to not feel frustrated, I think I might need Blogsy's helping hand. Alright, test complete for tonight. Let's try publishing. And let's just say that a visit to the App Store might be in my near future.