New Blog Location!!

As of now, I have a new blog location.  With the help of my friend Mark, I now have my blog running on a separate server from WordPress.  By doing this, I am now able to better customize my blog for what I need..

You can now find it by either visiting www.eagleinbc.com or going to blog.eagleinbc.com.

For those of you who read my posts via Facebook, this will have no impact on you!

Thanks!

Cam…

Custom Made Growth Charts and More

Even though I have moved my blog to a new location, I thought that I’d put up a new post to promote something I’ve been working on..  

About 3 years ago, I was looking for a growth chart to mark my kids growth, but all of the ones that I found did not appear to be very durable — usually made of paper or fabric.  I decided to make one of my own.  When my family and friends saw it, they were impressed and started asking for one for their families.
Here are the details on the growth charts:

• They are 48 inches (4 ft) in height. I usually design them to start measuring kids at 2 feet (24 inches) up to 6 feet (72inches).
• The backboard can be Painted in White, Light Blue, Light Pink, Light Purple, or Pale Yellow (Other colours may be available).
• Backboard made of Spruce wood
• Includes 5 Figures/Letters/Picture Frames – Your choice of figures!  Chunky are 3/8″ thick and Thin are 1/16″ thick (see below for list).
• Any additional letters, figures, or picture frames, if required, can be purchased.
• The growth charts I make are easy to clean, durable, and can be uninstalled/reinstalled easily, if needed.
• If being shipped, comes in 2 parts, for easier and less expensive shipping.
• Includes four 2 1/4” wood screws and four wall anchors.
• Usually ships within a week of ordering. Confirmation e-mail of shipping and tracking number provided.
• Price – Starting from $23.00
  (Canadian Funds)

If you are interested in these, please check out my website http://camscraft.eagleinbc.com or e-mail me at camscraft@eagleinbc.com

Thanks!

What is SD42 thinking?

Prepare for a good long read!  While this will mean little to nothing for a lot of people, it means everything to anyone with kids in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows… 

Over the last few weeks, my wife has been going to meetings about the proposed school closures in SD42 (Maple Ridge (MR) & Pitt Meadows).  While I haven’t been able to go to these meetings (someone has to watch our kids!), she and I have been talking about the process and posibilities, and digging up information to present (and combat) the school board with.  (Click on Keep Reading for more!)

A New Look..

After a lot of consideration, I’ve decided to change the look of my blog..  But of the templates available, I had a hard time choosing the one I wanted..

First of all, I wanted one that still allowed me to use the picture of Megan and the duck in the header.  A lot of the ones that I found either didn’t have a banner picture option, or simply wouldn’t allow me to crop the picture the way I wanted..

Secondly, change is good!  While I was content with the layout of what I had, there were a few changes that I wanted to make.  Firstly, I wanted to better highlight another page on my blog “Canadian Recalls“.  Aside from a little thing down the side of the old layout, there was no way with the previous layout that I was using that I could highlight when changes were made to it..

Thirdly..  well..  I guess I just thought it would be nice to try something different..  it goes back to the “change is good” idea, I suppose..

Anyhow, I hope that everyone is having a great day..  I’m trying to have a more positive outlook on things..

The Clock is Ticking…

The title of the post is by no means an understatement..

Things are not going well at all..  It seems that I have to wait for appointments to do anything with my back.  As I’ve previously mentioned, I don’t see a neurosurgeon until April 2008…  But there was still hope!  I was supposed to be getting a Cortisone shot sometime by the end of October!

Apparently not….  I got the call for the appointment today.  I was informed that it will be just for a consult about the shot.  Guess what!? The consult appointment isn’t until December 5th of this year..

So, what’s my problem??

Canadian Recall List

I’ve decided to devote a page to recalls. This can be found at (http://eagleinbc.wordpress.com/canadian-recall-list/).  As I’ve stated in a previous post “Getting Tired of Recalls“, I think that the recall situation is getting out of hand.

So, this is for recalls that I come across.  By no means is anyone to assume that this is a complete list.  Also, this will be mainly a Canadian List (But very often, Canadian/USA ones are the same).

If you have one to add, please feel free!  My main source will be from Health Canada, but I may use others as well..

Overall, I think that awareness is key.  The more sources that list the info, the more likely that it is that more people are going to  get the message.

Thanks!

Cam…

(Please note that this list is effective as of today, October 9, 2007.  I may refer back to older ones though)

Thanksgiving Weekend

Well, we got back from our Thanksgiving weekend a few hours ago, and I have to say that it was relatively uneventful..

We left Maple Ridge early Friday afternoon to drive up to Penticton.  The kids had a great time with Papa and Grandma.  And aside from witnessing a high-speed police chase (click here for details!) of which we saw a very small portion, and certainly not the most dangerous part (we saw him driving EXTREMELY dangerously, narrowly missing two other vehicles), nothing interesting happened.

That’s about it..  I didn’t do much aside from reading Harry Potter (now reading the 4th book.  I only started reading them about 3 weeks ago).  Colleen and the girls visited a friend, Cathy, and her two boys.  I was feeling kinda blah, so I went to Cherry Lane for some retail therapy! (It worked better than Physio!)

Overall, it’s nice to be home.  I enjoyed getting away, especially after being stuck at home for weeks and weeks, it was nice for a change of view, but it’s always nice to come back home to your own bed.

Thank you, Mr. MacDonald!

Since I have had a lot of time to think, something has occured to me recently….

Why don’t people greet each other the way they did 20 years ago?

Seriously..  I remember as a kid when I was introduced to adults, I always was told, “This is Mr. So-and-so.”.   It was only polite to say hello to Mr. Wilson down the street.  I NEVER would have said, “Hi Bob!”.

Now that I’m an adult, I don’t find that level of courtesy.  Well, that isn’t entirely true..  I do hear “Here is your receipt, Mr. MacDonald” at Safeway, but that isn’t courtesy… that’s what they’ve been trained to do.  None of my daughters friends say Mr. MacDonald.  The funny thing is that they don’t say much.   At best, I get “Lizzy’s Dad”..  They always seem awkward at the front door..  

I do admit, that I have not taught my daughter to call people Mr./Mrs. either.  Somehow, we (society) have become lax on this..

What Possessed Me To Do THAT?

Last night, I decided to watch the move, The Cable Guy.  I am not entirely sure what possessed me to do that, considering I thought that it was a bad movie in 1995.  I assure you that time doesn’t improve all things!

One of the things that annoys me about it is when Chip (Jim Carrey) “flicks the switch”.  THERE IS NO SWITCH!  At least not here in Canada!  The number of times when I’m working that I here “Don’t you just need to flick the switch?” is astounding! 

Also, you get the “clever” people.  I’ll get to a home, someone answers the door, and then they turn around and yell into the house, “The cable guy is here!”.  Then, they’ll look at me and think that they have just realized some incredible thing, and make a joke/reference to the movie.

The best/worst one was when a customer asked me, “You’re not going to try to be my friend, are you?”  I assured them that I had no interest in that..

Anyhow…  enough about dumb movies!

Other than that, I’m doing okay, all things considered.  With the modification to my meds, I “feel” a little better.  But, I still have to be careful, because all that means is that I don’t feel myself overdoing it…  at least not until later..

I wish I was able to go back to work… 

AlarmForce – The Follow-Up Post!

I thought I’d leave a follow-up comment on AlarmForce.  A few weeks ago, I put a post up about my disatisfaction with how AlarmForce handled my back-up battery replacement.  The battery arrived, about three days after this post.  It was simple enough to replace, but I am now stuck with this dead battery that contains lead.  At some point, I’m sure that I’ll find a place to dispose of it.

Overall, I am not impressed with Alarmforce’s service or technology.  The system (at least in Canada), is a joke.  It’s a small box that plugs into the phone jack.  It isn’t integrated into the phone system to ensure that it has priority over the dial tone.  (I work for Shaw Cable. Part of my job entails hooking up phone service for customers; I know how alarm systems SHOULD be hooked up).  It’s very “mickey mouse” really.

In short, if you live in Canada at least, I would NOT recommend AlarmForce as an alarm company.  You can be sure that when my contract with them is up, I’ll be switching.