Here's hoping everyone has a good holiday, whichever one you care to choose!

I'm currently sitting at home the day before X-mas because work gave everyone the 24th off, how kind :) All the shopping is done, the champagne is in the fridge and I think we're good for the next day or so. Oh wait, I have wrapping to do yet. Almost ready.

Kathleen is finished her first semester of school, she had an average of 94%, and she is annoyed it wasn't a 96%. I asked her why, turns out 96 is better because it is closer to 100 ... can't argue with that.

As you may know, Kat and I play World of Warcraft. It takes the place of television watching. Kathleen was talking to some of her online friends about the massage courses she was taking (and enjoying) and it turned out one of her online friends used to do massage. She now does photography. All her gear was sitting in her garage and she was going to be in San Diego for the holiday break. Some money was exchanged and now Kat owns a top of the line table, bolsters and three boxes of linens. Yay for random connections!

Last year Kat bought a small tree in a bucket to decorate and we put it outside all year to be watered by the sprinklers. She brought it back in, it's bigger now but seems to be suffering from a distinct camber. I think it looks more inclusive, the tree bends towards the viewer, casually inviting them to join the holiday spirit, like an off-beat but lovable uncle. So there, it's not bent, it's inclusive.

Kat already has one of her presents, the big one. She was interested in getting the Kindle for X-mas so me being the accommodating husband said no. We had to go look at all the alternatives that are out there. So we looked at the Nook (I wasn't impressed) and the Sony Reader (which I liked) as well as reading up on the Kindle. She ended up getting what she wanted the first time. At least I can feel we did some due diligence.

I'm no fan of e-readers, the DRM infestations they have and the restrictions on book sharing but I won't get in to it. On a positive note the trip to France we took earlier this year would have been far easier with a Kindle. I took two Stephen Erickson books with me, yes, two. Bringing a Kindle would have been far easier on my spine. The screen is great and Kat likes the whole feel of it, she's reading it right now.

Weather here is getting chilly, not northern climes cold, but chilly. It was 10 degrees celsius the other day when I left work. I had to turn on the grip heaters on the motorcycle. Kat also had to use the seat heaters in the car. How we suffer ;)

Random story: I was pulled over by the police the last week on the way to the pub to meet up with some members of my soccer team. I was riding the scooter and wearing my glow-in-the-dark jacket from MEC, so I wasn't looking that scary. At least I didn't think so. I had turned right on a red when there was a sign saying I shouldn't be doing that. Oops. The first thing the cop asks me is whether I'm on parole, which struck me as odd, I told him no. He then asked me whether I had any weapons such as a shotgun or grenades that he should be worried about, which also struck me as odd. Where in a scooter was I supposed to be hiding a shotgun? It all ended with me not getting a ticket, so I was happy, but still confused. I didn't ask him whether that was standard procedure, but talking with friends afterwards it doesn't seem like it is.

I wonder if it was the fact that I was so apparently not scary that made him cautious. Nevertheless my team mates had my back, they were watching from down the street to so they could record if I was brutalized. How thoughtful.

On a final note, most people are lazy, I think we can agree on that. Given the choice between and escalator and stairs, people take the escalator. What happens if you make the stairs more interesting? What happens if you give feedback to people when they throw their trash away? How did they ever manage to get those projects approved?