Why does Canada rule?

Because they make sure that their residents know all about the local wildlife! For example, I know that the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is one of Canada's smallest birds and a welcomed summer visitor to backyards across most of Southern Canada. Its nest is made of cobwebs and lichen, is the size of a toonie, and is designed to look like a tree knot. To attract these colorful little birds to my backyard, all I would need to do is plant a garden. Why not visit hww.ca to learn more about the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird?

Or for now, you can learn about the Loon.

He lies

This is Matt's real latest obsession:

Doin' it for the money

This summer, Matt told you all about his favorite busker. Now you can read about other Montrealers' favorite buskers in town. No pictures to go with their descriptions, but the descriptions are pretty good on their own. If you're really aching for pix, try this.

Revenge?

A few months ago, I dreamt that Danger Kitty beat Matt in a free throw shooting contest. Then yesterday, Matt dropped Danger Kitty in a bathtub full of water. On purpose. Hmmmm.

Take Action

This was originally posted on My Green City Life Blog.

Today is October 15, which means it is Blog Action Day, the day I am supposed to remind you to live green and take care of our planet as best you can. Isn't that what I've been saying all along? I certainly hope that's the message you've been getting.

So today, I would like to impress upon you the importance of living a truly green life. Why go green? There are so many answers to that question it's overwhelming to know where to start. Let's see... Because landfills are not only filling up the land but also the oceans. Because gas-guzzling vehicles — commercial and personal — are polluting the atmosphere as well as sucking down oil, a resource that many other aspects of our lives depend on, and a resource that is finite and quickly being depleted. Because there is only so much fresh water on our planet, so we need to use it wisely. Because pesticides sprayed on crops gets washed downstream, effecting wildlife and humans alike. Because the weather has been acting kind of freaky across the board in the past few years, and I'm not a fan of violent storms.

I could go on. Protecting our environment means protecting ourselves. We need to step it up and take action now. As in right now. Today. Here's a way to start: I've typed up 60 ways to start making your life a green life. Pick three items off the list that aren't currently part of your life and that actually pertain to you. Start them today. No cheating, no dilly-dallying. Push yourself, and do it!

Three small changes to your life is a good start, but it's not going to save the world, unfortunately. However, that doesn't make it futile. Talk to people and get them going on the green path too. Take on more green changes. Be the green example. I believe that the action of the individual does make a difference, a very tiny difference though it may be. The real change comes when that individual influences those around her, and the individual becomes part of a larger group. Please join me. Let's be the group that affects real change.

Donde esta el baño?

Thanks, Redneck Mother.

Happy holidays

Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadians. Happy Columbus Day to the Americans. Happy normal day to everyone else.

Click for cans

Hey, ya'll, it's football season, which also means it's Campbell's Chunky Click For Cans season! Hit up the site everyday and vote for the team you like best (obviously the Chiefs). I *think* that at the end of the promotion, they donate cans of soup — as many as the team with the most votes has votes — to some charity. So if you're in it for the hungry tots, vote for the leading team to up the number of cans that will be donated. If you're in it for the glory, vote for the Chiefs. Yeah, that's right: Chiefs = glory. They also have a field-goal kicking game this year that you can play to increase the number of votes you add each day. The more field goals you kick, the more votes your team gets. It also increases the time you are on their site and exposed to their branding.

BTW, you can vote only once each day... but they track you by cookies, which are browser specific. So really you can vote once per browser per day. If you want to play the game in each browser, you'll have to delete the cookie that the game saves on your computer. (Technically, it's not a cookie but a Flash Shared Object. Yes, I am a Flash geek.) All you have to do is search your hard drive for a file called lastDate.sol. Delete it. It's that easy.

UPDATE: I was wrong about how many cans are donated. They donate one can for each pound of the winning team's weight. So, uh, vote for a fat team? Nah, just vote for the Chiefs.

Squashed

This is why I should never attempt to make any sort of baked good involving zucchini ever again. They always end up like this.