Media and the Cops

This week, the life of an innocent bystander was unfortunately taken at the mercy of a stray bullet from a Montreal Police force service weapon.

A man (Hamel) was found ripping bags of garbage apart with a knife, in a busy area, in downtown Montreal. He had been engaged with threatening behaviour with a knife. Police interposed, shots were fired. The man in question fell, but also someone else, a 36 year old man, who just happened to be passing by at the wrong time.

And then the media circus began.
As you know, I'm married to a downtown-Montreal police officier. My brother, also is a cop for the RCMP, so yeah, I have an opinion.

Limoges' passing is unfortunate. It's unconceivable that he lost his life, at the hands of a policeman simply for passing by. However, prosecuting the police force for this occurrence serves no purpose. Never are they thanked for a job well done, but when one cop, out of 4000 Montreal policemen fires his service weapon, in a situation we'll never know the scope of-medias are the first to inflict the first casting  stone their way.

Perhaps unecessary shots were fired-but there is still no confirmation whether this was the case, or if Limoges' hit was the result of a richochet bullet. Yet, judgement has already fallen on the police force.

And then, if it was ricochet, medias will still be first to point out that the officers in question should have used a different type of constraining method. Were they there? Of course not. Have they ever been faced with a situation, an individual that is unfamiliar, and perhaps unstable, and menacing? Of course not. The police officers in question however, know that the ideal positioning is 21 feet away from a man armed with a knife. They know that statistics show it takes 1.5 seconds for an armed, healthy and motivated individual to breach those 21 feet to plunge his knife in his victim. They know that 45% of all knife stabbings are fatal. The cops reasoned with Hamel, he was in a busy area. They didn't care about the garbage, they cared about disarming him, but mostly, they worried that he might attack someone, since he was certainly unstable.

Next, there will be the argument  that Hamel, was just that, unstable, and shouldn't have been shot, since he wasn't in complete control of his acts, and wasn't completely ''there". Well, it's sad to say, but perhaps if this man is out on the streets, with a knife-then it's not the cops that aren't doing their job properly, but rather health centres, institutions, government funding and family-letting him about in this state. Food for thought?

Cops have to make quick decisions in a matter of seconds, and they don't have the time or luxury, unfortunately, to pass everyone in an interview-to establish whether or not they are stable. If security is at stake, they have to do, what they must. Again-we weren't there. Medias weren't there. Some drugs have for effect to make a man as strong as four grown man, that, and take away his rationality- if he was running towards you, with a knife…. Would you wait till he made it near you, to possibly have the opportunity to restrain him with other means, having no garanties he wouldn't stab you first, or would you shoot….?

Two men shot their weapon, not an entire police force. Perhaps it was uncessary, and if that's the case, those individuals will have to live with that fact. It's not the entire force that has to take "a bullet" for those shots. But then again, perhaps it was necessary, we don't know. We can't blame on one hand, and expect the cops to serve and protect on the other.

Let it be noted that in high-stress-level situations, it is impossible to dictate what should have been done, versus what has been done, unless one was there, in the moment.

Let it also be noted that attacking the force with criticism will only strip them of their capacity to assure security, where agents will feel insecure themselve to use necessary force, even when truly necessary, for fear of being reprimanded, by the force, by the medias, and by society.

But again, Limoges passing, is in all this, is absurd, and truly very unfortunate.

Repeats Suck!

The Big Bang theory-repeat, Rules of Engagement-repeat, CSI, Grey's Anatomy-repeat, repeat... Thursday evening, it's summer, or almost summer, but not quite. Regular shows are off for the  season, and this used to be my tv night....what the hell am I gonna do?

D has hockey early in the evening, but comes home just late enough for me to think it's "too late to watch a movie"... kids should be off the grid by 7h30 (XX= fingers crossed, both hands)... and I am alone, with nothing to do, and no telly to entertain me.

I feel blah, but don't want to accept the idea that I may be coming down with something-denial... yeah, that's what I'm going with. I don't feel blah enough to go to bed really early though. I'm uninspired to design tonight (it happens), really not motivated enough to put in a few extra hours at work (home office) (although, I could really use the cash: my St-Raphael brandy bottle level is dangerously coming down). Exercise? Elliptical? Please, no.  Sounds like a perfect night to read... but it just won't happen...

I know what's going to happen. The kids will be in bed, the lights will be closed, I'll bring the level of my brandy bottle, even lower.... and I will be watching repeats, and I actually will enjoy them, a second time around, I'll even laugh.... but yeah, repeats suck.

A Post a Day Keeps the Therapist Away

Third day, third post-Is it possible? It can't be...oh but it is!

I thought I'd share my opinions on an article I read today on CaféMom.  The article was about high schools, coming up with this plan, which was qualified as ''brilliant'' by the author of the article. The plan, was to call teenage students, to wake them up in the morning... really?.. and this is considered brilliant? Really.

The author went on about how teens have it rough (?!?), on  the large amount of homework they have (!?!), on being ''chemically wired'' to being night-owls, yet not having any choice of going to bed late, considering the amount of homework they have...She also stated  that schools expect them to be in, and I quote ''at the crack of dawn" and how for all these reasons,  we couldn't blame them for wanting to sleep in come morning... and since schools are to blame, the least they could do, is help out...

Bull. That's it. That's all I've got to say. That's what I'm going with: Bull.

Okay, I do have a little more to say (really, are we surprised?). I did reply to the article, of course. I obviously stated that the author was entitled to her opinion, but clearly expressed that this is, in MY humble opionion, the.dumbest.idea......ever.

Teens don't have it rough, they have everything handed to them.

How is a wake-up call preparing these young-almost-adults, for real life... uhm gee, I wish my boss called me to wake me (oh wait, I've got kids for that). This practice, teaches teens anything, but responsibility.

I may have mentionned that perhaps, if kids are so hard to wake in the am, that perhaps, they are going to bed too late. I mentionned, that if they are going to bed late because of homework, perhaps they need to revamp their organisational/ study skills. I mentionned that behold-yes, even teens should have a reasonable curfew. I mentionned that if there's just not enought time after school to ''get it all done'', that perhaps, their schedules are over-filled (with band, and cheerleading, and soccer, and princess tiara-whatever) (side note, I'm not against extra-curricular activities, quite the opposite... I'm against kids having no un-organized time, where shedules are filled to the brim. I'm against ''everything else'' being more important than a child's well being, where it should be understood, that kids need rest, a decent bed time.... and that school should be a priority). If kids need to go to bed really late, it's not because of homework. It's not the school's fault. If this is the case in the author's kid's lives, and others in the same boat.... perhaps their parenting strategies should be re-assessed...just a thought

That is all.

Cheers.

Oy Vey... mustard allergies

Noah has been allergic to mustard (!!!) since he was two. D and I were discussing going to the specialist to re-test him, since allergies come and go when kids, are kids.

Just received a call from our babysitter, who told us Noah had patches on his skin, since she fed him something with mayonnaise (president's choice), and when she verified the ingredients, of course, there was mustard.

Back in 2009, at the allergist's office, when we were told he was allergic to the dirty yellow substance, I remember asking how serious this allergy potentially could be, only to be answered "deadly".... and there went my hot-dog and ham sandwich buffet party meal dreams!

It's one thing to be allergic to something like nuts, It's practically indicated on food item packages, that contents may have been in contact with nuts, even on, say,  cheese labels! But being allergic to mustard, quite simply sucks. (hmm, I can see how the nut allergy thing can also suck... if you want cheese and your label says may have been in contact with nuts....right).  Did you know there's mustard in mayonnaise? (unless using Hellmann's... thank you Hellmann's). Buying sausages for supper?... Make sure to check the labels........ Mustard finds it's way in so many recipes, from the obvious burgers in kid's meals at Mcd's (and how many times have we had to go back to the counter to to point out that "this burger isn't plain" since we prefer to add the ketchup ourselves), (not that the kids eat Mc'd's too often (chuckle), of course), to mac and cheese recipes.

In any case, My poor babysitter, I can imagine her stress, knowing the seriousness of this allergy, having the epipen with her, wondering if she should be stabbing my son with it, and knowing that SHE had given him something dangerous for him to eat. At least, we know that 1) yes, he is still allergic, 2) In transformed forms (small quantity in mayo), the reaction is not so dramatic (but we won't be taking chances, knowing reactions can worsen with exposure), 3) My sitter handled it like a champ, she rocks!

Just Another Manic Monday

So, I went to bed past midnight last night, working on my latest blog themes, design for ALCHEMIST CREATIONS-DESIGN....I was then kept awake for over an hour thinking about things to add on blog templates, new themes, oh, and my pending work day, that would come oh-but-too-soon. I finally fell asleep a little past one am...remember dreaming of css coding (not cool), and then was awoken by the hubs who came to bed at around 2 am, since he had been working evening shifts. (As a side note, I really have no idea how he does it: go to bed so, so, so late (or early (!)), and yet, be up and at em, with the kids, every.single.day, bright and early, without taking a nap even if he has the day off (I would so nap!)... I guess he prefers Facebook Poker. Go figure.

This morning, I had forgotten that I had agreed to  start work a little later, in order to finish, also, a little later. Which means, I was ''in the office', (and by that I mean at home in my jammies on the work PC) early.... and still technically had to finish at a later time (bumber), mais c'est la vie. I was dreading the day, and how tired I would be, but it ended up being quite productive, and I was focused (mainly), on my corporate work.... and not my preferred pending designs. Good for me!

So, I'm working on a boyish Superman design inspired by the hubs, and ALCHEMIST CREATIONS DESIGN's Blog header. Tonight however, I took the evening off, considering I've been doing my full time job during the day, mothering, AND putting in mad hours on my design work over the last few days once the kids are in lala land..... and I hadn't spent time with Dan *D*, aka ''the hubs'', who has been evening shift the last four days (er, evenings). All we did, is watch the season finale of Supernatural (I KNOW!!! Gosh Castiel! (thank you torrents!)(side, side note: I heart Misha Collins= yum, then again: Jensen Ackles, double yum). Now, D is s off to the man-land, aka ''the basement'', to watch Monday Night Raw (wrestling ) and I'm technically off to bed, but thought I'd recap the day and any pending thoughts, so that sleepy time, would be smooth sailing tonight, so that's it, I'm off!

Quick update

New posts coming shorthly! It's been a busy last couple of months! I'm back at work, the kids have changed daycares,  the house still isn't cleaning itself... busy.

Yesterday was Logan's 1st Birthday! Time flies. I wrote up a ''Dear Logan'' blog, using a blog application on my Ipod, but when I came to publish it... poof, vanished! And so, my ''Dear Logan'' blog will be late, but it's not forgotten!

Looking forward to getting back in the groove of writing regularly!

I Must be Doing Something Wrong

It was while I was nursing my almost-nine-month old baby back to sleep, for like, the 4th time sometime last week, that it hit me: I Must be Doing Something Wrong!!!

 Noah, my first son, didn't sleep for the first six months of his  life. He was exclusively nursed and slept in the playpen in our room. (ERROR!) He wouldn't nap on his own either, so we made a habit of napping together,(ERROR!) which truth be told, I more than welcomed.  After he turned 4 months (and had taken a total  of only five bottles, (ERROR!) he wouldn't have any). Being alone to handle nights, (ERROR!) since he would only nurse, I guess we can say  that I was somewhat sleep deprived. Noah would wake about ten times a night from the time he was four months old, and then when he turned six months, we moved him into the crib in his own room,  (FINALLY DID SOMETHING RIGHT!) I he finally slept through the night.

My ''No Spending'' Experiment

I'm a nutcase job when it comes to making my budget, on paper.  I think budgets are sexy, that' right... I said the ''s'' word. My budget is made for well over a year in advance, that way, I know, say, next February, that I'm not in the red financially, again, on paper that is. Doing this, as crazy as it sounds, makes me feel anything but, it reassures me. Yet, after careful review of my budgets over the course of the last few months, it would seem that we've always managed to overspend (read over-overspend)!  I planned to rectify this and spend only what was necessary for the next month. Apparently,  according to financial advisors, giving yourself a break from spending is a great method to get your budget back on track.

An Allowance Please?

My son Noah, randomly wanted to buy a toy car. When I told him that mommy didn't have the money right now, he then said he wanted to ''buy'' money. This had my hamster start running in his wheel, in other words, it got me thinking about the importance of teaching my kids a few lessons concerning money early on. While discussing this with my husband, we decided it was time to give our kids an allowance. Problem: We quickly realised that we have two different view points when it comes to what conditions should be considered in giving the said allowance. We could decide to give a fixed amount weekly so that the kids learn how to manage a steady ''income'', or, we could give them  ''compensation'' for the completion of chores or given tasks. Neither of us was convinced that our perspective was the correct one to have. What was the lesson we wanted to teach our millionaires-in-the making?

Only Fools Don't Change Their Minds: Project 52

For an introduction to Project 52, click here.

So, I've changed my mind, again. Yes, again, I know! I thought I had it, my great project idea I was going to present for 52 weeks. I went from attempting to present a new scapbooking page every week, (and not presenting any of course, none, nada), to opting for simplicity.  I had decided to write a specific weekly blog post on a subject that I know. I know about law and finance...yawn, Zzzzzzzzzzzz, snore,  and that's where I lost you I think. Sure, the plan was to make these two subjects interesting, perhaps even fun...(?) but a week passed, and I've been uninspired...How could I pull this off for a year(!)? The subjects I chose are out of line with the general aura of my little blog. I don't want Project 52 to have a different tone than the rest. (Note to self: think longer before posting).