Taking Cleaning To New Limits

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We are very pleased with Freya’s nursery school. After the first week she showed willingness to put away her things after she had played with them, and this seems to include parts of toys, too.

Darth Tater, a Star Wars version of a well-known American toy, was gift from us on her first birthday. Actually, I was more excited about the prospect of owning such a toy than Freya was at receiving it, although she has played with it occasionally.

Anyway, as the picture above shows, she has clearly taken her training to heart, and put Darth Tater’s shoes back in the hall. How very sweet.

(Grand)Parents In Stockholm Shock

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It took them a while to get their act together, but my mum and dad came over this weekend.

They arrived here on Friday afternoon for a short visit, and Freya was happy to show off for them, though not enough to go near them. She has a picture of them on the kitchen wall, and speaks to them often on the phone, so it wasn’t a completely unfamiliar situation for her.

Saturday was spent eating lunch at Manna with them. Whilst we love the food, it was a choice of necessity, since their eating habits are quite restrained. Manna, out of all the vegan-friendly restaurants we visit, has some of the more “normal” foods that my parents are accustomed to. Dad gave the food a five out of ten, which is actually a reasonably good score for him, he said.

After food, we tried to find somewhere for Dad to fill up his phone card, using the well-known(?) “pay as you go” system. It must be common in England as it even has its own logo (left), but I’ll be damned if I’ve ever seen it. Sure enough, the guy in the phone shop was equally stumped, and suggested we call Orange.

Phoning Orange we did, when we got home. Clicked my way through menus I did. Asked Dad for his credit card (to register for the top-up-via-phone service) I did. Credit card I did not get, though, being in the camper-van.

Take two: With credit card in hand, my dad talked to the Orange representant, telling him that it was not actually he who had bought the phone, and maybe it was registered under “Spanish” Tony, my father’s ex-work colleague who is Spanish.

It turns out that the phone is registered to another friend, so Dad was unable to carry out the time-saving pay-as-you-go registration that would have enabled him to make life a whole lot easier.

Sunday was spent collecting a dish-washer that Jo had got free from someone she works with, then going to the pub to watch Wolves v Leeds. And we won! We’re third place.

Freya had become a lot nearerer to Grandad before they left earlier today. She had no problem in going and sitting with/on him, and constantly called his name to show him things she was doing. Mum became more relaxed, as well, though due to her inability to have heavy things on her, she couldn’t quite come as near as I think she wanted. I’m sure she was happy to spend time in Freya’s presence, though.

RIB

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Have seen them around and read about them for while now, today I finally had the opportunity to try them out myself. Ahhh … RIB are a brilliant method of transport! This particular one went 50 Knots, roughly 90km/hours for you not so familiar with boat-speed.
50 knots is actually a quite fast speed when you are without safetybelt and in an open air!
I strongly recommend trying one when the cruiseships are leaving Stockholm, you are able to enjoy the high-jump opportunitys in madness.
1 and half hour later I, unwillingly, got dragged off to end the evening with a fantastic dinner at Bryggan.
I just have to enter more work related competitions with wins like this!

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McDonald’s Go Yin-Yang

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Now I’m “lovin” it.

Amazon.com

According to the American Medical Association, the rise in obesity among children in the 2000s represents “a major public health concern.” Overweight kids tend to become overweight adults and are at greater risk for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, and other serious medical conditions.

Two of the primary culprits cited include poor eating habits and lack of physical activity. Get Up and Go with Ronald is designed to combat the latter. Since the McKids Adventures series is a product of the world’s premier fast food purveyor, however, the message is mixed at best. (The McKids brand also includes toys, books, and clothing.)

On the one hand, the DVD makes no mention of the company’s cuisine. On the other, Ronald McDonald pops up every few minutes, so it’s hard not to see this 30-minute program as a particularly insidious form of infomercial, regardless as to the rationale behind its creation. The man in the grease paint and crimson wig serves as a sort of Captain Kangaroo figure, although viewers with coulrophobia (fear of clowns) would probably prefer a less menacing mascot.

The content itself consists of six good looking grade schoolers–Ally, Max, Jamal, Isabella, Kim, and Dylan–riding scooters, playing soccer, and engaging in other forms of aerobic exercise (“dancing, hopping, drawing, and rocking,” to quote the hip-hoppety opening theme). Small children may well be entertained by the lively songs and stories, but it’s questionable whether they’ll actually be inspired to “get up and go.” (Ages 2-5) –Kathleen C. Fennessy

Posted in Jon

The Beginning Of Junkfood

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Our friend has just got together a new site, junkfood, as a voice against the companies (and their products) that are contributing to the general degredation of our planet. It’s still very much in its infancy, and it’ll be interesting to see how it develops.

Jack’s new arrival has renewed my own interest in fast-foods and consumer power. I’ve found myself, over the last few days, scouring old haunts to find some worthy news with which to present to Jack. It didn’t take me long to find numerous accounts of woe, and made me realise that during my absence from my anti-multinational days not much has changed.

Still, I intend to become more aware of this continuing problem, and should like to aid Jack in his quest. The only problem I see is that of time, and I don’t quite know how he manages it. He has two kids, his own company, several blogs, martial arts and probably a myriad other things to eat away at this day. This guy does drink coffee by the gallon, but even caffeine has its limits.