• Nuts. Aidan's flu turned into Aidan's and Quinlan's and Gwen's cold. I've got tickle in my throat too. More cowbell won't cure this fever. #
• Last night on Left Coast Floyds: Happy Hallowe'en http://bit.ly/1blgbb #
• Hey, look! @slvrlambstudios is one of Vancouver's 50 Essential Portrait Photographers! http://ow.ly/yDLD [and Twitter addict to boot] #
• Starting off Bike to Work Week … sick at home with the rest of the sick family. #
• Just got a call from A's preschool. Closed till Friday due to multiple confirmed cases of H1N1. He didn't go today either. #
• I'm pretty sure what we have is just a communal cold, but it seems to me that the H1N1 vaccine roll-out is happening too late for the kids. #
• Tired of waiting for Vancouver Tweetup to approve an event (4 days waiting) I've taken matters into my own hands (see next tweet) #
• Greater Vancouver Twitter Parents Meetup I: http://bit.ly/3IJQb4 Vancouver Aquarium, Saturday 10am. #GVTPM1 #
• Thanks for the RTs @GillianShaw @hummingbird604 @karenhamilton YVR Parents Meetup http://bit.ly/3IJQb4 #
• Thanks for more RTs! @alexishinde @klipbook @stv @bobsandlolo @tjrossignol YVR Parents Meetup http://bit.ly/3IJQb4 Join us, won't you? #
• Uh … the 4 yr old just fell asleep while sprolled on my lap. 1 minute he was arguing about lunch, then … quiet. Can you say "sick"? #
• http://twitpic.com/o6kku – Somehow, despite being sick, Aidan has managed to build + maintain THIS #
• And no, that's not Aidan, that's Quinlan playing Demolition Man. Actually Q's pretty good with it! #
• Thanks for more RTs! @earnestgirl @nicole013 YVR Parents Meetup http://bit.ly/3IJQb4 Join us, won't you? #
• Made it to work for the first time this week. And, oh, @cityofvancouver? Thanks for the 2 detours on the bike route during #BTWW #
• The Flames. The Abby Heat. Now @hosea24hours reports the BC Lions will be getting H1N1 shots. Why do athletes come b4 "high risk" groups?!? #
• Screw'em! Some kid doesn't get vaccinated b/c some overpaid meathead with connections and $$$ does!?! #QueueJumpersSuck #H1N1 #
• Vancouver (and area) parents! Want to join some other Tweeps at the aquarium this weekend? http://bit.ly/3IJQb4 #GVTPM #
• Dear potential followers: No @'s on your current Twitter page? There's no way I'm gonna follow you. It's a 2 way street you know. #
• .@VanArchives I think your account has been compromised. Got some DM spam from you. #
• Getting DM spam from someone? Bad. Getting DM spam from someone not following you? #Unfollow! #
• Crazy warm ride to work today, and managed to (mostly) ride between the rain drops! #BTWW #
• The list of hockey teams who queue-jumped the H1N1 vaccine grows: CB Screaming Eagles. Moncton Wildcats. Calgary Flames. Abby Heat #H1N1 #
• Nice to know that when the End-of-Days virus comes around, hockey players will be around to rebuild society. #H1N1 #QueueJumpersSuck #
• RT @604homesguy: BMW crushes a Hyundai and Hyundai gives the guy a new car http://bit.ly/1QUFqZ #
• Ho-lee crap. Top 5 craziest ride every. You all are pretty f'n crazy tonight. #
• PSA: I've got lights front, back, and both wheels. Refl tape on booties, legs, arms, torso + helmet. Don't notice me? Shouldn't be driving! #
• I know it's raining. And dark. That should give you MORE reason to look to see what's coming at you. Such stupidity is depressing. #
• In other news, cool! I made the retweet beta! #
• http://twitpic.com/ofq8v – For those curious, here's the RT beta info box #
• A bunch of Twittering Vancouver-area parents are going to the aquarium on Saturday. Care to join us? RSVP: http://bit.ly/3IJQb4 #
• So using Twitter's new built-in retweet functionality doesn't allow you to edit the Tweets. Problem if Tweet is too long for RT! #
• Also, how can we add editorial comments to RT's if we can't edit them? I think this will be a little-used "feature" #
• So now that the big 3 mobile carriers in Canada have the iPhone, where's the site that compares the rates? #
• RT @ShireenJ: Canadian carriers selling iPhone are the tech equivalent of gas stations selling gas at same price. #
• Rocking out to El Tango De Roxanne. Quietly. In my cube. On my kneeling chair. #
• Last chance to RSVP! Join some Twittering parents at the Vancouver Aquarium tomorrow: http://bit.ly/3IJQb4 #
• Q is v congested. Currently sleeping in his toddler chair; upright at least keeps the airway mostly clear. Can we leave him there all nt? #
• And we're all up. Well, G is back to bed after having managed Q's sleeping in the chair. At least his congestion is reduced… #
• Back from the aquarium. First time visitor. I suspect it won't be the last. Nice to meet @alexishinde, The Imp, and Rob! #
• For sale, one toddler turned banshee. Slightly used. #
• Also note that said banshee also has monkey-like climbing ability #
• 4.5 yr old just made meatballs w/ me. He's usually v sensitive to squishy things, but made them like pro! Future culinary servitude pending. #
• Whew. @LeftCoastMama disappeared hours ago to go shopping, and I remembered that I was responsible for cooking supper before was too late! #
• I don't usually make those saving rolls vs marital responsibility. :p #
• Any WP experts out there know how to manually upload images but then get WP to import those images into its Media Library? #
• Some nights it seems the 9 O'Clock Gun rattles the windows. Tonight was more of a whimper. Another Vancouverite succumbs to H1N1 #

A few Greater Vancouver parents were chatting on Twitter about how several of us hadn’t met in real life. So, we’re about to rectify that! Introducing…

Greater Vancouver Twitter Parents Meetup I
Where: Vancouver Aquarium
When: Saturday, November 7th, 10 am

Bring your kids! Bring your significant other! Bring a snack! Everyone’s welcome. If you’re planning on coming, please leave a comment below, and retweet this post on Twitter so we can have lots of people meeting!

You can also RSVP to the event on Vancouver Tweetup.

There’s a Twitter list put together for people attending:

• Ack! They changed the CBC Radio News intro music again. Jarring. #
• Rogers, Telus, Bell. Meh, no diff. They're all out to wring as much $$ from you as they can. Plenty of ppl willing to bleed $$ for iPhones. #
• RT @LeftCoastMama: http://twitpic.com/n1ppc – My tie is cute! [Another engineer in the making! – Only I don't wear a tie at work :p] #
• RT @ParkBoard: Have an opinion about smoking in parks & on beaches? Take a min. to fill out Smoking Restriction Survey. http://ow.ly/wE6H #
• RT @limelitePR: looking for mom/dad bloggers int in reviewing iPhone apps for 3-5 yo. em jeanette@limelitePR.com if interested @dadcamp'rs? #
• 3pm and I've just finished putting out today's "fires". Now to get to Real Work. #
• 30 kph tailwind meant riding home in a vacuum. Weird feeling. And then, arrived home to quite a wild rumpus. #
• Flipped on the tube, happened to be on the opening scenes of Canada's Worst Driver (new season!). Aidan and I sat slackjawed, stunned #scary #
• Very timely, today's Sid the Science Kid was all about flu vaccinations. Coincidence or PBS as a front for Obama's propaganda machine? #
• Reality sets in; next wk we have to register Aidan for Kindergarten. At 3 diff't schools: the close Fr Imm, our catchment Fr Imm, + the Eng #
• It's silly really. How is it we're not in the catchment of the school 5 blocks away but instead we're in the one 15 blocks away? #
• Ack, new cache published less than 1km from work. No GPS, can't leave work. Le sigh. #geocaching #
• Shiny! Mail delivery brought "Kids of Catan" and "Kids of Carcassonne" today. Xmas and birthday presents for Aidan. Must resist opening… #
• RT @dadcamp: please RSVP for DadCAMP 3 at the Vancouver Giants on November 15. http://bit.ly/1zTG3U #
• That is one big moose. http://bit.ly/2OfkFd #
• A Møøse once bit my sister … #
• Actually, I kinda miss Derby-style steaks #SteakAndStein #
• OK, that's the sixth Britney account I've blocked today. What's up with that? What do they gain by continually harassing people? #
• The more I use Dropbox the more I like it. Great way to share between comps + backup to the cloud. http://bit.ly/3drKkk gets you xtra space! #
• Everytime I hear "Zetterberg" I think … what, the Facebook guy? #
• And ANOTHER Britney follower. #Twitter needs to find some way to control this. It's un-freaking-believable. #
• RT @realreporter: Went to Women's Show at Tradex in Abbotsford? check bank account! ATM thieves were mining data. http://bit.ly/1Kdkwd #
• To be fair, that slalom challenge would be difficult for almost anyone without some training. #CWD5 #
• Just upgraded my CrossOver Linux installation to 8.0 on "It's NOT Free" Wednesday (but it's half price!) http://bit.ly/JAtFi #
• Seems like more people are getting access to Twitter Lists. I wish the apps would catch up to facilitate management of said lists. #
• It seems parts of the UK are entirely off their rocker. "Council bans parents from play areas" http://bit.ly/3xjE81 #
• DadCamp goes to the Giants' game on Nov 15th. RSVP if you're going to come! http://bit.ly/299P2z #dadcamp #
• RT @rhh: BREAKING: ZOMBIE OUTBREAK REPORTED IN TORONTO. DEVELOPING. [Oh noes! Head to the malls, it's safer there!] #
• Still trying to figure out how to get to/from U2 concert tonight. Transit's going to be a mess. Driving 2.5 km seems wrong. Taxi? #
• Problem is that it'll be 30 mins to walk to BC Place, which is too tight given our babysitter/home-from-work time constraints. #
• http://twitpic.com/nc5i2 – Made it to U2 concert. Huge friggin' set! #
• http://twitpic.com/nc9n8 – Top of #u2 set for @moneycoach. Does look like rocket, actually #
• .@seanfunk Lights still up, smoke machines started #
• BEP about to hit the stage. Later tweeps! #u2 #
• http://twitpic.com/nccci – BEP on stage, performing to typically dead YVR crowd #
• BEP put on an amazingly produed show! Crowd was a bit tepid #u2 #
• http://twitpic.com/ncjmf – Set changes to something more simple for U2. No giant lemons yet… #
• Getting old. But I'm *so* glad I've got -30db ear plugs in :) #
• And yes @leftcoastmama and I are sitting beside each other oblivious to each other's tweets #u2 #
• I feel dirty. Bono just lead us in Happy Birthday for Bill Gates! #
• http://twitpic.com/ncx76 – Walk On #
• http://twitpic.com/ncydp – Singing about a really hard to navigate city where streets lack names #
• http://twitpic.com/nd0to – Heading out; all done #u2 #
• Kudos to @cmbc and @translink the ride to and from the U2 concert was quick and painless #
• Home from #U2 concert, baby sitter driven home, cats fed. 1 yr old wide awake and crawling around the living room. Up for work in 5 hrs. Ugh #
• Both boys awake and up at 6:30 am. I had somewhere around 4 1/2 hrs sleep. Who's idea was it to have the #U2 concert on a "school night"?!? #
• It's days like these I wish I drank coffee. Hot chocolate just isn't going to cut it I'm afraid. #
• RT @Stv: Really disappointed in @mayorgregor & Vision for abandoning the electoral reform referendum election promise: http://bit.ly/1gqCpC #
• More people in the USA use "food stamps" to buy food (36M) than there are people in Canada. Tell me again which country is "socialist"? #
• Boy #1 is apparently on the couch with a fever of 101 + complaining about being cold. Perhaps vaccines didn't come out soon enough for us :( #
• RT @curiousdad: The babyproofing latches we got for the toilet and dishwasher are also mommy and daddy proof. [And what about visitors? :)] #
• RT @OnlineStrategy: Heard from Virgin Mobile rep that they will be offering the iPhone in early 2010. [All CDN carriers to offer iPhone?] #
• Snow at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic mountain venues (aka @cypressmtn) is accumulating! http://twitpic.com/neswi [via @karlwoll] #
• Well, crap. Just realized I forgot my lunch and will now be subject to the culinary whims of UBC Food Services. #
• Mobile phone competition in Canada takes a serious blow as the CRTC rules that Globallive (WIND) is non-Canadian + cannot operate in Canada #
• CRTC decision for Globalive: http://bit.ly/IgYcN [via @michaelgeist and @Mark_Goldberg] #
• RT @ShireenJ: I wonder if MSM covered deaths by car in same way as they are doing 1 death by H1N1, then would anyone get in a car again? #
• RT @Twitter_Tips: Tweetdeck soon to announce support for Twitter lists, including sharing! http://j.mp/1n0ScD [W00t!] #
• This is the most lethargic I've ever seen Aidan. Usually when he's sick, he's still high energy. Not no; laying watching HSM2 w/ LCM #
• One of the best summations of my feelings about vaccinations written by someone else (@alexishinde) http://bit.ly/OcSYu #
• Boy was bit better today, more energetic and actually eating things. Still feverish, tho' — no preschool Hallowe'en party for him :( #
• Another excellent post on why you should get at least your children vaccinated http://bit.ly/24dhu0 (via @curiousdad) #
• RT @Scobleizer: You CAN remove yourself from lists. Just block the person who made the offensive list. #
• All this enthusiasm about the Olympic Torch relay is turning me off. Will every minute of the next 104 days be tweeted? #
• One thing the antivaxxers never address is their complicity in spreading preventable diseases. Where is social responsibility? #
• RT @FakeAPStylebook: When there's no more room in Hell, omit the final paragraphs to save space. [Wait, I thought this acct was *fake* ?!?] #
• Interesting, meatloaf *muffins* for supper. #
• Vampire baby awakes for his 11pm feeding. Can't wait until all the fangs are completely in. #
• Installed Ubuntu 9.10 UNR on my Eee 901, works great other than the lack of sound. I don't need to hear that Pavlovian tweet anyway. #
• http://twitpic.com/nqn3o – I don't know why a garbage truck is scary, but that's what Aidan wanted … #dadcamp #halloween #
• http://twitpic.com/nsnvu – Out Trick or Treating at False Creek #
• http://twitpic.com/nsp8u – Trick or Treating at False Creek #
• Aidan Trick-or-Treated as an elephant … with fairy wings. #
• Listening to the Hallowe'en fireworks and wondering how busy the emerg must be. #
• Someone replaced my 4 yr old's attitude with a 13 yr old's. This does not bode well for today … or for 2018. #
• 4 yr old still behaving like … well, a 4 yr old I guess. We'll take the bus to get our hair cuts instead of driving to make an adventure. #
• Either our moods will both improve … or child services will be involved. #
• Many thanks to my father @EastCoastGranpa for being an enabler and feeding my addiction. #12: 766 pages. Two more volumes to go! #WOT #
• At the moment I'm on 17 "Vancouver" lists (10 of which identify as YVR). I have one too. I wonder if this is an efficient use of our time. #
• Irony: Choosing sofa over bed due to coughing wife and toddler … and then not being able to get to sleep. #

Hallowe’en this year was a smashing success.

When Gwen’s sister Mary was here around Thanksgiving, we dressed the boys up in their costumes and took some pics down in Stanley Park:

Yesterday, we carved up the pumpkins we got from the pumpkin patch, stuffed the kids into their costumes, and went down the 3 blocks to the False Creek Co-op to Trick-or-Treat. Now, it must be said that I feel a bit guilty about this, but the atmosphere there is a million times better than around our place. In fact, we don’t think we got any kids last night at all. It’s hard to tell, because we weren’t home for quite a while, but we did leave a bowl of candy outside our door and it didn’t look disturbed at all. It didn’t seem like anyone else in our complex was handing out candy, and I’m pretty sure everyone else who has kids took them somewhere else. Contrast this with the False Creek Co-op where there are literally hundreds of kids, lots of costumed adults, and lots of in-the-spirit people handing out treats. I took some video that I’ll try to put together a bit later.

After trick-or-treating down there, we came back and took some pics of the pumpkins and the boys: