Sens Clinch Playoff Spot

The Ottawa Senators are the second team in the Eastern Conference to officially clinch a berth into the 2007 post-season! The lowest they can finish mathematically is 7th place, the highest being 1st, however the likelihood of that happening is very slim (even though the Sens are only 5 points out of 1st place, currently help by the Buffalo Sabres).

The Sens are hot lately as well, coming off a successful road trip of 4 games while collecting 7 of an availble 8 points during that road trip. They're 7-0-3 in their last 10 and haven't suffered a regulation loss since March 2nd, there last regulation lost before that was on February 7th! And only 5 regulation losses in 2007 so far! That's a much better second half to the season compared to the first half.

Where are the Leafs, you might ask? Currently in 11th place. (Fill in Leafs Fan excuse here).

I now own a Wii

What a great entertainment system the Wii is. It's simply amazing. Where to begin?

It looks great. Simple, sleek and compact. Easy to setup, the remotes are wireless and easy to hold, and it has built-in Wi-Fi for Internet access. It has 3 wires to plug into their respective outlets (AC, video and the sensor bar that is placed above or below the TV).

My family and I have played the Wii for countless hours and find ourselves hosting friends every Friday and Saturday night to play the various games that come with it (Wii Sports), as well as the additional game package we purchased, Wii Play. We plan on hosting larger 'Wii Parties' in the near future!

The best part: you're constantly moving. Want a workout? Try boxing for an hour, assuming you can last that long!

Even my son, Jacob, loves it. As much as his playing style is un-orthodox (he does a lot of jumping), he still has a mean score in bowling, his personal best being a 221. Funny story: he achieved that score a few weeks ago while playing against a good friend of our's, Chris Kirkey. Chris scored a 130. He got his ass kicked at virtual bowling by a 5 year old. Nice.

Nintendo also has available, at a cost of course, classic Nintendo (500 points each), Super Nintendo (800 points each), and Nintendo 64 (1,000 points each), games that you can download onto the Wii through their built-in web browser (which is Opera, btw). You need to purchase a 'Points Card' to do so (which costs $24.95 for 2,000 points). Gamecube games, as well as their remotes and memory cards, are cross compatible with the Wii.

All that to say, if you were undecided between purchasing one of the 'Big Three' gaming systems, go with the Nintendo Wii. You, your family, and your friends will enjoy it more. Not only because the system is fun to interact with, but also because Nintendo has done an amazing job at designing games built around the capabilities of the Wii, as well as designing them as multi-player games so up to 4 players can participate at once, on most games.

Well worth the $320 CDN.

Facebook

I've recently been introduced to a site called Facebook (kudos to Pat Narcisse for doing the intro; Facebook thanks you as well; We go out for drinks regularly now, hold hands, hug...you get the picture).

Anyhow, not only am I on Facebook, but so is Nat (my beautiful wife), and apparently so is everyone else from the High School we graduated with and everyone else I know in the Ottawa area.

I actually ignored the site for the longest time thinking "not another social website to update on a regular/semi-regular basis", but, new friends are being added all the time and the social network keeps growing at a torrid pace! It's definitely a convenient way of keeping up to date with, what we thought, were long lost friends. Now you don't have to wait until the 10 year reunion to play catch up with everyone within a 5 hour time frame, all the while getting drunk and forgetting most of what was said the next morning.

In fact, people who organize a reunion should use Facebook to not only organize said event (that's a given), but use it as a game. Quiz people at the reunion about their respective Facebook profiles to see how much people really pay attention to the details. Hand out prizes to the winners! Even declare a winner for the individual with the largest social network!

All that being said, I find myself checking the site daily now to see who's requested to be my friend (although they were probably already my friend at some point in the past), and enjoying 'seeing', virtually of course, those who I have not seen in a long time. Hopefully I'll get to see them in person again some day soon.

Winterlude '07

Feb 17 '06 011
Originally uploaded by chrisbelanger.

We decided to go to the Rideau Canal for Winterlude for our kids to enjoy their first skate on the world's largest ice rink. Jacob really enjoyed it! He went for about an hour non-stop.

However, he did fall a few times because the ruts in the ice in some sections were considerably large.

We then stopped for some hot chocolate and Beavertails. A tradition for anyone who has ever come to Ottawa and enjoyed the Winterlude festivities.

This pic was taken when we had just finished eating those delicious pastries.

More Timbits Hockey

Feb 17 '06 038
Originally uploaded by chrisbelanger.

This is the second pic of Jacob at the Timbits Tournament at Scotiabank Place.

Timbits Hockey

Feb 17 '06 058
Originally uploaded by chrisbelanger.

Jacob has been enjoying his first year of hockey in the Timbits program. Recently, he enjoyed 30 minutes of ice time at Scotiabank Place (where the 'in the playoffs' Ottawa Senators play their Home games).

The ice was split into three areas with two teams playing a game in each area at once for 30 mins. The event started at 7:30 am and ended at 7 pm. Over 140 Timbits teams from around the Ottawa area participated.

Every child was also presented with a medal at the end of the game.

Family Photo - Christmas '07

Jan 5 '07 197
Originally uploaded by chrisbelanger.

This is a family photo of Nat's Family.

Top Row: Annick Larose, Isabelle Larose, Natasha Larose, Christian Belanger, Pierre Larose, Candace, Sebastien Larose, Alexandre Larose

Bottom Row: Pauline Berlinguette, Gilles Berlinguette, Jacob Belanger, Nathalia Larose, Therese Larose, Therese Poulin, Eve Belanger, Real Larose

Eve at Christmas

Jan 5 '07 206
Originally uploaded by chrisbelanger.

This is a pic of Eve enjoying her first Christmas!

My first post...

After discovering this blogging service through a friend's site (Steve's blog), I decided it would be a good idea to start my own blog. I have no idea how many people read my existing blog on Live Spaces and have followed the ups and downs of my aquarium (aka: The Deathtrap), however I hope that this blog provides some insight on myself and my family.

I will attempt at keeping this blog up to date, however, with family, work, travelling and school, I can be quite busy.

To increase the visual experience that is this blog, I've also added some pics of my family. Enjoy!