Finding the best RSS Reader application for my needs has been an ongoing search for the last couple of years. After using the desktop client RSS Bandit, then moving to Bloglines, I have tried the Google Reader web-based application a few times without being convinced that it was right for me… until now. What partly prompted my change is the fact that I really don’t like the new Bloglines interface and am not sure how soon they are going to phase out the old one.

I just reloaded all of my feed addresses in the new Google Reader page and find that it’s interface has become very slick and to the point to show me all of the news feeds that I love to read. It’s always great to see all of the improvements that the folks at the Google Labs add to their apps. Check it out if you like to keep up with news from multiple sites.

The one feature that I find that is missing is the ability to sort news items by site when viewing them all. However, I have found the chronological sorting to be adequate.

My goodness, it has already been two months since my last post. A quick update to let you know that things are going well, just busy as usual. I recently took a week off work so that we would work on a home renovation project: redo the basement. We got rid of the old industrial carpet that was on the floor and put in some laminate floor. Andree also patched up the walls and did some painting with help from our friend Jean and Andree’s father Mario.

On the entertainment front, we managed to catch The Incredible Hulk on the big screen and really enjoyed it. I was hoping to write a little review for it but have not had a chance yet. It was extremely well written and Edward Norton is just perfect for the role. The action was good from beginning to end and it was extremely interesting to see Tony Stark show up at the end and mention that they are putting a team together.

After a bit of digging online, I saw that an Avengers movie is announced for 2011 with Captain America, Iron Man and Hulk. It’s far, but hopefully it will be worth the wait.

After writing for Uneporte.net for over 4 years, I’ve grown used to writing about some of the movies that I watch. Instead of starting to write for a different site, I have decided to publish my thoughts on DVDs, Blu-Ray discs and other things directly on my web site under the new section ‘Critique DVDs et Blu-Ray.

The first review that I have posted under this new section is my review of the Transformers DVD, something that left over when Uneporte closed.

I don’t promise to write reviews that are as exhaustive as this one but I will definitely try to share my thoughts on good movies on here on a regular basis.

Oh, and yes, that review is in French. This was the language used on Uneporte. I might switch between French and English for my reviews based on how I feel

At the end of the 9th day of Gabrielle’s life, we keep saying that we don’t remember Évelyne being so fussy or being so much trouble to feed. Then again, the human mind is probably designed to make you forget these kinds of things.

Yesterday was a very good day where we got some decent night the previous night and then Andrée was able to nap in the day. Today is the other hand was a very hard day since Gabrielle woke up very often to get fed last night and then again all through the day. Maybe she’s going through a growth spurt…

We just sent Évelyne off to spend a couple of days at hergrand-parents place. That should give us a bit more time to recuperate and some time for Évelyne to sleep as well. Although she does not seem to wake up when the baby cries, I think it still bothers her sleep because she has been getting cranky (although jealousy might also be the culprit there).

On a different note, as my birthday is coming up (yes, the big 30), I am planning on getting a My Book 250 GB external hard drive to store a bunch of stuff. That will make my life around the PC much easier.

Now that everyone is sleeping, I need to try to take a nap… More to come. Oh yeah, for those who are not aware: in Quebec, fathers get to take a 5-week paternity leave when their children are born. The first week of this is finishing today. So I have four more weeks to help out around the house as we get used to having this bigger family

A bit less than two days after leaving for the hospital, we are back home. As promised, I have uploaded a few pictures of our daughter Gabrielle, as well as a nice picture with the three women in my life

The pictures are inside this post as well as in the photo album section on the left-hand side.

For all those who have been waiting for the news, you’ll be happy to know that our daughter Gabrielle Josée Lefebvre was born on February 15 at 11h51pm. Weighing in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces, Gabrielle is a healthy baby. She was also quite tall at 21 1/2 inches. Mommy is also doing quite well after the natural delivery (helped with some great epidural). I just came back home to take care of Évelyne and Andrée and Gabrielle should be release from the hospital tomorrow.

We’ll get pictures and updates posted as soon as possible. For now, Andrée kept the camera with her at the hospital.

Comme je suis pas mal occupé, je n’ai pas eu le temps de traduire mes derniers textes en français. Si vous aimeriez avoir une version française, envoyez-moi un petit courriel. Sinon, je vais probablement retourner à ne poster qu’en anglais.

All right, it has been ages since I last posted anything on my blog. If you were patient enough to come back regularly, then you’ll see that I am still alive and kicking. Otherwise, sorry to have lost you.

Life has been quite busy over the summer and early fall. The first big news, that you might already know if you read Andree’s web site or spoke to me is that we are expecting our second child for mid-February and it’s going to be a girl. We don’t have a name yet but are quite happy that Évelyne will soon have a little sister.

On the work front, I have traveled a lot all over the place, going to Brazil, Belgium and multiple times to the US since my last post. I have also switched to a new job within my company, which we refer to as Pre-Sales. In this new role, I will be traveling to potential customer sites to show them our technology in conjunction with our sales team. This will probably mean a bit more travel than I was doing (even if I was already traveling a lot) but it will also mean mainly traveling for 2-4 days at a time during the week. So no more lost week-ends. I have already been on a few customer visits and really enjoy the work so far.

On the leisure front, I got a Nintendo DS Lite on my wedding anniversary from Andrée. It is really a sweet platform to play with and the new Super Mario Bros. game just rocks. You should give it a chance if you can.

That’s about it on this quick note. I’ll try to start posting regularly again.

A quick note to wich everyone a Happy Holiday season! I am on vacation until January 3rd and it is very good to get some time off the busy office life. We have just spent a few days in Hawkesbury visiting Andrée parents. Évelyne really enjoyed unwrapping gifts and playing with her new toys. We will not take it easy for the rest of the vacation.

For those who noticed that the photo album section of the site was not working correctly, please note that all pictures are now back up and more will be posted soon. More news to come soon.

After a busy summer, we are already at the beginning of the fall. That means that Évelyne is going to be turning one pretty soon. It’s scary how quickly she’s growing. But at the same time, it’s a lot of fun to see her going through every step.

Andrée started taking a Photoshop class at Concordia University on Saturdays so I am taking care of Évelyne for a good chunk of the day. It’s fun to get to spend time with her and see the new things she learned how to do during the week

Work is always busy for me as usual. I am currently preparing course materials to support the release of a new version of our software. It is interesting to learn new things all the time. After all that is done, the new TV season is starting. I have started watching a french TV show called Au nom de la loi on Radio-Canada that is pretty good. At the same time, the sci-fi shows that we watch regularly (Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica) are taking a break until January so we won’t be overloaded by too much TV.