Today's Idiot! - The Supreme Editions (TITSEs)

Ok, today they really took the cake on idiocy. The TITSEs I witnessed today may very well have ended up on a Darwin list if not for the grace of God and the absence of a moving wall of death.

So, I am on the way to work today and I cross Kennedy Road on Dennison. After the next light is a railway crossing, I suspect for the GO train among other things. Well, the lights are going, the crossing arms are down and two rows of vehicles (cars, trucks, an 18-wheeler, a fire truck with its lights on and a school bus wait on either side of it. Some time passes and there is still no train. And then, the unimaginably stupid happens; people are moving towards and then (GULP) around the arms?!?!?

Yes fans, these various TITSEs (and there were a lot of them) decided that the wait was too long. Now I fully understand the fire truck doing this, but 10-20 dumbasses preceeded the emergency vehicle doing this. Now, I am sure I can find the various disturbing security camera clips on the Internet that I have seen over the years showing how the stupid gene pool that thought themselves mightier than a freight train. Some of these people simply followed the person in front of them WITHOUT looking to see if maybe, just maybe, they were about to meet their maker.

Shortly there after, a Durham (or is it York? police cruiser came up behind us sane people still in line and blocked the passage. Then, a red pickup drove by and onto the gravel beside the track. Man, I wish I carried my video camera in DR. This railway worker gimped across the road gingerly on the single crutch. He popped open a panel on the grey box and overrode the gates, but the lights remained on. Amazingly, the cop car had not yet moved and this semi-TITSE decides that he is in such a rush that he has to swerve around the police car to get going.

People, if you are coming to a railroad crossing, and the lights are going AND it uses the gate arms... DO NOT GO ACROSS THE *&^%*&^%* TRACKS!! It can kill you. It is against the law. Did I mention that IT CAN KILL YOU?

Peace!

Today's Idiot!

Hey fans, here is another edition to TI! Today's faithful contributor comes to us from the roadways of Scarbough. What exactly is it about the need to get in front of everyone else? I mean, I have been in a rush and pulled off some boneheaded manouvers in my time, but in my feeble defence, I had soem factors on my side. First, I was driving a beat-up but very mechanically sound Nissan 280ZX. Second, it was usually just myself in the car (I never did it with TC sitting her in seat bumping to the tunes). Third, I was young and fearless and I new how to bloody drive.

So, that brings me to the goofs from this morning. Large metal vehicle (delivery truck) approaches POS import (plasticized Honda). LMV has right of way to POS coming out of the driveway. Knowing that this could mean certain death, the driver of the POS still thinks it is wise to pull in front of the LMV. I race forward to witness the removal of the defective gene from the human race but no such luck; the DF manages to flit away after the LMV decides to press on the brak ehard to spare their useless lives.

As if to make me laugh even more, as I continued on to work (this time I remembered my *&^%*&^% pass) we have someone that looks like Scott Savol but bigger and not as mobile on a stage. Except, dumbass is NOT on a stage but rather he is sauntering across four lanes of roadway perpendicular to oncoming traffic. now, seeing as my little group has the green light and have started towards him in earnest, you would think he would get his move on, right? Nope. Mr. My Ass is an Imoveable Object just continues to shuffle his scruffy-assed, low riding, does nt fit even this big man right, bagginess across the street at the same time.

All I can say is, he is thankful that DR was about three positions back. I L-O-V-E love to buzz close to these goofs.

Need a pick me up?

Forget all of those designer (and very expensive) "helpers" when you need a little more coal in yoru engine to finish the day. Grab a Jolt Cola and be amazed that your signif has to peel you off the ceiling at midnight. My buddies and I drank a Jolt almost everyday while we worked on our projects at the Institute for Computer Studies. Well, everyone but Bill; he nearly went into shock from the sugar and caffeine boost.

So, if you need a little "jolt" and can handle about anything, grab a case of jolt.

Not reommended for hyper children or horny adults.

Ciao.



ThinkGeek :: Jolt Beverages

Want a Blackberry tool?

Many thanks to the DW for yet another Blackberry gem. For those sysadmin types, this is a site with some very cool tools at reasonable prices. If you need to connect to anything you would normally SSH into, then this site is for you.

Enjoy!


Idokorro Mobile : Download Trial

The past that haunts

OK, people, let's be a little controversial here. Michael Jackson. Freak? Yes. Musical Genius? Yes. Marketing Marvel? Yes. Anomaly? Definitely.

Child Molester? Hmmmm.

Now here is the thing with me. As you know, I am for the death penalty even though I am Catholic. I am also Pro-Choice because I don't want young girls ripping their insides up with dirty clothes hangers. So, if someone is truly guilty of a crime as heinous as stealing a child's innocence, I think the punishment should just be as heinous. And that brings us to the impasse.

Michael Jackson has never been proven to be a child molester. Yes, there are many rumours and many payoffs. THAT in itself the problem with all of this. He is not a normal person living in a normal world being dealth with in a normal fashion. Everything around MJ is so far beyond ordinary scope that one can only gaze in awe or disbelief as details come out. That said, there is still too much that does not make sense.

The staff. I do not care how much money he has or what non-disclosure agreement you signed, if (as this woman is now claiming) you are witness to CHILDREN running around drunk all the time, what kind of dispicable human being are you to not have reported it to the police to protect these innocents? Everything is a matter of one's fifteen minutes and this woman is a few hours past that. There is the story that another one got a settlement concerning her son. True, but it came soon after the 20 million dished out to the last case so how much is true and how much is someone cashing in on skittish lawyers?

The parents. As a parent, if someone is accused as many times as he is, if there is even a sliver of doubt about what is going on, I would keep my child the hell away from him. That said, the least these so-called parents should have been doing was taking their damn kids home at 5PM each day. Lazy, absentee, opportunistic parents is how I label these people. Typical for the area is to just let someone else take care of one's kids because one has better things to do. They should be put on trial right along with Michael.

The freak. If you are constantly being accused, AND none of it is true, you DO NOT continue with the behaviour that gets you accused in the first place. At the very least, modify it such that there could be no question about what is going on. Have a third party around at all times, video tape everything in your house when there are children over, DON'T SLEEP WITH THEM!!!

Alas, once again, we may never know the whoel truth on this one. I just have a hard time believing the current one being bandied about. I mean, seriously, just how much is YOUR children's body worth? For me, there is not enough money on this Earth for me to not kill the man with my bare hands if he did what he was accused of. I would not be looking at this being an opprotunity to cash in; that would happen by civil court route anyhow. His freakish ass would be in jail with the rest of them and jail justice would eventually prevail. Something definitely smells rotten in the state of California.

Ciao.

CANOE -- JAM! Music: Past Jackson allegations allowed

JC and the OJ

While I am sure for some of you, my title made you wonder what Jesus Christ had to do with Florida's finest crop, but that is not where I am going.

We had a lively debate at work today that was started by a disucssion of Johnnie Cochran's death. Yes, that JC, the man who will forever be famous for the line, "if it doesn't fit, you must acquit". Argue the merits of having to defend the various scum of the Earth later, one has to admit that Johnnie did his job right. The prosecution did a lousy job in the OJ case.

Johnnie's case was also buoyed by the fact that they had a proven and admitted racist on the case in the LAPD (actually, easier to list who was NOT racist as many cases since have proven). Also, everything was volatile as light (thanks to technology) was finally shining on the dark practices of the LAPD. So, right or wrong, the extra burden to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that OJ was guilty of violently and viciously murdering Nicole and her lover (don't even start, NO ONE returns sunglasses from a restaurant personally to someone's home) fell on an inept prosecutor.

Just as imitation is the greatest form of flattery, in celebrity circles, parody has the same weight. Johnnie was parodied a lot but none better than "Jacky Chiles" from Seinfeld. JC....get it?

The last thing I will say is that besides the absurd OJ case, Johnnie was already known for taking on cases of racial discrimination. That fight is a long, hard, seemingly never ending one. The cause has lost a great fighter in that respect. Condolences to the Cochran family. Rest in Peace, Johnnie.

Peace.
CANOE -- CNEWS - World: Johnnie Cochran remembered

The Money Pit grows!

Maybe I would have to become a politician to understand how they are able to, without conscience, continue asking the public to bend over, grab their ankles and take it witha smile. How in the world do they explain this expenditure and, more importantly, how does one controlling the money actually approve this?

The whole system needs to be revamped and fixed in order to protect the people they purport to serve. Unfortunately, those who want to clean them up is equally as dirty in their own right.

Welcome to politics.

Ciao.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is another link about this story MP sex tour ripped.

Calgary Sun Columnist: Rick Bell - Merry mission

Goodnight, Mr. Seinfeld

The man most recognized for playing Morty Seinfeld on the hit show, Barney Martin, has died. As with most people who became regulars on the show, Barney brought something to the show that left a memorable impression on the audience.

CANOE -- JAM! - Seinfeld's TV father dies

Just accept it, Skibum, winter is o-v-a-h!!

I hope a certain Skibum understands this comic. I can explain it to him very s-l-o-w-l-y if it will help. It's Spring; live with the knowledge and move on. The snow and the cold will come back next year. For now, now that DW and I can see the back deck again, it is time to prepare for the sun. 

Today's Idiot! - American

Is my title redundant? Oh oh, I have lots of American friends and family so I had better be careful. Although, they have a sense of humour so it is no big deal.

Anyhow, as the title states, today's idiot comes by way of our American cousins to the south. You see, I was travelling south on Parliament on my usual route (which seems to have an inordinate amount of idiots these days). I was sitting behind a delivery truck and it made the right turn onto Wellesley at the yellow light. Of course, the car waiting in the intersection is going to turn. I even understand the van sortof in the intersection behind it turning; no biggie. The psycho witch behind the line, New York plate PAT 2045, in the light coloured Subaru Legacy had no *&^%(*&^ business coming through a full red light into the path of the Roo.

Now, in her home state, that is almost in itself a declaration of war and can get you shot in more than a few places down south. I am of course absolutely NOT condoning that type of action. However, such a bone-headed, death enticing, Darwin-proving manouver does warrant a bit of road rage. So, did this 300+, shaven Black man go out and scare this glasses wearing, in-need-of-a-new-prescription-because-the-beeyatch-cannot-see, haircut-absent-under-the-mane-of-fluff psycho driver?

Nah, I was on the way to work, in a relatively good frame of mind and decided it was not worth my hassle. Had she caused me to stop short, swerve or actually hit something, you can bet that I would have had her out of that car or locked in very tight and soiling herself.

Idiot!

Anything that helps the fight against the Evil Empire (EE) is a good thing in my book.

It's too late in the morning (or is that early) for me to rant about Micro$oft, so suffice it to say that I relish all true competitors that step up to the plate. Novell has been trying to do so for years but continually missed the boat where having an integrated client was concerned. Now, it seems that someone bought a clue over in Provo. I wish I was at Brainshare this week to see the unveiling of the new technologies; one of those being Novell Linux Desktop. Sigh, maybe next year or so.

Anyhow, with all their European troubles and more to come, Micro$oft had better not sit on their laurels and think that pedestal cannot be rocked. I personally believe, truly, that if Steve Jobs would only get his head out of his butt, and grow a sturdier pair, he could take on the EE head on. All he has to do is port the current Mac OS X to Intel/AMD hardware AND make it work seamlessly like it does on Apple Hardware. If he even did it solely with the top tier vendors to ensure compatibility and quality, he would open up a huge market and give some true options to replacing the EE bugfest.

And when you think about it, you have to ask why can it not be accomplished. I already can download a Knoppix distribution and boot on my laptop or desktop and it works. I will concede that the main issue is that it has trouble with wireless devices especially (Linksys adapters will NOT work with anything I have tried and it is a known problem that Checkpoint/Linksys refuses to address) and various hardware in need of Linux drivers, but the majority of existing hardware simply works.

Anyhow, check the link out you gearheads and enjoy.

Nite

EDITOR's NOTE: For more creamy (read FREE) Linux goodness, please check out the following links:

Linux - a good place to start to enter the world of Linux
Linux.org - this site contains links to download most of the known working Linux distributions
The GNU Project - all things about GNU, though none of them named Gary
Linux Journal - one of the leading magazines that I subscribe to
Linux Today - another good magazine resource
UNIX - if you want to step up, so to speak, this is the next level
SUN Microsystems - you cannot mention UNIX and not list the arguably single most successful implementation company
UNIX Guru Universe - serious propeller head territory you are entering now

Oh, go reward yourself for all this learning at ThinkGeek. You deserve a new toy, er, tool!


ZDNet: Printer Friendly - Novell announces small-business Linux bundle

Preview clips of Bill Cosby

Simply put, one of the funniest comedians ever. Period!

Main Street Music -- Bill Cosby, Toss Of The Coin

CANOE -- CNEWS - Canada: Canadian teen to return home pending trial on violating Greek antiquity laws

I'll be back later to add comments about this. Oy!

CANOE -- CNEWS - Canada: Canadian teen to return home pending trial on violating Greek antiquity laws

Never underestimate a Yardie

A young Jamaican man walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer.
He tells the loan officer that he is going to Jamaica on a vacation for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000.
The bank officer tells him that the bank will need some form of security for the loan, so he Jamaican man hands over the keys to a new BMW 740i. The car is parked on the street in front of the bank. The Jamaican produces the title and everything checks out.

The loan officer agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan.

The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the Jamaican for using a $80,000 BMW as collateral against a $5,000 loan.

An employee of the bank then drives the BMW into the bank's underground garage and parks it there. Two weeks later, the Jamaican man returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41

The loan officer says, "Sir, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a successful business man. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?"
The Jamaican replies: "Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when return?"

The bank employees watch as he pulls out of the garage, windows down and sunroof open. The music was blasting from his car as he pulled away.

" A We run things, things no run we, everything we do, it dun properly."

*Thanks to Mikey Wizdom for that contribution to the start of the return of the funnies*

Today's Idiot! - Classics

Hey there, I thought in conjunction with the previous post, I would share a classic story of a set of dangerous idiots I saw a year or so ago.

So, the story begins with my usual trek to work in the morning (stop laughing Skibum, I do show up sometimes). I head west along St. Clair, then I go west along O'Connor, down to Don Mills, onto the DVP, off at Bloor, down Parliament, west on Wellesley, south on Church and voila, home sweet home. Let me back up to where the incident happened though.

So, I am sitting in rush hour traffic at the O'Connor light looking west. Unbelievably, this East Indian couple starts across the road in between the stopped cars as they try to make the bus sitting in front of the nursing home. That would not be too unusual, as everyone has done this at some point knowing the crappy TTC will not be along again for some time (but I digress). However, this couple was PUSHING a baby stroller, with a baby in it... in front of them!! Again, not so unusual, though not too bright either. Here is the dangerous, idiotic and yes, I would consider very bad parenting part.

They never looked. These asinine folks actually were so intent on getting to the bus that they ran out from between the stopped cars and into the oncoming traffic passing lane. The BIG problem with this is, as anyone form the area knows, the northbound right lane has an advanced green turn arrow. So, yeppers, they waltzed right out, BABY in front in the stroller, into the path of an oncoming vehicle!!!

Horns started blowing from all corners. The bus driver's face was one of shock. The guy driving towards them must have dropped a load because if he was not driving the small shitbox he was, those three folks were dead that morning. Luckily for everyone involved (I did NOT need to witness that event that morning), he had enough space to swerve in the bus' lane and stop before hitting them. They continued across the street and the bus driver looked like he was giving them shit for the stunt they just pulled. I think when they were getting on the bus they seemed to realize that they just missed Death's express bus. The guy in the car gathered himself, acknowledge the praising waves, glances and nods, and he continued on his way. Our group finally got a green light and we all continued to our places of employment.

Look both ways never had more dire consequences that in this case of near fatality. So, be on the lookout for this especially dangerous type of idiot; the totally clueless.

Ciao.

Today's Idiot!

Hello folks, as the weather warms up you will need to be on the lookout for one of three types of fair-weathered fiend:

1. The middle-aged hack - the MAH is what you often see as the weather warms up and those who bought expensive sports cars and convertibles (but never learned how to drive them) are ready to break them out. These folks want to make a statement but unfortunately they fail to realize the statement is usually a scream of "I am an idiot" as they pull maneuvers their old ass no longer has the reflexes to handle. They have no regard for others on the road and are more worried about the dent or scratch on their car than they are off parking in handicapped spots, double parking, cutting folks off or stopping short of the light they had no business trying to race through.

2. The cyclist - I have to be careful not to paint with too wide a brush as my good friend, avid and conscientious cyclist, MsMittens might take offence at being lumped in with the knuckleheads. The good weather brings out those souls who are active enough or determined enough to make the world a greener place, save some gas and bus money and to get in some good exercise. Unfortunately, this group includes the super-idiot courier cyclists, the mis-guided and unhealthy parental units and I-am-invincible-and-do-NOT-need-to-follow-traffic-rules-or-wear-a-helmet goofballs. Be prepared to stop short as these idiots blow through red lights and stop signs, ride on the side, in the middle or where ever they feel and get pissed off at you (the one in the three ton vehicle) as you make a turn that they saw you start with the right of way and attempt to pass you on the right anyways.

3. The walker - not as quick as the cyclist but just as stupid in the belief that if they walk in front of it, it will stop. This person simply steps out on crosswalks without pushing the little button, checking that it is clear and/or pointing out in front of them to indicate that they are about to cross. Apparently, saving twenty minutes waiting for a bus is more important that the two minutes to save their life; let the new Darwin list begin. These folks think that blindly stepping off a curb, several feet from the corner, INTO oncoming traffic, means that you should have seen them. Unfortunately, when you run over their stupid ass, the law says that they were correct.

So, fellow polluters, be wary of the three groups above and be careful out there. The only ones that can ensure you return home safely after reading my blog today is YOU!

Peace.

Do you use a Blackberry?

Thanks to DW for this little link of BB goodness. Enjoy.


Blackberry Blog / Tips

Another interesting site to let off steam.

I have to say, in the gand scheme of things, I have been extremely lucky (blessed even) to have the privilege of NOT having too many asswipe bosses. Mind you, I could name a couple from over the years (Dan at the 7-11, this goof at Sketchley's and a clueless lawyer whose secretary was incompetent and taking advantage of them). I can also name a few that have been incredible. I had a fair boss at Sears, when I was driving courier (wanted me back twice), in the store at 7-11, my present one and my friend, three-time dictator, Skibum. So, i don't have any immediate complaints about my immediate superiors; I'll leave anything above that for someone else to rant about. ;-)

Enjoy this link with a grain of salt because there are always three sides of a story; yours, theirs and the truth.

Ciao.



Incompetent Abusive Boss Gets Promoted - iWorkWithFools.com - Anonymously Share Work Related Stories

All this hassle for a little floured disc?

Panzerotto Pizza sucks ass! I am so tired of businesses that do not know how to train their customer facing employees to provide proper customer service. I've worked in all manner of such positions. I have pumped propane and worked the self-serve kiosk at Shell, delivered newspapers, acted as an independant courier, worked the midnight counter at 7-11, and sold, removed and installed stereo equipment in automobiles. In all those times, I only ever had words at the 7-11 and that was with a drunk guy threatening to do stupid things in the store (I made him "realize" that it would be a foolish thing to do on my shift).

Anyhow, back to the ass-sucking people. All I wanted to do was not cook today. All I wanted was a nice, deep fried, Deluze Panzerotto for my baby, DW. Could I get that without hassle? I thought so, but then buddy shows up over 15mins late, wants to blame it on the winter (all the roads all clear and dry) and is rude and belligerent in the process. Remember, just earlier today, I said my pet peeve was ignorance. I apparently had the policy mistaken for a company that had a clue (no guarantee of delivery?!?!?), but I lost it as this butt munch stood in my doorway trying to run excuse after excuse by me. It's winter, he has an hour (apparently, he does), it's my walkway's fault, there is no guarantee (apparently there is not), he does not want to call his people, etc.

When we called, the person on the phone sounded so bored I would have gladly ended it for her myself. She was disinterested and unhelpful and then, to an IT GEEK, attempted to blame my placing the order online for his lateness and tells us it should add to the time he has to deliver. We pointed out that the email for confirmation was immediate and that doorknob admitted he was running late. We told her off for being as useless as certain bull parts and as uncaring as well. We hung up and went to the site to check on the stupid policy and the link to complain.

Since we will NEVER trust an order of food from there again (no "special sauce" for us please lest I have to seriously rearrange dna there), we created a new email addy on hotmail just to complain. That was funny as we had to change the name we wanted (upsetcustomer) because there are 54 previous versions of that name! The end result is the blurb I have posted for your reading pleasure below. Enjoy my fringe of madness and learn from it. :)

Peace.

The Rant:

I have been a loyal customer of Panerotto Pizza for many years, but after my experience tonight, I will no longer be ordering from you. What your website says versus what your driver and telephone people say are two different things.

To not have a guranteed delivery time, to suggest to a customer that "anytime" between 45 minutes and an hour is acceptable and to suggest that after an HOUR, you expect to only give the customer an undisclosed discount? Also, your phone person wanted to suggest that ordeing online introduced such a delay in the process as to account for the extra 15 mins. Since I have both delivered pizza in my youth and work in IT as an adult, I know this is such a crock that it is laughable.

The driver that delivered to my house tonight was belligerent and rude, would not talk to your people on the phone and was unapologetic for being late. In fact, he tried to deny the fact that he was more than the 15 minutes later than the website said it should be. He then tried to say that a half hour more was allowed in the winter when the streets are as dry as a bone.

I was looking forward to my Panzerottos, as was my wife. After this experience though, we would not trust the ingredients to be fully clean coming from the area we live in.

Hopefully, this will cause your company to rethink it's policy though I highly doubt any of you care based on the conduct of your employees.

Time.

There just is never enough of it and the time has come to try to better utilitize it. Yeah yeah, Dad, I know you said so; get a grip. Anyhow, I find that everyday I am runnig out of time. As a confessed procrastinator, one could say that I am simply lazy or have bad time management skills. Whiel both fo these are true, the bigger issue is that I tend to bite off more than I can chew (my waist can attest to that statement). Right now, I am looking at five computer projects that are in a state of flux; all five are for our own network!

I have a quad server that needs rebuilding, my main system has died yet again, I finally fixed my newphew's SFF but broke it with a PCI card addition I finally got from a friend, I have the TV computer shutdown to try the card in there and I still want to get one of the SUN boxes online with Solaris 9 for SPARC. Add to this two laptop rebuilds for DW and myself, a super overdue test of a DB15 to BNC adapter cable for my IBM 17" monitor, some computer desk area cleanup is needed, some network reconfiguartion will be needed for my Cisco hopes and I have to sift through a TON (literally!) of old equipment to see what can be sold (on a blog post near you) or given to The General for use in a course on the wilds of Amherst Island.

Oh, and all of that is just for the basement area. i am not even going to start thinking about what has to be done in the furnace area, the garage and anywhere upstairs.

TIME! What a concept.

Ciao.

Imitation is NOT always the sincerest form of flattery

No Origami. No Cheerleaders. No Demonstrations.

So what does this show have? Apparently not a whole heck of a lot when you read the review. You would think that a lot of cold water was present when the review was written. The use of words like "flaccid" "sleep inducing", "wet-noodle" and "not exactly uplifting" do not bode well for this play. This is supposed to be the males' voice on issues that matter to men, just as the Vagina Monologues is the voice for women; unfortunately, it seems that we men are a little hoarse. Sorry for the small pun.

If you want to see how this should be done, please rent a copy of The Vagina Monologues. I believe that I will take the tip, and avoid this play like the plague. Oops, I punned again.

Ciao.


' The Penis Monologues: Men Speak,' Review on Broadway.com

Do you like SPAM?

I know, you thought I would be talking about the annoying emails that show up in one's email box that shows promise of larger, er, "items" via a creme, exercise or medication (DW tried to get me a birthday present from one of these emails I suspect). Anyhow, it is not like that at all.

As anyone that loves Python knows, SPAM(tm) is a staple of the Flying Cirus. Now, arguably the best Python movie ever, The Quest for the Holy Grail, has been converted into a Broadway musical. Yes, I know that EVERY bloody thing is being put to music these days, but apparently this one is good and it has over 20 million bucks in advance ticket sales. The fact that two big name stars are present cannot hurt it; Misters Curry and Azaria.

Tim Curry has been many characters but will be most remembered for his roll in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Hank Azaria is a veteran of small and big screen but is best known for his voices on the Simpsons.

I hope it eventually reaches up here and with real talent not whomever would play the part in Canada.

Ciao.

' Spamalot,' Review on Broadway.com

I'll do the other 99 later.

To follow a current trend in the world of blogs, I will be posting my version of "100 things about Me", but for now, I want to deal with just one particular item. I think that I would have to say my biggest pet peeve is ignorance. Now ignorance has two faces; a lack of knowledge and an overabundance of stupidity. I tend to get more riled by the combination of the two. Let me explain.

If someone honestly is unaware about something, not through disinterest or laziness, then I can educate and deal with that. If someone is acting up simply because it was too hard to get the facts, then that person is &^%*&%^ ignorant and I have little time or patience for them. Understand the difference? Good.

Recently, maybe because of the change in the weather, I have had to deal with many new sightings of ignorance in my immediate range of influence during the day. I will be the first to admit that I know a little about a huge variety of things, but am a SME (subject matter expert) on very few things. I do not argue about things I do not know about; I wish they could say the same.

It just makes your head shake when someone is arguing with vehemence about the topic when you have all the answers before their mouth opened. At that point, my mind wanders over to where I can find a mint to give them since they have made it obvious that they are talking out of their ass.

Anyone that knows me knows that I love a good discussion and a lively argument. Just do it with some intelligence, otherwise just STFU!!

Peace!

I'll learn one day.

I (*&^%(*&^%(* did it again. I added some very important links and made some significant changes to a previous blog. For whatever reason, the *&^%(* browser had me logged our of the damn thing and I lost it all when I went to publish it.

Yes, yes, I know I said I would take precautions but it is late and I am tired and I was on a roll.

(*&^%(*&^)(*&^)(**&)(&!!!!!!!!

Sigh. I'll fix it up later.

Nite.

Freedom has its price.

I am sorry that I will give this person's blog and related links extra traffic, but it is worth it to illustrate the kind of sickness that flows through too many people to the south. I found this site while researching some links for my previous blog post on Spike Lee. Very little shocks me, and I was not so much shock as I was and am disappointed that such ignorance is still so strong in a supposedly democratic and free society. So much time has passed and so little has changed.

The world is a sad little place.

Peace. Please.

Blog of the Attorney General of the Untied States of America

Live in the Montreal area?

That British import and smash hit running for many years, Trading Spaces, is finally coming north to Canada. For some reason they think the pond, land of the frogs, is a "unique and different flavour" for the show. I got your different flavour... right here!

Anyhow, if you live in the pond, send them an email. Who knows, you could be the next star.

Ciao.

CANOE -- JAM! - 'Trading Spaces' coming north

It had to be said.

There has been a trend happening that a lot of people that should be happy about it, continue to show their level of ignorance by being unhappy about it. That of which I speak is the ever growing presence of prominent Blacks in the US coming forward and publicly speaking what everyone knows; Blacks in America are in trouble and a lot of it is their own damn fault.

It is not a popular view for obvious reasons. In one camp, Blacks believe that their dirty laundry should not be aired by the likes of Bill Cosby or Spike Lee (as portrayed in this link). The other camp actually believes that they and those that think like them are wrong. Well, after all these years of blaming "the man" for their woes, they fail to realize their own shortcomings. And yes I said they.

I may also be Black but things are very different for American Blacks. When I don't get a promotion or a bonus, I do not blame the man or the establishment or the 500 years of slavery. I either take responsibility for my shortcomings, or blame my asshole boss (which I have had). Have I experienced racism first hand? Ya damn skippy! I could not be Black and not have experienced it. It happened in school, in Cubs, in Scouts, in Cadets, in School and at work. That said, I have never been told I could not go into this bathroom or eat in that restaurant. And, I never got spit upon on the TTC like my parents did in the early years of living in Canada.

Years ago, my brother and I nearly lost our breakfast as we watched two Doctors, supposedly educated Blacks, defend and promote the use of Ebonics in schools in California. Of course, this would be the BEST way to show everyone that black people were not inferior. If the test is too hard, decrease its difficulty. If the language is too difficult to master, make up a new one. WTF?!?!?

It was such a sad sight and sound that we were crying and laughing at the same time; then we got angry. We were two middle-classed, right side of the tracks, legal-minded, proper speaking youths who could not believe that someone would suggest that we SHOULD be less than we are in order to succeed. The US Whites would have been impressed with our resolve. The Blacks would have labeled us (and may still) as "uppity niggers".

The very term is both a compliment and a condemnation all at once; that is a great part of the issue. When Snoop Dogg calls out all his "niggas and hos", it is a good thing; it is gansta rap, language of the streets and understood. If Tony Soprano, on the HBO hit series The Sopranos, says the same thing, it is derogatory and negative and inflammatory.

In high school, I was in a hallway and called out to my boys "y'all niggas are crazy". Mr. Chappelle, French teacher and dungeon master supreme (we met often) who happened to be White, was appalled that I would use such language. I argued that it was okay because it was me, a black boy, calling it out to other black boys. Hell, we "allowed" a couple of close white friends to toss the word about when we joked around without receiving a beat down. Mr. Chappelle pointed out that no matter who said it, it was a distasteful word. We had a discussion about it and many things after that. And that is what is always lacking in the US; intelligent discussion.

Chris Rock for years was threatened with boycotts and actions against him by blacks because he dear give to the whites what the blacks already knew; knowledge of two distinct societies within the black community. As Mr. Rock pointed out clearly in one of his routines, there are two types of people: black people and niggaz. And, to quote him, "Niggaz have got to go!" If you get a chance, buy the tape or watch the DVD. It is one of the funniest things ever said about this division. It is also one of the most controversial. He was told he should not have pointed it out because he was given the White man more ammunition to put the Black man down. Dumbasses.

The Black person does this enough themselves when they allow their kids to become ganstas, run around at night during the school week, not grow up with morals or respect and generally follow all that crap the rap artists be talking about. No, I do NOT believe that TV, Books and Movies are responsible for the ills that children do in today's society. In fact, I think that view is a crock of shit and parents have to stop coping that plea and start taking responsibility for what their kids do.

You stepped up when it was time to get jiggy with it and make the kid; step up and be responsible for the child now that things are a bit harder than choosing which cold, nasty mush you are sticking into their face tonight. You're a parent now, start acting like one.

And for the rest of you, I care not if you are black, white, red, purple, yellow or brown (you albinos are on your own). Be proud of who you are. Stand tall without having to do so on the backs of others. Recognize but for the grace of something, all of this could be different and that we are now all in it together. As Springer says, "Take care of yourself, and each other."

Peace!!


CANOE -- JAM! Television: Spike Lee promotes proper speech

Toronto Gas Prices - Find Cheap Gas Prices in Ontario

What more can I say to this? Nothing. Just use it to your advantage.

Ciao.

Toronto Gas Prices - Find Cheap Gas Prices in Ontario

Idiots or not?

Well, if I had the money to buy this crap and somebody else wanted to pay to see this crap or pay more money to buy this crap from me, then i guess it would make sense.

My poor ass just does not get it.

Ciao.

CANOE -- CNEWS - Weird News: Internet casino buys Virgin Mary pretzel

Are your balls scented?

OK, please get your mind out of the gutter. Just what kind of blog do you take this for?

This is one of those things that any one of us may have thought about but never pursued. They should make a pretty penny from it.

CANOE -- CNEWS - Weird News: Scented bowling balls

What went wrong?

I believe the "beyond reasonable doubt" part that is necessary to convict a criminal. I believe that it has worked more times that it has failed over these years. So, in the case of the Air India bombings, what the *&^%(*& happened??

As far as it was playing out, they had the right people and the right evidence. Where did it all go so wrong? I am not wholly convinced that these men did not do it as I am that the prosecution screwed up a high profile case yet again. How many times do they seem to get loopholes to get the high profile cases off and no one has that savvy for the lesser profile cases?

Something happened in this case and someone needs to figure it out; QUICKLY. The families of those lost in this tragedy deserve no less!!

Ciao.


CANOE -- CNEWS - Law: Air India defendants cleared

A very touchy subject that hits real close to the bone.

Sigh. Why is it that when it comes to a situation where there can be a perception of a winner and a loser, some people lose all sense and only see the competition? The only losers in situations like this is the ones with no control over the situation: the children. I could fill several blogs with information about what gets done and what the lasting effects are. I won't for now though; I am saving that up for my book.

Parents, a little advice. If you want a toy, go to Zellers. If you want a pet, go to Petsmart. If you want to play tug of war, join the Y.M.C.A. If you want to win every fight, join a gym and shadow box. If you want a pawn, buy a chess set.

If you want to be right, then do the right thing. If you want your kids to love you, love them back WITHOUT trying to deny the love of the other parent. If you want smart kids, act smart and provide a good example.If you do not want clueless kids, then get a clue.

The justice system is a biased, unjust and corrupt system when it comes to father's rights during divorce. In this case, however,m this dumbass just set the rest of us back a few years. Don;t use the kids as shields because the shields get hit first. Common Sense.

Peace.

London Free Press Columnist: an Gillespie - Selfish parents hurt kids

It may never bring them back, but it will clear out some trash!

Life. What a strange little exercise that the Supreme Being (or Beings) insist on making us go through. Since we are in it for the long haul, we will try to make the best of it. Well, some of us will and some of us will have that choice taken away from us.

Scott Peterson, dispicable human being (or animal) that he is, is coming face to face with the consequences of his actions; death penalty for killing his wife and his unborn child. No remorse, new woman, callous indifference and smug attitude at possibly getting away with it. Thankfully, he slipped up.

Too bad the human rights issues come into play because this bastard really deserves to suffer for what he did and all the pain the living family members have to go through. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

CANOE -- CNEWS - World: Judge sentences Peterson to death

The return of the idiot!

Hey folks, I was contemplating ditching this feature but some fans of it protested (ok, just MossyStone and TC) and I had two new instances of idiocy yesterday. This proves to me that it is still need to point out these vermin that need to be avoided like the plague (or given a Darwin award).

So, idiot #1: This goofball, driving a fairly laden Japanese model car, is such in a hurry, that he edges his car a FULL car length plus into the intersection. Why is this stupid? Because, the other side had an advanced green light. He was not going anywhere. He was not outrunning TR. He was just being an impatient ass.

Idiot #2: those of us old enough to remember the Korean invasion of the automotive world will remember the introduction of one of the cheapest and most osught after mass-produced vehicle ever to hit the North American shores; yes, The Hyundai (pronounced like Sunday) Pony. This was quickly followed by the faster, sportier, more expensive Excel. My sister owned one of these and I got it up to 160km/h one winter coming down the 115 from Trent University where...uhm, a story for a different day.

Anyhow, anyone that knows the Hyundai line of vehicles knows that the line is decent for the money though not spectacular. Everyone also knows, on a dragstrip, this will not be mistaken for anything but what it is. So, what would possess this dumbass pulling out of the Shell station on the corner of Finch and Brimley to fly out of the driveway into the lane of a vehicle approaching at speed? No, TR was behind this other vehicle bracing for what seemed to be an inevitable flying shower of metal and mostly plastic.

Somehow, he was able to gather every single last horse in that lethargic engine and speed forward of the oncoming doom. IDIOT! You are driving an upgraded PONY! It is not a Mercedes, Jaguar, BMW, AUDI or Rolls. It is not a Town Car, Crown Vic, STS or Marquis. It is NOT a Porsche, Lambo or Ferrari. So don't EVER try that stunt again if you truly love your family and consider their lives worht something.

IDIOT!

C'est la vie!

If you don't understand the title, shame on you. Go to Babelfish and translate it.

Anyhow, sometimes you have to take a bit of a risk and a bit of a stand. Sometimes this helps you and sometimes it hurts you. Sometimes, you just don't give a shit.

Today, I had to respond to something that we were voluntarily asked to perform at work. I almost always volunteer so it was no different. The problem lies in the method that was used to accumulate data and the uselessness of that method. That is all I can say because as we all know, people are getting fired all over the place for speaking their minds about their jobs. I will never identify the place I work, the people I work with or what gets done there. That should not stop me from voicing displeasure as I would at the water cooler or the watering hole.

I work for a great company that is on its way to do great things. Someone started hiring people that are paperly qualified, but humanly inept. We have a culture that allowed us to thrive through some seriously hard times. We knew how and when to blow steam off that did not do any detriment to the company. NOW, we are being told how to do that? We are getting people in who love to micromanage and make themselves feel bigger by making others feel small? We are worrying about the minutiae instead of concentrating on the big picture and the final goal? What the hell happened?

Well, as the quote says, "Do not go gentle into that good night". I have no intention to because in real life, I am very much like my blog; intense, opinionated, loyal, fierce, emotional, gentle, caring, arrogant, strong, shy, funny, caustic, crass, belligerent, soft, hard, true and trustworthy. I AM REAL.

And I intend to stay that way.

Peace.

How-to: Protect Your Wireless LAN

Let's dispel something very early on, regardless of what the paranoid naysayers tell you, wireless IS the way to go at home if you tend to compute in multiple rooms (or outside on the patio, beer in hand, during a conference call). Uhm, I have heard that some people do this. Moving right along.

OK, the article I have linked here will tell you the steps needed to secure yourself. It mentions a free product named Netstumbler that can identify wireless networks in the area. Yes, it will do so even if the SSID Broadcast function is turned off. Kind off scary and eye opening that simply saying the network is not there does not make it so.

What the article does not go on to say, though, is that once the existence of a network is confirmed, free tools like AirSnort can be used to recover the encryption keys, ultimately leading to the breach of your network. Is that enough to make you do something more than open the box and plug it in? I bloody hope so.

BTW, everyone knows that the default username of the Linksys box you have in your house is admin and the password is admin. Now, go and fix it!

Ciao!



How-to: Protect Your Wireless LAN

He was no Carson, but then, no one was.

As I have admitted previously, I am a confessed couch potato. In my early days, I managed to pack a lot of television watching in while touring the neighbourhood and playing soccer each week. For the non-Scarberians, Channel 47 (CFMT, now OMNI 1) was the ONLY channel on TV that catered to the varied cultures that made Scarborough the great place it is today. Dave Allen - At Large and The Benny Hill Show were evening staples on this channel in the 70s and 80s. A lot of folks did not get British humour, but we did (it may be due to being born in a former British colony). Anyhow, Dave Allen was the dry wit and Benny Hill was the pratfalls and sexual innuendo; every so often, it was reversed.

To illustrate Dave Allen's dryness, imagine the delivery when this exchange happened:

Stranger: "Are you the Irish comedian with half a finger?"
Dave Allen: "No, I'm the Irish comedian with nine and a half fingers!"

Classic.

There were many skits about the conflicts between religions that I always found immensely funny (the Pope and the Archbishop having a road race on the shoulders of the men carrying them), but there is one particular monologue about everyday life, with him smoking and sitting in the chair the way he did, that has always stuck in my mind.

Dave said he was sitting in his car stuck in traffic one day when he noticed that this lady was starting to stare at him (probably recognizing him). So, in typical DA style, he decided to have a bit of fun at her expense. He basically acknowledged to her that he saw her looking at him and stared ahead into the traffic intently. He then started to play with his nose as if it were itching him. He increased this activity until he made it appear that forcibly shoved one finger up his nose. As if this was not enough to startle the woman, when he pulled his hand away from his face, he made a startled reaction at the top of his finger missing; the woman almost fainted. As everyone knows, Dave lost that piece of his finger in an elevator accident.

Classic!

To read up on various bits about Dave Allen, please see the following links. The bottom one is, of course, about his recent passing. Dave, wherever you are, "Good Night and may your God go with you."

Screen Online
Passgen
Spiritual Themes (starting with Dave Allen)
Nostalgia Central
BBC Co
Jump The Shark
BBC TV
Michael DVD

CANOE -- JAM! Television: Comedian Dave Allen dies at 68

Left or Right?

You Are 30% Left Brained, 70% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

My thanks to Mossy Stone for another interesting questionnaire.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

How about a little absurdity for you?

Every so often, something brings up the debate about free speech and censorship. When you think about it, we are all censored in some way everyday. Chances are, even the most outspoken among us (myself included) tempers what they say depending who is present at the time.

However, in the case of this story, some dimwit teacher decided on their own what news source is considered reputable instead of a particular writer or feed. Let's brand the whole Toronto Sun (often the bane of my existence for some stupid, short-sighted, clueless writers like Ms. Blatchford) as being unreputable instead of balancing the good and bad side of the paper.

And then, they compound the idiocy of the whole thing by making me embarassed to be a Catholic. The principal actually questions the morality of the paper because it contained a Sunshine Boy and Girl? As the saying goes, don't throw stones when you are living in a glass house. Let's not be talking about morality when the very institution you stand for covers up and pays off people to cover up some of the most immoral acts in society today.

Plain and simple, they were wrong. The teacher does not even have the nads to stand up in public for what he/she supposedly believes in. If you cannot stand up for your convictions, just how much do you believe in them?


CANOE -- CNEWS - Media News: Fan of Sun penalized by teacher

How many times before kids understand?

The story in this link strikes me and DW personally, as it should all parents (especially those of teenagers). All we can do is constantly stay vigilant and determined to make our daughter understand the dangers that lurk in public and on the Internet. The Internet is even more insidious in my view because of the anonymity that it affords the sick and twisted that reside in the shadow of lies.

I will be giving a copy of this news story to TC's school, as I have many other articles before. It may be all I can do at the moment, but as one who deals in information, I am more than willing to continue mining and contributing to the school's knowledge. I firmly believe that in this scenario, ignorance is not bliss, it is deadly. Ignorance will cost someone (at the least) their innocence and/or (at the most) their life.

So, while our daughter thinks I am an Ogre (with many layers, like onions), and DW not much better, we will NOT apologize for being diligent parents. We will continue to monitor, snoop, read, listen, watch and search whenever we feel a justification or strong need to. I will point out that we have NEVER once been wrong in that regard. We'd rather be hated by a living child than loved from above by a dead one.

And if you think that is melodramatic, talk to Lesley Parrott. In July 1986, 11-year-old track star Alison Parrott was lured to Toronto's Varsity Stadium by someone posing as a photographer. She was raped and murdered. The last known sighting of the girl was by a bank security camera, which caught what is believed to be her legs walking along a sidewalk near the stadium. It was not until 1999 that DNA testing helped convict Francis Carl Roy of the crime.

We can live with the fact that twenty years from now, we may have to go on a Dr. Phil-type show to reconnect to TC. We just will do everything we can to ensure that we have that opportunity and option to do so.

Parents, open the dialogue, talk to you kids. If you are not doing so, someone sick may be taking your place. Think about it.

Peace.

Ottawa Sun: - Boy, 14, lured to hotel

Are you kidding me???

Sorry, I just could not bear to read and comment on the entire story as the first subtitle so pissed me off. If it is true, that these four young officers were sent there with no guns and no body armour, then their boss needs to step down or be fired. Maybe the RCMP itself needs to be sued in order to bring to light what the hell went wrong that day.

Where going to stop someone for a broken taillight has taken the life of officers in around the world, why on earth would you take the chance at a place known for a deranged owner who harbours weapons and does drugs? What the hell happened here?

We ALL want to know the truth. The fallen heroes' families deserve it. The public deserves it. Most importantly, the remaining officers deserve it so that they can return home after each shift from this point forward in the future. Remember, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

I think once was enough.

Peace.

The Calgary Sun: Killer lay in wait for cops

I'm on a roll this Monday.

I will be the first to admit that I am a fairly strict father. I feel I have to be in order to keep our daughter safe in the society of today. We were discussing this on the weekend. In our time (Gawd I sound old), I used to get up in the morning during summer holidays and eat breakfast with the morning cartoons around 8AM. As soon as I could convince my mother to say yes, I was gone into the neighbourhood to play with my friends.

Not next door, not across the street, into the neighbourhood (which was essentially Kennedy to McNichol to Birchmount to Finch. The only stipulation was to check in from time to time and if I was going to be extended someplace or venture into another area (like Agincourt Mall, though that was not to be seen till high school), then I was to come home and say where the pay has been shifted. Heck, when I wanted to go to the old neighbourhood back at Vic Park and Finch, I just had to say and off I went riding.

So, what has changed? EVERYTHING. We cannot afford to trust ANYONE. How sad is that? I am not a fear monger and I am not a prude. I am a realist and sick, punk *&%^(*&^s are showing up everywhere; the priesthood, Cubs and Scouts, babysitters, soccer coaches, the variety store, daycares, Bay Street, and right next door to someone you know.

Like I said, I am no prude so I would forgive the accidental peak or even the curious one-time peak at shit you know you just should not be lookign at. But, when you NEED to look at that stuff, need to horde it, need to make your own fresh because your recent batch of sick shit you downloaded off the IRC channels do not "do it" for you anymore, then you, and my Lousiville Slugger, need to talk.

In the case of this misguided soul in the link below, it is another argument about cultures and how we deal with things. I could never do what some of these people think they are rightly doing to save virture of the child or, most often, honour and 'face' of the family. I could never take a life that I consider most precious above my own. I could never hurt someone I claim to love more than life itself. I just could not do it.

Too bad for this girl that unfortunately I am not her father, this useless sack of crap is. And he could, and did, hurt her. I need iced tea.

Peace.

EDITOR'S NOTE: BTW, TK, we love you. :)

CANOE -- CNEWS - Law: Dad guilty of stabbing daughter

If the neighbours seem TOO quiet, go check for a pulse.

What the hell, Monday is all shot to shit anyhow with the previous post, so here is some more misery for you.

Sometimes, it just really makes you wonder. Maybe one really has to walk in the shoes of these people to understand what breaks them to commit such heinous acts.

Sometimes, you do not. Let's just say some folks are luck I really do possess the patience of Job. And that aint no joke.

Peace.



Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Mom, sister slain

Don't even start with the "disturbed mental bullsh*t" on this one!

I am SOOO &^%*&^* tired of these screwed up people taking out innocent others. Especially these so-called parents who are so delusional that they think they are bringing the child to a better life and ending their suffering. Here's a newsflash for you sparky: if you simply ASKED the child, "Do you want to DIE with mummy/daddy today?", methinks the answer would typically be, "I'll pass and catch you on the next trip."

*&^%(*&^(^)*

So, below is a link to another cowardly, misguided, sick, vile, deranged miscreant that is too much of a <insert the worst word known to man here> to face the messpile of his life head on so decides to take his useless, Darwin-ish life. The problem is, these fools are always to scared to remove their own stupid asses from the gene pool themselves, and since well placed hits to the nads would dislodge most holds on an adult, they prey upon the innocent children to satisfy their sick little exit fantasies.

My call for the reinstatement of the death penalty post will be coming forward soon. Everytime I think I can finally right it with a clear mind, some asshole goes and ^%*(&^(*) up my head again with their stupid ass action.

Someone has got to stop this shit now!

CANOE -- CNEWS - Canada: Man drops girl off bridge

Do not adjust your sets.

Your eyes are not deceiving you. I have changed the Blogger template that I am using in order to get a more unified column structure. I did not like how the length of a title or sentence forced all the side column items to be pushed to the bottom of the page. Anyhow, comment all you like as it will help me choose. I think I am down to three choices. The first one is Minima Ochre.

Well, I guess you can say I'm baaaaack....

Hello faithful readers (and you new ones too), I have been a bit absent on posting recently. It was not because I was lazy or had nothing to say. I guess I was suffering a bit from writer's block (and partial shock at losing those other great works before they posted). However, I can now let the floodgates open as I have enough data collected in this strangely shaped head to do many posts today. I guess you can say that over the weekend, I got unblocked! :)

OK, I guess I will start with the weekend. It's been a busy one but a great one. Starting on Friday, we enjoyed dinner at the home of a longtime family friend of the Marks family (DW's side). It was also a poker night at WAB's place but we did not make it due to the conversations held after dinner which ran us past 11PM. Families were reacquainted and I met a couple of cool folks that we can possibly hang with later on.

Since we missed real poker, we logged on to Poker Stars and played a couple of tourneys until we were sleepy enough to hit the hay. For DW, that was around 1-ish; for me it was closer to 4AM.

On to Saturday, and we had a very early morning for us on a weekend (when we can help it). We had an appointment out at Golden Mile Chevrolet-Oldsmobile-Cadillac and saw our man, Clyde Goins. Clyde instantly hit it off with us, back in 2003, from the time we went to see what GM had to offer compared to cheap-ass Chrysler ($30Gs PLUS the trade in of the Jeep?!?!?) and Ford ($40Gs, but clueless and disinterested salespeople). He is definitely the salesman, but he is different in that getting us the highest returning vehicle for his bottomline was never the issue. He would have sold us a stripped Venture if that was what we wanted; it was not. So, he made sure to get us the vehicle we wanted, in the colour DW wanted, as quickly as we wanted it. Service with a smile, always.

Anyhow, this day, we needed to get a bit realistic, so we went in to get our monthly payments reduced since the gravy train (AKA I am a *&^%% employee now) has hit a wall. As circumstances have changed in the household (more on the Child later), we no longer need the space, power and amenities that the Roo and the Silhouette offer. We also do not need the gas consumption and insurance rates that accompany it. Don't get me wrong; I am soooo going to miss the Roo and intimidating the stupid and brave on the streets of Toronto. We just have to be practical about things until such a time we can return to the excesses we so enjoy.

We are looking at removing the equivalent, monthly, of the Roo from our debt load. So, for DW, it means a step down from the Silhouette van to an almost as appointed, smaller physical package of the Malibu Maxx. The features that are truly cool on this car include the sunroofs (yes multiple, a tilt and slide upfront, with two fixed movable sunshaded glass sections in the rear), the reclining rear seats, the sliding rear seats, DVD console and the adjustable shelf that turns into a 100lb tailgating table. All this in something that holds about 30 less litres of gas and gets better mileage with its more powerful 200hp V6. We drove a Malibu years ago when the Jeep was playing the ass in Ottawa during my brother's wedding. It was a surprising offering from GM and back then we considered it. It has matured quite well over the years. this choice also means she can feel somewhat safe on the highway amongst all the big trucks.

For Moi, it is a bit more downscale, as the lady gets the toys first (family rule). So, since most of my traveling is in the city compared to her gawd-awful 40-60min daily commute each way through hell's corridor, I am looking at either a used Malibu sedan or a new, five-speed, MP3 radioed, Optra. Yes, it initially looks like a bit of a beater and a touch tinny, but I can assure you that I would drive neither of those things in a new vehicle. This is a model that was based out of the German arm of GM and borrowed by the parent company. It is bigger than the POS Chevy Aveo and it is not a tin can like the POS Neon. It is actually pretty peppy, has a standard dual DIN dash opening (hello Kenwood Mask) with decent speaker placement and it has a cavernous truck with fold down rear seats to accommodate my speaker box for just the right amount of added BOOM.

So, after leaving the friendly confines of GM (at least by Clyde's desk it is friendly), we headed over to ACR Roti for some lunch. We had to scarf that down quickly as we were on our way to a No Limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament downtown that is run by one of our friends. This thing is big with typically 50 people joining in. We finished respectably, but out of the money once again; DW finished 13th and I bowed out at 11th on a bad beat caught yet again on the frickin' river. No, I'm not bitter.

We tried to hit a movie afterwards, but missed the 7PM timeslots and had no desire to wait around till the next slot, so we went home to watch one. We picked School of Rock and Old School because comedy is a great healer. It is apparently a great relaxer as well because I was out before 9:30 and was hard to wake up after that. So, DW watched the movie and woke me when it was done to go to bed.

Sunday. Ugh. Housework. ACK! Ok, so the sty really, REALLY needed some cleaning. We were going to get up nice and early to do it but we were both wiped so we slept in till 11:30. Once up, it was vacuuming, dusting, sinks, bathtub, toilets, swiffering, throwing out paper, organizing and a well placed set of Febreezing. We opened up all the windows for some fresh winter air, and shut off the furnace for a while. Ah, somewhat clean house. Nice.

I did some computer work while DW went out to do the groceries. I also did the wash at the same time. The evening brought dinner (fish and chips) and the Raptor game (my gawd they won on the road for a change, mind you, against a shittier team than they). Some more puttering into the wee hours of the morning and it was time to go to work again.

Ah, Monday. How I loathe thee.

Say it loud! Say it Proud!

I am a drumstick. Absolutely insane. That is how most would describe you. You aren't afraid to take risks, and enjoy putting yourself in strange situations. Most people hang out with you because of your hilarious sense of humour. You light up any bad situation, and can help all of your friends with their problems, except for your own. Because of this, you enjoy being around people like you. Many shut you out for your very weird, random personality, but honestly, you shouldn't care. Most compatible with: Guitar, and another drumstick. Click here -- What Random Object Represents Your Inner Self?

Remember what a radio was?

In this day and age when we are all bombarded with images and imagery telling what to look at, what to look like and what it should look like, we forget that audio has always been the chief communication tool. Sure, movies and film brought the action to the masses, but it was the "talkies" that changed the way movie goers enjoyed these films.

This link has nothing to do with movies, but rather, they are .wav files that are taped from various sources and hosted for you enjoyment. They have archives dating back to 1999, which is when I first discovered the site and started enjoying the clips. You will find some especially hard clips from shows or movies long past.

Why is this special? Well, I find that listening to some audio files helps to conjure up happy times from the past. Marvin the Martian gives me that feeling of sitting with a large bowl of cereal, in my basement, on a Saturday morning to watch all the major cartoons. Do you remember ? Captain Caveman? The Justice League fo America? Snagglepuss? (Might as well check out the rest of 80's Classic TV as I am an 80's child for sure.)

Audio allows the imagination to form the images in our brains; typically, a lot more vivid than any HD TV could ever hope to accomplish. Technology is great, but it will never replace good old fashioned power.

Enjoy the Daily .WAV! Ciao.



The Daily .WAV

SPACE ACE!

Not the TV show, but a decent timewaster.


SPACE ACE!

Supersize THIS!

As a junk food loving, self-professed couch potato, this story rings true for me. See, in my youth, I was never a small person, but I was extremely fit playing soccer for thirteen years. At my best, in high school, I was a 190lb bullet of muscle. Third or fourth fastest in my soccer league (defenses were always surprised when I blew by them or beat them to a ball), strong as an OX, lean and muscular.

So what changed? Working stiff with a paycheque, beer and computers. When I took the computer course back in 1996, I gained over 20lbs during that six month boot camp. Programming at 4AM with Jolt Colas and leftover Italian food (thanks to Bill's mother) plus having a dish named after you at the local watering hole (The Hickory House, ask Jeannie for the Victor Veal) will do negative wonders for one's waist.

How can my rotund self return to its former glory? Well, never really because my ass is too old for that kind of activity nowadays. Any activity would help though and with the help of the Good Wife, the expensive treadmill in the basement (currently used as shelf space) and my bicycle (nicknamed Roo II), I intend to make a visible dent in the old physique this year. Stay tuned for those results.

As for this story, well, as I always tell people, take it with a grain of salt. Supersize me was sensationalized because it knocked a specific vendor; McDonald's. I am sure all the competitors like Wendy's and KFC enjoyed the resulting fallout against them, but as this article suggests, maybe people were too quick to get on the health kick bandwagon.

North Americans as a whole love to point the finger at anyone else but themselves for their own woes. It is not the junk food people's fault that the majority of our asses are spreading faster that Becel on a warm counter. The fault lies in our willingness to accept that there is nothing we can do about it; that it is simply the way things are because we are too busy, to poor, too whatever to do something about it. That's a crock and we should be ashamed of ourselves. We have only the man or woman in the mirror to look at for responsibility for our ever expanding personal real estate.

Anyhow, I hear Supersize Me is an interesting exercise so I still intend to view the DVD. This teacher dispels the all the readily accepted notion that it is all "their" fault. And the whole thing has served to possibly help stir my lethargic backside into motion. Now THAT would be something to see. :)

Ciao.


Edmonton Sun: - Mcflick myth gobbled up

Private VOIP applications threaten the core business of traditional telephone operators, says Analsys

It's an old article, but still decent reading material. Amazing how people (supposedly intelligent ones) keep predicting the death of an older technology long before the new one has even taken a foothold.

Let's think about that for a quick second. Cassettes were going to kill the vinyl industry. As we know, it instead complimented and boosted it. Audio CDs have basically killed off vinyl, though some countries still prefer it, and certain remixes can only be found on vinyl for DJs; there is NOTHING like real scratching.

The DVD was going to kill off the VCR, yet the thing to get now is a combo model that has both a VCR and a DVD in one unit. Sure, DVDs will take over, but only when the recorder and the media are within reach of the average consumer. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD? Years away from everyday use.

So, while I agree that VOIP is a very cool technology and that it will (thankfully) force the local telcos to think twice about continuing to gouge the customer, it is still a long way from prime time if it is rendered useless by a blackout.


.:: SourceWire :: ::.

Gary Brolsma Video

I do not know how to even describe this. The wife sent me a link to a story about this poor dude that got more than his fifteen minutes of fame... then ran from it like a little girl.

Anyhow, the video is sort of funny and you kinda feel for the poor boob. So the lesson of the day is, "If you really don't want the attention, don't post shit on the Internet!"

Oh, here is another link with various parodies of the original.

Ciao.


.: Gary Brolsma Video :. brought to you by http://conversationswithmyself.com

Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.

Today's title is an old adage that is commonly used as a putdown or insult to someone, put it is also the truth in many cases. Before I begin, I must give props to the person and his blog that got me revved up on this subject. Please click on the link and give some love to Mossy Stone.

OK, so here is the situation. Once again, the parents and students of Ontario are being held hostage by the crap posturing of the provincial government and those who are supposed to be looking out for the best interests of our future leaders. Yes, it is time for that familiar poker game between the government of the day and the Teachers of Ontario.

Unless you have been in a hole somewhere (with a large, furry rodent), you would have heard about the time and money that the various school boards of Ontario wasted in the hopes of garnering positive attention via the public and to send a direct message to the powers that be that they mean business. Well, mission half accomplished.

I'll save my personal dissertation about why unions are no longer needed in 80% of today's workplace and my own personal Idaho survived of them. Instead, I would rather give a few thought-provocative comments from the view of the public, an ex-colleague and the father of a student to be affected if they continue this asinine course of action; me.

First, I applaud the teachers. I applaud the fact that they have chosen to take on the challenge of shaping our youth into upstanding young men and women who will eventually go on to replace the current regime. We hope that when this new bunch does so, it will be with a fresh perspective and with a passion and drive to make this mudball a more livable place for everyone involved. I also applaud the board for doing the difficult job they do with the money that they get. It is not easy stretching a dollar, as most of us knows, and for the most part, they have done well.

Now, as an ex-colleague of these teachers, I have to say that I am not at all impressed with their conduct in this matter. I was appalled at seeing on the news, night after night, groups of teachers CHEERING and whooping it up when the percentages were announced that voted for a strike mandate. This is exactly what is wrong with the system today. Are you insensitive, uncaring or just daft that you would cheer and make merry that you will disrupt so many people's lives and hold the city's parents hostage? It is unfathomable to me that this group is so clueless that leaving the job, reducing one's pay to strike pay, risking your home/car, possibly putting others out of work and, most importantly, disrupting the students' lives is something to be happy about.

Also as an ex-colleague (and ex-student of some time ago), I question this latest request for more prep time. I'd like to see a full breakdown of exactly what is needed and why. I can tell you, I was taught by and worked with some teachers that really should NOT have been teaching any longer. This is definitely not the job to continue punching the clock for a paycheque and I welcome regular testing of some sort to determine when it is time to remove ineffective teachers. On a related note, there are many teachers that WANT to teach but the aforementioned flotsam cannot be removed due to the union.

As a parent, I am disillusioned with the claims that they are doing this for the benefit of my child when I see no improvement in what they are doing as a whole. I must say that I am very lucky to have my daughter in the school that she is in because the staff there is top notch and truly concerned for the students. Not everyone is as lucky as I am though and due to regulations and other factors, have no other choices for their kids.

As a member of the public, I am so tired of being beholden to the whims of a small sector of the working community. Can I strike? Hell no. And don't make the argument that it is because I am not in a union. The fact is, a union is neither wanted or required in my line of work or place of employment. I also think that it is no longer needed for the teachers.

Anyhow, look for more posts about unions (ack!) and this ongoing foolishness.

Peace.

Apologizing again

I seem to do that a lot, but I have to apologize, loyal readers, because events over the weekend interrupted my feeble train of thought. I will get it back on track in the very next while. I have many an idiot to skewer this week, a couple of haikus to post and some nifty websites and geek info to share. Same Bat Channel. Who knows what Bat Time.

Ciao.