Something big enough comes along to make a fifth necessary. My sister, who apparently reads my blog now (scary thought) is caught between a rock and a hard place that many a parent finds themselves in from time to time. The rock and the hard place can also be labeled "sink" and "swim". In between rock/sink and hard place/swim floats lazily oblivious her daughter, my niece. I am pretty sure I posted about her before but if not, let me give you the Coles Notes version.
My niece is always competing with her brother for attention. This has gone on forever and is normal in siblings. The problem lies in that at 24 and 27 respectively, it still carries on. She just refuses to get the fact that her brother does things without pretense, he visits for the sake of seeing family, he emails, he MSNs to check in, he shows interest. She, on the other hand, is a little more than a bit self-absorbed, needy and operates under an air of entitlement. She complains how everyone, especially her mother, treats her brother better and prefers him and on and on. Uhm, could it be the incessant whining? Could it be the laziness? Could it be the selfish outlook? Or how about the delusional rose-coloured glasses?
While we are on the topic of delusional, instead of establishing herself on her own and then working up, she wants everything right now. She wants to change jobs to, quote, "have enough funds to support the lifestyle I want to live", end quote. Hmm, I see. I think they have medicine and a medical procedure to correct this. She had a sweet deal at my sister's house. She was to pay $350/mth which gave her the ENTIRE basement to herself. This include bedroom, bathroom, living room, parking and storage. Her only other expense to the house was to pay for TV (in this case StarChoice); everything else my sister took care of. She kept on on neither. How in the world does she expect to go out in the world where rent (2 to 4 times what she was asked to pay) may include heat and water but phone, cable, hydro are all extra?
A while back, my sister and her had a falling out and my niece called me to ask for help to have her move out of the house. We were on our way back from Montreal at the time and tired and had things to do but we veered off into Ajax, loaded everything up and welcomed her into our home. And as you all know, it was a Trini home so there were rules and there were restrictions. Don't like them, don't let the doorknob hurt you too much along the way out. We tolerated her eating whatever was in sight without asking about certain items or replacing those items. We tolerated the late in and out at all hours. We tried to be protective because the big bad city is just that; big and bad. So, walk down dark streets after work is not safe, staying out after work till 4AM without letting us know you are safe is not safe. We called her up on these things and she started rebelling.
Well, after a heated discussion involving my mother as the central topic, we had little to say to each other for a while. I just could not get it into her head that I was capable of independent thought and though she may not agree with it, it was my preogative to have those thoughts. It went downhill from there with food being delivered (you know a McD's that delivers at midnight) by strange people in the middle of the night. Food being eaten upstairs which broke our rules (as we did not even do it). And, though we have no proff, we are pretty sure a man was in her room when we explicitly said for her to do her business outside and not where our impressionable daughter was nearby.
Everything hit the fan when DW and I were fast asleep in the basement and my nephew came downstairs and woke my wife. She in turn woke me to hear what he had to say. My niece apparently better with her mother now and fed up with our Draconian ways, called him to help her move out and back home to Ajax. She never discussed anything with us, she did not even inform us that it was happening. She knew we often were in the basement and figured that she could just sneak out without us hearing. And there would be the reason she should look at why ner brother is looked upon more favourably.
He came down because he was tired of fighting with her about it not being right the way she was leaving and that she should have at least come down and said some thing because we would have not said anything to her and that was the right thing to do. Her answer? To go sit in the vehicle and refuse to come out. I thanked him and sent a clear message to her, "Tell her that this is her choice and we are shocked that she would do this to us and treat us this way after we gave her the refuge she sought. Understand that she is not to step foot in our doorway ever again and don't try contacting us because we are done. All communication is severed." And so it stayed for quite some time until my nephew appealed to me to go see his mum for Christmas a couple of Christmases back. I knew my niece would be there but it was my sister that mattered.
Fast forward to now and not much has changed. On my sister's birthday, while we were all off from work and trying to clear out the house, my niece was nowhere to be found. She knew we were there, she knew what we were doing, she had a TV still sitting on the floor to be dealt with. Still, she had better things to do that day. She has not actively looked for a place to stay. She moved in with a so-called friend that would not even give her a key. How do you call someone a friend that does not trust you to have a key to the place they said you can stay at?? And now, whatever happened there and she is being told to leave which brings us to now (well, without a lot of details but maybe another day).
Yes, this IS the Coles Notes version.
My sister calls this morning and says to me, "I need a favour and bigger than helping me move from the house." OK, no problem. She continued, "I need to ask if you would allow A. to stay with you guys for a little while as she got kicked out of the other place (insert more here that I did not truly hear)." Silence. She continued, "I know. I know what I am asking and I know you have to talk it over with DW first." Nervous laugh, uhm, yeah! She continued with what I know and her lack of sleep and she is worrying me because I need not having recently reconnected with my only sister to lose her to stress or her running off the road due to lack of sleep or anything else that can be fixed or avoided. She assures me that this should not be for a long time but we all know things happen and a house guest is there for months not days. This will be the biggest fear of my wife.
I am speaking to her via Crackberry as she has a wonderful time in Florida at a local Flea Market; not the big one she tells me, so not as wide a variety or as good a selection. Nevertheless, she gets some items for herself and something nice for TC; I'm a keychain collector so I told her just look for a nice one for me and I will be happy. She also had to look around to find places that sold those little drink packs you pour into water. I had brought a whole set back from Las Vegas but she is not keen on green tea so the child and I will drink those. Anyhow, I cannot messenger this one. I need to speak to her directly. I know she will get worried when I say that so I need to handle it right.
What do I think? I think we should leave my niece to live in her car for a few days and let her get a real taste of life and hardship. I think my sister should stop bailing her out of jams and let her feel a little pain now and then. Once I moved out of my father's home, I never went back, I never sought his help financially, I never relied on him to be there for me; actually, I started being there for him. AND, I did so on less money that she is making now when I started out. I happily had my own two-bedroom basement apartment in Markham (remember that one Famine?) with no tub, just a shower, and my own steep entrance. It was just me at the time and it was perfect. I did not want or need to jump right into owning a condo or even owning a vehicle at the time because it was beyond my means. She needs to learn these lessons.
That said, my sister has been there for me many times (except when she dropped me on the concrete on my head as a baby, when she threw out all my now very valuable comics, when she baby-powdered my face, or when she beat me out of my sleep for not doing the dishes, but I digress). She knows the enormity of asking this of us and she would not ask it if she had other options. I understand as a parent that even when you know they should take the licks and the heat, you still try to protect and save them. It is for that reason I am going to bring up a topic with my wife that is one of few things that I am afraid of doing. Wish me luck. Results will be posted later.
Ciao.
EDITOR'S NOTE: After speaking with DW earlier, we have decided to agree to let my niece stay for a finite period of time. There will be specific rules and restrictions in place that I will draft up with my wife and she will agree to and sign, or leave. Her choice.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Stolen from Mossy
| Career Inventory Test Results
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personality tests by similarminds.com
The important thing in life is life itself.
A few years back, my family went through soem experiences that I hope never gets repeated in that fashion ever again. My father, alone for Christmas because of circumstances I will post about another time, nearly bled out internally and died at home. This would have happened if not for the fact that LB and his wife were down and we all went to see him. Seeing that he was not well, they decided to go back and spend the night. The following morning when he was unresponsive, they called 911 for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. His blood count was so low, the number escapes me now, that a few points lower and he would have been dead. He was delusional, talking nonsense, crying, weak, helpless; not the view you want to see from the person you considered the strongest in the world when you were a child. Thankfully, though not without residual complications, he is still with us today. I thought I learned my lesson about life then but I think some of it faded with time and complacency. I got a swift kick in my complacency this week.
A high school friend's (more a sister than a friend) husband took ill recently. Strangely enough, this was not unusual in itself as he suffers from Sickle Cell and is in and out of the hospital when it acts up. This time was different and after one hospital in Scarborough admittedly had no clue on what was the issue or how to properly treat it, they had the "grace" to have him transferred to a hospital downtown that did. So for that last week, BBB has been in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St. Mike's hospital in Toronto. They nearly lost him on Tuesday as they tried to figure out what was causing his heart issues, his kidneys and other organs to start failing, the pain and the bleeding in his lungs. Yeah, we know, real Dr. House kind of stuff; we have been waiting for his ass to show up to save the day.
BBB has stabilized and when KJ, TC and I went down to see him, he was smiling, laughing, talking, sitting up and enjoying the company of his wife and his sister-in-law. We waited our turn to go in and see him as the rooms are small, taken up with equipment and other items, so there is a two-person limit. Also, due to the highly specialized cases they deal with, you have to disinfect your hands, then don a filtering mask, a protective gown and sterile rubber gloves before entering the room. And the kicker, nothing loose that enters the room is allowed back out. No purses, no bags, no containers, no books or newspapers, not even the battery-operated radio (he is not allowed to plug anything into a socket) that his son sent for him. As much as I wanted to leave the Crackberry visible, I resisted and put it into my pocket; work would frown deeply on that.
I know you are probably wondering why take TC to such a place and to see BBB like this. Well, simply, the child seems to think she is invincible. I had to yell at her recently that she needs to wake up and understand that none of us are and she needs to learn how to protect and take care fo herself because anything at anytime can happen to anyone. This was a lesson in reality and he needed to see that good people get sick and good people can die if they do not get better. The impact was immediate. I hope it will be lasting. When TC went in to see him, KJ told me that BBB gave her a little chat about listening to what I had to say and to understand that I try to protect her at all costs. We'll see how well this sticks. One thing is for sure, she will do her best to stay out of a hospital. St. Mike's is a very old building and I thought we were walking in an abandoned wing when we arrived. It's is not an inviting place to be at any level, not that it should be.
What I came away from there with was a renewed understanding of what I thought I learned with my father. I need to find balance! Yes, we have to work hard for what we have and what we want to get but at what cost are we willing to do that? Disconnection from our spouse and child(ren)? Internal dissatisfaction and regret? Health and happiness? The pursuit of the "dream" is what is killing off all the Gen-Xers and Gen-Yers and we need to make an effort to change that. Even the most ambitious person must find a balance between drive and appreciation; material and spiritual. There has to be more than the pursuit of the almighty buck.
For our little crew, we are going to change things a bit. Right now, we live within 15 minutes of each other yet we rarely see each other or get together as often. Our kids, well not TC yet, are over-scheduled, we are over-worked, our lives are crowded when our childhoods were not. How did we become worse than our parents? We need to make a change and BBB's illness simply shed some light onto the problem. We are planning an adult getaway so that we can have some fun together sans the kids and the responsibility that comes with them being present. We will also be working on a huge family vacation. We are being realistic in saying it will be at least 3 years before we can do the adult one. And I know, promises and plans and made and broken like twigs in the wind. However...
We just need to remember where the promise was made, under what conditions they were made, to know that we need to do this for all of us. BBB thanked me for coming to see him. I told him that he did not need to thank me, I was thankful to him that he was strong enough that I was visiting him there in ICU and not somewhere else. Life is simply too short. We cannot afford to simply be alive. We need to LIVE.
Peace.
A high school friend's (more a sister than a friend) husband took ill recently. Strangely enough, this was not unusual in itself as he suffers from Sickle Cell and is in and out of the hospital when it acts up. This time was different and after one hospital in Scarborough admittedly had no clue on what was the issue or how to properly treat it, they had the "grace" to have him transferred to a hospital downtown that did. So for that last week, BBB has been in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St. Mike's hospital in Toronto. They nearly lost him on Tuesday as they tried to figure out what was causing his heart issues, his kidneys and other organs to start failing, the pain and the bleeding in his lungs. Yeah, we know, real Dr. House kind of stuff; we have been waiting for his ass to show up to save the day.
BBB has stabilized and when KJ, TC and I went down to see him, he was smiling, laughing, talking, sitting up and enjoying the company of his wife and his sister-in-law. We waited our turn to go in and see him as the rooms are small, taken up with equipment and other items, so there is a two-person limit. Also, due to the highly specialized cases they deal with, you have to disinfect your hands, then don a filtering mask, a protective gown and sterile rubber gloves before entering the room. And the kicker, nothing loose that enters the room is allowed back out. No purses, no bags, no containers, no books or newspapers, not even the battery-operated radio (he is not allowed to plug anything into a socket) that his son sent for him. As much as I wanted to leave the Crackberry visible, I resisted and put it into my pocket; work would frown deeply on that.
I know you are probably wondering why take TC to such a place and to see BBB like this. Well, simply, the child seems to think she is invincible. I had to yell at her recently that she needs to wake up and understand that none of us are and she needs to learn how to protect and take care fo herself because anything at anytime can happen to anyone. This was a lesson in reality and he needed to see that good people get sick and good people can die if they do not get better. The impact was immediate. I hope it will be lasting. When TC went in to see him, KJ told me that BBB gave her a little chat about listening to what I had to say and to understand that I try to protect her at all costs. We'll see how well this sticks. One thing is for sure, she will do her best to stay out of a hospital. St. Mike's is a very old building and I thought we were walking in an abandoned wing when we arrived. It's is not an inviting place to be at any level, not that it should be.
What I came away from there with was a renewed understanding of what I thought I learned with my father. I need to find balance! Yes, we have to work hard for what we have and what we want to get but at what cost are we willing to do that? Disconnection from our spouse and child(ren)? Internal dissatisfaction and regret? Health and happiness? The pursuit of the "dream" is what is killing off all the Gen-Xers and Gen-Yers and we need to make an effort to change that. Even the most ambitious person must find a balance between drive and appreciation; material and spiritual. There has to be more than the pursuit of the almighty buck.
For our little crew, we are going to change things a bit. Right now, we live within 15 minutes of each other yet we rarely see each other or get together as often. Our kids, well not TC yet, are over-scheduled, we are over-worked, our lives are crowded when our childhoods were not. How did we become worse than our parents? We need to make a change and BBB's illness simply shed some light onto the problem. We are planning an adult getaway so that we can have some fun together sans the kids and the responsibility that comes with them being present. We will also be working on a huge family vacation. We are being realistic in saying it will be at least 3 years before we can do the adult one. And I know, promises and plans and made and broken like twigs in the wind. However...
We just need to remember where the promise was made, under what conditions they were made, to know that we need to do this for all of us. BBB thanked me for coming to see him. I told him that he did not need to thank me, I was thankful to him that he was strong enough that I was visiting him there in ICU and not somewhere else. Life is simply too short. We cannot afford to simply be alive. We need to LIVE.
Peace.
It must be said.
As a black man, I hate doing business with black people! I am going to reprint a letter that I sent to our landlord after a recent incident where the appliance dude and I nearly came to blows. I won't mention his nationality (JA) as I do not want to perpetuate the stereotype that everyone from "there" are ignorant and need licks. One of my father's best friends is from there as is one of my best friends. These few bad examples are the ones that stay on people's minds because they give the whole lot a bad name. Anyhow, I have changed the names to protect myself from litigation but if you know me, I can tell you who NEVER to buy an appliance from or to have dealings with. The letter is four pages long in Word so bear with me as I cannot chop it down without screwing up the intent of the letter.
This story is from the local area. It is about people who should be prosecuted for ignorance and the people that should prosecute them. This is their story.
Even though I said we would take any decent working unit, my wife pointed out to me tonight that I cannot do that. LANDLORD, you paid your good money for the appliances. What you paid for was an electronic, ceramic-top, self-cleaning oven with a special connecting burner top, a warming drawer and multiple functions. What you have here now is a burner top, non-self-cleaning, non-warming drawer, non special function oven with a digital clock. It is no where near a comparable unit to what you originally had paid for and you should either get a refund or a unit comparable to the one that broke.
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In a later post, I will update the end to this saga. BTW, TC is pretty damn strong to be able to even mildly hold me back; I was impressed. Will make cutting her ass a whole lot more work now.
This story is from the local area. It is about people who should be prosecuted for ignorance and the people that should prosecute them. This is their story.
LANDLORD,
Please let me bring you up to date in my dealings with Jackass from JackassCo Appliances. The very first time Jackass was here, he was copping an attitude and I called him on it. We had some words and things settled down. That was when he gave me his calendar and said that if there was anything else wrong with the fridge, I was to call him. When the stove stopped working and beeping the codes, I called him and he told me then that he cannot do anything that you did not request so I had to call you. Since I knew you were away. I left it alone to see if the issue would resolve itself with the stove unplugged for a while. It continued which is when I wrote the letter to you explaining what was going on.
I was told that Jackass would be by to look after things. A week passed and still no one contacted me and Jackass never showed up so I contacted LovelyRealtor who then contacted Mr. So (sorry if I spelt that wrong but I was never given the spelling). Mr. So called me that evening and we arranged for when Jackass could come and look at the oven. Wednesday nothing happened. Thursday had the big storm that week so I did not expect to see him then. Friday rolled around and we had not received a call but Jackass arrived at the door the same way he did the first time.
He then went to work on the stove/oven. He was working on it for a good while but was unable to troubleshoot the issue. He called me down to explain the issue and said that he thinks he may have to replace it as this was a complicated system and it would take quite a while to figure it out. He was going to talk to someone first on the weekend but he was not sure. He then made an arrangement with me to come back on Tuesday of this week at 10AM to either continue working on the problem or to pick it up and replace it with another unit.
Wednesday night rolls around and I plan around moving my sister from her home to ensure that someone was home from 6PM onwards for the delivery. Well, no delivery happened and, yet again, no phone call. When I called the main line today, I spoke to a woman that is the same person that came to the house with him tonight. She said that she had a family emergency yesterday and had to leave early, leaving him to fend on his own. She told me she usually does the phone calls and she apologized several times for the inconvenience. I’m a parent so I can empathize but I also work in customer service and it does not excuse leaving your customer dangling. Anyhow, I let it go as she promised that we were on the list and that he was now in
It was almost eight o’clock when the multiple rings and knocks happened at the door. His impatience already set the tone for our latest encounter but I held myself in check. I had already moved the stove out from the kitchen to the top of the stairs anticipating that, like every appliance person I have dealt with before, he would want to move the old equipment out first in order to bring in the new one and to make sure his path was clear. Different to the norm again, he was annoyed that I had done so. He abruptly brought in the new unit as I held the door open and propped the door open with the stove, banging our cedar chest in the process; again I held my tongue. He then went up onto the carpet, shoes and all, and brought the old unit outside with the help of the woman with him. I could not help as he had wedged me in to the corner by the main closet with the new unit against the door.
It is when he came back in and started tossing the shoes and boots out of the way, hitting a picture sitting on the floor against the wall, that I could not take his attitude anymore. I pointed out what he had done and he had the audacity to tell me that I should have had the way cleared for him already. Really? For which day should I have had it cleared exactly? The Friday night he showed up unannounced or the Tuesday at 10AM he says he did not arrange or the Wednesday at 6PM he did arrange but did not show up or today when he arrived at nearly 8PM when I had been waiting all day long? At this point the situation escalated from mere words to shouting. I had enough of this man who pretends to be a professional business man.He decided that he was done and dropped the stove in the kitchen and said that I could plug it in myself. When I told him that he was not finished he started up about my behaviour and how I was disrespecting him. More angry words continued as I told him to get out of my house and that he was done and I would make sure that everyone I knew would have nothing EVER to do with his business. I told him he was a poor excuse for a businessman if that is how he does business and that is how he treats his clients. He started with some Jamaican obscenities (which I can recognize and I know what they mean because I am from
I admittedly responded in kind as I followed him to the door. It continued with him in the street and I in my doorway as he then showed his utter level of ignorance by cussing me out, trying to belittle me because I was renting a house from you instead of owning my own house and making derogatory remarks about my weight by call me f-ing fat and more. The woman tried to interject her two cents as well but I told her she did not know our history so she cannot speak to it and that I had no issue with her until she tried to defend his ignorance. The two of them cussed me off further as they got into their truck and drove off. I won’t list everything said here because it is not important what was said (as it should not have been said in the first place) and it simply is not polite to put that kind of language down in paper.
So, after all of this, I went into the kitchen and plugged in the stove. I took pictures and attached it to this letter so you can see exactly what was delivered and how it was delivered. You will notice that the top of it is dented down (I fixed this). The oven light is not working because the bulb is missing (and the socket looks rusted). The inside top of the oven looks like grease is baked on or something. It is not easy to see in the picture but you are welcome to come and look at it for yourself. THIS is Jackass' idea of a decent working unit. Just like the issues with the fridge, he obviously did not bother to properly test and inspect all the functions on the unit before delivering it to a customer’s home. The previous oven also had a burnt out bulb that we replaced ourselves.Even though I said we would take any decent working unit, my wife pointed out to me tonight that I cannot do that. LANDLORD, you paid your good money for the appliances. What you paid for was an electronic, ceramic-top, self-cleaning oven with a special connecting burner top, a warming drawer and multiple functions. What you have here now is a burner top, non-self-cleaning, non-warming drawer, non special function oven with a digital clock. It is no where near a comparable unit to what you originally had paid for and you should either get a refund or a unit comparable to the one that broke.
The bottom line where Jackass and his lady friend are concerned is that I never ever want to see them at our home again. There were enough things said that I consider it a risk for us to be in the same room together and I do not want him near my house or my family. I am sure he is not the type of person to do anything and that, like myself, he let his emotions get the better of him. That said, we are like oil and water and it is best to keep us far from each other for both of our sakes.
I just spoke to LovelyRealtor and she said that you will give me a call about this so I await hearing from you. I actually am sorry all of this is happening because the first time I speak to you should not be due to a problem. I want our relationship to be a good one for the time that my family spends in your house. I hope that we can soon put this in the past and move on in a better fashion.
Thank you,
Dtrini, DW, and TC
Your offer to replace everything with new appliances is very generous. In talking with my wife (she is away in
As a final interesting (and somewhat humorous) note to this whole saga, I realized after all of this that Jackass and the woman seemed familiar to me. So, I looked for his calendar to see where the store was located and sure enough it was where I thought. My wife and I bought our fridge from Jackass and his wife when we were living at our old place in
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In a later post, I will update the end to this saga. BTW, TC is pretty damn strong to be able to even mildly hold me back; I was impressed. Will make cutting her ass a whole lot more work now.
Goodbye POS, Hello Max!
As some of you who have read my wife's blog know, we are on a quest to have a child. Unfortunately the quest has a rather high price tag associated with it so we have to do what we must to generate the necessary funds. One of those decisions was to sell our perfectly good Toyota, low mileage and no issues, and take a chance on slightly older, more used vehicle I obtained from a friend and colleague. I have made fun of the Corolla in previous posts but only because it was not very fun to drive due to it being small for a big guy like me, gutless for anyone who likes the accelerator pedal, and pretty much featureless except for the A/C and power locks. We added a decent radio, a car starter and a horn that did not sound like it was begging permission, but it still was a very utility-only vehicle to shuttle the wife from A to B.
I wanted a different vehicle for DW anyhow because with her slightly longer trek from our new residence in Ajax to her work and the way these freaks in Durham drive. I really wanted a little more rigid car body around her if we could swing it. If we could pull some coin from the transaction in the process, that would be a bonus. Truth be told, the car was apparently in two accidents with the previous owner (an older gentleman friend of the MIL's) and then, as you know, DW clipped a deer. So, we had the history, a broken front signal light, a bruised right fender (deer again), various scratches on the paint, a cigarette hole in the fabric (previous owner, as we do not smoke), some more than used fabric and carpeting (previous owner also had a dog), some evidence of corrosion in the trunk and a hole by the driver's handle from someone's previous attempt to steal the vehicle. Oh, yeah, one of the all-season tires has a not so slow leak.
Now, while most of that is easy to overlook when selling to complete strangers, we just were not comfortable selling it to friends (family would have been okay because they would get full disclosure and then told to bugger off). Transactions like these between friends are always tricky, dangerous things to do because it could be the gift that keeps on giving or the straw that broke the camel's back; it all depends how the object behaves once it leaves your hands. With that in mind, we enlisted the intervention of Erinwood Ford in Mississauga whose ad DW heard on the raido one day. They will take trades but if you wanted out of a lease or loan or just needed the money, they would purchase your vehicle outright. Sure, they are there to make money so you are going to get no more than what they would buy it for at auction, but cash is cash and no associated headaches with the sale comes your way. It's win-win.
Well, almost win-win; we lost a little in a way. Due to the fact that we were simply going down to get appraisals of what the Roo and the POS were worth, we never emptied the vehicle or took our installed items out. When the deal was done, we took most out but we did not have the original radio with us nor the right tools to do the job so I was to go back and do this. The dealership was told this, at least the guy we initially saw and he had no problem. Well I was busy at the top of the week and the major storm came so I could not return untilt he Saturday to pick up my cheque and to remove the wiring and flip-face Kenwood radio.
No car. Excuse me? Apparently the other guy already sold it to a couple of his customers who bought it because they loved the radio. I see. I was going to make a fuss because I really wanted that lovely horn I installed from Crappy Tire but they were working on a deal with the truck and I did not want to screw that up so I let it go. I handed the guy the original radio and told him to give it to the customers as they may want to replace it one day. I even gave him the code should they remove power from the head unit. It is so old that I am sure they would not find anyone in Toronto to be able to get the factory code reset. I've had a week to think about it and I think I need to address it because it goes to a matter of trust. I trusted that they were okay with me coming in to get my gear as they said so and I would have expected a call saying they needed me to come now as they had a buyer. Funny thing is, I have the full set of summer tires on rims because it is currently on the winter rims and tires we bought for it. Also, the radio will lock up with the code if power if ever removed form it and it will become unlockable if they enter the code incorrectly more than three times. Not to mention the CD changer that I have and they have the cable and head unit to it. Oh yeah, and the live 12V wire wriggling around in the trunk that will short the whole thing out. I'm still debating that. If nothing else, I have a set of tires on rims for a 1999 Toyota Corolla and a Kenwood 6-disc CD changer for sale.
As for the replacement, you will not hear me mutter "POS" where it is concerned. Sure, it has way more mileage (294K to the POS' 89K) and it had way more rust issues (hole in the driver's door, three holes in the rear passenger door, some fender stuff to the POS' none visible) and it had a seized brake caliper and evidence of some blowback at one time. It also had a rusted out license plate light holder and a sunroof that does not quite seal right due to a damaged mechanism. Sounds like a real winner, right? Well, it actually is.
I lucked out because my friend was getting rid of the vehicle since she was getting her fiancee's ride as he was getting a company vehicle with his recent promotion. Her mechanic was going to take it if I did not want it. Seeing as he had already indicated that the vehicle needed a thousand dollar brake job amongst other repairs, I knew there was a gem in hiding because mechanics do like to throw away money on vehicles; I should know as my father is a mechanic. I had already ridden in the vehicle so I knew how it basically drove and I knew the body needed some work. With an Asian import though, it is best to get working mechanicals and fix the body; cheaper of the two possibilities.
I contacted our family friend and mechanic, Eddoes, as he is a former Nissan employee and he loves the company and cars. He freed up the seized caliper, change the oil, checked the other vital components and performed the safety check. He said he could fashion a piece of metal to replace the rusted out one no longer holding the plate lights up. He also stated that contrary to our family's normal modus operandi when putting a vehicle on the road (change plugs, filters, water pump, timing belt, main belts, oil change, etc.) it was best to leave it at what he did so far and run it till something breaks. As he explained it, to look at why there is blow back is a lot of work which would result in almost the same work needed to replace the pump and, on this vehicle, the timing chain. So, I could take it that it is running good now and leave well enough alone or open her up and spend several more hundred for the sake of doing so. Yeah, you know which route I took. So, on the mechanical side of things and getting it ready for the road, $225.
Some youths in the shop do some basic body work so Eddoes asked them for me what it would cost to fix the four holes in the door and repainting it. To grind both doors down, patch the holes and paint it back to the original manufacturer's colour, $150. Now, understand that this was not going to be showroom quality work; I did not care about that. What I did care about was a certain police force looking at this car and its occasional driver, running the plates to see that it is newly transferred and then asking the question, "How does a vehicle with that much rust and that many holes pass safety to get on the road?" I have seen many of the guys projects in mid-sequence but none of their finished work. I have to say, I wished they had done the whole car because unless you knew where the repair was, or went really looking for it, you would be hard pressed to point out that work was done. Below I have posted before pictures. I will take some after pictures and add them in later.
Some specs to Max include: power sunroof (operational but needs attention), leather interior, heated seats, power windows, power locks, power steering, power trunk, power brakes, automatic climate control with A/C, BOSE dual DIN six-speaker stereo with CD and Cassette, 3.0L V6 engine, GLE package, intermittent wipers, cruise control, tilt steering, power adjustable driver's seat, pass-through trunk, and alloy rims. The stereo still needs a bass boost to bring it up to snuff (and the damn CD is too sensitive to bumps) but it is far louder than DW will listen to for extended periods of time; TC and I will be roughing it up every chance we get. There is a remote fob for the doors, trunk, panic and an interesting feature for the car of its time; you can roll down both front windows remotely. You cannot roll them up which is kind of stupid but, whatever. Also on the car appears to be a Viper car starter but it is currently disabled. I'll be taking it in to Tint King and seeing my man Steve to get that corrected along with the requesting rear shading. At some point I will comb the scrap yards for a rear deck lid that has the sport wing on it. This is not just to make the car nicer looking (which it will do) but also for the necessary downforce. I took it up past the Roo's speed-limited 160Km/h and it was ready to do more. I'd like a little help keeping it on the road before I find out just how much more this will do.
So, if you saw something whiz by you in the GTA, or actually heard a "thump thump" of a large bass speaker pass you, know that it was probably Max and I enroute to some destination or just out for his weekend run. After putt-putting back and forth with DW all week, he's going to need some weekend exercise. :)
Peace.
I wanted a different vehicle for DW anyhow because with her slightly longer trek from our new residence in Ajax to her work and the way these freaks in Durham drive. I really wanted a little more rigid car body around her if we could swing it. If we could pull some coin from the transaction in the process, that would be a bonus. Truth be told, the car was apparently in two accidents with the previous owner (an older gentleman friend of the MIL's) and then, as you know, DW clipped a deer. So, we had the history, a broken front signal light, a bruised right fender (deer again), various scratches on the paint, a cigarette hole in the fabric (previous owner, as we do not smoke), some more than used fabric and carpeting (previous owner also had a dog), some evidence of corrosion in the trunk and a hole by the driver's handle from someone's previous attempt to steal the vehicle. Oh, yeah, one of the all-season tires has a not so slow leak.
Now, while most of that is easy to overlook when selling to complete strangers, we just were not comfortable selling it to friends (family would have been okay because they would get full disclosure and then told to bugger off). Transactions like these between friends are always tricky, dangerous things to do because it could be the gift that keeps on giving or the straw that broke the camel's back; it all depends how the object behaves once it leaves your hands. With that in mind, we enlisted the intervention of Erinwood Ford in Mississauga whose ad DW heard on the raido one day. They will take trades but if you wanted out of a lease or loan or just needed the money, they would purchase your vehicle outright. Sure, they are there to make money so you are going to get no more than what they would buy it for at auction, but cash is cash and no associated headaches with the sale comes your way. It's win-win.
Well, almost win-win; we lost a little in a way. Due to the fact that we were simply going down to get appraisals of what the Roo and the POS were worth, we never emptied the vehicle or took our installed items out. When the deal was done, we took most out but we did not have the original radio with us nor the right tools to do the job so I was to go back and do this. The dealership was told this, at least the guy we initially saw and he had no problem. Well I was busy at the top of the week and the major storm came so I could not return untilt he Saturday to pick up my cheque and to remove the wiring and flip-face Kenwood radio.
No car. Excuse me? Apparently the other guy already sold it to a couple of his customers who bought it because they loved the radio. I see. I was going to make a fuss because I really wanted that lovely horn I installed from Crappy Tire but they were working on a deal with the truck and I did not want to screw that up so I let it go. I handed the guy the original radio and told him to give it to the customers as they may want to replace it one day. I even gave him the code should they remove power from the head unit. It is so old that I am sure they would not find anyone in Toronto to be able to get the factory code reset. I've had a week to think about it and I think I need to address it because it goes to a matter of trust. I trusted that they were okay with me coming in to get my gear as they said so and I would have expected a call saying they needed me to come now as they had a buyer. Funny thing is, I have the full set of summer tires on rims because it is currently on the winter rims and tires we bought for it. Also, the radio will lock up with the code if power if ever removed form it and it will become unlockable if they enter the code incorrectly more than three times. Not to mention the CD changer that I have and they have the cable and head unit to it. Oh yeah, and the live 12V wire wriggling around in the trunk that will short the whole thing out. I'm still debating that. If nothing else, I have a set of tires on rims for a 1999 Toyota Corolla and a Kenwood 6-disc CD changer for sale.
As for the replacement, you will not hear me mutter "POS" where it is concerned. Sure, it has way more mileage (294K to the POS' 89K) and it had way more rust issues (hole in the driver's door, three holes in the rear passenger door, some fender stuff to the POS' none visible) and it had a seized brake caliper and evidence of some blowback at one time. It also had a rusted out license plate light holder and a sunroof that does not quite seal right due to a damaged mechanism. Sounds like a real winner, right? Well, it actually is.
I lucked out because my friend was getting rid of the vehicle since she was getting her fiancee's ride as he was getting a company vehicle with his recent promotion. Her mechanic was going to take it if I did not want it. Seeing as he had already indicated that the vehicle needed a thousand dollar brake job amongst other repairs, I knew there was a gem in hiding because mechanics do like to throw away money on vehicles; I should know as my father is a mechanic. I had already ridden in the vehicle so I knew how it basically drove and I knew the body needed some work. With an Asian import though, it is best to get working mechanicals and fix the body; cheaper of the two possibilities.
I contacted our family friend and mechanic, Eddoes, as he is a former Nissan employee and he loves the company and cars. He freed up the seized caliper, change the oil, checked the other vital components and performed the safety check. He said he could fashion a piece of metal to replace the rusted out one no longer holding the plate lights up. He also stated that contrary to our family's normal modus operandi when putting a vehicle on the road (change plugs, filters, water pump, timing belt, main belts, oil change, etc.) it was best to leave it at what he did so far and run it till something breaks. As he explained it, to look at why there is blow back is a lot of work which would result in almost the same work needed to replace the pump and, on this vehicle, the timing chain. So, I could take it that it is running good now and leave well enough alone or open her up and spend several more hundred for the sake of doing so. Yeah, you know which route I took. So, on the mechanical side of things and getting it ready for the road, $225.
Some youths in the shop do some basic body work so Eddoes asked them for me what it would cost to fix the four holes in the door and repainting it. To grind both doors down, patch the holes and paint it back to the original manufacturer's colour, $150. Now, understand that this was not going to be showroom quality work; I did not care about that. What I did care about was a certain police force looking at this car and its occasional driver, running the plates to see that it is newly transferred and then asking the question, "How does a vehicle with that much rust and that many holes pass safety to get on the road?" I have seen many of the guys projects in mid-sequence but none of their finished work. I have to say, I wished they had done the whole car because unless you knew where the repair was, or went really looking for it, you would be hard pressed to point out that work was done. Below I have posted before pictures. I will take some after pictures and add them in later.
Some specs to Max include: power sunroof (operational but needs attention), leather interior, heated seats, power windows, power locks, power steering, power trunk, power brakes, automatic climate control with A/C, BOSE dual DIN six-speaker stereo with CD and Cassette, 3.0L V6 engine, GLE package, intermittent wipers, cruise control, tilt steering, power adjustable driver's seat, pass-through trunk, and alloy rims. The stereo still needs a bass boost to bring it up to snuff (and the damn CD is too sensitive to bumps) but it is far louder than DW will listen to for extended periods of time; TC and I will be roughing it up every chance we get. There is a remote fob for the doors, trunk, panic and an interesting feature for the car of its time; you can roll down both front windows remotely. You cannot roll them up which is kind of stupid but, whatever. Also on the car appears to be a Viper car starter but it is currently disabled. I'll be taking it in to Tint King and seeing my man Steve to get that corrected along with the requesting rear shading. At some point I will comb the scrap yards for a rear deck lid that has the sport wing on it. This is not just to make the car nicer looking (which it will do) but also for the necessary downforce. I took it up past the Roo's speed-limited 160Km/h and it was ready to do more. I'd like a little help keeping it on the road before I find out just how much more this will do.
So, if you saw something whiz by you in the GTA, or actually heard a "thump thump" of a large bass speaker pass you, know that it was probably Max and I enroute to some destination or just out for his weekend run. After putt-putting back and forth with DW all week, he's going to need some weekend exercise. :)
Peace.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Friday Funnies
Submitted by LB (though not a hump day as he suggested). Made me laugh which is good consider yesterday (post coming to explain).
http://www.mrcomputerservices.com/DancingHippo.htm
---------------------------------------------------
Enjoy your Friday
CONCERNED ABOUT TOO MANY CARBS IN YOUR DIET
For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.
1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION
Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.
http://www.mrcomputerservices.com/DancingHippo.htm
---------------------------------------------------
Enjoy your Friday
CONCERNED ABOUT TOO MANY CARBS IN YOUR DIET
For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.
1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION
Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Bend over Ted!
We have a love-hate-hate-hate relationship with Rogers Communications. From the first time they offered their broadband service, we had been loyal customers. We added IPs, we upgraded service, we suffered through and stuck around for absurd outages and all manner of email tomfoolery.
When we moved, we not only moved the service, we added a digital terminal to drive our big screen. We timeshifted, watch the movies, got frustrated with Rogers-On-Demand and suffered with wiring issues that would make Edison cringe. We endure servers being hit by lightning, fibre being bug up by construction, DNS and mail servers biting the dust and more.
When we moved this last time in December, I decided to up the ante again by giving their Rogers Home Phone a try, adding an HD-PVR because a friend said it was like crack once you use it (the PVR, not actual crack, sheesh); naturally we still have Internet with them as well. The Internet has had a couple of disruptions but our area is still under construction so I won't get crazy on that. The Home Phone I must say has been rock solid and, knocking on wood, has nto had a burp since installation. The TV has had some suttering issues that I attribute to the weather as I have not tracked them closely to the conditions. I will keep an eye on that. Also, due to the PVR only having a 160GB IDE drive in it apparently, I added a Maxtor 500GB SATA in a Vantec eSATA/USB2.0 enclosure. We went from 89% full to 20% capacity. I can now tape all of DW's shows without her having to miss anything while she is away. But not everything from Rogers is sugary sweet and acceptable.
TC has a $100 phone card (it's a virtual one as they just printed a paper receipt) that was to give her unlimited text messaging for a year, service for a year and the $100 for extra service and/or phone usage. Well due to various circumstances, she did not activate until this year. And the bottom fell out. Not only did they claim they never heard of the promotion, when I spoke to them because they thought they could bully a little girl around, buddy got abrasive with me so I shut his ass down and asked for a supervisor. The prick then hung up on me. I called back and asked that it be recorded in the ticket the extreme level of displeasure I was experiencing, the audacity of a person to hang up on a customer with no reason and the refusal of the "busy" supervisors to speak to me. The young lady on the phone told me that someone would call me in 24-48 hrs.
Over a week later, TC's phone stops completely. They have not called. They say she has 3 cents left on the card. They claim she made phone calls, made web sessions and texted the $100 off the card. When she reminded the woman that the card had 30 days unlimited texting, the response was we were past our thirty days (the card was only activated 2.5 weeks ago). She said the best she could do was put $60 back on the card for her use. When TC asked what happened to the other $40, she was told it was used in web charges. TC told her that she texted, and called me one or twice, that was it. What web charges?!? The woman was adamant that she used the web to the tune of $40 so she could do nothing. I let TC handle it as best she could because she needs to learn when to raise her voice, when to be sugary sweet and when to plant a firm Trini foot in some ass. So, I let it be because my daughter needed her phone to work. However...
I am off for a few days this week and I will be picking TC up after school one day and going straight over to the main Rogers location at Yonge and York Mills. Once there, I want to speak to the manager of the supervisors for support or to someone of similar stature. I will make it VERY clear that I am not pleased with the brush-off my daughter received, the appalling treatment I received, the lack of a call back after a week's time even though TWO people said we would get one, and the broken promise of a bought service that the people supporting it seem painfully, blissfully ignorant to. I wish I could find the original ad that asswipe asked me to fax him. When I asked him why he expects me to ask HIS store to fax him HIS ad, he got all huffy. I will accept that at the worst, the unlimited was only for the first month and then it was only incoming texts that were free; I don't think I would have spent my good money like that but I will accept that I could have made a mistake. However, when talking to asswipe, and his successors, NONE fo them mentioned that the service works like that. They were too busy trying to prove me wrong and to send me on my way.
NOT THIS TRINI, BEYATCHES!!!!
So, when I speak to him or her at the main office, and they start to spin doctor and push it back on to me, I will remind them of all the services (phone, Internet, television, mobile) that I am more than willing of going through the pain to cancel and use their competitor's product AND to ensure that everyone that reads my blog, that I associate with and that I deal with knows about it. At worst, they intend to do nothing and brush me off to say, "Go ahead, switch!" then I will be off to Silverman helps to ensure this is plastered across the most watched news show in the most populated city in Canada.
And then maybe I will buy the domains "whyrogerssucksass.ca and rogerscanbitemedownlow.com and kissmybuttholeted.net" and have a few choice things to say about them while inviting others to chime in as well. I'll even go so far as to create a catchy jingle and do a foolish dance to post on YouTube so that it becomes super popular and embarrasses them more. They have no clue the lengths I will go to make their lives miserable for crossing me and my family. Let them pursue their current path at their peril.
Let me end this post with the immortal words of one of my favourite characters (not owned by Rogers) on CTV's Corner Gas' Oscar: Jackasses!!!!
Ciao!
When we moved, we not only moved the service, we added a digital terminal to drive our big screen. We timeshifted, watch the movies, got frustrated with Rogers-On-Demand and suffered with wiring issues that would make Edison cringe. We endure servers being hit by lightning, fibre being bug up by construction, DNS and mail servers biting the dust and more.
When we moved this last time in December, I decided to up the ante again by giving their Rogers Home Phone a try, adding an HD-PVR because a friend said it was like crack once you use it (the PVR, not actual crack, sheesh); naturally we still have Internet with them as well. The Internet has had a couple of disruptions but our area is still under construction so I won't get crazy on that. The Home Phone I must say has been rock solid and, knocking on wood, has nto had a burp since installation. The TV has had some suttering issues that I attribute to the weather as I have not tracked them closely to the conditions. I will keep an eye on that. Also, due to the PVR only having a 160GB IDE drive in it apparently, I added a Maxtor 500GB SATA in a Vantec eSATA/USB2.0 enclosure. We went from 89% full to 20% capacity. I can now tape all of DW's shows without her having to miss anything while she is away. But not everything from Rogers is sugary sweet and acceptable.
TC has a $100 phone card (it's a virtual one as they just printed a paper receipt) that was to give her unlimited text messaging for a year, service for a year and the $100 for extra service and/or phone usage. Well due to various circumstances, she did not activate until this year. And the bottom fell out. Not only did they claim they never heard of the promotion, when I spoke to them because they thought they could bully a little girl around, buddy got abrasive with me so I shut his ass down and asked for a supervisor. The prick then hung up on me. I called back and asked that it be recorded in the ticket the extreme level of displeasure I was experiencing, the audacity of a person to hang up on a customer with no reason and the refusal of the "busy" supervisors to speak to me. The young lady on the phone told me that someone would call me in 24-48 hrs.
Over a week later, TC's phone stops completely. They have not called. They say she has 3 cents left on the card. They claim she made phone calls, made web sessions and texted the $100 off the card. When she reminded the woman that the card had 30 days unlimited texting, the response was we were past our thirty days (the card was only activated 2.5 weeks ago). She said the best she could do was put $60 back on the card for her use. When TC asked what happened to the other $40, she was told it was used in web charges. TC told her that she texted, and called me one or twice, that was it. What web charges?!? The woman was adamant that she used the web to the tune of $40 so she could do nothing. I let TC handle it as best she could because she needs to learn when to raise her voice, when to be sugary sweet and when to plant a firm Trini foot in some ass. So, I let it be because my daughter needed her phone to work. However...
I am off for a few days this week and I will be picking TC up after school one day and going straight over to the main Rogers location at Yonge and York Mills. Once there, I want to speak to the manager of the supervisors for support or to someone of similar stature. I will make it VERY clear that I am not pleased with the brush-off my daughter received, the appalling treatment I received, the lack of a call back after a week's time even though TWO people said we would get one, and the broken promise of a bought service that the people supporting it seem painfully, blissfully ignorant to. I wish I could find the original ad that asswipe asked me to fax him. When I asked him why he expects me to ask HIS store to fax him HIS ad, he got all huffy. I will accept that at the worst, the unlimited was only for the first month and then it was only incoming texts that were free; I don't think I would have spent my good money like that but I will accept that I could have made a mistake. However, when talking to asswipe, and his successors, NONE fo them mentioned that the service works like that. They were too busy trying to prove me wrong and to send me on my way.
NOT THIS TRINI, BEYATCHES!!!!
So, when I speak to him or her at the main office, and they start to spin doctor and push it back on to me, I will remind them of all the services (phone, Internet, television, mobile) that I am more than willing of going through the pain to cancel and use their competitor's product AND to ensure that everyone that reads my blog, that I associate with and that I deal with knows about it. At worst, they intend to do nothing and brush me off to say, "Go ahead, switch!" then I will be off to Silverman helps to ensure this is plastered across the most watched news show in the most populated city in Canada.
And then maybe I will buy the domains "whyrogerssucksass.ca and rogerscanbitemedownlow.com and kissmybuttholeted.net" and have a few choice things to say about them while inviting others to chime in as well. I'll even go so far as to create a catchy jingle and do a foolish dance to post on YouTube so that it becomes super popular and embarrasses them more. They have no clue the lengths I will go to make their lives miserable for crossing me and my family. Let them pursue their current path at their peril.
Let me end this post with the immortal words of one of my favourite characters (not owned by Rogers) on CTV's Corner Gas' Oscar: Jackasses!!!!
Ciao!
Friday, March 02, 2007
Oh, what a day
The day started off well enough, I thought. I got up from sleeping on the couch to go to bed. I got into bed, disturbing DW and realized I could not sleep. So, ten minutes later, I was up and into the office. I think DW is quite pleased with herself in making me create an office area upstairs.
In the office, I had to make some preparations on my work laptop as it has had serious hardware problems so I was getting it replaced at the downtown office. I tend to run things differently than the rest of the gang so I had to make some adjustments. Anyhow, I got that done and it was basically time to wake TC and make sure DW got up. Our goal was to leave by 6AM but that is with the built-in family time buffer of an hour. We split the difference and I was able to get DW to the airport by 7:15 (doing some serious numbers across the 407) and then got TC to school by 8AM. I ended up at work around 8:30; in time for cheap parking and my ritual breakfast of an everything bagel with BLT and a Tropicana OJ (they only have no pulp though).
So, I got in, 9AM rolls around and I get an email saying that I would have to wait until after lunch to change my laptop. Uhm. Hmmm. How about "No"? Instead, I marched on over to the support folks, ignoring the email and feigning ignorance as I got not only my laptop swapped but a replacement Crackberry shell as well. The CB BB was not the right model though as they were out of mine so they gave me the next model down. I am hoping that I get bumped to the next model up but highly unlikely.
I did some more work and then headed out with two colleagues (MS and Older Trini) for some lunch at one of my favorite pasta places in College Park. I also stopped into the jeweler's as my watch was finally ready. It was in to have a new battery put in and to have the chronograph function repaired. Another colleague was keeping an eye on the progress of the storm but there was no need. A mere fifteen minutes after we checked where it was, we knew by looking out the window.
The storm just worsened from there on and it was apparent that it was going to be bad. Add to this a 33-car derailment in Ajax and we had a problem brewing. I called TC's school and told her to stay there instead of meeting me. MS and another colleague came with me when I left because the GO train lines were down. We picked up TC and then went to get gas because I was below a quarter and we were bound to get stuck in a long wait again.
We absolutely did as we made our way north to get the highway (why are people so stupid?) and then again for most of the highway trip out of Toronto and into Ajax. Due to some idiot doing something stupid in the stretch to Whitby, we came off at Brock in Pickering and went down to Bayly to continue across. An hour later, MS was at his hockey game. We turned around and dropped my other colleague at the Ajax GO and then went back on the highway to see how it was as another colleague, BB, was on her way over as her fiancee was in dire need of a certain application in order to get his project in on time tomorrow. The school where he takes his course was closed so the procrastinator was screwed. Fortunately, the "library" had what he needed so he was able to take it out to do what he needed. We grabbed some dinner on the way home as well.
We finally made it home, send a text to DW that we were safe. I just rolled up over the drifted snowbank. There was no way I was shoveling Jack Shite when I got home after five hours of driving. Forget that!! And to think I could just chill. Nope. Realized too late that the shows I promised to tape were not taping as the HD-PVR ran out of room again. So, clean that up, more texting with DW to see what she was able to watch and then settled in a bit. Well, until I had to handle a problem that, except for less than two hours around 2AM, kept me up all night (as I am finishing this post at 9AM). Such is the life.
Ah well, I could have been my neighbours across the street with sidewalks. Suckers!
Keep safe folks.
In the office, I had to make some preparations on my work laptop as it has had serious hardware problems so I was getting it replaced at the downtown office. I tend to run things differently than the rest of the gang so I had to make some adjustments. Anyhow, I got that done and it was basically time to wake TC and make sure DW got up. Our goal was to leave by 6AM but that is with the built-in family time buffer of an hour. We split the difference and I was able to get DW to the airport by 7:15 (doing some serious numbers across the 407) and then got TC to school by 8AM. I ended up at work around 8:30; in time for cheap parking and my ritual breakfast of an everything bagel with BLT and a Tropicana OJ (they only have no pulp though).
So, I got in, 9AM rolls around and I get an email saying that I would have to wait until after lunch to change my laptop. Uhm. Hmmm. How about "No"? Instead, I marched on over to the support folks, ignoring the email and feigning ignorance as I got not only my laptop swapped but a replacement Crackberry shell as well. The CB BB was not the right model though as they were out of mine so they gave me the next model down. I am hoping that I get bumped to the next model up but highly unlikely.
I did some more work and then headed out with two colleagues (MS and Older Trini) for some lunch at one of my favorite pasta places in College Park. I also stopped into the jeweler's as my watch was finally ready. It was in to have a new battery put in and to have the chronograph function repaired. Another colleague was keeping an eye on the progress of the storm but there was no need. A mere fifteen minutes after we checked where it was, we knew by looking out the window.
The storm just worsened from there on and it was apparent that it was going to be bad. Add to this a 33-car derailment in Ajax and we had a problem brewing. I called TC's school and told her to stay there instead of meeting me. MS and another colleague came with me when I left because the GO train lines were down. We picked up TC and then went to get gas because I was below a quarter and we were bound to get stuck in a long wait again.
We absolutely did as we made our way north to get the highway (why are people so stupid?) and then again for most of the highway trip out of Toronto and into Ajax. Due to some idiot doing something stupid in the stretch to Whitby, we came off at Brock in Pickering and went down to Bayly to continue across. An hour later, MS was at his hockey game. We turned around and dropped my other colleague at the Ajax GO and then went back on the highway to see how it was as another colleague, BB, was on her way over as her fiancee was in dire need of a certain application in order to get his project in on time tomorrow. The school where he takes his course was closed so the procrastinator was screwed. Fortunately, the "library" had what he needed so he was able to take it out to do what he needed. We grabbed some dinner on the way home as well.
We finally made it home, send a text to DW that we were safe. I just rolled up over the drifted snowbank. There was no way I was shoveling Jack Shite when I got home after five hours of driving. Forget that!! And to think I could just chill. Nope. Realized too late that the shows I promised to tape were not taping as the HD-PVR ran out of room again. So, clean that up, more texting with DW to see what she was able to watch and then settled in a bit. Well, until I had to handle a problem that, except for less than two hours around 2AM, kept me up all night (as I am finishing this post at 9AM). Such is the life.
Ah well, I could have been my neighbours across the street with sidewalks. Suckers!
Keep safe folks.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Funnies: A letter to a friend
Submitted by BB
-----------------
-----------------
Dear alcohol, |
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Funnies: Jokes from the old country.
Submitted by DW
----------------
Jewish Humour
THE ROWING TEAM
Yeshiva University decided to field a rowing team. Unfortunately, they lose race after race. Even though they practice and practice for hours everyday, they never manage to come in any better than dead last. Finally, the team decides to send Morris Fishbein, its captain, to spy on Harvard, the perennial championship team. So Morris schleps off to Cambridge and hides in the bushes next to the Charles River, where he carefully watches the Harvard team at its daily practices.
After a week, Morris returns to Yeshiva. "Well, I figured out their secret," he announces.
"What? Tell us! Tell us!", his team-mates shout.
"We should have only one guy yelling. The other eight should row."
===========================================
THE FLIGHT
It was mealtime during a flight on El-Al. "Would you like dinner?" the flight attendant asked Moishe, seated in front.
"What are my choices?" Moishe asked
"Yes or no," she replied.
========================================
AT THE SHUL
A Rabbi was opening his mail one morning. Taking a single sheet of paper from an envelope he found written on it only one word: "shmuck".
At the next Friday night service, the rabbi announced, "I have known many people who have written letters and forgot to sign their names, but this week I received a letter from someone who signed his name.... and forgot to write a letter."
========================================
PHILANTHROPY
A visitor to Israel attended a recital and concert at the Moscovitz Auditorium. He was quite impressed with the architecture and the acoustics. He inquired of the tour guide, "Is this magnificent auditorium named after Chaim Moscovitz, the famous Talmudic scholar?"
"No," replied the guide. "It is named after Sam Moscovitz, the writer."
"Never heard of him. What did he write?"
"A cheque," replied the guide.
======================================
WORDS
A husband looking through the paper came upon a study that said women use more words than men. Excited to prove to his wife his long-held contention that women in general, and his wife in particular, talked too much, he showed her the study results, which stated:
"Men use about 15,000 words per day, but women use 30,000."
His wife thought awhile, then finally she said to her husband, "That's because we have to repeat everything we say."
The husband said, "What?"
=====================================
THE DIFFERENCES
The Italian says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have wine."
The Frenchman says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have cognac."
The Russian says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have vodka."
The German says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have beer."
The Mexican says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have tequila."
The Jew says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have diabetes."
----------------
Jewish Humour
THE ROWING TEAM
Yeshiva University decided to field a rowing team. Unfortunately, they lose race after race. Even though they practice and practice for hours everyday, they never manage to come in any better than dead last. Finally, the team decides to send Morris Fishbein, its captain, to spy on Harvard, the perennial championship team. So Morris schleps off to Cambridge and hides in the bushes next to the Charles River, where he carefully watches the Harvard team at its daily practices.
After a week, Morris returns to Yeshiva. "Well, I figured out their secret," he announces.
"What? Tell us! Tell us!", his team-mates shout.
"We should have only one guy yelling. The other eight should row."
===========================================
THE FLIGHT
It was mealtime during a flight on El-Al. "Would you like dinner?" the flight attendant asked Moishe, seated in front.
"What are my choices?" Moishe asked
"Yes or no," she replied.
========================================
AT THE SHUL
A Rabbi was opening his mail one morning. Taking a single sheet of paper from an envelope he found written on it only one word: "shmuck".
At the next Friday night service, the rabbi announced, "I have known many people who have written letters and forgot to sign their names, but this week I received a letter from someone who signed his name.... and forgot to write a letter."
========================================
PHILANTHROPY
A visitor to Israel attended a recital and concert at the Moscovitz Auditorium. He was quite impressed with the architecture and the acoustics. He inquired of the tour guide, "Is this magnificent auditorium named after Chaim Moscovitz, the famous Talmudic scholar?"
"No," replied the guide. "It is named after Sam Moscovitz, the writer."
"Never heard of him. What did he write?"
"A cheque," replied the guide.
======================================
WORDS
A husband looking through the paper came upon a study that said women use more words than men. Excited to prove to his wife his long-held contention that women in general, and his wife in particular, talked too much, he showed her the study results, which stated:
"Men use about 15,000 words per day, but women use 30,000."
His wife thought awhile, then finally she said to her husband, "That's because we have to repeat everything we say."
The husband said, "What?"
=====================================
THE DIFFERENCES
The Italian says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have wine."
The Frenchman says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have cognac."
The Russian says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have vodka."
The German says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have beer."
The Mexican says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have tequila."
The Jew says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have diabetes."
Friday, February 23, 2007
IT Tidbits: Lost in Translation
Not every successful ad can be properly captured in another country, culture or language. MacRumours reports that the UK Mac versus PC ads are not doing as well as the ones in North America and may actually be hurting the business as it promotes the superiority stereotype of Mac users. I watched them all and they really are not as polished and the actors not as likeable. As for the so-called stereotype, well, I agree it is incorrect. The correct thing is to refer to it as the superiority "fact". :)
Enjoy.
Apple (UK and Ireland) - Get a Mac - Watch The New Ads
Enjoy.
Apple (UK and Ireland) - Get a Mac - Watch The New Ads
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Thursday, February 22, 2007
IT Tidbits: It's like watching the Superbowl(tm) all the time.
No, I am not talking about a football game, I am talking about the commercials. Well, in this case, the wonderfully refreshing and funny Mac versus PC commercials. As much as Gates and Co. would love to merely dismiss these things, people remember them. They especially remember them when their machine has crashed for the umpteenth time and I told them to set it on fire as being a faster more humane death to the machine. Anyhow, the latest one riffing on the security feature in the new Vista operating system had me laughing out loud. Take a looksee at it and all the commercials made in this series.
Enjoy.
Apple - Get a Mac
Enjoy.
Apple - Get a Mac
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IT Tidbits: Steve Jobs talks, and I am listening.
This is not an "on high" proclamation by any means. It is a thoughtful, and convincing, essay on why the whole DRM (digital rights management) issue really resides with those that insist DRM exists in the first place and that sue every thirteen year old that crosses it. Why don't more people, businesses and governments go after the music industry that forces DRM to be implemented instead of the people forced to implement it? Yeah, I want to know the answer too. Ask someone.
Ciao.
Apple - Thoughts on Music
Ciao.
Apple - Thoughts on Music
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It will be a very interesting race.
No, I am not referring to the current edition of the Amazing Race (best reality show on television, period). I am speaking about the race to become the next United States President. Now do not roll your eyes or dismiss this post lightly. Anyone who think this does not affect the way the whole world runs would be very naive and misinformed. With the disintegration of the mighty Soviet machine years ago, only America remains as the one true superpower left. They have the money and they have the might. The rest of the world must rely on the President to decide how that money and might is wielded for or against everyone else.
I'd be lying if I said that this particular election race does not hold extra interest for me because we truly have for the first time a viable black candidate for the presidency. And, not to knock the movie because I loved it, it will not be as easy or as comical as the Chris Rock movie. In fact , I expect it to have very sad, telling, and shocking chapters to the saga that will expose the true hidden racial hatred that has had to go underground (for the most part) since the civil uprisings of the sixties. It simply is not safe to be openly hateful of someone anymore (hear that Hardaway?). However, this is a black man that dares to run for the most powerful job in the world. There are going to be a LOT of people and businesses and organizations and countries that will do everything in their power to see that this never happens on their watch. Chris Rock says it best in one of his comedy routines: The safest job in the world for a black man would be Vice-President of the United States because no one wants a black president so the president would never be assassinated.
So, does that mean that the second-most feared result, a woman president, becomes possible? I guarantee you that the parties are doing their best to try to find a man that can win over Hillary Clinton; this process is happening in both camps. Hillary Clinton, unfortunately, will never truly distance herself from her husband Bill. Besides the Lewinsky thing (c'mon, are you seriously all still mad that the man got a free hummer?!?!?), Bill was and is a very polarizing figure; people (like myself) either really like him or they really hate him. Unless she finds a way to distance herself from his tenure as President and people's perceptions that he will be running things in the background, she will never truly have a chance to win. Oh yeah, there's that whole thing about her being a woman and that there is no way she can handle the job. I think that is a crock of shit personally because Hillary Clinton has shown that she is as tough and as savvy as any of her colleagues. In fact, simply putting your hat in the ring for nomination makes you a magnet for every dirt hound and character killer out there. Many of her colleagues will say they have no interest in being president. They are lying as they do not want to go through the headache of becoming president. Well, she does, and is willing to and I say more power to her.
I have to delve deeper into each candidate's message to truly have an opinion on who I would want to see as president but right now I am an Obama backer. Would I like to see a black President (or Prime Minister for that matter)? Absolutely! What I would prefer to see is a strong leader that will clean up ties with Canada and stop the crap that has been happening between our two countries. I would prefer to see someone that is in power to help ALL the people under the umbrella of the U.S.A. not just his or hers business buddies and backers. I would prefer to see someone who actually dictated world policy that helped the oppressed and did not push western values onto someone else but instead educated and shared in the differences that made us all unique while promoting the shared qualities that make us all the same. I want someone in power that will spend as much time and money (93 billion dollars more for military George?!?!) fixing the problems at home. Why are there so many poor? Why are there so many without proper medical aid? Why are there so many homeless? Why is New Orleans still a mess while Florida is flourishing? Why are so many schools without proper books, equipment and other resources? I think 93 billion dollars would have gone a long way to fixing those problems as long as the money went to fixing them and not paying some fat cat at the top bonuses and private jet expenses. I bet there are a lot of lesser known, just as competent, CEOs that can run these operations for a lot less money that these twits that keep showing up at the money trough.
I believe Obama is the leader that will make the changes necessary for a stronger US to move forward into the future. I'll post another article once I have some facts to present to you. I can always change my mind, and I will, if it turns out that Hillary is the better candidate.
Peace.
Clinton, Obama camps it up verbally - CNN.com
I'd be lying if I said that this particular election race does not hold extra interest for me because we truly have for the first time a viable black candidate for the presidency. And, not to knock the movie because I loved it, it will not be as easy or as comical as the Chris Rock movie. In fact , I expect it to have very sad, telling, and shocking chapters to the saga that will expose the true hidden racial hatred that has had to go underground (for the most part) since the civil uprisings of the sixties. It simply is not safe to be openly hateful of someone anymore (hear that Hardaway?). However, this is a black man that dares to run for the most powerful job in the world. There are going to be a LOT of people and businesses and organizations and countries that will do everything in their power to see that this never happens on their watch. Chris Rock says it best in one of his comedy routines: The safest job in the world for a black man would be Vice-President of the United States because no one wants a black president so the president would never be assassinated.
So, does that mean that the second-most feared result, a woman president, becomes possible? I guarantee you that the parties are doing their best to try to find a man that can win over Hillary Clinton; this process is happening in both camps. Hillary Clinton, unfortunately, will never truly distance herself from her husband Bill. Besides the Lewinsky thing (c'mon, are you seriously all still mad that the man got a free hummer?!?!?), Bill was and is a very polarizing figure; people (like myself) either really like him or they really hate him. Unless she finds a way to distance herself from his tenure as President and people's perceptions that he will be running things in the background, she will never truly have a chance to win. Oh yeah, there's that whole thing about her being a woman and that there is no way she can handle the job. I think that is a crock of shit personally because Hillary Clinton has shown that she is as tough and as savvy as any of her colleagues. In fact, simply putting your hat in the ring for nomination makes you a magnet for every dirt hound and character killer out there. Many of her colleagues will say they have no interest in being president. They are lying as they do not want to go through the headache of becoming president. Well, she does, and is willing to and I say more power to her.
I have to delve deeper into each candidate's message to truly have an opinion on who I would want to see as president but right now I am an Obama backer. Would I like to see a black President (or Prime Minister for that matter)? Absolutely! What I would prefer to see is a strong leader that will clean up ties with Canada and stop the crap that has been happening between our two countries. I would prefer to see someone that is in power to help ALL the people under the umbrella of the U.S.A. not just his or hers business buddies and backers. I would prefer to see someone who actually dictated world policy that helped the oppressed and did not push western values onto someone else but instead educated and shared in the differences that made us all unique while promoting the shared qualities that make us all the same. I want someone in power that will spend as much time and money (93 billion dollars more for military George?!?!) fixing the problems at home. Why are there so many poor? Why are there so many without proper medical aid? Why are there so many homeless? Why is New Orleans still a mess while Florida is flourishing? Why are so many schools without proper books, equipment and other resources? I think 93 billion dollars would have gone a long way to fixing those problems as long as the money went to fixing them and not paying some fat cat at the top bonuses and private jet expenses. I bet there are a lot of lesser known, just as competent, CEOs that can run these operations for a lot less money that these twits that keep showing up at the money trough.
I believe Obama is the leader that will make the changes necessary for a stronger US to move forward into the future. I'll post another article once I have some facts to present to you. I can always change my mind, and I will, if it turns out that Hillary is the better candidate.
Peace.
Clinton, Obama camps it up verbally - CNN.com
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Wednesday, February 21, 2007
What would she have gotten for flipping the bird?
As much as the title appears "flippant", I have to agree with the sentence. My LB may disagree, as he sent me this, but I will explain. The initial shock in this story is that this wife of a soldier, mother of three and normally composed person lost it this one day and did something stupid so why is she being treated like a career criminal and given a penalty that a sexual predator may receive?
All one has to do to answer that question is to think back to the case where two idiot, angry women ended up at the end of an off-ramp after cutting each other off. When one woman got out of her car to continue with the argument, the other woman, still in her vehicle, chose not to leave but rather to pick up a gun and shoot the first woman: dead. So, I fully understand and agree with the sentence because this case has a woman, in anger, picking something up at hand and throwing it into a moving vehicle hitting the driver. What if something heavier was at hand? Something sharper? A gun? Something caustic? Something hot? She could have done damage not only to the driver but also to whomever the driver hit when he/she lost control of the vehicle and hit another vehicle, or a pedestrian, or a baby stroller.
Ignorance and idiocy are not sufficient defenses of one's actions. This sentence may deter someone else in that city to think twice before doing something equally stupid or worse. If only other judges had the same awareness and fortitude to do the same in other cases to really send a message that crime does not pay and that we truly have laws to protect the innocent.
Ciao.
ABC News: Woman Sentenced to Two Years for 'McMissile'
All one has to do to answer that question is to think back to the case where two idiot, angry women ended up at the end of an off-ramp after cutting each other off. When one woman got out of her car to continue with the argument, the other woman, still in her vehicle, chose not to leave but rather to pick up a gun and shoot the first woman: dead. So, I fully understand and agree with the sentence because this case has a woman, in anger, picking something up at hand and throwing it into a moving vehicle hitting the driver. What if something heavier was at hand? Something sharper? A gun? Something caustic? Something hot? She could have done damage not only to the driver but also to whomever the driver hit when he/she lost control of the vehicle and hit another vehicle, or a pedestrian, or a baby stroller.
Ignorance and idiocy are not sufficient defenses of one's actions. This sentence may deter someone else in that city to think twice before doing something equally stupid or worse. If only other judges had the same awareness and fortitude to do the same in other cases to really send a message that crime does not pay and that we truly have laws to protect the innocent.
Ciao.
ABC News: Woman Sentenced to Two Years for 'McMissile'
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Uhm, right.
This guy claims to be God; not talk to Him, not walk like Him, but to be actually HIM (or HER, pls, another day maybe). Anyhow, there is not much needed to be said on this but two words: Waco. Guyana. Nuff said. Not to blaspheme, but, when Jesus was killed on a cross, he rose from the dead. We are a fast paced consumer society so we do not have time for the drama and the waiting. Off him now and should he rise, decide then. If he does not, phfffft, sucks to be him and we are rid of another freaking wacko trying to sponge of off hard-working but totally weak-minded people trying to get through this thing called "life". Ok, sorry about the Prince reference but you know what I mean.
Peace.
Pastor with 666 tattoo claims to be divine - CNN.com
Peace.
Pastor with 666 tattoo claims to be divine - CNN.com
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Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Tyra? Yes. Halle? Oh my, YES! Beyonce? Uhm, what?!?!
OK, anyone that tries to tell me those pictures will not be heavily airbrushed have never watch the videos and live performances of Beyonce. Look, great voice, nice to look at but SI material? The aforementioned two, Heidi Klum, Giselle, sure; I just am not sold on this one. I will faithfully pick up my copy to ensure the integrity of the issue is kept and will report back on my findings. Stay tuned.
Bikini-clad Beyoncé is SI's new Dreamgirl - CNN.com
Bikini-clad Beyoncé is SI's new Dreamgirl - CNN.com
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IT tidbits
Not sure why Apple insists on giving the competition time to come up with a response to their announcements instead of just blowing them out of the water by announcing and releasing to retail in one fell swoop. Anyhow, it seems, as everyone predicted, that everyone has jumped on the "touch-screen" bandwagon and are coming out with new models to rival the upcoming iPhone. Of those mentioned in this article, I would consider the Samsung and the Meizu the frontrunners if they can deliver on their promises.
The race to THE phone to have will soon be a very heated and interesting one; June is not far away and rumour has it that the iPhone will be released sooner than planned.
Mac Rumors: iPhone-alikes: miniOne, F700, LG Prada
The race to THE phone to have will soon be a very heated and interesting one; June is not far away and rumour has it that the iPhone will be released sooner than planned.
Mac Rumors: iPhone-alikes: miniOne, F700, LG Prada
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IT Tidbits: A new style of "Adult Games".
Originally I thought I would try to pick one up for Christmas but, as you know, the funds simply ran out. I have been thinking about it since but, besides funds, held off because of the flying controller issue (strap was recalled) and was waiting to see if other issues cropped up. Well, nothing seems to be cropping up and the Nintendo Wii is gaining popularity everyday. The not-so-secret to its success is the fact that of the three currently available new-gen systems (Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii), this system makes the player move the most. In a continent full of jelly-bellies like myself, this can only be a good thing.
In fact, one guy (no doubt to hawk his upcoming book and to start a new fad) was on TV claiming of a new exercise regime. He allegedly lost 18 pounds since he bought his Wii simply by playing the games included with it; he says he did not change his diet in any way which includes fast food, pizza and the usual dieting no-nos. Many reports back up the claim that the player can work up quite a sweat with some of the games played (uhm, bring your own sweaty controller please and thank you). Note, this has been attempted before; melding exercise to a "fun" activity on a connected TV screen. The only thing that has been remotely successful has been the Dance Dance Revolution craze that still goes on today. All manner of bikes, rowers, elliptical runners and other assorted devices connected to computers and displays and "games" have failed miserably on the market due to a lack of "fun" and/or extremely high prices. If this guy's claims are true, and his book is cheap and simple to follow, he is going to make millions.
For under $300, and a major fun factor included, the Wii could become hotter than one's thighs after playing around with Suzanne Sommers' Thighmaster(tm). Imagine getting little Johnny and Janey a Wii and negotiating a two to one ratio of game playing; two physical exertion games to one player's choice. The couch potatoes will be still in front of the TV but now off the couch. The machine can still babysit the kids while you cook or work on the car, but now it will do some good for a change.
Naturally, I am not saying we should make the kid into more of a house dweller; I believe in outside activity for everyone. I am just saying that if they are going to play something, and they are stuck inside (i.e. rain, snow, bitter cold, tornado, etc.), why not have them play something that will help their health, possible educate, and cost less than a car lease payment (hear me Sony)? I'll post about the true ability of the Wii in the exercise department as soon as I acquire one for my household.
Ciao.
Wii is guest of honor at new genre of parties | Tech News on ZDNet
In fact, one guy (no doubt to hawk his upcoming book and to start a new fad) was on TV claiming of a new exercise regime. He allegedly lost 18 pounds since he bought his Wii simply by playing the games included with it; he says he did not change his diet in any way which includes fast food, pizza and the usual dieting no-nos. Many reports back up the claim that the player can work up quite a sweat with some of the games played (uhm, bring your own sweaty controller please and thank you). Note, this has been attempted before; melding exercise to a "fun" activity on a connected TV screen. The only thing that has been remotely successful has been the Dance Dance Revolution craze that still goes on today. All manner of bikes, rowers, elliptical runners and other assorted devices connected to computers and displays and "games" have failed miserably on the market due to a lack of "fun" and/or extremely high prices. If this guy's claims are true, and his book is cheap and simple to follow, he is going to make millions.
For under $300, and a major fun factor included, the Wii could become hotter than one's thighs after playing around with Suzanne Sommers' Thighmaster(tm). Imagine getting little Johnny and Janey a Wii and negotiating a two to one ratio of game playing; two physical exertion games to one player's choice. The couch potatoes will be still in front of the TV but now off the couch. The machine can still babysit the kids while you cook or work on the car, but now it will do some good for a change.
Naturally, I am not saying we should make the kid into more of a house dweller; I believe in outside activity for everyone. I am just saying that if they are going to play something, and they are stuck inside (i.e. rain, snow, bitter cold, tornado, etc.), why not have them play something that will help their health, possible educate, and cost less than a car lease payment (hear me Sony)? I'll post about the true ability of the Wii in the exercise department as soon as I acquire one for my household.
Ciao.
Wii is guest of honor at new genre of parties | Tech News on ZDNet
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Another funny for today (in case things do not go well)
Submitted by Skibum
--------------------------
WORDS WOMEN USE ......
FINE This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
FIVE MINUTES If she is getting dressed, this is half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given 5 more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
NOTHING This is the calm before the storm. This means "something," and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with 'Nothing' usually end in "Fine"
GO AHEAD This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it.
LOUD SIGH This is not actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A "Loud Sigh" means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over "Nothing"
THAT'S OKAY This is one of the most dangerous statements that a woman can make to a man. "That's Okay,? Means that she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
THANKS A woman is thanking you. Do not question it or faint. Just say you are welcome.
Oh, and before we forget ?
"Whatever" ..it's a woman's way of saying F!#@ YOU!
--------------------------
WORDS WOMEN USE ......
FINE This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
FIVE MINUTES If she is getting dressed, this is half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given 5 more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
NOTHING This is the calm before the storm. This means "something," and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with 'Nothing' usually end in "Fine"
GO AHEAD This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it.
LOUD SIGH This is not actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A "Loud Sigh" means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over "Nothing"
THAT'S OKAY This is one of the most dangerous statements that a woman can make to a man. "That's Okay,? Means that she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
THANKS A woman is thanking you. Do not question it or faint. Just say you are welcome.
Oh, and before we forget ?
"Whatever" ..it's a woman's way of saying F!#@ YOU!
Sports break
Raptors Win! Yep, the dinos are on a tear and looking more like the pre-season power than the start of the season punks we had been watching. Going into the game against New Jersey with Vince "wince, traitor" Carter (and minus Jason Kidd), they have won eight of their last ten games. These games were against decent opponents too, not the flotsam of the NBA. Last night, almost blowing a ten point lead two minutes to the end of the game, they summoned the testicular fortitude to hold off a team that has constantly spelt trouble in the dying minutes. Chicago had beaten the Raptors fifteen straight games before last night's lost. To put this in perspective, not even the Bulls of Michael Jordan's time managed that kind of one-sided record. But, this is a different Raptor's team and they do not match up well against just one or two teams, they now have the weapons and depth to go toe to toe with any team in the NBA on any given night.
The Achilles heel, though, remains strong defence and closing games out. Oh, we will get our points alright, but so will the other team and that needs to change. Signs of that change is starting to show as even TJ Ford is getting a block or two in. They shut down Kobe's explosiveness the other night so let's see what they can do with VC tonight. Personally, I hope NJ suffers back to back ass-kickings. We are ahead of them in the standings for a reason. I want that made clear to everyone tonight.
Good luck Raptors!
The Achilles heel, though, remains strong defence and closing games out. Oh, we will get our points alright, but so will the other team and that needs to change. Signs of that change is starting to show as even TJ Ford is getting a block or two in. They shut down Kobe's explosiveness the other night so let's see what they can do with VC tonight. Personally, I hope NJ suffers back to back ass-kickings. We are ahead of them in the standings for a reason. I want that made clear to everyone tonight.
Good luck Raptors!
Today's Funny - Happy Valentine's everyone
Submitted by BT from MTL
-----------------------------
Newfie Valentine Poem
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!
Fer Me Wife
I writes ta say I loves ya b'ye!
Cause I don't say it very much
Everytime I tries ta cuddle ya
Ya says GET A WAY, DON'T TOUCH!
I tried ta be more gentle
Took me rubbers off outside
When I tells ya where I was last nite
Ya always tinks I lied
Ya knows I loves me Fishin
Ya knows I loves me boat!
But you're da life preserver
I needs to stay afloat!
So I got ya sometin really nice
How much, please don't ass
But you'll find it a lot easier now
When ya goes ta cut da grass!
Just pull da cord,stand behind
Steer her as you go
Next Valentines I'll get ya sometin
Dat helps ya shovel snow!
So keep up da cookin and cleanin
You're de only one I got
To keep me duds all washed and clean
And me coffee always hot!
You knows dat I appreciates
Your home made buns & Bread
And I hope dat it continues on
Till one of us is dead!
-----------------------------
Newfie Valentine Poem
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!
Fer Me Wife
I writes ta say I loves ya b'ye!
Cause I don't say it very much
Everytime I tries ta cuddle ya
Ya says GET A WAY, DON'T TOUCH!
I tried ta be more gentle
Took me rubbers off outside
When I tells ya where I was last nite
Ya always tinks I lied
Ya knows I loves me Fishin
Ya knows I loves me boat!
But you're da life preserver
I needs to stay afloat!
So I got ya sometin really nice
How much, please don't ass
But you'll find it a lot easier now
When ya goes ta cut da grass!
Just pull da cord,stand behind
Steer her as you go
Next Valentines I'll get ya sometin
Dat helps ya shovel snow!
So keep up da cookin and cleanin
You're de only one I got
To keep me duds all washed and clean
And me coffee always hot!
You knows dat I appreciates
Your home made buns & Bread
And I hope dat it continues on
Till one of us is dead!
And there you have it.
There is nothing else I could possibly say to this. Oh, except, when do we go on vacation?
Dutch judge rules that peep shows are theatre, gives owners tax break
Dutch judge rules that peep shows are theatre, gives owners tax break
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Monday, February 12, 2007
The Grammys recap (also know as "Why Britney Spears does not belong here.")
For the last few years I have not bother watching the music lovefest that is also known as the Grammys. Frankly, it stopped being of interest or priority viewing. This year, I considered the 49th edition of the awards show a must see. For the first time in 23 years, the trio formerly know as "The Police" played together and opened the show with an amazing Roxanne set. Uhm, but that is all they played?!?! I felt robbed because quite frankly they could have handed out all the hardware in the back while The Police played the rest of the night. DW informed me that short of her being in labour, we ARE attending the inevitable reunion tour concert. We saw Sting not too long ago (with Ms. Annie Lennox opening for him) and it was an absolutely amazing concert. A concert with The Police would be mind-blowing, I'm sure.
OK, so o to the rest of the show. There were many deaths in the music industry this year so there were a lot of references and tributes but the one that brought down the house was the one for the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. It was a single song, it was a single set and it was a solo performer; it was a perfect tribute. The singer did an amazing rendition of JB's "It's a Man's World". The singer brought the house down and floored Jamie Foxx (evident by his expression) with the power and substance and tone in HER voice. Yes, it was a female singer and while the easy, default, stereotypical view might be that it was an older, robust, black woman singing (i.e. a Patti Labelle, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, etc.), this was not the case. The singer was super sexy, younger, petite, and white.
Christina Aguilera again showed the world why, despite her missteps early in her career, that she is the real deal and both Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears (and Hillary Duff, and Lindsay Lohan, and...) are simply pretenders, wannabes and a marketer's wet dream. The lady can sing and she can belt out the notes high, low, long short, soft and hard. She. Can. Sing. There is no way any of her so-called peers would ever have been considered to do that song, make that performance shine, because they are all simply incapable of doing what she does. I hope that she gets some writers and some future collaborations to really take her to Madonna-like heights because she deserves it. Not since Annie Lennox has any non-black singer made me turn to see who was that was. She is simply amazing.
Other performances of note would include Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake, The Red hot Chilipeppers, Mary J. Blige, Ludacris (sporting the new lack of do), Beyonce (yawn), and the Dixie Chicks. Ms. Mary and TDC cleaned up on awards and both were well deserved. Ms. Mary's acceptance speech may go down in history as the longest ever at the Grammys. TDC was careful not to stir up too much controversy but they were obviously vindicated after the ridiculous backlash hurled their way for daring to speak out against President Bush's policies. I would love to see all those people lining up to bend over and kiss their asses now while mumbling sorry with a mouth full of ass. TDC is amazing that they not only endured it all, they grew stronger and better as a group. They are one of the few country acts (I not-so-lovingly refer to them all as "twang-twang music) that i will listen to; Reba, Garth and a few others make up a very short list.
Anyhow, if you happen to catch a few of the performances on YouTube or other video sites, it will be worth the watch. Next year, the 50th anniversary will be bigger, badder and no doubt, longer.
Ciao.
CityNews: Comebacks And Tributes Mark 49th Grammy Awards
OK, so o to the rest of the show. There were many deaths in the music industry this year so there were a lot of references and tributes but the one that brought down the house was the one for the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. It was a single song, it was a single set and it was a solo performer; it was a perfect tribute. The singer did an amazing rendition of JB's "It's a Man's World". The singer brought the house down and floored Jamie Foxx (evident by his expression) with the power and substance and tone in HER voice. Yes, it was a female singer and while the easy, default, stereotypical view might be that it was an older, robust, black woman singing (i.e. a Patti Labelle, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, etc.), this was not the case. The singer was super sexy, younger, petite, and white.
Christina Aguilera again showed the world why, despite her missteps early in her career, that she is the real deal and both Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears (and Hillary Duff, and Lindsay Lohan, and...) are simply pretenders, wannabes and a marketer's wet dream. The lady can sing and she can belt out the notes high, low, long short, soft and hard. She. Can. Sing. There is no way any of her so-called peers would ever have been considered to do that song, make that performance shine, because they are all simply incapable of doing what she does. I hope that she gets some writers and some future collaborations to really take her to Madonna-like heights because she deserves it. Not since Annie Lennox has any non-black singer made me turn to see who was that was. She is simply amazing.
Other performances of note would include Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake, The Red hot Chilipeppers, Mary J. Blige, Ludacris (sporting the new lack of do), Beyonce (yawn), and the Dixie Chicks. Ms. Mary and TDC cleaned up on awards and both were well deserved. Ms. Mary's acceptance speech may go down in history as the longest ever at the Grammys. TDC was careful not to stir up too much controversy but they were obviously vindicated after the ridiculous backlash hurled their way for daring to speak out against President Bush's policies. I would love to see all those people lining up to bend over and kiss their asses now while mumbling sorry with a mouth full of ass. TDC is amazing that they not only endured it all, they grew stronger and better as a group. They are one of the few country acts (I not-so-lovingly refer to them all as "twang-twang music) that i will listen to; Reba, Garth and a few others make up a very short list.
Anyhow, if you happen to catch a few of the performances on YouTube or other video sites, it will be worth the watch. Next year, the 50th anniversary will be bigger, badder and no doubt, longer.
Ciao.
CityNews: Comebacks And Tributes Mark 49th Grammy Awards
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Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Lots of people have died for far less.
I hope this guy is ready for a career change because he won't be holding his current position for long. How does one even try to explain this gaff? Personally, I think it was done to deliberately embarrass the Chinese diplomats. Not a wise move.
Submitted by LB.
Band leader reassigned after playing Taiwan's anthem at China-financed venue
Submitted by LB.
Band leader reassigned after playing Taiwan's anthem at China-financed venue
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Sunday, February 04, 2007
IT tidbits: Don't believe the hype... or the rant.
I put this here as a placeholder for now so that I do not forget to deal with it. As a quick overview, anyone that knows me knows I detest ignorance. I read this article to see what rhetoric Billy would be spouting this time. As usual, it was te normal back and forth between competing companies (though I will touch more on that shortly). What really got me was the crap being spewed in the comments below the article. I am used to reading the usual suspects rants back and forth from unintelligent and uniformed parties. This time however, I found myself getting angry at the simple baseless lies and false information and opinion being given out. Yes, please do not point out to be that an opinion cannot be "false" by its very nature. I consider it as such when the foundation on which it is being made is false. I am writing this post on a Dell laptop with Microsoft Windows XP Professional installed on it. To my right sits an Apple Mac Mini (PPC-generation) that I used for work items (it has been replaced with a new Intel-based unit, and I am sooo jealous of BB for getting it). Unlike a lot of the posters, I have the ability to compare the two units and their core OS directly. I will do so this week and append it to this paragraph. Right now, I must go help my wife prepare the house for our annual Superbowl gathering.
DailyTech - Bill Gates Speaks on Windows, Criticizes Mac Ads
DailyTech - Bill Gates Speaks on Windows, Criticizes Mac Ads
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Thursday, February 01, 2007
If she doesn't think that, she just doesn't understand men.
And that may explain why her last relationships have fallen apart. Read a book Jen. And talk to some other men. If any of them deny wanting to see it happen, yell "Liar!" in their face and walk off.
Ciao.
CANOE -- JAM! - Aniston did get nose job, sort of
Ciao.
CANOE -- JAM! - Aniston did get nose job, sort of
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