Okay so I’ve been putting this off for sometime now, mostly because I’m a lazy slacker when it comes to blogging, but I have news. Today marks a big change for me; it’s my last day of work here at Steeles West Realty. I’ve been here almost three years now working as a Market Researcher, but its time for a change. So after this weekend I will be heading north to Thunder Bay where I will be taking on the position of Wait Time Data Analyst for the Thunder Bay Region Health Science Center (a.k.a. The Hospital). It’s going to be quite a change for me, but one that I think is for the better.

Now some of you may not know this, but Thunder Bay is not a new home for me. I spent four years they attending Lakehead University. So this move is one that takes me back to a town that I really love. On top of all this I still have my older brother there (and sister-in-law when she returns from Newfoundland), as well as a whole bunch of friends from school. So while I am sad to be leaving people that I know down here I will not be alone when I get up there.

So that’s the scoop, I leave Monday morning bright and early to make the drive north. This weekend Rick has graciously put together a little send off party for me coupled with one last Network Wars for the year. I still have a whole bunch of packing to do as well and I’m not sure when I will get everything done, but I’m not overly concerned. All I know is I took my last drive in to Toronto this morning and I don’t have to fight the traffic anymore. So it’s all looking up from here. I’m not sure when I will be getting internet set up in my new place, but I’ll drop everyone a line as soon as I can. Hopefully I will have more interesting things to write about now and can help to keep this place a little more interesting. Until then everyone have fun around here and I talk to everyone soon(just from a little more northern location)…

Well folks I guess its time to finally lay summer to rest. But for myself it’s not all bad. With the change of the seasons comes the chance at one final trip up to the famous Moose Camp and my second taste of Northern Ontario upland game bird hunting. That’s right this past weekend marked the opening of the grouse season and our annual trip to run the logging roads near Shining Tree Ontario. I once again joined the group of my Uncle Jim, Rob and Dean Roberts, Jim Armstrong, Ed Westerneng, Cam Oulette and Peter the Polska for 3 days of hunting. We left Barrie on Friday afternoon around 2pm to make the 8-hour trek north to Clarkson Lake where our small camp is located.

Continue reading "10 Degrees and Getting Colder"

So just thought I would write a quick note today. I figured it’s about time I did something around here, but really it’s been a fairly boring summer so I’ve had nothing to say. But now that the fall is rolling in I may have a few more things to write about. This coming weekend marks my second annual trip up north for the fall bird hunt. That’s right I will be heading back to the fabled Moose Camp on the shores of Clarkson Lake in the wilds of Northeastern Ontario for 3 days of hunting. While I haven’t had much time up till now to put much thought into the trip I’m now getting very excited. The best part about this year’s trip is my uncle has secured me an ATV to use rather than riding in a truck all day. This means I will have more trails to explore and overall I expect it will be a much better trip. So I will be leaving Friday morning with the group for camp. Season opens Saturday morning at sunrise and we will hunt till Monday night and then pack up and leave Tuesday morning. For the most part we are going for grouse again (ruffed and spruce), but I will also be looking to hopefully score some rabbits. I will fill everyone in when I get back next week.

Besides that I just wanted to say a quick word or two about the a-for-mentioned Corn “Boil” Rick talked about. Last weekend my family and I decided to resurrect an old tradition and had our fall corn roast (Rick refuses to call it a roast because we do in fact boil the corn). The basis for the event is corn (of course) cooked outdoors on an open fire in a big pot, but on top of that we have lots of hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers, salads and to top it all off enough dessert to choke an elephant. All in all it was a great even with friends and family (26 people in total). The weather cooperated and everyone seemed to have a great time. Not sure what the future holds for the event as its getting harder to do it every year, but it was real nice to have everyone together one more time including my grandfather who we were able to bring out of the nursing home for the day.

It was definitely a nice way to cap off the summer.

Okay so I know it took me a couple of days to get around to this, but I’m lazy so sue me.

Yes folks this past weekend I was able to once again venture north along side my uncle to the historic Moose Camp near Shining Tree for one last fishing trip. I know the year is still young, but I’m low on time off, my uncle is going to be immobile shortly due to pending rotator cuff surgery, and really the summer is half over so its going to be hard to find the time for another trip. But take heart. I plan to attend the bird-hunting trip to the camp in September and if all works out well the Moose trip to Manitouwadge, Ontario in October so I will be guaranteed at least two more OA.com posts on the year.

Continue reading "One More for The Road..."

Well I hope everyone had a good long weekend. Most of you know that I spent mine up at the Moose Camp once again, but that story will have to wait a bit. I decided that I wanted to take a quick moment to discuss something else before I spin my fish tales.

As I made my way south this weekend there seemed to be one common subject that was making all the headlines. No I’m not talking about the amazing (HA!) signing of Jason Blake by the Maple Leafs, or the fact that bring back Bates Battaglia assures a cup for the Buds next season, but instead the possibility of the Ontario Government re-instating the previously failed photo radar. It seems that street racing and high speed driving has taken such a toll on our roads that the safety council has decided the only option is to bring back the little vans with the big cameras to tag these folks that feel the need to speed down the 400 at 200km/hr. My question is does anyone out there really feel this will accomplish what they hope? Is there possibly a better solution? Am I the only on that feel this is not enough to stop people? For myself it seems a little lacked. All this will do is catch a person in the act and warn them by mailing them the ticket. Is this only a band-aid solution to an increasing problem? Lets discuss.

Anyways hopefully everyone had a good time over the weekend (well with the exception of the wedding locked Rick, sorry man. I can honestly feel your pain).

Alright I know I promised this story lastnight, but by the time I got home from work, went to the gym, ate dinner and ran those darn ECHL games I didn’t feel like doing much of anything….

Anyways, I do have one free moment this morning before my bosses roll in and the crap once again hits the fan so I’ll take it to talk about something good for once.

Well folks as some of you will remember this trip is part of a tradition dating back almost 30 years now where a group of guys including my Uncle (Rick’s dad) head north to the little town of Shining Tree for some spring fishing. This was my second trip accompanying them and I have to say it gets better and better every year. Now yes I still didn’t catch my trout, but there were some firsts for me and overall it was a great trip. Anyways on with the story…

Continue reading "Visions of the North... "

So as Rick hinted that there is a little more to the story from this weekend, but really he did a fairly good job of telling the bulk of the important stuff. As far as the remainder of the story goes I will do my best to fill in the blanks.

So after the 90min wait to cross the border, a quick search of our car and a declaration of 6 scones (I wasn’t letting them confiscate them) we finally were stateside. Now I have to admit I wasn’t seeing what all the excitement was about. Buffalo form my vantage point didn’t look all that great. Anyways we continued down the highway to our first stop at the aforementioned Consumers Beverage. Now we were already late due to the busy border so we wanted to get to our first destination quick. The only problem was google map was a little misleading and the direction we had did not lead to store, but rather a big box music and video store, which I can’t remember the name (Rick fill in the blank). We took a quick look around for the CD’s we were interested in and found them, but not at a price that warranted purchase. Anyways we asked for directions and found that Consumers Beverage was indeed on the road we thought it was, but it was still a few miles up. So back on course we headed up the road to make our purchase. I’m not sure what all Rick purchased, but I held myself to 4 bottles of premium ales, Unibroue Éphémère Apple, Unibroue La Fin Du Monde, Unibroue Quelque Chose (yes the one mentioned in the past that you drink hot) and St. Bernardus Abt 12. Rick was like a kid in a candy store and could barely contain himself at the site of all the incredible beers that our wonderful government keeps out of Ontario.

Continue reading "Drank Like A River - Part II"

Not sure why I'm going to respond to this, but I'm not quite awake yet this morning and prone to stupid decisions.

The funny thing about politics is that no matter what a party does those who support them will approve and those that were against them from the start will cry bloody murder. So while I can understand Rick's comments about the country being back on track and John's continued mockery of anything Harper does, I want to point out a few things that I've noticed.

1. The recently released budget, like most decisions out of the government, was politically motivated. As most experts (yes Rick even your conservative loving ones over at the SUN) noted the recent budget was very un-conservative in nature. In fact it was very far away from the campaign promises that Harper made upon election. Now can I blame them for this? The Liberals certainly wouldn't have done any different and its not like they did anything wrong, but the truth is they have left this country very close to running a deficit for the next few years while gaining the approval of the masses for the sake of winning the next election. Which brings me to point two.

2. When it comes down to it all politicians’ care about is keeping their jobs. Yes folks that’s right when it comes down to it they don’t actually care one ounce about running this country unless the decisions made keep them in the life of comfort. Harsh words maybe, but explain to me why we see a Conservative party acting liberal, a Liberal party opposing good decisions, and the Bloc Quebecios doing anything anyone wants along as they get money for Quebec. At the end of the day all decisions are made with the hope that they will get elected to one more term and live it up in Ottawa.

3. Finally at the end of the day live will go on as normal. Yes that’s right a lot of what the party in power does will have little to no effect on our quality of life. Over the years of being a conscious voter I have noticed one underlying truth, when I wake up tomorrow nothing will have changed. Life will go on, politicians will squabble in Ottawa and as a middle class individual I will see little to no effect from it.

So to all this and all politics I have to ask one question, what do we really solve by arguing over it?

I think maybe its time to get this discussion off the Zonkboard and into a blog.

Its seems that for once I am one of the few that thought the Super Bowl was indeed interesting to watch. This is somewhat ironic as not one hour before the game I was discussing over dinner how much I hate the champion game. Now I did miss the first half of the game because I was returning from Toronto via Hamilton (had to take Paul back to school), but I did watch the 3rd quarter and most of the 4th. Here’s what I thought of the game. Both teams actually played very well. The Bears defense lived up to all the expectations and played well for most of the game. They created multiple turnovers and hassled the Colts offence for most of the game. I suspect it would have been a much tighter game had they not spent so much time on the field. The Bears offence, although not great, did manage to make some great players and moved the ball effectively for 3 quarters, had Grossman not thrown that pick in the fourth quarter I actually think the Bears could have won. The Colts on the other hand started slow, but got into a great rhythm by the second half. Manning made some great players, but even greater was their running game. Both Addia and Rhodes played amazing and really were the stars of the Colts offence. The Colts defense played strong all game and managed to stop the Bears offence when it counted. Overall it I definitely found the game interesting.

So maybe I’m one of the few out there that didn’t watch the game for the commercials. In fact I care very little for them. I now await Rick’s response about how football is boring and the only good thing about the game is the commercials.

Oh and this past weekend was Network Wars 7.1, but I think I will let Rick take a stab at producing a more colourful summary of the events that unfolded. He’s always been better at it than me. I will say this. The Mandarin is officially the devil.

So did anyone happen to actually watch the NHL All-star game last night? The first hockey All-star game in three years seems to have been met not with anticipation, but rather a complete sense of indifference from the masses. Over the course of the last week I have listened to hockey analysts from all over weight in on how the game is nothing more than a joke and really means nothing to the players or the fans. I guess I would have to agree with this as I felt my time was best served elsewhere while the best and brightest from the NHL fired puck after puck at those poor goalies. So I guess the question here is show the NHL even bother with the game and festivities or move on with the much more important season games.

Does any have an opinion one way or the other? Or, like me, do you simply not care.

Its seems that all my hockey lust has been directed to my duties with the ECHL fantasy hockey league that Rick and I are running this year. Now the zonk-trolls would have you believe that I have blown a gasket so soon into the season, but in reality all is well for me. I have enjoyed answering emails all day and look forward to running the games each night. Rick has been a big help stepping in to handle the one thing that I didn’t want to do, which is the trades and waivers and he has been managing the site up till now. Its been a real learning experience having to figure out how everything works, dealing with the different GM’s and their tendencies and finding the time to manage all that needs to be done (we get on average around 20 emails a day). But in the end I feel it has been worth it and I’m glad to have taken on the challenge with Rick. I’m hoping that in the coming weeks we will be doing a little more for the league as well with upgrades to the website (the zonk-trolls will have a new place for hockey banter) and daily blogs that outline the events in the games. For those that frequent OA.com and haven’t a clue what I’m talking about check out the ECHL website for all the details on the ECHL fantasy league.

Well it would appear that with Rick’s return to the world of 9-5 and my lack of anything interesting to say, OA.com has fallen upon hard times. I’m sorry that my posting has been few and far between, but let’s face the facts I really have nothing important to write about.

Now all that aside I guess I can ramble on for a little while in the hopes that it will provide some entertainment to everyone and break up the dull workdays that we all seem to face. About the best I can do is relate to everyone some stories that I have been reading in the morning newspapers and shed some light on recent topics that may spark some debates.

Okay here we go. This is an interesting article that I came across and I liked it because it spoke to me and reminded me of what it was like working while I was in school. Is a $10 minimum wage really bad for business? I’m sure like me many of you struggled at one point or another to make a living or possibly save for something that you really wanted. I can remember working all summer to try and save some money for university only to find that by September my efforts hadn’t amounted to much? But what really would be the price for another increase in minimum wage? Would the work suddenly disappear? Would business has to swallow the loss or would they simply learn to accept it and move on? I’ve always lived by the philosophy that a happy worker is a good worker and that the number one way to make someone happy is to pay them properly. So what are everyone’s thoughts? Should the government step in with another increase? Or maybe it should be up to the businesses to be socially responsible and make the adjustment themselves?

Now this one is for Rick (if he’s in any way a dog lover). Yummy: Pet shop owner creates beer for dogs from beef extract and malt. What’s better than a feel good story about a man that wants to share the wondrous effects of alcohol, especially beer, with man’s best friend. Now it does say that the beer will be fit for human consumption, but the question I want an answer to is will our resident beer-nut add it to his ever growing list of samples?

Well I guess that’s all I have for now. I hope this will bring you at least some entertainment today. Hopefully in the coming weeks I can post something a little more exciting and if we are all really good maybe Rick will find the time to fill us in on what’s happening in the corporate world.

So as Rick as stated thinks this is going to be a, “My Christmas meal is better than Rick’s dry turkey meal” post, but I decided be the better man and simply leave that one along. But I would like to post about my Christmas meal because it’s a very important time for myself and I love doing all the work it takes.

Now I should say right off the top that all this would be much harder if I didn’t have my dad their helping and my aunts and uncles adding some signature dishes. The meal on a whole is really an explanation of our family and draws from both the Italian and English sides with a little of my Ukrainian Aunt thrown in.

Now with all that out of the way I present the Christmas 2006 menu:

Continue reading "Dance of The Gingerbread Men"

So Rick’s lack of a post regarding our weekend adventures saddens me greatly. I would think that it was a day worthy of Internet, but alas I must be wrong. Any ways I guess I will have to pick of the slack, as he is no doubt still recovering from the hole in his stomach.

Continue reading "Ten Dollars? Worth Every Penny"

So I know that I haven’t been posting for a while and there are a few good reasons for that. First off I can now only seem to access OA.com from my work connection. Rick figures that its Rogers fault and has continued to send them threatening letters in the hopes that they will fix whatever the problem is. I think he is just trying to keep my liberal opinions off his site. Other reasons are more complicated and less entertaining so I won’t bother explaining, but I thought that I should at least make an appearance and give Rick a helping hand with keeping everyone entertained.

So the only real store I have from the last 2 weeks (Rick already covered the events of SNW1) is from Friday night. Friday Paul, Francis (Paul’s roommate) and I decided that it had been far to long since we went out for sushi. For those of you that love sushi as much as we do, I suggest you check out our favorite place UMI SUSHI in Mississauga off Burnhamthorpe Rd and Mavis Rd. We go for the all you can eat, which is very reasonably price and includes sushi, sashimi and other greats like teriyaki chicken and beef. All though the food is great there I must warn anyone that goes the service can be questionable sometimes, but not too bad that it overshadows the food. So we dined on a great selection of dynamite rolls, salmon rolls, crab rolls, salmon and red snapper sashimi, beef and chicken teriyaki and about a dozen other amazing dishes. We washed it down with some green tea and finished with a nice bowl of green tea ice cream, all for about $25 each including tip.

Not bad for a Friday night meal.

Oh and time for some random links
If you aren’t playing trials yet I have on question for you, “Why the heck not?!?”
Trials Bikes
Trials Bikes Pro

So Rick won’t stop bugging me about not blogging lately and seeing as I really don’t have anything interesting to write about (yet… detail may follow in a week) I have decided to bring my two cents to the table about the Gardiner Expressway talks.

Read: Study urges levelling Gardiner

For those of you that avoid all contact with the news (I’ve been there) and don’t know what I’m talking about Toronto city council have finally released their large report on what to do the horrible lake front chunk of steel that has been an eyesore for way too long. Now of course the first question everyone has is, “If they tear down the Gardiner where will all the cars go?” Well we finally have an answer to that. Four solutions to the problem have been put forward, ranging from minor repairs and regular maintenance to a 10 lane super road or a large tunnel similar to the one Boston has constructed. All are costly ranging from an additional 12 million a year (every year) to 1.5 billion for the large road hole.

Now personally I think improvements are long since needed to the Gardiner and yes I am one of those who believes it’s a horrible eyesore on Toronto’s waterfront. I would love to see the whole area turned into a home for tourism and city life. The Gardiner Expressway is one of the biggest obstacles holding back the development of the harbor and needs to be taken care of soon. But I’m just one man with one opinion. My question here is what do all of you faithful OA.com readers think? Do you believe that this would be something the city needs? Is the cost justifiable? Would you be willing to accept some additional gas taxes or possible ETR expenses to pay for the development?

Let here what you have to say…

This past weekend marked a new adventure for me. Some of you will remember back in June I made the decision to get my hunting license after spending the weekend up north fishing with Rick and a few others. Well with the 15th of September marking the opening of upland game bird season I once again joined the group in the long trek north to the infamous Moose Camp to take part in my first ever partridge hunt. To start off I must say I was still a little unsure about the whole idea of hunting. Up till this spring I would never have guessed that I will be able to pick up a gun and actually shoot at something, but I felt that it was something that would be really good for me to experience.

Continue reading "Whispers of the North"

It’s amazing what a few days off can do for a man. Its Monday morning, I had to fight through traffic to get to the office and yet for some reason I still feel good this morning. Why is that? Because for only 3rd time in the 2 years I’ve been working I had 3 days off in a row. So what did I do with all this free time? Well when faced with such a great opportunity only one thing came to mind…… Golf.

Yes this weekend I took advantage of the extra time I had and made my way out to the links for a few rounds of golf. Now I told Rick after our last day out on the links I was going to share with everyone what makes golf such a great game to play, but as usual I got lazy and didn’t. So since I feel good this morning I’ll take the time to share with everyone.

I played 2 rounds this weekend. The first was a twilight round at a course near me in Guelph, Springfield Golf Club. Now I have only recently discovered that Springfield is actually a nice little course to play and for $20 after 6pm you can get in all the holes you can manage before it gets dark. I played a quick 9 with my friend Ryan and managed to shoot a respectable (for me anyways) 47. This was actually a personal best. Now was I happy? No. Why? Because I had goofed up on the 8th hole and 3-putted when I got on the green in two shots. That one hole managed to ruin the round for me. Sunday I headed up towards Barrie to golf with my Uncle at a little course called Innisfil Creek. Some of you may recognize it as you drive past it on the 400 heading north, just past the Cookstown Outlet Mall. This course isn’t anything special. Its short, not overall well maintained, but fairly challenging with at least one pond on almost every hole. Well know that I had managed to put together a decent 9 on Friday, I was hoping for a good round. I managed to shot a personal best 95, which was great. So was I happy? No. Why? Because once again was on the 18th hole with a 4ft put for a round of 93 and I missed twice!

So what’s the point of all this? Well I’ve come to realize that no matter how good I play; it’s always the bad things that I remember. I made plenty of great shots in both rounds, but I focus on the one thing that cost me some strokes. Now this may sound like a bad thing but really it isn’t. I look forward to my next round in the hope that I can correct that one big blunder and win back those 2 strokes. I know in the back of my mind that I can do it and there is the potential for a better round next time. So I will walk away now with my 95, but next time I will win back those 2 strokes. Golf is truly a magical game. It’s the only game that can truly frustrate you to the point that you want nothing to do with it, but you will jump at the chance to play another round.

Well the long weekend is behind us and I hope everyone had a good time. I actually did manage to get out of once and found time to go up north and to play a little golf. I spent all day Sunday north of Owen Sound swimming and enjoying the great weather at a friends place right on the water. If you’ve never been up to that area to swim in Georgian Bay I have two things to tell you about it. First it’s the clearest water that you will find in Canada and second it’s cold, but that doesn’t really bother me. Monday I played a quick round of golf with my two uncles and my younger brother Paul. It was a great day out on the links. We played a course 5 minutes from my house, but oddly enough I’ve never played it before.

But enough of that, its on to my favorite part of the long weekend. With the end of the long weekend comes the long list of people that were caught for various highway infractions as they headed out to enjoy themselves. I’m amazed to see that people have yet to learn that long weekends = more cops on the highways lurking under overpasses and behind signs waiting to pull them over. As usual over 800 fines were handed out this weekend for everything from speeding to not wearing seatbelts. As well over 200 vehicles were pulled off the road for being unsafe. Anyways here’s some reading material for this morning. Hope all of you had a safe and fun long weekend.

Stupid driver tricks

Yes right now I am incredibly happy with the outcome of yesterdays final. It was a great game for both sides and could easily have gone either way. As far as I’m concerned The World Cup is the greatest sports event in the world. It’s been an amazing tournament with plenty of surprises and lots of great soccer to watch. What a great month and I’m so proud of the Azzurri, as they came through and played amazing

Well Rick has bluntly told me that he has been posting for 10 years so I need to step it up and do more than just provide interesting little news articles that I have come across. So he was go.

This weekend I will be taking the next step in my evolution as an outdoorsmen. I’ll be spending all weekend in a classroom completing my Hunters Education Course and my Firearms Safety Course so that I will be a license hunter. The decision to do so came after the fishing trip Rick and I went on a week ago up to the famous moose camp and I got to talk to all the other guys up there, including my Uncle, about the bird hunt they go on in the fall. I was initially unsure if I would be able to hunt animals, but figured that I should at least give it a shot (no pun intended).

I’ve been an outdoorsmen for over 10 years now. I’ve been on multiple extended trips into the backcountry of many provincial parks as well as some crown land area. The spring fishing trip opened my eyes to a whole other area of the outdoors. Getting my license will provide me with more opportunities to explore these areas.

Now I’m not posting this to start some flaming war about the ethical issues of hunting (even though Rick and I discussed that outcome this morning). I realize that many people have issues with hunting animals and would rather it be stopped entirely. I personally believe that hunting is part of our heritage and if it is done for consumption purposes it’s not a bad thing. I would never look down on anyone who doesn’t agree with it, but I do think that as a personal choice it’s right for me. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to get back up north this fall and see what I am truly capable of doing. As the saying goes, “There’s a place for all Gods creatures…right next to the mashed potatoes!”

He is wanted in connection with multiple midnight shenanigans and beer related tomfoolery.

Well Rick and I have returned from the wilds of Northeastern Ontario. Overall it was a good trip, the weather was good, bugs weren’t too bad and it was nice to be able to get out there and experience what this great province has to offer.

Now where to begin? Well as this was my first trip up to the moose lodge (but not my first trip “roughing it” in the north) I would have to call it overall a successful trip. The camp itself is really no more than a shack in the woods off of some logging road. A small generator and propane powered it so we had some of the comforts of home, but lack anything resembling a working washroom and was little more than 1 room crammed with a small kitchen, a table and a few beds. Now Rick and I had decided that since 11 of us were going up and there were only enough beds for 8, we would sleep out in tents. It actually worked out really well. We found a small clearing bid enough to put out tents up and it got us out of having to cram more people into the cabin then would necessarily fit.

Continue reading "You’ve got the line, and I’ve got the pole…."

Did racers kill GTA couple? Broadsided as they made their way to mark their 17th anniversary

Well here we are on the verge of the release for the third installment of the “amazing” Fast and the Furious trilogy (How could we let this happen?!?) Tokyo Drift and we are already seeing the effect these less than stellar movies have on the young and ridiculous teens out there. This weekend another 2 lives were claimed by street racers in Richmond Hill as 2 young punks with way too much money (I’m guessing from mommy and daddy) hit a car while traveling at speeds or around 150km/hr on Yonge St.

Continue reading "Four Wheel Weapons "

FDLM returns with some great reading material from this mornings news. Hope this gives all of you something to fill a few moments of your day. I’ll save my lecture on the good/bad of the tobacco industry for another day.
Enjoy!

Sparks Fly over Ban: Argument between anti-smoking advocate and nightclub owner in the halls of Queen's Park
Another great example of businesses crying “bloody murder” over a smoking ban. May 31st all of Ontario will get to see what some communities already know; smoking bans are a good thing.

Janet Gretzky plans lawsuit: Phoenix assistant Tocchet also suing
Ask and you shall receive. It seems that Janet Gretzky needs a little more money to bet with and what better way to get it than to sue.

Study: Chocolate may boost brain power
Apparently we can now expand our minds as we expand our waistlines. Thanks science!

With the head cheese out of the picture (though apparently still lurking in the dark corners of the blogs) I have decided that its time to get away with whatever I want while I still can. He is going to be upset (and I'm sure I will hear about it upon his return) that I continue to read the newspapers, but really do I care? Here are some interesting stories that I was looking at this morning.

First off it seems that things have finally ended for original survivor winner Richard Hatch as he was sentenced to 51 months in prison for tax evasion on the $1 million dollar grand prize. I really wonder how he figured he was going to hide that one from the IRS?
Prison sentence: 51 months down the Hatch

There has been a lot in the news lately regarding the gun registration laws passed by the Liberals. The Conservatives have opposed it from the start, stating that it costs way too much money and really solves nothing. As someone who has given more thought to hunting lately I am almost inclined to agree. The next few days will be interesting, as the opposition parties in Ottawa seem to hold all the cards on this one. Remember kids guns don’t kill people. People kill people.
Misfires found at gun registry

Finally, in a story that I’m sure Rick will enjoy, troops in Afghanistan will be given a two day beer break just in time for the long weekend. I mean what’s a long weekend without a nice barbeque, a few brews and… isolated gunfire from rebel troops? Well I guess that’s almost like fireworks.
Troops allowed two-day beer break Troops allowed two-day beer break

Oh and Evan I'm still waiting for that coffee. What type of assist are you?

So at last I have found someone else who believes the race for the Calder Trophy this season is not a fair one. For months I had been saying that Alexander Ovechkin should not be held at the same leave as Sidney Crosby and in fact should not be considered a rookie in the NHL at all. Ovechkin has spent the last few seasons playing with Dynamo of the Russian Superleague, developing his skills against the best players in Russia as well as some of the top players in the NHL thanks to the lockout last season.

So why is it that he is still up for the rookie of the year honors? The criteria for the award is clearly stated: “To be eligible for the award, a player cannot have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons in any major professional league. The player must not be older than 26 years before September 15 of the season in which he is eligible.” It seems that the NHL for some reason fails to recognize any other league as being at the “professional” level. Sad, seeing as North America is not the only place where elite hockey players can find work.

This is not my attempt to shoot down Ovechkin’s accomplishments this season, but to merely draw attention to the ignorance of the awards voting this season. But I do think it makes Crosby’s season seem a little better, don’t you? Give it a read, you might find it interesting.

Ovechkin a rookie? Think again

Just a quick one today, but I had to share this with everyone. (See Rick good things do come from reading the news.)

It seems that after decades of refering to Neil Young as an American our neighbors to the south are more than happy to hand him back to us. His New album entitled Living With War has received the expected welcome for such a politically charged work. Although I will never purchase this album I think it would be interesting to listen to just for kicks.

As posted on www.thestar.com:
Neil Young album irks U.S. conservatives

I especially like the quote, "If it's not Mexican fence-jumpers trying to dictate legislation to us, it’s fur trappers from the wilds of Ontario insulting our head of state."

Now if you excuse me I have a hitch up my dogsled and go check my trap line.

Nominees for NHL awards are in. I’m sure that there are no major surprises. For those of you who placed your picks for these awards in my earlier post, I hope those individuals are listed below.

Continue reading "NHL Award Nominees Announced"

Here’s a little bit of morning reading for all of you. Poor Bob the moose head has lived a troubled life as of recently. Now I’m not really sure what the government hopes to gain from trying to fine this guy, nor do I know why they wouldn’t return the head to him even if he were fined. All I know is this was good for a laugh this morning and I though I should share it with all of you.

Sun readers spearhead the fight to bring Bob home

Random Links:
Human smuggling ring busted in B.C.
Playboy's Indonesian office hit with violent protest

As many of your man know Rick loves to talk about his little life experiences that happen from time to time. It’s amazing what happens when you let go of your everyday life and do something that is uncharacteristic for just one evening.

Last night was somewhat of a first for me. Typically I live by the rule that Monday to Friday I work and fun is left for the weekend, but for once (I’m not altogether sure why) I actually let Rick talk me into attending the Josh Rouse concert in downtown Toronto. So as it was after I got off work at 6pm I grabbed the subway from Yorkdale and headed down to meet up with Rick, Krystle and Andrew. We were planning to start the evening with a quick bit of browsing at MEC, but unfortunately found out that it closes at 7pm so that was a no go. Another time I guess.

We had a nice meal at a small Thai restaurant on King St; I think it was called the Thai Princess, which was quite nice. I had the hot and sour soup, chicken satay, spring roll and red curry lamb. All were excellent.

From the restaurant we made our way over to the MOD Club Theatre on College St. Now Rick and I both looked up directions on google maps and felt it was not too far of a walk. Unfortunately we must have not paid attention to the scale because what we felt was a 10-minute trek was closer to 30 minutes. No matter. It gave us a chance to work off dinner.

We made it the concert in time to catch the end of the opening band Strays Don’t Sleep. I kind of wish we had made it on time because I actually did enjoy what little we heard from them and would have loved to sample more of their work. Anyways the concert continued with a great set by Josh Rouse. I would best describe it a mix of soft rock with definite blue influences that made for a get mellow evening. Although I was not too familiar with his work before the concert, I do think an evening of live music was an excellent way to become more acquainted.

All in all it was a great evening and we didn’t even mind the long walk back. Somehow it just felt right to wander the streets talking. I guess every once in a while its good to simply let life take control and lead on.

+1 to life experiences.

The last few days have been very “interesting” for me. As I was coming home from work Sunday evening I was struck head on by an on coming car while crossing a one lane bridge just outside of Guelph. Now you may ask yourself how something like this happens? Basically I had entered the small wood bridge at which point the other car decided that it was a 2-lane bridge (I’m not sure how) and continued to head straight for me. I slammed on my brakes, but the bridge was a little icy, so all I could do was watch as I crashed right into the other car.

So I spent all day Monday and most of this morning talking with my insurance company, the wreckers, and starting the process of looking for a new car (mine is a total write-off). I’m hoping for good news from the insurance that it’s going to be considered the other drives fault. No charges were laid against him, but it was clearly his fault as I entered the bridge first and went the whole distance of it before hitting the other car.

Here are some pics of what’s left of my car. It doesn’t look too bad, but apparently it would be about $10,000 to have it fixed.

Image 1
Image 2
Image 3

Oh and I can’t remember what its like to get hit with an air bag. It all happened way too fast.

So how many of you stayed up all night to get your fill of stars and starlets? I for one have never been a big fan of the Oscars, but I know that I am one of the few out that that doesn’t really care what happens in Hollywood 24/7. I did however take a few moments this morning to look through both the list of winners (none of which I gave much pause to) and the gallery from the red carpet.

That’s about all the time that I’m willing to give to the Oscars, but for those of you that didn’t watch it all, but want to know who took home the hardware, I have taken the liberty of posting up the link. I’m sure Rick would have done if he wasn’t off on some wild goose chase (I'm probably going to pay for that comment).

Well against my better judgment I’m going to post about this. If nothing else it should provide some great arguments for the next little while and possibly some comments for once (you guys have been slacking).

It’s now been almost 24 hours since the men’s hockey team took to the ice for what was the final nail in the coffin for this year’s Olympics. I just wanted to put forth what is my opinion of the subject (and I’m sure I will be getting an ear full for it).

I am probably the only person in Canada right now that is not saying, “We should have had Crosby, Staal, Spezza and Savard with us in Torino.” I firmly believe that the outcome of these games is not purely the result of a lack of younger/ hungry guys on the team. Check the stats. 7 members of team Canada have birthdays of 1980 or greater and therefore were not around last time and would be looking for that gold medal. I also believe that the rest of the world have developed a different style of hockey in international play and Canada’s plan of lets just overpower them all with our big guys is no longer going to fly.

Now I’m not going to say that I have all the answers or even that I can pinpoint where things went wrong, but the fact is that Hockey Canada needs to go back and think long and hard about this. The world is no longer going to roll over for Canada and frankly I think teams, like Finland, are simply better this time around. Oh and for you Crosby fans I sure we will be getting a good look at him in the upcoming World Championships this spring (sorry about Pittsburgh Cliff).

Today's Random Links
Areials to gymnastics in 0.09 seconds

Let's go down, together
3 AM tomorrow night
I'll take you over anything
Let's go out, together
Broad daylight in the street
I'll take you anywhere

Let's go down, together
Down by the old mainstream
I'll take you over anything

This is the last post, folks - I'm off to play baseball! Thanks SO MUCH for donating, and for hanging out with my over the past day both in comments and on the Zonk. I appreciate it, and I hope at least a few of the posts have either been entertaining or informative in some way.

Cheers!

Oops, I forgot to tell Rogers I'd fixed my connection after the disastrous start to this endeavour almost 24 hours ago. They just showed up at my door.

I won't feel too bad, considering the extent of their previous help was to get me to turn the modem off and on. When I said we needed to do something else, the reply I received was "that's all we know how to do - we're taught to turn the modem off and on. Now we'll have to send a technician out."

:|

BERLIN (Reuters) - A giant catfish that ate a dog and terrorized a German lake for years has washed up dead, but the legend of "Kuno the Killer" lives on.

A gardener discovered the carcass of a five-foot-long catfish weighing 77 pounds this week, a spokesman for the western city of Moenchengladbach said on Friday.

Kuno became a local celebrity in 2001 when he sprang from the waters of the Volksgarten park lake to swallow a Dachshund puppy whole. He evaded repeated attempts to capture him.

"He was our Loch Ness monster," said Uwe Heil, member of "Kuno's Friends," a
local rock band named after the fish.

Several fishermen identified the carcass as Kuno, but doubts linger.

"That's not the Kuno we know," said Leon Cornelius, another member of "Kuno's
Friends." He said he had seen several huge catfish in the lake.

Low water levels and a summer heat wave probably killed the catfish, among the biggest found in Germany. The northern city of Bremen plans to stuff it and put in a museum.

The only slight dejection upon completion of the last two M&M Crispy were soon followed by the elation of remembering I still had a bag of M&M Peanut Butter. And then a Snickers. God bless Effem Foods.

Next year I'm walking over there and telling them to sponsor me, dangit. The only thing better than M&M Crispy, M&M Peanut Butter, and Snickers are FREE M&M Crispy, M&M Peanut Butter, and Snickers.

At some point I should probably actually eat real food, y'think? Although throwing that arctic char I bought on the BBQ at this time of day is only going to further the rumours around this neighbourhood...

Behold, the magic tablets - bursting forth with sugar and rice crisps, waking me in the tormenting final hours. Alas, I am not eating the red ones last, for this sudden realization of their magical sleep healing powers has me shoveling them into my hole like a fat kid at Ponderosa.

MOOHAHAHAHA.. the time is almost here, and I will reign triumphant.

It's no surprise these suckers are made in this little Town of Bolton, you know. We know good crap around here. M&M Crispy, of course, being good crap.

Cheers!

The only slight dejection upon completion of the last two M&M Crispy were soon followed by the elation of remembering I still had a bag of M&M Peanut Butter. And then a Snickers. God bless Effem Foods.

Next year I'm walking over there and telling them to sponsor me, dangit. The only thing better than M&M Crispy, M&M Peanut Butter, and Snickers are FREE M&M Crispy, M&M Peanut Butter, and Snickers.

At some point I should probably actually eat real food, y'think? Although throwing that arctic char I bought on the BBQ at this time of day is only going to further the rumours around this neighbourhood...

I've decided against the 9AM baseball game - it's everything in me to be awake right this second. Gone are the days when I once slept only 16 hours in 6 nights without crashing because my body and mind are both fighting me at this time. I didn't want to concede and go to bed at 9AM only because it's going to throw my entire system out of whack but I've fallen asleep and woken up a few times over the last hour.

At least I'm waking up.. the last thing I want is to mess this up in the final hours. :)

Cheers!

I've cracked the blinds back open and went outside for a bit - the sun came up about a half hour ago, I guess that puts me in the home stretch.

Cheers!

Here's the reality TV roundup for this week, exclusive to Blogathon readers:

* NBC is joining Fox in the reality contestant recast started with Love Cruise's Toni reappearing on Paradise Hotel. This time it's Meet My Folks that's churning out stars with onetime suitor Eric Ferch now on For Love Or Money 2, and the girl that failed to select him, Melana Scantlin, getting her own fall show titled Average Joe. This program, hosted by the eternally unfunny Kathy Griffin, will surround an attractive women with nerdy, ugly men in yet another variant on a dating show.

* Joe Millionaire 2 begins Monday, October 20th with butler Paul reprising his role as pyschiatrist/alcoholic.

* They're dragging Last Comic Standing out - this Tuesday won't be the finale. Instead, the results of the comedy face-off will be revealed in a two-hour season finale on August 5th.

Cheers!

I found one! I found one!

On Disc 2 enter The Film and then Beyond Hell's Kitchen: Making Daredevil. Arrow to Play and press Left on your remote to highlight Elektra's weapons. Press Enter for a Gag Reel.

Cheers!

Is anyone else surprised that as these movie studios scramble to get more and more comic books to the live action big screen, that we haven't yet seen Archie, Jughead, Veronica, etc.. ?

It's only a matter of time...

Cheers!

I really need to have a PDA with wireless net access by this time next year. I feel like a caged dog or something in here. With a Danger Hiptop I could be roaming the streets like a common nuisance and STILL be making my required posts.

I'm bored of the Daredevil features already - although the parts with Jennifer Garner beating crap up in tights are pretty cool.

Cheers!

Check out Jaynee's page - she's doing the Blogathon as well. Is that kid not the cutest little thing? The hair in the 3:28AM entry kills me! Hehe..

Time for Daredevil, Disc 2 - which, I hope, can not be near as bad as the movie on Disc 1 was.

Cheers!

Ok, that WAS cool. Twist after twist, and almost all of them I didn't see coming. I officially recommend that flick.

Cheers!

John Travolta really can't act - all he can do is play himself and swear a lot. Connie Nielsen can't really act either. Giovanni Ribisi is pretty good.

Something tells me this movie is going to end good. That something is Rob, who told me it ended good yesterday.

Cheers!

Who invented circumcision? And what in God's name did he say to get someone else to try it?!

:/

Survivor: Africa's Lindsey Richter, best known for her topless application video, has been arrested for assault on a security guard at a bar in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. People always look so sexy in their mugshots, don't they?

I'm going to stick Basic in now.

Cheers!

Ok, now I'm starting to get tired. Only.. 7 hours left..

:(

The clock passes Midnight, I turn the lights out and blog in the dark. The TV is on, I've got something to drink, a couple snacks. I'm lying across the small couch ("love seat" for you girls and soy-eating guys) with a silk pillow and a nice thick blanket in my pj's.

And a big frickin' bug just landed on the back of my neck and slid down my shirt. He learned awful quick that this isn't a good f'n idea. Let that be a lesson to any of his bug friends who may be contemplating their own kamikaze missions.

Frig, that was scary.

Courtesy of Michelle off the Zonkboard, here are my chances for succeeding tonight with 8+ hours to go:

50 %

There's a 50 % chance that I'll survive the 'thon.
Will you survive the Blogathon?

Cheers!

These are the shows I care about - if I'm missing a show you like and you're interested in knowing how it's doing just let me know what it's called and what night it's on in Comments. The first number is rating - the percentage of all households watching that program. The second number is share - the percentage of televisions watching that program.

5.7/10 Big Brother 4 (Wed)
5.6/11 The Amazing Race
5.2/09 Big Brother 4 (Tue)
4.9/09 Dog Eat Dog
4.8/12 Big Brother 4 (Fri)
4.8/08 Last Comic Standing
4.7/08 American Juniors (Tue)
4.7/08 Paradise Hotel (Tue)
4.6/09 Cupid
4.2/07 WWE SmackDown!
4.1/07 Paradise Hotel (Wed)

Cheers!

The Canadian Idol fans amongst us may be unaware that CTV has announced the Wildcards on the official website:

Toya Alexis, 22 from Ajax, ON
Marc Devigne, 19 from Winnipeg, MB
Tyler Done, 17, from London, ON
Andrew Leader, 26 from Montreal, QC
Ryan Malcolm, 24, from Kingston, ON
Kevin Murdock, 24 from New Glasgow, NS
Sharon Vanden Enden, 21, from Brantford, ON

My money goes to Leader or Malcolm.

Cheers!

One of the items I purchased for food during this little marathon were some Island Lime & Chili Skinny Sticks from nSpired Natural Foods. I've been very conscious of what I eat the last six months or so and this seemed like a neat thing to try, being healthy and (apparently) organic and all.

Surprise! They're AMAZING. I'd eat these any day of the week, fo shizzle. They're pushing their new Soy Chips on their site now, which I wouldn't eat if you paid me. Soy is estrogen, man, and I ain't allowing no food to turn me into Mr. Sensitive Pony Tail Man.

Cheers!

WWE Confidential is airing the Zack Gowen story right now on TNN/Spike. For those who don't know he's a 20-year-old cancer survivor with only one leg who will be performing in a match tomorrow night at Vengeance. Even non wrestling fans can probably respect a one-legged kid who actually has enough skill to throw off a decent match in the ring. It's a pretty good story.

Cheers!

The Holmes Show just started - this post is being typed at 11:01PM.

Jessica: "Can I take some questions from the audience?"
Man: "DO YOUR LIZA MINELLI IMPRESSION!"

And she does. Screw this stupid show.

Crap. CBS is moving Cupid to Tuesdays at 9PM, out of the current Wednesdays at 10PM. Which sucks because I get to add that to my already WAY too busy night of TV:

7:30 - 8:00 Canadian Idol
8:00 - 9:00 American Juniors & Dog Eat Dog
9:00 - 10:00 Last Comic Standing & Big Brother 4

Granted, only two more episodes of Last Comic Standing, but still. Big Brother 4 is wearing out its welcome with me, though - anyone finding this year's cast absent of enough redeeming qualities to make them worth rooting for?

Cheers!

Rob Cantrell, aka Bobert, e-mailed me to alert me that he will be performing in NYC and San Francisco, neither of which is anywhere close to me. It's too bad Last Comic Standing didn't rip up the ratings or we might have gotten a multi-city tour of the stars.

Hint hint. Jay Mohr, I'm looking at you. Yvonne, talk some sense into him.

Cheers!

Heading back home - see everyone shortly.

Cheers!

I'm starting to like Colin Farrell. He's a good actor, if not a person devoid of any redeeming qualities in real life. He's about the only thing keeping me watching this movie right now.

That, and the possibility of more boobage from Jennifer Garner. (There, Craig, I figured out a way to use that word in an entry...)

Cheers!

Ok, we're about a half hour through Daredevil. Who wrote this, the team that brings us The Young & The Restless? Setting aside the fact that absolutely nothing that has happened in this movie so far is even a small bit believable, this could be the worst script I've seen in a while. It's a pet peeve of mine when the people in movies don't talk like they do in real life.

And to think I was looking forward to it. Jennifer Garner hasn't showed up yet so at least there's that to look forward to.

Cheers!

BUT WAIT! If you click now we'll throw in this free "Only In America" poster:

It Must Be America!

Cheers!

...time.

Later.

Pat's coming! And he's bringing a McDonald's Hot Fudge Sundae with Nuts for me! Today is a good day.

He comes from the planet of Soy.. lalala...

Cheers!

I posted the wrong version of this on the old site this morning, so without further adieu, I present the Flash Kikkoman advertisement with Japanese translated to English for your convenience!

Ketchup? What a Suckers!

Cheers!

First, Pork and Pasta is good. I enjoyed that. Craig also offered me a sample of his nuts, which also happen to be quite good. I'd never tried pistachios until he offered them recently, and I must say I like them.

While eating we had the Game Show Network on and they aired The $100,000 Pyramid. I remember going to California with my family when I was pretty young and being told we could try to get into any show my sister and I wanted. We picked The Price is Right, along with half the other people in "Studio City, California." So we ended up going to The $100,000 Pyramid instead where they taped the weeks five episodes back to back. We made it through three before heading off to the airport. It was ok, but it was no The Price is Right. I believe this cruel twist of fate is partially the reason why, to this date, I have never had a pet spayed or neutered.

Cheers!

Many years ago the Pentagon creates the Internet as a means of war time communications.

And right now Pat and Craig are using it to show each other items from their room, their nipples, and other assorted items.

Pat: "What is THAT?!"
Craig: "That's my TEAT!"

Thank God for technology.

Cheers!

I'm on my way to Craig's house to watch Daredevil (three days before YOU get to rent it) and eat something he calls "Pork and Pasta". And he said I could hold his baby. Most people close to me won't let me hold the half-decent china, let alone a real human, so this is quite the vote of confidence. I'll be posting from his place for a bit so don't expect anything TOO fun - no surfin' time.

As reward for his kind generosity in forcing his wife to cook more food than she has to AND risking life and limb of little Samantha, I offer this dancing beer:

Close enough?

Good news for Canadians - the ORIGINAL Banzai begins airing again on City TV starting tonight at 11:30PM EST. Those of us who were fans prior to Fox's recent pick-up will remember that things weren't all rainbows and lollipops as they are now. I almost specifically remember Rob messaging me with something like "OMFG! THEY SHOWED A PENIS ON 57!", which in fact, they had. Looks like they're going full out tonight - check out the preview:

"More than just a game show, Banzai challenges the viewer with a series of practical jokes, gags, stunts and encourages the audience to place their bets on the final outcome. How long will Mr. Shake Hands Man 2 shake the hand of a celebrity? Which sexy nurse will strip naked first? Which seated woman is not wearing any underwear?"

Cheers!

Alex has made yet another post in regards to the eventual destruction of Earth at the hands of robots. If I didn't know him better I'd think he was crazy.. well, wait a minute..

Anyways, I digress, he has made a post titled "A.I.: Robotic Nation Cometh..." where he directly refers a chat we've had in the past during his passionate AI Yahoo Messenger discussions with me when he says "some of us will respond with, "Who cares, I won't be around." And this is the great flaw of the human species. We re-act, rather than pro-act. And deep inside, we are selfish. While some of us (futurists) are able to forecast and be concerned about such matters (I am one of them), few of us act on these suggestions.".

Which makes me wonder how many of you side with Alex in believing that, in fact, Maximum Overdrive was a documentary? That toasters will toast US, and our televisions will watch US? Further to that, how many are like me in thinking that even if, by some odd lack of foresight at some point, machines DID manage to take over the world, that we'll be long dead and really shouldn't waste our Earthly brain cycles worrying about it?

Cheers!

I'm just sitting down to catch Basic now, violating my "never watch John Travolta" rule, but overshadowed by my "Harry Connick Jr. is awesome in movies" rule. Fight to the death, who will win? PLACE YOUR BETS....

 
 
 
 

BETTING ENDS!

Crap. I was just reminded I'm missing Gnomedex. How I long for the days when money will be no object.

Happy birthday, Chris!

Kim has an interesting post up on her site about a letter that was recently delivered to a small town in Quebec after being sent December 19, 1901.

It got me wondering - has anyone ever partaken in the sending of bottled messages, or tied their name and address to a balloon and let it go, in hopes of one day hearing back? When I was a lot younger that was always a cool thing for us to do. We'd put our phone numbers and addresses in a bottle and set it loose down the Humber River, and we never heard back. It's something I'll probably do if I get on another cruise - set my e-mail address loose in the Caribbean and see who picks it up.

Just wondering if anyone has tried it, and if so, any success?

Cheers!

Heads up - Future Shop is offering all their DVDs at 10% off until closing on Sunday. This includes online purchases, and don't forget, everything is shipped FREE from Future Shop too! I've ordered single CDs from them before and had them shipped at no cost, pretty cool.

Also, if you're not already familiar with Goldfishlegs it's probably time you were.

Cheers!

Jesus Loves Me!

I just noticed that NBC is broadcasting back to back episodes of Dog Eat Dog tonight! Preceded by a special rebroadcast of The Restaurant!

Expect lots of TV-related posts today, I've been saving up. ;) Man, will 9PM never get here...

Cheers!

I'm watching the first of many DVDs sitting before me - Phone Booth. I actually saw this in the theatre and enjoyed it, so I've skipped right to viewing it with the audio commentary. I'm pretty much a skank for anything Kiefer Sutherland does since 24 came out. Except Flatliners, that still sucks. And The Lost Boys. Good Kiefer just can't compete with the evil of both Coreys.

Still in front of me:

Daredevil (advance copy!)
Basic
24, Season 1

And Craig has The Family Guy, Season 2 if I want to hork that. Which I might.

Cheers!

Liza Minelli, husband call it quits

Do you know what this means??!!!! Countless more episodes of The Holmes Show Liza impersonation. I can't handle that. Not at all. And it's not like I can just "not watch it", because you know CTV is just going to play the same unfunny crap commercial every four minutes for A LONG LONG LONG TIME.

Hrmph.

I just finished getting the XML version of the site ready, so you can now read this site remotely from your wireless device, or you can use a news feed reader to keep up to date without having to actually visit. You'll find the link button at the bottom of the navigation bar.

Comment template is also up for now, so get postin'!

And Cliff, drive up to Bolton for Treatzza Pizza. :)

Cheers!

As noted, most links aren't working yet. For today, it's basically going to be blogging and Zonking. Even the Comment template isn't finished as I submit this post. But what the heck, it's about time we got to look at something white instead of, you know, rainbowy. ;)

The meaning behind Over Anything shall occur a bit later on, after I've had a chance to settle into a posting groove here. Right about now it's still feeling like work.. hehe..

Cheers!

Yes, it's 1PM and this is the first entry - for those viewing this well after the actual Blogathon, the pre-9AM entries were found at www.rickjessup.com due to a rather fun set of coincidences I won't go into now.

Regardless, the fun begins now! Welcome to ... Over Anything, my new Weblog and, eventually, information resource for things of interest to me (and hopefully you!)

Cheers!