This Had Better Be The Best Internet Ever

So, here I am on the ship ms Zuiderdam and I'm paying $0.75 per minute to use the internet. So, lets make it quick.

Merry Christmas from the snowy Caribbean. Santa made a visit to the ship, and he had dreadlocks and sang reggae. Today, it was mostly sunny with a high of 27 degrees and 87% relative humidity. If you care to look it up on Google Earth, as of 5:02pm our ship's coordinates are 20 degrees, 10.77 minutes north, 68 degrees, 18.12 minutes west. We're heading for St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands tomorrow. Yesterday we were at an island called Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas.

That's all for now, I hope it's started to snow back home.

Oh yeah, and there's way too many good looking girls on this boat. Both guests and crew... especially crew.

Symantec Norton Internet Security Certainly Is A Great Program!

Norton certainly is not a resource hog, and it doesn't keep my computer occupied for 5 minutes each time I boot up my machine. It doesn't mess up the images while browsing in Firefox and I just love the seemingly random full system scans it run with no way to stop. Oh yeah, and the constant blocking of "intrusion attempts" certainly aren't annoying.

How's that for sarcasm?

Speaking of the endless "intrusion attempts", I think my most favourite one ever occurred just now. I circled the site that Symantec thought was trying to intrude onto my computer...

Tall and Thin... Just How I Like Them

I got my new monitor from Dell today. 20" widescreen...

oh yeah... and 20" tallscreen.

Speaking of Roundabouts

On Saturday night, on my way to my office Christmas party in Cambridge, I had the opportunity to drive through the new roundabout at Fountain Street and Blair Road in Cambridge. Funny, I don't remember much else from Saturday night... but I digress. It's a great roundabout to drive in if you're a novice, because it's a single-lane roundabout so you won't have to worry about what lane you're in. Anyway, one of the nice feature of a roundabout is that you can do something with the space in the middle whether it be landscaping or, in this case, some sort of artistic feature. On The Record's website there is currently a poll on which of three choices you like or if you don't want anything at all. There's been a bunch of negative letters in the paper recently from people who are against doing anything that would improve the look of the roundabout centre. It's my guess that these are also the people who, when they hear the word "roundabout", the first thing that comes to their mind is "opposed!". Anyway, vote if you want, or care, I just ask that you don't vote for the "no artwork" option.

New Roundabout Animation!

I just checked out the Region of Waterloo's website and found that the flash animation for roundabout has been updated and improved. Now it gives examples of what NOT to do, which is a great addition. Also, there's a video! Check it out here.

In related news, all of us here at Matt's Blog Is Stupid would like to welcome Silas Grace into the world and congratulate his new parents Dan and Faith. It's nice to know he'll grow up in a world where Roundabouts are becoming more commonplace. Hurrah!

Ever

Worst stadium Ever: Ralph Wilson Stadium
Grossest Thing Ever: Beneath the keys of a keyboard (specifically MY keyboard)
Best Thing Ever: Beef Stew

I'm gonna go... place.

Masters of Curling

I've been watching the Master's of Curling tournament over at the Waterloo Rec Centre the last two days, and I have to say it's some pretty good curling happening there. There's five games happening simultaneously, so there's always something to watch. I've decided that it's better just to concentrate on two game at once, so you can actually get into them, instead of trying to keep track of everything. I have a ticket for the rest of the days. So far, I've been going by myself, which makes it a bit boring at times. I have a ticket for each of the days left, but unfortunately I can't make the final game on Sunday, as I have to go see an NFL game in Buffalo... bummer. So, I'm offering up my Sunday ticket FREE OF CHARGE to whoever wants it. It's general admission, so you can sit anywhere in the arena, except the ends.

Here's a picture of the players being led in by the Fergus pipe band before the opening game.


Here's a video I took tonight. Kevin Martin and Jean-Michel Ménard went to extra end and this is the final shot where Martin make a tricky take-out for the win.

I Guess I'm Out Of The Family

Well, that's a 0 and 6 start for the good old curling team. Things are not going well. It's most likely because we're one of the only teams that only play once a week. Most of the other teams play on wednesdays too, I think, wednesdays being the main "Men's League".

Wednesday... the longer I look at that word, the weirder it gets. It doesn't look like what it looks like. Anyway...

We get three weeks off to think about what we've done. The curling club is shutting down for a bonspeil this week and the Grand Slam next week. The week after is our bye week (which, happily, counts as an automatic win).

Speaking of the Grand Slam, it's happening next week. I'm going to each of the evening draws, and probably most of the afternoon draws. Check out the website for draw times. It'll cost $16 for a one day ticket. Don't order over the phone as it'll cost an additional $5... just buy at the door. Maybe see you there? It's probably the next best thing to seeing the Briar itself (which is in Hamilton this year, BTW).

Who Are These Guys Again?

Don't forget to vote today, dorks.

And vote for whoever likes roundabouts. Because I know about how it's such a hot button issue.

hehehe... dorks.

So, You People Like Tea, Huh?

I write a post about tea and I get the most replies in a good long while. You people sure know what you like.

Moving on... As I mentioned very breifly in a previous post, curling has started again. Not good so far... not good at all. Officially, we're now 0 for 4. If you count the first week exhibition game, we're 0 for 5. The worst part is that we aren't playing all that poorly. In our game two weeks ago, I was on fire personally. I'm pretty sure I must have curled around 75% (which is pretty good for a once-a-weeker like myself), but we caught a lot of bad breaks (like the opposing team's rock picking at the last second to go right in behind cover, negating 3 possible points for us.

Speaking of curling though, during the last week of November (starting the 29th), the World Curing Tour's Grand Slam of Curling is coming to Waterloo... right across the street from me in the Waterloo Rec Centre! I bought myself a 5-day General Admission pass and plan to go to most of the games. You can buy single game tickets at the door, so if you want to watch some curling with me, I'll be looking for people to go with. C'mon... it'll be fun.

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

It's a dangerous thing. You know... Getting bored in the grocery store, it's a dangerous thing. Before, it's resulted in ill-advised purchases of Lucky Charms, unneccessary Doritos, and Smooth-eez. This week, the feeling hit me in the cereal, coffee, and tea aisle. Luckily for me, there were no cereals giving away free computer games this week, and as I hate coffee, my attention turned to the tea. Now, I've tried specialty teas before, and not enjoyed them too much... I really like my regular old Orange Pekoe black tea. But I was feeling bored, and only a splurge purchase would satisfy that boredom. So, I picked up a product whose name I've heard on numerous episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation... That's right, Captain Picard's favourite, Earl Grey Tea. Not knowing exactly what was in it, I read the lable first and it turned out to be just normal tea with a little extra somethingsomething. The verdict... not too bad. Pretty good actually. It won't displace regular tea as my favourite, but it was good nonetheless. Hurray!

Science Rules!, Parking Tickets, and Curling

I went this past weekend to Toronto with my old housemates from school. We went to the Ontario Science Centre. I haden't been there in a really long time, but really, not much has changed there. Of course, that means that the Science Centre is awesome! I got to drive some sort of hovercraft space thing, throw some fastballs, and eat a slice of pizza. The only two bad things about the visit were that the Space area was closed down, and we were a few days early for their new Marvel Superheros exhibit.

On the downside of the weekend, I got a parking ticket. Stupid Toronto Parking Enforcement. They're a little trigger-happy, if you ask me.

Oh yes, and this year's curling season has commenced. Last night was our second game, and we lost for the second time. It's not looking good so far. But on the excuse side, we were missing our skip due to a back injury. Curling's a harsh sport.

Money Making Opprotunity

Here we go again! I'm looking for two people to do a follow up study for the Uptown Waterloo Parking project. It's not as bad as last time, believe me. This time, you'll be in pairs and in cars driving around surveying instead of walking. The study will be happening from 8am until 8pm on Thursday, October 19... That's this Thursday for those without a calendar. Email me at mbrouwer@ptsl.com if interested. $15 per hour.

Hockey Stuff

So, the Leafs lost last night. No real surprise there, but the Leafs did have a nice start where Gerber made a few beauty saves. But a loss is a loss, and the Leafs always lose to the Senators*.

I read a disturbing article today about how the CBC's contract with the NHL is up after this year and that CTV/TSN is expected to get a 10 year deal to broadcast Hockey Night In Canada. I can't even imagine how awful it will be to have those tools on "NHL on TSN" doing HNIC. I like Dave Hodge, Bob Mackenzie, and even Pierre McGuire (if he wasn't the colour commentator), but I can't stand Darren Dreger and Tie Domi. I know, those guys are the new ones, but they made a show I hated last year even worse. I really can't put my finger on what it is about that show that I've never liked, but I've never liked it. It's too bad that Sportsnet really cut back on Hockeycentral, because I liked that show.

And in other news, it looks like the guy who owns the Waterloo company RIM bought the Penguins. The craziest rumour I heard connected with that is if he can't get a new arena in Pittsburg he'll move the team to Canada... most likely Hamilton. But if Hamilton falls through, he'll just bring 'em to Kitchener-Waterloo. That's freakin' nuts! I, for one, welcome our new Penguin overlords. I say build a new huge arena on that Centre Block in downtown Kitchener. The Waterloo Penguins... heh, it'll never happen, but man it's fun to think about.

* - In the regular season only

Just Your Run-Of-The-Mill Wednesday Post

I realize that I have to break up these work-related groveling for temp staff with a real post. So here goes.

I love my PVR. It's the handiest piece of technology ever. Although, sometimes it acts up. Take this Monday for example. I've gotten into the habit of recording everything I want to watch and then watching it later. I hardly ever watch anything when it's actually on anymore. But anyway, back to Monday. I've been watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (best new show this year, IMO), and therefore, have the PVR set up to record it. But for some reason, it never recorded. I don't know why... but once in a while it does that. Prison Break recorded and it's on right before it. So either the PVR mysteriously screwed up, or Rogers changed the title on the on-screen guide, which would cause the PVR to think it's a different show and not record it. Anyway, long story short, I downloaded the episode and got to see it anyway.

That brings me to my next point... well over a year ago, I noticed that downloads with BitTorrent were really slow on my Rogers internet. Consensus on the message boards were that Rogers was intentionally throttling down the speeds which made BT pretty much useless. But over the last few weeks I've noticed an increase in speeds again. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything and left well enough alone... now Rogers will slow it down again. Sigh...

Speaking of computers, I recently reinstalled Civilization 3 on my machine. I had forgot how ridiculously addictive and time-consuming that game is. I only wish I had a better computer so I could run Civ 4. The Civilization games are right up there in my top three favourite computer games ever... along with Sim City and Pirates.

Tonight... hockey's back and so is Lost. If only we could get the hockey game to take a break from 9 until 10, I'd be set. Oh well, there's always the PVR...

Third Time = Officially Selling Out

Hey! Have you heard this one before? Who wants to make some money?

We have yet another short-notice count to do. This one is a solo effort though. We require one person to count the ins and outs at a bank in Kitchener (Forest Glen Plaza on Greenbrook Drive between Fischer-Hallman and Westmount). We need someone to count for 3 hour (3:00pm - 6:00pm) tomorrow (October 3).

Interested? Email: mbrouwer@ptsl.com

PS - Yes, I am getting pretty disgusted with having to soil my blog like this so much lately. Work sucks, what are ya gonna do?

Another Opprotunity To Make Some Money

Alright, my company needs some more people who want earn $15 an hour. This is different than the last one... it's a traffic count.

The job entails counting either the entrance (ins and outs) of one of two sites (either Cambridge Bingo on Elgin St or Krug Street Shopping Centre on... well, Krug Street) or one of three intersections (near Krug St Centre).

The hours would be 4pm - 9pm on Friday and 11am - 3pm on Saturday. That's this Friday and Saturday.

Email me at mbrouwer@ptsl.com if you're interested asap.

Update (10:15am Thurs) - We're full up for Saturday, but still need people for Friday. Email me if interested.

Update 2 (Thurs @ 3:50pm) - Applications are now closed. Thanks for your interest.

Maple Leafs' 06-07 Schedule (or... "Do You Think Doing It More Makes It More Special... Or Less Special?")

Every season I like to put the Leafs' TV schedule in an easy to print format in a spreadsheet to put on the wall beside my desk for easy reference (click here to download the .pdf... it's quite good). Nothing too much different this year when compared to last year. 28 games on CBC, 27 on TSN, 15 on Sportsnet, and 12 on LeafsTV. There's no olympic break this year, so it's not as busy at the end, and it ends a couple weeks earlier.

However, something struck me as odd. 7 of the 8 game that Toronto plays against Montreal are on Saturday night... Hockey Night in Canada. Am I the only one who thinks that the CBC is really overdoing the whole "it's a special night because it's the old-time rivals meeting up on Saturday night on HNIC" thing? When it was a handful of games a season, I agree, it was a little bit special. But I think it's just a bit of overkill. Last season, 6 of the 8 games were Saturday. Granted, they play a bunch more games against each other now than they did before the lockout, so maybe that has a hand in it. I don't know, maybe I'm being overly sensitive. Sensitive to what, I don't know.

Anyway, predictions for this season... 11th in the East. That's right, I went there.

Trebuchet III - Long Distance Food Wasting

This past weekend, Dan, Rudy, Pat, Tim, Marc and I went back to tinker with our trebuchet and have a poker game. Just to get the formality out of the way, I won the poker game... my first this season. I'm back on top, baby! Anyway, with Tim and I both having our cameras, we expect to have some good angles of our shots. We just haven't gotten our stuff together yet... but soon! In the meantime, here are some of the raw video footage from this past weekend.

The first video on display is one of our first shots on Sunday: A canteloupe that flew 300 feet.


The second video is of a cabbage that flew 302 feet. "Nicely Done"!


This last shot is my favourite. I got up close and personal with this pumpkin that was fired about 230 feet.


Once we get our videos together and through some sort of editing, I'll post those. Hurray for YouTube!

And To Close Out The Month...

Time to finish off August with a bang. Guess where I'll be going tomorrow and Thursday. Here's a hint



That, of course, is the Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. I haven't been to CP in about 7 years, so I'm looking forward to riding the Top Thrill Dragster and the Millenium Force for the first time ever. I'm leaving early tomorrow morning with Joel, Marty, and Pam and coming back late Thursday night. This'll also be the first time I've spent 2 whole days at a park. Sweet.

In other news, we could still use some bodies for our parking study next Thursday and Saturday. So, if you want to, send me an email at mbrouwer(at)ptsl.com.

Oh, and how do you like my new addition to the right?

Does Anyone Need Some Money?

At work, we have a job that requires some temporary staffing. If you or someone you know needs or wants some extra money and is available to be in Waterloo on Thursday, September 7 or Saturday, September 9 (or both), let me know by emailing my work address...

mbrouwer(at)ptsl.com

What the job entails is counting the number of vehicles parked in Uptown Waterloo. It'll be an all-day job, and it'll require a lot of walking. We'll be surveying from 8am until 8pm (there'll be breaks though). Our rate of pay is $15 per hour.

If you're interested or want more information email me at

mbrouwer(at)ptsl.com (of course, replace the (at) with an @)

Why Won't You Die?

So, with the Trebuchet/Poker weekend coming up, I thought I'd prepare my digital camera by making sure I have enough battery power. So, I'm trying to drain the set of batteries that are in the camera now so I can recharge them... the problem is they just won't die! I've been taking pictures and videos and more videos but they're still going strong.

By the way, does anyone know if you actually have to have dead NiMH AA batteries before you can properly recharge them, or can you just pop them in the recharger whenever and not worry about them losing overall life?

Baltimore Weekend

Adventure 2 of August 2006 was a trip to Baltimore with Jim (aka my boss), his brother Mark (aka the skip of my curling team), and his buddy Tim. See the plan was to go catch a baseball game while the Blue Jays were in town. Well, we held up our end of the bargain by driving 11 hours on Friday, but unfortunately the Jays didn't and apparently forgot to show up. They lost 15-0. It was bad... real bad. It was 7-0 after the first, so the rest of the game really didn't matter. But visiting Baltimore was cool. It was nicer than I thought, but we only stayed in and around the harbour area of downtown, which was nicely revitalized.

Another good thing to come out of the trip is that, now counting Maryland, I have visited 20 states in total.

I Call It: Midnight At Matt's

Here's the view of Westmount and Erb from my balcony at 11:51pm. I think it turned out pretty good.

I've Been Vacationing In Far-Off Lands

I'm back from a one week life hiatus. I had a good week of notworking, but now I'm back at it. Highlights of the past week included:

• Wining the lottery - Those instant scratch cards I get every year finally paid off. $35 baby!
• Notworking - Did I mention notworking?
• Dentist and Optometrist - On the downside, both these things cost me money now since I have no health insurance... but on the upside, my teeth are wonderful and I'm getting a new pair of glasses. Stylin'!
• Birthday presents - New DS games and stuff for my new bed that I recently bought. New bed? That's right ladies... new bed.
• The Beach - Oh yeah... the beach. It seems that I actually got something that resembles a tan for the first time since being in university. It's not much, but I'll take it.

And so, now I'm back to my normal routine... writing a blog entry when I should be working. Shame on me.

It's Annual "Don't Work For A Week" Week

With the approaching of the August long weekend, so too approaches my annual summer vacation. What will you all do for a whole week without me posting stuff? What do you mean, "it doesn't matter"? What do you mean that my posting frequency has been lacking as of late? Hmmm... I suppose you have a point there.

Emissions Testing? No Thanks!

So, with the anniversay of my birthday fast approaching, the annual hassel of renewing my licence plates must be done. This being 2006 (an even year), I knew I had to get my Jeep e-tested (being an odd year, 2003). Now I've been putting this off for weeks now, until this morning when I realized there wasn't much time left to get it done. So, I frantically pull out my renewal paperwork and planned to get an appointment to get in for a test so I could renew before next Wednesday. Then I actually read the information sheet that comes with your licence renewal application, and lo-and-behold, the regulations for e-tests have been changed. Now you don't have to get tested until your vehicle is 5 years old. And so I checked on my fingers... 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006... yep, my car is only 3 years old. Sweet deal! No e-test for me, thanks. Not that I was worried. It's a good thing they don't test for fuel efficiency though.

I Got A New Low-Flow Toilet, And I'm Feelin' Fine

So, I came back Sunday night from a weekend away to find my bathroom with a very wet floor. It seems that water was dripping from the tank of my toilet. Today, someone finally got around to looking at it, and it was determined that a crack had formed and I would need a new one. Luckily the building plumber had a new toilet on hand and was able to install it. An not only is it a new toilet... it's a new low-flow toilet. Firstly, it's tank is a bit smaller, and secondly, it only uses half that tank each flush. The beauty is that if I'm having a shall we say, "high-flow" day, then all I have to do is hold down the handle to use the rest of the tank. Brilliant!

The drawback is now my bathroom smells like a sewer. I guess it's time to get out the Pinesol.

Peca in Toronto?

So, a day after Lindros leaving to go to Dallas, the word on the street is that Michael Peca has signed a deal with the Leafs to play next season. That's good and all... he's a good player. I'm just interested in seeing him on the same team with Tucker. That is all.

Molson Ind... er, Grand Prix of Toronto... From Home This Year

On now! The race formerly known as the Molson Indy, The Molson Grand Prix of Toronto, is on TV now. Unfortunatly, I'm watching from home this year, so it's a different point of view, but it's still one of the best races.

Ok, So Predicting Stuff Just Isn't My Thing...

Alright, yet another post on the world cup. It's not so much that the world cup is the only thing on my mind lately... it's more that there's nothing else going on right now that's post-worthy. But in the interest of keeping the dust off my blog, here goes.

So, the two teams in the final are France and Italy... both teams I predicted to lose in the round of 16. France have improved immensely since their lack-lustre round robin, taking the tough road of beating Spain, Brazil (that was a shocker), and Portugal (thank God!) to get to the final. Italy, on the other hand, only survived thanks to a bogus penalty in the last few seconds of stoppage time in the second half against Australia. But that's how the tournament goes, and so by beating Australia, Ukraine, and Germany, Italy are in the final as well. The Italians road to the final was easier, save the upset win over Germany, who were my picks after Holland went out after an ugly game against Portugal.

So, I suppose even though there aren't any teams I really like in the final, I can just be thankful that it isn't an Italy-Portugal final. I think I would have killed myself if it was that. Anyone else notice how there were more Italian and Portugese flags flying around town than German, in this supposedly German immigrant city? I don't think there are more Portugese in K-W, but they sure are more "in-your-face" about their heritage than others.

Anyway, I pick France to win, but it'll be a low scoring 1-0 game, or even a penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw. In the meantime, I'll try to think of something else to talk about. Maybe about horses... named Ned and Ted.

Italian Soccer Training

Here's a video I came across of an Italian National Soccer Team practice.

Just file it under "funny because it's true".

Now with fixed-link goodness!

12 out of 16 isn't bad...

So, the round robin is over, and the round of 16 begins tomorrow. I successfully picked 12 of the 16 teams that went through. In Group A, Equador went through instead of Poland, in Group H, Ukraine (is STRONG!) went through instead of Tunesia, and I got E completely wrong as Italy and Ghana finished ahead of the Czechs and USA. So, here are my picks for the next round.

Germany vs. Equador - Germany wins. The home field advantage is just too much.

Argentina vs. Mexico - As much as I hate to pick them, Argentina is too impressive so far... They win handily.

England vs. Equador - I pick England, but they aren't looking great so far this tournament. But they should have enough to beat Equador.

Portugal vs. The Netherlands - Are you kidding? Portugal is a mere speed hump on Holland's path. Although, in seriousness, it'll be a good game since they're both strong teams.

Italy vs. Australia - I want nothing more (beside the Netherlands winning it all) than for Australia to win this one. I pick the Socceroos.

Switzerland vs. Ukraine - The Ukraine is not weak... The Ukraine is STRONG! (Hey! The same joke twice in one post... I'm getting my money's worth) However, kudos to the Swiss for finishing atop their group over France. The Swiss move on.

Brazil vs. Ghana - I think the African teams are the most entertaining to watch. However, the last remaining African team faces the defending champions, and Brazil should advance. Now, I'm off to locate Ghana on a map.... Hey! There it is, right between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo... That region had a lot of teams.

Spain vs. France - This could be the match to look forward to, but France certainly hasn't impressed. They certainly have the talent to win, but I'm going with Spain for this one.

It Begins...

About 5 minutes until the kickoff of the first game at the World Cup in Germany. To start with, the host country Germany will play Costa Rica. Holy crap, what a great tournament this will be. Personally, I've entered three pools: Two office pools and one online pool. Here's how the standings will pan out for each group (the first two teams advance from each group)... and you can take it to the bank.

Group A
Germany
Poland
Costa Rica
Ecuador

Group B
England
Sweden
Trinidad and Tobago
Paraguay

Group C
Netherlands
Argentina
Servia and Montenegro
Cote d'Ivoire

Group D
Mexico
Portugal
Angola
Iran

Group E
Czech Republic
USA
Italy
Ghana

Group F
Brazil
Australia
Croatia
Japan

Group G
France
Switzerland
Korea Republic
Togo

Group H
Spain
Tunisia
Saudi Arabia
Ukriane

That's right, I picked the USA to advance over Italy. You can't go with all the favourites, or you'll never win a pool. What are ya gonna do about it?

Anyway, the tournament ends on July 9th, with Holland defeating Brazil. Again... take it to the bank.

edit
Oh, and by the way, I've been watching the first 15 minutes of this first game and all I gotta say is that all the games in HD are going to be GREAT!

How About A Picture To Pass The Time?

I decided that after it rained yesterday, it was a good opprotunity to take a nice panoramic shot off my balcony. Here are the results.

Oilers Fans

Did you catch Game 3 of the Oilers vs. Ducks series on Tuesday night. What a fantastic game! Or, more accuately, what a third period! Eight goals, and a monstrous near-comeback by Anaheim. Crazy.

But actually this caught my attention... Before the game, the crowd was sing the national anthem so loudly, the singer actually stopped and held up the microphone and let the crowd finish the job. It was just amazing. I always thought that would be a great idea... a perfect way to really get the home crowd into it even more. There's a video of it posted on the web here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meLpuF9UMvk. Those are quite the fans over there in Edmonton. Being a Leafs fan, I think we're pretty good, but I could never imagine the suits in the Air Canada Centre ever doing something like this. Good for Edmonton... I hope they win the cup.

>: PRINT LOG? Y/N

"Hey! All I have to type is Y.
Hey, Miss Doesn't-find-me-attractive-sexually-anymore: I just tripled my productivity!"

Not that I'm rating every episode and ranking them, but last night's episode of Lost was one of the best. A new Dharma station... Pneumatic tubes... More intrigue!

There has been something bugging me lately though. It seems that the characters are way too complacent with their situation. I know some people don't want off the island (ala Rose and Bernard), but it seems everyone just doesn't seem interested in discovering what the crap is going on around them. Like when Kate found the medical station and didn't mention it, Locke seeing the map that he didn't tell anyone about... and now there are these pneumatic tubes which, according to the video, "goes directly to us". Shouldn't they be all over this stuff? Either they don't care anymore, or they don't trust each other for some reason... maybe they think they're in a treasure hunt, and sharing information will cost them the prize.

And another thing... the video mentioned a ferry... A FREAKIN' FERRY! And most likely Locke and Eko will keep the info to themselves or block it from their memory and they'll go back to sitting on the beach or livin' it up in the hatch. Seriously, if I was there, I'd be searching for all kinds of tunnels and sources of power. It'd be sweeter than exploring the tunnels at UW.

Anyway, at least the show looks really sweet on my new TV.

A Wii Revolution

So, Nintendo has officially named their next console, which had been using the codename "Revolution". The new name is, wait for it... "Wii" (pronounced "we"). Seriously? Wii? I had thought since it had been referred to as "Revolution" for so long, that the name would stick. I kinda liked "Revolution", but "Wii"? I just can't imagine saying things like, "I'm going to play some Wii", or "Want to have a game on my Wii". Just something not right about that. Oh well, I'll still buy it.

Move Along... Nothing To See Here

I love my new TV.

Maybe I'm Being Told Something

You may remember this post from a couple months ago announcing that I had bought myself a new 50" DLP rear-projection HDTV. After all that fanfare and excitement, it sure is weird that nothing has been said about it since. Well, as most of you know by now, I had some problems with the TV and to make a really long a bitter story short, I ended up returning it to Futuresh**.

Of course, I still wanted a TV, but I took a step back to evaluated just the type I wanted. After going around to local electronic stores after my ordeal, I found a general low opinion of DLP technology, which convinced by to go another route. Then Dave got his plasma, and it all started to come together for me. Plasma was the way to go. Of course, these sleek sets are a bit more expensive than the DLPs, so to stay in the same price range I'd have to get a smaller size, or to stay with the same size, I'd have to add a considerable amount of money to the budget.

After consulting the latest Consumer Reports for plasmas and noticing a sale, I decided to go with the 42" plasma HDTV from Dell.

So, after ordering it on Wednesday, April 12 I was sent a confirmation email indicating the approximate delivery date to be Thursday, April 20. A few days went by, and checking the order status on Dell's website, I saw the date had been pushed back to Friday, April 21. No big deal. So, on Friday I was quite excited, however no TV came. The Dell site still says Friday as the delivery date, and the delivery company's site (Canadian Freightways) doesn't recognize the tracking number. So, I might get a TV tomorrow... I might not... I have no idea. I'm a little frustrated with this whole ordeal, going back to the Futuresh** incident. Sometimes I wonder why things don't just go as planned. Maybe I'm being told something along the lines of "you shouldn't be buying a TV", and the Dell will break down 4 days after owning it. I know, I know... there are worse things in the world to be frustrated with, so I'll just stop now that I've sufficiently vented. Well, if it eventually works out, you can come over and watch some quality HD programming like 24 or Lost.

UPDATE - I was just surfing the web, checking out my Air Miles balance. I noticed that if I had clicked on a link from the Air Miles site to buy my Dell TV, I could have had upwards of 147 Air Miles. So yeah, I'm totally kicking myself now. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Update 2 - Oh, I'm definately being told something. Something along the lines of "bend over".

Curling Champions

Tonight was the championship game for the B Division for our Thursday Night Curling League. We were able to ride our recent wave of success and win the game and the title. However, like the past 2 games, it wasn't easy.

We started off great... after conceding a point in the first, we went on a tear scoring 7 point in the next four ends. Up 7-1, we decided to play a defensive, take-out style game. That turned out to be folly. We weren't as good with our takeouts as we were with our draws, and we ended up letting them score two 3 point ends in a row... tying the game up heading into the last end. Luckily we got it back just in time to score one point to win the game.

What is the trophy one gets for being on the B Division Championship team? A 750mL bottle of Jamaican Rum, that's what! Boo-yeah!

Census Records 92 Years Later

I got an interesting e-mail from my friend Laurie, who works for the County of Lambton as an historian, about the census coming up next month. Apparently, census records are kept confidential for 92 year, then are made public record for uses like historical research and geneology. This year, you'll be required to give consent for the release of your information in 2098. The following is a message sent to increase awareness about the issue.

The next National Census of Canada is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 16 May 2006. For the first time in the 340 years Censuses have been conducted in the territory that was destined to become Canada, respondents will be asked to provide consent for the release of information they provide, 92 years after collection. Until now, no such consent was required. The question that will appear on the Census questionnaire is as follows:

The following question is for all persons who usually live here including those less than 15 years old.

If you are answering on behalf of other people, please consult each person.

53. The Statistics Act guarantees the confidentiality of your census information. Only if you mark "YES" to this question will your personal information be made public, 92 years after the 2006 Census. If you mark "NO" or leave the answer blank, your personal information will never be made publicly available.

Does this person agree to make his/her 2006 Census information available for public release in 2098 (92 years after the census)?

_ Yes _ No

Inclusion of this 'informed consent' provision in Censuses to be conducted from 2006 was the price forced upon genealogists and historians seeking to regain public access to Historic Census records to which existing legislation already stated we were entitled. We had been advised that unless this provision was accepted the government would not present the Bill (S-18) to end our seven-year campaign to regain public access Historic Census records in accordance with provisions of the Access to Information and Privacy Acts.

In my post of 18 March 2006 I copied my letter to the Chief Statistician of Canada and his response advising what steps would be taken by StatCan and LAC to encourage a positive response to the 'informed consent' question on the upcoming Census. The fact is that we cannot depend entirely on these government sources to spread the word regarding the need for EVERYONE to answer YES to this question. It is time now to start spreading the word ourselves about this question.

Our goal is a 100 percent YES response to the 'informed consent' clause on the upcoming Census. Realistically speaking it is likely a goal that we cannot achieve. However, with some effort we can hopefully achieve something close to it. The question that arises is 'how'?

Start now by advising friends, relatives and neighbours to answer YES to the 'informed consent' question. Ask them to help pass the word along by likewise advising their friends, relatives and neighbours. Advise them that if this question is not answered YES, or is left unanswered, their descendants will be unable to find information on them in Census records in 2098 (92 years in the future). For all intents and purposes, so far as the Census is concerned, they will not have existed. If significant numbers of respondents answer negatively, or do not answer this question at all, it will destroy the completeness of the records, and thus their value to genealogical or historical researchers will be forever destroyed.

Genealogical and historical societies can publicize the need to respond YES in their various publications. They can advise their membership at their regular meetings. One might think that all genealogists are aware of the value of Census in developing their family trees. You might think that after a seven year campaign to regain public access to Historic Census records they would be aware that starting with the 2006 Census on 16 May, they must respond positively to an 'informed consent' question to earn their place in the history of the future. Sadly, from correspondence I receive, it is obvious that many of those who use Census in their research today are not aware of this. It is therefore up to us to advise them.

Genealogists and historians can be expected to be more aware of the need to answer YES to the 'informed consent' question than are the general public. In fact, the general public's knowledge of the issue is probably non-existent. They must be made aware. This can be done by word-of-mouth, by writing letters to editors of newspapers and by calling radio talk shows.

There are many ways to educate the public, and I mention here only a few.

The important thing is that we all do our part to 'spread the word'. If you think of other ways to get the news out please respond to me directly.

On Census Day 16 May 2006, make sure you answer YES to allow your information to be made available to your descendants in 2098. Make sure everyone you know does as well.

Enjoy the Census!

Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net
Co-chair, Canada Census Committee
Port Coquitlam, British Columbia
Read my column, 'Gordon Watts Reports' at
http://globalgenealogy.com/globalgazette/authors/authgw.htm

Permission to forward without notice is granted.

Yeah, so I'm not gonna tell you what to do... you have to do what you want to do. I just figured that I'd spread some information.

Win And You're In...

So, tonight was semi-final night at curling. After winning last week against the 5th place team in an extra end, we played the 1st place team this week to determine who goes on to next week's final. We've played these guys twice this season, and twice we had lost. So I guess you could say we were underdogs. On top of that, we were missing our regular lead, as he somehow thought going to Cuba was more important than semi-final curling. For shame! Anyway, it was a good close match, back and forth. After scoring 2 in the first, we gave up 3 and then let them steal 1. We got 1 back and then took the lead by stealing 2 of our own in the fifth end. We stole another in the sixth, but then they tied it up by scoring 2 in the seventh. We were able to hang on for 1 point in the final end for the win.

In case you skimmed over that last paragraph and are now here, let me say again... WE WON! We're heading to the B division finals next week at a special 6:00 game on Wednesday. Thank goodness for my PVR, so I won't be missing Lost.

Yeah, it was stupid, sure.

I love my April Fool's Day. However, I got a bit lazy this year and didn't actually decide to do something until about 11:45pm last night. I'm sorry. I promise to do better next year. For those that missed it, I saved the comments, and here's a screenshot...

Matt's Blog Is Great! at least it was...

I don't know where all these rumours started that my blog was stupid. But things obviously got out of control. I put my life's work into this, for only a nominal charge, and this is the thanks I get? I was a freakin' cultural icon! But you people just couldn't see that could ya? So, I'm putting a stop to it once and for all. This blog is done. Screw all y'all.

The Second Season

Last night was our first playoff game this season. We ended up tied for 3rd in the B Division, however due to tiebreakers, we were seeded 4th. So, we ended up playing the 5th place team. In theory, this shouldn't be that bad, because we've beaten the 5th place team 3 out of 3 times this season. The game didn't start off that great, as they were able to score 1 point in the first end and then steal 2 in the 2nd, to lead 3-0 after 2 ends. However, we got on our game and scored a huge 4 point end in the third, followed by a steal of 2 in the 4th. We were comfortably in the lead 6-3 halfway through the game. At this point, we should have played the rest of the game defensively and not allowed them a chance to get back in the game. We've blown big leads many times this season... and last night was no different. We narrowly avoided being scored 4 against in the 5th end, thanks to a missed shot by the opposing skip, but they still scored 2 to narrow the gap to 6-5. The next two ends just spelled disaster, as they were able to steal one point in both the 6th and 7th, to lead 7-6 heading into the last end. In the last end with the hammer, we were only able to manage 1 point, which sent us into extra ends. It, of course, came down to the last rocks. Our skip making a perfect draw to the 8 foot behind cover, and the last rock of the end was a missed takeout by the opposing skip, which gave us the 8-7 extra end victory.

So, we move onto the semi-finals. We play the first place team, which had a bye this week so hopefully they're a bit rusty. It could be the last week if we lose. If we win, we play on a special Wednesday night for the B Division championship.

Exciting times we live in.

I Have A New Lease On Life!

Well, that title might be overstating things a wee bit, but I'm still pretty excited... I just bought a new game for my Nintendo DS. Wait for it.... it's Tetris! That's right a brand new version of Tetris made for the DS. It's got the same old version that made it great in the first place, plus about 5 other variations. On top of that, you can play online. So, my suggestion to you is to get a DS and challenge me to a game. We're goin' to school...

My Weekend

There's one thing I've been lucky enough to avoid for the last, oh I don't know... 8 or so years. That thing is sickness. Not "I've got a cold and my throat hurts" sickness or kidney stones, which I don't really classify as sickness, but hard-core not keeping anything down... or up (if you know what I mean). And that's what I discovered I had at 4:30am Saturday morning. It made my entire weekend a writeoff, and it was quite the bad weekend to have that happen. Saturday was an office get together, which consisted of Bowling and Pizza, and Sunday was the 2nd TPTP event of 2006 (Dan was the big weiner, so I hear). This evening, I seem to be enough on the mend to envision myself getting up for work tomorrow. I suppose that's how it goes... get sick from the very beginning of the weekend until the very end. I've never even taken a sick day from work in the 2 and a half years I've been here.

Anyway, I was able to keep myself entertained this weekend (for the part I could keep my eyes open anyway) with the movie version of the musical "Rent" and with the Leafs game on Saturday night (although I fell asleep during the first period and didn't wake up until halfway through the second period of the next game). It's times like this that make me really wish I had a wife-type person... you know, just so I'd have someone around to listen to my incessant whining.

Useful fact of the day: Water tastes a lot like toothpaste if you drink it right after puking. Go figure.

The Three Words... Of Doom

So, according to some, I use three words too much.

1. Totally
2. Seriously
3. Absolutely

Look at that, they all end with "ly". I wonder what that means. Anyway, I'm not really that bad, am I?

Hey Matt, Do You Like Curling Or Something?

Last night I took a trip down the 401 to London to see the Scott Tournament of Hearts at the John Labatt Centre. I was eager to make it out to at least one draw this week, as I quite enjoyed watching The Scott three years ago when it was in Kitchener. Jessica came with me and we were treated to four games at once, which is a challenge to keep track of. The games were Alberta vs Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia vs PEI, BC vs the Territories, and New Brunswick vs Ontario. The first two matches I mentioned turned out to be blowouts and were over after 8 (out of ten) ends. In fact, PEI wasn't able to even score a point until the eigth end, losing 6-1. The TV game last night was BC vs the Territories. It was a decent game, going the full 10 ends. However, it wasn't a cliffhanger, with BC leading by 3 points going into the last end. The other match turned out to be quite the thriller, as Ontario was trailing by 2 in the last end, without the hammer, where they were able to steal 2 to send it into an extra end. The extra end finished up with two amazing shots, the first by Ontario to put their rock on the button behind lots of cover with a triple raise. The last rock of the game was a great angle raise takeout by New Brunswick to score the point and win the match. The official score says NB scored three in the extra end, which is true, but it was much closer than that suggested.

The only real disappointment of the night was when I realized halfway to London, that I forgot my camera. It's quite interesting to see a hockey arena converted to four sheets of curling ice. Oh well, next time I suppose.

Must Be Watching Too Much Olympic Curling

Here's the latest from the curling rink...

Last week we lost our first game of the third round. I didn't post about it... 'nuff said.

However, this week is post-worthy. The scoreboard looked like it belonged professional game. The other team started the game with the hammer, and for the first six ends we alternated scoring single points. They scored one, we scored one, they scored one, we scored one, they scored one, and then we scored one. At the end of six ends we were tied 3-3 and they had the hammer. We knew if we were going to have a chance at winning this one, we'd have to break the cycle. So in the seventh, we were able to steal a point to lead 4-3 with one end to go. The likelyhood of a blank end was low, so we would have to steal again to come out with a win... which we did. Final score 5-3.

Most of the games in our leagues have big scoring ends quite frequently. This game reminded me of the games I've been watching on TV this past week and a half (in low-definition, for those wondering). However both teams were playing very well last night, which is a rarity indeed.

The Canadian men are playing for gold right now. They're down 2-0 after one end. Hopefully they can pull it out.

The Mythical U of W Tunnels

So, I haven't had anything to post about recently... at least anything that wouldn't make me really really bitter, so here's a non-current event post that I've been thinking of posting for a while.

I recently found a website that was written by someone that was able to get into the underground tunnels that connect all the buildings at the University of Waterloo. Now, the existence of the tunnels was a kind of myth. Well, not all the tunnels (for example, one can get from the Math & Computer building through the Davis Centre into Engineering Buildings without having to go outside), but there were no usable tunnels to the Student Life Centre or the Villages. Legend had it that there used to be tunnels but they were sealed off years ago because of crimes that were committed during late hours, etc, etc. Well, thanks to the website, I now know what was actally there were service tunnels that carried utilities and the like.

I still wish I could have explored them while I was there. Things like this really interest me. I find things that are built for people to use, but for some reason aren't used anymore, like the tunnels. Ghost towns are another good example of what I'm talking about. I even scoped out old Boblo Island, an amusement park that I went to when I was a kid, when I was doing some traffic work down in Amherstburg, but just the old parking lot and dock. Apparently Boblo is now luxury homes and the only thing that still exists is the tower from the observation "ride". One of the best example is the Rifle Range in the basement of SCITS, my old highschool. I always regret never getting into the Rifle Range at SCITS. It was such a cool old building; there were lots of these places there.

One of these days I'm going to do some exploring.

Curling... Apparently It's Not For Dinner

So, the schedule for the third round of the curling season went up on the KW Granite Club website. It seems that, contrary to my last curling post, we didn't get the bump up the the 'A' Division. Apparently, I have no idea how the rules work. Also, I notice on the new schedule, that there are three weeks slotted in there for playoffs. So, it would seem that more than the top 2 teams in each division make the playoffs. Well, I'm not terribly disappointed with sticking around in 'B' Division... I'm getting to know some of the guys we play against, and I know we can compete against them. And while it's a rec league, and not about winning... winning makes it just that bit more fun.

My Weeks Would Start Out Fine If It Weren't For Sunday Nights

So, here I am yet again, sleepless on Sunday night. It happens every week. I always have grand ambitions to get some good sleep and then be able to wake up early for work the next day, therefore able to stop a bit earlier and therefore have more time. However, those plans are always squashed before they even get started. It's a quarter after two Monday morning, and I'm not the least bit tired. Sure, I layed wide awake in bed for a while, but that just seems to make it worse. I will now spend the rest of the week trying to get back the lost sleep because of tonight, which in turn will cause me to stay in bed for every possible moment in the mornings. This will be followed by next weekend, where I can sleep as much as I want, but the excessive sleeping in will cause me to be wide awake come next Sunday night. And the cycle continues...

Curling... It's What's For Dinner

This week was the last week of the second season (of three) of Thursday Night Curling. Our team found itself in an interesting position. If we won, we most likely would get bumped up to the 'A' Division... If we lost, we got to stay in the easier 'B' Divison. "Well that's easy," you say. "You go for the win and move up the ladder!" Not so fast there, Buckeroo. You see, at the end of the season there are two playoff games... The top two teams in each division play for their respective championship. So, if we were in the 'A' Division, we'd have virtually no shot of making the playoff. However, if we were still in the 'B' Division, we'd have an excellent shot at making the playoff. So, what do we do now, Smart Guy? "Well, you throw the game, of course. Go for the half-glory of being in the 'B' final instead of finishing in elitist obscurity." No! We go for the win! You ALWAYS GO FOR THE WIN!

And so we won. It was another funny game in which we went up by 5 points then gave back two in the second-last end, then barely survived the other team stealing 3. But it doesn't matter how we won... we won. So, now it looks like we're probably up to the 'A' Division. I say probably because there's still the outside shot that I still have no idea how the league rules work. I'll find out for sure next week, and let all of you, my passionatly rabid fans, know the word on the street.

Yippie Ya Ya, Yippie Yippie Ya

Well, last night I went to see this year's installment of the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival at the Princess Cinema (click here for my post from last year). I have to say I was disappointed with this years commercials as compared to years past. But none the less, there were a few which were chuckle worthy. The one I remembered the most was a series of four commercials done for German Home Improvement Store, Hornbach. I found them on the web, and here they are (I think they're best viewed in order, and with a highspeed connection):
- Mosquito Killer
- Paving Stones
- Power Drill
- Paint

What Have I Done? Why, I Got Myself A New Friend

Meet Sam. Sam's my new friend and living in my apartment. Sam measures 50" diagonally and came with a 6 month free rental of a High-Definition PVR. I got Sam just in time to see Jack Bauer in HD goodness tonight.

Sorry to those of you who thought I actually got a time machine... I'm still working on that. And for those who couldn't guess... Sam is short for Samsung.

Comeback City: Part 2... AND 3

Thursday night curling update... Last night we played the top team in our group. After the last two weeks of terrible play, we weren't expecting much, and the game started out proving that. We went down 3-0 after the first two ends. We were able to get one point with the hammer in the third end, but then we put it together and stole points in the next 4 ends to go up 7-3 after 7 ends. We figured that the other team would conceed the game at that point, but they wanted to play the last end. No problem, we thought... we just got to stop them from scoring four points or more.

Yeah, it didn't quite happen that way. Mucking up the ice by not taking anything out, we allowed them to put four rocks in the four-foot, thusly tieing the game. It was heartbreaking, but there's only so much a second can do.

However, not all is lost, as we go into the last game of this part of the season with a 2-2-1 record. If we win, we should be promoted to Group A for the last bit of the season. So, we may throw the game to stay in Group B. We'll see.

Oh yes, on another note... Today is the day.

All Good Things...

"The Good Times Are Over!" (23kb .mp3)

So, it's the day after the election. The conservatives won a minority, however it's not a strong minority. The NDP, while winning more seats than last time, did not win enough to have a balance of power within the minority goverment. However, having said that, I don't expect another election very soon. As bringing the government down would have to include the Liberals, we will be election free for a while. With Paul Martin planning on stepping down from the leadership of the Liberals, a race for his position will be on. A new leader won't be chosen for a few more months, and then, I would assume that the Liberals would want to have their leader in his (or her?) position for a while before facing an election. I think this minority will last for 3 years.

However, I must now express my sadness with the defeat of Roger Gallaway in Sarnia-Lambton. With the Gallaway's being family friends of our, and my mom working in his constituency office, I certainly enjoyed some good times with regards to federal services, etc over the last 12 years. For example, I have my official House of Commons daily planner on my desk right now as well as House of Commons magazine holders holding old copies of National Geographic and ITE Journal. I suppose what I'm most grateful for the co-op term I spent in Ottawa in 2000 when I had my job for the then Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carlton. Not that he got me that job, because I got that myself through the University of Waterloo co-op program, but I did get to rent out the spare bedroom in his downtown apartment. An apartment that was the third floor of one of those nice heritage homes... it was sweet. Not to mention, since it was going unused, I got to park my car at his parliament hill office, instead of paying through the nose for downtown parking. That was also the term where I got to attend the Liberal Christmas party, during which I got to pee beside Paul Martin.

Yeah, I had it sweet. I know that. But another side effect of all this was that I actually got involved and interested in politics during the last 12 years. All in all, I'm pretty thankful, and wish my mom, Roger, and everyone else who worked in the constiuency office and in Ottawa a happy retirement or good luck in what they do next.

Sure, I'm a little disappointed. But all good things must come to an end.

Stupid Democracy

Well, that's the last time I ever endorse candidates... my endorsements apparently work like poison.

Election Endorsement

So, as it's customary for major national publication to endore a party or candidate, and seeing how Matt's Blog Is Stupid is a major national publication, I humbly submit my endorsement for Election 20X6.

Vote for Roger Gallaway in Sarnia-Lambton! Why, you ask? Simple. It'll keep my mom in a job in the Constituency office, and that always gives me quick and easy access to government services. C'mon, I know you want to.

But what if you don't live in Sarnia-Lambton? What if you live in, say, London-Fanshawe? Well, in that case you should vote for Dan Mailer, whose dating my cousin. Because I could alway stand to know more people in high places.

Anyway, so the polls suggest a Conservative victory, which means that Paul Martin will be on his way out of 24 Sussex Drive. That's a shame really, if for no other reason than he's the only leader of a party who I've peed beside in a public washroom. That's a good story, I should tell you sometime. But, no, I didn't take a peek... get your mind out of the gutter, gosh!

There's a couple good websites I've found that try to predict the outcome of the election riding by riding. My favourite is The Election Prediction Project, which has been around since the Ontario provincial election of 1999, and has quite a good record of success. The other is democraticSPACE.com, which uses some complicated mathematical formula to predict each riding. This one claims to have good record (only off by no more than 4 seats in total for any given party), but doesn't show the riding by riding result of the last election, so who knows how close it is on a riding level, but it should be pretty good on a national level. Personally, I'd like to see a minority goverment where the combination of the governing party and any one other party can get a majority vote (ie. the combination of the Conservative vote and NDP vote can pass a bill).

An endorsement for my own riding (Kitchener-Waterloo), you ask? Well, alright... vote for Edwin Laryea... but don't tell anyone I told you that.

Go vote, if you can! If you can't, I still love ya.

What Have I Done? Part 2 - Now With A Shocking Twist!

A followup... last Monday I made an overly dramatic and well, to be honest, quite lame post indicating I had done something quite out of character suggesting that it was eating me apart from the inside threatening my very moral fibre of my being. Ok, I'll admit it was quite over the top. So, I'll take this time now to inform you, my loyal readers, of what happened.... I bought me an HDTV at Bestbuy. Not just any HDTV... a 50" Samsung DLP rear-projection TV. The whole point was that spending that kind of money was quite out of character for me. Now it wasn't an easy decision as I had been mulling it over ever since Marty moved out with his HDTV back in August, but I sucked it up and made the purchase. It felt kinda good, actually. Since it was a super deal, Best Buy had sold quite a few, and they were out of stock of my TV. That forced me to buy it on Layaway and wait until it came in stock. Now, here comes the shocking twist...

I went back to Best Buy today to cancel my order.

What happened that made Matt cancel the purchase of something he's been wanting for so long? Did his thrifty side kick in while waiting for the TV to come in stock? Did he realize that he'd rather spend that money on a Carribean vacation? Did he make a vow never to watch TV again (not bloody likely)? Find out on another installment of Matt's Blog Is Stupid!

Falling On Hard Times

After a stellar start to the second part of the curling season with two wins, our team has struggled as of late, losing the next two. There are two games left in this part of the season, so one more win and we're still guaranteed a .500 record, but I don't think we'll be advancing to the A division for the third season. That's ok... we're just waiting for the playoff to bring our "A game." Boo-Yeah

Holy 75" TV, Batman!

I've recently come into possession of my work's video projector. My boss is on vacation, so it needed to be somewhere where we could get at it if needed. So, what's the only logical course of action during a time like this? Hook it up to the video games and cable box, of course! It sits on the coffee table, and I sit in the dark, basking in all it's bigly goodness. 75" diagonally (of course I measured it). The only drawback is that it's not high-def or anything, so the large size kind of amplifies the limits of the resolution. But I'm not gonna let that get me down, because giant Mario Kart makes up for everything!

What Have I Done?

Matt says...

"What have I done? This isn't happening... What have I done?

You think you know a person, and most of all, you think you know yourself. But then I go do something like this.

What have I done?"

What is Matt talking about? What did he do... or what didn't he do? What foul evil deed haunts his very soul?

Find out in another installment of Matt's Blog Is Stupid!

24 Is Back, Baby!

Election 20X6

I had real grandiose plans this election to be on the cutting edge of politcal commentary, making note and exposing the asinine and condescending quotes that the politicians spew out on a regular basis. It didn't quite turn out that way. I found out that actually paying attention to stuff like that really depresses you. Another thing working against me is that I find that I'm not really rooting for someone in this election. It's like watching a hockey game between Anaheim and Nashville... you like hockey, so you can appreciate the game, but you're just not into it like when the Leafs (or whatever your favourite team is) play. But I digress...

So, it looks like we'll be having a Conservative minority if things keep going the way they're going. One positive to take away from that is that it looks like the Conservatives may actually score some seats in Quebec, which I feel having another viable federalist party in that province goes a long way for Federalism. And another thing... you gotta feel for Jack Layton and the NDP. No matter what they do, and no matter how many people say they agree with them the most, the Liberals are continuing to persuade the "soft" NDP vote to vote Liberal just to stop the Conservatives. Seriously people, vote for the party (or candidate) you want to win. It's only way you'll ever get what you want.

Two more weeks until my favourite TV night. That'll make it all worth it.

Old School Sting vs Knights

I was in for a treat on New Year's Day as I went with the fam to the Sarnia Sports and Entertainment Centre to see the Sarnia Sting play the London Knights. This was the first Sting home game I've been to in over a year. Now ever since the Sting moved from the Sarnia Arena to the SSEC, the atmosphere has been awful at OHL games in Sarnia. Maybe things have changed (unlikely) or perhaps it was because there were a good number of London fans there (likely), but this was a great game to be at live. In the first few years of the Sting being in existance, the Sarnia-London games were always bigtime rivalry games... Lots of intensity, hits, fights, and players playing like they really wanted to win. I think it has lost it's edge since London was moved from the West division to the Midwest division, but last night you couldn't tell. It was the second game of a home and home series, and it started with a fight (which actually is kind of lame). Anyway, the past two years, Sarnia have really been a horrible team, while London... quite the opposite. But Sarnia prevailed this time, winning 5-2. There was a nice brawl with a few minutes left in the third, and some superfans were able to distract the London bench. It was not a good night for the Knights.

Anyway, to top it all off, at the end of the game all the Sting players lined up on the blue line and saluted the fans by raising their sticks. I thought that was really cool. I don't know if they've been doing that all season when they win at home (which really can't be all that often) or if all OHL teams are doing it now, but I thought it was a great idea, and it really makes me want to root for them the rest of the season.