Rest In Peace, James Doohan

Sad news, as this morning, James Doohan died. He was most famous, of course, for being a graduate from SCITS (my highschool), and second most famous for playing the part of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the original Star Trek series and movies.

CBC Story
canada.com Story
James Doohan's startrek.com Biography

Below is the picture from when I got to meet Mr. Doohan at the SCITS 75th Anniversary back in 1997. He was the guest of honour and I was a guy in the concert band. My buddy Joe and I saw him walk out of the auditorium during some down time on the weekend and we took the chance to run out to the hall to meet him and get some pictures taken. Good times. Rest in peace, Mr. Doohan. 

Molson Indy, Baby!

Well, this weekend was my annual trek to see the Molson Indy in Toronto with my Dad and Kyler. This was the 7th year we've been since 1998 (only missing 2000). Justin Wilson won his first ever race this year, which was good to see. However, I'd be lying if I said that pretty much everyone there didn't want Paul Tracy to win. It looked like he'd do it too, and in remarkable fashion (with only half a front wing), but it wasn't to be. Anyway, some random thoughts and comments...

• It was hot. I'm glad it didn't rain for the race, but dang it was hot. On the bright side, I got some more sun on my freakishly white upper arms.

• There can never be enough short skirts and/or spandex on hot girls in this world

• The "Celebrate Toronto" festival was on this weekend too. On Friday night we decided to check it out and caught a free Great Big Sea performance. Good stuff!

• We went to see Batman Begins on Saturday night. Excellent movie.

• There's no better racing than Champ Car in the world. Champ Car for life!

Anyway, here are some photos I took this weekend.

Here's a photo from our seat looking towards the start/finish line and pits. Pretty sweet seats, eh? And if you looked the other way, there was a giant TV screen and the victory podium.

Here's a piece of Paul Tracy's front wing that sat on the course for almost half the race after Sebastien Bourdais cut Paul off coming out of the pits. Fortunately, Bourdais got the worst of the encounter by puncturing this rear tire. Tracy was able to continue on and he put on a driving clinic with only half a wing. That was until he ran out of fuel... It would have been epic if he won. Oh well...

Here's a picture of Kyler and I outside Paul Tracy's trailer right after he drove in there on his cool scooter. We tried stalking him outside the door, but he didn't come out. I totally want one of those scooters.

Here's a closeup picture of Alex Tagliani's car from our walkthrough of the Champ Car paddock. (by the way, that's not Alex in there... duh)

Here's a picture of the girls I met at the race. At this point, they're meeting with each other and arguing about which one of them loves me more. And I was all like, "Ladies, if you can't resolve this in a civilized manner then none of you get me!" They were disappointed, but I stand by my decision. Silly girls.

 

A Preview Of Things To Come

The Molson Indy is this weekend. I hope to have lots of pictures to post and stories to tell.  

Molson Indy, Baby!

For There To Be Winners, There Have To Be Losers...

And I was the latter this past Monday when I went with Randy, Megan, Patrick, and Lindsay to the Grand River Raceway to watch the horse races. Here are some pictures I took...

Here I am getting ready for a night of exciting oval racing action...


with the Purdy's...


and the Wilson's...


and this is what happens when Lindsay uses my camera without me knowing. Nice butt, dude!


The only way to watch the show is at the rail.


And the big winners of the evening (although Randy hit an exactor early on the evening) were Patrick and Lindsay when they bet on a horse name "Kitchen Table" to win, because Lindsay thought it was "the best name for a horse, ever!" It netted them $50.


That girl who greets people was there again... I'm totally gonna try to get a picture next time because I'm smitten. It's kinda sad really. Anyhoo, a good time was had by all. 

The Results Are In... Matt's Blog Visitors Live In A Dream World

So, apparently, nine out of ten Matt's Blog visitors are delusional... or perhaps simply uneducated. I can't say I'm that upset with the person who said I'd finish in second, even I have an off day, believe it or not. But a shout-out goes to the lone "snazzy" voter who correctly answered that I'd win. The formality happens tomorrow... actually, it happens later today. Uh oh, I'd better get to bed now. 

I Think We All Know The Answer To This

Well since game 3 of the TPTP is happening this weekend, I thought I'd create a little buzz. Check out the poll I put at the right side of this page and vote!

I think we all know the answer to this. If you didn't vote for 1st, who do you think you're kidding? You're a fool! And a fool and his money are soon parted.

No Newts Is Good Newts

Indeed 

Matt Geeked It Up A Notch

Just to bring attention to my obsessive need to geek things up, you should check out the redesigned website for The Touring Poker Tour of Poker, made entirely in Notepad! Don't forget to notice that I'll added Haloscan comments for each game played. How sad is it that I'm not sure what I'm looking to forward to most for the next poker game: The actual game, or updating the stats/standings?

Cleaning Up With TPTP

Game #2 of The Touring Poker Tour of Poker went down tonight, and for the second straight game, yours truly wound up in first place, this time taking home $70. That makes my season winnings $120. A good crowd tonight, as nine people made it out. I tip my (Molson Indy) hat to Rudy and Dan, who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively, and therefore, in the money. It was a hot and muggy afternoon/evening at The Garagio... 7 hours total (about 6 of which was actual game time). We should have the blind schedule more refined eventually, because admittedly, it was a long day. But nonetheless, fun was again had by all, especially me. The only problem is, I'm pretty much everyone's target next game. But that's alright... bring it on.

That's Right... Only Double Digits

Hey there! Big news! Yesterday, after about 12 years of golfing, I shot my first sub-100 game on a full 18-hole course. I finished with a 97 at Doon Valley Golf Course, which is in Kitchener, overlooking the natural beauty of Highway 401. And this feat was done with only a minimal of cheating (an ignored watershot here, a foot wedge there... you know, nothing out of the ordinary). I went with Dan and although we tied on skins, I beat him by four strokes. MATT'S ON FIRE! And I'll be carrying that fire into the second round of the TPTP this afternoon. More players = more money.