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.