Link to a link....

I'll let Ian explain, but this is totally worth it.

Woo? I guess...

With the recent signing of Victor Zambrano, as well as earlier signings this winter of Tomo Ohka and John Thompson, the Blue Jays are finally getting some experienced arms to potentially round out their starting rotation.

That's not to say that Shawn Marcum, et al. aren't any good, it's just that they're young and extremely inexperienced, and if they honestly think they can compete with the Yanks and BoSox, they'll need some guys who aren't still shitting green to back up Doc, A.J. and the still relatively unproven, but seemingly cool under fire, Gustavo Chacin.

Really, depth is the most important thing here. I don't want to see an ashen Dustin McGowan or Casey Janssen having to make a pressure-packed start in New York in August because they have nobody better, and with these signings (and barring a cataclysmic spate of injuries), that shouldn't have to happen.

Of course, if the vets all blow out their elbows and one of the youngsters has a phenomenal year, then I guess I'm a moron. But you already knew that. :)

Small World

So I'm watching House last night.

Then one of the patients comes on screen, and I'm intrigued. She's gorgeous, but I swear I've seen her somewhere before. After about 20 minutes, it comes to me... I went to fucking high school with her!!!

Naturally, I spent the next 20 minutes trying to figure out if it really was her (she spent a lot of time crying, and stuff, so I never got a clear shot of her face). I was convinced it was her, but I still needed IMDb to confirm.

Now, I know everyone had those older hot girls (or guys) that you never really talked to, but I did actually know her. We didn't just happen to attend the same building under the pretense of education. We had a thing at our school where all the Grade 10s went camping for the first week of school in the fall, with older students as the counselors. Amr can back me up on this one (I guess anyone could, but he was in my tent group, so it carries more weight), but she was our counselor. And I know I'm getting really high school on you here, but it was a big deal to a 15-year old kid when the school's resident hottie gives you a hug at the end of the week. She even kept talking to us all for the rest of the year. Yes, very high school, I know... but still. She wasn't just a bombshell... she was cool, too.

After reaing her bio, I actually recall part of her allure. She wasn't just a knock-out... she could kick your ass, since she was big into martial arts.

Anyway, perusing her various roles, she's done some decent stuff. Long way from YTV's Student Bodies, huh?

What I do when I'm bored.....

Today I had the joy of getting (along with the rest of my office) re-trained in the wonders of WHMIS and Fall Protection. I have done both of these before... and in the case of WHMIS, this is something like 6th or 7th time. Suffice to say, I retained some or all of it. Thus, I was bored. And when I'm bored, I tend to try and entertain myself above and beyond the typical "haha... he said duty"-level stuff.

The following sentence fragments, taken entirely out of context, made me chuckle enough not to go insane...

"it is the responsibility of the worker to receive adequate oral"

"so you either have to shave your facial hair, or give it to someone else"

Also, I was thankfully situated next to someone who was equally bored by the WHMIS video (disregarding that I was thinking, "Hello! I'm Troy McClure... you may remember me from such training videos as...." the entire time).

Narrator: She put on all her PPE, [pause for effect] except her face shield....
Me: I wonder what happens next?
Him: Probably the same thing that happened last year....
Me: I keep hoping that one of these years we get the Director's Cut or something.

The Wonders of the Quiet Weekend

Got to see the Raptors climb to .500 on Friday. Didn’t drink at the ACC. Grabbed a bite to eat and hit up a bar. Went home.

Total Alcoholic Beverages Consumed: 2 (but they were light beers… so almost don’t count)

Went to see my grandparents on Saturday. Watched the Habs get thumped by the Leafs (sic), and the Raptors drop back below .500. Then went out to see Children of Men, which was excellent in its near-future post-Apocalyptic way, followed by Napoleon Dynamite at home.

Total Alcoholic Beverages Consumed: Zero. (yes, I saw Napoleon Dynamite stone sober…. I don’t suggest you try it)

Sunday, went to Band Practice. Pub afterwards, of course.

Total Alcoholic Beverages Consumed: 2

I have a sneaking suspicion that this little scene will continue to play itself out for the next several weeks. I’m not cutting myself off, just dialing it down a notch. And it’s not that I’m forcing it on myself, either. I’m just not in the mood. Perhaps next weekend’s Cousin-Birthday/Super Bowl combo will break me, but I somehow doubt it. I’m not prone to being talked into things I don’t want to do. You know, unless I deep down want to do them, anyway, and I’m just putting up a front….

We’ll see how this goes.

PS: Yes, I’m pretty sure this is the fallout from not really being recovered from Vegas when I went to Justin’s party last weekend. In fact, I'm quite sure.

PPS: For the record, I could possibly see this going through to St. Paddy's day. I'm serious. Well, for now.

I always like topical links

Sometimes I can't help but think that The Bunny makes some excellent points. Here's one particularly close to my heart, as of late.

I know I take time to refer you to anyone that I've ripped off (there are often many), if for no other reason than if you actually find it funny, you can find it again for your damned self...

"What? You thought you could post it in that secret part of the internet I can't see?"

I'm not saying don't take stuff from here... or anywhere else, for that matter..... it's just that giving credit to the originator is about the only thing resembling courtesy you can have on these here interwebs...

(cut to me getting down off my soap box)

Corollary to the Ladder Theory

I linked to the Ladder Theory a few months ago, and generally, anyone who read it agreed, or was shocked to find out this seemingly understood reality of life.

I'd like to submit a corollary to it.

The basic premise of the Ladder Theory being that guys only hang out with girls they'd like to sleep with, but girls classify guys on the "good ladder" (will sleep with them) or the "bad ladder" (won't sleep with them) - can you tell the theory was written by a guy? Anyway....

It goes on to imply that guys are wasting their tiem hanging out with a girl when they are on her "bad ladder". Well, I'd like to submit that if a girl is cool enough that you'd probably hang out with her even if she was a dude, then which ladder you are on becomes less important. If you're on the "good ladder", great... you have the makings of something pretty cool..... but if you're on the "bad ladder", then you just have another cool person to hang out with.

Call me naive, but I don't see what's so bad about that.

Monday Musings

Ugh.

It's not that I hate Mondays, per se, I'm not fucking Garfield. But what screws with me every Monday is the rather abrupt reversion to my "adult" schedule.

Over the weekend, I invariably stay up late, sleep in, etc. (read: revert to my preferred schedule)... but come Monday, I try to fit my sqaure peg of an internal clock into the round hole that is "normal working hours".

Bah.

It was actually easier when I was at site, where I had to had to be there on time, or the contractors would find a way not to do anything until I got there. That way, the "as if 9 more minutes will make a fucking difference" though process actually takes over, and I'd get up when my alarm went off.

Conversely, when I'm in the office, and my hours are considerably more flexible, 9 more minutes feels like an eternity. And the next thing you know, I'm wandering into the office at 9:15 when I set my alarm to be here for 8.

Oh well.

Why do I seem to care so much about the Raptors?

Honestly, I'm not totally sure what the answer is.... but I'm pretty stoked about going to see them tonight with a chance, against the awful Celtics, to get to .500 later in the season that they have been in several years.

I imagine it has something to do with the fact that I actually attended the first ever draft that Raptors took part in, even being part of the people who lustily booed the Damon Stoudemire selection. Mostly becuase we had no idea who he was. Turns out it was a good call, mostly because the guy we all seemed to want was UCLA's Ed O'Bannon. Well, he's pretty much working in Wal-Mart these days. I guess that goes to chow how little we knew, as fans, at the time.

Of course, Vince Carter slammed the Raps' selection of Chris Bosh, and we can all see how that turned out.... so maybe a pick getting slammed isn't so bad after all...

PS: Congrats to CB4 for being voted a starter in the All-Star game... among those who didn't get voted in as starters? None other than Vince Carter himself. Air Canada? More like Captain Douchebag. Fuck Vince Carter and his lazy ass....

Whoring myself out... and loving it!

So as is the tradition with Robbie Burns Day, I went piping yesterday, and was paid in whiskey and haggis. Oh, money, too, but I could have gotten that by staying at work all afternoon!

Anyway, I show up at the old folks place, and get introduced to the dude giving the Address to the Haggis. He's got a tartan bow tie with a little RFC crest on it, signifying he's a Glasgow Rangers supporter. I decide we are going to get along swimmingly.

I get taken downstairs for a place to tune up, and the nurse taking me down says something cryptic, along the lines of, "You're probably not even old enough to drink whiskey!" Not knowing what on earth she's talking about, I just sorta smile and ignore the remark.

So I pipe in the haggis, and as it is set down, I of course notice the two glasses and a bottle. The guy addressing the haggis is a resident, and he has poured himself a generous glass, and another one for, I can only assume having been to these things before, me. Just as I finish, the nurse that is kind of running the thing leaps out, and grabs the glass I thought was intended for me. The old Scottish dude just about flips on her, saying that I'm supposed to get it. She whispers to him (but loudly enough I can hear, cuz... well, he's old) that she doesn't think I'm old enough. He gives her a look, and asks me how old I am...

"Uh.. 26?"
"Oh my GOD! I thought you were only 18!! I'm so sorry!"

I was a little dumbfounded at that... hell, I think I was even a little tickled. But I can assure you, she has been dealing with old people too much if she thinks I look anywhere close to 18. I didn't look 18 when I WAS 18.... hell, I was getting into bars without getting carded at 16... but whatever. The point is, I got my whiskey. And you know what? Maybe I was just assuming that it was going to be vile, but it wasn't half bad. Single Malt, even. Only a 10-year, but what do you want for free?

So I retire to the next room, trying not to make a spectacle of myself while the old people eat their haggis. In the next room I find the old dude who did the address in there, eating his helping of haggis, with the bottle of whiskey. He's almost done his second glass, and insists I have another with him. He manages to gulp down two more while I finish mine (I am driving home in rush hour, after all....), and as I'm leaving, he's back in the main room, singing. Clearly drunk.

That's what I love about old Scottish people. Booze + Room full of people = Singing. Always.

I also got to take the leftover haggis (they got a pretty big one) home. Good times. :)

PS: Anyone catch the Get Smart reference in the title? Nope? Nobody? I hate you all....

I dont' think I should bring this up with a therapist, for fear of what they might conclude...

... but last night on The OC, there were several instances of girls in groundhog suits (it was a Groundhog Day episode). I found this hot.

Maybe I need to get out more.......

I did NOT see this coming

So, it turns out that Tiger's wife is going to be due with their first child some time in July. Some serious golf enthusiasts might note that the British Open is played in July.

Apparently, according to PTI last night, Tiger has gone on record in saying that if Elin's due date coincides with the British Open, he's staying home to be with her.

Now, of course, this is the "right" decision, but I can't say I totally saw that one coming.

Good for Tiger!

Something for everyone

If the Bible has taught us nothing else, and it hasn't, it's that girls should stick to girls' sports, such as hot oil wrestling and foxy boxing and such and such.
~ Homer Simpson

At the risk of sounding like I'm deconstructing women's tennis to purely superficial considerations, tonight's Australian Open final between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova really does give just about every male (and non-tradinional female) watcher something to get excited about, regardless of how entertaining the match may or may not end up being.

I will now retire and wait for any and all sexism charges to be made.

I'm not saying "Boys will be boys", but...

This is just not cool, in my book.

Is there no room for sanity in this world? The spirit of the law must come into point somewhere along the way. And the subsequent clause that wasn't made retroactive? What bullshit is that??

Do make sure you read far enough to find out why he didn't take a plea bargain. It gives one an interesting perspective on the whole thing.

I hate to do this again, but I have to...

I never planned for this to turn into an American Idol Recap blog, but here we are. On the plus side, I was watching Raptors-Hornets at the same time, so there are gaps... if anyone was watching more diligently than I, please feel free to scold me for missing some real "winners" in the comments section...

First, I'm a little impressed with the gumption and industriousness of the chick from Ohio who lied to her parents about where she was. But I'm a little disheartened that her dad seemed like such a dick. Who doesn't support their kids? Like, you don't always have to agree with their plans, but be serious... the chick was a pretty good signer, and she wanted to pursue it? Support her, dagnabbit! She's your kid! That's what parents are supposed to do.... And while the reaction over the phone was nice enough (apart from her having to introduce herself on the phone), it wasn't exactly warm. "Just as long as you get home safe" is a long way from "I'm so proud of you!"

Sarah Goldberg must be clinically insane. "I can't sing, but I can be the first American Idol who can't sing! I'll be unique!!!" I think she uniquely missed the fucking point of the show.....

And seriously... why do people argue with the judges? Why do you audition when you can't sing?!?

Also, who cares if they were out drinking? Is that somehow affecting their reasoning? They're professionals... if you can't sing, you can't sing. Whether they're hungover or not doesn't really affect their abilities... although, if their hangovers are anything like mine, it may affect their ability to be charitable with the people who suck.....

Are people born in other countries allowed to be the American Idol? That chick from Ottawa, now living in Santa Monica, could have a shot.

Sadly, I missed the Crazy Cow Girl in order to see Vince Carter's crazy over-the-seven-footer dunk on The Best Damned Sports Show Period's Top 50 Dunks of Alltime. I'm sure she was horrific.

PS: Chris Bosh showed some serious "onions" in hitting that game-tying three last night. Dude is money!! And Jose Calderone seems to be filling in for T.J. Ford nicely. Could bode well for having a two point guard lineup to deal with any pressure D in the future.

PPS: I couldn't care less about the NHL All-Star game. I really couldn't. Apparently I'm much like the population of Dallas...

Just kinda cool

Not "very" cool, just kinda.... read the explanation here.

c/o pipesdrums.com

This Just In: Kelly Hu = Hot and Funny!

I managed to catch her on Craig Ferguson last night... and I'll be honest, I had never heard of her before. I actually just stayed up to watch Craig's monologue, and at the end they flashed pictures of the guests. I saw her headshot, and bam.... turns out I was staying to watch the rest of the show!

Something refreshing? She seems like the type of person who has no idea just how gorgeous she is. You could almost see Craig Ferguson become more interested when she mentioned that she had a little crush on him when they had worked together a few years back, and would have been crushed if he didn't remember her... his response, "Why didn't you SAY anything?!?"

Then after getting into the finer details of Hawaiian cooking (turns out they like Spam as much,. if not more, than in the UK! they even make Spam-based sushi), she brings up her one and only kiss with a girl. Turns out it was several years ago with Rebecca de Mornay. And aside from the fact that I will be tracking this down fairly soon at my local video store, it led to this hilarious exchange:

KH: You know something? Girls are so much softer than guys.

CF: Oh, I know! Well, I don't know, but I could imagine....

KH: And I was so much more self-conscious about kissing her. I had never worried about whether I was a good kisser before... but now I was. And I think it was because it was another woman.

CF: I'm sure that has to do with most guys just being happy they're kissing Kelly Hu...?

KH (laughing almost uncontrollably): Maybe....

Just found that to be an interesting observation, is all.

In other news, it's funny to see how the people that book guests on competing late night talk show tend to "react" to the bookings from their competitors. A big star on Leno usually mean Letterman gets a big star, too. An enormous star on Letterman usually means a stiff on Leno, and vice versa. Last night? Craig Ferguson had Paul Teutul, Sr. and Paul Teutul, Jr. (of American Chopper fame). Conan had Orlando Bloom. Not exactly competing fan base demographics.....

I respectfully disagree with Third Eye Blind

I don't want to go to London,
I told you I don't care,
I don't want to go to London,
To live there.

- Third Eye Blind's "London"

With my P.Eng. (hopefully) starting to loom larger on the horizon, I find myself wondering... "So what the hell do I do now?"

I've said for years that I'd love to move to a major European city once I had my P.Eng., as I would then be a marketable commodity in places that have never heard of Queen's (i.e.: the world at large). This becomes far more feasible, being a British citizen, and all, especially with the EU and such... but it's getting to the point where this isn't just a fanciful dream, anymore. I could actually get to do this fairly soon!

Just typing that actually fills me with an odd combination of excitement and fear. I'm not the type of person that takes many chances in life. In fact, I tend to be a textbook case of paralysis by analysis... basically thinking about what I'm going to do for so long that the course of action all but gets laid out before me - whether I like it or not. However, this doesn't seem like the kind of plan that is going to just fall into my lap. I know I'm going to have to actively pursue this if I want to get anywhere with this idea. I'd probably lean towards somewhere in the UK, hence the title of the post, for (of all things) piping-related reasons... but really, even somwhere like Berlin or Brussels isn't far enough away to inhibit me getting tuition from Scotland.

I just can't quite get my head around the idea that this might actually come to pass... like, soon.

Things I'm not sure I needed to know...

I don't know how true this is, but at one time it was said that 70% of all dollar bills in Miami were contaminated with coke.

Apparently, new evidence suggests that in Spain and Ireland, this number has reached 100%, for their respective single denimination notes.

Creepy, huh?

Me = Wrong

Okay, so I owe Vince Young an apology.

Dude seems to have done alright as an NFL rookie, despite my doubts.

What do I know, anyway?

BushShit

Now, I can't recall ever having watched a State of the Union address before... and the fact that I watched it might indicated how scared I was to go play the new reed I got on Sunday (my PM is notorious for handing out ridiculously hard reeds, and I suspected this would be no different... turned out not that bad, actually.... but whatever), but sweet merciful crap... that is a lot of self-laudatory bullshit that Dubya sprewed out last night, wasn't it??

Maybe that's all this kind of thing is supposed to be, but that was a pretty useless hour of prime time rhetoric. And tired rhetoric at that. In fact, I swear I saw a guy a row in front of Hilary who was completely asleep!

And do they have to give him a standing ovation for every other fucking sentence he utters?!?

For Christ's sake... John Kerry looked openly bored. Condi must have been either stoned, drunk, of just plain ol' pissed off. She looks like an angry fuck, to me. And considering he was in the background through the whole thing, couldn't the Veep have tried to not look constipated? Or is that just his natural look?

Also, you'll note he reinforced his self-made exit strategy for Iraq, pointing out again what a significant responsibility the Iraqis have, and that without their support, the US will pull out, leaving it for the next president to clean up. He even went so far as to say that the war on terror will be passed onto his successors and our children. Talk about starting a fight you have no intention of finishing.....

Now, I'll be fair. He actually mentioned some worthwhile (non-tired rhetoric) stuff. I just about feel off the couch when he mentioned Darfur, and helping to fight AIDS and Malaria in Africa. I really didn't see that coming....

But what the fuck did Dikembe Mutombo have to do with anything? I guess it was a nice seguay from the Africa stuff... but seriously. Talk about a red herring!

And the creator of Baby Einstein? That's just a business woman who knew how to capitalize on hyper-competitive and uber-insecure yuppie parents. As if that shit makes any difference! And what a terrible choice of names! Wasn't Einstein, himself, considered slow for most of his childhood? And even adult life?

Whatever....

I have to admit that Wesley Autry dude (assuming he actually said this) had a good point, saying, "I'm not a hero. We've got men and women fighting for us overseas. The least we can do is show each other some love" after saving some dude who fell in front of a subway in NYC. Of course, if the guy was trying to kill himself, that's another matter.

A TravelBlog that doesn't suck

Now, I normally dislike TravelBlogs on principle, but with my buddy Mike having gone to Rio, I have been sucked back in to one....

However, only 3 posts into his trip, I get the distinct impression that this will not be your typical travel blog. How so, you ask? Here's an excerpt from a post regarding his housemate Raul on the beach...

Prostitute: Hey baby, looking for a good time
Raul: No.
Prostitute: Im pregnant, so theres a discount.
Raul: Oh my God!
Prostitute: Oh cmon, Im only two months into the cycle!
Raul: (run, run)

If you have any interest in how this turns out, check out the link in the sidebar. If not, well... I don't much care. :)

I don't even mean to say things like this, sometimes, but I do...

Sitting in Amr's living room last night, with a can of Busch I've been staring at for about an hour...

Me (taking a sip): Yuck... you know, warm Busch............

Dave: Isn't as good as you'd think?

This weekend in the NFL

So it's the Sex Cannon against Duck-Fetus Man (right).

I'm firmly on the side of the Sex Cannon. The Cumslinger, who keeps his cock in a garage, is going to splooge all over South Beach, leading the Bears to victory.

Or at least he'd better, or the written felatio Peyton Manning is getting from the likes of Peter King with explode with the kind of ferocity we usually associate with an 8-roper from Sexy Rexy.

Okay... I think I've reached my daily quota of penis/semen references.

Moving on.......

In real news, the Dolphins hired San Diego's Offensive Co-ordinator, which on the surface, after that stinkbomb they had against the Pats last weekend looks like an awful idea, but when you think about it, this is the guy that masterminded LaDanian Tomlinson's record setting season gets to have free reign with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams (assuming he doesn't get busted for pot again.... major assumption, I know...), so I guess I'm kind of excited about that.

PS: 7 points, huh? That's the early line coming out of Sin City. You really think the Colts can run over the Bears D like that, Las Vegas? We'll see how that line moves over the next couple of weeks, cuz I'd be putting a LOT of money against the Colts covering a full touchdown....

Maybe it's time for a break

So this weekend Justin had a bunch of us over. This included Patty and Pat coming down from Ottawa, Nate coming from London, Neil from Kingston and even Jon from waaaaaaaaaay up North. Only coming from Toronto, Amanda and I practically felt like locals! The premise was that he had won a Texas Mickey of CC at some company thing last year, and "had to get rid of it". He decided to also get a keg, a hot tub, and invite the Mac rowing team.

Well, you can imagine the scene that produced. By the time Neil and I showed up, the keg was empty, but the Texas was still going strong.

Not for long....

... and that was that.

One of the funnier aspects of this party was when we killed the Texas, we proceeded to tell the kids (most of the rowers that showed up were the Novice team that Justin coached, who were generally 18 or 19) that we were heading for the bar. Once they called the cabs, we broke out the "Emergency Booze" that Justin suggested we bring along.

Another amusing part was that, for a variety of reasons, nobody (save Linsday and Ryan, who left early... like a good married couple should) brought their significant other. Made for a very free vibe, and generally helped everyone feel like we were back in first year, in rez.

Good times.

Just for you, Tucker...

In the interest of full disclosure, when I made the little announcement that I had new a new set of pipes, it was more that I had gained ownership, but did not actually have them in my possession. My dad had picked them up from his friend who was selling them to me, but I hadn't actually laid eyes on them in years (I had played in the same band as him about 10 years ago), nor had I actually heard them with my own ears.

All that changed on Thursday. And I will never be able to go back.

I had though that the sound of my old pipes wasn't half bad, but holy f'ing crap.... these things sound incredible. Just a richness of sound that I have never had the pleasure to play before. Playing in the sanctuary at the church, they just fill the entire place, without, oddly, being overly loud. It's more of a depth of sound than pure volume. Just incredible. It defies description, really, but I'm doing the best I can here....

Anyway, the real reason I didn't post any pictures before was because I didn't have any. Now, thanks to the magic of the cameraphone, I do, and here they are:

Old...

New...

I'm not sure that they real quality of the wood comes across, as the c. 1910 African Blackwood is far different than the c. 1950 wood, although they do claim to be the same kind of wood. However, the difference from the hideous sun-damaged immitation ivory to the near-100-year-old real ivory should make itself clear.

Snide Remark of the Week!

When asked what he though about the NFL playing a regular season game in London, England, SI.com's Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman (who does, in fact, cover the NFL) said this:

Coaches will hate it because of the disruption of the schedule. Players who got college degrees will love it, the other 85 percent will view it as an annoyance.

I hate to credit Jon Bon Jovi with anything similar to a life credo, but here we go....

Lately, mostly due to the wonders of NyQuil, I have actually been sleeping through the night. This is not normal for me. I'll usually wake up at least once. Often more. I guess (when sober) I tend to be a very light sleeper, so that probably doesn't help, either.

Seeing as sleep doesn't much seem to like me, I tend not to like it. I actually tend to view sleep as a necessary evil. No matter how little sleep I get, I can always remedy it with coffee. Always. I can have completely normal days with just two hours of sleep, but I know that will kick me in the ass if I try it too often, so I try to avoid them. Often 4 to 6 hours will be quite adequate for my needs. Anything more than that feels unnecessary, and generally a waste of my time.

I've never been the type to sleep in, either. In order to sleep in until 10 or 11 (which I am aware doesn't consitute sleeping in to most people), I often have to be up until 3 or 4 or later, otherwise I'm up by 8 or 9, even on a Saturday morning with no reason to actually be up yet.

I have no idea why this is. Maybe it's because my parents were never the types to sleep in, perfering naps, but I've never taken to napping. They tend to screw my system up (I'm easily 25% stupider within 2 hours of waking up, regardless of whether I sleep for 20 minutes, or 10 hours), so I try to avoid them. They also make my tendancy to stay up just cuz I can a little more acute. Apparently my dad does the same thing. I like to call it "playing insomnia" where I just find things to do in order to avoid sleeping. In fact, most times I go to sleep are only because I feel I should. It's not traced to any desire to be in bed. Oh, and I also take forever to get to sleep even when I choose to, leaving me tossing and turning for what can seem like hours.

This isn't to say that I begrudge anyone their sleep. If you want and/or need it to be at your best, by all means... sleep. I just won't.

Not Making Picks, Just Taking Sides

I have come to the conclusion that regardless of the outcome of this Sunday's games, I am cheering for the NFC in the Super Bowl. Let's break it down a little, and you'll see why.

Why not the AFC? That's simple. The two teams are the Colts and the Patriots.

Why not the Colts? I hate Peyton Manning. I have been saying for years (Amr was there when I first coined the phrase) that he looks like a duck while playing football. A couple of seasons ago, we even took to quacking like fools every time he dropped back to pass (we may have been drunk... my memory is a bit cloudy.... which is perhaps more evidence that we were, in fact, drunk). Anyway, he's a born-with-a-silver-football-shaped-spoon-in-his-mouth douchebag. Fuck him.

Why not the Pats? If a Boston-area team wins one more thing in the near future, I might have to boycott one of my favourite writers (Bill Simmons), as he will be come completely and totally unbearable. That and their coach and QB are totally overhyped douchebags in their own right.

In any event, I'm bored with the Colts and Pats anyway. Sportswriters blew their collective nuts when they found out we have another round of Colts-Pats. I yawned.

In the NFC, we have the Bear and the Saints.

Why cheer for the Bears? They have Sexy Rexy, the original Cumslinger who keeps his cock in a garage. In case you haven't been reading here for the last month, I clearly just find this entire thing hilarious. He's just a very up and down QB who has an entirely fictitious persona, mostly from blog-based propaganda... they've only made it this far because of a couple of decent games by him, and a suffocating defence. But either way, I'd love to cheer for him in a Super Bowl.

Now, the Saints are just America's darling right now what with the Katrina bullshit, and that might make some people gag, but they have some of the best offensive players this side of Indianapolis, and they've only been together for a year! I'm positively giddy at what they could do given some time to jell. And if that's not enough, they've got two running backs named Deuce and Bush. That's about as high up the unintentional comedy scale as you can expect from two guys that stand beside each other.

Words Cannot Describe

What the fuck is Bill Gates putting in the water?!?

Okay, so as your average never-been-to-Seattle type, all I really had to go on was Microsoft, Starbucks, Grey's Anatomy, Frasier, grunge music and professional sports teams.

Ignoring the fact that the Seahawks and Sonics blow, it seems like a pretty cool place. Home of the computer company trying to take over the world, the army of baristas trying to take over the world, teh only hospital in the world where the on-call room is actually used for sex, the music movement that (for all intents and purposes) expunged metal from the air waves and the locale for the only successful spin-off series from a wildly successful sit-com that I can think of (of course, all the competition for this title I can think of consists of A Different World, Joey and Trapper John, M.D. ... not exactly Emmy-caliber shows.. maybe I'm missing one?). But whatever... I had the impression that Seattle was kinda cool. Rainy, but cool.

Wow. Was that ever wrong...

I have never seen such a cornucopia of creeps in my life! And I'm not even going to comment on Paula's blatant mugging for the camera...

First, there was the ugly chick, who creepily sang "Don't Cha". Made my fucking skin crawl. Then I found out her mom looks EXACTLY LIKE HER! They could have passed for twins. My skin just crawled again thinking about it.

Then there was the walleyed software engineer who just plain creeped the shit outta me. And that was before he sang!

After him, there was the pair of weirdos that met in line that just reminded me of a John Steinbeck novel... all the big guy was missing was a fucking mouse in his hand! Well, that and the little dude was less normal, more creepy. Dispite his protestations, he DID look like a monkey. Um... not that there's anything wrong with that.

The only thing that could have made the show weirder would have been an unexpected repeat performance from William Hung... or maybe some retarded kid singing "Put your hands up in the air".

Of course, maybe that would have only been funny to a select few........ ;)

Things from last week that I just can't let drop without comment

1. Dubya's speech

I'm not going to get into how moronic he sounds, or even make fun of his painful malapropisms. I have to leave something for the Dialy Show, right? Actually, I see so little of Georgie unedited, that I half expected John Stewart to jump in there.... but whatever.

I'll be honest. I'm not exactly a political pundit (big shock!) and I don't often like talking in forums like this about things I know little about, but there were a couple of little things that I just haven't really been able to get out of my mind.

First, did anyone else notice the complete cop-out clause he slipped in? All this aid that the Iraqi government is supposed to supply, and then he threw in a little caveat, something along the lines of "as long as they hold up their end of the deal, we will support them" ...giving him his exit strategy. How the hell can we credibly document what the Iraqi forces are doing, and what parts of this plan they are following through on?? Are we not waiting until the summer, at which point there will be another presidential address indicating that the Iraqi people are not holding up their end of the bargain, and thus the US is pulling out? (yes, I meant to say it like that)

Anyway, after that little nugget, it just made the entire rest of the speech ring completely hollow. Well, that and the ground troops he promised just brought numbers back up to where they were about a year ago (way too lazy to look that up). Nevermind that 20,000 troops is the equivalent to pissing on a forest fire. It might make you feel better, but it doens't mean it's going to make any difference.

As a final thought on the matter, I can't help but become nauseous at the hypocrasy shown in this matter. Attempting to portray the US as some kind of moral big brother, trying to bring peace to the region, while ignoring that they just want to keep tabs on their oil supply. If they were actually the moral saviour of the world, as they would like to have you believe, they wouldn't turn a blind eye to the many, and on-going, genocides happening every day in Africa just because those countries don't have oil reserves. Especially considering that the flow of diamonds (about the only "real" resource of their the Western World cares about) isn't being inhibited by the slaughters. Warrants mentioning.

...and now on a totally different note............

2. Amy Lee

This chick is just flat out cool. I caught her Live@Much performance last week, during which she announced her engagement. This did not dampen my spirits, as I am unlikely to meet her, anyway, so what does it matter? I'd gladly be her "other man" anyway.

But I digress...

Some things that came up in the interview that I thought were kinda cool, and that I could even relate to! For her, writing is a kind of therapy. While her music is often sad and depressing, lyric-wise, she is actually quite a happy person because she gets it out through her writing. And through her writing she has become more comfortable with herself, and has started to share more of her true feelings in her writing for no other reason than it feels good. She is not intentionally going in any direction for her fans, as she actually writes for herself, and while she loves that people can relate to what she has gone through, or is going through, it is more of a release for her, and she will continue to write even if the music isn't selling, because that's just what she wants to do.

She's also pretty goofy... using a lot of phrases that peaked in their usage several years ago, and just generally doesn't seem to take herself very seriously. She actually seems to be pretty amused by both herself, and everything that's going on, in terms of celebrity. She is also quite pleased that she has been able to "make it" without becoming "one of those girls who feels she has to take her shirt off to get on stage."

Yeah, I enjoy writing and eating bacon... where is this going?
- Amy Lee, on "Born to be..."

Today's proof as to why old people will say anything, and I'll probably laugh at it:

Old Irish dude in my office just said, "We're in the brute force and bullshit business!"

I will now officially accomplish almost nothing until noon...

What the fuck is wrong with people?!?

Okay, so I found myself watching the unmitigated trainwreck that is the American Idol Open Auditions last night. This is my one yearly concession to Reality TV. Otherwise, I refuse to watch it... but this? I got hooked on it a bit while at school, as I tended to do my assingments lying on my living room floor while watching TV, and knowing what kind of ratings American Idol gets, not many other networks bother to put anything of remote value up against it.... anyway, enough rationalization, point is: I'm hooked.

But I'm okay with that... Why? I have no idea, but it's just fun.

Before I go any farther into this, I just want to point out something: I can't sing. I don't pretend I can. And I think that's why I feel qualified to make fun. If I think I'm better than someone, and I wouldn't get within two time zones of a vocal audition unless it involved moving, then what the fuck is wrong with you where you think you should be?!? Also, I'm not pretending I'm gifted with perfect pitch or anything, either, but I do have a decent enough ear to know when some douchbag can't carry a tune in a wheel barrow.

Anyway, with the surprisingly cold Jewel (I was honestly expecting her to coddle the contestants... and she didn't. She was honest and frank when people sucked. I liked that. Oh, and in other news.... she's still hot!) as a guest judge, and Randy Jackson's newly found mean streak (like, seriously... who pissed in his Cheerios?) the masses came in.

And on balance, they stunk the joint out. And argued with the judges..... like, seriously. What do you think you're gaining? You're just making them dig in more, and in the case of the clearly annoyed Randy Jackson, making them get personal and explain just how much you sucked.

Now, unless I'm mistaken, Randy has gained a bunch of weight back... maybe that's why he's pissed? And what's up with that, anyway? I thought fat people were supposed to be jolly?!?

This is weird

Now, I know I'm not usually particularly useful on a Monday, and I often take most of it to get back into "work" mode. I swear it's totally different parts of my brain... like I have to re-program everything new each week.... as if I completely forgot how to "work". And often after long layoffs, it takes as much as a few days to really get rolling again.... but this is ridiculous.
There is no way that I've only been off for 3 days. I feel like I was away for at least a week... maybe more.

Or maybe I just killed enough brain cells that I've actually gotten stupider.... that's a distinct possibility....

Best reason to keep cheering for the Bears:

I know we poke fun at Rex Grossman now and then on this site. But seriously, he's by far the most entertaining quarterback the Bears have had since Jim McMahon. Bears fans, c'mon. You really want to bench the Sex Cannon for Brian Griese? Where's your sense of adventure? Griese is like the missionary position. Grossman is like being blindfolded and tied to a tire swing. Sure, you may die. But you were seizing the day by its balls, dammit!

-c/o KSK

Vegas: Survived

Okay. To make it short, Jenna and I both got back alive.

We partied our collective faces off, got to meet up with her brother and his gf, as well as Amr, who was there on business.

I got to watch some football with Amr, though we missed the kickoff because it was so crowded at Caesar's and the ESPNZone in New York New York was closed for a "Private Party", and thus couldn't bet on the game. We missed a staggering amount of daylight, thus missing out on a significant amount of shopping. And yes, I'm straight and I like to shop. If you saw all the stores they have there, you would, too. It was too hastily planned, thereby not giving us enough time to book any shows.

I'm not saying we didn't have fun. It was great. The hotel was exceptional, too. But I know I can't get past the idea that it was a little one-dimensional, in terms of a trip.

That and the pounding hangover..... let me tell you. The 9am meeting today at Shell was glorious.

From the "You have to be fucking kidding me" File

From TMQ Reader Feedback:

Sean Sutton of Ypsilanti, Mich. writes, "Regarding coaches' pay, I find it interesting that when hired to be the football coach of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Bobby Ross became the highest-paid federal governmental employee."

AP Photo/Jim McKnight
It's not the president, not the director of the National Science Foundation -- here is the highest-paid United States government employee.

Good advice... kind of taken.... I think?

Just had this exchange with my buddy Steve, a Vegas Vet himself....

Stephen says:
just beware of the 1000 minimum tables

Iain says:
LOL

Iain says:
I promise I'll be doing this somewhat within striking distance of sober.....

Iain says:
wait, that's not exactly a promise, huh?

Stephen says:
yeah, you can read that sentence a 100 times and still not be sure

New Pipes, New Perception

So, while this will likely bore the piss right out of most people, I can't help but be excited that I have a new set of pipes. Some c. 1910 Full-Ivory Glens, and by all accounts, they sound damned good.

Now, I have a pretty decent set of Hendersons from about 1950-something, but they kinda look less than stellar. While my dad and I were discussing the purchase of the new (to me) pipes, he asked the question: "So, why haven't you gone about fixing up your current set, anyway?" Meaning that I could have gotten silver trim, or something, on my pipes to replace the crappy finish they have. I basically said I didn't see the point, at which point he asked me how many other people in Grade 1 bands have pipes that look even close to as shitty as mine do.

The answer? Zero. Nobody.

Now, it's not like I consider myself some kind of piping iconoclast where I don't need to conform to the perceived "norms" of the sub-culture, but I really hadn't thought about it like that.

I'm going to say this without any ego, whatsoever, but I do need to be clear, as this was pretty much the exact revelation I had on Sunday night, ironically after having come home from practice.

I play in a Grade 1 band. Now, I have pretty high expectations for myself, so this isn't any great realization. Of course I play in a Grade 1 band... what other grade would I be in?

But hold the phone.

I wasn't really thinking of myself as being in the same category as the other "Grade 1 Players" around, and so felt no need to assimilate myself in terms of my instrument.

Why? I have no idea. I tend to be pretty self-aware, and this one baffles me. Is it possible that despite what most of you likely think, I don't have that big an ego? Did I really, while expecting Grade 1 playing of myself, didn't really consider myself to be in their class? Is it some kind of weird underdog mentality that's keeping me from accepting my position in the grade scheme of things?

I have absolutely no idea.

Now, I know that the heights that I reached in my pre-University days were significant, and I certainly didn't appreciate where I stood then, but one could (easily) argue that I'm a better player now, and I don't think I'm fully appreciating that, either.

Well, until now.

I deserve to have an instrument that can compare to others at this level, and damnit, now I do.

Okay, enough Stuart Smalley..... now back to your regularly scheduled venomous invective. :)

Pardon my bitching and yelling at the TV

So Monday night I went to watch the BCS Championship at Amr's. Ignoring the somewhat surprising final outcome, since if you care(d), it's long over anyway... Amr and I make for quite an entertaining team when watching sports, expecially since we share a burning hatred for most announcers in any sport.....


Anyway, with mercilessly little remorse, we had the following exchanges:


Amr: So let me get this striaght. There's only ONE white guy starting for Florida? Wow.
Me: You mean you're supprised?
Amr: Not really.


[After a Florida touchdown, the screen flashes to Ohio State QB Troy Smith, who is inexplicably clapping]
In unison: No, Troy...
Me: You're not supposed to cheer on the other team.
Amr: Does he even know that that's bad?


[After several player bios, showing their respective majors]
Amr: Where are the Communications majors? They're usually everywhere. That department drives the football program at most schools! It's not as bad as African Studies in basketball, but I'm actually a little diappointed I haven't seen more of them....


Announcer: And here comes Troy Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner and Communications major...
In unison, with glee: There we go!!
Announcer: ... back onto the field.


[After a segment, where they showed the little card that the Florida coach made up and distributed to his players with the speech that a former Florida player gave mid-season the last time they won a National Title written on the back]
Me: What does it matter? Doesn't he realize that half his team is illiterate?

I found it funny when Amr's gf compared us to a more vulgar version of PTI.

In other news, it seems Amr is going to be in Vegas ("on work") Saturday thru Tuesday, which coincides nicely with my little sojourn. With any luck we can find time to catch at least one NFL game this weekend, more commonly known as the easiest weekend of the year to bet on football, since the home teams in the divisional round win something like 80+% of the time.

Of course, the 10am Sunday start might be tough. Almost too late to just stay up, but waaaaaaaaay too early to have gone to bed. I guess we'll see.

Fucking Karma...

Okay, so I was all ready on Monday to write something about how I had nothing to do, and was basically fucking the dog while pretending to look busy. I even had a title for the post: "Delivering Flowers" ... complete with an explanation for it from when I was working for the City.

Fucking the Dog = FTD = FTD Florists = Delivering Flowers.

So when you were just going to dick around for the afternoon, you'd say that you'd be delivering flowers for the rest of the day, and everyone would get a good chuckle out of it at lunch. Yes, I worked with adults. And you fucking wonder why our taxes are high..

But I digress.

Point being, from the moment I came up with that title, I've been running around like the proverbial chicken with its head chopped off. And while this is cool, I've had about a million things to write about, but haven't had the chance. Oh, and it's not like I have much time today, either, after all, I'm moving out of my office in Oakville and back to our main office this afternoon... I just don't have anything overly pressing at this exact moment.

Anyway, let's just say that I've learned my lesson.... don't gloat about having nothing to do, hell... don't even think about gloating, cuz karma'll kick your ass.

And yes, I am aware of irony, too. Fuck off.

Third Time's the Charm

If we haven't spoken since sometime last week, you might not know this, but it's on. I'm going to Vegas.

Jenna and I are staying at the (almost) brand new Wynn Las Vegas, which has all kinds of cool stuff in it...

Also, I believe the idea of the two of us running amok in Vegas is probably the early frontrunner for worst idea of 2007. If you see our names in the paper, please feel free to start a colletion for bail money.

No, really...

Quibbles with the people at Much

Okay, so after watching a special one-time return of Electric Circus (seriously, that used to be a staple of my Sunday afternoons...), I caught a rebroadcast of MuchMusic's Hottest Girls of 2006, and never being one to shy away with my opininons, they were waaaaaaaaaaaay off....

First, the various honourable mentions and up and comers they noted periodically during the show... I don't want to mess up my pretty list (or stream of ranting) once I get going...

Didn't Quite Make It:

Pink. Well, d'uh. She scares me. And not in the good way... Hm. Maybe that's part of Amy Lee's appeal?

Ashley Simpsons. I like her better than Jessica, actually. But whatever. Jessica always gets rated too highly in these things for reasons I'll get to when she almost assuredly comes up later.

Carmen Electra. A little past it. Still hot, but getting up there. Not suggesting I wouldn't still tap that... geez... I'm not gay... I'm just saying, given some of the talent below, she's not exactly #1 anymore.

Shakira. I'll save you the obvious joke about the honesty of her hips, and move on to something else.... I had no idea how amazingly hot her voice is. She could recite the alphabet and probably still sound hot. Gotta find me some more Columbians to test this theory.........

Up and Comers:

Lillix. Huh... the whole band? Yeah, actually, the whole band... I'm going to openly credit Melissa for the fact that I knew who they were like 6 or 7 years ago. She gave me the heads up on the cute factor.... and she's still right.

Cherish. Again with the band thing.... Oh well. Basically the same deal wrt the cute thing, except they're sisters. I'm not sure I'm totally comfortable voicing my opinion on that in a semi-public forum, so I'll move on....

The list!!

20. Kelis. Famous for being Nas's bitch and nothing more. She has about as much talent the desk I'm sitting at.... although maybe I'm slandering the desk, as it's doing a pretty admirable job of being a desk.

19. Mischa Barton. Um.... I'll let Matte Babel (the fucking host - who I tended to agree with a lot along the way, fwiw) take this one: "Maybe it's just me.. but someone needs to get this girl some Twinkies."

18. Keshia Chanté. Canadian girl, but oddly stumpy looking. Giant head for such a small body. I think she's like 5'-1", but the last 10" is all head. Still kinda cute. Maybe I have a midget thing.... but her hands don't seem overly small....... and until I get one of those TVs you can smell through, I guess this will be an on-going mystery. Anyway, total Can-Con pick.

17. Anne Hathaway. Can't really argue with this one. Wow does she ever have Heather Graham eyes. This is a good thing.

16. Paris Hilton. I'm not even going to dignify this with a remark... well, other than "blekk".

15. Xtina. No argument here. Except that it's a travesty that she's so low. Maybe they penalized her for her boob job? I have no idea.

14. Avril. We are officially in the part of the list where they are just referred to by one name. And I am again roundly disappointed with their choice for Can-Con. Shame on you MuchMusic.

13. Mariah. As long as she's on her meds, I think she's great. Actually talented, and refusing to conform to the stickbug body, even though her earlier career shows she can do it if she so chooses. Good for her.

12. Rachel McAdams. Now THIS is some Can-Con I can sink my teeth (among other things) into! Yum. But I like her (better) as a brunette. And what the hell is she doing slumming all the way down here, anyway? Wasn't she #1 last year? If someone so much as suggests that she has lost it, by God I'm not responsible for what I might do.

11. I have no idea. I got distracted by the Assman/Fusili Jerry episode on Fox. But my guess, judging from the pics they flashed before the commercial break, is that it was Amy Lee. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking........ oh well. If you go back a few weeks you can get my thoughts on her. Unfortunately, I can't go to their show on Sunday night..... Bah.

10. I suspect this was Rachel Bilson, but I'm not entirely sure. I just flipped back in time to see a couple of quick shots.....

9. Beyoncé. Yeah, she's still amazingly hot, and I'm sure she could still kill you Xenya-style (from Goldeneye), which does rank as about the best way to die.... but she's approaching "obviously Thriller/Stairway to Heaven's going to be the top video/rock song of all time" status. There's still nothing wrong, it's just getting old. Yes, she's younger than me. Shut up.

8. Keira Knightly. I'll buy it, but I still think she could use a sammich....

7. Cassie. Yaouza. Good call. Kind of an unexpected one here, but damn. Again, good call!

6. Nicole Scherzinger. Sweet merciful crap. I can't even put her into words. She has without a doubt made any Pussycat Dolls video a full stop on my channel surfing. Hell, I'll even listen to them on the radio cuz it reminds me of the videos. I'm not sure I can discuss this rationally....

5. Jessica Simpson. Full stop. What? No. I'll admit that her new rollerskating video is kinda cool, and she looks great in it...... but she's SUCH a two-face! From one angle, she's gorgeous... and from another, her chin makes her look like Sgt. Slaughter!! I can't get past that. Oh, and she's by all accounts a complete moron, too. That doesn't help.

4. Jessica Alba. People shouldn't be allowed to be this cute. It's almost unfair. Now, time to be nitpicky: She's thin, bordering on skinny. She could gain 20-30 pounds and still make this list, in my mind.

3. Nelly Furtado. Again with the Can-Con, huh? Like, she does deserve to be here... what with her transformation from cute to sexpot under Timbaland's direction, but three? Really?

2. Fergie. Wow. Um, no. For the record? Babel agrees with me here, too, saying, "I can see what some guys see in her, but I can't see her being this high on the list." Again, the fucking host said that. How did they made this list, anyway? Random draw?

1. Rihanna. I'll buy that. She makes me want to hit up the Caribbean even more....

Mea Culpa

Okay, so I may have been hasty in complaining about the demise of The OC.

Gawd was that awful last night.

Even the supposed "savior" of the show (not exactly my words below, but close enough) made me change the channel in a fit of "JUST STOP TALKING!!!!"

Ugh.

Of course, I'm still probably going to buy the DVDs.......

The thing that must annoy Cops most...

Other than being called a pig, lazy, fat, and the contant references to donuts and/or oiking noises....

The fact that everyone drives the speed limit around them. Always.

That would drive me nuts.

No more OC? So I can get back to being a man again, huh? I guess I'm okay with that...

Yeah, so it looks like The OC is getting cancelled, and while FOX is a dubious news source, I think it's safe to believe them on this one.

It's too bad, really. I managed to get hooked on Season 2, borrowed Season 1 from Teresa in exchange for playing airport limo for her and watched it all in one week. Of course, I barely slept or ate, but I managed to tear through all of it.... and I was hooked. It didn't matter that Season 3 blew.. and I was actually kind of glad Marissa Cooper was gettign killed off, as Mischa Barton can't act her way out of a paper bag, and pairing her character with Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) was basically a cinematic disaster, as they were trying to make Ryan funny, which is so far out of Ben's range, it was actually kinda funny in and of itself....

Now, here I thought that the show was actually getting back to being decent again with a new female star, Autumn Reeser, who could (heaven forbid) act! And while her character's name threw me at first, I had grown to like her quite a lot... although her IMDb pic does not do her justice, I must say. This, however, does.

Oh well. At least I'll be getting the ol' testosterone count back up!

I am published on FJM!

Okay, so it might not be as cool as Amr's haiku getting published in TMQ's ESPN.com column, but I think this is pretty cool.

I even got an email to let me know that I had "made the cut", which I thought was kinda cool, too.

Also, Amr and I have distinct enough names that it's almost impossible for us to take credit for someone else's "work".... worth noting.

Canadian Sports Wrap Up

Okay, so I watched the replay of the third period, overtime and the shootout in hte Canada-US World Juniors game when I got home, and maybe I'm just too big a fan of sports in general, but even knowing the outcome, it was a little stressful. Crazy, huh?

I also watched most of the Suns at Raptors, a.k.a. Steve Nash's quasi-homecoming (he's actually from Victoria, but whatever... it's Canada, so it's close enough). And honestly, playing without their starting point guard (T.J. Ford) and the reigning rookie of the month (Jorge Garbajosa, who may have been starting at small forward), and with Chris Bosh for the first time after missing 12 games, they actually gave the Suns (arguably the NBA's best team right now) a run for their money. Only a couple of "I'm Keith Hernandez" moments (as in, totally ill-advised shots that he knew he could make) from Captain Canada kept it from being a mammoth upset. In fact, I will gladly eat crow on this one, as Stevie Nash is just playing on a whole other level this season than anyone else. Yes, that actually puts him in line for an un-precedented third straight MVP award... maybe then we'll recognize him as the best Canadian athlete................

In still other news, while I was visiting my parents, a local dude my cousin knows and grew up with (specifically, D-man Kent Huskins) was called up from Portland to Anaheim. If he can't learn a thing or two from guys like Chris Prionger and Scott Niedermayer, well... I don't know what to say......

But my point for bringing this up is that I found it interesting in talking with Nate and his buddy Kevin that they have both have very different reactions when coming across one of their local boys, the Sabres' Brian Campbell. They can't seem to agree on whether he's still a good guy, or has morphed into a giant turd since his "Big Hit". However, they are uniformly cool with Andy McDonald, also with the Ducks, and previously with the Avs. So I'm curious to see what my cousin thinks of Huskins in a couple of years if he ever makes it back home. Although I couldn't help but laugh that his NHL.com page lists him as being from Ottawa... so maybe things don't bode well.............

Another productive morning

The following is the email exchange Justin and I had this morning... all errors are (sic) because I just cut and paste... fuct if I'm going to bother fixing anything.......

From: Justin
Sent: Wed 1/3/2007 8:05 AM
To: Iain
Subbject: RE: We're back

Well, at least it is wednesday today!


From: Iain
Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 8:06 AM
To: Justin
Subject: RE: We're back

Holy shit, you're right!! :)


Justin:
Yup.......just have to get through 3 days.... :(


Iain:
oh, hell.... I've got commissioning all afternoon, and most of tomorrow, so this week's a joke for me.... :)


Justin:
Nice.... Lucky bastard.


Iain:
and PS: I'm about 99% sure I'm coming on Saturday....


Justin:
Got anything else on the go this week?


Iain:
not really, no... there's a piping job with the band on Thursday that I'd rather avoid, but other than that, not too much....

you?


Justin:
not much.........i was over at Beth's last night........ and then she is going to cook me dinner friday night..... :)

hopefully just take it easy.


Iain:
nice... I like having dinner made for me... :)

can I come?!? or would that be weird....?


Justin:
Right....... I don't think so........ Nice try...... :)


Iain:
awe... c'mon...... it'll be like I'm not even there...


Justin:
i'll think about it.........ummmmm....... NO!


Iain:
can I at least have some leftovers?!? :)


Justin:
u have to remember that she is a vegetarian.......

and define leftovers!


Iain:
Hm... that does put a different spin on it.........

Oh.. by leftovers, I of course meant sloppy seconds :)

And on a totally different topic...

Something else happened over the holidays. I meant to include it in my little wrap up of the major events, but in retrospect, I'm glad I didn't. It would have been a disservice to the seriousness of the event. I likely didn't think of it, as I was in kind of a happy place while thinking of all the fun I had over the last week and a half, and when I'm in those kinds of mindsets, the bad stuff doesn't come to mind.

I'm not going to get into any details, as I guess I probably didn't know her that well (to put it in 21st century terms, I had her email, but didn't have her on MSN), but it's still startling to see people you know crying on the cover of national newspapers. It's the kind of thing that really throws you. And kind of leaves you wondering what on earth to do.

I emailed the only common acquaintance I know, and we agreed that electronic communication would ring painfully hollow, and yet I had no other way to contact her. So I haven't. And given time, I think that's the best way. My immediate reaction was to send some kind of consolation. To reach out... but who the hell am I to assume that role? As I said, I really don't know her particularly well, so I'm just going to leave it alone. I can't possibly know what she's going through, so it's likely better this way.

I'm not sure I had a point to this, but I use this venue to get things out of my head, and this one had been bouncing around for a while, so here we are.

Some Tips

I said "tips"... with a "P". Ass.

But with the feeding frenzy of fitness upon us (don't get me started about the bullshit that is the "New Year's Resolution"... if you want to make a change in your life, you don't have to wait for a fucking calendar to tell you), please brush up on your gym etiquette here.

And don't worry about what "Meast" means. It has no impact on your understanding of the article. I promise.

So, I'm back

I'm pretty sure that this post is going to break (by far) the longest dry spell I've had in terms of posting since I started this thing.

Here I am, sitting at the job site as the sun is coming up, thinking to myself that about 24 hours ago, I was just going to bed at Oakden's cottage. Now, I'm not totally sure of the time, but I'm guessing as it was light enough outside to be able to see that all the snow that was on the ground when we got there that it was around now. Good times.

So what have I been up to? Plenty. Let's begin....

I flew up to see my parents. If you live in the Toronto area and have any intention of going to Ottawa or Montreal at a relatively reasonable cost without subjecting yourself to the drive, Porter Air is a great idea. They have only brand new Bombardier Q400's, and are planning to expand their routes to include most of Eastern Canada and the Northeast US.

I managed to spend all or part of 7 days with my parents without any homocides. I'm not going to say there weren't any close calls (some of you may have gotten venting emails one night towards the end of my stay there), but all in all it was great. It even included one night where the old man and I stayed up until almost 4am. I also converted them to Port. Good times.

I got back to TO, and found out that I didn't have to work last week! Woo!! Almost as if a freakin' Bat Signal went off, Greg and Justin both called that same day. Again, good times.

Then, with Greg having to work, Justin and I also went to Mt. Brydges to visit Nate and Colleen for a quasi-housewarming. It was kinda cool to hang out in a small town for a couple of days, as having grown up there, Nate kinda knew everyone, even though he hasn't lived there in years.

Also, we recalled (just in time) that Pat and Melis were heading back to Ottawa that day, so we called them, and it turns out they were just a few minutes outside of London, and so we directed this (only a little out of their way) to come see us. They weren't terribly impressed with us, as they (obviously) still had a big drive in front of them, but I'm glad they dropped in. Alas, this detour made me miss the Khaki Snack show that night in Toronto, but oh well... to make an omlette, you have to break a few eggs, right? Does that even make sense here? I'm not sure it's an appropriate analogy, but fuck it...

After an all too short recovery period, J and I headed up to Oakden's for New Year's, which while it started off kinda slow (we weren't the only ones briefly reconsidering our choice of venue when upon our arrival the most exciting things going on were Othello and a puzzle), but grew to quite the shin-dig (one could argue a hootenanny, even!) by the time we all passed out in a pile.

Last night, after Justin took off home, I lay virtually motionless on the couch from about 3 until 11pm. As far as I could tell, the only reason I didn't go to bed sooner was because I couldn't be bothered to get up.