Feed her to the lions!

Just read in today's Toronto Star that a 22-year-old woman spent the weekend dancing and watching movies at a friend's place while she left her 2-year-old daughter at home by herself. The child died of dehydration and Clara Dasilva is being charged with manslaughter. The little girl had diaper rash so severe, prosecutor David Wright told the court, it was the equivalent of a second-degree burn. Apparently, this was typical of the treatment the woman gave her daughter.

This is a solid vote in favour of the death penalty! You can't be human and treat a child like that, especially your own.

Oprah's free cars not really free

Thanks but no thanks Oprah! Many of the 276 recipients of the new Pontiacs that she gave away last week are going to have to fork over thousands of dollars in taxes. While Pontiac agreed to pay for most local charges, state sales tax and licensing fees, the recipients have to report the cars to the IRS as income. This extra income can push them into a higher tax bracket. For a nearly $30,000 car, that probably means, for most of the recipients, shelling out $7,125 for the "free" car.

Best sports fan's hat

I recently saw an ad for the CFL and in one scene they showed an Edmonton Eskimos fan wearing the best hat I've ever seen. On his head was a small BBQ pit with a tiny rotisserie attached to it. They must have been playing the Calgary Stampeders because on the rotisserie was a plastic horse. The rotisserie could spin...fully functional! That's funny.

Norton Internet Security 2004

Holy crap! It took me almost 4 hours to install this last night. I couldn't uninstall the previous version I had and then the virus definitions wouldn't update automatically, not to mention the hour and a half it took for the two full scans to take place. I had to go to the Symantec website to figure out the problems and then download solutions. I started to feel like a beaten man, but everything came together and the program now works fine. But what a frustrating experience!

Hershey's Kisses with caramel

I recently saw a commercial for a drug store chain (not sure if it was in the U.S. or Canada), that was selling Hershey's Kisses with caramel inside them. I had no idea they existed. I need to buy them!! I love caramel. Does anyone know where I can get them? Mmmmmmm, chocolate. This is one of those things where you stop and say, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Hershey's Kisses website

Ryder Cup runneth over

Geez did the Americans get spanked at the 2004 edition of golf's Ryder Cup. It was a pleasure to watch. This tournament is a reflection of the two different lifestyles. The individualstic Americans looked awkward as they tried to gel as a team. They only cheered or talk to each other when they were ahead. The team-oriented Europeans seemed like they were best buddies. You almost wanted to follow them around and have a drink with them after the match. The Ryder Cup is a team game and until the Yanks can understand this, they'll have a tough time getting the trophy back.

Read more.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary. We celebrated by getting hot and sweaty...at out weekly run with The Running Room. The real celebration will be dinner at The Fifth sometime soon.

Gretzky in the middle

A friend of mine brought up a good point about the Team Canada photo which was taken after they won the Cup. And I quote, "Freakin egomaniac Gretzky, getting right in front of the team picture w/Lemieux...it’s all about him. I’ve never seen a GM do that."

He's got a point. Was he told to go there by the team or does he need to be the centre of attention?

As long as Canada keeps winning championships, I don't care where anyone stands or who's in the shot! Take a look at the picture in the second post under this one.

Beer is good for you!

A study, done at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont., indicates that the polyphenols in beer - substances derived from barley - boost antioxidant activity in the blood. "Antioxidant activity ... helps prevent the oxidation of blood plasma by toxic free radicals that trigger many aging diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and cataracts," according to a news release on the study.

Wine's got 20 times more polyphenols than beer but they're not absorbed as well for reasons unknown.

The study found that one bottle of beer led to a beneficial increase in antioxidants but three bottles had the opposite effect, making the blood "pro-oxidant" and increasing the risks of many aging diseases.

It's understood now that moderate drinking is a protective thing. The converse of that is not heavy drinking - it's binge drinking. So that people's health can be enhanced by fairly significant levels of steady drinking, but people who take their eight pints of beer and drink them, instead of one a day, all on a Saturday night are at risk for health damages. Read complete story.

Numero Uno!

Canada dominates for another world championship. We never trailed during any of the games and went undefeated. Gretzky & Co. have put together two great teams, emphasis on teams, for the Olympics and now the World Cup. Lecavalier was named tourmanent MVP but I think Joe Sakic was the leader on this team. He worked hard every shift, created chances for his linemates and skated hard to get back on defence. Joe Thornton was also strong.

How long before another game? The NHL lockout begins today.


Champs again!

Mystic River

Just saw this and enjoyed it. The acting was great. However, can someone explain to me what the point of the movie was? The ending sent me to the land of "Wha?"

Heartbreak at Glen Abbey

So close yet so far away. That was nerve-wracking to watch Mike Weir almost win the Canadian Open. He had his chances but you can't keep letting the #1 player up off the matt when you have him down. I guess the pressure of the country's hopes was a bit much for his shoulders...think of the pressure. He still made awesome iron shots to the pins, except for the last playoff hole. If his putter was working, it was over early. Oh well, maybe next year!

The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

Just found out that my favourite series of books, "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant," will be continued! The first of the new four book series will be out in October 2004. It will be called "The Runes of the Earth." Click here for more on the books and the author, Stephen R. Donaldson.

Library Card

I got a library card yesterday. Oooooo, the excitement!

Coffee and bladder cancer

I don't drink coffee but found this story about the link between the two...

"Health Canada study finds link between coffee consumption and bladder cancer"
A new Health Canada study suggests that coffee consumption increases the risk of bladder cancer in men, and that the risk increases with the amount consumed.

Men who drank four cups of coffee or more daily were almost twice as likely to get bladder cancer as members of a control group who did not drink coffee, according to results published in the journal Chronic Diseases in Canada. Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer in Canadian men; it has been estimated that 3,700 cases will be diagnosed this year.

Easy win for Canada in World Cup of Hockey

Down to the final four...Czechs, Finns, Yankees and Canadians. We sure looked good last night in eliminating the Slovaks. We now play the Czechs, on Saturday, who are always tough when something is on the line. I'm predicting another re-match from the '96 Cup final...Canada vs USA. Gold, of course, to Canada. Our line-up is too strong when compared to the other teams. Gold medal game on Tuesday the 14th.

Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend

A Jim Morrison autobiography by Stephen Davis
HOLY CRAP! This guy was a freak! If you've seen the movie, The Doors, with Val Kilmer, and thought that Morrison was nuts, you should read this book. I can't put it down because I have to see what this guy will do next! The drinking, the drugs, the sex, the music...he lived a long life in his short existence. I highly recommend reading this book, even if you don't like their music, because people and society like this don't exist anymore.

Actividay

Yesterday was full of athletic activities. I went to the driving range in the morning, went for a 24-minute jog in the evening and then immediately went to play ball hockey for an hour and a half. My body's a little sore today but my mind feels great, knowing that I got all that exercise.

Mizuno's Wave Legend 2

I just bought these running shoes and they're the best I've ever worn. I bought them at The Running Room and highly recommend them, providing they're designed for your foot type.


Wave Legend 2

In the long run

As I mentioned in a previous post, "The thigh bone connected to the pain bone," I'm in a Running Room clinic called Learn to Run. In this 10-week program, we run for longer periods of time each week to practice for the goal race at the end of the clinic, a 5K. Thursday's session is going to be run 8 minutes, walk 1 minute, repeated twice. You're also supposed to get two practice runs in before the Thursaday class to help train. I just finished my second practice run and decided to run for a full 20 minutes. It felt great! I haven't done that in years. Wasn't easy, but I felt great when I finished. Not bad considering this past week-end was spent smoking and drinking way too much! I'm hoping to get hooked on running again, as I was in my teens, to help me quit smoking. Here's to dreaming...

Nokia 3595

Rogers is offering this phone to me for free if I renew my two-year contract with them. Anybody have any comments on this phone? I currently have the 3360 and have had no problems with it.