$1.20 per litre!

Today's gas prices have risen dramatically due to the extensive damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Analysts say hurricane Katrina is expected to have caused enough damage to pipelines, storage tanks and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico that it could take weeks, or perhaps months, before operations return to normal. Nevermind the fact that crude oil has now spilled everywhere in the Gulf.

Knowing this, one can understand why the price of gas is so high. However, last week when we were cursing Shell for the 99¢ per litre we were pumping into our vehicles, we only have ourselves to blame. Sure, we need to get to work and to the mall, but do we need to get there in gas-guzzling SUVs? Do we need to drive 20 seconds to the cornerstore when we could walk? Why don't we take public transportation or car pool?

We need to realize that there's a finite amount of natural resources on this planet. We take it, use it and waste it like it has the magical ability to replenish itself. Once it's gone, it's gone. It's never our problem; our grandkids will deal with the loss of natural fuels. Wrong! We need to deal with it now before $1.20 becomes the norm. Don't have the gall to complain about gas prices while filling up your Denali. Don't complain about the cost of heating or cooling your home while you keep the furnace/air conditioner on all day ... even when you're not home.

I'm trying not to preach. All I want is to make people aware that we are the ones who push crude oil prices higher and higher with our negligence and care-free attitudes.

Courtesy flush please!

Too many times this week, whenever I've gone into the washroom at work (all the units on each floor share a men's and women's facility), some guy is setting a record for the foulest bowel movement ever! It seems like each guy is nastier than the next. Other than peeing in a jar in my office, my only option for sanity is to hope these dudes perform the courtesy flush or post a sign on each stall door asking them to do so. You don't need to wait until you're done to flush. C'mon!

Now, normally I wouldn't stoop to this level of discourse but nuclear waste was coming out of these dudes! We need to be reminded of the courtesy flush. People -- don't be afraid to use it.

Detox

The wife and I are detoxing our bodies for one week starting today. We are attempting to cleanse our bodies of all the "unnaturalness" i.e. toxins. Three times a day we are taking a "detox powder" which tastes like chalk (gag) to help the body eliminate badness! We are removing sugars, additives, wheat, caffeine and dairy from our diet and drinking lots of water.

So far today, breakfast and lunch have been super-healthy. A little on the bland side but I'm sure I can deal with it for a week. I'm thinking we should do this more often; like once a week, every month.

I'll update this posting after the week is over to see how we held up.

________________
Updates:
Monday - forgot about my detox and ate two Werther's mini chocolates. Oops!
Tuesday - brain cramp allows me to bite into an apple danish at work. Remember in time and spit out the delicious morsel.

Trivia

Quick! Who is Oscar Goldman?

Dude ... perhaps some Right Guard?

Here's an interesting stat I found while flipping through Training + Development, a magazine that circulates through our office. It states that an online poll conducted by Business and Legal Reports (BLR) found that 74% of HR professionals have had to talk to an employee about his or her offensive body odour.

BLR suggests these tips for HR when dealing with the malodorous employee:

• Talk to the employee personally, privately, and with as much sensitivity as possible.
• Realize that diet or a medical condition could cause the problem. Suggest that the person visit a doctor, or you can include the company nurse in the conversation.
• Emphasize that this isn't just a personal issue; it's a workplace disruption that must be resolved.
• Don't be surprised if the worker tries to cut the conversation short out of embarrassment.

BLR says that it's worth making one employee uncomfortable in order to keep others.

... Mr. Smith, before we hire you, may we contact your former employers?
... Noooooo!!!

My press conference for a name change!

The name, Paul, is getting a little stale. My audience needs something a little hipper so it's time to reinvent myself. Henceforth, I'd like to be known as "P-Shizzle." I promise this won't change who I am on the inside.

Thank you for your cooperation.

P-Shizzle

Is it gas or gold?

The cost of gas is starting to read like radio stations in this city ... 102.1 and 99.9. I have yet to pump gas at over $1/litre. The closest I've come in the past week is 98.6¢. I don't see this as just a phase or blip on the radar. Gas will continue to be very expensive and yet people still buy the gas guzzlers.

We should all buy Vespas and fill up twice a month. One way to hurt these guys is to not buy the product. The other way is to make and buy cars that run on something other than gas and oil. I'm sure they're out there but the big refineries have probably locked the inventors and the blueprints in a cage somewhere in Siberia. Why would Exxon or Texaco allow these cars to run amok in the general public when it would eat at their profits?

If the governments and car manufacturers cared about the environment, they would sell today's hybrid cars with a lower price tag than gas-run cars. I think more people would buy the hybrids and we wouldn't be prisoners of the pumps.

Once again it's all about the mighty dollar.

Ottawa

Melanie and I took my parents to Ottawa for a weekend visit. It was a very quick 4-hour drive and the weather was great. Ottawa was hosting a Greek festival that weekend so the timing was perfect. The Parliament buildings are tremendous and the city is quite nice. I can't say the same for their hockey team, but that's another posting for a later date. We had a great time in the nation's capital. Stay tuned for pics on our website.

The Great One's Reputation at Stake

Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey player that ever played. That's my humble opinion and I'm sure it's shared my many. Each interview he gave was special. He rarely used cliches when speaking or the preferred words of today's athlete's; um or ah. When Gretzky spoke, he had things to say and they were worth listening to. He demands respect because of how he acts and what he says.

Now, I hated him for a while when he played for the Los Angeles Kings. During the '92-93 Conference final, he cut the Leafs' Doug Gilmour with a highstick and should have been assessed a 5-minute major penalty and maybe an ejection from the game. No penalty was called and Gretzky went on to play some of his best hockey in the next two games. The Kings went on to beat the Leafs in game 7 but then lost the Stanley Cup to Montreal. I resented Gretzky for not having a penalty called against him and to this day I have a big hate-on for the referee that didn't call the penalty, Kerry Fraser.

All this leads me to the point of this posting. Gretzky had no peers during his playing days. He was the greatest and he carried himself in similar fashion. He has now agreed to coach the Phoenix Coyotes, the team in which he is also part owner. I'm leery of this move because if the team does poorly under his tutelage (the Coyotes are not a great team as is), will his reputation and legend suffer? Will the fan who never saw him play only think of him as a horrible coach?

This could happen if Gretzky's Coyotes have a poor season. However, when has Wayne Gretzky never been the best at what he does? I'm hoping he succeeds. Here's to a Coyotes/Leafs Cup final with the Leafs winning ... as payback for '93.

A man can dream can't he?

Click here to see Gretzky's incredible stats.

Finally bought a digital camera

After weeks of research (and those who know me know that I love to research), Melanie and I finally purchased a digital camera. It's the Olympus C-5500. Apparently, it's a great little camera for the price. It's way cheaper than most digital cameras in the 5MP group and we got a free Lexmark printer with it...how about that!

If anyone is about to buy a digital camera, I am bursting with information about most 5MP brands and am willing to share this knowledge.

Click here for more

Like golf needs more gimmicks

I saw a commercial this morning on the golf channel that advertised a new tee. I can't remember the name of the tee but it is supposed to let you hit the ball farther and straighter. Here's how, according to the ad -- the conventional wooden tees cause resistance when the club head strikes the ball and it may also change the club head angle on impact with the ball. These new tees are made with bristles that you prop your ball on top of. You insert the bottom part of the tee in the ground (this part is made of wood) until the bristle section of the tee touches the ground. You then prop your ball on top of it. The ball will go farther, they say, because the club head isn't being affected by the agile bristles.

This all made sense to me until I realized that in the golf swing, the club hits the ball first and then the tee. How does the tee create resistance in the golf swing? The ball is on its way before the club strikes the tee. Does it really matter what the tee is made of? Save your money and don't be fooled.