JPod

Looks like I'll finish this book in a few days. It is so different than the books I've been reading lately; very off-the wall, funny, entertaining. You'll either love it or find it grates on your nerves instantly.

Check it out.

I may have to read another Douglas Coupland book!

It's been a while

Yes it has. I haven't felt much like writing anything lately. I've been busy reading some great novels, getting prepared for Christmas (or should I say, watching Melanie prepare us for Christmas), and getting work done related to my small business. There have been two things though worth sharing:

1) Along with Melanie's step-dad, Norm, and his buddy, Gord, I went to the Phoenix Concert Theatre to watch a Beatles Marathon put on by Classic Albums Live. When I say marathon, I'm not kidding. Classic Albums Live has a motto ... note for note, cut for cut ... this means they play the music exactly as it is on the record. Usually a band will play an album's worth of music or particular songs for a show. This band played every single Beatles song, in order of the album release. EVERY SINGLE SONG! Even the songs which were released in German! The show lasted from 12:30 pm to 1:30 am and Norm and I were there for the whole amazing thing. That's around 200 songs with only three, 15-minute breaks throughout the day. How they did it, I'll never know. I was tired just watching for over 12 hours. It was an experience I'll never forget!

2) This morning when I walked into my office, I went to turn on my computer and noticed something wrapped in tinfoil beside my keyboard. I partially unwrapped it and saw that it was a cooked chicken breast in some sort of dijon mustard coating (that's my guess). It looked and smelled delicious but one question. What the hell is it doing on my desk?! As coworkers arrived, I asked if they perhaps put a Christmas gift of chicken breast on my desk last night before they went home and then proceeded to tell them about the dangers of salmonella and leaving chicken unrefrigerated overnight. Perhaps next year some Tim Horton's gift certificates instead! To my relief, no one said they left chicken on my desk (or admitted to it!) so I finally threw it out. I conclude that the people who clean our offices left their dinner on my desk while emptying the garbage.

Any other suggestions?

May you all have a happy holiday season and a great new year!

Borat

Laughs a plenty! I don't know much about Cohen's characters, i.e. Ali G, so the gags were all new to me. The wrestling scene may be one of the funniest things I've seen in some time.

http://www.boratonline.co.uk/ target="blank"

Dinks of the Day

1) Random woman at the gym
As I was jogging around the track, I noticed a young girl on the stationary bike talking on her cell phone. Honey, there's a time and a place for chatting with your friends. Why don't you concentrate on actually peddling more than three revolutions per minute and work up a sweat. If not, stay home ... others can use that bike.

2) Andrew Raycroft (Leafs goalie)
Dude, I understand that you might be getting sick and tired of constantly hearing how you sucked and were injured last year in Boston. It would probably drive me up the wall as well. But you are in a hockey-mad city. It's going to come up again and again until the season nears its end and you proove yourself ... better get used to it. The other night when you were named first star against Philadelphia and Paul Hendrick interviewed you, you acted like a dink. For those who don't know, when a Leafs player is named a star of the game, they do a quick circle on the ice as a way of appreciating the fans support and selection. One of the Leafs' stars, if one has been selected in the game, then skates over and is interviewed by Paul Hendrick over the P.A. so the crowd can hear. Hendrick's second and usually last question was how he feels about overcoming his troubles from last year to play so solidly this year. Raycroft says, "Yeah, thanks for always bringing it up," and skates away. Classy! You can bitch and complain all you want to a roomful of reporters but not after you've been selected a star of the game by the fans and your spoiled-brat remarks can be heard throughout the arena. Grow up!

Honourbale Mention
• the girl at the gym who did a few laps while holding her purse. Get a locker!
• the guy at the gym (apparently dinks congregate there) who walks the track in his cords. Perhaps some athletic gear for Christmas?

Rant over.

The devil horns salute

We watched a very entertaining documentary last night titled "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey." It's about an anthropologist's mission, who also happens to be a headbanger, i.e. lover of the metal genre of music, to find out why metal music is stereotyped, dismissed and condemned.

I myself listen to certain genres of metal/hard rock but some of these bands he interviews, especially the ones in the "death metal" category, are a little scary. If you are a fan of rock/metal, give it a watch ... it won't disappoint!

Heaven and Hell

It's been a while since I've written anything in this blog. I find I go through spells where I have nothing to say -- rather, nothing important to say. Some days you feel like writing and others you don't. I've also been pretty busy getting my graphic design business on the ground. If you'd like to learn more, leave a comment or e-mail me.

Obviously, today is one of those days in which I feel like sharing something with the world.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Black Sabbath boys are back, as the new band Heaven and Hell.

Guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward and singer Ronnie James Dio - former members of British metal supergroup Black Sabbath - are forming the band named after their 1980 hit, according to their publicist. They plan to launch an international tour next year.

"The fans have been wanting to see this for years and years. Now was just the time," publicist Maureen O'Connor said Wednesday.

Since its formation in 1969, Black Sabbath has undergone numerous member changes and reunions.

Dio, who replaced original Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne as part of the band's early '80s lineup, has been recording new songs with Iommi in England, O'Connor said.

I'll see you at the show!

Great Haircut

Toast Extravaganza

This is what I call breakfast! When I know there's a late lunch on the horizon, I ply myself with carbs to keep me going.

This version consists of cottage cheese, butter and honey, peanut butter and jam, and old cheddar.

The sports page is the anaesthetic which numbs the stomach enabling it to accept this load.

Bon appetit!

I believe that's a do-over

Track and field line judge Lia Mara Lourenco is helped after a javelin hit her in her foot during 'Brazil Trophy,' a national track and field competition, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Perhaps they should invent a yell similar to golf's "fore" when a javelin throw goes awry.

You're a moron when ...

... your instructor tells you a zillion times during the first two classes that there's no class on September 21 and you stay at work for an extra hour, drive down the DVP during rush hour, spend $5 on parking, get to the college, find the classroom doors locked, and then it hits you ... I'm a moron.

Actually, I'm the chief of morons because now I have to drive home up the DVP during rush hour all the while realizing that there's two wasted hours of life I'll never get back.

Give Tellqvist a break!

Apparently Mikael Tellqvist played a great game last night in the pre-season win against Ottawa. This enhances his chances (say that five times quickly) of winning the back-up job behind Raycroft. I feel bad for Tellqvist because I think it's unfair that he's been labeled as the guy who can't win in big situations.

Let's revisit the two games that gave him this moniker. He played poorly against the Canadiens when the Leafs were battling for a playoof spot last year. He didn't win them the games and therefore he choked when the pressure was on. Are we forgetting that the entire Leaf team was rancid for those two games? The team, behind Belfour, was on a losing streak and playing poorly. To lay the blame on Tellqvist was an easy out for the coaching staff and management. The reporters are the ones who have stigmatized Tellqvist, in my opinion unfairly, from just two bad games. I understand that he's not the second coming of Jacques Plante, but he's not as bad as the press makes him to be.

Let's see how he does this year and then you can judge the man. Just remember that this team isn't a whole lot better than last year's squad. I don't think they'll make the playoffs but that might be 39 years of frustration talking!

Sweathog Shenanigans

The Enquirer has published this photo of John Travolta kissing another man on the steps of his private plane in Hamilton, Ontario.

Since it is The Enquirer, you never really know. He is, after all, half Italian so he may just be saying "ciao" -- the European way.

Reincarnation

Reincarnation ... it's a matter of life and death.

70 cents

No, it's not the name of a new hip-hop artist. That's what the gas price was when I filled up the Echo. 70 cents!! 70 cents!! 70 cents!! 70 cents!! 70 cents!! 70 cents!!

Short lived ... it's back up to 90 cents.

Time for the cage

Yesterday at our weekly shinny hockey game, a dude got a puck just under the eye. It didn't hit him hard but it's a hard puck on soft skin so there was quite a bit of blood. Luckily it didn't hit his eye and few stitches is all he'll need to recover.

I am one of the few guys who doesn't wear a cage or visor on my helmut but after seeing yesterday's incident, the cage is going on. I'm not good with blood!

Competition is good

SanDisk Corp. on Monday introduced a new digital music player that stores twice as many songs as the popular iPod Nano for nearly the same price and cut the cost of existing models ahead of the holiday shopping season.

SanDisk, which is a distant second to Apple in the digital music player market, said it would sell a model of its Sansa player with 8 gigabytes of storage capacity enabling it to save up to 2,000 songs.

The new player will retail at just under $250, SanDisk said. By comparison, a new 4-gigabyte Nano is priced at about $249.

Prices for Sansa players with 2, 4 and 6 gigabytes of storage were cut by as much as 30 percent to a range of about $140 to $220.

"The most costly ingredient in a flash-based (music) player is the flash memory," said Eric Bone, director of audio/video product marketing at SanDisk. "Since we make the flash memory, we essentially remove the middleman and pass that savings directly to the consumer."

An honour bestowed upon us

Under the ruse of helping them move furniture, my sister and future brother-in-law invited Melanie and I to their new home last night. They showed us their new hardwood floors on the second floor. Very nice! I'm looking around the place and wondering how come everything looks so tidy. Weren't we here to move stuff? I said nothing and we proceeded to eat dinner and talk about the housing market. I asked my sister, "Are we not moving furniture?" She replies that my parents came over yesterday and they were able to finish all the rearranging due to the hardwood flooring installation. Fine.

We spend the rest of the night talking about their upcoming wedding and about me designing the engagement and wedding invitations. Just as I'm about to tell them we need to leave, Vince asks Melanie and I about our plans for July 8, 2007. I tell him he's quite comical in that we plan on attending their wedding that day ... providing I can get out of my barber appointment. He then says, "Would you like to be my best man."

"Funny dude," is my response and I turn and watch tv for a few seconds before I turn back to him and say, "You're not joking, are you." No he says and you're making me nervous. I respond with a heartfelt yes and we all laugh about the awkwardness of my response. I thought he was joking ... although that would be quite the cruel joke.

Then, my sister says hold on. She asks Melanie if she would like to be in the bridal party as well and Melanie, unlike the dufus that I am, happily agrees immediately. My sister than drops the bomb that she wants her to be the Matron of Honour. Melanie instantly agrees and they hug like school children. (Perhaps a weird analogy but it works.) We then sit there in shock for a few minutes and are honoured that we've been chosen to help them on their special day. We close the evening off with a Sambuca shot and drive home with smiles on our faces.

As I was doing my run this morning, I thought about my brother's wedding 10 years ago and how I was best man for him and now I'm doing the same thing for my sister. (Cue the sappy music.) I realize just how close my family is. Although we may get on each other's nerves, we will always be there for each other and nothing is more important to us. The Leafs winning a Stanley Cup in my lifetime is a very close second!

This wedding is going to be a blast!

Blogger Busting Balls

Anyone else experiencing trouble with Blogger recently? It seems that it takes a long time to upload a post or to republish the template once a change is made. I'd hate to have to go somewhere else to start over and lose all my archives.

The Raconteurs

This cool band's website is designed to look old school. Love it!

http://www.theraconteurs.com/

Air conditioning makes you fat

I can't remember where I read this article but it stated that we are heavier today because there are air conditioners everywhere. We no longer sweat a few pounds off during the summer because we have controlled, cool climates. I don't think we'd lose 15 pounds if we were air conditioner-less but I'm sure it adds up.

If anyone can find an article on this subject or something similar, add a comment with a link to its location.

Rules people ... not guidelines

{Time to generalize}

I have no time for motorcyclists who complain that cars and trucks cut them off and pay them no respect. I believe a few of your brethren are making it tough on all of you. Just the other day during rush hour on the DVP, there were two separate incidents where I wanted to clothesline these dudes off their hogs.

The first guy, who is obviously way too important to wait like the rest of us plebes in traffic, decides to drive on the shoulder. Obviously, a family member is in the hospital on their last breath and he must get there in a matter of seconds. What else could it be? Impatience? No, this guy was someone!

The second dufus, just minutes after seeing the shoulder-driving dude, is driving in between lanes while the rest of us are stopped. More than likely, he is late for his ceremony — probably being knighted or crowned as king.

I'm not saying that all accidents involving motorcycles are their fault, but follow the laws of the road (they're not guidelines to be interpreted by you) and you might save a life ... like your own!

While I'm needling bad drivers on two wheels, what gives bicyclists the special permit to not stop at red lights and stop signs. Are we not using the same road with the same applicable rules?

Obviously I'm no friend of bad and inconsiderate drivers and this concludes my rant. Back to your regularly scheduled road rage.

Bike riding

Last night, Melanie and I finally put some air in our bicycles' tires and went for an exploratory ride around the subdivision. I felt like I was 12 again as we rode through new parks and pathways which were previously a little too far by foot. Of course we went as the sun was setting, to not melt in the ridiculous heat that's gripping Toronto and surrounding areas, but it was still quite warm. It's pretty good exercise on the legs and we hope to explore more of our neighbourhood in the weeks to come. That is, as long as my butt holds out. I don't know how cyclists ride for more than 10 minutes without feeling pain in the groinal region. Yowza!

If we find anything worth talking about on our treks, like gold or dead bodies, you'll be the first to hear about it.

Comparisons

The sun is big ...

The sun is small ...

Enough of the cheats and lies

I understand that professional athletes are under a lot of stress to perform everytime they're "at work." They get paid a lot of money to give 110% each and every day — and when your salary contains six zereos to the left of the decimal, you bloody well should. Therefore I understand that some athletes feel they need an edge to outperform their opponents; this is where performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) come into play.

There should be a level playing field in all sports. This means that no one is under any type of PED. If Barry Bonds feels the need to inject himself with steroids, that's his choice. I call him a cheater. When these athletes get caught, I would respect them more as people if they told the truth ... "Yup. I injected growth hormones in my ass. The crowd loved it though when I hit my 73rd home run. It makes me a better player. A lot of ball players do it, I just got caught."

The hypocrites are the people who run the sports. Take baseball for example. They sweep the truth under the rug so the fans will continue to come out and watch 250 lb men hit 80 homeruns a year. Then, by fluke, a player gets caught in the web of the drug test and the public outcry makes them do something. Did you notice that as soon as the stiffer penalties were discussed during the offseason a few years ago, the homerun totals dropped. All the 'roid heads dropped weight like a fighter before the weigh in ... of course their excuse was exercise and diet.

Just admit that you're on the juice and the public will get over it quicker and your name will be out of the headlines that much sooner. Your fellow athletes won't care because they're just as guilty as you are.

Perhaps I'm using a broad brush to paint everyone in sports as cheaters but I'm tired of the lies to my face. For instance, "My massage therapist put a cream on my back but I thought it was Calamine lotion." Don't you hate when that happens? Or better yet, "I produce an elevated level of testosterone in my body naturally." Yeah, mixed nicely with the synthetic stuff.

Floyd Landis, Barry Bonds, Justin Gatlin et al ... just come clean ... it's easier.

Sundin's teeth

I think Matt Sundin's old teeth were better. He didn't need to floss.

We made a doormat

Two Mile Jog

Seven weeks in and I'm still a regular attendee at the YMCA. I'm still not really loving it and hate getting up at 5:30 am to put my body through pain but apparently it's "good for you." For the past week or so, after my weight program, and a few tears, I've kicked it up a notch and am finishing the workout with a two mile jog around the Y's indoor track (I have lost what few marbles remained in my head). I never thought I'd run again on a regular basis after my Running Room program ended. It takes me just under 19 minutes to do but it's something I'm really starting to enjoy. I'm going to start jogging for 20 minutes instead of stopping after the two miles and see how far I can go.

The weirdest spam subject ever

I scan each spam e-mail in my junk folder before I delete them just in case someone I know sends me a message and it ends up there.

I don't know why the government doesn't create some sort of law that would stop this nonsense of spam from clogging the servers around the world. For example, here is the subject of an e-mail that found its way into my junk folder this morning -- Nourishing Spermatozoa.

Nice.

Smith has trouble with his Wang

Today's New York Islanders hockey franchise reminds me of the bad old days when a certain troll owned the Toronto Maple Leafs (I refuse to say or write his name). What the hell are the Islanders doing? They made a great move this summer by hiring Neil Smith to manage the team and Ted Nolan to coach it. Today they fired Smith after six weeks on the job. Weird, but even weirder is that they replaced him with Garth Snow, their backup goalie. Huh? Smith brought a Stanley Cup to the Rangers in 1994. Garth Snow has no experience at all as a general manager -- bubkis!

Why is all this happening? Leafs fans know all about meddling owners. In this case, it's Charles Wang. He knows just as much about hockey as Snow does about managing. In the article I read on Canoe, it states that everyone must report to Wang. Smith, not being used to this dictatorship, probably didn't endear himself to Wang by doing things on his own. Hence, Snow, the lackey.

It should be interesting watching the Islanders play this year knowing all the crap that's going on behind the scenes. Will Snow fail? Probably. How will the players react to Nolan behind the bench? I think he's a good coach but will have trouble with this team that has not won a playoff series since 1993.

My condolences to the fans on Long Island.

Raunch and Roll

I'm loving Disturbed's latest single, Land of Confusion -- a cover of the 1986 Genesis hit. If this song doesn't make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, check your pulse. Check out the video on their website. It was created by Canadian artist Todd McFarlane.

Cottleston Pie

Melanie was reciting this poem all weekend and it was driving me crazy. I thought I'd share my agony.

Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
A fly can't bird, but a bird can fly.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.

Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
Why does a chicken? I don't know why.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.

Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
A fish can't whistle and neither can I.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.

A. A. Milne

Now that's funny!

A bunch of us saw Shaun Majumder at Yuk Yuk's last night. The dude is funny! Thanks to Looch, AKA "Nutcrusher," for organizing. Jaw still hurts from the laughter.

Like a stone

Instead of the treadmill and lifting weights, Melanie and I decided to get our exercise by swimming today. Ouch, am I sore. I'd rather lift 30 reps of weights with my mother beside me going on about how we should start having kids. I'm not the greatest swimmer. I'm just ahead of anchors on the list of things that float. After a few laps my arms started to burn and my legs decided they'd join in on the pain. All I can say is after swimming on and off (rest, good!) for around 20 minutes, you get a great cardio and muscle workout without the stress on your joints.

I just hope I don't drown in the shallow end from exhaustion.

Great Ad

Stinky asparagus pee

Ever notice that when you eat asparagus, your urine smells weird? Here's the answer why:

As archived in the Boston Globe at www.boston.com, below are details about why asparagus causes urine to have a unique odor.

Asparagus is filled with sulfur-containing amino acids that break down during digestion into six sulfur-containing compounds. These can impart a unique smell to urine as they are excreted. "It's the same sulfur group that makes skunks smell," said Barbara Hodges, a dietician with Boston University's nutrition clinic, the Evans Nutrition Group.

Scientists remain divided on why people have different urinary responses to eating asparagus. One camp thinks only about half of the population have a gene enabling us to break down the sulfurous amino acids in asparagus into their smellier components. Others think that everyone digests asparagus the same way, but only about half of us have a gene that enables us to smell the specific compounds formed in the digestion of asparagus.

"There's something of a dispute," said Dr. David Stollar, chairman of biochemistry at Tufts University Medical School.

The unusual smells are nothing to worry about, though. According to the Dictionary of Medical Syndromes, which includes an entry on the urinary excretion of odoriferous components of asparagus: "The syndrome does not have any pathological significance."

I shaved it off!

I shaved off my goatee this morning. It took me about 5 minutes to put the razor to it. I was sweating! I look like the second brother I never had. I see my face in the mirror but it's not me! It was time for a change. I've had the goatee for at least 12 years. The last time I removed it was a few months before my wedding -- just to see if I liked my face without the stubble. I hated the bare-face look then and, although it's only been a few hours, I'm not liking the clean-shaven face today either. I think I look better with some stubble whether it be a goatee or full beard. The ladies at work didn't realize it was gone until I told them. They knew something looked different about me but couldn't quite put their finger on it.

I'm hoping it grows back quickly!

Good Samaritan

Last weekend, The Girl and I went to the beach for a leisurely stroll on the boardwalk. After a few hours of sun, munchies and drinks at the boardwalk pub, we decided to window shop on Queen Street and then stopped in a park for a rest before heading back to the car. On our park bench was a cell phone that someone had left behind. I picked up the phone and thought about the anguish on the person's face once they realized their phone was lost. If this was my lost phone, I know I'd want someone to help get it back into my hands ... so that's what I did.

I grabbed the phone and went through the contact list. I knew that the "Swiss Chalet" or "Pizza" entries wouldn't help me so when I found "sister" I dialed the number. The conversation went something like this:

sister: Hey Joey, what's up?
me: It's not Joey. Is this Joey's sister?
sister: Yes, who's this?
me: My name is Paul and I've found your brother's phone in (can't remember the name) Park.
sister: What an idiot? Are you at Wonderland with him?
me: No, I'm at this park on Queen Street. If you guys live around here, come by and get the phone.
sister: We're not from around there.
me: We'll I'm on my way home to Markham so if Joey wants the phone tell him to call his own phone and we can find a place to meet.
sister: Cool. If he calls me I'll let him know what's happening. Thanks for your help.
me: No worries. I'll just keep answering the phone in case it's Joey.
sister: I'll keep calling you as well to find out what's happening. He's such an idiot!

The Girl and I then walk back to the car. It's about a 10-minute walk and sister (Melissa) calls a couple of times to see if Joe has called yet inquiring about his lost phone. I tell her that she's the only person who has called so far. We then proceed to drive home and the phone rings a few minutes later. The conversation went something like this:

me: Hello?
dude: Yeah, who's this?
me: I'm someone who has found Joe's phone. Are you a buddy of his?
dude: Yeah, Joe is right here -- hold on.
Joe: Where'd ya find my phone, bro?
me: This park on Queen Street.
Joe: Yeah, I was there. Thanks for helping out. Where are you?
me: I'm at Birchmount and St. Clair. Are you close by?
Joe: About 10 minutes away.
me: Cool. I'm going to pull into the Shell at the south-east corner. Come get your phone.
Joe: Thanks man. Be there in 10.

Joe and his buddy show up 10 minutes later. I hang his cell phone out the window, he sees it and runs over. He offers us $20, drinks and food from the gas station but I decline. I tell him that I'd want someone to do the same thing for me if I lost my phone. I believe in karma and that doing good brings good. He thanks me again and takes off. The Girl and I drive home knowing we made someone's day.

Time for a hybrid plane?

From the National Geographic website

Moving flight times from night to day could reduce air travel's contributions to global warming, a new study suggests. Scheduling more daytime flights may lessen the impact of contrails—the visible streaks of condensation that many planes leave in their wake.

The role of contrails in climate change is still under study, but some scientists believe that they contribute to the greenhouse effect by trapping heat in Earth's atmosphere.

Nicola Stuber, first author of the study, to be published in tomorrow's edition of the journal Nature, suggests that contrails' overall impact on climate change is similar in scope to that of aircrafts' carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over a hundred-year period.

Aircraft are believed to be responsible for 2 to 3 percent of human CO2 emissions. Like other high, thin clouds, contrails reflect sunlight back into space and cool the planet. However, they also trap energy in Earth's atmosphere and boost the warming effect, the study says.

What is design?

I'm taking a class at George Brown College called Studio Management. It's about the whole process/do's and don'ts of running your own freelance company. One of the exercises was to come up with some definitions of design. After reading Brian Sooy's blog, I think he's come up with the best one.

"Design consists of creating things for clients who may not know what they want, until they see what you've done, then they know exactly what they want, but it's not what you did."

That pretty much sums it up.

Uppercase & Lowercase

Feel free to use this morsel of information at any party.

Back in the day, before computers (yes, this time did indeed exist), printers had to carve out letters on wooden blocks to use for typesetting. They kept the type for capitals and for small letters in separate cases; capitals were kept in the upper half of the type case and small letters in the lower half. Thus the terms uppercase and lowercase were born.

Apple + Nike = Great Idea

One of my instructors at George Brown College told us about how Apple and Nike have joined forces to create a running shoe that connects with your iPod and takes you on an amazing digital workout.

To see it for yourself, click on the link below:
http://www.apple.com/ipod/nike/

It's all in the name

I hate shaving! When I do, though, I use Gillette's Mach 3. It has three blades. It gives me a close shave and I'm happy with the results. I know there are some razors out there that have five blades. Do I really need to upgrade? Will the extra two blades give me a smoother shave or will I lose more skin?

I noticed recently that there is a Mach 3 Turbo (see image). What exactly does the word "turbo" have to do with shaving? Will I be done in eight seconds? Does this blade, like its internal-combustion engine namesake, have a compressor to increase the power output by increasing the mass of oxygen and fuel entering the razor? Do I need to work out to hold this thing?

Bloody marketing!

Is it always 11:11 in my world?

Time for a weird observation. When you are curious as to the time of day, do you notice you see one time more than others? It seems that whenever I check my watch or alarm clock, it's always 11:11. Is it because this time is easy to remember or is it because at these two points during the day I need to know the time? Anyone else track this sort of thing or have I gone completely mad?

Coffee may reduce risk of cirrhosis

Provided by: Associated Press

Coffee may counteract alcohol's poisonous effects on the liver and help prevent cirrhosis, researchers say. In a study of more than 125,000 people, one cup of coffee per day cut the risk of alcoholic cirrhosis by 20 percent. Four cups per day reduced the risk by 80 percent. The coffee effect held true for women and men of various ethnic backgrounds.

It is unclear whether it is the caffeine or some other ingredient in coffee that provides the protection, said study co-author Dr. Arthur Klatsky of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.

Of course, there is a better way to avoid alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, Klatsky said.

"The way to avoid getting ill is not to drink a lot of coffee, but to cut down on the drinking" of alcohol, he said.

Not all heavy drinkers develop cirrhosis, an irreversible scarring of the liver that hurts the organ's ability to filter toxins from the blood. Klatsky said the new findings may help explain why some people's livers survive heavy alcohol use.

The same study found coffee drinkers had healthier results on blood tests used to measure liver function, whether or not they were heavy alcohol users. Coffee's effect on reducing liver enzymes in the blood was more apparent among the heavy drinkers in the study.

The researchers found no reduced risk of cirrhosis for tea drinkers. Tea has less caffeine than coffee and there were fewer heavy tea drinkers in the study, so if caffeine is the protective ingredient, an effect may not have shown up for tea in the study, Klatsky said.

FIFA World Cup 2006

> Survey <
Who else out there is a huge fan of this tournament?

Ouch: My first workout

Stretching, smetching! Is it really necessary? YUP. Yesterday was my first ever workout in a gym/community centre setting (see original post). I went in telling myself not to overdue it. I hadn't done anything truly strenuous since I stopped running months ago. I started off with a 15-minute jog on the indoor track. I barely made it. Cramps that felt like I swallowed molten lava. Sweat oozing out of me like I was running in a typhoon. When I finished the run, my legs almost seized up. The muscles were tighter than Alex Van Halen's snare drum. I tried to walk it off and stretch. A few minutes later, I was able to walk normally.

I then turned my attention to the weights. (This is a sentence I've never written before.) I'm not sure what I should be lifting -- what's too heavy what's too light -- so I just started doing bicep, tricep, shoulder and pectoral exercises. The weight wasn't that heavy but for my first time out I probably overdid it. Okay, not probably, I know I overdid it. My legs are shaky and my arms feel like they're being held together with masking tape.

It feels great, though. Knowing that I've joined a gym and that I'll be exercising three to four times a week makes my adrenaline pump. I don't want a Schwarzenegger look -- I just want to get toned. Let's see if I'm still pumped a few weeks from now.

The unknown tailor

Did anyone see Don Cherry's suit during Coaches Corner on today's HNIC telecast? What on God's green earth was that? A blue floral print jacket? Whoever the tailor is who creates Cherry's suits must not have a shred of dignity -- or Cherry pays him/her a small fortune. How else can you explain someone agreeing to create these designs for him? I have a feeling these suits don't make it to the portfolio.

Am I really joining a gym?

Yep. It appears that The Girl and I are about to join the newly built YMCA in our neighbourhood. It's a 5-minute drive, has everything we need to stay fit and motivated and is pretty cheap at $30 each per month. The price, swimming pool and track were the main points that closed the deal. The Girl cancelled her Good Life membership and was pleasantly surprised by how accommodating they were. This particular Good Life has apparently had many cancelled memberships due to the opening of this particular YMCA. The Good Life she went to was a womens only gym. At least at the YMCA we can go together and motivate each other. Future postings will delve into my first-time gym experiences. I plan on having fun here!

Anti-smoking crusader passes away

Heather Crowe was laid to rest following a private ceremony at an Ottawa church. You may remember her from tv and movie commercials. The Nova Scotia native was the public face for a movement to ban smoking in workplaces. She was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer after 40 years spent working in smoky restaurants, and died from the disease on May 22. She was 61.

Our vacation on the Danube

As mentioned in my previous post, the girl and I just got back from three amazing cities in Europe. Since it's almost impossible to put the views into words, have a look at these snaps.

Prague


Vienna


Budapest

Just flew in from Europe and boy are my arms tired

One of the many reasons I haven't posted much this month is because the girl and I, along with four friends, just returned from an 11-day tour of Europe with Trafalgar Tours. We spent three days in each of these three cities: Prague, Vienna and Budapest. What amazing places! I could go on about the beauty of each city for paragraphs but the one thing that will stand out in my mind about this trip was the English dude who crossed our path in Budapest on the second last night of the tour.

A few of us were having a drink on the patio of the bar across from the hotel when a guy with an English accent stops at our table and asks if we speak English. We say yes and he proceeds with this story:

"I've lost my mates and I have no idea where I am. We're here from England for a stag party and somehow I've lost my mates. I have no idea what bar we're going to and I have no idea what the name of my hotel is or where it is. I'm sorry but can you help. I'm so sorry!"

Okay ... not only is this guy lost in a strange country he's also HAMMERED! He's barely able to speak but at least he's friendly and apologetic for bothering us with his troubles. All he wants is to borrow a phone to try to get in touch with someone. One of the girls gives him her mobile phone and he proceeds to call one of his buddies. No luck ... no one picks up. He then calls his mother in England to find out the name of the hotel he's staying at. No luck ... she doesn't pick up.

He hands the phone back to the girl, apologizes many times, wonders aloud for a few minutes how this happened, thanks us again for our help, gets up from the table and proceeds to jog away in hopes of finding his mates. WOW! He's going to feel even worse once his buzz wares off.

A few minutes later, our gang loads on the bus which is taking us to dinner and we see the dude at the corner down the street talking to a local. He looks exasperated.

Lad! You looked so helpless and we all felt badly for you. I hope you found you're way!

Four Rabbits

As a left my front door this morning to get into my car, I noticed four rabbits hopping around my neighbours' yards. I know we have many in our neighbourhood but I don't think I've ever seen four at once. They were big! This was a little unsettling. Not because they were the man-eating type as seen in Monty Python's The Holy Grail, but because we just planted our vegetable garden yesterday. I hope everything is still there when I get back from work tonight.

The Kids in the Hall

Just finished watching a sketch of this funny show in which a businessman calls a courier service to try to get his package delivered quicker. Before he gets on the phone, his assistant comes in his office and asks what he wants for lunch. He says, "Smelts and a coke!"

Anyone else find that line hilarious?

Placenta

That is what was on the licence plate of a Volkswagen Beetle I saw this morning. I thought the world should know.

First round of golf was a slice!

I was lucky enough to play 9 holes this past Friday as a guest at a private club. It was my first round of the year and I was surprised to find that I made solid contact on every shot. It took about three holes to get the feel for my chipping and putting stroke; the only parts of my game I feel confident in.

I was not surprised to find my slice greeting me warmly like an old friend. It's a bloody thorn in my side. Well, it's not really a thorn ... it's more like the size of the CN Tower! I'm not sure how to rid myself of this affliction but I'll become the best friend to anyone who can rid me of my slice.

Once that's done, I'll be able to concentrate on eliminating the other golfing albatross that hovers over my head ... distance on my long irons.

Steve Stavro passes away

Former Leaf chairman Steve Stavro, the grocery store giant whose sporting interests used to include the Maple Leafs, has died. He was 78. A friend said he died of a heart attack.

Stavro acquired control of the Leafs in the early 1990s. In 1991, he became chairman of the board of MLSE, a governor of the National Hockey League and chairman of the board of the Air Canada Centre. Stavro sold his share in Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment to Bell Globemedia in December 2003.

Quinn has been fired!

Let the pigeons loose! Pat Quinn has been relieved of his duties as coach of the Maple Leafs. I'm also glad to see defence coach Rick Ley go as well. Hopefully this will be the first of many changes to this Leafs squad. Will Paul Maurice, the Marlies coach be promoted to the big club? I hope they give him the chance. If we plan to go with a younger team next year, he's the right man to lead them. Most of the incoming youngsters already know him from the Marlies so it should be a good fit.

Now, let's hope the Leafs rid themselves of more dead skin and create a young, quick team for 2006-07. For a change, they are way under the salary cap and can go after a stud defenceman AND goalie.

Missing the playoffs is a blessing in disguise ... for a change. Management can't give us the line of only needing to tinker with a playoff team. The Leafs need wholesale changes! Let's hope Ferguson Jr has learned from his mistakes/inactivity and builds a strong nucleus. I'm not looking for a Cup contender next season (being a Leafs fan, I know better) ... just the beginning of a strong nucleus.

It is now officially baseball season!

Web Design: What am I missing?

I dabble in web design. I want to know everything there is to know about it. My brain hurts from reading, learning and experimenting. I currently use Dreamweaver MX and design the pages using tables. I just purchased Studio 8 and am also experimenting with GoLive CS2. I'm learning more about CSS and it is proving to be a great time saver.

I have many question for all you web designers:

- what programs do you use to create your pages?
- how can I apply CSS other than to text?
- are your pages created using tables? if not, how are you doing it?
- what else should I learn? Flash?
- what else do I need to know?

To those who respond, I thank you for your input.

The silver lining

Although tonight's Leafs game, the last of the year, means absolutely nothing as they fail to qualify for the playoffs, there is a silver lining in this dark cloud. If there is a God, Aki Berg will be playing his last game as a Maple Leaf.

A few years ago during the off season, I swore that I'd never watch another Leafs game as long as Jyrki Lumme was on the team. What a bum! Thankfully he never played another game as a Leaf. This year I make the same promise. If Aki Berg is still on the Leafs' roster come October, the team will be minus one fan.

Of the many prospects currently playing with the Marlies, any one of them will be an upgrade. Can you believe that Berg was drafted 3rd overall by Los Angeles in 1984? He's not the only one who stunk the joint out this year but I've had it with him.

Here's a look at Berg's stats as a Leaf ... don't let the door hit you on the way out.

325 games > 10 goals > 24 assists

P.S. Domi ... you might be next on my list.

I was Greeking my text today!

Being a desktop designer, I've come across the term "Greeking" quite often in page layout programs. I've never understood what it meant until we discussed it in a Quark class I take at George Brown College.

As nudge-nudge-wink-wink as it sounds, Greeking, when it comes to page layout, refers to the way small text is displayed on your monitor. If your page layout program is set to Greek text at 9 pts, fonts smaller than 9 pts will display as unreadable text. All you'll see is scribbled lines.

Greeking also refers to placeholder text used in mock-ups of visual design projects before the actual words are inserted into the finished product. Think of "lorem ipsum dolor."

Either way, it's all Greek to me. (You knew that was coming!)

Factoid du jour

On Wednesday of this week, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be:

01:02:03 > 04/05/06

Now that's a factoid!

Too little, too late

Now that the Maple Leafs' season is over, for all intents and purposes, they are playing better hockey. In the past three games, they're playing like the team I expected to see all year. We all know the talent wasn't top notch but the work ethic was supposed to be strong. Well, it hasn't been, until recently. The Leafs have decided to play smart hockey this past week and the wins against strong teams this week is proof that hard work pays off ... with a little attention to defence.

But alas, they're too far back to make the playoffs this year. This means, in most organizations, that some heads should roll. Who is on the way out? Here's my list of who I think is responsible:

Peddie > Tanenbaum > all the teacher owners > McCabe > Allison > Antropov > Domi > Wilm > Richardson > BERG

There are many more I can add to that list. Here are some who deserve one more year to see what happens: Ferguson > Tucker > Wellwood > O'Neill > Ponikarovsky > Stajan > Khavanov

Realistically, you can rid of anyone on this team. We have a bunch of third liners. I don't see this team doing much better next year so I'm hoping they play a lot of the young kids like Steen, Stajan, White, Harrison, Kronwall, Colaiacovo and Suglobov to see if they have what it takes. Let's lay off buying players past their prime and try to develop some of our own. I'm willing to have a few bad years if it means watching a strong team develop from within.

Eggs, milk and chinos?

Loblaws Superstores are now selling clothes. The styles look hip and the price is right. It's definitely worth a look. Not all Loblaws offer this service but all info is on this website:

www.joe.ca

Now THIS is a presentation!

Identity 2.0 is an open-source identity management system that could change the way we share personal information over the Internet.

Dick Hardt is founder and CEO of Sxip Networks who developed Identity 2.0.

Yes, his name is Dick Hardt!

Click here to check out his presentation.

Origami update

Microsoft has finally pulled back the curtain on their new tech-toy, Origami (see previous post). I'd love to hear what people are saying about this all-in-one device.

Running with the devil, indeed.

Does Eddie Van Halen look like a 51 year old? The man's been through a lot but he looks haggard. Regardless, he's a legend who has shaped the way today's rock musicians play guitar.

What is an Origami?

I've been reading some press clippings about Microsoft's new tech gadget called Origami. This website says it will give out more details about Origami on Thursday. Apparently, it's Microsoft's all-in-one device that will try to take some of the sales away from Apple's iPod music and video player and Sony's PlayStation Portable gaming console. Tech-related blogs have been buzzing about this part iPod-killer, part handheld video gaming device, part souped-up BlackBerry since last week.

It is widely expected to be no larger than 10 inches, equipped with a full version of the Windows desktop PC operating system and priced from $500 to $800 US.

By trying to be all things to all consumers, Origami may find it difficult to earn "cool" points, predicts Piper Jaffray tech industry analyst Gene Munster.

"Consumers are generally bashful about trying technology they don't understand," Munster says. "Ultimately, this will prove to be a marginally accepted product."

With all this buzz, Origami certainly has my attention — I'm dying to see what this thing is! It's priced out of my range but the competition it brings about is good for everyone. It should bring down the costs of similar products and inspire new innovations for the future.

Hockey Parity

As a Canadian hockey fan, I hate losing on the international stage. I can come up with any excuse you want as to why we didn't perform up to expectations, or rather, Canadian hockey expectations although one word can sum it up ... parity.

The top hockey nations assemble teams, that on any given day, can win championships. The talent around the world is equal to the talent in Canada. We invented the sport so we think it's our birthright, and it probably is, but until Canadians come to realize that the rest of the world is just as good, we will continue to be disillusioned by bad performances and may fall behind, skill-wise. Our teams need to have more skill and speed and prepare for big-ice hockey. I don't think the Russians or Czechs bring players who are defensive specialists. Offence wins now, not defence.

I have no idea how coaches prepare their practices but I don't think we teach enough skill. Sure there are pylons on the ice and we can skate fast but can we do all that with the puck. Enough of the dump and chase. You can tell when a European has control of the puck. It's a lot smoother than most Canadians. Most, not all. The puck doesn't seem as heavy on their stick. We need to change the way we play hockey from all levels of the game. Management to coaches to players. If not, I feel we will begin to lag behind. Imagine that!

Apologies to Don Cherry but Canada can't win every tournament because of our heart and determination. Other countries have this trait and it's not the deciding factor that separates us as champions anymore. Grit is not solely a Canadian gene.

The only thing that truly separates us as being the strongest hockey nation is our depth. Canada can ice two, three, perhaps four teams and all of them can win medals. I don't think other nations have this luxury. We are deeper in talent but the elite players of all top hockey countries are now pretty much equal.

Excuses are for the unprepared. I don't think that the Gretzky gambling fiasco or the Bertuzzi selection has anything to do with our poor showing in these Olympic games. These guys want to play hockey to take their minds off the "dirt" of everyday life. It's not something they ponder while they're playing so let's not go there.

Canada just didn't perform as well as the other countries in this tournament ... plain and simple. That said, we don't need an inquiry into why Canadian hockey stinks, we just need to accept that the rest of the world has caught up to us in skill and heart and we need to prepare our teams with this in mind. Any country can be hockey champs on any given day.

Halcyon Days

I never blog about work because I don't want to get Dooced but this posting is positive. I just finished installing Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium edition on my computer. Tears of joy, people ... tears of joy! This software will make designing at work fun again.

Today is a good day.

Cool Gifts

The Girl gave me two cool gifts for my birthday. The first is a hand-knit scarf, with cool alien designs on it. Very warm, soft and stylish. Made with her own two hands. I love it!

The second gift is an iTrip FM transmitter for our iPod. It allows you to listen to anything on your iPod through your radio.

The gifts are superb! ILY!

Update
I forgot to mention the DVD I received from my In-laws. It's called Anatomy of a Drum Solo. Watched a bit of it last night and the stuff Peart does with the drums makes me want to throw away my sticks forever. Practice is what it's all about. For all the drummers out there, I highly recommend this DVD.

Birthday Weekend

The birthday weekend has come and gone way too quickly. The Girl did a fantastic job, as always, in planning things for us to do. We did an awesome tour of downtown Toronto which came complete with a word puzzle to fill in with places and streets we visited. Art exhibits, old pubs, CBC building, the waterfront ... when you're having fun, you don't realize how cold it is outside.

I can't forget the great pasticcio dinner I had at my parents' place on Saturday and the delicious lunch of roast beef and scalloped potatoes at my favourite in-laws on Sunday.

The Girl did an amazing job in keeping me occupied this weekend. I had a great time. ILY!

Tocchet's Troubles ... or Gretzky's?

I refuse to comment on this gambling scandal that has hit Rick Tocchet, "Operation Slap Shot," until all the evidence comes out. There's so much speculation right now that my name may even come up!

Funny thing how since day one, I haven't even heard Tocchet's name being mentioned. The only name I've been hearing lately is Wayne Gretzky's ... and it really isn't about him.

I just hope Gretzky's not lying. Gamble, sure, but don't be lying to us Wayne -- that would be more of a disappointment to us. As a Canadian icon, it sure would suck to have your reputation ruined this way.

Animated Peart

I'm currently reading Neil Peart's book, Traveling Music: The soundtrack to my life and times. Halfway through it, I'm thoroughly enjoying it and can't put it down -- as I did with his second book, Ghost Rider. I plan to read his first book, The Masked Rider, as soon as possible.

Traveling Music is about how listening to music always ignites some sort of response, memory or feeling in our lives. As a music lover, and drummer, I have to agree with his philosophy. As Neil describes what runs through his head while listening to certain songs, he reflects on his past, and this is the part of the book I love. That, and learning who his musical influences are and who he currently listens to.

I enjoy his writing -- not to mention his drum playing/lyric writing -- so much that I plan on writing to him and telling him so. I went to his website, to find his contact information and while surfing, found a link called Xtras. On this page, I found the coolest digital animation I've ever seen. It's a video, created by a fan, of Neil playing to Rush's awesome instrumental, YYZ. To view this amazing piece of work, click here. It's the second item on the Xtras page titled, "A Digital Man."

I plan on posting my letter to Neil Peart in this blog once it's written. I'm finding it quite nerve-wracking thinking of what to say and more importantly, how to say it. How often to you get a chance to tell "a star" how much you appreciate their work and how they've influenced you? Check back here soon to read my note.

Rice Burgers ... who knew!

I was going to write a post about a delicious treat The Girl and I had this weekend but she beat me to it. The deliciousness was a "burger" but instead of buns made of bread, they were made of sushi rice. Read The Girl's post for more.

An open letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush

Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.

A great read

I have just finished the final book in Jack Whyte's eight-book series called A Dream of Eagles (the last two are from the Golden Eagle series). One of the best sets of books I have read.

The series is about the days of the decaying Roman Empire, the legions of Britain struggle to preserve the ancient principles of loyalty and discipline-virtues embodied in the Roman general Caius Britannicus and his friend Publius Varrus, an ex-soldier turned ironsmith. Whyte re-creates the turbulence and uncertainty that marked fifth-century Britain and provides a possible origin for one of the greatest artifacts of Arthurian myth-the legendary sword Excalibur. Strong characters and fastidious attention to detail make this a good choice for most libraries and a sure draw for fans of the Arthurian cycle.

If you have the slightest interest in King Arthur or learning about Britain when it was part of the Roman empire, read these books!

Click here to learn more.

Owls are cool ... if they're real!

In an earlier posting, Owls are cool, I mention seeing an owl on the roof of my local library. The other day I saw it again in the exact same spot. I got out of the car to get a closer look and realized it's fake -- it's an owl decoy. There must be a reason for it being there since it's not terribly obvious to the human eye.

Relief!!

When I awoke today I felt 30 pounds lighter. Why? It was the first day in almost three weeks in which I didn't have a pain of some sort shooting through my head, neck, shoulders or back.

Since Christmas, my schedule has been quite full. I'm assuming all the busy days has led to muscles tightening in my neck and shoulders thus causing me headaches ... every bloody day!

I received an hour of massage therapy the other day and although I'm a little sore from the treatment, I can feel that it has relaxed me a great deal. I'm going back for another treatment within two weeks to remove all the knots and tightness in my muscles ... and I use the term muscles very loosely.

The massage therapy, along with stretching, anti-inflammatory medication from my doctor (yes, I visited him to make sure the headaches weren't anything serious) and learning that I don't need to ram 73 things into one day, should alleviate my itis* and make me feel somewhat normal again.

*itis = a term used by our clique meaning a general malady. Politely borrowed from medical terminology meaning "inflammation of."

Sand Art

Using only her fingers, this woman draws with sand on a glass table. Take a look at this website to see her amazing talent.

http://sandfantasy.com/

HOV lane filled with assholes!

Not that it should be a shock to anyone but the Hwy 404 HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane, that begins at Hwy 7 and ends at Hwy 401, is constantly being driven by assholes who have no one else in the car with them. I considered not using the word asshole but no other word describes a person who can't wait in traffic like everyone else and thinks that rules are for other people. Do you see the number "2" on the car on the sign? That means how many people must be in the car to drive in this lane, not your IQ, jackass!

Yes, I'm angry! On the two nights a week I have to drive to George Brown College using the 404, at least 25% of the cars in the HOV lane have one person in them. If Mother Teresa herself were to use the HOV lane, let's call it a carpool lane, while she was alone in the car, then she'd be dubbed an asshole ... no one escapes my wrath.

Listen buttface! Get back in toe with the rest of us schleps before some freak (no, not me) spasms with road rage and opens up a can of nasty on you.

I suggest that the government install 407-type cameras overlooking these lanes and ticket the nerds who violate. The trillions that would be collected could be used to pay for these cameras and repair our pothole-filled roads. Or, just open up the lane for the rest of the world. I'm into saving/preserving the environment but if twelve cars use the lane during rush hour, and four or five of them have only one person in them, the HOV lane is wasted and the concept for naught. The problem lies with the lack of carpooling opportunities. Unfortunately, I have no answer for this.

It really does make you feel better when you can get things off your chest!

Update:
When I travelled the 404 this past Thursday, there were a lot more carpoolers in this HOV lane so I was very pleased and a lot less angry! I've decided to live a lot longer by not getting stressed with the jokers who use this lane illegally ... they're not worth my time ... until they try to merge in at the end of the lane; then I don't let them in!

Woah!

This is Cy, short for Cyclopes, a kitten born with only one eye and no nose. This photo was taken by its owner in Redmond, Oregon, on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005. The kitten, a ragdoll breed, which died after living for one day, was one of two in the litter. Its sibling was born normal and healthy.

I'm goosebumped when I look at it yet I can't take my eyes away.

Weirdo

Yesterday night was the first class in a Photoshop course I'm taking at George Brown college. Halfway through the class, we take a break and when I return from my little jaunt down the hall, there's a dude sitting at the computer beside me who wasn't there earlier. I assume that the guy is late but as the class proceeds, I peek at his monitor from the corner of my eye and I notice he's not following along with our lesson -- he's doing online banking! I'm dumbfounded! A few minutes later I take another quick peek and he's reading an online job posting for TD Bank. I look over to the guy beside him, to see if I'm the only one who notices this stranger, and he shakes with head like, "What's his dealio?"

For the remaining hour of the class, the dude continues to toggle between reading the same online job posting and looking at his online bank account. How I managed to follow the lesson is beyond me. This guy had me captivated. I imagined that at anytime he was about to stand up and open up a can of crazy on the unsuspecting class. Obviously, nothing happened. The class ends and the dude remains there, surfing the web.

The funny thing about the whole thing is that I wasn't sitting at the back of the class -- we we're sitting in the middle of the room. Also, no word of a lie, the guy is about 6 feet, 3 inches tall and between 250 and 300 pounds. He doesn't blend in with the crowd so easy. However, he's under a bit of cover in the darkened classroom so we could to view the instructor's lesson via a projector.

Freak! Next time use the college's library where you have access to a plethora of computers and you don't have to sit in the middle of a Photoshop class to do your online banking while others are watching you and wondering what asylum you have escaped from. He's a little offside or he's got stones the size of planets.

Go Raptors!

Break up the Raptors! After yesterday's win against the Rockets, the Dinos now have won five in a row and are a very respectable 10-7 in their last 17 games. This after their woeful 1-15 start to the season. There's talk in the newspapers about the playoffs! Now that they have their confidence back, they might challenge for a post-season spot.

I may not be the biggest basketball fan and am pretty fickle when it comes to the Raptors, but they seem to be getting stronger as the season progresses.

I may have to watch a game now!

Flex cars

I found an interesting article in the Financial Post's Business magazine which discussed innovations in the auto industry. One of them was vehicles that run on ethanol.

Basically, sugar cane powers Brazil's most popular cars. They are flex cars and they run on ethanol, gas or a combination of both. In August 2005 alone, flex cars accounted for 62% of all new car sales in South America with makes and models coming from manufacturers such as Ford, Volkswagen, GM and Fiat. Ethanol can also be made from corn, beet root and wheat. At $2 a gallon, ethanol-blended fuel is half the price of regular gasoline.

Another cool innovation is the Xebra, an all-electric model that hits the US market this month. Check it out by clicking here.

Brilliant Louis, just brilliant!

If you go to the Google site today, you'll notice their heading is different. It's because today is Louis Braille's birthday. Yes, the guy who created a world wide system of embossed type used by blind and partially sighted people for reading and writing.

Click here for more info on Monsieur Braille.

Here comes the sun? When George! When!

Do you remember that orange sphere in the sky that brings light and warmth? I know it's been a while but try hard to remember -- before this never-ending gloom that has forsaken us. Sure, we're not getting snow and the temperatures are quite acceptable for January -- but I miss sunny days. It's starting to get to me!

Goodbye Pasquale

I hate to have my first post of 2006 be about death but I'm not sure anyone knows about this.

Pasquale Carpino, better known as the Singing Chef, died Friday of complications from surgery at age 69. I will always remember him breaking out into song as he mixed ingredients together. His Italian cooking shows have aired around the world since the 1970s.

He emigrated from Italy in 1958. Arriving with only a few dollars in his pocket, he started out as a dishwasher at a Toronto restaurant. He moved up the ranks to chef and saucier. A job at Toronto's Waldorf Astoria followed. Simultaneously, he studied opera at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

"(Music) was his first love, but sometimes you can't make a living with love," his wife, Evelina Carpino, said.

Carpino is survived by his wife of 39 years and his daughters, Beatrice and Lisa.