Jon Lajoie

So we're on the way home from the Oilers game last night, listening to some Raw Dog comedy on my Sirius radio....when there is an intro for a guy named Jon Lajoie. It turns out that they are going to play a song he has written which is called Everyday Normal Guy.

I was skeptical at first...but was shortly laughing my ass off. If you have a sense of humor at all, you have to check out some of this guy's work. I have included the music video to Everyday Normal Guy below. You can actually buy his entire CD on iTunes for $9.99 (17 tracks, some of which are short, but almost all of which are hilarious). Navigate over to his website where you can find the iTunes direct link.

Tommy John Surgery

I got reading a little about Tommy John Surgery today, and I was quite surprised at some of the NON-PITCHER Major Leaguer's that have actually had the surgery - Check out this list (according to Wikipedia):

-Rocco Baldelli (outfielder)
-José Canseco (outfielder; injured while pitching)
-Shin-Soo Choo (outfielder)
-Rusty Greer (outfielder)
-Luis Gonzalez (outfielder)
-Matt Holliday (outfielder)
-César Izturis (infielder)
-Kelly Johnson (infielder)
-Carlos Quentin (outfielder)
-Xavier Nady (outfielder)

And how about guys like Jose Rijo and Matt Riley who each had the surgery three times? Where in the hell were they getting all these ligaments from?

Also surprising was the list of NFL players who have had the surgery. This list is the complete list - very small. It just goes to show that the throwing motions of an MLB pitcher and an NFL quarterback are obviously quite a bit different:

-Jake Delhomme
-Craig Erickson
-Chris Hunter
-Sebastian Janikowski (did not affect his career, as he is a placekicker)
-Rob Johnson
-Terrell Owens
-Deion Sanders

T.O. and Janikowski....a wideout and a damn KICKER?! Are you kidding me? Those are both a bit of a surprise.

And just one final note that I found a bit surprising....check out this note about the 'Frequency' of the surgery:

Today, the surgery is becoming more common in children 10-18 years old due to increased season length, the rise of travel teams (and tournament play), and the more frequent use of breaking pitches by young pitchers.

Nothing like wrecking your elbow when you are 10 years old. I pitched quite a bit when I was young, but I luckily didn't need any reconstructive elbow surgery at that age.

Tommy John Surgery is a great example of how medicine has really advanced over the past few years. Tommy John was the first person to have Tommy John Surgery (obviously, the procedure was named after him). This was in 1974. At that time, they gave him a 1 in 100 chance of recovery. He did end up making a recovery and pitched again in the Major Leagues. The chances of recovery today? An estimated 85-90 percent (or 85-90 out of 100, of course). Three cheers for sports medicine.

Wire Armour

I wanted to quickly tell you about an exciting new project that I am helping out with.

Navigate to Wire Armour and check out all of the details.

Basically, Wire Armour is a guard to protect your trailer wiring from being damaged by rocks and debris. It bolts on to your existing 7-pin plug. Head on over and check it out by clicking the link above.

The Future of Video Gaming

Without getting into too much detail.......just check out this link.

This actually sounds like an awesome idea....but what about your ISP? I'm sure those 'Unlimited Usage' accounts would quickly find a limit if this became mainstream.

MLB 2009

It is that time of year again....Major League Baseball is going to kick off their 2009 regular season when the Atlanta Braves visit the defending World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies on the night of April 5.

In the spirit of the season, I am going to give you my 2009 standings predictions. I will follow this up with playoff and World Series predictions, and possibly predictions for award winners, before the start of the season.

I won't predict records, as that is a bit of a crapshoot, but I have included each teams' record from last year for comparison.

AL East

1. NY Yankees (89-73)
2. Tampa Bay Rays (97-65)
3. Boston Red Sox (95-67)
4. Toronto Blue Jays (86-76)
5. Baltimore Orioles (68-93)

-->With the Yankees off-season acquisitions of Burnett, Texeira and Sabathia, I think this is their year to win back the AL East. The Rays and Red Sox will be close, in my opinion, but i'll give the edge to the Rays. A full year with Longoria and that dominant pitching staff can't hurt.

AL Central

1. Cleveland Indians (81-81)
2. Chicago White Sox (89-74)
3. Detroit Tigers (74-88)
4. Minnesota Twins (88-75)
5. Kansas City Royals (75-87)

-->The Indians are way too good of team to finish in 3rd again. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict a jump right to the top of the division for them this year.

AL West

1. LA Angels (100-62)
2. Oakland A's (75-86)
3. Texas Rangers (79-83)
4. Seattle Mariners (61-101)

-->I don't think anyone is good enough to challenge the Angels here yet, but the A's could be a much better team. Any time you have Matt Holliday, it can't hurt - the guy is a game changer.

NL East

1. Philadelphia Phillies (92-70)
2. NY Mets (89-73)
3. Florida Marlins (84-77)
4. Atlanta Braves (72-90)
5. Washington Nationals (59-102)

-->No big surprises here. I tossed around the idea of putting the Mets ahead of the Phillies, but I think the Phillies are just too good. They are a perfect example of an all-around solid team.

NL Central

1. Chicago Cubs (97-64)
2. Milwaukee Brewers (90-72)
3. Cincinatti Reds (74-88)
4. St. Louis Cardinals (86-76)
5. Houston Astros (86-75)
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (67-95)

-->It pains me to put my beloved Astros so low here, but their starting pitching is just too full of question marks. The surprise here could be the Reds - they are an exciting young team with stars such as Votto, Bruce, Volquez, Cueto and (eventually) Homer Bailey.

NL West

1. Arizona Diamondbacks (82-80)
2. LA Dodgers (84-78)
3. San Francisco Giants (72-90)
4. Colorado Rockies (74-88)
5. San Diego Padres (63-99)

-->The D-Backs should have won this division last year, and this year I think they will take it. They added Jon Garland to an already excellent rotation. The Dodgers scare me a bit with Manny though, the guy is still a beast. I dropped the Rockies down - no Matt Holliday and a weak starting pitching staff = little chance of success.

Baseball's Biggest Prize

Does anyone know what the World Series Trophy (pictured to the left) is actually called? I'm one of the biggest baseball fans you will meet, and I didn't even know....so of course, I looked into it today.

It is called the Commissioner's Trophy. Kind of a lame name, I know. Did you also know that, unlike the Stanley Cup, they actually build a new Commissioner's Trophy each year for the team that wins the World Series to keep? Apparently they do the same thing with the Lombardi Trophy for the Super Bowl Champions. Where's the history in that??

Tom Green and Ezra Levant

....two names that you won't normally hear in the same sentence. But you will tonight. I have a pile of respect for both of these people, for different reasons - and want to point you to some good information that is worth a read and a watch.

First, you likely heard about the ridiculous show Red Eye on Fox, and the distasteful, insulting comments that they made about the Canadian Military last week. You can read the story here. Tom Green, who of course is both Canadian and an 'Army Brat', had very harsh words for this situation on his blog, and rightfully so.

You can navigate to Tom's blog by clicking here. Head on down to the March 24 entry and you will see a video embedded in the article. Click on that and watch. Tom hits the nail right on the head.

Now I will move on to Ezra Levant. I do not even have enough space here to explain who Ezra is and what he does, but I want to point you towards the reason he has been in the news a lot lately. It is best summed up in Ezra's own words at this link.

Now head to YouTube and do a search for 'ezra levant human rights commission' (once you get 'ezra levant' in, the rest will come up as an autocomplete). Now watch some of those videos. That is Ezra kicking some ass.

You can read Ezra's blog by following this link. Ezra has written a book on this entire unfortunate situation called Shakedown: How Our Government is Undermining Democracy in the Name of Human Rights. Click on the title to head to Amazon.ca where you can purchase the book. I personally bought the book yesterday in Edmonton and just started reading it tonight - and it is well worth the read.

Short and sweet for tonight - but I recommend you check out the stuff I have posted above. My hats off to both Tom and Ezra.

Lawn Stryper

This is a follow up to my article about lawn striping the other day. As you recall, I included a link to PatternYourLawn.com, who are the makers of the Lawn Stryper (Lawn Striping System) - a striping attachment that you put on the back of your push lawn mower.

I sent an e-mail in to the website asking if they shipped to Canada. Within a little under an hour, I had a personal e-mail back from the VP of Operations at S&B Lawn Systems, Inc. (the makers of the Lawn Stryper) full of detailed information. We exchanged e-mails a few times with some questions and answers, and I was offered free shipping to Canada - so I placed my order today! I should have my Lawn Stryper in a couple of weeks and will let you know how it works as soon as the snow melts.

Special Olympics

Obama might be in some trouble over this one.....he appeared on Jay Leno last night and got to talking about his new hobby - bowling. Obama told Leno that he had bowled a 129 (which is obviously pretty terrible). Leno tried to make light of it, saying that it was a good score. Obama's reply?

"It was like the Special Olympics or something"

Ouch! I mean, that is a pretty funny statement from a comedian....but from the President of the United States of America?

Better yet......go to YouTube and do a search for 'obama teleprompter'. Now watch some of those videos. This is what Obama is REALLY like without a teleprompter or pre-written speech. And you thought George W. Bush was dumb?

Lawn Striping

Have you ever wondered how they mow all of the lines and patterns into the grass at Major League ballparks and golf courses? Well I did too, so I did some research.



The process is called Lawn Striping. Here's what HowStuffWorks has to say about it:

Groundskeepers at baseball parks have traditionally created checkerboard, diamond and argyle patterns in the field. These patterns have become more elaborate in recent years. Baseball fans might remember the star patterns created at Coors Field in Denver to commemorate the 1998 All-Star Game. These designs are not all that complicated and can be easily duplicated on your own lawn.

The designs are created through a process called lawn striping. To create lawn-striping designs of your own, you only need two pieces of equipment: a lawnmower and a roller. Many professional groundskeepers use old-fashioned reel mowers to cut a stadium's grass. Attached just behind the blades of the mower is a lawn roller that bends the grass down. Some lawnmower manufacturers are beginning to make riding mowers with full-width rollers mounted to the rear of the mower to make this task easier.

Whatever pattern you make is revealed by the light shining off of the bent grass. A checkerboard design is created by passing over the grass in side-by-side rows, first going north to south, then making east-to-west stripes in the grass that intersect the north-south stripes. In this way, you alternate the way the grass bends. When you look at your lawn, the stripes of grass leaning away from you will look lighter. This lighter green is caused by the sunlight reflecting off the entire blade of grass. In the darker green stripes, formed by the blades of grass leaning toward you, the sunlight is reflecting only off the tips of the blades.

Different grasses can be used to accentuate the striping effect, including rye grass, fescue and bluegrass. You won't see such a big contrast between the stripes' colors if you have a warm-season grass, such as Bermuda or zoysia. Watering the grass after mowing can make your pattern stand out even more.

Very interesting stuff. Another couple of great articles about the process:

SCAG Power Equipment - Lawn Striping
Grounds Maintenance - Establish Mowing Patterns

Here's an example of a Lawn Striper that you can buy off the net - the Lawn Stryper.

And last, but not least, a great article on how the Fenway Park grounds crew does their grass - including the amazing patterns you have seen in the past, such as the 'sock' (pictured above) - Blades of Glory.

Jeff Stoughton

First of all, congratulations to Team Alberta on a huge Brier win tonight. What an amazing team.

I just wanted to throw a quick note out about Jeff Stoughton - even though the final was a bit lopsided, this guy is still among the best curlers in the world and one of the most classy guys ever. Here's a great snippet from TSN.ca this evening:

Down six points after eight ends, Stoughton performed his trademark 360-degree delivery in the ninth to liven up a lopsided final and then shook hands to end it.

"Hats off to Kevin's team," the Manitoba skip said. "They played a great game and they'll do us proud at the worlds."

"We just didn't get the rocks in there. We missed a couple of draws early and they made some great ones but what can you say? They played a great game."

Stoughton left the Pengrowth Saddledome immediately after the game. A Canadian Curling Association spokesman then revealed that the Manitoba skip's father Jack had suffered a mild heart attack prior to the final. Jack was taken to hospital and was said to be well enough to watch the final on television.

I can't imagine how hard it would be to focus when your father has a heart attack right before the Brier Final. But Jeff went out there, tried his best and still entertained the crowd - waving to the camera even when the game was out of reach, and of course performing his trademark Spinorama delivery. And after a game like that, he still comes out and says that Team Martin will "do us proud at the worlds". That is one classy individual.

Team Stoughton is a great team and I hope they make it back next year to represent Manitoba. Congratulations to both Team Martin and Team Stoughton on a phenomenal week of curling.

Glenn Howard

I've never really liked Glenn Howard. When his team is winning, he gets cocky and arrogant (doing very quick handshakes, not even sweeping some rocks while the game is still on, making jokes about things outside of the game), and when he is losing he is quick to place blame everywhere but himself (like last year when he kept blaming Johnny Mo for phantom hand prints on the ice that apparently only Glenn's rocks were affected by).

Well, here is yet another example. Glenn lost to Jeff Stoughton and Team Manitoba yesterday to eliminate him from this years Brier in Calgary. Glenn had curled 88 percent for the week before putting up a stinker in the Semi-Final with a 68 percent. Here's what Glenn had to say after the game:

"That wasn't a very good game. I was disappointed the way that one ended up. It was tough and I let the boys down a bit there. I didn't play very well," said Howard.

"The ice was a little different tonight. I don't know how many times you see Jeff Stoughton and Glenn Howard miss that many draws."

Wow, you know if he would have just stopped after that first paragraph, he would have taken the high road - and he would have been right. But did you really think Glenn could make it through a loss without blaming the ice? Glenn, you curled like crap. Suck it up and take the high road for once. And what's with referring to himself in the third person?

Child Seat!

FINALLY! I have found a car seat that I like. We currently use an Eddie Bauer seat in my wife's Jeep, and the thing is a giant pain in the ass. It's next to impossible to install and adjust. It won't fit in my Tacoma. After 1 hour of trying to get it to install in said Jeep without it sliding around from side to side like it wasn't even buckled in, all I came away with were bruises on my hands and an increased stress level.

So I started to do some research on a seat that we could use for my own 2008 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab. I need a seat that I can be used as rear-facing for now, and front-facing after the little one is over 1 year old (and weighs at least 20 lbs). After doing a pile of research on Google, I finally found a child seat that not only had all 5 out of 5 customer reviews, but was also recommended by one consumer as they had used it in the back of their 2008 Tacoma.

This seat is the Britax Marathon convertible car seat. Pictured below is the exact seat that we ordered from bo bebe in Calgary. The sweet seat covering is called 'Cowmooflage'.



There was only one thing that kept me a bit skeptical about the seat - the price. It is expensive! By the time we got the seat shipped here with taxes in, it was over $300 CDN (what's that, about $7 USD these days?).

Well, we just received the seat yesterday. Preparing for a long battle, I took it out to the garage this morning and attempted to install it in my Tacoma. Remember, the Eddie Bauer seat took me over an hour of struggling to install before I GAVE UP - eventually we had a lady at SGI (a professional I suppose) install it. And it took her 45 minutes even. So I was preparing for the worst.

I installed the seat using the LUAS method (Lower Universal Anchorage System) - which is those little hooks tucked in between the seat back and the seat cushion. So how long did it take me to get this child seat properly installed? About 4 or 5 minutes. I kid you not. The seat was extremely easy to install. I didn't have to fight with it at all. And if you try to move it from side to side, it doesn't move an inch.

And the best part? I could actually move my passenger side front seat BACK, because this seat takes up so little room. It is absolutely perfect for any vehicle where back seat space is limited - such as my 2008 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab.

I also had a chance to use the seat today with baby intact, and it was great. It's extremely easy to adjust and to get baby secured. It is the only seat, as far as I know, that actually offers side impact protection as well - built right into the seat. The seat is extremely comfortable too. The covering is soft and plush. I have to say, I am very impressed.

The child seat is good right from 5 lbs to 65 lbs - so basically, it's the only seat you will ever need. It reclines for when baby is small and it spins around and quickly installs as forward facing as baby grows. My hats off to Britax for finally making a child seat that is both safe AND extremely easy to install and use. If you are shopping for your first child seat and are considering different brands, just remember that you get what you pay for. Although the Britax Marathon is more expensive than comparable seats, there really is no comparison once you start to use it.

Derek Anderson

It's no secret that I hate Derek Anderson....not as a person, but just as a quarterback. I think he's terrible, and we were far better off when we had Brady Quinn behind center last year. Which is why the following quote by new Browns GM George Kokinis in the Cleveland Plain Dealer recently scared the shit out of me:

The Browns intend to pay a $5 million roster bonus owed quarterback Derek Anderson on Friday, Kokinis indicated.

"I don't think we've changed from when we first talked about it," Kokinis said. "We're trying to get the best players on the team and he's one of them.

One of the best players on the team? Pardon the language, but are you fucking kidding me? The guy barely completed 50% of his passes last year (50.2%). He threw for almost as many INT's as TD's (8 to 9) and his QB rating was only 66.5. If he's one of our best players, we are doomed.

Liberal v.s. Conservative

Are you a Liberal or a Conservative? Here is a little test that will help you decide.

The answer can be found by posing the following question:

You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children. Suddenly, an Islamic Terrorist with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges at you. You are carrying a Glock cal 40, and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do?

Liberal Answer:

Well, that's not enough information to answer the question!

-Does the man look poor or oppressed?
-Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack?
-Could we run away?
-What does my wife think?
-What about the kids?
-Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand?
-What does the law say about this situation?
-Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it?
-Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children?
-Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me?
-Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me?
-If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?
-Should I call 9-1-1 ?
-Why is this street so deserted?
-We need to raise taxes, have paint and weed day and make this happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior.

This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for few days and try to come to a consensus.

Conservative Answer:

BANG!

Anti-Aliasing in Paint

For anyone who has used good old MS Paint for doing any kind of graphic work, you know that it can actually do quite a bit for a small, simple program....but that is also has it's limitations. One such limitation is the lack of anti-aliasing - meaning that whenever you draw any kind of curved line, it looks like shit. It's blocky and you can see individual pixels. There are some long, complicated ways of doing this - such as individually adding pixels and doing some shading to make the line look smoother. However, I have a way that is very quick and still works quite well.

The trick is to draw your original work as large as you can (as large as you feel comfortable drawing). You will come up with something that looks quite pixelated, like this example:



When you are done your drawing, go to 'Image' and then 'Stretch/Skew' from your menu bar (or just hit CTRL-W). Here there is a Stretch area with two boxes (Horizontal and Vertical) and a Skew area with the same. In the Stretch area (which is the top), type in a number smaller than 100 in both boxes (use the same number in both boxes). For example, try 35 in each. This will make the entire picture smaller, and you should notice that the pixel effect is minimized. The lines will look much smoother and pretty much like they are anti-aliased - like this:



You can play around with different sizes until you find settings that you are comfortable with. Using this technique, you can make your artwork look much more professional using a free and very simple to use program.

Random Observations

A couple of random observations I wanted to post today.

First, in regards to the Brier.....the other night (I think it was maybe Sunday), Alberta and Kevin Martin were about to decide on a shot. Before they did, Kevin shouted down to his front end to ask how much of the one opponent rock they could see. The answers were priceless. Johnny Mo, Ben and Marc all told Kevin different fractions - there was a 2/3, a 3/4 and a 7/8. All are pretty close to the same anyway....but it was funny the three different answers. On that note, go Team Alberta! That Thursday night 6 pm matchup between Ontario and Alberta is shaping up to be a dandy!

On a completely unrelated note, you know what really grinds my gears? People saying 'how are you'. Why is this the new thing that everyone has to say? It seems like every single conversation now starts with "Hi, how are you?" or "Hi, how's it going?"......do we really care how the other person is doing? I know I generally don't. And if I really did, it wouldn't mean anything to ask anyway because people are constantly asking the same stupid question.

This is bad enough, but at least we usually get away with a quick "good, yourself?" or "good and you?". But some people feel they can't let you off the hook that easy. We get phone calls at work often where you can tell the guy on the other side of that phone is just ITCHING for you to ask him. He'll even set you up with a "Hello, how are you?".....and as soon as you respond with the classic "Good and you?", it's already too late. This type of person will now respond with something along the lines of "I've been better" or "Pretty terrible"...and you just KNOW what is coming next. A huge story of why that person's life sucks so bad today. If this is someone I know, MAYBE I care....and maybe I don't. But when it's someone I don't even know, do I really care? Not at all. I don't care if your dog died, your wife's mean to you and your car has a vibration at 110 km/h. Well, maybe the third item, because I can fix that. But the other two items, you are on your own.

Can we please, as humans, come up with a different way to greet people?

Dear Customer

I've been working in the automotive industry a long time now, and there is one letter I wish could write and send out to some of my customers.

Dear customer:

I did not build your car. I didn't paint it nor have anything to do with the paint process. I didn't assemble your power steering (or any other) system and am not exactly sure why they didn't "build them better". I have no effect on your fuel mileage. You driving like an asshole doing 160+ down the highway and not maintaining your vehicle probably has something to do with it. I don't have a crystal ball that tells me what is wrong with your vehicle. We also do not have a magic computer that can be plugged in to do the same thing. Contrary to what you believe, the engine problems you are having now have nothing to do with the wiper blades that we replaced 30,000 km ago. We are not legally able to diagnose a small vibration at 140 km/h. When you call and just say 'is my car done yet' without saying who you are, I may not know who you are - because believe it or not we work on more than 1 vehicle per day. Also contrary to what you may believe, we are not a non-profit organization. We are not a delivery/taxi service, although these may be things we provide as a perk. We are not a 1-800 number that you can phone for advice or step by step instructions on how to fix a vehicle yourself. We cannot diagnose things over the phone. We do not stock every part ever made for every Dodge. We do not actually ship the parts to our dealership....we just order them. We do book appointments and can't fit you in with zero notice and no appointment. When you hit a deer or a ditch or take a rock chip off your windshield, that is covered by insurance - not warranty. Warranty covers manufacturer defects. 99% of your questions are in the owners manual. When it's 35 below outside, your car may not start if it isn't plugged in. Also, when it's 35 below, you may have new squeaks and rattles - these will likely go away when it warms up. When there is a strong side wind on the highway, that is the cause of your car pulling - you likely do not need a wheel alignment. You know how you come in for service, and you get pissed off because it's taking too long if we fit someone else in for emergency repair? It's funny how your reaction is different the next day when you are the one needing the emergency repair and you want to be pumped in front of other appointments. We are not responsible for all of the other problems in your life that come spilling out when your car breaks down. Your driving habits likely caused whatever it is piled on your vehicle.

I'm sure there are 1,000 more things I could write, but I can't remember them all right now. The bottom line is that customers pay our wages - with no customers, we wouldn't have work. But it is funny how unreasonable people can get which is why I posted some of these observations from above.

Ryan's Rant (Volume 1, Episode 5)

I think I’m getting stupider by watching the news. No really, my head is caving in, I can feel a soft spot just behind my forehead. The news on television is liquefying my brain and Pfizer doesn’t make medication to stop it. I’m screwed.

Tell me I didn’t just see NHLPA boss Paul Kelly on the news telling the media that he wants to see a ban on all hits to the head. Tell me I didn’t see the head of the players association tell the league that he wants the league to tell the players not to hit above the shoulders anymore. I understand that the league is responsible for making and enforcing the rules of the game, but c’mon. Really? Is this the league’s responsibility? I mean these are grown men, all over the age of 18, being paid to play a game, and paid well. Can’t they be held responsible for their own actions to some extent? I guess not if the head of the players association needs to tell the media that the players need to stop hits to the head and he wants the league to do it. What does this say about the NHLPA? Are they, as an organization, so inept that they can’t even have a closed door meeting with their membership and tell them themselves not to hit each other in the head anymore? I know, I know, it sounds way too simple, but believe me, some of these players are, unfortunately, just smart enough to sign their name at the bottom of their contract and not much more.

Hey Kelly, want do something really worthwhile? Tell your goddamn idiot players to do their f-ing CHINSTRAPS up!! Yeah, chinstraps. Again, sounds waaay too simple. I’m sick and tired of watching those helmets flying off with every hit. Why doesn’t anyone acknowledge that Donald Brashears’ head injury was compounded by the fact his unstrapped lid flew off as soon as McSorley hit it with his stick? Honestly, there is nooooo way that McSorley’s stick did all that damage. I’m not saying what McSorley did was right, but c’mon! Do your helmets up you meatheads!! That infraction in every other league is either a 2 minute minor or a 10 minute misconduct, but the big bad NHL does shit about it. If I was playing in a league where respect for your fellow player was at an all time low, you can bet your ass I’d be wearing that piece of equipment properly. Please just do something so this stupid debate can at least be silenced for awhile, I’m getting tired of hearing about it.

Women’s curling update: Well, the Tampax, err, Scotties tournament is over for another year and I’m glad Jennifer Jones came back to win it because, let’s face it, she’s pretty hot, for a curling chick. She manged to beat out Marla Lemur, err, Mallet in the final for her second consecutive win. My only problem is, when is someone going to mention how gross it is to watch these skips chew their gum? First we had Colleen Cow, errr, Jones chewing her cud with her giant mouth open and now Marla Mallet has taken the ball and ran with it. Hey chickie-poos, you’re on national TV, close your damn mouths and chew your gum like a lady for once. Yuck!

This rant is mine. There are many like it, but this one is mine. Without me, my rant is nothing. Without my rant, I am nothing.

Brier

I am loving watching the Brier this year, but if I see a bunch of people in the stands waving to the camera every time they are in the background, I am going to puke.

Seriously, watch the next time that you can see the crowd in the background. There are constantly about 20 idiots waving furiously and staring at themselves on the Jumbotron.

Has noone in Calgary seen a TV camera before?

Chris McQuid
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Hypocrites out East

So apparently people in Montreal and Toronto have been complaining about Western Canada.......as usual. This time, they are complaining about the number of birds that are dying in the oil sands up at Fort McMurray.

The problem is, there have been an estimated 500 birds that have died in the Alberta oil sands......while there are an estimated 6,000 killed annually by hitting Toronto skyscrapers and 200,000 caught in wind turbines (also out East).

The MP for Fort Mac made this observation and it was written in the National Post today (see article here).

The hypocrites out East never cease to amaze me.

Vincent Li

...makes me sick.

Please join my Facebook group and tell your friends to do the same. It is called:

CANADIANS DEMAND JUSTICE IN THE VINCENT LI GREYHOUND BUS MURDER!

Cent Sports

For all of you who like to make some online sports wagers......there is a great little website out there called Cent Sports that lets you bet on any and all major sports (and some not so major ones) without spending a cent of your own money.

How do they do this? They give you $0.10 to start with....paid for by advertisers.......and you can turn it into real winnings. There are some people on the site currently carrying real cash balances of over $200.....and their highest ever was somewhere around $1,100....so it is possible to make money.

I recommend you give it a try - click here to sign up.

You can bet on everything from NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA to UFC and Tennis. Should be something for everyone.

And on that note, everyone was laughing at me last night when I picked the Leafs to beat the Capitals.......but between that and the Flames to beat the Flyers, I only bet $0.25....and came away with $1.72. So suck it, doubters.

Global Credit Crisis

Here is a new way of explaining the Global Credit Crisis that we can all understand! I received this via e-mail today and it really hits the nail on the head.

GLOBAL CREDIT CRISIS, A new explanation!

Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Berlin.

In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans). Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar.

Taking advantage of her customers' freedom from immediate payment constraints, Heidi increases her prices for wine and beer, the most-consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively. A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral.

At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide. No one really understands what these abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed. Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items.

One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager (of course subsequently fired due to his negativity) of the bank decides that slowly the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's bar. However they cannot pay back the debts. Heidi cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.

DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95%. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80%. The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment due dates and having invested in the securities are faced with a new situation. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor.

The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governing political parties. The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on the non-drinkers.

Canada's RIDICULOUS Justice System

HOW is this even remotely possible?

See link

Apparently the man who brutally murdered and decapitated a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus in mid-2008 goes on trial today. Get this:

"Li's lawyers do not refute the fact that their client killed McLean. However, they will argue at the trial that Li was not criminally responsible for the killing because he suffered from mental health problems.

The defence is expected to argue that Li was in an automaton state, which was brought on by his mental problems, and should therefore be placed in an institution rather than put in prison.

If they are successful, the 40-year-old Li won't have a criminal record. He would undergo annual assessments by a mental health review board and could be released into the community if he is deemed to be healthy.

Under current laws, a person found not criminally responsible for a crime is not required to serve a minimum detention sentence."

If you DO NOT find that completely appalling, there is something wrong with you. So in the USA a guy can put two dogs in a ring together and do 3 years of HARD time.....in a JAIL. But in Canada, a man with no previous history of any mental illness can be possibly be branded as mentally insane and GET AWAY WITH MURDER. Can you imagine if this freak was walking the streets of Edmonton again?