Hydro alert

Bulletin

Toronto Hydro is warning customers of the rotating winter power blackouts that are expected to occur on:

• Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009
• Saturday, Nov 14, 2009
• Saturday, Nov 21, 2009
• Monday, Nov 23, 2009
• Monday, Nov 30, 2009

This is a province wide alert. The lack of power seems to consistently occur just after 7 pm on Saturday or 7:30 pm weekdays and is attributed to the excessive power required to run the goal judge light behind the Leafs' net.

Sincerely Yours,

Toronto Hydro

(... in honour of the Leafs' recent performance vs the Senators, and their fans' behaviour...)

Dangerously Fun (.com)

I saw a video of this motor on another website.  The video said to visit www.dangerouslyfun.com for more info.

This motor looks to be a lot of fun.  I could do this with the kids.

 

I’ll be checking their site in the future for more projects that I can do

National Grouch day?

How did I miss this?

October 15, 2007

If Halloween gives licence to be scared, today's greeting-card holiday is an excuse to be just plain scary. Today is National Grouch Day, the singular 24-hour period when having a case of "the Mondays" is not merely allowed, but encouraged.

Yes, I know the article is over 2 years old, but after visiting RealGrouchy over at Tales from a Grouch recently, I saw his post for this year’s celebrations.  I like his suggestions on how to celebrate National Grouch Day:

• Don't.
• Look for fault in everything and everybody you come into contact with. If you can't find any, turn your attention elsewhere and try again.
• Correct the spelling, grammar, and factual errors in the newspaper with a pen. Then put it back in the pile at the coffeeshop (or the newsstand).
• When people ask questions they don't really want to hear the answer to, like "how's it going," waste their time with longwinded answers.
• Let something bother you. Wake up in the middle of the night to blog about it. Extra points if you tried to ignore it by going to sleep but instead let it keep you up until the middle of the night.
• Rant.
• Go to any length possible to be in a position to say "I told you so," but let it go without saying.
• Always be prepared to tell the story of the last person you saw saying or doing something stupid, or who pissed you off. Tell this story to everyone you have the opportunity to tell (except the person in question). With each iteration, refine the narrative and be more cocky about your role.
• Put someone on hold. Or time your absence from your office when you know someone is going to call.
• USE ALL CAPS AT LEAST ONCE A DAY to make your point.
• Make others uncomfortable by telling outrageous (yet technically plausible) lies about yourself. Using their reaction, turn the conversation to them.
• Procrastinate.
• Visit icanhascheezburger.com and vote down the entries that aren't funny, and the ones that are funny but in the wrong style.
• Bait [other] nitpickers and lash out at them for not seeing your subtle point. (Avoid Muphry's Law)

I’ll make sure to add this date to my calendar so I won’t miss out next year.

Christmas advertising

I think I’m going to be about as close to being Grinchy this year as I’ve ever been.

My wife and I went to Canadian Tire a few weeks back to top up our Halloween decorations, and they had already set up a Christmas section.  Wal Mart wasn’t far behind them.  I was very perturbed to see this.

Now that we’re into November, advertising is going almost non-stop; especially on TV.  Colleagues at work have already started playing Christmas music… and I feel like putting my head through a wall.  I do understand that Christmas is a commercial event: it’s been that way for years.  But still… seeing displays and advertisements before the end of October just really annoyed me.

Given how quickly the advertising started, it makes me wonder if it started so early this year because of the economy.  If the economy was good, would companies feel it necessary to advertise so early?  I’d have to say probably not.  But since the economy isn’t good, they’re obviously finding it necessary to get the shopping season started early.

Well, whatever the reason, it’s aggravating to see all this early Christmas advertising.

In the meantime, enjoy this little quote:

Every Who Down in Who-ville
Liked Christmas a lot...
But the Grinch,
Who lived just North of Who-ville,
Did NOT!
The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be that his head wasn't screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

To quote another classic Christmas figure…

Bah!  Humbug!

I couldn't imagine drinking that much

h/t to Gordo

It would take 44 bottles of Guinness Guinness Draught to kill me

Created by Bar Stools

Canada has 4 seasons – you do realize that, right?

I am getting so very tired of people saying “Oh my god, it’s snowing, this sucks”  or, “Damn, it’s cold outside” or some other variation.  I don’t like snow, but I don’t complain ad nauseam about it.  I don’t whine about it, I don’t complain if the temperature is 12°C outside.

Canada has 4 seasons.  It gets damn hot in the summer, it gets damn cold in the winter, and the other two are kind of the same.

 

 

If you live in Canada, STFU and accept the fact that it’s going to get cold, and there will be snow.

Forget December 2012…

I noticed something interesting tonight about a date that is coming up in the new year.  There is a date in 2010 that is the same when written backwards.

My only proof that this date will be the end of the world is I discovered it while writing a post on my D&D group’s forums.  Nothing else; just a random post I made.

But that should be enough, right?  After all, lots of people make outlandish claims when finding out something completely by accident.

So, to end the suspense… Be prepared and say goodbye to your love ones, because on January 2, 2010, the world will end.

2010-01-02

or backwards:

2010-01-02

Isn’t that AMAZING?  That must mean something…  I think it means the “End of The World”!

If someone could nail down the exact time when the world will end, that’d be great.  Thanks.

Okay, it can snow now

I’ve come to dislike snow… A lot.  After all, when you wake up one morning and this is your street,

you develop a very deep hatred for the stuff.

In any event, my car is now ready for winter.  It’s had its fall check-up, new brakes, new sparkplugs, winter tires put on.  So, bring it on, Mother Nature.

I’m ready.

Not always right

Every once in a while I come across a website that is quite interesting.  I came across one tonight: Not Always Right.  If you currently work or have worked in customer service, it’s a site you’ll appreciate.

I’ve subscribed to their feed and plan on visiting regularly .

The flu shot… I’m conflicted

Well, not entirely.

My family and I have never received the flu shot.  And we’ve never had the flu.  We’ve had seasonal colds, but that’s about it.

So with the H1N1 vaccine being touted as the solution to all our problems, and with an alleged H1N1 death in an Ottawa hospital (alleged because nothing’s been confirmed yet) causing Ottawa to be labelled as a “hotspot”, I’m not quite sure what to think.

The first wave of vaccinations will be provided to a specific list of people, and of the four of us in my family, only one of us is eligible: my youngest is 3 (she’ll be 4 next month).  The rest of us don’t fall within the initial guidelines.

H1N1 Flu Vaccination Clinics open on Monday, October 26,2009

As the initial supply from the province will be limited, OPH will focus on providing the vaccine to the following groups of residents in the first seven to 14 days of operation:

• People 6 months old to 65-years-old with chronic medical conditions
• Healthy children between 6 months and five years of age
• Health care workers
• Household contacts and care providers of infants younger than six months and people with compromised immune systems
• Pregnant women

I’m guessing as time goes on, the supply will open up a bit and we could possibly get it – but given our good health, I’m not sold on the idea that we truly need it.  No one at my wife’s school has been diagnosed during this “second wave” of H1N1, no one at work or customers have been diagnosed, none of my friends or their families have it – so is there a huge rush or a necessity?

I don’t think so.  Time will tell, I suppose.

2009 should prove to be a good year to have bought

And here’s why:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(I’ve erased sensitive information.)

When I left my previous employer, I was offered two options for the cumulative value of my pension.  I could have kept the funds with the company and earned 4-6% annually for the next 10 years, or I could take the funds and manage it myself.

I figured I could do better than 4-6% for the next 10 years, so I took the challenge myself.  I deposited the funds back in May, and so far so good: over 13% in 4 months (end of May to end of September).  As the statement shows, that return isn’t annualized, so to annualize that return, I multiply by 3 and get 39.8%.

Even if the actual rate turns out to be the annual rate, I’ve exceeded the original estimate of 4-6% by a large margin.  And what’s better, if that actual rate continues, I’ll double the balance every 5½ years (according to the “Rule of 72”), so over the next 10 or so years, the balance will quadruple.

Not bad at all.  And all because 2009 was a low point in the markets and provided a perfect buying opportunity.

The “new” Jay Leno show

It’s “new”?  Really?

The only difference I’ve seen so far (as I’m sitting here watching it) is that it’s on at 10pm.  The format appears to the be same, the monologue is the same stuff (and not terribly funny, btw), and the same inane interaction with his band leader.

How is this new?

I guess this is a perfect example of that cliché: “The more things change, the more things stay the same…”

Let the “slutification” begin!

My two daughters, especially the eldest, are big fans of Miley Cyrus.  They watch Hannah Montana, listen to the music, and have seen the HM movie.

When she started all of this, Miley Cyrus was a fresh-faced girl.

 

 

As time progressed, and her fame grew, her look gradually changed.

 

She is about to turn 17, and the “slutification” process is in full swing.

That didn’t take all that long, did it?  Hannah Montana started in 2006, when she was 14.  Three years from being a young innocent talent at Disney

to a kinderwhored-up celebrity.

My kids will be devastated when Miley enters rehab in a couple of years.

I’m sure her dad is so very proud.

People aren’t happy…

XUP, over at exurbanpedestrian.wordpress.com, asked recently:

is it true that we consider perfectly content people as dangerous?

And, has society really had such a complete reversal of attitudes in such a short time? And how did this happen?

It’s an excellent question, and one that has many answers.  In my opinion, though, I think it comes down to is that we, in western society, demand instant gratification.  That instant gratification evolved out of the 1980s when it was the “Me” generation – the yuppies that demanded the nice homes, nice cars, nice furniture, etc.

And now, merely one generation later, this is where we are:  If it doesn’t happen NOW, it’s worthless.

Here’s a video I’m sure many of you have seen already.  I think it captures some of what’s going on our world right now.

Could you imagine travelling back in time when we didn’t have all these conveniences?  I bet most of us could, but given half the chance, wouldn’t.

Amazing what a difference a few months make.

 

Just 4 months ago it was suggested that the Liberal Party could form a government, albeit a minority government.  A few weeks after that, it was discovered that Canadians didn’t want a minority government.

Unfortunately for the Liberals, Michael Ignatieff did nothing to build on their momentum, and ended up doing videos in forests and losing support not only from Canadians, but apparently from within the party as well.

The percentage of respondents who disapproved of the way Ignatieff is handling his job was 51 per cent, up from 38 per cent in August.

Ignatieff's approval rating was 19 per cent, down from 29 per cent two months ago.

<>

Graves said it is difficult to pinpoint why Ignatieff's popularity has plummeted in such a short time.

"Perhaps some of the framing that was put in place by the Conservatives and some of the so-called negative ads have stuck with Mr. Ignatieff," he said. "Because it's hard to line up anything he's said or done specifically."

Ignatieff, speaking Thursday morning in London, Ont., after addressing the local chamber of commerce, said there is "no question" the Conservatives have characterized or "framed" him in a certain way.

He just really doesn’t know, does he?  He was pushing for an election, and Canadians were making it clear that they didn’t want one.  He wasn’t listening to Canadians then, why would he suddenly start listening now?

The guys who seem to be doing it right are Harper and Layton:

As for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, his disapproval rating was 42 per cent, compared with 47 per cent in August. The percentage of respondents who approved of how Harper was doing his job was 39 per cent, for a gain of three percentage points.

NDP Leader Jack Layton had a disapproval rating of 31 per cent, an improvement from 33 per cent in August. Layton's approval numbers held steady at 34 per cent.

Could it be possible that their numbers are improving because they didn’t push for an election, and *gasp* might actually be paying attention to what Canadians are saying?

Only time will tell, I suppose.

So he’s saying “Boys will be boys”??

Okay, so a Roman Catholic bishop abuses children by possessing child pornography, and the response from another high-ranking bishop is “Hey, shit happens”.

[Archbishop Anthony Mancini said] "You think, and many people think, that all we got to do is throw more money at it, throw more structure at it, throw more psychiatrists at it, and at the end of it all, we're going to come up with this wonderful, perfect structure. And you know what? That's never going to happen," Mancini said.

"So is it gonna happen again? Yeah, of course it's gonna happen again. What all we can do is try to prevent and try to make sure that we put up all the safeguards that we can possibly put up."

This response is crap.  100% absolute utter crap.

Bishops, priests, and everyone like them are supposed to be paragons of morality.  They aren’t supposed to behave unseemly.  They just aren’t.  Mancini can say what he wants about “it’s gonna happen again”, but he’s full of it.  In the end, these people aren’t supposed to be succumbing to temptation – that’s what makes them the leaders in their community.

Sure, I’ll agree that humans are frail sometimes and we’ll do dumb things.  But to say that “it’s gonna happen again” in the context of responding to a bishop who owns child pornography…?

That’s more than dumb.  That’s downright offensive.  And it shows that these people are not in touch with reality.

No matter what happens next…

… Ignatieff will come off as either a petulant child or a copy-cat.

Congrats to Harper and his PR team for coming up with this:

And to think the entertainment from our politicians this fall could have been in the form of an election…