If you ...

If you need to sign an on line pledge to say you will drive safe and sober ... you are in trouble.

What the ... scam access?!?!?!?

You hear a lot of stories about how Facebook allows outside people to access you information. People you may not actually want to know who you are or hear from. I got to see just that type of ad on the right hand side of my Facebook screen today.

It is a link to a page people who frequent torrent sites have probably seen a lot. The page looks like an ad for jobs WITH Google. They have a fake claims to media coverage saying how good they are. Fake comments from happy customers. To protect them from being sued they have small print WAAAAAAAAAAAAY at the bottom telling you they aren't affiliated with Google and that the media coverage shown is made up. And when you try to leave the page you get a pop-up trying to get you to stay. A pop-up that won't let the page close unless you close it as well.

Basically, it is a bullshit scam site. THAT is the kind of company/people Facebook is putting up as legitimate advertisers and sponsors with access to YOUR Facebook page and information. Scammers and dating sites.

What the ... occupation?!?!?

My main problem with the whole "Occupy" movement in Canada has been their reason for existing. What exactly is it? Is it against Wall Street and what happened in the US financial system? Well, that didn't happen in Canada thanks to our banking regulations.

Listening to their spokesmen in the media just creates more confusion. One mouthpiece droned on in a CBC interview about how it was about Health Care. 35 Million people don't have it! Wait, the population of Canada is about 32-33 Million and we have universal coverage. Oh yeah, he was talking about US HEALTH CARE. So, these fucktards are "occupying" places in Canada to protest things that have happened, or are happening, in the US. Yeah, that will work. The Yanks are sure to listen to them. Not.

Now you have the "Occupy Vancouver" OccuTards planning on shutting down the port of Vancouver. Why? To show support for striking longshoremen in Washington state. Even the B.C. Federation of labour which runs the union at the port DOES NOT want them to block the port. And the OccuTards wonder why it is hard to take them seriously most of the time?

If they really want to protest the stuff that happened IN THE US they should hop on a bus and join the actual Occupy Wall Street movement.

Is Gainey still making decisions?!?!?

Work has been keeping me pretty busy and doesn't look to slow down until after the holidays. I still follow hockey though and was pretty much left shaking my head wondering what the hell is going on with the Habs after reading a story on another blog.

Montreal traded Spacek to Carolina for Kaberle. Kaberle? Really?!?!? Kaberle, who was so invisible in Boston that they DIDN'T want him back. Kaberle who is paid $3.5 Million a year to under perform.

Does Pierre Gauthier really want Montreal to improve? I know people jokingly called him Bob Gainey Light but it looks like he really is.

While I wasn't a big fan of Spacek this is ridiculous.

Changing views.

My father would talk about growing up and how, in the 20's and 30's when he was growing up, lobster was a poor man's food. Fast forward to today when it is viewed as a more prosperous person's food. It is hard now to see lobster as a poor man's food. A food that you wouldn't talk about. The times really change.

Mook of the Week

I had to go to Sobey's today to pick up a few things. The parking lot was half full but that never bothers me. I always park at the back and walk up. Less mooks around there. Usually. That was when I first noticed this mook.Yes, all the empty parking spots around and this asshole has to take up 2 spots. What a fucking mook.

My Father

This post is something I wrote a several months ago. I often write things and never post them or share them. It is cathartic to me just to put what I am feeling into words. Often it just lets me put things into perspective or get them off my chest. I can't recall the number of emails, posts, etc that I wrote and never shared.

You will see it mentioned below but it bears repeating, or would that be pre-repeating? I don't like airing some aspects of my life. Yet I saved this. And revised it. And saved it again. And forgot about it. And remembered it. And re-revised it. And ignored it. And forgot it. And remembered it. Ok, enough, you get the idea. It goes against the grain but I am going to post this.

*******

As I mentioned in another post, I don't like airing some aspects of my life publicly. Even if it something that happened many years ago. Sometimes I do find myself willing to talk about it. As I write this I don't even know if I will post it. Sometimes I like to write things out because it lets me work through them.

I was channel surfing tonight and came upon an episode of Gene Simmons Family Jewels. He had gone back to Israeli to meet family (brother and sisters) he didn't know he had and visited his father's grave. He hadn't seen his father since he was about 7 and had a lot of hard feelings because of it.

It made me think of myself and my father. Dad wasn't perfect and god knows I'm not. He had a lot of issues going back to his childhood. It wasn't always easy to get along with him especially the last few years of his life, until the last year. Actually, before that last year, actually 10 months, we almost came to blows a few times.

Dad had cancer. The doctors figured that he must have had it for quite a few years before it was detected. When they found it they thought they had detected colon cancer early and could nip it in the bud. When they went to operate they opened him up and closed him. He was riddled with cancer. They gave him a month or so to live and he lasted 10 months.

A few years before the cancer was detected he went through a big personality change, for the worse. This caused a lot of problems in our relationship. If it wasn't that he was my father I probably would have taken a swing at him a few times. Odds are he would have kicked my ass but he pushed me to that limit. A lot of words were said between us that usually can't be taken back.

The doctors asked about a personality change in the past. When we mentioned it they seemed to expect it. The cancer was up into his head and he was in pain. Dad was the type of person that believed you never showed your pain. He had a high tolerance, as do I. His must have been phenomenal. The day before he went in for the surgery he used an auger and we put fence posts in. The doctors, based on how much pain he should be in, were astounded that he could do that let alone function. They said the big personality pain was probably due to the pain and the cancer getting into his brain.

I was torn. On the one hand I hated Dad at that point in life. If you think I am angry because of posts I make know I probably would have scared the shit out of you back then. I was fueled by my anger at my father and forgiveness was not something you would find with me. Then I found out that the last years were not all his fault or mine. (I blamed myself at times for the rift that developed with my father even if I couldn't pinpoint what it was I said or did that caused it. I felt guilty for being angry with him and hating him. It hurts to say it but at that point in time I pretty much hated him.)

Then Dad went on the pain meds. In retrospect I would like to think it was BOOM everything is sweetness and light and we all kumbayad and things were normal. Unfortunately, that is not reality. It wasn't as quick and I was still dealing with, and in some ways suppressing, my old feelings. He did change a lot as his pain receded, the old dad that I knew and loved started returning. Maybe facing his mortality had something to do with it too.

In the first couple of weeks, of what we thought would only be 4-6 weeks, Dad and I talked. We started working things out and I did something I didn't think I was capable of. I forgave him for what happened and he did something I didn't think he was capable of, he apologized and forgave me. It wasn't an easy 10 months but we salvaged our relationship.

Seeing Gene Simmons crying at his Father's grave and beating himself up because his anger and pride wouldn't let him reach out to his father hit me hard. Knowing my temper and temparmant at the time that could easily have been me with my father. If we hadn't made up I could quite easily have finished University and cut him out of my life. We made up in time for me to lose him.

Loud Mouthed Cowards

I had a run in today with a type of asshole I haven't seen in a while. The loud mouthed coward.

My mother and I went to SuperStore to pick up a few cases of Kraft Dinner for the food bank. I went ahead to the car carrying a case while she brought the others in a cart. As I was putting the case in the trunk I heard a horn. I looked up and saw Mom just finishing crossing a lane in the middle of the lot and a truck. As I watched the truck passed her and pulled into a parking spot near her.

A portly asshole lumbered out of the truck. He immediately started yelling at my mother. "Why don't you watch where the fuck you are walking!" Of course, I saw red when he talked to my Mother like that. He opened his mouth to say something else and I shouted. "Why don't you watch when you drive."

I recognized his truck from when I was crossing the same lane. He was at the end of it smacking his steering wheel while people crossed. It is a busy lot and he probably had to wait 3-4 times while people crossed. My mother being the 5th. His frustration level at actually having to wait for pedestrians was showing in his face and voice.

"She just walked right out." he said. (And she hadn't. He was a distance from her when she started to cross and he laid on the horn.) He glared at Mom and his mouth started to move.

"You want a fucking problem?" I asked him coldly as I started walking over.

For some funny reason, cowardice, he decided to keep his mouth shut now. I guess being confronted by a 6'3" man in his 40's was too different from confronting a 79 year old 5'4" woman. His bravery vanished. He slinked off across the parking lot keeping his thoughts to himself.

And just here was he going in such an all fire hurry? A bar for lunch. Probably to build his courage back up. Fucking loud mouthed coward.

Steve Jobs - Hypocritical Whiner?

Steve Job's authorized biography is out and selling like I-cakes. While I haven't read it and can't see myself doling out money for it I have heard some of what is in it. The media focused a bit on comments Jobs made about Google.

"I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong," Jobs told Isaacson. "I'm going to destroy Android because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go to thermonuclear war on this. They are scared to death because they know they are guilty."

And when Jobs met with the executives at Google to discuss the matter directly, he apparently went even further in expressing his distaste for Android, telling them, "I don't want your money. If you offer me $5 billion, I won't want it. I've got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that's all I want." According to the author, the meeting did little to cool tensions between the two companies.

Wow. Strong words. Strange words too when you consider that a lot of Apple's breakthroughs were based on the tech of others. One article cited how Apple's interface and mouse controller was based on tech designed by Xerox Corp. I can remember seeing bits of OS Warp in Apple's OS, not to mention in Microsoft Windows. Nothing stopped Jobs and Apple from using the ideas of others. It seems hypocritical for him to get so bent out of shape because someone else did the same thing.

Speedy Auto Service

I have to give a shout out to Speedy Auto Service on Tacoma Drive in Dartmouth. They have always taken great care of my Mother when she had car problems. Every time they were more than fair in their dealings.

We have had a few problems with the car in the last couple of months. Every time they lived up to their name and provided speedy, and very fair/honest, service.

A couple of days ago the right rear signal light went out. Remembering how impossible it was to get in and replace the front one we just called Speedy. They fit us in the next day. It took maybe 5 minutes at the most for them to fix the problem.

Sadly, I am horrible with names. I am better with faces. The guy behind the counter (I believe he is the owner) let me know the car was ready. He then said "Consider it an early Christmas present. It's on us."

It seems like just a simple gesture but it really touched me. I deal with some of the extremes of society at work and not always in a good way. This helped improve my view of people.

For now. ;)

Scammer 2: Phone Follies Bugaloo

And the assholes that scammed my Mother for her credit card number over a month ago called back last night. This time they totally blocked out their number. It just appeared as 000-000-0000.

The guy calling had the same Indian accent as the last and started the same spiel. He purported to be representing BMO and could lower her credit card interest rate. She immediately hung up. The piece of shit then had the balls to call back and start yelling into the answering machine demanding that she pick up the phone and talk to him.

Unfortunately, I had been called in to work and wasn't there to deal with it. It left her more than a little shaken.

I talked with Eastlink about it today. The girl at Customer Service was helpful. Since the scum are blocking the number call blocking won't work. However, it turns out there is a way to trace a blocked call like that. The information gets sent to the local police to be used if/when you file a complaint. Here are the steps.

1) Answer the call and hang up.

2) Immediately pick up the phone.

3) Listen for the dial tone.

4) Press *57

5) A message should come up confirming that the number was traced and the information logged.

6) Contact your local police and file a complaint.

Next time these assholes call Mom will be prepared if I am not there. Hopefully everything works out and at the least I will be able to find out who they are when a complaint is laid. It could make for an interesting blog post.

And life goes on.

I finished a bear of a week at work made worse by my back injury. I now look forward to 2 days off and my back starting to feel better. I don't know if I will be able to catch up on all the blog posts from ones that I follow or not. I missed a lot. I will at least try to catch up on the comments here and on WTK.

Grizzly is a damn welcome addition to the family. Even with a bad back I still managed to walk with him. He needs it and so do I. Last Monday he had a "playdate" at Doggy Day Camp aka Camp Bow Wow where Ruger used to go. The staff there loved Ruger and I am sure they will love Grizzly just as much.

My biggest fear was his head sensitivity. The SPCA said he was hit by a car before he ended up with them. One of his teeth was smashed up so badly that they had to remove it. When he first came home with us he was a little head shy. If you went to touch one side of his head he would move away. That has stopped.

However, he does NOT like other dogs jumping at his head. Two dogs did it and he put both of them on the ground, on their backs, quicker than I could react. Which lead me to warn people about his sensitivity. He has met MANY MANY dogs since then and there has been no problem. He spent 2+ hours at Doggy Day Camp with no problems. But when he has met those two dogs, since then, he has been ready to fight and very aggressive. ONLY with those two dogs.

Damn he makes me walk. Which I thank him for every day. Thanks to Grizzly I discovered a Provincial Park, Cole Harbour Heritage Park, that I never even knew existed less than 10 minutes from my door. It is GREAT for walking around.

The next week at work doesn't get crazy until the weekend. Less than 10 hours between shifts at one point. Unless of course I get called in, and I will answer the call.

Take care.

Not back yet.

I tried to think of some witty way to work a back injury into the title unfortunately that was the best I can do. Between work and hurting my back last Monday I am not on the computer much right now.

I forgot that when my Mother says "A friend needs help moving some stuff." she really means "A friend needs you to move some stuff." Which I would do either way but it did mean doing it alone and I overdid it. Lifted something heavy the wrong way and I have been paying for it ever since. Sitting hurts more than standing so I was able to go to work.

I am off today for Remembrance Day and resting my back. Work the next two days and then 2 days off. I hope the problem is gone by the end of the 2 days off.

All of this means that my limited time online is even more limited. So I am way out of date reading blogs and posting on my own. I had planned on putting something up for Remembrance Day but just couldn't sit down long enough to write it up.

The weather is bloody horrible here today. Lots of wind and rain. They were calling for up to 100mm of rain.

Take care

Random Acts of Kindness Day

I am bloody tired. It has been a long week at work. Graveyard shifts, some 10 hour. Yet I had to make a post about something I caught on the news before going to work. Normally I avoid the news, it is just too depressing or stupid. Sometimes both at the same time. I saw a story about Random Acts of Kindness Day and it made me angry.

You have to have a fucking day set aside to do "random" acts of kindness? Planned spontaneity? The whole point of random acts of kindness is that you see someone who needs help and help them for no other reason but the simple fucking fact that they need help.

If you actually set aside a day and plan out what you will do it is NOT a random act of kindness. Hell a lot of what I saw on the "news story" was a bunch of self-serving bullshit. "Ohhhh look at us we did ONE thing on a day set aside to do something. Aren't we nice people? See how nice we are and acknowledge it!"

One website promoting this "special day" posted some ways to perform "random acts of kindness. Here are some of the ones that stuck in my craw.

For Employers:

Treat everyone to coffee and donuts in the morning.

Allow your staff to leave a half hour early on November 4.

Send an e-card to your employees letting them know how much you appreciate them.

Why not let your employees know you value them by TELLING them when they do a good job? Why not organize your office so that year round you support a charity in your community?

For co-workers:

Share your “to die for” chocolate chip cookies with your cubicle mates.

Make a point of thanking a co-worker for their help on a recent project.

Make a point of thanking co-workers for their help? Make a point of sharing? What kind of a fucktard doesn't do that normally? Is common courtesy that uncommon?

For strangers

Purchase a meal for a homeless person. Now that is getting better ... but why only do it one day of the year? Why not make regular donations to a local food bank? Donate to a homeless shelter?

Let someone in front of you on the highway. Isn't that also common courtesy? Wow let 1 person in front of your car on one day of the year and you are a great humanitarian.

All this "special day" really does is allow people an out for not actually doing something to REALLY help others the rest of the year.

My ire was initially raised by the inanity of having a day called "Random Acts of Kindness Day". It then became directed at the whole concept. To me it doesn't really look like a day to do something for others it is more of a day where you can do something to make yourself feel better, look better to others, and then ignore your apathy the rest of the year.

It is the people who selflessly help others any time of the year that need to be recognized. But they won't be for the simple reason that they do NOT do it for the accolades. They do it because they see someone who needs a hand, help out, and do so for no other reason than someone needs help. They do it anonymously just because it is the right thing to do.

Random Acts of Kindness Day my ass. If this is what it takes for people to do something, anything, then they are a bunch of fickle fucktards looking to be noticed.

Now, I sleep.

A story.

My life was falling apart. Everything shitty that could be happening seemed to be, all at the same time. I had broken up with my fiance. I was out of work with no immediate prospects for a job. Along with that I was having money problems and my old boss was trying to screw me over. I was having a falling out with one of my best friends. And just to round things off I was having some health problems. All in all it was not a good time to be me.

The stress and depression was intense. If I had believed in suicide I probably would have killed myself. At times all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and ignore the world.

One night I went to sleep depressed as usual. For some reason I woke up at 3 AM on the dot. Or as on the dot as any digital clock can be. Something felt off .. strange. It felt like someone was in the room with me. I looked at the foot of the bed and that is when I saw them.

Standing at the end of my bad was my Father and my dog Zeus. That might not seem so strange except for the fact my father had died 7 years and my dog 2 years before that night. I know how incredible it sounds, the ghosts of my father and dog. Was I still sleeping?

My father never actually spoke. It was as if I could feel what he wanted to say. I felt ... reassured. Safe. Loved. It was as if he was somehow telling me not to worry. Life would get better. They were watching over me.

Then they were gone. I blinked a few times and doubted everything that had just happened. Then I laid back down and went to sleep.

When I woke up I felt refreshed. The sense of stress and depression hadn't vanished but it wasn't as strong. I even felt something that I hadn't felt in what seemed like an eternity. Hope. Life did progress and things got better.

The few people I told about this story scoffed at it. It was just a dream. Your mind was playing tricks. They may be right or maybe I really did see two ghosts that night.

Jesusween?

I was watching The Colbert Report and he talked about Jesusween. It sounded so screwed up that I knew it had to be real ... and it is. Stephen Colbert referred to it as part of the War on Halloween.

Some Christers decided to try and create a "Godly alternative" to Halloween. Proponents of Jesusween are supposed to hand out Bibles and "Christian" gifts. They actually believe that it will become the most successful Christian outreach day. Odds are it will just end up creating the most successful egg sales day of the year. Some asshole put a crucifix in your treat bag? Egg the motherfucker!

Bloody whackjobs have to try and ruin everything. Isn't it bad enough that a lot of "Christian" holidays ripped off those of other religions in a move to assimilate them and gain more converts? Now they have to ruin candy day for kids? You would think followers of the ultimate zombie would embrace Halloween and not try and destroy it.

Nice gesture but ....

The picture below has been circulating on Facebook with feel good taglines like: There is still hope left in the world with stuff like this.

While I like to see it and applaud the Dry Cleaning store for their generosity to those in need the cynic in me starts shouting. I immediately think of the people who will abuse the generosity of the dry cleaner.

This isn't just based on conjecture. It is based on my own experiences helping those in need and the lengths fucktards will go to abuse the generosity of others. I used to help the outreach program at my Mother's church at Thanksgiving and Christmas time. They would provide food baskets for the dinners and in the case of Christmas presents for all of the family members. The number of people trying to take advantage of it, such as get more than they need/deserve or falsify their need, made me sick.

Some of the worst abusers were getting assistance from multiple sources. Seriously, how many fucking turkey dinners do the greedy fucktards really need? Some were discovered to be getting them from FOUR different sources. Each extra one they got meaning one less for families that really needed them.

One leech even went so far as to claim our next door neighbour as her parents and tried to use their address. She wanted to pick the stuff up and not have it delivered. Fortunately, we knew our neighbours. An elderly couple from Quebec who had NO kids living in Nova Scotia. Thei ONLY child being a son who lived in Montreal.

The fucktard actually tried arguing that the address was right and they were her parents. The argument ended when I took the phone and said fine, I will be at their house waiting for you to show up for the Christmas Basket. Bitch never showed. Turns out she was scamming my mother's church, the local food bank, and the Metro food bank.

Unfortunately, scum like that ruin it for those who want to help and those who need the help. People get scammed by them or hear about it and don't want to help anymore. Which screws over the families that really need and deserve the help.

I applaud the dry cleaner but I expect some fucktard will quickly take advantage of their generosity ruining things for those in need.

Gadhafi dead?

CBC is reporting that Moammar Gadhafi has been killed. I know it isn't nice or PC to say but I hope it is true. His death is decades overdue but at least it finally happened.

Most Moronic Comment

(I was looking through old posts/drafts and found this. No idea why I never posted it after I wrote it so I figured better late than never.)

An Anonymous commenter on What The Kimchi once asked me what was the stupidest thing a moron has said to me. I cited a comment from YouTube. Some YouTard saw a picture of my house and said "That is your house? That is why you stink." While maybe not the stupidest thing ever said it ranks up there. It got me thinking about exactly what is the stupidest thing said to me. There are many contenders and I can't really seem to choose one over the other.

Years ago a friend (A) called up another friend's (B) house, where I was. After talking with B, A asked for me. The first thing he said? "So, uh, where are you?"

Years ago I took a spill down a hill in the Spring. Branches tore my jacket up and left a nasty gash on my left arm. I am walking home splattered in mud with blood dripping down and off an arm. Some JoHo at my neighbours looked at me and said "Are you hurt?".

The multiple times Mr. Kim of Ivy School would use the excuse "miscommunication" whenever he was caught lying or trying to cheat you.

Another YouTard who said that while Koreans are racist it isn't their fault because they didn't create racism.

So many things I could point that have been said by those KKKrazy people over at Korea Sentry.

So many things AnonyJohn said on "What The Kimchi?" and "The Dog Farm".

It is hard to come up with one comment that is above the rest because there have been so many stupid ones over the years and in different venues.

Derailed Thoughts

Every have a great train of thought? One you figured would make for a good discussion. You have what you want to say meticulously thought out and just know it will convey what you want to say in such a way no one could misinterpret it?

I had one today while walking the dog around the lake. Unfortunately, or fortunately because what we think is great isn't always that good, I had such a good time with Grizzly that I completely forgot what i wanted to blog about by the time I got home.

Oh well. Life goes on. and if I can't remember it maybe it just wasn't as impressive as I thought it was. ;)

Little Old Mookies

I had a hard time naming this post. There were so many options. The tried and overused "Mookfest". Mookstravaganza. Mook Trick. Mook hat Trick. Mookfecta. I settled on Little Old Mookies and you should be able to figure out why.

I knew it was going to be an interesting day at work. As I pulled into the parkade an old woman driving a sporty red car was over the median separating the in and out lanes. I didn't know if she drove down the wrong side or backed over it. But there she was in all her glory. When I got inside I talked with security. Turns out she went down the wrong way (from the 4th floor) almost hit a few cars (at 4 AM there were ONLY a few cars in the parkade) and drove over the median to get out. She had NOT been drinking. What a mook.

When I was leaving a little old lady had driven her car into a wall on the 4th floor of the parkade. Luckily, she wasn't hurt. Nor was the wall. Her bumper was bashed in though.

A block from work a granny decided that she needed to be in my lane even though I was there. She missed my front bumper by millimetres. The air was blue around my car. She then proceeded to almost hit two other cars. I was just happy that she wasn't going my way after that.

Little old mookies, they shouldn't be allowed on the road.

Shit My Mother Says ...

My Mother and I went to Pet's Unlimited to get some stuff for the dog. Top on the list was a couple of balls for Grizzly to play with. Mom had picked up a street hockey ball from Crappy Tire but it was too small. A Nephew was at work there. Mom walked up to him and said;

"Do you have big balls?"

My Nephew and I looked at each other and started laughing.

Grizzly update

Grizzly joined our family last Saturday and he fit right in. He is such a good dog. I was patting his head and rubbing his back Saturday night and he just melted into me and slid to floor to be patted. Then, while being patted, you could feel his pulse slow as he relaxed and his eyes fluttered. He started to fall asleep like that. What can I say, it brought tears to my eyes.

After Ruger's death the house felt dead. Grizzly has brought life back to it.

Ontario Consumer Credit Assistance

The latest telemooketers to start annoy our household are from Ontario Consumer Credit Assistance. They call and leave an automated message giving 1-866-873-6222 as a call back number, as well as mentioning their website. Unlike other teletards they don't have a way of you getting off their call list at the end of the call. Mind you the others just ignore your request but at least they pretend to care.

From what I have read on the net and from the OCCA website they are yet another debt relief company. They have been annoying people from all across Canada with their calls. Often calling several times a day or several days in a row. These assholes are also on Facebook.

Luckily, it is easy enough to cut morons like this off from calling you. I found out how to block out phone numbers the last time the telemooketers targeted us. Dial *60 after a few seconds press the # key then 01 and the # key again. That adds the last caller to the blocked list. It worked like a charm to block the previous teletards and hopefully will do the trick again.

Water Mooks

I was going to write this up as a Mook of the Week post but it concerns things that happened a month or more back and more than one mook. It concerns a breed of Mooks I called Water Mooks. They take their stupidity to the water and often end up endangering others. Especially those would risk their lives to try and save such obvious morons.

In mid-August I took my Brother and his wife to Peggy's Cove. The waves at Peggy's Cove are notorious, even when there is no storm, for dragging idiots who get to close to the edge of the water out to sea. On a clear day some big waves crash in there. Even though there are warnings some idiots ignore them and go to the edge. These mooks actually take their kids within reach of the waves.

The Mooks in the picture below actually came pretty close to going for a swim. See where the rock that juts out into the water is dark and wet? They were there when the wave rolled in and if they had been a little slower they would have ended up smacked around by it. And the cunning stunt brought his kids!

In early September we caught the edge of a Hurricane. Waves in some areas were 5+ metres high. Even when the waves weren't present the storm surge created a nasty rip tide. Many people, myself included, went to see the waves. From a safe distance. Some idiots, Water Mooks, mainly surfers, actually went into the water.

The following pictures are from a group of these Mooks at Lawrencetown beach.

Then you have the following Mooks at Cow Bay the same evening. The idiot in the first few pictures was having a lot of trouble reaching the shore. He was still bobbing out there when we left.

He was part of a larger group and had gotten washed away from them.

The next day I heard that the RCMP water rescue team had to go out and rescue a surfer. I wouldn't be surprised if it was this idiot.

Fine, you want to put your own life in danger go for it. You are the bottom of the food chain and deserve what you get. Unfortunately, others will put their life in danger to try and rescue these idiots from a situation they shouldn't be in.

Maybe the guy who owns the restaurant at Peggy's Cove doesn't want to judge this type of idiots but I will. They are a bunch of fucking mooks!

What the ... credit card scam?!?!?!?

My mother got scammed for her credit card number over the phone this afternoon. The piece of shit scammer called from 110-333-4445. He said he was from BMO, her bank, and was calling to offer her a lower interest rate on her credit card. What convinced her it was real was the fact he knew what her last 2 payments were as well as her limit. How he got that information I don't know. She did catch on to him but not until after she had given him her credit card number and the security number on the back.

She immediately called the bank and they cancelled the card before it could be used. Then she got to spend the next hour plus on the phone. She reported it to the Anti-Fraud Centre, our phone service, and tried to report it to the RCMP (that was her first call) but only got an answering machine. Odds are she will hear from them tomorrow.

Now she feels like a fool. Well, to a degree she should. It was a foolish thing to do but we all have our moments of foolishness. She was quick enough to catch it before he had hung up and have the card cancelled. Anyone can fall for this kind of shit. Especially when the person has some of your banking information.

It would be nice if the police are able to id the guy. I would LOVE to say hi to him.

What the ... break down?!?!?

I am leaning toward breaking down and getting a cell phone. So work can get a hold of me any time. What can I say ... I want the hours. :)

Limitations

It is strange but I just realised how much my fears, whether silly or real, limit me at times. Take my walks. Lately, because of work and being on my feet 8+ hours, I cut back on my walking. Sure, I can rationalize some of it away by thinking about the fact I am walking around at work a lot. When I get home my feet hurt, as does one of my knees. So, I limit myself when it comes to walking by thinking I need more time to recover than I really do. Going for a long walk this morning showed me just how wrong my limitation was. The walk didn't really bother my feet or my knee. Not to the degree my fears let me think it would.

Now I have to work on that fear of heights thing.

New Addition to the Family?

My mother decided the house is too empty and dead without Ruger. She wants another dog, which means I will happily be taking care of him or her. 2 weeks ago she saw one in an SPCA add and fell in love with him. He is a 2 year old Shepherd-Husky named Grizzly. What a face! He has one brown Shepherd eye and one crystal blue Husky eye! He was found running loose in Cape Breton after being hit by a car. :( Last Weds we went to see him and initiate adoption.

While there we took him for a walk. That is when I noticed a lump on his left front paw. My heart sank. As soon as I saw the lump I thought cancer. Ruger's death from cancer Victoria Day and the time leading up to that still hurt's. It is something I don't think my mother could handle again so soon, and I know I couldn't handle it.

The SPCA was having him sent to a vet to have a lumpectomy and a biopsy done on it. They called today. He came through surgery well and the vet THINKS it is benign but it will be 2-3 weeks until the biopsy results are in. What do we want to do?

They suggested fostering him for adoption after the results. I don't know about that. We are already getting attached to him and he hasn't even lived with us yet. Plus it wouldn't be fair to him to have him for a few weeks and send him back. That just seems wrong on so many levels. They can keep him until the biopsy results are in but would have to make him available for adoption in the meantime. Which means he could go to someone else.

I just don't know what the hell to advise my mother to do. The thought of adopting him just to lose him to cancer is just tearing at my heart. But if he has cancer then he needs a loving home even more.

The best I can think of is to drive to the SPCA and talk in person. Find out what the vet thinks. Did they get all of the tumour? If they did what are the chances of it coming back? I just can't see bringing him home and not having him stay. Hopefully it works out but to quote Han Solo "I have a bad feeling about this." A feeling I have had ever since I first saw the lump.

*****

Updated 5PM same day.

We went to the SPCA and talked with them. They showed us the Vet's report on the surgery and tumour. It does seem benign. It wasn't attached to anything. They will do the biopsy and we may bring him home tomorrow. There is one last hurdle he has to pass. He has to get along with the Shitsus a friend of my Mom owns. They are over here a lot and she dog sits them too. He should pass that hurdle and could be with us tomorrow afternoon. :)

What the ... gullibility?!?!?!?

Just when you think you have seen it all some moron on facebook posts (or reposts) something like this.

FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES, FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. WHEN YOU SIGN ON TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL BE… PROMPTED FOR PAYMENT INFO...IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES. IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY.

Seriously? People fall for this shit? Evidently because I have seen it reposted by several people on Facebook.

How do you not ridicule someone who is stupid enough to post such obvious BS? Heh, I don't which means a few less friends that I didn't really know anyway.

Graveyard Shifts

I have been picking up a lot of extra shifts at work lately. Which drastically cuts blogging time. Mind you it also cuts the inclination to be on the computer much. Especially the way the weather has been lately.

Tonight I start the graveyard shift for a few days. I tried staying up last night and failed. I had pulled a long day shift and was just too tired to stay up. I tried sleeping during the afternoon but even a long walk couldn't tire me out enough.

So now I find myself a few hours away from my shift starting and a long night ahead of me with little sleep to prepare me. Gonna have to try and find some hints for getting the body ready for a shift change before it happens again.

Looking back at 9-11.

The anniversary of 9-11 is coming up and CBC is talking about it a lot. They are planning a lot of news shows with people talking about where they were when it happened or when they found out. It got me thinking of where I was when I found out.

I on the upper floor of a building waiting in line to get my passport. This was in preparation for going to South Korea. A guy a few spaces ahead of me in line, we were waiting for the office to open, was on his cell phone. He was going on about a plane hitting this and that. He was kind of loud and the people around me thought he was just being an ass. As did I. What he was saying just sounded so unbelievable.

I got my passport and went home. When I got home and switched on the news I found out the truth. The guy wasn't being a dick. He was being told the news as it happened. Damn!

I was a news junky back then and was pretty much glued to the TV after that. Friends of mine had been in New York City that week and had been at the World Trade Center on the weekend. I wondered if they were still in NYC. A cousin worked at the WTC. Was he ok?

Then the US closed their airspace. A lot of flights that were going there had to land in Canada. Flights that were supposed to leave Halifax airport were stranded. People here, and all over Canada, opened their homes to those who were stranded. We could have taken in a few people so after talking with my mother we offered up our house. There were actually more rooms offered up than people to fill them. It was nice to see people ready to help those in need at a time like that.

At the time I was helping to run a website that dealt with reality TV. As with most forums it had areas for all kinds of topics. One of our regulars lived in NYC and was posting updates throughout the crisis.

It just seemed so fucking surreal. Luckily, my friends were out of NYC before the attacks happened. My cousin's company had moved from the main WTC towers. Unfortunately, he did get to experience things from a nearby building. He will never forget the shit he saw. And so many others weren't as lucky as he was.

One of the things that pissed me off the most was the reaction of some, especially the Canadian media, in the aftermath. When President Bush, and I am NOT a fan of his, said thanks many in Canada jumped on it. Why? Because he didn't single out Canada. Seriously?

That is how fucking petty, selfish, and stupid some people and the media can be. He started by thanking everyone who helped. THAT included Canada. But he didn't single Canada out, like some other countries. Of all the stupid bullshit to focus on at a time like that. We know the US is our friend and that they appreciated our support. Unfortunately some are so insecure, and the media looking for anything to sensationalise, that they tried to make that an issue.

It seems so long ago now.

Implicit Association Test

After reading Eve's post about taking the Implicit Association test I decided to take it as well. According to the test I have no automatic preference.

You have completed the African American - European American IAT.

Your Result:

Your data suggest little to no automatic preference between European American and African American.

Thank you for your participation. Just below is a breakdown of the scores generated by others. Most respondents find it easier to associate African American with Bad and European American with Good compared to the reverse.

Many of the questions that you answered on the previous page have been addressed in research over the last 10 years. For example, the order that you performed the response pairing is influential, but procedural corrections largely eliminate that influence (see FAQ #1). Each visitor to the site completes the task in a randomized order. If you would like to learn more about the IAT, please visit the FAQs and background information section.

It is an interesting test. I had some reservations about it part way through. The testers had bad on the same side as African-American and good on the European-American side. However, that was switched around.

Does it mean I am not prejudiced? No. Everyone is to some degree whether it is based on skin colour, ethnicity, gender, even hair colour. To paraphrase Eve, only a fool would take the test and start proclaiming it is evidence they are not racist or completely free of prejudice. When I was younger and more foolish my result would have been different.

Doctor Who Quotes

I decided to enjoy part of my day off by catching up on some television. (The weather is too blah to go out and do anything. And 10 minutes after posting this the sun came out.) So I caught up on my Doctor Who and watched the two latest episodes. There were some great lines but after watching the shows I couldn't remember them verbatim so I did what any nerd would do and googled "Doctor Who Quotes". It led me to a great site, Wikiquote. It has a huge amount of quotations by the Doctor, just missing the latest episode. Including the quote that was stuck in my head. "Never knowingly be serious. It went thusly;

The Doctor: Sonic cane!

Melody: Are you serious?

The Doctor: Never knowingly. Never knowingly be serious — rule 27. You might want to write these down.

Heh ... I love that one. :)

Now to go look at some Leroy Jethro Gibbs quotes. ;)

What's new?

I started a new job last week. Training actually started the week before. Unfortunately, my employer doesn't want us talking about them on any sort of Social Networking site. I understand why, and agree to it. Which means work won't be providing me with anything to write about and holy shit the stories I could write.

It is only part time for now but with the chance of full time hours. The work is pretty interesting and there is room for advancement. So, as long as I am getting good hours, I can see staying there for quite a while.

This is going to affect my online time, which may not be a bad thing. My shifts can be all over the place. Work has people there 24 hours a day. So if I don't respond to you quickly or post your comment don't take it personally.

What the ... trite phrase?!?!?!

"It is what it is."

I don't know who first started using that phrase but nowadays you hear it a lot. Way too much in fact. The husband of one of my niece's is a prime example of a person who overuses that phrase. It will pop up several times in the course of a conversation.

"What do you think about this or that change your favourite hockey team made?"

"It is what is is." and no explanation of exactly what that means.

"Why did that happen at work?"

"It is what it is."

The first time I remember hearing it used too much was in the first Top Chef series. You would hear it several times an episode. They actually joked about it at the reunion show. Since then it appears all the time on the show.

It has become so overused that I tend to cringe when I hear it and think the speaker just isn't articulate enough to express themself without resorting to some trite phrase.

Mook of the Week

I played tour guide a lot while my Brother and his wife were visiting. Last Tuesday I took them to the waterfront in Halifax. We rode the ferry over and back.

My Sister-in-law was sitting chatting with my brother. He was standing in front of her. Both were out of the way and not blocking anything or bothering anyone. I was off near the rail looking out at the harbour.

All of a sudden I heard someone muttering "Fucking asshole. I should fuck you up." and some other unintelligible stuff. I looked back to see this lanky piece of shit mook in black with earbuds on staring at my brother and saying that stuff. He was moving away from my brother so I let it go and just kept an eye on him. He ended up with his back to me muttering to himself. That is the back of him in the picture below.

After a minute or so He moved his way towards the back of the boat. a minute later I could hear him again. He was walking to the front, staring at my brother muttering shit like "How the fuck would you like it if I threw you over the side. I should fucking throw you over. Fucking asshole."

10 years or so ago I would have been in his face. I have grown up a bit since then and instead of doing that, and potentially involving my brother, I kept an eye on the asshole and made sure that I was between him and my brother. I looked around to see if I could find a crew member but none were in sight and I didn't want to leave. Luckily, the mook ended up heading off to the lower level and I never saw him again.

My brother never noticed the guy. I felt a little bad after telling him because he was wondering how he offended the guy. As far as I know he didn't do anything. The guy was either a nut case on a day pass or an asshole looking for trouble. He didn't seem like special needs, I used to work with them. My money is on him just being an asshole.

What a fucking mook.

Social Networking and Personal Contact

I had an interesting conversation with a friend, S, today about Social Networking. We don't talk much, and not just because he doesn't use Facebook, he is horrible at returning calls. He feels that social networking is the worst thing to happen to personal communication. And he just might be right.

A lot of people seem to think that sending a message on Facebook or leaving a comment on something is the same as actually having a real conversation. I had one friend who was next to impossible to get on the phone. So you had to leave messages. He wouldn't call you back, instead he would send you a message on Facebook.

To me that is a "What the kimchi?!?!?!" moment. Yes, I use Facebook to stay in touch with friends and family and it is cheaper than a long distance phone call. But when you live in the same bloody city it seems kind of stupid not to just pick up a phone and call.

In some ways Hilda was right with her "rules" of communication. If you didn't return her call the ball was in your court and often she wouldn't call you again. Her "rules" were kind of extreme, and of course she never applied them to herself, but there was some truth to them. If you call and leave messages for someone and they never call you why bother anymore? If you call and leave messages and all they can do is send you a reply on Facebook (and you are in the same town) what does that say about the state of your friendship? Is it so hard now to just pick up a phone and return a call?

According to my friend S, yes. He curses social networking and feels it is destroying the ability of people to communicate. I don't feel as strongly about it as him, but there are areas we agree. People do still communicate via social networks but in different ways. Ways that to me seem more impersonal. I don't think that is a good thing.

I think back to my ex-friend Jimmy and YouTube. YouTube and "friends" Jimmy had never met became more important to him than "Real Life". Or as I like to call it reality. His life started revolving around YouTube and his virtual friends. It became his medium for communicating with people. While I do believe you can make friends online I it isn't the same as having friends where you live that you can talk to face to face. Considering the number or whack jobs on the net you can't always be sure you "friend" is who or what they say they are.

Then you have the people who seem to collect friends on Facebook. I had a LOT of friend when I played games like Mafia Wars. But they weren't really friends, now they call them "game friends". Even now, after stopping the games and dumping a lot of "game friends" I still have too many. Friends of friends who sent a friend request. Someone I met once or twice or who was a casual acquaintance who sent a friend request. And for some reason I approved the request. (Stupidity? Apathy) There are a small number of REAL friends and family I use Facebook to communicate with the rest are just ... filler. (Which now has me thinking it is time to do a purge again and get rid of the deadwood.)

Is social networking destroying communication? No, in some ways it is expanding it and making it easier. However, it is making it more impersonal. And that is a problem.

Life is busy

Lately life has been keeping me pretty busy. One of my brothers and his wife visited for a week. Tuesday I got hired for a new job and had to start training Wednesday. Today was spent doing the yard work that built up and trying to relax. All of which has not been making it easy for me to post anything.

I gotta say though it feels good to have a job. Especially one that seems interesting and has lots of room for advancement. The shifts may be sucky to start, 8PM to 4Am or something like that but such is life.

Tonight I am going to visit some friends and relax at a fire with rum and a cigar. Maybe a muse will inspire me to write a post. :)

I guess I learned something.

One of my brothers is visiting with his wife. He is a handful on a good day. His idea of fun is pushing peoples buttons to get a reaction. Usually I ignore him and that bothers him because he wants a reaction. He usually gets his wife screaming at him with his antics. So, the house is loud and there is a lot of confusion at times. This has stressed my mother out.

All of which means I play tour guide and baby sitter at times. The baby sitter comment is meant more jokingly than seriously. I have had a lot of fun showing them around and spending time with them. Mom has had a few ... hmmm ... incidents where she has lashed out, at me, because she is stressed. She can't understand how I can put up with everything and not get stressed out.

I guess it was living and working in Korea that did it for me. I won't say I learned patience because I am not a patient person. When it comes to his wife, she is deaf and due to idiots for parents she was treated as if she was mentally disabled for a good portion of her childhood. I have no problem talking with her because I am used to dealing with people whose English ability could range from non-existent to native. You just have to pay extra attention in order to understand her. You also have to watch the level of your language and the speed at which you talk. Nothing that I haven't done for the last 10 years in Korea.

Working in Korea and dealing with bullshit also helped. I got used to dealing with confusion, last minute "surprises", and a lack of punctuality. Add to that the stupidity I would encounter pretty much daily. All of which helps me deal with the visit. For me the visit isn't that stressful. It is no different than daily life was in Korea.

Passport Renewal Rule Change

Damn ... they changed the rules. I don't need my birth certificate to renew my passport now. My brother did when he renewed his last fall. The last time I checked the website it said I needed it. That was probably last November or December. I should have checked again since it has been a while.

The other day a friend was talking about renewing her passport a couple of months ago. She didn't need her birth certificate. Sure enough, I checked the web site and voila the rules did change.

Now that doesn't diminish the tardery I have gone through with L'etat Civil and getting my birth certificate. It does make things easier though. :)

Getting a new Birth Certificate Part Deux.

I won't recap the bureaucratic bull shit I have already gone through trying to get a copy of my birth certificate. But the saga does continue.

I got a phone call from L'etat Civil today saying that they need yet another piece of information. A piece of information they DIDN'T ask for on their website or in the forms they finally sent me a couple of weeks ago. Now they need a copy of a bill, tax statement, or my bank statement to show my address. Now, that was supposed to be one of the reasons why I sent these Bureautards a copy of my driver's license ... it has the address and is an official piece of ID.

Then, surprise surprise, I was told that I could FAX the documents to them. What the kimchi?!?!?! One reason the process has taken so long until now is that I was told I could NOT fax the forms in and I am not eligible for using their online forms. That is why I mailed it in ... and why the postal strike delayed sending it in to them. NOW some btard says I could have faxed it in! And they wonder why people hate bureaucrats and dealing with the government.

So, I went to the bank to get a copy of my latest statement to fax. It doesn't look like a bank statement you get in the mail. It looks like something anyone could have whipped up on their computer. The clerk also gave me a cancelled cheque for my savings account. It has all the info needed as well. (My account is now set up so I can just get my e-statement and print it off. When it was set up 12 or so years ago there were no e-statements.)

The information is all faxed off to L'etat Civil and I have to wait again. Will I actually get my birth certificate? Will it come in a week? A month? Or will I get a call form them tomorrow asking for new information? Or a letter in a few weeks saying they need yet something else.

I actually find myself missing Korean Immigration or the Korean Pension people. They could teach our Bureautards how to run an office. Never thought I would ever say that.

Once I actually get the certificate I then get to deal with the Passport people. I am not looking forward to that because I just expect more bureaucratic bull shit.

Beginnings

When I first got home from Korea I had trouble just walking around the block. Hell, I would sweat while sitting down. My time in Korea, and my own stupidity, had taken a toll on my physical health. It would be nice to blame it all on someone else, and that does seem to be the Western way, but I refuse to lie to myself. Most of the blame was on me with the next largest portion going to environmental factors.

I had to start building my health back slowly. So, I started walking around the block and as that became more doable I would extend the length of my walk. Then the number of times a day I walked. Until I was walking 3-4 times a day at least 1-2km a walk. Sometimes more. Sometimes less, but rarely. Over time the walks became part of my daily routine and if I missed one my day didn't feel right.

It wasn't just the walking that helped, I also changed my eating habits. I started that change while in Korea and worked on it harder when I got home. At the time I would have said I made no changes until I got home. Looking back I started making changes to my eating habits 6 months or more before coming home. Cutting back on my portion sizes. Making sure I ate a breakfast even if it was just toast so I would be too hungry later in the day and gorge. All in all I cut back what I eat by well over half, maybe even by 2/3.

Part of my eating problem was boredom. Over the years I equated boredom to being hungry. Often I would find myself eating without even realizing I had gotten something from the fridge. It was as if it was some automatic response to boredom. Or depression. It would lead to a vicious cycle that was hard to break. I would be bored and eat. Then that would make me feel depressed so I would eat.

There is a lot more to staying healthy, not just losing the weight, than exercise. It is a way of thinking and seeing life. People who nag or rag on overweight people are doing more damage than good. All it does is destroy their self-esteem and give them a reason to eat, depression. You can't force someone to want to be healthy. It has to be a conscious decision on their part. A lot of people, and I was one, will mouth the platitudes and seem to be trying but they are just going through the motions to shut up the naggers and haters. In the end they don't even help themselves. Sure there are some who will turn that negative attention around and use it as an impetus to get healthy. But they are the exception and not the norm.

Me, I just flat out didn't give a shit. Psycho babble aside, I didn't care and nothing anyone said would make me. It had to be a choice I made to change my life. Luckily, I came to that decision before it was too late. If I hadn't I would probably have died in the next few years.

The Weekend

After all the rain we had it ended up being a beautiful weekend. It was next to impossible to stay inside. Now I am getting ready for one of my brothers and his wife to visit.

I love my brother but he is high maintenance. He like to push peoples buttons and does things just to get a reaction. I can usually ignore him, which drives him crazy. He is damn loud too. But we always have a good time when he visits.

This time his wife is coming. She is SUPER high maintenance and louder than him with a shrill voice. He will do things to annoy her and get her going. I am not looking forward to that. Yes, there is other family in town, but he always ends up spending most of his time at our mother's and/or with me. Which I don't mind ... but both of them? I already have a headache anticipating things.

Of course this means I will get to play tourist and take them around. I should have some pics of Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg to post.

Dice

One of the nicer ways I while away my time is playing a game simply called Dice with my brother and friends. I heard about dice a lot over the years but it wasn't until the last few years that I actually played it. It isn't a cerebral game but it is a great way to spend time with friends.

Equipment:

5 Six-sided dice, paper and pen for scoring, friends to play with.

Rules:

The first person to 10,000 points exactly wins.

You need to score 1000+ in order to start posting points.

You can roll the dice as long as you score points. For example, if you roll a 1, 2 2's, and 2 3's you can roll the 4 non-scoring dice. As long as you have scored your initial 1000 you can take any dice total. If you only roll a 5 and the rest non-scoring then you can take the 50 points and not roll again. Most players keep rolling until they score at least 300 points unless they have a plan.

(Among my group of Dice players taking 200 or 250 points is called doing a "Seymour". He always claims to have a plan. )

Trash talking makes the game more fun.

Scoring:

A 1 is worth 100 points.

A 5 is worth 50 points.

Runs of 3 1's equals 1000, 4 1's equals 2000, 5 1's equals 3000

Runs of 3 2's equals 200, 4 2's equals 400, 5 2's equals 600

Runs of 3 3's equals 300, 4 3's equals 600, 5 3's equals 900

Runs of 3 4's equals 400, 4 4's equals 800, 5 4's equals 1200

Runs of 3 5's equals 500, 4 5's equals 1000, 5 5's equals 1500

Runs of 3 6's equals 600, 4 6's equals 1200, 6 6's equals 1800

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Shit Kids Say ... when telling you something is bad.

My sister and her then 3.5-4 year old son were in a line up at a store.

Nephew: Mom, fuck is a bad word isn't it?

Sister a little shocked: Ummm ... yes it is. You shouldn't say that word.

Nephew. Oh I didn't say fuck mom. Billy said fuck yesterday. He shouldn't have said it right?

Sister: That's right. And you shouldn't say it either.

Nephew: Oh I didn't say fuck mom! Billy did. I wouldn't say fuck!

People around started chuckling as my sister was getting red in the face with embarrassment.

Sister: Ok, just don't say it.

Nephew: Yes mom. I won't say it.

Sister: Good boy.

Nephew: Billy's parents should tell him that saying fuck is bad.

Sister embarrassed and trying not to laugh: Yes they should.

Nephew: Fuck is bad.

Sister: Yes, now stop saying it.

Nephew: But Mom I didn't say fuck. Billy did.

Sister: Ok, stop talking about it now. Billy was bad and

Nephew: fuck is bad too.

Sister: Yes.

At that point my sister didn't think she could continue without either breaking out laughing or dying from embarrassment. Everything my Nephew said was in a very serious voice. Luckily he found something at the checkout to distract him and their conversation ended. The cashier and people around had a good chuckle over it.

She still chuckles about that from time to time.

Lesson Learned

Damn ... I surprised myself today. It turns out I learned a lesson but didn't realize it until this evening.

The weather is pretty pissy today so I didn't go for my usual walk in the morning. Usually I have breakfast between 7-8 and by 11 I am starting to get hungry. Today I wasn't hungry at breakfast time so I just had 2 pieces of toast. By noon ... I was hungry but not ravenous. It was just a normal hunger. I had a regular lunch.

Come 5Pm and I am still not all that hungry. Which is surprising, I am usually ready for supper come 5. Just based on instinct because it was always our supper time growing up it is time to eat. Not today. I was just starting to feel hungry.

Come 5:30 I figure I should get something. I decide to treat mom to Subway. I picked up 2 6in flat breads. When I got home it hit ... I hadn't walked today. I hadn't burned the calories I normally burned. So I wasn't hungry. I have finally learned to listen to my body when deciding what to eat and when.

I guess I had learned the lesson subconsciously but never actually realized it. In some ways I have gone down a long road in a relatively short amount of time. Decades of not listening to my body and in 14 months I finally learned to do it. Now to just keep it up.

Shit Morons Say ... when looting.

I was watching the morning news for a change when I saw a story about the rioting going on in Britain. One guy decided to take his video camera out onto the streets and document what was going on. He also talked with some of the rioters.

The clip the news showed was him talking to a looter/rioter. He asked her why she was doing this and her reply was;

"I am getting my taxes back."

Seriously? What a fucking moron. Too bad he didn't get pictures of her face, if he did they never showed them on the news. She is in dire need of a boot to the head.

Holy Rainfall Batman!

It rained for well over 17 hours straight here. The rain started around noon yesterday and didn't end until after 5 AM this morning. From the start until after midnight it was coming down heavily. This summer has been strange for the amount of rain we have received. It actually reminds me of rainy season in Korea more than Summer in Nova Scotia. The forecast for the rest of the week is for rain. (As much as weather forecasts can be believed.)

While we have't had major flooding there have been problems. The main problem being water build up on the roads and people driving to fast for the conditions going hydroplaning. There was a nasty accident near us caused by someone hydroplaning.

I broke down yesterday afternoon and went for a walk in the rain. The rain was coming down so hard that it was bouncing up under the umbrella. It is kind of funny though that I, who have said in the past people who went jogging in the rain were insane, felt compelled to walk in it. Mind you, I did use an umbrella and the joggers that make me shake my head are the ones that just go out in shorts and a t-shirt. Still, a strange change. :)

EA Sports NHL 2004

As you know, I love hockey. I love playing hockey computer games too. When I had my PS2 the only thing I really played on it was hockey. EA Sports makes a great game but they don't make it for the PC anymore. :(

I play EHM Hockey Manager 2007. It is a great game. The detail is fantastic, especially when you use the mod fans have made for it to keep it up to date. The Blue Line is a GREAT fan site. They have some very dedicated people there who keep the game alive and vibrant.

Sometimes EHM can be a little too detailed and you want a game where you can just go in and sim being a player too. I bought NHL 2004 back in '05. I have owned other versions (older and newer) until EA Sports stopped making it for the PC. Something always made me come back to NHL 2004.

After battling a bout of boredom that was so intense it had me troll baiting for a diversion I decided to reload NHL 2004. Knowing there are mods out there I surfed the web and found a fantastic site where they have basically created a mod that remakes the game. Thanks to them I am not bored any more AND I am getting my off season hockey fix.

Birthdays

I haven't been around much the last couple of days because of my birthday. The day before it one of my brothers surprised me with a little party and the festivities didn't end until today. Although they may continue tonight.

Ok, some may rightly say I haven't been around much anyway because I spent too much time playing with the troll. I see you wagging that finger at me Stig. But I digress.

I have always enjoyed my birthday and that seems to make me strange. Most people I know don't like their birthday once they become adults. It is a reminder they are another year older. Most of my sisters miraculously stopped aging when they hit 39. Every year after that is their 39th birthday.

For me it is a reason to have fun. Or have more fun than I would normally have. It is MY day and I am egotistical enough that I like that idea. :) What can I say, I love a good party.

Getting a new Birth Certificate.

I can't find my birth certificate and need it to renew my passport. Getting a replacement should be a simple thing to do, right?

It was actually a very simple thing to do when I lived in South Korea. All I had to do was fill out the form I got online, photo copy my driver's license, and fax it to the government office in Quebec. Easy Peasy. So easy one would think that there would be no problems actually getting it done in Canada. You would be wrong.

I printed off the form from the L'etat Civil website but couldn't find a fax number. So, I called their offices to be told that you can't fax the form in. All you can do is mail it or fill it out online. Ok, filling it out online is easier than faxing it.

Nope. Since I don't actually live in Quebec or have a tax form receipt for the Province I can't actually register to send in the form via email.

So, 2-3 weeks ago, I mailed the form in. Yesterday I got a letter from the department and it didn't contain my birth certificate. It turns out the form I printed from their site was out of date. I have to fill out a new one, and mail it in, in order to get my birth certificate.

What is the difference in forms? The cost. The price has gone UP from $15 to $38 for a birth certificate. Ah the government, finding new ways to fuck around with you and take your money.

Now I have gotten everything together and have to send it in again. Good thing I don't actually need my passport in the near future. God damn I hate dealing with the government.

What the ... change in attitude?!?!?!

It is strange now, if I don't have my walk first thing in the morning I feel out of sorts. My day doesn't feel right. I feel out of sorts. If you had told me a year ago that I would feel this way, and actually be looking forward to walking, I would have said you were an idiot.

Now, thanks to Ruger (miss you so much buddy), it is part of my daily routine. If I don't walk at least once a day it just feels wrong. Making it part of my routine is what changed my attitude towards walking.

Worst Wedding ... Ever!

A friend posted a video on Facebook called "Best Wedding Ever". While I didn't watch it I was reminded of the worst wedding I had ever been at. My then best friend D was getting married to a pig eyed sack of shit (PESS) and I was the best man.

I usually say I can't remember the whole tale unless I have a lot of booze in me. The truth is so much shit and stupidity happened I usually repress it. I am not even going to get into everything here. That would include the whole lead up to the wedding and the aftermath.

She was in love with the idea of being in love and getting married rather than in love with my friend. In fact she told a mutual friend that she "wanted" someone else but settled for him.

Some "highlights".

Having to be prepared to break the arm of the Bride's Brother so he stops harassing the Bridal Party. (That was actually the night before.)

Mediating a very vocal fight between the Bride and Maid of Honour the night before.

Having to turn on the over head fans at the church because no one, including the Minister, thought they would be needed on a hot humid summer day. (No A/C in that church.)

The Minister having to re-start the vows 33-4 times because the bride was laughing too much. Not nervous laughter, belly laughing. Which she then tried to blame on others.

The Father of the Bride's Toast to the Bride and Groom which began "I know a lot of people here hate me and want to see me dead."

The "Wedding Song", Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". They had wanted his song "2 out of 3 ain't bad" but we talked them out of it. Seriously, they wanted "I want you, I need you, there ain't no way I am ever going to love you." but settled for a song about a guy who hit his 40's and realizes he made a mistake marrying the woman.

Everyone "having" to attend a breakfast the day after the wedding where the presents were opened. PESS would take the presents while giving the cards to hubby. She would ignore the cards, unless hubby found money in it. When it came to the presents she would pronounce whether they were good or bad and actually had a pile for those she liked and those she didn't. Always nice to let people know you think their presents are crap after getting them to pay for a meal to hear this pronouncement.

The bride accusing me and one of the Bridesmaids of screwing on their wedding bed. (We snuck into their room, left presents and papered the door shut. She turned that into us bumping ugly on the bed because ... well she needs drama in her life at all times.)

All in all it was the worst wedding I have ever been too. (I left lots of stupidity out that just made it worse.) Hopefully I never go to one that trumps it or I will stop going to weddings. To no one's surprise the couple is now unhappily divorced. Unfortunately for hubby, she made him choose between her and his old friends years before the divorce. He chose her, cut of all his old friends, and last I heard was pretty much alone, miserable, and blaming everyone but himself for his life.