7.28.2006
Peanut Butter Chicken Jello Blobs and Duct tape
2) Another reason I should not be allowed to have kids: I would name one Dragon.
3) While most people tend to keep pictures of their significant other/kids/pets/friends in their wallets, the only picture allowed in mine is of my car.
7.18.2006
The war might ruin my vacation
There's only one thing that truly unites all of man kind -- the
objectification of women kind.
7.17.2006
It's been a while (what a perfect excuse for a stream of consciousness)
- I saw my first rodeo and chuckwagon races,
- bet on the chuckwagon races using BP scoring (I broke on high speaks),
- turned into a lobster,
- drove through Calgary with an Oilers logo on my window,
- watched people go icing,
- turned into a lobster,
- rode a train,
- drank coolers on a balcony with a couple engineers, Erin, and super-awesome-cool-amazing Lexy,
- made plans for money we didn't win,
- saw OLP live,
- saw the British flag flying high,
- actually enjoyed sitting on a basement floor for a few hours,
- fed cows,
- laughed at Erin feeding cows,
- drank beer in a park in the dark with only tiki torches for light,
- went on a boat ride,
- laughed at the engineers that were trying to heat a portable hot tub that was filled with cold water by using a pump to run water through a tube through a fire and back in (with a minimal of tubing through the fire - what happened to maximizing surface area),
- caught up with old friends,
- discussed the differences between a stroller, pram, and carriage,
- saw a windmill,
- didn't take the salamander,
- laughed at the talking tree (which may or may not have been a passed out drunk guy speaking from under the tree),
- twizzlers,
- laughed at Erin for only burning her nose,
- condemned a man for having a weak handshake ("it's all about the web to web connection") [aside: if anyone knows the guy, could they please pass alongmy sincere apology],
- got a cowboy hat (although, unlike Erin's, it doesn't match my shoes),
- had good breakfasts,
- established several driving relationships (it's ok for cars to flirt),
- and attained blackmail photos.
However, after such a relaxing trip, my next trip to the world's oldest newest war zone might not be so fun. It's a good thing I have a nice bomb shelter waiting.
Speaking of current events, I was watching the news coverage of Bush and Blair speaking candidly while the microphone was still on. I learned that in the US the TV stations are required to bleep out the part where Bush told Blair that Syria just needs to "get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit." Oddly enough, the CTV online article does bleep it out.
6.18.2006
Worst line of commentary ever
6.14.2006
The stars were bright, Fernando
YAY!!!!!!
There is something magical about overtime in playoff hockey, especially in the Stanley Cup final. Overtime, especially a short-handed deciding goal in overtime, has an ability to shift momentum in a way that an ordinary win or loss would not; it has the ability to inspire hope that has been written off more times than the Mexican national debt (sorry, but a brilliant line of sports commentary deserves to be repeated).
I felt so bad for Matt Green when he went back to the bench after Carolina scored on a power play opportunity created by the hooking penalty he took. The poor guy looked devastated. You could see him being consoled at the bench, but he barely saw anymore ice time (and not just because Pronger was on for 33 minutes). But things worked out in the end.
Likewise, the 3rd goal that Carolina scored in today's game 5 reminded me of the disallowed Moreau goal. There were a few long seconds when there was no way that the ref could have seen the puck (unless Mr. McGeough purchased x-ray glasses to avoid further comparisons with an animated character with a similar name); however, unlike in game 3, the goal was allowed. However in the end, the Oilers got a break and got a gorgeous goal. Once again, karma.
The fact that Pisani's short-handed overtime goal made history (first short-handed goal in overtime of the Stanley Cup finals), is just extra karma to compensate for the thuggish nature of certain Carolina players, the terrible penalty call against Staios, and the lucky coin that Carolina had placed under centre ice.
There is something very satisfying to see a crop of cane-iacs being silenced and Stanley being returned to his box. [In general, I have mixed feelings about Stanley Cup contenders coming from cities that do not know ice. However, it seems absolutely absurd to have NHL hockey still being played in a city that is experiencing a real hurricane during hurricane season.]
Finally, since I recognize that as of late this blog has become a collection of random thoughts about recent sport matches. As such, on a completely unrelated note, here's the best line of television I heard today: "They should call you Chad, because you're leaving me hanging."
6.10.2006
T&T They're DYNAMITE!

I don't know how some of those Swedish shots didn't go in. I don't think I've ever seen a team so happy about a game where they didn't even score. And I don't think I've ever enjoyed a line of commentary as much as this one: "The hopes of Trinidad and Tobago have been written off more times than the Mexican national debt."
Now on to cheering for the two teams in the "house of death" that both wear orange (or Oranje, I suppose). Other than when they play each other.
6.05.2006
Sober Second Thought
Recall that scene in Men with Brooms, where the good guys burned a stone in the last end of the championship game; the crazy reptilian juggernaut told them to retake the shot because he didn't want to win by default.
Completely unrelated: I renew my abject disgust for Brind'amour. I just don't like the goon. Dirty bastard. Even if his first goal was pretty.
6.04.2006
Living in a Statistician's Paradise
While I don't think that there is a magical statistic that can conclusively predict the outcome of any given game, it is fun to play with numbers. As such, I've found my own little NHL statistic that has kept me quite amused: In this year's NHL playoffs, the team that took the most number of games in the last series to advance has won their next series. In other words, the team that has had the shortest break since their last series has proceeded to win their next series. Allow me to illustrate:
- The Oilers took 6 games to advance against Detroit (advancing May 1st), while the Sharks took 5 games to advance against Nashville (advancing April 30th). In this match-up, the Oilers won.
- The Mighty Ducks took 7 games to advance against Calgary (advancing May 3rd), while the Avs took 5 games to advance against Dallas (advancing April 30th). In this match-up, the Ducks won.
- The Sabers took 6 games to advance against Philadelphia (advancing May 2nd), while the Sens took 5 games to advance against Tampa Bay (advancing April 29th). In this match-up, the Sabers won.
- The Hurricanes took 6 games to advance against Montreal (advancing May 2nd), while the Devils took 4 games to advance against New York (advancing April 29th). In this match-up, the Hurricanes won.
- The Oilers took 6 games to advance against San Jose (advancing May 17th), while the Ducks took 4 games to advance against Colorado (advancing May 11th). In this match-up, the Oilers won.
- The Hurricanes and the Sabers each took 5 games to advance against New Jersey and Ottawa, respectively (they had each also taken 6 games in their first series), however, Buffalo advanced on May 13th, while Carolina didn't advance until May 14th. In this match-up, the Hurricanes won.
So it seems that while teams want rest, rest is actually bad for their success.
That said, since statistics should not be 100% accurate, this trend should be broken for the Stanley Cup finals.
GO OILERS!
Edited to add: Roli is doing awesome, Brind'amour is dirty, and Maggie the Monkey just picked the Oilers!
5.31.2006
Stolen Material
Women's rights.
In an unrelated story, at work, my boss was talking about some woman and called her a "broad." He then turned to me and apologized for using that term. He didn't apologize because he thought it was a bad thing to say, rather he thought that it was inappropriate to use around other women. I'm confused.
5.23.2006
A Grammatical Note to Gwen Stefani
How grammatically correct are you?

You are a GRAMMAR GOD!
Congratulations! If your mission in life is not already to preserve the English tongue, it should be. You can smell a grammatical inaccuracy from fifty yards. Your speech is revered by the underlings, though some may blaspheme and call you a snob. They're just jealous. Go out there and change the world.
Take this quiz!
Also:
GO OILERS!!!
YAY!!!
5.19.2006
5.18.2006
5.17.2006
yyyyyyyyyyyyyyabba-dabba-doooooooo!!!!!
The people with whom I work are pretty awesome. Which is good. Especially when one reads about the experiences of others. On that note, I highly recommend checking out this blog about a terribly unbearable co-worker. It's delightfully petty and a fun read.
In the spirit of the title of this post:
GO OILERS!!!!!!!!!
YAY!!!!!!!!!
5.06.2006
Broken dreams
Then it was considered just unlikely. At least right away.
Then Edmonton overcame all odds and it was expected.
Until Calgary ruined it.
No battle of Alberta and the Oilers have to play a real team.
5.03.2006
And the Clio goes to...
There was one particular commercial that stood out. The commercial was called "Heart Attacks" and it was advertising for Bonjour Paris French School. (Go to this link to see it, it's worth it.) There was French music in the background, and a voice in French which had been subtitled in English said:
In Japan, very little fat is eaten and the heart attack rate is lower than in the USA.
In France, a lot of fat is eaten and the heart attack rate is lower than in the USA.
In India, very little red wine is drunk and the heart attack rate is lower than in the USA.
In Spain, a lot of red wine is drunk and the heart attack rate is lower than in the USA.
In Brazil people have much more sex than in Algeria.
And the heart attack rate in both countries is lower than in the USA.In other words:
Drink.
Eat.
Have sex as much as you like.
What can kill you
is speaking English.
5.02.2006
Pisani and Hemsky made squid-lovers sad
I had also thought to post about my wonderful 36 hour birthday celebration.
Not to mention my best intentions to discuss karma.
But who cares about all of that now.
OILERS WON!!!!!!!!!
Being at Game 6 was AMAZING!!!!!!!!
So loud! So awesome!
So many people chanting "Let's go Oilers! Calgary sucks!"
4.24.2006
Mom (An M I never thought I'd blog about)
Hi mom!
My mom is a really awesome person. She is smart, she is articulate, and she makes really good cookies... occasionally for people's birthdays... sometimes they're oatmeal chocolate chip... hint hint...
Last week she had Oprah on TV. It was bugging me (as that show is wont to do), so:
Me: I'm changing this.
Mom: Don't you care about what these people have gone through?
Me: Hell no.
Mom: Ok just checking.
Fair enough, no problem, I put on something better.

Me: Look at those poor people.
Mom: What are they complaining about? Those recycle bins looked pretty comfortable.
I loved the irony.
I'm also convinced my mom has watched a few too many design TV shows; the clean lines, bright colours, and opening sun roof must have gotten to her.
As well, I had gotten through the level 1 guilt trip -- the "I don't really care if you do it, I'm just making sure you're sure you want to do so because my indifference will otherwise prevail" level. [It's much less difficult than level three "that is like a nail in my coffin" level or the bonus "I actually do care but I don't want you to think I care so I'm making it seem like a guilt trip to get my way" level.]
So in summary, my mom is lots of awesome, watches weird TV shows, and is not nearly as big on the guilt trips as this post might suggest.
Have a good day at work!
In other news, I'm more than half done exams. I definitely did well on the defamation section of my torts exam. It wasn't even about bananas or conspiracies.
Edited to add: I love playoff hockey, but how do two teams blow three point leads within an hour or so of each other? Now back to cheering for 7s over 2s.
4.21.2006
Mind-numbing. Yet another familiar M
But it doesn't matter, because I have a ticket to an Oilers home game!
4.15.2006
Today's post is brought to you be the letter M
Maybe Roloson should change his name to Mwayne for the playoffs. (yay! we made the playoffs.)
As well, on a tangentially related thought, the word morals starts with an M. This week I discovered that I have a moral. It keeps my feeling company.
Schadenfreude, however, does not start with an M. Oh well. Serves the Canucks right, anyway.
4.07.2006
Paper or plastic?
As my grandma would say "There's something odd going on in the beanery industry."
In other news, Disneyland/LA pictures and debate pictures are posted.
3.22.2006
Success!
I am glad to see that I have high standards for success.
3.13.2006
I guess it's better than "have a nice life"
She: I'm going to miss you.
He: I am heavily sedated.
Tinna, I'm sorry your gift is late. Thanks for the postcard.
3.09.2006
Connect the synapses
1) My heart was shattered recently. I discovered that excel is not in fact infallible.
Why excel? Why have you forsaken me? I do not like being forsook.
2) My shattered heart hearts Jon Stewart.
I may have missed the first half of the Oscars, but that doesn't mean I can't wish he was 20 years younger.
[aside: why do both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert use blue paper for their notes?]
3) I hope people like green prosperity cloths.
Apparently the only thing more dangerous than drinking and dialing is watching TV in a group and dialing.
3.02.2006
Only in Alberta
Maybe his popularity will even go up, like when he threw coins at people in a homeless shelter.
2.27.2006
Shoes can't drive themselves around, can they?
While driving today, I saw a shoe on the highway.
Again.
This shoe-on-road phenomenon seems to be fairly wide-spread, and I cannot figure out why.
How often does someone, while driving, feel the urge to pull off their shoe (or lean over and pull off their passenger's shoe) and eject it from their car? And wouldn't that be dangerous? Similarly, no passenger that I have ever driven has grabbed their shoe (nor my shoe for that matter) while driving and thrown it out the window. As well, in this post-9/11 world, how often do footwear fights actually break out while a vehicle is driving?
Or is this phenomenon indicative of some new form of road rage? Are people trying to throw projectiles to hit other vehicles that cut them off or offend them in some other manner? Or are there that many Khrushchev-philes running around with an extra shoe? (Bonus points to anyone that gets the reference.)
2.23.2006
Do you remember where you were when...
Insert creative analysis here.
(Wow I'm getting lazy.)
2.15.2006
Torinomania
I also love semi-colons; however, I've been told that unfortunately they, too, detract from my work.
2.13.2006
Sounds like a bad lawyer joke
This creates a huge dilemma: which late night show should I be watching tonight for the best coverage?
2.05.2006
Over tea and a Suduko
Out of no where she mentions "I think I have a solution to the whole health care problem."
However, she refuses to quit her day job.
1.30.2006
Mondays - A waste of one seventh of your life
But today I realized Mondays can be good too. I came home this afternoon to find my living-in-Alberta cheque (proof that while money may not grow on trees it seems to come from the ground). Furthermore, the National Post now has three suduko puzzles a day instead of one. As well, I had strawberries with my dinner and they did not talk back.
All in all, today made me realize that Mondays aren't the problem, rather the problem is Tuesdays, they're the worst sort of Mondays.
1.29.2006
Emergency Rations
I guess having dined with my grandmother so frequently, her mentality has rubbed off on me. While traveling through Ireland, Erin and I always made sure that we had emergency rations.
Random fact: the orange Fanta in Ireland tastes a million times better than the orange Fanta in London. (I have no idea how the English ruined Fanta, but the stuff in London tasted awful.)
1.25.2006
Pop quiz hot shot
1. If you reside in Edmonton, should it cost less to fly to LA or Ottawa?
a) Ottawa, it's the nation's capital and it's in the same country.
b) They should be the same, they're about equidistant.
c) LA, it's the illogical choice, just like Air Canada.
d) Flin Flon
Correct answer: B
2. Should the difference in cost be >$100?
a) No, that would be silly!
b) Yes, it's the illogical choice, just like Air Canada.
c) Flin Flon
d) Maybe
Correct answer: C
3. How much more should it cost to fly from Edmonton to LA than from Edmonton to Vancouver?
a) $300+, the time of travel is 4 times longer to LA than to Vancouver.
b) $200-299, after all, you have to connect in Vancouver (or somewhere) to fly to LA.
c) $100-199, but you can't complain it's a lot cheaper than going to Flin Flon.
d) <$100, it's the illogical choice, just like Air Canada. Correct answer: D
If none of the correct answers seemed illogical to you, I hear Air Canada is hiring.
1.22.2006
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet
So, does that mean that if there is a lower voter turnout (or a substantial amount of spoiled ballots), that less money will be distributed to the parties? I'm hoping that someone who knows better about these things might enlighten me.
1.15.2006
Rexall wrecks all
The ice in Rexall Place still reads "Thank You Fans."
Did I mention that it's January?
At least it's only written in English, rather than having the French translation as well.
1.14.2006
In Transit
Here is a view of Dublin at night, on the River Liffey.

Some quick lessons I learned:
- In countries where they don't have fountain pop, getting a hi-ball means paying for the alcohol and the bottle of pop, which means one prohibitively expensive drink.
- It is fun residing at the break hotel. Especially when you don't break.
- The tallest building in Dublin is the Guinness tower. The
Guinness factory is also the subject of a 6000 year lease.
- The oldest pub location in Dublin existed before Canada was discovered. One can sign currency and put them on the walls of the modern pub that stands next to the remains of the original pub.
- White shoes are never a good idea.
- In Ireland "black gold" refers to Guinness, not oil.
- Canada produces some amazing debaters. Congrats to all!
- Booze-2-Go is the best named liquor store ever.
- Watching Guinness being poured is a good experience. Drinking it isn't.
- Two Brits judging for Alaska can indeed represent the "Dominion
of Canada" in the world's masters competition and win. Yay for Toques, maple syrup, and "something like Ice Hockey."
- Lanyards ruin black tie outfits. But one must ensure they have their accreditation at all times.
- Emergency exits can look like a man in a hurry.
- Sugar fights are dangerous.
- One should beware of the South Africans, they have a malarial-meningococcal-influenza-contagious bug thing and an amazing ability to confuse doctors trying to make a diagnosis.
- Cribbage is fun. Cribbage between debate rounds is extra fun. Girls versus Boys cribbage between debate rounds defies probabilities.
- Quarantining people to differentiate between hangovers and illnesses results in heightened hypochondria.
- When fitting 100,000 books into one room, arranging bookshelves according to book size makes space usage more effective, and helps people carrying books down a ladder.
- Four people easily fit on a single bed.
- Pajama parties in Jones' room are awesome.
- Erin really liked her Irish hat.
- Doors are meant for shorter people in Ireland.
- Pantomime is French for "musical written by 1000 crackbabies typing on 1000 typewriters for 1000 hours with a bit of LSD added."
- Driving on the wrong side of the very narrow and crazy roads in a vehicle with a standard transmission, relying on maps written by monkeys is an adventure. Erin is a pretty good driver.
- Cork is pretty.
- Blarney Castle has a murder hole. The grounds of the castle have a druid circle, a sacrificial alter, wishing steps and more.
- Kissing the Blarney Stone is awesome fun, but requires flexibility.
- Fermoy, home of the Charlie Brown pub, needs a by-pass.
- In Ireland, everyone says "thanks a million."
- The line "so long as we're not dead, we might as well be wed" seemed to really offend me.
- Cork really was 17 shades of green, none of which were jaded.
The problem with traveling is that the period of time it takes to recover after the trip is brutal. Instead of 36 hours in transit (which is long, but included a night in London), it feels like I'm spending a week in transit trying to get things back to the way they were before I left.
More stories and pictures to follow.
1.13.2006
Worlds In Poem
(See Tinna, I listen to your emails! Make sure to club that seal so they know you're Canadian.)
While Erin and I never did get a chance to drive through the city of Limerick, we decided that we could still write a Limerick to explain worlds. The complete version is still under revision, so I'll only post the first one.
We went to Worlds 2006 in Dublin City
With 900 people that thought they were witty
For nine rounds we spoke
But only 32 teams broke
And everyone else went around seeking pity
12.18.2005
Exams and no TV make Sharon go something something
Don't mind if I do.
That's why in the case of Studying v. Watching Simpsons Reruns Inc., [2005] 12 S.O.A. 15, the defendant's use of the following line made me laugh:
That D.U.I. is a She-U.I.
I think at some point I started to ponder how things fit into one's brain. mmm... Synapses
7 days!
12.15.2005
Surreal space monkeys redefined
Oddly, that was a lot less surreal than the conversation with a delightful 40-year old.
I think these exam things are making me loopy.
12.07.2005
Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species - these are the hierarchy
I have started to classify people as being pre-charter or post-charter.
I am discriminating between them based on this distinction.
The irony is delicious.