in the key of :: T

5.80 - The One that I jump ship

2010-04-07T13:58:00.003-04:00

as you have probably noticed...I haven't blogged in forever...BUT fear not..I have moved my blog to Word Press. Not sure if I'll blog anymore there...but I like the options over on the dark side.

http://inthekeyoft.wordpress.com

5.79 - The One with PC Load Letter

2009-11-27T10:16:00.004-05:00

for those of you who have seen Office Space and like Star Wars:

for those of you who haven't...get on it

[via Abstruse Goose]

5.78 - The One with the new stuff

2009-11-04T11:02:00.002-05:00

crazy weekend...moved out of the apartment and into our new condo...

...oh and to top it off I got this:

5.77 - The One with Bumblebee

2009-10-28T09:23:00.004-04:00

Picked up Forza 3 last night...pretty sweet game and it'll give the Gran Turismo series a run for it's money. The customization in this game is fun too...I didn't have much time but this is what I've done so far:

5.76 - The One with "Yes We Can!"

2009-10-26T09:55:00.002-04:00

This is no April Fools joke...this product is REAL...

Introducing...the Obama Chia Pet...

[via YouTube]

5.75 - The One with the "Advice for Art Majors"

2009-10-16T15:39:00.001-04:00

[via College Humor via Loldwell.com]

5.74 - The One with Office shenanigans

2009-10-15T20:43:00.004-04:00

This is for all my fellow designers out there:

A lady came into the office today, said that she was a web programmer and asked if we had any work that we could pass onto her. That kinda thing happens every so often. I like when people are assertive and go out to seek work. I was in the same situation not too long ago. But then she kept on talking...

"I also do web design...but I hate Photoshop. I love Paint Shop Pro...mastered that...but I can't stand using Photoshop."

hmmm...can't say that we'll ever hire her to do any work for us...

...and now for some more office shenanigans...

[via YouTube]

5.73 - The One with Windcharger

2009-09-04T09:05:00.003-04:00

I found this picture of my very first Transformer I ever got. I was about 5, in Sears at the Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon. Pretty sure my parents bought it for me...little did they know it would make me a lifetime fan of Transformers.

5.72 - The One with the great Summer '09 Movie Review

2009-08-10T11:40:00.023-04:00

Here are my reviews of the summer movie blockbuster season. It was quite an eventful season starting with the leaked work-print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which I think boosted ticket sales...to a remake of Star Trek, a sequel to Transformers and ending off with another 80's cartoon/toy movie: GI Joe. Now since I have a deal with my wife that I pick a movie, and she picks a movie...we've seen quite a number of movies. I'll try not spoil any movies...

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

The origin story of one of the most popular X-Men was much much better that the 3rd installment of the X-Men trilogy. By bringing back Hugh Jackman to play Wolverine made this movie. To think that they had cast Dougray Scott (the baddie from MI:II) originally for the X-Men movies as Wolvie, but had to drop out due to scheduling was a blessing in disguise. Jackman was born to play Wolverine. The story was loosely based on the comic origin, but they brought in elements that really had nothing to do with Wolverine. What they did to Ryan Reynolds Deadpool was ridiculous. Reynolds did well for what it was. He's the perfect guy to play the "Merc with the mouth", but what they did to the character was stupid. This movie was a good way to start the summer.

3 1/2 stars out of 5

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

The first chick flick of the summer. Another Matthew McConaughey chick flick, and I believe Jennifer Garner's first film in a long long time. Story is based on "A Christmas Carol" with McConaughey playing the "Scrooge" type character. The twist is that he is a womanizer who gets "haunted" by his girlfriends past during the weekend of his brother's wedding. Pretty typical chick flick with some funny parts.

2 stars out of 5

Star Trek

Probably one of the most anticipated movie of the year. JJ Abram's knocks this one out of the park. A re-imagining of the original Star Trek, it tells story of the USS Enterprise's first mission. The casting of the original characters was very well done. It's hard to imagine anyone other that William Shatner playing Kirk, but Chris Pine does a pretty good job. "Hero's" Zachary Quinto does an amazing job as the new Spock. The lens-flare effect was a little over done...but this was THE best Star Trek movie yet.

4 1/2 stars out of 5

Terminator Salvation

Terminator #4...better than #3. They cast another John Connor in Christian Bale. This movie happens after Judgment Day with John Connor leading the Resistance against Skynet and all the Terminators. It was a good popcorn flick, but nothing that memorable. They did have a "cameo" of Arnold as the newest model of Terminator. I guess they had scans of his face when he was younger and they put that over the body double that was actually on screen. I heard that they are planning on doing a 5th Terminator...

2 1/2 stars out of 5

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Ben Stiller and his gang from the NYC Museum of Natural History return, but this time they are wrecking havoc at Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian Institute. Hank Azaria is added to the cast an evil Pharaoh with a lisp, and Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart. This movie actually makes me want to take a trip down to DC to check out the Smithsonian. This movie is not as good as the first...but still fun at times.

1 1/2 stars out of 5

Up

Wow...Pixar has done it again. Every movie they put out is simply amazing, and they get better and better. Although this one dealt with a lot more human emotion than the others. They story has 78-year old Carl, a retired balloon salesman taking his house to South America...by air. Joining him is 8-year old Russell, making for some great comedy. I think this movie by far has to be one of my favourites this year. The short film attached to the beginning was very good as well.

4 1/2 stars out of 5

The Hangover

By far, the best comedy of the year. 4 friends take Vegas by storm during a bachelor party, but can't remember anything in the morning. To make things worse, they lose the groom in the process. The on-screen chemistry of Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis was great, and a cameo from Mike Tyson was just simply hilarious. It reminded me a lot of Dude, Where's My Car?

4 stars out of 5

Year One

Jack Black and Michael Cera are a couple of hunter/gathers at the beginnings of human civilization and through stupid events, they make it out of their village into a bustling metropolis. It's a pretty stupid movie and at times sacrilegious. Cera's mellow approach to everything compliments Black's way over the top humour. There are some funny parts, but not enough to want to watch a second time. If you've seen the trailer...you've seen the movie.

2 starts out of 5

The Proposal

What happens when you don't pay attention to your work visa? You get deported. Oh wait...I have an assistant that will do anything I want...so I'm going to marry him to stay in the country. Then we'll divorce after a couple years. To sell this we need to go to his family's estate in...Alaska. Uh oh...his family is so great...I can't do this to them. I'll face the music and be deported. Oh ya...I've fallen in love with my assistant too...opps.

3 stars out of 5...only cuz Ryan Reynolds is hilarious. He gets 2 stars.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I was pretty hyped for this movie. That being said, I'm a huge Transformers fan so I'm a little biased. This is a typical Michael Bay movie. Awesome action, explosions, and camera angles. Bay may never win an Oscar, but his style is fast and fun. But as a movie...its not so great. I think it ran about 40 minutes too long. 90% action, 10% story, 100% Michael Bay.

3 stars out of 5

Funny People

By having Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen in a movie, you'd think that it would be a hilarious comedy. Also having the title of the movie as "Funny People", you'd think it would be an amazing comedy. Not so much. This movie was more a drama with some funny moments. I'm not saying its a bad movie, I really enjoyed it. It was pretty heavy at times...and a little long too. If you see it, go in thinking drama.

3 1/2 stars out of 5

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Yo Joe! If you were going to make a movie based on a toy line and an 80's cartoon...this is how you do it. Complete with the cheesey plot, lines, and special effects. The casting in this movie was very very good. Paramount didn't allow any press to screen the movie because they didn't want negative reviews. I went into with zero expectations and I was pleasantly surprised at it. It really brought me back to my childhood. The couple catch phrases like "Yo Joe!" and "Knowing is half the battle" were stuck in for good measure.

3 stars out of 5

5.71 - The One with Batman fighting geeks

2009-08-06T09:25:00.002-04:00

[via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]

5.70 - The One with 100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About

2009-07-23T09:58:00.003-04:00

Audio-Visual Entertainment

Inserting a VHS tape into a VCR to watch a movie or to record something.
Super-8 movies and cine film of all kinds.
Playing music on an audio tape using a personal stereo. See what happens when you give a Walkman to todays teenager.
The number of TV channels being a single digit. I remember it being a massive event when Britain got its fourth channel.
Standard-definition, CRT TVs filling up half your living room.
Rotary dial televisions with no remote control. You know, the ones where the kids were the remote control.
High-speed dubbing.
8-track cartridges.
Vinyl records. Even today’s DJs are going laptop or CD.
Betamax tapes.
MiniDisc.
Laserdisc: the LP of DVD.
Scanning the radio dial and hearing static between stations. (Digital tuners + HD radio bork this concept.)
Shortwave radio.
3-D movies meaning red-and-green glasses.
Watching TV when the networks say you should. Tivo and Sky+ are slowing killing this one.
That there was a time before ‘reality TV.’

Computers and Videogaming

Wires. OK, so they’re not gone yet, but it won’t be long
The scream of a modem connecting.
The buzz of a dot-matrix printer
5- and 3-inch floppies, Zip Discs and countless other forms of data storage.
Using jumpers to set IRQs.
DOS.
Terminals accessing the mainframe.
Screens being just green (or orange) on black.
Tweaking the volume setting on your tape deck to get a computer game to load, and waiting ages for it to actually do it.
Daisy chaining your SCSI devices and making sure they’ve all got a different ID.
Counting in kilobytes.
Wondering if you can afford to buy a RAM upgrade.
Blowing the dust out of a NES cartridge in the hopes that it’ll load this time.
Turning a PlayStation on its end to try and get a game to load.
Joysticks.
Having to delete something to make room on your hard drive.
Booting your computer off of a floppy disk.
Recording a song in a studio.

The Internet

NCSA Mosaic.
Finding out information from an encyclopedia.
Using a road atlas to get from A to B.
Doing bank business only when the bank is open.
Shopping only during the day, Monday to Saturday.
Phone books and Yellow Pages.
Newspapers and magazines made from dead trees.
Actually being able to get a domain name consisting of real words.
Filling out an order form by hand, putting it in an envelope and posting it.
Not knowing exactly what all of your friends are doing and thinking at every moment.
Carrying on a correspondence with real letters, especially the handwritten kind.
Archie searches.
Gopher searches.
Concatenating and UUDecoding binaries from Usenet.
Privacy.
The fact that words generally don’t have num8er5 in them.
Correct spelling of phrases, rather than TLAs.
Waiting several minutes (or even hours!) to download something.
The time before botnets/security vulnerabilities due to always-on and always-connected PCs
The time before PC networks.
When Spam was just a meat product — or even a Monty Python sketch.

Gadgets

Typewriters.
Putting film in your camera: 35mm may have some life still, but what about APS or disk?
Sending that film away to be processed.
Having physical prints of photographs come back to you.
CB radios.
Getting lost. With GPS coming to more and more phones, your location is only a click away.
Rotary-dial telephones.
Answering machines.
Using a stick to point at information on a wallchart
Pay phones.
Phones with actual bells in them.
Fax machines.
Vacuum cleaners with bags in them.

Everything Else

Taking turns picking a radio station, or selecting a tape, for everyone to listen to during a long drive.
Remembering someone’s phone number.
Not knowing who was calling you on the phone.
Actually going down to a Blockbuster store to rent a movie.
Toys actually being suitable for the under-3s.
LEGO just being square blocks of various sizes, with the odd wheel, window or door.
Waiting for the television-network premiere to watch a movie after its run at the theater.
Relying on the 5-minute sport segment on the nightly news for baseball highlights.
Neat handwriting.
The days before the nanny state.
Starbuck being a man.
Han shoots first.
“Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.” But they’ve already seen episode III, so it’s no big surprise.
Kentucky Fried Chicken, as opposed to KFC.
Trig tables and log tables.
“Don’t know what a slide rule is for …”
Finding books in a card catalog at the library.
Swimming pools with diving boards.
Hershey bars in silver wrappers.
Sliding the paper outer wrapper off a Kit-Kat, placing it on the palm of your hand and clapping to make it bang loudly. Then sliding your finger down the silver foil of break off the first finger
A Marathon bar (what a Snickers used to be called in Britain).
Having to manually unlock a car door.
Writing a check.
Looking out the window during a long drive.
Roller skates, as opposed to blades.
Cash.
Libraries as a place to get books rather than a place to use the internet.
Spending your entire allowance at the arcade in the mall.
Omni Magazine
A physical dictionary — either for spelling or definitions.
When a ‘geek’ and a ‘nerd’ were one and the same.

[via Wired.com]

5.69 - The One with the nuts

2009-07-14T09:07:00.001-04:00

The Hole In His Logic

Grocery Store | London, UK

Customer: “I’m looking for your nuts.”

Me: “Those are on aisle four sir.”

Customer: “I’ve already looked and I can’t find them. I’m looking for my favorites.”

Me: “All the types of nut we have in stock are in aisle four, if you can’t find them then we don’t stock them. Do you want me to have a look for you?”

Customer: “No no, I’ll go look again.”

(Five minutes later, he returns.)

Customer: “I still can’t find my favorite nuts!”

Me: “Then I am afraid we must not stock them.”

Customer: “But my wife gets them for me from here every week!”

Me: “What type of nuts does she buy you?”

Customer: “Donuts…”

[via Not Always Right]

5.68 - The One with the copy cat ad

2009-07-13T10:02:00.003-04:00

I was watching TV over the weekend and I saw a new ad with U2 in it. I immediately thought that they were promoting iPod...but then as the commercial started to wrap up...the caption read "Blackberry loves U2". Wait...what? It sure looked like the Coldplay one that Apple put out months ago...

watch Blackberry:

[via YouTube]

watch Coldplay:

[via YouTube]

5.67 - The One with the King of Pop

2009-06-26T10:12:00.001-04:00

In memory of the King of Pop...this is a video I shot when we were in Cuba last year.

I always loved the "Thriller" dance...

5.66 - The One with the Rude Designer

2009-06-19T15:47:00.002-04:00

What a web designer really thinks [from the mind of Max Guedy]:

I'm max guedy, I'm a rude web designer

I'm overpriced

But at least you are warned in advance, since i will quote astronomically for the entire project. If you have no budget, then apply for a loan before contacting me.

Don't call me on the phone, I won't answer

All communication must be done by email, that way i can call you out when you forget what you've instructed me to do.

I won't listen to your design suggestions

You've hired me to do a design job, so don't try to tell me how things should look - i already know that you'll be wrong.

Take a chill pill before contacting me

It's not my fault if you're so disorganized, you now need the job done for tomorrow. So take a chill pill and don't expect me to barf a website out in my sleep.

You need me more than i need you

I have dozens of projects going on, so by all means please find a designer somewhere else if you have a stinky attitude. I don't care that much about your money.

[via Max Guedy]

5.65 - The One that will make you regular

2009-06-11T09:17:00.002-04:00

(My dad was standing in an express line at the grocery store. In front of him was a well-to-do-looking woman, who clearly had several more items than the limit.)

Dad: “You know, it’s amazing that someone who is apparently so successful can’t read.”

Woman: *in a huff* “That sign’s for regular people, not for me!”

(An old man behind my dad taps him on the shoulder.)

Old man: “Here, give her this.”

(My dad hands it to the woman.)

Woman: “What’s this?”

Old man: “Metamucil. It’ll make you regular.”

[via Not Always Right]

5.64 - The One with Project Natal

2009-06-03T14:27:00.003-04:00

At this year's E3, Microsoft brought out the big guns and previewed their motion controller. Taking a page from Nintendo's Wii, MS took it a step further. No Controller Required! Check out the video:

[via YouTube]

Sony threw their hat into the motion control arena as well, but since it's basically the same as the Wii, but a little better. I'm looking forward to Natal...hopefully it's not $200+

5.63 - The One at the zoo

2009-05-25T10:03:00.004-04:00

Last week Naomi turned to me and said..."Let's go to the zoo..." So we went on Saturday. I haven't been to the zoo since I was a kid, and all I can remember is that there was a LOT of walking. But I was pretty excited. The weather was great, not too hot, and when the sun was beaming down, there was a nice breeze that came through. The highlight of the visit was the sting ray exhibit. An extra $3...but so worth it. We were able to pet and feed them. Not sure when I'll go back to the zoo again, but I'm sure that I won't wait as long as I did.

And for all you hockey fans...check out the BEST hit of the year. Too bad the refs blew the call and gave Kronwall a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for a clean hit.

[via YouTube]

5.62 - The One with the pier

2009-05-19T12:12:00.001-04:00

Here's a pic from this past long weekend. A couple of girls drove down to the pier and got out. Problem was...the driver didn't put the car into park.

"I didn't even feel the bump." Uh huh...EPIC FAIL

5.61 - The One with the golf ball

2009-05-19T10:35:00.005-04:00

Best quote from this weekend came from my round of golf with Chris and Rick. Picture 18th hole, slight dogleg to the right. Elevated green, 50 yard wide fairway...with a large tree, about 210 yards away, just off the right tree line. Chris tees up and nails the tree. We get up to it and try to find the ball. Some his ball ends up a few yards in front of the tree. I find it and place a pine cone on it to mark his ball. Chris grabs an appropriate wedge from his bag and Rick drives off in the cart to find his ball. I come up behind in my cart and drive over Chris' ball as he is looking out into space.

As I'm waiting for Chris to hit his ball I hear him yell, "HEY! Did you step on my ball?"

"No man..."

"WHAT?!?! That's not possible...it's like sunken into the ground!"

"Nope...didn't step on it..."

"??"

"I drove over it! HAHAHA!!!"

"HAHAHA! Jerk!"

...ahh gotta love golfing with friends...

5.60 - The One with the Job Applicant

2009-05-07T10:52:00.002-04:00

I have respect for those who go out and try to find jobs. Especially the ones that go into a business cold and ask if they are hiring. BUT they say first impressions are everything...

A guy came in yesterday to the office dressed in shorts, a t-shirt and a cap on sideways. Asked if we were hiring. Now I try to keep an open mind about people when they come in...but this guy was asking for a job. I hesitated to say no, so I asked if had a resume. He gave me this shocked look, like it was something that shouldn't be necessary. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have one. FAIL.

Word of advice for job seekers...dress for the job that you want when you visit a business. AND bring a resume!

5.59 - The One with the 80's movies

2009-05-01T10:34:00.002-04:00

2 of the movie that I am most excited for this summer are Transformers 2 & GI Joe. The first Transformers movie was pretty good...so I have high expectations for the sequel. GI Joe on the other hand...I really have no expectations for. It has the potential to be really bad movie. But I'm excited because its a throwback to my childhood, where Transformers, GI Joe and Lego reigned.

Check out the new trailers for them:

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

[via Trailer Addict]

5.58 - The One with the Song around the World

2009-04-29T11:46:00.004-04:00

One of my favourite songs is "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King. Such soothing sounds and amazing lyrics. I've heard a bunch of covers over the years. I think this is the best one yet. It all started out with It all started with a base track—vocals and guitar—recorded on the streets of Santa Monica, California. Then is was taken around the world and produced this master mix.

[via Playing for Change | Peace Through Music]

5.57 - The One with the elevator ride

2009-04-22T13:33:00.003-04:00

I'm a fan of elevators. Especially the glass ones. The one at the CN Tower is pretty sweet too. One time we had a bunch of people and a couch stuffed in one at the mall. The security guard wasn't too impressed, but what was he going to do? Confiscate the couch? He was old and a mall cop...we all know what they can do. Yes I'm talking to your Paul Blart...

So what happens when Porsche says that they want to have a press conference on the 94th floor of your building with one of their cars? How are you supposed to get it up there? Well...use the elevator!

[via jalopnik]

5.56 - The One with the Carbon Fiber Legs

2009-04-16T14:38:00.007-04:00

Here's a feel good story:

In 2005, Ellie May Challis lost all of her limbs to meningitis. In 2009, she's become the youngest person ever fitted with carbon fiber legs.

Her original prostheses never fit perfectly, causing her pain and great difficulty when walking. So, with the financial help of their community, Ellie May's parents took her to Dorset Orthopaedic where doctors designed an extra small pair of carbon fiber legs—the same type of prostheses used by Olympic sprinters—costing about $15,000.

She'll need a new pair of legs every two years as she grows up.

But while doctors were originally worried that she'd have a tough time balancing on her new limbs, Ellie May is moving twice as fast as she did before. And as one specialist put it, "Within seconds of having them on, she was off. It will change her life."

[Echo via Neatorama]

I think this is pretty awesome. Look how happy she is...

[via Gizmodo]

5.55 - The One with the Vaporized car

2009-04-13T10:38:00.002-04:00

Ever watch Mythbusters? It's pretty much the best show on the Discovery Channel. Recently Jamie & Adam (our Mythbuster guru's) decided that it wasn't good enough to pancake a car with two semi trucks. They had to smash a car with a rocket traveling 650mph. Watch what happens:

...gone in a blink of an eye...

[via YouTube]

5.54 - The One with Photoshop

2009-04-09T15:52:00.002-04:00

I love Photoshop. Such a powerful program...but there are some that abuse it too much. yes I'm talking to you Tabloid papers. I must admit though...you do have some talented artists creating your headlines. This however...is clearly "Photoshopped".

[via Flickr]

5.53 - The One with the Squeezable awesomeness

2009-04-01T09:17:00.004-04:00

Face it...bacon is awesome. In fact, it's the first element on the Periodic Table of Awesoments. I present to you, bacon in a bottle: Squeez Bacon®

The World's Most Perfect Food

A few years after WWII ended, a young man working in a small restaurant in Sweden developed a new way to process bacon. By precooking it and blending it in a special way, he was able to make a fully cooked 100% bacon paste that could be squeezed from a tube. Knowing he had discovered something paradigm-shifting, young Vilhelm Lillefläsk quickly went into business. That, dear friends, is when Squeez Bacon® was born. And this delicious delectable from Sweden has finally been brought over to the USA - now with American Flavor!

We've been working for months now with Vilhelm Lillefläsk (yes, he still runs the company!) to bring Squeez Bacon® here, and boy are we proud. Why? Because Squeez Bacon® is simply the tastiest bacon food product ever made. Did you know that it's rumored ABBA met while eating Squeez Bacon® sandwiches? And even IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad (we've heard) never travels without a case! He loves it on his American style meatballs. Ojojoj!

Vilhelm Lillefläsk's Squeez Bacon® is fully cooked 100% bacon. Due to the patented electro-mechanical process by which Squeez Bacon® is rendered, it requires no preservatives or other additives. Each serving is as healthy as real bacon, and equivalent to 4 premium slices of bacon! You can put it on sandwiches, pizza, pastas, bacon, soups, pies, eat it hot or cold (warm Squeez Bacon® on toasted rye is to die for), substitute it for bacon in your recipes, or even eat it right out of the tube like we do! If it's edible, it's better with Squeez Bacon®. In the immortal words of Vilhelm Lillefläsk, "Aldrig kommer att ge dig upp!" Once you get a taste of Squeez Bacon®, you'll know exactly what he meant.

Product Features
Each tube contains 21oz (595g) of Squeez Bacon®.
16 servings - equivalent to 64 slices of bacon!
Bottled in Sweden, made from U.S. bred swine.
Shelf Life of 12 years.
No refrigeration needed.
Jätte gott!

watch the video!

[via ThinkGeek]

...ok...bacon is awesome...but this is a little overboard. Happy April Fools Day!

5.52 - The One with Jed...I

2009-03-24T12:57:00.002-04:00

The Force is Strong with this One

5.51 - The One with the Killer Bunnies

2009-03-16T15:51:00.003-04:00

I've been getting a little flack from one of my tweets this weekend:

I wasn't really killing bunnies...at least not the furry, fuzzy, alive kind...so Lesley...you can breathe a little easier. We were playing one of the most bizarre, funny, random, and fun game ever. The game is called: Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot. Now you're intrigued...aren't you?

Killer Bunnies & the Quest for the Magic Carrot is a fast paced, action filled card game, in which you must try to keep as many Bunnies alive as possible, while eliminating your opponents' Bunnies. The problem: Your opponents are armed with weapons and will stop at nothing to keep you from winning the game, which can get dreadfully vengeful, horribly nasty, hilariously messy, and just plain fun!

[via Killer Bunnies]

So who wants to kill some bunnies?

5.50 - The One with the sign to customers

2009-03-13T11:07:00.004-04:00

If only...

[via Ctrl+Alt+del]

5.49 - The One with the Watchmen

2009-03-09T16:21:00.003-04:00

Who watches the Watchmen?

Being a comic book fan, I've heard of Watchmen, but I never actually read it until I started seeing trailers for the movie. So I picked up my brothers copy and read through it pretty quickly. It's not your typical comic and it really did read more like a paperback novel rather than a comic book. Having seen my share of comic book movies, I wasn't sure how they could pull this one off. You've got your good (The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2, 300, Sin City), the bad (Fantastic Four, Daredevil) and the ugly (Batman & Robin). I heard Zach Snyder (who did 300) was the director...so I knew that if anyone could pull this movie off...it would be him.

So I went to go see Watchmen this past weekend and was no disappointed. The movie was long, and did drag at parts, but it was one of the closest comic book adaptations I have ever seen. Although some parts were left out (probably due to time restrictions), some parts were different than the book, it still held the same backbone of the graphic novel. Jackie Earle Haley is Rorschach...he does an amazing job of bringing that character to life. The rest of the actors were good...but Haley's Rorschach is something else.

I can't recommend this movie to everyone...it's not your typical comic book movie. There's a deep story and at times is very violent. It's definitely not for kids. If you thought The Dark Knight pushed it...Watchmen pushes it even further. If you've read the graphic novel...this is a must see.

5.48 - The One with the half million dollar shot

2009-03-04T14:34:00.001-05:00

Watch this video...it's a pretty elaborate prank...I love it!

[via College Humor]

5.47 - The One with the random band

2009-02-25T09:07:00.000-05:00

Look, it's another Facebook chain thing...but this one is pretty fun...taken from lil buddy...

1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together. (if you don't have it, here's an online photo editor: pixlr.com/) or i just used good old fashioned "paint".

5 - Post it to FB with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in.

5.46 - The One with Big Brother

2009-02-24T10:16:00.005-05:00

We received a note from our landlord last night regarding new security measures that will be installed in our building today. They are installing a "state of the art" closed circuit camera in the lobby and give everyone in the building access to see on their own TV who is buzzing in. Keep in mind, most of the people in our building are older and don't have much to do during the day. They already stand at the window to see what's going on in the parking lot. I can see some of these people sitting in front of their TV watching the feed all day. The question is...will it be in High Def?

I'm watching you...

5.45 - The One with the Myths about Canadians

2009-02-20T10:27:00.005-05:00

We live in igloos

Contrary to popular belief, our homes are not made out of hand-cut ice blocks and decorated with rough-hewn seal skins. The fact of the matter is that Canada is home to some of the world’s most beloved architectural marvels, including Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, Notre-Dame Basilica, Château Frontenac, and the fabulously phallic CN Tower, none of which are made out of oversize ice cubes. Over the past century, Canada has also produced some of the most accomplished architects in the world, including Frank Gehry, whose Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Experience Music Project and Walt Disney Concert Hall are considered to be among the most innovative buildings on the planet.

We love Nickelback

Over the years, Canada has produced a staggering number of quality musicians, and yet one of the acts we’re best known for is Nickelback, the world’s most maddeningly generic rock band. Although these self-important Hanna natives have sold millions of albums, most Canucks consider it a point of pride that the vast majority of their sales have occurred south of the border in the land of the free and home of the tone deaf. Every nation gets the artists they deserve and America is more than welcome to keep Chad Kroeger and his tragically bland bandmates for as long as they like.

We eat lots of whale blubber, bacon and maple syrup

Canadian cuisine isn’t vastly different from American cuisine, although in our defence, there is a lot less of it. Many Canadian chain restaurants actually offer smaller portions than their American partners, hence ensuring their clientele can leave on their own power rather than needing the Jaws of Life and three pounds of butter just to get through the front entrance.

Toronto is the capital of Canada

Americans can be forgiven for thinking that Toronto is our capital city given the fact that it’s also our most populous urban center and the self-proclaimed “center of the universe.” However, the fact remains that our national capital is in Ottawa, a quiet little town that’s every bit as respectable and law-abiding as the country it so proudly represents.

We speak Canadian

Canada’s two official languages are English and French, although they’re hardly the only dialects you’ll hear within our borders. According to Statistics Canada, one out of every six Canucks has a mother tongue other than English or French. That’s why the CBC now offers Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi and why many of our street signs appear in as many as three languages.

Our streets are patrolled by singing Mounties

From Renfrew of the Royal Mounted to Due South, Hollywood has churned out dozens of productions over the years depicting our police officers as smiling balladeers dressed in spotless scarlet tunics and ridiculously large wide-brimmed hats. Although our RCMP constables do indeed possess these decorative uniforms, they tend to save them for special occasions -- like Canada Day, Victoria Day and Dudley Do-Right movie premieres. Today’s RCMP is a thoroughly modern police force with approximately 28,000 employees, including police officers, civilian members and public service workers.

We're draft-dodgers and pacifists

There’s a big difference between being polite and being a pacifist, and it’s a distinction that has confused many Americans over the years. It’s about time that our neighbours to the south learned that Canada has one of the world’s most respected and well-trained militaries, comprised of 62,000 Regular Force members and 25,000 Reserve Force members. Nearly one-third of our deployable forces are currently engaged in overseas missions in locations such as Afghanistan, Cyprus, Darfur, Jerusalem, Haiti, and Sudan, and if it weren’t for Canada’s critical role in both World Wars, folks in Philadelphia and Detroit might now be speaking German.

We all play hockey

Although Canadians pride themselves on their ability to slip the puck through the five-hole, we also participate in a wide variety of other sports as well. According to a new report funded by Sport Canada, the most popular participatory sport in Canada is now golf, with hockey coming in a distant second. Don’t tell Don Cherry, but hockey registration could continue to slide in the years ahead as more and more of Canada’s youth gravitate toward soccer and baseball.

We desperately want to join the U.S.

Although annexation may have been a viable option back in the 18th century, most Canadians are now pleased to live in a country where health care is free, social welfare is provided to all citizens and gun shops don’t offer “Back to School” specials. Besides, given its exorbitant debt, who would want to be part of the United States of Foreclosure these days? Although we may look, dress and even occasionally sound like Americans, Canada has a distinct culture all its own. We have our own parliamentary system of government, our own national symbols and, perhaps most importantly, you can order poutine at all of our McDonald’s. Take that, North Dakota!

We Know Gord

Once and for all, we do not know your cousin Gord in Muskoka, your uncle Bob in Moose Jaw or your sister’s ex-boyfriend Pete in Thunder Bay. Canada is a country of 33,551,000 citizens, so you’ll have to excuse us if we have difficultly keeping tabs on everyone. Although, in all fairness, we do know your old roommate Ken and the guy is a serious tool.

[via AskMen.com]

5.44 - The one after dentist

2009-02-19T10:27:00.003-05:00

This video has been floating around the interwebs for a month or so now...but I just had to post it. I laugh every time I see it..."Is this real life?"

[via YouTube]

...and here's a video response...from Chad Vader...

[via YouTube]

5.43 - The One with the last minute gift

2009-02-14T09:42:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentines Day

5.42 - The One with the Snuggie

2009-02-11T09:58:00.002-05:00

Have you seen that infomercial for the Sunggie? The wearable blanket? not exactly the best fashion statement. Here's the "real" commercial:

(Warning: NSFW - language)

[via College Humor]

5.41 - The One with the mistake

2009-02-06T10:26:00.004-05:00

I can't stress enough to my clients that they need to proof read what they send me. We recently finished this 110 page report and as it was out to get bound...I get an email from the client in a panic saying that the phone number on the inside cover was wrong. Her boss was saying that it was our fault and blah blah blah. I had to explain to her that we don't proof read the copy that they provide us. It's not our job to do that. We just make it look good. Plus when you have signed approval to go ahead and print the project...you really can't blame us. I worked on this report for 2 months and I can't tell you what it's all about. But being the nice guys that we are...we called the bindery and halted the job, reprinted the covers and it'll be done early next week.

here's another example of someone who dropped the ball:
an HDMI cable for $600? I think not. Someone added an extra 9...oops...

5.40 - The One with the 25 Random things about me

2009-01-30T12:16:00.004-05:00

BLARG...so I've seen this floating around Facebook and I was wondering when was the day I'd be tagged. That fateful day has come thanks to Little Buddy...here we go...

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

I own 4 pairs of Oakleys and the ones I wear the most often cost half the price of my other pairs
Naomi and I have matching wristwatches that are made by the company "Titus"
I claim to be a Mac fanboy...but I don't currently own a Mac...
but I have an iMac at work and have gone though 2 iPods...currently on my 3rd
I think Microsoft products are horrible...but I love my XBox 360
I enjoy watching movie trailers
I'll take candy over chocolate
Shaq almost crushed me...I was sitting on the sidelines and he came barrelling through
I'm a sci-fan...but I've never seen Stargate or Battlestar Galactica
Although I love NYC...I can't stand any of their sports franchises
I have a substantial hat collection
I enjoy "suiting" up...but not for church
I used to carry a sketchbook with me all the time and draw...not sure what happened
I try to watch the Oscar nominated/winner for best picture every year
I still maintain that Die Hard 1&2 are the best Christmas movies
I just bought 2 nerf guns and removed the air restrictors...
I just recently started to order burgers from sit down restaurants
I love to golf...and wish I could golf everyday
Rebecca, Naomi's sister and matron of honour forgot my wedding ring in the car during the wedding ceremony
I only know how to chord when playing guitar, I don't know what notes are what on the fretboard
I have my grade 8 in piano
I used to walk uphill both ways to school
I've been across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans
I'm pretty sure I've made this kind of list before and used some of the same facts
I like Twitter more than Facebook...but none of my friends around here understand Twitter

5.39 - The One with the u-Haul chase

2009-01-29T13:06:00.004-05:00

I got my car stuck in the parking lot of my apartment last night. Not so fun. It took Naomi, myself and our neighbour to get my car in a parking spot. It would have been nice if they plowed even a little bit of our lot during the day. Anyways, once all that was done, I went on my computer and checked out what was happening in the world...and I see this on Twitter:
No way! A live police chase...but with a u-Haul truck? Intrigued, I follow the link to CNN.com Live and watch this woman leading the cops through LA weaving in and out of traffic in a stolen u-Haul van. I caught the tail end of the 2 hour pursuit, ending with a short foot chase. It's pretty remarkable that someone would still think that they could get away in a car chase these days.

here's a video:

[via YouTube]

5.38 - The One with the Nerf

2009-01-27T13:34:00.003-05:00

I had a leftover Wal Mart gift card lying around and decided to buy something fun...

...yep picked up two Nerf guns. Now to take out the air restricters and if I feel ambitious enough...I might paint them.

5.37 - The One with the Year of the Ox

2009-01-26T08:24:00.003-05:00

恭喜發財! 新年快乐! Gung Hei Fat Choy! Sun Leen Fai Lok!

Now that I'm married...we have to give out Lai See this year. Raw deal...but hopefully we get some in return. Happy New Year Oxen!

5.36 - The One with the Cell Phone options

2009-01-23T10:08:00.003-05:00

So I went to my cell phone service provider after work yesterday and I switched my value pack option to a more expensive pack and canceled all the other options I had on my phone. (limited Mobile internet, limited text messaging, call display, answering machine, etc.) After all of that, my new value pack gives me everything I had before plus unlimited mobile internet, unlimited texting, unlimited picture/video messaging, AND I save $1 on my cellphone bill! FTW!

5.35 - The One with the Chocolate Fountain

2009-01-19T11:18:00.003-05:00

We had a Quelf night on Saturday (if you've never played Quelf...you need to play) complete with a Chocolate Fountain. It was pretty cool to have, but so messy and it makes a loud weird whirring noise. We got chocolate everywhere. On the table, on clothes, even on the wall.

Chocolate Fountain! FTW!

5.34 - The One with the doorbell

2009-01-14T16:15:00.006-05:00

Technology hasn't failed us...we've failed technology

[via xkcd]

5.33 - The One with all the awards

2009-01-12T13:19:00.005-05:00

Ah...the entertainment awards show season is upon us. It started with the People's Choice Awards, and last night was the Golden Globes. The Oscars and Grammy's will be on the air very soon. What struck me as I was watching the Golden Globes last night was that the award that they get isn't all that special looking. Since the Globes is the precursor to the Oscars, you'd think that the award would look good. I think it looks like something you get from a Little League Tournament...

The Golden Globe - the inscription could read "Participant"

The Oscar...made of gold and oh so shiny

The Grammy...looks great

The People's Choice - made of glass...very classy

The Tony Award - kinda looks like the Golden Globe...but the spiny thing is fun

MTV Music Award - Everyone loves the Spaceman

The Teen's Choice Award - it's big and you can ride it (That's what she said)

The MTV Movie Award - Who doesn't like popcorn?

Which award is your fav? Oh and 24 is back for it's 7th season. Kiefer said in an interview that this is the best season yet. I noticed last night when Jack Bauer was driving that he didn't have his seat belt on. Then Naomi turned to me and said, "He's Jack Bauer, he doesn't need a seat belt." So true!

5.32 - The One with the drive

2009-01-06T10:24:00.005-05:00

On New Years day, Naomi and I ventured off to the Canadian Capital City for some R&R. We stayed at the historic Fairmont Chateau Laurier for a couple nights thanks to the family and friends rate I get. I knew that the World Jr. Hockey Tournament was being held in Ottawa...but I didn't expect that we'd be staying at the same hotel as Team Russia, Germany, Sweden, USA and of course...Team Canada. We actually stayed on the same floor as Team USA. I've been to Ottawa many times, but this is ther first time I actually stayed in a hotel during my time there. It was great being so close to everything.

After Ottawa we made our way to Montreal to visit Naomi's brother and his family. It was fun to see my little niece walking and roaming about. She's such a happy kid.

And then came the drive home...we took off from Montreal around 5pm. Clear skies...good road conditions. I get a text from my dad saying that it's freezing rain back home and that the system was moving east towards us. It didn't hit us until afterBrockville...big splotches of freezing rain hit my windshield making it impossible to see anything. The road conditions we horrific, people didn't know where the lanes were, and to top it off...I ran out of washer fluid. I somehow made it to Gananoque and got some more washer fluid at a gas station...let me tell you...not fun at all. The only good thing that happened on that drive home...I filled up in Brockville at 57.6. I don't think I've seen gas that low in 12 years...

5.31 - The One with the Year in Review '08

2008-12-31T14:02:00.002-05:00

If I had to label 2008...it would be "the Year of Change". So much has happened since the beginning of the year and it's been great. I got married, moved into our new apartment, started a new job and bought a new car...in that order. Here are some other highlights:

got a new cell phone in January...Motorola Razr2
went to the Michael Buble concert at the ACC
my XBox 360 succumbed to the 3 Red Rings of death. I sent it back to Microsoft and in turn they sent me a new one within 2 weeks
made my first turkey dinner during Easter. It was gooood
the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup
the gas price in June was $1.299/liter
making huge holes in the wall at the apartment to hang our massive mirror. I can thank Chris for that
watched 2 of the best comic book movies ever. Iron Man and The Dark Knight...if you haven't seen them...what are you waiting for?
went to Cuba for our honeymoon. Fun in the sun...gotta love it
the gas price in December was $0.633/liter...almost half the cost of what it was in the summer. Makes you wonder huh?

It's been a great year...and I'm thinking next year will be pretty good as well. Happy New Year and I hope 2009 is a fantastic year for you and your families!

5.30 - The One on Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T10:42:00.002-05:00

From my family to yours...have a very Merry Christmas!

5.29 - The One with The Periodic Table of Awesoments

2008-12-23T14:09:00.003-05:00

Chris sent this to me last week...but I haven't been able to post it until today...

Gotta love that Bacon is the first element of awesome!

[via Dapperstache]

5.28 - The One with the Blue Blob

2008-12-19T11:03:00.005-05:00

As I look outside I see a blanket of white...then I take a look at the radar map...

See that big blue blob that's right over Toronto...ya...that's where I am...you think that's bad...take a look at this map...

Usually you can see the outline of the lakes and the land...it's a good day to be home curled up on the coach watching a Christmas movie. It's alright though...I'm off for 2 weeks after today.

5.27 - The One with the new blades

2008-12-17T10:14:00.001-05:00

the Town opened up a new outdoor rink downtown...bought new skates...time to get my skate on. Who's in?

5.26 - The One with the Fog Machine

2008-12-10T14:48:00.005-05:00

When Rock Band came out last year...it was THE game to have and to play. Everyone loved it and got right into it. It brought out everyone's inner rock star. I bet that's when the Rock Band people started brainstorming, trying to come up with a way to make the rock star experience even that much better...and this...is what they came up with...

The Rock Band Stage Kit (on sale now for $99.99)...and these guys at Bleep Bloop got their hands on one to test it out...

I still can't believe that people would go out to buy this...
[via College Humor]

5.25 - The One with more snow...

2008-12-09T09:49:00.002-05:00

This is the first year that I'm not out shoveling a driveway in a long long time. It's an adjustment living in an apartment building. Someone else comes and plows the snow in the parking lot...and someone else comes and cuts the grass. I like it. But the downfall is that I have to clear the snow off my car...I guess there's some give and take there. I'm not sure which I would rather not do....shovel...or clear the snow/ice of my car...

5.24 - The One with the Hot Air

2008-12-03T22:23:00.005-05:00

Tonight, PM Stephen Harper addressed the Nation. I can't remember any time that a PM ever addressed the Nation. I guess this time it was important enough to let the country know what was going on. Harper condemned the coalition that the Liberals, and the NDP were forming with the separatists Bloc Quebecois.

After the PM's speech Stephane Dion's taped speech was supposed to be aired...but the tape arrived late and didn't show until about 25 minutes after. By that time I was bored and didn't really want to watch it...but I sucked it up cuz I wanted to know what he was going to say. When it finally came on...the first thing I noticed was that the recording was badly out of focus. It didn't focus on Dion, rather, it focused on the bookshelf behind him. It also didn't help that I couldn't understand much of Dion's thick french accent. So...I found myself trying to make out what the titles of the books were on the shelf. One caught my eye...it was situated at the top left of the screen...take a look:

"HOT AIR"...pretty ironic huh?

I'm not sure if this coalition is good for the country. My first thought was a coup d'etat...almost bordering on treason. I don't really know all the ins and outs of politics...so I'm probably wrong. But what really bothers me is that the voters in Canada don't get a say. We went to the polls about 7-8 weeks ago and even though we voted in a minority government...that was the result. The coalition wants to step with no say from the Canadian voters. How democratic is that? Another thing that bothers me is that Dion is stepping down as the Liberal leader in May...so let's say this coalition goes through...who will be the PM then? Someone who we didn't elect? Again...how democratic is that?

5.23 - The One with the Ultimate Rick Roll

2008-11-28T09:04:00.003-05:00

I'd like to preface my post with this...just in case you didn't know what Rickrolling was...

Rickrolling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rickrolling is an Internet meme typically involving the music video for the 1987 Rick Astley song "Never Gonna Give You Up". The meme is a bait and switch: a person provides a Web link they claim is relevant to the topic at hand, but the link actually takes the user to the Astley video. The URL can be masked or obfuscated in some manner so that the user cannot determine the true source of the link without clicking. When a person clicks on the link given and is led to the web page he/she is said to have been "Rickrolled" (also spelled Rickroll'd). By extension, it can also mean playing the song loudly in public in order to be disruptive.^[1]

Happy belated Thanksgiving USA...I do enjoy your Macy's Thanksgiving parade. It's pretty spectacular. Even though I was stuck at work during the parade, this part of the parade did not go unnoticed:

[for all you Facebook viwers, click here]

Priceless!

5.22 - The One with the Spider Drawing

2008-11-21T10:50:00.005-05:00

Chris sent this to me yesterday...it's pretty funny

Below is the complete email conversation that Adelaide man David Thorne claims he had with a utility company chasing payment of an overdue bill.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account
Dear David,
Our records indicate that your account is overdue by the amount of $233.95. If you have already made this payment please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.37pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account
Dear Jane,
I do not have any money so am sending you this drawing I did of a spider instead. I value the drawing at $233.95 so trust that this settles the matter.
Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.07am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account
Dear David,
Thankyou for contacting us. Unfortunately we are unable to accept drawings as payment and your account remains in arrears of $233.95. Please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.32am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account
Dear Jane,
Can I have my drawing of a spider back then please.
Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.42am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Overdue account
Dear David,
You emailed the drawing to me. Do you want me to email it back to you?
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.56am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account
Dear Jane,
Yes please.
Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 12.14pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account
Attached

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 09.22am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Whose spider is that?
Dear Jane, Are you sure this drawing of a spider is the one I sent you? This spider only has seven legs and I do not feel I would have made such an elementary mistake when I drew it.
Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.03am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Whose spider is that?
Dear David, Yes it is the same drawing. I copied and pasted it from the email you sent me on the 8th. David your account is still overdue by the amount of $233.95. Please make this payment as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.05am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Automated Out of Office Response
Thankyou for contacting me. I am currently away on leave, traveling through time and will be returning last week.
Regards, David.

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.08am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?
Hello, I am back and have read through your emails and accept that despite missing a leg, that drawing of a spider may indeed be the one I sent you. I realise with hindsight that it is possible you rejected the drawing of a spider due to this obvious limb ommission but did not point it out in an effort to avoid hurting my feelings. As such, I am sending you a revised drawing with the correct number of legs as full payment for any amount outstanding. I trust this will bring the matter to a conclusion.
Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 2.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?
Dear David, As I have stated, we do not accept drawings in lei of money for accounts outstanding. We accept cheque, bank cheque, money order or cash. Please make a payment this week to avoid incurring any additional fees.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 3.17pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?
I understand and will definately make a payment this week if I remember. As you have not accepted my second drawing as payment, please return the drawing to me as soon as possible. It was silly of me to assume I could provide you with something of completely no value whatsoever, waste your time and then attach such a large amount to it.
Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Tuesday 14 Oct 2008 11.18am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?
Attached

David Thorne put the drawing up on eBay and it sold for $15,000. The best part about that? The winning bidder...is refusing to pay and David is ok with it, "The internet is a playground and I would not have it any other way."

[via ninemsn]

5.21 - The One with the NXE

2008-11-20T10:18:00.003-05:00

Look! It's me! I've been NXE'd. Microsoft decided that they wanted to jump on the avatar making bandwagon a la Nintendo's Mii's, and I'm pretty sure that Sony has something similar to this with their PlayStation Network for the PS3.

So yesterday Microsoft luanched the "New Xbox Experience" which was basically a redesign of the XBox 360 interface. It looks really good...and it's prett user friendly. I still don't really know what these avatrs will be used for. I've got Scene It! Box Office Smash! that will take advantage of the new avatars...but I can't see what else they will be used for unless XBox games start looking like the Nintendo Wii games. In anycase...these avatars will keep me entertained for a few minutes every so often...

...side note...this is the second consecutive post about Microsoft...

5.20 - The One with the Vista ad

2008-11-17T11:11:00.005-05:00

I work in the advertising industry...and I feel that it's extremely important when you are trying to sell something...you use images, words, whatever to enhance your product. Lately Microsoft has put out some TV ad's to combat Apple's "Hi, I'm a Mac" commercials. It's great that they finally are doing something about it...but it's a little too late. I'm pretty saw I saw one "I'm a PC" ad that said: "I'm a PC and I wrangle llamas..."

Anyways...check out these Vista print ads...Microsoft needs rethink their marketing strategy:

Can you spot the mistake? Look very closely at the laptop the happy family is using...tell me it doesn't look like a Macbook Pro. I know that there are other companies that make silver laptops...but I have yet to see one that has an illuminated keyboard like that Macbook Pro.

Still not convinced? How about this one?

Take a look at the picture of the kids playing the Sony Playstation 2...I'm pretty sure that Microsoft has their own gaming platform...FAIL

[via Royal HeHe2-ness!]

5.19 - The One with the Ultimate Comedy Skit

2008-11-13T13:23:00.002-05:00

Back in the summer Chris Bosh and Baron Davis decided to hold a "skit-off", to see who can make the best comedic skit between them both. The two skits were release yesterday and are online for you to vote which one is better.

After watching them both, I'd have to give my vote to Bosh. It looked like he put a lot more time and effort into it...plus it's funnier. What do you think?

[via ibeatyou]

5.18 - The One with the Fanboys

2008-11-08T16:31:00.001-05:00

What if there was a movie that was so highly anticipated, you had to be the first to see it? How far would you go? Camp out in front of the theatre? Buy advanced tickets weeks in advance? How about breaking into the editing studio and stealing it? Is there even such a movie that is worth all that trouble? Sure there was...A Long time ago...in 1998 when Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was set to be released.

Bear with me...pretend you never saw it...we now know that it wasn't really all that good...

Fanboys is a movie that is set in 1998 where a group of Star Wars geeks decide to break into Skywalker Ranch to steal an early print of the film...because one of them has cancer and wants to see if before he dies. This movie was supposed to be released in 2007, but because of stuff that goes on in Hollywood...if got delayed over and over again. BUT...it will now be released in February of 2009. Check out the latest trailer...it looks hilarious...and for the record...I'm not camping out, buying advanced tickets or even thinking of stealing an early print of this movie...

[via IGN]

here's a link to the first trailer...just as funny

[via IESB.net]

5.17 - The One with the 50 Skills Every Geek Should Have

2008-11-07T15:03:00.005-05:00

Gizmodo put out a list of the 50 Skills Every Geek Should Have...many of them are straightforward, some are tough as hell. I've highlighted my geekiness for you...

1. Install a hard drive in a laptop
2. Perform a clean OS install on a machine with two OSes
3. Swap out the battery on your iPod/iPhone
4. Jailbreak an iPhone
5. Wire your house for Ethernet and Coax cable
6. Use BitTorrent and RSS to automatically download new shows from trackers
7. Use an A/V receiver to its fullest capability (every port is taken)
8. Calibrate an HDTV without the manual
9. Use a DSLR in full manual mode
10. Hack the encryption and mooch your neighbor's Wi-Fi
11. Solder cleanly enough to get around a circuit board
12. Use your 3G phone as a Wi-Fi access point
13. Shove the guts of a modern game console into a retro game console
14. Design a webpage in HTML by hand that features a picture of your cat
15. Use Photoshop to imperceptibly doctor a photo
16. Abstain from buying extended warranties
17. Know where to buy cheap cables and accessories
18. Fix your parents' computer over the phone without looking at a computer
19. Enter the Konami code
20. Comment on Gizmodo from your phone
21. Type quickly using T9 texting
22. Program a universal remote
23. Contribute code to the Linux kernel
24. Hide porn from your significant other (don't have any...but I'm sure I can do it)
25. Avoid DRM on everything
26. Know how to back up your data to networked storage—and actually do it (I don't do it...)
27. Watch TV shows on the internet for free
28. Edit together digital video ripped from YouTube
29. Play any SNES game on your computer through an emulator
30. Reset expired trial software by messing with the registry
31. Hackintosh your PC
32. Download pre-release movies from Usenet
33. Hack the Wii to play homebrew games
34. Get around web content filters on public computers
35. Get into a Windows computer if you forgot your password
36. Securely erase your data so it can't be recovered
37. Share a printer between a Mac and a PC on a network
38. Build a fighting robot
39. Write your own Firefox plugins
40. Navigate and reorganize the files on your computer in DOS
41. Get something on the front page of Digg
42. Get through to executive customer service
43. Rip a CD to V0 quality MP3s
44. Rip a DVD to DivX
45. Build your own computer from parts
46. Swap out the hard drive in your DVR for a bigger one
47. Get an NES cartridge working again by blowing in it
48. Calibrate a 7.1 surround-sound system
49. Play downloaded games on a Nintendo DS (what about a PSP?)
50. Talk about things that aren't tech related

How did you Rate?

0: You are from the past and somehow stumbled upon this list through a rift in time.
1-10: Someone read you this list from a printout sent to you via snail mail.
11-20: You are no longer intimidated by email or your DVR, but these are recent developments.
21-30: You play a lot of video games and read a lot of blogs, but that's about as far as your geek cred goes.
31-40: You went to computer camp when you were a kid and sort of wish you were Japanese.
41-49: You wear Linux shirts, argue about the merits of AJAX on forums and build custom handheld retro gaming consoles for fun.
50: We've just diagnosed you with Asperger's.

I scored a 37.5...I never went to computer camp and I never wished I was Japanese...I wonder if being Chinese has anything to do with my score?

[via Gizmodo]

5.16 - The One with Clementines

2008-11-05T12:13:00.004-05:00

I bought my first box of clementines of the season last night...mmmm...Christmas season is upon us....although the weather doesn't want to co-operate. But I'll take all the warm weather I can get before the snow flies. I should really get onto doing some Christmas shopping soon. I have no idea what to get people...and I don't even know what I want...

One last thing...Raptors are 3-0 to start the season! Gotta love it...I still miss the Swirsk...

5.15 - The One with the CD Cleaner

2008-10-29T09:50:00.003-04:00

The next day after I got my 6...the cd changer decided to spit out my cd's...but it was doing it randomly. Sometimes it would play my cd's...and sometimes it didn't want to. I couldn't figure it out...I read through message boards and my owners manual and none of the suggestions worked. I thought about running a cd cleaner for the player through it, but the manual said not to. But...since it's not really working...what's there to loose? Off to Wal Mart...got the cleaner and ran it through the player. It didn't like it at first...but after some persuassion...it took. The cd cleaner played in the player with some female voice telling me exactly what it was doing at the time. Once it was finished, I loaded my cd's back in the changer...and it worked...who knew? $7 vs $300 for a new deck...I think I won this round.

5.14 - The One with the zoom zoom

2008-10-23T11:23:00.005-04:00

First week at my new job has been great. I'm really enjoying it here. I love working with a Mac...again. Yep...I'm an Apple fanboy. I'm working on a 24" iMac...it's pretty sweet. Now to get myself one of those brand spanking new MacBook Pros.

I also picked up a new car this week. 04 Mazda6 GTX...it's a pretty sweet ride. I don't have any pics of it yet...so this one will have to do...

Zoom Zoom

5.13 - The One with the week off

2008-10-17T10:06:00.002-04:00

Gotta love having some time off work to just sit,relax and golf. After a weekend full of turkey...it's exactly what I needed. Too bad it's over now...and I have to work this weekend...BUT I get to start my new job on Monday. I'm pretty excited there...

5.12 - The One with the upside down Def guy

2008-10-10T11:26:00.003-04:00

So last night's season opener for my Wings didn't go as planned. Sure we raised the Stanley Cup banner...but we lost to the Leafs...ouch. We played pretty sloppy though...solid game for those Leaves. Anyways, someone from the NHL thought it would be a great idea if they had Def Leppard concert after the game to kick off the new season. I think the concert idea was great...but Def Leppard? Not sure that they go well with hockey. Then when Darren McCarty & Kyle Quincey from the Wings came out on stage with the Stanley Cup...McCarty handed it over to Def Leppard's lead singer Joe Elliot who hoisted the Cup up...and proceed to place the holy grail of hockey upside down on the pedestal...

Note to the NHL...book a Canadian band next time...

5.11 - The One with all the Books

2008-10-09T12:19:00.006-04:00

I stole this from Crilly...who stole it from Lesley...

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well let's see....

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE, and strikeout the books you read but didn't like.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare [I've read my fair share...]
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh .
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan .
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry .
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

27 is my final count...

5.10 - The One with the 08/09 Draft

2008-10-07T10:12:00.016-04:00

Last night I participated in my second annual NHL fantasy draft. I've been locked away going through numbers, magazines, and forecasts to ensure that I would know who to pick and when...ok maybe not...but I did spend a couple hours making my wish list. Last season I came in 4th or 5th and I had the #2 pick. This year, I drew the #6 pick out of 11. Check out my team...

NHL 08/09 Fantasy Draft
Forwards		Defence		Goalies
Vincent Lecavlier	Lightning	Scott Niedermayer	Ducks	Martin Broduer	Devils
Daniel Sedin	Canucks	Sergei Zubov	Stars	J.S. Gigure	Ducks
Correy Perry	Ducks	Andrej Meszaros	Lightning
Andrei Kostitsyn	Canadiens	Brent Seabrook	Blackhawks
Markus Nasland	Rangers	Brad Stuart	Red Wings
Kristian Huselius	Blue Jackets
Sam Gagner	Oilers
Johan Franzen	Red Wings
Joe Pavelski	Sharks

I think I picked a pretty strong team, it's better than last years team by far. My goalies are solid and I'm hoping that my forwards will bring in lots of points for me...let's hope no one gets injured.

5.09 - The with not much...

2008-09-30T16:13:00.002-04:00

not much to blog about...nothing exciting happening...I'm kind of upset that there will be no new episode of The Office on Thursday due to the Vice Presidential debate...that's about it.

This though...is hilarious...

[via Angela and Andy - Official Wedding Site for Angela Martin & Andrew Bernard]

5.08 - The One with the new "Knight"

2008-09-25T09:28:00.005-04:00

I checked out the new Knight Rider TV series last night...and to be honest...it was pretty bad. I really was hoping that it would live up to the original series that was so good in the day (from what I remember). If I was a betting man...I'd take this show to be the first one canceled this season. They made this new character named Mike Tracuer and throughout the show his past comes back to haunt him...although he has no memory of it. So they fake his death and now he needs a new name. I think the writers need to be fired for this line, "Hi can we start over? I'm Michael Knight..." *FACEPALM* Very original guys...

Oh and what's up with John McCain? He wants to postpone the Presidential debate. Obama's camp says no...and now McCain says he won't show up? I don't get it. McCain said something about helping President Bush with the financial problem? Why? Bush is still the President...not McCain...this is why I don't get politics. WEAKSAUCE

One more thing...it's the Fresh Prince's 40th birthday today! Big Willie is 40! wow...I used to have the theme song memorized...then I googled it and found out that there's a lot more of the song than I knew...check it out...

Now, this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I liked to take a minute
Just sit right there
I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air

In west Philadelphia born and raised
On the playground was where I spent most of my days
Chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool
And all shootin some b-ball outside of the school
When a couple of guys
Who were up to no good
Startin making trouble in my neighborhood
I got in one little fight and my mom got scared
She said 'You're movin' with your auntie and uncle in Bel Air'

I begged and pleaded with her day after day
But she packed my suite case and send me on my way
She gave me a kiss and then she gave me my ticket.
I put my walkman on and said, 'I might as well kick it'.

First class, yo this is bad
Drinking orange juice out of a champagne glass.
Is this what the people of Bel-Air Living like?
Hmmmmm this might be alright.

But wait I hear there're prissy, wine all that
Is Bel-Air the type of place they send this cool cat?
I don't think sow
I'll see when I get there
I hope they're prepared for the prince of Bel-Air

Well, the plane landed and when I came out
There was a dude who looked like a cop standing there with my name out
I ain't trying to get arrested
I just got here
I sprang with the quickness like lightening, disappeared

I whistled for a cab and when it came near
The license plate said fresh and it had dice in the mirror
If anything I can say this cab is rare
But I thought 'Now forget it' - 'Yo homes to Bel Air'

I pulled up to the house about 7 or 8
And I yelled to the cabbie 'Yo homes smell ya later'
I looked at my kingdom
I was finally there
To sit on my throne as the Prince of Bel Air

5.07 - The One with the Unleashing Rock Band Force

2008-09-22T14:57:00.002-04:00

So I picked up Rock Band 2 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and I've been playing both a lot lately...here's my reviews on the two games:

Rock Band 2
It's essentially the same game as the first one. Gather a bunch of people together and rock out on your pretend guitars and drums. The World Tour remains very similar...although there are more cities and venues for your virtual band to play at. Also you can hire people to help promote your band. Of course your first employee is your mom...always there to support you no matter how much your band sucks. The create-a-character mode hasn't changed...they added a few more items for you to buy, but again...it's pretty much the same.

The new things in the game include: challenges where you play a set and your scores are matched up to your friends who are online, a drum trainer, and online World Tour mode, and a No Fail mode for those who just can't figure out how to play these plastic instruments. You can also transfer 55 out of 58 songs from Rock Band 1 to play in Rock Band 2, as well as the songs that you downloaded.

The game play didn't change, it's a sequel to an already excellent game. I just bought the game disc and not any of the new instruments (which are all wireless)...if you have Rock Band 1, I'm sure you already have Rock Band 2...if not...go out and get this game...you and your friends will thank you.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
As you are all well aware, I'm a huge Star Wars fan...and to have a new Star Wars game come out that looks so good...I jumped on this right away.

The game play is pretty good, you play as Darth Vader's secret apprentice who's missions are so secretive he must destroy all evidence that he was even there by disposing of the all of the good guys and bad guys. Basically you run around with your lightsaber and force powers and destroy everything. It's a fun concept as the game attempts to show how powerful a Jedi can be. I haven't felt like I've been unstoppable in the game yet, but it still is really fun. The only major gripes I have about that are that it's glitchy at points...for example: I used my force push to knock a boss over the edge and he never came back up to fight me. He wasn't dead and all I could do was run around and I heard him taunting me. Also the game is pretty short. I believe that I'm close to the end and I'm wanting to play it more. I'll probably go through the game again on a more dificult level just to get my money out of the game.

But overall, it's a solid game...a must for any Star Wars fan...

...Lego Batman comes out tomorrow...that looks like a lot of fun as well...

5.06 - The One with the McCain-berry

2008-09-18T09:45:00.002-04:00

I'm never too interested in politics...but with the American Presidential election coming up (not to mention the Canadian one as well...), you just can't avoid it. This is my favourite story so far about John McCain.

A top McCain policy adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin. Waving his BlackBerry personal digital assistant and citing McCain's work as a senator, he told reporters Tuesday, "You're looking at the miracle that John McCain helped create."

...uh...FYI, the BlackBerry is Canadian...

5.05 - The One with the Tropic Thunder

2008-09-15T12:16:00.005-04:00

Finally got my new home theater set up...and it sounds really good. I'm pretty happy with what I got, and I'm sure I'll get a few knocks on the door asking me to turn down the volume cuz it's too loud. They're all just jealous of it...

Naomi and I saw Tropic Thunder over the weekend...and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I went in expecting it was going to be stupid humour...which there was lots of...but Ben Stiller pulled it off and I enjoyed it. Tom Cruise was barely recognizable in it...and he did a great job...almost makes me want to convert to Scientology. Ok maybe not...

Picked up Rock Band 2 yesterday...new Star Wars: The Force Unleashed comes out Tuesday, Lego Batman next week...you might not see me for awhile...

5.04 - The One with great Facebook debate

2008-09-10T11:11:00.006-04:00

New layout or old layout? It seems like there are a lot of people who just can't handle the changes that Facebook has made on their site. I'm getting tired of people who keep complaining about it. First it was a petition for them to remove the "is" from the status...and when they did...there was an outcry for it to come back. So...I'm going to take a look at the old layout and the new. Here's a screen cap of my profile page under the "old" layout.

Having the search bar and a quick look at you top applications is nice. But to me everything under your profile picture just seems too cramped. Having all your applications there just seems like a bad use of space. What happens if you have a ton of apps? Ads of the left didn't work well either. You're forced to look at it. Also all your information is over the news feed...it's the first thing you see. There's a lot of dead white space around that can be utilized...So...here's the new layout:

So Facebook took that dead white space and made the page wider while placing the ads on the right...where it is less intrusive and most of the time I don't even notice them. They also removed the apps and the non-sense that's under the profile picture...placed your info there to the side, out of the way. If people want to read it...it's there...but it's not the first thing they see on your news feed. I like how Facebook placed the apps under a drop down menu...clean and accesible when you want it. They also cleaned out all of your useless apps that you have on your page and placed them on the boxes page, not strewed all over your profile page. Not everyone wants to scroll down your page for hours to find your wall.

I'm not saying that I love all the changes that Facebook has made. There are a few things that I could do without...but it's a step in the right direction. Theses guys are on the cutting edge of technology and they are trying to share it with you. Could you imagine if none of the websites changed for the better? The changes made were to make the page load faster, and let you manage your page better. Remember it's a free service...I'm sure if Facebook wanted to charge a subscription fee...they could and they could make a lot more money. Facebook is the most user friendly social networking site around...and more and more people are joining it by the second. I'm sure the staff are working their hardest to make it the best user experience they can. If you can't handle the new layout...then stick with the old. But bear in mind...the internet is a fast changing environment in a fast paced world. Blink and you'll be left behind...

Oh...and one more thing...a note to Facebook...get rid of the spam messages!

5.03 - The One with Slap Face

2008-09-08T09:48:00.005-04:00

I picked up The Office Season 4 on DVD last Tuesday and we're working our way through it before the new season starts. Check out the one of the promos NBC aired during the Olympics...

...oh I miss The Office...

[via YouTube]

5.02 - The One with the 'Cuban' Michael Jackson

2008-09-05T13:53:00.002-04:00

Thriller is probably one of my favourite music videos of all time. I love the dancing in it...at the Resort we stayed at in Cuba, they had a show on Tuesday night that featured Thriller and the dance...check it out...they're really good...

click here if you're watching on Facebook...

5.01 - The One in Cuba

2008-09-04T10:39:00.009-04:00

This is my first post as a married man. Crazy isn't it? The wedding day went by so fast. I remember waking up, going to the golf course. The next thing I knew I was married and in the limo heading to the honeymoon suite. From what I recall, the day was great. Couldn't ask for better weather. It was nice and sunny...quite a change from previous weekends in the summer where it must have rained 9/10 times. I'll have to look back on the video to relive it all.

We headed out to the Sol Melia Cayo Santa Maria all-inclusive resort in Cuba for our Honeymoon on the Monday. When we got there it was dark, so the 1 1/2 hour bus ride to the resort was pretty uneventful. The tour guide on the bus was trying to point out the different things but we really couldn't see much. One thing I did notice is that most of the Cubans houses looked all the same.

Anyways, the resort was great. The food...not so much. We ate well, but it's just not the same as the Canadian cuisine that we are used to. They tried to emulate the food, but it just wasn't the same. The cheese just tasted weird and didn't sit too well with my stomach. But it's not like we went hungry. The a la carte restaurants were pretty good. There was an Italian and a Mediterranean one. With only about 13 items on the menu, I'm sure they have perfected their dishes.

We spent most of our time hanging out in the pool and getting tanned. The pools were so nice and since it was the low season, they weren't too crowded. I loved the swim up bar...so much fun. The beach was nice as well...although since there weren't any reefs around the resort, the water was pretty rough. But it's the ocean...we don't get to see such clear and blue water much up here in Canada.

The night entertainment was pretty good most of the time...the best show was on Tuesday night where they had the 'Cuban' Michael Jackson perform for us. Everyone loved that show. I've never seen anyone do the Moonwalk live as good as this guy. It was unreal.

On Saturday, hurricane Gustav hit Cuba, mainly Havana. Since we were on the other side of the island, all we got was rain. We didn't even know that Gustav hit Cuba until the next day when CNN was covering it 24/7. I think we were pretty lucky weather wise all week. I think it only really rained once or twice. We did see lightning in the distance but it never hit us.

The journey home was an adventure in itself. Check out was noon and the bus was supposed to come pick us up at 3pm. But of course the plane was delayed until 10.30pm. So we were all let back into our rooms. We came out to check on the flight again and it was delayed another 4 1/2 hours. At least they kept us at the resort so we could hang out in our rooms and go eat at the buffet. Finally at 11.30pm the bus showed up to take us to the airport. Naomi and I paid for the VIP lounge earlier in the week (20 CUC each) and it was worth it. We sat in a nice air conditioned room and had our own bartender who served us food and drinks as we watched some tv and waited for our flight. The best part was that when it was time to board the plane, we were escorted to the front of the line. I'm so glad we did that because we didn't have to sit with all the other people who had kids who were obviously over tired.

Around 6.00 am we finally saw the familiar Toronto skyline. After an 8 hour delay we were finally back in Canada. Overall the trip was loads of fun. The resort was great, (even better because ours was an adults only one) but after a week away, it's nice to be home.

5.00 - The One with the Wedding

2008-08-23T01:37:00.002-04:00

Wow...I'm getting married today...it's crazy how time has flown by so fast. Everything has gone somewhat smoothly. I'm going to start the day off right...by going golfing.

4.99 - The One with the cake : Episode III

2008-08-19T16:47:00.000-04:00

So I've shown you the Death Star Cake, and the R2-D2 cake...now I present...the Millennium Falcon cake...

...could you imagine if I got to have this as my cake at the wedding? T-Minus 4 days

[via get the big picture]

4.98 - The One with the seating plan

2008-08-18T16:32:00.002-04:00

Yep...less than a week. I think the hardest thing to do right now is the seating plan for the reception. You want to sit people with someone they know...but where do you put the odd ones? Like the friends that only you know? Somehow today I ended up with 4 people with no seats. But I think I figured it all out. We'll see...it's kinda like putting a puzzle together...

4.97 - The One with "So What Do You Do?"

2008-08-15T09:24:00.002-04:00

Welcome to my job...

...that's pretty much what happens everytime

[via Monster-Munch]

4.96 - The One with the new phone...kinda

2008-08-14T14:31:00.004-04:00

I got a new cell phone!! No it's not the iPhone...here's the story...

I wake up this morning to find that my cell phone didn't charge overnight. I checked to see if it was plugged in...nothing wrong there. Tried out another charger...same result. Great...my cell won't hold a charge. So I take it into Rogers and the guy does his tests on it. Nothing is wrong with my battery, and since it's past the 30 days so he can't just replace it, he needs to send it off to be fixed. Now I'm stuck with a loaner phone until mine get's fixed. I go from a Motorola Razr2 V9 to a Nokia 6061...fail

4.95 - The One with the rockstar

2008-08-13T10:54:00.004-04:00

Ever see in movies or on TV where there's this rich guy who goes into a warehouse full of expensive items and buys everything? I've always wanted to do something like that...and it kinda happened the other day. I was at Pacific Mall on Saturday (an Asian mall in Toronto) picking up a few things for the wedding when I spotted the perfect groomsman's gifts. So I went to the vendor and asked how much the item was and if they had more. She directed me to another man who took me downstairs to the basement and lead me to a door. I assumed that it would be a small closet with some merchandise in it. But when he opened the door and turned on the lights, I was in shock. The room seemed like it went on forever and it was full of stuff. Think a treasure room or something like that. It was pretty impressive.

The man then showed me the different styles of the item I wanted and laid them out for me. I looked them over and said, "ya it looks good...I'll take them all." He looked up at me in surprise...and smiled. Yep...I felt like a rockstar.

4.94 - The One with the Wedding Favours

2008-08-07T23:47:00.003-04:00

We've been working hard on the Wedding Favours for the last couple of days. My hands are hurting...but we've accomplished a lot. I think we've spent about 10 hours or so on them. Even had a Bourne marathon tonight...although I don't think I watched too much of it...it was on in the background. Anyways...here's a sneak peak of the favours...

...sorry that's all I can show you. But I'll leave you with this...the new Coldplay video of their self proclaimed "best song they've ever written", Viva La Vida.

4.93 - The One with the countdown

2008-08-06T10:12:00.002-04:00

where did the summer go? 17 days until the wedding...scary. Oh just to let you all know...the ceremony is at 2pm...

4.92 - The One with more wedding prep

2008-07-31T11:05:00.002-04:00

It's getting down to crunch time...lots of stuff is getting done...lots of money is being spent...and the bank account is running dry real quick. I still can't believe how much a wedding costs...and it's for ONE day. My honeymoon is so much cheaper and its for an entire week...in a different part of the world. Craziness...

Speaking of crazy...check this video out...

http://view.break.com/545919 - Watch more free videos
...I'm questioning if it's real or not...either way...it can't be safe...

4.91 - The One with Back to School

2008-07-29T10:21:00.004-04:00

...excuse me? Back to school stuff? IT'S STILL JULY!!! Ya...went to Wally World and they have back to school stuff out already. I'm pretty sure the dollar store had Halloween stuff out too...

FYI just 26 more days...

4.90 - The One with The Dark Knight

2008-07-21T10:47:00.005-04:00

We went to go see The Dark Knight last night...and it lived up the the hype. It was amazing. I think this will go down as one of the best comic book movies ever...if not one of the best movies ever. Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker was something else. He made the Joker what he is supposed to be...a crazy maniac killer...not that stupid clown that carries around hand buzzers and has squirting flowers. My only knock against the movie is that it could have been a little shorter...but it was pure Batman goodness...want to see it again.

...oh and one more thing. I broke down and got a 3G iPhone...

...ok maybe not...who's Anna Larson?

4.89 - The One with more wedding prep

2008-07-16T10:04:00.001-04:00

...yep...

4.88 - The One with iPhone day

2008-07-11T09:28:00.002-04:00

so today is "iPhone day"...I've been pretty excited about it. But then Rogers decided to come up with this ridiculous data rate plan. That turned me off. There was an online petition that went out and about 50,000+ would be iPhone buyers signed it calling for Rogers to lower the data rate plan. Rogers caved and is now offering a better rate plan for a reasonable price...but at a limited time. Plus you have to sign a contract for 3 years. That's all fine and dandy until you find out the 3G iPhone can only run on the Edge network (it's slower) in my town. I have to drive half an hour east to get 3G service.

I drove by the Rogers store in town on the way to work and I saw about 6-7 customers lined up outside ready to buy the iPhone. I bet that they only have about 5 iPhones in the store...too bad...so sad. I'll hold out until there is a data plan that I can afford.

4.87 - The One with the SDHC

2008-07-09T10:13:00.003-04:00

I bought a new 4GB SDHC card for my camera the other day. The price was right for the capacity of the card. What I didn't realize is that my card reader won't read the HC format...so now I have pics on my card that I can't get off...yet...

Saw WALL•E on the weekend too...cute movie...good message in the movie too. I'm a fan...but not a fan of the movies that were previewed before WALL•E. They made a movie about Chihuahua's...seriously...

4.86 - The One with the mirror

2008-07-07T10:28:00.005-04:00

ahh...they joys of moving into a new place. Over the last week we've been crazy busy moving stuff into the new apartment where Naomi will live. I'll join her after the wedding...but that doesn't mean I can't bring my stuff over and move it in. This weekend Chris came by to help me put a 30x65 inch mirror that we bought at Ikea at the end of the hallway. Should be simple enough right? Find the studs, drill holes, put the screws into hold the mirror up and then mount. So we found the studs, drilled a hole...and that's where it went downhill. Thinking that there were wood studs Chris drilled a hole and...oops...no wood. We rechecked the studs...and drilled another hole...nothing. Then it dawned on us...there are no wood studs in this apartment building. They were aluminum studs! So after making a few holes in the wall...we finally got the mirror mounted. There's just going to be a few holes to fill when we move out...

On another note...I still need to come up with a good nickname for the apartment...any suggestions?

4.85 - The One with the real story

2008-06-30T15:58:00.003-04:00

So my previous post was about that guy that got arrested on Friday...here's what the local paper published on what happened...

On Friday, June 27 at 9:15 p. m., Cobourg Police approached a man walking in the area of the entrance to Victoria Park trailer park. He was swearing.
Police say they started to ask the man questions and quickly determined he had been drinking and was bound by a probation order which included a clause prohibiting consumption of alcohol.
As police attempted to arrest the man and take physical control of him, he ran from the officers. After a brief foot chase, police say, he was apprehended and charged with escaping custody.
Police say the accused be belligerent with officers, kicking and flailing about in an attempt to avoid being handcuffed. He resist the officers' attempts to restrain him and both officers were hurt, police report. The officers did not require medical attention, but both received abrasions on their arms, hands, and legs and one officer is suffering from a sore back.
A 20-year-old Cobourg man is in police custody. He has been charged with two counts each of assault with intent to resist arrest and failing to comply with probation orders and one count of escaping lawful custody.

...not as exciting as I hoped it was going to be.

[via Northumberland Today]

4.84 - The One with the mist

2008-06-28T00:39:00.008-04:00

We were down checking out the opening of the Waterfront Festival tonight and an errie mist came over the beach...

On a regular day you're supposed to be able to see the pier...it was kinda creepy...then the night got even more exciting when we heard a cop yelling at some punk...then we heard the sirens from a few police cars speeding down to where the yelling was happening...

They flew down Division Street to where to Rotary tents are to arrest some guy who struggled and was cursing at the cops. I don't know exactly happened...but if I was to speculate...I'll guess that the perp was tampering with the ATM trailer in th picture.

But then again...he could have just had an argument with the first cop and it just got out of hand. In any case...I got to witness the first arrest of the Waterfront Festival...and Canada Day is still 4 days away...

4.83 - The One with the price to pay...

2008-06-27T15:59:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile since I've posted something...I've been busy. In the middle of moving into the new apartment...among other things that are going on. Today Rogers announced their prices for the new 3G iPhone for Canada. Cheapest plan is $60/month and gives you 400 MB of data, 150 weekday minutes and unlimited evenings and weekends. Not too bad...but then you'll have to add Caller ID, text messages and call forwarding etc... that's another $15-20/month. And finally the monthly $7ish service access fee. So you'll be paying about $90/month plus taxes. That's about $50/month more than I pay now for my cell phone. I'm rethinking my stance on the iPhone...unless I get a sweet raise and somehow can afford it...I'll wait until Rogers offers something cheaper...

4.82 - The One with 2 months to go

2008-06-24T09:36:00.000-04:00

in 2 months I'll be married...woah

4.81 - The One with Armin

2008-06-19T09:29:00.010-04:00

Do you remember Sim City and how fun that was to make your own urban masterpiece? Then The Sims came out and you were able to live your own virtual life? Well the guy that created those games has out done himself yet again...introducing Spore. Now you have the power to create your own creature. Make it evolve and guide it through the 5 stages of evolution...Cell, Creature, Tribe, Civilization, and Space. Or just have fun creating stuff. The Creature Creator demo is out now and I've only had a few minutes to play around with it...let me introduce you to Armin:

[via Spore]