Boxing Day Bargains...

Well, I finally caved. Yesterday I bought an iPod.

So far it seem pretty good. I've downloaded all my music onto it and have only filled one third of the space. I can't wait until I get home and can start downloading videos onto it.

And this morning I had the inspiration to look for some of the artists that I liked on Rockstar: Supernova. Toby and Magni don't seem to have anything out yet, but I did find Patrice Pike's new album. I really liked her on the show and the original song that she did was great so i didn't hesitate to download the album from iTunes. Ok, I did hesitate for a moment to check if I could download it on Ares for free. Of course I couldn't. I can't wait to listen to the album this afternoon.

Cancer Blows…

I spent the other night with my mom in the Cancer Lodge in Vancouver. She is currently fighting Leukemia and has to go to the nearby hospital on a daily basis for treatment and to get blood.

The lodge itself isn’t such a bad place, sorta like a hotel room. But to stay there for 3 months like she has I’m sure feels like agony.

As I type this we are currently onboard a ferry bound for Nanaimo. Mom wasn’t feeling so well on the car ride from the lodge to the ferry so now she is laying down and resting. Of course, there is not a designated place for doing this, so we have set her up on a box that is used to store curtains that cover the windows when it is dark out such that the interior lights do not interfere with the view of the water. We have gotten a few weird looks, but what are we to do? She desperately needs to rest and this is the only place she can do so.

I hope that she will start to feel a little better in the next few days.

Probably the best Christmas present that she could get this year would be to find a bone marrow donor for her so that she can maybe stop the chemotherapy and start getting healthier. Anyone wanna donate their marrow?

I know she will not stop fighting this but it is hard to see her going through it.

I come for the service, but I stay for the leg room...

Well, I have successfully arrived in Vancouver for the holidays. The flight out here was one of the best I have ever been on.

There are some people who may tell you that there is really no difference between first class and coach class on an airplane. Those people are absolutely wrong.

By giving up the seat I had on my Toronto-Vancouver flight (which I had already switched into to let two other people sit together) to a guy so he could sit with his wife and child, I eventually got bumped up to first class. What a fabulous experience! An abundance of leg room and fully reclining chairs are only some of the perks that come with a first-class ticket. I also got some wine and a meal. And after all that, I got a warm wet towel to clean myself up with.

I will now begin scheming to come up with a way of getting into first class on the return trip on the 31st.

Nothing Yet...

Well here we are, it's Friday night and Michelle has yet to discover her christmas present. Not that this is especially surprising to me.

Of course she could have seen it and is just keeping quiet about it thinking that I still want to surprise her.

Or maybe she thinks that I think that she thinks to let it seems like a surprise.

Damn her mind games....

Just a little test...

My girlfriend Michelle claims that she checks my blog often, so this post primarily is to test my theory that she doesn't.

Because I am going home to Vancouver for Christmas, I will not be able to give her gift to her. When I originally suggested that I could mail it to her she resisted. But the last few days Michelle has gotten more insistent (and pushy) for me to send it to her.

Also, for the last month she has been bugging me to tell her what i got for her. Apparently she doesn't like my hints of 'it's smaller than the empire state building' and 'it's composed of atoms'.

So here goes: I got her a necklace from a store in the Rideau Center. The pendant has some little crystals in it that kind of look like diamonds and it is made of Rhodium (which is apparently related to platinum).

We'll see how long it takes until she finds it...

Here I am....

Yes, I am still here...

Just sitting here watching hockey, as per usual...

Hmmmm, Pittsburgh and the Rangers are going to a shootout now, should be a good one....

Lest We Forget...

I attended the Rememberance Day ceremonies here in Ottawa on Saturday. It was the big one down at the War Memorial that gets all the tv coverage and has the Prime Minister there too. It's great to see such a great turn out despite the shitty weather.

It seems like every year they schedule a fly-by of Hornets for the ceremony and every year they have to scrub the flight due to the bad weather. At least this year there was a Mustang that was able to fly.

Going to something like that always gets me thinking of how all of these veterens at these things are such a small representation of just how many people fought for this country. Just thinking about all those heroes that fought and died for their country always makes me feel really small and insignificant. I know with nearly absolute certainty that I will never do anything as noble as these brave men and women have done in in laying down their lives such that people like me could grow up free in a world that is safe (relatively speaking).

Thank you to all of those who have ever served for our counrty, who left family and friends behind for a greater cause, and who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. You may be underappreciated by the majority of this ungrateful country, but i count myself as one of the small minority who is proud of those who have fought for our country. ALL of those who have fought for our country, be it six decades ago or six hours ago.

I salute each and every one of you.

Hero Worship...

It's official.

Peter McKay is my hero.

Any other time, to any other woman, his comment would have been deplorable. But delivered as it was, with all the stuff flying around about Belinda at the time, it was absolutely brilliant!

The funniest part is the firestorm that has been set off by something he didn't even say. Oh sure he implied it, but that's not the same. And now the lousy Liberals want to send some tape that aledgedly captured this implied slur off for expert analysis. What exactly they hope to accomplish with this I am not sure. Maybe it has just been so long since they wasted taxpayers money that they were feeling out of sorts...

I look forward to Peter McKay's inevitable book when it comes out: 'Snappy Comebacks to Stupid Comments'.

And I will say what Peter McKay cannot due to his public position; Belinda is a bitch. And a liar. And a homewrecker. And I'm sure she feels right at home in the Liberal Party.

Thank God the NHL is Back...

Wow, that is wierd. I spend at least 3 hours a night sitting in front of the TV, many of them with my laptop on my lap top and haven't updated this thing for 2 weeks...

Egad, I LOVE NHL Center Ice. Being able to watch so much hockey is amazing. I have already seen more shoot-outs this year than i did all of last year since I can tell what games have the potential to go into one and then watching it.

The best part about it is that I am learning just how good the Western Conference is. Every game I have watched from out West has been brilliant. Incredible speed, bone-crushing hits, and unbelievable plays are happening almost non-stop in those games. The San Jose - Edmonton game from last week was one of the best games I have ever seen in my life.

Even right now I am watching a Dallas - Anaheim game that has been pretty darn good.

I'll try and get to this a little more often in the coming weeks...

So Very Close...

The new NHL season is so close now that I am literally salivating in anticipation. Tomorrow night I am participating in the fantasy draft for my pool at work. Tuesday night all the sports channels will have previews of the upcoming season. And Wednesday the puck drops on another exciting season, accentuated by the opener in the latest edition of the battle of Ontario where the Senators *should* lay the first of many beatings that Toronto should sustain this season.

I think that I will have to have a nap when I get home on Wednesday in order to stay up and watch the Dallas-Colorodo game later that night.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And congrats to the Blue Jays. They managed to finish in second place in the AL East this season, ahead of Boston. Here's hoping they can build on this next season and challenge for a playoff spot...

It's So Beautiful...

I have been waiting for four months for this moment. The first hockey game I can watch this new season. Yes, it's only the OHL, and yes, it is Sarnia, but it is still hockey dammit!...

I made the decision a month ago to get NHL Center Ice this season so I could watch as much hockey as I could ever want this season. Turns out that it is cheaper to order the super sports pack from Rogers and cancel it in the spring than to just get NHL Center Ice. The added bonus to that I get the OHL action pack with it meaning that even during slow nights in the NHL, i can still watch some pretty good hockey.

The neatest thing tonight is that Bobby Ryan is back in the lineup for Owen Sound. He was just sent down from Anaheim yesterday. I can see why he was drafted in the first round by the Ducks a year ago; he is skating circles around the other team. It shouldn't be any stretch for him to average 1.5 points per game this season, or more.

Oh hockey, how I have missed you...

Surprises....

Has it really been a over a week since I last updated this thing? Where does the time go?...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For those of you who read my last post and exclaimed 'Hitler doesn't have a blog!', you are wrong. I did some hard sleuthing and hours of painstaking searching and I found it. (Ok, so I googled 'hitler blog' and used the third link, sue me.)

The most interesting thing I found there was this picture:


Now I am not quite sure what we are seeing in this picture (besides the obvious), but have narrowed it down to two possibilities. The first option is that this is a picture of the current leader of the Nazis. This option scares me because he looks much more clever that Hitler. And so much more photogenic. He would have an easy time getting people to follow him. If the monkey ever learned the work 'blitzkrieg', we'd all be doomed...

The only other possible explanation is that they are trying to recreate world war two using chimps. This could be nearly as bad; monkeys with guns can only lead to problems. Luckily the war was nearly entirely in Europe and Asia and I don't live anywhere near those places...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I was typing this entry, the Jays beat Boston to move into second place in the AL East. That's amazing. Toronto hasn't placed that high in at least 10 years! Of course they need to hold that position over that last week, but they have been playing quite well lately (and Boston has played quite poorly) so there is a good chance they can maintain their lead...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And the surprise of the week: My Riders upset the Lions in overtime! The win wasn't so surprising as the way they won it. Andy Fantuz recovered a fumble in the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:40 to go. B.C. quickly answered back with a major of their own to send the game to overtime. I love the CFL's wacky overtime rules by the way. Anyway, Saskatchewan failed to score on their possession when they went first meaning that the Lions just needed any points to win. Because they start on the opponents 35 yard line they decided to just punt it through the end zone on first down for a single point. Should have been a sure thing, especially with the heavy wind at his back, but McCallum botched it and didn't score a point. On the next go around, B.C. managed a field goal, but the Riders were able to drive down the field, ending with a 17 yard touchdown on a great catch by Fantuz again. Such a great ending...

Are Blogs Evil?...

Kimveer Gill had a blog, Kim Jong Il has a blog, Fidel Castro has a blog, and Hitler had a blog. From this, I deduce that blogs make people evil. Or they are inherently defective to begin with. One of the two. After all, I have a blog and I'm not evil...Much...

I Wish I Were an Islander...

Well, it's official. The laughingstock of the NHL has added a third ring to its circus. One would think that they would have learned from the insane contract they gave to Yashin 5 years ago (and are stuck with for another 5), but no. Instead the Islanders go and sign an admittedly above average goalie to a ludacris 15 year contract at $4.5 million per year. The money per season is probably a little more than he is worth these days but still not so bad, but doing it for 15 years can only be described as sheer idiocy. There are just too many variables involved to think that it could ever work out in favor of the team. What incentive does the guy have to get better or even maintain his current mediocre level. And when he does suck (and it's a guarantee that he will at some point; even Brodeur and Roy had their off seasons) there is absolutely no way to trade him because there is no other team out there that will take on that contract.And this contract is guarantees in case of injury too! If DiPietro goes to training camp next week and trips getting onto the ice and blows out his MCL and can never play again, he still will get all that cash.

All this has helped me decide that I want to play for the Islanders. Before you call me insane, think about it. As soon as I show any flashes of brilliance or any talent whatsoever, they will trade me to a good team for pretty much nothing. And if that doesn't happen, they will give me a 25 year contract for millions per year. And even if I were to be mediocre at best, I could always just move up to the front office and become the General Manager.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This morning I was thinking that it was quite appropriate that I was playing a game yesterday as a Black Operative hunting down a terrorist group on their own turf. Lousy terrorists, may they all burn in their religions' version of hell...

I Guess That Makes Sense...

As I was playing 'Black' on my Xbox tonight, I found myself getting extremely frustrated as I kept on dieing in this one room. After about the 6th time (keeping in mind that i had to fight my way through the room each time taking at least 15 minutes) I finally gave up and went to the internet for a solution. Well, really I was looking for a cheat to make me invincible or something. Turns out that it was the final room of the game. Once I knew that I gave up on the cheat and used the advice i got (which was really no different from what I was doing) and went back with a little more perseverence. Finally after 3 more tries I got through it. Got a neat cut scene for my troubles. Also for finishing the game in normal mode I unlocked a Silver Guns mode which also give me unlimited ammunition. Maybe I'll try that tomorrow.

All in all, Black was an excellent game. Kinda disappointing how short it was with only 6 or 7 levels, but when each on took approximately an hour to complete I guess it's not so bad.

Just remember the five rules of Black Operatives:

1. Guns are the stars.
2. Every bullet is your baby.
3. Bigger guns, louder explosions.
4. Leave a trail of destruction.
5. Get creative with your kills.

I truly believe that the best way to relieve stress or cure depression is to blow the snot out of something. Such a fun game...

Another Sunday...

Yes I know the streak was broken yesterday, but with this posting today I'll have made 6 this week and 6 of 7 days is by far the most frequent I have ever posted...

A fairly quiet weekend again. Just enjoying another quality football game. The Riders are up by 4 points on the Bombers just coming out of halftime.

I love these lazy sundays...

Yesterday was made up of mostly nothing. Jeff and I went shopping for hockey equipment and groceries. I ended up making a lasagne from scratch for dinner and am quite pleased with the results. And since it was only Jeff and I eating, I also have my lunch for work all week. Ended the night over at Pub Italia with a couple of Hoegaardens...

The best part of today will be the season premier of the Simpsons and Family Guy later tonight.

Just Under the Wire...

Just gonna be a real quick post tonight. I'm trying to keep my streak of posting alive (I think it's already a record for me).

I did manage to score that card tonight, just as a storm knocked out power to the building I was in....

Go or No Go.....

Today I learned that it was no go. My trip to Burlington that is. It's not happening. Apparently they hired someone at the last minute so now I don't have to go.

I don't know if this is a good thing or not. I certainly simplifies my life for the time being. But I was kinda looking forward to going away to work. It woulda been a neat new experience. The fact that the documents coming out of there are classified as 'controlled goods' and have special security associated with them only adds to the intrigue. And being closer to Michelle such that I could see her on the weekends wouldn't have hurt either.

But now I can get back into my little rut that I have nicely dug here.

Tomorrow night I plan to go and play Magic at the (semi-) local card shop, but likely won't be there too late. All I really want to do is try and acquire a rare card from a guy who has just gotten one and has agreed to give me first crack at trading it off of him. After that, I don't really have much keeping me there. And I wanna head back here in time to go and buy my leather jacket at south keys. They wouldn't put it on hold for me when I was in there on Wednesday, so I have my fingers crossed that they don't sell it before tomorrow morning when I can call and have them hold it for me. I don't understand why they can hold it for a day, but not any longer than that, but I no longer work in retail.

New Look...

Yup, it's still me, but with a fresh new look. Sure, it looks a lot simpler, but the old one was just a template. With this one I customized all the colors and other things...

Got some links to other pages set up to two of the most important things in my life. And there is one to my girlfriend's myspace page too, as well as Scott Adams' blog and the best radio station in here in Ottawa.

I don't know if I'd get too attached to this look as I might change it again., depending on how bored I am in the next little while...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On another note, my trip to Burlington may be back on. I will apparently be told definitively tomorrow morning whether it will happen. On the plus side, I have been told that if I were to go they would rent me a car for the duration. I miss driving, though by the time I make a few trips along the 401 to Toronto I'm sure I'll be missing the bus. No matter how the decision goes, I'll just be glad that I'll know onw way or the other and won't have to guess any longer about where I'll be after the weekend. That way I can plan things a little bit in advance.

Gimbaled...

What a funny word that is...

I chuckled when i heard it on Thursday and again on Friday.

Try as I might over the long weekend, I couldn't think of a funnier word. I know that it is a serious word with a real meaning, but it just sounds funny.

I wonder who was the first person to see something doing something wierd and coined the term gimbal.

Anyone out there got a funnier word? Anyone? C'mon, I want a comment to my blog...

Dang...

I am so bored...

Thoughts on Labor Day...

Is there any better weekend of the year? An extra day off with pay, all the beer I can drink, and the best football games of the year. I can't think of one.

The Riders-Bombers game last night was great. Sure that may be a little biased since I was on the winning side, but I quite enjoyed it. And the prairie-imported beer certainly enhanced the experience...

And the Stamps-Eskimos game this afternoon was quite excellent, even though I wish the outcome was different.

And as I write this, Hamilton has jumped out to a 3 point lead against the Argos. It's the biggest lead the Ti-Cats have had in the last month and a half. Let's hope they can keep this up, though I'm not holding my breath...

What a Few Weeks...

A bit of sadness hit about two weeks ago as my Grandmother passed away almost exactly two weeks ago on the Sunday. I few home shortly thereafter for the funeral. A reasonably elegant affair, thankfully with nice weather and a short ceremony.

Thankfully, there were a few positives from the trip. I got to see several relatives at the funeral who I thought that I would likely never see again. My only regret with that is that Uncle Sam didn't remember who I was. It's a shame how alzheimers affects the elderly. Well not so much them since they get to experience things anew everyday, but more for those around them who have to watch as their friend/relative slowly fades away.

The other plus about the trip was that I was able to get to a Green Riders game while I was there. Even better, they scored a decisive victory. Yes, I know it was only against the lowly Ti-cats, but I'll take anything I can with the Riders.

Oh yeah, and they are smoking Hamilton again tonight, up 34-3 at halftime.

Potentially, starting just after Labor Day, I will be working down in Burlington. Now, I know nothing about the place, but from my limited research I have learned that this place is approximately halfway between Toronto and Hamilton. So I shall call this place, that is halfway between the Craphole and Stinktown, Crapstinkville. I'll let you know if this is a accurate depiction of the place if and when I get there.

Bleeding Green.....

And loving it....

Such a sweet win on Saturday night over the hated Stampeders. The only thing missing was Burris getting taken to the hospital after the entire defensive line wiped him out. I know, you never want to see a player get hurt, but given the choice I would definitely choose the traitorous Burris over Wynn who had a trip to the Regina emergency room the week before. Well, there is always this week upcoming. Sure, the game is in Calgary, but there will be more than enough patriots from Rider nation there to cheer our boys on.

Should be a good game, being the rubber match for the season series. Gonna have to be careful though. Having lost three in a row, Calgary will be pretty hungry and desperate for a win. Of course it will all depend on what Roughrider team will show up in Calgary. Will it be the one that kept the Stamps from scoring a touchdown last week, or the team that got shelled for like 50 points agains them a few short weeks ago? I sure hope it is the former, because the latter is much more painful to watch.

A win in Calgary will be the first step in a long road to a home playoff game which we so desperately want.

Just trying to fill the void of random, meaningless destruction Jeff's absence has left in our hearts.

I am so alone...

Well that's not true. Amanda is here too...

We moved Jeff to Montreal on Sunday. Leave it to me and Ken to get lost and end up half way to Quebec City. But we got him all set up and he's started his new job. It'll be interesting to talk to hin this weekend and see how things are going...

Last few days have been kinda boring. I've been playing through HALO again on the Xbox.

But I digress....

An Interesting Night....

That was some party last night. It's a shame that the guest of honor passed out around 10:30. Don't remember everything that happened, but I still think it was a fairly successful party...

The party was so successful that we broke the bank, literally. When trying to clean up today, the liquor cabinet collapsed on itself, spilling all the liquor bottles within onto the floor. Thank god only one of them broke. The value of all the liquor in there is greater than the gross national product of Ghana, so the destruction of it would have been a catastrophe. But it did give us an excuse to finally fix the cabinet.

They shouldn't have been there in the first place....

Those of you who don't like opinions go to a different website now.

Don't say I didn't warn you...

I'm so sick of all these people griping about the middle east 'crisis' going on right now. I say, all those people shouldn't have been there in the first place....

It's not like all this religious and political strife just happened overnight. I think it's been going on as long as I can remember.

And why the hell are all these people over there anyway? Supposedly there are like 50,0000 people there. What the hell? It goes back to another pet peeve of mine: our stupid refugee laws. People come over here and right away claim that they are refugees so we let them stay in the country for two years or more while we investigate their claim. Meanwhile, they are collecting welfare and causing problems. And having kids. And since whe give any kid born in the country a citizenship, that gives them a foothold in the country and probably gets them citizenship too. And then they go back home.

And these are the people that elected the moron terrorists for their government that is causing all the problems now, and they say 'help me I'm Canadian'.

I say, let 'em stay down the hole.

And then there are those people that are saying 'oh this is terrible, Isreal is killing so many innocent people'. Isreal is reacting to Hezbolla kidnapping their soldiers, and they are responding by attacking military bases and storming the boarder to look for tunnels and weapon stashes. Notice that I never said attacking civilians there? In a direct contrast to that is the other side with their random rocket attacks, firing blindly into an an Isrealite city just hoping to hit something.

Not to mention all those idiots bashing Harper for not immediately condemning Isreal for the attacks. Piss off you dimwits and pay some attention to what is actually happening on both sides.

In a related note, I think that Jack Layton is really Osama Bin Laden in disguise.

I miss Dennis Miller....

Where the Hell have I Been???

Having been inundated with complaints that I never update my blog, I guess it is finally time to do something about it.

Ok, you caught me. It was only one complaint, but I'm amazed that even that many people read the damn thing.

So lately I've been doing a lot of crying. My two favorite players for the Sens are now officially playing for other teams.

On an unrelated note, soon our household will be down to two. That's right, we're having Jeff kidnapped. Next week he will begin a fabulous new life in Montreal, working at Rolls-Royce. I know, I'm jealous too.

It's gonna be so lonely around here. And Amanda seems to shun me at times, so that's no help. I'm thinking of getting a blond in here for the fall just to liven things up a little. Amanda seems to have a lead on one, so I guess she has her uses...

Barring that (or even in spite of it), I am considering getting NHL Center Ice in the fall. I think I can handle 1000 hockey games over the course of the season. I'll be able to keep tabs on Chara and Havlat with their new teams.

Hey, look at that. I'm back to where I started the blog today. That seems like as good a time as any to wrap up this here blog.

Smell ya later.

Due to Popular Demand....

I know, I could hardly type that with a straight face either...

Here are the rest of the pictures from my trip to corner gas...I hope....

Where the Hell am I?....

Yes, I am indeed lost...

Today I ended up somewhere called Dog River. I've never heard of it, but apparently it is quite the famous place, even if all the road signs leading to it said something completely different.











Of course, no matter how lost you are, there is always time for beer. At least that is what my dad and grandpa always say...

Seeking Gainful Employment...

Well, I had a job interview today. Probably could have gone a little better. It took me a few minutes to realize what some of the stuff they were talking about was. Once I got my bearings I think it went pretty good and we seemed to have a good dialogue going. But weather that is enough to overcome the initial "what the hell are you talking about" impression remains to be seen. They are supposed to let me know this week about their decision.

Do I want to do Technical Writing? I guess I should figure that out in the next couple of days.

Reluctantly Mobile....

I come to you today from the comfy confines of my living room. After my computer died last week, I've been having withdrawal symptoms from the lack of computer access. After the old one was diagnosed with a fried motherboard, I realized a new computer would be nearly the same cost as repairing the old one.

After about three hours in Future Shop, I walked out with a new system. It was a little more than I had intended to spend, but it gives me so much more mobility. I am now using a laptop. The wireless card within it allows me to wander around the house typing random gibberish to nobody. Just like this Blog.

And I even managed to save all the information stored on the old hard-drives.

I can't wait until I take a trip on the train or an airplane. That'll be sweet. No more crappy in-flight movie for me.

A Minor Setback...

Well, round two is upon us. Buffalo is finished destroying Philly and Tampa was thoroughly mutilated by my Sens, and now these two demolition squads are on a collision course. This is gonna be a series of speed. Don't blink or you might miss a few goals. They certainly proved that in the first game.

As for the fact that the Senators blew 5 leads in the game, I chalk that up to the face that we haven't played for a week. I look for them to come out firing but playing much better defensively tomorrow night. I'd bet that Emery will have a better game too.

This is gonna be one amazing series too watch, quite possibly the best one of these playoffs. I've got to believe that the Sens will pull it out, but I know that it will take every second of either six or Seven games. It is also possible that there will be more goals scored in this series that there were in the entire first round.

As for the rest:

Colorado vs. Anaheim: Well, before this series began I would have said Colorado in 5 or 6 games. While technically it is still possible for them to get it in 6, they are gonna have to play much better than they did getting shut out in the first two.

New Jersey vs. Carolina: Another series that has me scratching my head. I woulda believed that with Brodeur in net and their classic stifling defence, Jersey would be able to contain the firepower in Carolina's arsenal for a series win in 5 or 6 games. It worked against the Rangers, why not the Hurricanes, right? And then the go and get blown out 6-0 in game one. I know, I don't get it either.

Edmonton vs. San Jose: This is another great skating series. The Sharks didn't have much trouble with the Predators in round one, but they didn't have a defence corp. like Edmonton has. Pronger is gonna get a lot of minutes in this one. The only problem is what line do you play Pronger against? Play him against Thornton and Marleau burns you. Against Marleau, Thornton and Cheechoo get you. All in all, the Oilers won't have an answer to both lines. San Jose in a damn entertaining 5 or 6 games.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

That's right! The NHL Playoffs start TONIGHT!!!!!!!!

I've been looking forward to this for nearly two whole years. Ever since the last playoffs ended with Tampa Bay winning the Cup. Mind you, I thought that it would be back a lot sooner than this, but don't get me started on that whole lockout garbage.

I love how my beloved Senators are favored to win Lord Stanley's Mug but nearly all the analysts. I know this really doesn't mean much, but I like how they are all on the bandwagon.

The puck drops in a little under 2 hours for Game 1 between Ottawa and Tampa. Realistically, Ottawa *should* dominate the Lightning, and defeat them handily. I'm not counting Tampa, but I still figure the Sens will take the series in 4 or 5 games.

The best part is that we've got all the troop back and ready to go for the game (except for Hasek, but don't get me started on that either). We are led by our Captain and the rest of the "Burn Unit", while the Twin Towers on defence will be smashing people around all night. And of course between the pipes we've got the Upstart Emery.





As for the rest of the playoffs, these are my predictions:

Montreal over Carolina in 7 games: The Hurricanes have struggled a little down the stretch, enough to relinquish 1st place in the Eastern Conference to Ottawa. While the 'Canes will no doubt be better in the playoffs, they must still beat the Habs new phenom in goal pads, Christobel Huet, who has been so good he chased Jose Theodore out of town.

New Jersey Over New York in 6 games: With Martin Brodeur in the net and the stifling defence that can choke out the most potent offences, even Jagr doesn't stand a chance.

Buffalo over Philedelphia in 7 games: REALLY close series. Buffalo is solid all the way around and has a quick little team that should give the hulking (and slow) defence of Philly fits. Also, I doubt that Forsberg can stay healthy for that long. Plus I HATE the Flyers!

Edmonton over Detroit in 7 games: Yes, I do hate Detroit too, but this goes beyond that. I'm still not convinced that Detroit is as amazing as the seem on paper. They played 24 division games against the 3 of the worst teams in the league.had they lost even one-third of these game which you'd think they would if they were in any other division, that would knock 16 points off their total, making them finish second in their conference. Edmonton has a knack for bringing down the giant, and are certainly capable of doing it again. The animal is always most dangerous when backed into a corner. Detroit: Beware of Animals!

Dallas over Colorodo in 6 games: Dallas is a very good, well-rounded hockey club. Colorodo is a shell of their former selves, having lost Forsberg, Foote, and others. While Burnaby Joe still has the passion and the drive to go all the way, he can't do it by himself. Turco is solid in the net, while Theodore is a big question-mark after a dismal season and a heel injury.

Anaheim over Calgary in 7 games: This one is going all the way to the bitter end. And at the end these two teams will be bitter enemies. For starters, this series pits the two goalies who backstopped the last two cinderella teams to the Finals. Calgary is much deeper on defence, and the Ducks are more offensively talented. While it is true that defence wins Championships, it is still necessary to score at least a little bit to win those games. Calgary's offence has been dismal all year.

San Jose over Nashville in 5 games: Poor Nashville is the victim of bad luck on this one. Tomas Vokoun went down with a blood clot that will force him to miss the rest of the season, leaving them with a rookie in net who's barely played all season. And then they match up aginst one of the hottest teams in the league over the last month. And on this team there is the Art Ross trophie winner, the Rocket Richard trophie winner, and a Hart trophie candidate; and then there is Patrick Marleau on the second line. Sorry Silly (Mike Sillinger), this won't be the year either.

Well, that's the first round as I see it. But what do I know, I'll probably be outguessed by that damn TSN monkey. Hee hee hee, monkey....

This is the End...

Well, it's the end of an era here in Ottawa. The Renegades have officially packed it in for this season, and more than likely for the foreseeable future. What a shame, I thoroughly enjoyed attending their games (though admittedly out of the 15-20 games I went to I paid to attend but one contest). Without them here this season, I will be forced to come up with something else to occupy my time this summer.

Perhaps the saddest new of this whole turn of events is that I will no longer be able to see my beloved Green 'Riders come to town. Those were always my favorite games to go to, although for some reason the completely inept Renegades usually managed to somehow come up with the win in these contest, much to my dismay. Maybe I'll try and catch them in Toronto this summer.

With the doomed Renegades now out of their misery, attention can now turn to tomorrow's dispersal draft, where the few decent players from the 'Gades squad can be picked up by other teams. I have great concern that my Roughriders will go out and trade a good player from their roster for the first pick so that they can get Kerry Joseph, an over-rated and grossly overpaid glorified ballboy, to take snaps for them this coming season. The problem I see with this is that Joseph is not even as talented as the two quarterbacks currently in camp, let alone completely unqualified to be by far the highest paid player on the team.

The biggest need that the 'Riders can address in the draft would be to their receiving corp. I won't lie, losing our best receiver in the off-season hurts, and the fact it was to Calgary is like a knife in the back. This deficiency can be addressed nicely in the dispersal draft though as there are a pair of talented receivers available in Jason Armstead and Pat Woodcock. Armstead was one of the few bright spots for Ottawa last year with a ton of return yards and a decent year from the line of scrimmage. To me, the better option would be Pat Woodcock. Only one season removed from winning the League's Most Outstanding Canadian Award, Woodcock had the capability of putting up some crazy good numbers. He was hampered last year by a few injuries and inconsistency, but on that Ottawa team being inconsistent means that he was actually good for a little bit. One downside to him is that he is fairly high paid, but he could potentially lead all 'Riders receivers this season.

The only other glaring need for the 'Riders is at the kicker position, but there is no way in hell they would try and fill that from Ottawa. Anyone who even remotely follows the CFL must know that the kicking game in Ottawa has been a joke since they returned to the league three years ago. I think in that time Ottawa has averaged seven kickers per year, none of which have been any good.

Well, we'll see what happens tomorrow. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed....

Deal or No Deal...

No, I'm not talking about the neat game show with the infuriating, jack-ass of a host. I speak of course about this years NHL Trade Deadline. This annual frenzy brings me nearly as much joy as the playoffs do.

Generally, this day sees a multitude of trades rivaling the number of trades of the entire rest of the season. And this year was no different.

My Sens traded an underachieving, oft injured forward in Brandon Bochenski for another apparent underacheiver in Tyler Arnason. But Arnason played for a deadful Chicago team, and has 41 points (second most on the team) and is an amazing +5 for the basement-dwelling Blackhawks. He should do an adequate job filling the second line center ice position and bolster our already quite potent offense.

Add to it all that we also acquired another goaltender to try and relieve some of the pressure facing Emery while Hasek is recovering, and you get that we had a pretty good day. And that we didn't even have to give up anything for the goalie (simply pull him off the waiver wire from Edmonton) makes today a great success. Sure, we may not have gone out and over-spent to bring in some big name player, but we addressed our needs and didn't mess with the chemistry of the team. All this and we didn't sell out our future either. Not a bad days work, Mr. Muckler.

As for the other teams out there, I did notice a few things. Edmonton looked to have done a great job patching the few holes they had. Vancouver seemed to have a monopoly on depth defencemen. Anaheim couldn't decide if they were buyers or sellers so they did both. Toronto did absolutely nothing worthwhile, which also describes the rest of their season.

The biggest deal of the deadline has to be the Theodore trade to Colorodo. I can't imagine what Pierre LaCroix is thinking there. He is usually so shrewd in his dealings, but may have missed the boat this time. The goalie he traded for has the potential to greatly upgrade the Avalanche at the position, with only two minor flaws. The first being that Theodore has played like shit all season and the second being that he is injured until at least the playoffs start. Considering that Colorodo had to trade their current number one goaltender to get Theodore and they are still in a fight to even make the playoffs, this could prove disasterous for the Avalanche.

This truly is my favorite holiday of the year...

Whole Lotta Shaking....

Yes, the rumors are true. I did survive the great Ottawa earthquake of '06.

I was on the phone at the time and I believe that my exact words were 'Holy crap, I think I'm in an earthquake!'.

Needless to say, an earthquake registering 4.5 on the richter scale was more that sufficient to break my boredom last Friday night.

She's So Pretty...

My love, thy name is Serra.

My quest to create an all foil Angel Magic deck took a good step forward today. I aquired 10 cards towards that end in a trade today. Yes, I had to give up two very good and valuable cards; but look at her, She is so lovely.



She also instantly becomes the most valuable card in my collection, having been forced to trade the the old champion in order to aquire her. But I have no reservations over the trade, especially since I haven't seen a Serra like that go for less than $45US on eBay.

Well, 10 down, 35 to go...

Anyone wanna give me money to get more cards???

No? Dang...

The Coming Demise...

No, I'm not talking about the death of Team USA at the hands of the Canadians in Olympic hockey, I'm talking about society as a whole. I haven't quite worked out all the fine details, be it a nuclear holocaust or a plague or whatnot, but it is coming, and a lot sooner than everyone thinks. Well, except for that crackpot who thinks it'll be in 7 years when fossil fuels run out.

The end will come when the youth of today begin to take power in the world in round about 30ish years from now. When the teens of today become the world leaders of tomorrow, start counting the days.

Anyone who rides on public transit or goes to a mall has seen exactly what I am talking about. All those incoherent little bastards yammering 10 decibles less than a jet engine, dressed like thug rappers, tripping oner the waistbands on their pants. Really inspires you with confidence, don't it?

The little monsters even smashed the glass in the local bus shelter this past weekend, obviously too stupid to realize that without the glass, they are gonna get cold while waiting for the bus. That the fact of wind in February is cold is unknown to them fills me with fear and dread.

And before you start saying 'ah, he's just some crotchety old geezer', at 24 I am no more than 10 years older that these morons.

I'm gonna go start planning my nuclear bomb shelter/quarantine room now. Send me a message if you want in on it (subject to age verification).

Thus Ends Another Successful Weekend...

I successfully accomplished next to nothing this weekend. Watched three hockey games, one in person, and caught up on some much needed sleep. It was a great game between Colorado and Detroit (though the outcome could have been better) and then a sleeper between Toronto and New Jersey. The best of the bunch was definitely the one I went to see today. Sadly, the 67's lost to the Plymouth Whalers, but the game was top notch. Big hits and big plays made for an entertaining game. The only problem was that I believe the referee was paid by the penalty since not five minutes went by without a call. And it doesn't help that the 67's penalty kill isn't so great.

And my eBay watch finally showed up on Friday. A nice looking example of Swiss craftsmanship. The neatest part about it has to be the clasp as I have never seen another like it. So I guess I've gotta leave mostly positive feedback for buddy, but I think I'll leave it for a week or so to let the guy know how it feels to wait for no apparent reason.

As for my grandfather, he seems to be doing better and better. Last night, my mom had to get him to stop doing his exercises for a few minutes just to talk to me on the phone.

The scariest thing of the week has to be that my other grandma managed to track me down with a phone call on Thursday. I haven't talked to her since me sisters wedding last August and my birthday last February before that. Turns out that she wanted my new address here so that she could send me a birthday present, so now I am eagerly awaiting my $50 and a card.

As an added bonus, Friday was the release day for the newest Magic set, Guildpact. I got a few packs and the novel that corresponds to the set that evening. I got a couple of sweet cards, including the red/green dual land Stomping Grounds. I'm now looking forward to this Friday when I go down to Ottawa U to play a draft with Guildpact. And I may even be able to find a foil card that I need for my angel deck.

For a weekend where I didn't do anything, I sure have a lot to talk about from it.

Smell ya later.

It's Easier to Find a Whore....

...than to find a place that sells bus passes in this stupid town. Though admittedly i have little experience with the former. Eight different stores I went to didn't sell them. Even taking into account that by the end I was so desperate that I was grabbing at straws asking in places like Staples. But even places that sell bus tickets, that you would think would have passes, didn't. My first try was the Shell station across from my work, obviously to no avail. Then after work I tried Canadian Tire, Walmart, Staples, amd Loblaws. Eventually, I had to walk three blocks carrying all my other purchases to the Quickie where they actually had them, thank god. So much for the great and wonderful transit system the propaganda keeps telling us about.

And I am quite displeased with my recent Ebay experience. I bought a sweet looking watch about 3 weeks ago. Now I know that things take time to ship, especially from the US to Canada, but this is nearing rediculous. Not to mention that I paid for the express shipping option! I know it took a week for my payment to reach the guy and the watch has only been enrout for technically a week, but that leaves a week (five business days) of the guy doing absolutely nothing!!! All I know is that the watch better arrive tomorrow and better be in PRISTINE condition, otherwise the sellers feedback is going to suffer.

And just a quick question (not that anyone will respond since no one will read it), is an octuple bypass surgery uncommon? I've heard of double, triple, and quadruple bypasses before, but never an octuple. Anyway, that is what my grandpa had last weekend.

I know, I'm scared too...

Ok, this is officially wierd. This is my fourth post in the last week. Those of you who follow my blog religiously (and i know there are a multitude of you) know that my average posting rate was once a month prior to the last week. I've made it my mid-January resolutuion to try and post to this thing a little more often so we'll just see what happens on that front...

This past weekend saw a bit of excitement as we went to the Senators Super Skills competition at the Scotiabank Place (formerly the Corel Center). Basically it was the same as the All Star Game Skills contest, but with only Senators players. Although with how well the Sens have played this year, half of then could have been in the All Star one anyway.









Now I know there are those of you that will bitch about the quality of the pictures but considering the camera I have is only 2.0 megapixels with no optical zoom (what can I say, $100 at Future Shop doesn't get you a whole lot), I am fairly happy with the results.

The skills game was a lot of fun to watch. Surprising nobody, our behemouth Zdeno Chara won the hardest shot contest with a shot over 103mph. Heatley and Spezza tied in the accuracy event, both going 4/5 and Alfie not far behind with 4/6. Once again Antoinne Vermette won the fastest skater contest and the proceeded to score one of the most amazing goals I have ever seen in the breakaway contest! All in all, an extremely entertaining afternoon. And to cap it all off, the Leafs lost that night to the Habs so Saturday was a wonderful day!!!

Spent much of Sunday playing Knights of the Old Republic II on the XBOX. I love those kinds of games. The best part was tonight when I aquired a second lightsaber so now I can run around with one in each hand, slicing up whatever i like.

And for all those of you who are on the edge of your seats wondering how my grandpas surgery went last week, he is still in the hospital but out of the ICU ward. My mom is flying out to Regina to see him tomorrow and he should be able to get out of the hospital on wednesday. It sounds as though he is getting back to his old self since at one point he just woke up and immediately asked my uncle if the Riders hired Tracey Ham yet. I should be able to find out more either tonight or tomorrow when I talk to my grandma

The Status Quo...

Well I didn't watch a whole bunch of the Sens game last night, but I saw enough to tell that Ottawa is superior to the Leafs in every way concievable. To be honest, I already knew that was the case, this just cemented it. Considering that the Sens are 6-0 this season against Toronto and have outscored them 28-5 over the last 4 games, I really can't see how anyone can argue otherwise. For those who read this (like that'll happen) who want to argue about the playoffs, I've got a couple of counter arguments. First: are the leafs even gonna make the playoffs? (in 9th place now and falling). Second: the Sens are now capable of playing nearly any style they want. They can run-and-gune like the 80's Oilers or beat the crap out of you as the Bank Street Bullies (we've only gotten tougher since the brawl in Philly last season).

And the number one line in the league just keeps rolling, having picked up right where it left off before the injuries sidelined Alfie and Spezza.

I am so looking forward to the playoffs...

Well, It's Official...

We're doomed...

Yes, my Conservatives look to have won the election, but it is with a slim 15-20 seat lead. You know what that means: another minority government! Oh Goody!!

With the minority situation, this means that either Harper has to team up with the NDP (or even worse the Bloq) in order to get anything through the house, or we'll all be heading for the polls again very, very soon. Sadly, I believe it is the latter...

Even worse, it was suggested that the Liberals could team up with the NDP and form a coalition gorvernment to wrest power away from the Conservatives (and I believe Martin is desperate enough to try something like that). Apparently this is not without precedent as it was done back in the '20s, with poor results and a quickly collapsed government. Mind you, this idea was suggested by the 'quality' reporters at the Global Brodcasting Network so take it for what it's worth...

On a personal level, I am pleased to see that the Pierre Polievere, the Conservative MP in my former riding, was resoundingly re-elected with better than 50% of the vote! Conversely, I am disappointed that Alan Cutler, the Adscam Whistleblower, was defeated by the weak-minded people in my new neighbourhood and David McGuinty. I figured a much better result here since Cutler was the guy who blew the door off the Adscam Scandal, and the fact that McGuinty (or mcguilty as i have been calling him) is the brother of embattled Ontario Premier Dalton McGuilty, whom I had the impression more and more people disliked.

Oh well.

Having resigned myself to having another vote probably within another year, I can only hope that two things will happen. The first is that Paul Martin is tossed as leader of the Liberals and preferably run out of the country on a rail (the latter seems less likely). The second is that Harper and his gang use whatever time they have in power to uncover as many of the scams and schemes the Liberals had running as possible, and to punish all those possible, especially the MP's and cabinet ministers, with jail time!

Oh Hosannah!!!! Even as I type this, Martin is announcing his resignation as leader of the Liberals. Wow, I had never thought that one of my wishes would be answered so quickly.

Wow!!....just Wow!!!...

Big Week Coming Up!

Well the big day is almost upon us. Tomorrow the country goes to the polls (except for the 1.5 million who did it last week like me) to decide if the same old crooks continue to rip us off or a new group that is more careful about covering its tracks will start screwing us over. Thus far the conservatives are way ahead in the polls and conventional wisdom states that that is an excellent indication of who will win. But, I won't underestimate the grasp of power that martin holds, or vice versa. I really wouldn't put it past him to try and rig the electoral process tomorrow. Bah, maybe I've just seen the episode where Sideshow Bob become mayor on the Simpson too many times...


On a more personal note, my Grandfather is scheduled to go under the knife this Wednesday for a bypass surgery. I know this surgery is performed frequently these days and it has almost become routein, but I just can't shake the feeling that tonight was possibly the last time that I will speak to him. Rest assured, I'll be thinking of you all week Grandpa....