Katrina Now lives in Waterloo

Ten days ago we successfully moved Kimberly to Algonquin College. She's now been attending classes for over a week now, and I believe it's going to go very well with her. She's fortunate to have family near which will help with the transistion.

So yesterday it was daughter Katrina's turn to make the move to a new school. She is attending Wildred Laurier University in the city ofWaterloo Ontario. In honour of the Laurier Golden Hawks I used the colour purple in the title. That is the name of the sports team and purple is the colour. She is taking Classical Studies and English. She is also not living in Residence but is enjoying student housing near the University. It is a clean apartment although a bit small. It was quite interesting to get her furniture up the tiny staircase.

As an aside, while travelling to Ottawa this past weekend, we saw a lot of cars with parents and older teen children moving up the highway. They all had belongs in the back of the car, I suspect it was more university bound students off to apartments and residence. We should have counted.

Also while moving Katrina in, a number of U-Haul's and other rental vans were spotted along the road. It must be the crazy time of year for such communities.

Her classes don't start until next week, so she will be able to adjust to the new life.

She will be missed.

Love Dad

Flame On!

It seems my daughter Stephanie took umbrage to my comments on the recent decision by the IAU to remove Pluto from the list of planets that make up our solar system. She accused me of not researching the facts before going off on a rant.


Here's the deal. Yes I know that astronomers have been debated the status of Pluto for years. I also know that the nineth planet was found as a result of some very dedicated work by Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered the planet in 1930. You can read about it by following the link. I also know that the symbol of Pluto the "P" and "L" also stand for the initials of Percival Lowell who was one of the first searchers of "Planet X". It was he who predicted Pluto would be discovered in the approximate area that it was found.

So what is next. May I suggest you visit my Cafe Press store and order either the tshirt or buttons. The message of them is this "My Solar System includes Pluto". Wear the button andHer t proudly, especially around those 'let's toss Pluto out' bunch.

By the way, I know I've mentioned this CD and artist before, but I have to mention her again, Neko Case. I'm listening to it right now through iTunes and it still sounds great. The CD is Fox Confessor Brings The Flood. Her genre is alt-country and worth the listen. One song that's getting a lot of play is "Hold On, Hold On". The lyrics are as follows:

The most tender place in my heart is for strangers
I know it's unkind but my own blood is much too dangerous
Hangin' round the ceiling half the time
Hangin' round the ceiling half the time

Compared to some I've been around
But I really tried so hard
That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"

In the end I was the mean girl
Or somebody's in-between girl
Now it's the devil I love
And that's as funny as real love

I leave the party at three a.m.
Alone, thank God
With a valium from the bride
It's the devil I love
And that's as funny as real love
And that's as real as true love

That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"

That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"


Video

Love you Steph

Pluto is SO a PLANET

Every so often an issue comes around that does galvanize people into action. Recent just such an issue entered both the Internet and the Blogverse. Let me say I am not talking about Iran or Iraq but rather the recent insult that has been labelled upon the Planet Pluto. Recently at the XXVI or 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union voted to declassify Pluto as a planet and declare it a mini-planet. The actual state is a dwarf planet.

As you can see by this photo


This group of three deserve our scorn, as does the entire body that makes up the IAU. It's one of those issues that demands a response from concerned citizens throughout the cosmos. After all what gives them the right to decide what is a planet or what isn't. We have to draw a line in the sand and stop this madness. You see, if they can declassify planets, what next? Will they now decide what is a galaxy or a star? There is honestly no stopping these people, once they feel they can make such decisions their lust for power will know no bounds. Hey Andromeda! you better watch out, they may have you in their gunsites soon.

The question is, how can we stop them?

Let me suggest a few things:

1) Sign the Petition


2) Write to the Executive of the IAU and express your dissatisfaction and request an immediate re-instatement of Pluto as one of the nine Planets that make up one of the best darn Solar Systems in the Cosmos. Remind them their duty is to discover the wonders of the cosmos and not decide the fate of planets.

3) Buy a TShirt, Mug, Button or Bumper Sticker and let the world know how you feel.

Pluto is counting on all of us. Let's not let him down.

2006 Hugo Award Winners

I'm getting caught up on all the blogging I missed. Just came across this posting from the Science Fiction convention. The Hugo Winners were announced and winning the dramatic presentations were; the movie Serenity for best long presentation and Dr.Who. For the latter the awards were for the first season programs The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances. The reason for the both is that it was a two part story. It was a great story and worthy of such accoldates. Good on the judges to recognize quality.

While travelling along the Yellowhead Highway west of Edmonton, you pass a sign proclaining the place of East of Edson. You may wonder what makes this special. It's this, if you are a fan of Captain Tractor you are familiar with their album East of Edson. You can see the sign and as a fan of the band, I had to stop and take the picture.

It was a magic moment of Canadian Culture.

Kimberly's First Day


This past weekend, Jo-Anne, Kimberly and I drove up to Ottawa, another 1800 km on the van for those of you who are keeping track, to move Kimberly to her new school and address. As you can read in her blog she is going to school at Algonquin College in Ottawa. There she is taking courses on museum management. I'm sure she will correct me on her blog and give the course the proper name. It sounds fascinating.

On the Friday we moved her in. Her dorm room consists of three rooms, a sleeping and living room for each person, she shares the room with another person. The room has a bed, desk, telephone and TV with cable. The room also has internet connection. Then there is a common room that has a kitchenette with microwave, sink and fridge. There is also a bathroom with shower.

She stayed with her Aunt and Uncle on Friday. Then Saturday it was shopping day, for all she might need to get the week started. We first went to Ikea to buy some furniture. She purchased a book case, bedside table, throw rug for the bathroom and a small basket. She still needs to get a power bar and an extention cord. It was then over to Best Buy to purchase a printer, a usb cable and a DVD player.

Greg, her uncle and I were dropped off at the dorm to put together the ikea products and get her set up. We managed to build the table and bookshelf and now she was ready to move in. After buying some cutlery and groceries this room was now her home. She then spent the night in her new digs.

This being Monday, she started her classes, hopefully she'll blog about it.

Kim, I want to let you know I am very proud of you. This is a great step forward and you are starting a wonderful new chapter in you life.


You take care and see you this weekend.


Love Dad

The Trip West

Well, we finished an 8000 kilometre round trip to Edmonton to visit Stephanie. It was good to see her and our friends Ian and Glenda McKenzie.

It was a good trip and an interesting one. On the way out, going through the States, we saw "The Home on the Range". And yes we did break into a few verses of the famous song. I mean what else could we do?

The trip through Montana was amazing, this is a state in which they allow you to go 115 kph on glorified dirt roads, and by that I mean, rolling roads with pavement. What was interesting was the number of signs warning people from taking Crystal Meth, must be a problem. We stayed one night in Lewiston Montana. It was a very scenic trip.

You know, it's getting late and I'm taking Kimberly to Algonquin College tomorrow and it will be an early morning. I'll give a full report on the trip later.

EO Newsroom: New Images - Ash Cloud from Mount Ubinas, Peru

This is a fascinating photograph of an ash cloud from a volcano.

What's amazing is the detail of the cloud and the volcano.

worth a look

MLB - Detroit Tigers/Chicago White Sox Recap Sunday August 13, 2006 - Yahoo! Sports

Okay, the Tigers are in a slump. yes I acknowledge it. Yes they have lost five in a row, for the first team this season and yes, they were swept by their AL Central opponents the Chicago White Sox.

Let's put this in perspective; they are still in first, they still have the best record in baseball and there is over a month left. This is not the time to panic. It was bound to happen, that's the nature of baseball.

There is still plenty of time to recover and prove that the season has not been a fluke.

Their next opponent is the Boston Red Sox, another team going through an August funk, let's hope Bosox's problems continue.

The Tigers at 112

Right now the Tigers are 76-36, 40 games above .500 and staying strong. If you consider the last ten games, it looked like the sheen may have been off the Tigers. To give a quick review of the 10, it started with a loss in Minnesota. Sure the Tigers won two out of three, but the loss was the result of an 8th inning brain cramp by the infield; two errors and a balk by the pitcher. To be honest I feared this series with the Twins since historically the Twins have had the Tigers number. I read an interesting fact which proves this, the Twins, at the start of the year were 32-20 at Comerica.

Then it was off to Tampa for a four game set. Knowing how the DevilRays are a struggling team this, like every year, one would have thought, sweep. Yet the series started with a loss, leaving the Tigers with a rare two game losing streak. This was followed by two wins and then a loss. So instead of a series victory, this was a series split. This was the end of a ten game road trip which saw the Tigers win 6 games.

The last weekend was a home series with another AL Central opponent, the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers met them at a great time, the Indians are definately in a slide and could realistically say hopes for a playoff are long and probably not going to happen. Their hopes took a bad break when the Tigers swept them. The series was not without excitement, the Tigers won the first two in exciting fashion, especially the second game in which they won in the 9th. So here's the logic of baseball, a team will lose a game (Sunday at Minnesota) they should have won and win a game they should have lost. Then again Yogi Berra said it best: "The two words that describe baseball are 'anything can happen'". Sunday was a pitching duel that was won by the Tigers through a combination of 'small ball' and an error. Still good teams make their own luck.

This leaves game 112, against the hated Twins. Again the Twins brought to the mound their ace rookie pitcher Francisco Liriano, who was 12-2 ERA of 1.96. This may have looked like a potential loss, but the Tigers took care of him. His boxscore- ip4, HITS-10, RUNS-4, ER-4. He took the loss and his ERA went to 2.19. By the way, his ERA against the Tigers is 4.94.

The Tigers went 7-3 over the last 10 games. They are now 10 games up on the White Soxs.

I'm not sure if it's time to start this but Detroit's magic number is 42. Which also happens to be the ultimate answer to life, the Universe and everything.

1984 vs 2006

GP W L Pct GB Home Away


Detroit 96 65 31 .677 - 32-16 33-15

Chicago WSox 95 58 37 .611 6.5 33-15 25-22

Minnesota 95 55 40 .579 9.5 37-11 18-29

Cleveland 95 42 53 .442 22.5 23-24 19-29

Kansas City 96 34 62 .354 31.0 21-23 13-39



Much of the talk regarding the beloved Tigers has to do with comparisons. Comparing this team with the great 1984 World Champions. I heard on the radio yesterday that at 95 games the '84 Tigers were 66-29. As compared with the 64-31 2006 team. While the '84 team was great I think this year's team may be their equal.

Consider this, while we all know in 1984, the Tigers were 35-5 after 40 games, the best record for 40 for all time. This year the Tigers were 27-13 after 40, good but not as good. However, here is where it gets interesting. If the above statistics are true and as we know statistics never lie, especially when they concern baseball, the '84 Tigers were 31-24 for the next 55 games. This year the Tigers have gone 37-18. If you want further comparisons, the next 55, the '84 Tigers were playing at a .563 clip, while this year's Tigers are playing at a .672 clip. This means among other things, the Tigers have been playing at a consistent pace over the season so far, while the 1984 Tigers had an incredible start and then coasted through the season. In 1984 it was .875 for the first 40, in 2006 it was .675.

This is not to take anything away from the 1984 Tigers, they were a team for the ages and had some great players, but let's also enjoy the 2006 Tigers. Will they win the World Series, that's still too far in the future to consider. However they are a consistent team that is beginning to take every challenge and prove their mettle. To give an example, when they lost 7-1 on Tuesday, there was some concern being expressed by Tigerfan. But what does the team do? Wednesday, come from behind win. Thursday a pitching duel and another win.

I remember watching the '84 Tigers, they were great. I truly believe 2006 will be a great year and perhaps even better because this is a team that is removing the bad taste of a lot of bad seasons from the mouth of us fans.

Go get 'em Tigers!

A fan's comment on Doomsday



Thank you Rose Tyler

This blog will contain spoilers. Quite a number of them.

The final episode of this season of Dr. Who was entitled "Doomsday". In it we have the Earth being invaded by its two greatest enemies, and the two enemies of the Doctor, the Daleks and the Cybermen. A breach between two universes takes place and at first Earth is totally unaware, thinking it to be a good thing, thank you Torchwood. However it is a bad thing and the Earth is in mortal danger. It is only the work of the Doctor, Mickey, Rose, Pete Tyler and Jackie Tyler to save both worlds. They do, however Rose is transported to the other Earth, where she must stay.

This episode marks the final appearance of Rose Tyler as a companion of the Doctor. She ends having saved both planets. What else do we expect from a companion of the Doctor?

I want to say thank you to Billie Piper for her role in the revival of Doctor Who. She was a tremendous companion, one who broke the mould and set the path for other companions to follow. No longer would the companion be simply the straight person or being the classic damsel in distress. Rose was the Doctor's equal in many ways. She took charge and revealed a strength that was truly amazing. Billie Piper made this character come alive and for that we are thankful.

One other thing about Rose, only Rose could elicit an emotional response from the Doctor. She was amazing.

So thank you Billie, thank you for making Rose come alive and for being a part of the two finest seasons in the long history of Doctor Who.
One more thing, 170 days until the Christmas Doctor Who Special, which will be entitled The Runaway Bride.

My Time in Jail



A couple of weeks ago I was apprehended and incarcerated for crimes against people. I was working in my office when a member of some local constabulary, Wonder Woman and some guy with a camera stormed in and put the cuffs on me. I was dragged off, with two others to face the court system on what must be considered trumped up charges. In one respect, I was fortunately since all the charges; hiding Mad Magazine in the Old Testament, listening to AM800 and wasting my youth with Rock and Roll, and riding my bike were dropped but I was found guilty of not wearing my cap. The bail was set for $1150 and I was tossed in the jail.

Now before you begin to wonder, this was all part of the local Crime Stoppers Bail or Jail program. It was a fundraiser for Crime Stoppers. The idea was I was tossed in, given a cell phone and a phone book and would call as many people as possible in order to raise the money. I called family, friends and anyone else I could think of. The response was shock, laughter and demands for dinner as payback. It was quite an experience and ultimately a lot of fun.

MLB.com : 2006 All-Star Online Ballot

If you haven't, vote for your favourite Tiger today. In fact today is the last day you can vote for the members of the 2006 All-Star team. So click the link and vote for your favourite Tiger, in fact vote for any player that is a member of the Detroit Tiger team. The push is for Pudge to be the starting catcher.

Just vote.

Friday Afternoon Thoughts

Just a few thoughts about the week that was:

Tigers are still in first place, although only by half a game. Talk about exciting, not only are the Tigers in first but the division has a very nice power struggle going on. In any other division, the Tigers would be ahead by 10 games or, just a rough estimate, but when you're in the same division as the defending World Series Champions, Chicago White Sox, you had better bring your best to the park every night.

A couple of weeks ago I filled out one of those comment cards from the local Starbucks. Today I got a letter and a gift card for five dollars. Yes that will buy one drink, but hey its still a gift. So let that be a lesson to you, fill out the comment cards, you just never know. By the way, the Banana Coconut Frappuccino® Blended Coffee is definately worth it, as well as the Banana Creme. Go order yours today.

According to the iTunes Music store rating, Paris Hilton's new song "Stars are Blind" is at %2 on their top tunes list. We are still living in the age of Irony aren't we. You can if you're really interested watch the video that goes along with this dreck but let me save you the bother, it isn't worth the bandwidth. You know how we were told to eat out dinner because people in Africa are starving, well, don't download, don't play this song because people in Africa don't have the bandwidth, it's simply a waste of time. The song, the video is boring, it is vapid, it lasts 4 minutes and it will be the longest 4 minutes of your life. To the people who bought it off iTunes, what you had 4megs of space on your iPod you JUST had to fill. If you were that desperate to fill the time let me make some better suggestions, the white noise off the TV, the sound of a busy signal. In other words ANYTHING would be better.

Like I said this is the age of Irony and perhaps people are downloading it just to find people and say "you gotta listen to Paris Hilton, it is so ridiculous". I mean seriouly there are people who would actually enjoy it???

Look if you want to download music, check out Neko Case. Her newest CD is entitled Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Neko is a true talent, her voice and her writing abilities are the highlight of this CD. Download some of the songs, each one of them is worth the 99 cents it will cost you. Just get her songs and thank me later.

It seems we have a rabbit warren in the backyard. Yesterday I got a phone call from home saying there were some creatures in a nest on the ground. A quick call to "Wings" a local animal rescue place revealed these were baby bunnies. So, we have a nursery. The mother has been spotted yesterday and today feeding them, so things seem to be going well. Reading this article gives some interesting feedback.

Right now, we have to keep the cats away from the nest, that means either they will be inside, or someone has to watch them.

Some people may not like rabbits, but they are a part of life and have the right to exist.

I'll keep you posted.

Save the Internet

If Christopher Eccleston is the best one season Doctor of all time, then Season Two of the revised series is going to rate as one of the BEST seasons of all time. Skip that, it is. I just watched "The Satan Pit" and it is brilliant!!!!

I'm not adding any spoilers but let me say, it will have you on the edge of your seat.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, —and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor ever eagle flew—
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee Jr


Jo-Anne got her wish and flew in a single prop airplane yesterday. I hung out as a passenger to the whole thing. It was quite an experience and she did take the controls for the flight from Essex to Amherstburg. As you can see from the photos, it was quite the trip.

What is the World Doing?

This is interesting. You can type in what you're doing and add yourself to the list. You can also see what everyone else is doing as well.

Today I finally got to work on my little vegetable garden. The month of May was too busy, but today I got out the rake, shovel and started turning the soil again and adding some compost. if you are interested, the compost of choice is Sheep compost.

In my garden I have planted tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, swiss chard, cat nip, peppermint and pumpkins. Those are plants, I've also planted seeds for; sunflowers, carrots and zucchini.

Got the watering out and I'm hoping it will be a good season.


Peace

Bloggin' the Tigers

Okay, this is a blog about the Detroit Tigers, the team with Best Record in Baseball. Yes they had a bit of a slump, losing four games in a row and all that, but here's my take on all this. It was bound to happen. No team is going to win 162 games, or keep at a .700 pace, it's just not going to happen. But a detractor may say, they couldn't the Yankees/ Well, as a matter of fact, they did win 1 out of 4 against the Yankees. What was the problem, well, could be that it was just their time to put togather some bad games, or they remembered they were playing the Yankees and they thought about it. You have to understand that baseball is best played when you don't think, I believe that's a quote from Bull Durham or words to that effect.

Well, the Tigers won last night, a come from behind win in the bottom of the ninth, doesn't that sound good. Hey, the Tigers stay at a .500 clip the rest of the season, they will be 17 games above .500, or 99-63.

Go get 'em Tigers.

Big Bike for Heart and Stroke

As mentioned a number of blogs ago, I signed up with the Rotary Club of Essex to ride the Big Bike for Heart and Stroke. Today was the day and as you can see we had a blast. Here is how we started:


A good time was had by all. It was quite a work-out but we succeeded.

It's now time to start preparing for next year, by the way.


Speaking of things, I shall have a blog about the Detroit Tigers tomorrow.

Supper rules irk churches

Lately the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has been in the news due to its zeal in cracking down on the GREATEST HEALTH RISK FACING CANADIANS. What is it, you may ask. Well, let's consider the list.

Is it; West Nile? Please
How about Avian Flu? Oh get over yourself
The increase of Sexually Transmitted Diseases? What millenium are you living in.

No, the greatest health risk facing the people of Windsor and Essex County is, wait for it, the Church Supper. I know, gasp, the horror. It's true, they are going after the church supper. What they have doen is:

the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has sent letters to all churches and fraternal organizations advising them the unit will require advance notification and an inspection before any special event where food is prepared and served to the public.

Let's think about a few things, the average home is far cleaner the then best restaurant in any city, have you ever watched Restaurant Makeover? The people cooking have an interest in ensuring the food is at its best. They are aware that if anyone gets sick it will spell the end of their supper. Plus if they cook in the same environment and with the same care as they feed their own family, things should be safe.

But this logic fails in the minds of the Supper Stazi, another example of bureaucrats inventing a new way to protect us from ourselves. Or should I say, making a crisis, or dealing with a crisis where none exists.

Essex Rotary Club-2006

Here is the Rotary Club receiving the Presidential Citation for Service over the year 2006. This is a great citation and it demonstrates the work of the Club in areas such as membership, vocation, internation and community.

Way to go all.

Transparent Toaster

 

 

It's what we have been waiting for, the transparent toaster.  A company called Inventables has designed the concept that is still a few years away from showing up on the shelves of Wal-Mart. 

The concept is simple, the glass heats up and browns the bread into toast.  I can see a number of positives for this devise, the main one being you are no longer dependent on your nose to determine if the toast is done.  Usually, when you can smell your toast it is too late.  Now a quick glance up from the newspaper will allow you to gauge the time left before you have the perfect piece or pieces of toast.

It is indeed what the world has been waiting for.

 

 

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You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 80% Superman 65% Spider-Man 65% Supergirl 63% Hulk 55% Wonder Woman 53% Batman 50% The Flash 45% Catwoman 45% Robin 40% Iron Man 40%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

Sony Pictures - The Da Vinci Code

So I had opportunity to see Da Vinci Code on Monday. There was a good crowd in the theatre. So after sitting back I watched with interest the movie. Let me say I did read the book so I am familiar with the various points of historical controversy that were part of the whole Da Vinci Code.

Here is my thoughts of the movie: overall I was satisfied with it. The movie was true to the book, althought a number of scenes were cut out, but then again this is always expected with movie adaptions of books. Secondly, it is interesting to see the various misinterpretations of history, such as the whole pagan v Christian thing. While there was discussion that both sides were involved in atrocity, if you know the history of the early church it was usually the Christians that got it in the end, in fact it wasn't until 313 AD, with the Edict of Milan that there was religious tolerance throughout the Roman Empire.

There was some interesting historical cutaways, one which showed the supposed court at Nicea where it was alledged they discussed the divinity of Jesus. What was funny was the showing of the delegates in ecclesiastic robes, which would have been something considering that official persecution had just ended, so likely robes of fine material was not part of the wearing apparel.

Oh yes, I thought the movie downplayed the evidence as found in the book, the whole "Last Supper" scene made the concept of Mary Magdelene being the disciple by Jesus almost foolish. It more disproved rather then brought up proof. Perhaps it was the way Sir Ian McKellen played his character but his evidence seemed far more circumstancial and only a theory and a poor one at best.

I though Audrey Tautou was the perfect Sophie and Tom Hanks was a good Robert Langdon. Tom Hanks did give the performance of a man that was being moved along by circumstances not totally under his control, which was the case.

The cinematography was brilliant with the various scenes of the book well portrayed. The ending was a delight, the interaction between Sophie and Robert, at the end removed the risk of an anticlimax.

I would say that if you plan to see the movie, do a quick search of Leonardo Da Vinci and the history of the early Christian Church to gain a good balance.

Skype is Free

 

Perhaps you got the information by reading digg.com.  If you did you know that Skype is now making it available for people to call any telephone in North America for free.  Yes, that is the word, 'free'.

 

If you go to the Skype site you can get all the information. This is what you need to do, download the software, have a computer with high speed internet and own a headset.  When you install the software, get it running, plug in the headset and start dialing.

 

There is a information page here. 

 

Again, let me say, you can call any telephone number in North America, either a long distance one or a local. 

 

You may be wondering what the reception is like, I called a friend and we had a very nice chat and I asked him how it was sounding, it said the conversation was fine.  I could hear him clearly at my end as well.  He asked if a person could continue to work on the computer as well as use Skype so we did a quick test.  I opened up a word processor (Microsoft Works) and did a bit of typing, he said he thought there was a slight delay for just a moment, otherwise he detected nothing.

 

So let me say, it works and its worth it.  Remember free is always a good thing.  Mind you its only until the end of the year, but still, that's a lot of phone calls.

 

I want to recommend everybody download Skype and get going.

 

 

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Happy Birthday Jo-Anne

 

 

It's Official

 

My lovely wife Jo-Anne is now 50.  Here she is getting 'pinned' by her older sister Maureen.  This act started the celebration.

 

 

The sisters, from left to right- Maureen, Barb, Jo-Anne, Kathy and Beverly.

 

 

Here they are, going through a scrapbook that contained information pertaining to 1956.  Had to be in book form, since most can't remember that far back.

 

Happy Birthday Jo-Anne.

 

 

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BEELEEEVVE IT

 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

East	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Away	DIV	Streak
Boston	23	15	.605	---	11-6	12-9	17-10	Lost 1
NY Yankees	23	15	.605	---	14-7	9-8	10-7	Won 2
Toronto	22	17	.564	1 1/2	13-8	9-9	13-11	Won 1
Baltimore	19	22	.463	5 1/2	14-12	5-10	9-15	Won 1
Tampa Bay	16	24	.400	8	8-11	8-13	9-15	Lost 1
Central	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Away	DIV	Streak
Chicago WSox	26	13	.667	---	14-5	12-8	16-8	Won 1
Detroit	26	13	.667	---	10-6	16-7	15-7	Won 6
Cleveland	19	21	.475	7 1/2	10-9	9-12	11-12	Won 2
Minnesota	17	23	.425	9 1/2	12-8	5-15	7-16	Lost 4
Kansas City	10	27	.270	15	8-8	2-19	10-16	Lost 5
West	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Away	DIV	Streak
Oakland	20	19	.513	---	9-10	11-9	11-6	Won 3
Texas	20	19	.513	---	9-12	11-7	6-6	Lost 2
LA Angels	17	23	.425	3 1/2	8-11	9-12	6-8	Lost 1
Seattle	17	24	.415	4	9-13	8-11	6-9	Lost 2

 

 

This is a little off, because as I write this the Detroit Tigers have a one game lead over the defending World Series Champions, Chicago White Soxs.

 

Just meditate on that fact; Detroit, first place, best record in baseball.  Hard to imagine considering just two years ago they were the laughing  stock of the game.  An interesting bit of baseball trivia for all of you; whenever the Tigers have had a record of 27+ wins after 40 games, they have averaged 97+ wins for that season.  If this holds true the they will be in contention not only for the wild card but perhaps the Central Division title.

 

Now I know, there's still a lot of baseball to be played, and they have a challenging schedule but why can't we believe they can take the challenge on and do well?

 

By the way, for the record, Tigers have won 7 straight and have owned the Minnesota Twins, 6-0 at home and 1-2 in Minnesota.  Not bad, not bad at all.

 

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My New Sunday night Ritual

 

 

With the beauty of the Internet, I have a new ritual.  Each Sunday night, I make myself a bowl of popcorn, pour myself a glass of juice and fire up the computer.  I then start up the Media Center and start the new Doctor Who episode. 

 

I mentioned in an earlier blog I have found a place that shows the new episodes that feature David Tennant as our beloved Doctor and Billie Piper as his companion Rose Tyler.  So far this season, Rose's boyfriend Mikey, played by Noel Clarke has joined the crew but so far not as an equal.  He has felt a bit like the third wheel and really not that important.  By the way, the wikipedia article quotes from one of the British newspapers that (spoiler warning) Noel is leaving after the second part of the Cyberman episode.

 

I watched the Cybermen episode last night and it was a cliffhanger, the Doctor and his group surrounded by Cybermen who have decided they are to be deleted. 

 

The Cybermen are an interesting addition to a season which has seen the return of Sarah Jane Smith and K9 as well as reference to both Canada and a previous companion of the Doctor.  Also there is the setting of the stage of the new Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, which will be interesting.  In last night's episode there was a one-off mention of Torchwood, it was just in passing and you had to listen close.

 

So I plan to keep this going until the end, which will be during the first week of July, and then in the Fall, I'll watch the series on the CBC.  Hold it, just found this information.  So June 20th, that's fantastic.

 

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Qumana

You may have noticed the little comment that this is powered by Qumana.  Qumana is a desktop blog editor that provides tools for blogging.  Not only can you type and edit a blog, you can also add advertisement and tags.

 

There is an interesting overview of the software and what it does.  You can configure it so that once completed you can post your blog to your favourite blog site by just clicking on a link.

 

It's interesting and may be something you want to use.

 

 

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Family Fun

Okay, first of all the names are being changed to protect the innocent.

 

Stephanie may figure the story out.  It has to do with two of her nieces, let's call them Lynnkate and Chelra.  It seems Lynnkate and Chelra were having an argument at the dinner table.  Lynnkate who is the eldest of the children was telling the younger she was stupid and couldn't do anything.

 

Chelra who is indeed the younger responded by saying there was one thing Lynnkate could not do.  This brought the response from Lynnkate that she could do everything.  Chelra looked at her sister and said the one thing Lynnkate couldn't do was "shut up".  This brought about a spasm of comments from Lynnkate to which Chelra calmly stated, 'see, you can't shut up'.

 

The parents of course couldn't respond as they could, but the father said they both laughed once the daughters left the table.

 

Chelra is a very smart little girl and it is a good thing she uses his wisdom for good.  However I fear she may be seduced by the dark side of the Force.Technorati Tags : family, one-liners

 

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I found this excellent article from Encarta.

Enjoy

10 Reasons Baseball Is a Weird Sport
Baseball is the American national pastime and many people take the game rather seriously. In our earnest dedication, we may sometimes lose sight of some of the game's striking peculiarities. So let's take a step back for a moment and review the top 10 reasons baseball is one weird sport.

1. If a batter fails two-thirds of the time, they're still considered an excellent batter. It's too bad this standard isn't applied to everything else in life.

2. It is legal to "steal" in this game. This is, perhaps, a questionable example for children.

3. If you aren't such a good hitter, you can have a pinch hitter bat for you. If you aren't such a fast runner, you can have someone--a pinch runner--come in and run for you. At what point, you might wonder, is a team entirely comprised of "pinch" players?

4. There's a rule preventing pitchers from spitting on the ball. They can spit anywhere else they like, apparently.

5. If a batter walks with the bases loaded, he is credited with an RBI (Run Batted In). That's right: even though he didn't hit the ball.

6. The game is played on dirt and grass, but if the ball gets dirty, it is replaced with a new clean ball.

7. If a batter accidentally hits the catcher when swinging, it's the catcher's fault, even if the catcher gets injured. The batter is awarded a base. The catcher gets an apology, if he's lucky.

8. The coaches and managers wear the same uniforms as the players.

9. When a pitcher walks a batter, the batter jogs to first base. Incongruous, but it is a nice show of effort.

10. The 7th-inning stretch makes baseball the only sport where spectators must take part in calisthenics.

It's a easy as eatin' a pancake

That quote, and photograph comes from the Space: Above and Beyond episode Ray Butts. This was another one of Fox's science fiction series that they managed to screw up. A forerunner if you wish of Firefly. The show centered on the lives of five Marines, members of the 58th Squadron, also known as the Wildcats.

Earth was at war with a mysterious race only called the Chiqs. Each week the show examined the lives of the five and their interaction with each other, other soldiers and the Chiqs.

The series only lasted one season and it certainly deserved more.

Big Bike Ride for Heart and Stroke

 

 

A few blogs ago I mentioned I was going to participant on the Big Bike for Heart and Stroke.  I gave some information but I don't know if it was correct. 

 

Here is the email they suggest for use:

 

I am participating in the Big Bike for Stroke in support of the Heart
and Stroke Foundation. You can help me raise funds for the Heart and
Stroke Foundation by sponsoring me online. Just click the link at the
bottom of this e-mail to access my secure pledge page.     

The Heart and Stroke Foundation is committed to protecting the health
of millions of Canadians.  With almost 40% of Canadians expected to
develop some form of heart disease and stroke over their lifetime, the
Foundation’s leadership in understanding the root causes of these diseases,
and in the development and delivery of health education and advocacy
programs, is critical. The majority of funds come from people like you
and these initiatives couldn’t continue without your support.

To make your pledge online, click the link below to access my secure
pledge page.  An electronic tax receipt will be sent to you immediately
via e-mail. 

Thank you for your support.


https://ww2.heartandstroke.ca/Secure/Page.asp?PageID=1450&RecordID=73825

so click on the link and support.

 

thanks

 

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Tigers Finish April with 16 Wins

 

As you know, my daughter Stephanie has been blogging about the Detroit Tigers.  As one of her favoutite teams, she's actually never grown up and seen them have a good season, until now. The Tigers have just finished a very nice month of April.  If you want to know the particulars, the won 16 games, the most wins in the month of April since the glorious 1984 season, when the team went 35-5 and won the World Series.  They also enjoyed 5 shut outs, which is the most ever.  When you think of the long history of the Tigers that is amazing.

What has done this for the Tigers has to be the pitching.  I know what you must be thinking, Pitching amd Tigers isn't the combination most think of when thinking of the Tigers, yet it's true. Right now the Tigers have a combined team ERA of 3.35, which is the best in the AL and the second best in MLB.  If you want to compare, last year the team's ERA was 4.51 and in 2003, when the only won 43 games it was 5.30, so in the space of three years, their average has decreased by almost 2 runs per game. 

I know some will say that there's still a lot of baseball to be played and certainly that is true, but on the other hand, they've played 25 games and they won 16 of them and that's 16 wins they don't have to try and get at another time of the year.

Go Tigers

 

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while on the subject of Television shows such as Doctor Who, another one I've been re-introduced to is one from the 60's. The show in question is The Time Tunnel. Each week the adventure would start with the following narrative:

Two American scientists are lost in the swirling maze of past and future ages, during the first experiments on America's greatest and most secret project, the Time Tunnel. Tony Newman and Doug Phillips now tumble helplessly toward a new fantastic adventure, somewhere along the infinite corridors of time

That is the premise, two scientist decide to test the new invention, the time tunnel to see if they could travel back and forth in time. The problem being, they were able to enter it and travel but to the end of the series, they couldn't get out. They were lost in time, as it were. Each week the viewers would witness history through the eyes of the travellers and the crew working on the Time Tunnel. The hope was always rescue, but it never worked. They could get them out of the situation but they couldn't bring them back to the present.

The show was the work of Irwin Allen, the man who gave us Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space and other television science fiction shows. He became equally famous in the 70's for disaster movies by the way.

I've only watched a few episodes and I must admit I am impressed; considering this was the 60's the sets are quite elaborate. The adventures are interesting enough and are enjoyable. I do remember watching some of the episode, I'm sure I saw all of them when it was running way back when, so it is rediscovering an old favourite.

So do your own google and do some time travelling of yoru own.

BBC - Doctor Who - Tooth and Claw - Starring David Tennant and Billie Piper

The beauty of the Internet is the fact it does transcend both time and space. What I mean by that is a show broadcast in the UK and not available until the Fall can be found. Case in point, Doctor Who; the BBC has just commenced showing the new season, which does feature David Tennant as the new Doctor. Those of us who are fans caught his introduction with the The Christmas Invasion.

I have to admit I am a huge fan of Christopher Eccleston who brought the character of the Doctor back in a big way. He gave life back to the Doctor and made the first season a tremendous success.

I am not going to post any spoilers but let me say, David Tennant takes the role and makes it his own. We are introduced to some new characters and some old 'friends', yes Billie Piper is back as Rose and the first episode shows us another side to her, after she encounters an old 'friend'.

The second episode is fantastic, a period piece and there is something for fans of the second doctor as well as Canadians, and if you find out what both of them are, you can email to me.

I just saw upcoming for the third episode and it looks like another treat.

The Doctor is Back!

APPLE'S NO. 1 HIT By TIM ARANGO - New York Post Online Edition: business

No kidding.

The Recording Industry has to capitulate. If they had decided to say "we're not going to work with you Steve". Steve would have simply said "That's fine". Remember Apple once had as its slogan "Rip, Mix, Burn". That was for the owners of Apple computers, but to the recording industry, the slogan was taken to mean 'screw you'.

So the bottom line, there's a whole lot of ipods out there and they will get filled with music. The source of that music will depend upon whether the industry and demonstrate it does possess a modicum of brains. Either from Apple iTunes Music Store or from the Internet. The owners of all those ipods probably don't care where the music comes from; the majority would like it from the Music Store. But if the industry plays stupid there's always Limewire or the various newsgroups, or chat, or, well you get the idea.

Welcome to Thru the Bible Radio--The Bible Study Program Taught by Dr. J. Vernon McGee! - Thru the Bible

This has been a special week for those who enjoy the radio ministry of the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee. His radio program "Thru the Bible Radio" is starting another 5 year series of going through the Bible. As they like to say, the Bible Bus is just starting to pull out of the station and start another journey through the entire word of God.

I've been a listener for over 20 years and this is a very exciting moment.

I don't listen to Dr. McGee on the radio anymore, since I don't know what stations broadcast him in my area, but that doesn't matter. Thanks to the Apple iTunes Music Store I can download the program to my iPod Mini and listen to the programs at my convenience. As well, the programs are also available for listening on my computer so again I'm not limited.

So, if you want a good solid study of the Bible, this is a good place to start. His approach is straight-forward and clear. As he enjoyed saying, he always placed the cookie jar on the bottom shelf where the kiddies can get some. What he meant was this, a simple approach which appealed to the long time student of the Word and the first timer.

Give him a listen.

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada

For this blog I want to encourage people to sponsor me for the Heart and Stroke Foundation "Big Bike" Event. The "Big Bike" is that, a big bike in which I and about 20 others will be riding to raise money for research into heart and stroke.

If you would like to sponsor me, click on the above and scroll down to "sponsor a participant".

When you do that you will be forwarded to "Search Result" and there, click on the link "Click Here to Pledge Online". There you a window will open with all the information you will need to pledge an amount.

This is my second time riding and I look forward to those of you who can pledge to give me your support.

I'll post pixs of the ride.

Thank you for your support.

» Google Calendar is live! | Googling Google | ZDNet.com

It is up and it is running. The much anticipated Google calendar. It's got some nice features and is worth having.

all you need is a google account and you are in.

go to http://calendar.google.com and start using.

Iran Reports Big Advance in Enrichment of Uranium - New York Times

So Iran has the ability to build The Bomb, or so some would have us believe. Myself, I'm not sure. It is possible they have as their ultimate goal the manufacturing of a nuclear weapon and of course, the first target will be the nation Israel, but more on that later.

I did some digging and discovered that enriched uranium is required for power generation. Here is a quote from Wikipedia:

Enriched uranium is a critical component for both civil nuclear power generation and military nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency attempts to monitor and control enriched uranium supplies and processes in its efforts to ensure nuclear power generation safety and curb nuclear weapons proliferation

.

It is possible this is part of the reason. The other could be simply as a means of to quote from Shakespeare, biting their thumb at the USA and the world. After all, you can't push around Iran, not that anyone has been doing just that, but when you have a crazy running the country...

By the way, the biting of the thumb was an insult and I quote from Romeo and Juliet:

Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them;
which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it.

So there you go.

Now what about Israel? Certainly they would feel like they are first on the list of nations to be nuked if and when Iran develops the capability to deliver a nuclear warhead. Well I have one simple word that is both a comfort for Israel and a warning to Iran, Zecharaih 2:8. Let me quote it:

"Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of Babylon!" 8 For this is what the LORD Almighty says: "After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye- 9 I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. [a] Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.

To sum it up God is saying to the world, you mess with Israel, you mess with me. For some reason I don't think it would be to Iran's long term health prospects to try anything against Israel. I don't know if President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a reader of my blog but I do want to give him some free advice, don't develop the bomb. Period. If you do and if you try it against Israel it will not be very good for you.

By the way, I decided to do a word search on Persia and discern what prophecies were written concerning that land. The only one of reference is Ezekiel 38:5; here they are part of an alliance that invades Israel. If you read the rest of Ezekiel 38 and then chapter 39 you will discover the invasion failed miserably.

Just some sage words for the President of Iran.

My daughter Stephanie had a blog about baseball, actually she had two. She beat me to the punch. Rather then I waxing eloquent about the Game, let me share with you some Baseball Quotes:

Baseball is Heaven's gift to mortals."

George Wills

A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz.

-Humphrey Bogart

I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us.

-Walt Whitman

Strikeouts are boring - besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls. More democratic.

-"Crash"Davis, from the movie Bull Durham

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.

-A. Bartlett Giamatti

I love baseball. You know, it doesn't have to mean anything. It's just very beautiful to watch.

-Leonard Zelig( Woody Allen) from the move Zelig

Hating the New York Yankees is as American as apple pie, unwed mothers and cheating on your income tax.

~Mike Royko

Baseball is a game where a curve is an optical illusion, a screwball can be a pitch or a person, stealing is legal and you can spit anywhere you like except in the umpire's eye or on the ball.

-Jim Murray

The one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again."

-James Earl Jones from Field of Dreams

One more thing- Tigers are 5-0 as of this day.

At Last, Movies to Keep Arrive on the Internet - New York Times

At least its a Start

Usually I spend my blogging time bad mouthing Big Entertainment but for this I will change my tune. I want to commend the major Studios for at least starting to get with the plan. Over the years people have been complaining about the reticience of Big Entertainment to release media onto the Internet. Not that it ultimately mattered since it found its way there anyways, thank you ripping software. Now six major studios want to devise a plan to make their movies available for download over the Internet.

As I read the article it mentioned that one online company will have 300 movies and another 75 but I don't think the amount is that important today, its that it's there for the downloading. Some are complaining about the price, but I think there will be fluctuation of that and a proper amount will be forthcoming. Read the article. It is a step in the right direction and hopefully we will see more of this sort of thing happening. So to the major studios, good on you for entering the 21st Century.

Of course, after this good news comes this article. Yes the major recording companies are complaining about the standard $0.99 price per download that Apple charges through the Apple iTunes music store. Here's what it comes down to:

Jobs has argued that recording companies already make more profit by selling a song through iTunes than on a CD, which carries extra marketing and manufacturing costs.

“So if they want to raise the prices, it just means they’re getting a little greedy,” Jobs said at the Apple Expo in Paris in September.

The push by labels reflects an industrywide scramble to reap the most from a business model that only three years ago seemed unlikely to survive amid overwhelming online piracy.

Before we forget why this all works is the fact that consumers aren't feeling ripped off by it. There is a feeling that the price asked for is a good one and no one is complaining. You know the music industry likes to throw around the word 'pirate' a great deal but at this time they forget it. Steve Jobs is right, they are making a good deal of money off iTunes and will continue as long as the consumers are kept happy. Make them angry again and hello the next Napster, or LimeWire or Kazaa. These stand ready in the wing, all that's required is consumers who feel they are getting ripped off and they won't pay the outrageous sums. It happened before and it will happen again.

Suggestion: keep it to a maximum of $0.99 a download and perhaps lower. Keep your customers happy and watch the money continue to roll in. Make them angry and watch the p2p networks explode again.

eMachines Desktops: T6532 Product Details

After five years with a Pentium 1.0Gig machine, we decided to get a new one. This is it.

Now for the story. The family has been complaining about the speed of the old machine and the fact it was freezing and crashing. So we went to Best Buy, although not for the reasons of buying a new machine. We looked around and saw some emachines. By the way BestBuy had one of those

24 months equal payment

option.

The first machine we looked at was the T6528. It had double the memory and double the hard drive space. It was a package and came with a flat screen monitor. We thought it was a good deal and agreed. Just as we got ready to make the purchase the sales representative looked and noticed they were all out, he said he could issue a rain cheque but then went to talk to his supervisor. He came back a few minutes later and ask if we would take a better machine for the same price.

After some deliberation we agreed and so we ended up with the T6532 which has 1 Gig of RAM, 200 Gig HD and is screaming fast. Now playing "Need for Speed" is really speed and I should imagine such things as Sims and Tiger Woods will be equally impressive.

The old machine has been retired and is down in the basement, we have some things to take off it and we will. We haven't decided what to do yet but we will. The girls are fighting over taking it to University, although I think it would be better for them to buy new machines for themselves.

By the way, the 9-in-1 card reader is a very interesting feature.

Later

Sudoku

Yes, I will admit it. I've become interested in Sudoku. One article I read suggests this is the Rubik's Cube of the 21st century. I was visiting someone and saw a small book of Sudoku and became interested. The local paper has been running sudoku puzzles every day, but I didn't take the time to read the rules. However, this person told me I could pick up a book for $0.99 at a local bargain store and so today I did.

Let me tell you, this is interesting and what's even more interesting is the availability of the game on the internet. One site offers daily sudoku puzzles for printing.

The rules are straightforward enough:

Fill in the grid so that every row,
every column, and every 3x3 box
contains the digits 1 through 9.

Of course that's where the fun comes in. Trying to figure out where the numbers go, not only in the small grid, but both horizontal and vertical.


There are all sorts of tips and strategy pages out there, so discover this fascinating game.