H1N1 - The pandemic

Ok, so now that some of the madness over who should get the shot first is over, I got the shot today, the adjuvanted vaccine. My arm is still sore right at the injection site. It kind of feels like a bruise.

Lions, Tigers and Bears

My picks for NFL week #11 games includes Lions, Tigers and Bears. Hoping for a better week after last week's mauling.

2010 Olympic Flame

The lighting of the 2010 Olympic flame happens in a couple of hours from now. It will spend the next week touring ancient Greek sites. On October 29, 2009, it gets handed to officials from Vancouver's Olympic Organizing committee (VANOC). This is the route the flame will take once it touches down on Canadian soil. Interesting factoid, the flame will break the first record of the 2010 Games, as part of the longest domestic torch relay in Olympic history.

Learning to be frugal.

Whether by necessity or just survival instinct, I think people in general have become more frugal or at least conscious of their spending lately. Thanks in no small part of course, to the world-wide economic downturn. Here's a cool website I found on this blog.

I've been checking in on a few personal finance blogs this month and will eventually update my blog roll and post anything that I find particularly interesting. This is probably a result of nerves regarding the stock market and the month of October.

Lotto Max - Catchy tune?

The catchy tune in the current promotional ads for the new national (Canadian) lottery is here. The embed feature has been disabled so follow the link.

Blogger code - Then and now.

Back in 2002, when I first created this blog, my blogger code was this:

B1 d- t- k s u f i o x e+ l+ c

Now, it's more robust as you can see in the sidebar. Links from each code will lead to a decoder.

Hello Again.

I am back after a few years absence. Google has taken over since my last blog post and the template and other personalization has been lost. I haven't had a chance to look up any of my former blog roll but, hope to do that in the coming days.

Fantasy NHL Hockey Pools - an update (week14)

faceoff.com team - 5,562 place

Y! Sports - rotisserie league - 1 of 12

Y! Sports - head to head league - 1 of 12

Woo, look at me go, heh.

Thursday Threesome

Onesome: Commercial - Are there any TV commercials that really grab you? I mean, to the point you want to show them to other people?

Well, maybe not show other people. But, there was one commercial on over the holidays about having some guy having completed his christmas shopping online. He promptly drove to the mall to proclaim, "I'm done, I'm done, I'm crispy I'm so done". I may have uttered that a couple of times on December 23, 2002.

Twosome: Holiday - Valentine's Day is coming up, do you celebrate the holiday or do you prefer to just let it pass you by?

I'll acknowledge the holiday, but try not to get to tied up in the commercialism of it all. I mean look at Christmas. It was originally about the birth of a boy.

Threesome: Madness - Even if you don't celebrate it, do you sucumb to the madness and buy up boxes of chocolates, just for you?

For me, no. But, I do know others that have a much larger sweet tooth than I.

Ok, so he's not a registered pig farmer

According to servustats, the second highest source of search referrals to this blog comes from the search term, "pig farm". I don't believe I've ever referred to Picton, the accused, as a pig farmer, so I should be clear on that charge. But, according to the upset industry group ...

"Robert Pickton never registered as a pig farmer with BC Pork. In fact, he had more sheep on his property than he had pigs!"

Minor maintenance notes

I suspect the hits to this blog will drop off now as the YSL M7 ad posting has entered my archives. If you're still looking for it, here's the link.

I've tinkered a bit with the blog chalking link on this page. I'm not sure what the status of the project is, but in any event, it's warping the way this page is intended to appear on some browsers. Looks are everything, huh? I've dropped the link on this page, and will adjust the archived pages as time permits.

I've been battling what I hope is my usual once yearly cold, so hopefully postings will resume at their normal speed once I get over this.

Thursday Threesome

Onesome: Postage - Hey, did all your packages and cards get delivered? ... or are you (or perhaps someone on the receiving end) still expecting something 'any day now'?

All my cards were sent out before Christmas, just barely for some though, so I wouldn't be surprised if a few arrived late. Most of my gift exchanges are local and hence personal deliveries. I have friends and family birthdays before and after the Santa rush, so it's a bit of a challenge to differentiate.

Twosome: Due - Are you due for a break after all the excitement of the holidays? ... or are you just moving on with life? Maybe the upcoming weekend is a good thing to see on the horizon?

I'm always due for a break. I like the excitement of the holidays but it can and does take a toll on my sometimes hectic schedule. Spa day?

Threesome: Two cents - What's your two cents on things wintery? Has it been one you can handle so far or a bit too much for your taste?

I'm a big fan of things wintery ... the snow, the cold, the shorter days ... wearing long coats, scarves and gloves ... holiday shopping, christmas parties, eggnog and gingerbread.

2003 - Happy New Year

Wherever and however you celebrate ... enjoy and be safe.

Herb Ritts

You will be missed. An early gem here.

Thursday Threesome

Onesome: Merry - Merry times? Hey, did you have a Merry Christmas? How did things turn out for you and yours after all the work and time you put in preparing for the big day?

I had a great Christmas, thanks for asking. Lots of food, family and friends. My absolute favorite present ... here.

Twosome: Christmas - Christmas presents? Did you get what you wanted from Santa? ... or are you headed back to the stores with the rejects on 'Reverse Shopping Day'?

Yup, I did (see Onesome). In Canada, December 26 is Boxing Day, a national holiday. In recent years, it's become one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year. Or as Iike to refer to it, the day to go buy 'everything you wanted but didn't get for Christmas'.

Threesome: Everyone! - Is everyone back to the normal routine today, like work and homemaking and such. ... or are you still entertaining? ... or maybe just taking a well deserved break from it all?

I'm still trying to recover from all the pushing and shoving at the Boxing Day sales yesterday. My biggest coup was the pair of Kenneth Cole Reaction mules, regularly priced at C$220, snagged for C$80.

Seasons Greetings

Happy Holidays to those that are celebrating the season.

I know it's been two weeks since my last entry and I'm hoping that I haven't lost any regular viewers ... heh. There have been four, count them, technicians from the cable company in to try and figure out why my cable signal has been intermittent in the last two weeks. Of course, that's four different explanations as to why it's happening. My favorite is the one about a possible Nintendo game running interference somewhere nearby. My question was then, do you think it's Mario or Zelda?

The Scibble Pad records it's 1000th visitor today!

> Insert shameless self-promotion here <

Thanks :)

What to throw out and when?

Table of condiments that periodically go bad.

If you're like me and throw out things only when it becomes unrecognizable, print the table and stick it on the fridge. Thanks to ||| trr ||| for the link.

Careers Section

To the person in charge of exciting new adventures ... I'm ready for my next one.

The pig farm - preliminary hearing update

Judge David Stone rejects the need for a complete publication ban on pretrial hearings.

"Under Canadian law, reporters are allowed to attend the hearings but cannot publish details of the evidence until it is presented to a jury at a trial.

Defense attorney Peter Ritchie had complained the court's standard publication ban was inadequate because this case was getting international media coverage and the law cannot cover foreign journalists, whose material would be available in Canada via the Internet and other means."

Pretrial hearing scheduled to begin January 13, 2003.

Thursday Threesome

Onesome: Free - Do you watch the ads for "Buy this and get this trinket free" just so you can get that second gift? ... and then wonder what to do with the first one?

Not guilty unless you count the fries at Mickey D's during the hockey card promotions.

Twosome: Gift - How the heck do you figure out how to buy gifts for family members? You know, the ones with no list who say, "Oh, whatever ... "

Well, my favorite place to shop for 'whatever' has been Crate & Barrel. Even for myself, heh.

Threesome: Wrapping - Are you a wrapping maven? ... or are are you wrappingly challenged? Who does the gift wrapping around your place anyway?

Wrappingly challenged. My mother would die if she ever saw some of the packages I've had to wrap on my own. She's the wrapping maven -- crisp corners, tape used sparingly and hidden, of course, plus her ribbons and bows are impeccable -- help!

The pig farm - freedom of speach at risk?

The defendant's lawyers are in court asking for a complete ban on proceedings at the preliminary hearing, because "it was the only way to ensure a free trial in the age of the Internet".

"News organizations in U.S. cities along the border have clashed before with Canadian courts over the ban, and a lawyer representing several Seattle television stations said Ritchie's sweeping request was "trying to shut down ideas.""

Stay tuned.

Where did they come from?

I was reviewing my blog stats over at Servustats and was surprised to see that this page registered 127 hits on November 27, 2002. Now, it didn't matter that I wasn't in town, so to speak, but other than the counter, there was no trace evidence of that traffic -- no comment(s), no guestmap mark. So, I did some more digging and found the magnet -- the YSL M7 ad. Does sex sell? I don't know the answer to that, but it seems to help increase blog traffic. If any of you November 27th visitors return, let me know somehow.

Thank you ... now back to your regular programming.