Puppy Love

Here's Phil and Chloe, we saw him and Amanda in Eau Claire on Monday/Tuesday... Amanda wasn't around when the camera was... next time

It's freakin raining in Cochrane

Well, I'm almost done my stint in lovely Cochrane Ontario, and it's frickin raining here... We've had about a foot of fresh snow since Tuesday, but now it's raining... ugh. I'm about as bloated as a muskrat that's been dead for a couple weeks... Sooo many sweets and main dishes, then dessert, then snacks, then more sweets, then more food... I love this time of year, and i despise it all at once...

And another thing, I bring some hockey sticks and skates in hopes of playing on an outdoor rink as I do every time I'm up here in winter, and behold, NO RINK... I ask some locals that I come across, and they seem baffled that there was ever an outdoor rink, and point me towards the local arena for "public skating"... I despise public skating, no sticks or pucks allowed, too may small childrens getting in the way... ugh. So, I sit and eat, and long for some form of excercise that I enjoy, and alas... it's raining now. Maybe newyears eve will not be spent at a party as suspected, but maybe here, if the roads ice up tonight. oi

Turning Tricks for the Ol' Folks

Hey, today I made some quick and easy money, which made me rethink my career choice... I got $40 for snowblowing 2 driveways, about 1 hours work. Now, all I need to do is scope out some neighborhoods where a lot of older people reside. Then I buy a house, and a snowblower. Then, when storms hit, I go blow out my driveway when lots of old people are out shovelling, prompting them to offer cash for my snow clearing service. The Snowbloer would pay for itself, and I'd be filthy rich! All in theory of course...

Board Silly

Well, Chicopee's been open in the evening for 4 straight days and Faith and I have been out snowboarding 4 times...  Tonight was nice, due to the large amount of natural snow, making the hills like white fields of butter...  mmm... 

 

On another note...  Wha Happen!  Frickin snow storm.  Stupid drivers...  I went to work today, unlike some people...  and I had no real problem getting there, despite the retarted streets...  I had to shovel out one co-worker, and some asian guy from down the street.  The latter, I had to take the wheel of his small car because the idea of rocking the car out of a rut seemed to be foreign... ah well...  I think my ol condition is acting up again.  Might have to miss work tomorrow...  the ol' SHOVEL ELBOW is at it again...

Howdy!

It's Christmas dressup time for the cats... It's picking cold out there, so they need a little extra warmth...


Jooje is quite elegant in her wool sweater

Do you hear what I hear?

Well folks, now begins my car's identity crisis.  For the past several months, it had been enjoying a modified exhaust system that made my little Accent sound beefier, manlier...  Thanks to the muffler repair guy, my car is back to it's effeminate old self.  No longer do I need to shut my car off whenst I proceed through the drive-thu... my car is quiet now. 

 

Even more remarkably, I am now a certified mechanic.  I now know 2 procedures which, I think, encompass the world of auto-repair, making me an expert.  I am the master already of changing ye old air filter, but now my repetoire has expanded to the world of automotive computers.  I used to be scared of computers, saying things like, "I don't even know how to turn it on..." and "what's the mouse do?  that's a stupid name for the pointy thingy...".  I have greaduated to the space age, completing the task of resetting my car computer. 

 

Genius!

 

All it took was a mere 5 minutes of disconnectivity of the positive polar power junction and BAM!  That tough ol' computer doesn't seem all that tough any more... do you?  Now my car no longer tells me to "CHECK ENGINE" all the time... duh... I know the engines there, otherwise I coldn't drive anywhere.  Stupid computers... when will they learn that us humans are much much smrter.

Monday seems so far... sigh

Blasted Chicopee... I take back everything nice I've said about them recently. It's just not true...

I recently got good news that Chicopee was opening for the season this Saturday! Hooray! Then I find out that on Saturday, my already purchased evening lift pass is no good as they are only open 8:30-4:30... It's just not right... Sure there's discounted lift passes, but I'm not paying anything! I deserve better...

now I have to wait, for eternity it seems, to go snowboarding for the first time this year. Monday evening, why must you be so far away?!?

A Mighty Wind is Blowing... Wha Happen!?!

Well, it's getting colder, and the Mighty Chicopee is making snow... This picture wasn't taken today, but I did drive by this evening, and it is a fairly accurate portrayal... Snow flying high in the air, lit up by the evening ski hill lights... Almost time for my 2nd snowboarding season, and I'm pumped... That's what I'll do instead of watching NHL hockey... jerks.

This is ZIMA!

Zimminy Ziggetts

Question: Anyone ever have the pleasure of ever drinking a Zima? I was always intrigued by Zima growing up, but never got to drink one as it was long gone by the time I was "of age"... just wondering.

Sucks to your ass-mar fatty!

Well... it's 5:40am and I am awake, not by choice, but because of difficulty breathing.  I think I'm rounding out now after taking every athsma and allergy drug I have at my disposal, but man this sucks.  Feels like a 900lb midget is standing on my chest when I'm trying to breathe.  What a thought!  900lb midget... he he... 

 

Survivor 9 is over now, congrats to Chris for the uexpected victory.  He played his way into the final 2 in the last few weeks which is amazing considering he was only still in the game because of the stupid older men's alliance in the first episode...  I really didn't enjoy him on the show until the last few shows.  Even then, it was only because he stuck around long enough for the women to turn on each other that he had any chance.  Kudos to him for screwing over his "closest allies" and still managing to get their votes in the end.  "Snif, snif.... i'm so sorry for what I done... I done you wrong..." 

 

Just goes to show ya that I know nothing about picking the winner of survivor.  I either pick a character that is likable (ie Rupert) or a random hot chick, and they never win.  bah, I'm done with this.

 

at least until survivor 10: Palau...  looks cool, what with the war remnants such as sunken battleships and crashed planes and old rusty tanks...  They'll sucker me once more... and I'll pick the nice guy or hot chick and I won't win the survivor pool at work...again...  

A Special Treet

Yep, It's officially Christ-mas season.... he tree went up tonight, now all that's left is the presents under it... Really, It looks a lot nicer in person.

Lost...

Anyone else hooked on this show?  It just reels you in and makes you want, oh, so much more...  It's no fair.  But oh so good.  I never knew that the Baywatch CPR worked that far from the beach, but heck, I liked Charlie...  didn't want him killed off, and besides, it just falls into the category of all the weird things that happen on that island on a seemingly regular basis...   If you haven't seen this show, hop on ol' Suprnova.org and download some quality television...  You won't be sorry.

 

New A-fort-able Cat Housing

Another great sneek peek photo...

Joojeskull: Pro-moat-ing Excellence in Feline Housing.

Yet again, Jooje brings you the scoop... Castle Joojeskull is nearing completion, and here are some poparazzi pictures to prove it. Stand in awe of the amazing structure that Time Magazine calls "Stunning... an...absolute...piece of...mastery."

Kicking the Habit

It's wintery again, and along comes one of my favouite winter activities.... kicking the slush off the car... I just can't get enough of the satisfaction of kicking a large piece of frozen slush off the wheel-well of my car... Anybody else enjoy this? Let me know.

Just thinkin...

I was thinking today, while at work... I know I'm not paid to think, but I do it anyways...  Well...  I want a pop machine.  There, I've said it.  Someday, I want to own a pop machine in my house and stock it, so I don't have to clutter my fridge with pop cans.  And I can resurrect the Mystery Pop button.  It's a cheap way to gamble, putting various cans of pop in a single section, making you think twice about buying a pop.   Just a thought.

Dan

Rost in Transration

Hey, been a week...  just been lazy...  bought a cheap mp3 player off ebay, chasing the wind, so to speak, trying to get something good for real cheap...  It cam in this week, directly from hong kong, and guess what!

 

IT DOESN'T WORK PROPERLY!

 

Like I should be surprised, I am ticked...  The guy in HK  is pretty nice, and is very helpful, so I will eventually get a working one if I don't get this one up and running properly.  The user manual should have tipped me off that I was in for a hassle (as if the $36cdn mp3 player wasn't a worning sign already).  Anywho, heres some quotes from the user manual.  You may think that these few snippits are just the few mistakes, but I beg to differ.  The entire user manual is written like this... 

 

"can pass the microphonr recording and keep to WAV and ACT speech text file of the frmat, the eligibility chooses the part replies to read or contrast to reply to read" - I think explaining the voice recorder function.

 

"strong and big automatic manhunt broadcasting station 40 different frequencies(20 in one), make yoi relaxed to the program" - explaining the scan fm radio function

 

"Blanced machine in 7 kinds of tone colour" - talking about the EQ settings

 

"-All cartoon list - animation menu that keep the view, match with the homologous writing elucidation, you can easily use it" - I could easily use it if I knew what the crap it's talking about...

 

"When the battery uses up almost, diagram the mark is central to change into the blank, at this time should on time replace the battery." - Battery power meter instructions

 

"Pass to presss "Mode" key can enter to all level menu.  the menu is divided into main course single (the ceasing is to grow to press into), broadcast of submenu (short press into) with submenu (short press into) that stop the hour." - ........

 

Then there's the "difficult questions" part...

 

"having no power:  whether right gearing, whether turning on the player" - very helpful

 

"effection of FM is not good:  turn off the electric power eqips nearby"

 

Oi...  ah well...  I'm a sucker... hopefully I'll get a working player sometime...  I really had no expectations...  so I'm not too upset, just frustrated...  bah

 

 

On another note, Lost ep 10 was on last night....  man that show is good.  I'm dying to see next week's episode...  never trust a stranger from Ontario...  all jerks

And in this corner...

Just so you know, another installment of Man vs. Basement, "MvB III" is on it's way. I am currently in the process of battling the land down under on a project I like to call Castle Joojeskull. I've already lost a few limbs, and a lot of dignity, but I'm not giving up. Keep posted, hopfully it will be complete within the next week. Ahoy

SNOW!

Informer.... blah blah blah... Not that snow.. It's snowing outside... I'm so happy. Just so ya know.

meow

If you can dodge a wrench...

I just changed my satellite package, getting rid of the useless sports package (due to lack of hockey) in favour of the fun stuff package, which includes the Comedy network and Gameshow network... The Gameshow network is famous for replaying such great gameshows such as Family Feud and the Dating Game, but I just found out there is a new game on the network... Extreme Dodgeball. And I thought the movie was a bit far fetched... In actuality, the movie, "Dodgeball" is quite accurate, with crazy team names, funny looking people, and freakin Dodgeball.. I was surprised to see the stands full of screaming people, and the rules somewhat complex for a schoolyard game. Game 1 has 2 balls in play, game 2 has 2 balls plus the "big ball" in effect... That's like an exercise ball. Game 3 (if necessary) has one player as the "dead man walking" whom the rest of the team needs to protect... Titillating action, keeping me on the edge of my seat for most of the hour I watched... booyah!

Baby, it's 2 am, I must be stupid

Howdy... Here I am, fartin around on bittorrent, waiting for my david hasselhoff christmas album to download, trying to get tired, but to no avail... I was dead tired after work today, and had a nap that lasted 2 hours... not quite a nap... more of a snooze... anyways, here I am, giving up on trying to sleep, and exploring the world as my computer allows me...

I just recently hooked up a second monitor to my computer, because I had one lying around, and I'm now reaping the benefits of a dual display setup. Not only can I keep my bittorrent dl's out of the way, but I can monitor them on my second display, where I keep msn running too. I'm a loser.

I hope you are all sleeping better than I am right now...

A Shot in the Dark

NOTE:  To all of my loyal friends and blog subscribers, if I have been acting weird or saying things a bit out of line in the last little while, it will not continue to be an issue. 

 

Last night I went to the clinic and recieved my mind control (or flu as they like to call it) shot, so my behaviour should be rounding into true "Canadian" form. 

 

Sorry for any inconvenience. 

The Braid-y Bunch...

Hey, good news...  My hair doesn't hurt anymore, it just itches like crazy...  And I've developed a bunch of pimples between braids...   but I still like the look and feel of the rasta way of life.

 

Now, to the answer to the question that had 3 people guess.  You know who you are...   The final count of braids on my head is 86.   Julie was the closest.  She wins a big ol' virtual pat on the back from me.  Enjoy... Thanks for playing.

My hair hurts

Today, Faith gave me a new hair-do... it only took 3 hours. She got this gadget that you hook clumps of hair up to and it spins them together like rope... it's just that some of them are pretty tightly wound, so my head hurts. Ow.

Oh ya, try to guess the final count of "braids" on my head... I'll post the answer in a few days.

Just call me "Champion"

Hey, went on a double "date" excursion tonight with my wife, of course, and Matt and a friend from work, Jennie.   Dinner was good at East side Marios, I had the potatoe pizza, which was good, although not as spicy as the perogie pizza from Boston Pizza.  After dinner, we went bowling, where Jennie (the self proclaimed non-bowler) mopped the floor with us in the first game with a respectable score of 136.  Of course, I was in need of retribution, so in our second game, I brought my "A" game.  I was a machine (presuming that a machine would be a more consistently better bowler than a human, or super human for that matter...)  Where was I?  Oh ya, I bowled a smoking 170, leaving the "competition" in my trail of bowling dust. 

 

Funny Note:  Victoria bowl was quite busy, until the old people decided to leave... then the tumbleweed started rolling.  Never thought that the party would die when the old folks went home to bed...   weird

 

The evening rounded off at my place where we watched Shrek 2...  great movie... I love the cat.  If only I could use that pathetic cat face for the purpose of evil...  no one could stop me...  well, maybe a super-human bowling machine could...  ahoy

Bored? I am...

Hey Folks... looking for something to mush your brain, or just to kill some time, check out Ebaums World... There's some fun flash games like Fishy, Duck Hunt, and Paper toss. Hope it finds you as bored as it found me...

Lost: TV at its finest

Hey, I've been recently hooked on the series: Lost. Good show about a plane wreck on some freaky weird island. It fills my survivor cravings without all the unnecessary drama and stupid characters. I downloaded the first season last week, and I'm working my way through it... It's nice that there's a Hd version so I can maximize the display on my computer.
Each show, they showcase a character and do flashbacks to what led to the current circumstances. Oh, and the Island seems to be weird and haunted... Good quality show...

Harbour Castle not nearly as Medieval as expected...

Hey, just got back from day in Toronto for my mom's graduation, oops.. I mean "admission to membership"  Real proud of my mom, who now is officially titled Mom, CGA. 

 

Huge ceremony, at the harbour castle inn and convention centre.   It felt like a remembrance day ceremony at school where the principal read the names of those lost in the war...  one after another...  ugh...  it all means something, but I just want it to be over.   There were over 800 new "members", 600ish of which were present and each name was read and they walked across the stage to accept the red tube...   containing their certificate.  Good time all around, just painfully slow ceremony...  can't wait for it to come out on dvd...

 

We also went to Yorkdale mall, to avoid driving downtown and took the subway.  On the way back, we went to the pet shop in yorkdale, and got our fingers bit by the ridiculously expensive siamese kittens...  For a mere $1500, I would expect a cat to not only use the toilet and fluch, but do my taxes and vacuum...  Outrageous, yet very cute...  stupid animals...  you get to like them and then the price flashes...  ugh.   I'll just stick with Jooje and Amerylis...  cheap and ignorant...  just the way i like it.

 

AAaaah! Cat On My Head!!!!!

Jooje wasn't too happy with the 55% cut of her candy I took as a handling fee... she jumped off the top of her house in a cat-like rage and commenced her attack on my head... I managed to subdue her, and with the help of 10mg of valium, she's back to her normal hazed self... God bless the person who invented valium.

BOOO!!!!!!

Jooje dressed up as a jack-o-lantern for halloween, but didn't get much candy as she expected... somehow "Trick or Treat" is much harder to say for a cat than meow...

Power Tools + Pumpkin Carving = mush....

I had a brainwave tonight when we decided to carve out pumpkin.... I thought to myself, "self... what use are your tools in the basement if you can't use them for everyday tasks?" Good question I thought, so I retrieved my Dremel highspeed rotary tool from the basement and began my careful manicure of the pumpkin... I put in my multipurpose cutting bit and cranked it up to 24 000 rpm , thinking for sure that this would be an easy, in and out type of job... not so... it did cut the pumpkin, but something strange also happened while i cut... liquid and mush spewed out of the already gutted pumpkin at alarming rates... In the end, I resorted to the old knife method. Who knew... bah... next year I'll try the mitre saw on it.

A look at the finished product...

Man vs Basement: part II -- basement fights back, man calls for backup

This week, the battle continued... it was noisy, messy and at times sweaty, but again I emerged from the basement victorious! The task: to build a tv stand. This battle promised to be tough, so I enlisted the help of my main man, Matt "The Hammer" Brouwer. Not only did we create something functional, but something that didn't look like a pile of poo. Thanks to my street smarts and Matt's engineering knowhow, we won... in your face basement!

Broad St Bullies Re-unite

I hung out with my old pal Bob Clarke at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday... We go way back...

Jooje Battles the Bottle...

Jooje had a bit of a late night last.... She cleaned up this afternoon after her party... What a mess...

The Best Movie Ever!

Tonight we rented a movie called "The Dentist"...  This is the best move I've seen in a while, if not ever...   Watch out for those dentists, they're capable of anything...

-Jooje

 

I'm cool...

I'm good at monopoly. I am a perfect 2 and 0 this week, pulling off a well executed victory tonight. I worked the board like a seasoned professional and my gambles paid off quite handilly... Sorry Matt and Faith, for you had to be subjected to the awesome force that is me.... You were worthy competitors. I may not know how to divide the money at the start of the game, but I did kick your butt...
Sincerely,

Jooje (aka the Champion)

You know what I hate?!?!

I hate gas prices! 

 

They've trained us to think that somehow 80 cents a litre is a bargain and I'd better fill up before they realize the error of their ways.... 

 

It went up to 87.6 cents a litre today, tuesday evening as usual... what ever happened to the good ol' days of 49.7 cent gas?  I could fill up my car for under $20, only in theory, since I was 10 years old the last time gas was that cheap...   I think I'm gonna go buy an electric car...  or a remote controlled one... those are so cool...

Jooje

Turkey Day Comes and Goes... just like gas...

Wow...  I love being bloated when it's directly linked to the amount of stuffing I consumed.   I love stuffing...  cold, hot...  no matter...  stuffing stuffing stuffing...  and oh, the gravy...  moistening all the food on my plate...  gravy... even on jello....   With hockey season on the fritz, thanksgiving is my new favourite sport...  mmm....  sporty....

Jooje

 

Man vs Basement : A Lesson in Stick-to-it-ive-ness

In another desperate attempt to prove my mastery over tools, I created a rack to house my vast hockey stick collection, with no outside help or wisdom. This is the 4th or 5th project that has sprung out of my desire to prove myself competent as a man. I think this is a pass... I'm man enough to make a rack.

Jooje the cat : sick as dog... can't appreciate irony

Thats right... I'm home sick... feel too crappy to sleep, can't do anything...  boring...  ah well... movies I guess.

Dan

Christmas time is here... happiness and cheer, toys for all the girls and boys and Egg nog under the tree! That's right folks... EGG NOG in October... before Thanksgiving even... Go out to your local price chopper and gets yo'selves nogged...

Big Day Today

I was walking in the mall with one of the rowdies from work just minding my own business, when who did I come across, but Alice Cooper Himself...  ALICE freakin COOPER!

 

We're buds now...  didn't talk to him but I could just tell he knew who I was and wants to go golfing with me... 

 

Alice Cooper... who would have thunk it..

 

 

This just in: Demon cat Terrorizes Kitchener Family!

Demon cat takes over Jooje's household... all flee in terror when this beast comes around... she's not even purebred!!!

Jooje eats ice cream like a real lady... mmmm 

Unrest on the homefront

Today, Amerylis allegedy stuck her head in Jooje's butt and sniffed real hard.  She then licked her lips...  How tasty could that have been... honestly

This is Jooje while fighting off a cougar in my bathroom. Jooje won by eventually knocking the cougar down and sitting on it. What a war Hero! 

Blog Blog Blog...

Hooah.... I'm a sheep... and a cat... glad to be part of the bog world so I can publish crap noone wants to read... how therapeutic...

meow

Jooje