Nov 30 – Another month bites the
dust. 11 of 12 for 2009 gone. The past weekend was eventful. Not
necessarily for any hockey stuff but for the number of Canadian
Tire Store visits. From Friday night until Sunday night I think
we made seven visits to six different stores in two cities as
our home reno binge continues. Saturdays challenges had me
playing painter, plumber and electrician all in one day – with
the plumbing visit a Rockwood house call to perform surgery on
my mother-in-law’s loo. The joys of being identified as the
son-in-law who is “handy”. I think as my self defense plan I
will majorly screw something up and hence slide down the call
for help priority list.
As part of my weekend warrior, electrifying
experience (installing a replacement light fixture in the upper
hall) I now qualify for entry into the “Flying Wallenda’s” hall
of fame. Anyone can walk a tightrope or swing on a trapeze, but
how many people can stand with one foot on a stepladder, one on
a railing and stretch out over the abyss to install a new triple
light fixture one-handed! Not many I’ll wager, and without the
gene pool that provided 6’ 4” elevation, I would not have been
one either. Somehow I got it done, did not crash or electrocute
myself and it works. Other than contributing to the many
week-end trips to Canadian tire for the correct light bulbs – we
tried three kinds (blue ones, , it was a great success – other
than today I can’t lift my left arm and my knees wobble. By the
way, GE makes an energy efficient bulb (one of those stupid
spiral things) that at 60 watts equivalent throws off a bright
enough light that it could serve as a cop car strobe. We had
three of these in the fixture originally and I could have turned
the stairs into a tanning salon.
Gray / Grey / Whatever Cup – Other
than a somewhat sputtering first half, the game was a treat to
watch I ended up cheering somewhat for the Riders, so naturally
they lost (as did my Steelers again in overtime). It would have
been nice (especially for the Riders) if it ended one play
sooner but all games have rules, some simpler than others and
this was no different – there were penalties all game that won’t
get talked about but the illegal formation (too many guys – in
this case a baker’s dozen is not an accepted equivalent) will
get talked about ad infinitum. AND IT SHOULD.
My simple minded football approach says
that “buddy” in the end zone for the Sask squad blew it. Every
team in the league has both a block and return formation to
choose and this one was automatic. Someone can likely prove me
wrong on CFL rules but there was no need to even think about a
return here. It was an automatic block attempt. If the kick is
good it’s over – if wide it’s over – give the Als the single and
win by one. There was no time on the clock for anything else so
what the 7734 was the guy doing in the end zone? Coaches can
cover all they want but these are pro football players and that
screw-up was inexcusable.
Having said that I had not watched the last
couple of Gray Cups and this was an enjoyable game. After
watching the “in your face” smash mouth NFL on shorter narrower
fields and more downs, the wide open CFL game is entertaining.
Too bad the same cannot be said for the presentation. Other than
the spiffy scarlet tunics staggering out with the cup, the
presentation was pretty awful.
Tiger – everyone and their cousin
has an opinion on this so here is mine. Other than a perverse
interest in how much of an image / $$$ endorsement hit this
could cause I don’t care. Treat him (and her) like everyone else
and move on. It is a damning condemnation of our “society” when
this story is vying for and in many instances “out-inking” the
four police officers who were simply gunned down in Washington
this week-end. A couple of window whacks with a nine iron on
“par” with four lives – I think not!
Gift Box – arrived – brought home
and opened. While it may seem “smaller” every year, it is still
a nice touch. More importantly it included another nice addition
for my die cast collection. A “modern” 1967 Chevy Pick-up with a
riding mower and toolbox in the back. The truck is Canadian Tire
read and decalled and the mower is a “Yardworks”. Some departure
from authenticity here as the “Yardworks” brand did not exist in
1967 – I guess the truck must be a restored model and not new! I
will have to post a shot sometime.
Music – Monday Music and as I was
running late and had not made any selections I made the mistake
of implying I would take requests. As a result, despite being
“Bah Humbug” I have no choice but to provide a John Lennon
seasonal melody.
“Happy Xmas (War is Over)”
Recorded in 1971 by John Lennon and the
Yoko Ono Band (if you can call it that), this song is not really
a Christmas Song as many believe but a protest song about the
war in Vietnam and the US involvement that came out of John and
Yoko’s protest tour in 1969. However to “Give Peace a Chance” we
will post it anyway.
So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
Ans so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
And what have we done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so Happy Christmas
We hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over
If you want it
War is over
Now...
Back to top
Nov 27
–Yesterday was a busy day on many fronts so I ended up with no
time, no energy and no post! My apologies to the faithful.
Fill the Net!
- As a follow-up to my comments earlier about “helping
out” over the holiday season, Oakville hockey players, parents
and friends get an early chance to pitch in with what has become
the “annual” “Fill the Net” toy drive. Championed by a number of
local supporters, including the St. Hilda’s Peewee Red Eagles,
this event gives everyone an opportunity to support those less
fortunate locally by bringing unwrapped toy donations to the
designated rinks on the “Fill the Net” days and literally
filling “hopefully” a lot of nets and hence providing a nice
Christmas surprise for youngsters who otherwise might not have
had much to celebrate. I believe this is the third year for this
event and it has proven to be a big hit in generating support.
Give Lots! – Give Often!
– Details below. A copy of the promo
document is
attached.
FILL THE NET
Saturday December 5th Glen Abbey Green
Sunday December 6th Joshua Creek Arena & Oakville
Arena
Every year during the holiday season the Minor Oaks
Hockey Association with the help of our local community partners
collects unwrapped toys for families and children in our
community so that they too can feel the joy of opening a new toy
on Christmas morning. This year we will be taking our Toy Drive
to a few of our local rinks. We ask all Coaches, Conveners,
Parents and Players to spread the word.
Collection Stations
Saturday December 5th Glen Abbey Green 7:30am
-12:00pm
Sunday December 6th Joshua Creek Arena 8:00am –
2:00pm
Sunday December 6th Oakville Arena 8:00am -6:00pm
We are hoping to get great support from all players from
youngest to oldest.
Thank You in advance for your kindness and generosity.
A special thanks to everyone that will be involved in helping
us.
Please Help Us "Fill the Net"
Gift
Box Day – Monday is Gift Box
pick-up day for yours truly as Canadian Tire continues in their
tradition of providing corporate employees with a holiday gift
box. The box contains an interesting aggregation of products –
essentially “food” but there are (or at least historically have
been) two non-food items that lead to the annual anticipation.
One, less exciting to me, is some type of bowl / dish /
container that has ranged from a rugged plastic tote, to a
wicker hamper to a serving tray to a big bowl. That’s all well
and good but the item I look for is the limited edition die cast
vehicle in Canadian tire colours and logoed. There is a
different one of these every year and I am getting quite a nice
collection (supplemented by some Canadian Tire Petroleum
specific items). What will it be this year. As they say on TV,
these items are not available in stores (even though a “similar”
one is typically made available at retail). Check it out on
E-bay. Some of the real ones have become collector’s items and
bring silly prices. I just think they are fun to collect.
I will let you know next
week what the 2009 Christmas model is.
Black Friday
– Aptly named. I’m sorry, I just don’t get it – I guess shopper
– I’m not but the crowds are out there as depicted by this ABC
News online photo.
The headlkine that was
with it is probably very appropriate to the mindset of the
mindless people that are out there:
BLACK FRIDAY:
'I Ran People Over With My Stroller and It Worked!'
Here is a link to the
article.
It’s Friday night – it
has been a long week and I had to hit three different CTR stores
tonight to find light fixtures for the ongoing reno / rebuild.
That’s enough!
Back to top
Nov 25 - heading into the home
stretch for November marks a number of milestones. First, it
means that 2009 is almost over which marks the end of the first
decade of the 21st century. It seems like only a while ago that
we were all panicking about Y2K and what was going to happen
when the millennium turned over. The world was potentially going
to come to a screeching halt as technology was going to fail us
in all types of legacy systems. It didn't happen. Second,
November 25 means we're a month away from Christmas Day.
Essentially that means that from now until stores close on
Christmas Eve we are going to see and hear accelerated hype
everywhere we go, as well as being propositioned from a number
of places looking for our support for their Christmas
"charities". Hopefully, everyone can pick a few of those and
support them, whether it is women's shelters (as we tend to
support at the Tire), food drives or simply tossing coin and
folding stuff in the Salvation Army kettles. There will be a lot
of people who have a tough year this year.
From a hockey perspective it means that
Oakville is slightly more than a month away from the annual
Richard Bell Memorial tournament - running from the 27th to 30th
of December (assuming it's still being managed the same way). It
is always fun to go out and watch some of these games during the
holidays, as it gives you a chance to see teams that typically
do not play in the area and if you are fortunate you get to see
some European kids over here having the time of their life. I'm
presuming you can watch the MOHA site for information but if I
receive any I will pass it along.
Near and dear to my heart, and only about
six or seven weeks away is the ninth annual Frank Sabatino
Memorial tournament for atom and peewee age house league teams.
I understand that the two divisions are almost full (if not
already full) which would put 20 atom and 20 peewee teams on the
ice for the tournament. This tournament has been hugely
successful over the years, receiving accolades from local
participants, from teams coming from out of town, and the
charities that have benefited from the hard work and fundraising
of the committee and volunteers. The tournament runs from
Friday, January 15 until Sunday, January 17 when the two
championship games will be played. Check it out on their website
at
www.fsmt.ca and mark your calendar to come out and watch
some games.
Black Friday -- while tomorrow is
the US Thanksgiving and will have the traditional football
games, a lot of people will be watching the next day to see what
happens on Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving is typically
the US’s largest shopping day and as such will be used as a
major economic indicator with respect to how people feel about
the economy. If Black Friday is a bust, you will see it
reflected in stock market performance, economic forecasts and a
lot of doom and gloom for the balance of the year. The
expectation is that most retailers will be heavily discounting
to try to encourage folks to part with money that some feel most
people don't have because of the employment situation. Either
way, it'll be interesting to see what happens.
Equitable ice time -- continues to
be a hot topic in the GTA. Mayor Miller hasn't outgoing and
non-challenging candidate is pretty well free to say and do
whatever he wants through to the end of his term. He has jumped
on the equal ice time bandwagon for the young ladies as one of
his big issues (and no reason why he shouldn't) so that it is
continually in the news. According to the Star today, it sounds
like the city owned but independently operated arenas have
received their marching orders on providing equitable ice to
both the boys and girls. It will be interesting to see exactly
how this plays out as it will be costing John Gardner and the
GTHL ice time in lower-cost facilities when they are already
under the financial gone. It also begs the issue as to whether
other groups will be coming forward to jump on the bandwagon to
totally disrupt historical scheduling -- e.g. skating clubs,
ringette, broom ball and so on. Ice time allocation is a process
that never makes everyone happy. If you have everyone equally
unhappy, then you have probably done a pretty reasonable job.
Here is a link to today's Star
article.
Hanson the net crasher -- it seems
that at least somebody shares my opinion of having to go to the
net to score goals. Chris Hansen in his comments to the media
has basically made the suggestion that this will be his role or
at least he perceives that is the way he's going to have to
play. I would find it hard to disagree with them because
somebody has to do it. You can't take 60+ shots again, only give
up 20 and lose. That's a good way to end up with even more empty
seats at the ACC despite the fact that this is unheard of heresy
for the cash box. We will see how much time Wilson gives Hansen
tonight against Tampa Bay and how he plays the game. I hope the
kid does well.
As a separate note, you have to really
wonder what the leafs are going to do about goaltending? Toskala
pulling himself out of the game with a groin tweak has got to
have people shaking their heads. Is he healthy, or not? Has he
simply lost confidence despite having played one good game.
There is no goaltending help around any of the monster can step
up to the plate (or maybe appropriately into the net) it's going
to be a long and ugly year (longer and uglier year).
FHP -- my injury jinx continues.
While still maintaining a solid lead in the first place, I now
find out that one of my goalies Tim Thomas has gone down with a
broken hand. It seems like the fates are conspiring against me
as this is about the fifth key player I have lost or an extended
period of time to injury. The question is who do I replace them
with? I don't think I will be looking towards Toronto for
assistance.
Back to top
Nov 24
– You have to feel sorry – even for the Blue & White – when you
get 60+ shots a game and lose you have to shake your head. Funny
as it may sound for a BB team, the Leafs do not seem to have the
“grit” to park in front of the net and mix it up the way you
have to in order to pick up those garbage goals that can make
such a big difference in the wins and losses columns. Guys like
Dino C. who I used to really like in Detroit, who can drive
goalies to distraction. If you work your way around the league,
a lot of the “good” teams that seem to find a way to win those
close one goal games have these guys and really value them in
the mix.
Look out all you
“Slapshot” fans – Christian Hanson – son of one of the infamous
“Hanson” brothers has been called up by the Leafs – is he the
“go to the net” guy?
Penalty Free
Sweepstakes – Just a reminder to
all minor hockey teams that the 2010 penalty free sweepstakes
starts on December 5 and runs through to January 31, 2010. Any
minor hockey team playing a penalty free game, refereed by
certified officials, can use that game as an entry form in the
annual sweepstakes. Since there are a lot of prizes, and not
that many games that qualify let alone teams that take the time
and effort to send them in the odds of winning for any given
team are pretty good. Especially for the younger age groups they
can come up with a fair number of entries to improve their
chances. Information is available on the Ontario Hockey
Development site with that link
here. It was also written up as a program in the Toronto
Star a week ago on the 17th. Here's the
article.
Silverdome
– I knew I should have
bid on it. Think about Oakville and what type of home /
property you can buy for less than $600,000. Now compare that to
an +80,000 seat sports stadium, a fieldhouse and 127 acres of
prime land in Pontiac Michigan that has zoning that allows for
residential building. I know the market is a tad soft for real
estate in the Detroit (big three) area but at this price how can
you go wrong. I mean it is only around 30 years old and cost
over $50 million to build. Such a deal.
TTC
-- funny how when the announcement is made
and the signs go up that there are no more tokens, the lineups
seemed to disappear. Yes, you can buy the fancy multicolored
trashy paper new tickets, but that did not seem to be a big draw
at the collector booths. Apparently all the token hoarders are
merrily now using their treasured trinkets. I on the other hand
bought 10 of the tickets to hopefully trade somewhere, somehow,
with someone for real tokens so I can still get in my unattended
entrance. Not ruddy likely.
Relocation
-- still trying to get used to the fact that my "home office"
has been relocated to the boonies. Used to be, when I got up in
the morning I could switch to autopilot, flip on the radio, fire
up the e-mail, grab my coffee while the e-mail downloaded, grab
my crack berry off of the charger and spend a few minutes
checking mail and drinking my coffee before toddling off to the
bus stop. That whole process worked very well, was ingrained in
my system and has now been totally disrupted which creates no
end of turmoil in my morning routine. No computer, no radio, no
e-mail, moved charger -- complete confusion. We're going to have
to work at re-orchestrating my routine.
Back to top
Nov 23
– Coming to you live from
my lofty aerie high over the main floor of Chez Moorehead.
Banished from my former main floor location, I have been
relegated to bedroom four (that is to say -- the smallest room)
on the second floor. Given that that was where I had been
cataloging and storing my books, the first stage in relocation
required lugging 20+ bins of books down two flights to the
basement. Then began the grandest task of disassembling the
equivalent of a NASA control room, relocating it to the second
floor and then trying to reassemble from memory. As if the
furniture wasn't bad enough, I clearly didn't remember how many
cords and cables I had buried behind the desk when you consider
computer system, printers, sound system, backup system, camera
deck, telephone and television. Not to mention that the network
had to be reconfigured to add a USB "N" adapter to my desktop
CPU as I was not prepared to run more cable. I'll leave that for
later date. Come Sunday night my legs and back had had enough.
The good news was I had finished most of the grunt work and had
most of the stuff re-stashed in the new location.
While most things are
squared away, I still have to deal with television cable and
decide on a new location for our wireless hub. Fortunately
Monday came and I could escape to work for a break. Relocation
stories to be continued.
Seasonal Decor
-- the motivating factor behind my banishment listed above is
the seemingly annual "we need to redo the.. . . . . " factor.
Once again, painting is in full swing, flooring is being
revisited, wallpaper is in motion, crown molding is on the
agenda -- all of this in the name of “we need to be ready for
Christmas when the family comes for dinner”. I'm thinking about
passing on the holiday and becoming a professed agnostic atheist
with a residence located in some Himalayan cave. Oh yes, I keep
getting reminded that all of these renovation expenses are tax
deductible!! Why does that not reassure me?
Leafs resurgence
-- it seems that every time I trashed the Leafs they come back
and play well as evidenced most recently with their shootout win
over Washington. Good for them it was nice to see that they got
some solid goaltending. Making up for the disappointment of
relief when was the fact that my Red Wings took advantage of the
same shootout set up to beat the dreaded Canadians. The Leaf win
just continues to tantalize the faithful in terms of continuing
to think they will make the playoffs. We all know that that is
not going to happen. Tonight's game with the Islanders gives
John Taveras an opportunity to showcase in front of the
"hometown" faithful as he returns to GTHL country.
Drug / drive spree
-- number two son gave us a call last night as a heads up on the
big takedown at Ford Drive and Royal Windsor Drive. Not sure of
all the
story behind this one but the media is playing it up as a
modern-day local Thelma and Louise. Drugs, stolen vehicles,
high-speed chase, and a takedown in a Tim Horton's parking lot
how could it be more Canadian.
Ticket / token fiasco
-- it's only fair that I continue
with my update/tirade about the complete and utter fiasco
created by the TTC. Without repeating my former complaints their
latest move to bring back temporary tickets in lieu of tokens
just adds to the aggravation. While on the surface it may sound
like a good solution, for users such as myself it just sticks
another night in the case. Tickets do not work in automatic
turnstiles and for those of us who often use unattended
turnstiles it's a no go. Without tokens instead of simply
entering the subway through the base of my building I have to
walk all the way to the other end of the station set up to get
to a ticket collector station so that I can then wait in line to
pass through with my ticket. The same will hold true at Union
Station if they don't continue to operate their "crash gates"
that allow people to bypass the turnstiles and simply drop their
token/ticket into a fare box. Of course their suggestion is that
people could buy a conventional pass for the month of December,
conveniently forgetting that most people take considerable
holidays in December such that they are pass, a lousy deal in
the first place, becomes even less appealing. Who wins in this?
Easy, the token hoarders who with the TTC brass have created the
situation in the first place. Who loses? Everyday commuters.
Given that most of you probably could care less about the TTC
and my commuting woes, that's enough on this topic.
Facebook
-- quite a while ago I had set up a Facebook page simply for
something to do. I had no intent to actually use it, considered
social networking in that format a colossal waste of time, and
figured with my website and blog I had enough to entertain
myself. However, when the OMHA started promoting themselves via
a Facebook connection I figured I might as well do a little
fishing myself and see what happened. As a start, I reached out
to the OMHA to be considered a "friend" and was accepted. As an
indication of how the networking works, I almost immediately got
a request to be a friend to the FAN 590 broadcaster Storman
Norman. Of course, I quickly accepted the offer and it will be
interesting to see over the next little while who else comes
into the network fold. I know there are lots of people who make
an effort to see how many "friends" they can accumulate on their
Facebook site, but I have no interest in going after the
numbers. I'm more interested in seeing just what type of
connections can be established with this application and whether
or not it has any value. The last thing any of us need is
another way to chew up time that none of us have.
Music -- with all the
weekend strong back weak mind activity, I have not given a lot
of thought to a replacement music item for this week. So, to
fill the void, make an easy decision and a statement, I will go
with an old "Stones" hit that expresses my opinion with respect
to the TTC. Written by Jagger and Richards and released in 1965,
"I Can't
get no Satisfaction" ended up as the Stones first #1 hit in
the US, was ranked second on Rolling Stone's magazine's list of
the top 500 songs of all time and was added to the
Library of Congress National Recording Registry:
I Can't
Get No Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones - 1965
can't get no satisfaction,
I can't get no satisfaction.
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try.
I can't get no, I can't get no.
When I'm drivin' in my car
and a man comes on the radio
he's tellin' me more and more
about some useless information
supposed to fire my imagination.
I can't get no, oh no no no.
Hey hey hey, that's what I say.
I can't get no satisfaction,
I can't get no satisfaction.
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try.
I can't get no, I can't get no.
When I'm watchin' my TV
and a man comes on to tell me
how white my shirts can be.
Well he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke
the same cigarrettes as me.
I can't get no, oh no no no.
Hey hey hey, that's what I say.
I can't get no satisfaction,
I can't get no girl reaction.
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try.
I can't get no, I can't get no.
When I'm ridin' round the world
and I'm doin' this and I'm signing that
and I'm tryin' to make some girl
who tells me baby better come back later next week
'cause you see I'm on losing streak.
I can't get no, oh no no no.
Hey hey hey, that's what I say.
I can't get no, I can't get no,
I can't get no satisfaction,
no satisfaction, no satisfaction, no satisfaction.
Back to top
Nov 20
– In celebration of the Sesame Street anniversary and in
recognition of its major contribution to societal intellect
(how’s that for an oxymoron), today’s post is brought to you by
the letter “L” (for Leafs and Losers) and the number “30” an
easy assessment of their “L”ot in “L”ife. At this point I will
avoid all refere3nces to sell-outs and “30” pieces of silver to
avoid inflaming the religious zealots.
Let’s start off with a
simple Q&A. riddle me this Batman -
Q: How can you possibly
lose a hockey game with less than 30 seconds to go, having just
scored a go-ahead “momentum” goal, with a face-off at centre ice
and playing the team challenging for the bottom of the barrel
slot?
A: Put on a Leaf jersey
(P.S. – the number goes to the back).
Bonus Music
– or at least the words anyway. Sing along to this happy parody
of a famous Joan Baez??? protest song originally dubbed “Where
have all the flowers gone”!
A … one, and… A Two and - . . .
Where have all the Leaf fans gone? Long
time passing.
Where have all The Cup wins gone? Long
time ago.
Where have all the players gone? Gone to
good teams every one.
When will they ever learn? When will they
ever learn?
So boys and girls, after
that debacle, never mind that they were originally up three zip,
watch for some changes. Smart money says Luke gets a stint with
the Ricoh squad to try and remember how to play defence. Chances
are the Horse Palace residents will get a group influx with the
opportunity to send a whole crew down. Only problem is, who do
they bring up? Good old BB has to be feeling the heat as Boston
starts drooling over the escalating value of their fleeced draft
picks and even Wilson has to start wondering how many more
stints he gets behind the bench before a visible human sacrifice
is necessary! From a media standpoint – if you are not winning,
then lose bad. It makes for better press – and the Leafs are
getting great press.
TTC
– to add insult to injury the TTC Cash Hogs
have bellied up to the trough on monthly passes. Even though the
new rates (if confirmed) don’t go into effect until January –
new pass applicants (ME) are now being told – too bad, so sad –
you pay the new $111, up from $100. What’s an 11% increase among
friends. Dummy that I am, I am going to go the pass route anyway
and try to use it as often as I can, pass it around, etc. just
to rip them off for single trip revenue. Good thing I don’t hold
a grudge. These clowns almost make GO Transit look good!
I can’t believe I wrote that – strikeout.
Apocalypse Now
– just like Robert Duval, I love the smell of napalm
paint fumes in the morning. While I thought our resident Attila
the Contractor and his sidekick Debbie Decorator had sated their
habits and emptied my wallet enough, it appears that when you
start the decorating kick you never stop. No more do we buy
paint by the sensible four litre can, we have now moved on to
the five gallon pail. Items I thought we had just finished are
now apparently up for a “redo”. I am even being turfed from my
prime office real estate as apparently the Dynamic Duo has
better plans for space utilization without any considerations
for my creature comforts. The smallest room in the hacienda has
apparently been “measured” and I have been assured that all my
“stuff” will fit. In words of limited syllables and complexity –
“I do not think so”. But then again, I was deluded into thinking
I had a vote. All of this because I was foolish enough to buy a
rug at my “Sample Sale”.
Back to top
Nov 19
– A birthday in the household today so we will keep things short
– the youngest member is now a year older. Still not enough to
help him in the FHP. I have lost a bit of ground over the last
few days but still solidly in first.
TTC
- travels last night were not bad because the “wiley veteran”
knew enough not to put any faith in the emergency shuttle bus
service. From Yonge & Eg it was relatively simple to grab a
normal route bus across to the Eglinton West subway station and
then catch a train south. I ended up on the 6:03 local
which cost me some time but at least it avoided the zoo
downtown. I think the biggest challenge was not folks heading
south to Union, but rather the downtown hordes that were trying
to head north. At least that is what the newscasts and pictures
seemed to imply.
Jobs on the line
– when you are battling for number 29 what do you exoect? Still
it is fun to watch, listen and read as the heat gets turned up.
The Star – front page of online – current
article – “Jobs on the line as Leafs get set for Hurricanes”
says it all. However, what do folks expect – as they sat, “You
can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear”!
It was also telling that
the announcement today was that for the first time since ??? all
of the luxury boxes at ACC are NOT sold out. Is it the economy
or is it the on ice product?
Facebook
– Social media is a huge item in today’s world. As a result, I
had set up a Facebook page a while ago but have done next to
nothing with it. I guess it is because as I tell people “I have
no friends”. However, now that everyone and their cousin is
heading this way I may use it more. (I have a “Twitter” account
as we but am not a tweeter or follower). I mention this as I see
that the OMHA has now gone Facebook. Sooooo – I have sent them a
request to be a “friend”. We will see where this goes. This may
also lead to other folks hunting me down ??? and wanting to be
friends. We will see. Wonderful. Another “account/service” to
monitor and update.
Back to top
Nov 18
– Another day, another Leaf loss.
Outshoot the Sens 15 – 4 in the third period and can’t buy a
goal. Wonder how that has impacted their former 1.7% chance of
making the play-offs?
Transit Wars
– Apparently the TTC was not happy with GO Transit being the
unchallenged “stupid” award winner. The current fare hike
situation has just about everyone up in arms and stories about
completely customer unfriendly service incidents are starting to
pop up all over. Unfortunately it is likely only a matter of
time before some real blow-ups and violence occurs.
Make whatever argument
you want either on the need for or not on the fare increase
situation. Regardless of your view the way this is being handled
is atrocious and the process is being lead by an individual who
is possibly going to run for Mayor??
First, the nature of the
increase continues to maintain what I think is a stupid
imbalance in the overall structure that does not promote pass
usage instead of individual rides or bulk token purchases (if
the normal 10 can be called bulk).
Second, the size of the
increase in tough economic times is a bitter pill to swallow for
a lot of financially challenged folks who have no choice but to
use the system . These same folks are going to get hit with a
harmonized tax whack come July and put yourself in their (or
your own place) if you start getting across the board double
digit increases in more areas. Can you expect to recoup this
through income increases – I doubt it. Happy 2010.
Third, the whole process
has / is being woefully mishandled. Tokens are disappearing into
hoarders hands and “tickets” are gone as an option. Token
dispensers have been cut back to one at a time at the single
ride rates and while the story is that attendants will sell five
at a time. This line is crap as many booths are “out” and again
hit you for the $3 single ride fare even though the normal bulk
rate is $2.25. That is a nice unannounced 33.3% increase!!!
That is after you line up ??? many deep to wait your turn to
find out you are getting ripped off. Clearly a YOUtube moment if
you stake out the stations (Union is your best bet) to get some
great video.
You wonder why people
are both hoarding and the majorly are “pissed”? AND – it is
still six weeks before the new rates come into play. How long
can they keep this under control or where, when and how will the
big blow-up come?
Idiots!
Apparently they have
heard how I feel because they, the TTC, have now broken the
subway between Eglinton and Bloor and have isolated me at the
office. They are blaming a bridge contractor with damaging a
tunnel. This could be really ugly! Glad I am going to have to
pay more for less dependable service. It just keeps
getting better and better. Oh yes – did I mention the TTC site
has apparently crashed as well so you can’t get any updates?
Back to top
Nov 17
– It is now official – the Leafs have a snowball’s chance in
hell of making the playoffs. This should not come as earth
shaking news to anyone, at least anyone capable of fogging a
mirror. The latest nail in the proverbial coffin is a
statistician’s report in the
Star today that suggests they have a 1.7% chance of making
the play-off – hardly betting odds. Even so this is probably
higher than most folks would suggest who don’t have the Blue and
White wool pulled over their eyes. It also is indicative of the
“we’ll publish anything” to fill Leaf space mentality of the
local scribes. The good news for the Leafs is that there is
nowhere to go but up for the bookies as it is hard to sink below
1.7% .
If you think I have too
much time on my hands, you should check out the math guys site
at
www.sportsclobstats.com . Why do this yourself if someone
else will do it for you.
As an aside, the Star
has a section called “Leafs Live”. Isn’t that an oxymoron?
FHP
– just to maintain my credibility as the hockey guru, I am
pleased to report that despite the self serving scoring system
developed by son #2 (currently only in second place), the champ
is maintaining his position atop the heap even though his top
three picks – including crazy 8 are on the shelf. Again this
year the pool is shaping up as a two horse race between Andrew
and myself as points of 39 (Moi), 31.5, 22 and 17.5 clearly
demarcate the haves and have nots!
2015
– apparently the International Space Station (ISS) is only
slated to “last” until 2015 (maybe due to the global stress of
the Toronto PanAm games. The current and apparently next few
shuttle flights are basically set up as cargo haulers for “big”
spare parts that can’t be hauled up there by any other vehicles
once the shuttles get shut down sometime in the next couple of
years. Someone snuck this by me as I thought the ISS was going
to be maintained as the first deep space way station / jump off
point and would be around and in service for many years – hence
the value of pouring the billions of $$$ into it to date. If the
are going pull a Skylab or Mir and roman candle it into the
ocean or send it off into deep, deep space I think people have
been seriously mislead, the spending has been unconscionable and
heads should roll. Think of what could have been done with all
of that loot instead of playing Buck Rogers. Estimated costs to
date are all over the map, but a conservative number puts the
ISS in at over $100 Billion (+150 with the shuttle thrown in).
figure out the per night room rates on that one. No wonder
Circus Boy paid roughly $30 Million for a visit.
Nov 17 OLD- No real post
tonight. I had prepped some content at lunch and left the file
on my notebook's local drive which I left in the office and can
not access remote from my home PC. I could get on the network
but that won't help. So, I will "hopefully" double up on the
content tomorrow. Clearly a "senior" moment.
However, so as not to disappoint I will
post the following incite full book review while you wait.
Back to top
Nov 16
– A quiet Monday as I spent a quiet weekend trying to forestall
a bit of a scratchy throat as a cornucopia of ailments seem to
be going the rounds and I intend to stay above it.
Politically incorrect –
maintaining my usually indefensible position, kudos to the U.S.
Supreme court. Apparently they have
REFUSED to hear arguments / an appeal from a group of Native
Americans who feel the name of the Washington HFL team – The
Redskins - is offensive. At some point things just become too
silly – if this had been heard and adjudicated in favour of the
appellant, there could have been wholesale silliness in the
Sports Name Game – Pick your own target of the many that are out
there.
Chicago “Blackhawks”
Syracuse ‘Chiefs”
Cleveland “Indians”
Edmonton “Eskimos”
Pittsburgh “Pirates”
New Orleans “Saints”
San Francisco “Giants” – denigrates big
people
Vancouver “Canucks” – denigrates Canadians?
Toronto “Maple Leafs” – embarrasses trees and
hockey players!
The list and challenges
could be endless, but don’t rule out someone trying and
succeeding in Canada regardless of the US decision. Besides, the
US situation is not over as there is a Plan B and likely Plan C
to continue the battle.
CFL
– is an entertaining game to watch with the often two and out
style of play that promotes offense. Too bad for Hamilton who
finally go to not only be in a play-off game but actually got to
host it only to go down to overtime defeat. They made a god
comeback to force overtime but it looked like BC woke up in OT
and said “it’s time” as they simply smoked them on the first
series.
However, it does sort of
emphasize how “goofy” this league is when the EASTERN Final
includes a team from Vancouver! Did any of these guys study
geography?
Not a good football
week-end for the Black and Gold as my Steelers came up short as
well against the Cincinnati “Reds” – another politically
incorrect name!
Leafs
– Wilson apparently “vows to be less patient” and will be
benching players more quickly if they don’t perform to
expectations in early
shifts. That’s all well and good but he does need to
remember that he needs at least five skaters and a goalie on the
ice, could be tough if he follows through.
Xmas Countdown
– hard to believe that the Toronto Santa Claus parade snuck up
on me again (I have successfully avoided attending for the 58th
straight year). For some reason I thought it was normally later
than mid November but maybe not. What it does mean is that
Commercial Christmas 101 has now been launched full bore and
will be assaulting us from every direction for the next six
weeks. The latest shopping inducement (threat) is shop early or
you will miss out because stores are carrying reduced inventory
this year due to tough times. Hmmm. Would it really be a problem
if we all spent less on stuff we don’t need. By the way – my
middle name is Scrooge and Bah Humbug!
However, we do have a
Xmas Feast problem.
Bird Issues
- We have inherited a 37 pound turkey which we have been
designated to roast for the obligatory family Xmas dinner (an
untold number of relatives, friends and assorted hangers-on who
will show up at Chez Moorehead’s on the 25th). This
little fella was flash frozen, is a hard as a rock and does not
come with any instructions. Having experience in the 25+ range,
we are not sure a) whether this thing will fit in the oven (do I
see a backyard spit in my future), b)provided “a” is a go, what
are we going to roast it in/on and c) how hot and how long do
you cook the equivalent of a small ostrich? Enquiring minds
want need to know!!
Music - today is
a little different. Some of you know I read a fair amount and I
think I have indicated here that I have been cataloguing my
books and am somewhere around 2,000. I tend to annoy folks when
I tell them that even though I enjoy fiction, I do not read
female authors – and normally I don’t. They have a different
style and I do not enjoy them nearly as much as their male
counterparts (list of names goes here). However, I do not hold
the same music prejudices and enjoy some of the old "coumtry" /
ballad singers. One of my favourites of these is Patsy Cline who
like so many other artists met an untimely end in an airplane
crash (March 3, 1963). One of her songs that probably suits me
well is “Crazy”.
Written by Willie Nelson
early in 1961, it was a #2 country hit for Patsy in 1962. Cline
recorded the song shortly after being nearly killed in a car
wreck and an early three encore performance was at the Grand Ole
Opry in Nashville while she was still on crutches.
Crazy - Patsy
Cline – written by Willie (Hugh) Nelson. 1961
Crazy, I'm crazy for feeling so lonely
I'm crazy, crazy for feeling so blue
I knew you'd love me as long as you wanted
And then someday you'd leave me for somebody
new
Worry, why do I let myself worry?
Wond'ring what in the world did I do?
Crazy for thinking that my love could hold
you
I'm crazy for trying and crazy for crying
And I'm crazy for loving you
Crazy for thinking that my love could hold
you
I'm crazy for trying and crazy for crying
And I'm crazy for loving you.
Back to top
Nov 13
– given that this is Friday the 13th I intend to keep
a very low profile. I sat down and did a quick “retail
valuation” of my “sample sale” purchases last night and figured
I got roughly $1,250 value for $70! Not a bad haul, but I have
been accused by certain family members of not performing up to
standard since in their opinion I did not get anything exciting.
I beg to differ. How can you not get thrilled over a 10’ X 12’
area rug – somewhat bigger than I anticipated and an interesting
pattern when unrolled, a gas powered hedge trimmer - now I just
need a hedge, 2 really BIG axes, a small axe and a pick – self
defence against home invasion, 3 Coleman coolers – you can never
have enough beer coolers and one has four cup bottle
holders, 2 camp chairs – for when we break the ones we already
have, a rechargeable lantern – this is great provided we go
camping somewhere or I guess it can help in the next blackout –
if charged and the list goes on and on. . . . (and I forgot –
the piece de resistance a 6 foot inflatable seated Santa Claus
that waves). You be the judge. Anyone want to buy my extra axe?
Only used once and Lizzie had no issues with it.
Looks like I did not do
as well on my “Silent Auction” bids. Despite bidding on 3
fireplaces, 2 treadmills, an elliptical bike, a home gym, and a
tool chest I have not heard back which means I got NADA! Bummer!
Minor point
– I haven’t commented on it before and in the scheme of things
it is not a big deal, but I am never short of an opinion. I
don’t know if it is true of all Rep levels but for at least some
(probably all) it seems players / parents can now decide on
their sweater number. Out come all the wierdos – 81, 72, 68. . .
I am against it. While it may appease appeal to some who
wanted it, it adds an unnecessary logistical and I suspect
financial uptick to the whole uniform process. I guess now that
teams (unnecessarily) are buying two sets a year instead of one
and not turning any back in, it is sort of a “who cares” – just
send me the bill! However, I don’t see the same option being
extended to any house league teams so I guess there is a need to
add another reinforcing differential / perk.
In our professed new
“green” world, if anyone wants to think “green” instead of
“selfish”, think of the recycling opportunities or maybe the
chance to clothe the homeless with all these “cast off” jerseys
every year. Multi year rep parents – check your closets – count
the sweaters – more – more – more.
Ice
– I have to chuckle when I continue to see
and hear all the hullabaloo about fair and equitable (do you
hear the buzz on these buzzwords) ice allocation issues. When
the Goat & Snail carries multiple stories you know it is worthy
of deep thought by our wisest minds! As we watch, I am waiting
for Harper to establish another investigatory royal Commission.
Maybe I can head it for big daily dollars. This whole topic is
silly and only becomes an issue when foolish people do foolish
things and try and defend them. Having said that and having been
FHP
– despite Crazy 8 being on the IR, I have
managed to hang on to and solidify my #1 ranking in the FHP,
even with Andrew’s convoluted and incomprehensible scoring
scheme. It just shows over time that true talent rises to the
surface (they better not catch up). Checking the waiver wire I
note that one FHP member is already into desperation moves as
“she” has already made 18 player moves – a bunch recently. A die
hard Leaf fan she even dumped Kessel!
Sesame Street
– since I am likely off air until next week and I know the
suspense is killing you, here are the answers to the “Who’s Who”
of the 30 Muppets I posted.
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Kermit T Frog |
Cookie Monster |
Animal |
Statler |
Waldorf |
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Fozzie |
Big Bird |
Sweetums |
Gonzo |
Sam |
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Miss Piggy |
Scooter |
Lew Zealand |
Swedish Chef |
The Count |
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Dr. Bunsen Honeydew |
Beaker |
Rizzo |
Bert |
Ernie |
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Dr. Teeth |
Floyd Pepper |
Janice |
Zoot |
Crazy Harry |
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Dr. Julius
Strangepork |
Link Hogthrob |
Grover |
Mahna Mahna |
Rowlf |
Back to top
Nov 12
– Tonight was one of those infrequent nights where selected
groups of CT folks get to rummage through the remnant pile and
beat each other up to see what kind of stuff we can grab and buy
for next to nothing. In the past I have had some great luck at
these events (and picked up some items I will never use even if
I knew what they were!) but you never know either what will be
there or what you may get. It is euphemistically referred to as
a “sample sale” and can get pretty intense. As the wardens
remind us on the way in – “be careful how you treat folks as you
will (hopefully) be working with them tomorrow”! Now I get to
dig through whatever it was that I bought and see how I did.
Girls Hockey
– The media frenzy continues and good old Oakville got a mention
in the
Star quoting Fran Ryder. Fran has never met a microphone she
did not like. John Gardner on the other hand is (I think) going
down the wrong road if his “hypocritical” quote is accurate and
in context as there is no saleable approach here other than a
need to be “fair”. How “fair” gets defined can be an argument
but a challenge to the concept will get you nowhere and both
weaken your case and send politicians running for cover on the
high moral ground.
Get a grip
– At the risk of being my usual politically incorrect and
insensitive self, folks need a reality check. This year 5 U of T
students dressed up as the “Jamaican Bobsled Team” to go to a
Halloween party and used “blackface”. Was it racially motivated
– I doubt it. Did they think it was just a good idea to have
some fun – I bet it was. Do we need to turn this into a cause
celebe – No. I know I only got 21 trick or treaters this year so
we are probably killing the concept and fun anyway but does this
mean I should “screen” every costume and only treat the ones I
agree with. Come on, grow up people and have some of that
“tolerance” that is supposed to be directed to everything else
at issue. We have much more serious challenges to deal with!
Gamers
– if anyone thinks that “gaming” is small potatoes and
programmers are geeks – we should be so lucky. The makers of the
newly released game “Call of Duty” – Modern Warfare 2, estimate
that in the first 24 hours of release – 1 DAY – in North America
and the UK they sold 4.7 million copies valued at $310 million
US. (Article)
That pays for a lot of pocket protectors. I know there is a copy
in the Moorehead household that has been played extensively by
Andrew and his posse. It now becomes a platform debate Play
Station vs Xbox. Apparently we went PS this time as the graphics
BluRay are better and the online is free. Downside, apparently
so far, sample of one, the online connectivity from Sony has
sucked.
At least the good news
here is that we have kept the mayhem localized to Andrew’s room.
He has not tried to poach his mother’s 52” flat screen (I call
it hers to make her feel good) and my “wall” is off limits.
Somehow I think that when we are out, a Raider battalion will
run a reccon on the family room and try it out on the “Mom
Machine”. Oh well, better that than the continuous reruns of “Charmend”.
COD is the “real” player
cutting edge role game activity versus the “Medal of Honour”
Shoot ‘em Up shlock that I was hacking at on my PC. I still need
to find my old copy of Doom as I think this new stuff has passed
me by!
Back to top
Nov 11
– Remembrance Day – Hopefully
everyone took at least a few minutes to observe and reflect. It
is not a lot to ask each year compared to what others have
given. I guess my “passion” primarily traces back to my
grandfather who was in the trenches in WWI, not just as a
soldier, but with the engineers / “miners”, whose job was often
to dig under enemy trenches, plant explosives and blow them up.
He did not talk a lot about it (soldiers typically never do),
but you knew it was something that stayed with him forever.
Girls Hockey
– Call out the dogs - lawyers, The Leaside folks are upset about
ice allocations and claiming that the “girls” are being
disadvantaged by either or both of the “boys” or adults and not
getting their fair share of ice time. Legal threats are in the
air.
Article Shades of Oakville over the years. I still have the
scars from MOHA lobbying with the Town to try to improve our ice
time and hours talking with councillors, going to committee,
appearing before Council to make our case. We were successful in
establishing the “Youth First” mandate for allocation of ice
hours and thought we were going to get a major benefit from it.
Only fair because we / me and MOHA took the heat from the
“displaced” adults and were identified as the instigators in the
media. Folks would stop me or the street or in the rink and
bitch at me about what I / we were doing to them.
Did we get the “reward”
for our efforts? Guess what – wrongo! If memory serves me well
the policy freed up about 25 hours a week of additional prime
time ice for Youth users. You may recall the split (not likely)
– MOHA with 4,000 players got half. The Hornets (girls) with 800
players got half. There is gender equity – equal split between
two organizations, one five times the size of the other! Hmmmm!
Why? Allegedly there was a threat of legal action if it did not
go this way. So, for those adult league members still blaming
MOHA for stealing their ice, go yell at someone else for a
while.
It was after this that
Oakville in consultation with the user groups developed the
formula based system used today with the same youth first
principles.
Interestingly, the who
gets what arenas on what days at what time is still subjective
and subject to some acrimony.
A follow-up article on
the mayor’s position is online tonight and quite interesting.
Not only is he indicating that adults will get the heave ho BUT
he is also saying”
