- - - Untitled Manuscript - - -

Birth of a legend

2009-02-11T17:23:00.002-05:00

In Fantasy Baseball - "TST: Balls of Furry" are born.

Like hockey?

2009-01-06T19:20:00.000-05:00

Apparently Canada does

"The game was watched in whole or in part by 9.3 million Canadians, or close to 30 per cent of the country's population"
---
Sent from my Commodore 64.

Markets in everything, Xmas edition

2008-12-16T10:26:00.001-05:00

brilliant. Likely would still be better than my wrapping.

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Markets in everything, Xmas edition

via Marginal Revolution by Tyler Cowen on 12/16/08

Company offers to wrap your Christmas purchases just as badly as you could do it yourself

So says Kat, my source on this story. It's called "Crapwrap":

Firebox.com is paying 20 of its male forklift truck drivers and warehouse assistants to wrap presents as quickly as possible, using ugly brown duct tape and very little care.

And the $9 service, cheekily called CrapWrap, has attracted more than 500 customers since it launched last week.

This way she'll think you did it.

...Parcels can even be dispatched in brown paper with a shoddily-tied pink ribbon.

Kevin Smith, 29, is proud to be the worst wrapper at the company's London warehouse.

He said: "I am rubbish. We're not given any instructions. I'm just asked to make a hash of it using lots of brown tape and making sure there are rips and untidy folds.

"It's nice to get away from the normal work: cleaning, packing and moving stuff around. Wrapping is a good distraction."

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that's funny

2008-12-12T14:15:00.001-05:00

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/12/12/penetrating-look/

oldies but goodies

2008-12-11T00:23:00.001-05:00

I needed a quick program to randomise my music for tomorrow morning's walk-to-work-to-do-server-updates(TM) as I didn't want to do it. I know such a program exists and I know someone wrote about it once. Google helped me out as did Microsoft's love of old blogs. The blog entry is so old I'm referencing a RioONE player! Imagine...hilarity. So, the program's name is Shuffler and it'll be shufflin' soon.

On a brighter note, I'm going to sleep once the install is done and shufflin' begins.

Ontario Gov't Reverses on Young Drivers in Light of Facebook Protests

2008-12-09T23:26:00.001-05:00

Truly a sad day in Canadian politics.

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Ontario Gov't Reverses on Young Drivers in Light of Facebook Protests

via Michael Geist Blog by Michael Geist on 12/9/08

The Ontario government has dropped plans to create new restrictions on young drivers in light of huge criticism on Facebook. A Facebook group criticizing the plan garnered 150,000 members and Transportation Minister Jim Bradley admitted that the group had an impact on the government's thinking.

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Would You Pay $7 for Two-Factor Online Banking Authentication? [Ask The Read...

2008-12-07T19:12:00.001-05:00

No matter, all my money is stored in a WOW account any ways...

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Would You Pay $7 for Two-Factor Online Banking Authentication? [Ask The Readers]

via Lifehacker by Jason Fitzpatrick on 12/7/08

Online game World of Warcraft now offers more secure authentication than nearly every online banking system the average consumer can access. Blizzard, the company behind the MMORPG powerhouse, has introduced the ability to use two-factor authentication in WoW. Two-factor authentication involves a second verifier on top of your normal password to log you in (like biometrics or a physical key card). In the case of the new Blizzard system, players can purchase a $6.50 keyfob that provides a six-digit authentication code, which it wirelessly creates on-demand for each login. If an online game system can implement it, why not your bank? Would you pay around the average cost of a fast food meal to have a secure and wireless two-factor authentication system for your bank (or any other online service you wanted a higher level of security on)? I know I won't be able to rest until my Facebook login is secured with a retinal scan.

Warcraft Account Security [via Waxy]

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Fw: AtlantaSteamLFL is now following you on Twitter!

2008-12-06T22:46:00.001-05:00

I'm so popular!
------Original Message------
From: Twitter
To: David Thuss
Subject: AtlantaSteamLFL is now following you on Twitter!
Sent: Dec 6, 2008 10:41 PM

Hi, djthrusst.

AtlantaSteamLFL (AtlantaSteamLFL) is now following your updates on Twitter.

Check out AtlantaSteamLFL's profile here:

http://twitter.com/AtlantaSteamLFL

You may follow AtlantaSteamLFL as well by clicking on the "follow" button.

Best,
Twitter

--
Turn off these emails at: http://twitter.com/account/notifications

---
Sent from my Commodore 64.

Fwd: Stand up for Canada / Leadership pour le Canada

2008-12-03T01:52:00.002-05:00

A message from your friends in the Conservative Party.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Conservative Party of Canada / Parti conservateur du Canada
Date: 2008/12/3
Subject: Stand up for Canada / Leadership pour le Canada
To: this guy

Two months ago Canadians voted in a general election. They made a clear choice. I guess, as far as a minority government reveals a clear choice

Stephen Harper was given a strengthened governing mandate to address the global economic crisis. those particular words were not on my ballot

Canadians did not give Stéphane Dion a mandate to lead Canada. He was personally rejected by voters just as he was subsequently personally rejected by his party. such words are hurtful

Nor did Canadians give the Liberals a mandate to form a coalition with the NDP. In fact, the Liberals explicitly promised there would be no coalition with the NDP. And Harper made people think that fixed election dates existed; we talk, we talk. - I mean, I said at the time, that the Constitution Act of 1867 already had instituted a fixed election date no more than 5 years following the last general election; we talk, we talk

And they certainly did not give either the Liberals or the NDP a mandate to govern with the Separatists, the very people who want to destroy Canada. What Canadians did, however, was elect a number of individuals to represent them in Parliament. That these individuals represented, or were supported by, parties certainly matters; however, at the end of the day, it was these individuals who were voted into Parliament. How they subsequently vote on motions, with whom they choose to affiliate is not something the voters can now control.

Yet, yesterday, in a shocking display of undemocratic arrogance, a socialist-separatist driven coalition announced that they will try to overturn the results of the election and seize power without first going back to the voters. It's late as I write this. Yet, I know it has been about 80 yeas since we forced elections based on the changing roles of MPs. It was once common for them to seek a mandate from their constituents prior to accepting ministerial posts...not so common a procedure anymore (and unlike those who display such "undemocratic arrogance" there was a time when leaders, recognising that they did not enjoy the confidence of the house, would set aside for those leaders who did)

The new socialist-separatist driven coalition is an attack on Canada's democracy as the proposed leader of this unelected, illegitimate, coalition remains Stéphane Dion, whom Canadians would still reject as Prime Minister were another election held today. Actually, every member of this coalition was elected. "illegitimate"? - do the voices of those outside the governing party not matter?

The new socialist-separatist coalition is an attack on Canada's economy – as it would empower NDP – whose discredited left-wing ideology is so risky that even the Liberals call it "economically damaging". ...likely right on this count.

And the new socialist-separatist driven coalition is an attack on Canada itself. For no responsible national leader would ever give power to a group that wants to destroy one of the most peaceful and prosperous nations ever to have existed. Yet the Queen was ok with the Bloc being her Majesty's Loyal Opposition (yes, Harper, I know your friends had an issue with it then, and I know the Queen wasn't about to step in and say they couldn't be the opposition but...really, doesn't the west talk more of separation now than the federal pension-recieving-Bloc?)

It is time for Canadians to stand up against backroom deals that would usurp the elected government without the people's consent. And stand up for the kind of people who record all their telephone conversations and ensure that even caucus meetings are no longer private.

It is time for Canadians to stand up against coalitions with discredited socialists that would put our economy at risk. I demand discredited capitalists!

It is time for Canadians stand up against alliances that would provide a veto to the separatists who would destroy our country. Sure, but - you don't ask them not to support your bills, do you? I mean, you have to rely on the support of some of these "left-wingers" "separatists" and "Dion-lovers..then haters...and now lovers again", don't you? Until you achieve your glorious majority, that is.

It's time to Stand up for Canada.

It's time to Let the people speak.

[video] Voting Machines Elect One Of Their Own As President

2008-11-04T13:13:00.001-05:00

Finally, the suspense is over

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[video] Voting Machines Elect One Of Their Own As President

via The Onion on 11/4/08

Voting machine DRE700 came out of nowhere to defeat Barack Obama and John McCain and become the first machine president.

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Calling all Rogers customers

2008-11-04T13:08:00.001-05:00

It's time to be appreciated: http://www.rogersthankyou.com/

Chances to win some decent prizes or...like me, to donate some monies to United Way.

The brain trust at Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.

2008-10-29T22:17:00.001-04:00

So I busted into the Hallowe'en candy (the children be damned) and had a Tootsie Roll Pop. It was really good. The flavour? Pomegranate. Have they always had this? It's excellent and I'm still on the first 20 licks.

good stuff.

Anyone else disappointed in the WS results? WTF Tampa? I believed in your story.

I'm sorry

2008-10-29T13:13:00.002-04:00

http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/index.html?nid=fE2Pnm.Lox_DM3G5eobswjY2MDcxMTY-&id=

Carving pumpkins this week? Check out this site

2008-10-27T10:03:00.001-04:00

http://www.extremepumpkins.com/

This site is great. I used a number of his tips - especially the one about using power tools . A reciprocating saw through the top made quick work of that (I'd say 30 seconds). Then I free-handed a design on some paper (with some inspirado from the internets) and transferred the design to the pumpkin using nail punctures. Then connecting the dots with a jigsaw was super easy. Yesterday I made a "scary" jack o' lantern and a silhouette of everyone's favourite ghoul, Oogie Boogie.

Danielle and I had bought 5 large pumpkins and I get to carve two more. Hope to do it tonight; not sure yet what my designs will be.

BIMBO ERUPTION

2008-10-27T09:31:00.001-04:00

Run to the hills, Run for your lives.

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BIMBO ERUPTION

via Warren Kinsella by Warren Kinsella on 10/27/08

When Betsey Wright famously coined the term "bimbo eruption," I know - because I've interviewed her - that she didn't have in mind this Floridian anchor-airhead, reciting talking points cobbled from the mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging blogosweird. But she could have.

Marxism! Socialism! Black helicopters! One World Government! Fluoridation and metrification! Good Lord almighty, why can't America see that Joe Biden is the spawn of Satan?

From a far-right web outfit that, uncharacteristically, has not - seemingly - altered the tape, thereby making sane people wish they could vote Obama-Biden two or three times.

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VICTORY!

2008-10-24T19:23:00.001-04:00

Now it's like the Liberals won the election! I'm glad back-to-the-fold-Warren is happy.

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VICTORY!

via Warren Kinsella by Warren Kinsella on 10/24/08

Liberals win seat as recount overturns election results near Montreal
(FedElxn-Que-Recount)
Source: The Canadian Press
Oct 24, 2008 17:26

MONTREAL - A Liberal candidate has defeated a Bloc Quebecois incumbent after a recount overturned election night results in a suburban Montreal riding.

The Bloc's Marcel Lussier thought he had been re-elected in Brossard-La Prairie riding by just 102 votes over Liberal candidate Alexandra Mendes.

But a recount by a Quebec Superior Court judge has found that Mendes defeated Lussier by 69 votes in the Oct. 14 federal election.

Lussier, an engineer and environmental specialist, had held the riding since 2006.

The new tally gives the Liberals 77 seats nationally and drops the Bloc to 49.

Several recounts were ordered in ridings across the country following last week's federal election.

INDEX: POLITICS

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Ron Howard's Call To Action [w/ Andy Griffith and Fonzie]

2008-10-23T16:47:00.001-04:00

not bad. Makes me want to go catch fish with peanut butter and jam.

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Ron Howard's Call To Action [w/ Andy Griffith and Fonzie]

via digg.com: Stories / Popular on 10/23/08

Ron howard wants to talk about the election. So does Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler. It's great to see these guys still got it!

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McCain says Obama backs both teams in baseball World Series

2008-10-22T12:10:00.001-04:00

This headline made me think The Onion rather than The BBC. Politickin' has got a little less honourable when we start going after people for the teams they choose to support

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McCain says Obama backs both teams in baseball World Series

via BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition on 10/22/08

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain accuses rival Barack Obama of backing both teams in the baseball World Series

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D4 - comic gold.

2008-10-22T12:01:00.001-04:00

Alright, not gold - but not bad. If you have two minutes:
http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/when_life_gets_you_down

Never Again / Plus jamais

2008-10-20T19:18:00.001-04:00

I'm subscribed to the mailing lists of all the parties - it's an
interesting channel through which to view the news. At any rate I
thought the letter below was interesting for its interpretation of why
Dion lost. Increasingly the Liberals are not competitive in more and
more ridings across Canada (hmm...more and more the Liberals are
increasingly not competitive...no, that doesn't sound right
either...oh well). I find it hard to believe that this is a result
solely of the leader or how the leader is viewed (though no doubt many
voters base their vote on the leader of the party rather than the
candidates within their riding). The new found "green-shift," while in
vogue perhaps, never really seemed to gain much ground. How much of
that campaign was Dion's child alone isn't clear but I think that the
party has a lot to do - and Dion was not necessarily the biggest issue
for them this past election.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Stéphane Dion <info@email.liberal.ca>
Date: Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 6:43 PM
Subject: Never Again / Plus jamais
To:

Never Again

Dear Liberal Friend,

You may already know that earlier today I announced that I will step
down as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Over the next several
months, the party will conduct a leadership race to determine my
successor.

Moving forward, I have one overarching goal: the next leader must not
be subjected to the same Conservative Party character assassination
that I faced. To be successful, I need your help.

Harper's Conservatives have enjoyed an enormous financial lead since
the fundraising rules were changed, and from the moment I was elected
leader, they poured millions of dollars into unprecedented attack ad
campaigns. The Liberal Party lacked the resources to respond, and by
the time the election was called, a false image of me was cemented in
the minds of too many voters.

That can never be permitted to happen again. Between now and when the
next leader is elected, you and I must ensure the Liberal Party has
the financial resources to counter Conservative attacks. Every single
time.

So I'm asking you to be generous now, not for me, but for the man or
woman who will succeed me and lead our Liberal Party into the next
election – an election we simply must win. And while a one-time
donation today will help, for long-term strength and stability, I
would like you to consider making a monthly contribution of $10, $15,
$25 or more.

We did not win this election, but our vision of a richer, fairer,
greener country lives on. Please help now to ensure that the next
leader of the Liberal Party can turn that vision into Canada's
reality.

Thank you.

Stéphane Dion
Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

Authorized by the Federal Liberal Agency of Canada, registered agent
for the Liberal Party of Canada

Twice the leagues, twice the anguish

2008-10-19T16:59:00.001-04:00

Fantasy update:

LBFF league - 8 out of 12

Format: 2C,4W,4D,2G,4Bench,1IR

Centres: Malkin, Datsyuk
Wingers: Kovalev, Kariya, Dumont, Morrow, S. Kostitsyn, Voros
Defence: Rafalski, Steit, Byfuglien, Edler, Whitney
Goalies: Biron, Khabibulin, DiPietro, Boucher

Any guesses on which position is my weakest?

KUC'ers League - 5 out of 12

Format: 2C,4W,4D,1G,2Bench,1IR

Centres: Thronton, M Richards
Wingers: St. Louis, Kariya, Doan, Brunnstrom, Demitra
Defence: Visnovsky, Streit, Rivet, Liles, Whitney
Goalies: Fleury, Vokoun

Was in first for a bit, feel pretty good about this team.

Powell on the US Election

2008-10-19T12:24:00.001-04:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27265490#27265490

An interesting dissection of the campaigns to date and why Powell will vote for Obama,

same goes for voting NDP

2008-10-16T14:07:00.001-04:00

Did you hurt a cat this past Tuesday?

http://dlcinci.blogspot.com/2008/01/warning.html

Fwd: Your Cable General Inquiry (KMM54393806I114L0KM)

2008-10-16T08:11:00.001-04:00

Sadly Sportsnet does not cover much of what TSN2 is offering. Rogers licks sometimes. The question regarding RDS was also when they'd be offering it outside of a stupid French package. See below, emphasis mine.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rogers Cable Customer Service <rogerscabletv@rci.rogers.com>
Date: 2008/10/16
Subject: Re: Your Cable General Inquiry (KMM54393806I114L0KM)
To: me

Dear David,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us, we appreciate your use of
our online customer service.

In your recent email, you inquired as to when TSN2 HD will be made
available with Rogers. Also, you asked when RDS HD WILL be made
available as an a la carte channel rather than as part of a package.

Currently, no firm decision has been made at this point with respect to
TSN2. Rogers continues their discussions with TSN about TSN2 but has
not announced plans to offer it as of yet. We do appreciate your
interest and suggest that you continue visiting www.rogers.com for
updates. We thank you for your patience and understanding in this
regard.

Also, you may wish to consider Canada's only 24-hour regional sports
network broadcasting in Ontario, the SportsnetOntario channel 402,
which provides most of the programs covered on TSN2. For further
information on this channel, you may visit the website at
www.sportsnet.ca.

We currently have the RDS channel in Digital, however, we do not carry
it in high definition at this point. We may be launching this channel
in the future in high definition but no firm decision has been made at
this point.

Thank you for choosing Rogers. Should you have any further inquires,
please contact us at www.rogers.com, or call our Customer Service
Department at 1-888-764-3771, 24/7.

For future email correspondence with respect to this e-mail, please
quote reference number 40296696.

Regards,
Katherine W.
Rogers Online Customer Service
http://www.rogers.com

If TorrentFreak thinks so, you should too!

2008-10-13T19:27:00.001-04:00

http://torrentfreak.com/canadian-democrats-are-pro-bittorrent-and-against-throttling-081011/
Clicking the link will bring you to the article wherein you can watch a video of Mr. Jack.

Canadian Democrats are Pro BitTorrent and Against Throttling

Written by Ernesto on October 11, 2008

Three days before the Canadian elections, the party leader of the New Democrats has spoken out in favor of BitTorrent sites, calling them "fundamental to democracy." At the same time, isoHunt, the largest Canadian BitTorrent site advises its users not to vote for the Conservatives, considering their stance on copyright issues.

Jack Layton, leader of the Canadian New Democrats is a proponent of net-neutrality, and he believes that social networking sites, YouTube and torrent sites are great services that should be available to everyone.

In a direct message to our friends at p2pnet Layton stated: "Torrent sites [...] are actually very fundamental to making a democracy work, and to helping human intelligence to be shared and exchanged. It's about as fundamentally democratic as you can get."

In the video message Layton is very clear. Throttling people's connections is not an option. The Internet should be open and equal to everyone.

"What we want to see is the Internet used as a public tool — a public tool for exchanging ideas and I particularly want to say that if we don't fight to preserve it, we could lose it. We don't want to see hidden fees and gouging and service slow-downs all in the interests of promoting the objectives of certain large corporations," Layton says in his message to P2Pnet.

With his statement, he joins his fellow party member Charles Angus, who has spoken out against against 'anti-piracy bills' and in favor of Net-neutrality many times before. In an interview last June, for example, he said that the proposed three-strikes law is idiotic, and completely useless.

"It's idiotic because as we see with the DMCA those that get accused of infringements lack the legal power that the corporations that are threatening them have," Angus said. "So it's always going to be a completely one-sided argument and if ISP's are legally bound to cut you off after three claims of infringement, I think there are certainly problems."

Based on their views on net-neutrality and copyright bills, the New Democrats seem to be the best party to vote for. Much better than the Conservatives at least, who are supporting ACTA and bill C-61. Unfortunately, many Canadians are planning to vote for the Conservative, as they are awfully close to a majority. This triggered isoHunt's founder Gary Fung, who's from Canada as well, to encourage his Canadian users not to vote for them.

On the frontpage of isoHunt Gary writes: "I know about 3.7 million Canadians visited isoHunt last month, which is more than 10% of Canada's population. So I ask all who read this to tell your Canadian friends to not be a slacker and vote on Oct. 14. I don't care which party you vote, just vote any party but the Conservatives." In addition to this statement, all Canadian isoHunt visitors will now see the following message on top of the page, which leads them to Gary's statement.

isoHunt's message to Canadian voters

The New Democrats seem to be a good alternative to the Conservative party. However, towards the end of the video message Layton scared us a little by saying: "The Internet belongs to Canadians," but we're pretty sure he is trying to say that all Canadians should have equal access to the web.