One Year....

I have had this blog for one year as of yesterday. Also, yesterday (27 November) would have been Bruce Lee's 67th birthday. Wait, this is also my 67th post. Did I plan that???

Where Have I Been?

To put it simply...I just received a PlayStation 3 as a gift.

New Dave Gahan Album

Dave Gahan's second solo album is out. Hourglass was released on 22 October in the UK, 23 October in US. I just got mine. Why did I wait a week to get it? Actually, I had pre-ordered it months ago and since I get everything Depeche Mode related from UK, it took a while. From what I have heard, it is pretty good. Need to listen to it a few more times to really get the feel of the new album. Check it out.

It Is That 'Time'...Again

I totally think setting clocks back and forward is a waste of time.

NHL Network

There is an NHL Network. Twenty-four hours of nothing but hockey. Why did no one tell me about this??? This is the best thing to happen to television since Philo Farnsworth.

Flames Set NHL Record

The Calgary Flames set an NHL record for having a player score two goals since the start of the season in their first seven games. Here is the break down:

Game 1: Daymond Langkow scores twice against Philadelphia.
Game 2: Daymond Langkow, again, scores twice against Vancouver.
Game 3: Kristian Huselius scores twice against Detroit.
Game 4: Matthew Lombardi scores twice against Dallas
Game 5: Kristian Huselius scores two against Nashville
Game 6: Jarome Iginla scores two against Colorado
Game 7: Daymond Langkow scores twice against Los Angeles.

The streak ended last night as four separate Flames scored in a 4-1 victory over Edmonton. Jerome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf both as a goal and two assists in the game. Bad news is the streak is over, good news is they are playing well. After a 0-2-1 start, they are now 4-2-2.

Flames Get First Win of Season

Nearly half way into October, the Flames get their first win of the season, a 3-2 OT victory in Dallas.

Adventure Plex

Tuesday there was a brainstorm session at work. I was asked to join. The first part of the day was to get physical into the theme of the brainstorm topic. We all met at Adventure Plex in the morning. Anyway, we got suited up in crotch enhancers and germ headgear.


The venue offers a full gym, some wire walk thing, and rock climbing. I had a blast, the wire walk was sketchy, but fun. We were about fifteen feet above the ground, walking across some wires along an obstacle course. As usual, being the graceful guy I am, I almost ate it on the criss cross wire.



The course is designed to teach teamwork amongst participants, but if you try not to analyse it, it is pretty fun. Rock climbing was my favourite...because, it did not require said teamwork. Plus, I have always wanted to crawl like Spiderman.


If you have never rock climbed, I recommend it. It is a lot of fun and a great workout at the same time...and you get to be like Spiderman.


Now, I want to get climbing holds and mount them on the wall in my garage so I can do this at home.

Why show ID?

I used to work in a record store. Great job, got discounts on all my Depeche Mode stuff. Anyway, one of my responsibilities was cashier. Did not like it too much, but hey, it was a job. A Job I sucked at. I much rather walk the floor and rearrange the CD's and help out the customers.

Where was I? Oh, the cashier part. As with all retailers, we as cashiers were told to ask the customer for valid identification upon use of a credit card. A debit card, on the other hand, did not warrant such procedure since the PIN would confirm your relation to your card. This practice was strictly enforced. I once caught a guy who used his mom's card. The name on card did not match the name on the license. The manager on duty canceled the transaction and the guy left frustrated...without his CD's.


What is my point? There is a flaw in the system. Like many out there, I hardly carry cash. Most of my purchases are made by credit card. That being said, I noticed that the cashier only asks for your ID when you are buying things. This rule does not apply to restaurants.


You can buy something for five dollars at, for example, Target, using your credit card. They will ask you for valid form of identification. Then go to a restaurant like Islands, order twenty or a hundred dollars of food, pay for it with the same card...they will just run it through, no questions asked.

This process of verifying documents is to protect the card holder of fraud and basically the unauthorized use of said card. But why check it only at retail and not at restaurants?

On a side note: Most cashiers, if anything, only look to see that the name on your ID matches the name on your credit card. Some do not even look at the picture to see if you match the photo. To prove my point, I had one of those credit cards with my photo on the front...they still ask for ID!?! Even when I pointed out that there is a photo of my on the credit card, they insist on proof of identity.

Leaky Pipe

Sorry about the lack of updates, but this damn drain pipe had been leaking since day one. Luckily, day one was a little over a month ago. Still, I had to take apart a cabinet to get to these photos. As you can see, we also had a mold problem. The mold is now clean, but the drain pipe still needs to be fixed.

That one wooden wall, yeah, the one with the water stain on the bottom, is holding up a granite counter top. Thus, it cannot be removed. This make is quite difficult for one to work on said pipe. Looks like I need to cut a hole in the back wall of the cabinet, repair the leak and reassemble the cabinet. Damn it!