I Doubt Anyone's Keeping Track.

There is all sorts of information that no one is keeping track of.  For a lot of it there probably isn't a practical way of doing so.  One example is the average life span of a webcomic.  Anyone who has read more than a couple has been a reader of a series that has gone silent, or stumbled across one after it has.  Long running series like Questionable Content must keep the number higher that it might, given that a lot of webcomics make it a year, or less, before the creators realise they're in over their heads, or lose interest. 

A Possible Solution.

The mess prompted by the revelation that Jian Ghomeshi is apparently a giant creep continues to have effects.  One of them is that CBC has pulled the video versions of his various interviews off of YouTube, and won't use them on Q.  But perhaps there's a solution.  Re-edit the material to remove Ghomeshi.  It would be an audio and video equivalent of Garfield Minus Garfield, where strips are edited to remove the titular cat.  It would be a lot of work, and might not work with some interviews, but it would make for an interesting listening experience.

Are You Out There?

I hope not.  I hope you aren't one of those people who are going to sit out in the cold all night so you can buy some supposed door crasher at 6 AM on Boxing Day.  It's silly.  Especially if you live in a place like Saskatoon, where it will be -23 Celsius overnight.  If you haven't left already stay home, and save yourself the pain.

Google Likes Me.

Seriously, I've received quite a few hits of late attributed to Googlebot-image for various random posts here.  They must be doing some sort of archive updating or something.

Gas In Saskatoon, December 19, 2014.

The week of December12th saw no change in prices in Saskatoon.  This week made up for it with a double dip.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 89.9 cents a litre at most locations.  At this point it's probably pointless to speculate how low prices will go, as they just keep dropping.

Victorious.

Yes, I have beaten some of you.  I'm all done my Christmas shopping.

Of course when you're only buying for three people it's kind of easy, isn't it?

Remember, you have less than seven days left, depending on the shopping hours where you live.

Generic Can Be A Problem.

I've been on a bit of an '80s and early '90s nostalgia kick of late, having spent a lot of time looking at old TV commercials on YouTube.  And this morning I was thinking of the days when music videos were the hot thing, and there were who knows how many video shows on both network and local TV.  But one I remember is kind of hard to look up.  To the best of my knowledge the title, or partial title, was Rock and Roll Video.  As you can imagine it's pretty hard to find something like that when it's such a generic phrase.  Of course CBC's long running daytime video show was Video Hits, another generic title, but it's much easier to find when you know the broadcaster.

Forever The Same.

I caught the premiere of ABC's new series Forever tonight.  Honestly they're going to need a lot of work to make this one differ much from previous shows about immortals.  It already looks like it will contain the classic elements, namely the hero getting badly mangled or killed each episode, and the inevitable flashbacks to his past.  You'd think someone could do something different with the concept, like say have it revolve around those who have just become immortal and all the things they go through as they slowly realise what it all really means.  Of course there's a good chance it will get six episodes and be cancelled. 

Addenda:  Oops, I didn't know this show has been on the air for a while.  This shows you how much attention I pay to network TV these days.

Ill.

I'm fighting a cold right now. Given how I coughed this morning I'm surprised I didn't cough out a lung.  Too bad I don't know anyone to give this cold to.

Carrying A Concealed Snake?

Chances are this will soon reach the "weird news" segment of your newscast of choice.  But if you see this soon enough you can say you saw it here first.  Two Saskatoon men are currently in custody, facing charges of mischief and causing a disturbance, after they threw a snake at Tim Hortons employees at the 22nd Street location.  The two men became irate after an employee of the restaurant told them couldn't have diced onions on their sandwiches, prompting one to pull the snake out of the other's pocket, and throw it over the counter.  The employees fled, and after police were called the two men were located nearby and arrested.  The snake was a garter snake, which of course is not venomous, and was taken into protective custody.

As if we didn't have to worry about Saskatoon crooks with guns, knives, and bear spray, now it's concealed snakes.

The Last Christmas?

No, not for you or me(unless our luck turns really bad).  Rather, seeing a toy ad online for Sears Canada got me wondering if this might be the last Christmas for them.  Like its US parent the Canadian version is not in good shape.  Their revenue has dropped heavily in recent years, and they lost money, almost 120 million dollars, in the third quarter of this year.  Their workforce is half what it was in 2005.  New CEO Ronald Boire claims the company is not going away, but to some extent that seems like wishful thinking.

I have a family connection with the company.  My mother worked in the women's underwear department of the Saskatoon store for years.  So it's strange to think of it disappearing, that this might be the last year their familiar Christmas Wish Book turns up in mail boxes.  Of course it could be argued that this is another sign of Sears failing, still putting out what must be an expensive piece of advertising in the scheme of things in the modern online era.  In any case, it could be that this time next year all that will remain of Sears Canada is memories.

Where's My Backbone?

Has anyone seen it?

Remember.

Misogyny kills.  Sexism helps it persist.  On this day in 1989 14 female students at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique were murdered by Marc Lepine for the crime of being women.


Geneviève Bergeron (b. 1968), civil engineering student.
Hélène Colgan (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Nathalie Croteau (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Barbara Daigneault (b. 1967), mechanical engineering student.
Anne-Marie Edward (b. 1968), chemical engineering student.
Maud Haviernick (b. 1960), materials engineering student.
Maryse Laganière (b. 1964), budget clerk in the École Polytechnique's finance department.
Maryse Leclair (b. 1966), materials engineering student.
Anne-Marie Lemay (b. 1967), mechanical engineering student.
Sonia Pelletier (b. 1961), mechanical engineering student.
Michèle Richard (b. 1968), materials engineering student.
Annie St-Arneault (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Annie Turcotte (b. 1969), materials engineering student.
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (b. 1958), nursing student.

We always remember the names of the people who perpetrate this violence.  We need to remember the names of their victims.

(This post was inspired by James Nicoll's annual memoriam posts about the Montreal Massacre.)

Gas In Saskatoon, December 5, 2014.

The 100 cent barrier has been broken.  After a couple of dips this week the first Friday of December sees gas in Saskatoon at 97.9 cents a litre at most locations.  If prices fall below the 90 cent mark early in 2015 I will be entirely unsurprised.

However, if you drive a diesel fueled vehicle each drop in gasoline prices must seem like cruel taunting.  A litre of diesel currently costs over 30  cents more than a litre of gasoline in Saskatoon.  It used to be that diesel was always a bit cheaper than gasoline, but those days are gone.

More Than I Thought.

The death of hockey great Jean Beliveau got me thinking about hockey and this blog.  I don't watch hockey, as I'm not a fan.  Yeah, there are Canadians that don't pay attention to hockey.  I assumed I haven't mentioned it much here as a result.  But when I did a search I found that hockey has come up here more than I thought.  The number of posts that primarily deal with hockey is small, but they are there.  I even have a hockey tag.  It just shows how much of an effect the sport has on Canadian culture whether you're a fan or not.

To Close Out The Month.

Here's a piece of library music from one Steve Gray to mellow you out.  The Bruton Music library album it comes from is even called Relax.

Gas In Saskatoon, November 28, 2014.

Once again I'm posting during what appears to be another drop.  Gas already dropped a cent on Tuesday, and today it seems to be dropping another cent, with several outlets having dropped their prices to 100.4 cents a litre today.  I assume the others will follow suit.

The first post I labelled as Gas In Saskatoon, way back on September 12, 2008, showed gas at 145.9 cents a litre.  Literally in that case, since I included a picture.  Just before 2008 ended the price had dropped to 74.9 cents a litre.  I doubt we'll ever see prices drop that far again.

Don't Sing That Song.

If you are in Saskatchewan today you better not sing "Let It Snow."  Given today's horrible weather you might get chased around by irate people upset about today's heavy snow.  And given how much it has already snowed you might have trouble getting away from them.

Bleh.

The next bit is going to be annoying for me.  I'll be spending a lot of time outside, in serious cold temperatures, and I'm going to have to do some of that on the weekend because of a previous commitment tomorrow morning.  Plus it sounds like there's more snow on the way, which means shovelling, and potential reductions in driving conditions.  Oh, the joys of living in such a variable climate.

I Was Right.

The visitor count did jump up today.  Not hugely, but anything is better than zero.

In other boring to probably everyone else news I suspect this may be a 200 or more post year on the blog.  I haven't had a 200 plus post year since 2006.

Big Fat Zero.

I had no visitors to the blog yesterday.  None.  And that came after a Saturday with only a couple of visitor, despite the Stevie Wonder clip I posted.  Where did everybody go?  Of course that probably means I'll get a whole bunch of hits Monday.

Wonder On The Street.

For a while now I've been thinking about doing a series of Sesame Street Saturday posts, featuring classic Sesame Street clips from the '70s.  I don't know if I actually will, but I just had to post this.



I sure don't remember this.  Killer version.  Perhaps it didn't get aired in Canada for some sort of performance rights reason.

November Showers...

...aren't likely to bring anything good.  The rain may be light today but it's still water on the road.  Once it gets below freezing tonight the roads might be a wee bit of fun to drive.  And it's supposed to snow tomorrow.  Of course it's not as bad as some of you might be experiencing in certain parts of the US and Eastern Canada today.  No one has to worry about their roof collapsing from snow.

Gas In Saskatoon, November 21, 2014.

Further down it goes.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 104.4 cents a litre at most locations.  Another price drop could see at least a couple of gas stations with prices at or below the 100 cents a litre mark.

Today's Duh Moment.

I just about went out the door this morning with my t shirt on backwards.  I noticed this just as I got to the door, so I had to quickly switch it around.  These modern shirts with no physical label, just an inked on one, are supposedly more comfortable, but they make it easier to do something dumb like that.

Expect More.

This morning  CBC Radio's World Report newscast included a report on a Quebec tattoo removal salon that is under fire.  18 customers have complained that they now have permanent scars as a result of the salon's methods, which the company disputes.  Given the rising number of people with tattoos and other forms of body modification these days I suspect we're going to hear an increasing number of such stories over the next few years.  Given the processes involved in such things an inept or negligent operation could get a lot of people hurt.  The biggest risk comes from anyone who doesn't follow health precautions rigorously, so hopefully we won't hear of a bad tattoo shop infecting a bunch of people with something like hepatitis.

Thanks, Glen.

Although he died Friday it only became public yesterday that veteran TV writer and producer Glen A. Larson died Friday.  If you watched any amount of US made TV programming in the '70s and '80s there's a good chance you were a regular viewer of a series Larson had a hand in.  His entertainment career began in 1956 when he was a member of the vocal group the Four Preps, whose 3 gold records were written by Larson.  Larson moved on to the TV business, working for Quinn Martin Productions before going out on his own.  His work ranged over a variety of genres, from the crusading coroner Quincy, ME, to the space drama of Battlestar Galactica.  The latter was Larson's most personal project, one he began work on in 1968, and had elements based on his Mormon faith.

Unlike some of his contemporaries Larson proved unable to sustain his success, with his projects after the mid '80s being largely unsuccessful, or rehashes of his earlier work.  He had no real involvement in the 2003 remake of Galactica, and work on a big screen continuation of the original with Bryan Fisher circa 2010 stalled.  It was often suggested during the height of his career that Larson's projects were too often attempts to cash in on trends, or had elements taken from other works.  However valid such criticisms might be Larson had a lot of influence on American TV while he was successful, and his work continues to have influence.

So, Tito Ortiz Versus Stephan Bonnar...

Spike probably should have just ended the broadcast with Brooks beating Chandler, weird as that fight ended.  It would have saved the Joe Rogan/Mike Goldberg stand ins having to pretend it was a good fight.  Bonnar looked like an old man, and Ortiz like a guy who couldn't beat an old man.  If Bellator's promotion strategy is hyping guys who are past it, they may want to rethink that strategy.  I also have to wonder about them scheduling it at the same time as UFC 180.  They did have the advantage of it being free on Spike, but their audience numbers no doubt weren't as good as they might have been in the normal Friday Bellator slot.

When I Rule The World 24.

All restaurants will have to post their complete menus, including prices, at the front entrance.  Just think of all the trouble you'll save not going into a restaurant you can't afford, or has a menu composed of things you'd don't want to eat.

Gas In Saskatoon, November 14, 2014.

As I write this we seem to be in the midst of a price change.  Today gas prices dropped to 107.9 cents a litre at a number of locations, while others were still at the previous price of 112.9 cents a litre as I rode past them on the bus this afternoon. 

A LIttle Too Cold.

If you like soft drinks, you presumably like them cold.  But you don't want them too cold.  At noon today I bought a couple of donuts from Safeway at the Mall at Lawson Heights.  I then went outside to buy a Coke Zero from a vending machine they have sitting outside, since it's 40 cents cheaper than buying a bottle in the Safeway.  But when I went back into the mall to eat and drink I found a bit of a surprise.  The Coke Zero was half frozen.  The frozen bit had a texture close to that of a Slurpy.  In retrospect I should have considered that there might be some ice in it, given that it's -10 C during the day.  I suspect the soft drinks inside might end up totally frozen when it gets even colder.

Did I Break It?

I was just trying to make a post at a website I like to visit.  I went to all the trouble of writing a nice, coherent, well formatted post.  But just as I hit the post button the website went kablooie.  I hope I didn't do that.  At least I managed to grab a copy of my post before trying to reconnect, which isn't working so far. 

Get Used To It.

There's snow on the ground in Saskatoon this morning.  Don't like it?  Tough.  There's the possibility of more snow over the next few days, and the 7 day forecast shows no chance of above freezing temperatures.  So that white stuff won't be going anywhere, except to wherever it is that you shovel it.  And we may see another polar vortex this year, so it may be a good while before we get a warm weather break.

Gas In Saskatoon, November 7, 2014.

Given the recent trend in prices the first gas price change in November came as a bit of a surprise.  Gas in Saskatoon has jumped to 112.9 cents a litre at most locations.  Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come for the rest of November.

Should've Weighed Myself.

It`s something I should have done.  I got a haircut this morning, and I think I might have lost a pound or two as a result.  But now I`ll never know.

Hair'd Work.

This afternoon I saw a teenage kid with a giant afro.  I couldn't help but wonder how much work he put into growing and maintaining it.  I would imagine doing so is somewhat of a vanishing art in the 21st Century.  And Saskatoon might not be the easiest place to find a barber or hair dresser with experience in working on an afro.

My Giant Bankroll.

It's been a good while since I've won any free money from PokerStars.  But today I managed to make the money in the Weekly Round 2.  I won $1.10, so now I have a gigantic $1.11 bankroll to use to conquer the sit and goes.  I'm still thinking of putting 25 bucks in and resurrecting my 100 Sit and Go project, but with my new windfall I can play 4 of them without putting in a cent of my own money.

Gas In Saskatoon, October 31, 2014.

When it comes to gas prices, this Halloween it's a treat, and not a trick.  Gas in Saskatoon has dropped to 106.9 cents a litre at most locations.  The first Friday of October, the 3rd, it was 125.9 cents a litre.  So it's dropped almost 20 cents this month.  Even if you have a modest fill when you visit the gas pump you'll be paying several dollars less now than you did then.

The Enemy Approaches.

You can tell it's coming.  This morning I had to scrape frost off the car windows for the first time.  I also saw some ice in the gutters where there was still water from the snow and rain at  the start of the week. 

Yes, the evil of Winter is on the way.  Too bad it couldn't stay above freezing all year.

Spam On eBay.

You can buy Spam on eBay.  The food product that is.  I just had the whim to enter spam into their search engine, and surprise, you can buy actual Spam on eBay.  Why would you buy Spam on eBay?  I suppose if you live someplace where Spam isn't sold, and you really have a craving, you'd mail order some.  Of course whether it would make it through Customs if you were ordering from another country is another question.

A Piece Of The Pie?

It's been a long time since I've done any Shameless Hit Mongering, so it's time for some.  Today's phrase that probably doesn't pay is GamerGate. 

Gas In Saskatoon, October 24, 2014.

Will we see prices near the one dollar a litre mark before long?  It wouldn't surprise me, as the downward trend continues.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 111.9 cents a litre at most locations. 

Taylor Swift, The Next Merzbow?

Taylor Swift hit the Canadian iTunes chart this week with an 8 second clip of white noise.  Her record company is claiming this release was an accident.  Me, I think she's just testing the waters.  Soon, she'll be releasing albums of power electronics with Patty Waters style vocals, just watch.

The Wheels On The Buses...

...are going round again in Saskatoon.  Specifically Saskatoon Transit is back in action.  Hopefully the city won't try for another lockout.  Service will be free until the end of the month, so if you've never taken the buses here before, or haven't in a long time, you might want to go for a ride or two. 

PokerStars Messes Around.

I'm a bit annoyed with PokerStars tonight.  They're messing around with their Weekly Round 2 freerolls.  They've changed the schedule for them, reduced time per level to 8 minutes, and they will no longer offer tournament leaderboard points.  It would be interesting to know why.  Too many computer cycles that could be better spent, from their perspective, on their new Spin and Go gimmick?  In general the number of no deposit needed freerolls seems to have gone down over the last year, which would seem to indicate they want to concentrate more on people who will deposit money, instead of the folks who want to win money or tournament entries with no deposits.

Tick.

And another number changes on the old odometer. 

Gas In Saskatoon, October 17, 2014.

How low can it go?  Your guess is as good as mine.  But once more the price of gas has dropped in Saskatoon.  Gas is now 115.9 cents a litre at most locations.

It Actually Is Out There.

This seems to be turning into webcomic week here, doesn't it?

Looking for Sage Leaves' Blip?  It seems it actually still is online, here.  Best go read it soon, as I suspect it may not be around forever.

Living To Death Begins.

Alex Wendzel's sequel to Out at Home has begun.  It's called Living To Death.  And what does it begin with?  Kate in glasses.  Anyway, check it out.

Out At Home Ends.

The final panel is up.  But don't go away.  The launch of whatever the sequel is will apparently be Tuesday. 

Working On A Holiday Sunday.

It's not something I like to do.  Nor working on a Sunday in general.  But for what I have to do this week I really can't justify not doing some of it today.  Skipping a day just because it's a holiday would just mean more work for the rest of the week, and more chance of getting a new batch on top of what I'm already doing.

At least the weather will be nice.

Gas In Saskatoon, October 10, 2014.

You don't normally expect presents for Thanksgiving, but today we were given one.  Gas in Saskatoon has dropped to 119.4 cents a litre at most locations. 

Hair.

I shaved this morning, forestalling a reappearance of the dreaded really annoying to get rid of beard. It had reached the merely slightly bothersome to get rid of point.  Thinking about it just now it made me realise how much we obsess over hair.  We want to get rid of in certain places.  We want to it to keep growing in certain places.  We have all sorts of rules of  what is acceptable grooming of the hair we want around and what isn't, rules which often don't make sense for the type of hair we have.  And all this results in who knows how many billions of dollars a year spent on having people do things to it, and buying stuff to put in it or on it, or to remove it.  Just imagine how much free time and money you'd have if you just ignored it.

At least until it got to the point were it became a hazard, like getting caught in doors, or causing you to trip.  So maybe we better not get too blaise about it.

It Would Bring Them Down.

Remember this one?  It was a hit for Kenny Rogers in 1980.  It came to mind this morning, so I gave it a listen for the first time in I bet thirty years.  It's  a classic country "story song," and kind of a disturbing one, since it includes what is pretty obvious rape.  Would country music programmers select this for a new songs playlist these days?  I suspect they'd be hesitant to bum their listeners out with something that wasn't an ode to beer and trucks.

The Simple Pleasures In Life.

Sometimes that seems like all I've got left.

And that's it for this edition of "Mr. Gueguen posts something that sounds really depressing." 

Take This.

If you read my last post, and it bummed you out, maybe this one will make you cheer up a bit.  Catchy and breezy, isn't it?

Circle.

24 hours later, and my mood is in just about the same place it was last night.  What a difference a day doesn't make.

FYI: Saskatoon Transit Refunds

Currently have a Saskatoon Transit bus pass?  The City of Saskatoon is offering a number of options to compensate for the lost service caused by September's lockout.  You can see the details here.  Of course it requires you to be able to get to one of those locations, which may be kind of hard for some of you without transit service.

Still Relevant.

The line "Fear of a female planet" in Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing" was a reference to Public Enemy's 1990 album Fear of a Black Planet.  But listening to the song for the first time in a long while it struck me as still very relevant.  When even the mildest of feminist criticisms of society can still generate vitriol and threats of violence it's not hard to think that a lot of people are still afraid of a planet where women have more freedom.

Respite.

I get to sit around and do nothing on Saturday.  Not that it will help my mood much right now.

Gas In Saskatoon, October 3, 2014.

We had a couple of weeks of stability, but up it went this week.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 125.9 cents a litre at most locations.  I wouldn't be surprised if we see another increase next week as Canadian Thanksgiving approaches.

I Should Have Paid More Attention.

It seems I should have paid more attention to the National League East this year.  If I had I would have seen that the annoying Atlanta Braves got pounded this year.  While the Washington Nationals easily took the division, the Braves and the rest all will end with losing records.  Hopefully the Nationals will make it to the World Series this year.

I Blame You.

I want my bus service back.  I blame you, City of Saskatoon, for it not being there.  After all you were the ones who locked out the transit workers.  I think you're trying to play games, both with city council ramming through the changes in the city pension plan, and perhaps with operating expenses for transit.  After all if there are no buses running for X days that's X days gas isn't being burned, along with whatever other expenses you pay to keep buses running for 18 hours a day.

In general I don't think the current city council has munch interest in transit.  After all the downtown bus mall has long been a source of complaints, and what has been done about it?  Pretty much nothing.  They seem more interested in ridiculous plans for when Saskatoon has a population of 500 thousand, or even a million, a situation that may never occur.   They don't seem to think that if you get things right now it makes for a stronger base for the future.

A Rare Bird Soars.

If you're into electronic music this might be of interest.  UK musician Dan Wilson has acquired a Crumar GDS, one of the earliest digital synthesizers to be commercially sold.  Just barely sold, since apparently only 10 were actually built.  Wilson's unit was formerly owned by Klaus Schulze, and used to record his album Dig It.  Other GDS users were Wendy Carlos, and Chris Franke of Tangerine Dream.  He's started a thread on it on Vintage Synth Explorer forums, and has very good news to report.  He's managed to get it to boot up, and it plays.  It's really cool that such a rare instrument, which probably hadn't been turned on in years, or even a couple of decades, can actually be played. 

Snip, Snip, Buzz, Buzz.

Because I get lazy about shaving I keep ending up with these stupid beards.  The longer you let a stupid beard grow, the harder it is to get rid of.  So I spent a bunch of time this morning with a cheap pair of scissors cutting it down to size, then using the razor(electric user here) to get rid of what's left. 

You'd think I'd know better given how much of a bother it is.  And I look better without a beard, especially since it makes me look some years younger without one.  The only advantage I can see for me having one is in the winter, when it might keep my face a bit warmer at times.  Even then the moustache part of it just ends up collecting condensation, which turns to ice, which doesn't help.

No, you won't see any pictures of my facial hair.  Don't even bother asking.

Gas In Saskatoon, September 19, 2014.

The price keeps ticking down.  Gas in Saskatoon dropped to 122.9 cents a litre at most locations this week.  Will this trend continue?  I doubt it, as I can't imagine the price dropping below the 120.9 mark.

The Standin.

I've had some more hits about an old post I did about the demise of the Malted Milk chocolate bar in Canada.  Since people still seem interested in it I figured it would be worth asking what, if anything, Canadian visitors have found as a replacement.  If you have found one feel free to leave a comment in the comments section of this post.

I Got It In.

As I mentioned in  my previous post I planned to watch "The Dorcons" for Breakaway Day.  And I did in the last hour of September 13th.  So I watched both the first and last episodes of Space: 1999 on September 13th.

Watching "The Dorcons" the thought came to mind that they're a bit like Stargate: SG1's Goa'uld.  Incredibly dangerous if you face them at a distance, but not so dangerous close in because of their arrogance.  After all the Dorcon ship apparently has no way of tracking down intruders other than having security goons look for them on foot, which implies it's been a long time since anyone has dared to stand up to them.  Especially when you consider that the ship is carrying the equivalent of an emperor.  And Malik, the out and out villain of the episode, almost succeeds because Counselor Varda isn't willing to deal with him as harshly as she should. 

The obvious question is whether the Dorcons would have returned if a Year 3 of the series had been filmed.  After all Maya describes them as the most powerful civilisation in the galaxy.  Apparently there was consideration during the later stages of filming Year 2 that a Maya spinoff series might be developed, and that possibly she wouldn't be seen in Year 3, so perhaps the Dorcons might have shown up in that spinoff.  (The fact the proposed spinoff, and for that matter Year 3 itself, was only supposed to be 13 episodes might have made it a hard sell in the North American market, which expected 24 episodes a season for a drama in those days.)

The episode really doesn't work as a closure to the series.  When filming ended in December of '76 Gerry Anderson and ITC still thought there was a chance of new episodes.  Besides, TV shows weren't as likely to have definite endings in those days as they have in recent years. 

Breakaway Day +15.

The years go by, don't they?  Today is the 15th anniversary of the Moon leaving orbit in certain universes.  When I first saw Space: 1999 September 13th, 1999 was 25 years away. I was 8 years old, and now I'm...somewhat older than that.

Since it's Breakaway Day I watched "Breakaway" this morning.  I intend to watch "The Dorcons" tonight as a "first and last" thing.  Someday I should really watch a bunch of episodes in a row.  For those of you who don't have access to the series on DVD or some other format here's "Breakaway" from YouTube.

It Lives.

It's been a long time since I've used our VCR.  So when I decided to watch a VHS cassette this morning I wasn't sure what would happen.  But it worked like it should, and rewound properly too.  I guess I should watch some more of what I have lying around.

Meaningless Late Night Post.

Nothing to read here, really.  But since I'm still awake I figured I might as well post something.

Gas In Saskatoon, September 12, 2014.

Another Friday, another gas price change to report.  Gas in Saskatoon is dropping at most locations today to 125.9 cents a litre.  It would be nice if any price changes always happened on the same day, but that's highly unlikely.

You Have To Be Impressed.

If you're a Blue Jays fan you have to be impressed with Marcus Stroman.  The rookie pitcher gave us another fun game to watch, giving up only three hits in a 93 pitch 8-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.  And this came after a first inning comebacker that knocked him off his feet.  It looked damn scary at first, as it ricocheted off his glove, but Stroman popped back up with a grin on face and went back to work.  It's his second time he's pitched a complete nine inning game this year, although his August 8th start against the Tigers was won in the tenth inning.  Hopefully this is just the beginning of lots of highlights to come.

One of the interesting things about Stroman is that he's short, only 5'8".  It's that lack of height that made some doubt he could pitch in the majors.  After all major league starting pitchers under 6 feet are rare as hen's teeth these days.  Position players of Stroman's height are almost as rare, one notable exception being the Red Sox Dustin Pedroia, who is an inch or two shorter than Stroman.  But Stroman is proving the doubters wrong.

To cap off the fun Jose Bautista hit his 200th home run as a Jay last night, becoming the fifth player in franchise history to do so, and the quickest  to reach the 200 mark.  It's a reasonable guess that he will pass both George Bell, who has 202 home runs, and Joe Carter, who has 203 home runs, before the season's end, if not before the end of this week, which will put him in third place after Vernon Wells, who has 223.  Catching the all time franchise leader, Carlos Delgado, will be a rather tougher nut to crack, as he has 336 home runs in a Jays'  uniform for the all time lead.

Poor Guy.

While I was lying around trying to keep weight off my sore foot I spent some time poking around YouTube, and ended up watching a bunch of old Sesame Street animated bits.  If you're old like me you'll remember this fellow.  I kind of know how he feels in this clip.

When I Rule The World 23.

Someone very strong will be on 24 hour call to carry me around when I have some problem like bad feet.  Or just when I feel like being very lazy. 

Sore Feet Are A Pain In The Ass.

My foot is still bugging me.  I'd rather have a better reminder of how helpful feet are than limping around the house with only one working properly.  Fortunately I can take at least another day to let it heal before having to do large amounts of walking again.

Footage.

Anyone got a foot they could spare?  I've got a very sore foot at the moment.  I don't have a clue why it's sore, but it's going to be a problem if I have any walking to do tomorrow.

Gas In Saskatoon, September 5, 2014.

I hope you gassed up your vehicle before yesterday, as prices have gone up.  Gas in Saskatoon has risen to 127.9 cents a litre at most locations. 

Gas In Saskatoon, August 29, 2014.

A nice surprise to report for the last long weekend of the summer.  Gas in Saskatoon has dropped to 122.4 cents a litre at most locations.  So if you need to fill up your tank for a long trip it will be a bit more pleasant than you might have expected.

There Are So Many Questions That Need To Be Answered.

Unfortunately many of them never will be.  For example, why have Mick Jagger and Iggy Pop never done a song together?

Gas In Saskatoon, August 22, 2014.

This week's report is fairly hot off the presses.  Gas in Saskatoon dropped today to 124.9 cents a litre at most locations.  So it seems the chances of breaking the 130 cents a litre mark before August ends have decreased.

Not Enough.

I can't be the only one who had this song come to mind because of the ongoing mess in Ferguson.



Things have changed since the mid '60s.  But not enough.  Far from enough. 

Up Too Early On A Sunday.

I really should still be asleep, since I have no need to be awake right now.  But sometimes when your body wants you up, it's time to get up. 

Gas In Saskatoon, August 15, 2014.

I wasn't all that surprised that the price of gas went up again.  Gas is now 127.9 cents a litre at most locations.  Will it break the 130 cents mark before the kids go back to school?  Stay tuned.

I Don't Have Any Either.

Lately I've getting regular hits for a post I made way back in 2009 about the Malted Milk chocolate bar disappearing.  Sorry that I can't help anyone find one.  I'd like one again as well, but the only way you're likely to find one is if someone has a 5 year old box of them in a back room someplace.  And I imagine a 5 year old Malted Milk wouldn't be a pleasant experience.  It would be a hard lump of vaguely chocolate flavoured goo at this point.

Gas In Saskatoon, August 8, 2014.

When it comes to gas prices what goes down, must come up.  After a couple of stable weeks gas went up to 125.9 cents a litre at most locations today. 

Thunderstorm, Please.

Yeah, I know a lot of you probably don't like them, but could we have at least one more in Saskatoon?  The forecasts keep promising them, but they seem to keep going around us, or fading away before they get here.  One of the things I like about this season is getting to see a cool lightning display.

Penny's Not Dead Yet.

If anyone is a fan of Alex Wendzel's Out At Home webcomic here's some good news.  He's finally posted a new page.   I think it's a lovely piece of work.  It's also apparently the last one we'll see of the series, at least as we know it.  He says he's run out of steam with the current format.  However a sequel/reboot is in the works, and Penny and Kate will be central characters.

But whatever results I'm more than anything glad to see that the kid hasn't disappeared for good, like Sage Leaves apparently has.

Cue The Whining.

The MLB trade deadline has come and gone, and the Blue Jays didn't make any big movies.  So now we'll have to listen to whining from fans who think the Jays should have picked up Jon Lester, John Lackey. and David Price, along with half the prospects from the Rays and Red Sox, and should have done so for only a minor league pitching prospect and one of Gregg Zaun's suits.  It won't matter if the Jays' current five game winning streak turns into a twenty game winning streak, and everyone else in the AL East crashes and burns, we'll still hear the same whining.  And if a big trade had been made today that ultimately backfired we'd hear whining about how the Jays should never make big trades.

I suspect the Jays would have had to trade off someone damn good to have made a deal with anyone else.  Some folks had been suggesting other teams might be willing to trade for Marcus Stroman given how well he's been pitching.  Yeah, that would have been real bright, trading off a kid who may end up being a great pitcher, especially if it was an attempt to get Jon Lester.  There's been a lot of speculation that the Lester trade is actually a loan, and that the Red Sox will just resign Lester, who will be a free agent when the season ends.  A team has to think about the long term, not just trying to make one post season.

No Money, The Sequel.

Unfortunately I didn`t make the money in today`s Weekly Round 2 either.  But I came very close.  And I know exactly which late hand it was that cost me the tournament, one where I had aces, but folded because I thought another player had a stronger hand than he did.

Hey, Stud. Nice To See You.

I'm back at it on PokerStars, playing another Weekly Round 2 freeroll.  I'm doing a lot better today, which is a bit odd.  Today's game is Limit 7 Card Stud, a game I don't play that often.  Perhaps I'm taking less questionable risks than I would with No Limit Hold 'Em.  Then again it just may be my day.

Oddly a game I do more poorly at than I think I should is Limit Hold 'Em.  I think it might be because I play too many hands, and don't fold quickly enough.

No Money Today.

I just got knocked out.  Boo hoo.

Made It.

I'm not exactly burning up the table today, but I made through the first hour of the Weekly Round 2.  Unfortunately I only have managed to win one hand so far. 

Look Out!

I'm playing in PokerStars Weekly Round 2 this morning.  So if you're thinking about taking part as well, withdraw now, because I'm going to crush you all.

Hopefully you believe such boastfulness.  I could really do with the money right now.

I'll Pass.

I just saw an ad on Spike for a new show, Gym Rescue.  Sorry, Spike folks, but even having Randy Couture in this won't make me watch it.  I can't imagine there's enough differences between gyms to make it watchable more than once, and I'm not convinced even one episode will be interesting.  I suspect this will last as long as last year's Car Lot Rescue did. Bar Rescue works because bars are all different enough to interest viewers.

Gas In Saskatoon, July 25, 2014.

Prices are heading down again.  Today saw most Saskatoon gas stations reducing their prices to 121.9 cents a litre.  I don't think it  will go down much further, but I've been wrong before.

I'm Popular In India.

Strange.  I'm getting a lot more hits from India lately.  Unfortunately if they're looking for what I think they're looking for my Indian visitors are likely to be disappointed.

Like Father, Like Son?

Prince George, third in line to the British throne, will turn one in a couple of days.  Thinking about how long his great great and great grandmothers have lived I found myself wondering how old he might be when he takes the throne.  And then the thought came to mind about whether the American tabloids will be writing the same kind of things about George and William they currently write about William and Charles years from now.  Namely that the succession should go to the son, instead of the horrible father no one likes.  Yeah, people like William now, but the same could have been said about his father Charles at the same age.  Not that it matters, the reigning monarch has no say in who replaces them. 

Gas In Saskatoon, July 18, 2014.

The downward trend continues.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 125.4 cents a litre at most locations.  It will be interesting to see if the escalation of tensions in Ukraine and Israel will have any effect on prices over the next week.

Lucky Me.

Several thunderstorms passed through Saskatoon last night.  One knocked out the power here in East College Park around 8 o'clock.  Fortunately it wasn't out for more than 10 minutes or so.  Other folks aren't so lucky.  Power is apparently still out as I write this in some areas, going out at 10:30 last night.

Besides having to reset several clocks I was a bit worried about the oldest computer in the house having problems, as it was on when the power went out.  Fortunately it booted up normally this morning.

Today's Cassette, July 13, 2014.

It's been a long time since I've done one of these.  Whirring away in the player today is Primeval, the fifth album by Canadian Celtic fusion band Rare Air, released in 1989.  Primarily an instrumental group, they combined various instruments, including bagpipes.  I actually saw them play in Place Riel on the University of Saskatchewan one lunch hour, probably circa 1987.  Quite funky.

A quick look on Amazon indicates this one may still be in print, along with their albums Hard to Beat and Space Piper.

Watch It Now!

Before Big Brother declares it doubleplusungood!.



(Warning, ads are put in annoying places.)

Gas In Saskatoon, July 11, 2014.

A bit of a price drop to report this week.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 127.9 cents a litre at most locations, a drop of three cents. 

Be Careful.

Today I got a hit from the United Arab Emirates from someone looking for gay material of some sort.  I hope whoever it is won't face problems as a result.  The UAE isn't the most gay friendly place in the world, as a Wikipedia article makes clear.  There's nothing on here that is in any way explicit, but when has that stopped bigots from taking action?

Filling A Niche.

A lot of people in the West are into anime and manga, Japanese cartoons and comic books respectively.  Apparently there's enough of them that cosmetics maker L'Oreal thinks it's worth marketing Miss Manga mascara. Yeah, they're selling a product to help you get the big eyes people associate with manga and anime.  It would be interesting to know what age range they're hoping to reach with this product.  Teenagers, perhaps?  Older manga readers who use makeup probably aren't going to be interested in such a gimmicky idea, but perhaps I'm being unfair to younger folks.  Is it a case of cultural appropriation?  I'll leave that for others to decide, although the great anime and manga artist/creator Osamu Tezuka, who helped popularise the big eyes look for anime and manga characters, said the concept was taken from the eyes of Disney characters like Mickey Mouse.

What The Hell?

Does anyone have a clue what B.J. Penn thought he was doing in his fight tonight against Frankie Edgar?  Whatever he was trying to do by laying on the ground waiting for Edgar to attack didn't work, and you'd think any fighter with his experience would quickly change tactics.  Towards the end I found myself wondering if he was deliberately trying to throw the fight for some reason.  I suspect we'll soon have Dana White saying Penn won't be fighting in the UFC again.

Gone Except For The Ads.

In the past I've mentioned Blip, a webcomic by Sage Leaves, a couple of times.  Unfortunately Sage Leaves stopped updating, and a few months ago the webcomic itself disappeared when its account was suspended.  But oddly enough it's still being advertised online.  You'd think word would have gotten back to whoever runs the advertising to stop the ads.  Wherever Sage Leaves has vanished to they apparently haven't been in a position to do so, but you'd think the Rampage Network, which had been hosting Blip, would let them know.  Then again they still have Blip listed as one of their member webcomics.

It makes you wonder how many other ads for things that no longer exist are floating around the web.  Not that some of the advertising providers probably care, as they presumably have already been paid for the advertising.

Hey, Flickr!

Please stop screwing around with your website.  You've made a mess of things again.

Gas In Saskatoon, July 4, 2014.

As in the US this was a holiday week in Canada.  But instead of going up, as people often expect it do just before a holiday, the price of gas went down.  Gas in Saskatoon is currently 130.4 cents a litre at most locations.

I Had An Idea For A Post...

...but the title sounded like a bad come on or something.  No, I won't tell you what that title was.  To do so would result in the crime against taste I'm trying to avoid by not posting it.

Still Here.

Yeah, not much going on here of late.  I just haven't been finding things to write about.  I suppose I should force myself to write something to keep traffic up.

Even There.

People in some very surprising places play online poker.  Tonight I'm playing in an Omaha Hi/Lo freeroll on PokerStars, and one of the players on my table is listed as being in the Palestinian Territories.  I wonder how many customers PokerStars has there.  You'd think that there wouldn't be many.

Gas In Saskatoon, June 20, 2014.

Well, here we are, back to doing these on Fridays.  The current price of gas at most Saskatoon locations is 132.9 cents a litre.  Given the current mess in Iraq I doubt we'll see it below the 125.9 cents mark for the foreseeable future.

Localise,Please.

I was just looking at CKOM's  website, and they have an animated ad for saskatoojobshop.ca, an online job site.  "Free job postings are worth every cent!" it flashes, with the "are worth every cent!" bit accompanied by an image of a couple of pennies.  But whoops, not only are they pennies, which are no longer produced and circulated in Canada, they're American pennies.  If you're going to use obsolete money, at least use an image of obsolete Canadian money.

Return To The Past.

Just a note that my price of gas posts are moving back to Fridays.  It seems that the price changes on Tuesdays or later most times, so posting on Friday makes more sense.

Geez, I'm Writing It Wrong.

It seems I should have been writing about fashion all these years.  Apparently some fashion bloggers are making a million bucks a year.  In a lucky month I might make 10 bucks in ad clicks on here.  Of course there's the little problem that I'm as fashionable as a Model A Ford.  So I guess I'll just stick with my vague, write whatever the hell I feel like concept.

Ooooh, It's Friday The 13th!

And if you seriously think it's an unlucky day, I  will likely laugh at you.

Of course if you're not from certain parts of the world you likely don't have a clue that you're supposed to worry about it being Friday the 13th.

Gas In Saskatoon, June 9, 2014.

For once one of my price predictions proved correct.  The price of gas did go up.  Gas in Saskatoon is  now 133.9 cents a litre at most locations.  It will be interesting to see if it goes much higher, as it's been a good while since gas was over the 140 cents a litre mark.

Gas In Saskatoon, June 2, 2014.

Ah, good ole gas prices.  They give me something to post about when I'm a bit short of inspiration.  In any case, gas in Saskatoon is currently 127.4 cents a litre at most locations.  I would suspect the price will go up soon.

How Rare?

I just answered a wrong number.  And it made me wonder how rare wrong numbers are these days.  Many people don't even use the keypad on their phone anymore, they use stored numbers.  So the chances of a wrong number are much less than they used to be.  I suppose someone, someplace, keeps track of that kind of data, somehow.

Kaboom!

A thunderstorm woke me up a few minutes ago.  Usually we don't have them in late May, but the forecasts for today had been predicting them.  I suspect it's going to be quite the wet Monday.

Finally, 700.

I've been waiting for this for a long time, and it's finally happened.  I've now had 700 of the bills I entered at Where's Willy get a hit.  And it actually travelled a good distance, to Calgary, instead of sitting around Saskatoon.  I reached the 600 bills hit plateau back in May of 2012.  Next on the agenda is getting to the 900 hits plateau, which will be a good ways away, as I currently have 843 hits overall.

Loveable Numbers.

If you're a Toronto Blue Jays fan you can't help but love the current numbers.  The Jays are 5 games over .500.  They currently lead the American League East by a game and a half over Baltimore, and 2 games over the Yankees.  They've won 8 of their last 10.  And last night's win was over the Oakland A's, who are tied with the San Francisco Giants for most wins in the majors.

The general thought starting the season was that Toronto would be in the basement once again, just as they were last year.  Even as the season began there was talk manager John Gibbons should be fired.  You won't hear that kind of talk as much now, although there will always be people who want any manager fired.  Instead we have a contending team at the moment. 

Of course one of the big numbers is 115.  That's the number of games left in the regular season.  That's a lot of games.  So it's a bit early to be thinking about hoisting the pennant. 

Meanwhile, the fans of the Tampa Bay Rays(all 10 of them) are in the same position Jays fans were at this time last year, wondering what the hell is going on, and how much longer they have to turn things around before the season is lost.  At least they have one more win that the Jays had.  And Boston Red Sox fans are having a nasty case of deja vu, as it looks uncomfortably like their disastrous 2012 season all over again.  Except at this point in 2012 they had a .500 record, not the 7 games below .500 they do today.  I would imagine they'll be out for John Farrell's blood before long.  At least Farrell has last's years World Series win to tamper some of that.

The Yankees situation is also interesting.  There had to be some fear in their fan base that this year might be a mess.  Mariano Rivera has retired.  Derek Jeter is in his last year.  Robinson Cano signed with the Mariners in the off season.  But, as usual, they're in contention.  Sure, most people wouldn't have expected them to be 2 behind the Jays at this point, but as I noted above there's a lot of season left.  No one in New York is going to be panicking yet.(I should also note that the absence of Alex Rodriguez probably led to a few sighs of relief, as he would have pretty much been clubhouse poison this year.)

Whatever happens today the Jays will still be in the lead at day's end.  But Jays fans are hoping that today sees them increase their lead, and that it's just the beginning of a successful run to the playoffs.

Hot Stuff.

The current Saskatoon forecast calls for a high of 30 Celsius for Thursday and Friday.  I'm sure some folks are a bit annoyed that we didn't see those temps for the Victoria Day weekend.  But gardeners will take them.  They'd be even more appropriate on Saturday and Sunday, when people are off work and have all day to work on their gardening, which for a lot of people is late this year because of a wet and cold April.

A Needed Feature.

I was just looking at Google +, and not surprisingly one of the trending things there at the moment is gay marriage, since a judge struck down Oregon's law against it.  Looking at a few posts I found myself wishing for a feature Google + currently doesn't have:  a vote down button.  There are all sorts of posts I'd like to vote down because of their cluelessness, bigotry etc. etc. Something tells me we aren't going to see one.

When I Rule The World 22.

I will instantly remove the driver's license of anyone I see driving in a stupid manner.  Given the way many of you drive I'm going to be taking away a lot of licenses.

Contraction.

Even as a new era began today at the former Safeway store at the Centre at Circle and 8th, it was announced an era was about to end not very far away.  Saskatoon Co Op has decided to close their store at 8th Street and Emerson.  A third party assessment has revealed various problems with the systems and physical condition of the building, and Co Op has decided it's not worth the time and money to renovate the store.  The gas station on the same property will remain in business for the foreseeable future.  The store is unionised, and the United Food and Commercial Workers are working with Co Op to relocate the 99 employees to other Co Op locations in Saskatoon.

The building also currently houses a Co Op run travel agency and a Gamma-Dynacare medical lab, which will presumably be looking for a new home in short order.  Early this year a Hakim Optical outlet that was in the building closed, making me suspect Co Op was already seriously considering closing up shop, and therefore decided not to renew their lease.

Given the store's reported issues the closure isn't a surprise.  The new Centre at Circle and 8th location is only a kilometer away, and is a modern store that has been renovated in the last few years.  The changes needed to make it suitable for the Co Op are minimal.

In my post earlier today I mentioned that much of the customer base of the 8th and Emerson store is senior citizens.  I would imagine some of them will not be happy with the closure, as they were regular patrons of the store's cafeteria, a feature the new store does not have. 

It will be sad to see it go.  My family were patrons of the store for a long time, although the amount of business we've been doing there has declined considerably as the number of grocery options in Saskatoon have expanded.  I've been in there hundreds of times over the years from a very young age, and have seen the changes it's gone through. 

I Beat You.

Today saw the former Centre at Circle and 8th Safeway location reopen as a Saskatoon Co Op grocery store.  And I beat you there.  I was one of the first half dozen or so customers in the store.  Not that I planned it that way.  I didn't realise the store was scheduled to open at noon, so I arrived there just before that.  On top of that I was one of the first people to actually buy something, a Coke Zero and a couple of donuts.  I did have to wait in line for a bit, as the cashier was having a bit of trouble getting used to the new cash register setup, and a customer ahead of me had merchandise whose sale price wasn't entered into the system properly.

They're still doing work inside the store, like painting.  I imagine they will be tweaking things for a while yet, so be patient with the staff if you go in.

It will be interesting to see what cliental the store draws, as the store further west down 8th Street seems to draw a lot of seniors. 

Inspiring Confidence.

The Cleveland Indians have a relief pitcher that has one of the best pitcher names I've ever heard, Josh Outman.  After all you want your pitcher to get outs, and here's one who's literally an "out man." 

Gas In Saskatoon, May 12, 2014.

Another tick down over the last week.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 125.9 cents a litre at most locations.  And this week I shall refrain from making any price predictions.

Last, Yet Not.

This morning I made my last visit to the Safeway in the Centre at Circle and 8th shopping mall.  Yet it won't be my last visit to a grocery store in that retail space.  Co Op takes control of the store tomorrow.  They acquired it after Sobeys, which bought out the Safeway stores in Canada, had to sell that store to meet government restrictions on the purchase.  With the closure earlier this year of Safeway's 8th Street and Cumberland store the changeover will see the end of a decades long presence of Safeway stores on 8th Street.

The future of the brand itself is unclear.  Sobeys continues to operate its Safeway stores under the Safeway brand name, and has apparently not decided yet whether it will rebrand those stores as Sobeys stores or not.  So, for the immediate future, I'll still be shopping at Safeway, just not one that's as convenient for me to get to as the Centre Mall store, which I'm relatively close to.  But if they do decide to drop the name we may soon see the brand disappear entirely from North America, as their former US parent has been acquired by Cerberus Capital Management.  It's possible Cerberus will rebrand Safeway stores into Albertsons stores, and if so it will be the end of a name that has been active since 1925.

Not A Manic Monday.

It's nice to start the week off with a day off.  It seems I don't have to work tomorrow.  Of course that probably means I'll end up with a whole bunch of work to do for the rest of the week.

Quine and Fripp?

Listening to this made me wonder, what would a collaboration between Robert Fripp and Robert Quine have been like?  I doubt Quine was a Fripp fan, but there are licks here that make me think of Fripp's playing on David Bowie's "Fashion," especially the outro.  And they did share a common link, Brian Eno, who Quine hung out with during Eno's late '70s New York period.

I Did It.

I did my stupid thing, which was to go to the drive through at McDonalds.  Not only did I buy a 6 Chicken McNuggets meal, I bot a caramel sundae as well.  So I'll probably end up with heartburn, or stay awake all night because of the caffeine in the Coke Zero.

In one sense I've already been punished.  They didn't give me a straw for my drink!

I'll Be Sorry.

I'm about to go out and do something stupid.  I shouldn't, but it's just one of those times I need to have a bit of a blow out.  Tomorrow, things will tighten up a bit.

The Surrogate.

Unfortunately for Caturday fans I don't have a cute kitty to take pictures of to post here.  I don't have any other pets, cute or otherwise, to photograph for your entertainment.  So check out this photo post of Randy McDonald's cute cat Shakespeare as a surrogate.

No Luck.

Once again I didn't win the million bucks on the Western 6/49.  I got one number on my ticket, which is always better than none, but not the winning level of better.  At least it was only a buck.

Hey, Ed Herman!

That was quite the pompadour/Mohawk thing you had going on tonight.  I think Brian Setzer would approve.  Seemed to be getting into your eyes a bit at times though, so maybe something different next fight would be a good idea.

That Smell.

How do people who work in Subway restaurants put up with that smell?  That weird smell they all have.  I guess they get used to it after a while.

Pizza Peculiarity.

Last night I had a McCain Rising Crust 4 cheese pizza for supper.  I was less than impressed.  I found it rather flavourless.  In fact I almost threw the remaining pieces out this morning, but didn't.  So I took them out to have with my already planned supper of a couple of roast beef sandwiches.  Oddly the pizza tasted better rewarmed than it did fresh.  Not hugely better, but a bit better nonetheless.  I still won't be buying one again anytime soon however.

Don't Assume.

This weekend's Sunday Phoenix contains a flyer for the Marriage You've Always Wanted conference.  Seeing that it involves the Rosewood Park Alliance Church, and an author and evangelist named Gary Chapman, I'm afraid I must note it will not deal with the marriage I've always wanted.  After all I don't want a marriage involving conservative Christian nonsense like "...God's biblical intention for sex...."

Not that I'm ever likely to get married anyway.

You Never See It.

Watching boxing this afternoon on TV I was once more struck about something I've never seen in a fight.  Referees don't get hit.  Given the situations they often have to insert themselves in, with punches flying madly about, you'd think we'd regularly see them eat a punch.  But they don't.  Then again perhaps if you're a ref who gets in the way that badly you don't end up being a ref for long.

Bad Dad's.

I just finished off a box of Dad's Goodie Rings cookies I bought earlier this week.

If your response is "Huh? Goodie Rings don't come in a box." then, like me, you haven't bought any in a while.  Here in Saskatoon at least the only size available at the moment is a 250 gram box, versus the 350 gram bag they've long come in.  This of course means less cookies per package, and given that I bought them at what seems to be the same price as the older packaging, a higher cost per cookie.

I bought them at Walmart.  Oddly the Walmart.ca website still has the 350 gram packaging listed.  Even more oddly is that the snackworks.ca web page for Dad's doesn't list Goodie Rings at all.  And both looking at the webpage and at local store shelves as well it seems some of their other products have disappeared.  Perhaps they're rationalising their product line because of poor sales.

I doubt this means they're about to disappear.  They wouldn't have come up with a new package if Goodie Rings are on the chopping block.  But I'm still annoyed at the changes, since you're getting less value for your snack money.

Distraction Strikes Again!

I was going to find something to write another blog post about for the 12 PM hour, but got distracted.  Guess I'll have to try writing an extra one for this hour.

Funny It Took So Long.

I was just checking my Google + page, and one of the posts it came up with was from George Takei.  Given his web presence, and some of the things I have written about, I'm surprised I haven't seen something from him there before.

Bits And Pieces.

So, if you read the post before this you might be wondering what film I rented.  It was The Wolverine.  So here's a few random thoughts about it.  Spoilery I suppose, but I'm guessing most visitors have already seen it.

I was a fan of the X Men comics and spinoffs in the late '70s and early '80s but this is the first of the movies I've watched.  I've only seen tiny bits and pieces of the first, and maybe the second.  I just sort of decided to avoid them, because any superhero film won't fit the version in your memories.  So I came to this one fresh.

Jackman made an respectable Wolverine.  Yeah, he's too tall, but he was probably cheaper than the shorter, better known actors when the franchise started.  Seriously, do you want to see Tom Cruise as Wolverine?  And of course no "general purpose" actor is going to have a physique like the one Wolverine has in the comics.  A pro wrestler might, but Jackman is a better actor than most of them would be.

It's always interesting to see what is taken from the original material and what is altered.  For example the bit with the bear in the opening sequence comes partially from Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's original Wolverine miniseries from 1982, as do other bits in the movie.(Ah, Frank Miller, before we all knew he was nuts.)  On the other hand we get alterations like Yukio with long red dyed hair, versus the short undyed 'do of the original, and a blonde Viper.  Seriously, a blonde Viper?  And giving them both powers is a bit annoying, although Yukio's precognition might just as well not have been in the story given how little actual impact it had.  Meanwhile Viper's powers seem suspiciously like they were in part lifted from another Marvel character, Typhoid Mary.

Some changes are more understandable, and may actual help the movie.  For example movie Wolverine apparently knows little or no Japanese, while comics Wolverine is fluent.  So we don't end up being subjected to Jackman speaking in Japanese with a bad accent.  Although even that wouldn't have been as annoying as films where supposedly Japanese characters do so.

On the other hand Will Yun Lee sounded convincing to me speaking Japanese.  In a better world Lee and someone like Mark Dacascos would be starring in a buddy cop picture as a couple of Asian American cops, instead of doing his usual competent job in secondary roles.  And of course his character here, Harada, has a major difference from the original, specifically a certain suit of armour.

Nice to see Hiroyuki Sanada in this, although he probably should have had more screen time.  As I watched the sequence where Shingen battles Yukio I wondered if Sonny Chiba has seen the film, and what he might think of it and his former protégé's part.

Famke Jansen gets a rather thankless cameo here.  She lies around in a nightgown, torments Wolverine in his dreams, sounds kind of whiny at the end, and that's about it.  Kind of a waste for what I suspect might be her last shot at the character.

I think the climax of the film ended up being kind of a mess.  It certainly could have done with a bit more plot exposition, as what Viper and Yashida actually planned was kind of confusing.  There seems to be a bit of a "We don't need to explain things clearly because it looks cool!" vibe going on here.

Well, now it's off to the Redbox machine.  This was my first use of one, and since I used their "TRYME" promo code this one is apparently free.  Not that a buck fifty a day rental fee will break the bank.

The VHS Advantage.

I rented a movie yesterday.  As I began to watch it I remembered one of the advantages of the VHS video cassette for watching movie rentals.  If there's ads at the beginning you can fast forward through them.  DVDs force you to watch through all the crappy ads.  I sat there last night for what must have been 5 or 6 minutes of trailers for movies I have no interest in, and an ad trying to get me to by a Blu Ray player.  On the other hand you don't need to rewind a DVD.

To most younger readers a VCR is a curiosity at best, something your older relatives might still have in their house, plugged in or not.(I say most because I'm sure there are some young movie buffs who own one to watch movies that will never see the official digital light of day, but are still found on VHS.)  I'm old enough to remember when they were high tech and expensive.  The first ones I saw in the flesh were in grade school, where they were used to show us kids stuff that was taped off TV.  This was early enough that I doubt we were ever shown anything commercially made.  These early machines even had mechanical recording timers on them.  I wonder if some might have been Betamax machines, Sony's home video format which ultimately lost to JVC's VHS format, despite its supposed better quality.

I'm not sure when my family got our first VCR, but it was some time in the mid-late '80s.  But we'd been renting videos for some time before that.  When video rental stores began to appear they rented machines in the early days alongside the actual cassettes.  After all most people initially didn't have a VCR due to the cost.  So when you came home from the video store not only would you be carrying a bag of cassettes, you'd be carrying a big metal case with a heavy VCR in it.  I'm not sure when the practice ended, because of course once we got our own machine we didn't need to bother renting one anymore.

One thing I can't remember is whether the ancestor of the DVD, the LaserDisc, was ever offered for rent locally.  The format was pretty much a flop in North America, so it's quite amusing to see interviews with musicians circa 1980 speculating on what the format might mean for the industry.  A number of them talked about producing visual material for the format, but other than a few concert videos these plans fizzled as the format did.  I do remember seeing a few used discs in Saskatoon in the mid '80s, so a few of the machines did reach the market in this area.

Gas In Saskatoon, May 5, 2014.

We now return to our regularly scheduled blogging.  And of course some of you are shaking your heads, since it's obvious I follow no schedule here.

Just a tiny change to report.  Gas in Saskatoon is currently 127.9 cents a litre at most locations.  I personally filled up the car I drive today, both because it was getting low, and I wouldn't be surprised if prices go up this week.

Ten Years Of Rambling.

It was ten years ago, on Tuesday, May 4, 2004, that this blog began.  I started it on a whim, with no real goal in mind, and no specific idea for what I'd write.  I'd heard about blogging and decided to give it a try.  I had no expectation I'd be still be writing here ten years later.  As I've mentioned before I wrote a lot more in the early years of the blog then I have subsequently.  In the first two and a half years I wrote more than a thousand posts.  For whatever reason my output dropped greatly in 2007 and never went back to those early levels.

I've never had a lot of traffic here.  For me a fifteen visitor day is a good day.  I don't get the impression I get many regular visitors.  Yet that hasn't stopped me.  I would imagine a lack of response is what kills a lot of blogs.  And I've continued to write through what must be at least a half dozen cycles of "blogging is dead" talk.

Other than a few test posts everything I've posted here remains up.  A lot of older posts obviously contain dead links, but that serves as a snapshot of what the Internet was like in times past.  More importantly I've never removed anything on the basis of its content.   There are ideas found in some posts that I wouldn't write now because my attitudes have changed, but I'm not going to remove them simply because they might make me look bad. 

Will I still be doing this ten years from now?  I haven't got a clue.  Ten years is way too long a time for me to make predictions about myself.  The world changes a lot in a year, so even predicting what I'll be doing on Tuesday, May 4, 2015 would be silly.  But I certainly have no intent of stopping anytime in the near future. 

And now, time to celebrate with a celebratory double chocolate donut from Tim Hortons and a Coke Zero.

Don't Panic, There's Still Time.

It's possible you've forgotten, but if you're a Canadian there's a good chance you need to file your income tax by midnight, April 30th.  Which is tomorrow.  So you'd better get to work if you haven't prepared your tax return.  Fortunately if you're e-filing you won't have to worry about running out to the post office, or the box in front of your local Revenue Canada office, late tomorrow night.  Isn't modern technology cool?

When I Rule The World 21.

One of the top priorities of scientists will be to end the need for going to the bathroom.  Just imagine all the time you'll save not sitting on a toilet, cleaning the bathroom etcetera.

(Betcha in the Star Trek universe they eventually use transporter technology to remove bodily waste automatically, replacing the need for bathroom breaks.)

Gas In Saskatoon, April 28, 2014.

There was a lot of press in Canada last week about gas prices going up.  But in Saskatoon we actually had a drop.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 129.9 cents a litre at most locations. 

White.

White is not the colour you want to see on the ground on the last day of April.  Yet here we are, the ground in Saskatoon covered with a new coating of white, of snow.  And there's still a chance of snow tomorrow.  The whole mess is very annoying and very fatiguing.

Fro the last few days we've had a woodpecker of some sort in the back yard.  That's unusual, because those kind of birds usually stay around only for a few minutes before flying off.  I really feel sorry for the poor thing given what it's like today.

Minor Hypocrisy.

Having a "No Flyers" sign on your mailbox when you yourself deliver flyers.  More than once I've seen a big pile of flyers on the steps of people with such a sign.

Gas In Saskatoon, April 21, 2014.

There is often the suspicion that gas prices go up before a long weekend.  Last week won't dissuade anyone of that idea, true or not.  Gas in Saskatoon rose to 133.9 cents a litre at most locations.  Rather a jump from the previous price.  So, will it go down this week?  Stay tuned.

Jays To The World Series!

Well, probably not.  It's way too early to make that claim.  But the Jays are currently leading the American League East with their 8 and 6 record.  It's been a while since that happened.  And the Jays might not actually be the utter disaster many were expecting this year.  Yeah, still a bit early to decide that, but if they can remain around .500 this year it will be a better year that last year's finish at 14 games under .500.

Time Warp.

Waking up in Saskatoon today it may seem like you were sucked into one.  The snow had just about vanished, but now it looks like it's November with all the snow we've had in the last 18 hours.  Unfortunately that's one of the perils of April in Saskatchewan.  Even more unfortunate is that the current weather system looks set to stay around for a while, with snow or rain, or the chance of snow or rain, into at least Saturday.

Gets really annoying, doesn't it?

Gas In Saskatoon, April 14, 2014.

The price is up yet again.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 129.9 cents a litre at most locations.  Of course given the way things have been going of late the price will probably change tomorrow.

Trouble For Phil.

It seems pro poker players just can't avoid trouble.  The latest facing problems is Phil Ivey.  The Borgata Casino and Spa in Atlantic City is suing Ivey for cheating them out of 9.6 million dollars.  But not for cheating at poker, rather for cheating at baccarat.   The lawsuit claims Ivey and a companion used a flaw in cards to arrange them so they could tell which card was being dealt, and hence enhance their chances of winning.  The company that made the cards, New Jersey based Gemaco Inc, is being sued by the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, who claim card problems led to gamblers defrauding them of 1.5 million dollars.  And on top of that Ivey is being sued by Malaysia's Genting Group in the UK for cheating at baccarat, alleging he and an accomplice cheated them out of 12 million dollars.

If Ivey did cheat both of these casinos for the amounts they alleged that's a hell of a lot of money.  You'd think someone running that lucky at baccarat would have been spotted fairly quickly, given that baccarat, like most casino games, is supposed to favour the house quite heavily. (It seems that in the UK case the staff at Crockford's Club casino did spot something odd, as they refused to pay out Ivey's winnings.) You also have to wonder why someone like Ivey would engage in such extensive cheating given the damage it would do to his reputation if discovered.  On the other hand we've seen multiple examples in the past of how the big sums of money involved in gambling seem to cloud the judgement of the pros, the most notorious example probably being the goings on at Full Tilt Poker before the US crackdown on online poker. 

What? There Are Two Of Them?

What do you think of when you see the phrase Dennis the Menace?

I think of a little blond haired kid who causes trouble for Mr. Wilson, and has friends named Margaret and Joey.  But that's because I live in Canada, which is saturated with US culture.  If you live in the UK you're likely to think of a small boy with black, spikey hair, who has a small dog as a companion.

Yep, there are two cartoon characters called Dennis the Menace, one from the United States, and one from the United Kingdom.  Even more interesting is that they debuted within a few days of each other way back in March of 1951, and continue to be active in the 21st Century.  The UK Dennis strip is often known as Dennis and Gnasher outside the UK, Gnasher being Dennis's dog.  Conversely the American character's adventures have been simply titled Dennis when they've been offered in the UK. 

It's a bit hard to imagine such co-existence happening these days.   Given the internationalisation of media properties if two creations came out with the same name at about the same time a major legal battle would likely result, with whoever had the most resources winning in the end.

I only found out this interesting fact this morning.  Given how long the UK version has been around you'd think I would have run across him someplace before.

Gas In Saskatoon, April 7, 2014.

A tiny tick down this week to report.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 124.4 cents a litre at most locations.  Boy, just think of what you can buy with the 50 cents or what have you extra you'll have filling up your tank, compared to last week.

Symmetry.

Yesterday I made no posts.  Yesterday I had no visits to the blog.  Quite appropriate, don't you think?  I'm pretty sure this may be the only day, other than perhaps the first couple of days this blog existed, that I never had a hit.

Gas In Saskatoon, March 31, 2014.

And so March ends.  And it ends with gas at 125.4 cents a litre at most locations, a slight tick down from last Monday.

In The Original Japanese.

Japanese actor Shin'ichi "Sonny" Chiba has had a career lasting more than 50 years.  But he is best known in the West, besides his appearance in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 1, for his role in the movie Gekitotsu! Satsujin Ken, released in North America as The Street Fighter.  Last night while looking at various things on YouTube I can across something I was hoping to find at some point, The Street Fighter with its original Japanese language track intact, and with English subtitles. 



I have no idea how truly accurate the English subtitles are in this version, but they definitely improve on the old US dub.  Certain things make a bit more sense than the mangled results in some places in the dub, like Tsurugi's motivations and exactly who the Hong Kong gang are.  It's also interesting to see some plot elements found in the English version, such as Tsurugi's mother being Chinese, may not be part of the original Japanese script.  Other bits are pretty much identical.  Of course it's still a '70s martial arts B movie, so don't expect this to suddenly be elevated to the lofty heights of Akira Kurosawa.

It's a common belief that North American moviegoers don't like subtitles.  I have no idea how correct that is, but I'm one person they don't bug.  I prefer to hear the actors as they originally sounded.  You also get a chance to pick up certain cultural things that a dub might ignore, such as the use of honourifics in Japanese. 

Gas In Saskatoon, March 24, 2014.

No doubt about the price of gas at the moment.  Gas in Saskatoon is currently 126.9 cents a litre at most locations.  I won't be surprised if the price changes again in the next couple of days.

Oh No, It's Too Late!!!

I can't make myself that grilled cheese sandwich I was gonna make.  To do so now would just lead to a night of internal upset.  Oh well, just have to wait until tomorrow.

Heh, and you thought you needed a text account or Twitter to write stuff like this.

Did You Do This?

I'd love to know who did this version of the Space: 1999 year one theme.  The guy who posted it would like to know too.  It's a good one.

Better Than Expected.

It seems walking was actually a good thing for my sore knee.  I did take a Tylenol before I went out, but I think just walking around did the most good.  It didn't bother me enough to effect my pace today.

And here's a bit of walking music.

Not Looking Like My Week.

Not only do I have a cold, although it might be a short one, now  I have to worry about my knee.  I slipped on some ice this morning and banged it into the ground.  It's aching right now, and I have to do a bunch of walking this week.  Too bad I just can't stay in bed.

Gas In Saskatoon, March 17, 2014.

As I write this the price of gas may be going up. It had been 122.4 cents a litre at most locations for he past few days, but when I went out for a bit this afternoon a couple of places had their prices at 128.9 cents a litre.  It will be interesting to see if this holds up.

Ugh, Again.

I'm coming down with a cold, again.  I had one last month.  So, here's a semi-appropriate tune for my current state.

Another Try.

Haven't done this in a while.  Anyways, here's some shameless hit mongering.  Today's phrase: Rebecca Watson.  It will be interesting to see if this is any indication the nasties spend any time looking for any mention of her name to pounce on.

A Rare One.

I just had a 8 to Queen clubs straight flush on PokerStars.  It's been a good while since I've had a straight flush.  I'm playing Omaha Hi/Lo, and luckily for me there was no low hand, so I took the whole pot.

You May Not Have To Wait.

You've probably heard that a big budget Noah movie is about to come out, starring Russell Crowe as Noah.  But if you're really in a hurry to see lots of water you may not have to wait, at least if you're in Saskatoon.  The sudden appearance of warm, sunny weather, with daytime temps above freezing, has already melted quite a bit of snow, and it's only going to get wetter.  Hard to imagine it's not all that long ago that we had a low of -39.  Hopefully if you do live here you won't be one of the unlucky people have water in your basement.  The Environment Canada 7 day forecast even shows a 30 percent chance of showers on Monday, to give the Biblical comparison even a bit more weight. 

But if you do try to build an ark, remember that you'll likely need construction permits to build that big of a boat in your backyard.

Generic.

In fact I do have something to write about besides gas prices.  Looking at my hits for the day I see I received one from Europe.  Yep, just Europe.  Apparently all of Europe actually has become one country, and no one bothered to tell me. 

Gas In Saskatoon, March 10, 2014.

I really need to find something to write about, or this blog will become nothing but a gas price blog.  In any case things are down again.  Gas in Saskatoon is 123.4 cents a litre at most locations. 

Gas In Saskatoon, March 3, 2014.

Are you surprised to hear that gas prices went up again in Saskatoon?  Probably not.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 127.9 cents a litre at most locations.  I wouldn't be surprised if it goes up another 10 cents or so over the next little while.

Bet It's Warmer Than Here.

I got a hit on the blog today from Tok, Alaska.  We think of Alaska as a cold place, but I'm guessing it's warmer in Tok at the moment than here.  Saskatoon is expected to see an overnight low of -39 degrees Celsius tonight, combined with high wind chills.  I don't think we've seen it go that low in several years. 

Not A Canadian Trend.

As anyone who pays much attention to the US entertainment industry knows, they like to remake things.  This includes the TV side of the business.  Some are highly successful, such as the 21st Century version of Battlestar Galactica.  Others last about as long as a carton of milk, such as last fall's Ironside remake with Blair Underwood.  And of course some never make it to production at all, like the new version of Murder, She Wrote that was under consideration of late.  (That also seems to be the fate of the new, American made revival/reboot of Space: 1999 announced a couple of years back.)

Strangely we don't see the same thing with Canadian TV, which kind of surprises me.  You'd think someone would decide to revive hit TV shows of the past, like The Beachcombers.  It was the longest running Canadian dramatic series, with 387 episodes, so it would seem a perfect candidate for another attempt.  Yet we didn't even see something done for its fortieth anniversary in 2012.  Or SCTV, which would allow a new generation of comics to cut their acting chops.  The only Canadian series that I can think of that was remade was The Littlest Hobo, which originally aired in the mid '60s, and was revived in the late '70s.

The small size of the Canadian TV industry, and the pressures it faces from being next door to the American industry, doesn't seem to have made it risk adverse enough to go the remake route.  Instead Canadian TV producers tend to go for new concepts.  Well, as new as you can get with TV, where it seems like everything has been done before.

Gas In Saskatoon February 24, 2014.

It was another up and down week, before the price stabilised at a familiar mark.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 121.9 cents a litre at most locations.  The Safeway gas bar at the Centre at Circle and 8th was still advertising 115.9 cents this morning, although I'd didn't see what its sign said this afternoon.

The Misery Is Ending.

Soon it will all be over.  The horror that is the Olympics will leave us alone for a couple of years.  Soon we can go back to paying attention to more important things.  After all, Major League Baseball spring training starts in a couple of weeks.  Unfortunately we'll be menaced by the Summer Olympics sooner than we think.

Get Out There.

If you've got something to do in Saskatoon that involves being outside, best to do it today.  Apparently it's going to get cold again tomorrow.  Yep, the warm weather of the last few days was too good to last.

Gas In Saskatoon, February 17, 2014.

It was a bit of an odd week.  Gas dropped to 113.9.  Then it jumped up to 121.9.  And then it came back down, giving us a current price of 117.9 cents a litre at most locations.  I'm not even going to think about predicting where it's going to go this week.

A Google + Mystery.

Why it keeps suggesting I might be interested in a community about One Direction.  I'm a little bit too old to be into them.  And this is the first time I've mentioned them on here.

Wanted: One Minion.

Yep, looking for a minion.  Preferably one with a Land Rover or something along those lines.  Saskatoon got a big dump of snow today, and as a result driving tomorrow should be fun. So I'd rather someone drive me around than me doing the driving.

Salary?   Yeah, about that....

Gas In Saskatoon, February 10, 2014.

A bit of a price drop to report.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 116.4 cents a litre at most locations.  I suspect the next change will be an increase again.

First Down.

Canadian grocery chain Sobeys acquired Safeway's Canadian assets last year.  Back in October it was announced they would be closing a number of stores as part of the approval process from the Competition Bureau..  It was revealed that the store at the Centre at Circle and 8th, on 8th Street,would be one of those stores.  However it wasn't hard to suspect the other Safeway on 8th Street, at Cumberland Square, might also be closing, given that it's directly across the street from a Sobeys.

Those suspicions were correct. Cumberland Safeway will be closing April 5, when the current lease runs out. John Graham of Sobeys even mentions one of the factors I thought might be a problem, the costs of renovation.  Supposedly no one will lose their jobs, but given that the Circle Centre Safeway will be sold  it seems there will be more employees than positions in their Saskatoon holdings.

Concorde Properties owns Cumberland Square.  Their rep, Kyle Chatterson, states there is interest in the soon to be empty retail space.  One possible tenant that immediately came to mind to me is the Dollar Tree discount store chain, which has entered the Saskatoon market over the last year.   They have two stores on Saskatoon's west side, so an east side store on one of Saskatoon's primary business streets would be an obvious move.

When the other Safeway on 8th Street closes 2 locations will remain on Saskatoon's east side, the Market Mall and MoOrmond Drive locations.  Of course we don't know if they will stay under the Safeway name, so it's possible the Cumberland closure is the beginning of the end for a long familiar name in Saskatoon.

Gas In Saskatoon, February 3, 2014.

For the first entry in February there's a bit of a price jump to report.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 119.9 cents a litre at most locations.  I actually ended up not gassing up at one station the day the price went up in hopes another station would still be at the old price.  I got lucky and managed to find one.

Stupid Weather.

It's late, and I'm in no mood to sleep yet.  But because of the current cold weather I really can't justify getting it the car and going someplace.  Doing so would mean running the damn thing for 5 or 10 minutes to warm it up, which would be kind of wasteful simply so I can be silly.  And apparently it's not going to get any better over the next few days.  The coldness of this winter has been really annoying. 

Meanwhile I'm starting to suspect local farmers may be starting to worry about a dry spring.  We've had snow, but some of it melted during the warm snap last week, and there's little chance of any in the immediate future.  Compare this with the winter of 2012-2013, where we had lots of snow.

Sleepy Survivor.

I found a Where's Willy? hit in my e-mail this morning, and it's a cool one.  It's a sleeper, as bills that haven't been active for a  long time are called, that has been re-entered some 7 years after I first entered it, and it hadn't been previously generated a hit.  On top of that it's a 2002 series five dollar bill.  There can't be many of those left in circulation at this point, and given the bill description I suspect this one may not be long for this world.

Not This Time, Richard.

For as long as I can remember the Co Op grocery on 8th St. in Saskatoon has had a "give one, take one" book shelf.  The idea is that you leave books you're done with and take others you think you want to read.  I went in there this afternoon and decided to take a look.  I got a little bit excited when I spotted some of my favourite elusive trash:  Death Merchant books.  But my excitement was short lived, as they were all books I currently have in my possession.  Still, I guess that means I'll have to keep my eyes open, in case any turn up.

Which ones do I want to get my hands on, you ask?  Just three really, namely The Castro File, The Vengeance of the Golden Hawk, and The Fourth Reich.  Those are the ones I haven't actually read, while some of the others I don't currently have I've either read, or don't want to read.  For example Blood Bath is one I just can't make myself read, as I suspect the racism quotient is especially high in that one.