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Monday, October 31, 2016

Running Late.

It's 8:20 as I write this, and we just had some trick or treaters at the door.  Seems a bit late to be running around outside.  Then again we didn't see our first one here until after 5 o'clock, so I guess someone had to turn up late.

Friday, October 28, 2016

Gas In Saskatoon, October 28, 2016.

A bit more relief for Saskatoon drivers this week.  Gas in Saskatoon has dropped to 91.4 cents a litre at most locations.  I won't be surprised if prices drop below the 90 cents a litre mark for the start of November.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

The Not So Big 40.

Yesterday was civic election day in Saskatoon.  Voter turnout was up this year, but only slightly.  In 2012 37 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot, while this year turnout was 40 percent.  But voter turnout was better here than in Regina, where voter turnout was only 20 percent this time. 

Civic politics is the level closest to the voter, but it never seems to interest a lot of voters around here.  Perhaps it's because there's not enough excitement, or because the issues don't seem as important as those in provincial or federal elections.  But it's worth remembering that not voting means you de facto voted for whoever wins.  Don't like Saskatoon's new Mayor, Charlie Clark?  Well, if you didn't vote you just made it that much easier for him to win. 

Even to the end some candidates were trying to get out the vote.  My mom had to answer the door two different times around 7 PM because of representatives of the candidates trying to encourage people to vote.  It wasn't needed in her case, as she and my dad both voted earlier in the day.  I voted as well.  Did you? 

Friday, October 21, 2016

Gas In Saskatoon, October 21, 2016.

I'm pleased to report we've had another drop.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 95.4 cents a litre at most locations.  Hopefully another drop is in the near future.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Mocking The Clickbait 2: But It Sounds Sciency.....

Stephen Hawking Says Smart Pill Is Proven To Double IQ.

First of all, IQ doesn't work that way.  Intelligence quotient is determined by taking a group of tests.  Your performance on the tests, and hence your score, can improve, but not dramatically enough to double, such as going from 100 to 200, which would be a jump from average to a high genius level.  No pill will change your brain in a way that makes this possible.(And all this is ignoring things like whether the IQ test is a legitimate way to determine intelligence, what determines intelligence, and so on.)

As for Stephen Hawking, he is a brilliant theoretical physicist.  He is not a doctor, a chemist, or a biologist.  Being really smart about one area does not mean you always know what you're talking about regarding anything else.  I'd no more go to Hawking for medical advice or information on the latest studies of the brain than I'd go to a heart surgeon for the latest information on string theory. 

Of course it's a pretty reasonable guess that Stephen Hawking said nothing of the sort.  But using the name of someone everyone knows is really smart tends to work better when you're trying to find new suckers to buy dubious medical products.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Gas In Saskatoon, October 14, 2016.

Another week where my guess at the gas price trend was wrong.  Gas in Saskatoon has dropped to 99.4 cents a litre at most locations.  Hopefully another drop will follow.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Speaking of Paper Bills....

I received a hit for a 2004 issue twenty on Where's Willy today.  Not only that but it was a re-hit on a bill that last received a hit in 2008.  I wonder what adventures that bill had over the last 8 years.

Still A Chance Of Paper.

The question "Paper or plastic?" refers to whether the person wants to pay with cash or a credit card.  In 21st Century Canada it's more properly "Plastic or plastic?" because all currently issued Canadian bills are made of polymer.  But a few of the old paper bills remain in circulation.  I got a five dollar bill yesterday as change.  It was from the last issue of paper fives in 2006, which had security features added to the 2001 design.  The first polymer fives were introduced in 2013, and quickly replaced the older paper bills.  But a few paper bills have escaped being sent back to the Bank of Canada for destruction, like the one I received.  It's the first one I've had in a while, and I suspect it will be a long time, if ever, before I see another one.

Monday, October 10, 2016

Goodbye, Mr. Ortiz.

David Ortiz's career ended tonight on a positive note, with Big Papi reaching base on an 8th inning walk.  Unfortunately for the Red Sox they couldn't get the runs they needed, and the Cleveland Indians beat them.  So it will be Cleveland versus Toronto for the pennant, with the first game Friday in Cleveland.

It will be interesting to see if we'll see Ortiz in a dugout again.  I can imagine someone wanting him as a hitting coach, but he may have other plans.  Whatever his plans if I were him I'd take a year off to just sit around the house, something he hasn't had a chance to do in his adult life.

Mocking The Clickbait 1: Those Dastardly Villains!

28 Photos Brad And Angelina Didn't Want You To See.

Yeah, like photo 21, that photo of the cute kittens.  I didn't see it, and my day was all the worse because of it.  Damn you, damn you both!

Cheer Up, Texas Rangers Fans.

The general suspicion amongst much of the Blue Jays fandom is that Rogers, the giant Canadian multimedia company that owns the Jays, won't pony up the money to insure a playoff viable team next year.  So next year you may very well not have to worry about facing the Jays in the playoffs.

And be nice to poor Rougned Odor.  Everyone makes mistakes.

Friday, October 07, 2016

Gas In Saskatoon, October 7, 2016.

This week the snow came down and the price went up.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 102.9 cents a litre at most locations.  With the price of oil having gone over the $50 a barrel mark this week I won't be surprised if we see another gas price increase in short order.

Thursday, October 06, 2016

Not My Favourite Exercise.

Snow shovelling serves as exercise, but it's not my favorite exercise.  Especially when the snow is like what received over the last 24 hours, sticky and very heavy.  I would imagine someone in Saskatoon will have a heart attack today from shovelling snow given how quickly the weight on your shovel builds up.

Wednesday, October 05, 2016

3 For 2.

Baseball is a game where attention is paid to a lot of numbers.  Some are considered important guides to success or failure, while others are simply fun.  Sometimes they're both.  Last night we saw the Toronto Blue Jays win the American League Wild Card game with a 3 run home run by Edwin Encarnacion.  Tonight we saw the San Francisco Giants win the National League Wild Card game with a 3 run home run by Connor Gillaspie.    Back to back games won by the same method.  This will be even more cool if both teams make it to the World Series.

Tuesday, October 04, 2016

Swing.

Late Saturday and early Sunday we had thunderstorm activity in the Saskatoon area.  Today we have a snowfall warning for tonight and tomorrow.  Good old unpredictable Saskatchewan weather.

Monday, October 03, 2016

Someone Has To Do It.

Nasty person that I am I want someone to drive in a NASCAR race with a car numbered 666.   Would it freak out a bunch of people?  Given how the audience for that sort of racing supposedly skews I'd love to find out.

Sunday, October 02, 2016

You Want Some Jacks? Okay.

For some reason over the past few days I've had hits from someone looking for mentions of jacks on the blog.  Well, here you go, another post with the term jacks in it.  I can think of worse words to generate hits than jacks.

No Kaboom.

Well, I didn't hear any at least.  The last observation on the Environment Canada webpage I saw last night said the conditions here were thunderstorm with rain, but I didn't hear any thunder or see any lightning.  A shame, since it would be cool to experience them in October.

Saturday, October 01, 2016

October Thunder.

Talk about weird.  There's a line of thunderstorms passing through Saskatchewan tonight, which may reach Saskatoon.  That's not something one expects on the first Saturday in October in this neck of the woods.  Today was fairly cool around here, making their presence even odder.  And flurries are a possibility on Wednesday.