Another One Has Sucked Me In.

I've started reading David Willis's Dumbing of Age.  It's kind of interesting that it's an alternate universe of characters he's been writing since the 1990s.  Usually it's fanfiction writers that do that kind of thing.  Professional AU reboots of canons usually are done by people who aren't the original creators of a property, such as the numerous variations on Sherlock Holmes.

Stay Home.

If I never left the house, other than working, I'd probably have a lot more money.  It seems all but impossible to leave the house without ending up spending money.  Guess I need more self control.

Pot Limit Annoyance.

One of the minor things that annoys me about playing online pot limit poker is that some players will do nothing but hit the pot raise button over and over again.  They don't raise a smaller amount, they don't check, just mindlessly raise over and over.  It's the kind of thing that no one would do during an in the flesh poker game, at least anyone with any experience.

Crunch, Crunch.

At the moment I'm eating some Covered Bridge brand sea salt and vinegar potato chips.  I quite like the taste of these.  But the size available locally, at Dollarama, is a bit too big.  It's  a 102 gram size, which I really shouldn't be eating at one sitting.  Especially on a day where I'm doing nothing but sitting around the house.

How Not To Win Friends.

Talk about stupid.  The League of the South, a bunch of fanboys of the Confederate States of America, intend to honour John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln.  I'm sure that will rally a lot of people to their cause.  Oh wait, it won't.  Anyone likely to be attracted to the League by such behaviour is likely already a member.

No Buyers.

I was thinking about offering some of the snow we got last night for sale, but thinking about it there would be no buyers.  Given how much snow there's been in various parts of North America the last month who would be interested?  At the very least I would be underpriced by someone else with more snow and perhaps easier access to the big markets.  Too bad.

Gas In Saskatoon, February 13, 2015.

Rather a confusing week here for gas prices.  At the start of the week gas dropped to 95.9 cents a litre.  A couple of days later it dropped to 91.4 cents a litre.  But then it rose to 98.9 cents a litre yesterday.  In other words it's back to the same price it was last Friday.  Weird, isn't it?

It Won't Work.

For some reason I've seen a lot of ads online today for the latest season of Mr. D.  Sorry, CBC, but I won't be watching.  Seriously, does anyone actually think Gerry Dee is funny?  I guess someone does, or CBC wouldn't have given him a TV show.

Gas In Saskatoon, February 6, 2015.

Another price increase to report, and a fairly large one.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 98.9 cents a litre at most locations, a 9 cent price increase. 

I Hope They Stayed Home.

If you're a Target Canada employee I hope the local assholes stayed away from your location today.  You've got enough problems without putting up with nasty idiots who are only there to pick the store's bones clean.

No Super Bowl For Me.

Nope, didn't watch it.  Didn't watch the ads.  Didn't watch the halftime show.  Didn't watch the regular season games. 

The Cold Came Back...

...just in time to catch me on a Monday where I'll be spending several hours outside.  Woe is me.

Of course how annoying it will be will depend on how windy it is tomorrow.

Gas In Saskatoon, January 30, 2015,

The last Friday of January sees the upwards trend continue.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 89.9 cents a litre at most locations. 

Paging...

...you, maybe?  Chances are you aren't one of those people who still has a pager.  But they actually still exist.   Via Randy McDonald here's a CBC article on the persistence of pagers in Canada.  They're primarily used by those in emergency services and medical personnel, as they're perceived to be more reliable in certain conditions.  However Telus has announced it will end its pager service, and industry watchers figure the other providers in Canada will follow suit. 

I can't think of the last time I heard a beeping pager.  Perhaps if I lived in a more rural area, or spent a lot of time around someone in medicine, I might be more likely to hear one.

Edgar Froese, 1944-2015.

Tangerine Dream founder, and sole consistent member, Edgar Froese has died at 70 of a pulmonary embolism.  In memoriam here's "Thru Metamorphic Rocks" from Tangerine Dream's 1979 album Force Majeure.  That's Froese on guitar.



Appropriately I was listening to a live version of "Choronzon" when I read he died.

Gas In Saskatoon, January 23, 2015.

It was a bit of a surprise this week when the price of gas actually went up.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 85.9 cents a litre at most locations.

Around this time in 2014 gas was 114.9 cents a litre.  So  a 30 litre fill today is roughly 9 bucks less than it was then.

Lovely January.

Seriously, can you get a better January forecast for Saskatoon than this one?  Daytime temps around or above zero into next week.  Sure makes up for the bitterly cold stretch around Christmas.  Of course if you're a fan of outdoor skating, skiing etcetera it isn't so good.

Gas In Saskatoon, January 16, 2015.

I doubt you'll have any trouble guessing what direction prices went this week.  Gas in Saskatoon dropped to 78.4 cents a litre at most locations.  Will it hit 70 cents or lower?  Stay tuned.

The Interview...

...is now playing at the Rainbow Cinemas in the Centre Mall.  Does that mean I should stay away from the mall for a while, in case North Korean commandos decide to attack?

Zero.

Zero can be a nice number.  One example is when you wake up just before 7 on a January morning and your outdoor thermometer says 0 Celsius.  Especially when just a few days ago it was -30 with very stiff winds.  Such is the variability of winter weather in Saskatoon.  Temperatures are expected to be nice into next week.  Of course it's a case of enjoy it while you can, because really cold temps will return.