Where Did They Go?

Weird.  Halloween was just about dead here.  We got a grand total of ten people come to the door, despite the porch light and kitchen table light being on.  Maybe the temperatures, around freezing, kept people away.  So now we have lots of candy left over to eat.

No, you can't have any.

Gas In Saskatoon, October 27, 2017.

We're back up over the buck a litre mark.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 103.9 cents a litre at most locations.  However it was 105.9 cents a litre to start the week, so at least it's gone down a couple of cents.

White.

It snowed last night, so we began the day with snow on our lawns.  There wasn't enough snow to cause traffic problems, but enough to remind us winter is approaching.

Gas In Saskatoon, October 20, 2017.

This Friday there is no confusion.  Gas in Saskatoon is currently at 94.9 cents a litre at most locations.  Early in the week it broke the buck a litre mark at 101.9 cents a litre before falling back down to the current price.

Google Knows My Birthday.

When I brought up Google's main page today I found it has a banner for my birthday.  Click on it and it has a bunch of stuff about October 18th.

You really have to wonder what all Google knows about its users.  I can see why some people avoid any sort of social media involvement, and use things like proxies to hide their online activities.

Shameless.

I just saw a TV ad for Boeing on Sportsnet, saying how wonderful they are to Canada.  This comes after Boeing convinced the US Commerce Department to place 300 percent in tariffs on Bombardier's C Series jet airliner.  The C Series, which US airline Delta may order as many as 125 of, doesn't compete with any aircraft in Boeing's current airliner lineup.  Putting who knows how many Canadian jobs at risk, especially if Canada retaliates against Boeing products, doesn't seem very friendly.

Guaranteed Win.

The Daily Grand is one of the newer lotteries in Canada.  You pick 5 numbers between 1 and 49, and a Grand Number from 1 to 7.  The grand prize is a thousand dollars a day for life, or a lump sum of seven million dollars.  If two or more tickets win the grand prize the seven million is split between the tickets, and no daily prize is available.  Draws are held on Monday and Thursday.

And I have a strategy that will let you win on every draw.  It's quite simple really.  You just have to play seven tickets for each draw.  This will allow you to play all seven Grand Numbers. and as a result always win, as all you need to win a prize is the Grand Number for that draw.

Can you see the flaw?  I'm sure you can.  You'd need to buy those seven tickets, and each ticket costs 3 bucks.  So you'd be spending 21 bucks a draw to guarantee you'll win...a free ticket, the equivalent of 3 bucks.  Oops.  It gets worse if you did this for both Monday and Thursday's draws.  You'd be spending 42 bucks to guarantee you'll win the equivalent of 6 bucks, with no guarantee you'll win more.  For example the chances of a ticket winning the next smallest prize, 4 bucks, is 1 in 20.

The grand prize seems to be pretty elusive no matter what strategy you use.  If you look at the list of past winning numbers it gives a prize breakdown for each draw.  It seems the grand prize has only been won a handful of times.  The odds of winning are 1 in 13,348,188.

Gas In Saskatoon, October 13, 2017.

Gas in Saskatoon is currently 95.9 cents a litre at most locations.  I think, because the price has changed several times this week.  It started at 94.9 cents, jumped to 100.9 cents, and dropped back to 95.9 cents.  But I saw at least one station that was 94.4 cents a litre today, so they might all be that price by the end of tomorrow.  Maybe I need to set up a crowdfunding page for a webcam that would let me check one of the local stations every hour, and immediately post if it changes.

Enjoy Some Cute.

A lot of bad stuff has been going on lately.  So here's a reprieve. This is believed to be the first footage of African sand cat kittens in the wild.  Aren't they cute?


Sand Cat Kittens Spotted in the Wild for First Time from Panthera Cats on Vimeo.

Too Much TV.

I watched way too much TV Friday.  Three and a half baseball games, Bellator, parts of a CFL game, and a bit of news.  I haven't got a clue how much actual watching time it was, but it was too much.

Gas In Saskatoon, October 6, 2017.

It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada.  But Saskatoon drivers aren't going to be thankful about gas prices.  Gas in Saskatoon has jumped to 98.9 cents a litre at most locations.  I suspect a lot of people aren't surprised at this.

Gas In Saskatoon, September 29, 2017.

A small tick down to report this week.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 95.9 cents a litre at most locations.  With Canadian Thanksgiving approaching it will be interesting to see if prices go up next week.

Good Morning, Port Hardy.

You're the site of my latest hit at Where's Willy.  And unlike a lot of small towns outside Saskatchewan I've had hits from I've actually been there.  My brother was a DJ at the local radio station a long time ago, and I went up there to visit him. 

Gas In Saskatoon, September 22, 2017.

The price of gas will seem like deja vu this week.  Prices reached 90.4 cents a litre by midweek at some of the big chains, while others fell to 90.9 cents.  But today gas jumped to 97.9 cents a litre at most locations.  So it's no cheaper today than it was last Friday.

Gas In Saskatoon, September 15, 2017.

This week we're back below the dollar a litre mark.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 97.4 cents a litre at most locations.  Hopefully we'll get closer to the 90 cent mark before things go up again.

Breakaway Day Greetings!

Yep,  another September 13th has rolled around, and as tradition here we acknowledge that today is Breakaway Day.  The big news in the Space: 1999 fandom this year was of course the death of Martin Landau on July 15th.  Hopefully the rest of the cast is around for many years to come.

Of course it's not just the cast that is ageing.  The fandom itself is ageing.  Most people who are fans were fans when the series first aired in the '70s.  Even younger fans, who caught on to the show via reruns in the '80s and '90s aren't that young either.  I'm sure the occasional newcomer picks up on the series, but it doesn't have the same kind of footprint as other older fandoms, and a new TV series or movie is increasingly unlikely.  So, barring some surprise, the fandom is slowly going to decline as the years go on.

Happy Anniversary, David.

20 years ago David Willis first became a published webcomic artist.  He's come a long way since then.  If you haven't, go check out Dumbing of Age. 

Hopefully this blog will still be being updated when it reaches its 20th anniversary.

Gas In Saskatoon, September 8, 2017.

After last week's big price jump we saw a bit of relief this week.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 106.4 cents a litre at most locations.  But with Hurricane Irma at work in the Caribbean, and threatening the US mainland, I wouldn't be surprised if gas prices jump up again soon.

Signal Boost.

You probably didn't know that today is International Vulture Awareness Day.  But now you do.

Of course if there are vultures around your area you probably don't need to have your awareness boosted.

Gas In Saskatoon, September 1, 2017.

If you heard an odd sound in Saskatoon this week it may have been the sound of gas prices shooting past the one dollar a litre mark.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 109.9 cents a litre at most locations.  Hurricane Harvey is no doubt the excuse for this, despite stations in Saskatoon not getting their supplies from refineries effected by Harvey.