Toronto Maple Leafs Universe

2010-03-19T21:21:00.000-06:00

The following is an open letter to the fat bastard cocksucker Ian Godbeer who is the plant 82 manager at Suncor.

Dear fuckface,

I am so glad I no longer have to see your fat ugly face every day. From your stupid accent to the stupid look on your face, everything about your stupid ass bothers me. You and your precious fucking plant 82. Fuck it, and fuck you. I hope your ass gets deported back to wherever the fuck you came from. I think you're from South Africa. Good. Maybe I'll get lucky and some angry black guy that you tormented before you came to Canada will kill you, skin you, and eat you. Although that would be quite a meal, so I hope he brought some friends. I hope his dog munches on your tiny nuts before you die, asshole.

You fat big mouthed cock-knocker. You wouldn't know what manners were if they came up and sucked that little pencil you call a dick. "Where's my gearbox? Where's my motor? Where's my trunnion?". Well you know where I think they are, shitstain? I think they are in your big fat stomach, since you seem to always be eating anyway, you probably got hungry and ate them all. Your stomach is probably the only thing on this earth that's even bigger than your mouth.

So listen ballsack, why don't you just pack up your shit and GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY COUNTRY!!!! I AM SO FUCKING SICK AND FUCKING TIRED OF YOUR FUCKING SOB STORIES! I don't give a FUCK who built your fucking gearbox 30 years ago! I don't give a fuck who you knew back in Zimbabwe or wherever the FUCK you came from that might know where to get spare parts! As I matter of fact, I don't give a FUCK about you! So take that little stump that used to be one of your fingers, stick it straight up your fat ass, and spin! Just FUCK THE HELL OFF AND DIE!

Love,
Me.

PS - And while you're spinning, faggot, close your eyes, tap your ruby slippers together three times, and say "Go Leafs Go, and take the Blue Jays with you".

Neil Houlihan is a big fat NEWFIE dick

2010-03-06T21:40:00.005-07:00

Now that I'm gone from that piece of shit company known as Suncor, I can say that Neil Houlihan is nothing more than a 300 pound steaming pile of gorilla shit. I could never stand this fucking arrogant, ignorant, fat, ugly, NEWFIE but had to hold my tongue for three fucking long years because god forbid if I had ever dared spoken back to him he'd scream and cry like a fucking three year old girl who didn't get the doll she wanted.

This motherfucker did NOTHING but scream and bully people and even when he was blatantly wrong, he'd make a reason why you should think that you were wrong. He thinks he shit doesn't stink. I can't believe this cocksucker, as FAT as he is, hasn't had a heart attack yet. Well let me tell YOU something Neil Fucking Houlihan.

Fuck Suncor, fuck plant 82, and fuck you! As you would say, "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?". You heard me, FUCK YOU! I don't have to put up with your FUCKING SHIT anymore you fucking overgrown ape turd! I hope your fucking plant 82 burns to the fucking ground with you in it!

DIE YOU MOTHERFUCKING NEWFIE!!!! HAVE A FUCKING HEART ATTACK AND FUCKING DIE! DIE!

As a matter of fact, anyone from Newfoundland can fucking die! I hate that piece of shit province and all the fucking retard LOSERS that come from there! Fucking uneducated fucking rude jigs dinner eating CUNTS!

And as I always say, Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you.

Birthday party

2008-09-07T12:31:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, we celebrated my monkey's birthday with a party attended by some of her closest friends in our town. We had been planning this party for about 2 months, and the plan had changed a few times. At first, my monkey wanted a big party for about 50 people, we would charge $10 for entrance and all the food and drinks would be free. Then we thought about doing a mask themed party, and then had second thoughts. Finally, about 2 weeks ago, we decided to go ahead with the mask theme, but with less people. We invited about 20 people, and about 10 accepted with a few tentative. We figured that we'd have about 10-20 people in total depending upon how many extra people (like spouses) showed up, so we a good idea when planning our menu.

My monkey decided to only prepare a couple dishes, and buy the rest. Last week, we bought some non-perishables, chips, pop, cups, and cutlery. This weekend, we bought the liquor, a small keg of beer, the marshmallows (for our chocolate fountain), ingredients for our salads (greek and macaroni salads), the cake (which said "Happy Birthday Monkey", the ballons, and ordered a platter of subs ahead of time. Just before the party, I picked up some singapore noodles from a chinese restaurant and the subs. Everything went off without a hitch. In fact, just as I got home, the pizzas we ordered arrived. I had time to prepare the chocolate fountain just in time for the first guests to arrive.

About 14 people arrived over the course of the evening, and everyone had a great time. Everyone loved the food and the music, and most people stayed late, until about 2 in the morning. There was a lot of fun and laughter, and my monkey told me that it was the best birthday party she ever had. We cleaned up after, and we went to bed around 3:30 AM. We are so tired today, but it was worth it.

E-bay items sold out... a new account is borne

2008-08-24T21:31:00.002-06:00

Today, the six items I listed for sale are ending, and I'm getting a LOT more than I thought I would! In fact, these items are selling for more money than the previous items did. In fact, I had a profit margin of almost 400%! Not only that, but the money we made from these six items alone will be enough to pay for another full shipment of 30 items from our supplier. We still have over 20 items left to sell, so whatever we make from those is pure profit! This is our third batch of items being sold on e-bay, and for the first time we are seeing a substantial profit. This is fantastic news.

The only bad part is that I just tried to list more items, and got the same mystery error message. So now, we've had to open a THIRD account with E-bay, and I was able to list seven more items. Once these are sold, we'll have to try re-listing with our first two accounts, or if not create a FOURTH account. E-bay is sure making things hard on me! But at least I'm striking back. Our goal is to one day get enough hits on our new website (still under construction) to warrant building an online store, and just list items there to our hearts content. I just don't understand why we are being penalized since we're loyal E-bay members with a perfect feedback rating on BOTH accounts. I figure four accounts would allow us to sell about 26 items in a 30 day period, which wouldn't be bad for a part-time business, but if we wanted to do it full time, we'd need four times the items sold per month... so does that mean we'd need SIXTEEN E-bay accounts? If that's the case, I better start having kids real quick and taking out E-bay accounts in their names, or making up a lot of imaginary friends and name accounts after them. Thanks E-bay, you're contributing to the growth of my split personalities, at least my online ones. Go Leafs Go, and take E-bay with you.

I have a new blog theme!

2008-08-21T20:41:00.009-06:00

Today, I got a wonderful surprise. My darling wife, who I affectionately refer to as Monkey,revealed to me my brand new blog. As you can see, it has a hockey theme, specifically a Toronto Maple Leaf theme. I love the theme, and even the Maple Leaf fan begging for a Stanley Cup on the blog's banner looks just like me - minus the years of tears, bitterness, and anger. I love the little hockey stick shooting the little puck into the little net at the bottom of each post - although the puck obviously was not shot by a member of my Maple Leafs, otherwise it would have missed the net. Perhaps it was a member of my Leafs, shooting the little puck into their own net instead of the opponent's? In any case, it looks great. I also love the widget icons that look like big pucks. I wonder if the little hockey stick could shoot the big pucks? And if so, would they knock the little nets over? Oh sorry, my mind started wandering, that's what happens when you go your whole life for a Stanley Cup.

I owe a great big thank you to my Monkey for thinking of me and getting this done. I also owe a great big thank you to the very talented blog designer, Paty. If anyone is looking for a great blog design that won't break your bank account, visit Paty's website right now at Fairy Blogmother Design. I look forward to enjoying this blog theme for years to come, unless of course my Leafs actually win the Stanley Cup, then I'll be contacting Paty to design a brand new blog for me! In other words, you'll be seeing this same blog design for the rest of my life. Thanks Monkey and Paty!

E-bay battle part 4 - still a stalemate, but inching closer

2008-08-20T21:11:00.001-06:00

Today, I haven't heard back from my good friends at E-bay. Surprise, surprise. I went ahead and listed two more items on my second account, and BANG! After I had seven items listed, I hit the same "limit" error message as I did on my primary account. So now I have thirteen total items listed, six on my first account and seven on my second account. We have a third account, however I'm not sure if it's still active or even if it's linked to our PayPal account. It's going to be a lot of work to get it set up, link it to our PayPal account, set up automatic PayPal payments, and list the items. Even then, we'll probably only be able to list six or seven items, and still have over ten items left to sell. Perhaps we can open a couple more E-bay accounts? Or perhaps E-bay will let us list more items after the first batch sells? There's really no way of knowing what to do since E-bay is giving me the runaround. If all else fails, we will need to find another auction site. So far out of the thirteen items for sale, only three have bids, all from our primary account. All thirteen still have a few days left in the auction so we're not too worried yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

E-bay struggle - part 3

2008-08-19T20:36:00.002-06:00

In part 3 of my battle with E-bay, I struck back! I got an e-mail basically repeating what the first note said, that I was being accused of selling counterfeit items. They also added that they would not reveal the mysterious "list" of items that I could sell without restrictions, and that I could re-apply to have the restriction lifted in 90 days. So I replied and asked what this "restriction" is. Does it mean that I can never sell a certain type of item again? Or does it mean that I can sell them after my current listed items have sold. And how many can I sell after that? Their replies are so vague and impersonal. I know that E-bay is huge and I am tiny, but you'd think they'd make a bit of an effort for me since I stated over and over that I want to sell more items which in turn would make them money twice, once through E-bay and once through PayPal. Classic example of bureaucracy clogging the system. I'm sure whoever started E-bay wouldn't have wanted their customers to be treated this way.

I mentioned earlier that I struck back at E-bay, and I did. Unfortunately it's in a way that will help E-bay anyway and cause me to be inconvenienced. What I did was use another E-bay account that I had for years that had been inactive for a long time. Sure, I have to deal with two E-bay accounts now, and sure, I had to switch around a bunch of settings to link my PayPal address to the 2nd E-bay account, and sure, E-bay will still make money twice off me for the same items. But at least I get to sell the items! I've already listed several items, and have many more to list, but I'm tired now. I'll continue listed them tomorrow, and hopefully, I can list them all without running into this absurd "limit" on my second account.

E-bay experience update

2008-08-18T20:41:00.003-06:00

I got a response from E-bay today, and they basically told me that they would not lift the restriction, and accused me of selling counterfit items. Not only is that not true, I told them that I have a 100% positive feedback rating. I pointed out that there were tons of similar items up for sale on e-bay, and asked why is it that my items were being targeted and not the others. Their note stated that certain items could be listed without restrictions, however they didn't list the specific items. So I asked for a list with specific item types. I also asked them if all the other sellers listing these types of items would have the same restriction placed on their accounts, or if their listings would be pulled.

I am very upset right now because I feel that I am being accused of doing something unethical when in fact I have the highest standards for client service. Not only do I have over 200 positive comments from my clients, I've even provided refunds when necessary - no questions asked. I've never had a dissatisfied client, and never plan to. I just can't believe that E-bay would make such a statement, and in what appeared to be a "form letter" no less. It was from a specific person but it was obvious that he/she used a standard letter format.

So now, I will wait for a response. I'm really hoping that they will lift the restriction, although I highly doubt it. It looks like I may have to use an alternate listing source. One option is building our own website with our own domain name, and then building an online store. We can accept PayPal for payments - and yes, I know that E-bay owns PayPal, but it's still the easiest choice. What's more, we'll save money on E-bay fees. Yes, E-bay will still make money via PayPal fees, but as big as they are, they'll lose some business from us. Not that it matters, but one day if they anger enough people, and with the competitiveness of online sites today, they may start to suffer.

In the interim, my monkey and I are in the process of designing a new website. It's going to be a site where we can share our experiences and advice on many topics, like travelling, gaming, movies, shopping, and much more. And one portion of the site can be an online store where we can sell our wares without having to worry about restrictions. We've submitted our ideas to a web designer, however she has not responded yet to our proposal. We're hoping that the web designer can go ahead with our ideas and that it won't be too hard or costly.

We'll see what happens with this e-bay thing......

My first problem with E-bay

2008-08-17T21:25:00.003-06:00

Up until today, I have used E-bay for almost 6 years with no major issues to buy and sell things. Today, though, I got a very strange error message that I've never seen before. I put six items up for sale, and when I tried to post the seventh item, I got an error message stating something to the effect that I couldn't list any more items as E-bay limited the amount of items I could post for sale. I thought maybe it had something to do with the file size of my pictures, so I reduced the size of the pictures and tried again. I received the same error message. So I tried again after logging off E-bay without success. I shut down the computer and tried again unsuccessfully. I even tried from another computer and got the same error message.

I didn't know what to do! I have so many more items to list, about 25 in fact. After re-reading the error message a couple of times, I e-mailed e-bay customer service. I told them that I had a 100% positive feedback ranking, and that I had sold many of these items before without incident. Apparently if this is the case, you can ask e-bay to lift this limit, and so I did. This just happened tonight, so I am not sure how long it will take to resolve, or what I need to do. I just know that I have 25 shirts and a hat sitting in my home office waiting to be listed, so I hope it can be done!!! I will update my blog when I get an answer, and hopefully it will be a good one.

The trip is coming....

2008-08-15T21:03:00.002-06:00

It's time to get excited! It's only another month before my monkey and I go on our 7 day Alaskan cruise. My monkey bought this cruise as a gift for us a few months ago, but just last month my monkey came up with another idea. She suggested that we drive back home at the end of our cruise instead of flying. So after our cruise, we will be touring Vancouver, Victoria, Langley, Vernon, the Okanagan Valley, and Banff for a week until finally arriving back home. I thought it was a great idea, and agreed.

Still, we had a couple challenges. We needed to plan a route home from Vancouver after the cruise, and we needed to arrange a rental car we could drive all the way home. Not to mention, we still needed to find one way plane tickets to Vancouver. I recently discovered that as a member of the Alberta Motor Association, I was entitled to a discount on car rentals. Last week, we visited the local AMA office and got a reasonable quote on a one week car rental, which included unlimited mileage and the ability to drop the car off in our city. The unlimited mileage is very important since we'd be driving about 2000 kilometers over the 7 day period. I was also able to get several maps of the area which we could use on our trip home, as well as a fantastic book detailing local hotels, restaurants, and points of interest we could visit.

Finally, we were worried because airline tickets were very expensive from our city to Vancouver. In fact, the lowest rate we found up until last week was $285 each person. But today, my monkey found tickets for only $185 each. She called me in my office and I said "Monkey...... buy them" and she did. So now we are almost set. All we have to do is buy some clothes and pack and enjoy! I can't wait for the next month to go by. It should fly by - only 35 days to go!

Civ 4 - the losing streak is over!

2008-07-13T19:41:00.003-06:00

FINALLY... FINALLY.... FINALLY... my long and frustrating losing streak at Civ 4 is over. It took a lot of patience, and a lot of planning, but I did it. My opponents were Germany, Japan, Mali, Russia, France, USA, and my nemesis from Zulu. The world map was small, so I wanted to expand as quickly as possible. I only was able to build one more city, and then there was no more room. So I had to go with only two cities. Surprisingly, it worked quite well. I was able to develop both cities very quickly, as all my workers were focussed on them rather than being stretched out over 4 or 5 cities.

By the year 1000 AD, I had a strong economy, strong culture, and was doing very well in research. Around 1200 AD, Germany, my neighbour, declared war on me. In previous games, I had been unprepared for a war. Not this time. I was able to easily push the Germans back, and even took over one of their cities. In the next 50 years, I had wiped the Germans out. I then started to concentrated on research, building universities and specialists. By 1500, I had a big and advanced enough military to make a move on Russia. I invaded, and to my surprise, the USA and and Japan both declared war on me at the same time. I managed to hold the Japanese and the Americans at bay, while taking over a Russian city. After declaring peace and giving my troups a bit of time to heal, it was back to war with the alliance of Russia/Japan/USA. The war dragged on for 25 years or so, but late in the war I made peace with Japan and the US, leaving Russia to face me. I wiped them out quickly.

At this point, I declared war on the Zulu, reducing them to one city. But I had a plan for them. I wanted to leave them for last, to get revenge for all the past times they made me lose. So I declared war on France, and after about 50 years, wiped them out. Around the year 1700, I took a bit of time to concentrate on research again, and by 1880, I was ready for the stretch run. First up was Japan, and they were tough, and it took me about 50 years to beat them. I then beat the Malinese quickly, as they only had one city. Around 1950, I went after the USA, and by 1963, they were gone.

Hello Zulu empire. Remember all those times you caused me pain? Caused me to lose? Well now it was their turn. They had managed to build a second small city, which was gone by 1965. In 1966, I had a large group of tanks at the Zulu border, and kissed them goodbye. 1967 - game over - I win. Bye Zulu, thanks for coming out. Score one for the good guys. So I'm back in the winning column. Hopefully I can build on this momentum now that I've rid myself of the Zulu curse.

Go Leafs Go, and take the Zulu empire with you.

Lost at Civ 4 again - hopefully this time I'll win

2008-07-11T20:49:00.001-06:00

The Zulu empire did it to me again. They invaded me just before I got "Chemistry" and grenadiers. So I started another game, and even though I wasn't invaded, I ran out of money because I only built 4 cities and a HUGE army. Eventually, my army went on strike and I started losing units like crazy. I was stuck at a 10% research rate, and had to drop down to 0%. That meant my research would take way too long, and the other civs would be too advanced for me and be able to easily take me over. So I started a new game.

This time around, I took the strategy of making only 3 cities. My immediate neighbour is England, and we share two islands. I am their biggest ally but am planning to invade them shortly - I don't really want to, but I really need to get more cities quickly as I'm falling behind in research. I've taken over one of their cities culturally but taking over militarily would be a lot faster. The other civs are China, Greece, the US, India, Carthage, and Spain. At this point in my game, the year is 1908 and I'm about 100 years away from getting tanks - I already can build marines. I have tons of money, and I'm starting to build my army. I still need to wait to build a navy, but I've hoping to invade England in about 120 years. My game score would be pretty low, but I need to get back on the winning track! I'll let you know how it goes. And speaking of going - Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you.

Another Civ 4 loss

2008-07-04T23:10:00.004-06:00

Well, I was right. I lost in Civ 4. AGAIN. The Zulu empire "pearl harboured" me and I had to start a new game. This time, I am playing the Roman empire, and my opponents are Greece, France, Egypt, Russia, England, Carthage, and Persia. So far, the year is 748 AD and I only have 4 cities, but I just discovered iron. I'm going to use it to get some powerful army units of praetorians developed, and hopefully take over France before 1000 AD. If not, I may lose again. I seem to be in a slump lately. Everytime I'm close to getting a winning strategy, it seems someone invades me. Hopefully this time I can do it to them before they do it to me.

I'm starting to research technologies that will lead me to Education, and then I can build universities in my cities. Then I plan to make a beeline for Chemistry, so I can develop grenadiers to replace the praetorians. After that (if I survive), I can make a beeline for Rifling and Industrialism, which will allow me to develop tanks, marines, and battleships. If I can beat the other countries to those by about 150 years, I should be in a good position to win the game. We'll see what happens. Go Leafs Go, and take the Blue Jays with you.

Another Civ 4 try

2008-07-03T19:46:00.003-06:00

I've started a new game of Civ 4, and I'm frustrated because I've lost a few games in a row. The problem is, I keep getting too impatient and either try and expand my cities too quickly, or try and take over other civs too quickly. In my current game, I'm playing as the Persian empire. The other civs are the Incans, the Americans, the Zulus, the Koreans, the Japanese, and the Celts. At this point, the year is 1451 AD, and I have 7 cities. I just finished researching Education, and I'm making a beeline for Industrialism. It may take me a few hundred years, but I hope to get there before someone declares war on me. I think the Zulus are close to invading me, so I'm starting to build a small army made up of a few swordsmen, a couple catapults, and trying to add some musketmen. Most of the world has been settled so there's not too much of an opportunity to build new cities. I'll have to take over a couple cities culturally, otherwise I'll have to take over militarily. I can win the game via a cultural or conquest victory, but at this point, it looks like a cultural victory would take too long. So I'll build up an army and see how it goes. Speaking of going, Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you

Free agent season

2008-07-01T21:22:00.002-06:00

Back to hockey! Today was the first day of unrestricted free agent season, a time all hockey fans look forward to. So what did my Leafs do? They signed defenseman Jeff Finger, who I guess isn't too bad, but it didn't really excite me. They also got Niklas Hagman, a 28 year old forward who hasn't scored a lot historically, but had a career year last season and has the potential to be a very good player. What got me really excited was the fact that we signed Curtis Joseph to a 1 year deal. We will only pay him $700 000 next season, and he can help tutor Justin Pogge. It was a great signing.

We still don't know if we will sign Mats Sundin, especially since the Canucks offered him $10 million a year, but hopefully we can get a couple other players if we don't sign him. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't sign either Mark Streit or Brian Campbell, but that's the way it goes. Speaking of going, Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you.

More landscaping work

2008-06-29T14:48:00.002-06:00

This weekend, my monkey and I put some finishing touches on our backyard landscaping. We installed some more stepping stones, so now there is a path all the way from the back of the house to the garage. We also redistributed some of the decorative rocks to cover some areas where there weren't enough rocks. We also put down some red cedar mulch around our shrubs, and now they look great. We're just about ready for our first summer barbeque with guests, which will probably happen around the end of July.

We also bought another propane tank in case our first one runs out of gas, which will probably happen soon since we used it all last summer and have started to use it this year. All we have to do now is send the invitations, buy the food and have fun. It looks like it will be a fun summer. Hopefully the weather will co-operate! And of course, Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you.

Up with "OFF"

2008-06-27T21:11:00.002-06:00

The last week or so, I have been very active with walking and exercising outside (like the big landscaping job recently). Up until last Friday, I was bitten so many times by mosquitoes that I had more red bumps on my skin than skin itself. But I starting using "OFF" bug spray and it really works. I haven't been bitten once since then, and no bugs even come near me. Except of course for the dreaded Alberta "Tar Sand Beetle", a big ugly thing that is very quiet and bites when it lands on you. Luckily I haven't been bitten by any of those yet. At least I'm free from mosquitoes though. It's so nice to be able to go outside without worrying about being bitten to death. Well I'm looking forward to the Canada Day weekend, even though I have to work on Monday. In any case, Go Leafs Go, and take the Raptors with you.

So long Wellwood, good riddance Raycroft

2008-06-27T06:29:00.001-06:00

One of the Leafs' promising young players, Kyle Wellwood, was just placed on waivers and picked up by the Vancouver Canucks. I'm kind of surprised that we let him go as he has a lot of potential. Then again, he has been struggling with a sports hernia injury for the last year, so maybe our General Manager, Cliff Fletcher, knows something Leaf fans don't. Also, I heard that Wellwood is lazy in the off-season and doesn't stay in shape. I just hope this decision doesn't come back to haunt us. We also got rid of "Space Cadet" Andrew Raycroft, the goalie that doesn't pay attention during games. No one has picked him up yet, and I don't think anyone will be dumb enough to. Great move by Cliff Fletcher, and hopefully we can pick up a couple free agents in July, hopefully a defenseman.

Until then, Go Leafs Go, and take the Blue Jays with you.

Landscaping is done

2008-06-22T19:17:00.002-06:00

We spent most of this long weekend landscaping our backyard with beautiful landscaping stones called "washed rock". We had ordered ten tonnes of this rock, which was delivered just after 8:30 Friday morning (we had the day off). We were amazed at how big 10 tonnes looked on our street corner. It was a HUGE pile! We immediately started shovelling rock into a wheelbarrow, and carting it into the backyard to distribute over the dirt that was there. After the first three hours, it almost looked like the pile of rock was getting bigger.

It was painstaking work. It was so hot outside, and our muscles were aching We took breaks every couple hours, and worked twelve hours on Friday. We had expected to be finished, but at the end of the day, there was a huge pile left. I estimated that it would take us about three or four more hours on Saturday. The next day though, the pile seemed to keep growing! After four hours of work, the pile finally started to seem to shrink, but there was still a lot left at the end of the day. Finally, on Sunday, we began to make some real progress. After about 45 minutes, we could see the pile getting small. Excitedly, we continued working, and finally after another 30 minutes, we scooped up the final bit of rock and brought it into the backyard.

Our backs were hurting, our arms were hurting, our arms and legs were so tired, but it was all worth it. Our backyard looks great, and it's even raining today, which is washing away all the dust. I can't wait to host our first BBQ of the summer and all our guests can see how our landscaping looks. Until then, Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you.

Winning streak is over

2008-06-11T17:26:00.001-06:00

Well, my Civ 4 winning streak became a 2 game losing streak. In the first game I played, I expanded too quickly and didn't have enough of a military presence. Just as I was getting some momentum, another country, not naming names (Japan) attacked me and destroyed one of my cities so I gave up and started a new game. I just gave up because it would have taken too long to build another city to the same level. In my second game, I was completely destroyed because two countries attacked at the same time, not to name names (Spain and JAPAN). I'm now playing another game, and doing very well. I think I'll be starting a new winning streak. And the best part is, I get a chance at revenge against a country that shall remain unnamed (JAPAN). I'll report back later. In the interim, Go Leafs Go, and take JAPAN with you.

Civ 4 - 2 wins in a row

2008-06-08T16:28:00.003-06:00

I think I'm getting better at Civ 4, because I've won two games in a row. The first game took me over a week to complete in real time, and was a conquest victory (where you have to eliminate all your opponents). It was very hard but very rewarding. The second victory took only one day in real time, and was a cultural victory. This meant you had to achieve three cities with "legendary" culture. It was not as hard but required a lot more strategy rather than just crushing your opponents militarily. I'm starting another game today, a conquest game where I have to conquer all my opponents. So far I'm not doing so well, so my two game winning streak could be in jeopardy. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Damn this game is addictive.

Flight Simulator X

2008-05-15T21:10:00.001-06:00

I recently bought Flight Simulator X for my PC, and I love it. I've been looking for a good flight simulator on and off for a few years, and I finally caved in and bought one. It's so much fun, and surprisingly easy to use. At first, I practiced using a small ultralight plane, and had a lot of problems. Now, I have made a few landings with a Bombardier jet, and while most have been a bit ugly, I didn't crash. I've also made some 3-point landings with a small two engine plane, probably my favourite thing to fly at this point - the ultralight is super easy to fly but too slow and boring. I am really hooked and want to keep practicing, and one day I hope to make some 3-point landings with the Bombardier jet and a couple bigger ones I haven't used yet.

Until that day comes, Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you.

Long live Paul Maurice

2008-05-09T22:22:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, the Leafs fired coach Paul Maurice. It becomes part of the long and growing list of stupid bonehead moves that the Leafs have made over the years. He took our farm team to the Calder Cup finals, and took the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup finals in the early 2000's. Obviously he's a good coach, so I have no idea why we would fire him. I suppose we'll hire some 90 year old guy who used to be a coach 50 years ago but now is senile and on medication, suffering hallucinations. He'll make the team wear pink fingernail polish and wear dresses, and skate with one leg. That would be a typical Leaf move.

The reign of Paul Maurice is dead. Long live the reign of Paul Maurice.

Well, I'm hoping we hire a good coach who can teach our young guys how to play defence, maybe even introduce them to our goalie. Joel Quenneville was fired by Colorado today, he'd fit the bill quite nicely and would probably want to come here. He even used to play defence for us back in the 70's. Until the time we hire a new coach, I say to the Leafs "Great move, morons. Keep the legacy of mediocrity alive."

Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you.

Spring has sprung - lawn & garden time

2008-05-04T09:41:00.003-06:00

Finally we are snow free! We had a major snowstorm here on April 20 that lasted three days. Yes, April 20. That's what you get for living in northern Canada. Since April 23, it's been mostly warm and sunny, and just this week the last of the snow has melted and we can see the roads, sidewalks, and grass. People are starting to wear shorts and it's time to start working on our lawn. This year, I am in charge of keeping the lawn green. So far, it's brown with a few green spots.

This weekend is the beginning of a new spring. I have already fertilized our lawn, and today I got up early to do the first watering of the lawn this season. It's almost done, and the lawn's looking a little greener. I'm hoping it's a sign of greener things to come. My monkey has also decided to get in on the action. She has decided to plant flowers in the soil of our two trees, one in the front yard and one on the side of our house. Yesterday, she worked the soil and sowed the seeds. Today they're also getting a watering. The flowers planted by the tree in our front yard should bloom in a couple weeks, and the ones by the tree on the side of the house should bloom in a month or two. We've also bought a white plastic picket fence which encircles the tree in our front yard, and today we might buy one for the tree on the side of our house. We're also deciding what to do with the unlandscaped portion of our backyard. This includes an area of soil about 20 feet X 15 feet behind our deck, and three long narrow strips of soil (one to the right of our house, and one on either side of our garage. We will either put down sod or perhaps decorative rocks. We'll see how it goes, but we need to do something soon because we plan to have people over for a BBQ this summer.

I'm so glad winter is over. And on that warm note, Go Leafs Go, and take winter and the Argos with you

Stock has vested!

2008-04-30T19:51:00.004-06:00

Oh happy day. It's April 30, and that means that my company stock has vested, which means I own it. So as of right now, I own 650 shares, with a company grant price of $90.41. If I chose to sell the shares today, I'd make about $20 per share, or about $13,000. However, I'm going to hang onto the shares because they're going to be splitting on May 12, which means I'll own double the amount of shares. Even though the stock price will be halved, so will my grant price. So if the stock ever rises back up to over $100/share, I'd make over $50,000. Because my monkey is in the exact same situation as me, we'd make the same amount of money, so $100,000. What an exciting thought. I really hope it happens.

Oh and on another note, April 30 marks the 1 year anniversary of the hire date of my monkey and I with our company. I'd talk more about this but I really don't care about this anniversary. It's next April 30 that matters, because once April 30, 2009 arrives, we will be on our next move to BC. What a happy day that will be.

Until then, Go Leafs Go, and take the Raptors with you.

Great weekend

2008-04-27T10:58:00.002-06:00

This is turning out to be a great weekend. On Saturday, we went to the local mall and after a haircut, I bought my monkey a set of earrings and it made her so happy. Later that day, my monkey went online and bought an Apple MacBook laptop, one that she's been planning to buy for awhile now. She was hesitant because of the price but I kept encouraging her so she finally treated herself. It should arrive in the first two weeks of May.

I almost forgot, I got a great treat too. My monkey booked a 7 day Alaskan cruise in September. I've always wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise as I hear it's the best location for seeing natural wonders. We can't wait to go and it will be a well-deserved break from the place we live now, where it's cold about nine months out of the year. I'm sure I'll mention this cruise more in later blogs.

Until then, Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you

My company's stock is up

2008-04-20T13:40:00.004-06:00

Finally some good news. The price of oil has gone up dramatically! Good news indeed (for some of us)! As a result of the increase in oil prices, our company's stock price went up to $116.64 cdn per share as of today. We're definitely looking forward to our stock vesting on April 30. There's also a strong possibility that the stock would split in May. That means more investors would invest in our company and stock would go up even further. Hopefully by next year we can sell our stock and make a ton of money, and then move to BC!

On an unrelated note, Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you.

Goodbye, Martin. Goodbye, Ray

2008-04-19T11:12:00.004-06:00

Hello, I am a hockey pool addict, and it's been 12 days since my last pool. At this point you say "Hello".

Well it's not an AA meeting, but I feel the same way. I am going through hockey pool withdrawal. Two weeks ago, my Yahoo pool ended with me finishing in 4th place. Since then, I keep thinking I have to log into my pool and update my lineup. Yesterday, reality hit when Martin Brodeur and Ray Emery were eliminated from the NHL playoffs. I feel bad for Brodeur since he carried his team through the year, but I'm so happy Ray Emery was eliminated since he messed up my team (see my previous posts). I'm still picking Pittsburgh to beat Dallas in the finals, but I'm rooting for Calgary because I want Curtis Joseph (who was a member of my Maple Leafs a few years ago) to win a Stanley Cup. Hopefully Calgary can overcome their 3-2 deficit against San Jose and advance to the next round of the playoffs.

Until then, goodbye Martin. Goodbye, Ray. Enjoy your golf games. Thanks for the 4th place finish. And of course, Go Leafs Go, and take the Blue Jays with you.

Finished 4th

2008-04-08T18:57:00.003-06:00

In my last post, I mentioned that I would finish either 3rd or 4th in my pool. Well I finished 4th. Thanks to Teemu Selanne and Mathieu Schneider, who could have put me in 3rd but couldn't get a power play point in their game, even though my opponent got three. A lovely way to end my pool. Now I don't even care about the real NHL playoffs, which begin tomorrow, since my Leafs missed the playoffs for the 3rd straight year. Nice job, morons.

Hopefully next year we can get rid of "Space Cadet" Andrew Raycroft and send him on a mission to the moon, Jupiter, Pluto, or anywhere else far away from our net. Maybe it's Justin Pogge's time to be the backup goalie. If not, I know a couple Golden Retrievers that could do the job just as well as Raycroft, if not better. Or maybe we could just put a dead body in net. The corpse wouldn't move much, but at least it would stop most of the low shots. And we wouldn't have to pay the corpse anything, which would save us cap room. Until next season,

Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you

Retiring without a championship

2008-04-06T19:15:00.003-06:00

Well, thanks to lacklustre performances by my team in the Yahoo pool, I will finish 3rd or 4th despite finishing 1st in the regular season and earning a first round bye. I had the semi-finals won, with a tie score midway through the week and 10 more skater games than my opponent. Then, I go out of town and I check my pool expecting to see me easily advancing to the finals, only to see that I lost. It seems as though my 10 extra skater games produced absolutely nothing, while my opponent's team scored like crazy. The final nail in the coffin was Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks scoring with 57 seconds left in overtime on the final game of the week for my opponent. Because of that goal, he beat me after having to go to the 2nd tiebreaker. If Patrick Kane doesn't score in overtime, I advance to the finals.

I promised my wife that this would be my last season in a Yahoo pool because I get so frustrated, yelling at the computer screen or the TV. At the time, I thought I would win the pool and walk away a champion. No such luck. I'll retire with a 3rd or 4th place finish, not a bad thing considering it's a 12 team league, but not good enough for me. This is truly the worst humiliation in my storied sports pool career, but I'm sure I'll top it in other pools - just not Yahoo pools. And so, to Yahoo pools, I bid "adieu", and thank you - for not giving Peter Forsberg a LW eligibility, even though he should have had it dammit. Thanks, morons. Thanks also to Mats Sundin and his stupid groin, Sergei Zubov and his stupid foot, and Ray Emery and his big head that was stuck up his big butt most of the season.

Back from Flu Hell - Leafs still suck

2008-02-26T19:19:00.003-07:00

Well, it's taken over a week, but my monkey and I have finally fully recovered from our flu. The last stage for me was a nasty cough and it took the last 3 days to get rid of it. So what is the state of the Leaf Nation now that I'm back?

We still suck. Yes, we beat Ottawa 5-0 last night (thanks for the 5 goals against, Ray Emery) but we're still almost last in the NHL. Not only that, but Mats Sundin refused to waive his "no trade" clause and so we were unable to trade him for good young players. Thanks Mats, you're a great player but you just screwed us. You should have allowed us to trade you, get some young guys, and then re-signed next year. We also traded Chad Kilger, who I always liked, and Wade Belak, who seemed like a good guy and was a good fighter but just didn't play a lot with us. Good luck in Florida boys.

On the bright side, we did manage to trade away Hal Gill, or as he's known to Leafs fans, Pilon # 1. Now we just need to get rid of Pilon #2 Pavel Kubina and Pilon # 3 Bryan McCabe. And of course, Space Cadet Andrew Raycroft... I call him that because when he's in the net he just stares into space and doesn't stop the puck. Good luck in Pittsburgh, Hal, and thanks for the memories (of people easily skating around you and scoring).

On my hockey pool front, despite my aforementioned crappy performance by Ray Emery (thanks, Ray), my team is still in 1st place by 11 points with only 2 weeks to go until the playoffs. A 1st round bye is almost a certainty now (the top two teams in the standings after the regular season get one). Sergei Zubov and Mike Richards are going to be hurt until week 2 of my fantasy playoffs so I really need to get one of the two first round byes. My new guys Ryan Smyth and Teemu Selanne are doing well and Martin Brodeur is the hottest goalie in the NHL.

Until next time, I'll leave you with a rare picture I found of the Leaf team photo from this year...

Go Leafs Go and take the Argos with you.

Sick as a dog

2008-02-19T19:16:00.002-07:00

It's Tuesday night, and ever since yesterday morning, my monkey and I have been almost bedridden with a horrible fever. Luckily, Monday was a holiday so we didn't have to work, but today we had to work from home. We both have chills, a bad cough, nausea, muscle pain, and a horrible headache that just won't go away. It's about 7:15 PM local time, and the odds are we won't go to work tomorrow because we both feel very sick. It's almost a blessing in disguise that we're sick this week, because next Monday-Wednesday, we are going on a course and have to pay our company back if we don't attend (and it's very expensive).

In other news, the Sundin suitcase watch continues. Although teams like Ottawa, Detroit, Montreal, and Anaheim continue to be mentioned as "buyers" to make a pitch for Sundin, he remains a Leaf for now. I would be so disappointed if he's not traded. He's a great player, and deserves a chance to win the Stanley Cup. The Leafs will win the cup one year, but it won't be this year. If we trade him, we can also get draft picks and a young player or two for him - and then, we can even sign Sundin again next year when he's a free agent in the summer. You'd think there's a lot of interest, and I hope Mats will waive his no trade clause and go to a contender.

Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you.

Leafs get the big donut

2008-02-13T21:07:00.003-07:00

Here's a newsflash - the Leafs lose again. These jabronies not only lost, they didn't even score. A 1-0 loss to the lowly Buffalo Sabres. Even a few second graders and a dog could beat Buffalo. Even a few dogs and a first grader could beat Buffalo. But then again, a bunch of crippled, blind puppies could beat the Leafs. I didn't watch the game, therefore I didn't have to gouge my eyes out with a rusty nail. But I do have a few guesses as to why the Leafs lost:

1) We played the game blindfolded
2) We played without hockey sticks
3) All the Leafs were replaced with cardboard cutouts - no wait, that couldn't be, because the cardboard cutouts would probably be faster and more exciting to watch.
4) The Leafs decided to stay in lovely downtown Buffalo and didn't show up for the game, thereby losing by default
5) The Leafs won the opening faceoff, and knowing that things would only get worse, left the ice immediately after

And the reason that Buffalo only scored one goal on us? Buffalo was probably laughing too hard to skate after scoring and seeing how crappy the Leafs were

Looking forward to the next humiliating loss boys - good job.

Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you.

Enjoying our day off

2008-02-08T09:53:00.002-07:00

Today is our day off from work, as our company gives us at least two paid days off per month. If there's a statutory holiday during a month, we'll get that day off, as well as another Friday off. If there's no statutory holidays off during that month, our company will give us two Fridays off. It's very important, because where we live there are little amenities, and most of the major businesses like banks and doctors are only open until 4 or 5 PM. Therefore we need a couple days off a month just to run errands at these places.

Today, we're expecting an important delivery from Fedex. I recently bought my precious monkey (wife) a sapphire ring for our 6th wedding anniversary, and it should be coming today. We are both very excited to see it. Hopefully the Fedex guy will come today because they don't deliver after 4 PM so if it doesn't come today, we'll have to pick it up after work next week.

We're also expecting a visitor from the city to come to our house and assess the property for our 2008 taxes. I'm hoping it comes out low! Tomorrow, we're going to a party at my monkey's friend's house. Next week, my monkey has decided to host a party at our house. She will decide on the menu, and I will be in charge of the cocktails. Time to do some research now. I hope my monkey enjoys our day off!

Go Leafs Go, and take the Argos with you.

Why Ray... why????

2008-02-03T11:32:00.001-07:00

My Leafs won 4-2 last night, but it boggles my mind why the Senators lose every time Ray Emery is in net. Ray is .500 this year, and when Gerber plays in net the Senators almost always win. It's like they're trying to get him traded. I really hope Emery goes to a team in the Western conference soon so I can get some better goalie stats in my Yahoo pool. The fantasy playoffs start in about 6 weeks and I am about to drop into 2nd place in a 12 team pool. If I can finish the fantasy regular season in the top 2, I get a 1st round bye in the fantasy playoffs which is important.

Go Leafs Go - and take the Argos with you.

Judgement Night for Ray Emery

2008-02-02T15:05:00.001-07:00

Well, tonight my Leafs play the Ottawa Senators at the ACC. Normally, I'd be rooting for the Leafs 100%, only tonight I'm torn because the starting goalie for the Ottawa Senators, Ray Emery, is in my Yahoo hockey pool. Given the fact that the trading deadline is fast approaching, and that coach John Paddock and the other Ottawa Senators players are growing tired of Emery's antics, this may be one of his last games as an Ottawa Senator. In a way, Ray Emery needs to decide if he wants to continue his career in Ottawa, and tonight should serve as "Judgement Night" for his decision. It's on national TV, and Ottawa's playing their fiercest rival in my Leafs. Ottawa usually dominates the Leafs during the regular season, but when Emery has played this year, the Senators usually play poorly. So something has to give, it should be a good game. I'm hoping my Leafs in 1-0 in a shootout, so we win, but Emery still has good stats for my pool. Game time is 4 hours away, so we'll see what happens.

Go Leafs Go -and take the Argos with you!