Work, Work, Work...

Well I have been very busy lately here at work, I haven't even had any time to write a decent entry in my blog. Things are starting to cool down a bit, so I thought I would take some time and actually write something, even though all I want to do is link to a really interesting article.

So Friday night is going to be fun... The Tragically Hip are playing here in Saint John and a few of us are going. Troy was in T.O. to see them this weekend, apparently it was a good concert, maybe if he reads this he will post a small review. I really like the Hip and am looking forward to a great concert. The last time I saw them was here about 4 years ago, I think... Scott came over and I think we had a pretty good time, even though I had some sort of flu (not the brown bottle kind, either) and I was not the funnest that I have ever been...

Anyway, this time I am certain we will have a blast... A Friday night concert is always a good thing...

What can you do, they're all gone
And we'll go too.

Lighten up...

Some people just need to lighten up...

Train Tracks...

This is not the best picture (I took this one, not Jillian)... But I like the effect, it is called Fresco:

More Photoshop Effects...

This is the Cutout effect:

Photoshop fun...

I decided to try out some Photoshop effects on one of the photos that Jillian took, I posted them a while back.

This is the Coloured Pencil effect:



And this is the Dry Brush effect:



I really like the Dry Brush effect, it is a great way to stylize a photograph...

So Much Money...

So the Canadian Government supposedly has a $9.1 Billion Dollar surplus. How that can be is beyond me. I am not even going to mention all of the ways that this money should be spent.

But...

I am going to offer up one suggestion.

Give it all to me.

;-)

Supersize...

So the craze is fat-free, no carbs, smaller portions, and all that stuff right? Wrong.

I feel a little queasy just looking at it...

The Race is on...

Amazing Race 6 began last night and it was a tough go for some of the teams. The cast of characters is actually pretty intersting this time around, and I don't think they went the bimbo route as much as I had previously thought they would.

I am not sure who I am cheering for just yet, but I was dissapointed to see Avi and Joe go out so soon. I think it would have been a lot of fun to watch those guys for a few more weeks, at least. One thing is for sure, I can't wait til Jonathan and Victoria are out. That guy has got to be the biggest jerk this show has ever had, even a bigger jerk than Colin from last time...

Might As Well Jump...

Looks like David Lee Roth has a new career. Thanks Jillian for this one...

Sounds like he is serious about it, I must say I am a bit surprised, but it is a nice idea for sure...

Jaws?

Yikes! That is one nasty shark. The thought of being in the water with something like that is terrifying...

The Weather Outside...

This is what we woke up to today, lots of white stuff... It is still coming down a little bit now, but it looks like it is stopping. It is supposed to continue tomorrow but then warm up enough to melt it all...

Hopefully we will have snow for Christmas...

While My Guitar Gently Weeps...

Actually, my guitar screams and cries like a two year old throwing a tantrum, and this is not the desired result... It looks so easy when the instructor is playing it, why does it sound like crap when I play it? Ok, maybe it is because I do not have one ounce of musical ability in my entire body. My mother told me a while ago that the music teacher back in elementary school told her that none of us (me, my brother, and my sister) had any pitch. Are you supposed to have pitch when you are seven years old? So I will never be a singer, big deal, lead guitar is where it's at... Or maybe rhythm guitar... Banjo? Ukelele?

Anyway, music is something I love, always have, always will, I listen to a lot of different kinds of music and I have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar. I started a number of years ago and, like many people, I just messed around with it a bit, found that it was really hard, and then gave up... This time I hope it is different. I am on my second set of lessons, I am going in 7 or 8 week sets, one 30 minute lesson a week. I guess I have improved a little bit, but I still have a long long long way to go...

Any advice? How about a book or a DVD? Maybe a pill or some magic potion? A brain transplant?? Make me a Rock Star! ;-)

I just had to post this...

I was surfing along on Blogexplosion and I came across this post on ABROAD AT HOME. It contains a link to a list of banned books in the state of Texas. Yes, you heard me, banned books. So much for the glorious freedoms found in America. Check out the list; you will laugh when you come across a book or two that you fondly remember from your younger years. Now I see where Dubya gets it...

Short Work Week...

I decided to take Friday off this week, and seeing as Thursday is a holiday (Remembernce Day) I will only have to work three days this week. Yes! Wouldn't it be nice if we only had to work three or four days every week? Of course we would still get paid the same, right? Well, some people think a short work week is a good idea, I agree, but I am not holding my breath...

Remember...

Now that Dubya' has been re-elected in the good ol' US of A what is there to talk about? Well, I did say that I would no longer write about Survivor or The Apprentice, but I have to say one last thing about The Apprentice. If you go in the boardroom and Trump (or anyone else) does not directly talk to or about you, SHUT UP!

OK, well it seems that there is a little controversy here in Canada over the upcoming Remembrance Day ceremonies. It turns out that the Bloc Quebecois will not provide Canadian flags for veterans participating in the ceremony. Come on. Are we that petty here in Canada that we can't get over a language issue for one day? In my opinion it is really shallow and self serving of the Bloc to forget about the people who fought and died in WWI and WWII and all of the other conflicts this crazy world has seen, just to further a separatist agenda.

Stephen Harper has decided to donate the flags, a nice move by the Tories, I am hoping this was done in good faith, not for the press. I really wonder what people are thinking sometimes, this is 2004, after all...

Make the Change...

So I decided to switch to Mozilla Firefox and cut my ties to IE. It wasn't that easy to get out of the IE habit, but I am glad I did...

The Election...

I guess I have to say something about the election in the US, it is almost impossible to avoid this topic. I have to say that I am disappointed by the results so far, I really can't understand why the American people would want George W. Bush to be president for four more years. Anyway, it's their country...

It's funny how it affects us here in Canada, our economy has grown quite a bit recently, and our dollar is up, but is this really a good thing? Actually pretty much every major currency in the world has gained substantially on the US dollar over the last few months. I don't know, you would think that the American people would be sick of Iraq, sick of a faltering currency, sick of job losses, and sick of Bush. I guess not...

Here is a very interesting page that lists all of the names (with pictures) of all of the US soldiers that have died since they invaded Iraq. 1,117 so far. How many more?

Friday Night Lights...

So we went to see Friday Night Lights last night. What a movie. I had chills during the final scenes, the football was awesome, and the acting was superb. A must see for any football or sports movie fan, and anyone who appreciates a really well made movie.

The funny part about last night was we were the only people in the theatre. And I mean the whole theatre. The place we went to see the movie is old, it only shows two movies at a time. The other movie was something with Hillary Duff or Mandy Moore, I can't tell those two apart, anyway, there was nobody watching that one and we were the only ones at Friday Night Lights. It was kind of strange. I am sure the kids that were working there were cursing us because otherwise they probably would have went home early. We didn't care, though, it is really cool to have the whole theatre to yourself, especially the way people act at movies these days...

Monday Monday...

A real fun Halloween weekend this year, we went to a great party Saturday night and paid for it dearly on Sunday. I guess we are just getting old. What happened to the good ol' days when you could consume huge quantities of liquor and then get up at 9:00 the next morning, go play basketball, go eat at Mcdonald's, then do it all over again that night??

Sunday consisted of lying in bed til noon, lying on the couch for a few hours, taking a nap for a couple of hours, then arguing about whose turn it was to get the door for the kids that were out trick-or-treating... We really didn't have that many kids ths year, it was the first year at our new house so we didn't know what to expect. We have about 100 suckers and maybe 40 bars and a full box of chips left over. I am sure I can find a good home for all of those leftover treats...

For some unknown reason we didn't take any pictures at the Halloween party. Maybe it was the vodka and lemonade...