Including today I have 4 days

off and back at it for one day Tuesday 😀 We might have a week off for the next project or the month's balance off as well. Hard to tell. 

Yesterday I was over at the Shrine Centre as our lodge was giving a 50th-anniversary presentation for a lodge member. This brother is so popular in fact there must have been over 100 guys out there from lodges across the Edmonton area. I got to meet 3 of our new members as I haven't been out to lodge in a while. I also met Commercial lodge's senior Warden at the event. I haven't been to their lodge downtown since 2013 when they had their 100th anniversary. I'm overdue for a visit. 

Right now it's Thanksgiving weekend. I like this weekend because it's a long weekend in mid-October and it's still relatively mild plus it's Halloween month. Speaking of which, we've got a few spooky events here in YEG: "Pumpkins After Dark." An outdoor walk-through experience featuring pumpkin sculptures and more. They have a cool website. Sounds like fun. Plus Fort Edmonton Park has DARK. An Edmonton haunted festival. All that and the Oilers begin their 2022-23 season next week. Now that's scary. 🦇.

I'm going to enjoy these 4 days off and if I got next week off as well, even better. I've got a Doctors appointment I need to arrange. We're usually busy in November so that's good. Anyway, that's all for now. 

I got a couple days worth of work

this week but I don't know about today. It might be a short shift if there is a shift today at all but I'll wait for the boss to call me. Basically this will be enough to pay for my lodge dues at the end of the month. 

So if I got a shift for this afternoon, the boss will call me. If not, I'll have a five day weekend, and I can go to Commercial lodge on Saturday. Next weekend and after that on the 22nd we're having working breakfast at Max in the West end. Anyway, that's all for now.

I've got 2 more days out

out of 5. I like having the time off but the bills don't like it.

Wow, Art Bell dead at 72. I always listen to Coast to Coast am. Sad news.

So today I'm heading out of here at about 1pm to gather with brethren from the lodge. Its a social event at an undisclosed location 😯 But its out for a few hours. 

I put together another track on my You Tube channel showing for the first time my over head mic video shot. Not the gear, just the end result. 

So if all goes well, I might be able to get a real desktop computer this week. I  selected the parts, I'm just having it built for me. I'm looking at a i5/6 core processor (integrated graphics) 16DDR4 Ram, Matx case, 4Tb hard drive, dvd read/writer player, with a 600 watt ps. I already have a sound card. I'm getting a Windows 10 media cd to go along with it, etc. Most likely this will take a day or 2 to build. This is not a gaming rig. Anyway that's all for now.

If this was way back

in 2014, some of those resume's I sent out last month would have bore fruit by now. At that time the economy was above water. Now 2 years later, its 1 resume for about 200. The competition for jobs is very high. I have a job, just no work. I wanted to work where my wife works but they have this test as part of the initial training. I needed 80% passing grade before they would hire me, and I got roughly 45%. That job would have been good for me about now. Its steady and I'd always have hours.

I'm currently doing some family genealogy, and that's been keeping me busy this weekend. Its odd that a distant cousin from the 1880s was a Mayor of New Westminster and my uncle was a Mayor of New West as well. Civic engagement runs in the family. My mom was the youngest of 3 children. My uncle Ed was a ship master on a BC ferry, they had 2 boys (twins) and they went on to become pilots for Air Canada. My mom received her pilots license at a very young age, and my father flew bomber aircraft over the Atlantic ocean for use in the European theatre of operations. Aviation was an important factor in my family. When I was 15 before I learned I had scoliosis I wanted to join the navy. We know how that story developed. My aunt married a high ranking figure in the CBC's LA bureau. And then there's me. I've done a lot in my 63 years and even had my picture on the front page of the Edmonton Sun in 1998. I had my 15 minutes of fame. Now the only thing I'm waiting for is my pension. How pathetic. 

Its common knowledge that the Oilers signed Milan Lucic Friday. Oiler nation was going nuts. Lucic said the main contributing factor for signing a $6M/year salary with the Oilers, wasn't the money. It's a chance to play with Connor McDavid. He sees the Oilers going on to great things with McDavid and he wants to be a part of it. Last season CMD played 45 games and got 16 goals. How far will the Oilers get with a healthy CMD? Hard to say.   

Anyway, not much more then that is going on...its a Sunday. I'm beginning to feel a bit anxious about getting back to work. I've had enough time off already. When I'm on pension, I'll work 3-4 days a week just to prevent myself from going nuts like this. Anyway, that's all for now. 

This is going to be great having over ten days

off during the holidays. I'm going to work on my lodge stuff and finish that beat I've been working on this last fall. Also, I'm going to finish reading "Agent to the Stars," before the end of the year. I'll be staying up late and sleep in late.

  
I've always been fascinated by Leggo since the original Star Wars movie. They keep coming out with bigger and better concepts. Their latest is something I'd like to tinker around with. The Doctor Who Leggo should have came out a long time ago but time is relative. Some people are making stop motion sequences to tell stories with Leggo figures. I kind of like this idea but the Leggo kits cost a lot of money.

Anne is working from 2-8pm today so I get some time off by myself. Next week, I'm going to be separating our shared iOS devices. I need Air Drop on her iPad so I can transfer a lot of her video onto my iPod where I have more memory. That's another project. Anyway that's all for now.

This is turning out to be pretty

good as I'm about to have 6 days off. Its mostly a client end thing but I go back to work next Friday. Anne is struggling with this because its like a huge tragedy of some kind. Sunday is my regular scheduled day off and I'm off Wednesday for Remembrance day, which I get paid for I believe and I'm back to work Friday as management said. I'll be missing 4 days but its not permanent as we got work for the immediate future. I'm not even going to have a Christmas break. So I'm going to enjoy this time off while I can. 

Obama went and pulled the plug on the Keystone pipeline yesterday. We've been sending oilsands oil mostly by rail anyway and have been doing this for a long time. At least once a week before $45 oil, I'd see cars heading South to the boarder. I'm sure after the US election in 2016 the GOP will reverse Obama's decision. The Republicans are in favour of Keystone but at $45 oil? 

I'm considering with this time off to make a couple of beats at the Library. I can from their sound booth log into my YouTube account and work from there, using their computers and their webcam on better equipment then what I have here at home Also they have Mac's and Ableton Live. Anyway, that's about all for now.

At least if anything the

weather is nice, although we could use some rain. That's been the big story around here over the past few days and haze from forest fires. We really need a good steady rainfall. 

My father had psoriasis. I don't know if its hereditary but I've had it all my life. Just recently as of a few years ago thanks to my diabetes, I acquired a rash about the hairline of my forehead related to psoriasis. It get really flaky and spread. I had to wear a hat. My Doctor gave me this sample stuff about a  year ago:

 
When I tried it the first time about a year ago it didn't work for me. The Doctor told me to use it like shampoo but its such a small bottle. I heard all the old wives tales and when I applied Vaseline that worked to a point. Then just last week, I thought maybe I'm using it wrong. Lets read the instructions. There's a novel concept right? According to the instructions, your supposed to shake the bottles contents and apply it on the tip of a finger and rub it into the affected area. My Doctor said every day. So, that's what I did and am still doing it, every day. Over the last weekend I noticed it working. No itching, nothing. The problem I've had for almost 2 yeas is now a memory. Its gone. I've got a few more bottles left and I need to see my Doctor before I go back to work. The product is by prescription only apparently.  

Not much is going on around here but just some odds n' ends: I'm just waiting to be called back into work. I was in the office about 2 weeks ago to get a update. I haven't had too much ambition to take on anything else right now. They said September but I'm not just going to jump on them the moment the calendar changes at midnight Tuesday. I've got some business to do Monday and Thursday is Lodge. Most likely I'll go in next Friday put in my availability see if there's a schedule posted get an update and go from there. I'll be looking if nothing develops from that update next week. I need something steady 2-3 days a week that isn't dependent on anything. The job I have now is great when I'm on pension but as it stacks up now, well at least its something.

So, tonight I'm watching the Argo's/Eskimo's game. Its military appreciation night at Commonwealth. Saturday its more football and Doctor Who. I'm hoping to get back into the stream of things. I enjoy the time off, to a point. The breaking point of that threshold is almost here. Anyway, that's all for now.

Having all kinds of

"fun" trying to get a short Maschine audio clip to sync with Cam Studio. Making some progress with Cam studio though. I'm missing a few components to have audio sync with video.

This weekend is Heritage day long weekend here in Alberta. Every Province calls it something else but here in Edmonton its just called Heritage days held at Hawrelak park over the last 40 years. Anne and I went together a few years back but there were few places to sit down. Another 5 pavilions will be added this year. So with having what looks like another 5 more days off I'm getting spoiled I worked 1 day in the last 15. Add to all of that, there's a out of market CFL game on tonight and I'm considering a trip across the street to have a beer and watch some of it on the big screens. Friday is the Riders/Eskimos and that's going to be one I'm looking forward to. What I like about Heritage days from a community point of view is that this is one of the largest drives for the food bank, which keeps them going until winter.

With no work over the next 5 days, I hope I get something soon. This coming up pay cheque will only net me about $50. I'd be in real trouble if it wasn't for me ei. Anyway, that's all for now. 

Looks like things at work might be winding

down for a bit. I might be off as early as Monday or as late as the 27th, hard to say at this point. At least I have a back up so that's good. I actually wouldn't mind taking a week off. I can get some business done.

This is what Edmonton will look like within 5years from now.The building to the left is the 50 story Delta hotel. 

 


The other building is the Edmonton office tower and the one closer to the right of the illustration is the Stantec tower coming in at 62 floors. Close to the Edmonton Arena district is Fox tower 1 (already built) Fox 2 under construction, and Ultima tow er also under construction. And of course the downtown arena already under development..

The big news lately is space news. After nearly a 3-billion mile journey that spanned nearly 10 years, the New Horizons spacecraft "phoned home" to indicate it had reached its flyby destination of Pluto, a mere 7,700 miles away. Detailed images will be sent back in the hours to come including Pluto's 5 moons. What's even as interesting is that the probe can send data back to earth at that distance.

The new project isn't quite firmed up yet but I'm hoping I can start without much time off. I've got gear I want to get. I've got cash for myself to for my time off, so I can't complain and this weekend we've got wwe battleground. Anyway, that's about all for now.

Why is he blogging at this hour

shouldn't he be at work? The project ended Friday at 5:45pm yesterday afternoon and we were sent home. Before that though we were to expect a phone call today about the up coming project next week, tentatively to begin Tuesday. I got that call this morning. Translation: I passed the probationary 3 month period. I'm scheduled to show up Tuesday 4pm-8:30pm as they just want to take a look at it before they schedule more hours. It could go in any number of different directions, which I wont list here. However, this means as of today, I have 3 days off.

What with all the trouble going on in the world, whacky gun happy nutcases killing tourists, Greece facing a financial crisis, some interesting news. Solar impulse 2 made its historic landing in Hawaii. The plane flew from Japan 8,000 Km to land in Hawaii using the power of the Sun. The flight last 118 hours. The next leg of the journey will be undertaken by pilot Bertrand Piccard, who will fly from Hawaii to Phoenix, Arizona.  

This coming up October is a important election for Canada. The players are our current PM Stephan Harper (my choice) and the NDP oppoisition leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. The Liberals and the NDP are soft on terrorism and that scares me. Trudeau wants to legalize marijuana (to tax it obviously) The only sense of reason is Harper.

My little Samsung wifi camera could always take video. I just don't know for how long. I know it can only take 3 minute video clips to upload to YouTube but I need at least 5-20 minutes for my Jams I want to produce. I haven't used the camera in almost a year. Now that I have a bit of time off this weekend, I can charge the camera and tinker around with the settings. The camera's YouTube app might let me upload only 3 minutes to YouTube but I think I can shoot video for as long as I the memory card will let me.

The construction across the street is in full swing. Just what we need around here is another pharmacy. Shoppers Drug Mart is useful to me because we don't have far to go to get  our bus pass and if I need to get a lottery ticket, its just across the street. I'll be able to get my diabetic supplies there in the future. I'd much rather see a London Drugs there (better selection) and they have a decent computer selection but it wouldn't make sense because Best buy is across the street. Heck, neither does having 3 pharmacies all within a few blocks of each other make sense either. I'd love to see a Max store or something that's open 24 hours, that has tables and a place to have a coffee or a snack. Or even have a Long & McQuade 

On my plate tonight, I'm following a bit of the BC/Ottawa CFL football game, munching on BBQ potato chips and having a good time and I might even put together a bit of a beat. Before I go, I'd like to wish all my American friends and colleagues, Dan, Dennis, Kieth, Alan and all the rest a happy 4th of July. The other greatest country on the planet. Anyway, that's about all for now.

I've got a unexpected week off

next week but back to work next Monday. Especially since I've got a Doctors appointment Friday and we got this inspection hanging over our heads. What's great about this week off is I might be able to catch the Eskimo's/Riders preseason CFL game in Fort McMurray today and game #5 of the playoffs.

I've got my sights on the Electribe Sampler. I called LM and they said ETA should be about mid July. I'm almost sorry I bought Maschine MK2 when I did since Maschine Studio came out within a year of MK2 and another Maschine could be 1-3 years away. Any Maschine software packs after MK2 won't work with MK2. At least with the Electribe and my Komplete 8 I can create a wav file and import said file to the Electribe. Anyway, that's all for now.

Blogging is one of my

favorite things to do at the end of the day. Most likely Blogger will be up and running long after I'm dead and gone. This is my legacy. Its to let the world in the future know I'm here.

This year I didn't get too much into the NFL. I won maybe $40 with Proline and about the same with Fan Duel. I've been following this NFL "deflate gate." Its where the New England Patriot's used deflated footballs during the 1st half of the game to give them a advantage to get a Super bowl appearance. I'm wondering why hadn't the officials on the field notice the difference right away before kick-off? The Grey Cup game is next Sunday. My wife has to work that day. Go Seahawks Go!

Just saw this in Coast Zone that the Frisbee is 58 years old! The Frisbee was older then the Hula-hoop by a year. As far as I know the Frisbee never caught on as much when I first noticed the Hula hoop. It was my first day attending Mountain View in Coquitlam grade 1. I was amazed at all the kids making these strange gyrations with this plastic tube. I believe it was 1958 as I started grade 1 a year late because we were moving house that summer. I started school at 7 years old. 

So, I've got 4 days off before I go back to work Wednesday and Thursday. Both those days are only 4 hour shifts. Then I get next Friday off and 6 hours Saturday. During this time I need to get in touch with my school district to see how I can get my grade school transcripts released. The information is on microfiche I believe. I've been trying to get this done for years but life always seemed to get in the way. I think the fee is something like $10. Anyway, that's all for now.

Into my 10th day

off and the last time I had 10 days off was before I got married. It gets even better because I have another 9 days off ahead of me. I go back to work January 2nd but its only for 4 hours. I'll know more long term after that or do I have another week off. I'm ready to go back now.

Sony is now saying they are going to release "The Interview" after all, and I'm thinking cold this whole thing be nothing more then a publicity stunt for the move? Anything is possible.

The Magnotta trial had come to a head yesterday when the verdict of 1st degree murder was passed. It means Magnotta will get 25 years bars for life. He tried to claim Schizophrenia as a defense that determined if he knew the difference of right and wrong. Luka Magnotta killed Jun Lin because he was convinced the Chinese student was a government spy who was trying to assassinate him, a psychiatrist's report said. The Jury didn't buy it. Justice was served.

I was watching this hour long documentary on the Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) Its going to be the longest railway tunnel in the world when it opens in 2016. At YouTube type in Gotthard. Its an amazing project with a $21B price tag. 

I'll be glad to get back to work. Having 3 weeks off is ok but not all at once. Anyway, that's all for now.

.

Sigh that was my summer

break. I wish it was my 5 day summer break. I hope I keep this job and let go of market research for awhile.

Today I’m up around 10:30am. I’ve got to rebook an appointment I scheduled for Friday with my pharmacist. I need to book that for next Monday, my day off. I’m catching the 2:45pm #137. It’s a long ride. My commute into work is a long ride on the 137 and as I’m in from 4-9. It’s a short 4 day week but Saturday is more or less mandatory. It’s enough for my bottom line and a bit of bonus money. I’m trying to save enough for a 21” iMac, hopefully as a birthday present for myself. Saturday is a 4 hour shift but I’m in the West Edmonton Mall area and it’s a short bus ride to the mall and I can go from there. It’s especially going to be good because I can get a bite to eat at the WEM food court get my Warhammer 40K book, and a beer on my way out on payday weekends.

In my email today I received news of the new Star Wars website. Why is this note worthy? In the climate of the Lucas/Disney era the new website reflects this relationship. It means Star Wars fans (that includes me) will be in on important developments of upcoming related events. I had to update the link to reflect this.

It‘s going to be an I interesting week starting with a new job and all. If I get a call from my other job, I’ll ask if I can work just Monday nights but I doubt that‘s going to fly. Anyway, that‘s all for now.

Yes we know BC

starter quarterback was on the CFL sidelines but still it's a week #1 win for Eskimo fans. Esks 27/BC 20. The difference was 5 turnovers for BC and 1 for the Esks. 

Curious to see where the next Star Wars movie Episode 7 is at in production I was surprised to discover that Harrison Ford has a leg injury for 8 weeks. The good news is that the movie is slated for a December 18 2015 release. We're still 18 months away from showtime. I'm looking forward to see how Disney will handle this movie.

Hopefully tomorrow my bank is open so I can get my bank form for the job and deposit our rent money. Then I can go across the street to Audrey's and get my Eagles book and home for Monday night Raw. 

This afternoon Anne and I are going to try and watch "Money in the bank." I got 3 more sleep in's before Wednesday. I can still sleep in until about 10:30am as I don't have to leave out of here until 1pm to get there by 3pm. The only tough day is Saturday but then I got 2 days off and a chance to go to Monday night lodge. There's 2 of them, one at Freemason's Hall and the other one at Highlands Hall, the first Monday and the 2nd Monday and then mine on that Friday. I'd rather we go on a Sunday night but that's almost sacrilege. Anyway, that's about all for now.

Five days off including Friday that is

and I couldn't be happier.

After doing a bit of research I finally have come down to a decision: I'm buying a iMac for my music production. other then the lack of a CD drive the 21" i5 iMac looks like a good deal. 8 Ram and a quad core pc running at 2.7 Ghz, I'm on board. The price is about the same as a pc after the display. All I need is room for my Cubase, Komplete 8 and Maschine. Take what I have with my pc is about 20% space on a 1Tb. For music production cpu speed is more important to me then Ram. I hope to get the iMac by labour day weekend

The Edmonton Oilers picked Leon Draisaitl 3rd over all. He's a big centre and that's what this club needs. I hope Mac T can get a big name player utilizing some of the free agent trade bait before July 1st. 

Speaking of music, I was putting a little track together in Maschine stand alone mode. It's about a minute long called "Hey." Deep lyrics huh? It's just a sample and I'm going to include a little guitar work in there as well. 

I took a sleeping pill a few minutes ago. Anne's working today so I get another night off by myself. I don't go back to work until Wednesday but I'm not going to hang around and do nothing until they decide to do something. Last Summer I was lucky if I got 8 hours a week from Late June until the end of August. I don't want to go through that again. Anyway, that's all for now.

Things worked out for (Friday)

me yesterday ok after all but next week is the real test of what could happen. I can't talk about anything but I have a couple of offers. 

So Friday the NHLPA approved to launch a disclaimer of of interest, which is a faster form of decertifying the union. Jan 14th is the deadline for when the rest of the season could officially be cancelled. January 2nd is the official day the of filing. I believe that something significant will happen between then and now. Personally, I'd like the idea of the season being cancelled. For the second time in just nine years since Garry Bettman took over as NHL Commissioner and 2 season lockouts later is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. This is an embarrassment. The NHL doesn't own the Stanley Cup but the Trustees of the Hockey Hall of Fame decide which league gets to challenge the cup. If the season is renewed why not an East/West 15 team round robin tournament to decide the Cup this season? Something to think about

Well the end of the world didn't happen. Yeah no kidding. There were some though that thought it would and took refuge in various remote locations around the world, like a mountain in Quebec,places in China etc. Some believe that the end of the world or they Mayan calendar would be around the 21st or within a few days of the 21st and this morning on Coast (underway now) George Noory will check in with various guests on the status of the post Mayan calendar world. 

On this date in 1970, (Yesterday) Elvis Presley paid a visit to the White House to suggest to Pres. Nixon that he be named "Federal Agent at Large" to help combat the drug problem. And Nixon's response? Ok, I wont say it.

Sometime later this morning I'm off to Audrey's to get another Warhammer 40K "Space marine battles book" and then a block West on the same side of the street to Rexall get a $10 iTunes gift card,my lotto/649 ticket and home but I might decide to sleep in instead because it's so cold out there but if I time my bus connections properly, this morning I'll be out there for about maybe 5 minutes. I'll be out of here at 10am as Tim's stops making breakfast at noon then home. I should be home before Anne gets up and out of bed.

Actually speaking of Pages and my diary, my current  "MS Work's" diary is 2 years old and has something like 725 pages or about 5Mb of text. Pages syncs automatically to iCloud where I'm going to store most of my diary. That's almost like 10 years of text documents! Anyway, that's about all for now. 

Ok so the big

“End of the World” even is supposed to be tomorrow: 12-21-12 the day of the winter Solstice. Or just about anytime give or take a couple of days. A caller on Coast called in last night claiming how he was working with a quasi government organization collecting solar data suggesting that major solar activity 100 times more in magnitude of the Carrington Event of 1859. Now I‘m no expert on this but according to Wikipedia on the Carrington Event from August 28, 1859, until September 2, for 6 days the soar storm was active, shorting out Telegraph lines etc. At one point Gold miners up North began to prepare breakfast because they thought it was daylight. The caller said that major coronal mass ejection will take place within the next couple of days. The caller said that a cme 100 times more powerful could wipe us out. Sunspot activity has been very active lately. According to Wiki we get about 2 every 100 years. We had 1 in about 1921 but nothing like in 1859.

On this date December 20th the world got its first look at the Zodiac murders, December 20th 1968. Lots of crazy things going on huh?

On Coast tonight Expert in theology, Biblical languages, and world civilizations, Mike Heiser will discuss the history of apocalyptic beliefs, why for millennia we have predicted "end times," and which ideas have some validity. I’ll listen in on this for tonight.

Anne said, she’d run down to the ban for me to deposit that $40 in my Scotia bank for my Telus account. The last of the plan 35 for awhile. I’m still considering Ivanhoe Lodge’s installation but nobody knows me there or can vouch for me. But it depends on how Friday turns out as far as my severance pay goes and if my direct bank deposit form went through without complications. So if My Friday turns out ok, then I might just head over to Ivanhoe. We’ll see.

This weekend depending on how My Friday goes I hope to go down to Audrey’s for another Warhammer Space Marine Battles book. I’m hoping to do this maybe Saturday morning and get some breakfast at Tim’s and head home. My LM monthly payment is ok up until the end of march. I was hoping to have it paid off by this weekend or at least by the end of the month.

I’m not doing anything with my CPP until the New Year. There’s no point on doing anything right now. I’m more concerned how My Friday is going to go tomorrow. If my severance forms were sent out as J said they were last week, then I should get something in tomorrow. If there was a complication on my Direct Bank Deposit form (DPD) then the cheque would have been cut and mailed out Monday meaning I won’t know anything for a couple of weeks yet. If I don’t get my cheque in my account Friday, then I know it’s in the mail this Monday/now. Meaning to say, I might get it next week. If by 4pm Friday there’s no indication that nothing is in my bank, then I’ll know that it was mailed and J didn’t get the form out or there were complications. But I’ll be checking and I should know by this time tomorrow. For all I know, it might even be in today but I’m not going to hold my breath. Christmas mail is notorious for being slow like this.

On Coast last night as they were talking about the electrical grid and how a massive CME would take it out, I began to do some research and the first street lights that went up here in Edmonton were in 1891 along Jasper Avenue and were turned off at 1am. They were turned on 24/7 in 1902. In 1905, Edmonton Light Department had 53 customers! In 1982, work began on the Genesee Generating Station, 50 km southwest of Edmonton.  The project cost was $1.2 Billion. Recently the Alberta Government went ahead with the Heartland transmission project but that’s a whole other topic.

Sometime around next August or so (2013) I’m looking at getting a new digital camera. In researching wifi cameras from the main brands I’m liking the new Kodak Easy Share M70 but I don’t think Walmart has the new wifi easy share versions yet, maybe they do but once. Future shop and Best Buy as far as I know I don’t think they carry them in stock. 

Seems that our Mayer Mandel and NDP leader Brian Mason are in a war of words here as Mandel claims that Mason doesn’t seem to support Edmonton very much when it comes to gaining funding on the proposed downtown arena. Mason said that while Mandel was making his money he had spent 12 years on City council. He doesn’t care about Edmonton? Sorry Mandel as much as I think you’re the best City Mayor we’ve ever had here in Edmonton in all my 35 years here, while I don’t like his politics I have to give this one to Brian Mason.

Mid week of my week off here

and I'm having a great evening. 

Anne suggested when I go into Canada Place Friday and pick up my "retirement kit" and then go pick up my check and home from there. I can be back before Anne leaves for her job. This way I can do everything all in one trip. 

I was watching on "Ripley's Believe it or not" how this retired guy in Wales spent years acquiring about 6 million elastic bands and they thought it would make a good idea to drop the elastic ball from an airplane a mile up. The elastic ball came up to the owner's chest. I think it was something like 2,600 pounds or something but physicists Ripley's talked to didn't know what would happen to the ball when it landed from that height. Would it bounce around on the desert floor or create a crater or something else. Ripley's even took this ball on tour across the US, Finley the moment of truth. They dropped the elastic ball it crated a crated but didn;t bounce it. Pieces of the elastic ball were still cracking up even a few feet away from the crater. I think there's a video of this somewhere on YouTube. Crazy.

I was watching on "Inner Space" a half hour segment on Canada's version of the Space Channel (I like this segment) and they were getting news about the next Star Trek movie and apparently it's supposed to be released May 13th 2013, which doesn't sound right as Star Trek usually has a mid May or December release. Looking forward to that. I miss Star Trek TV. There are recent Star Trek stomach growlings floating around Trekville but that's all they are. Until I hear something substantial, you'll probably hear more about it then I would. Also, a new Doctor Who episode will be airing Saturday. Looking forward to that. 

Another show I've been watching here and there when I can on Space has been "Face off." It's kind of like a reality TV based show about SFFH (Science Fiction Fantasy Horror) make up. You can probably YouTube this as well.

 On my wish list is a Parrot AR. Drone. Amazon has them for about $300 and have built in forward and are remote controlled by smart phones, iPads etc. They have a range of about 100 meters or about 300 feet. With my iPads on board internet I can have the video streamed to my iPad It means that I can take airborne video and upload to YouTube. They are pretty durable as far as crash landings are concerned. I don't know how well they stack up in winter. The drones are YT ready.These AR drones are being used by real estate agents etc. I don't know how well they would handle in a downtown city environment at all. I might be able to get one used on Ebay. Anyway, that's about all for now.

Those 10 days

sure go by in a hurry. I’m back at it today in the office at noon, uggh.

This week I’ve got lodge and I’m going to set up a time to have one of the people at work, work with me over a resume, something I can just copy and past in an email. If things don’t improve with the job, then I could be forced out to look for something else. I’m going to wait until they through me out, I’m not going to quit.

Other then that, it’s going to be a lame week folks. Not a great way to start off the New Year. Today I’m at the office from noon-9pm same thing with Wednesday. Thursday I’m off due to Lodge night and pay off my Lodge dues and that‘s going to be a huge chunk of coin but at the same time its going to be the best part of the week. Then I’m working noon-9pm Friday and Saturday 10am-4:30pm. That’s going to be a long 30 hours, but I’ll have stat pay in there as well.

Well, finally the Oiler’s won one on this road trip. About time. The boys head into Buffalo tonight and I won’t be able to catch that. The game probably starts at 6pm and I could run over to BP’s and catch the score. Because Anne is working Wednesday night I think after work I’m going to pop in for about 40 minutes and have a beer and head out in time to be able meet Anne on the way home. Sounds like a plan. Do that once a week will never hurt me. Anyway, that’s about all for now.