portland was really concerned last Friday. It was like watching someone betting his savings on the junk bond market, hoping that things would turn around, that the numbers would be higher. It was instructional, sitting at a reader's house waiting for chatters to chat in a different country. What makes for a fine chat? Is it the issues bulletted? Is it the evident errors of logic I place to cannily amongst all the deep wisdom that lets you know, yes, he is fallible? Is it the opportuntiy to mock the spelling of others? Or is it in the bullets themselves, those little hockey pucks placed ever so carefully before each new topic?
- First house, liked it, planning to put an offer in. I buy shoes about as quickly. Bad habit? Could be. Home inspector is brighter than me anyway. But the place is very 3456 Queenston Drive if you know what I mean. You don't? I refer to the ancestral home, my first footing in life, the semi-detached Mississauga mansion wherein this immigrants' kid's first viewing of Rocket Ship Seven on Buffalo TV took place enjammied in the basement. Wherein I learned that cocoa is served between the first and second periods and then off to bed.
- The
2006 sports pool is off and running. I am not sure how many of you are there in this year's version but it looks manageable. I am back to manual point tallying as I like to tally manually if you know what I mean. I should be able to rig up a table of some sort over the weekend as putting of taxes is a worthy plan.
- This is a bit much:
Labour has defended Cherie Blair over a £7,700 bill for a personal hair stylist during the last election campaign. The money was paid for Mrs Blair's personal hairdresser to keep her immaculately groomed during her husband's election campaign in 2005. Tory leader David Cameron said his barber cost him a good deal less but Labour Party bills were not his worry. A Labour spokeswoman said: "So what? We won the election." She added Mrs Blair had visited more than 50 seats. According to the figures, Mrs Blair's hairstyling cost £275 per day for the month leading up to the election.
At least it is a bill to the party but I would be coughing up a wee furball if I was the comptroller handed the bill. Fortunately, I have no idea about any of the wives of our national and provincial leaders other than the ones holding office themselves. This sort of first lady-ness is a bit weird if you ask me. Not exactly the sort of thing you would expect would attract party donations. "High-speed Internet is the new wireless," said Brian Sharwood, a principal at SeaBoard Group, a telecom consultancy, pointing to trends such as the move towards multiyear -- instead of month-to-month -- contracts for broadband service.
I thought wireless was the new high-speed. Hmm. I know beer is the new black and baseball is the new yogurt but wireless? Who knew? But as many argue telcos shall slowly and silently slip into the spittoon zone, I expect we'll see more and more of these things.
- Oh dear. Now I feel bad:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood by Trade Minister David Emerson yesterday in the wake of a report that the onetime Liberal is unhappy in the Conservative cabinet. Harper denied Emerson had privately told former associates from his time as a Liberal cabinet minister that he was ill at ease in the Harper government.
Of course this is a pack of lies because it is in a professionally produced newspaper but still...one feels for the plight of the lonely floor crosser, having played his card and finding he is now co-habbing with the queen of control and may have conflicts. Why do I care? Why do I prize loyalty over winning?
- Blogging needs something more.
I am thinking of something like girl scout and boy scout badges, skills awards administered by a central authority, like Canada Fitness Awards for the idle. I could see a "100 days of posting" award, a "commented kindly in response to an anarcho-libertarian whack job" badge, or a "photographed lunch" prize. What others could there be? If there was a central administration there would be of course ad revenue, revenue from the actually production and selling of the badges, revenue from monthly membership dues to Blog Scouts International. Who would be our Baden-Powell?
Comments
cm - April 21, 2006 8:54 am
Good luck with the house. I don't see a quick decision as a bad habit, no point in mucking about if you like it. And is it "enjammied" or "bejammied", I wonder?
Flea - April 21, 2006 10:29 am
"Is it the issues bulletted? Is it the evident errors of logic I place to cannily amongst all the deep wisdom that lets you know, yes, he is fallible? Is it the opportuntiy to mock the spelling of others?"
That's "too" cannily, surely?
Flea - April 21, 2006 10:35 am
Also, I note with interest you are keen for blogging to have a "central administration" to hand out "merit badges" for showing up rather than, say, attracting readers. Small wonder you persist in your repeated claim to only blog as a hobby. Absent merit badges or the crass market-driven confirmation some of us enjoy I can see the advantage in talking down the project.
cm - April 21, 2006 1:39 pm
On behalf of those whose blogs are private, I'm all for a badge for just showing up. And how about one for "most oblique"?
And where is everyone today?
Alan - April 21, 2006 1:49 pm
Master Flea, would it change you mind if you were told you are #1 on the list of Baden-Powell replicants?
Gordo - April 21, 2006 2:46 pm
Having been featured in a scrolling marquee yesterday, I can't think of anything to say ...
Except, perhaps:
<font color="red" size="+3">Badges?! We don't need no steenking badges!</font>
WCG - April 21, 2006 4:23 pm
There were too many points for my Friday-afternoon-befuddled brain to handle this time, Alan. As for badges, you can always nominate yourself for a Web Award - apparently some people are still fooled into thinking that they're "real." They're as real as the Internets: where are they? Show me some internets and I'll give you an award. Perhaps foodstuffs wrapped in plastic, or some meats of some description.
ry - April 21, 2006 4:33 pm
I know what's missing. No baseball.
Coco Crisp is a reckless and rad outfielder, smashing himself in to the centerfield wall. I wish that Darren Erstad could still do that, and not miss half the season. And there will be no joy in Cubville this year. Derrick Lee's to miss two months of the season with a broken wrist.
Alan - April 21, 2006 5:39 pm
<p><img src="images/2006a/puttees.jpg" vspace="10" hspace="10" align="right">I thought Adam Stern was a reckless and rad outfielder, smashing himself in to the centerfield wall. Maybe we need badges for baseball blogging.<p>And as for Lord Baden-Flea, it is only natural that he lead <i>Blog Scouts International</i> as he is the only man left who wears puttees for rugged outdoorsy rough work like the clearing of roads through woods and organizing large groups of the locals. I hear he has four puttee and pith helmet sets, each matching a different mood yet each falling within the colour group named khaki.
gr - April 21, 2006 7:43 pm
cm--apologies for my late arrival ('where is everyone anyway?', you must have been talking about me) but my elders were ill and then I had to have some cocktails, and suddenly it is evening again. cm--'enjammied' has got to be the correct expression, if you are talking about wearing jammies, as in children's flannel sleepwear, 'bejammied' probably refers to the beach wear, which were actually garishly printed long shorts, of my youth called 'jams' OR it would refer to 'my toast is bejammed, with peanut butter'. My question is, where do David Janes and Marian weigh in on this important geo-political issue?
Alan, nice work today on the topics. I wish you had 2 full pots of coffee and no work on every Friday. The juices were obviously flowing.
Alan - April 21, 2006 9:51 pm
I was sad, then scared...then sad again, Gary. Fridays are my time - you really must book them off you know. I do like the CNY maintenance of the word "cocktails" by the way. We use the word but few still use it or place it in the window in neon.
ry - April 21, 2006 11:47 pm
Hmmmm, sausage. I've forgotten what real sausage tastes like---quit boggarting, Cannuckers. ;)
OMG, "garishly printed long shorts, of my youth called 'jams'", I haven't run into anyone who remembered what surfer jams were in at least a decade. I miss mine. Bought three pairs at Jay Jacobs---lost them all to holing by mineral acid during lab work. Most comfortable pair of shorts I've ever owned. sigh.
Jay Currie - April 22, 2006 4:33 am
Do I get a badge for being the anarcho-libertarian you so kindly comment on?
I do rather like the image of the flea in puttees. Perhaps sending out the gallant little chaps to spy on the Boers of Queen Street whilst engaged in the relief of the Annex.
gr - April 22, 2006 7:17 am
Yeah, why can't I find any jams, now that the snow has melted? It has been years, but maybe I don't shop in the right stores. Whereas a person was cool in a surfer dude sort of way when wearing garishly printed long and baggy shorts, if one matched the fabric to the shirt.....not cool. Nerdy.
And where does that awesome band 'The Jam' fit into bejammed or enjammed?
This morning's toast was bejammed with raspberry, in case you needed to know.
Alan - April 22, 2006 9:38 am
Jay, you would only be a silver edged anarcho-libertairan badge as you are not the whack job. Those get you the little extra badge that hangs by two bronze chains from the silvered edged on. The little extra one says "WJ" with a smiley face.<p>Toast is either bejammed or marmaladafied.
cm - April 22, 2006 7:31 pm
For some unkown reason, in order to bejam my toast I must butter it as well. As my butter is kept in the fridge and therefore too hard for toast, I usually end up having my toast bepeanutbuttered, saving the jam for ice cream. (A friend of my parents made wild strawberry jam one year - on vanilla ice cream, it was a little bit of heaven in a bowl.)
As for your question, gr, that is a good one and will require a great deal of thought. And some Jam listening (would that qualify as Jamming?).
gr - April 23, 2006 4:25 pm
cm, I am certain we can agree that the band The Jam has nothing to do with marmalade.
As for ice cream, my favorite ice cream stand opened yesterday (a high point of Alan's trip last summer through South Otselic). We braved the arctic winds and rain yesterday and sat outside, begloved and behatted, eating a turtle sunday. Caramel, hot fudge, pecans, cream etc on top of chocolate peanut butter ice cream. Whether summer is really here or not, the ice cream must be served.
Alan - April 23, 2006 4:53 pm
I give witness to said stand's existence.