The Advisor Advises

This blog makes some interesting points about biblical interpretation, especially in the light of film making, which I guess could be extended to the way one visualizes in 'the mind's eye' how an event unravelled, simply by reading the biblical text, which is not - I remind you - written in the form of a screenplay.
Wow - that's one run on sentence in need of clarity. What meant to say was when I read the Bible - I invariably have some kind of picture in my head of what is going on. You likely do too. Much of this picture is generated by sources that are not the text that you are reading. This article about the Passion reminded me of that.

Here's a little more to follow my New Year's post on January 4th.
From Macleans.ca Culture People Honour Roll 2006: Discoverers and thinkers of July 1, 2006:
"ALISA SMITH AND JAMES MACKINNON 'LOCAVORES' EAT A LOT OF POTATOES
When Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon realized the fossil fuels they saved by cycling to the grocery store were nothing compared to those spent transporting their food from around the globe, they decided to eat locally for a year -- only what was grown and processed within a 100-mile radius of their Vancouver home. 'We controversially went non-metric -- 160 km didn't sound very catchy,' laughs Smith, 34. They got chummy with local farmers, preserved jams with honey instead of sugar, and lost a combined 15 lb. on a diet of lots of potatoes. Life improved considerably when they discovered a local flour mill -- adding bread and pasta to their menu. Their diet, which ended in March, has inspired several 'locavore' communities in the U.S. and Canada."
AND
"Save the Date: September 2007 Challenge:
As you are ringing in the new year of 2007, please take a moment to mark your calendars for the September 2007 Eat Local Challenge. In association with the Locavores, this site will sponsor an international month-long event in which over 1000 participants will challenge themselves to eat within a pre-determined radius of their home. Because this challenge will be occurring during the harvest season in most locations, there will be a particular emphasis on canning, preserving, and learning to put food up for the winter.
If you are interested in participating in this challenge, please sign up for email updates on the Locavores site or check back on this site for updates in the next few months. You can also sign up to receive an email whenever a post is written on this site by finding the 'get email updates' section on this page in the right-hand column.
Why do we choose to eat local? Read our 10 Reasons to Eat Local.
Interested in eating local and need some tips? Read our tips for the Eat Local Challenge.
If you would like to read about challenges that we have participated in, please refer to the list below.
August 2005 Eat Local Challenge
May 2006 Eat Local Challenge
2006 One Local Summer Challenge
2006 100-Mile Thanksgiving Challenge
We look forward to your joining us in September 2007!"

Also check out locavores.com

"Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar."
-Edward R. Murrow

Dear Advisor,

Thank you for your email and for being a valued P.B.Loco customer! Believe us, nobody hates shipping charges more than we do. Our aim is to get our peanut butter into your hands in the most economical way possible. Unfortunately, because of the weight of peanut butter, it is not cheap to ship. Indeed, the shipping cost per jar goes down with every jar you order! As to your question regarding shelf life, your peanut butter should stay yummy for about 9 months after the purchase date.

I hope this information helps and we can get some more peanut butter into your hands soon. Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Yours in peanut butter,
The P.B.Loco Gang

----- Original Message -----
From: The Advisor
To: contact@pbloco.com
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 8:01 PM
Subject: shelf life

I live in Canada, and it has been a year and a half since my mouth has been blessed with the presence of your peanut butter. There isn’t a week that has gone by that I haven’t fondly remembered and craved your delicious spread. However, shipping costs to Canada are prohibitive, and I have not been able to justify spending $24.00 for a single jar of peanuty goodness. Maybe I just don’t have my priorities straight. If I were to buy a large amount, the shipping cost would be spread out over several jars, and I might consider making an extremely worthwhile purchase… What is the shelf life of an unopened jar of PB Loco peanut butter?

The Advisor

This is not as cool as the real thing - but it will work in a pinch.
Online Etch A Sketch

...the year to celebrate all things Bond? At least that's what WJH3 tells me.
This is, for many, the time of year for resolving to do things. Many people that do this are fundamentalist resolution extremists - resolving to do things that would definitely change and improve their lives, but are also somewhat ridiculous. Others are passive resolutionaries - resolving, inanely, to be "a better person", these are resolutionaries in name but not in spirit. Unless we aim to remake New Year's resolutions as empty symbols of silly tradition every January, I suggest that we each take this opportunity to navel gaze, and come up with a few simple changes that we each can make to do something that is a little more in line with reality. I recall one year in University, I resolved to abstain from drinking for 3 months. Several years ago, I resolved to avoid fried potato products until the spring. You may note that I don't recall 'year-long' resolutions here - those tend to result in a disappointment come Dec. 31.
This year, I am resolving to graze less in the kitchen, eat a maximum of 3 meals per day (regardless of a meal's 'free-ness'), and walk more (I plan to set a 'number of steps per day' goal, and monitor that with my new, unopened, pedometer)...at least until the end of June. I would like to, in the grand scheme of things, have a smaller ecological footprint at the end of 2007, but I'm not going to be resolutionary on that front. I am not resolving to drink less coffee, that would be ridiculous.

Here's an interesting thought - I would eat less, and better, if I have to plan and prepare a little more deliberately for my meals, and it would be infinitely better for the environment if we all ate locally grown and minimally processed foods. Right? Here's an intriguing initiative that apparently took place in BC already, and is in preparatory stages in Manitoba right now: 100 Mile Manitoba. I think I'll be watching this one to see how it plays out.

2 more days until the 4 week period is over, however, i'm beginning to think i need to continue data collection through next week - all over today's flyers are for 'boxing week' already...

I have been blogging intermittently for nearly 3 years - but I have yet to share any sage advice about "Contemporary Worship music", or "temporary music" as my father in law calls it. I still don't have any advice, but I do have a funny clip that you should watch.

Are you going to a 'show' on Sunday morning, or service of the Word and Sacrament? Is it hard to tell?


(BTW... 255g of flyers today)

A light day. But it's only been 2 days since the last delivery.

Surprisingly enough - we haven't received flyers since last Thursday. Today nearly made up for it.

it's a win win situation; test drive one of those funky little smart cars, and they'll plant a tree. details at smart Canada

...or she found me, that is. It appears that one Susan Dilmore from Texas, USA found my I (heart) Canadian Arctic Sovereignty boxer shorts online, and decided to give them a try. That's gonna be one Merry Christmas for a Canadian expatriot down in the lonestar state! Either that or a brilliantly unique gag gift. Either way - my profit just hit that magic number where I actually get paid. :)

etón FR300 - AM/FM radio with NOAA, TV VHF, flashlight, and cell phone charger Eton Corporation
Stainless-Steel Compost Pails - Lee Valley Tools
Fridge Super Magnet - Lee Valley Tools
Birdcall - Lee Valley Tools
Aerator Sandals - Lee Valley Tools
Dyson Canada - The DC14 range.
P.B.Loco

1070g

today's flyers: 0g

We have entered the last 4 weeks of Christmas shopping. What an absurd thing. 12 Days of Christmas...that makes sense. 4 'weeks' of Advent...understandable. 4 weeks of Christmas shopping...what the?! OF course we all know that the season of Christmas shopping actually begins once the school supplies go on clearance - with a brief recess for the high holiday of Hallowe'en - but I've decided to mark the absurdity of the last 4 weeks of Christmas shopping by tracking the weight of the 'christmas' flyers that are delivered to my mailbox over the next 28 days. Today: 185g.
*Which Flyers Would Jesus Read?

You have to follow this link. Read the story. Let me know what you think...
Kind of like picking up a hitchhiker for a REALLY long ride. Intriguing AND creepy.
Click here --> Free insulated storage building 12ft x 12 ft.

Here's an email I sent to pm@pm.gc.ca on Saturday:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper,

Here's my attempt to support and create awareness for Canadian Arctic Sovereignty. As I see it, Canadians need to be made aware of an issue, and it needs to be omnipresent before they realize that it's important. It's not enough for an issue to actually be important - it has to become part of public and social consciousness. An issue is not an issue until it's printed on a t-shirt.

Check out www.cafepress.com/canadianarctic

You'll be glad you did.

Here's the response I received this morning:

Dear Mr. ---:

On behalf of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, I would like to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail regarding the northern dimension of Canada's foreign policy.

Thank you for writing to the Prime Minister. You may be assured that your comments have been carefully reviewed and are appreciated.

M. Bredeson
Executive Correspondence Officer
for the Prime Minister's Office
Agent de correspondance
de la haute direction pour le Cabinet du Premier ministre

It's been a while since I've been here, so here's an update. I'm trying to list stuff on ebay so that I can actually afford the bike that I bought but haven't yet ridden. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time and corresponding energy to do much with that. So far I've sold some Sesame Street figures, an old coin and a stuffed animal - not bad for $25. We had our kids' pictures taken recently... Tara Morris Photography rocks. I'm singing, not by myself, the national anthem at the Eskimos' game tomorrow - that's exciting. Autumn is here. I scored free tickets for me and 5 friends (one of them being my lovely wife) to the Grande Masque Ball 2006 which should once again be a pretty swanky affair. I watched X-men 3 tonight - better than I thought. Nice sideburns, Hugh. My I (heart) Canadian Arctic Sovereignty ware is taking off. I've made nearly $25. Wow.
G'night.

I'm pretty sure A uttered her first words tonight, but my lovely wife argues that it sounded nothing like "Boba Fett". We'll see...

Z's newest game while we're driving in the car:
"I spy with my little eye something that is blue." He says.
"Is it the sky?" I say.
"No." He says.
"Is it the car in front of us?" I say.
"No." He says.
"Is it that sign?" I say.
"No." He says.
"What is it? I ask.
"The sky." He says.

I was mentally preparing to tear open the garbage bag in the backyard when she read my mind. Her glare communicated the tardy message, "don't even think about it."
"They still have some life-", I started, but I knew she'd disagree..."I should really save them in my Memory Box," I fabricated.
Her simple "No" was clear evidence that we both knew there was no memory box.
"I'll just take them out to take a picture and then I'll put them back," I begged.
Her reply to that was the eyeroll, her trademark. It was nearly audible. At this point I knew that to follow through would require a physical effort - she was willing to fight for this one...

I was the sole owner of that pair of sandals for 2,667 days and nights. I bought them on our honeymoon at the Payless Shoe Source in Orlando Florida somewhere between a day at the Magic Kingdom and MGM Studios. I got blisters from pounding the Mickey Mouse branded pavement for 3 long days in those brand new sandals . They are the only summer footwear that I've EVER worn as a married man. They accompanied me on eight summer vacations, they had been in the Pacific Ocean and Lake Superior, which is way too cold, by the way. I wore them with a tux to two weddings, and I wore them to the hospital after our first child was born. They even had paint spots on them from our first house.
However, it is kind of hard to see past the smooth soles where a textured tread had once been - and the fact that the right one would fall off if I ran, or walked fast, or moved a little.
But I guess I did get my money's worth out of those two. If you consider that I didn't wear them for half of the time that I owned them, and that I paid US dollars for them when the exchange rate was atrocious - they still only put me out about 1.3 cents per day.

Here we are in Wisconsin last year:

Here we are on Father's Day 2005:

Here we are near Nanaimo in 2004:


Yet this story is all that remains - after garbage pick-up tomorrow morning, that is.

 

I recently left my job of five years. The ladies in the office gave me a fitting gift - one that showed me how much they got to know me over that enjoyable 1/2 decade - a Darth Tater. As you can see from this scan of the box, he is a strange addition to the fine Mr. Potato Head line, complete with helmet, cape, black arms (with lightsaber), face plate and big red nose (?) As soon as I brought this home, Z wanted to play with it - of course he has 6 other, as they say in France, Monsieur Patates in his collection - and he new exactly how this newest version would work. I didn't hesitate to hand it over. After several minutes, he approaches me with the Darth Tater light saber (which happens to be permanently attached to the Darth Tater right arm) and hands me the television remote control (which happens to be the closest thing to a second light saber in the vicinity).
"I'm Darth Maul. You be Darth Vader."
I try to explain the continuity problem this poses for the Star Wars Universe - he interrupts. "OK. You be Qui-Gonn."
Well, we know how that ends - and no three year old with a Mr. Potato Head accessory is getting the best of me today.
So I say, "I'm Darth Vader. You're Darth Maul."
We duelled until bedtime.
There was no clear victor. 

This is it. If you're planning on attending "Saskatchewan's Biggest Housewarming Party, Ever", you better be packing up and printing off your Google Map to Kipling, Saskatchewan right about now.
The one red paperclip guy is hosting his big party starting now - go to his site and scroll down to the post from August 15th for the details. Apparently... they'll be showing Corbin Bernsen Movies on an outdoor screen! I wonder if they'll show all of his movies, or just the good one?

There are only 2 more weeks until Roald Dahl Day, I hope you're ready! September 13th would have been Roald Dahl's 90th birthday if he were still around - follow this link for a list of things to do on the 13th...

For those of you thinking that you've never heard of Roald Dahl, think again. He's the creator of Willy Wonka! In addition to being the author of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory books, he also wrote The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, and my favorite - Danny the Champion of the World.

I read a lot of his works as a young child - it may have had an impact on my sense of humour.

I'm working on writing a 'revolting rhyme', what will you do to celebrate?

Well, the Fahrenheit Club has finally reconvened. Two thousand eleven days did indeed lapse since we last gathered, and circumstance has scattered our miniscule membership hither and yon...regardless, we did manage to acheive quorum. Three members, myself (interim president), John (intermediate president) & Josh (provisional president) gathered to pay our respects to various dishes that would not normally be consumed in the same meal. There were no new members present, so the hot sauce shooters were unnecessary for the first time in our club's history. In times past, the minutes for these sessions have invariably been gathered in an haphazard manner on assorted papers, napkins, and notepads, and today was no different. Transcription follows:
Session 5 - Aug.26/06 - my house
Attendees:
Jeff
John
Josh
(Paul was indisposed - next time, my friend)

The 5th session of the Fahrenheit Club is currently in progress - if you know what that means, you should probably get over here. Thank you, come again...

I love Fluevogs.
I bought a great pair of square toed F shoes for my wedding in the late 90s, which I also wore for the beginning of my office career. When I wore those to the bone, I bought a conservatively funky pair of Supervogs which I also got my money's worth out of... Recently I purchased my third pair of 'vogs on ebay - unique footwear for a fraction of the Fluevog price, and they're green. I think you should love them too. I bought my first pair because they were the coolest looking shoes I had ever seen. I continue to buy them because they're still the coolest, their comfortable and durable, and because of what I have read about the factory working conditions for the real people that actually make the shoes.
The current clearance sale has some sweet deals - and if you don't know what size you wear or how a style fits, do what I do before ordering online - go to the nearest Fluevog Shoes retailer and try some on!

I took a closer look at that '1848 5 lire' coin that I thought was a hidden treasure - it appears to be a fake coin, made to look like a really valuable one - perhaps created to get people like me really excited...like that's going to work.

You're probably wondering whatever happened to my bicycle.

I was wondering that very same thing at 8:00am this morning while I listened to someone's idea of good on hold music on the Canadian Tire customer service line. A young lady tells me, "that was shipped via UPS on Aug 17 - here's the tracking number, etc." (she didn't actually say et cetera - not even eck setera, although I do love hearing that)
So I go to ups.com, enter said number, and voila! it was apparently delivered yesterday at 14:38. My first thought is, "who has my bicycle?" I click on details. The package was delivered to the back door. Hmmm. I run up the stairs and look out the back door. There is a big box leaning against the double stroller near the BBQ. It wasn't there last time I was out there...

So the UPS delivery person stops by on a Monday afternoon with a rather large package - approximately the size of a new bike in a box - that is adorned with labels proclaiming that it is a new bike in a box - finds that there is no one inhabiting the property that shares the address on the bike box shaped package - and he/she comes to the conclusion that it would be reasonable to leave the bike box with the bike in it in the back yard. My back yard has a 6 foot chain link fence. That's the kind that you can see through. Last spring a stroller was stolen from my front yard.
When I got over the shock brought on by the decision making ability of the UPS driver, I brought the box into my living room. I opened the top flap and found that the bike is not assembled. Nor did they send a bicycle assembling tradesperson.
I have added 'LOCATE AND HIRE BICYCLE ASSEMBLING TRADESPERSON' to my To Do list. And by 'tradeperson', I mean 'friend who has more experience than I do with bicycles. And by 'more experience', I mean 'has ridden a bicycle with more than 1 speed and not fallen off'. And by 'fallen off', I mean 'launched his/her body over the handlebars while travelling at an embarassingly low speed'. And by 'embarassingly', I mean 'this happened to a friend of a friend of mine - I'm definitely not talking about me'.

For those of you who are waiting with visible breath, the I (heart) Canadian Arctic Sovereignty shop is complete and ready for business! I am still working on the design for the black shirt, but everything else is ready to go. I have emailed info about the shop to the tourism offices in Nunavut, the Northwest Territory and the Yukon, my MP and the Prime Minister - so you better get yours before EVERYONE has them!

On another note, today was my last day at work - mixed feelings indeed.

On yet another note - on Saturday I went to a garage sale and picked up a little novelty magic trick box for a quarter - you know, the kind where you open the drawer and put in a coin, then you close the drawer and when you open it again it appears that the coin has disappeared. I thought Z would like it - he's getting old enough to find that kind of thing interesting. Not long after I had handed over the two bits and walked back to my car, I noticed that the coin inside wasn't a fake token, but an actual foreign coin. It turns out to be 5 lire from 1848 that looks exactly like the one listed here! I was happily surprised.

(PS: Welcome back to the Northern Hemisphere John!)

I was in line at the 109 street Save-On Foods deli counter when I noticed that Anne McLellan was just ahead of me, ordering items from the trays of various marinated treats. There were two employees serving customers at the deli, so at one point it was if the former Deputy Prime Minister and I were functioning as a team - placing simultaneous coordinated requests, making decisions that only we had the authority to make. I requested 200g of thinly sliced fajita chicken breast, she requested 6 marinated artichokes, I requested feta stuffed olives, she requested - then it hit me - this was my chance to ask a famous federal politician a question, maybe to seek some sage advice.
I said, "Excuse me, can I ask you a question?"
She gave me a knowing look, "Sure."
"How do you serve artichokes?" I let my youthful appearance and naive demeanor address any questions regarding the motivation for such a query.
She took it in stride, "Well, they're already marinated, so I won't need to cook them. I'll be serving them on a dish with various other items; olives, cheese, sliced meats..."

I'm pretty sure she thinks I didn't recognize her. (I always feel a strange compulsion to say something memorable when I encounter a 'known' personality - which is probably a tall order, since they are quite likely approached by strangers too often with witty things to say. So I usually end up not saying anything at all - which I think is the wisest thing to do anyway.) I'm certain she didn't recognize me.

I did learn one thing. While I may not agree with her politics, I know for certain that I disagree with her choice of soft drink.

I didn't set the alarm and there are no infants or toddlers around to interrupt my slumber, but I awoke at 7:30 anyway.

My lovely wife took A and Z to visit her parents this morning. They'll be gone for 10 days. Monday is my last day at my current job. Now I have some time to address many projects and tasks that have gone unattended for too long. I began my sabbatical by doing some grass roots organizing and tidying, a load of laundry, reloading the dishwasher, but then one of life's most basic needs - and my most often overlooked need - caught up to me.
According to the folks at sleep-deprivation.com, I should be getting 6 - 9 hours each night, but since A was born 4 months ago, I've been averaging less than 5 hours per. I slept on the couch from 7:15 to 10:30 tonight - I haven't generally slept during this time period since 2003.
Now that I'm awake, I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll see you in the morning... or perhaps the afternoon. I wonder what my bed feels like after 7:30 am?

I can't believe I stayed up this late doing this: I (heart) Canadian Arctic Sovereignty : CafePress.com. I'll edit this entry tomorrow, and make it fun to read - for now, check out my new souvenier shop on cafepress.
Support your local Prime Minister! Support Arctic Sovereignty! Get the only Canadian Arctic Sovereignty t-shirts on the internet! (with actual quotes - in AND out of context - from Stephen Harper!)
Good night.

What is your score? Get it here.

I am a very organized person - hypothetically. I am also a packrat (nothing hypothetical about that one), although I prefer being called a collector.
I like everything to be in it's place. The problem is, I have too many things and not enough places.
I am working on organizing my home office space - my one bastion of freedom to display my collected items without persuading my lovely wife that other normal people would actually think 'it looks good'. In my space I am surrounded by my collecting successes - actions figures, old and/or foreign coins, Army Antz from 1984, magnets displayed on a dryer panel, unsold pictures from April's display, road maps from an internet 'experiment', little people, cameras, viewmasters and toy trucks, books and letters, metal file boxes and Rubbermaid containers big enough to hold cold drinks for an out-of-control tailgate party.
And struggling hard to belong in this evolving display are a 3-hole punch, stapler, shredder and file tray - home office denizens embracing the theory that longevity will earn them the right to function as they were intended. I can just imagine the 3-tier file tray looking over at the 3-hole punch late at night and whispering, "he actually used you while processing the power bill yeterday, didn't he? wow, maybe one day I'll get an inbox label and he'll throw out some of these Travel Montana 2005 magazines..."
Well, this afternoon I discarded nearly 20 LBs of glossy paperbound travel enticements that were sent to me for the sum of their value, in exchange for my name on too many state and provincial mailing and emailing lists, and the 3-tier file tray is now 2/3rds free. The freedom that this simple action brought was suddenly sullied by the realization that this irreversible step created the need for labels. Not simple labels that ring of familiarity - 'inbox' and 'outbox' would not survive in this culture of collections. The file tray would be mocked by the light of the glowing green 'online' indicator on the Shaw modem as I work at my real office. NO! If the tray is to function effectively, it needs labels that call out and direct the appropriate documents and invoices to their places! It needs 3 labels that communicate the same painfully clear messages to all who chance upon them - "Put unprocessed paperwork here!", "Put things to read and ponder here!, "Put things here that need to be filed somewhere else, but ensure that these very same documents do not require further thought than that lest they be filed away never to be seen again until some strange employee at a large collection agency calls requesting the forgotten payment or I notice that I haven't received the annual report because I didn't change my address when I moved so long ago!".
Those are the labels that I need.
But those are far too many words - people don't read since the internet became such a common tool, they skim. Can you help me while I look for my labelmaker?

So - I broke down and ordered the really sweet Schwinn 5 Star Cruiser. (from Canadian Tire Online) I checked all of the sales at the local Canadian Tire stores - but I was too slow on the draw, every single bike in the city was spoken for. By the time I figured that out, I was covetting the bike so badly, I had to go online and find it. There was a shipping charge of $48.99 - but the price of the bike was so good, I decided that I would go for it...however, I told myself that I had to sell $184.42 worth of the toys that I have laying around my house. It shouldn't take too long, I just have to decide which ones I can part with, and which ones actually have some value. I think I'll start with all of the Episode I action figures. George's stock didn't appreciate as much as I thought it might when the promise of a prequel trilogy sounded so good in '99. If only the 'comm-tech' chip feature wasn't so cool...
Well, here I go, $184.42 is the goal - watch the 'my stuff on ebay' link to see how I'm doing - and feel free to bid if I've got what you need!

that's how many airmiles I have now - still burning a hole. any suggestions?

So I found this cheezy quiz online that takes a few multiple choice answers to some juvenile questions and tells you what age you've been acting. I laughed out loud when it came up with this:

You Are 31 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

Oh my. 

I'm not much of a cyclist - the last bike I purchased was a BMX in grade 5 - but I've been meaning to get one for a few years now. This Schwinn Cruiser at Canadian Tire REALLY caught my eye a while back, and I just noticed that it's on sale for half price! I was on Canadian Tire Online a few minutes ago, and their 'check availabilty' feature wasn't working properly... I think I'll have to swing by after work tomorrow and see if they have one in stock. I don't think we can really afford to buy one right now - even though it's a really good deal at $124.99 - maybe I could trade up to it - one red paperclip style ;)

(I've blogged about this before, but I think it's worth repeating.)
Did you know that you can request a free credit report in Canada from both TransUnion and Equifax Canada? These two companies probably know more about your credit history than you do - and it's a good idea to know what it is that they know about you. These are the first people that every bank, retailer, and credit card company go to when you fill out a form authorizing them to do a credit check.
When you first go to their sites, it looks like they will charge you to give you your info - of course they can't do that, it's your info after all. What they actually charge you for is appeasing your impatience - the convenience of an online report runs anywhere from $15.50 to $23.95 (Canadian funds of course, but that doesn't really matter these days now does it?) However...if you take a moment to read the fine print you'll find a section somewhere on the site that mentions getting a free report if you're willing to wait for Canada Post to do it's thing. For the cost of printing their pdf form (my links above should get you there - or close to there, anyway), a photocopy of some ID, and a $0.51 stamp, you'll get a fairly up to date snapshot of whatever it is they've got on you. Whether it's to make sure their info is accurate before applying for your mortgage, or making sure that someone's not misbehaving with your identification - I'd encourage you to check it out.

That's how many Airmiles I've got burning a hole in my pocket. Any suggestions?

Apparently, we're having a BBQ at work on Friday. I received an email this morning regarding the BBQ that ended with, "if you have any objections or condiment requests, please let me know." I started to type my reply, and for some reason I got carried away and ended up with this...

I'm a big fan of pickles
Sauerkraut is fun
Cheese and mustard and mayo
On a large and tasty bun

Ketchup is a mainstay
Tomatoes are a treat
Fried onions add a certain charm
But it's nothing without the meat!

Wow. The Edmonton Sun story about this indie film was published online and quickly picked up by Slashdotters. Now I can't get on to the Xpress Entertainment forum - presumably because of a sudden surge in internet traffic. And I really wanted to post some comments as DirkLancer - my long silent, space faring, Han Solo-esque, alter ego. Ever since Devon Starfyre (the more physically dynamic half of the intergalactic duo) moved to the west coast, Dirk has been relegated to obscure user IDs and automated bowling score displays. When I googled "Secrets of the Rebellion" yesterday - there were about 30 results. 5 minutes ago, I checked again, there are 131.
Here's a shot of the film in progress - it's a little blurry - Z was trying to sit quietly on my lap, but Chewie was making him nervous ;)

I wasn't needed on the set today - but I thought Z would appreciate seeing what I was up to yesterday. It was a short but very impressive visit. I don't think he'll forget being picked up by a Wookie any time soon. 

"Elsewhere in a dingy cantina populated by spice miners, bounty hunters and other general riff raff, Han Solo prepares to take on another Kessel run. He reminisces about the high stakes Sabacc round with his old buddy Lando Calrissian in which he won a clunky YT-1300 freighter from the gambler." These words from the Xpress Entertainment Star Wars: Secrets of the Rebellion website introduce the first scene shot for the movie - also known as the Cantina flashback scene...
This morning started shakily. I was supposed to arrive at the studio at 8:30 to get prepped for a 9am start. I haven't set my alarm for several months now, because Z has been waking regularly at 7:10 with his toddler enthusiasm to start the day. Of course he chose today to be the day that he decided to change it up on me. I awoke at 8:20 in a panic, threw on a t-shirt and the closest pants to the bed, skipped the shower and ignored my hair, and still managed to get to the set by 8:45. My bed head and I blended in fairly quickly with the pre-coffee crowd and soon realized that shooting was off schedule already. Some extras headed out the door for McD's when they heard that we weren't going to be needed for an hour and a half - I stuck around to get a feel for what was happening, besides, there was coffee and bagels on a table for free - there was no way Rotten Ronnie would top that. I soon met Mark and Jason - I would begin to discover later in the day that all involved in this production are Star Wars fans, but some are 'Warsies' and some are not - these two seemed to fall in the same group that I did, all three of us knowing significant details about the movies, yet none of us owning custom designed costumes from the original trilogy. Mark drove up from Calgary to take part - he's been an extra in a few movies, his best story involves a role as a a homeless guy alongside Mace Windu in an upcoming flick - his Hebrew neck tattoo could pass as something Mandalorian-ish. Jason, in addition to working as an extra today (and a small speaking role later) is the production's photographer (still-photo) for DVD extra features and promotional material, I assume. We hung out and chatted for a while - until around 9:30 when I was asked to put my horns on. (I think I may have been a subspecies of the Zabrak/Iridonians, but I'm still not sure)
Between 9:30 and 1:00, I did little more than glue 3 horns to my forehead, change shirts and put on a vest. So much for being finished by 3 o'clock.
It seemed that there were some issues with the set, or maybe the camera equipment, or both. Gradually things started to come together. The Tw'leks looked great - the red and blue body paint under the bright lights looked very cool. The set began to resemble a Cantina, sort of - it's a little difficult to imagine when most of the set is a green screen. The camera equipment was eventually ready to go - the battery died minutes before the first shot - requiring yet another cable to be manipulated for the initial moving sequence. But by mid-afternoon I was sweating under the lights and trying to get into character. It had been a long slow start and my confidence was shaken by the amount of technical difficulties and lack of group direction in the first part of the day, but my confidence in the project was restored when we watched the play back of the first shot - it looked great. The next few hours were a lot of fun - we shot various groups of aliens, spice miners and other cantina patrons (the bartender was by far the most handsome) reacting to the Sabacc game between Han and Lando where Han pulls off the rarely seen Idiot's Array. I never did do anything with my hair - I guess bed head was the look they wanted for my character. The actor/Iowa school teacher playing Han is fantastic. I'm sure he has spent an inordinate amount of time watching and rewatching every scene with the rogue smuggler in the original three - his mannerisms and speech are perfect. Chewbacca could have been Peter Mayhew himself - the costume was beautiful and his vocal impersonation could have been sampled right from the 1977 soundtrack.
This is one indie film that I'm anxious to see. I'm not needed on the set until next weekend, but I might bring Z by tomorrow to meet the big Wookie, I think he'll like that.
I was finally finished about 12 hours after I arrived, so I washed the spirit gum off of my forehead and caught the number 143 home.

It was only nine days since I sent my 'volunteer Edmonton' email to the folks at GiftTRAP when this box was delivered. A tidy little package, I thought. I quickly opened it to see what was inside. The first thing in the box was a funky 'dialogue balloon' shaped business card - good first impression. The fact that they used 'FREE', and stayed true to their word was also helpful. The enclosed letter included some more encouragement to participate in Massive Play Weekend and a reminder that the product launch is also a fundraiser for Right To Play... The game packaging is very well done - professional looking, anyway. It is a cube shaped box - which appeals to me for some reason - and the outside is covered in 100 square photographs which appear to be some of the 'gifts' included in game play. The lid to the box includes a flap which shows part of the game in play - which gives me a bit of an idea what the game is all about. I'm looking forward to opening up the box and figuring out the way the game is played - more Gift TRAP to come...