Friday, March 30, 2012

She shoots, she scores!

I got an e-mail from my mom today telling me she won a new truck at Thursday night's hockey game.  What?!  I called her tonight to get more details.  I guess they were selling tickets to win a new Ford F150, but the catch was you have to shoot the puck 3/4 the length of the rink into a ridiculously small hole to win it.  A couple tickets are chosen and my mom's was one of them.  She tried to get my dad to go in her place, but he told her that it was her ticket that won, so she'll have to do it.  She was more worried about just getting the puck all the way down to the net, but somehow it also went in the hole.  I guess everybody started cheering and going crazy and she looked up in the stands at my dad and he is just standing there shaking his head.  She's pretty excited and wants to get a copy of it on video.  It's video taped for insurance reasons.  Just maybe it might find it's way onto YouTube?  Anyway, she should get the truck in about a week, but my parents aren't sure what to do with it.  It's only a single cab, so it's not that practical and it's not like they need it or anything, but maybe they can get a buyout.  The bad news is that the Ice lost and are now out of the playoffs.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Book readin'

I read a book the other day, of course it was a comic book.  Not just any comic book, but an indie comic called "Henry & Glenn Forever" in which punk rock heroes Henry Rollins and Glenn Danzig are committed "life partners".  Also, Daryl Hall and John Oates are their satanist neighbours.  When I read about this and saw the cover I was pretty excited to read it because it sounded like it would be hilarious.  I then read some reviews online that said it was really good, so I got even more excited.  Of course I should know better than to get too excited about something.  It's not that it's bad, I did like it, but it just didn't live up to the hype.


The art styles vary greatly as it's done not by an single writer/artist, but by Igloo Tornado an artist collective.  The comic isn't one story or even short stories, just a collection of single panel comics.  Sometimes the jokes are fairly obviously gay jokes and they get lazy and use the "Do these pants make my butt look fat?" joke like three times.  They seem to dig at Glenn Danzig a bit more than Rollins though.  They use the "Do these pants make my butt look fat?"  It's not all bad and are several humorous parts.  Nothing totally hilarious that I LOL'd at, but I cracked a smile more than once.


If you look online you can find an interview by Nardwuar with Rollins about the comic.  He's aware of it, but hasn't read it and doesn't plan on reading it.  He has even signed copies of it.  On the flip side Danzig is less than thrilled about the comic.  I guess he's been doing lots of complaining about it.  In fact Igloo Tornado even did another strip making fun of Danzig for whining about it.


I had some high hopes for this comic book as the set up of Rollins and Danzig in a relationship sounded like comedy gold.  I didn't strike it rich, but I still enjoyed it and am glad I bought it.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Flippin' thing

For some reason my schedule has give me some crazy days off, Saturday to Tuesday.  Four days in a row?  At first I thought I'd make a quick trip back to Cranbrook, but then I remembered I had a dentist appointment on Monday.  They are going to finish that root canal.  What am I going to do with my four days off?  Well, so far I'm two days down and haven't really done anything at all.

This morning I went to the flea market in Sunnyside.  They have it at the community hall there every Sunday.  I have found a few cool things there before, but usually I'll get up and drive all the way over there to find absolutely nothing.  Luckily, today wasn't one of those days!  I came home with the Captain America Blu-Ray which was brand new, the Fall Guy truck and a robot.

I not only got the Fall Guy truck with original packaging, but also a black plastic protective case.  It's just some random case that happens to hold the package perfectly.  I should stick a picture of Heather Thomas on the front to make it look more official.


It looks like a brand new unopened package, but it's not.  It's been opened, very carefully, at the bottom.  I don't mind this because I can take it out and mess around with it and then stick it back in the package.  I don't remember the truck actually saying "Colt" on the door though.


Safe and sound.

Does anybody remember all the cool robots Tomy made back in the 1980's?  I found Flipbot at the flea market.  Don't let the name fool you as he doesn't actually do flips.  He just drives around and his arms spin around.  If he happens to tip over his spinning arms flip back upright and off he goes.  He has a few scruffs on him, but he still works great.


Back when I was a kid I had a Hootbot, who was a robotic bird.  He came with a perch and would make noises, flap his wings and his eyes would light up.  I also had the Tomy Armatron.  It wasn't actually a robot, but a robotic/crane arm that you could move around with the joysticks.  It came with some balls and stuff you pick up and move around.  I also had the Z-707 Battle Iron Claw which was awesome for grabbing G.I. Joes with.  As you can see I've linked all the robots to a vintage toy robot website, so have a look because robots from the 1980's looked cool.  I want a Dustbot, so he can clean my house.  I wish they made a robot that would cook me dinner.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

They fight and bite.

I found this link over at Fark.com about how some YouTube guy made a Simpsons compilation clip.  He took every Itchy & Scratchy episode and made a 48 minute long video.  Check it out before FOX has it removed for copyright infringement and what not.  If the embedded video doesn't work for you, then go here.  Don't worry the Porch Pals episode in included.  I also read somewhere that somebody edited all the McBain bits into a "movie", but I couldn't find it on YouTube.



I have an old Motorola cellphone (Cam knows the one) that I quit using years ago.  Even when I got it, it wasn't cool.  I actually still use it just not as a phone  It's my new alarm clock and occaisional paper weight.  Now every morning when I work I wake up to the Itchy & Scratchy theme song MIDI style on my phone.  MIDI rulz.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Like A Rock


These are some Swedish Berries that been laying around the kitchen table since Halloween.  I'm not talking about this past Halloween, these are from last LAST Halloween when I made the goodie bags.  I considered eating them until I felt the bags and they were rock hard.  You will break some teeth or dislocate your jaw if you try to eat them.  I guess I'll just save them for next Halloween. 

Saturday, March 17, 2012

For a wee time only!

I'm talking about the Shamrock Shake from McDonald's and if you didn't get one then chances are you out SOL.  Also, happy St. Patrick's Day!  March 17th is a day for the Irish and Irish at heart around the world to party and get drunk, like the Irish ever needed an excuse to get drunk.  Am I right or am I right?  Anyway, I was watching the TV the other day and saw a commercial for the Shamrock Shake and knew I had to get one.  I was going to get one and then blog about it and remind everyone else to go get a Shamrock Shake.  Then my tooth started acting up and I wasn't about to go drink a milkshake when my tooth was sensitive to cold and a even a sip would cause me pain.   This morning I only worked a half shift, so once I was done I headed over to McD's for some McNuggets and a Shamrock Shake.


That's me "enjoying" my Shamrock Shake and note I'm wearing a green t-shirt.  I think I blogged about the Shamrock Shake a long time ago.  Maybe back when I was on MySpace?  Anyone remember, Cam or Mike?  That was the last time I had one, so it was nice to get another one.  Now I want more!  MORE!  I guess I'll have to wait until next year.  I wonder if they have Shamrock Shakes all year long in Ireland?  I also wonder what kind of milkshake they make for Robbie Burns Day?


This is why I did the Makit & Bakit post the other day.  They had all Christmas themed kits and one St. Patrick's Day kit.  This one turned out better, as in it didn't crack.  It does have some air bubbles, but I like the bubbles and there is some spillage where it leaked over the edge.  The kit came with three bags of green beads, but I only used one bag.  Why so much extra?  Hey Cara, you can see it does come with a loop for hanging it up, but it didn't come with a hook, so how am I supposed to hang it?  Now I have no choice but to use my velcro.

Friday, March 16, 2012

:-(

During my shift on Wednesday at work the shipment of live crabs showed up.  These come flown in from Vancouver and then delivered by courier to the store.  They are shipped in styrofoam boxes with ice packs and damp newspaper placed on top of the crabs.  That's pretty much all they need, just don't go and drop the box.  Usually, they make it to us okay, but sometimes you will find a dead one or two in the boxes.  The order showed up, so I was putting them inside the tanks and at the bottom of one box I found a crab with no claws AND no legs, but it was still alive.  He was moving around his little nubs and well, it was just plain flat out sad.  I felt so bad.


Sometimes crabs show up and they are missing a leg or a claw, but I've never seen one with no claws or legs.  On the bottom of the box there were a few legs and a claw.  What the hell happened to him?!  It was such a total train wreck.  I couldn't put him in the tank because nobody would ever buy him.  Without legs or claws there is nothing to eat.  I did feel bad and at least I put him out of his misery before I put him in the garbage.  I cut him in half and then ripped him out of his shell.  Just don't go tell PETA.  I'm going to eat some vegan Oreos.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Peace out!

This is another one of those blogs I meant to write three months ago, but am just getting around to it now.  My dad has been wanting a rock polisher since the summer, so he can polish up all the fancy rocks Logan and Avery have found out at Kootenay Lake.  I told him I had seen one at Chinook Hobby West.  He decided right before Christmas that he wanted one, but I was too busy and didn't have time to go pick one up.  That turned out to be a good thing.

At the start of January I went to check and see if they had any left and when I went all craft stuff in the clearance centre was half price.  They had some rock polishers left, so I bought one and some supplies.  The original price on the rock polisher was $279.99 and they were selling it for $179.99 and it was half off of that, so it was a good deal.  This thing isn't some crappy plastic one either, I know because I used to have one and it broke all the time.  It's all metal and you could buy another drum for polishing brass.  Who polishes brass?  It was also the newest item in the upstairs area, it was from 2006.

Most of craft stuff in the clearance centre is way old, like Go-Bots models and spin art old!  I saw some sets that were from 1971, then I saw the Makit & Bakit "stained glass" kits.  I could've got Makit & Bakit, cross stitch or macrame, so I went with Makit & Bakit.  You fill in the metal cut out with the plastic beads and bake it in the oven.  It's that easy!


If you can see on the front of the card it says it comes with free self sticking Velcro fasteners.  On the back of the card it goes into detail about exactly what Velcro fasteners are and how to use them.  I guess this thing came out before Velcro was common.  How did people do up their shoes back then?  This was was half price, so I got it for only a buck.  Most of the kits were Christmas themed, but I got peace one because it doesn't have to be about Christmas.  Peace is something we need more than one day a year.

The instructions are pretty straightforward.  Place the frame on a cookie sheet that has been lined with aluminum foil.  Fill in the open sections so that the edges are level, but heaping full in the centres.  Put in a pre-heated oven at 375 for 15-25 minutes until the beads have melted to a smooth finish.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  A slight chemical odor is given off during the heating.  If you enjoy sniffing felt pens this will not be a problem, but if you don't then you might want to crack a window.


Here is mine right before it went into the oven.  The whole process is easy, but very tedious.  The instructions tell you to use tweezers and you actually need them on a piece this small.  I had place each bead in by hand with tweezers inside the letters.  The outside green I dumped some inside from the bag, but still ended up doing most of it by hand with the tweezers.  It took longer than I had expected.


The finished product and it's cracked!  When I pulled it out of the oven it looked pretty sweet and I was stoked, but then when I went to take if off the foil when it had dried I noticed a crack in it.  Then when I actually pulled it off the foil it cracked again down by the "E".  I followed all the instructions and I still messed it up.  Maybe I left it in too long?  Maybe I should let it cool down inside the oven next time?  It does look a little better than the picture shows, but right now it's buried under a pile of junk on the kitchen table.  A lot of stuff ends up buried under a pile of junk around here.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Good news/Bad news

I've been meaning to write a post for days now, but when I haven't really been all that motivated lately.  Last week I went to the dentist because my tooth (left side on the bottom near the back) was crazy sensitive to cold.  I was getting pretty painful, so I had to go in to have it looked at.  The dentist said I was going to need a crown and come back in two weeks.  First of all my damn tooth hurts like hell and I don't want to wait two weeks.  I went to work the next day and when I got home after my shift I called the dentist back to see if they could get me in sooner and the good news (that's not really the good news) was that they moved my appointment up one week. 

I'm at home and my tooth starts feeling different.  It's not sensitive to cold anymore, but I can't chew food on it or even clench my teeth together and it's throbbing.  I could probably take my pulse with my tooth.  I called the dentist and went back in Friday morning just so they could have a look.  They changed my appointment from a crown to a root canal.  That is still not the good news!  The root/nerve on my tooth was infected and inflamed and swollen and that's why it was throbbing and  I got some anti-biotics to help with that.  The messed up infected inflamed tooth was also messing up my throat.  I don't know the exact name but the gland in my throat was swollen as well thanks to my tooth.   I had some Tylenol 3 from my kidney stone that I never used, but I'm getting to use them now!

I've been on pills for a few days now and it's definitely better.   My tooth is still a bit sore, but most of the time I don't notice it and I can sleep better.  I still have to wait until Friday to get the root canal done.  I wonder how much it's going to cost?  PS - That was the bad news.

Now the good news, I got a new chair!


It's a real La-Z-Boy!  It has a foot rest that flips up, it reclines and it tilts back.  It's a triple threat!  It doesn't swivel though because the swivel base cost extra.  I don't need it to swivel, just as long as it's pointed at the TV it's all good.  In my old crappy chair I didn't care if I dropped chip crumbs or whatever, but I'll have to be careful eating in the new chair.  It's so soft and nice, don't want to mess it up.  It's almost too nice for me to have, but I guarantee I'll get LOTS of good use out of it. 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

ZING!

This came about a while ago, but there is bad news as Hostess has filed for bankruptcy protection.  It seems like it took me forever to find those damn Twinkies for that one blog post and now Hostess is going bankrupt.  Before Twinkies and all the other Hostess goodies disappear forever I had my sister look for some of the stuff we don't get here in Canada when she went down to the States.  I was hoping for some Suzy Qs because they actually look good.  She didn't find any of those, but got me some Zingers.


I had no idea what a Zinger was and when I saw the box I was a little let down.  They are basically a Twinkie dipped in some red stuff with coconut bits on the outside, so it other words they aren't very good.  Now I'm stuck with a box of 12 of them and they expired Feb 10.  So far I've forced myself to eat three of them, but it will be Feb 10 of next year by the time I finish the whole box.  I might be able to convince Cody to eat one.  Even Avery wouldn't even try one and he'll eat anything sugary.  I just should've gone out and gotten one of the Hostess classics like Cupcakes.  I love those things and they are easy to find here.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Free?

Did you guys know you can watch streaming movies online for free?  I'm a little slow and just found this out the other day.  While I hate watching full length movies on my computer I can now do it on the XBox.  I used to have Netflix on the XBox, but then I cancelled it because I wasn't using it enough.  I know it was only $8/month, but I only ended up watching it a few times.  I was just mad because Netflix in the US gets WAY more movies and TV shows then we get up here in Canada.  If we ever catch up then maybe I'll consider signing back up.

Anyway, XBox updated the dashboard aka menu/UI which I don't really like anymore.  Now you install apps onto the XBox that do stuff I don't really understand, but most of them are for watching videos.  A TMZ app?!  I was looking around the dashboard and clicked on something that automatically installed some video app called Crackle.  I had heard of it, but really wasn't sure what it was all about.  Since I already downloaded and installed it I figured I'd better see what it's all about.

Crackle just lets you watch movies and TV shows on your computer, game console or mobile devices for free.  Yep, totally free.  Of course there are some disadvantages like a small selection of content(compared to Netflix and Hulu) and video quality is only 480p.  Still it is free and there are enough shows to keep me going for a while.  I've already watched a Three Stooges short, 70's blaxploition flick Black Gunn, Van Damme's Maximum Risk and Rage and Honor.  Next up is Rage and Honor II, I wonder what's gonna happen next? 

Watching it on the XBox they throw in commercials every once in a while, but it is very inconsistent.  When I watched Black Gunn every so many minutes a commercial (for Xbox Kinect, and no I'm not getting it) would kick in.  Watching Maximum Risk the same thing happened, but after the first two commercials they stopped showing up.  At the same intervals the screen would switch to a loading icon, but no commercial would show up and it would straight back to the movie.  Then when I watched Rage and Honor today there was one commercial right before the movie started and the entire movie played without any interruptions.  I don't care about the commercials because I'm already watching it for free.  If there weren't commercials, then it wouldn't be free.

Crackle is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, so all the content on the website is owned by them and their subsidiaries.  There are some good movies, so check them out.  You should sign up just so you can watch Night of the Creeps.  It's a classic!  They also have a few Jackie Chan movies, Full Contact with Chow Yun-Fat and some Godzilla movies.  For some reason they have Weekend at Bernie's II, but not the original Weekend at Bernie's.  People will watch it and be completely lost not having seen the first one!

There are lots of TV shows and most of them are Japanese anime which I haven't even heard of.   Ones I'd like to watch are Astro Boy, Blood+ and R.O.D. TV plus a few other look interesting.  Also, check out Project Blue Earth SOS.  And according to the Crackle website they even have the Karate Kid cartoon.  I didn't even know they made a Karate Kid cartoon!   I shouldn't get too excited to see it because it probably won't even be available in Canada.

So yeah, go watch Night of the Creeps and Project Blue Earth SOS, you won't regret it.  You're welcome!