It's Candy Day!

If I read my calendar right this morning then today is Halloween.  I had to work today and it was ridiculously busy, nothing like people leaving things until the last minute to get candy and costumes.  If you'll recall last year at Halloween I went all out and made goodie bags, but then only a few kids showed up.  I was disappointed.  I still bought candy this year, but I wasn't going to make goodie bags if no one is going to show up.

At least I got the name brand candy, but the peanut M&Ms are a let down.  There are only four in a bag!  I remember back in the day Cam was showing me his Halloween loot and complaining about this chocolate bar he got.  It wasn't chocolate, but "chocolate flavored".   A chocolate flavored chocolate bar is still a lot better than getting raisins.  What kid wants raisins?!

GET YOUR WAR FACE ON!

If it's October 25th, then that means it's time for Battlefield 3.  I almost didn't even get this game after playing the beta.  For some reason EA/Dice released the beta which was months old and full of bugs even though it didn't represent the game in terms of graphics and gameplay.  I didn't mind the graphics, I just didn't like the gameplay, but after reading a hands on of the final multiplayer things sounded a little better.

I pre-ordered it, so I got the LE with the Back to Karkland map pack which will out later and I even got a free shirt.  The shirt you can see above and for some reason all they had were size L, so it's a little tight.  That's cool because black in slimming.

Good thing I have to day off today because I went out this morning and got the game and then got some groceries.  I came home and popped the game in the 360 and then had to download a 167MB patch and then had to install a 1.5GB texture pack, so the game wouldn't look like crap.  The 360 version is two discs, disc one is multiplayer/co-op and disc two is campaign.  Disc one has a streaming texture pack on it to make the game look pretty and you pretty much need it.  I saw some pictures comparing the game with and without the texture pack and it's a big difference.  With out the texture pack the game looks like something off a last gen console.

I'm off to the battlefield, let's hope I get as much replay out this as I did Bad Company 2.  That one I played the campaign twice and logged almost 400 hours on mutliplayer, so at least I got my moneys worth.

Free t-shirts part 10 + a major milestone!

I was wondering the hall in the back stockroom at work yesterday trying to look busy when I spotted a pallet of Post cereals.  What caught my eye was that they had a picture of a t-shirt on them and after looking at the box, it's time for more free t-shirts!  Just like the Kellogg's free shirt offer they are "retro" styled tees, but unlike the Kellogg's offer you only need one PIN number to get a shirt, not two.  When I left work I bought a box of Honeycomb and a box of Alpha-Bits and the offer is only on the family size boxes.   I paid $7.19 for the two boxes of cereal, plus I'll be getting two t-shirts out it, so that's not too bad.

Go check out the Post site to see all four t-shirt designs of Shreddies, Sugar Crisp, Honeycomb and Alpha-Bits.  I'll be getting the Honeycomb and Alpha-Bits shirts because I don't like Sugar Crisp and I hate yellow shirts.  Remember that one?  On the box it actually says "Collect all 4" so I'm assuming there is no limit and you can get as many as you want.  Get yours today!

This morning I had a bowl of Alpha-Bits and it's been quite a while since I've had some.  As I was eating my cereal I noticed that there was a lack of actual letters in my bowl.  For some reason there were a lots of A, B, D, X, P  and sometimes Y shaped letters, but that was about it.  I'm pretty sure there are more letters in the alphabet than that.  I guess that is where the "bits" part of Alpha-Bits comes in because most of the cereal were pieces and crumbs.  You know I almost expected it to be mostly Os, but there weren't even very many of those.  False advertising!

If you are wondering the major milestone I was talking about this post itself because it is my 500th post.  I was hoping for something a little more exciting than a filler post, but here we are anyway.  Don't forget to congratulate me and shower me with praise for all my hard work.

I *heart* me too

When I was back in Cranbrook Cara ordered me to stop by Scarff HQ to pick up some Scottish goodies.  I love free stuff, so I had to stop in and grab it.  Thanks guys!  I also got the news that Mike and Sandy had a baby boy named Eli.  Congratulations!  Fun fact, Jeff P. named his son the same name.

Wait, it's a couple of brochures?  That's boring!  At least it has my name on them.  On the front of the "Welcome to Keith" brochure it lists some "highlights" like the world famous distillery, traditional shops, scenic whisky railway AND the secrets of the kilt revealed.  I read the brochure, but there was nothing about secrets or kilts which is a bit of a rip.  Does this mean I'll have to go all the way over there to find out?  Don't worry, I figured out the secret of the kilt myself.  It's a dress!

Okay, the brochures were nifty, but the real treasure was hiding inside the brochures, stickers!

Awesomest stickers evar!

The stickers are rad, but why stop at just stickers?  The town of Keith should be slapping that slogan on all kinds of merchandise like key chains, shirts, hats, posters, shoe laces, wristbands, posters, antenna balls, window flags, reusable bags, socks, jackets, pillows, tooth brushes, drink coasters, etc.  It would be a goldmine.

Unfortunately, these stickers are too cool to ever be used.  If I used them, then I'd have to go all the way Scotland to get new ones.  They must be preserved and go in the to sticker vault.  The sticker vault is an old Nike shoe box I have back in Cranbrook.  I did a post about it a while ago and the various skate, ski and mountain bike stickers contained within.  Some of the stickers are over 20 years old. 

Hey, Cam and Cara did you guys go to Tooty's while you were in Keith?  I would go there just because the name is funny, almost as funny as Keith.  I wonder if they have stickers too?  Can you go back and get me some?  Thanks!

Feel the BASS!

A couple weeks ago I did a post about freebies like the free Kashi bar, free Sloan download and the free Pringles speaker.  When I got home from Cranbrook last week my Pringles speaker showed up in my absence.  On the Pringles website it said it would take 10 - 12 weeks for delivery, but mine showed up in only three weeks.  I guess demand for the free speaker wasn't as high as they had expected.  I guess people couldn't be bothered to print out a sheet and go to the post office to mail it in.  Lucky for me I have nothing to do.

What a sexy envelope!  Who cares about boring brown envelopes when you get something in a cool red envelope.  I like it.  I opened it up to find the speaker packed in it's own Pringles box.

The box isn't anything flashy, but not too bad.  The backside has a sticker that lists the box contents; 1 X Speaker built in amplifier and 3 X Duracell AAA batteries.

The speaker is amplified, so it needs those three AAA batteries to output a thunderous 1 Watt of power.  My neighbors are going to hate me!  I do like how they give you the batteries and they are actually decent brand name ones and not some cheap crappy ones that only last 30 minutes.  Now I just have to read the instructions on how to use it.

Holy crap those are the instructions?!  And it's double sided?!!  Okay, only one section of that are the English instructions.  The instructions come in 18 different languages because the world love Pringles.

After learning 17 new languages and reading all the instructions I finally knew how to use my new speaker.  Of course I had to go out and buy another can of Pringles so I could have the can to put the speaker in.  The speaker pops in the top and it's a bit of a tight fit, but at least you don't have to worry about it falling out.  Plug the cord into your mp3/media player and turn the speaker and you are read to rock.  Unfortunately, the sound quality isn't very good and the speaker sounds pretty much the same out of the can as it does inside the can, so what's the point?

The idea of free speaker that fits inside a chip can is pretty cool.  It's too bad getting one is a bit of a hassle and it doesn't sound that great.

Gobble gobble

Another Thanksgiving goes by and I'm totally turkeyless!  I never make it home for Thanksgiving and can't even remember the last time I was back.   I'm thinking at least 8 years?  If you read my blog you know I try and do something turkey related at Thanksgiving like a Swanson turkey TV dinner, turkey pepperoni, canned turkey (that was nasty!), pumpkin donuts (huge disappointment) and last year I actually cooked a turkey.  It was a cheater's turkey because it was boneless, but it was pretty easy to cook and it had to be because I was cooking it.  It was supposed to feed 8-10 people, but only I was eating it, so I got a tired of turkey pretty fast.  This year is a bit different because I got nothing!  I've worked 9 hours shifts the past three days and after being at work for 9 hours the last thing I want to do is buy groceries, so this year Thanksgiving is even more boring than usual.

I don't have turkey, but I have Jiffy Pop!

I'm surprised they still make Jiffy Pop because it just seems everyone makes microwave popcorn.  I don't have or need an actual popcorn popper, so before I've just bought microwave popcorn.  I saw the Jiffy Pop and decided to buy some because I don't think I've had any since I was a kid.   It's fun to make, so I think I grab some more. 

Now for something completely different!  I was playing Rush on Battlefield: Bad Company 2 tonight and managed to snipe the pilot of a helicopter.  I shot him and it ejected his body out of the helicopter which then crashed and exploded.  Yes, it was awesome!  I'm surprised I pulled it off as I was quite a distance from the target and he was moving.  I just pulled the trigger and hoped for the best.  Our team still lost the match though.  I know it's not exciting to you guys, but it's awesome to me.  I wish I could've seen that guy's face when I sniped him. PWNED!

*thud*

This afternoon I had to look after Logan and Avery for a couple hours because Matt and Julie were at work.  Logan is pretty easy, because he will do his own thing and play video games, watch TV or play with Lego, so he doesn't need constant supervision.  Avery requires more attention because he always wants to do something with you.  We were outside riding around on scooters when some guy pulled into the driveway next door.  Next thing I know he was like, "Hey, Keith!"  I was like, "Uh, hey how's it going?"  I went over and talked to him for a bit and kept trying to figure out who he was the entire time.  He looked familiar, but I was drawing a blank.  It wasn't until later that I finally figured out it was Mike Detta.  I probably haven't seen Mike since high school, so it has been a few years.

Julie came home after 5pm, so I headed back home to Gold Creek.  I was driving up 37th when out of nowhere this deer jumps over a fence, out of the ditch and onto the road right in front of my car.  I stood on the brake and the car skidded on the road.  For a second I thought I was going to miss it, but it bounced right off the front of my car, rolled on the road, then jumped up and took off.  I was little in shock, but the deer was okay and so was the car, so I drove home.  Once I got home I checked out the front of the car which sustained a little damage.

The grill on the front was broken and the shiny Toyota logo was missing.  It is either lying on the road or embedded in that deer's ass.  Luckily, the damage wasn't that bad and could've been a lot worse.  If I broke the headlight or the bumper it would've been a lot costlier to replace.  The grill is just held in place by some screws, so it is no big deal to replace it.   Still, deer are stupid.

There was an article in the Townsmen about the deer cull they are planning.  I guess they decided to kill 25 deer in town.  I'm not sure how they came up with that number because it seems kind of small.  When I drove up to the house yesterday I must have seen 8 or 10 deer.

SURPRISE!!

 It's an outhouse!

I'm back in Cranbrook for a short impromptu visit, I'm only here for three days.  A couple weekends ago my parents were in Calgary and my dad was saying he wasn't feeling well.  Turns out he wasn't feeling well because his heart was all discombobulated.  He has "atrial fibrillation" which is cause by messed up electrical connections that causes the heart to beat too fast.  He was in the hospital for a few days, but he is out now and doing better.  He has to take a pile of pills to help regulate his heart rate.

I came back just for a few days because that's all I could get and I'm not sure when I'll be able to make it home next.  I drove home on Tuesday and went the north way through the park.  Now that summer is over that route was pretty quiet.  Normally, I drive straight through, but stopped this time because I had to go to the bathroom. Note to self, don't drink so much.  I stopped at Numa Falls and while I've driven by it many times I've never actually stopped.

You already saw the shot of the outhouse which is one of the classy ones with no light inside, no running water and a hole in the ground.  They did try to class it up a bit by putting a hand sanitizer dispenser on the wall.  I walked over to check out the falls.

There is a bridge that goes over the falls and it looks pretty cool.  The weather wasn't very good and raining a little bit.  The bridge was made of wood and since it was wet, was all slippery.  Somebody is gonna slip right off the edge!  I don't know why they didn't use a metal walkway and use wood the railings.

Looking up the falls...

...and looking down the falls.

Since I'm only home for a few days I won't have time to do much or see anyone else.  Sorry Willie!  You can still expect a House of Pain though.

Nevermind

Last week I posted about the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind and the CD and DVD release that came with it.  I haven't picked it up yet and if you haven't, but were planning on it you might want to read this first.  It doesn't sound good.

http://www.lostturntable.com/?p=1271

Made in China

At work my shifts usually end being 9 hours with a hour lunch and two fifteen minute breaks, but usually lump those into a half hour break.  Sitting in the break room can be excruiatingly boring for an hour and it actually makes you want to back to work.  That's why I would usually take my GameBoy Micro of Nintendo DS and play games.  Sometimes I would be too lazy to actually play something and would rather just watch instead.  That's why when parents asked me what I wanted for my birthday I told them "The Bomb".

My dad asked if you got it from Al-Qaeda and I said, "No, from China!".  I'm talking about Cam's favorite electronics site, China Vision.  The Bomb is a touch screen 8GB personal media player (PMP) with a 4.3" screen and it seems inexpensive.  There aren't many small PMP devices out over for some reason with the iPod Touch probably being the closest, but it's too expensive and I still don't want it because it's Apple.  The Bomb also plays more media types.  Anyway, my mom went online and ordered me one.

Check out the crazy plug that came with this thing!

It won't fit!!

It's looks a bit cheap, but it does work.  There is no software, just plug it into your computer via USB and drag and drop which ever files you want to it.  I put some music and some TV shows from TV Nihon on it.  You can just put whatever files you want on it, but the files always show up no matter what you are doing.  If you pick "Video" then all the files on it will show whether they are video files, audio files or something else.  It wasn't like I had thousands of files on it, so it wasn't a problem for me.

I had only been using it for watching videos while at work or sometimes I'd lie in bed and catch an episode of OOO before I went to sleep.  The resolution was okay, sometimes you would see some artifacting and you had to tilt the screen a bit to get the best picture.  It was still working out pretty good for me until I was taking it out of my locker at my break and I dropped it.  It didn't fall far, but it was hard enough to put a crack across the screen.  It still turns on, but the crack on the screen throws all the touch screen controls out of whack...as in they don't work.  It sucks because I just got it and it's already broken.

Oops.

I already miss watching OOO while eating my lunch, so last night I did some looking online and bought myself a new PMP.  The new one is another Chinese brand, but it's all little fancier than The Bomb.  It costs more, but it does have a better UI, more features and better screen resolution, so it was worth the extra.  This time I made sure to buy a shock proof case.  Once I get it you can expect some kind of review.

Since I used the words "bomb" and "Al-Qaeda" in this post I am no doubt now on the Homeland Security, FBI, RCMP, etc terror watch list.  That's cool because it just means my blog now has a few more readers.  Sorry guys, I'm not a terrorist, but I sure am radical. Dude!