EVERY BOX WINS!

I was walking down the cereal aisle at Co-op looking for something good which means I was looking to see if there were any cereals with toys in them.  There wasn't any!   A box of Honeycomb caught my eye with a "EVERY BOX WINS" logo on the corner.  If I'm guaranteed to win then I can't lose!  The contest is called "Flip the Flap" which is reminiscent of Tim Horton's "Roll Up the Rim" and I'm sure that was the whole idea.

The thing about contests now is that on the inside of the packaging there is a PIN which you then have to register online to find out what you won if anything.  But first you have to register at a website and give them your name, e-mail, address and then look forward to many a junk mail.  I remember the good old days when you looked under the cap of your Pepsi or on the inside of your chocolate bar or chip wrapper and it would say if you won.  Instant gratification!  It's too much of a hassle to do all this PIN number & website business I wonder if all these prizes are getting claimed or not.

Since Honeycomb guaranteed me that I was going to win I registered all my info on their website and put in my PIN to see what I won.  Yes, I won!  Unfortunately, it was a free Puretracks download, just one download of one song.  Can't I at least have one album?  I looked around Puretracks for about one minute before I closed the tab which means my free download is up for grabs.  Grab it fast before anyone else.  Does anyone else even read this

Puretracks^® PIN code: 9882903931

Puretracks^® serial number: 3637501

The old college try.

After the debacle that was my last post I figured I should e-mail Fiona and apologize or something.  I went to her website, but she doesn't have her e-mail address listed on it.  But let it be known that I tried!

Funny books

If it's the end of April then it's time for the annual Calgary Comic Book Expo.  Last year I went both Saturday and Sunday, but this year only went Sunday because there wasn't that many people I want to go see.  They double the size of space, yet there were still a lot of people crammed in there.  It seemed like every time I saw something I wanted to look at like twenty showed up to stand right in front it.  When we first walked in we walked by someplace selling some vintage G.I. Joes and I wanted to get a original plain old blue Cobra grunt or "The Enemy" as labeled on the package.  I went back to find the table later and couldn't find it!  I wandered around that place like fifty times and couldn't find it unless it was just my imagination.  I'm getting old.

As I said there wasn't that many people I wanted to check out, but I did get a few things signed and got a couple sketches, but that is about it.  I didn't even spend that much money which is cool because I can spend it on some other stuff I don't need.

Every year the Expo puts out an art book with stuff from the guests with the proceeds going to charity.  In past years it was done with a "western" theme, but this year they went with a sci-fi theme.  I picked up my book and never really even looked at it, but just got a few artists I liked to sign it.  After I went home I had time to look at it and there is lots of cool stuff in it.  I wish I had a few more of the artists sign their pages.  I was getting a sketch book and signature on my art book from local artist Gerald Garcia and he asked me if I ever filled an entire art book with signatures and I was like, "No, I'm not that ambitious."  That is too much work!

Mini Marvels!  I got my Mini Marvels signed by writer/artist Chris Giarusso.  You may have seen his work when I posted a commission he did for me of the Punisher.  I also got him to do me a Spider-Man sketch.

The comics above are signed by colorist Christina Strain.  You'll notice the Mary Jane ones are also signed by artist Takeshi Miyazawa making them twice as cool.  Daughters of the Dragon is also signed by writer Jimmy Palmiotti.

Tiny Titans signed by Art Baltazar.  I picked up my art book after getting him to sign this and forgot to go back and get him the art book.  Oops.  Nice guy though, and he was wearing a Superman costume.

A couple things signed by local artist Fiona Staples.  I tried to buy a $3 comic from her, but all I had was a $20 and she didn't have any change.  I said I'd come back later which I did with a $5 and she still have the change.  How unprofessional, that is the last time I ever buy anything from her.  Good thing Cody gave me $3.

The Mighty Skullboy Army signed by creator Jacob Chabot.  Another nice guy and mad props to him for recognizing my L4D2 Midnight Riders t-shirt.  FYI, the new L4D2 DLC is now out.   Take notice he drew a little Unit 2 aka the monkey in the bottom corner.  He also did the Marvel mini series X-Babies and he did me this kid Wolverine picture.  I also bought an old Spider-Man picture off him that for some reason he has had since 2006 and nobody wants.

I also got artist Marcio Takara to sign my art book and I got a Spider-Man sketch and a Invisible Woman print from him.

That is pretty much it.  There was a lot to do I guess and a lot of movie guests this year like Leonard Nimoy,  Brent Spiner, Malcolm McDowell, Billy Dee Williams and Lloyd Kaufman.  I didn't learn until about 5 minutes ago that Garry Chalk aka Vice Principal Grimes from Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins was there.  I totally missed out!

There didn't seem to be as many people in costume this year or maybe it just seemed that way because there were more people in general.  One of the best costumes I saw was some girl dressed as one of those blue aliens from Avatar which looked totally professional.  The best wasn't the fanciest, it was a little girl dressed as Hitgirl from Kick-Ass complete with cardboard knife.  I wonder if she even knew what the character was about because the comic and the movie are way too adult for her.

I carried all my comics around in a messenger bag and my back is killing me from standing/walking all day with a bag hanging on my shoulder.  I'm getting old.

??????????

Cody came home on Monday and saw my Moo Mixer and said, "Where did you get that?!"  Yesterday he went out bought his own and after trying it out set it on the counter right next to mine.  Now we can't tell which cup belongs to who.  I guess the only way to sort it out is to throw both of them in garbage and go buy new ones, making sure to label our own mugs.  Problem solved?

Chocolate milk!

One of the good things about living in Calgary is that I can miss someone's birthday and it's not a big deal because I wasn't "there".  Last weekend was Avery's birthday and since my dad is coming to Calgary in a few weeks I figured I'd better start looking for something for him to send back.  I went to Toys R Us, but didn't really see anything exciting.  I was looking for something he could use outside, but he already has a bike and my parents got him a scooter, so I'm running out of ideas.  Lawn darts?

I went up Bow Trail because there is an educational toy store up there I thought I'd have a look in.  They didn't have that much that looked interesting except maybe some marshmallow guns.  As I was leaving I spotted something that any kid or adult would love to have.  It's not really a toy, but you can still enjoy it.

A cup that mixes your chocolate milk for you and moos at the same time?  Sold!  It's a pretty neat idea, but I think I'll just give it to my sister for both Logan and Avery.   Kids love chocolate milk (or anything chocolate) and that fact that the cup moos is fun.  The Talking Moo Mixer features the mix, moo, and drink from the same cup convenience.  It runs on two AA batteries and has a nylon mixer that is safe for little hands.

 They also had a Supreme Moo Mixer which is a bigger cup, but lacks the "mooing" action.  I can live without the moo sound and like that fact that it's a big 10 oz cup, so consider it sold!  I'll save lots of money now that I can mix my own chocolate milk instead of buying the pre-mixed stuff at the grocery store.  Homemade chocolate is also such a hassle when you have to mix it yourself with a spoon. 

Ingredients assemble!

Adding the Quik.  Strawberry Quik can also be used.

The chocolaty vortex of awesomeness!

The more you mix it the more foamy it gets.

When you add the milk you can't add too much or when you mix it, the milk will rise up over the edge of the cup.  Good thing it comes with a sip top lid, to prevent that.  But half the fun is watching the milk spin around!

The cup and base that hold the batteries could have attached better and the handle and wrap around B&W cow pattern are a cheaper plastic, but it does what it says it does and it does it pretty good.  I'm pretty happy with it.  While the box states it has a detachable base for easy cleaning, wouldn't it just be easier to mix some soap and water right in the cup to clean it?  I'm so smart...and lazy.  Finally, technology has brought chocolate milk into the modern age!

Protip

I got that spare cassette case I needed the other day.  I went to the thrift store near our place to get it.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any sealed blank cassettes, so I had to get a used one.  If this ever happens you and it probably won't, but if it does here is the way to get the best case.

I wanted a case that was all clear, not the really old ones with the black backs.  Since they were all old and used a lot of them were scratched and damaged.  The easiest way to find the best one is to go through them and pick out the the crappiest and/or most obscure albums. 

As always your best bet is to get something local or religious or both.  Most thrift stores will have some kind of religious albums in the form of records, tapes or CDs just because nobody wants them.  NOBODY!  That's why I got a Calgary Youth cassette in near mint condition.  I also recently picked up the OOP and hard to find Johnny Hanson Presents Puck Rock Vol 1, but the case was in rough shape.  While I was picking up a new cassette case, I also got myself a new CD case.

There you see it's local and religious and even still sealed.  They had like 6 sealed copies of it too.  My Johnny Hanson Puck Rock CD looks brand new and if anyone wants the Calgary Protestant Male Choir CD let me know as it's still lying on my floor somewhere.

Red with blue hands

Whhaaaaa?