Kev

Ok, that was an interesting day.

I went to bed way too late last night considering I had to be up at 3:45 to catch a 6am flight. I woke up to what I thought were snowplows early in the morning, but it turns out it was some tectonic shakin’ and bakin’. In any event, not a lot of sleep was had.

The cab showed up right on time, and I got to the airport to an empty US Airways kiosk, leading to a painless check-in. Ottawa still has the worst security screening layout for US flights, with this crazy merge lane for passengers with carry on and checked baggage. It’s irritating, but I cleared it very quickly.

It was in the security line that the first weirdness (well, unpleasantness) started. Ladies, some of you are just not built to wear low-riding jeans. I don’t care what people say about it being great that you’re proud of your body, if the rolls ooze over the sides and give you that Michelin Man look, it’s time to size up. Bending over every 30 seconds to pick up and move your bags along only compounds the problem. That said, you saved me from the uneccesary calories of an airport breakfast after I lost my appetite.

US Airways uses RJ’s to fly from Ottawa to Philadelphia. They’re kind of cramped, but tolerable for sub-sixty-minute flights. Because they’re cramped, you’re pretty much in your neighbours lap if you try and move around. My neighbour was oblivious to this fact, and insisted on trying to turn around in her seat to talk to the folks behind us, who were her travel mates. Irritating at 5:30, but not so bad.

The conversation is what killed any appetite I may have had left. Ladies, point two, please don’t discuss your last trip to the gynecologist in front of me at 5:30. I don’t wanna know, and my right brain really, really hurt me. I understand you may need to talk about it amongst yourselves, but please know you need not admit me to the club if I don’t know you very well.

I’m scarred now, and will probably never look at the Ottawa airport the same way again. Oh well.

Arriving in Philly was a trip. We flew over the naval yards, and there’s some pretty impressive hunks of grey metal their. The cab ride to my office was entertaining, with a big-pimping, dressed-like-a-gangster Russian who had nary a clue where we were going. I did get to see where the Eagles play – it’s right by the 95.

After driving around NJ aimlessly (yeah, yeah, the same can be said even if you know where you’re going there) for about a half hour I gave up on my driver, and he dropped me off at a local landmark (the mall), and my boss came to get me. Eventually, I did make it to the office.

The day was filled with calls, orientation, and shooting the breeze. I also had the best cheap chinese food ever. $4.00 for an egg roll, rice, a huge portion of spicy crispy chicken and peanuts on broccolli, and tea. Yum!

So now I’m back at the hotel after finishing a run, and there’s no restaurant inside, and I’m not feeling adventurous. They do have this thing called “The Market”, where they sell various junk and some real food. So, I got a fruit cup (very good), and a couple Michelob Ultras.

My closing thought of the eve is those couples you see battling intensely at the end of the night are not smiling because Michelob Ultra tatses good, they’re smiling because they successfully gagged it down and will now get their paycheque.

Ok, that’s unkind, it’s not that bad, but it’s not that good, either. Tomorrow I’ll stick with Corona, as the other beers are quite “industrial”.

Welcome to NJ, the state that was built in the seventies, and hasn’t really been renovated since.

…one more game, and gopher‘s boys will kick off March Madness as the number one seed. A win tomorrow will give them an undefeated regular season, as well as a probable unanimous #1 seed in the tournament.

No team has has finished the season undefeated and won the NCAA tournament since the 1976 Indiana squad. Here’s hoping the Illini break that streak this year (and I don’t care what the bookies say, UNC aint gonna make it).

Go Illini!

…

Update: In a textbook definition of the word “choke” as it applies to blowing a game, the Illini failed to score a single point in the last 3:23 of the second half and lost 65-64 to Ohio State. They’ll still be seeded number one, but Dee Brown was clearly thrown off his game by the crowd, and it makes you worry a little bit about how he’ll perform when the pressure is really on during single elimination play.

Words can’t express how much I’ve missed you every single day over the past eleven years.

Love, always. (you taught me that 😉 )

A nice little bit on some of the absurdity that can come with copyrights, and extensions that the idiots who pass laws down South keep popping in.

Unhappy Birthday to everyone. 🙂

I’m guessing the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is pulling out all the stops in retaining its customers after proving how competent they are. I dropped my CIBC Aeroplan card three or four months ago because, at the time, I wasn’t doing enough travelling/spending to make it worthwhile. I keep getting statements because up until yesterday I owed them three cents.

That’s a story in itself, I’ll just leave it with the fact that I called their toll-free line and spent 5 minutes waiting to hear that yes, they did want their three cents from me. Fair enough, that’s what online banking is for, and it’s not up to me to tell them that a three cent writeoff would have been a couple orders of magnitude cheaper.

Tucked in with my last statement there was a bill insert. Bill inserts are those pieces of paper stuffed in with your bill that you almost never read. Companies know this, which is why they put any fee increases, bad mojo they’re about to pull, or anything that may piss you off in there. The statement was entitled “Take control of interest charges on your CIBC VISA card.”

Essentially, CIBC visa cards are no longer offering a grace period on interest for new purchases if you carry a balance. It used to be that you got a few weeks interest free, but no longer, unless you have a balance-free account from the month before. Starting April 1st, if you carry any balance from the previous month, you will automatically be charged interest immediately on new purchases. The only way the grace period kicks in is if you had a zero balance account from the month before. Because of this, you must maintain a zero balance account month-to-month in order to take adantage of any grace period.

It’s not a huge amount extra for the individual, but it’s just a cash grab for CIBC. Aggregate the few bucks per account that does carry a balance, and it’s some significant cash. Somebody realised that this was a wonderful way to increase revenues without having to provide any benefit to the customer, and away they went.

In the same flier, they push their pre-authorised payment service so you can always pay the full amount month-to-month and not have to worry about it. I was about to renew the Aerogold card, as I’m travelling more and could use it for hotels and meals and such. With this little change, which is clearly just a money grab, I will not be renewing. I do see their point of view, and to a degree would probably agree with them, but I know they’re not doing it to improve service or the customer experience, so fuck ’em.

If you live in Quebec, this change doesn’t apply, probably because there’s still a regulation prohibiting it.

Asshats.

So after reading grrl‘s latest challenge, I got to wondering how many covers of (what I believe to be) the song in question there were. I used my favourite resource, and discovered the artist’s website actually tracks who’s covered what songs commercially. The answer to my question stunned me: ninety-two. Then I thought about it, and it is a damn good song. I’d like to hear Matchbox 20’s version, but am not willing to buy a DVD just to listen to the cover.

That’s a lot of covers, and those are the ones she knows about. There’s some interesting bits in there, and a lot of the covers are notations on bands who performed her stuff in concerts. The one I think I’d like to hear is A New Found Glory’s cover of “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” (seriously).

Now, if I could only get my head around the logo game.

What are your top five cds of all time? I’m really curious.

I get this question a lot, and have always meant to have a short history on the subject. Here it is:

A long, long time ago, on a university campus not so far from here, a small incubator company was born. Its founders had convinced the federal government that they should try this cool new thing called the interweeb to connect schools (and their students and faculty) together. The project was called Schoolnet, and what started as a contract to architect how Schoolnet would be constructed turned into several projects and a start-up called Ingenia Communications.

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Ok, seriously. What’s with all these references to getting old from the pups? Did people take a creaky pill this weekend, or is it just because it’s the end of February and we’re all about ready for a spring rejuvenation?

I wasn’t feeling old today (still don’t, but I’m wavering).

Today was one of those cold and snowy days where I couldn’t shake the cold, so I’m finishing the eve with a wee dram of an Aberlour 15 year-old (whisky) with a Sherry Wood finish. It’s a good way to finish the evening on a warm note.

And yes, I know whisky can be an old man’s drink. Shaddup.

If coop is old, what does that make me? I’m curious in that “oh look, a cement truck” kind of way. I’d say axe is not allowed to answer, but he wouldn’t listen, and where would be the fun in not getting smacked down after leaving the door wide open?

Saturday night coop and Kristina had their annual tobogganning party at the Bruce Pit in Nepean. I actually managed to go down the hill a number of times, usually with little control, but a much higher success rate than a previous attempt.

There were a variety of plastic and metal conveyances to send us merrily down the hill, and I think we all managed to get snow in places you wouldn’t expect to get it. After a couple of face-first runs where I learned not to use my knees or rib cage as a shock absorber, I managed to have a number of successful runs. I think I was still running up the hill at the end, but really can’t recall. It was a good time, and the only damage I did was aggravating a separated shoulder from Phauleeg.

Following the sledding, we headed back to kris & coop’s to enjoy some tasty beverages (Absolut Raspberri, tonic, and frozen raspberries is recommended), a bite to eat, and some gorgeous pictures from Bora Bora. Oh, and there may have been a good conversation or two in there, too.

A very nice way to spend a Saturday evening. Thanks, guys!