Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.

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Friday, December 25th, 2009
dan_raccoon	1:01p	Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season in the warm presence of friends and family alike, and a joyous and prosperous new year. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good...er...day! :p -Dan Raccoon Current Mood: chipper Current Music: Andy Williams- Song for the Christmas Tree (1 Comment |Comment on this)
equusmaximus	1:21a	Humour: Christmas with Louise Here's an old joke (long story) that my Mom Emailed me a couple of years ago.  I hope folks enjoy! As a joke, my brother used to hang a pair of panty hose on his fireplace the night before Christmas. He said all he wanted was for Santa to fill them. What they say about Santa checking the list twice must be true because every Christmas morning, although Jay's kids' stockings were overflowing, his poor pantyhose hung sadly empty. One year I decided to make his dream come true. I put on sunglasses and went in search of an inflatable love doll. They don't sell those things at Wal-Mart. I had to go to an adult bookstore downtown. If you've never been in an X-rated store, don't go. You'll only confuse yourself.    I was there an hour saying things like, "What does this do?" "You're kidding me!" "Who would buy that?" Finally, I made it to the inflatable doll section. I wanted to buy a standard, uncomplicated doll that could also substitute as a passenger in my truck so I could use the car pool lane during rush hour. Finding what I wanted was difficult. Love dolls come in many different models. The top of the line, according to the side of the box, could do things I'd only seen in a book on animal husbandry. I settled for "Lovable Louise." She was at the bottom of the price scale. To call Louise a "doll" took a huge leap of imagination. On Christmas Eve, with the help of an old bicycle pump, Louise came to life. My sister-in-law was in on the plan and let me in during the wee morning hours, long after Santa had come and gone, I filled the dangling pantyhose with Louise's pliant legs and bottom. I also ate some cookies and drank what remained of a glass of milk on a nearby tray. I went home and giggled for a couple of hours. The next morning my brother called to say that Santa had been to his house and left a present that had made him VERY happy, but had left the dog confused. She would bark, start to walk away, then come back and bark some more. We all agreed that Louise should remain in her panty hose so the rest of the family could admire her when they came over for the traditional Christmas dinner. My grandmother noticed Louise the moment she walked in the door. "What the hell is that?" she asked. My dad quickly explained, "It's a doll!" "Who would play with something like that?" Granny snapped. I had several candidates in mind, but kept my mouth shut. "Where are her clothes?" Granny continued. "Boy, that turkey sure smells nice, Gran," Jay said, trying to steer her into the dining room. But Granny was relentless. "Why doesn't she have any teeth?" Again, I could have answered, but why would I? It was Christmas and no one wanted to ride in the back of the ambulance saying, "Hang on Granny! Hang on!" My grandfather, a delightful old man with poor eyesight, sidled up to me and said, "Hey, who's the naked gal by the fireplace?" I told him she was Jay's friend. A few minutes later I noticed Grandpa by the mantel, talking to Louise. Not just talking, but actually flirting. It was then that we realized this might be Grandpa's last Christmas at home. The dinner went well. We made the usual small talk about who had died, who was dying, and who should be killed, when suddenly Louise made a noise that sounded a lot like my father in the bathroom in the morning. Then she lurched from the panty hose, flew around the room twice, and fell in a heap in front of the sofa. The cat screamed.  I passed cranberry sauce through my nose, and Grandpa ran across the room, fell to his knees, and began administering mouth to mouth resuscitation. My brother fell out of his chair and wet his pants. Granny threw down her napkin, stomped out of the house, and sat in the car. It was indeed a Christmas to treasure and remember. Later, in my brother's garage, we conducted a thorough examination to decide the cause of Louise's collapse. We discovered that Louise had suffered from a hot ember to the back of her right thigh. Fortunately, thanks to a wonder drug called duct tape, we restored her to perfect health. Louise went on to star in several bachelor party videos. I think Grandpa still calls her. Current Mood: amused (2 Comments |Comment on this)
equusmaximus	12:06a	Merry Christmas to All...       Here's wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas, and all the best in 2010!       It's five minutes to midnight here, and Trixstir and I have just finished the last of the wrapping.  That's what happens when you leave it until Christmas Eve to even get started!  What a crazy year it's been; I've never seen a year shoot by so quickly!      We made a quick trip to town today to check the mailbox, and to see if my order from Sears had arrived.  Turns out it did arrive a couple of days ago, but they used my old phone-number (from Calgary) as the tracking number, and the clerk didn't bother to check by name, so she didn't see it.  Today however, she did check by name, and there it was!  Yay!  Also got a nice suprise in the mail from Enmax; The lady I spoke with last week was true to her word, and the refund cheque arrived today!  Double-Yay!  :)       We had our little feast of perogies with the heavy mushroom/cream sauce, and as usual I spent the next hour or so moaning and groaning as it sat upon my stomach like a lead balloon!  It's delicious, but it's so rich and heavy that it's a bit hard on the stomach.  I'll have to post the recipe (it's very simple!) a little later on.       We also watched the original "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", and then "Shrek The Halls" before sending the Kidling off to bed so we could finish wrapping.  There's not as much under the tree this year, but we're all together, healthy, happy, and a little too well-fed!  No complaints here...  :) Current Mood: happy (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, December 24th, 2009
swift_fox	10:30p	Happy Christmas to you one an' all! Gladdest tidings to everyone for a safe and happy Christmas! Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!" *hugs* Swift & Silaria Current Music: Name that Christmas Carol! (8 Comments |Comment on this)
cargoweasel	5:46p	Happy Life Day Everyone (7 Comments |Comment on this)
furrhappens	11:42a	3 New Suits! Been pretty busy with catching up suits, setting up the new company, Christmas, a part time job, and the works! Gosh I haven't even had time to post up the latest suits until now. So here they are and enjoy! Acme Calico Cat, JoeySparks the Pikawolf, and Mondscheine Dragon!          More pictures at www.FurrHappens.com ! Acme's bodysuit had over 100+ pieces and was a definite test of patience to put together. Joey has LED's in his cheeks that light up, and Mondscheine has tons of UV airbrushing, and glows with spots and highlights when under black-light. Thanks everyone for your patience so far with my move ^^. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! Current Mood: giggly (9 Comments |Comment on this)
cargoweasel	9:17a	The New Golden Age Of TV Dramas We're in a new golden age of dramatic television. The 2000s has seen a flowering of quality in the world of TV dramas, due to three factors: premium cable channels looking for upscale audiences (AMC, HBO) and the availability of the DVD box set, and the influence of interactive entertainment as show creators have, consciously or not, been influenced by video games and vice versa. The DVD box set has changed TV's business model, to excellent effect. Think of how shows are sold: An advertiser buys time on a network or cable channel while the show is meant to attract viewers to watch and hopefully see the ads. The business transaction is between advertiser and network. Your eyeballs are the product sold to the advertiser. This is how it works in traditional TV and still does for most shows. But recording a show on a DVR and fast-forwarding the commercials subverts this model, and everyone tivos now. So we get more and more annoying bugs and screen banner ads and weird timeshift interruptions and other hacks designed to foil DVR viewing and preserve the business model. But then the show's producers package and sell a DVD season box set of a show for anywhere between $35 and $50. All the ads are gone. It's a pure experience you can control. The business transaction now has nothing to do with advertisers, it's between the show's creators and the viewers. It's by far my favorite way to watch a show, just in a few days' worth of total immersion in the show's vision and world. Then you go to the Internet and discuss it with other people. The forums on places like televisionwithoutpity.com have tons of really cogent and perceptive commentary. It prompts re-watching and engagement long after the immersion period. Then the next season comes out and it's time to fall in love with the show all over again. These TV shows are our shared cultural texts, something like Mad Men taps into the zeitgeist in a way that novels used to in the 19th century and movies don't have the length and depth for. A "season" of a TV drama is like a good novel, with enough space on the canvas to really flesh out even minor characters in a way movies can't. You KNOW Lt. McNulty or Tony Soprano or Ben Linus or Don Draper in a way you can't know a movie character. But dramatic TV shows, even modest ones are expensive and you still need networks to underwrite the initial production expense. The major networks are usually hypnotized by the low production costs and short term profits of a successful reality show - British TV has fallen prey to this bigtime. But the premium American cable networks such as HBO and AMC are competing with each other for viewers and made the commitment to invest in quality dramas - attracting an older, wealthier, more educated set of eyeballs for their advertisers. And then perhaps the DVDs sell better than the show's initial ratings run, and the resultant prestige (and zeitgeist-tapping) increases the value of their network. So HBO and AMC are in this cycle now. For the same reason movie studios will put money into Oscar-winning movies with low box office returns, prestige is valuable. But there's another important factor - VIDEO GAMES. Look at the parallels between a modern, major-release video game (for the sake of argument, Batman: Arkham Asylum) and a DVD box set of a season TV show (let's say LOST Season 5). They're in a similar price point, 40 or 50 bucks, less if you buy used. You're looking at around 20 or 30 hours of entertainment from either. Each has special features and value enhancements to wring additional hours of entertainment out of the game or show - (directors commentary, or DLC, or side missions, or hidden puzzles). Each one demands careful viewing and attention. You won't get anything out of LOST being a passive viewer with it on in the background. And Batman is cinematic enough that you can watch someone else play it and be just as engaged. LOST specifically is heavily informed by video games aesthetically, the whole show has much in common with classics like MYST. LOST is full of puzzles and clues and internet forums are ablaze whenever a new episode airs. All that serves to keep viewers engaged and thinking about the show when it's not on, so that when the new season comes out after a year long break they're excited. And the long break between seasons gives new viewers a chance to catch up, because you have to watch most of these shows entirely from the beginning straight through - something very difficult to do without the DVD box set. It's an interesting time. I think video games and TV shows will keep converging, the story writing of video games will improve as they take their cues from quality dramatic TV, while TV will take the viewer-immersion tactics of video games to its own levels. I'm curious to see what the 2010s hold for all this stuff. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
equusmaximus	11:42p	Another task completed...        Another busy day, catching up on things that should have been done long ago, but at least they are done now.   The main things today were: Clearing the last of the odds-and-ends out of the Living Room, installing the blinds on the Living Room window, and installing a cat-door on the Master Bedroom door.       I had to go into town today because there was supposed to be a package for me at Sears, but the clerk said there wasn't anything, even though the computer said there was.  They're expecting a truck tomorrow, so hopefully the stuff I'm waiting for will be on it.  :/   I also had to go in because Trixstir forgot that today was the day that the Pepsi driver was supposed to make a delivery at the bowling-alley.  Due to the heavy snowfall warning in effect for the area, we hadn't planned to open the alley today, and it was only at the last minute that Trixstir remembered the delivery!       Since the Explorer is currently the only vehicle with proper snow-tires, I headed in to meet the driver.  He wasn't there when I arrived, so I kept myself busy shovelling the sidewalk.  We had purchased a small electric single-stage snow-thrower for this task, but it turns out that the thing is a lot smaller than the box makes it look, and it's essentially useless.  No question, it's going back to the store.  Why anyone would even bother marketing such a device is beyond me.  We pretty much have to stick with an electric machine because there's no place at the bowling alley that we can safely store a gasoline-powered machine; the only place with enough room is the furnace room, and only a complete idiot would put a gasoline-powered machine next to a furnace.  :/       The Pepsi driver arrived just as I was finishing the sidewalk, and as he brought the product into the bowling alley it dawned on me that Trixstir had the company cheque-book back at the house!  Fortuntely, the Credit Union is only a couple blocks away and I was able to just get the cash to pay for the order.  Pepsi is definitely screwing us over though; We pay $32 for a case of 24 710ml bottles.  Plus tax, plus deposit, plus eco-fee.  The last three are kind of a moot point, those have to be paid regardless of where you buy the product.  But...  $32 for a case of 24?!  I can go to Wal-Mart, and at full retail price I can get 24 710ml bottles for under $16 !!!  Now granted, Wal-Mart has a lot more buying power, but that's rediculous!  If Pepsi won't cut us a better deal I'm going to see about switching over to Coca-Cola (providing we can get a better deal from Coke.)       I got back home around 5:30pm, which is when we got the Hunter-Douglas blinds put up, and the cat-door installed for Ginger.  I still didn't get any holiday baking done (doing that tomorrow, for sure!) and the tree isn't even set up yet!  Yeesh...  Ah well, it will be set up in time for Christmas, though this is sure cutting it close.  I remember the story "The Little Fir Tree" though, and it would seem back in the Days of Yore, that the tree wasn't set up until Christmas Eve, and (if it didn't catch fire from the candles and burn the house down) it was tossed out on Boxing Day.  We generally keep ours up until Ukranian Christmas.       Speaking of which...  I've got the ingredients ready for our traditional Christmas Eve meal:  Perogies, and a heavy mushroom-cream sauce.  We should be serving fish too, but I think I'll pass on that this year.  If Mom were here we'd do it, but apparently Mom's going to Vernon BC to spend Christmas with my cousins, and my brother is going to be in Davidson Saskatchewan of all places!!!  Mom called this evening from Golden BC (Greyhound bus had a rest-stop, I guess) to tell me all this.  I asked her why on Earth a city-boy like my brother would be travelling in this kind of weather to a small prairie town like Davidson, and it seems there's a girl involved!  Oh-ho!!!  ;)  First I've heard of this development, but it must be semi-serious to warrent such a trip.  As I understand it, this is a "meet the parents" kind of thing.  Hmmmm...   Interesting times, to be sure!       Can't recall if I mentioned it already or not, but we also got the Dining-Room table set up (at last!) as well.  This house really is quite a large place when you get all the boxes cleared out and things set up and put away properly!  The Living Room is a lot bigger than we remembered, and we got our first fire going in the fire-place tonight.  Only real problem was that this one has a heat-exchanger built into it; it draws in cold air from below the hearth, heats it around the fire-box, and then vents it back out through slots in the brick-work above.  Nice, simple system actually.  Except that it's full of Lord-Knows-How-Old dust, and if you think it's bad when the furnace kicks in after being dormant all summer, that's nothing compared to a dusty fire-place heat-exchanger!  I should take the air-compressor to it along with the shop-vac and see if I can't clear it out.  Tomorrow, maybe...  IF I have time after the baking and tree-decorating and gift-wrapping... Current Mood: tired (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
equusmaximus	11:39p	Stolen from Leslie...       Because leslie_r  did it first...  :) Proxima's Zanpakutō: Proxima carries Sapphire Man sealed into the form of a paintbrush. At the command "Sunder, Sapphire Man!" it transforms into a gleaming bo which has mystic symbols painted on the shaft. It gives the wielder great skill with the weapon. What's Your Zanpakutō? Current Mood: silly (Comment on this)
cargoweasel	6:33p	Yep. This is every freelance graphics/web design job ever. EVERY ONE. (12 Comments |Comment on this)
equusmaximus	2:10p	My arms feel like rubber...        There was a Winter Storm Warning in effect here today, and we did get another inch or so of snow.  There might be more coming, but at the moment it's not snowing, there isn't any wind, and the temperature is hovering right aroung the freezing mark.  Worst problem there is that it makes for slippery roads due to the melting/freezing/melting/freezing cycle...         In any case, the biggest problem I'm facing at the moment is that the driveway is getting harder and harder to find; There are snow drifts on either side of it, and if you slip off the driveway you wind up in the ditch, and it's rather hard to get out again (as noted last winter when my truck and trailer got stuck!)  So, I've got eight of these driveway markers with a little solar-powered light and reflectors to mark where the actual driveway is.  Problem there is that they come with cheap plastic spikes, which easily break.  Ok, not an issue - use steel rods driven into the ground, and slide the hollow posts over them.         Great idea, but it would have been a lot easier to do this back in say, October, or even early November before the ground froze!       I spent a little over half-an-hour out there with a handheld post-pounder (originally meant for pounding T-posts) trying to drive the spikes into the ground.  The ones a little further back weren't too bad, but the ones at the front of the driveway not only have to drive into frozen ground, but they also have to deal with all of the gravel in the area.  They would have been difficult even in the Summer, but now in the winter it was almost impossible!  With considerable effort, I managed to drive them about five inches into the rocky, frozen ground.  They seem to be pretty solid, so I think they'll stay put.  The ones further back went in easier, and they're about eight or ten inches in.  I only got four of the eight set up, but that will do; The end of the driveway is now marked, and about half-way down is marked.  Stay between the reflectors, and you'll stay on the driveway.  Ideally, I'd like to set one of these things every ten feet or so.  Next time they come on sale, I'll buy a bunch more of them, though I don't think they'll get installed before the ground thaws again.       I've been back in the house for about two hours now, and my arms still feel like rubber.  Typing this has been very difficult, and I can't much of anything.  Even a plate with a sandwich on it is in danger of being dropped; My arms themselves aren't so bad, but I can't grip or hold on to anything.  It doesn't hurt, thankfully, and I can feel my strength slowly returning, but whooo...  I'm tapped!     I still need to clear up some more stuff, and see if I can't get the Christmas Tree out of wherever we buried it in the basement.  Reminds me of Christmasses at home: Everything was always so busy and hectic (in adult years) that it wasn't uncommon to be setting up the tree on the 23rd!  %)   Current Mood: accomplished (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, December 21st, 2009
equusmaximus	12:06p	Fruitcake Recipe        It took me a while to find this again, but I was able to dig up an old Fruitcake Recipe.   I got this from the GEnie network way back in 1995!  It's a favourite, so I hope everyone will enjoy it. You will need the following ingredients: A cup of Water A cup of Sugar Four large eggs Two cups of Dried Fruit A teaspoon of Baking Soda A teaspoon of Salt A cup of Brown Sugar Lemon Juice Nuts and most importantly, a bottle of high-quality Whiskey. Now that you have you ingredients ready, here's how you put it all together: Sample the whiskey to check for quality. Tkae a large bowl.  Check the whisky again.  To be sure it is the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.   Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again. Make sure the whiksy is still OK; cry another tup. Turn off the mixer. Break two large legs, add to othe bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Mix on the turner.  If the fried druit gets stuck in the baeterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the whiksy to check for tonsisicity. Sift tow cups of Salt.  or something.  Who cares? Check the whisky. NOw sift the lemon juice and strain the nuts. Add one table.  Spoon.  Of suagar or somthing.Whatever you can find. Grease the oven.  Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Dont forget to beat off the turner.  Trhow the bowl out the window. Cjeck the Whiksy again, and go to bed.           Cheers!       <hiccup> Current Mood: drunk (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, December 20th, 2009
cargoweasel	6:52p	Alternate Names For Colonel Quaritch In Avatar Slab Bulkhead Fridge Largemeat Punt Speedchunk Butch Deadlift Bold Bigflank Splint Chesthair Flint Ironstag Bolt Vanderhuge Thick McRunfast Blast Hardcheese Buff Drinklots Trunk Slamchest Fist Rockbone Stump Beefgnaw Smash Lampjaw Punch Rockgroin Buck Plankchest Stump Chunkman Dirk Hardpeck Rip Steakface Slate Slabrock Crud Bonemeal Brick Hardmeat Rip Sidecheek Punch Sideiron Gristle McThornBody Slake Fistcrunch Buff Hardback Bob Johnson Blast Thickneck Crunch Buttsteak Slab Squatthrust Lump Beefrock Touch Rustrod Reef Blastbody Big McLargeHuge Smoke Manmuscle Beat Punchbeef Pack Blowfist Roll Fizzlebeef (source:mst3k) (5 Comments |Comment on this)
swift_fox	3:38p	[Annual Post] "Twas the Night before Yuletide." As has been tradition every year on the day before Midwinter, deep in a warm earth, Father Fox passes down the classic story of Santa Fox with his excited little kits while Mother Fox looks on with a smile. ( Twas the Night before Yuletide. ) (Comment on this)
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
equusmaximus	11:45p	An accomplished day!        Today was even better as far as getting things done.  To wit: Moved Trixstir's computer from family room into Master Bedroom (Christmas Tree will be going into the vacated space) Cleaned behind/under stove, since we had to move the stove to get Trixstir's computer-desk past it and down the hallway. Removed dead mouse from under stove.  Suprisingly we hadn't been able to smell it, and it wasn't really "rotten" like that one in the Kidling's room a while back... Got our proper bed set up in the Master Bedroom, which cleared up a lot of space where the parts had been sitting in storage. Got more shelves up in the Master Bedroom Washed all the bed-linens, so newly set-up bed will have all nice clean linens. Cleared up some more clutter, moving and more neatly stacking boxes of stuff in what will be the guest room. Got the Christmas lights around the horses' paddocks working.  Pretty!  :) Spent a couple of hours with the horses, fuzzling and snuggling.  Bonnie is getting friendlier as she's starting to learn I'm not going to eat her. Fixed the door on the Master Bedroom.  The latching was off by nearly half an inch!  That is, the hole that the latch fits into, and the metal part that fits over it, was almost half-an-inch lower than it had to be, in order for the latch to catch!  I used an aggressive wood-boring bit to chew an extra half-inch higher hole, and now the door latches perfectly! Vacuumed up lots of dog-hair.  The Dog is getting a proper grooming brush for Christmas! Had a nice long hot shower to relax and be all nice and squeaky-clean to snuggle down into the nice freshly-laundered bed linens on the newly-reassembled bed. Had a large mug of hot-chocolate while reading Friends' List, and updating this journal.        Definitely a good day!  :) Current Mood: accomplished (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, December 18th, 2009
equusmaximus	10:44p	Minor progress...        Finally got around to one of the minor, but important repair jobs at the house; There was a section of the subfloor in the master bedroom that had "expanded" for lack of a better word when I applied the BIN paint to it.  That part was also the area that had been badly contaminated with cat-urine, so I think there might have been some kind of reaction.  In any case, I finally took a belt-sander to it, using the coarsest belt I could get.  It made short work of the problem, and I then repainted the spot.  Tomorrow we'll finally be able to move the bed out of storage and get it set up again.  Of course, it will all have to come apart again in the Spring to put the hardwood down, but at least this is a good start.       A "Newcomer's Club" has been started in Shaunavon, with a "newcomer" being anyone who moved here in the last five years.  We were invited to join, and tonight was the first meeting.  They had a pretty good turnout, with more than 20 people showing up.  The guest speaker was from the regional economic development board, and the future is looking very bright for this area!  It seems that nearly half the people in the room came from Calgary, so at least we're in good company.  The age-range covers the whole spectrum, from the mid-late 20's to the seniors.  We closed the bowling alley early this evening to attend the meeting, and it was well worth doing so!  I think we've made the start on some new friendships, and made some business contacts as well.  Overall, a very good evening! Current Mood: chipper (4 Comments |Comment on this)
swift_fox	3:10p	RUN, PANIC, SCREAM!! RUN, PANIC, SCREAM!! Oh God No! FA is down again! Woe is me! Woe is me! Current Mood: silly Current Music: The Chicken Dance (19 Comments |Comment on this)
equusmaximus	1:54p	Since everyone else is doing it... Letter to Santa! Dear Santa... Dear Santa, This year I've been busy! Last Saturday I got in line at the supermarket at the same time as someone else and I didn't yield (-8 points). In May I put money in baby_carlie's expired parking meter (14 points). Last Sunday I set tauvix's puppy on fire (-66 points). In September I helped ozzyfox hide a body (-173 points). In August I ruled Asscrackistan as a kind and benevolent dictator (700 points). Overall, I've been nice (467 points). For Christmas I deserve an XBox 360! Sincerely, equusmaximus Write your letter to Santa! Enter your LJ username:   Current Mood: silly (1 Comment |Comment on this)
cargoweasel	2:50p	Et Tu, Garrison It's been a bad month for idols with feet of clay. First there's Obama and the whole healthcare mess, then James Randi turns out to be a global warming denialist (with a half-assed followup). And now good old Garrison Keillor, a guy I generally respect, takes up arms in the War on the "War On Christmas", railing about "all those lousy holiday songs by Jewish guys that trash up the malls every year, Rudolph and the chestnuts and the rest of that dreck. " So he's prefer, what, mandatory flagellation? I dunno. I'd be happy to leave Christmas alone as he wishes, if it wasn't being forced down my throat every year. I can't walk into a store without a faceful of O Holy Night. Christains are never more pathetic than when they're shrieking about oppression while utterly dominating national culture. Your savior was nailed to a damn cross, and you people are like the princess who can't sleep because there's a pea under your giant stack of mattresses. Garrison Keillor, suck my balls. (52 Comments |Comment on this)
equusmaximus	1:41p	FAIL Enmax!        Back when I lived in Calgary, my utilities were provided by Enmax, the city-owned utility company.  Overall, my experience with Enmax has been a positive one, but when it comes time to close off your account and get any settlements made, they sure give you the run-around!  If you're just moving within the city, it's easy; Give them the new address and they switch it over and you're done.  Not so easy when you've actually moved away completely and no longer need their services.       My house was sold, and taken over by its new owner on August 17th, 2009.   It took them until October 22, 2009 to get the final billing and corrections done, despite the fact that the readings had been called in to them on August 16th.  They accepted the Electricity reading on August 18th, and credited me back for power not used.  The gas, on the other hand, although it is billed through Enmax is actually supplied and the meter read, by Atco Gas (who have a monopoly on gas distribution, BTW.)  Atco continued billing me for gas until September 05, 2009.      Enmax also charged me $8.98 for a "late payment charge" for not paying them when they owed me over $300.00, the account had been closed, and I was waiting for my settlement cheque.  The final statement was issued on October 22, 2009, showing a credit of $297.38 being owed back to me.       Skip to December, 2009....  Where's the refund?  I called them today to find out what's going on, and I was told, "Oh, you never requested a refund be sent to you."   HELLLLLO?!?!   I thought I made that very clear in the multiple phone calls I made to them since the house was sold in August, trying to get this paperwork sorted out!  Did they think I was just going to forget about it, and they could spend my refund on a round of extra drink for the office party?   Grrrrrr......         At any rate, I spoke with "Marta" this afternoon, and she's put in a Rush Request to get the cheque out.  It should be processed by tomorrow morning, and sent out right away.  Probably won't get here in time for Christmas, but she said I should have it by December 30th (this year) at the lastest.  Let's hope so!      (is anyone else having problems with LJ's Rich-Text editor not putting in blank-lines lately?) Current Mood: annoyed (2 Comments |Comment on this)
alfafox	10:22a	Cold, What Cold? ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (5 Comments |Comment on this)
alfafox	8:22a	X-posted from FA - Finally some time since MFF ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) Current Mood: busy (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
equusmaximus	11:51p	Feeling much better now...        Thanks to everyone for their well-wishes and virtual hugs...  Feeling much better today!  As is often the case, just getting some sleep often seems to hit the "reset" button and clear away those Moody Blues.  I think the abundance of sunlight today helped a great deal as well.  I don't get SAD in the more common sense in winter - I get gloomy whenever the skies turn grey, regardless of the season.  Guess I'm just Solar Powered, and without enough sunlight I just get run down.  The weather was a lot warmer today too (+4.8°c) so that helped a lot!          Today was pretty much the last day of regular League Bowling for this year; the next night would be on Christmas Eve (hard to believe it's only a week until Christmas!) and there's no way we're going to spend Christmas Eve in a bowling alley.  We only had five people show up; One of the seniors, and four young folks.  Good Lord can those kids drink!   They had at least 18 beers, and 14 shooters between the four of them over the course of the evening.  I thought mixing beer and other spirits was a bad idea, but they seemed to be able to handle it.  Maybe it has something to do with being young.  Since the most alcohol I've ever had was half a can of beer (in my University days) I have no idea what the effects of mixing your drinks are.  I just know that any amount of alcohol is bad idea for me.  Bleah...  :P         We had supper at Shaunavon Pizza & Chicken, as they were serving "Turkey with the Trimmings" for tonight's buffet.  That is, Roast Turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas, and gravy.  I really should not go to buffets, because I always eat too much, and wind up regretting it later.  I think that should be a New Year's Resolution: Stay away from the Buffets!         Also, finally got a long-overdue haircut today.  Only problem is that with my hair cut, my "baby-face" features are even more prominent, and no one's going to believe that I just turned 40.  Ah well, that's not always a bad thing...  :) Current Mood: full (1 Comment |Comment on this)
alfador_fox	1:19a	Gosh, it's been a long time since I updated this... @_@ So apologies to everyone who uses this as a way to keep up on how my life's going. I'm a bit sleepy so I'll give the quick rundown on recent events. Got laid off and am looking for work. Some of you may already have heard this; it happened back at the beginning of November. If you know a company that's hiring a programmer with few strong programming languages but the capability to learn a new one fast (especially if it's in the C/C++/Java-similar family), who desperately wants some experience with a USEFUL, CURRENT source management system (the one I used for two and a half years was already outdated when I got hired, but we clung to it tenaciously) and to work with a company that actually keeps their documentation... or a company that's hiring an Engineer In Training with an Electrical Engineering background but hasn't kept up on current knowledge (bad engineer, no dispenser)... let me know. zephontsol is now living with me. We were unofficially dating pretty much since Anthrocon or a little earlier... it's official now (well, as of him moving in back in October). With Zephie's help, our apartment has gotten far better organized and clean, and it just got even more official since today we got Christmas photos of us together to send to select family members (and separate photos for other relatives). Love my wuffie. Zephon and I managed to get the big freezer up and running, and a Costco run filled it to brimming with useful foodstuffs. The raid I'm in plowed through all four of the currently available bosses in Icecrown Citadel last Wednesday, the day after the patch came out. We got up to Deathbringer Saurfang as raid time ran out, and took a vote on whether to stay for a couple attempts, or call it for the night. Invisibo said only a unanimous Yes vote would have us staying. It was unanimous. Downed him on the second try. This week, we surpassed that achievement by not only getting two boss achievements in Icecrown (Boned and I've Gone And Made A Mess...) but finishing it and the weekly raid quest (XT-002) so fast that we ALSO polished off ToC Heroic with only two wipes. I got my third Trophy, and went ahead and bought two more pieces of T9 that just BARELY make up for the loss of the awesome 2T8 bonus... but I still need to get a new meta gem. Got a ring off Saurfang this week, though. A great staff dropped in the Tribute chest and I won the roll... but after some thought I passed it off to the beartank because I'm hopefully going to find a Battered Hilt soonish. Zeph and I went to see Fantastic Mr. Fox. We both came out with mixed opinions of it; he felt it was too clichéd and I agree, but I enjoyed it anyway because they pretty much seemed to be hanging a lampshade on most of their clichés. I thought it was overall fantastic *groan*. ;) I also finished A Boy And His Blob, Wii version, this week. I highly recommend it to anybody who wants to feel like a kit again. =^_^= Found a used copy of Metroid Zero Mission in the mall where we got our pictures taken, and unlike the Metroid Fusion cartridge I got, it actually still keeps save data (I think it uses Flash memory instead of the older battery-backed RAM). So there's fun there. That's about it for now. Sorry again that I went for so long without an update. I didn't fall off the face of the Earth and die... or if I did, I got better, as my icon shows. ;) Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: Argent Tournament theme (18 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
equusmaximus	9:03p	Oh bother....        While "Oh Bother" is an expression more commonly used by Winnie The Pooh, it's Eeyore that I'm feeling more akin with this evening.  I don't know why exactly, but every now and again I'll get hit with a bout of melancholy.  It's not severe, thankfully, but it's enough to be a bother.  There usually no rhyme nor reason behind these bouts, which makes me wonder if I don't have a slight touch of manic/depressive disorder.  I'm certainly not on the scale of a true manic/depressive, but I really hate these gloomy feelings.           I think, mostly, that they tend to be brought on by outside pressures; too many things happening at once, things that I can't control, which just tend fo frustrate me.  Perhaps I should try to remember, and live by, the words of the Serenity Prayer... Lord, grant me the Serenity to Accept the things I cannot change, The Courage to Change the things I can, And the Wisdom to know the difference.     If only it were that easy... Current Mood: gloomy (8 Comments |Comment on this)

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