Went to the Flames-Oilers hockey game wednesday. It was pretty good even though it was only a pre-season game.

The place was almost full and it was quite loud. It's going to be a fun year this year with the players and fans that we have.

A new cd just came out, they have 2 tracks for download, it sounds pretty good.

Wolf Parade


On another note, I just realized that I'm going to need to buy blinds and curtains for my place.... I curse those 8ft floor to ceiling windows now!

Here's an interesting article I read in the Herald about Alberta and it's wealth.

Sorry I don't have a link to it, you have to pay to access the online herald and it's a little long.

The underlying theme is basically the rest of Canada can stay away from our money, we've worked hard to earn it, especially all the program cuts we endured in the 90's. The National Energy Program in the 80's ensures that we will never let Ottawa equalize our wealth again. (just google National Energy Program, it destroyed Alberta for many years)

"Ralph in fine form for East" by Charles Frank

" ...Not only have we been able to retire our provincial debt - leaving us the only province in that position - but with an anticipated surplus that could be anywhere from $6 billion to $9 billion by fiscal year end, the premier and his cabinet are making plans to return about $1.4 billion in rebates to happy Albertans before year end.
And the premier acknowledged Friday - in a move that will undoubtedly inflame eastern passions even further - that the rebate cheques could continues "for years" if oil prices stay high
It comes as no surprise then that in recent weeks, eastern Canadians have been making noises about everything from "getting their fair share" of Alberta's resource windfall to "nationalizing our petroleum industry" to changing the equalization formula that has helped the nation's have not provinces keep their financial noses above water.
Whether easterners will be ready to hear what a feisty Klein has to tell them - that if they want to enjoy the kind of prosperity that Albertans are enjoying, they will first need to get their own financial houses in order - will be interesting to see.
Asking people to tighten their belts has seldom played well in the Maritimes, Quebec or Ontario. Neither has telling business owners and operators that they will have to change their ways if they want to succeed in what some economists insist is a new economic paradigm.
However, at least one business leader, Canadian Manufacturers president and chief executive Perrin Beatty, is adamant that easterners need to pay closer attention to what has been going on in Alberta and then be prepared to make some hard decisions.
"Simply put, the choice is whether to envy the Alberta Advantage or to emulate it," he told 130 business and political leaders gathered in this mountain resort.
He left little doubt what would be the best option. Hint: envying us is not the right option.
Beatty pointed out that the much talked about Alberta Advantage is much more than a "happy accident of geography." "Residents of this province long ago recognized that its resource wealth was neither limitless nor sufficient in itself to ensure the prosperity of future generations, so they have concentrated on the fundamentals: paying down debt, diversifying the economy, investing in physical and social infrastructure and building a business friendly environment."
He's right. Or as the premier pointedly noted: "Even today's high energy prices wouldn't have prevented a debt that stood at nearly $23 billion in 1993 from growing to over $65 billion today."
Unfortunately, there remains an ingrained belief in other provinces that Alberta's current rosy fiscal health is entirely the result of a "windfall" energy bonanza and no the combined by-product of rising energy revenues and reduced or refocused spending. Nobody knows the true story better than Premier Klein. After all, it was the premier who presided over what were arguably some of the most controversial and acrimonious cost-cutting decisions in Alberta's history.
Not all of those decisions were good ones. I expect even the premier will acknowledge that.
But now Klein is running a province that is reaping the benefits of being well positioned to take advantage of dramatic changes in the global economy - and he's damn proud of what his government has accomplished under his stewardship. How he explains all that to our eastern cousins will be fascinating to say the least"

Well, that was an error, got a haircut that ended up being $50..... with no color....

Anyways, I'll be selling my old Neon Genesis Evangelion set on Ebay this weekend. If anybody wants it, let me know before Sunday when I'll post the auction.

It'll be all 8 DVDs + box + the 2 Director Cut DVDs.

I don't expect it will sell enough to cover my haircut. (going price is like $40 CDN, I paid much more then that for it) :(

OPEC releases 2 million barrels of oil a day but a day later Hurricane Rita is about to the gulf coast again. Last time I checked, it was a catagory 5 storm.

It's suppose to be more damaging then the Katrina one. Hopefully people can get out in time and there won't be any deaths.

Btw, price of gas will go up, I would recommend filling up today.

Somebody gave me their pre-season tickets against Edmonton next wednesday. It costs a whopping $107!

But I'm excited, it'll be fun even though it's only a pre-season game.

Can't wait.

Sorry, been a boring couple of days.

I've been looking at getting HDTV for awhile now. Trying to choose between Bell ExpressVu and Shaw Digital.

I went to a Bell ExpressVu Retail store, they clinched it, I'm getting shaw.

AT: "How come these rates are higher then the ones on the internet?"
Bell: "These are the new September 30th rates, since you won't get your satellite for another 3-4 weeks since we're behind"
AT: "Alright, I only want to rent for 1 year, because I'm moving into an apartment that doesn't let satellites installed on the side. Can it be installed indoors?"
Bell: "No, it won't go through the glass"
AT: "Really?"
Bell: "Yes"
AT: "So if I pay installation now, I'll have to pay it again when I move right?"
Bell: "Nope, you don't have to pay again"
AT: "Really?"
Bell: "Yes"

I walked out.

I didn't realize I looked that gullible. But Bell offered 10 HD channels, and Shaw only offers 6, and I can rent the Bell equipment. I would have to purchase the shaw equipment and that is quite pricey....

Note to self, do not associate a girl's dream with a toaster....

"A girl can dream right"
"That reminds me, I found my dream toaster the other day"

Bush
Chris Rock

Phone call with a pharmacists from Shoppers Drug Mart

PH: "Hello, your prescription is covered under your plan and will cost $17"
AT: "alright"
PH: "When would you like to have your prescription?"
AT: "Anytime is ok"
PH: "Anytime today?"
AT: "sure"
PH: "How about tomorrow morning?"
AT: "That's ok as well"
PH: "Yeah, that would be better for us, then we can make it better for you"


ummm, do I want an inferior made prescription? What kind of question is that? If you can't make it by today, just tell me that.... Don't give me an option of a inferior made but earlier prescription vs a "well-made" later prescription.....

Anyways, I thought that was kind of funny.

After reading some more articles on the Nano.

In my earlier post, I talked about how didn't really make sense for Apple to replace the Mini line with the Nano. These articles say it's a genius move because all of the competitors were targeting the Mini and now Apple has effectively removed that target.

That is genius and devious.

Wow.... Agassi and Blake... what a match.

Encore today at 9am MST on TSN.

Well, the apple release of the nano was announced today.

Not sure what to think of it. Apple has the Nano replacing the Mini which doesn't really make sense to me. I would think the Nano would do better replacing the Shuffle.

The Nano is much smaller, holds 4Gb for the price as the 6Gb Mini. Also I'm not sure how hard it will be to use the touch wheel on the Nano. I comfortable with the touch wheel on the Mini and can't imagine it being smaller. The smaller size will make it nice to exercise with, currently I don't even consider exercising with the Ipod Mini.

I do believe that the Nano will make all 1GB MP3 players extinct if not they will need massive price drops. For $250CDN, you can get a 2GB Nano with Color display. The Creative Labs MuVo 1GB goes for $229CDN. Easy choice there.

It'll be interesting to see if Apple can keep their Audio dominance up over their competitors.

I'm still troubled by the whole situation in New Orleans. Something about it just doesn't seem right.

For something more upbeat James Blake

He'll be playing Agassi this Wednesday.

Saw Transporter 2 yesterday, I don't normally pay to go to the theaters but a friend wanted to go.

I would rate the movie a 2 out of 5. Better then the first movie, which was incredibly good until the chinese actors appeared.

Here's some reviews of Transporter 2

For the victims of Hurricane Katrina, please donate to the Red Cross

I was watching the news last night about the disaster relief, and the question was brought up that if the area was populated with richer white people if relief would be quicker.

Now, I don't know the situation so I can't comment on that directly, but if Canada had a disaster that affected an Asian community I would be more passionate about helping them. On the other hand, if it affected a non-Asian community, I would still be inclined to help, but I wouldn't be as passionate about it.

Would this be considered racists? I don't think so, if my friends or co-workers were affected, I would definitely help them with all my effort. I believe it's more of having something in common with people that enables you to feel for them and help them out. Unfortunately race and background is one aspect that people relate most to.