WooHoo comments actually get emailed to me now, so if you comment, I know about it pretty quick. Why? Read yesterday’s comments to find out.

I’m learning a bit about PHP which is good fun, and I might even make some serious changes to the way comments are done here. I might allow <gasp> HTML formatting (though strictly controlled.) Part of it is that I didn’t think the code behind the comments was very complicated, but I wasn’t knowledgeable enough about PHP to make changes without risking big security holes.

Not to worry though, cause I’ll put a small instruction thing on there if/when I make the changes. Plus, you’ll probably see me testing things out before that happens (or maybe you won’t…)

I’ve had a bit of a problem with the website lately - specifically I think it sucks. Go back to the first month or so - lots of good funny stuff there. Since then I’ve descended into boring nothingness and lame links. Why is that? I blame the weather mostly. It’s too cold to sit outside on coffee breaks. Ok, that’s not it. I’m just lacking in the funny story department lately. Really, thinking back on it, there are only three or four really funny memorable posts thus far, with six months under my belt. Maybe I’ve gotta start making stuff up :)

Simpson’s quote of the day: “See all that stuff in there Homer? That’s why your robot never worked!” - Marge

Here are some links that I’ve been saving up. First of all - Apparently Animal Control in Denver is fighting a Smurf Infestation. I’ll admit that I didn’t read the whole article. The picture was just too good to pass up.

Secondly, I finally found a mission statement for this website. My goal is to harness synergistic users to synthesize visionary paradigms. I thought it was fun anyways.

A generic link to I Hate Computers, which is occasionally hilarious. Haven’t read everything there yet either though.

Simpsons quote of the day: “We can’t bust heads like we used to, but we have our ways. One trick is to tell them stories that don’t go anywhere. Like that time I took the ferry over to Shelbyville; I needed a new heel for my shoe. So, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on them. ‘Give me five bees for a quarter,’ you’d say. Now where were we? Oh yeah, the important thing was that I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn’t have any white onions, because of the war; the only thing you can get was those big yellow ones.” - Grandpa Simpson

I’m not sure what it is, but I have this ability to become invisible to waiters/waitresses. It happened again today, when we went to a local eatery for some mighty fine Fish & Chips (which is one of my many weaknesses) We sat there for ten minutes waiting for our waitress to show up, then when she did, she just took our drink orders. Another ten minutes, and we got our drinks, and ordered (three orders of Fish & Chips please) Ten more minutes, and we got our food. Then she pretty much left us alone. We ate, and waited for our bill, which didn’t seem to be forthcoming, so the other guys left their money on the table, but I needed change, so I went up to the counter, where I was told I “had to get my bill from my waitress.” Buh. I knew that, but she didn’t want to give it to me, because I’m invisible.

How do I know I’m invisible? Yesterday, the bus driver went completely by my bus stop. Lots of places this wouldn’t be a big deal, because there are stops every block, but in my case its actually 4 blocks, on the coldest day in over a month, four extra blocks is mighty perturbing. I walked the entire way shaking my head. I did ding the bell, and I was standing at the door a block ahead of time. Oh well, I hear that being invisible has it’s advantages - at least that’s what watching movies has taught me…

Congratulations to a certain guy at work who’s getting married - They’ve set a date and everything. He told one person, and it was across the office before he finished his sentence…

Simpson’s quote of the day: “Uh, putting speed holes in my car. Makes it go faster.” - Homer

Well, knowing that I’m going to be lynched for saying it - the hockey game yesterday wasn’t the best game I’ve ever seen. Hell, it’s not even the best game that I’ve seen this week. It was a good game though, with some fantastic memorable moments - for instance, the expression on Mario’s face, when he missed the open net on the power play, and couldn’t believe it himself. The skate halfway down the ice by Paul Kariya with a stick lodged in his skates. The fantastic undressing of the entire US team by Theo Fleury (If he’d have scored, they’d be playing that clip from now until the end of time…) Even the lip reading (both Steve Yzerman’s rendition of “I respectfully disagree with you, and call your parentage into question” and Gretzky’s exclamation of delight upon seeing the 4th goal go in)

There were a lot of things to recommend the performance of the Canadian team. They played hard, and they won. Despite what the shot totals would indicate, Canada outplayed the US for the first two periods, quite badly in several instances, but were unable to bury their chances (and thus their opponents) The third period was also lopsided, though more in the US’s favour. Fortunately Canada capitalized on their chances, putting the game away when it mattered.

As to why it wasn’t the best game I’ve seen this week even - there was some tough competition, because I personally rank the Canada Finland game as one of the best I’ve ever seen (notice, it still didn’t match up with some of the playoff games that I’ve seen) Good hockey all around though.

My theory on why the Canadians took a little longer to gel than the Americans? I know you’re all wondering what it is. Basically, my theory is that as a team, the US team has played together many times before. There are not that many elite Americans in the NHL, and the core of the US team has played together for many years (Modano, Hull, Chelios, Housley, Suter, Tkachuk, Roenick, Leetch, Richter, etc…) While in Canada, the constant turnover of talent means that only a handful of these guys had played as a team together before. Yes, you’ve got Yzerman, Sackic and Lemieux, but guys like Peca, Nolan, Iginla, and Smyth were very important pieces of the Canadian team.

Another theory - Why didn’t Roy play for Canada? My guess is that he didn’t want to have to watch what he eats quite so much - between dietary supplements, and off the shelf medications, I think being an Olympic athlete was too much hassle for him. That’s my theory at least, despite the fact that I’ve not heard anyone else even whisper it.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “I made a game of it. Seeing how many times I could bounce the ball in a day, then trying to break that record.” - Principal Skinner

Go Canada Go!

I did a bit of a refactoring of the site, so now you can choose different layouts as well as different colours. I’m planning on adding at least one more colour before the day is done, (there are currently 5) Hopefully everything will work out, and I can put that in place before too long.

Today is the Men’s Hockey semifinals - Canada vs. Belarus, and Russia vs. USA. I’m looking forward to the games, hopefully they’re half as good as the Canada Finland game.

As for the Women’s final yesterday - not much to say that hasn’t been said. My opinion however is that you shouldn’t attribute to malice what can be easily explained by incompetence. The US players were going down with only a slight breeze passing by them, so of course a bad ref is going to call penalties.

An interesting thing is that near the end of the first period, with Canada supposedly shorthanded, there were five skaters out there for a significant amount of time, and it didn’t get spotted…

No Simpson’s quote today, cause I can’t think of one, and I’m too lazy to look one up.

The hockey game last night was fantastic. Plenty of tension, and the right team ended up on top. I’ve previously equated hockey to a really good suspense/thriller movie due to the way tension builds, and momentum swings. Last night was a perfect example of that. Overall I’d say that Canada played well, with some good physical play, and excellent defensive zone play (with the occasional breakdown - eliminate those, and you’ll never get beaten :) Very entertaining to watch.

Who’s next? Belarus, tomorrow at 1:00 Saskatoon time. I will be home watching it - all who wish to watch are once again welcome. I will also host the final game (either Saturday or Sunday, depending on if they beat Belarus - don’t want to sound overconfident, eh Mats?)

Good luck to Canada on their quest for Hockey Gold.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “It’s my job to be repetetive. My job. My Job. Repetetiveness is my job.” - Bart