Someone mentioned America’s Dumbest Criminals the other day at coffee, and it reminded me of a story from highschool. Some of you might have heard this already, but I’m going to tell it anyway.

Grade 9, I’m in my Grade 10 algebra class (not advanced or anything, but I managed to take algebra 9 in grade 8 etc…) Anyway, the phone in the class rings, and the teacher taps me on the shoulder, telling me that I have to go to the principals office.

At this point, I’m pretty nervous. I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong, but being called to the principals office is pretty daunting, especially when you’re in grade 9 (the highschools here go from grade 9-12, so I was in my first year at that school.) When I got to the principal’s office, I was kind of interrogated about an event that happened in shop class, but they were pretty vague about it, and I didn’t have a clue what they were getting at. I suppose that was a good thing, since that meant that I wasn’t involved.

Turns out that one of my classmates had stolen money out of the shop teacher’s wallet, during class. I don’t remember the exact amount, but we’ll call it $150 US. The shop teacher was apparently going to buy some supplies from a US vendor or something strange like that - for whatever reason, he had a wad of US bills in his wallet, prior to our class, and did not have a wad of US bills in his wallet after our class.

After interrogating everyone in our class, they hadn’t determined who the culprit was, though in retrospect I think they probably had a pretty good idea. Anyway, fast forward a couple of days, and a certain individual attempts to exchange US money for Canadian money at the school cafeteria. Not only that, but he tried to exchange the exact same dollar amount that had gone missing from the shop teacher’s wallet. Not only that, but this individual was in my class. Not only that, but when they approached his parents about it, they found all kinds of shop tools with the school’s name on them at the kid’s house. Truly not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Nice guy though, just had a bit of a thieving problem (apparently)

After that, shop class was like a lockdown. We were doing the electronics part of the class, and I don’t think a single person in the class finished their project, because we had to ask for permission to move our chair, and sign out the air that we were breathing. Seemed odd at the time, cause the guilty party was no longer in the class, and it still seems odd now.

If not for that event, I would likely have wound up an electrical engineer or something, but instead I wound up in Computers. I likely wouldn’t have taken Latin, and wouldn’t have met Erin, and all kinds of very important things wouldn’t have happened at all, and my life would likely be very very different.

It’s funny how you can find those “TSN Turning Points” in life.

Simpsons quote of the day: “I’m sure Einstein turned himself a lot of colours before he invented the lightbulb.” - Homer

I found a link to a “Mensa Workout” on Blahblog. I’m a bit of an IQ test junkie, so I took it. I scored 26 out of 30 on it, and should have had two more. The other two are just not the kind of problem that I’m good at - I can’t unscramble words to save my life. Other than that, I didn’t have any troubles at all with the test (though I screwed up a couple of simple ones just because I rushed through it in 15 minutes - I suppose I could have spent some time unscrambling the words, and had a shot at it, but I’ve gotta go get lunch yet.)

This is one of the better IQ tests that I’ve seen online, as it tests thinking ability more than others that I’ve taken - most of them test too much on knowledge, and not much on thinking ability.

Tonight is the premiere of “Andy Richter Controls the Universe.” I’m looking forward to it, because Andy is one of the funniest people I’ve ever seen, and since he left Late Night with Conan O’Brien, the show hasn’t been the same. Plus, I have an autographed photo somewhere around the house (unless I threw it out.)

Simpson’s quote of the day: “Rod, Todd…this is God. Walk through the wall, I will remove it for you.” (Ow.) “Later…” - Bart

I went over to a friend of Rob’s to play Roborally on Saturday. If I haven’t subjected you to Roborally yet, you’re really missing out on a good time. For whatever reason, Rob decided to buy some prizes at the dollar store, which he handed out. For coming in last in the first game, I won “Checkers” - the theory being that Roborally wasn’t working out for me, so I should try a new game. For coming in first in the second game, I won a “robot gripper hand” which is fun, but not as fun as it needs to be.

I think I’m going to take my robot gripper hand apart and modify it so that the fingers are individually controllable. I think that would make it more useful. On a side note, I think I’m going to try and track down one of the expansion sets, because the game was made that much more enjoyable by the expansion. The other thing I could do would be to try out one of the free software board designers that are available. Might be good for a larf. The other thing that I realized was that I don’t do that kind of stuff often enough. I think I’m going to have to set up some sort of regular game night or something - start out slow, like one a month or something, but eventually it would be nice to do it a little more often. I like games, and it’s a fun time.

Simpsons quote of the day: “We got more gongs than the breakdancing robot that caught on fire.” - Homer

Today is a pizza/pool lunch, so I won’t have time to make a post - that’s why I’m going to make a quick one just before 8:00.

Anybody remember all the He-Man stuff that they sold in the mid 80’s? This guy does. This article in particular discusses Mossman and Stinkor, and how wonderful they smell.

Simpsons quote of the morning: “Do not bother us, we are battling for the title of champion of the universe.” - Comicbook Guy

No time to post, just checking in this afternoon.

Well, did you check out Ink Links? It’s fun, isn’t it?

Simpsons quote of the day: “Why did this have to happen during prime time, when TV brightest stars come out to shine!” - Homer

I thought I’d go for a theme today. First of all, if you enjoy Pictionary or similar types of games, check out Ink Links which is a Shockwave game along those lines. It requires a pretty fast connection to play well though, so if you’re on dialup, I wouldn’t bother.

Secondly, when we were in Calgary, we drove past this billboard that had an ad for a local newscast. I wish I had taken out the camera, because the guy looked exactly like The Brain of Pinky and The Brain fame. Well, minus the big ears I guess, and I suppose he was a bit taller. I bet he wants to take over the world though.

Thirdly, I couldn’t come up with anything for Blinky. So Sue me.

Simpsons quote of the day: “I noticed your tail light was blinking when you made that left turn” - Chief Wiggum

Erin and I went to Calgary for the weekend, taking Friday and Monday off. You see, Sunday was Erin’s Mom’s birthday, and we planned a surprise from all the way in Saskatoon. Sunday morning, Erin’s Mom went out for brunch, expecting to meet up with a couple of people at the restaurant. When she got there, she spotted a lot more people than the two she was expecting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as surprised as she was. She said that when she walked into the room, she saw a woman who “looked an awful lot like Erin” and then was surprised to see a guy who “looked an awful lot like Greg” sitting next to her. It didn’t take long for the recognition to sink in though.

We managed to get some prints from the cruise done up at London drugs, and they turned out fantastic. I will have to post our “slideshow” at some point before I forget all my witty banter.

Simpsons Quote of the day: “I think I hate Ted Koppel! No wait…I find him informative and witty. Good night.” - Homer