That's my stapler

Memories from Kelowna

2006-06-24T09:28:00.000-06:00

Here are the most memorable things from the golf trip to Kelowna (those that I can remember) : Everyone trying to produce the MMF (Most Memorable Fart) Walking a mile past our street on the way back from downtown Gino's podcast from Cheetahs - which is available here Stanley Cup Finals Game 6 Not seeing Auggie for the entire time we were on the hole at Predator Ridge that had the sign "keep

Things I learned from my trip to Sou Cal

2006-02-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

Things I learned from my trip to Southern California this month: Voice navigation systems are more patient then I am when my wife just turned 3 blocks too soon : "you have left the route, a new one is being created for you now" I should become a weatherman in San Diego: "75F with a chance of clouds, today, tomorrow, ..." I should always carry business card There are women who look like Christie

Last day

2006-02-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day of my contract at a major Telecommunications Corporation in Western Canada. As is my tradition, I've created a list of memorable things about my stay that I may or may not miss. This is not a top ten list as I'm sure I will add to it. Please feel free to comment or ask questions. RUDY ? Learning that you don't want to sit by people doing support while you're trying to do

The Lunch Kit

2005-10-22T20:28:00.000-06:00

The stapler's father-in-law retires next week... It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Arnold's lunch kit on November 4th, 2005. The lunch kit came to life 39 years ago, when Arnold, in his early 20's, accepted a job as a Partsman. The lunch kit was first lovingly, and then grudgingly, packed by his wife, Cathy. In the 70's and 80's small bits of leftover lunch and

Vacation - A New Word

2005-10-06T18:50:00.000-06:00

My youngest is in pre-school twice a week. She enjoys "going to school" immensely. The other day, she told my wife that her new best friend in her class won't be there next week. "She is going on a va-ca-tion" - she informed her mom as she carefully sounded out this new word/concept. D'oh. Has it been that long since the last vacation for the stapler family ?

Brother can you spare change for parking?

2005-09-19T20:08:00.000-06:00

In Edmonton, one of the booming cities in Alberta, there are many people attracted by the opportunities that await those willing to work. But there is also a social network for those that come here and can't find work for whatever reason, unlike what we saw in the southern United States recently. It's not a perfect system, but there but for grace of god go I. So once in a while I do offer a

More quotes I enjoy

2005-09-14T20:45:00.000-06:00

Managers are essentially secretaries who can fire you. --Theophile Escargot If it smells like a CR, sounds like a CR and causes a change to the code that is "done", isn't it a Change Request and not a "design clarification?" -- That's My Stapler at his day job (two weeks to go before Integrated Testing, we hope) RUDY ? (Are You Done Yet?) -- That's My Stapler co-worker (A greeting between

Revising Natural History

2005-09-13T15:00:00.000-06:00

If you go the Museum of Earth History in Eureka Springs - Arkansas, you will walk through exhibits depicting Eden and learn that all life on Earth was created about 10,000 years ago. Dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time, but they perished because of hunting and habitat loss. The museum's "exhibit fact sheet" lists the details of their dinosaur exhibit. They claim that the bones

Forty

2005-09-11T04:00:00.000-06:00

This week's post is a re-post in honour of my friend that just turned 40.... A number that's all. Like thirty or twenty. But a milestone none the less. This week I "turned 40" and entered midlife. We all should be so lucky to reach 80 !? But it doesn't seem like a promising future with the aging population and the ever increasing burden on health care services. The bozos in government seem so

Fellowship

2005-09-01T20:39:00.000-06:00

These go to 11 pointed out to us that the tragedy in the U.S. gulf coast is not completely comparable to the Tsunami devastation. All too true, but New Orleans is sinking ... into the depths of hell and anarchy ? Last night an ABC news reporter asked a man who was obviously looting : "Do you think this is okay/right to steal these things?!" He answered with the fact that there were no police

Vandals destroy garden

2005-08-27T14:25:00.000-06:00

Today Mrs. Stapler gets her letter to the editor published - because the local paper didn't (yet) publish it in their weekly edition. : I address this letter to the inconsiderate individuals who drove through the vegetable garden at Graminia School: One day after school, several girls gathered at Graminia School to plant a vegetable garden.

The Little Guy

2005-08-25T20:43:00.000-06:00

There are many shops and restaurants downtown Edmonton, but not all of them are run by the independent businessman or mom & pop. Recently, as part of their emergency operations procedures, the major telecommunications company in western canada that I work at decided that they would provide lunch and dinner to their employees/managers that backfilled striking/locked-out union workers. For the

The Watch

2005-08-22T21:50:00.000-06:00

Today, from my cubicle at a major telecommunications company in western canada, I saw the police block all north and south bound traffic on 100st - in front of the hotel macdonald on the edge of the river bank in Edmonton. Rumour has it that Brad Pitt and his latest conquest (or hers?), Angelina Jolie would be in town 'soon' for the filming Brad's latest movie : "The Assassination of Jesse James

You might be my neighbour if

2005-08-16T20:06:00.000-06:00

It takes you 5 hours to cut your 1 acre of grass on the lawn tractor 3 times a week You don't wear a shirt while cutting your grass (see also #1) You have an old Edmonton Transit bus and 7 cars on your lot/acreage Your dog freaks out when it sees me while I am in my back yard (100 yds away) You send your kids out to expend all their energy on the trampoline at/near the same time

Dog Days of Blogging

2005-08-14T21:37:00.000-06:00

If you follow this blog, you may have noticed that not much has happened here for the last couple of weeks. Or maybe you were doing other things besides staring at the computer screen all day - like enjoying the odd day in Alberta lately that actually was "summer-like" (global warming where are you now ?). As an aside, I've often wondered why I (now) live in a country/province where you need to

Don't be photo radar sheep

2005-08-01T15:00:00.000-06:00

The city of Spruce Grove, Alberta (west of Edmonton) has announced their photo radar program, using the same company that runs the controversial program in Devon : Effective 1 August 2005, the City of Spruce Grove will be employing Laser Photo Radar Technology within its City limits to reduce speed and increase public safety. Hand held Laser Radar will continue to be operated by the RCMP and City

Summer Prairie Storms

2005-07-29T20:00:00.000-06:00

People who I have met when we lived in the Southwest United States and East Coast have told me that the weather is so drastic where they live that you can "wait 5 minutes and the weather will change." I always told them that they have never been through a summer in Alberta. Here in Edmonton (and Calgary), storms roll off the mountains/foothills quicker than you realize. Tonight's forecast was

The Future is Hostile?

2005-07-28T20:55:00.000-06:00

Telus on Wednesday applied for a BC Supreme Court injunction to try and block the Voices for Change website from posting pictures of their employees crossing picket lines. Meanwhile, an Alberta court issued an interim injunction that prevents the posting of any pictures on Internet websites with the intent to harass or intimidate Telus employees crossing the picket lines. While I personally

The Bert Level

2005-07-27T22:47:00.000-06:00

The Threats & Protection - Advisory System created by the US Department of Homeland Security was supposed to be an easy way for Americans to understand the current level of risk of terrorist attack within the country. It appears that the creators of the system were re-using the classic colour levels created by park wardens of national parks (US and Canada) to convey to visitors/campers the

Voices for Job Security

2005-07-25T22:58:00.000-06:00

I couldn't ignore this any more. I wasn't going to blog at all about my latest contract assignment at a major telephone Company (Telco) in Western Canada but ... I haven't confirmed this news yet but I will tomorrow morning at my desk. It has been reported Telus has decided to block a website (Voices for Change) run by members of the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU). The Edmonton Sun

White Trash Bash 2005

2005-07-23T18:20:00.000-06:00

Tonight is the second annual white trash bash at our friend's trailer. white trash bash 2004 Find Your white trash nameYour Redneck nameThe BoonerYour Hell Raisin' Buddysporkle7Your Favorite Nascar DriverRusty WallaceYour Pussy friend that likes Jeff GordondaychokesnightBeer of ChoicePabst Blue RibbonWhat you do for a livingOfficial Boobie inspector What you do on a Saturday nightBang yer

Just a bill

2005-07-19T22:12:00.000-06:00

Some bloggers out there would have you believe that the implementation of a bill to discourage party switching by MPs would be a bad thing, as they claim that we vote for people, not political parties. Well, I understand that if I vote for a Liberal in Alberta, even if I thought s/he was not a crook, it still would become an affirmation of the ruling party's scandalous misuse of our tax funds (

Blogging for $$$

2005-07-18T20:21:00.000-06:00

Darren @ Problogger posted a blog about how much money he was making through Google's adsense program. It got slashdotted (linked by a news site and then it was overwhelmed by thousands of instant viewers. See also flashcrowd : a theory from one of my favorite authors). His most recent post reveals the amount of the cheque (Aussie Dollars?) that he alluded to in the first post : You’ll see from

Problem Dog Owners

2005-07-17T20:41:00.000-06:00

Dogs bark. I know that. They bark for many reasons - but most of the ones I've ever had issue with bark because their owners are too stupid or apathetic to realize they are the cause. My wife and I have moved many times in the 15+ years we have lived together - everywhere we've lived, there has been that neighbor that is blissfully unaware that rover/fluffy/spot/buddy or napoleon is bothering

Netscape

2005-07-14T23:04:00.000-06:00

The 10th anniversary of the initial public offering (IPO) of Netscape Communications Corporation is next month. The IPO was the 3rd largest in Nasdaq history and even Google has been called the "son of Netscape" - most likely in reference to the same early innovations, high flying stock prices and promising future. Of course, Google's IPO was released to the common folk, unlike Netscape's. I