October 2005

I rented Kingdom of Boredom…I mean Kingdom of Heaven and I must admit I thought it would be pretty good based on the story and Director Ridley Scott. Well it does have some good characters and good actors it lacks any cohesive story or character development. With over 2 and half hours to work with you would figure some character development would occur.

The bad guy Guy de Lusiignan in the story is neither likable or hated I was indifferent toward him and found he do not leave an impression. I think there were too many characters vying for screen time making it difficult to appreciate any of the characters. The main character Balian (Orlando Bloom) did little to add to the story. Overall the movie suffered to much from poor characters and not focusing the story.

Aargh gives Kingdom of Heaven a 1 out of 5.

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You scored as Goofy. Your alter ego is Goofy! You are fun and great to be around, and you are always willing to help others. You arn’t worried about embarrassing yourself, so you are one who is more willing to try new things. Goofy 81% The Beast 63% Sleeping Beauty 44% Pinocchio 44% Peter Pan 44% Donald Duck 38% Snow White 38% Ariel 31% Cinderella 25% Cruella De Ville 25%

Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego?
created with QuizFarm.com

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OTTAWA (Reuters) - Perhaps one of the toppings was caviar.

Opposition legislators grilled Canadian Immigration Minister Joe Volpe in Parliament on Tuesday after learning that he had spent C$138 on a pizza dinner for two and charged it to his expense account.

The ruling Liberals are struggling to overcome the damage done by a government patronage scandal and are regularly accused of presiding over rampant corruption.

“I have heard of extra toppings, but this is ridiculous. When the most expensive item on the menu is C$34, how did he manage to spend C$138 for two people at a pizzeria?” asked Conservative Member of Parliament Rahim Jaffer.

Volpe replied that he had been carrying out consultations on how to improve the immigration system — an answer which Jaffer found unpalatable.

“Either he ordered some very expensive wine or maybe he ordered a lot of take-out or maybe he is a very generous tipper,” Jaffer fumed.

The head of the Royal Canadian Mint — who earned C$277,000 a year in salary and allowances — quit last week after it was revealed that he and his aides had racked up a vast amount in expenses and that he had put the cost of a C$1.29 pack of chewing gum to his official expense account.

How stupid are people do they really believe that in this day and age of technology they can just slide these things through, maybe in the past but no more.

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Hockey has returned and I for one am glad I did not think I was going to get so excited by the return. I have been looking forward to watching the game and seeing how the changes have impacted the game. I was able to watch several pre season games but the games did not have the intensity of regular season games.

The games tonight were exciting and even though I am a Hockey Purist I enjoyed the shootout, I just hope that a playoff series is not decided by a shootout. The crackdown on clutching and stick use does make the games flow much faster. It is only the first night but I am excited by the prospect of exciting games.

I also see a lot of parity in the league so mistakes on the ice will cost teams dearly and I think the Northwest division is probably the best and toughest in the league.

Since I am Flames fan I really excited to see the changes they have made while keeping a good core to build upon. Yes they did lose tonight but I do not think we can make any judgments until about 15 games into the season as the players get accustomed to the changes and we get a better idea of how the new rules will impact play and allow the league to make any tweaks they find necessaary.

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Which OS are You?

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Well I have heard from several people who have tried to watch TV at my place that it is too difficult to turn on and figure what remote to use. So I say Phooey to all those people….hey just kidding. So I did some research and found a Universal remote that you connect to your computer and setup and update online.

I had a look and was impressed with Harmony line of Universal Remotes. They have a large variety of remotes which use single button controls to accomplish the different tasks I was needing for my system. I got the Harmony 628 version of the remote.

To turn on the TV, watch a movie or listen to music I push 1 button and the remote completes all the changes required. The remote is simple to setup and make changes and even allows custom setups to provide the user with whatever controls they require.

So far I am impressed with ease of use and setup.

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When it was all said and done Tara and I had traveled over 15000 kms on our trip. It did not seem like that much but the Odometer does not lie. On the trip we passed through 9 States on the way out and 8 states and 4 provinces on the way home. It was lots of driving but well worth the trip and gave me lots of time to think about things.

Thanks to everyone who allowed us to visit and stay with them. We enjoyed ourselves and I am still amazed at how well Tara traveled and got along with all the animals, cats and dogs we encountered. She is just happy being around people and does not mind spending time in a vehicle. I am glad I decided to drive and bring her with me.

We visited alot of different places and had lots of adventures, I guess as soon as I come down from the trip I will figure what is next.

Pictures will be up soon.

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What is Spina Bifida? Spina Bifida is a Latin term meaning ‘open spine’. Medically it refers to a birth defect where the spine does not form completely . The Spina Bifida defect may leave several vertebrae deformed in such a way as to expose the spinal cord. The exposure of spinal cord usually results in some damage to it at the point of exposure. Damage at some point along the spinal cord results in limited brain signals to and from muscles and body organs below where the damage has occurred. Limited communication to and from the brain to muscles and body organs frequently results in reduced development of normal body function. Although spina bifida is originally a skeletal defect, there are a significant number of directly related conditions which precipitate from the defect in the spine. People who are born with spina bifida frequently have one or more related defects.

More info is available from the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association of Canada

The Spina Bifida I was born with is called meningomyelocele which is the most severest form. Because the nerves are protruding outside the protective bone tube their is damage to nerves. So what damage did I have from my spina bifida, well when I was born my parents were told I would never walk and as is I did not walk until I was 4 years old but I am walking. Also I have little to no feeling or control of my left leg and foot.(It is strange a Doctor can stick a pin in my foot and I will not feel anything but I still feel it when I stub my toe). I went through numerous surgeries from the initial surgery at 6 hours of age to major spinal surgery in 1980 to release my spinal cord so that I could continue to develop.

So why am I writing about this now? Good Question I think about it quite often but I do not dwell on it and I am certainly glad that I am ok and able to live life to the fullest (At least I try to live it the best I can). I am appreciative of the hard work and dedication my Mom and Dad showed in ensuring I had all the treatments I needed and even so much as my Mom crawling around behind me and making sure I completed all my exercises as ordered by the doctor.

Please do not get me wrong I am not looking for sympathy that is the last thing I want or need. I just felt lately as I have had a lot of time to think that I wanted to say thanks to everyone who helped and supported me especially my Family and writing about this maybe gives people some more insights into me.

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