Huy's HomeTurf!!!@Home
Featured Role Model
Quote of the Day
Huy's HomeTurf!!!@Home News Posts
Search this blog:  
Previous Posts
Archives


Powered by Blogger
Blog RSS Blog RSS
FYI (for those losers who don't know that means, it means "for your information"): some posts have been removed (just from 2001 until 2003).
Don't know what some of the words I use mean? Click here for a complete glossary.
Monday, April 09, 2012
BREAKING NEWS: Visit Neechie Gear - Receive 10% Off Next Week!
posted by Huy Dang at
Neechie Gear
Have you been to Neechie Gear before? It's a Canadian brand with a social conscience! Run by my good friend Kendal Netmaker, Neechie Gear is outfitting youths across Canada and promoting the positive aspects of sports among youth! This Aboriginal award-winning company is continually making waves throughout Canada!

Neechie Gear's mission is to offer quality products that look and feel great. Their customers make it possible for them to support and develop the non-profit organization, the NG Athletics Club Inc. They highly value their customers and strive to provide excellent customer service.

Well, Neechie Gear has a special offer to those who visit this website. Starting next Monday, April 16, 2012 and ending April 20, 2012, you will receive a 10% discount. As long as you mention to Mr. Netmaker that I, or this website referred you, you will receive a 10% discount on any merchandise you purchase! It's great merchandise, so why not buy something from Saskatoon's best entrepreneur? Please note that this deal is only available at the kiosk, and not online!

Initially, the store was run online only, but the business has since opened up a retail location/kiosk at The Centre Mall in Saskatoon. Voted as Saskatoon's best entrepreneur of 2012, the retail kiosk is part of the prize.

So... drop by and say hello, then take advantage of discounted apparel!

More information on this partnership/deal can be found by clicking here.
Monday, March 26, 2012
BREAKING NEWS: Reverend Huy Dang Makes First Blog Update in Two Weeks
posted by Huy Dang at
Hello! It has been more than two weeks since I've last updated this blog, and I thought I should update this blog now, rather than later, to prevent a longer-than-necessary blog update! So... let's get started with the things I like to complain about...

The first thing I'd like to discuss is the use of the subjective phrase "our tax dollars." Well, an elected government has the right to set the tax rates that we presently pay. As such, when the government decides to use the money you pay them for whatever they'd like to do with it, you no longer have a say in what they do. If you don't like what the government is doing with what you've given them, you have the right to vote for another party or person once the next election occurs. As far as I'm concerned, once you give the government your money, it no longer belongs to you. It belongs to the government, which in itself can be considered a business. So, for those of you who refer to government money as "our tax dollars" with an emphasis on the word "our," you should cut it out, as you all sound annoying. And for those of you who think that your local city, province or federal government does not care about what you think, it's probably true... and you should stop caring. Why? Governing and making policy decisions based on public opinion is stupid, as public opinion changes way too easily.

The next thing I'd like to discuss is the recent NDP leadership race that saw Thomas Mulcair become the new leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada on March 24, 2012. For the party, it's logical, because he represents a Québec riding and he may be the person that can hold the momentum created from the "Orange Crush" that occurred during the 2011 federal election. But outside of Québec, he seems like a pretentious and arrogant elitist, which works out well for the Conservative Party of Canada. As for the leadership race itself, I thought the entire race was boring, and the only time it was interesting was when former leader Ed Broadbent (a supporter of Brian Topp) criticized Mr. Mulcair. However, even that was boring. At a time when it might be warranted and fun to start smear campaign against your own "colleagues," the NDP failed to do so. When it comes to picking someone to represent their party, the Republican Party in the United States knows how to do things right, as they are more than willing to attack their fellow Republicans through smear campaigns (such as ads from Newt Gingrich 'attacking' Mitt Romney). As for the leadership race's outcome, they could have done worse. As much as I dislike Mr. Mulcair, I'm glad they didn't pick someone as lame as Niki Ashton, who decided that it would be a good idea for the Government of Canada to directly produce generic drugs through a new Crown corporation. As for Mr. Mulcair's intentions to move a far-left party to the centre, I hope that plan backfires. Anyway, congratulations to him on winning the leadership, I guess. With this aside, please support a very good cause, then watch this informative video:



The next thing I would like to discuss is the death of the Saskatchewan Film Employment Tax Credit. The tax credit itself is part of the reason why Corner Gas was filmed in our province. Without the tax credit, a reunion of the show's cast, if there is ever one, is unlikely to be filmed in Saskatchewan, unless the tax credit is restored. Although I can appreciate the reason as to why the tax credit was scrapped, I am hoping its death is temporary. Speaking of Corner Gas, I have yet to travel out to Rouleau, Saskatchewan to check out the set, and would like to do so in the near future (hopefully this year). Speaking of that show, here are some of my favourite moments (in a particular order)...







The next person I would like to "talk about" is David Suzuki, whom I've considered to be a fraud over the last number of years. Recently, his "foundation," known as the David Suzuki Foundation has begun an online campaign to "tell the Senate to stop silencing environmental groups." Why? Because the Senate has launched an inquiry into the foreign funding of environmental groups in Canada. What's particularly interesting is that the David Suzuki Foundation has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in support from American foundations, according to the news article I've referenced. That fact right there makes me think that he's only complaining as a way of attempting to raise more cash money for his lame "foundation." So... does David Suzuki really care about the environment, or is he just finding ways to raise cash money for the David Suzuki Foundation? I guess we'll never know... but I don't believe anything he says anymore. In fact, I'd like to say that Mr. Suzuki is an absolute disgrace.

The next topic I'd like to discuss is the two-year sentence that convicted child abuser Graham James. In fact, I am so disgusted by the light sentence handed down by Judge Catherine Carlson that I will let someone else speak for me. In this article or opinion piece, the National Post's Kelly McParland says "The message Canadians can't help absorbing from the ridiculously light sentence handed to serial sex abuser Graham James is that the justice system doesn't think assaulting young people is a big deal." That statement alone is something I agree with, and I feel that Bill C-10: Safe Streets and Communities Act, cannot become law soon enough! There may be reasons for the light sentence, but Mr. McParland also says that you can't blame the judge for the light sentence, "But still she gave him a sentence that Canadians will have to interpret as a signal that sexual abuse of vulnerable young people is not viewed as a major crime. You can't really blame the judge for that: it's the way the Canadian system works." That second statement, right there, is another reason Bill C-10: Safe Streets and Communities Act cannot come into law soon enough! Now, although this seems like a real travesty (and it is), people in Canada have received lighter sentences for crimes worse than this. However, regardless of circumstance, I don't think two years in prison is enough time in prison for Mr. James, and I feel that Bill C-10 should be passed sooner. As for the time that Mr. James will be spending in prison, I highly doubt that he'll spend the entire two-year sentence in prison.

The last thing I'd like to talk about before I talk about my life in great detail is the ongoing dispute between the labour unions and Air Canada (eventually, an illegal strike occurred). As someone who has flown numerous times before, I prefer the seating arrangements with Air Canada, but the service with WestJet is much friendlier, despite having less comfortable seats, so it's a trade-off. As such, I have no preference as to which airline is better. However, in a time of bitter disputes between the union(s) and the airline, I officially side with the airline. Why? I've had a bad experience as a union member in 2007 when I was forced to be a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1400. Based on that terrible experience, I have despised all labour unions since that time. Sure, I believe in unions exercising their rights, as long as it doesn't annoy or affect me. However, if any government (regardless of political stripe) is willing to step in to prevent strikes from occurring in the first place or effectively screw over (by placing many restrictions on them) a labour union, I'm all for it. I'm also a big fan of back-to-work legislation and essential services legislation. In tough economic times such as... now, employees should be glad they have a job, even if they have to face restrictions on their pay and/or benefits, which forms part of the reason I am against labour unions, which often have unreasonable demands.

Well... moving on. It's now time to talk about my life in excruciatingly-great detail.

In my last update, I told readers of this immaculately-coded blog that I had taken my mom to the hospital on March 11, 2012 and that I would provide an update to you in the near future. As such, I will be doing that right now. On March 11, 2012, I took my mom to the St. Paul's Hospital because she had problems with her vision in her right eye. A doctor at the hospital determined that she may be suffering from a retinal detachment, which in short, is a hole in the eye. However, he was unsure, as he did not have the resources for a full check-up. So, we were sent to the Eye Care Centre at the Saskatoon City Hospital. After an additional check-up, it was confirmed by another doctor that she was indeed suffering from a retinal detachment and treatment was attempted with specific eye drops and the injection of a gas bubble, which also had to be administered at least four times a day. Furthermore, she was not allowed to lie down, meaning she had to sleep while sitting in an upright position. We were then told to return the following day to see if the treatment had worked. On Monday, March 12, 2012, we returned, only to be told that the hole/gash became larger, and an additional gas bubble was injected. There was also a hole developing in her left eye, and a gas bubble was injected in her left eye as a precaution as well.  We returned to the hospital on Thursday, March 15, 2012, and she had a laser treatment performed on her left eye, but the right eye wasn't quite ready for the laser treatment, yet. As such, we were told to see him again on Monday, March 19, 2012... at his office in the Medical Arts Building. At 9:05 am, we made it to his office and waited for more than hour. Once we left, my mom was told that she would receive a laser treatment in her right eye on Thursday, March 22, 2012. On March 22, 2012, we returned to the Saskatoon City Hospital for that additional laser treatment. Although that additional laser treatment meant that my mom's eyes are as "normal" as they can be, that does not mean that the days of not being able to lie down are over, as she has an additional check-up scheduled for March 29, 2012 (Thursday), which will hopefully be the final straw. I shall keep you updated. Throughout the hospital visits, however, there was one person I saw protesting almost every time I was there (it was a protest about pro-life issues, and there were also people there that were pro-choice).

Moving on... I have taken a lot of interesting pictures around Saskatoon lately. Here is a list of some of my favourites, in no particular order:

A lot of interesting things have occurred in the news as well. Here are some of "stories of note," in no particular order...

Now, it's time to talk about my life in great detail. For starters, the week of March 11-17 was a tough one. I was planning on spending the weekend of March 10-11 writing two essays that would be due on March 13 and March 15, respectively. Unfortunately, due to my mom's circumstances, that did not happen. During the week, my Twitter account was hacked. I also used this app to pinpoint where my car was parked on campus in an unfamiliar parking lot. When I returned to the lot, I was standing right behind my car, and I didn't even know it (it took me almost a full two minutes to figure this out). How sad is that? During this particular week, I decided that I am never taking a class on public policy again. March 16, 2012, however, was Tammy Poorman's birthday. She invited me to the new Hudsons Canadian Tap House on 21st Street East for her birthday party, but I declined, being the "anti-social" that I am (I actually had to work). St. Patrick's Day (March 17) happened to fall on a Saturday this year, which hasn't happened in five years. Sadly, I had to work... which is good, because I wouldn't be out causing trouble (not that I would be going out in the first place). This is the stuff  that occurred aside from my dealing with my mom's circumstances. As for the essays that were due that week, I took a 10% penalty on both of them and submitted them last week.

During the week of March 18-24, however, things were a little bit different. During the week, my mom's eye issue was still affecting that week. For starters, I encountered this interesting Kijiji ad riddled with spelling mistakes. I also finished a 2,000-word paper in under 90 minutes. And on Tuesday, March 20, 2012, I saw my friend Jennifer on campus. On another note, I went back to school that night and found a parking meter that had almost two hours remaining on it. I also made a couple of interesting bets with Larry Chen... click here and here for more information. I also finished my public policy paper for my POLS 328: Public Policy Analysis class. On Thursday, March 22, 2012, I got hit lightly by a Ford Escape on campus by someone who said they didn't see me. Naturally, I blamed this on Kati, who happens to drive a Ford Escape. I also "harassed" Esther's mom at work and then returned to school, where I parked underground and used an elevator to go up one floor... twice (up to the "ground" floor in the Agriculture Building from the underground parking lot and up one floor from the ground floor in the Archaeology Building). On Thursday, my work computer stopped working properly, putting me out of commission until further notice. On Friday and Saturday, I spent a little bit of time watching the NDP leadership convention that resulted in Thomas Mulcair being elected as their new leader. However, I never thought it could be so boring. Now, there's a show I used to watch on FOX known as America's Most Wanted. FOX decided to cancel the show and gave host John Walsh the opportunity to present the show to other networks that weren't in direct competition with them. Eventually, the show was picked up by Lifetime, which may or may not be available in Canada. If it were, I'm not subscribing to it. So, as a result of not being able to watch it on regular television in Canada, I have been forced to watch the show (each episode becoming available eight days after the episode airs) on mylifetime.com while using Ultrasurf and/or Hotspot Shield, as mylifetime.com is a U.S.-only website. Anyway, on Saturday, when I watched the episode that aired on March 16, 2012, I saw this:
Reanaldo Nargo
I like how irrelevant some of the facts are... who doesn't like to eat chips and drink soda?! At some point during the weekend, however, my cousins came over and caused some trouble.

To start off this week, I saw my favourite shows on the "Animation Domination" programming block on FOX yesterday. I also spent some time working on this blog update. As for today, I went to school, and then came home to watch television, before working on this blog update. Starting tomorrow, I will begin working on an essay for my POLS 249: Institutions and Processes of American Government class, which is due on Friday. I originally had plans to attend a city council meeting this evening, but plans changed, and I ended up not going. On the bright side, Parliament is sitting this week, unlike last week, meaning question period is back! Effective tomorrow, however, it will have been two years since the reservations centre I used to work at, closed. Since that time, I've been working from home (before that). Although I enjoy working from home, I do, more than often, actually miss leaving my house to go to work.

Now that my long blog update is complete, I'd like to talk about some things to look forward to in the coming weeks. For starters, the Government of Canada will introduce Budget 2012 to Parliament on Thursday, and many cuts are expected. Furthermore, a new episode of How I Met Your Mother aired on March 19, 2012. The next new episode will not air until April 9, 2012, so I can't wait until that day actually arrives. And lastly, in less than two weeks, the last day of classes at the University of Saskatchewan for the term will be upon us on April 5, 2012 with final exams beginning on April 9, 2012. I will have final exams on April 9; 17; 20; 24 and 25, 2012. After that, I look forward to some relaxation from school before a summer of working full-time hours begins at some point in the month of May. I also hope to pursue something big, but more information on that will come at a later date.

Anyway, thank you for your concerns... and remember, don't get ripped by the riptide!

Sunday, March 11, 2012
BREAKING NEWS: Reverend Huy Dang Makes First Blog Update of 2012!
posted by Huy Dang at
QR CodeHello everyone! I understand that it has been almost two months since I've made my last blog update, and I'm sure that none of you are upset, with the exception of two specific people (one living somewhere in the middle of nowhere, known as New Brunswick, and the other living an elitist city they call Calgary). Anyway, let's start off with my nonsensically-long blog update.

I have a lot of things to talk about, so we'll start with the things I'd love to discuss, even if they are somewhat controversial.

One of the first things I would like to talk about, as it annoys me, is Tim Tebow, and his "Tebowing." First of all, I don't like football. When people are watching the Super Bowl, I'm... not watching the Super Bowl. When people are watching CFL games, or the Grey Cup game, I am... not watching the Grey Cup game, and could care less who wins the Grey Cup, unless it's the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Usually, I don't care for football, but when it comes to Tim Tebow, I can't stand his "Tebowing." For those of you who don't know what "Tebowing" is, it's the "act of kneeling on one knee in prayer with one's head resting on one's fist," according to Wikipedia, and looks something along the lines of this:
Tebowing
We know that Mr. Tebow is religious, and I respect that, as I am also religious. The only problem I have with his "Tebowing" is that many people think it's so "cool" that they've began copying it, and that is what annoys me. Everyone should start to cut it out. By searching "the Google," you'll find many images of people copying Tim Tebow's appearance when he prays to God. Then, you get even more when you perform a search on Flickr. Despite my hatred for the "Tebowing," I do enjoy this specific picture, as it was obviously taken at a Toyota dealer.

The next thing I'd like to talk about is gift-giving. When it comes to birthday and/or Christmas presents, I love receiving gifts, no matter what the gift is. However, what annoys me is when people ask you what you'd like for your birthday, Christmas (or Festivus), or any other special occasion. I'm a very complex individual that will appreciate anything that people give me, regardless of how useful or useless the gift may be. Really, it's the thought that counts! If someone has to ask you what you'd like to receive as a gift, that person isn't really a good friend, are they? When it comes to gift giving, I take a lot of things into consideration, with many of those things being nonsensical. If you want to make gift-giving fun, always consider how useless your gift will be to the recipient. Speaking of gift giving, it's best not to "re-gift" things.

Next, I'd like to talk about the Honourable Peter Kent, the Minister of Environment for the Government of Canada. As much as I love the Conservative government, I do not believe that Mr. Kent is a good environment minister. If anything, Prime Minister Stephen Harper should replace him with someone entertaining, like David Anderson, from Saskatchewan (Cypress Hills-Grasslands), even though Mr. Anderson is a farmer and is more suited towards an agricultural role within the government. If there's any role Mr. Kent should play, he seems more suited as Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. And by the way, I love Stephen Harper, and I do believe we should get rid of this cumbersome democracy and make him our supreme monarch once and for all.

Earlier this year, the Honourable James Moore, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages for the Government of Canada, got married to long-time girlfriend Courtney Payne. I "tweeted" about that when I first heard the news, and he responded. Here is a screenshot of my tweet, and Mr. Moore's response:
James Moore Response
Again, I would like to congratulate Mr. Moore on his marriage earlier this year.

Same-sex MarriageNot long ago, the Conservative government was under fire when a government lawyer argued that thousands of same-sex marriages performed in Canada for tourists that came to Canada may not be legal marriages, particularly if they now reside in places that do not recognize same-sex marriages. The case stemmed from a divorce between a woman from Florida and another woman from England, who were seeking a divorce. The government officially ended the excitement of frivolous lawsuits when the Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced that existing legislation would be changed to allow Canada to recognize all marriages, including the ones that may be considered illegal. As much as I like hearing about lame and baseless lawsuits on the news, I am pleased that the government will be changing existing legislation to accommodate the recognition of all marriages, including same-sex marriages for couples not residing in Canada. I am also pleased to learn that California's Proposition 8 (banned same-sex marriages in California) was found to be unconstitutional. Proposition 8 was voted upon by residents of California, and the "yes" side won, thus banning same-sex marriages in California. However, it was recently found to be unconstitutional, thus proving that things can be considered unconstitutional even if "We The People" want it. Although it may seem like a victory right now, both proponents and opponents of the ban have vowed to appeal the case all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. If they refuse to hear the case(s), then it will be safe to assume that same-sex marriage will be forever legal in California. If they do agree to hear the applicable case(s), then this saga is far from over. I'm hoping that the Supreme Court will not hear the case, as it would be a waste of time and resources, which could be better used to train all 300,000,000+ Americans to give Reverend Nathan the "dangerously silly move," thus damaging him, psychologically. Speaking of Reverend Nathan, I've had to find a replacement friend to watch Cops with since Reverend Nathan stopped watching traditional television altogether because he's... odd, and in a committed relationship now. Recently, my friend Kojo received a personal video recorder (PVR) for Christmas and started recording every episode of the show, both old and new. In 2007, Reverend Nathan received a PVR for Christmas and began doing the same thing. That's eerily similar, isn't it? That's a shame... for Nathan, as he doesn't know what he's been missing.

The next person I would like to talk about is the Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Mr. Baird has served in numerous capacities since being elected to the House of Commons on January 23, 2006, including, but not limited to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons; Minister of the Environment (twice); Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities; President of the Treasury Board and his current role as Minister of Foreign Affairs. When Mr. Baird was the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, I always found him entertaining during question period. However, beyond his entertaining ways during question period, Mr. Baird is a hard-working individual, both for his constituents and the people of Canada, and I've always been proud of him in any position. Over time, I always thought that Mr. Baird should have been promoted to a higher post. In fact, when I met the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, on September 9, 2010, I told him: "You should promote John Baird." Mr. Harper, at the time, kind of formally thanked me for my opinion and then thanked me for coming out to see him, after complimenting me on my Conservative Party of Canada t-shirt before I got my picture taken with him. But on May 2, 2011, the Conservative government was re-elected with a strong, stable, national, majority Conservative government. Following the defeat of Lawrence Cannon, Mr. Baird became the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which, coincidentally, came months after I made such an odd suggestion (I doubt there's a connection though). Although I am extremely proud of Mr. Baird for being named Minister of Foreign Affairs, I kind of miss seeing him regularly during question period.

Recently, I received an interesting email. I've signed up for email updates from every group-sharing website that I could think of that serves the Saskatoon area. For an outdated list, click here. Anyway, SwarmJam is one of them... and one day, I found that a local used book store, where Reverend Nathan works, called Westgate Books, was featured on the website, via this email (to view the website instead, click here). For $5.00, you could purchase a voucher for up to $10.00 worth of "premium used books." Owned by Ann Dutnall, the store has moved numerous times throughout its history, but has moved only once since she has owned it. The only problem is, the store is called Westgate Books, but it's not located anywhere near the Westgate Plaza on 22nd Street West. The store itself used to be located on 22nd Street West, but moved across town. At the time, her evil son suggested that the store be renamed "Eastgate Books," which is an idea I fully support to this day. Sadly, the idea was never taken seriously. I was recently asked if I'll be using that $10.00 voucher I bought anytime soon. To address that question, I will be using it on the last possible day, which is July 26, 2012. I've already marked my calendar with this important event. In response, Ann said that I have too much free time. Well... she's just jealous. I do buy things from that store, but it's rare for me to do so. My most recent purchase was a copy of The Bro Code, Barney Stinson's book of general rules that all "bros" should stand by on How I Met Your Mother. I absolutely love that show. Speaking of How I Met Your Mother, that show has gone through some dramatic changes for every character as of recently. Ted told Robin he loved her, and now it feels weird to watch the show. Obviously, I've been enjoying that show way too much. Robin has since moved out of the apartment she shares with Ted, and Barney has been pursuing a stripper named Quinn...

Moving on...

When it comes to local politics, I've always disliked local politics. Why? It's boring. Secondly, we have a lot of city councillors who may be too far to the left, ideologically, for my own comfort. If anything makes me dislike the current city council, it's this specific news article from The StarPhoenix. As you may or may not know, Canada's strong, stable, national, majority Conservative government is currently in talks with the European Union in terms of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Under this agreement, municipal projects such as future overpasses and/or interchanges may be open to bidding from companies outside of Canada. For example, had this agreement been in place prior to tendering for the Circle Drive South Project, the project could have been open for bidding to construction companies based in one of the 27 European Union member countries. However, Saskatoon Ward 3 Councillor Ann Iwanchuk introduced a motion, which, if passed, would require the City of Saskatoon to seek an exemption from the deal. That's a bad idea, as free trade never really hurt any developed countries (or did they?). Regardless, I saw potential problems, such as this one, looming when she won the by-election in Ward 3 after the unfortunate passing of Maurice Neault. Why? The fact that she works for a union was concerning to me. In 2009, the civic elections resulted in the re-election of every single incumbent councillor, with some of them running unopposed. Hopefully, in 2012, the civic election comes with a new set of city councillors. Now, as far as mayors go, I'd say Rob Ford is certainly an interesting mayor. You know you're awesome when a small group of people think you should be "fired." Personally, I like the way he's handing a thorny issue: public transit plans within his own city, while being overruled by a bunch of lame city councillors. Besides, what's not to love about him? He's "300 pounds of fun."

Not long ago, I wrote a letter to Halifax MP Megan Leslie from the New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) chastising her for going on a bizarre anti-trade mission to Washington, D.C., to criticize her own government's actions on the Keystone XL pipeline. Her response was just as useless as the letter I sent her. To see my letter and her response, please click here. As for U.S. President Barack Obama, who denied TransCanada's application for a presidential permit, I think he's crazy... of course it's all about political games. If he approves the pipeline, his environmental-friendly supporters will stop giving him money for his re-election fund. If he doesn't, he will continue to be criticized by everyone... so I guess money solves everything. Speaking of money, I like TransCanada's style in dealing with property owners: pay them lots of money. If they refuse to allow you to build a pipeline through their property, take legal action until you've exhausted your legal options. I also wrote a positive letter to the Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. He responded with useful stuff. To check out my letter to him and his subsequent response, please click here. Also, I must say that Mr. Nicholson has a really cool signature. Speaking of law and order, I'd like to give whoever made the "Vikileaks30" Twitter account (which has since been shut down) the "dangerously silly move," which is a series of hand-flapping meant to intimidate people and "damage people psychologically." Speaking of the NDP, the party will be picking its new "permanent" leader during the March 23-24 weekend. Out of the existing candidates that have chosen to run for the leadership, I doubt Niki Ashton will win, I seriously doubt that Martin Singh would win. The same goes for Peggy Nash, Paul Dewar or Nathan Cullen. That leaves Brian Topp or Thomas Mulcair as the front-runners, in my mind. Hopefully, Brian Topp will not win. But as for who I'd like to see win, that's not something I should be discussing, as I would never for vote for an NDP candidate in my own riding, ever. The NDP leadership race, however, has so far been... extremely boring, unlike the race for the presidential nomination for the Republican party in the United States, which only got boring... recently. Also, for those critics who criticize Bill C-10: Safe Streets & Communities Act by saying that it goes too far, this is the type of bill you asked for. You've said that Canada's justice system "is a joke." But when an elected government finally does something about it, you think it goes too far. Which one is it? Make up your minds. Please note the last few sentences of this paragraph are directed at one specific individual and those who do not support the bill, and that specific individual should know who they are. Why are the critics so hypocritical? For those of you who actually like the idea of the government standing up for victims' rights, click here for a 'backgrounder.' Perhaps these critics are soft-on-crime. But personally, I can't wait for the NDP to pick their new leader, as I can't stand listening to Nycole Turmel  (especially when she speaks English). I'd like to believe that once this leadership convention is over, we'll be hearing from her less and less, which can only be a good thing. But on another note, I like the fact that PETA and Greenpeace are now considered to be terrorist organizations by the RCMP and CSIS, according to this article. It's about time! I also enjoy the Honourable Joe Oliver's "definition" of the term "radicals." It makes total sense to me!

Speaking of the Republican party, the race has been interesting. First, my favourite candidate, Herman Cain, stepped down. At some point, others, including Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann... stepped down. Now, as of recently, the top spot has been alternating between Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. I don't necessarily care about who will win the race in the end... I just hope it's not Newt Gingrich. A man who preached about family values while cheating on his wife would probably make a lame president. Plus, I'm sure Rick Santorum or Mitt Romney are both considered to be more electable than Mr. Gingrich.

The next topic I'd like to 'complain' about is Mexico. For many Canadians, Mexico is a great place to visit to escape the cold, harsh winters of Canada, right? Sure... weather-wise, it's fine. But in terms of cool things to do, Mexico is not a country I'd like to visit. If I were to visit a place for its beaches and sunshine, I'd rather visit the United States, as they have Hawaii. However, there is a new concern in terms of visiting Mexico: safety. Over the last number of years, there have been numerous cases of Canadians being attacked while visiting Mexico. The most recent victim (in Mazatlan) that was on the news was Sheila Nabb, who has since been released from hospital. She may, however, require additional surgeries. Aside from Mrs. Nabb, there was another attack in 2009 at a strip club. In that case, someone opened fire with their guns and two Canadians were injured. There have been a lot of cases reported over the years, but I will not get into it. However, I have never had much of an interest in visiting Mexico... and the most recent attack on an innocent victim has dampened any interest I may have had whatsoever.

The next thing I'd like to talk about Microsoft's methods of innovation. When Microsoft first appeared in the computing world, it took the world by storm, and continued to dominate the computing world for many years. In recent years, however, its biggest rival, Apple (their biggest mistake was investing in Apple in 1997 when the company was almost on its deathbed), has seen its value surpass the value of Microsoft. However, I think the company began to falter when Bill Gates stopped running the company. Sure, Steve Ballmer might be cool, and hilarious, but under his leadership, the company seems like it has given up on innovation and developing new products. For example, the Zune, which has a lot of great potential, has seen its production scrapped. As for the Xbox 360, I have never owned one, so I wouldn't know what it's like. But more recently, Microsoft this year signed an agreement with LG Electronics in which they would basically receive a certain amount of money from manufacturers who utilize the Android operating system, as the company alleges that Android products violate certain patents that they already own. In addition to LG, other companies that currently pay Microsoft include HTC, Samsung and Acer. As far as I'm concerned, Microsoft doesn't really have to create anything to compete with those Android phones (in fact, here's a more recent example). They just have to continue collecting royalties. If that's their true business plan, I think it's a good one! Why? You can just sit back and watch the cash money rolling in with relatively little effort. Fortunately, they do have something to compete with Android: Windows Phone, which also includes a Zune interface. Now, speaking of Microsoft, I'd like to share with you a couple of videos.

Here is a mash-up of CES keynote addresses from over the years, as this year's keynote address will be the last one the company's CEO will be giving. It began with Bill Gates and ended with Steve Ballmer:

I quite enjoy the countless interesting sweaters. Once you're finished watching the above video, I have one more video to show you...

Back when G4's Attack of the Show was still bearable fun to watch, they had a Steve Jobs impersonator make fun of Bill Gates, as seen below (I remember Google Video... but then they bought YouTube for $1.65 billion):


As I watched the above video, it reminded me of this video, when Kevin Rose was still on traditional television working for G4 and hosting Attack of the Show:
A bigger controller has since been created as of this year..

Now... watch that big controller, as well as the world's smallest, in action...


Blockbuster.com
Moving on, the next company I would like to discuss is Blockbuster L.L.C., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dish Network Corp. The reason I bring up the company now, even though they didn't purchase Blockbuster Inc.'s Canadian assets, is because Dish last month announced that it would close additional Blockbuster stores in the United States. Then, they clarified themselves by saying that they'd close 500 stores within the United States, accounting for about one-third of the company's existing stores within the United States. This would leave them with about 1,000 Blockbuster stores remaining within the United States. This is in sad contrast to the news release that was issued back in July by Blockbuster L.L.C. Although I am sad, this won't actually affect me at all. But on the bright side, the amount of remaining stores is still higher than the number of stores Blockbuster Canada Co. ever had. I imagine that in a few short years, Blockbuster will become an online-only service offering by-mail subscriptions, digital movie downloads, and streaming. But speaking of Blockbuster (before they were purchased by Dish) and Microsoft, those two companies were apparently involved in anti-competitive practices. If that's true, they're obviously pretty cool companies. Sadly, I have yet to get over the fact that Blockbuster Canada Co. is indeed gone. For kicks, why not read up on the contributing factors to the demise of Blockbuster Canada Co. that were beyond their control? I am still not over the demise of Blockbuster Canada Co. At this time, I am an active subscriber of Zip.ca, but have recently suspended my account in order to try out DVDFlix.ca, as Zip.ca has many customers and getting new releases as soon as possible is essentially impossible. I am trying out DVDFlix.ca for the next month, and will make a final decision on which website to continue doing business with by March 26, 2012. Right now, I am impressed by DVDFlix.ca's turnaround and selection, and the Zip.ca account will likely be cancelled. For an overview of how both services work, click here and here. Plus, DVDFlix.ca includes Blu-ray discs at no extra charge!

Lisa Rendall
Something that I've neglected to mention in 2011 that may or may not have affected me personally is the passing of Lisa Rendall in 2011. Lisa is a former radio personality (C95) that lived with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer for over ten years and worked tirelessly to raise money for breast cancer research. Although I had never met her, nor did I know her personally, I did cry a little when she did die, and I must say that her loss was a major loss for Saskatoon in 2011, and I regret not mentioning her passing on my last mega-blog-update. Although she is gone, I am glad that there will be a public park named after her. In addition to the park being named after her, CTV Saskatoon named her Citizen of the Year in 2010.

The next topic I'd like to discuss is the reliability of Saskatoon Transit. For most people in Saskatoon, they've probably boarded a Saskatoon Transit bus at least once in their life. For almost 20 consecutive years, transit ridership in Saskatoon decreased steadily up until 2006, when Saskatoon Transit Services was revamped along with all new bus routes. The re-launched service included all-new bus routes, new bus stop signs, a new logo, some new buses, and dramatically-improved service. Although the service as a whole was improved, for the most part, there is something they dropped the ball on: arriving on-time. Prior to 2006, most people didn't have to worry about buses arriving late, as it didn't happen very often. But after 2006, a lot of transit operators were somehow under the impression that people didn't need to transfer between bus routes anymore, and this often led to buses arriving at their destinations... late. For the most part, service has increased and improved. In the past, I would rely on route 50 (Pacific Heights) to get me to the Shoppers Drug Mart store located at 2410 22nd Street West from the Place Riel Transit Hub at the University of Saskatchewan. I would then check my PO box, before relying on route 2 (8th Street) to get me home. When the first bus route arrived consistently late on numerous occasions within the first few weeks of the 2010-2011 school year, I wrote an "angry" letter to Saskatoon Transit, which usually resulted in lame responses. I received one dated September 22, 2010. To see that one, click here.  In December 2010, a transit operator drove past me without even stopping. That incident prompted another angry letter, resulting in a more appropriate response. If you take out the word "expressing" in the last paragraph of the second response, the letter would be an excellent one. Anyway, the second term of the 2010-2011 school year was a good one. School was good, and so was the transit service. In fact, throughout the entire semester, there was not a single occasion in which I was late, despite the fact that there were numerous occasions of inclement weather. I was so happy with the service that I wrote a letter to Saskatoon Transit congratulating them, as well as a letter to the editor of The StarPhoenix. Towards the end of that opinion piece, you may have noticed that I said "Hopefully, this consistent service continues." Unfortunately, that consistent service did not continue. In the summer of 2011, Saskatoon Transit introduced a series of "service improvements." One of the "improvements" involved adding five minutes of scheduled time between the downtown transit terminal and the Confederation Terminal. For example, if route 50 were to leave the downtown transit terminal at 2:31 pm, they would be expected to depart the Confederation Terminal at 2:46 pm. With the service "improvements," the 2:46 pm was changed to 2:50 pm to give transit operators some breathing room. This means that if they were late dropping me off by the Shoppers Drug Mart store located at 2410 22nd Street West, they would still arrive on time at the Confederation Terminal, thus removing any reason for me to complain about the service.

The next thing I'd like to discuss is the state of emergency declared by the Attawapiskat First Nation. I do understand that the living conditions on the reserve are dire and deplorable, but I do support the Government of Canada's decision to appoint a third-party manager for the reserve's finances. Up until recently, I had no opinion on that matter. But when I found out that the third-party manager was kicked out because it was alleged that Chief Theresa Spence's boyfriend would lose his job as financial co-manager, I began to believe that it was an absolute disgrace that the reserve kicked out the third-party manager. That's a shame. While we're at it, John Duncan should really be replaced as the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. I love the Conservative government more than anyone else that I know, but I do not believe that Mr. Duncan is a suitable minister for his department.

On January 29, 2012, Mohammad Shafia, his wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya and his son Hamed were found guilty on charges of four counts of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of Shafia sisters Zainab, Sahar and Geeti, as well as Mohammad Shafia's first wife, Rona Amir Mohammed. This was considered to be the first time in Canadian history in which someone was found guilty of "honour killings," in which women are murdered by their own families if it is considered that they have brought dishonour upon their own family, or in some cases, their community. Honour killings are terrible, and shouldn't happen, and I'm sure most people will agree with me, unless you're as sick and twisted as those who believe in the idea of "honour killings." For some general information on the trial, please click here. I believe the guilty verdict sends the right message towards those who the support "honour killings." However, this situation reminds me of Justin Trudeau, who was upset because he believed that the Conservative government's use of the term "barbaric" was inappropriate in describing "honour killings" in an updated study guide for those who would like to become Canadians. He later apologized, but that now means nothing. Then, he of course called the Honourable Peter Kent, Minister of the Environment, a "piece of shit." Then, he recently suggested that he would help Québec separate from Canada if Prime Minister Stephen Harper's vision "gets his way" in his odd little mind. Mr. Trudeau is odd and in some cases, an absolute disgrace. However, I don't know if he's as "odd" as his dad.

Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan
The next thing I'd like to discuss is the pending relocation of the Mendel Art Gallery on Spadina Crescent here in Saskatoon. Over the years, many wedding pictures have been taken in the conservatory within the building, and for many years, the gallery's board had been seeking funding for an expansion and/or renovation to the building to house more work to no avail. Then, one day, city council decided that it would be a good idea to relocate the entire gallery by moving it to the new River Landing development. The new art gallery would be much bigger and would be called the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan (formerly known as the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan). Ground-breaking is scheduled for early 2013, with the opening of the new art gallery scheduled for late 2014 or early 2015. According to one poll, 60% of Saskatoon's residents believe the idea of relocating the existing gallery is a good one. Another poll indicates that the city is almost equally split. This has prompted former Saskatoon mayor Henry Dayday to call on city council to hold a plebiscite on the new gallery. However, it's important to note that the results of a plebiscite are not binding (unlike a referendum, like the one forced on the potential construction of a casino in downtown Saskatoon in 2003), thus making it pointless. Mr. Dayday has since been rebuffed by city council. In fact, if Mr. Dayday would like to see a plebiscite on the issue, I think he should gather the required signatures to force one (all he needs is 15% of the voting public to sign a petition, according to this document from the Government of Saskatchewan). At first, I was opposed to the idea of relocating the gallery (because of the price tag), but I have since warmed up to it, since there's nothing we can really do about it anymore. Besides, is making decisions based on public opinion a good way of governing? It probably isn't, as the public changes their mind the same way George Steinbrenner used to apparently fire people like it was a bodily function. It's a shame Mr. Steinbrenner is no longer with us. I particularly enjoyed the mock version of him on Seinfeld... and I'm sure everyone does.

In my last extremely-long-but-immaculately-coded blog update, I mentioned that I didn't have much luck in the dating world. Back then, I said the following: "Despite saying that dating is indeed for suckers, I have been more open to dating in recent months, but not enough to actually to date anyone at the moment." My position has since changed. That is all I have to say on the matter. Thank you for your concerns. However, some of you may be interested to know that I have been encouraged to ask a few people out because they drive a Toyota. As far as the people who have been encouraging me to do so are concerned, these women who drive Toyotas are respectively the "woman of my dreams."

Jack in the Box
On American television, I've been seeing a lot of television ads for Jack in the Box. The food on the commercials look great, and I wouldn't mind eating at one of their restaurants, given the opportunity. As such, I recently decided to write to them. To see the letter that I've written to them, please click here. Their bacon milkshake also appeals to me (I'd buy one just to say that I did, given the opportunity). To see their lame response, click here.

On March 3, 2012, one of my closest friends and fellow site member David Couchman, announced that he would stop contributing to this website, effective March 13, 2012. Mr. Couchman will be moving to the city of Toronto on March 14, 2012, leaving Calgary behind. I would like to wish him luck in all of his future endeavours as he will be stuck in the "awful" city of Toronto. The only cool thing about that city is the mayor, Rob Ford.

The next thing I would like to discuss is the "robo-call" controversy. Well, there's not much I'd like to say, except for that I believe the Conservative Party of Canada has nothing to do with the alleged voter suppression and they indeed ran a clean, ethical campaign. In addition to that, Pat Martin has been really, really annoying (more annoying than usual), and I'm glad RackNine Inc. is finally suing him (and the NDP) for defamation. Does this mean we'll stop hearing his voice for a while? I hope so, since I'm tired of hearing his voice almost daily on the news and during question period. Despite being sued, Mr. Martin is still annoying. At this time, I'm hoping this little 'scandal' doesn't affect the party's electoral chances in 2015, when Canadians vote in the 42nd general election. However, as long as Stephen Harper is still the Conservative Party of Canada's leader, the party will get re-elected. Why not help them today? I just did. Plus, I may agree with Saskatoon-Wanuskewin MP Maurice Vellacott that it's the fault of Elections Canada.

Earlier this year, I signed up for Pinterest, not knowing what it was. I first read about the new social networking website when Blockbuster posted about it on their blog and promoted their own account. I then requested an invite, and eventually joined the site. At first, I did not understand the concept of the website, but read enough to understand it now. It just hasn't caught on with me yet. Similarly, it Google+ hasn't caught on with me, and this is coming from someone who loves Google. Anyway, I highly encourage you to follow me on Google+ and Pinterest, as well as Twitter.

On the morning of March 1, 2012, conservative pundit/activist/blogger Andrew Breitbart passed away from natural causes (there were reports that he had heart problems). I would like to extend my condolences to his family, and he will be missed. It's a shame, especially since Mr. Breitbart was only 43.

Since we're still on the topic of Americans, I would like to share a photo with the general public. Here in Saskatoon, if you are a Shaw customer and subscribe to their digital cable service, channel 85 is currently an NBC affiliate named KHQ based in Spokane, Washington. Similarly, channel 84 is Spokane-based FOX affiliate KAYU and channel 87 is Spokane-based CBS affiliate KREM. Anyway, to get the point, Steve Hiscock from Saskatoon was watching KHQ and noticed something peculiar. Thankfully, he took a picture of it and shared it on Facebook. Mr. Hiscock's photo proves how lame/arrogant/ignorant Americans can be. Check out the photo below:
Screamer
To view the original photo, click on the above image.

It's sad that someone can't spell the name of our awesome province. "Sasquatectwan?" Really? I also don't understand what "Northest" is either. I'd like to thank Mr. Hiscock for bringing this to everyone's attention, especially since I only ever watch KREM and KAYU, as NBC has nothing good to watch on television (I used to watch The Office, but officially quit last year). Whoever was responsible for creating the caption(s) in the above image should be given whichever lesson(s) is necessary to correct his/her obvious errors, similar to the obvious grammatical error in this sentence (and possibly many others within this blog update alone).

Back in December, I mentioned that I bought an Android tablet computer on Boxing Day. The tablet computer I bought was the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 from Future Shop. I love the tablet computer, a lot. Besides from being really cool, a tablet computer does come with many benefits, which allow me to be "productive" while being lazy. I often leave my tablet computer on my nightstand. When I go to sleep in the wee hours of the morning (I don't wake up for school until 8:30 am or so), I first go to bed. Then, I often start to think of nonsensical schemes or I come up with ideas that won't make sense to the average person. If that were to happen, I would jot down my ideas with the tablet and either email myself those ideas, or store them on Google Docs (of course, there is an app for that purpose). I'm also signed up for a lot of different survey panels, and sometimes don't have time to go through the surveys during the course of the day. So, all of those emails piling up go unchecked for most of the day. But when I'm about to sleep, I go through those emails and take those surveys, from the comfort of my own bed. So far, those are the benefits of having a tablet computer before going to sleep. When I wake up, the benefits are also great. In the past, before I had a tablet computer, the first thing I would do is check my cellular telephone for emails and new text messages when I wake up in the wee hours of 8:30 am. Text messages, are usually unimportant, and random, but the emails are important to me... I just don't like reading through emails on my phone, and would often wait to turn on the computer after I brush my teeth and shower. Sure, I have a decent desktop computer, but waiting for Windows 7 to load is still not as quick as waiting for my tablet to load up once I turn it on... and the phone is already on, I just don't like reading emails on it. Sure, I use email on an IMAP protocol so that any changes I make on my phone are synced with Google's servers, and will appear the same way once I use the computer (either through an email client of my choice or through Gmail's webmail interface), or when I load up my tablet. Of course, after checking my email, I often go on Facebook to see if anything new has occurred since the night before. As for my email addresses, most of them are on IMAP servers... so the server is different, based on which email address I'm checking. If you are a student at the University of Saskatchewan student, our school, and most schools, use IMAP, and works similar to Gmail, if you are using IMAP as well. So, that was my mundane life before getting a tablet computer. Now, my tablet computer allows me to be even lazier than I already was prior to getting a tablet. Now, today, in a tablet world, when I wake up, I reach for my tablet computer. Sure, I do a lot of the same things on my phone as I would on my tablet, but my phone has one capability that has proven to be troublesome over the years: text messaging. In the past, I have been known to have text message conversations with people into the wee hours of the night, despite having an 8:30 am class the next day. As such, in late 2008, I decided to charge my phone in an area away from my bed to prevent further distractions from sleeping, as you should by now how lazy I am (if I have to get up to do something, I probably won't be doing it). So, today, in a tablet-using world, the first thing I do when I wake up is reach for my tablet, turn it on and check my email. Once I've done that, I check Facebook for any notifications... and before I get out of bed, I already have a general idea of what went on overnight. So, you may be wondering how this is productive. It is, somewhat. As much as I enjoy surfing the Internet from the comfort of my bed, I still prefer to be sitting at a computer when I read the news online, or when I'm responding to emails and/or nonsensical comments on Facebook. Sure, laptops may be convenient, but they still load like desktop computers usually do. Although there are many ways to communicate with others, the one method I like the least is text messaging. Having a tablet, however, is greatly beneficial, as it essentially helps me catch up with the rest of the day, or get a head start to any day before actually getting out of bed, depending on the situation. However, helping me be even lazier than I already was... may not be a good thing. Sure, my reasons are weird, but there are indeed many good reasons to use a tablet computer of any sort. Although tablets have been around for many years, they've only become popular in recent years because of the lame iPad. Despite technological advances, I am still a "techno-phobe." I didn't get my first smartphone until 2010 and I'm glad I waited until 2011 to finally buy a tablet computer. Although I appreciate technology, there are some things I can manage to delay.

For the last couple of years, I have been ridiculed/mocked/criticized by people that think highly of themselves, including members within my own family, based on my decision to change my major at the University of Saskatchewan from computer science to political studies. When I started my studies at the school in 2008, I was excited and highly enthusiastic about my programming choice. At the time, I had been out of high school for a period of time. Over time, my interest in the area faded and my interest in politics increased to an extent where I spend almost every waking moment of the day following up on politics here in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia (to a lesser extent). Eventually, it made sense for me to pursue a degree in political studies, rather than one in computer science. When I was still a computer science student, I was unhappy with my life and waking up to go to school was a struggle (and not because of 8:30 am classes). As a political studies student, I now have a sense of belonging and waking up to go to school (regardless of time) is a pleasure, regardless of how early. However, it doesn't hurt that I don't have to wake up early. By the time most elementary or high school students are ready to head to school, or are already at school, I'm only waking up to get ready for school. By the time they finish school, with the exception of Thursday afternoons, I am already almost home. During my time as a computer science student, I often found myself talking about politics in Canada with my closest friends and some family members. With my close friends, we often discussed federal politics. With my family members from Calgary, I often discussed local politics in Saskatoon. This eventually prompted a few people to ask me if I had considered studying political science or political studies, including my own cousin Jeannette and one of my friends from high school, Jennifer (this had been going for nearly a year). In fact, one person even said "You should go into political studies."  With those types of questions and/or comments in mind, I thought about potentially switching majors, or technically, declaring a major, since my major was still undeclared at the time. After a period of time, I officially decided to declare my major on June 16, 2010. I subsequently announced my intentions on Facebook, and nobody really seemed surprised (some were actually expecting it). Here is a screenshot of the status update:
Major Announcement
Since becoming a political studies student, others have encouraged me to try to get into the field of law, in which I would become a lawyer. I have put this under consideration for the last 18 months or so, and decided last month that I will attempt to write the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), as I have nothing to lose, except for the fee that I must pay to write the exam. Hopefully, my score will be good enough for a law school to accept someone such as myself. This is wishful thinking, as the admission standards are quite high. If I were given a choice in which school I could attend, I would pick the University of Ottawa.

Recently, Microsoft Corp.'s visionary Ray Ozzie, who took over from Bill Gates, said that we are now in a post-PC world, after saying that we were quickly approaching one in October 2010. Do you agree with him? He talks about cloud technology, which is technology that I'm only getting used to as of 2011. I certainly agree with Mr. Ozzie that we are in a post-PC world, but it sure doesn't seem like it... yet. Although I do use a tablet, I still find that using a PC suits all of my needs... right now anyways.

Moving on...

Some of you may have seen this "documentary" posted on Vimeo and YouTube titled "Kony 2012:"

The video is a documentary created by an organization called Invisible Children that aims to raise awareness of a guy named Joseph Kony, who kidnaps children and turns them into child soldiers, and has somehow become "viral." The video comes with celebrity endorsements. The aim was to apparently make him "famous" so that he can be arrested. Although it is commendable to raise awareness, there has been some criticism of the video, as well as people questioning the group's spending habits, as a lot of money has apparently been spent on filming and travel, rather than actual charity work. Now, there are major groups of people who are rallying to "raise awareness" of this guy, and I find that... pointless. In fact, there's an event planned for Saskatoon on April 20, 2012 where a bunch of people plan to "cover the night." For more information, consult this lame Facebook event page. What's funny is that it's planned for April 20, 2012, which I will never fully understand, as I don't smoke marijuana. At the end of the video, you are 'encouraged' to buy an "action kit," whatever that may be. So... is it safe to assume that Saskatoon's streets will be littered with lame posters/kits after 4:00 am on April 21, 2012? It probably is. The only thing the video has going for itself is that I saw a picture of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in it. Anyway... like most people who say that the above video has compelled them to take some sort of imaginary action, I plan to do... nothing.

Anyway, before I officially end my rants and start talking about my life in great detail, I must note that I've watched a lot of movies in recent months, beginning with the time period that succeeded the closure of Blockbuster Canada Co.'s remaining 253 stores after 146 stores closed in June. Now, I don't remember the complete list of movies, but here are some that I've enjoyed in recent months, in no particular order (these include movies I bought at $1.00 each, as well as movies from Zip.ca and DVDFlix.ca that are fairly new):

For the movies listed above, I actually enjoyed them for various reasons (nice-looking people, the movies were hilarious, riveting, etcetera). Now, for the movies listed below, they are pretty cheesy and/or dreadful, but yet funny to watch because of how cheesy they are:

  • Priest
    The cover looked really cheesy, so I decided to watch it. I couldn't get past the first ten minutes, and I have no idea what the movie's plot was about.
  • Cross
    Any movie with Michael Clarke Duncan in it is worth watching, no matter how cheesy.

As for movies that I suggest you never watch, this would be it: TRON: Legacy. I couldn't get past the first five minutes of the movie! When Blockbuster Canada Co.'s stores were still open, I was often able to catch up with new releases when they were on video (DVD or Blu-ray) within a week of their release date. Now, without any stores near my home, as Rogers Plus closed most of their Saskatoon locations, I have no place to rent physical discs, with the exception of those DVDPlay kiosks with limited selections. Sure, I could download movies on the Internet for free, but I miss that going-to-the-video-store-to-rent-a-movie experience. Plus, physical disc rentals often come with deleted scenes that I enjoy watching. As I said earlier, I recently suspended my Zip.ca account and am currently trying out DVDFlix.ca's mail service. The reason I'm trying out DVDFlix.ca is because I was dissatisfied with Zip.ca's service. Although I am satisfied with DVDFlix.ca, there is one downside that they can't do anything about: delivery times. Unless I live in Vancouver, I will have to wait four business days in order to receive a disc that they mail me. But on the bright side, they have mailed me most new release movies on rental list, unlike Zip.ca. I just wish DVDFlix.ca would adopt a feature similar to Zip.ca's ZipRefill feature, in which they will send you a movie when you report that you have returned a movie to them in the mail. Also, DVDFlix.ca would stand to benefit greatly from a website makeover, as their website is really "old school." For starters, my biggest complaint is that I have to log-in every time I return to the website, unlike Zip.ca. Secondly, Zip.ca makes it much easier to move things around on your "ZipList," while reorganizing your movie preferences on your rental list is a huge hassle. For example, if you had 125 movies listed on your ZipList over at Zip.ca listed in the order you'd like to receive them based on numbers, and you wanted to move your 125th movie to the #2 slot, you would simply click on the number field next to the title of the movie, then replace "125" with "2." With DVDFlix.ca, you would have to click on "top" next to the title of the movie, which will move it to the top slot. Then, you would have to click on "down" until the movie reaches a position of your choice. So, functionality-wise, Zip.ca is the best. However, when it comes to being able to follow your rental list more closely, DVDFlix.ca wins, hands down. Anyway, when it comes to both websites, both have website have yet to send me a copy of the following movie: Our Idiot Brother. If DVDFlix.ca does not send me a copy of Our Idiot Brother soon, I may have to resort to downloading it, like everyone else. But now, here's a list of movies I'd like to see in the coming weeks (it's just a short list):

Anyway, that's the end of my rants... now it's time to talk about my life in great detail.

Huy DangNow that I'm done complaining about society and a lot of other things, it's time to talk about my boring life in as much detail as excruciatingly possible. When I last made any sort of blog update, that update was made one minute before the start of 2012. Since that time, things have been gradually improving in my life. When 2012 first started, I was excited that 2011 had finally come to an end. However, everything was still in a negative light for me at the beginning of the year. As time progressed, so did my attitude towards life, with January being an excellent month for me. The month of January worked out very well for me, and I'll tell you all about it in the coming paragraphs.

January 2012
As I said before, the month started off on a negative note, but things gradually improved and began looking up. For starters, I received excellent news, health-wise. I also turned 23 years old (my supervisor at work was nice enough to warn me to stay out of jail), and went out on a date for the first time in months, which was nice. We began a new semester at the University of Saskatchewan for the 2011-2012 school year... and best of all, I was able to reconnect with a few old friends, who are all in my POLS 262: Introduction to Global Governance class. Meanwhile, my "POLS 306.3: Local Government" professor, however, forgot to come to class and had to send out an email that contained an apology. David Couchman also turned 24 years old, and had a job interview that changed his life. And by the end of the month, I finally met my friend Carmen's boyfriend Richard for the first time (a demand that I gave a 35-year deadline to). However, the highlight of January was the excellent news, health-wise, as well as the excellent first date with someone named Bonnie. Now, to further explain things that occurred in my life throughout January, I'd like to share with you a series of photos...

And on another note, after spending a night at a woman's house, one of my friends somehow ended up in his car, according to a series of text messages he sent me:
Texts

I apologize if you were expecting more detailed information, but it has been a while since I last made a blog update, and no longer remember the entire month of January in detail. However, the links to pictures that I'm about to share with you below should provide more insight into my crazy "adventures."

Anyway, in January, I captured a series of "interesting" photos. Here's a list of my favourites, in no particular order:

In the news, however, January was somewhat of an interesting month. Here are some highlights from that month, in no particular order:

That officially concludes the month of January.

February 2012
Now, let's move onto February. During the month of February, I took a series of nonsensical Flickr pictures. Here are some of them that I thought I should actually share with a specific small group of people who actually read this blog:

In terms of news, not a whole lot has happened... or is that a lie? I'll let you be the judge of that. But here are some news stories I found interesting, in no particular order:Now that I'm done discussing weird news that occurred in February, I guess it's time I talk about my own life in detail. However, since I don't remember every aspect, I will tell you about what I do remember. The month started out like any other month... boring. However, the day before, on January 30, 2012, I met a nice guy named Richard, who is dating my friend Carmen, who is my friend Jennifer's roommate. I also joined Pinterest... so follow me. Eventually, this video became popular in Saskatchewan:

A lot of lame copycat videos are also out there, including one about what University of Calgary students don't say.

However, on Saturday, February 4, 2012, I was "out and about" and someone unknown sent me a text message, asking if I would come visit them that day. As it turns out, it was Tammy Poorman, who got her own cellular phone after sharing the same phone with her boyfriend for years. Here's how it went down:
Tammy
The misunderstanding was cleared up when we had lunch together at TacoTime, next door to her new workplace.

Not long after, this blooper from Global Saskatoon became popular for a while:


The above video, then reminded me of an interesting blooper caught on live television from about six years ago:


Speaking of television, I enjoy this Super Bowl ad for the 2012 Toyota Camry:


On February 6, 2012, I left my home early because I was bored and headed to school. So, I was waiting for a Saskatoon Transit to arrive at 9:37 am. But when the bus arrived, it didn't stop. Why? It's because I wasn't standing at a bus stop. I was actually standing at a sign that said parking was not allowed because there was a wheelchair ramp leading to the house from the sidewalk. So, instead of heading to school early, I had to cross the street and board a bus that arrived at 9:51 am instead. Surprisingly, both buses arrived on time.

On February 9, 2012, I wrote the first of three midterms. On February 10, 2012, my class on local government was deserted, leading to the ridicule of absent students from the professor of the class. I also learned that there is apparently a Japanese tea party movement. I was soon reacquainted with this old video:

Today, I wonder what Bubb Rubb is up to. Although I like the idea of "whistle tips," I would never have one installed on any Toyota I may drive in the future, or my current Toyota for that matter.

On February 11, 2008, I began my current job. As of February 11, 2012, I have worked for the same company for four years. At some point, I started to miss George W. Bush for unknown reasons, which reminded me of this awesome video:


As for Valentine's Day, I had no plans, as I have no girlfriend. But what's important is that Adele announced that she would take a break from her career to focus on a relationship. I also spent part of the evening at school, before. On February 17, 2012, my class on local government was cancelled, and the professor was extra thankful when reminding us via email. In addition to that, it was the last day of classes before a one-week break from school, known as "Reading Week" to university students, I wrote a midterm exam before going home. I thought about going to my POLS 249 class, but this announcement made me decide not to go to class.

On February 18, 2012, I realized that I still had 3.5" floppy discs. What's even funnier is that some stores still sell the readers for them. What's even worse is that I still have a floppy disc reader as well! The lame part is that it hasn't been used since I stopped using Windows XP, which was in the fall of 2009, when I installed Windows 7 on computer.

On February 19, 2012, I spent part of the day hanging out with my friend Ryan Harder. We drove around Saskatoon taking pictures of traffic signals, as well as a few other nonsensical things, including a picture of this sign:
"A GREAT PLACE TO TAKE A LEAK!"

We travelled extensively around Saskatoon. We began the journey in the Arbor Creek area before heading to the north-end of Saskatoon, Montgomery Place, A1 Tire & Wheel (as pictured above), the former Bethany Home location, the site of a tragic accident in Stonebridge and the Shoppers Drug Mart store in Saskatoon that still closely resembles an old Pinder's Drugs store (Broadway Avenue and Taylor Street East). For those of you who don't know, Pinder's Drugs was a chain of drug stores in Saskatoon (and some other cities, potentially). In 1992, 20 years ago, the stores were sold to Shoppers Drug Mart as part of their quick expansion in Western Canada. There are other chains that also disappeared during Shoppers Drug Mart's Western expansion, but none of them come to mind.

February 20, 2012 was Family Day. On that day, a somewhat-depressing episode of my favourite show, How I Met Your Mother, was aired. However, the episode's storyline was so intriguing that I watched it several times. However, I couldn't watch it at 7:00 pm like I usually do, so I had to wait until 10:00 pm, thanks to a combination of two things: CRTC rules regarding simultaneous substitution and Citytv and SCN. Currently, under CRTC regulations, any Canadian channel airing the same program as a foreign entity (usually American) at the same time has their feed replace the feed of that foreign channel. This occurs, regardless of whether or not the Canadian feed is airing the same episode of any given show. For example, if Global Saskatoon and FOX WUHF in Rochester, New York (this channel is available on Shaw's channel 24) air The Simpsons at 7:00 pm on a Sunday night with a slight difference (Global airs an old episode while FOX airs an all-new episode), you would miss out on the all-new episode. That's essentially what happened with How I Met Your Mother. The all-new episode aired on the CBS affiliate in Detroit, but it was at the same time as "Citytv on SCN" block, and the "Citytv on SCN" block aired an older episode of the same show. That really angered me, prompting me to urge myself to write a letter to the CRTC. However, that has yet to happen.

On February 21, 2012, I filed my income tax return. While working with TurboTax's online software, I was originally told that my tax refund would be about $1,227.94. However, what was stopping me was that the University of Saskatchewan had yet to issue T2202A tax forms, which report your eligible tuition that could be claimed. On that day, the school finally issued the certificates, allowing me to complete my tax return. Once I reported the tuition amounts, as well as any carryover amounts, the refund dropped dramatically to $277.13. As it turns out, once you report that you were a student for more than 13 weeks out of a calendar year, you automatically lose the Working Income Tax Benefit, which is a refundable tax credit, as explained here. On the bright side, I got $277.13 of my own 'cash money' back in my weak, clammy hands. Prior to that, I had lunch with my friend Jennifer at Fuddruckers. Later that day, I also tried out Fresh Real Pizza, as explained earlier... I bought the pizza, but didn't eat it.

On February 22, 2012, my evil cousins came over and stunk up my house, while terrorizing it. Prior to that event, I test drove a 2012 Toyota Camry LE and parked it on my driveway. Some people are still under the impression that I bought a new car, since I did not confirm or deny the fact. Also in the same day, I "demanded" that Tammy Poorman come with me to XS Cargo so I could buy a walking stick for $4.77 (with a coupon). Back then, I bought one due to the encouragement of those on Facebook. Today, I question that purchase more than I did on that odd day. On the bright side, I can say I drove in three different directions while attempting to convince Tammy to come with me. In the end, I drove across town just to buy a walking stick.

On February 23, 2012, I installed a new wireless router in my home. The name I gave the Wi-Fi network is (it could have been longer)...
Wi-Fi Name
The only weird part about the new router is that it sends out location data that makes all GPS/Wi-Fi enabled devices that are being accessed within my home think that they are in DeKalb, Illinois. The problem has since been fixed. It was, however, fun to use the Shell Motorist app and be told that my nearest Shell station was in DeKalb, Illinois located at 175 West Lincoln Highway.

On February 25, 2012, Reverend Nathan brought something interesting to my attention:
Windows 95 Video Guide with Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston
Yes, you can be taught how to use Windows 95 (the system requirements will make you laugh) by Chandler and Rachel... or Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston. If you'd actually like to watch the guide, it's available on YouTube.

There was supposedly going to be a snowstorm during the weekend of February 25, 2012... it never happened. As time progressed, the snowstorm warning was lifted.

At one point in time, I even saw my former co-workers Aaron and Angela Arnault at Costco. What's cool about that store, though, is that they got new automatic sliding doors from Stanley Access Technologies, replacing the old doors from Horton Automatics.

February 27, 2012 was the first day of school after a one-week break, and I was excited, especially with the return of the Shamrock Shake at McDonald's. I then spent that day as well as part of the next finishing an essay for my class on global governance (POLS 262). By 11:30 pm, I had printed off the essay and was ready to hand it in. On February 28, 2012, in my class about Canadian public policy (POLS 226), we listened to former Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow speak about healthcare. Surprisingly, he was very outgoing. I also got some free stuff in the form of coupons... and when I thought that was the end of it, there were more, as well as some cash money from my school.

On February 29, 2012, out of boredom, I tried to purchase Gorgeouspil and immortality rings through the website of Alex Chiu, at www.alexchiu.com. If you don't remember Alex Chiu, he made his first appearance on television on Unscrewed with Martin Sargent, a show that was cancelled on November 11, 2004 that aired on TechTV and subsequently G4techTV (before it returned to being just G4). He then appeared on Revision3 shows such as Infected by Martin Sargent, Web Drifter and Internet Superstar. Anyway, I "tried" to order a two-month supply of Gorgeouspil for $37.00 and immortality rings for $28.30. The cost of shipping was $10.95... making it expensive. On Mr. Chiu's website, he provides a link of videos of him ranging from 2004 to 2009, showing that he looks younger over the years after using his immortality rings and taking Gorgeouspil. His website claims that the immortality rings will allow you to live forever, while Gorgeouspil balances out your body. If you're too fat, it'll help you lose weight. If you're underweight, it will help you gain weight to make you "normal." His website even indicates the following: "This pill was named 'Gorgeous Pill' because it turns a user prettier every time the pill was taken. The user will gradually look PERFECT, even more gorgeous than super models. You will one day reach PHYSICAL PERFECTION!!" In fact, the "healing enabled by Gorgeouspil is so strong that it can change the shape of your bone WITHIN A FEW DAYS. This is really the fastest healing ever made possible. Nothing in the world can make your body heal this fast," according to this page. Then, there's Super Chi Flush, which claims to heal your body and stop the aging. This will likely make you wonder why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn't approved such a thing. On this website, he indicates that: "I don't dare to apply any medical term nor any medical claim on this invention. FDA will never grant me an approval because I don't have 20 million dollars to spend on the FDA approval procedure. So I hope you understand what I am trying to say here." So, when are you going to buy your immortality rings and Gorgeouspil? What's funny is that while you're looking at your shopping cart, there's a caption across the header of the page saying: "ORDER ONLINE AND RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL $5 DISCOUNT! Make sure to order for your loved ones too. Don't you want your whole family to be immortal?" Don't believe me? Here's a terrible screenshot:
Gorgeouspil Shopping Cart

To top off the insanity, here's a video provided by this specific web page that claims that a Dr. Robert Celente from Italy has nothing but good things to say about Mr. Chiu's products:

Now... how funny is this?!

Well... that concludes the month of February, in terms of me talking about my life in as much detail as possible.

March 2012
Now, it's time to move onto the current month of March. The beginning of March started off with a busy day. On the bright side, I received my tax refund of approximately $277.00. In addition to that, it was payday, and my student loan disbursement was deposited into my bank account. Meanwhile, on Friday, March 2, 2012, I noticed that I was the only Asian (and visible minority) in my POLS 249: Institutions and Processes of American Government class. I also read this interesting article on why spelling matters. I also read this interesting article on someone from Saskatoon expressing interest to the NHL about Saskatoon having its own NHL team that could be supported by the entire province of Saskatchewan. Although it's wishful thinking, I think it's a good idea.

On Saturday, March 3, 2012, I saw a former biology teacher of mine from the days I attended Mount Royal Collegiate as a high school student. On March 4, Sunday, my cousins came over and stunk up my house... and my cousins Ky, Tho and Tony caused a bunch of trouble. At one point, Tho angered his younger brother Tony enough to provoke an attack. Tho decided to use my tablet computer to record the supposed attack.

Last week, I read an article about how much better you'll feel if you sleep in two separate four-hour shifts. That's... interesting. And after watching an episode of The Jerry Springer Show, I decided that I may someday visit Stamford, Connecticut to attend a taping of the show. Overnight on March 5, 2012 and into the morning of March 6, Saskatoon received about 20 centimetres of snow overnight. I spent the day at school before coming home to use my snow-blower. But for a lot of people, they had to manually shovel their walkways. This became the focal point of a nonsensical conversation with one of my friends. On March 5, I made a bet with Larry Chen that the warning was a lie and that if the warning were correct, I would owe him a penny. I... lost. So, on the morning of March 6, 2012, my friend, whose name shall remain a mystery, sent me the following text message, which was followed by my mockery:
Texts

Following that revelation, I mocked her:
Texts

That's a good comeback, but workouts are overrated, as I stated, but then it got personal, when she mocked me (and placed a greater emphasis on how superior she thought her Ford Escape was)... and it's important to note that I mentioned the Toyota Highlander Hybrid:
Texts

Then, she had an excellent rebuttal... or so it seemed:
Texts

But in the end, she admitted defeat (thankfully):
Texts

But in the end, we both agreed that any vehicle from GM is bad news:
Texts

During the glory days of TechTV and the bearable days of G4techTV, there was once a show hosted by Martin Sargent called... Unscrewed with Martin Sargent. On that show, there was often a segment called "Mysteries of Science Explained." On Wednesday, I was reacquainted with that segment via a YouTube video:

Wasn't that a funny video? Yeah... it was, and there is no denying it!

On Wednesday, March 7, 2012, I test drove a Jeep Patriot... for a $50 gas gift card. While I was at the dealership, the sales representative that "helped" me attacked all of their competitors, including their local fellow Chrysler dealerships. That right there is unprofessional. In fact, one salesman even referred to Hyundai as "crap." He's lucky he didn't refer to Toyota as "crap." If he did, he would have had another thing coming. I won't say which dealership it was... except for the fact that it is located on 8th Street East in Saskatoon. While waiting to test drive the Jeep that I decided to test drive for free gas money, I made "small-talk" with one employee at the dealership by stating that I had never been to that specific dealership before. His response was "This is an excellent dealership. In fact, it's the best." Then, I said that it felt a little bigger than Ens Lexus Toyota. His response was as follows: "Well, we sell more cars than they do." I then responded with a jab before he would have had a chance to respond: "I highly doubt that. They sell superior cars." Being there felt... wrong.

Thursday was another day of school, except that my POLS 226: Canadian Public Policy class was cancelled for the day. This allowed for an opportunity to hang out with Reverend Nathan, which is something I haven't done in a long time. We eventually hung out in Choices at St. Thomas More College and looked an old deck of playing cards featuring criminals that were featured on America's Most Wanted. We then devised a card game and called it "The Greatest Game Ever." It makes little sense, if any, to most people, so I won't try to explain it. However, I did hang out at the Shannon Library for a few minutes, and I noticed that I was the only Asian in the room. Eventually, I left to hang out with Nathan. I also got a picture of the "Airplane Room," or Thorvaldson 271. After hanging out with Nathan, I performed some required tasks (errands) and went home.

Friday was another typical day of school... except attendance was dramatically down in all classes that I attended. Eventually, I "skipped" two lectures because I was not feeling well. However, when I got home, I had to work, and it was a somewhat-tough shift at work. But on the bright side, I got a bunch of free Tim Hortons "Roll Up the Rim to Win" contest cups. Out of 28 free cups, only six cups were winning cups (five were for free coffees/lattes while one was for a free donut). If you don't like drinking their coffee, but would like a small chance to win something, you can consult their rules and regulations as to how you can obtain a free contest cup. In simpler terms, here are some instructions...
  1. Get an envelope and write your own mailing address on it.
  2. Place a stamp on that envelope.
  3. Place that self-addressed and stamped envelope into a bigger envelope and seal it.
  4. Mail the bigger envelope to one of the following addresses, depending on which country you live in:
    Tim Hortons Contest Cup
    PO Box 9162 STN Main
    Saint John, NB E2L 4Y2
    Canada
    Tim Hortons Contest Cup
    PO Box 1315
    Calais, ME 04619-6315
    USA
  5. Wait for your free contest cup in the mail. If you want another free cup, repeat the process.
Yesterday, I started out my day by going to the Ens Collision Centre (part of Ens Lexus Toyota) to make an appointment for a car repair, as I was involved in an accident in January. In January, someone had backed into my 2001 Toyota Camry LE, creating a slight crack on the body of the vehicle to the right of the grille. I will be getting a new grille, as well as a new bumper, thanks to the individual's insurance. In addition, I will also receive a courtesy rental car, which I hope will be the 2012 Toyota Camry LE. Should the car be a 2012 Toyota Camry of some sort, however, I plan to tell people I bought a new car... until they call me out on it. It should be pretty obvious, however, as previous rental cars I've obtained through that specific body shop have typically been from Budget, which places a large decal on the bumpers of their rental cars, like they did with the 2010 Toyota Camry LE that was loaned to me in 2009. Unlike Budget, Hertz does not place huge-and-obvious decals on the bumpers of their rental cars, or anywhere on their cars for that matter. Take the 2010 Toyota Prius I rented in 2010 in Ottawa for example... do you see any decals identifying the car rental company? How about on this 2011 Toyota Corolla?

After making an appointment, I headed to the SARCAN depot on Broadway Avenue simply because that location has automatic doors. After dropping off a bunch of cans and bottles, I got a cool $39.35 in cold hard cash. My next stop was the Market Mall, where I was hoping to see my friend's mom so I can make fun of her for being at work. Instead, she was not there... but I saw my friend Kojo, who was setting up equipment for one or Rawlco Radio's radio stations for their "live on location" event.

Eventually, I paid a visit to the Real Canadian Superstore, like I usually do on Saturdays. I also went to Canadian Tire to buy windshield washer fluid before heading to Staples to buy myself a new camera, which I'll be returning soon, as I didn't really need a new one in the first place. My Canon PowerShot SD750 works just fine. The only reason I may have bought it in the first place is because of its relatively-cheap price of $49.99. I eventually went to Tim Hortons to get free coffee and a free donut from the many cups I received in the mail from the day before. I then went home and worked on this blog update before working. Eventually, I slept at 11:45 pm, thus bringing my Saturday to an end. While I was at Tim Hortons, however, I saw my friend Andrew Pang.

As of this morning, I brought my mom to the St. Paul's Hospital because she had problems seeing. The doctor first told her that she may have a retinal detachment, and referred us to a doctor at the Eye Care Centre over at Saskatoon City Hospital, where a doctor confirmed that it was indeed a retinal detachment, and told us to come back at 3:45 pm. We will find out what is up at that time, and what treatment options will become available. This is a little scary... and I don't know what to think or do.

Also, recently, on television, I saw this hilarious television commercial... check it out:


The month isn't over yet, so I'll try to stay off the subject for a bit... but I have taken some pictures this month. Here they are in no particular order: Now, that's all for the pictures...

Moving on... let's talk about some interesting news... I guess. Well, that concludes my life up until now. Now, I can finish this blog update by telling you what I'm looking forward to in the short-term.

For starters, I'd like to know when new episodes of Beavis and Butt-head will begin airing again on MTV.

Anyway, moving on... on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, David Couchman will be moving to Toronto, Ontario, and will no longer be contributing to this website. I will certainly miss visiting him in Calgary, as he moves to Toronto. The likelihood of me visiting Toronto is lower, as I do not know anyone that lives there. If he were living in Ottawa, however, that would be a different story. Anyway, I would like to take this opportunity to wish him the best, as he moves from a medium-sized city to  the "big city." Good luck! I wish I could say more, but I don't know what else I can say about this situation, as it is a tough one for me. Although I am happy for Mr. Couchman, I am a little saddened that he is moving across the country... almost.

As I type this, classes as the University of Saskatchewan are coming to an end within four short weeks. Before we know it, it will be time to write our final exams again. Although the current semester hasn't been the best one, academic-wise, it has been an excellent one, based on recent events in my life, and I'll be sad when the semester officially comes to an end. Despite that, I guess I can say that I am looking forward to four months of not going to class once again! Now... the following statement is a note to myself: never take five political studies classes in a single term again! Last term, I took five political studies classes. As for this term, I'm taking... five political studies classes. Don't get me wrong though... I love taking five political studies classes in a single term... I just overlooked some elective requirements and I will unfortunately have to spend the next two school years fulfilling those elective requirements.

In the shorter term, I am looking forward to CBS continuing to air new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, which I've been hooked on since 2011. New episodes will resume on March 19, 2012. In the last episode, Ted moved out of his apartment and offered it to Marshall and Lily. Meanwhile, Barney looks like he has successfully pursued Quinn, played by Becki Newton. As for Ted and Robin, who are now homeless (I presume), we'll have to find out what happens to them. Prior to Ted moving out, he told Robin that he loved her, and she told him she didn't love him. Eventually, Robin moved out to Long Island with Marshall and Lily, but decided to leave... and Ted, who felt the apartment was haunted by Robin, moved out.

In recent weeks or months, you may or may not have noticed that ownership of this website has changed. According to this news release, I no longer own this website because of a nonsensical transaction between myself and Larry Chen. Well, I can assure you that if any website changes occur, however, they will still be based on my own decisions, as I have "veto power." In fact, you may be able to expect another nonsensical transaction to occur between the both of us in the near future. As for that penny, I have yet to spend it.

Anyway, provided that my personal circumstances are fine, I will be attending a City Council meeting for the first time, ever, on March 26, 2012. I will likely be accompanied by my traffic-signal-loving friend Ryan Harder. In doing so with him, I will help him achieve #66 of his "bucket list" of goals for 2012. In addition, attending a city council meeting will help me with my studies in my class about local government.

On the blog update that I made on December 30, 2011, I used the title "BREAKING NEWS: Reverend Huy Dang Makes First Blog Update in Six Months and Hopes ALL RSS Aggregators Crash Due to Length of Blog Update." Well, I did not succeed in making all RSS aggregators crash, but a lot of them weren't able to pick up that particular blog update at all. For example, the main page of this website was able to pick up the title of that blog update...
Latest News Posts - Demo

Despite the success of the scripts on this website, Google Reader wasn't very successful, and here's some proof of that...
Google Reader - Fail

Hopefully, this specific blog update manages to screw up Google Reader (as well as other RSS aggregators) as well.

Anyway, this officially concludes my very first blog update of 2012, posted on March 11, 2012. At this time, my biggest worry is my mom and her retinal detachment. I am hoping that surgery (or whichever treatment is necessary) will indeed fix the issue, and I am quite hopeful that it will. I will post an update on the matter in the near future.

Until next time, please remember: don't get ripped by the riptide! But more importantly, it has been one year since the devastating March 11, 2011 earthquake in Japan! Please take a moment to remember the victims of the tragedy.