Monday, March 21, 2011

v41.7: Short Update

Good morning folks,

-slurp-

I've been very bad at keeping this site updated lately.  I've been keeping my coffee winnings and losses update (when I've had a chance to get to Tim's) but as far as posting and writing, I've been slacking.  There have been a lot of changes in my personal life lately which I'll refrain from sharing with you now, but know that I'm doing OK and things will eventually come around and get somewhat back to normal again.

-slurp-

If you've been following along with my Roll up the Rim 2011 page, you'll notice I am well above the 1 in 6 odds of winning this year.  I don't believe I fell below that at all which is different for me.  Granted I haven't had nearly as much Tim Horton's coffee as I've had in previous years, so the odds are a bit more in my favor in that regard.  The Roll-up season is starting to wind down so hopefully I can get a few more coffees in between now and then.

Well folks, as the title suggests, this is just a short update today.  Work beckons and I must answer the call.  Hopefully I'll get some time this week to post something worthy.

-slurp-

Cheers,

Al

Thursday, March 3, 2011

v41.6: Thursday O'Clock

Howdy folks,

-slurp-

It's Thursday!  Isn't that exciting?!  Not really, but Thursday means the work week is nearly over and the weekend will be here.  I have no plans this weekend so I'm not really sure why I'm looking forward to it.  Normally I would say that the weekend means no work but lately work has been the only thing keeping me sane.  I've actually started to enjoy things there and the work is actually starting to get a LOT better; which is nice for a change.

-slurp-

So if you've been following along with my Roll up the Rim winnings you've probably noticed that I haven't had a Tim Horton's coffee in a few days.  Actually, I had one last night but I didn't get a Roll-Up cup so I was a bit put out by that.  Allow me to explain.

I'm usually a pretty lazy guy first thing in the morning.  I'm also a create of habit and when I get into a routine, I tend to stick with it and rarely deviate.  Lately I've been finding myself going to the local Irving near my apartment to get coffee.  First off, the price is right ($0.99 for any size) and they lots of different flavors to choose from.  Secondly, it is quick and it doesn't taste all that bad.  Thirdly, they give me a little card that is stamped every time I buy a coffee and after 6, the next one is free.  Normally I don't ever use the free one, so I have 3-4 cards in my truck that have free coffees on them (2 per card) that I'm saving for when I don't have any money on me and really need a coffee.

This works out since I had an unfortunate incident with the truck last weekend.  For whatever reason, the driver's side window started to act up when I used it.  I was heading to the Tim Horton's drive-thru to get a coffee last weekend and when I pushed the button to lower the window it began to lower (slowly) and about half way down I heard a bit of a crunch sound.  I was a bit worried, especially when the window failed to go down any further.  I pressed the button up and down and it didn't seem to be doing anything.  I could hear the mechanism in the door moving, but it wasn't moving the window.  I pressed the down button until I couldn't hear it moving any longer and then I gently pushed down on the window and it just slid down.  Of course it was raining out and I was getting wet while waiting for my coffee and I was mildly annoyed that the window was having issues after only owning the vehicle for a little over a week.  Regardless, I drove away, hit the up button and low and behold the window began to raise, VERY slowly.  I was a relieved when it went all the way to the top.  The last thing I wanted was a broken window in the down position during a rain storm.

It seemed to work on and off most of Friday and Saturday, but Saturday night the thing really broke.  The window wouldn't go up or down and the window was sitting about 1/4 of the way open.  I could slide the window up with my hands, but it would just slowly crawl back down again.  It was frustrating.  Thankfully we didn't have any snow or rain that night because I was forced to leave the window down all night because it was late and I didn't feel like fumbling my way around in the dark trying to figure out how to keep it closed.

The next morning I woke and went outside with my son and we took apart the door to see if we could figure out the problem.  The door was fairly simple to take apart and after getting it open, I noticed a snapped cable inside which (I assume) is responsible for pulling the window down and pushing it up.  A quick trip to my local Canadian Tire told me that due to the year and the type of part that was busted, I would need to take it to the dealer.  I figured out a way to keep the window up so at least I could remain dry and warm this week, but it has really sucked getting into the parking garage and going through drive-thrus when I don't have a window to roll down.  Needless to say, I haven't been to a drive-thru since this happened which means I've been drinking a lot of Irving coffee and haven't been going to Tim's.

-slurp-

Last night Kate had a job interview at one of the Tim Horton's near our place and when she left, she grabbed a free coffee (interview perk maybe?).  Of course because the coffee was free, there was no Roll up cup with it.  The funny part is, I had sent my son in to buy me a coffee while I was waiting because I wanted to be able to roll-up and post about it, but alas, it wasn't meant to be I guess.

I plan on giving the dealership a call tomorrow to see if they have time for me to take the truck in and look at it.  I'm not sure how much this is going to cost me, but I suspect it will be expensive.  the part itself seems fairly simple, so I don't suspect that will cost me much, but the labor will definitely cost me.

-slurp-

Well folks, time for me to take off for now.  Hopefully I'll get some time tomorrow to post again.

Cheers,

Al

Friday, February 25, 2011

v41.5: Regulated Gas Prices

Morning folks,

-slurp-

It's FRIDAY!  My work week has finally come to a close and now I have a weekend to potentially look forward to.  This week has gone by quite fast for me.  I've been quite busy at work this week so my days seem so much shorter.  It's a good feeling to be working away on something and then look at the clock and see the time jump by several hours.

Here in Nova Scotia we have regulated gas prices.  Basically, that means the price of gas is controlled by a group of people who raise (or lower) the price of gas every week based on various factors.  Last night I drove by a gas station and noticed there was quite a line up of cars waiting to get gas.  Normally I hear on the radio what the projected increase (or decrease) is going to be, but for whatever reason I didn't catch it yesterday morning.  I assumed gas was going to go up, hence the line of cars waiting at the pumps.  Normally people freak out over a couple of cents a liter.  When you consider the average car has a 40 liter tank, if the price of gas went up 2 cents a liter, you're looking at an additional 80 cents to fill up your car.  Seriously people!  Is that a good reason to wait in line to get gas?  You're probably spending that much in gas just waiting to beat the 2 cents per liter increase.

Unfortunately, the price of gas jumped 4 cents per liter here in Halifax last night, which still isn't a whole lot when you consider the 40 liter tank again.  Unfortunately, my truck has at least an 80 liter tank in it and at $1.21 per liter, I'm looking at approximately $100 to fill the thing.  Truth be told, I have no idea how big my gas tank is but I know the last time I filled it up, it took $100 easily so the tank must be a bit larger than 80 liters.  Regardless, an increase of 4 cents a liter is still a lot when you look at the overall price of gasoline in the city right now.  I haven't been following the price of oil lately, but I suspect that, combined with the conflicts over in the middle east, are the primary cause for the sudden jump.

-slurp-

Well folks, just a quick musing this morning to start off my day.  I hope everyone has a great weekend and if I get some time to post this weekend I will definitely do that.  If you live in the Halifax area, drive safely today.  There is going to be a ton of rain today and then the temperature is going to drop suddenly tonight, causing it all to freeze.  Take care.

Cheers,

Al

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

v41.4: The Truck

Morning folks,

-slurp-

It's hump day!  At least for those of us who typically work a Monday to Friday work week.  For those of you who don't, this is Wednesday to you and could be the start of your work week or the end.  Either way, Happy Wednesday.

Last week I took a drive up to New Brunswick to visit my father and to buy a new vehicle for the family.  My family has grown a bit over the past couple years and there is no way a standard 5 passenger vehicle is going to cut it any longer.  We got by for a few months after the baby was born last year, but it is starting to take its toll on us and we needed to get something a bit larger.  Originally I had driven up to visit my father to buy a mini-van, but after arriving at the car dealership, I was surprised to see they had no mini-vans in stock.  I was a little distraught by this as I was really looking forward to getting a vehicle that day.  I did, after all, drive all the way up there to get one.

-slurp-

After looking at the few vehicles at the dealership (which also happened to be a full service garage), I finally found the one I wanted.  Normally I wouldn't look twice at a vehicle like this because they are typically very expensive.  Fortunately for us, this vehicle is a few years older than I was looking for and it was going for a great price.  It is a 2003 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer edition.  This truck is fully loaded (and I mean fully loaded) and seats 8 people very comfortably.  In fact, the middle row has 3 seats and we can easily put the two car seats  there with lots of room for a 3rd person without begin squished.  In the old Matrix we had, two car seats took up most of the back seat with a small spot for my 8 year old daughter to sit; and she was squished.  Needless to say, this vehicle will serve its purpose and there is more than enough room to take everyone out at the same time and do whatever we need to do.  The one downside is the size of the engine and how much gas it consumes.  With the prices of gas being so high right now, it is a pain in the ass when it comes time to fill it up.  Oh well, the price we pay for the convience of having a vehicle that will seat at least 6.

-slurp-

Well folks, it is time to do some work.  This week promises to be as busy as previous weeks and while it is only Wednesday, it feels like it should be Friday for me.  I hope everyone has a great day and hopefully I will get a chance to post again tomorrow.

Cheers,

Al

Monday, February 21, 2011

v41.3: Return of the Roll-up

Howdy folks,

-slurp-

It has been a long time since I've posted here.  I've been taking a break from the writing lately, mostly because I just can't seem to come up with anything new or interesting to write about.  Well, seeing as I've started a tradition of writing during the months Tim Horton's has their Roll-up-the-Rim promotion, I couldn't let day 1 go by without posting.

-slurp-

So the official kick-off for Roll-up-the-Rim started today.  Of course I had no idea this was starting today so I was quite surprised when I pulled up to my local Tim's and saw the familiar red cup with the huge yellow arrow on the side.  I was excited!  I immediately started wracking my brain for useful and/or interesting topics to post about as I began the journey of writing here again during the roll-up season.  Of course I drew a blank, which seems to be happening a lot these days.

I decided instead to make a quick post here and then think on some new topics tonight so I can start off fresh in the morning.  I still can't believe it has been almost 2 months since my last post, where has the time gone?

-slurp-

Hopefully I will get the opportunity to post daily like I've attempted to do in the past for the roll-up season.  You'll notice I've already started a new page where you will be able to follow along with me and keep up-to-date on my current winnings and losses this year.  This will be the 5th year I've been doing this and I'm excited to get a chance to do it once again.

Anyway folks, just a quick note to let you know I'm still here and to welcome the roll-up season for yet another year.  Wish me luck!

-slurp-

Cheers,

Al

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

v41.2: Happy Holidays

Howdy folks,

-slurp-

Added a nice little snowing plugin to the site to get people in the festive mood.  Of course we're getting rain here right now and there doesn't sound to be much in the forecast to suggest we'll have a white Christmas this year.  Seems like only a few days ago since my last post but after checking, double checking and triple checking the post dates, I realize I've missed quite a few days of posting; this has been a crazy busy month.

Gaming wise I've been laying low.  I was able to get my Blood Elf Mage to 85 last weekend and then I just stopped playing.  WoW just doesn't seem to have that hold on me it once did.  Perhaps it is because most of my friends are not playing the same times I am or perhaps it is just because I don't have the time I used to have.  I watched a fun little video this morning from Oxhorn which I thought was fitting.  Forgive me if you're lost and have no idea what this is about:



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Nothing like a video about WoW and Christmas at the same time.  I love it when people make video game movies.

Well folks, I wanted to just drop by and say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  I hope to get back and post again sometime before the end of the year, but I can't guarantee anything at this point.

-slurp-

Cheers,

Al

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

v41.1: Cataclysm

Howdy folks,

-slurp-

Yesterday Blizzard released their 3rd expansion to their award winning game, World of Warcraft.  The expansion is titled Cataclysm and it truly is a cataclysmic event which has taken hold of the gaming world.  Basically, the entire world as we have known it for the past 6 years has been forever changed.  Old borders have been redrawn and old enemies have been reborn.  Where there was once lush greenery there is now destruction and barren landscape; barren landscape has brought on new life.

Initially I wasn't going to pick up Cataclysm being so close to Christmas and all, but a friend who I have been gaming with for the past 5ish years wanted to buy it for me as an early Christmas present.  I'm most gracious that he did and I've been exploring all the new zones and experiencing the new races available in this expansion.  Tonight we decided to take a trip into one of the new instance to check it out.  For those who don't know what an "instance" is, it is basically a dungeon that you can go into that only contains you and your party.  Other groups can run the same instance at the same time, but they experience their own instance with their party.  Think of it as a mirror image of the same place for every group that wishes to enter it.

So far the new zones have been underwater.  I must admit I was a bit worried about underwater combat.  I used to play Dark Age of Camelot and their 3rd expansion was an underwater expansion which was done fairly nicely.  Blizzard has taken it a step above and has provided us a beautiful underwater realm to explore; I'm quite impressed.  I have only scratched the surface of this new area, but so far I'm really enjoying it.

-slurp-

Work has been fairly slow this week, of which I'm very thankful.  Work from home has given me the flexibility and time I need to assist my wife with her recovery.  I've been making the meals, changing most of the diapers and ensuring the other kiddies are taken care of and keeping out of my wife's hair.  For the most part things are going well, but I can already feel the strain of taking all these things on in addition to my regular day-to-day job.  Thankfully work has been very accommodating and understanding.

Well folks, it is getting late and I have a few things I need to do tonight before going to bed.  Saturday is the annual Christmas tree cutting event, my youngest daughter's 2nd birthday party and poker night with my sisters and their significant others.  It's going to be a very long day, but should be fun and good times.  See you all tomorrow.

Cheers,

Al