Unhealthy Hypocrisy

Normally, I suppose, this wouldn't really be a big deal. But seeing as I have been preaching about how people are fat, they eat unhealthily, don't exercise, etc, I think it is pretty funny/bad. In the last week, I have been eating like a pregnant woman. Here is a list of the health:
-about 15 Lindor chocolates
-an entire 1 lb chocolate bunny
-Smarties chocolate bar
-huge box of Junior mints

Apparently I like chocolate. Fortunately, I also ran 20 km, biked 15km, and did weights 5 times. Therefore, according to my calculations, if I didn't eat anything other than what I listed...I should break even. I am pretty sure I ate more than that, though. Maybe in a few years they will be designing a new, extra wide airplane seat, just for me.

Note: I don't think so

www.openoffice.org

Slowly but surely, I am freeing myself from his evil grasp. That's right, folks, one day I may not even recognize this man anymore. Today, I took another step away from Bill Gates and Microsoft, and maybe you should too.

How did he do it? Well, he had a damn good software suite. Everyone started using Windows. And then he struck, because now EVERYONE just HAD to have Windows, then Windows XP, or they felt as though they were in the stone age. And if you didn't have MS Office, you wouldn't be able to be functional in society. Thankfully, some people got pissed off about that and decided to make the world "better," instead of just "more Miscrosoft."

For me, it started with Gmail. I used it for a few days and was hooked. Yahoo has a decent webmail service too. I can't even stand Hotmail anymore. It is absolutely terrible. But it is the one that everyone heard about first, so they all still have their same horrible hotmail account with the name they came up with 8 years ago, if for no other reason than because they are afraid to change. After using Gmail, you too would realize how bad Hotmail is. I think I would rather go without email than use Hotmail again. Gmail has more storage, more sensible layout, a mailbox search function, and the best invention yet in email - linked conversations. There is even a chat function from right within the inbox. Hotmail has nothing.

Next, Internet Explorer got the boot. Mozilla Firefox, despite its annoying habit of not playing embedded .wmv files (or whatever those video files are), is far easier to use. Extensions, tabs, popup control and adblocking - all sorts of things that make it far superior. And, of course, the fact that - despite some recent problems - its security is still far better than that of Explorer is also a good thing. There is also an email program that works with Firefox called Thunderbird, but I have not yet tried it.

Today I took the next step. The omnipresent MS Office would be the next to go. Computers rarely come equipped with eveything Office, such as Excel, Powerpoint and Word. Rather, they have Notepad, which isn't very good for making presentations or spreadsheets. If you want to buy the newest and best MS Office, it would cost you about $300. If you decide instead that you have had enough of Microsoft taking all your money and/or controlling your life, yet still want to be compatible with your work and collegues who are slaves of Microsoft, then GO TO OPENOFFICE.ORG and download Openoffice. This program contains everything you need (and even stuff you don't - if you're not a math nerd and can find a use for OO Math, you're a smarter man than I). You can open all previous Office documents including Powerpoint, Excel, and Word. You can build spreadsheets and databases. Best of all, you can even save your documents in Office format to ensure their compatibility with the computers of your stone-age slave friends and companies.

I have tried Word and Powerpoint documents, and they turned out perfectly in the new programs. There was a slight difference in the presentation of an Excel spreadsheet, but that was only in the presentation of a graph (the data remained identical).

So get to it. Download Openoffice. And bring us one small step closer to bankrupting Bill Gates.

Better than the Jets

Well, you know the men's team isn't better than the Jets. Or not much, anyway. But what I was referring to is someone who came out of Winnipeg - this makes TWO good things from this city. Nice work Cindy Klassen, 5-time Olympic medalist.


Sexy suit, too.

Me

I'm bored. There's no doubt about it. There are so many things I don't know, so many things I don't know how to do, and yet I am bored. Shouldn't I be out doing these things? Yes, you are probably right. Unfortunately, something seems to be in the way. I call it: my job. It's not much of a "job" at this point, really. I go to class and learn french, 5 days a week. Some people would consider this an ideal situation - getting paid to learn something that could be useful in many aspects of life, both in and outside of work. Unfortunately, as you know, this also means I live in Winnipeg, in a single room. No kitchen, no living room, certainly no garage, none of that sort of thing. As well, I will be leaving in a few months so it seems as if I shouldn't get anything started. The things that I tell myself I would be doing if I weren't here are starting to pile up. I figured that, today, I would write these things down lest I forget/slack off and don't do them when I have a chance.

I want to learn how to do more home renovations and repairs
I want to learn how to be a great cook
I want join a sports team
I want to learn to do woodworking
I want to visit the east coast
I want to build my own cabin someday
I want to live in my own house
I want to fly
I want to go back to New Zealand
I want to live near to my friends
I want to go to France
I want to go hiking/camping/mountain biking more often
I want a bigger TV
I want to have a private bathroom
I want to talk to someone other than a teacher in french

Eyes on the goal. Head up. Keep going. And hopefully, one day soon, I won't be making any more excuses.

The best way to hurt yourself

Seriously, don't you think new razor design is getting a little bit crazy? I mean, why add one blade at a time - I'm sure they already have something new planned to replace it...

Winnipeg

Apparently I am an angry person who complains a lot. These are direct accusations from more than one person. So today, instead of complaining or being angry, I will do the opposite. I will be a thankful person counting all my blessings. And first and foremost on my list of blessings is the fact that I only have to live in Winnipeg for approximately 5 more months. And following is a list of why I will be happy to leave. That's not angry or complaining, is it??

-The roads in Winnipeg suck.

-It is ridiculously cold in the winter. The high tomorrow is -22 C, and that isn't even close to what it was last year when the high was around -30 C for a month.

-The roads suck.

-It is ridiculously hot and humid in the summer. Humidex around 40 C.

-The snow-clearing is terrible. Obviously there is a lot of snow here, and when they clear it (which is rare) they pile it up around the intersections and in between major routes and merge lanes so nobody can safely enter another road.

-The roads suck.

-The city is horribly designed. There is no explanation for it, other than maybe that the first mayor gave 5 guys a blank piece of paper each and they all walked away from downtown, designing as they went. Streets are not square, there is no sense to the numbering, there are no block numbers, being on an avenue or a road or a street doesn't mean you are travelling in a particular direction, there are no driveways (instead there are alleys which don't get cleared in the winter), the lights are 100% uncoordinated and not set to respond to traffic volume (or lack thereof)...

-The roads suck.

-Everyone thinks the Jets are coming back.

-A lot of people who live here don't even like it.

-The roads suck.

-I saw part of a show on TV the other day, on the Shaw Cable channel, where the guy was going around asking people if Winnipeggers had enough civic pride. Basically, the answers indicated that people here should be proud because it is so cold and so hot and sucks so much and they live through it. Should that really make me proud? It's not working.

-The mosquitoes are terrible in the summer, because the whole province is basically a swamp.

-They don't have any money to do things like, oh, I don't know, fix the roads or clear the snow.

-The drivers are terrible. I know I am not the greatest driver who ever lived, but here are the Winnipeg driving habits that irk me: Turning left at an uncontrolled intersection, pulling across one direction of traffic and waiting for the other direction to clear before merging, thus blocking people moving in the first direction; turning left out of traffic but not moving out of the way of cars behind, despite ample room; driving 70km/h down Portage Ave in a snowstorm and 40km/h on a sunny summer day; parking in the right lane of arterial roads.

-The roads suck.

Now, I know I am supposed to say two good things for every bad thing I say. But I am afraid my list of good in Winnipeg cannot compare. They have awesome outdoor hockey rinks, I will give them that. Unfortunately, that also means that they are usually booked for minor hockey so that doesn't help me very much.

There. I am glad I made it through the day without complaining. And I can't wait to get out of here.

Hockey

So I was watching women's hockey this morning. Why, I don't know. I turned it off when it was 7-0 Canada over Russia in the first period. But I noticed something: most of the women have short hair, or their hair is tied up. In men's hockey, on the other hand, they take pride in their long flowing locks. So how do we differentiate between whether you are watching a men's game or a women's game? Here is my hint:
Seriously, one of those girls is 5'2" and 121 lbs. That is about the size of Georges Laraque's left biceps. Wow.

Janet

Dilemmas

Today I want to talk about something that has been at the centre of debate in the USA for several years now. I had never really realized how I would come to see the importance of this debate until last night. The question - individual rights versus the right to safety for everyone.

In the US, this has to do with laws like The Patriot Act and the resulting activities by the US government. This is supposed to make the country safer, but it makes individuals liable to much closer scrutiny, including investigation and imprisonment for speaking against the government or for the enemies of the government.

So how did this come to the forefront last night, you ask?

I had just exited a popular Winnipeg hotspot at around 1am or so. This particular hotspot happens to serve alcoholic beverages, of which I had consumed a few. Before getting in the back of the car for a long ride home, I felt nature calling and knew I would need to heed its call before cramming myself in the back seat of that not-so-roomy RSX. So I thought I would just run around the corner of the building. Crap! The ally was lit up like Times Square. Let's try the other side. What the hell? There is just a couple of dumpsters here, but about 10 overhead lamps flooding the area with light. Not even a shadow big enough to stand in. There was some guy from Norway with me trying to find a similar location, and he yelled, "Vat da 'ell? I tot I vud be aable to tak a peese ere mang!" Yeah...uh...me too.

After trying several allys and parking lots, I decided there was no choice - I would have to go under the lights. Having a good enough memory to ensure that there were no memorials to our fallen heroes anywhere nearby, I hid as well as I could next to a dumpster and took care of things.

Seriously...does the security of some old lady walking home to her apartment in the darkness take priority over a drunk guy having to relieve himself??? And really, should it?

Say it ain't so

This article talks about a sports gambling ring that involves Rick Tocchet and other well-known sporting individuals. It may also include Janet Jones, Wayne Gretzky's wife.

I am not a Doomsday guy, I don't think. But seriously, if Wayne Gretzky or his family go to jail....we might as well summon the volcanos and thunderstorms right now. The life I thought I knew would be over.

Come on, 99! It can't be! You're THE GREAT ONE!

Points

As I have previously mentioned, I was thinking about attempting to complete the requirements of an aerobic excellence award. This means I would need to earn 2000 "points" for various aerobic activities in under two years. I have since confirmed this desire, and I am all registered and have begun. In true Matt style, I have made an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of the numbers. So far, in 3.5 weeks, I have accumulated 98 points. This means I should have plenty of time to finish this self-competition.

However, motivation is a funny thing. Sometimes it is there, and then BAM, it's gone. So what I propose to you is that you, too, try this out. All the point values are in the previous post. It isn't very much work to keep track. And that way, we could have some motivation together. You don't win a signed paper certificate at the end, but really, is that the goal anyway? If you really want one, I will make a photocopy. So, what do you say, hmm? Hmmm?

Crossing borders

This story from the Globe and Mail details the plight of the Canadian Border Officials who have so bravely dedicated their lives to protecting our border from illegal aliens entering from the south. And how they will only do it if it involves pulling apart suitcases to find illegal quantities of cigarettes or alcohol, or checking passports and waving people right on through. It has been the second time in a few weeks that the union workers have heard about a possibly armed suspect of a crime in the US who may have been heading for the Canadian border, and they again abandoned their posts. The border was instead manned by management.

These actions have brought light to the fact that the border officials have no weapons. They are asking for pistols, and the Conservatives have pledged to supply them with weapons and training. They have been asking to be armed for years.

Make no mistake about this, they are perfectly within their rights to leave work if they feel unsafe. The same is true, as far as I know, for every working person in Canada excluding the military. Yes, that includes police officers and firefighters. When a firefighter arrives at your building, which is burning and near to collapse, and you are screaming from a 3rd-storey window for help, he is under absolutely no legal obligation to put any danger upon himself to save you. And when a criminal has his arm wrapped around your neck, waving a shotgun around and yelling, the police are under no legal obligation whatsoever to stick around, risking themselves to try to help you.

But what do you think they would do?

Maybe all the border officials need is a weapon and they will feel that their lives are no longer in danger. But what danger are they in if, as in previous cases, they let the guys who are threatening them go right on through? I would dare say that that would cause less problems than a border official trying to stop them. What happens now is that they are allowed right on through the border, and the police are called in to nab the bad guys.

So would armed border officials create a safer Canada? Perhaps, since theoretically these armed bandits would be apprehended at the borde rather than later. Would it be safer for the border officials? I think not.

So are they running away from their posts because they are worried about their safety, thinking they would be safer if equipped with weapons, or simply to draw attention to their situation (à la 5 year-old making a scene in a grocery store so his parents will buy him his Sugar Pops)?

I don't know. According to my highly-biased opinion, I think they should stay.