This just in (a few hours ago)

CITY OF EDMONTON-ST ALBERT-SHERWOOD PARK
9:50 AM MST TUESDAY 28 OCTOBER 2003

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR
CITY OF EDMONTON-ST ALBERT-SHERWOOD PARK CONTINUED
15 TO 30 CENTIMETRES OF SNOW IS EXPECTED.


A FIRST TASTE OF WINTER IS IN STORE FOR CENTRAL ALBERTA. AN INTENSE WINTER STORM WILL MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL ALBERTA TODAY AND TONIGHT BRINGING SIGNIFICANT WEATHER WITH IT. AT 9:45 AM PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM WAS FALLING ACROSS WEST CENTRAL ALBERTA. RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF PRECIPITATION STRETCHING FROM GRAND PRAIRIE TO RED DEER SOUTHEASTWARD AND THE WAS MOVING EASTWARD TOWARDS EDMONTON. THE PRECIPITATION WAS FALLING AS SNOW OVER THE GRAND PRAIRIE, EDSON AND ENTWISTLE AREAS BUT GRADUALLY CHANGES OVER TO RAIN TO THE SOUTH OVER THE RED DEER AREA. POOR VISIBILITIES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW. A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW IS STILL POSSIBLE FOR AREAS SOUTH OF EDMONTON TODAY HOWEVER AS COOLER AIR MOVES SOUTHWARD THE PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE OVER COMPLETELY TO SNOW THIS EVENING. 15 TO 30 CENTIMETRES OF SNOW IS EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS TOWARDS THE FOOTHILLS. STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS BEHIND THE COLD FRONT WILL ALSO CAUSE SOME BLOWING SNOW IN OPEN AREAS TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.


Six to twelve inches of snow? OVER NIGHT? Aww, fuck.
Would somebody please remind me why I don't like this province.... On second thought, don't. I think I remember.

What?

Two updates this close together? Whoa! Who woulda thunk it?

Time for the 365gay.com horoscope!
_{"365gay.com. Where we have horoscopes flying out of orifices at a speed we never thought possible!"}

Capricorn:Success planet Jupiter is rolling along in friendly Virgo, creating a cornucopia of opportunities. You're Jimmy Smits landing the lead in a new NBC detective drama or Jason Alexander getting signed for a new CBS sitcom about sports writer Tony Kornheiser's life. Hollywood is calling in a big way. Think about what you wanted to be when you grew up. Rock star? Astronaut? Crocodile.


Bed time. Must sleep. Work tomorrow. Ugh.

Star Wars -vs- Star Trek

While I do prefer Star Trek over Star Wars, I still found this funny. Especially the engine room and the asteroid ones.


Why Star Wars Characters Would Kick Ass In The Star Trek Universe

-In the Star Wars universe, weapons rarely, if ever, set on "stun."
-The Enterprise needs a huge engine room with an anti-matter unit and a crew of twenty just to go into warp--the Millennium Falcon does the same thing with R2-D2 and a Wookie.
-After resisting the Imperial torture droid and Darth Vader, Princess Leia still looked fresh and desirable--after pithy Cardassian starvation torture, Picard looked like hell.
-One word: lightsabers.
-Darth Vader could choke the entire Borg empire with one glance.
-The Death Star doesn't care if a world is class "M" or not.
-Unlike Kirk, or Riker - Luke Skywalker isn't obsessed with sleeping with every alien woman he encounters.
-Jabba the Hutt would eat Harry Mudd for trying to cut in on his action.
-The Federation would have to attempt to liberate any ship named Slave I.
-Picard pilots Enterprise through an asteroid belt at one-quarter impulse power. Han Solo floors it.

Ye Olde Horoscope.

Brought to you by the fabulous folks at 365gay.com!!

Capricorn:You pride yourself on being the biggest nerd in the room. Nobody can talk about the latest weather patterns better than you. Your collection of pocket protectors is world famous, and you're an expert on odd, unpopular subjects. ("Did you know that a flying lemur can glide nearly 160 feet?") With the Moon kicking up the need for change, it's time to remake yourself in a hip image. Think boots instead of loafers, micro-minis instead of slacks. Don't make me send the Fab Five to your house!

While I don't know much about flying lemurs (nor do I care, for that matter), I do have a rather impressive knowledge of all things Star Trek. So, I guess I do qualify as a nerd. I prefer the word 'geek', though. ;-)

As for the Fab Five coming to my house, I could handle that quite easily. My parents need all the help they can get.

Friday Five. Brought to you by Sunday!

Go here for all sorts of Friday Five goodness. :-)

1. Name five things in your refrigerator.
4L jug of milk, a Brita water filter pitcher, 2L bottle of Pepsi, assorted condiments (ketchup, mustard, jams, etc), veggies in the crisper drawer.

2. Name five things in your freezer.
An assortment of 'heat & eat' lunches, pizza, perogies, won ton soup, chicken

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.
Oven cleaner, bathroom/kitchen cream cleaner, bleach, extra scour pads, windex

4. Name five things around your computer.
Oh, dear lord. Can I just name one? "A giant mess"? I can't? Ok, fine. Here goes...
Headphones, Star Trek novel (The Lost Era: The Sundered), a stack of game cds, my journal, books on astrology

5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet.
Deodorant stick, extra-strength Tylenol, ear piercing cleaner, facial cleansing cream, nail polish & remover

Welcome to the long weekend

Less than 90 min of it left. :-)

Horoscope for the week:
Capricorn:Those power outages in New York, London, and Italy have you concerned. As a practical Earth sign, you've already invested in a generator or lined up a warm honey to keep you toasty on those cold winter nights. But you still worry about the state of the economy, the state of the world, and the state of the grid. Take a break from the news. Forget about that senior Bush official who is alleged to have leaked stuff. (Do you really need the gritty details about the poor guy's bladder problem?)

Went and saw the movie 'Kill Bill' on Saturday. T really liked it. So did EmmDeeBee. I'm still uncertain about it, but leaning towards 'It was lame/Didn't like it'. I would appear to be outnumbered.

A most interesting discussion.

Oasis and I were having another one of our icq chats tonight, when she asked a question out of nowhere. No relation in any way to the previous topic. She suggested I blog it.
Reprinted with her permission:

*****Background info*****
I still live at home, and both my parents are very religious. Especially my dad (who has made several anti-gay comments in the past). As such, neither of them know that I am gay.
*****/Background info*****

O: Off topic...do your parents still believe you go to church?
B: I think so. But, not on a weekly basis
O: Wow. Impressive. :)
B: I know!
Most Saturday nights (service time) I'm with friends, or 'T'.
That, or sitting in Chapters or Second Cup. My decompression time.
O: That's cool.
B: ya
One of two facts are amazing:
1) I'm very good at hiding everything from my parents
2) They're good at hiding that they know. (doubtful. very doubtful)
O: It must be very difficult for you. My party life is fairly easy to submerge because it's not a lifestyle...it's a fun thing I do some Saturday nights.
For you, living where you do, it must be far more difficult to try and appear contrary to your "you-ness"
B: To appear straight, you mean?
Yeah, it can be. Especially when I'm 'high' from being with 'T', or something.
Unlike most people, I can't share my victories, joys, accomplishments, sorrows, and such with my family.
When I started coming out (no small feat), I couldn't get their help or anything.
When I had a boyfriend last and this year, they couldn't know.
When I broke up with my ex last year, I could only turn to a friend out here for support.

You can announce to mom/dad that you're in love, and that Candyman is sweet.
If I did that about 'T', I'd be up to my neck in shit.
B:Frustrating? Just a tad
O:You should blog about that.
O:I'm sure there's a lot of people in your situation who would love to hear how you handle that separation of worlds.
B:Basically, I built my own family.
I have wonderful friends like you, Justy, Trev, Ky, The Kid, Stacey, EmmDeeBee, RenderMan (& his mom), and so on.
I have made my own family.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, that's it. If anybody has any thoughts, questions, or comments, you are free to contact me. You can use the comments option below if it isn't overly personal, or my email addy on the side if it is.

Ahhh... Friday. YAY!!

Only 30 min of work left.
*stares at clock*
Move faster, dammit!
:-)

Friday Five time!

1. Do you watch sports? If so, which ones?
Not really, no. I went to Motocross fairly recently, and I'd like to go again. I'm going to have to wait for next season, though.

2. What/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes?
Teams? Athletes?
Couldn't care less about either.

3. Are there any sports you hate?
Hate? No. I just don't like most sports.

4. Have you ever been to a sports event?
Yeah. Several kinds. Hockey, baseball, football, motocross.
As for this year: One baseball game (friend's bday), and one motocross practice session.

5. Do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? How long did you play?
I played soccer at recess/lunch in gr 4/5. I was a pretty decent goalie, too. Never did the team thing, sadly.
I sometimes golf (mostly at the driving range).

Ooooooohhhh!!!!!!!

Chocolate is not only good for the morale, it is good for the body!
Just check out this little link for details on a study.

(text of link)
Done, by Carl Keen, a nutritionist at the University of California, Davis, the study shows chocolate has compounds called flavonoids that can help maintain a healthy heart and good circulation and reduce blood clotting — which can cause heart attacks and stroke.

Now Keen is fast to say that too much of a good thing isn't healthy.

But, in moderation, it has a beneficial effect.

“More and more, we are finding evidence that consumption of chocolate that is rich in flavonoids can have positive cardiovascular effects,” he said.

“We not only have observed an increase in antioxidant capacity after chocolate consumption, but also modulation of certain compounds which affect blood vessels,” Keen told a meeting of . the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Antioxidants such as vitamin C reduce the damage of cancer-causing charged particles in the body. Platelet activation is thought to be an important risk factor in blood clotting.

Keen and his colleagues at UC measured the impact of chocolate on platelets in the blood. They collected blood samples from volunteers who ate 25 grams, or slightly less than an ounce, of chocolate with a high flavonoid content and other volunteers who ate bread. They took blood samples from both groups two and six hours after they ate the chocolate and bread to measure their platelet activation.

Volunteers who ate the chocolate had lower levels of platelet activity, while the scientists found no change in the group that ate the bread.

Keen said the results of the study supported earlier research that showed that cocoa acts like low-dose aspirin, which helps to reduce blood clotting.

“These results lead us to believe that chocolate may contribute to a healthy, well-balanced diet,” Keen said
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok. That's a study result I can get into!
< Homer Simpson >
MMmmmmm.... Chocolate.
< /Homer Simpson >

The weekly usual...

Horoscope:
Capricorn:As the Moon marches into your sign for a couple of days, you'll come up with an innovative money-making scheme. You could perform a free concert for American Express to get exposure for your new album, like Sting. You might agree to appear in the next Gap ad, following in the footsteps of Madonna and Missy Elliott. Or you'll schedule an expensive wedding, a dramatic breakup, and an application for a gun permit in rapid succession. (It sure brought Bennifer huge publicity.)

Money-making scheme? I wonder what it could be... *crosses fingers*

Slightly delayed Friday Five:
1. What vehicle do you drive?
2002 Saturn SL-1 4-door with 5-speed manual transmission.

2. How long have you had it?
Got it on Aug1st, 2002 (a little over 14 mos right now)

3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle?
I like a lot of the bells and whistles. Power locks/windows/mirrors, ac, cd player, remote keyless entry. Much fun.

4. What is the most annoying thing about your vehicle?
No cruise control.

5. If money were no object, what vehicle would you be driving right now?
Three things:
1) BMW sports car of some kind in the summer
2) Either a Volvo or BMW coupe of some kind in the winter
3) I would love to try a motocross motorbike. If I liked it enough, I'd get that.

Some fun-time reading.

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."
--Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)

That opening line for a novel inspired the Bulwer-Lytton bad writing contest. The goal is to create the worst, most god-awful opening sentence for a novel ever.

Here are a couple of my faves:

"Chief Inspector Blancharde knew that this murder would be easy to solve-despite the fact that the clever killer had apparently dismembered his victim, run the corpse through a chipper-shredder with some Columbian beans to throw off the police dogs, and had run the mix through the industrial-sized coffee maker in the diner owned by Joseph Tilby (the apparent murder victim)--if only he could figure out who would want a hot cup of Joe."

"This is a story of twin Siamese kittens, or, more specifically, of their shared appendage; it is a tail of two kitties."

Check out the rest here. Come on. You know want to.

Joke Time!

_{Duck and cover...}

A group of dentists decided to set up a new surgery. Since competition in their area was quite fierce, they wanted their new business to have something unique about it.
After much thought, they decided to set up shop on board a boat, moored on the banks of the river. As an added bonus, they also offered river crossings in the boat, with the dentistry work being performed during the crossing.
The business quickly became known as the Tooth Ferry.

Sadly, they went out of business when a rival dentist installed a bridge.

*rimshot.wav*

Something to try.

Check this out. It's an interesting little test called "Battleground God". No, this isn't some kind of test created by the religious fundamentalists in an attempt to brainwash (convert) you. What this test does is check for consistency (or lack of) in your beliefs.
They use three levels of 'grading' for each question. Miss, bite the bullet, and direct hits. Don't worry, they explain it all.

My results:
Congratulations!
You have been awarded the TPM medal of honour! This is our highest award for outstanding service on the intellectual battleground.

The fact that you progressed through this activity neither being hit nor biting a bullet suggests that your beliefs about God are internally consistent and very well thought out.

A direct hit would have occurred had you answered in a way that implied a logical contradiction. You would have bitten bullets had you responded in ways that required that you held views that most people would have found strange, incredible or unpalatable. However, you avoided both these fates - and in doing so qualify for our highest award. A fine achievement!


If you take the test, feel free to use the comment option below to tell me how you did.