A poor choice

Ugh. So I made the mistake of watching the final debate for Ontario Premiere. First off, whose stupid idea was it to have these blabbermouths have an open debate? So they could all talk over each other, fearmonger, and you can hear nothing? Stupid. Ford was unimpressive. A few catch lines and zingers he repeated ad nauseam but had nearly no substance and no platform. WTF are clowns clapping about? You so easily impressed by his rhetoric? Wait until he takes all your services away. You won’t be laughing then. I was primarily interested in seeing Horvath. And she also didn’t impress. Sure, beside a buffoon like Ford she seems mildly credible but only marginally. Shockingly, or surprisingly, Wynne seemed the most polished. She was patient and had smart answers to questions. Plans, not bluster. But she is also dragging the anchor of her past performance and failures. So wow. Good luck Ontario. A big bunch of ‘don’t want’ to vote for. Sigh. Once again, might have to vote for the least worst candidate.

Last weekend we drove up to Hardwood Hills to test drive a bike and hit some trails. Well, it started off quite poorly. We signed up for a guided tour on some beginner trails. We were looking forward to getting a bit of instruction and some easy routes, as we have never ridden in Hardwood before. We met up with the group, started the ride, first hill… change gears… CHANGE GEARS?!….UGH… it wouldn’t change, at all. The bike was locked in a high gear, making it useless for climbing. Soooooo, I took it back to the very helpful bike mechanic I rented from. He checked it over. The former renter did a number on it. I noticed when I first got the bike that a bunch of wood chips were stuck in the chain and gears, we guess the former ride hit a tree, damaged the bike and didn’t report it. Thanks buddy! So, the mechanic setup me with a new Cannondale Cujo and off we went. I didn’t have any other bike issues. I’ve only really ridden a 20 year old, shockless, touring Trek for most my life, so a bike with shocks and massive tires was eye-opening. It felt like driving a tank surrounded by balloons. It would go over anything. Trail riding was fun. (Incidentally, accurately, the trail was named “Fun”) We did two loops then met up with my BiL who was actually racing that day. We asked him how he thought he did, he said, oh 10 top I think. Later as the winners were announced and heading to the podium, he was caught unprepared for his 2nd place finish! (Congrats JP!) We did another short “cool down” lap with JP then left Hardwood. It was a great afternoon there. We will certainly be back.

Bdot has enjoyed the Kona she got at Bike Zone and wants to continue riding. If I was to have any hope in keeping up with her, I was going to need a new bike. The consensus from Bike Zone staff and our bike consultant JP was that the Kona Kuana was the best bike available for our price point. So yes… we have now have matching bikes. We will differentiate them with grips and water carriers. It didn’t make sense to get an inferior bike just so they were different looking. As I mentioned before, coming from the old Trek, the Kona feels like a massive upgrade, because it is. I look forward to more mountain biking!

All that biking made us really hungry! We did sushi at Akira. It was good – we all ate our fill and then some. It was great to see JP and my sister.

Grow damn it!

A while ago we overseeding the lawn. That was a big job. The bigger job is trying to keep the seed moist so it will germinate. SO MUCH WATERING. Dragging the hose to the front yard, to the backyard, to the side yard, water on, water off, watch the plants! … it is a horribly painful task. We are seeing some progress, however. The front yard (which has more shade) has a fair bit of new grass growing. The rest of the yard is hit and miss in spite of our best efforts.

Years ago I played WOW fairly regularly. But over time I was able to justify the monthly cost less and less and eventually canceled the account. Periodically, I miss wandering in an MMORPG universe. Recently I came across a list of the top MMORPGs. So, I decided to try a few out. One stuck: Lord of the Rings Online. It was familiar. I think I tried it years ago and didn’t like it. Looking at the now, it is easy to say the opening area is a poor introduction to the game. The rest of the realm is much nicer looking. The UI is still a bit clunky but it is really fun to play and it’s FREE! (Although you are brought to the BUY upgrades screen an awful lot…which will cost you real cashola)

Simplii Hacked

So my bank got hacked. Thousands (90k! according to an MP in Question Period) of accounts are compromised. I’m not sure if I’m one or not. I’ve changed my password just in case. The hackers called the bank (who didn’t know they were hacked) that they were. And I’m trusting these people with my money…?!

It is Golden Knights vs. Capitals for the Cup. I’m pulling for Ovi but the Knights are up a game.

Great to see Rosanne said something racist and ABC canceled her show. A candlelight of hope in a nation wandering in divisive darkness.

Good job ABC