Another night for the birds

Well it's another night of an underabundance of creativity so why not enjoy some ANGRY BIRDS!:



Another old video just gathering dust on my hard drive. I apologize for the quality as it's not a video camera and when I convert the AVI format to WMV (in order to compress a huge file), it loses clarity.

And remember, guns don't kill people they're just accessories to the crime.

Fowl

Well it's one of those nights/days/times when creativity is at a low level. So filling in for my lack of writing will be these entertaining geese. This video is almost 2 years old, so I'm thinking it might be good to get it out "there."




Okay, I guess you had to be there. Well that's what geese do, they bob. They bob for food. Geese bob for food. That's what geese do. Soon the geese will be returning to Ottawa (I've already heard them making their honking noises at night flying over head), and they'll probably be swimming and bobbing once again. I like saying, bobbing.

It's Friday and time for some odd thoughts

What's with popcorn? Before it's popped, they're called kernels and after they're popped it's called popcorn. That doesn't seem right. Shouldn't there be a scientific name like popcorn buds or flowerettes or something?

I was wondering why it's impossible to capture daylight in a can then go to a dark room, open it and see that light again. Maybe you can, I just haven't tried it.

I'm kind of glad that Facebook was invented. It would be a lot more difficult trying to identify old friends through a social network called Buttbook.

And what about earwax? It just doesn't seem to make sense. You can make candles out of beeswax but who would be foolish enough to make one out of earwax? Surely that would never work. Does a great job on hardwood furniture however. (Ha only kidding, please don't try this at home)

And finally did you ever wonder why it's called "Doomsday." Well obviously it stems from the word doom. So my guess is it probably sounds a bit stupid calling it "Doomday."

What just happened

I started thinking about the important things in our life. Probably the most important is our health. Then maybe comes our family and our career. Of course there's others, like religion, politics and the environment and more, you could think of. Some may argue about the order of importance but it doesn't really make a great deal of difference, as it's an individual perception.

I'm wondering, seeing all the chaos that is happening in other countries, if we should be concerned about the events from a human point of view. Not the particular politics or religious context, but just what it means when we see revolution taking place, like in Egypt as an example. It's now obvious that repression would no longer be tolerated, and the younger generation, for the most part, led protests against the government, willing to be killed for an ideal, what was referred to as democracy with the right to freedom of expression. No one will be able to say for certain, right now, what will become of this quest for democracy, but very likely it will be an improvement from what was in place. However, the long term effects may not be realized as a functioning government is put in place. And as we have seen for many hundreds of years, as long as the human race divides itself into different religions, governments and countries, this will only lead to further conflict. I believe that true change has to go beyond that.

Egypt protesters remain calm allowing Superbowl to take over headlines

For many Americans (and Canadians who follow the NFL) it appears that yesterday's Superbowl game (which Greenbay Packers won btw) took the attention away from headlines about events occurring in Egypt. From what I've read this morning, it was a relatively calm day in Egypt, with no major violent events reported. It might be a sign that a rational approach to regime change may be in the works.

Also, there are still many protesters who refuse to return home and are continuing to occupy Cairo's Tahrir Square. They were described as forming a human chain around the 'Mugammo' which is a government complex where people go to have paperwork processed. On a positive note for people who need cash, the banks are open for the second straight day, but bad news for investors, as the stock market is not expected to open until next week. And for parents with kids it may be difficult, as schools remain closed. Kids probably not as upset, since they likely don't get any 'Snow-days'.

Egypt: Will the protesters run out of rocks?

Who knew that the people in Egypt were so unhappy with their leader/government? Living here in the West, I just assumed that they were fine with the way things were. I don't recall hearing any reporting, suggesting that the country of Egypt was run in a dictatorial and oppressive manner. The huge numbers of protesters and willingness to face brutality by police gives an indication of how opposed to the regime, the people are.

We don't know what will happen in Egypt, or whether the protesters will be successful in bringing about a democratic form of government in the near future. It does make us wonder if it will lead to freedom or a different style of autocracy. The good thing about the revolt is that it shows people won't tolerate repressive authority and demand that change be made. The bad thing is the possibility that the chaos may just lead to another government with more of the same, or worse.

I wonder how many other countries are run by dictators and military backed repressive governments and what lies ahead for them, if this type of revolution becomes popular. Maybe have to watch who's walking around with a bag, collecting rocks.

Waiting in line for a free bag of potatoes

I got a free bag of potatoes today. Yep, but it wasn't easy. Here's how it happened.

In the store's fruit and vegetable section, I saw a sale price of $2.99 for a ten pound bag of washed white potatoes, so I picked up a bag along with other items. While the cashier was totaling up the items, I noticed the monitor showed a price of $3.49 so I pointed out the mistake to her. She ran it through the scanner again, and sure enough it showed $3.49. She asked if I wanted the potatoes and I reluctantly said yes, but felt somewhat cheated, even if it was for only 50 cents. I began thinking that I had somehow made a mistake when I saw the sale sign, maybe picking up the wrong brand or it had been placed in the wrong section.

Now policy at the grocery store says if you are overcharged the price of a sale item, they will refund the full amount you paid for the item, in essence, getting the item for free. You see where I'm going with this now don't you?

So I lined up at the courtesy counter and waited while a couple of people were serviced. When I explained the situation to the young woman behind the counter, she asked for my receipt and to show her the front of the bag of potatoes. I showed her what I thought was the front (with the mesh see-through side) but she said to turn the bag around to the other side which had a lot more printing and graphics on it. She was somewhat abrupt and not overly friendly. I had a sense this wasn't going to be easy. Meanwhile I could hear the older man behind me grumbling under his breath as he waited for lotto tickets. I felt a little guilty making him wait, but this was the opportunity to get something free, and besides, how many other people had been "ripped off" even if it was unintentional. So I stood and waited as she paged the manager, who was having lunch. "I'm trying to get you a refund" she said, "but I have to have the manager sign this paper" holding up some type of standard exchange form. "I can refund the difference what you paid and the sale price" she said, which meant a whole 50 cent refund. I just looked at her disapprovingly, with a no thank you motion. What would you expect me to do after waiting in line for at least five minutes now.

I asked her if there was anyone else in the store that could sign the paper. She said, "No, the manager of that department has to sign it," she said insistently. I repeated my earlier statement almost word for word, "you mean there really isn't anyone else in the store who can sign this?" I was not believing it. She turned around to go back to the phone to page or phone somebody again but helped the man behind me, get his lotto tickets. By this time he was quite irritable, especially when she kept asking him redundant questions, like: "you want all the lines on the same ticket" she queried, and that will be $6.00 right?" He said yes, to each question, but in an unfriendly sarcastic tone.

Another customer behind him waited patiently, while talking to her male friend. She asked another cashier at the counter for a package of cigarettes. That's $10.16 the cashier replied, then went to opposite side of the courtesy desk to fetch the cigarettes. "I know she's going to ask for I.D." the young woman said, just loud enough for her friend and myself to hear. Sure enough, as soon as she had uttered the words, the cashier was back at the counter, asking for identification, while the young woman was already reaching for her wallet. I started wondering how anyone can afford to smoke at those prices. Then as she left, a man bought a carton of cigarettes. The package was covered in warning labels, boldly stating with words and graphics, the dangers of cigarette smoking. "The clerk quoted a figure of 88 dollars and change. Wow! I'm glad I'm not a smoker, or I'd have to give up food for that type of pleasure/addiction.


Well finally some good news. A manager showed up at the opposite side of the courtesy desk and signed the paperwork. I didn't have the courage to ask if this was the "only" manager in the store who could sign the official document, but it was looking good for the full refund now. The unfriendly cashier now asked the other cashier to help by counting the $3.49 change from the register, which she was happy to do. I quickly counted the coins in my hand and could see the amount wasn't right. There was less than three dollars. The unfriendly cashier stated that I was getting back what I paid, but she was preoccupied with filling out the form for which I was required to sign, state my address and phone number. It seemed more like privacy invasive for a simple exchange of a small amount of cash. I asked the cashier if I was supposed to get the full amount I paid and showed her the amount in my hand. "Give him a Loonie" (an often used term for a Canadian dollar coin with an engraving of a loon on the back, for those not familiar) she said emphatically. The other cashier was happy to oblige, and I was hoping this was just an honest mistake because it would not have been worth the entire episode without the full refund.

"Do you want the receipt?" the unfriendly one said. "Yes, I do" as I muttered something meaningless to justify the return of the receipt. We exchanged thank-yous as a formality and she lifted the bag without smiling and said "here's your potatoes" and quickly turned away. It might not have been worth the effort, but was fun writing about it. Maybe a baked potato sounds good for supper.