A Freak Speaks

How the HELL did Letterman convince Leno to do a commercial for his show?

Time goes by way too fast, and I see my friends far too infrequently.

So.

To all of you – I love ya!

I lose track of time, and myself sometimes, but regardless, you’re all in my mind, and my heart (you know.. squishy red muscle, pumps blood all over the body?)

If I could think of one simple thing I could do to make my life better, it would be to have more of all of you in my day to day life.

Sadly, I’m stuck here – not in a great position to go anywhere right now, for a variety of reasons – but hey, feel free to come out – we’ve only had 2cm of snow this winter and the leaves started budding in January this year

It’s hard to believe I’ve been living on the coast for more than 5 years – it’s pretty shocking in some ways, seems like only yesterday we were loading the U-Haul for the trip to the coast, with no money and no place to go…

Went to Arby’s for lunch today

GOD DAMN

They have a Roast Beef Gyro that’s pretty much to die for – highly recommend it to anyone

other than that, not much to report… only 4 episodes left and I’ve seen every episode of Stargate ever made (that’s 15.5 seasons between SG1, Atlantis and Universe, and 3 movies so far… I started watching in December)

AND… We decided to hire Bark Busters to train us (you get the impression that they’re going to train your dog, but really they train you on how to properly train your own dog)

and on that note… I’m off to pretend I have a life! (take a dreamy nap)

The last couple years have been, for me, a rebuilding process.

The goal?

Get out of debt, get some savings established, get re-established as an independent entity.

It’s been a struggle, to say the least – but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The hardest part is, with the hours I work, and the hours I sleep, it’s very difficult to stay connected… and when I do, I’ve been doing so little, besides working and sleeping, that I really don’t have a lot to talk about.

I’m feeling more than a little disconnected from the reality that some would call a “life”

I’d like to make more of an effort to reconnect with people I care about, but they mostly have “real” lives these days, that would make 4am phone calls something to be discouraged… and then there’s the distance factor – 1000km is actually a pretty long distance it would appear.

All of this has led me to lead a very, very introverted existence – I mean, I’ve caught up on TV shows I missed, I’ve seen a lot of movies, but really, I haven’t done much. I went into this phase thinking that, after a couple years of disconnect, I’d come out the other side with better means to reconnect in a meaningful way, without being weighted by all the mistakes I’d made over previous years.

Of course, that may never work… but I’m getting closer to the point where I’ll be able to at least try.

I honestly don’t recall changing – pretty sure I haven’t, beyond the antisocial nature of the hours I keep, and the fact I live 1000km away from my friends.

I mean… I’m actually a very, very introverted, quiet person – have been since I was maybe 13 or so… I don’t share emotions well, although I try to work on it…

And I have a terrible memory – I don’t remember when the last time I called someone was… could be last week or 2 years ago.

anyways

I have some minor health issues I’m trying to deal with, some personal, none serious. Not dying. Not overly broken.

Am a little chubbier than I’d like, but that applies to most of my friends… not all… there are at least 2 that could handle a few more pounds (you know who you are)

And if you have my number, and have any questions, feel free to call me – I’m doing just fine, but I don’t talk to my friends enough, so I’m always here for any of you. Unless I’m sleeping – waking me up when I’m sleeping is always a very poor choice, because I have a hell of a time getting to sleep, and a much harder time getting back to sleep… inevitably it ruins my day.

Not that that’s very exciting – lately all I do is work and sleep, not like there’s anything really going on. Over 2 years now, that’s the extent of my life – working and sleeping, the only 2 things I can afford to do. Thankfully that will change soon.

I walked into the doctor’s office today (walk in) and asked for 3 referrals and a prescription refill.

He refused

I need those 3 referrals, so I can find out what’s going on and how to fix some things – the one that bothers me the most is the alcohol sickness (drinking makes me violently ill, and I like getting tipsy from time to time)

he gave me a prescription and told me to get drunk then go get blood tests the next morning while I was feeling crappy.

eff him.

that was officially the last time I’ll ever go near that clinic. I got none of what I needed, other than a tube of cream – which was a simple refill.

douche. canoe.

Then again, why worry?

Yeah, food prices in restaurants are about to go up in BC thanks to the HST… We know it raises the price a little, but why exactly are we freaking out?

Because restaurants think raising prices that much will drive everyone away.

Really?

They could have fooled me, considering most restaurants have raised prices at least that much all on their own in the last 5 years – some do it every year (Boston Pizza anyone?)

Fact of the matter is, the government adding taxes will have an effect

It will affect you.

BUT

Why didn’t we see the massive effect on employment when the restaurant had a similar price increase without the assistance of the government?

I mean – if this will result in thousands of people losing their jobs, why would any restaurant EVER increase their prices to such devastating effect?

It’s a load of crap.

I for one, don’t like the whole HST bullshit thing – but on the same note, I do believe the restaurant industry is being hypocritical and stupid, considering they do the same thing year in and year out. Price increases are the only way to pad the bottom line (well, increasing sales would do that as well, but it’s easier to raise prices and serve less people) – their only problem is THIS price increase doesn’t go to them.

Boo hoo?

If anyone loses a job over this, rest assured, it’s the greed of the employer, not the tax.

yeah yeah… it’s a band…

I heard one of those “Stand up to the broadcasters” commercials from Shaw Cable.

stand up to who?

basic story is this: Broadcasters in Canada want Cable providers to pay a fee to carry their programming (shock, awe, et cetera)

The cable companies are saying it’s not fair, because if they have to pay, then they have to pass the cost on to their subscribers. Seems fair, right?

Except, despite the fact that they currently get that programming for FREE… they already charge their subscribers to receive it.

This is the crux of the argument the broadcasters have made – if YOU are going to charge for something we give away for free, you should share in the profits you’re making doing so. Why should we get nothing for profits you make off of us?

say you design something, and provide it for non-commercial use for free… does that mean you have to give it to those using those products commercially for free as well?

Nope.

That is exactly the argument in this case.

Maybe the cable providers should get the product for free – but in that case, they should also provide it for free, since it isn’t costing them anything, seeing as it uses the same infrastructure that they use to provide programming that they pay for.

It seems, to me, to be a slam dunk kinda case.

Of course, the cable companies don’t want you to look at it that way – they like making profits off of something that they don’t pay for – can’t say I blame them – but don’t believe for a second that they would have to charge more if they paid, since they already do charge more.

Again, if you charge for something someone else makes, whoever made it should get a share in the profits.

Small scale example – if I give you a cup of coffee free, and you sell it for 5 bucks… what is my incentive to give you another cup of coffee? I mean… I’m out a cup of coffee… and you have 5 bucks… so give me a buck, and I’ll give you another cup, which you can turn around and sell for 5 bucks (supplier/distributor model)