In like a lamb and out like a ROOOOAR Leo

Raar

March came in like a Lamb but WOW has it ever gone out like a Lion. This past week we've had at least 30+ cm of snow fall and enjoyed a few days of -15C temps. Bloody hell this is suppose to be Spring isn't it?!!!

I'm blaming my sister for our weather woes. She arrived from AUS last Sunday for a 3 week visit and she's loving all this "winter like" weather.

For me... I'm over it.

Aside from shoveling the driveway ever other day, Elle and I have been pretty busy entertaining and caring for my two newest.. and cutest household members.

We (meaning me) adopted them from the SPCA yesterday and last night was their very first night in their new home!!

York and Winston

OMG they are just the cutest most adorable kittens!! These brothers were abandoned about a month ago and have had a rough start at life. I am very honoured to welcome both of these loveable kittens into my home,

Now if they would only get out from under my bed LOL ;)

The madness that March brings

I've never been one to sit on the couch and watch sports all day, or even pay much attention to sport competition until it means something (from a casual, fair weather TV fan's perspective).

The Olympics, Euro, World Cup, Champ League, Tour de France, Stanley Cup finals, Masters etc etc etc... are all great examples of when my interest is perked and my ass is planted in front of my HDTV.

Notice that I didn't mention the World Series... ug.. baseball.. I would rather watch paint dry.. but I digress.

As there is one more year until the Winter Olympics, this past February was pretty hum drum far as sporting events are concerned. We had the Super Bowl on Feb 1st but not much since.

Enter March and the madness that ensues when the NCAA tournament begins!!! This is almost a right of passage. Every year at this time 2 things happen. One - Spring arrives. and two - the madness begins!!

I won't pretend to be a NCAA basketball fan because I am not. I am a casual sports fan who enjoys experiencing the "big" games when it's all on the line!!.... who then returns to a quiet "normal" existence. hehe

With that in mind, I present my Final 4 picks, based mostly in part on my favourite teams over the years and nothing to do if they actually have a shot at winning LOL.


Go Zags!!!

6 months and a wake up and whole lot of vaccinations

Wow an update that doesn't include IDOL!!

6 months from now I begin my education at the U of C to get my Bachelors of Nursing (BN).

Thankfully I'm getting credit from my undergrad, Chiropractic and Massage Therapy education and am entering my 3rd year of Nursing school. I'll be graduating in less then 2 years baby!! April 2011!!! WOOT!!

In the mean time, before I can participate in my clinical practicums I need to have some important vaccinations updated.

Things I'm good for but need to obtain official records.

-Varicella-zoster (Chicken Pox) : Contracted as a child

- Poliomyelitis : Childhood immunization at school

Things I need a booster for:

- Tetanus/Diptheria (Td)

Things I need to be tested for (mandatory for all Nursing students)

- Tuberculosis (TB) : Mantoux test performed during within 1 year of entering program

Vaccine series I need to get or redo (because it was too long between timed doses)

- Hepatitis B (Hep B): 3 doses (0, 1, 6 months)
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) : I'm actually unsure of my vaccination Hx here and need to find out.

Let the good times roll!!

2 for 3 again but happy Scott made it in

Short entry today. I was 2 for 3 again last night but while I am sad Kristen didn't get through I am really thrilled to see Scott get the props he deserved. The judges are right when they say this guys sings with his heart and passion. Expect great things from him in the coming weeks.

Tonight is Wild Card night and I honestly have no idea who the judges will choose. Please though, for the love of all that is holy and good in this Earth, send Tatyana home!!

Tues night = IDOL night!

There is something about reality TV that can suck a viewer in. As one gets to know the "contestants" and begin to identify and emphasize with them we begin to feel some of their emotions. It really is "Reality" TV hehe.

Ok Ok yes I am a schmuck for shite like this but I'm "only" watching 3 reality series this season. Idol, Survivor and my ultimate favourite, Hell's Kitchen. Chef Ramsay FTW!!

Tonight is Tuesday which means it's IDOL night, specifically the final 12 of 36 performed. Thankfully I recorded the first 30 min before I started watching to give me a slight telecast delay. Invariably there are always contestants who will suck so bad my ears will bleed so I needed to fast forward those parts. Unfortunately the first 4 or 5 singers were 'effin brutal! Von was ok (contestant #1) but he's still shouting and shite. My ears bled and I died a little inside. ;)

Thankfully things ended on a high note (literally) with Lil Rounds [by far the COOLEST name ever] rocking the house.

My picks for the top female, male and next best for tonight are:

Lil Rounds!!

Jorge!!

Kristen!!

March comes in like a lamb

After a nasty bout of winter weather last week with -30C wind chills and snow, we deserved some nice weather for a change! Thankfully today is the 1st and (unlike previous years) March came in like a cute baby lamb. Beautiful sunny skies and warm temps melted some of the snow that's piled up these past few months.

Melting snow means that (soon) I can start riding outside again!! My fall from 2 weeks ago hasn't deterred me and I just might fancy a ride up to the Y tomorrow morning. This time I shall forgo the pathway and stick to the roads. LOL

Even if March does go out like a lion, I'm hoping we'll enjoy some gorgeous "Spring-like" weather conditions these next few weeks.




No blog entry would be complete without an honourable mention of American Idol.

I should concede that I was only 2 for 3 with my predictions last week. Adam and Allison were sure bets for top Male and Female but the next highest vote total was a shot in the dark. I for sure though Mishavanna had a decent shot at the final 12 but I guess viewers liked Kris Allen's rendition of "Man in the Mirror" more.

Why?

Making the call for tonight

Last night's Idol got off to a rocky start. My ears were bleeding after listening to the first few contestants: Jasmine, Matt and Jeaninne. Thankfully Allision came on and rocked the house (albeit she was a tad nervous).

The rest were pretty hum drum and the judges were bang on by saying ,"you're picking the wrong songs!!".

My picks for who will make it through tonight: Allision as top female, Mishavonna as contestant with next highest votes and last but not least; my choice to be the overall winner and the guy who rocked the hardest tonight, Adam (it's between him or Danny).

Who will make it though to the final 12.. tonight we find out!!!

Bu bye Tatiana

Thank god the viewers have some taste this season and voted Tatiana off Idol last week. Granted I will miss watching (just a little bit) her unstable neurotic drama queen antics on the tele. That was good entertainment! LOL

She could easily have her own reality show on A&E, right after Intervention or something. I'm calling it now, watch for it this Fall!

Looking ahead to tonight, we have the second 12 (of 36) contestants singing for a spot to be in the final 12. Only 3 shall make it in tonight.. who .. will.. it be!!!

Hello my name is Peter and yes I am an Idolholic. ;)

It's the final 36!!!

I've never been a big fan of reality TV as most reality shows suck the world wide wad. There are a few diamonds in the rough though most notably Survivor (the first and arguably still the best reality series), Hell's Kitchen (Gordon Ramsay FTW!) and yes.... I'm ashamed to admit it.... American Idol.

Now I haven't watched Idol for a few years. Actually not since Taylor Hicks won it in 2006.

Last month whilst flipping through my HD channels I came across the season premier of Idol where I witnessed Simon ripped this poor young boy a new A-hole for singing like shite. OMG I was hooked!!!

I forgot just how fun it can be to watch another persons misery. {insert evil laugh muahaha}

Ok, ok..... in all seriousness, many people scoff at Idol and say it's a lame show. On one level it may be but over time, as a viewer, you really get to know the contestants and become attatched to your favourites. You feel their ups, downs and heartbreak when Simon tells them to piss off.

Now that is good TV!!

One of those WTF was I thinking moments

Contrary to what Punxsutawney Phil has indicated, the past 2 weeks or so we've enjoyed a nice reprieve from traditional winter weather. I've taken this opportunity to log in some outdoor km's on my mountain bike, breaking up the monotony of riding on the indoor trainer.

Now usually I'm a fairly cautious rider, aware of my surroundings and any potential hazzards; potholes, furry rodents sitting on the road, gravel/rocks etc.

Unfortunately this was not the case yesterday morning as I rode up to the Y. Call it dumb luck, poor judgement or a combination of both, I took a nasty spill on my bike while trying to navigate a treacherous icy bike path in Ranchlands.

Adding insult to injury, the area where I bailed was quite steep (I know.. WTF was I doing trying to ride up a hill covered in ice) and I slid about 3 metres down the hill before coming to a complete stop. LOL

mountain bike + slicks + ice = sore ass

Yummy muffins and other tid bits

I must have 3 or 4 "Company's Coming" cook books. Stir Fry, Squares, Loaves and More, Muffins etc.

Well, yesterday I dug into one of these books and did some baking, mostly Banana muffins and Banana Oat muffins. The batter was so gooey and lumpy and YUMMY!!




(note picture may not and in fact probably does not represent how my muffins ACTUALLY turned out LOL)


I'm also enjoying countless hours in the DoW2 beta and actually noticed some improvement in my "l33t RTS skillz"! LOL

In all seriousness, this game is heaps of fun and I'm loving the Eldar race (think Space Elves). I even had a 4 game win streak going which is quite significant for me! LOL




One must keep in mind this is a beta test as the game won't go live until Feb 19th. The developers were bound to make some changes to the game to "test" things out aka unit balance, economy etc etc. The first of such "tests" came on Friday with the beta2 patch. Some of the implemented changes were OK and welcomed.

Unfortunately some units and races were thumped hard by the nerf bat such as my beloved Eldar. They were hit right side of the head several times by said bat so much that it's made playing them very very challenging and a tad unfair.

Thankfully this is still a Beta test and I'm confident Relic will implement a more balanced patch before launch. They better as there are many upset players over this recent patch LOL.

So back to my record! I was enjoying a nice 4 game win streak on Friday night (this was post patch too!). That is until it seemed everyone started to play Tyranids (this race received some significant buffs in the patch, making things a bit unfair) and all my matches were against 'Nid players. Ug!

I'm still having a blast with my Eldar, even with the nerfs.

I suck ballz in the Dawn of War II Beta... or rather RTS games in general

Over the weekend I downloaded the Dawn of War II (DoW2) multiplayer beta, a game (which I've pre-ordered) that goes live Feb 19th!!

I haven't had much of a chance to play but I did manage to try out one of the Eldar heros (Warlock) vs the "easy" computer. Now I've never been all that good in real time strategy (RTS) games.

Yes, I have fond memories of teaming up with some friends and doing a comp stomp in Red Alert and Star Craft back in the day and enjoyed playing Warcraft. RTS games nowdays are farily complex (at least for someone in the 35+ demographic LOL) and DoW2 takes things to a whole new level.

I should back up a moment and say that DoW2 is created by the same company, Relic Entertainment which produced the venerable WWII RTS game, Company of Heroes title (CoH), arguably the best RTS ever!

I spent many many... many hours in CoH, primarilly playing as the Wehrmacht. Eventually I engaged in 1v1 competitive play on the ladder and was ranked in the top 4000 players before leaving the game.

Anyhow, to succeed in CoH, one had to rely on tactics and strategy. Instead of massing a large blob of one particular unit to mop up your opponent, you had to rely on combined arms, out maneouvering and out producing/teching to win. Each unit and squad had many different upgrades you could purchase and dependent on what and when you bought these upgrades, could sway the tide of the game.

DoW2 takes this to whole new level. Set in the Warhammer 40k universe, this game (from initial impressions of many people) doesn't have the tactical depth as CoH, the different Hero class choices and unit/squad upgrades are immense and greating influence how one plays the game.

So much that I've spent the majority of my time reading and learing about the different factions (there are 4 in this game with more to come in later expansions) the different units and all these bloody upgrades each unit/squad get!!

In any event, I'll be toying around these next few weeks in the beta test trying out different heroes and learning the combat mechanics of this very cool looking game.

It's a bit of a steep learning curve but very fun none the less!

It's time for WAR!

Crazy Canuck: the beginning

I recently decided to shut down my old blog of 3 yrs and create this new blog "Ramblings from a Crazy Canuck" focusing on other interests in my life besides athletics.

Look for updates to come very shortly as I tinker with the template and add some content.

Until then.