Phendrana Drifts

Reading the NDP platform again. $79,000,000,000 in new spending over five years. Even if the economy goes in the tank. Even if it doesn't. $79,000,000,000. $2,633.33 for every Canadian man, woman and child. Of course, they don't expect me at my salary to pay it. So they expect someone else to not only pay their $2,633.33, but mine as well. And Allie's. And Wes'. And Raven's. I have a feeling that person is going to be pissed. And think about maybe not being Canadian (at least for tax purposes). And certainly not hire someone new next year.

You can read their platform here, if you have Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Still don't feel like blogging. Weird. I wish I had a topic. Hmm...

Why does Paul Martin look like he's walking on water in his campaign commercial? That's a bit blatant, isn't it? If you have Windows Media Player, you can see it here. And on similar note, why do I break out in laughter when I see any NDP commerical? Or when Harper says his name really, really slowly in his commercial. Wow, I miss last election's PC ads. They were at least fun.

I should blog. But I'm not going to. I don't have a good reason. But I just am not in the mood. Not that there isn't anything to blog about. New Nixon tapes, hockey and other stuff. Just not in the mood. Check back in a couple of days.

Hmm... I didn't tell you about it. I guess I got tired.

Long day. Went to work. Went for lunch with my cousin. Played some Knights of the Old Republic. Watching hockey. I'll tell you about the game when it is over.

Go Flames Go!

Calgary 4, Tampa Bay 1

We won. But our family lost some too. I'm glad the Flames won. It was a great game. I'm glad we won. I'm glad Iggy scored. I'm glad Kipper was super. I'm glad we scored shorthanded.

As Jarome said, "I was pretty nervous. I was actually surprised how nervous I was. It's something I have dreamed about since I was seven." Well, you aren't the only one whose dreamed of tonight. I have since I was ten.

I'm glad Allie is so brave and amazing. She cheered tonight too. She is so perfect.

And now my phone call came. Allie is so much braver than I.

The Noble Truths...

A River is a River
and
A Mountain is a Mountain

1. Life is suffering;
2. Suffering is due to attachment;
3. Attachment can be overcome;
4. There is a path for accomplishing this.

Sometimes the path is not easy to walk.

Tuesday May 25, 6:00pm
Thursday May 27, 6:00pm
Saturday May 29, 6:00pm
Monday May 31, 6:00pm
Thursday June 3, 6:00pm*
Saturday June 5, 6:00pm*
Monday June 7, 6:00pm*

Game on. Whoever you end up being. We're going to kick your ass.

Your own personal jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who�s there

Feeling unknown
And you�re all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I�ll make you a believer

Take second best
Put me to the test
Things on your chest
You need to confess
I will deliver
You know I�m a forgiver

Reach out and touch faith
Reach out and touch faith

Your own personal jesus...

Feeling unknown
And you�re all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I�ll make you a believer

I will deliver
You know I�m a forgiver

Reach out and touch faith

Your own personal jesus

Reach out and touch faith

When I woke up, I checked the San Jose Sharks website. Sadistic? Possibly. Regardless, lots of thanks and sentimentality, but there was also a small matter of the score. In black and teal, there it was. Calgary 2, San Jose 1. If they could wish goals away, wouldn't they pick two? Or maybe all three? Or did they choose to believe that goals scored on themselves don't count?

Calgary Flames, Western Conference Champions

We're going to the Stanley Cup finals!!! Yeah baby!!! Happiness doesn't begin to describe what I feel! We are the Western Conference Champions. We will be one of two teams competing for Lord Stanley's prize. When I buy NHL 2005, Calgary will be one of the two default teams when you start the game for the first time. We are champions. But we're not done yet. Wayne Gretzky once commented there are three seasons in the NHL: the regular season, the first three rounds, and then the finals. Let that last season begin.

The game is in just a few hours. I live in Edmonton and I can feel the tension. It's everywhere. Palatable. Real. I can only imagine what it is like in Calgary. I wonder - do I wish I was there? I imagine it would be amazing. I can only imagine what it will be like there tonight.

They've announced the dates for the next series - the Stanley Cup Final. Sometime between May 31 and June 7 we will know who has won Lord Stanley's trophy. And my team is a single win away from competing in that series.

Go Flames Go!

Calgary 3, San Jose 0

It is amazing how much brighter my day looks after the Flames win. A solid performance to make up for yesterday's poorer performance. Not that it was a total loss yesterday (well, yes, it was a loss), but the satisfaction of shutting them out is pretty good. Five more wins. One Wednesday night would be pretty nice.

Back from CAUS changeover. Flames just lost. So tired. So tired. I will post more later.

Calgary 0, San Jose 3

Too bad we lost - it was still fun to watch. Still 1-0 until the very last minute and a half. Had fun at Schank's watching the game and the crowd. And of course, the special item I've been waiting for in WEM came in. Showing my colours made me happy. Six more wins and I will get married in this shirt.

Oh my gosh - I can't believe how amazing this looks! I admit, I was a Nintendo Dual Screen doubter - sounded too much like Virtual Boy for my taste, but this has more than convinced me. I am going to have it in time for Metroid Prime Hunters.

What else has E3 got me excited about?

Sony PSP: Video, audio and games. And the lineup of support and games? Metal Gear, Gran Tourismo... Christmas 2005 for those keeping track. I doubt my wallet could try and afford it before then anyway.

Realistic Zelda: The sequel to Windwaker is going to ditch the cel-shading in favour of realistic graphics. I liked the cel-shading, but if the shots so far are any indication, I'm going to go nuts over the new one.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes: Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Although it looks almost like they ripped off Metroid Fusion's storyline, but that is ok...

Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords: Not messing with the formula or engine - but is sure to be a winner. I can't wait.

Boobie games: Playboy The Mansion, Dead or Alive Ultimate, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude and The Guy Game all seem to up the amount of boobie content in games. I doubt all will make my collection (the game still has to be good - I can buy porn) but it is a trend this 25 year old hetero male hopes will continue. I understand the worries associated with the trend, but that isn't enough for me not to cheer the trend all the same.

Calgary 4, San Jose 1

We owned them. Absolutely owned them. Well obviously there was the first twenty seconds when we weren't 100% sure, but then Nilson scored. And the Donovan on the breakaway. And then an absolutely gorgeous goal by Nieminen on a two on one. And then Iggy scored. Priceless.

Back to Calgary. Six more wins.

Thanks to Marc, I believe I also have an RSS feed on my site. Looks the same to me, but I'm still new to this news aggregator scene.

I have also decided I am not the biggest fan of the new Blogger. Maybe I'll come around. It certainly looks a lot more user-friendly for the new person, and lets you make a very pretty and professional site quickly. But new comments, picture, etc. - I can do without that.

So I have decided a couple of web-related things. First, I am going to publish this site on an Atom feed (Blogger doesn't support RSS, which would have been my preference) and I am going to use a RSS/Atom reader. So with that in mind, those of you who want can use http://www.phendrana.ca/atom.xml for my site.

But more importantly personally, if anyone has any great feeds to share, drop me a line in the comments.

Calgary 4, San jose 3 (OT)

Montador from Iginla shoots and scores against Nabokov for the win in the first game of the Western Conference Final. Like music to the ears. I never tire of seeing deliriously happy Flames players take to the ice after securing the win.

Only three more hours until the puck drops on the Western Conference Final. I am now officially giddy. Even the bouncy girl appears a bit more... bouncy. Maybe it is just me.

I am a thief - but this was too good to pass up.

Thanks Toby!

In other geek news, E3 starts next week. Where the Christmas wishlists of Duncans are created.

There are certain things that bring out pride in geeks. As a geek I understand. Things like how certain movies are the best movies ever made. Or how important having an iPod is (or more accurately in my case, would be). But I have a secret. A secret that makes me a pariah within geekdom. All geeks think that the two new Star Wars movies are bad. Terrible bad. Some openly muse about assassinating George Lucas to prevent him from steering Episode 3. All geeks hate The Phantom Menace and The Attack of the Clones. Except me.

Don't get me wrong, I like the original trilogy more. And I like Raiders of the Lost Ark more. And a couple of other films (mmm... Goodfellas) more. But they would make my top 15 movies likely. I think they are amazing. I watch them over and over again. And I am dreadfully excited about Episode 3. Summer 2005 seems so long away.

Why do I have to wait for Sunday? And why does playoff hockey stop being in the evening once the Leafs are tossed?

Busy day yesterday. Busier day today.

Sun, May 9 Calgary at San Jose, 2 p.m.
Tues, May 11 Calgary at San Jose, 7 p.m.
Thur, May 13 San Jose at Calgary, 8 p.m.
Sun, May 16 San Jose at Calgary, 2 p.m.
Mon, May 17 Calgary at San Jose, 8 p.m.
Wed, May 19 San Jose at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Fri, May 21 Calgary at San Jose, TBA

Eight more wins, and four of them will happen here. Game on!

This just in: Darryl Sutter and Miikka Kiprusoff are going to face the team that didn't want them for the opportunity to go to the Stanley Cup final. It will feel good to kick their funking asses. And apparently Tampa and Philadelphia will fight for the right to lose to the Flames for the cup.

Check it out, after a day of being down... I think my site is working! For the first time in a month, it is just working. Things I upload appear instantly. Like, this message.

My new job (which of course hasn't started) appears to be exciting. Challenging. Very excited. Starts next week. No exact date of course.

Can't sleep. Going back to try.

Calgary 1, Detroit 0 (OT)

We are in the final four - this is huge! Amazing and super! Astonishing and sublime!

"They were great," Sutter said of Calgary's fans. "Do you know what's best about it? Winning the series in front of them."

I go for lunch tomorrow - first act of the new job (I'm still working for the old one until the end of my notice, but that doesn't mean I can't get a head start).

I am also officially re-opening my webboard - with high hopes it will:

a. work
b. be functional
c. be fun
d. not revert to a previous incarnation at random intervals

If you posted before, post again. Register. Have fun.

Talk about a lazy Sunday. That's ok though, I did dishes. And wrote some.

Grr... I deleted the webboard. I mean deleted. Yet I wake up and there it is, still sitting there, sucking.

My host has suggested that it is my ISP (is it you Shaw?) or the primary DNS is down and goes to the secondary DNS but that isn't backed up every day.

Grr...

Calgary 1, Detroit 0

In the end, Miikka was slightly better than Curtis. That was all it was. But the Flames played hard. And well. So did Detoit, just we got the better goaltender. It is a good thing no one else wanted him when Darryl asked San Jose for him.

The webboard is a pheonix! Which is a fancy way of saying the webboard will go down for about a week, but will be reborn. Meaning all post will be gone and we'll all have to re-register. Boo. But it is for the best - better than having two competing webboards appearing randomly at the same address.

Still excited.

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