the pod bay door

:: The homepage on my folks’ computer defaults to the Shaw high speed internet site. I’ve always detested the fact that Canadians cannot subscribe to US cable networks such as HBO, Cinemax, Nickleodeon, Showtime, etc. Imagine my shock and awe when I noticed the words, “Interested in HBO? Take the Poll” on the above page. I clicked and came to a page that reads:

INTERESTED IN HBO? HBO, ESPN, Fox News, Nickelodeon Kids, Showtime and more!

You may have recently read that Shaw has applied through the CCTA (Canadian Cable Television Association) to allow Canadian cable distributors the ability to offer American Networks such as HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, VH1 and others. This application was in response to numerous requests we have had from our customers through our call centers and retail locations.

Currently, the only way to access these popular networks is through Black Market illegal satellite systems. The majority of the 400,000 Canadians with illegal satellite are using it to access these popular networks.

We are interested in your opinion on this issue. Do you think that Canadians should have access to these American Networks? Click here to cast your vote.

Thank you for taking the time to share your opinion with Shaw. We look forward to serving you better!

After picking myself and my jaw up off the floor, I quickly voted, and noted the results to date: 96.5% – YES, 3.5% – NO.

I checked the CCTA web site, and found this 19 June 2003 news release, providing more details about the application. The 24-page application is available here, in PDF format.

If you support this application, PLEASE go to this page and cast your vote in favour of Shaw’s efforts. Note that you can only cast your vote once. But please, do it!

:: Each visit to Winnipeg is not complete w/o an evening with a group of important local friends, including Tony, Steve, Mike, and others, and usually in the form of a bbq, which we did this evening at Steve and Val’s house. Mike and Susan are on vacation, so I missed them this time around.

As always, we had much fun, the burgers and smokies were downed, the beer flowed, the conversation continued for hours. Claire, Tony’s daughter, will be entering UW this fall, and recently began an online journal. I love her concise and to-the-point movie reviews!

:: Tomorrow is Part 1 of the high school reunion. And I get to sleep in again.

:: I’m running searches on Google trying to find a specific satire blog (which really pokes fun at blogging in its simplest form), and I found a reference to satire blogs by Dubya and Saddam. Oh, I found it.

:: Today I took my mother and her neighbour Lynn’s two children to see Finding Nemo. This is a marvelous movie, another triumph for Pixar (Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc.), and one of the best films of 2003. The writing is crisp, the characters funny and engaging; I laughed out loud many times during the movie. Voice actors include Albert Brooks, Ellen de Generes, Geoffrey Rush, Allison Janney, Willem Dafoe, Eric Bana (The Hulk), Barry Humphries, Elizabeth Perkins, and many others. BTW, check the “outtakes” from TS2.

:: This evening, Brenda made dinner for me. The main course was beer butt chicken. I’m not kidding. It was delicious. You shove an open can of beer up the chicken’s butt, place it on a bbq… More details to come.

:: I arrived in Winnipeg on Monday afternoon, around 1:00 pm. On the way in, I stopped and briefly visited with friends at two locations, and then headed home. Later in the evening, my folks and I visited my Mom’s sister, Carol, who had quadruple-bypass surgery last Thursday (and is being released from hospital this Wednesday). While in the hospital, three of my cousins and their families also appeared, it was great to see them as well. Afterwards I visited my Dad’s sister, Eleanor (also my godmother), and her husband Carl.

:: Today Steve and I visted Chester Cuthbert and his wife Muriel. Chester is a legendary book collector who has lived in Winnipeg for 90 years. He is still spry and active, and Muriel and he continue to live in their own home. We had a good meeting, pouring over old fanzines and other publications, and comparing notes. In the mid-70s, many members of the Winnipeg Science Fiction Society would congregate at Chester’s house on Saturdays for regular, informal social gathering.

:: This evening, I attended the last organizational meeting of the reunion happening this weekend. I met my old pal Brenda Claggett at her condo, and we drove to Liz Bachman’s house, where I met Liz and four other classmates from 1971. I hadn’t seen any of these people since that time, and to put it bluntly, we had a blast! The committee was working out the final details of the two events, and afterwards, we sang a few songs while I played guitar, and we munched on Gondola Pizza. We also laughed ourselves silly (with the help of freely flowing beer and wine).

It was good to see these fine people again. During the evening, we went into Liz’s basement to see a memoriam she’d created for the twelve classmates no longer with us. It is a simple but moving display: each classmate’s Grade 12 picture was enlarged, scanned, framed and mounted on a black background, with each person’s name below their picture. Very tastefully done, and a fitting tribute to our mates who have preceded us to the next life.

In the past, I was ambivalent about attending a high school reunion, and recall in the early 80s swearing I’d never attend one. I missed the 25th in 1996. I can tell you quite honestly that I’m really, really glad I am here for the 32nd. The weekend will be very memorable and rewarding for me. BTW, Brenda is cooking beer butt chicken for me tomorrow. I’ll explain later.

:: The day has been spent preparing for the drive tomorrow, on the way to Winnipeg. I am not a fan of that long drive anymore, but am looking forward to being in town to attend the high school reunion, and see a few good friends. Today I enjoyed a 90-minute full-body massage, and later in the afternoon, met Avalee and had a very enjoyable two-hour coffee visit with her. Thanks, av, I enjoyed it and hope you did too. Av and I are fellow EFMF volunteers. She’s moving to Toronto soon to study web design.

:: There is too much happening, too much to do, all the time, all the time…

:: While exiting my car this afternoon (decarring?), I shut the door on my watch band and broke it in two. *sigh* I have no idea how that happened.

:: I just discovered that my new HP 5550 printer does double-sided printing! Trees will be saved. Lordy. It’s a noisy little bugger, though.

:: Keith said that there is nothing more boring than bloggers writing about blogging. This may be true. I just realized that a year ago, in early July, I started my first blog, so I’ve past the first anniversary. Doesn’t seem like it was that long ago. It’s still fun to do this. Watch for changes in the site sometime soon.

:: I’ve been anxious most of my life. I’ve done what I can so far to deal with it. Question: what can you (or I) expect to replace anxiety, if/when it goes away? What replaces it? Confidence, happiness, sense of well being, acceptance, contentment?