Week 5 - A moment of weakness

A moment of weakness
Originally uploaded by Twister65

I was trying to get a self-portrait that didn't really look like it was posed for. Not an easy task.

And then I wondered if I could show some emotion for the shot, like someone took it during a "moment of weakness" when I appeared to be lost in my thoughts -- sad thoughts. I ended up taking 22 shots, and this was one of the last ones.

I converted it to B&W, darkened the tone a little and blurred the background a little more.

I like it.

Dany Heatley traded!

Suckahs. :)

See, I am just like the sports media spreading bullshit rumours of a so-called trade, without posting facts to back it up. I'm no better and no worse than any of them. And as a bonus, if a trade happens today, I can claim to be the first to announce it. Fuck all the rest of ‘em! :)

Seriously, that's what it boils down to. They all want to be the one to claim the fame about the announcement, so they can drive traffic and revenue on their web site, and/or sell newspapers. They don’t care about posting facts and real stories.

It'll be interesting to see just how many hits my blog gets today as a result of this lame posting. Sorry, if I got your hopes up. I had to do it. Do me a favour, and keep spreading the tweet.

Technorati Tags: nhl,heatley,sens,ottawa,hockey

BestBuy.ca = fail

On August 21st, I read that the new Batman: Arkham Asylum game for the Xbox360 was on sale at Best Buy and Future Shop for $38.83. That's an amazing price for a game that was to hit the shelves a few days later on August 25th.

BestBuy.ca offered free shipping on orders over $39, so I added a Xbox Live 1400 point card to my order and checked off the option to deliver the items separately if necessary.

I got the XBL points card on August 28th.

To date, I am still waiting for the game.

BestBuy.ca has been "Out of stock" or "Sold out" since August 25th. However, the stores continue to get it in stock.

I have sent TWO separate messages to their customer service by filling out the form on their web site, asking why the web store has yet to get any in stock.

To date, I have received ZERO replies. Although, I have received two automated messages informing me of the obvious -- that the item is out of stock.

At one point, I had considered canceling the order, but it seems that I can't even do that. I assume that's because it's part of a split-order, for which half has already been fulfilled with free shipping. I can't even change it to "Store pick-up".

This weekend, they put the game on sale AGAIN for $58.83, and online stock remained "Sold out" the entire time. (it still remains sold out as I type this)

I haven't been billed for the game, so as far as I'm concerned I'll wait until it has been fulfilled, but I'm gearing up to send their head off a snail mail complaint.

I can understand if it's difficult to get any in stock for the stores and the online store, but when the stores can get it in stock but not the online store... there's something wrong with that.

Week 4 - Chateau Laurier

Chateau Laurier (4/52)
Originally uploaded by Twister65

My wife wanted me to drive her to the Byward market so she could pick up some veggies. Parking isn't cheap, so I dropped her off and drove around. I took this shot with my cell phone while I was sitting at traffic lights.

I even brought my camera with me because we were hoping to spot balloons across the river at the Gatineau Balloon Festival. Alas, there were none. Probably all airborne in the morning. I hope there's some this evening. They often fly over where we live.

Day 222

This has nothing to do with my Project 52, but a friend reminded me today that this is day 222 since I quit smoking. I thought it was worthy of mentioning. :)

Week 3 - Silver Queen Mica Mine

After a few days camping with friends earlier this week, the photo of the week comes from Murphy's Point Provincial Park. This is an old building that served as an office and sleeping quarters for miners at the Silver Queen Mica Mine.

I loved the contrasting colour of the wood beneath the windows. If you'd like to see more photos of our camping trip (and surrounding areas of the Silver Queen Mica Mine) click away!

Week 2 - Remic Rapids Rock Sculptures

I'm not going to have very much time to post a photo tomorrow for "Week 2" because we're going camping with friends for a few days, so here it is a day early!

Last weekend my family and I took a ride through downtown to Remic Rapids. I've often gone there at lunch during the work week to eat and relax. There's no shortage of geese and ducks to take photos of, if that's your thing, but you can also find some pretty cool rock sculpture.

This time, we were fortunate enough to see the man behind these creations: John Ceprano.

This is John working on one of his creations. Click to see a larger version and look the other photos from that day.

There's a printed sign on each sculpture warning not to touch them because they are all balanced. Each winter, the weather "dismantles" them and John rebuilds them the following summer. Some of these rocks are huge. I can't imagine the strength and patience it takes to lift and balance someone these.

I hope you enjoy them all!

You can bet I'll be bringing my camera camping, and I hope to have a bunch of photos to share next week. Until then...