Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy

It’s the last hour or two to vote in the 2008 Bloggies. I happen to be a finalist for Best Canadian Weblog this year, so you can vote if you want to prop up my ego, or if you happen to think my blog is good.

I am putting some finishing touches on one of the announcements for the Canadian Blog Awards, while I’m mentioning blog awards. Be sure to check it out at canadianblogawards.ca soon.

The Internet is famous for instant gratification. If we want to know something, we can “Google” or “Wikipedia” it for the answer. If we want faster access, we buy a high bandwidth connection. The Canadian Blog Awards aren’t like the Internet, however.

So, like an election from a developing country (where the winners are NOT predetermined) we won’t know the results for everything right away. Think of this as the Internet in slow motion; Bite sized pieces of bloggy bits, brilliantly bursting onto the blogosphere. Or think of it like a dramatic television show with a twist at the end. Anyone who caught the bloggers team snickering at the CBC’s “nerve center” for Test The Nation, has an added appreciation of the unfolding results.

Bloggers love to speculate about things. Almost as much as they like to know.

We’ll all know three winners, starting tonight (Central Standard Time) when I can publish results to the CBA website.
-Best Military Blog
-Best Media/Celebrity Blog
-Best Non-Partisan Blog

I was reminded of International Delete your MySpace Account Day, when I got a MySpace “friend request” from a naked woman. The day has been dugg by thousands, and will no doubt put a temporary dent in the MySpace account total, and then a minor spike as it enters people’s radar again. Seriously, who uses MySpace [if they ever had] since Facebook rolled around?

Expect Delete your Facebook day later this year? Delete your Blog day ought to be outlawed ;-)

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The final day of voting for the Canadian Blog Awards is here. The unveiling of the winners is going to be a little different this year, so expect the unexpected, or know that there will be known unknowns.

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And this is one of the final days where I’ll ‘grovel’ for your vote in the 2008 Bloggies, for Best Canadian Weblog. I’m in the final 5, so your vote means a lot to me.

I think Julien recommended this blog because the activity contained in it sounded like the title of my blog Abandoned Stuff.

In other unrelated things, I found someone’s power bill, unopened on my way to work the other day. A key was sitting beside it. I took both because the snow would have soon buried the key anyway, and I wrote “Return” on the bill and popped it into a mailbox.

I also didn’t freeze today, which is an accomplishment only because the wind chill made it to -51 this morning.

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Hat tip to Julien [who was another victorious blogger on Test The Nation]

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I’m still in the running for Best Canadian Weblog (if you go vote for me now and tell your friends and grandma to, also. Pick the grandma who has Internet access, and phone her up right now.). Remember, procrastination is fun/funny until it happens to you.

Imagine being able to recharge your cell phone, iPod, laptop, or even radio/flashlight (torch) with this portable and child friendly generator? Some people have pointed out that a foot pedal design would be far superior, in both durability, and functionality.

It’s being designed for the OLPC project, and those laptops destined for children in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

The mysterious “Green Blob” is poised to conquer the dastardly “Provincial Divisio” in the coming battle of the ages. The province is at stake! If the Blob loses, Saskatchewan is history! All signs are pointing toward a remote possibility that the Blob will emerge victorious. He[?] needs your support!

The NDP said, “It’s obviously a male blob. Where’s gender parity in the Green Party?” The Conservatives shrugged, and remarked that the Green Blob is seen frequently in the tailing ponds of northern Alberta, and can be easily intimidated by soap and fiery sticks. The Liberals responded by pointing out the Greens were welcome to run David Orchard as their candidate instead. The Rhinos said, “There’s a byelection?”

Yes, apparently there is a by-election. St. Patrick’s Day is when it rolls around — sounds like a good day to vote Green if you have the chance. I seem to remember hearing something of it coming up, but I’ve been a little out of the political loop lately. Pardon me if I’m as slow as my imaginary Rhino Party spokesrhino.

I think it’s a gutsy move by the Brits to allow McDonald’s managing students to obtain high school credits for their night jobs. It’s not a trivial job to manage a fast food restaurant, and if a high school student is doing a good job at it, they’ve learned more skills applicable to the workforce than the average high school student who doesn’t have a job outside of attending classes and doing paper-homework.

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I think Fast Food News of the podcast fame, is on extended hiatus.

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A blizzard is overtaking Regina. Wind chill is expected to go to -45C degrees overnight and continue for a few days. It may even hit -40C before factoring in the wind’s chilling effect. Will Saskboy become a popsicle? Stay tuned.

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I got a chuckle out of this. Remember the show Due South? I loved it, and it was one of the first Canadian/American broadcast shows in the 1990s that I can recall. Well, there’s a Due South Convention. I kid you not.

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Hat tip to reader Stephane [who was on Test The Nation with me].

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9:00 PM EST on Thursday is the deadline for voting for me. Actually it’s 10:00, but I thought I’d set the deadline earlier so you go do it sooner than later :-)

The unrelated Canadian Blog Awards wrap up an evening earlier on Wednesday, with winners to be unveiled the following day amidst a modest amount of fanfare.

I wonder if there’s a better way to dealing with poppy growers and the drug trade in Afghanistan. What if the Canadian government BUYS the drugs at a better price than the people on the street? Better yet, what if they top the buy deals that warlords are offering poppy farmers, and the money goes to the people who need it, rather than to war/drug lords looking to continue fighting?

So, arm the Wheat Board. Send them overseas, and unionize the drug trade! Maybe Larry Hubich will lend a hand?

There’s a story in my family that a relative of mine long ago used to grow poppies in Saskatchewan. Not for the drugs of course, but for the pretty flowers.