Holiday Season

Holiday Season.
A time for caring.
A time for sharing.
A time when going insane is a natural occurance.

When most think Christmas, the first thing they will tell you is shopping.
Some people have already done their Christmas shopping early, in order to dodge the late Christmas shoppers, but most are running around like chickens with their heads cut off to get items that they might have missed for the guests that so bluntly decided to show up last minute.

That's why I'm glad I got everything done just in time, not too soon and not too late.

To be honest, I feel bad for those last minute shoppers, because they have to dodge everyone in order to get whatever they need to get.

So, what has been this season's must-have? It's not socks. Rockband 2.

Crank it louder and live the ultimate music game experience! Rock Band 2 is the sequel to 2007's multi-million unit selling, genre-defining, cultural phenomenon Rock Band, the highest-rated music/rhythm game ever.


It even has NEW FEATURES!!

Battle of the Bands
We supply the challenges—you and your friends vie for the number one spot with rockers worldwide. Choose from an ever-changing array of battle challenges to see who can get the most stars, longest multiplier streaks, win the most fans, or just make it through the hardest songs in the game!

Tour Challenges
Play increasingly difficult sets of songs to unlock the next level. Non-linear structures allow you to jump between sets. Don't get stuck on a song: work up steam and come back to it! Full DLC compatibility—any song you've purchased can appear in a set!

Full Compatibility
Not only can you play any song you’ve purchased from Rock Central in Rock Band 2, but you can import almost every song** from the original Rock Band game for an unparalleled breadth of music to select from every time you play.

Rock Shop
More clothes, more instruments, more tattoos and makeup, limitless options. Customize your characters and then link your game to your rockband.com account to make unique pictures and order cool merchandise featuring your bands!

Also:

World Tour
New and improved tour mode allows solo acts and bands to seek fame and fortune at 59 venues in 24 cities!

Drum Trainer
Hone your skills without bringing the tour to a crashing halt. A new and unique interface that will improve your game in no time.

No-Fail mode
Keep the party going all night long. Inexperienced newcomers can jump right in with the best, most skilled players – more fun for everyone!

Better Instruments

*Features for XBOX 360 only – Future platforms may contain different features
**Requires original Rock Band disc, online connection and key purchase

The bad part about Rockband is that when you're playing the drums, it's louder than the game itself. You have to work hard just to hit the damn pad things. With Rockband 2, apparently they fixed that. They have quieter, more durable hardware to enhance the gameplay experience. So you won't get a headache that easily! Well, it's about friggen time, I tell you what.

Well, just try and get your hands on this item! It's this year's must-have, so you'll be fighting a few people for it. Take that granny!

Weird News

{this won't be today's only post, i am doing things differently this time}

Someone named Chuck Sheppard made a list of the wierdest things. Then, he found them no longer weird because it seemed that the list was becoming more of a natural occurance, because those things seemed to be happening more and more. Looking through the list, I'm realising that it's not really wierd, it's more.. stupid. Should have been, for most of them, "The stupid things people do/have done". Yet again, all we seem to do are stupid things, and for that I am grateful because some time during the day we have to laugh and we have you to thank for helping us bust a gut.

"NO LONGER WEIRD
by Chuck Shepherd Copyright 2003. All rights reserved.Updated: August 1, 2003

The following kinds of stories were formerly weird, but they now occur withsuch frequency that they must be retired from circulation:
1. an old, widely-advertised phone-sex number is reassigned to achurch/charity
2. suspicious package thought to be a bomb, turns out to be something stupid
3. robber leaves his ID [wallet or appointment card for probation officer or etc.] at the scene
4. peace/brotherhood conference erupts into violence
5. robber on getaway accidentally hails unmarked police car
6. political candidate dies but still wins the election
7. family thinks he's dead, but he's not and attends his own funeral
8. hunters shoot each other
9. funeral home owner neglects/mixes up bodies
10. "victimized" drug buyer complains to police that someone sold him weak or bogus drugs
11. some countries prohibit giving children certain names
12. in middle of an obvious drug raid, customer wanders up and asks cop if he can buy some drugs
13. shoots himself while supposedly demonstrating gun safety
14. global warming caused by animal methane
15. burglar gets stuck in vent or chimney
16. courthouse visitor/defendant inadvertently places contraband on thex-ray tables at entrance
17. burglar falls asleep during job.
18. family accidentally leaves behind a kid at a highway rest stop
19. driver's license applicant crashes into examiner station before or during test
20. [Oops! It's about the same as number 15]
21. overdue-library-book scofflaws actually go to jail
22. DUI tickets for "driving" a bicycle [or horse or riding lawn mower or etc.]
23. starts fire because can't stop smoking even though hooked up to oxygen machine
24. gasoline thieves check quantity in tank by using a match or lighter to peer inside
25. older teacher/younger boy relationship
26. firefighter with an arson habit [to keep in practice or to feel wanted or etc.]
27. local election ends in tie, settled (by law) by coin flip or draw of cards
28. Japanese men committing suicide because of overwork
29. angry customer drives car right through store's front door
30. heating-oil delivery to wrong house, resulting in flooded basement
31. postal worker hoards mail because he's behind in delivering it
32. bank robber hails taxi or municipal bus for getaway
33. the annual student cheating riots in Bangladesh
34. criminal on the lam goes on national tv talk show and mentions that he's wanted
35. dog steps on gun, shooting the master
36. pack of animals breaks into liquor cabinet or fermenting vat, get drunk
37. a loved one died at home, but the relative never gets around to burying him or her
38. school zero-tolerance policies for "weapons" that are purely, obviously ornamental
39. amateur videographers set up miniature cameras in restrooms
40. animal-hoarding (mostly of cats) women
41. carjackers who never learned to drive stick shift and must abandon the car
42. criminal suspect evading police, jumps in river to escape, and drowns
43. young-looking adults impersonate teenagers and return to high school
44. African nation's rumors of people with power to make penises disappear
45. humongous abdominal cysts removed in surgery
46. unlabeled urn with loved one's ashes mistakenly stolen or sold at yard sale
47. husband takes his wife back even though she just tried to kill him
48. judges punish young people by forcing them to listen to [classical or polka or etc.] music
49. hit-and-run driver drives on and on with body or bicycle in grille or windshield
50. criminal, cornered by police dog, bites the dog
51. burglars leave footprints in snow, directly to their homes
52. [Oops! It's about the same as number 48]
53. video shoe-cams or smoke-detector-cams to spy on women
54. Japanese making many silent hang-up telephone calls against former lover or business partner
55. robber smashes store's surveillance "camera," but it's only the lens, and it captured his face
56. inadvertently tries to cash a stolen personal check at the store [bank] where his victim works
57. accidental bombing of house by airliner's "blue ice"
58. elderly citizen trying to convince bureaucrat that, contrary to records, he's not really dead
59. elderly motorist makes wrong turn, gets lost for days
60. bands of criminals videotape their entire crime sprees for kicks, but makes it easy for cops
61. parents frolic while their small kids are left home alone
62. people trying to outrun police while driving slow-moving vehicles
63. combining jellyfish gene to produce another plant or animal that glows
64. imposter cop has car with flashing light, stopping motorists, accidentally stops real cop
65. parents who leave their small kids locked in hot cars while they frolic
66. inmates who advertise innocently for penpals on lonely-hearts pages on the Internet.

Copyright 2003 by Chuck Shepherd"

Journal Entry? I think?

School is almost done for the year, and I am almost excited to be returning in January. Why is this? Because there’s a part of me that really enjoys the fact that I have no exam, well, no exam where I have to sit in a stuffy room and write for about an hour and a half, which I find exceptional. Yay for only having one class!
Well, next semester, which is starting in February, it’s a little confusing. Firstly, I don’t know what my schedule because it’s constantly changing. Apparently, I have some college course and then I have something about Chemistry and something about no Physics and then something about hairdressing, which I never even applied for.
There is no end to this. I already changed it a billion times, and none of the courses that I wanted to change in the first place moved from their spot. Except of course, the ones that I wanted to keep – which frustrates me to the bitter end.
I have to somewhat squeeze in: French, math, English, that college course and Physics. That makes 5 courses. Will I be able to do that?

Snow Days

Hello everyone!

As you might have guessed from my title, right now we are going to be talking about snow days.
It's those days of grace in the winter time that help so much when you have projects due or anything else.
Now, he's an article from the North Bay Nugget:


Snow Day
School buses cancelled, snowplows out in force, shovellers' backs aching
Posted By JENNIFER HAMILTON-MCCHARLES, THE NUGGET
Updated 13 days ago

Global warming -- bah humbug.
The hum of snowblowers could be heard throughout the city as residents recovered their vehicles buried in Sunday night's snowfall.
North Bay received 18.6 centimetres of snow from 7 p. m. Sunday through to 1 p. m. Monday . Snow is expected to fall through the week.
According to Environment Canada, about 14 centimetres of snow is expected through to Friday. The heaviest is expected to come Thursday with an estimated 10 centimetres of snowfall.
I've got to kill some of this winter," said John Pelland, as he brushed the snow off his vehicle.
I hibernate now just like a bear. I go in November and I don't come out until spring," he said.
I used to like the cold winters, but now I have to go somewhere every winter. This year it's Cuba."
Not everyone was prepared for the big dump" that blanketed North Bay and area Sunday night and roughout Monday.
Tony Vannelli souped up his tractor to tackle Northern Ontario winters.
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Usually we don't get a big dump of snow until the second week of December," he said, as he took a break from clearing driveways.
But we got quite a big one today. It's definitely here to stay."
Vannelli said he used his tractor to tackle the snow, but he will then move onto the snow blower before grabbing the shovel to do the walkways and steps.
There's so much I just might not get all the properties done today," he said.
One driveway isn't bad, but several is exhausting. It's heavy and sticky, it's good snowball weather."
Ted Bond didn't mind pitching in and helping his neighbours get mobile.
When you get a big snowfall like this, you help out your neighbours."
A few residents, like Tracy Matton, had to rescue her Christmas decorations that were blowing down the street or hiding underneath a blanket of snow.
It's crazy out here," she said, pulling her Christmas lights from the snow bank.
But it's getting everyone in the spirit, especially the kids. They love the snow."
Shoshana Turnbull loves snow days.
School buses across the region were cancelled due to weather conditions, so the five-year-old spent her morning sliding down a hill in her babysitter's front yard.
Snow days are so much fun, because all you do is play," Shoshana said.
Nipissing-Parry Sound Student Transportation Services cancelled bus service in North Bay and Parry Sound, however schools remained opened.
Snow removal kicked into high gear early Monday morning as public works crews tried to keep roads cleared before the early morning rush hour.
The city's public works department is putting motorists on notice.
Cliff Scott, roads supervisor for the department, said Thibeault Terrace and Trout Lake near Lake Heights are
trouble areas" when it comes to overnight parking.
He said the parking authority will be ticketing vehicles at midnight and, should the problem persist, vehicles parking overnight on city streets will be towed.
Scott said plows were on the roads by 4 a. m. and were to return this morning.
All streets will be plowed at least once today (Monday)," he said.
The snow is thick and sticky and the sidewalks are really messy."
Antoine Boucher, municipal engineer for East Ferris Township, said the goal is always to get everything cleared by rush hour.
We're using a lot of hours and some overtime is being built up, but we're trying to catch up."
The scenery in West Nipissing isn't that different.
Luc Rifou, manager of public works for the municipality, said snow removal crews are a little slower due to the mild temperatures creating wet and heavy snow.
He said the last roads were plowed Monday at about 10:30 a. m.
Not everyone was finding ways to get rid of the snow.
Grant Fullerton, president of the North Bay Snowmobile Club, said crews were out grooming trails Monday.
We have enough snow now, but what we don't have is the cold weather," he said.
We need ponds to freeze. The lakes are open. It's actually really bad."
Environment Canada released its three-month forecast Monday, predicting colder than normal temperatures through February for large swaths of the country and less snow than last year.
The forecast calls for colder than usual temperatures for Northern Ontario, a good chunk" of the eastern Prairies and British Columbia.
Southern and central Ontario, most of Alberta and southern Saskatchewan will see near normal conditions."
Quebec, starting in the Eastern Townships, and most of Atlantic Canada will experience warmer than normal" weather.
That's the prediction, but the indicators Environment Canada climatologists usually look to, like ocean temperatures, are up and down."
This year there is no El Nino or La Nina -ocean-atmosphere phenomena in the Pacific Ocean which influence global weather patterns.
When it comes to snow, Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips admits that's a hard one to nail down. But he predicts less snow for parts of Canada hardest hit last year by record snowfalls.
There's just no way we're going to see as much snow as last year, even though we're calling for precipitation in December, January and February as being wetter than normal."