it's autumn in them thar woods...part 2.

a blurry silvery plant in fish creek park.

some extreme random deep thoughts:

the diagnosis is in (albeit a internet-based diagnosis). i have trochanteric bursitis (i.e. a sore right hip). i went to the doctor to confirm but was disappointed again. he almost never gives me a diagnosis (even though i was bursting at the seams to reveal the fruits of my internet research). he just handed me a wack of NSAID's (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and ushered me out of the office pronto. seriously, i described to doc the twinge i've been experiencing in the hip area. he thinks there might be nerve damage. i have to go get a x-ray done.

i find it amusing that one of steve h.'s henchmen is pressuring canadian retailers to lower their prices in light of the strong loonie. ha! ain't gonna work. whether prices come down or not will be driven by supply and demand. canadians, show your displeasure by not buying from gougers. case in point, i haven't bought camera equipment from a canadian vendor for quite some time. it's my duty to buy canadian but when the US price is so low (even when shipping and taxes are included) it's a no brainer as to where to shop. even in the days of the 63 cent loonie i would still save a tonne of money by shopping online. only stipulation is the NikonUSA warranty isn't honoured in canada. it's a major pet peeve of mine but i'll save that rant for another day.

here's a shameless segue. if you need to buy cheap camera/video stuff, consider purchasing from B&H photo and video of NY, NY. they've signed on a sponsor of the BTOG (the bigtubofgoo). ok, the BTOG is a new B&H affiliate. B&H is NOT a sponsor. personally, i order all my camera/video stuff from them. very reliable. very reasonable prices (and dropping fast thanx to the flight of the loonie). go ahead and click away. i know u want to... all proceeds will be rolled into the "buy bubba a beer fund" and spent wisely.

i still haven't figured out the results of the 2007 Calgary election. i can't for the life of me figure out why Pave bronconnier is still the mayor of our rather spread out city.

kudos to alberta premier Ed stelmach. he had the guts to open up the file on oil and gas royalties, not like his weak predecessor. i thought he was revealing his half baked royalty plans tonite on the vid. i wasn't watching but understood the 19 minute tv presentation (which cost taxpayers $124,000 CAD) was short on steak but big on fluff. disappointing. however, i'll be watching/listening carefully tomorrow Ed for the details. don't let us down Ed. show us da money... remember Ed, two words: fair share... you do the right thing and i'll vote for you in the next election...

i feel the shame. i hang my head. shame on me. i went ahead and bought a bike computer. i've quantified the last bastion of unadulterated fun in my life. that's biking. i'm on the slippery slope of electronic quantification and surveillance. what next? procuring a cell phone? nooooooooooooooooooo!!!

i can't figure out facebook. it's not really that fun. the only buzz i get from it is when someone wants to be my "friend". but hell, if you're in my "friend's" list i know you're my friend without facebook. there are people out there who have thousands of "friends". i've got something like 30. does that make me a lesser "friend"? maybe... look, i'm desperate. if you want to be my friend, find me on facebook somehow or leave me a comment. i'll take on all comers. no questions asked.

i didn't know joe sports (a local sports broadcaster) died when i was in africa. that's very sad.

this morning i was biking around in shorts and t-shirt (something like 22 C). tonite there's a raging snowstorm on the canadian tundra. that my friends is a definite SNAFU.