A company in Germany is offering this fantastic getaway for men. Here is the perfect description:

Think of it as a testosterone-soaked sandbox: a German amusement park where, instead of standing in line to ride on roller coasters, you get to play with big, loud machines. For 219 euros (about $280), patrons can spend the day operating 29-ton Liebherr backhoes and 32-ton Komatsu front-end loaders, off-roading through the woods in a Mercedes-built Unimog, peeling out in a Suzuki SUV, and slinging some mud on quad bikes.

Does that not sound completely amazing? Driving huge tractors, off roading and any other amazing thing you can think of. I am so getting on a plane to Germany right now.
Check out the article from Wired here with pictures.

Merry Christmas (its a conspiracy)

Now that Christmas is over I would like to wish my blog readers a Merry Christmas. So, Merry Christmas everyone!
I would also like to point out that Christmas has been hijacked by commercialism and post a video put together by a group called Advent Conspiracy.

As you can see by the video they are advocating more worship, spending less while giving more and loving everyone. One of the best points they make is the fact that Americans spend 450 billion at Christmas time and at the same time it would only take 10 billion to solve the world water crisis.
It is a powerful video so give it some thought. I know our church is certainly thinking about what we could do next year.

Are You Ashamed Yet?

I saw this article about a small-time software developer trying to guilt software pirates into paying for the program. When you enter a hacked registration code you get this message.
The 'Shame on Me' button is priceless.

World Air Travel

I stumbled across this clip months ago but forgot to blog about it. It demonstrates the typical air travel all over the world during 24 hours in a quick 72 second video.

Fascinating stuff. I can feel myself getting drawn along with those yellow dots doing the large arc across the Atlantic to Europe.

It's Christmas Card Time!

In keeping with the season, Irene and I sent out Christmas cards to many of our friends and family. You should be getting yours soon. If you don't get one than we don't have your address. I am not going to post the actual one we sent out because I don't want to ruin the surprise.

But I will post some of the runners-up.All we need is some hot cocoa and fake reindeer antlers.

We did a lot of work on the house this year.

Anybody who knows about Irene's chainsaw wielding past will understand why she is the one doing the cutting.

We like Christmas lights.

I don't know why I am skiing, snowboarding is where it's at.

And sledding, sledding is also where it's at. Sorry gingerbread men but those tobaggans are hard to control.

I hope you enjoyed that and maybe in the new year I will post our actual Christmas card.

Attention all Drones

If anybody is still actually using Internet Explorer these days (I know you exist) they should stop right about now.
Since Tuesday Microsoft has been admitting that IE is vulnerable to some pretty serious security leaks which allow hackers to steal passwords and other personal information. The internet has been abuzz with stories like this and news clips like this. Basically you should be using anything (Firefox, Chrome or Safari) but IE.
I personally just installed the update along with the Microsoft anti-virus software on my computer at home but who is going to trust it when it was made by the same guys who brought us Vista.

Living in Ottawa

So Ottawa has been a happening place lately. We have had all the government shenanigans and parliament being paroqued. This has led to endless debates among normally non-political people. Even people who don't live in Ottawa seem to know what is going on. However on the downside, it has led to many in the media mispronouncing paroqued as pierogies. This has, in turn led to some confusion when reporting on the latest in the economic crisis. There has been no word on how the pierogies feel about the latest reports. The media really has to tap that angle for better ratings.

At the same time the city is in turmoil because everyone's best friends, the good bus drivers of this city, have decided to strike. These idiots are striking despite being offered a 7% raise and better benefits etc. Apparently the main point of contention is the scheduling. The bus drivers want to be able to pick their own schedules based on seniority. The city has countered by saying that they could save millions by hiring less drivers and buying less buses if they could be in charge of scheduling. Of course, the stupid unions are going to ignore this and go for the jugular by bleeding the taxpayers even more. I mean, in these economic times can't you be satisfied that you even have a job let alone a 7% raise. Sheesh, get back to work already! Traffic is brutal, parking is impossible and everybody hates OC Transpo right now. Personally I have come out of this relatively unscathed since I don't work downtown anymore and nobody in Kanata takes the bus so driving isn't even that bad. Shocking, I know, I have resorted to driving. But don't worry, it makes me sick too.

The transit strike seems to be timed perfectly with some horrible weather (for driving or walking). They are currently predicting some sort of snomageddon this weekend. I have my doubts because the media really just seems to be pumping up the weather story for the ratings boost after missing out on the pierogies angle.

But either way, it seems like the perfect time to leave our wonderful city and seek out the nearest beacon of civilization, Montreal. We are heading out to see some family downtown and maybe do some Christmas shopping on Catherine Street. We are staying in a sweet hotel for really cheap and it is quite close to an Apple Store. Should be fun if we can get there.