Black Monday - Toronto and US stock indexes fell 10%

This is Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) for September 2008


Enough said, sit tight and hang on for a recession ride

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

This is a book I am eager to read, the true Warren Buffett, by Alice Schroeder (Author)

http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/snowball/

Funn when the dollar is not on par anymore

• Amazon.com $21 USD ($25 for free shipping)
• Amazon.ca $25 CAD ($39 for free shipping)
• Chapters.ca $26 CAD (no free shipping)

First NHL Hockey Game (loss) - Maple Leafs 4, Pittsburg Penguins 5

Lucky me, my brother won 2 tickets to Toronto Maple Leafs' pre-season game against Pittsburg Penguins last night with Signey Crosbey playing. At last, we attended our first NHL game, in addition to MLB (Toronto Blue Jays), MLS (Toronto FC), NBA (Toronto Raptors), but no NFL yet though.

Unfortunately Leafs couldn't hold onto to the 2-goal lead in 3rd period and loss to Crosby and Penguins 5-4. However overall it was very enjoyable, back-and-forth goal scoring, a fight, penalties and power plays.

• Balcony seats were valued at $86 (for pre-season even) when Toronto Raptors Balcony seats would only cost ~$40, wow
• I couldn't bring my DSLR in because my 18-135mm lens exceeds their limit of 75mm (a rule I don't agree with). Let me tell you, using a Canon SD200 pocket camera for 3 hours felt like armless as I am so used to DSLR's longer zoom and quick shutter. At least SD200 could record videos
• What happens to the no-smoking-within-x-feet of the building? Everyone was smoking within 1 feet of the ACC after the game ended. That was a walk of second-hand smoke :(

Blue Jay's Roy Halladay has 20 wins, ER/Smallville thoughts

Roy Halladay, Doc, has won the game last night 8-2 over New York Yankees. His 20th win, 2nd in his career, marks a bittersweet end to a disappointing season by Blue Jays.

To me, Doc is THE team, the Blue Jays, and it is heartbreaking that the team fails him so many times to reach the playoffs. I was fortunate enough to watch Doc almost shut out the Yankees in July at Rogers Centre. Definitely a memory I'll treasure for, and hope for a better next season

Now back to useless TV show reviews

Smallville
I do not know why I continue to watch this, perhaps because they keep saying it's the last season, since season 3. Now two episodes into season 8, it definitely feels like the last season, with Clark Kent working at Daily Planet with Lois Lane, disappearance of Lex/Lana/Martha and appearance of Justice League, I hope they end it well and make Clark fly. Not being a Superman comic fan, I was very confused by the Superman movie, Smallville to which one is the true Superman storyline, if it does exist.

ER
It is the last season, and first episode Dr. Greg Pratt is gone, killed by the ambulence bombing just when everything looked fine in the first 10 minutes. Wow, that was a sad moment as he's been in ER for 8 years, and seems like Abby/Luka will be leaving Chicago as well. They may as well call it a season of farewells.

Farewell, ER, you will remain the memories that accompanied me for 15 years and on.

Exercise

Owww.... my body aches, from last night's 2 hour Volleyball game (hosted by WCCA)

It has been 12 years since I played Volleyball in high school, and rusty I was. Need to practice my surf, but it was quite fun and one does play most of the time (since there were only 15 people, and you need 12 on the court)

Lazy me, always saying I should exercise more, but never doing it.
I am hoping this is a good start, and then maybe I can do Volleyball Wed night, AND Badminton Thurs night.

Fun picture of the day - Mio Knight Rider GPS fetauring K.I.T.T. voice

Small World, Too Much TV Shows

The problem with following so many TV shows is I don't have enough time to watch them, even with the PVR and skipping commercials
For this week alone, I have 14 hours of shows to watch (average of 2 hours per day). Either I need to leave work earlier, or go to bed later ;-p


People always say the world is very small (and six degrees of separation), yesterday was another day the world wasn't so big.

I went to Hakim Optical to get new lens for my eyeglasses (one of the lens fell off and I couldn't find it), and it turns out the owner was someone who almost bought our condo 2 years ago, WOW.

She said I looked familar, my voices sounded familar, and one thing led to another, we do know each other!! What's even nice about it is she gave me discount without me asking, so it was a nice gesture and that made my day. Wouldn't hesitate to go back again, and would recommend her to everyone

Best Thing Ever - Calendar for TV

After great responses from my coworkers, it seems like many people do not know about this website

If you watch a few tv shows and have difficulties keeping tracking and keeping up, this is THE solution - Calendar for TV

• You can sign up and it stores your show filter settings with your account, useable anywhere on any computer
• It has iCal link so you can add to your Google Calendar, Outlook, Mac Calendar
• You always know WHAT and WHEN is on, TODAY, or TOMORROW, or the entire week

I'd share a screenshot of my TV calendar. Yes, you can laught at my selections, and many hours of my life wasted @@

Goodbye Summer, Goodbye Yankee Stadium

Today marks the official end of Summer, and beginning of Fall

It was a wet, but friendly and beautiful Summer unlike the recent Hot summers, so thank you!

I can feel it'll be an average Fall, and the million dollar question is - how much snow will come winter time, after last year's crazy winter?

Not to be outdone, yesterday was the Farewell to the 85-year-old Yankee Stadium

It is a shame, being a baseball fan, I did not step afoot the old stadium (I had my chances when I was visiting NYC in 2004/2005). It is both unfortunate (as a true fan) and satisfying (as a Blue Jays fan) that Yankees, did not make it to the playoffs.

SupperWorks Take 2, Honda Fit, Conestoga Mall

SupperWorks

Today is our second trip to SupperWorks after an enjoyable introductionary visit (see first visit)

After learning the handle of it last time, we finished in record time, 6 entree prepation only took us 30 minutes (it costs $153 for 6 entrees). And with their friendly staff, we took home (complimentary) 2 bags of cookies and 1 bag of sweet potato fries side dish. Awesome! For more details, you can see my review on Restaurantica

2009 Honda Fit

After SupperWorks I stopped Waterloo Honda to see the 2009 Honda Fit. Overall it is and feels bigger, a tad cuter, and roomy interior with modern dashboard, equally versatile in cargo rooms and fuel efficiency. However, the prices were not reasonable in my opinion as DX is $17000+ and Sport trim is $20000+, where as the buyer is in the Honda Civic price range and a better car overall (again, IMO)

Canadian Driver has a well-writeen test drive article for anyone interested

Conestoga Mall, and Urban Planning

Last stop of the day is a drive through Conestoga Mall, trying to go to TD bank to deposit money. It was a completely waste of time and driving nightmare. Here are my thoughts on the new construction

Pros

• Roundabout was a good improvement as the old straight road with stop sign was horrible
• Another entrance/exit on King St also diverted and reduced half of the traffic into the mall
• New expansion is in progress (The Bay's new wing has opened) to expand the mall with more stores and food court

Cons

• Parking lot is full, everywhere, like boxing day. People really have nowhere else to go in Waterloo
• Too many roads lead to confusion of drivers and pedestrians, and I saw people crossing roads where cars almost hit them. Also there are too many entries into the parking lot that drivers were mixed up

I always find it funny that planners always seem to only finish half of the project. It may be out of their control at times, but nevertheless, believe it or not, new and big changes don't always make things better, for example:

• You expand the mall without carefully considering the traffic flow, parking capacity, and pedestrian friendliness
• CityPlace builds condo complexes along Spadina in Toronto without considering traffic flow, and now you get traffic jams EVERYWHERE near these condoes - Gardiner Spadina exit/on-ramp, Spadina

Crazy Week in Stock Markets

Don't know what to say, my heart is not strong enough for the roller coaster ride with -10% drop here and there, +10% surge here and there. It is odd timing, we are new to stocks (relatively) and just happen to stumble into the biggest turbulence/recession in recent years.

Look at the bright side, if we survive through this, future can only be brighter. Who would have thought Berkshire was the surprise one - up 22.5% in 2 months. Proven again Warren Buffet is worth investing

TSX for the last month - doesn't it look like a roller coaster ride, literally?


In another relief news, gas dropped (again) in a week, we had $1.38 -> $1.28 -> $1.20 -> $1.13 now, WOO HOO, it's about time!!
On my way to work, I saw a guy filling up ~10 gas cans on his pickup truck flatbed. I feel for the truckers

Complimentary 90-day National Post subscription

Another year, same Blue Jays, hoping for another year

Blue Jays had an Insider Club promotion and I received free 500 level tickets to the Sep 7, 2008 Blue Jays vs Tampa Bays game, where we won 1-0. Jason also had free $20 food voucher for our lunch money - however, $20 only got us 2 chicken finger combos at $10 each. Talk about overpriced food and total ripoff at best. Nevertheless, at least next day I redeemed my tickets for free Pizza Pizza pizza slices as there were 7 strikeouts in the game

This post was originally drafted on Sep 10, 2008 when Blue Jays 10 had game winning streak, since then with the 3 losses in Boston, Blue Jays (heartbroken losses as well) has officially ended their playoff chase

I remembered when the season started, I had such high hopes for Toronto teams - Maple Leafs, Raptors, and Blue Jays. How wrong can I be, becoming another faithful Toronto fan, without anything in return

Let's hope 2009 will be a different year, one can only hope

Fill up your gas tank TONIGHT!

Gas prices predicted to rise 12.9 cents a litre Friday, for no apparent "immediate" cause

This comment sums it up, how Canadians are getting gauged at the gas station
Since the decline from $145 to $100 for oil our local price at the pump has gone down 2 cents.

Gas prices goes up at any news, and come down as slow as it can be
I filled up 10L tonight at 119.9, just so I can boycott gas companies as long as I can

Added 2008/09/12 - news was right, gas was $1.35~$1.36/L this morning, a jump of 15~16 cents per litre

Rest In Peace, Richard. You will always be remembered

Yesterday I learned the shocking news of the passing away of my former colleague (Artistic Director for 14 years) at Stratford Festival - Richard Monette, at age 64. Story



I was speechless, trying to figure out what happened as he was only 64, and usually there is a warning, but not this time. Embolism and he is gone, like the wind, like in my profound Stratford memories. I remembered Richard being a funny, sometimes swearing, but truely visionary and great leader at the Festival. I was honoured to have met him, and enjoyed plays he directed.

My thoughts to his friends and family, and all of Festival's individuals. It is a sad day, losing an icon and a star fallen.

Rest in peace, Richard.

This passion, and the death of a dear friend, would go near to make a man look sad. - A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act V, Sc. I

4GB RAM is overkill for Vista 32-bit

On the weekend I decided to install my spare 2x1GB DDR2 RAM and upgraded my Vista 32-bit to 4GB RAM. And because of the 32-bit limition of using maximum 3.25GB RAM, I allocated 1GB RAM as RamDisk, using RamDisk, and moved my internet temporary files to the drive. My browsing speed has improved noticably, but the OS performance was more of the same.

Advice: 2GB is more than enough for Vista 32-bit. Next time I will install Vista 64-bit to take full advantage of the 4GB RAM


So my shoulder skins started to peel off from the sun burn on our USA Trip. I couldn't remember at all the last time my skins peeled off like a thin paper. It is exciting and strange at the same time

Lastly, not to be outdone by people I know, I have a summer cold as well and actually sick enough to be sick, and took a sick day to rest. I certainly everyone will take care of himself/herself as the weather changes. Speaking of which - where did summer go?

USA Trip (Shopping at Grove City and Amusement Park at Erie, PA)

For the Labour Day long weekend, we were bored and decided to go somewhere for the sake of not staying at home. We chose Grove City and Erie as they are nearby and provides enough to entertain us, which it certainly did

Day 1 - Grove City, Pennsylvania

Left Waterloo at 5am and smooth traffic all the way to the border, except there was an accident where 2 cars were in the ditch and 6 police cars/3 ambulances/2 firetrucks were on the scene

At the border, we got sent into the US Customs office because our cousin brought the Maple Leaf Card (Residence) his US VISA on the expired passport, but not a current valid passport. The officer initially told us he cannot enter US (which would have been a disaster) but finally let him through after 30 minutes, as he's a minor which only requires photo ID to enter US. WHEW~

This is when GPS came in and led us all the way. Started on the I-90 tollway in NY (paid $2.75), entered into PA I-90 which is toll-free (jealous, PA has no state tax on clothing, cheaper gas, and free-ways), then turned on I-79 down to Grove City. Only fun was to see 2 Ontario cars (Acura TSX & Honda Civic) chasing each other, and then a police cruiser came out and pulled the Civic aside (he deserved it)

Grove City here we are, the Prime Outlets Mall with hundreds of stores to walk around. Funny thing is there were 2 cute Taiwanese girls working at the Wok Chinese food in the food court, I ordered in Mandarin :)

Lastly, there was a big lineup for the Coach Factory Outlet, and it was truely a sale - Coach bag for less than $100, no wonder everyone is carrying a Coach shopping bag. Unfortunately I don't need one nor buy one for anyone. Spent around 5 hours there and walked away with $20 Addidas clothing only, how sad. A few interesting observations - 90% of women wear flip-flop, I saw a University of Waterloo T-shirt, Toronto FC jersey and couple Canadian credit cards = popular destination for Canadians indeed.

Back to Erie Springhill Marriot, filled up gas at $3.65/gallon (while it was $1.27 in Canada, equivalent to $4.80/gallon), took a quick rest in the fancy hotel suite (unfortunately my Marriot Gold status didn't get me a free upgrade as there was nothing available), it's off to another shopping destination - Millcreek Mall, where my only purchase of a $20 clearance Abercrombie & Fitch polo. The mall style was different than the outlet mall so it was nice to see Macy's and Abercrombie. No electronics store at all thus far for my liking :(

After a long day of shopping, we headed to Hibachi Japanese Steakhouse (teppanyaki) for dinner. The food was tasty and decent portion to satisfy us, along with the entertaining chef presentation. After dinner we drove to the Presque Isle State Park wanting to take a quick drivearound but idled shortly at the gate confused about the hours. Then a park ranger pulled behind us and asked if we are okay and need any help. That was too much share of officers in a day, but nice of him. Back to hotel we go, and concludes the first day with 3 persons sharing the King bed and 2 sharing a sofabed




Day 2 - Erie, Pennsylvania

Woke up "naturally" in the hotel, and enjoyed a good hot continental breakfast after a 30 minute lineup. The food was worth the wait at least, generous portions and DIY waffle was fun

Headed to Waldameer Amusement Park Water World at 11am, with a coupon (only paid $70 for 5 of us). Let the fun begin

3 hours in Water Park - the tube rides were okay, I did enjoy the Bermuda body slide (we were lifted off the tube in the vertical drop, cool) and the Giant Body Slide. The free fall slides were not as exciting as they looked but the lazy river was fun. Overall good weather, good sun, good crowd

5 hours in Amusement Park - it was no Wonderland, but the Ravine Flyer roller coaster was very good except it ended all too quickly before you realized it. The steel dragon was new to us, it is similiar to Wonderland's The Fly, but also rotated while on the track so the front became the back and vice versa (it sits 4, 2 facing front and 2 facing back). The dropzone was short and not scary, and one can clearly see the attractions were designed towards family and children friendly. However, we enjoyed the sky ride and the gondola wheel nontheless with photos to prove.

Thoughts of the day - it was an enjoyable day, perhaps somewhat too much time spent lining up, but we all had fun, we all had sunburn on our shoulders (ouch), and I don't mind returning here. On the other hand, still curious about the $25/person indoor Splash Lagoon Water Park

After the amusement park next part of the journey is the Presque Isle State Park again, trying to catch a glimpse of it in the daylight. We did miss the sunset but caught the beautiful dusk, and the mosquitos.

Ate the dinner at Taco Bell and back to Canada we go, and what a nice away gift from the city of West Field, NY, shooting off Labour Day Fireworks as we drove on the I-90 and got a heads up from the toll booth lady "Enjoy the fireworks!" Some hours of driving, 30 minutes Canadian border wait, and busy QEW later, we are home (2:30 am), and the rabbits are still alive! Bed Time!!