Hanging out, down the street

It's hard to drop a lot of money on a big ticket item and not have the instant gratification of taking it home right away. It's even worse when your credit card company screws you as you attempt to make your payment which therefore delays the initial shipment date by 7 days. Well, finally I've jumped that hurdle after much grief and some help from my dad, and the mythical laptop is now sitting in a Fedex sortation facility 40 km away from my house. It's been sitting there since Thursday evening. Why oh why can't Fedex get their act together and process it if it managed to leave Shanghai on Tuesday, went to Anchorage on Wednesday and was in Memphis AND Mississauga on Thursday. Are they going to send it somewhere else just to torture me? Are they trying to process it through some sort of customs initiation which by default must take 2 agonizing business days? Agh, it's killing me! I just want to play with my new toy, damn it!

So, much of our discussions at work lately have centered around nostalgia by way of pop culture. We have extensively discussed the new Transformers movie that is due out next summer and we are concerned. It's being directed by Michael Bay of Pearl Harbour fame, which is very worrisome. Whenever I hear Michael Bay's name I think of that catchy song from 'Team America: World Police' in which one of the characters laments how shitty his movies always are. It's pretty damn funny, but what the hell does Michael Bay know about Autobots, Decepticons, and the battle for earth? To be honest, I couldn't remember much of the plot and neither could A. even though we both recalled watching it as kids. W., who is a few years older, has a better memory and gave us the rundown on the mythology. However, it might also help that his brother owns the series on DVD and they both still watch it occasionally. It's like the Cult of Transformers. Did you know a few years ago that reproductions of original Transformers toys were released again for collectors? It always seems that everything old is new again. Probably because the cartoons that kids watch today suck compared with what was around in the 70s and 80s.

Oh and one last thought. I saw this article in yesterday's TorStar. Apparently the Tory government loves supporting Canadian students in their pursuit for higher education abroad, especially when they can't get it at home. Student funding seems to be treated with as much respect as anything to do with the environment.
By the way, has anyone noticed that even though the GST dropped 1%, Federal income tax has increased so you actually make LESS money on each paycheque now? Now that's a great tax break Steve. You fucking rock. If I ever had reasons to not vote for you before, well, you keep adding some awesome reasons to the ever increasing list.
By the way, do you have an opinion that isn't expertly coordinated with anything George Bush says? I think you're giving Tony Blair some competition for the brownest nose. I really hope those rumours about the non-confidence vote in the fall are true. The fact that it's tied into the softwood lumber settlement is interesting but since most reactions to your 'settlement' seem to be shock that $1 Billion dollars is still being left in American hands, than perhaps an early Christmas gift to Canada is in the works. Let's all cross our fingers and toes.