Quick Hits - March 8

Let it be known that, on this the eighth day of March, the year of our Lord 2007, young Vivian performed the chicken dance in response to what was going on in the episode of Dora the Explorer I had in the DVD player.

It’s official: the girl is a sponge, so watch what you say around her! :-)


Apparently, I’m Simon

This is a hilarious blog entry for those with a self-deprecating sense of humour. Jason Bo Green attempts to build up links between prominent Canadian bloggers and various characters in fiction. Here’s what he did for me:

Simon.jpg

James Bow: crazy little thing called love, for trains. And rails. And train stations. Childlike, but not childish, earnest and with an imagination beyond compare, he enjoys science-fiction and fantasy. He’s Canadian and loves to entertain kids with stories - tell me he doesn’t just scream Simon from The Secret Railroad.

Because he does.

Well, that’s one I’ll wear with pride! But why no entry for the Blogging Alliance of Non-Partisan Canadians


Oil Gives Me Gas

Here in Ontario, the developing problem is a gas shortage that has been building thanks to a lack of deliveries resulting from two refinery fires a few weeks ago. Actually, given the inconvenience, which has ended up leaving us with more than a few stations running out of gas, I think we’ve performed quite well. There’s been some frustration, but no sign of any panic. And, of course, public transit ridership is up, and that’s always a good thing.

But as Ontario waits for the refineries to come back on stream (any day now), I’ve been paying a bit more attention than usual to the gas prices, and I notice some interesting things.

  1. Even with a shortage extreme enough to suck some pumps dry, our gas is still cheaper now than it was in September and October 2005 when hysteria over Katrina and Rita’s impact on the Gulf of Mexico’s oil supply sent prices over $1.20 per litre. For the longest while, gas at a number of stations was $0.999; almost as though the stations were afraid to raise the price over a dollar once again.
  2. Gas prices have been the most stable that I’ve ever seen them. As I said in point one, for the longest time gas prices were at $0.999 and stayed there for days. Then earlier this week some stations went up to $1.029… and stayed there. I’m used to gas prices fluctuating daily. Why aren’t they fluctuating now?

I’ve got to tell you, I don’t understand the economics of this situation.


Text Messaging for Business

This may be a long shot, but here goes: I’m working on an article examining the business of text messaging. Four billion text messages were sent throughout Canada last year. Heck, four million text messages were sent through the United Kingdom last month. There’s plenty of business to be had in it, but do any of you make use of text messaging for your business? If so, e-mail me or drop me a line in the comments. I would like to speak to you.

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