tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28946309095276494112012-01-27T03:09:43.807-04:00Fact and FictionVeritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.comBlogger1411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-59774083948841045592012-01-26T00:22:00.000-04:002012-01-26T00:22:42.736-04:00

So I spilled beer on my laptop a few days ago. Oops. That sucks, and it sucked more when my trackpad and my keyboard stopped working. Lugging around a mouse with me and using half a keyboard was a pain in the ass, so I figured, hey, it's not under warranty, I'll just replace the parts. Today, all the new stuff arrived and within 45 minutes I had reassembled the laptop. It works great, but I'm

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-75292978291727192912012-01-24T12:58:00.003-04:002012-01-24T21:33:22.501-04:00

Ricky Hood is the superintendent for the Eastern School District in PEI, the largest district in the province, and he's cool with the Gideons handing out Bibles. Hemant has the scoop. I sent him a letter, posted below the jump. Any other concerned Canadians should do the same. I'll post any responses here. Dear Superintendent Hood, This morning I read in the CBC that your district - the largest

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-69382586829620546232012-01-20T15:03:00.000-04:002012-01-20T15:03:32.158-04:00

The wonderful and eloquent Greta Christina has written a detailed post regarding Jessica and the harassment she's been slammed with following daring to stand up for her rights. I suggest you read it in its entirety before coming back here. What I'd like to do today is look at Jessica, and how she stands among a pool of Americans commonly considered great in times past. You see, those who study

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-24614883054585171442012-01-17T17:45:00.001-04:002012-01-17T17:47:39.925-04:00

I started this as a story some time ago, and as always, I pick and prod at such things. This is based on the idea of a different outcome to the American Civil War - one where the British become involved on the side of the Confederacy. Although I've only written 11,000 words so far, I did some extensive backstory work that isn't directly relevant to the action. So far, what I have written is one

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-38677303336236213952012-01-17T12:39:00.000-04:002012-01-17T12:39:40.884-04:00

The always eloquent Andrew Sullivan has written a detailed article for Newsweek regarding President Obama and the manner in which he makes change. He looks at the arguments against Obama from both the right and the left and concisely neutralizes them with a singular, effortless ease. This is one of the reasons I support Obama: his ability to play the long game of American and global politics sets

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-89288565413748433952012-01-16T18:56:00.000-04:002012-01-16T18:56:51.063-04:00

Ian Cromwell, the Crommunist, is quickly becoming a favourite blogger of mine. I suggest you read his stuff, but he pointed to a talk he gave awhile ago regarding redefining what racism means and working to avoid it. Powerful, insightful talk, and I recommend you take a half hour of your time to watch. The video is below the fold.

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-28593677016349203022012-01-16T03:14:00.000-04:002012-01-16T03:14:50.353-04:00

Required reading from JT on the Jessica Ahlquist story. Okay. All caught up? I'm not an American, but this pisses me off. Why? Not because she's 16. Jessica has proven she is the equal of any adult out there in terms of maturity, intelligence, and bravado. Not because Palumbo is a Democrat - both American political parties are filled with idiots and assholes. Not because it's harassment or

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-1746934385813042012012-01-15T17:18:00.000-04:002012-01-15T17:18:14.245-04:00

You may not have seen M*A*S*H, but this teddy bear is the link used by Radar O'Reilly in his evolution towards becoming an adult. As the series progresses, Radar's reliance on his teddy bear lessens; when he leaves the 4077th, he leaves the teddy bear behind. At the end of the series, it is buried in a time capsule with other relics like Henry Blake's fishing lure, Father Mulcahy's boxing gloves

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-11074751792152371782012-01-07T21:01:00.001-04:002012-01-07T21:10:18.149-04:00

Randy Cunneyworth's term as head coach of the most storied sports franchise in Canada, the Montreal Canadiens, is only a few games old. He has a lot of things to worry about. The Habs are losing games, Carey Price can't stop a puck, they can't put a power play goal in. Their top scorers aren't scoring and their defense is hardly playing at all. But the big reason why he's being criticized in the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-56986911193188975372012-01-05T17:30:00.001-04:002012-01-05T17:53:00.693-04:00

You might have heard that Rick Santorum almost won the Iowa caucuses. This man is a paragon of Christian conservatism - that is to say he's a racist, homophobic, Islamophobic hypocrite. So, in honour of that, I present a little quiz: The rules are simple: read the quote and decide who said it: M*A*S*H's Major Frank Burns, or Philadelphia's ex-Senator Rick Santorum! 1. Anyone who needs

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-47754465948699548472012-01-02T18:06:00.001-04:002012-01-03T11:01:28.651-04:00

I remember when they announced the NHL Winter Classic. I was pretty excited. It was a great idea - an outdoor game in a huge venue, giving tens of thousands of fans to watch a hockey game. Buffalo vs. Pittsburgh, and the game was pretty awesome too. Fantastic ending, even if the snow had gotten thick enough that it was tough to see Sidney Crosby's OT goal. Regardless, it worked for me. But the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-50410287686148589682012-01-02T15:08:00.001-04:002012-01-02T15:08:55.295-04:00

Jason has a particularly long post on dissent. Stephanie Zvan concurs, and elaborates. But I think it all comes down to what Maryam Namazie said regarding this issue: After all just because someone’s an atheist doesn’t necessarily mean they are pro-equality, anti-war, socialist, secularist, and so on...when we only focus on atheism or ex-Muslim or Muslim or … we miss the class, political and

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-51940975011748456022011-12-31T11:11:00.002-04:002011-12-31T11:17:10.792-04:00

Your "First World Problems" are actually just "World Problems". A bit of an older link, I know, but this hashtag has been bothering me for a damn long time, and I finally found something to say about it. The term "Third World" has dropped out of use by real geographers and economists who study the differences in economies and social power between the modernized developed world and the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-32381915348812506992011-12-31T00:19:00.001-04:002011-12-31T00:21:38.366-04:00

You'd think you wouldn't have to say that, eh? Well, apparently, it's not as obvious as I'd like. “I'm not even a Gideon. I'm just a concerned Christian parent in a country that's still 70 per cent Christian,” said Rev. Mark Koehler, pastor at First St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Hanover, Ont. “We've taken prayer out of school. We can't say certain greetings at Christmas time. We don't want

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-72601842173469668602011-12-30T20:37:00.000-04:002011-12-30T20:37:19.023-04:00

Required reading for this post: Rebecca Watson Greta Christina Jason Thibault Greta again To summarize: Rebecca Watson notices that assholes on reddit use a 15 year old girl as a sex object, and makes the note that atheists aren't necessarily in favour of equality. Jason points out that it's good that Rebecca shows off how idiotic the atheist movement can still be, reminds us that we are

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-26025347660645524442011-12-29T12:43:00.000-04:002011-12-29T12:43:22.840-04:00

In May, 2011, the Conservative Party of Canada stunned political pundits by winning a solid majority government of 166 seats - 13 more than required to control the federal government for four and a half years. Instead of winning a minority government as projected, the Conservatives won 53.9 percent of seats available with only 39.6% of the vote. A five-party vote split and Canada’s

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-86284837790478203922011-10-04T21:31:00.000-03:002011-10-04T21:31:45.456-03:00

Welcome to the era of the Shanaban. Last season, during the Stanley Cup Finals, the NHL announced that Senior VP of Player Operations Colin Campbell would be rotated out of the role of the NHL's head disciplinarian. Replacing him would be a former hockey superstar who has done more for professional hockey than anyone else in the last 20 years - Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan is not completely beyond

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-30750568249330365012011-10-01T16:14:00.001-03:002011-10-01T16:15:14.549-03:00

Wayne Simmonds has been the centre of two major on-ice controversies in the NHL preseason this year. Firstly, Simmonds, a black player, was the target of a thrown banana peel during a shootout attempt while playing the Detroit Red Wings in London, Ontario. Secondly, Simmonds was accused of using a homophobic slur against Sean Avery of the New York Rangers. In the first situation, the fan was

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-79946391437230562562011-10-01T13:37:00.000-03:002011-10-01T13:37:08.764-03:00

It's been awhile since I used this thing. I'm going to start by fixing the RSS feeds on the right and adding some new favourite blogs to it. A lot of them are from Freethought Blogs, a conglomerate of "stuff I like to read about". One omission is Lousy Canuck, a blog run by Jason Thibault, who in a kind moment a month or so ago encouraged me to pick up this blogging thing again. However, his

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-74679406646154559752011-04-22T15:58:00.000-03:002011-04-22T15:58:39.174-03:00

Why should people vote? It's a question I've been asked to answer, especially when confronted by people in my age group who don't understand why the franchise is important, though I am sure there are others. There's many reasons to vote, and some of them are conditional. In the current Canadian election, it is a possibility that Stephen Harper's Conservatives might get a majority government,

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-26076693322456476672011-04-13T13:59:00.004-03:002011-04-14T15:18:22.037-03:00

Okay, I'm sorry if you're one of the Americans who followed me during last night's leadership debate. In case you were wondering what the hell's going on, I'm pleased to present a primer on Canadian federal politics for you, so you too can follow in the fun-filled democratic process in "America's hat". I don't know what kind of country you are to wear a hat that's bigger than all of you, but hey.

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-3088008596001591302011-04-12T13:55:00.002-03:002011-04-12T14:04:20.034-03:00

We can shed our skins and swim into the darkened void beyond We will dance among the worlds that orbit stars that aren't our sun All the oxygen that trapped us in a carbon spider's web Solar winds are whispering, you may hear the sirens of the dead -Starblind, from the Iron Maiden album The Final Frontier April 12th, 1961, we took our first small baby steps towards shedding ourselves of this

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-91802908833084108962011-04-11T11:47:00.000-03:002011-04-11T11:47:41.487-03:00

Let's face it, the F-35 purchase program from the Harper government is one of the big triggers of Canada's current election. Military appropriations is a very difficult issue south of the border as well, especially given the United States' current debate over budget reductions. This contentious issue needs to be considered carefully, and I don't think that military appropriations should be

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-19161020850834560072011-04-04T11:09:00.000-03:002011-04-04T11:09:02.852-03:00

I think Cristina Rad is awesome. Her YouTube channel is fantastic (I'd link to it, but I'm at work currently, and can't get on YouTube from here), and she has a lot of really awesome things to say on her Twitter feed. But comments like this one just make me riled up: Kinda hard to maintain a positive attitude when the entire world is falling apart. No. I don't know how much more emphatically I

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-63983029927839485452010-09-26T04:41:00.000-03:002010-09-26T04:41:45.026-03:00

It had been two years since the abbot died. Two years for the church in this village to lie empty. The heavy iron key to the door had difficulty turning, and if it wasn't for my careful and slow application of strength, I might have snapped it in the tumblers. It opened, reluctantly in the end, and I got my first look inside the small building. It was stout; a stone base, wood walls, and a

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-86496395920721254332010-09-11T01:29:00.002-03:002010-09-11T01:33:27.749-03:00

I wrote this awhile ago. It's no longer current, and it's not always exactly what I think today. But I want to share it here anyway. Mostly so I don't have to crawl through 3 years of old posts on Maidenfans again. Edit: also read last year's thoughts. It is hard for me to find things to say on this day. Half of me sits here and ponders that it is the day the world changed (indeed, for the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-60277112212706604672010-08-16T02:02:00.001-03:002010-08-16T02:02:39.825-03:00

It's that time of the decade that a real metalhead waits for with baited breath day-in and day-out, knowing that each time this day comes may be the last, and the greatest. A new Iron Maiden album has hit the shelves: The Final Frontier. Already the title begged the question, "Is this the last Iron Maiden album?" Luckily, Steve Harris and company have repeatedly said that it won't be. These guys

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-13909436739632619502010-08-07T22:25:00.001-03:002010-08-07T22:25:52.256-03:00

The Second World War-era United States Marines, the elite landing troops that wrested back control of the Pacific from Imperial Japan. The German Fallschirmjäger, the battle-hardened paratroopers of Hitler's Luftwaffe, used to overwhelm Nazi Germany's enemies and defend her borders. Who is deadliest? To find out, I've suggested some of history's most lethal weapon to be tested by the world's

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-49502917175871533722010-08-07T19:38:00.005-03:002010-08-07T20:08:56.200-03:00

Friends, today, I'd like to remind you that the tradition of the left's tax-and-spend politics is not a recent tradition; it is in fact one that true, conservative, freedom-loving Americans have battled for over two centuries. You see, one of the things that George Washington did as President was to raise taxes when he decided to tax several luxury items that he considered distasteful. One of the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-10161105074294221722010-08-05T18:39:00.000-03:002010-08-05T18:39:16.630-03:00

Well, looks like Joé was right, and he was happy to help. He's designed this new...layout for me. Is it easier to read? Does it need new work? Either way, thanks Joé!

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-61831636200429255602010-08-05T10:00:00.001-03:002010-08-05T10:00:00.379-03:00

Joé says it's too hard to read my blog, and that it's hard on his eyes. I have no problem with it - I prefer white on black. However, if a lot of people are having trouble reading it, I'd be more than pleased to investigate a change. So, I need you to tell me: change the appearance of my blog, or is Joé whining?

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-52474019202575923432010-08-05T01:47:00.002-03:002010-08-05T16:46:52.232-03:00

Hoo boy. Here's the big news of the day: the hate-filled amendment to the California Constitution commonly known as "Proposition 8" has been overturned by Judge Vaughn Walker, the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Judge Walker, a George H. W. Bush appointee, found in his ruling on Perry v. Schwarzenegger, that Proposition 8 violates both the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-23711172688388286582010-08-01T23:18:00.001-03:002010-08-05T16:52:04.823-03:00

This passage is the description I gave my online party for the campaign they are about to embark on. I'm placing it here for future reference...and to share with all of you! The City of Splendors; the Jewel of the Sword Coast; the Lord's City; all of these are nicknames for the independent city of Waterdeep, the largest in the North of Faerun. Built on a natural harbour, surrounded by a heavy

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-62994686750913328322010-08-01T22:09:00.003-03:002010-08-01T22:14:39.967-03:00

I mentioned doing this on Twitter recently, and at least one person (Mark!) was insane enough to agree. The basic theory is that you watch The Boondock Saints, taking a drink of alcohol for several events. You take one drink... ...whenever someone says fuck. ...whenever something religious happens. ...whenever someone drinks alcohol. ...whenever someone discusses rope. ...whenever Smecker (

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-56270542657127694022010-08-01T22:06:00.002-03:002010-08-05T16:52:38.117-03:00

The below was originally written for Politics and Pucks, Mike's blog. He was kind enough to invite me to do a guest post on the day of Blogathon. Because this was a guest post, it has none of my usual formatting. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. One of the very interesting responses to the Democrat Party's takeover of Congress and the White House during the 2006 and 2008

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-88270660749576613532010-07-30T16:27:00.005-03:002010-08-05T16:53:23.362-03:00

Update: Ryan from Chicago Gun Owners was kind enough to feature this post on his website. It was incredibly kind of him to offer me the opportunity to share my writing with a bunch of new people, and I hope you all enjoyed reading my thoughts! More theoretical political thought, since the last post on American political history and thought was oh so popular! This one is on the recent extension

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-83549859957398564582010-07-30T02:34:00.004-03:002010-08-05T16:54:05.547-03:00

One of the things I've wanted to do for awhile is give a series of comprehensive reviews on the 22 episodes of Deadliest Warrior that have, to date, run on Spike TV in the show's two seasons. Deadliest Warrior is one of the coolest shows I've seen, and I highly recommend it. For those who don't know the premise, the producers pick two warriors from history and bring in expert on those warriors to

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-80104569708458562762010-07-28T15:22:00.000-03:002010-07-28T15:22:53.982-03:00

On Twitter awhile back, I asked what amendment to the United States Constitution most people feel is the most important. I heard a lot of 1st Amendment, and 5th Amendment, and even a 21st Amendment, but only Mark got it right - the most important of the lot is the 14th Amendment. 132 years ago today, that particular amendment was incorporated in the United States Constitution. Because of the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-79017787738171356892010-07-27T17:19:00.000-03:002010-07-27T17:19:20.590-03:00

Well, I've gone ahead and installed Disqus. Probably all the old comments have been lost. I'm not going to worry too much about it. Here's hoping that I'll be able to increase my posts a bit as well. I'd like to get back into this habit. Hey! If I haven't posted in two days, start bothering me on Twitter for a post!

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-4304848132093787252010-05-20T01:27:00.004-03:002010-05-20T01:52:23.235-03:00

Four, five days later and I still don't know what to say. Dio was a god among men. He shall be missed.Below, find some thoughts from the people who knew Ronnie James Dio, and a few videos showcasing his finest performances over 38 years he has recordings for.Lars Ulrich: "Ronnie, your voice impacted and empowered me, your music inspired and influenced me, and your kindness touched and moved me.

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-32964306903119900102010-05-03T12:52:00.003-03:002010-05-03T13:00:01.561-03:00

Montreal won one of their two games in Pittsburgh, and now the Pens and Habs get to go to the Bell Centre to see what might occur on Montreal's home ice. Jaroslav Halak returned to his series-winning form in Game 2, and the zone defense Montreal played so well against the Capitals was back as well. The players blocked shots and Hal Gill led the way in that department again (can I emphasize how

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-69497430352072878562010-04-30T10:57:00.002-03:002010-04-30T11:03:28.285-03:00

I was worried about this the second I heard that CTV had received broadcast rights for the 2010 Olympic Games. I decided, this morning, that it might be an idea to go watch some of the final game from the Olympics, being in a hockey mood of late. From time to time I've watched the highlight reel from the 2002 final game, as broadcast by CBC. CBC, of course, is a publicly owned station, and its

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-62335118982135711292010-04-29T10:25:00.004-03:002010-05-03T12:51:26.168-03:00

I'm in shock. I had predicted the Habs losing to the Caps in 7. After all, Halak has the hot hand, but really, who expected the firepower of Mike Green, Alex Semin, Mike Knuble, Nicklas Backstrom, and Alexander Ovechkin would falter at Halak's door for four of seven possible games? Not I. But boy, was I wrong.Halak posted a 2.46 GAA and a .939 save % on route to winning 4 of 6 games he played in

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-52529844290626507852010-04-05T19:30:00.006-03:002010-04-05T20:22:30.612-03:00

I was having a conversation with Joé McKen from Preliator pro Causa on the Twitter regarding the nature of the Internet and the exposure of war crimes, and I said, and I quote:Amazing how the Internet forces us to confront our own demons.Of course, I'm referring to today's exposure by Wikileaks of the brutal and unprovoked murder of two Reuters cameramen, and two unarmed Iraqi civilians by the US

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-77028460387777226762010-03-09T23:39:00.002-04:002010-03-09T23:58:38.758-04:00

I've profiled him before, but I'd like to explain a bit about why Maurice "The Rocket" Richard is so important to Canadians.He was an unparalleled hockey player. He remains one of only two hockey players to score a goal per game in a season (the other is Wayne Gretzky). He smashed the career record for goals by over two hundred. To this day, he is still in the top 30 in goals scored. He led the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-57181822261292001222010-02-28T20:07:00.006-04:002010-03-01T00:53:57.056-04:00

It's hard to explain exactly why the now-ending XXI Winter Olympics has been a banner event to all of Canada. It's hard to explain why the international criticism from the United Kingdom and some from the United States bounce off our hides. It's hard to explain why six billion dollars feel well spent when they probably all weren't.This country hasn't had something to make it Canadian in a long

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-90123499925726847002010-02-20T21:42:00.006-04:002010-02-21T11:45:41.693-04:00

OK, first, blog news: I have a new blog where I make a recording about hockey. Check it out at http://mcguireisterrible.blogspot.com!I've been on a huge Iced Earth kick lately. Iced Earth has always clocked in as one of my favourite bands, but the albums I would generally consider to be best by them were The Dark Saga, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Night of the Stormrider, and of course the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-4657111337456827932010-02-17T19:26:00.003-04:002010-02-17T19:30:18.671-04:00

Here's my thoughts on it (in .mp3 format).See? Not too hard.

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-16050240822472826252010-02-16T19:37:00.002-04:002010-02-16T20:21:38.801-04:00

I love hockey. This isn't a surprise to many of you who know me, but hey, I just love hockey. I love local hockey. I love interhouse hockey at university. I love CHL hockey. I love NHL hockey. Men's hockey, women's hockey, sledge hockey. But above all I love Olympic hockey.For those of you who aren't quite sure why I love hockey, it's probably because I have an ingrained sense of being Canadian,

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-58300532070672591662010-02-15T00:09:00.002-04:002010-02-15T00:14:59.587-04:00

Canada has never won a gold medal in an Olympics hosted within Canada...until now, when Alex Bilodeau won gold in men's moguls. Excellent job, Alex. I'm very happy for you, and way to represent.Bilodeau was barely known within Canada, but will now become a household name. His run on the moguls was damn near perfect, hammering out a 720 spin and a massive backflip with two perfect landings on a

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-73542020177284745992010-02-13T01:21:00.003-04:002010-02-13T02:05:18.277-04:00

I just finished watching, as did millions of folks around the world, the Opening Ceremonies of the XXI Winter Olympiad. At Canada Hockey Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada's organizers put on one hell of a show, heavy on earthen and natural themes with a nice tinge of patriotic Canadian display. The day was marred by the death of Georgian lugeist...luger...uh, athlete Nodar

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-62731502878404055912010-01-18T02:10:00.002-04:002010-01-18T02:18:10.313-04:00

Once again, Andrew Sullivan seems to sum up my points. I recommend everyone read his excellent blog post on the subject.I am still enamoured with Barack Obama. He's done everything I hoped he would do in office, and his hand has been ever so steady on the tiller. Through bank failures and tea parties and exploding briefs, he's kept the US on a straight, sensible course. He's issued a withdrawal

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-82185609400701989272010-01-15T10:46:00.002-04:002010-01-15T11:19:11.832-04:00

Okay, everyone has heard about Sarah Palin's interview with Glenn Beck, and the question Beck asked her on the Founding Fathers, basically saying which is your favourite. Palin responded with "all of them", much as she did with the Couric interview during the 2008 Presidential campaign, before eventually she narrowed it down to George Washington, because he was the leader of the Founding Fathers,

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-67723340328756463492009-12-08T12:07:00.001-04:002009-12-08T12:10:34.662-04:00

I know I'm not all that important, but if you happen to live in New Jersey and randomly come upon this blog, please please please please call your State Senator and insist they pass the bill that will be coming before them soon, enshrining civil equality in at least one more state. After the reverses in California, Maine, and New York, New Jersey has a chance to not be a giant scumhole for

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-22855627277803911782009-12-08T11:16:00.003-04:002009-12-08T11:48:05.277-04:00

Today, Taegan Goddard's Political Wire reported that Sarah Palin is considering a run for President on a third party ticket. This is huge news, as there hasn't been a serious run for President on a third party ticket since 1992 with Ross Perot, and no third party candidate has won votes from the Electoral College since 1968, when George Wallace ran as the Southern Rights' candidate as a reaction

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-72819295258005709782009-12-08T02:16:00.002-04:002009-12-08T02:27:11.313-04:00

On the way back from Weymouth, I stopped to see an old friend, Krista, shortly. We discussed many things, including movies, and I had to explain how I simply cannot watch any movie that pretends at historical accuracy and fails. We, for instance, talked about the 2004 flick King Arthur. Yes, Clive Owen is a dreamboat, ladies, but the movie infuriated me to the point where I angrily ruined the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-44901792829891215432009-12-07T10:59:00.002-04:002009-12-07T11:46:34.697-04:00

Here's a thing I've been noticing with our southerly neighbours. Everyone knows I'm a pretty pro-America Canadian with an interest in their politics and history. What I want to talk about here is when one of those two things infringes upon the other - that is to say, when politics infringes on history. I'm a member of a naval family, and I've managed to get a decent idea of what naval history

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-36907657434803950402009-12-03T12:12:00.003-04:002009-12-03T12:41:12.224-04:00

Over a year ago, now, the entire world was electrified when Barack Obama won election for the post of President, the first black candidate to do so; they were just as relieved that George W. Bush was on the way out and that John McCain, who had moved sharply to the right, was not going to be entering into power. Many Americans were just as electrified, even people who did not vote for Mr. Obama.

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-91439363288153437192009-11-27T12:50:00.004-04:002009-11-27T13:11:57.676-04:00

Everyone knows that Star Trek has contributed to popular technology in many ways. For instance, cell phones were based on the concept of the communicator. OV-101 was named Enterprise, not after the famous carrier then in service, but after the fictional starship commanded by Jim Kirk on the television show. Personal computing was a fantasy in 1967, but a reality by 1984 with the launch of the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-64436701462067719542009-11-23T16:55:00.002-04:002009-11-23T17:44:46.525-04:00

The Republican National Committee has come up with the idea of charting future Republican candidates against a so-called "Reagan Unity Principle", holding all these Republicans running for office to a field of idealistic Reagan-like ideals. Candidates who fail to meet 8 or more of these ideals would be refused funding by the RNC as being ideologically unpure. The RNC will score candidates based

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-2329732152176815892009-11-23T10:38:00.003-04:002009-11-23T12:00:31.368-04:00

Dear United States;Hi there, been following your goings-on for awhile, and I'd like to toss in my few cents about a couple things. First of all, I gotta confess - I'm generally a big fan of what you've done. World War II, Eisenhower, the Moon Landing, and Obama, that's pretty cool stuff. But obviously, there's some things that a Canadian like me just doesn't get right away. It takes some time

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-58669336121356547622009-11-23T10:29:00.002-04:002009-11-23T10:36:36.822-04:00

So I was on teh Twitter and I had an idea: watching a movie as a group on Twitter and tweeting each other about it. No idea what that movie will be or anything, but I thought a blog post is a good place to start.The basic idea is that we will share, in short text bursts, sarcastic comments and deep inner thought about a movie of mutual interest. I believe that finding a movie that will be

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-32855198987752964562009-11-20T13:50:00.004-04:002009-11-20T15:33:08.224-04:00

"Who Watches the Watchers" is the fourth episode of the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I haven't seen it in quite some time, certainly not since I began identifying as an atheist. Upon watching it last night I was rather taken by how strongly pro-reason and anti-religion the episode is, and I think that it deserves a second look.It should be noted that Star Trek has always

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-79640393422211734852009-11-08T18:43:00.013-04:002009-11-08T20:26:39.603-04:00

So, I chat on the internets. And I understand this is a geeky and nerdy thing to do, especially when you balance it out by me saying that it's primarily roleplaying online. Whatever, fuck you. I do what I want.The site I most commonly use has just merged with another and created a new site. Okay, that's nice, a larger member base and such means a more successful site, right? Wrong. They

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-24902278201853472942009-11-08T01:30:00.005-04:002009-11-08T02:04:19.389-04:00

Memories of the Future, by Wil Wheaton, is a review of the first thirteen episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation by one of the actors in the series, and one who has a unique bend on the series. Wil is best known to Trekkies for playing the oft-despised character of Wesley Crusher, and was 14 when he worked on the first season of TNG. Since then he's gone on to be an occasional actor and a

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-41022986717471302382009-11-02T11:34:00.001-04:002009-11-02T11:36:11.159-04:00

Moving quietly, the five men of the assault squad crept up to the wall made of sand-bricks, crouching down for cover behind it. A sixth man was already there, and he was peering through a long, slim tube that protruded above the wall, which was just over waist height. Pitching his voice low, the leader of the squad leaned in and whispered, “Report.”“Activity is as previously described, sir,”

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-35140697940630523732009-10-27T13:16:00.004-03:002009-10-28T02:26:55.681-03:00

I love RPGs, completely honestly and truly. There's something to be said for essentially playing through a story, and most modern RPGs (SNES and later) are as complex as a good novel, with characters you can feel empathy for. To me, it's an interactive reading experience with sometimes neat effects and graphics, a truly rewarding feeling. So, perhaps it's time I list some of my favourite RPGs

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-64219400601347710802009-10-26T21:30:00.002-03:002009-10-26T22:07:25.702-03:00

Yeah, I bet there's a title you thought you'd never read. People, you see, people forget that there's a very good reason why Harry Reid (whilst a mediocre Senator) is the Senate Majority Leader: he's a very good politician. Today, Reid announced that he'll be putting the public option to a vote, but it's not quite what anyone expected.The public option isn't a guaranteed option across the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-42861063887738236542009-09-28T13:35:00.009-03:002009-10-04T12:02:29.459-03:00

Nobody will remember this post from a very long time ago. But I am thinking that if I go for NaNo this year, that this might be the route to take. I've only pondered a little bit more beyond this in specifics (including designing the heroic main character, Captain Brigand MacIntyre), so I think it might be a good idea to start fleshing out characters and ideas.The concept for this vampire novel

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-10485103073716623312009-09-26T20:53:00.002-03:002009-09-26T21:28:28.761-03:00

Me and Tyler have decided to do our predictions.Calder TrophyT: Viktor Hedman (Tampa Bay)B: John Tavares (NY Islanders)Vezina TrophyT: Evgeni Nabokov (San Jose)B: Roberto Luongo (Vancouver)Norris TrophyT: Zdeno Chara (Boston)B: Zdeno Chara (Boston)Plus/Minus LeaderT: Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit)B: Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit)Rocket Richard TrophyT: Alexander Ovechkin (Washington)B: Alexander Ovechkin (

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-85103607209725190712009-09-23T04:07:00.005-03:002009-09-23T05:10:45.375-03:00

"I need the Ultra-Septvember-G!" the man in the green timesuit called, spraying laser pulses from the high density flashrifle from his waist. "We need to hold back the Omega-Bots for forty seven hundred more microns!"Explosive delta projectiles splattered on the invisible plasma shield the commando was projecting from his utility combat belt, and he returned fire as someone tossed him a large

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-73386496930675923032009-09-22T01:36:00.003-03:002009-09-22T01:38:05.778-03:00

Thought I'd post this. It's set in a dystopian future in which the US Constitution is overridden during a period of populace apathy by the Religious Right. And I think this bit is one of my favourite pieces of writing I've ever done.The day of the vote was the quietest yet. Every now and then a truck passed the bar, but not one soul entered. I stood behind the wooden, polished bar for the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-91003672812331672122009-09-11T10:45:00.002-03:002009-09-11T12:03:09.969-03:00

8 years ago, New York City and Arlington, Virginia were attacked by terrorists of Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda Islamist Jihad group. Everybody in the world knows the story of this horrid day - certainly I remember it being seared into my mind when Jim Burns came on the PA at school and announced it to a shocked group of teens in smalltown Nova Scotia. So I shan't recant the moment for you.Instead

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-8380724321841903272009-09-08T13:14:00.002-03:002009-09-08T14:04:32.141-03:00

Many of you non-Canadians out there probably haven't heard of a fellow named Terry Fox. Terry was a young Canadian doing what lots of young Canadians loved to do in the late 70s. He played basketball and was noted for his determination, and went off to university at Simon Fraser. The difference was that Terry had cancer, and he died very young of the disease in 1981.Instead of being a pussy,

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-41107171621260138602009-09-08T12:35:00.005-03:002009-09-08T13:13:59.640-03:00

Holy shit I'm behind. I'm gonna spend my shift working on my b-day to try and catch up on blogposts. Today's Hockey Player is one of the greatest defensemen of all time; if he's not mentioned in the first all-time defensive pair, he's definitely in the second. That's right, he's up there with Orr, Harvey, Lidström, and Bourque. He is the all-time leader in career plus/minus, and a two-time

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-4380211645616024562009-09-07T00:08:00.004-03:002009-09-07T00:34:34.094-03:00

I found this list of quotations from when I marked Religious Studies 100 papers for a prof back at my alma mater. Suffice to say, many of them are fucking hilarious. I'm going to give you an intro to hilarity.As I marked these anonymously I have no way of knowing if they were written by idiots, people who slept through class, never went, or crazy fundamentalists of some type. They are, however

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-5038281211037386452009-09-06T14:12:00.003-03:002009-09-06T15:19:07.263-03:00

Submarines are ships too. They are narrow, cramped, long, penis-shaped ships who's job is to shove similarly penis-shaped objects into other ships, exploding dramatically into a hole that then destroys the other ships.I've been reading too much feminist literature. Everything is a penis now.Anyway, this is about one of the most famous submarines in naval history. Like many other famous vessels

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-48025074267365060542009-09-05T10:57:00.003-03:002009-09-05T12:23:24.024-03:00

So, because I am at work, bored, and have nothing better to do, I was reloading Twitter waiting for shitmydadsays to update, and I started reading the other recent feeds. I saw Jen's tweet about going to a college football game, and curiosity killed the proverbial cat. I opened up ESPN and took a look to see who Purdue was playing, and maybe see what else was going on in the strange and

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-63480152279240095122009-09-04T21:59:00.004-03:002009-09-05T10:57:06.765-03:00

This week's airplane is another monoplane fighter. This is from the 1930s and early 1940s, and was a pioneer in that it was the first cantilever monoplane with a fully retractable undercarriage and an enclosed cockpit (which most Red Army pilots ripped off). It served with distinction in the Spanish Civil War, and while outclassed by the Bf-109 and Fw-190 in 1941, was still pressed into service

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-41981867757907418052009-09-04T12:16:00.005-03:002009-09-04T21:59:47.553-03:00

It's really easy to forget that the 60s were only 40 years ago, but were a completely different time. A time where the world, especially in the USA, were divided on racial lines. So, perhaps it's hard to imagine that a simple TV starlet could make a huge difference in individual lives, not to mention the entire world. I'm talking about:Nichelle NicholsStar Trek was a big deal. Let's remember

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-17886775042916715512009-08-31T12:42:00.002-03:002009-08-31T13:37:45.093-03:00

I promise, I started working on this week's Historical Event. However, something has been nagging at me, and I want to write it down.It's about Ted Kennedy.He's dead, and he was very controversial in life, but boy, is he ever controversial in death. I started by looking on the internets (perhaps you've heard of this series of tubes?) for people, the religious right, thanking God for his death.

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-89681584588898861822009-08-31T10:26:00.002-03:002009-09-03T15:09:28.108-03:00

This week's historical event was a product of the last war between the USA and Britain, and is important only as a historical note for most people, though of late, it has been an element of pride in common Canadian culture. The War of 1812 was a war fought for misguided reasons by the Americans against the British Empire, an Empire entirely distracted by the Peninsular War in Spain against

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-41155353358659508362009-08-30T15:54:00.002-03:002009-08-30T16:47:16.942-03:00

The Great Raid is a 2005 war movie starring Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Joseph Fiennes, and a few other decent bit players scrabbled together in an attempt to recreate the January, 1945 raid on Cabanatuan Camp. It shows the depth of success of the mission, which saved 514 soldiers from near-certain death at the hands of the vicious Japanese prison camps, and was not a bad movie. Though there

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-35681443353083122582009-08-30T11:21:00.005-03:002009-08-30T11:52:57.919-03:00

This week's hockey player will be the first current player I've profiled. In addition, he's an established superstar, but not because he has always been in the upper echelon of players, but because he has been the only established player at all on a team that has historically struggled. He bore this burden alone until very recently, when a new GM and new coach brought in players and a system

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-18769960091743782302009-08-29T13:13:00.007-03:002009-08-30T11:17:33.619-03:00

Today's Ship of the Week was a sailing ship originally called the Pelican, that set out in 1577 to circumnavigate the globe. Led by the incredible captain and privateer (and future Dude of the Week) Francis Drake, the Pelican would take some millions of pounds stirling worth of gold bullion from heavily-laden Spanish galleons during her trip around the world. As Drake passed through the Straits

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-39149822534142568052009-08-28T10:59:00.005-03:002009-08-28T13:19:53.463-03:00

Today's aircraft of the week hearkens back to the early days of air combat, and was the last great biplane produced in the Great War. Airplanes, during World War I, developed in stages. The first airplanes were slow biplanes, wherein the pilots would shoot at each other with pistols and throw bricks at the canvas-covered wings of their enemy aircraft, and try and drop sticks of dynamite or

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-31064318952711377742009-08-27T17:17:00.003-03:002009-08-27T17:34:06.752-03:00

The CBC is reporting that Alberta's budget deficit for this fiscal year will be 6.9 billion dollars. For those of you who are generally unfamiliar with the Canadian situation provincially, Alberta for the last decade was considered the darling of provincial financial situations. The booming oil and natural gas industry gave Alberta a strong, powerful economy that the government tapped for

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-43039835152211658032009-08-25T14:44:00.002-03:002009-08-25T15:01:55.398-03:00

Dear Maine;Hi there. I'm Benjamin, and I live in Nova Scotia. We're pretty close together. I can get to you in five hours if I drive the limit. I can take a pretty ferry across the Bay of Fundy to Bar Harbor and we can even sneak in some good Canadian beer. But you know what? We're not here to talk about that.That's right. Maine, from what I understand, you guys and girls are getting ready

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-23782603218772987932009-08-25T13:39:00.006-03:002009-08-25T14:37:06.232-03:00

If there was ever a pilot for all-time, this is the guy. Today's Dude of the Week is one of the most famous airplane pilots to ever hop in a cockpit, up there with Lindburgh and von Richthofen. He served with the United States Army Air Forces and the United States Air Force from 1941-1975, winning a plethora of medals. He was a World War II fighter ace, flew over a hundred missions in Vietnam,

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-75978615073891533312009-08-24T15:41:00.004-03:002009-08-24T16:24:01.672-03:00

OK. As everyone knows, I have a fair bit of experience in the tech industry. I'm no Albie, I'm no Zare, but I'm pretty good too. I have extensive experience with DOS 6, Windows 3.1, Windows 98SE, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4, 10.5. I haven't had a chance to play with Windows 7 nor Ubuntu yet, but one day I will. So I can say this with pretty good experience: Windows XP

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-65353309602214410922009-08-24T11:07:00.005-03:002009-08-24T16:24:51.876-03:00

This has nothing to do with the X-Men character of the same name. Operation Jubilee is the codename for a raid that occurred on the coast of France on August 19th, 1942. It was the largest seaborne raid of World War II that wasn't intended to make a lodgement, and also failed spectacularly. In Canada, this operation is synonymous with waste and failure. It's better known as:The Dieppe

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-71520740750582638222009-08-23T13:03:00.004-03:002009-08-23T13:41:25.123-03:00

This week's Hockey Player was the first non-NHLer to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He is one of the winningest players in international hockey, and first came to prominence as a 19 year old in the famous 72 Summit Series. If I had to pick the greatest non-Canadian hockey player, he would be in the top 3; if I had to pick the best Russian or the best non-Canadian goalie, he'd be the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-59880534089664629932009-08-22T14:06:00.005-03:002009-08-23T13:01:51.722-03:00

Today's ship of the week is a more personal mention for me. This ship was launched when I was four years old, and commissioned when I was eight - I was there for the latter ceremony. She isn't a flagship, nor historically significant (not yet), but she is one of the best frigates in the world, pound-for-pound. This is the ship that took my father to war after September 11th, 2001 changed the

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-867768190668388652009-08-21T17:07:00.005-03:002009-08-22T14:05:08.370-03:00

It wasn't the first or finest jet airplane ever, but this week's example is the first mass-produced jet fighter made anywhere in the world. It is not a pretty airplane (see the Spitfire from 2 weeks ago, which is a beautiful machine, or the Me-262, or...well, lots more), but it got the job done. In the Korean War it went up against the best that the UN force had and held its own. Revolutionary

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-35998831237658176442009-08-20T00:50:00.001-03:002009-08-20T00:51:46.398-03:00

Seriously. Fuck you Glenn Beck.

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-16249473186535971522009-08-18T10:14:00.002-03:002009-08-18T11:00:32.829-03:00

I've been trying to decide whether or not to use "dudette" or "chick" for the female portion of this segment. I guess "chick" can be considered more derogatory, so we'll go with "dudette" this week. I want to know what you folks think.This week's dudette is someone nobody has probably heard of, unless you follow the space program closely. She is an accomplished scientist and neurobiologist,

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-13452860700563108212009-08-17T10:39:00.002-03:002009-08-17T12:47:47.474-03:00

Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador who came to the New World with intentions of forging a new empire for Spain. Famously, he showed up on the shores of Mexico with his small army of cannon, horse, and musketmen and put the entire Aztec Empire to the sword. Burning his ships, Cortes showed there was no way out except victory. Within three years, the capital of the Aztec Empire would be

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-82309803260243534462009-08-16T12:12:00.003-03:002009-08-16T13:29:56.295-03:00

For this installment of "Hockey Player of the Week" we shall be focusing on someone who is widely considered to be one of the greatest defensemen who has ever played hockey. He is one of only six NHL players to have his number retired by two teams - Colorado and Boston. He was the heart of the Boston Bruins for 20 years; and they cheered and cried when he won the cup with Colorado in 2001. One

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-80642670740057303042009-08-15T10:27:00.006-03:002009-08-15T14:01:12.604-03:00

No ship was larger when she was launched; since then only a handful have ever superseded her. She had the speed of a cruiser, and the armament and armour of a battleship. She was tougher than a battlecruiser, and she sank in her only engagement on the high seas. She was the HMS Hood, pride of the Royal Navy, who blew up and died battling the Bismarck in one of the last battleship vs.

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2894630909527649411.post-7053689371141140222009-08-14T16:05:00.003-03:002009-08-14T16:06:54.597-03:00

...'cause I would have just punched me a ticket.Me: Hey, Stephen Hawking just won the Presidential Medal of Freedom!Adam: Really? What does that mean?Me: I dunno, but it probably doesn't mean he'll walk again.Silence, followed by extreme laughter.

Veritashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03183047875485621124noreply@blogger.com0