T-minus hours...

Aloo!
Almost out of here!! I’m going to miss everyone for a short while but I’m also going to have to follow the playoffs over the internet! I am hoping the flames are still in it by the time I get back.

Even if they’re not, I found some pretty hilarious poster parodies I thought I’d share. I got a ton in a forward but I’ll have to limit it to a couple right now. Enjoy!

And going and going!

Well, well.

It was a productive week.

The BFS show was a success! Lots of talent and lots of good times had. I was a little shaky getting up and at them. It was ok though, i went though he first song fine until the end when i realized that the pedal had muted my guitar from going through the system. SO at least Jon's was working. No harm no foul, one more thing to check next time i play. I'm happy the second song worked. I was interested to see how people would respond to a song with some spiritual undertones. Thanks to everyone who was able to come out!!

So of the 2 championship possibilities the total trophy count will stay at 1. After being up 3-1 at the half, we were able to lose 6-5 to Jaygasm. ROUGH loss, i must say. I didn't enjoy being so physical OR getting called when I tried to protect myself from getting run over. Anyways, the goalie was great and kept them in it until we started to get tired. Good job though, guys.

All in all, we survived.

Happy Easter everyone! It was a good weekend. Lots of food and family and Church. I loved it. Trip plans are being put together slowly and only 9 days till I'm off! Should i bring back any souvenirs? Scarfs, jerseys, environmental responsibility, socialism?

Until next time....

Busy, Busy!

Holy crap guys it’s been a long time! Here’s an update:

The reason for the delay has got to be three-fold; 1) few people really rely on this page for everyday reading, 2) I’ve been running around being busy, and 3) I have nothing to write about.

As points 2 and 3 seem contradictory, it’s true! I can summarize everything in a measly paragraph, but I won’t… because that wouldn’t be fun.

First off, Busking for Smiles is holding their 13th Unplugged Showcase. This club was started by a couple of people about six years ago who just liked playing guitar in the halls of U of C. It now hosts a show every fall and winter semester as well as an open mic at the Black Lounge. Anywho, this is my 2nd performance (3rd appearance!) and in preparation I’ve had to spend a lot of time writing and chording to come up with a couple songs. I’m quite happy with the results. (My apologies for the website. It’s outdated, if they have a new one I am unaware.)

Meanwhile, I received an email with the OK on a study trip I applied for from the university way back in December. Having almost forgotten about it, it was a terrific surprise. So I’ve been running around booking flights and hostels and trying to figure out what I’m in for and what to take; Also trying to work overtime to make up for the time off. Even though I’m working I’d rather not throw money here and there, so I’ve been able to keep the costs down since it’s a school trip.

Lastly, soccer! Both of our teams have worked their way from bottom of the group and into the playoffs… AND into the finals! So far we’ve won Monday night’s top division! GO REPLACEMENTS!

I’m very thankful for all these opportunities; hopefully this success carries on through the rest of the week. Friday will be especially welcome this week.

Sunshine

Must... get ... out ... more...

CANstructing...

Never ask for work. Too late! 2nd annual Calgary CANstruction is what you get! To represent the company a bunch of volunteers (including myself) had a month to design and construct a giant structure made of food cans!

The theme this year is "Go Wild," the contest is put on for the food bank. Teams build some sort of structure out of non-perishable food items. The more the merrier because in the end they are all donated to the Calgary Food Bank.

Our idea for 'going wild' was a jungle-type setting. A pygmy with a roasting boar on a spit over the fire. It was pretty ambitious and we quickly learned that we need to plan a long ways ahead next year. The whole thing was a learning experience, tons of fun! It was nice to see some of the big businesses out there doing something positive.

We separated into groups. I worked on the background, 700 cans later I found it's very difficult to keep an 8ft by 8ft wall of cans sturdy (two words: near miss) so we redesigned it to make it safer. The pygmy is made up of tomatoes and sardines, the spit from pringles, and the fire from pineapples. The background and waterfall are pure green beans, kidney beans, and brown beans. The posts are chili and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Here are some photos, I'll link the winners when they announce them.

The background, fire and rocks.

Taking apart the backing.

The beginnings of a big mural by another team.

SunCor putting together their structure (7000 cans!).

Our finished product (ok it's not much in this picture but it's pretty cool!

Need to make someone laugh today...

So many times I've wanted to do this on tests.
Click to view:

And if that doesn't make you laugh .... this has to:

Chinese Backstreet Boys

Group Conflict

“…During conflict, the opposing group and it’s members are often perceived as ‘the other’ – strange, foreign, alien. They are characterized in simplistic exaggerated ways. Held at a psychological distance, the other becomes a screen on which it is possible to project one’s worst fears. Indeed, groups often see each other as mirror images: They see in their enemies what their enemies see in them. As Urie Bronfenbrenner (1961) discovered when he visited the former Soviet Union during the cold war, the Soviets saw Americans as aggressive, exploitative, and untrustworthy – just as Americans saw them. The same is true of Israelis and Palestinians today.

Groups often apply a double standard as well: Whatever we do is good; whatever our enemies do is bad. When Stuart Oskamp (1965) asked American college students to evaluate identical actions taken by the United States and the Soviet Union, he found that U.S. actions were evaluated more favorably than those taken by the Soviets. This double standard persisted through the 1980s among American students and, to a lesser extent, among French-Canadian students (Tobin & Eagles, 1992).

Taken to extremes, negative views of the other can result in dehumanization, the perception that people lack human qualities or are ‘subhuman.’ Based on malicious stereotypes about outgroups, dehumanization is both a consequence of hostility between groups and an incitement to inter-group conflict (Bandura, 1990; Struch & Schwartz, 1989). Aggression against the outgroup is justified by dramatization, which is used to excuse more aggression, which requires more dehumanization to justify, and so on (Bar-Tal, 1990). As the Nazis began the Holocaust, they released propaganda that characterized Jews as less than human – as rats that spread disease and needed to be exterminated. During World War II, the United States portrayed the Japanese people as cold, identical robots. At the same time, the Japanese media portrayed Americans as bloodthirsty animals, as in cartoons depicting eagles flying off with bloddied Japanese citizens in their talons.

Dehumanization is the ultimate version of ‘us’ versus ‘them,’ removing all religious and ethical constraints against the taking of human life. As George Orwell (1942) discovered during the Spanish Civil War, the cure for dehumanization is to restore the human connection. Sighting an enemy soldier holding up his trousers with both hands while running beside a nearby trench, Orwell was unable to take the easy shot: ‘I had come here to shoot at “Facists”; but a man who is holding up his trousers isn’t a “Fascist,” he is visibly a fellow creature, similar to yourself, and you don’t feel like shooting at him’ (p.254)”

Brehm, S.S., Kassin, S.M., & Fein, S. (2002). Social Psychology (5th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. (p. 292-293)

Lost?

For anyone following the only show I really see on TV. Here's an article from paper today. Some interesting insights. The pictures aren't bad either ;)

Evey Interview

Some interesting comments she makes about her faith and responsibillity. Enjoy!

Snowshoeing

I got to go out onto Johnson Lake yesterday afternoon. It was perfect weather, perfect skies. Some co-workers and I strapped on our snow shoes and with the aid of our tour guide, Marc, enjoyed a few hours of terrific scenery.

Marc taught us about winter survival, how to make a fire, how to build a quinsy as well as what is flammable and edible in nature (don't mix the two up). All around, this was a very educational and beautiful trip. I was quite pleased to find my snow shoes could hold me up on a layer of snow. The sheer size of the mountains and sky, and the silent grandeur of nature was very humbling. I felt at one with myself, and perhaps a little closer to God. It’s funny how that’s difficult to do in the city. Something about the snowy wilderness, and sheer size of everything there can really put things into perspective. And it’s amazing how Mother Nature can appeal to a very core part of you once you.

Marc teaches us about survival.

The gang in front of a 100 year old shack!

Consumer Report

So it was requested of me to share my constructive creativity of the last hour of my workweek. I was working away at a report when I just got plain stuck. Being on top of all my other projects and without a boss around, it was apparent I could not continue until Monday.

Earlier that day some co-workers were trying to figure out how to store maps that we have lying around the office. What we use are map holder boxes. They are pretty bland, made of cardboard and apparently very overpriced! This model (to the right) is a whopping $74.95. As you can see all you do is roll up the map and throw it in one of the sections. This kind of got me thinking. So it's 3:30 and I have nothing to do. I run down to the mail room and ask the boys there for some packing tape and a box-cutter. I got back upstairs and rummaged through the recycle bin and found a couple paper boxes from our office supplier. Sweet.


About 45 minutes later I had a finished product:

1. 2 cut up boxes: FREE
2. 8 pieces of tape: $0.16
3. 0.75 man hours: $15.00 (come on, humor me)
TOTAL: $15.16

Not only is it cheaper, it holds 8 more maps! So with the 40 offices on the floor, each with a map holder, I could save the company almost $2,400 dollars! Except for I won't. Rising cardboard costs and corporate taxes will make the SeanCo Box retail at $70.00.

You know, competitive pricing.

Oh Gravity!

Ok so I figured I'd try a music review. It's not like this blog is any kind of honor roll but sometimes some music needs to be discussed, be it good or bad.

Switchfoot's latest album titled "Oh Gravity!" is a tremendous effort. It hits all aspects that make up a good CD and shows up musically and lyrically. It doesn't quit. The first thing I noticed is the experimentation. Usually found in the intros of their songs, the band now sprinkles bits of clever sounds in the middle of their songs. An example is the random piano key-plunking on the title track. You'll also hear some banjo and even a brass section as you make your way through this CD.

The album begins with some hard hitting, gritty guitar riffs. Oh Gravity! and American Dream start things off. Then the tracks become more the Cali-rock we're use to from "The Beautiful Letdown" and "Nothing is Sound" albums. The album is rounded out with tracks like 4:12, and Awakening. There are a few mellow songs too. Yesterdays, showcases the melodic side of Switchfoot, coming in right after Head Over Heels.

Lyrically, the songs have a nice mix of poetic flavor and driving lines. Opening with "Success is equated with excess / The ambition for excess wrecks us" on American Dream, the disc is packed with lovable hooks to go along with the catchy guitar. The experimentation theme is reflected in lines like "P-p-p-p-proFESSional" at the end of Amateur Lovers. This is one of my favorite parts of the album, where you'll find this lyric with random guitar licks building up in the back.


I've been listening to this CD for about 3 weeks now and it's not getting old. The anti-materialism message (that is pretty much the theme of this disc) is a welcome change from a lot of the rock that's out there now. It's meaningful but still uplifting, and it'll have you trying to scream like Jon Foreman (don't worry though, it's done tastefully). I'd give you a list of tracks to listen for but just do yourself a favor and go buy the album. There isn't a single bad egg in this dozen.

This Happens, I Swear!

Here's something that was sent to me this morning, thought it was great! Enjoy.

In the beginning was the Plan.
And then came the Assumptions.
And the Assumptions were without form.
And the Plan was without substance.
And darkness was upon the face of the Workers.
And the workers spoke among themselves, saying, "This is a crock of sh*t, and it stinks."
And the Workers went unto their Supervisors and said, "It is a pail of dung, and we can't live with the smell."
And the Supervisors went unto their Managers, saying, "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it."
And the Managers went unto their Directors, saying, "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength."
And the Directors spoke among themselves, saying to one another, "It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong."
And the Directors went to the Vice Presidents, saying unto them, "It promotes growth, and it is very powerful.."
And the Vice Presidents went to the President, saying unto him, "This new plan will actively promote the growth and vigor of the company with very powerful effects."
And the President looked upon the Plan and saw that it was good.
And the Plan became Policy.
And that, my friends, is how sh*t happens.

A Good Old Timey!

Well well,

So this is just a quick 'thanks' to Dani for a good time on Saturday night. As you can see below, the old timey party was a success! Everyone came in good old timey fashion (with the exception of z and jer who had to wear the house vest).
A most excellent time had by all playing 'Apples to Apples'. Interesting game, but really you cannot win when Jeremy is judge. Seriously.

Anyways, other than that there isn't much to report. Partly because not much has happened since then but mostly because I have a game in about 20 minutes and it takes 25 minutes to drive there...

So I hope you are all doing well, post some pics of the party if you can! Jen, happy to hear you made it safe and sound and SERIOUSLY consider taking Arabic as a class! That would be so hot.

Anyways, I am out! Take care everyone.

~SM

This is it!

Ok, well I've done this blog thing before. As much as I try to limit my subscriptions to all things internet, it seems I fail... especially at this blog thing! Something about posting random tangents and thoughts in the hopes that someone out there will read them seems to intrigue me.

This is like moving into a new room... right about now I'd be dropping my suitcase, putting my hands on my hips and looking around. As i inspect the corners of the ceiling i say to myself, "Not bad, not bad.' Then I start thinking about what I'm going to do with the place. I start to envision what posters will go up where, and what wall to put the dresser up against. Next I realize I have no windows and that sorta puts me off.

So what will I be doing with this? Hopefully something a little more useful than my msn space. I think I'll tone the pictures down this time around (150 photos of a vacation is just too much) and post anything semi interesting that happens to me. I'll put up any opinions I may develop and maybe even a few song lyrics here and there. I have a lot of small projects that could use some periodic updates to keep people in tune with what I'm doing. Especially those OVER-SEAS people.

Finally, this is where I sit down among the half-open boxes. I construct a make-shift table and dine on some cheese and milk (it's all I got right now).

"Not bad, not bad."