Bush has arrived

George W. Bush has arrived in Canada today. An occasion that deserves mention on this humble blog.

The President endeared himself when he said he opened up the dinner menu and noted, "I was pleased to see we will be eating Alberta beef."

Cereal & Cereality

The Fast Food Cereal Restaurant concept is a recent phenom in the US. Generally located near or on University and College Campuses (those quirky kids). They are a nice fast-food option where you can grab a quick bowl of your favorite breakfast cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch) to go, with your choice of milk (including Soy). Cereality is one of the early adopters of this concept...

How much start up capital is needed? Not as much as you would think... Before that though, consider how great a talking point this would be! Fun to do, and even more fun to visit (if developed correctly of course).

Anyone in Medicine Hat interested in opening this discussion... let me know!

Breakfast cereal, all day, every day... eat in or take out! The selection would be key. Developing key relationships with local retailers (like Sobeys) would further the branding, while giving the marketing a valid initial push.

The world needs more grown ups eating breakfast cereal, Lets see Morgan Spurlock make an indie flick about this. Medicine Hat's first breakfast cereal bar would be modern, trendy, hip, healthy, quirky and bilingual (remember that all Canadian cereal boxes are French and English, all the French i know, i learned from Kelloggs Frosted Flakes).

This, my friends, may be what we have ALL been looking for, the entrepreneurial spirit, longing to be combined with a good source of 11+ Vitamins and Minerals (classic breakfast cereal speak).

i'd keep writing, but it's late, and i am overcome with a real breakfast cereal craving. Chat later.

Whispers of Kenya & peanut farms

i haven't begun counting the days until we depart for Kenya... we are not that close, yet! Just hurridly preparing and eliciting support.

Whispers of Kenya, that is what i am hearing right now... nothing subconscious, but all extremely surreal. For example: While being a regular member of the Gas City Square ToastMasters Club in Medicine Hat i sit next to a wonderful man, Davendra Patel. During a brief conversation last week, i was extatic to hear that Davendra was born and raised in Nairobi (our destination), and has only been in Canada for a short number of years. He has regaled Harold and i with info regarding Nairobi that only a local could know. Now, we look forward to breakfast when Davendra can meet our entire team. Kenya, without even leaving Southern Alberta.

Over a brief visit with my grandmother, i was suprised to hear of our family and its history with Kenya, howbeit small. After the second war, a man on my fathers side of our family tree was released from a POW camp. As was the case (i am told) at the time, he received a decent lump sum of British Pounds. With that investment capital he travelled to Kenya and bought a Peanut Farm. Planters peanuts maybe? "Put out the good stuff". While in Kenya he proceeded to marry and raise 2 daughters. Only returning to Vancouver, Canada after 20+ years in Kenya.

Both of these events are mere coincidence regarding my decision to join AIA and travel to Kenya... even so, i can not help but smirk. Now of all times, to not only go to Kenya... but to hear of these attachments that have been unknown to me, until now. Now they are whispers of Kenya... and i do enjoy the sudden tune.

SGT. Maj. Jordan - Air ?

i am a fan of the game of basketball, that is no suprise to the readers of this blog, those of you whom i call friends. So, i am compelled to briefly provide this link. While Air Jordan is not heading to Iraq, his older brother James, a US military man of 12+ years is.

SGT. Maj. Jordan, Michael Jordans big brother is going to Iraq.

/thanks to instapundit.com for the link reference... i try to read Glenn Reynolds at least once a day! kinda like eating an apple, or some such.

Eats shoots and leaves... Lynne Truss

A fine fall day in Southern Alberta today. i left for a lunch meeting about an hour early. That is the beauty of Saturdays, i have the time to lolly-gag, which is another term for taking my time. i arrived early, book in hand.

Eats Shoots & Leaves is hailed as "the Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation!" by Lynne Truss.

i would expect that punctuation sticklers around the world have no doubt found occasion to nit pick my writing. i recall the red markings on my papers at College all to vividly, like they were being marked yesterday. Sadly, i am a self-aware rule breaker. i wonder actually, if our book club didn't pick this book as a not-so-subtle hint for me? Over a hundred years ago Edwin Markam wrote that "genius is the ability to take a hint!"... hmmm, food for thought.

reading while drinking an egg nogg latte, i found this example that illustrates the topical style of the book (so far).

-Charles the First walked and talked half an hour after his head was cut off.

Children sitting in County Exams in the 1930's would be asked to correctly punctuate the above sentence. Which is correctly punctuated below:

-Charles the First walked and talked. Half an hour after, his head was cut off.

Either way, Charles the First has a rough go of it!

The Official Pejmanesque Coffee*

Yes, there is someone else who loves a cup of coffee as much (or more) than i do... You will not find a Starbucks in Medicine Hat, and i am not eagerly anticipating their entrance to our local market (although a Chapters would be nice). Tim's on the other hand continues to flourish and grow locally (nationally and internationally as well).

Why would Tim's would open a brand new location on 13th? So close to their current location on Dunmore? (an even deeper question: Why do you see Starbucks franchises opening up across the street from Starbucks?) Likely due to the fact that their Dunmore location is incapable of selling every cup of coffee in demand.

How many times have you driven past the Dunmore Tim's for a cup, only to keep driving because their drive-thru line up is already down the road half way to Leons? We all have! Or better yet, how often do you wait in line anyways, knowing full well you could brew your own pot of coffee in the time it may take to order up your double-double... this is NO disrespect to Tim's... Just the opposite, their marketing is profoundly spot-on for their customer base.

The franchise is doing things right. We continue to roll up the rim to win. The local ownership is fantastic. Line ups will form at their 13th street location (and they surely will). i wonder which direction they will go.

Guernica Reloaded: Picasso to Pacers

The famous Pablo Picasso was commissioned by the Spanish Republican Government to paint his vision of the bombing of Guernica.
And it is with that reference in mind that we see Aubernica:



click image to enlarge the satire

Aubernica is a spoof of sorts that re-interprets Picasso's work to reference the recent basketbrawl between the Pistons and Pacers (and fans).
Comparing this blemish on the nba's public image with the tragic horrors of war is wrong. Reasonably well executed concept tho... someone was thinking.

Ronald, Wal Mart... maybe You? WIFI Master.

What single national/international company could change the landscape for WiFi hotspots?
Wi-Max is not something that i have been agressively following... but any tech issue that can show further world dominance for such institutions as MacDonalds (aka Ronald) and Wal Mart is definitely worth a quick scan.

"America's largest single owner of real estate, MacDonalds, with 15,000 locations... It is well within Ronalds power. Nobody messes with Ronald. Nobody."
i, cringely.

"Walmart Communications - A Look Into the Future"
Dan Sherman

Vanilla Sky... pure hops

Vanilla Sky has pure hops, which, loosely translated means this kid can jump, but more than that, this kid can really fly. In light of recent pro basketball issues, i can't think of a better time to highlight his talent than right now: a basketball upper of sorts.

Henry Bekkering is a phenom from Taber Alberta who is currently playing basketball for Eastern Washington University. The guys at hooplife.ca have asked Henry Bekkering (dubbed Vanilla Sky) to keep an online journal at their site during his NCAA season. For them, and all of us... Vanilla Sky said yes: this is that journal.

And now, you MUST see his video on hooplife.ca and be sure to turn up the sound on your computer... decent sound track too! TSN wishes they had clips like this for their highlight reel... it's that good!




And now, back to our regular scheduled program!

Brett Hull speaks out... NHL Lockout

"Something's got to be done... unless changes are made at the top of the heap as far as marketing goes, ... whatever it takes to make the game more exciting for the fans"

Brett Hull speaks... will anyone listen?

Circus Instigator

This Pacers / Pistons / Fan brawl has turned into quite the media circus. And just in time too, With the American election done, what next? Et Tu Brutus?
Widely recognized as the instigator who doused Ron Artest... that proverbial straw that broke the camels back (or in this case, ron ron's self control)... Green made this quote:

"I don't go around breaking the law," Green said. "If they have found that I broke the law, I'll pay the price."

All the more odd (funny, ignorant and overly confident) a quote considering his *frequent* (and apparent agressive) trouble with the law. i wonder how often Green's lawyer has asked him, or begged him to just shut his mouth and let this run its course. Whatever that may be.

Pistons chief executive Tom Wilson has stated that Green is a season-ticket holder and will be banned from The Palace.

Speculation on this will go on and on, until something bigger nabs the media eye. (reminds me of The Eye of Sauron)

Open letter to Athletes In Action

As a young boy, basketball was a sure part of my life. An endeavor that
i was able to throw my energy and youthful vigor at whole-heartedly. So too, was a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

It was with that healthy combination of interest that i developed hopes and dreams for my future. In basketball, my goals began very modestly: making a shot or two, making the junior and senior teams, and eventually, striving to NOT be a hindrance to our chances of winning! (accomplished with meager success)

As my hunger for basketball continued to grow i was first introduced, through a printed book, to Athletes in Action. i was in awe with the thought of athletes living Christ centered lives... That image, to which you have all aspired, formed a bridge for my hunger, from merely sport... to sport for Christ... on an international setting.

i am beyond my days of competitive play, they were too short to write about (laughs), God has blessed my soul in a fantastic way. There is a place in Athletes in Action for me, not because of my sporting history, but in spite of my sporting history. Not only will God use me, now it looks as if AIA can use me too, i am too eager.

Spring 2004 i sat with Harold Cooper as a committee member for the Southern Alberta Celebration of Champions. It was during this event that i was able to finally see AIA from the inside: A fantastic Christ centered organization doing wondrous work in the Kingdom.

And now, as you read this... i am preparing to travel to Kenya with AIA in January 2005... my first international mission with AIA... a long (and thought discarded as impossible) dream of mine has been granted by the Almighty. See you in Kenya, i'll be the one holding the water bottle! (laughs)

(written as an open letter to Athletes In Action members, staff and supporters - jace anderson)

Declining expectations?

"The actions of the players involved wildly exceeded the professionalism and self control that should fairly be expected from N.B.A. players," Stern said.

He added: "We must affirm that the N.B.A. will strive to exemplify the best that can be offered by professional sports and not allow our sport to be debased by what seem to be declining expectations for the behavior of fans and athletes alike."
New York Times

And with that, Ron Artest was suspended for the remainder of this season. Other players received suspensions (all with no pay) for from 1 to 30 games.

No comment, i'm going to let this sink in. Later.

Perception is Reality

Ron Artest currently of the Indiana Pacers... you will be hearing his name quite a bit in the next while. He was at the centre of an on and off court brawl between fans and players near the end of the Pistons / Pacers game last nite. i had the opportunity to follow immediate response via the internet... great tool this. I see no continued value in casting blame (i had ample opportunity to do that last nite via MS Messanger, thanks Dave & Rich) i read bias from one source to another last nite. Now tho, it initially appears as if the wagons have circled (voices have unified, dust has settled and blame has been leveled) Now we wait on the investigation.

How will this latest brawl/event further shape the NBA profile. This is hardly a positive. Overall perception of the NBA is already struggling, which leads me to believe that the NBA could use a damage control specialist (hey David Stern, drop me an email) because, what they compromise they lose.

Kent State University simply states: public relations is “the strategic management of communication and relationships between organizations and their key publics.” or, in other words, PR specialists (intend to) control how organizations and their products or services are perceived by the public. (Pro Sports, can you hear me now?)

With the current lock-out in NHL Hockey, the public perception of team owners and players is as important, long-term, as how the bargaining is handled... or not handled as the case appears to be.

Do you and i act based on reality or a perception of reality? Our goal is to test and check our perceptions against reality.

Mr. Alexander of the University of Northern Colorado illustrates his teaching method: Perception is Reality! This is a great illustration that includes screaming students and a carton of eggs... good times :)

Jake and Elwood

Action! Comedy! Musical & More... much more. The Blues Brothers tonight were all that and more. i must admit, my recollection of this movie heaps higher praise on this flick than i do now - Still good tho, still good. i recall a fantastic cult-classic of a movie... our guests where not so enraptured with it.

"I'm on a mission, from God"

Carnivore Dawa & Kenya travel links

The tickets are purchased... we will be in Kenya this January 2005. We will spend the lions share of our time (pun intended) in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Described today by Davendra as the "New York of the African continent". Davendra is a friend of mine who has until recently spent 40+ years of his life in Nairobi... i trust he will be a fresh resource of information for us as we prepare to travel.
Dawa in Kiswahili is said to mean medicine or a health revival drink (red bull, or possibly gatorade, maybe XS?). The Carnivore "Dawa" is a drink served at internationally acclaimed open air Carnivore Restaurant. Roasted croc anyone? Will you look at that menu!
In preparation for this trip, the following links will be expected reading! enjoy:

Consular Affairs. Information for Canadians Abroad: KENYA – MUST READ!

Canadian High Commission in Kenya: Physical office location map, contact numbers & hours of operation.

A full color scanned copy of a Nairobi city street map.

Kenyan High Commission office in Canada Located in Ottawa, if you are taking in the Grey Cup game, drop into this office and say hi for me.

Prominent Africa News web portal with good national coverage of Kenya.

Kenya National website: info includes, sports and news coverage. Current currency rates as well as temperatures. This site may require username and password for reading entire news articles. i have registered a username and password for us… just let me know you’d like it!

Debt tracker

It is very late, and i ran across this simple little blog post moments ago. Quite funny. But first, some background... As Canadians we generally hope that fiscal responsibility break out in our Federal Government, we are further tempted with their recent report of a 5.9 Billion budget surplus. I am not sure how correct and timely this Canadian Debt clock is, which makes the following comment even better.

"Alberta's the only province that can have a real-time debt clock written in static HTML.

Alberta Debt: $0.00"

Tenacity and milk

"Let me tell you the secret that has
led me to my goal: my strength
lies solely in my tenacity."

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
French chemist & biologist
developed pastuerization and
founded modern microbiology

Tenacity is a character trait that will further you and i as we press forward towards our goals, just as they did for the guy who gave us long-term milk (read above quote, again). Whether you feel you have a tenacious spirit or not, it is worth the effort. We may not be born with it, but that does not mean we can not reap the benefits of using it in our lives.
Take a step back and look at your *to-do* list... what means the most to you, what must move forward, what is of the utmost importance at this time. Focus on these things, with tenacity. And be prepared for greatness, without Louis, you and i would not be eating breakfast cereal... greatness that has helped shape mankind. The microbiology gig is pretty neat too i guess.

KENYA believe it?

Forshadowing is a funny thing... subtle marketing for the soul. An advertising campaign should be so smoothly impressive.
A few months ago, i was sent a link to an addictive little web ditty... Kenya: Free snorkle with every visit!. (Turn on your speakers, and get ready to tap your feet, it really is an addictive tune!)

On its own, its a fantastic sound bite, fun graphic and very creative... a fine use of the interweb. Now, jump forward a couple months, to This October, and Harold Cooper (Athletes In Action) has asked me to prayerfully consider joining his overseas travel to Kenya... Kenya believe it? Where the giraffes are, and the zebra! Suddenly my singing about Kenya doesn't look so silly after all, even if it sounds pretty silly. Were gonna see lions!

This January 2005 i will be accompanying Harold, Brian and Mark to Nairobi. The Kenyan Director, Tim Mwangi, has invited AIA Canada to partner with them in sports outreaches and the training of Kenyan elite athletes and coaches. The January Set-up and Training Trip is the first in the AIA 2-year Kenyan partnership. This trip is in preparation for the proposed, AIA International Invitational Sports Ministry Training Symposium strategies.

Would rather it wasn't me singing? i can understand that, and i'm sure my wife agrees with you! How about Fred Penner.

Rizzo, you are fantastic!

Tickets were hard to come by... well worth the effort, well worth!
Just got home from Medicine Hat Musical Theatre's Grease and all i can say is, if you dont have tickets yet, find a scalper...
Dee Cannon was a show stopper as Rizzo, everyone was a lot of fun, and if i were to list the cast members that impacted me, it would be a role call. No need, you were all great.



the time centric design was fresh Dan, well done...

MSN vs Google, the rumble in the jungle?

MSN rolled out their beta-juggernaut to a mixed response... keep watching. If they follow a course similar to their continued take-over of the hand held PC market... its only a matter of time.
Windows CE handheld: i'm looking at the Dell Axim: functionality, while boxy but good!

Monte Solberg and democracy

Monte Solberg was in town today, and i was not about to miss a good lunch, and a few minutes of Monte's mind. Special thanks to the Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce, their AGM that was the luncheons precursor... Stans buffet was good as always but it was Monte that satisfied. In brief fashion Monte had this to say about being back in Ottawa

"a little democracy was breaking out... in the House of Commons of all places... (laughter)".

Monte's most scathing rebuke of the current minority government of Canada was regarding the Liberal cabinet ministers public verbal abuse of the US president George W. Bush. Monte is bothered that the current liberal cabinet "publically insult...(Bush) then fold like a cheap suit behind closed doors (while working on trade negotiations)!"

It will be an interesting time, watching to see how this minority federal government moves forward. Regardless of how things progress i have no doubt from time to time we will see Monte in the middle!

Every blog starts with one

Its time to blog, tho some pundits might suggest i've sluggishly allowed this fantastic curve to pass me. I disagree, to agree would presume that the weblogs crowning achievement has come and gone... and i have far more anticipation for our collective futures than to be that fatalistic.
Patience will have the perfect work, i'll see if i can keep up.
How about Vision... every blog should start with one of those too, so i'll roll mine out a little later: with Clarity of Vision & Tenacity of Purpose.
Today is Thursday, Nov. 11, the 316th day of 2004. Remembrance Day. On Nov. 11, 1918, fighting in World War I came to an end with the signing of an armistice. For all men and women, then and since... for your part in our freedom, thank you!