Switching from inclandescent to CFL is a big winner. As discussed here

Tiger-Cats - Alouettes clash on Thanksgiving Day

Hamilton 44 Montreal 38

What a difference a week makes. After 6 straight losses, no one had any hope (especially me) that the tabbies would offer a decent performance last week against the Montreal Alouettes - but we were all proved wrong. The Cats won a 44-38 spectacular and the stars of the show were Obie's new crop of rookies. Rookie quarterback Quinton Porter had one of the best games since the glory days of the McManus-Flutie tandem, winning CFL offensive player of the week. Linebacker Cameron Siskowic won the CFL defensive play of the week in his first start. Plus there were three touchdown catches for first year man Prechae 'big play' Rodriguez. Wow.

Now we just have to repeat it on Monday afternoon at a jampacked Molson Stadium...

The book is being written by Rob Vanstone, the Regina Leader-Post's Sports Co-ordinator.  It will be released next year.  I emailed Rob several questions about his writing project, thinking I would summarize his comments.  However, Rob's answers are so interesting I decided to reproduce most of the interview.

What inspired you to write this book?

In December of 2005, I started working on a retrospective on the 1966 Roughriders for the Leader-Post, being that the 40th anniversary of the Roughriders' first Grey Cup win was being celebrated in 2006. I decided to track down as many people as I could and do a week-long newspaper series. Very early in the interviewing process, I began to realize that this could be a project of greater dimension. The bell went off when I interviewed Ed McQuarters, who is normally media-shy. Ed told me his life story and left my head spinning. And I started to think: "Hmmmmm, maybe there's a book here.'' From that point onward, in January of 2006, I decided to research it as a book and do long interviews with everyone, just in case I was able to take this project to another level. And sure enough . . . I've fallen in love with this project because of the personalities involved and the era in which they played. As much as anything, it is about the people and their stories. I start with the 1951 Western final, because that was the first football game Dale West attended. From there, I trace the evolution of the team and introduce the players as they come on board. The book essentially covers Roughriders history dating back to 1951. I approach it chronologically and introduce the players as they arrive.

What interests you about them?

I never saw them play, because I was two years old when they won the 1966 Grey Cup, but have heard about them all my life. Because of my curiosity about all things Roughriders, I wanted to find out as much as I could about a legendary team and compensate for the fact that I was not blessed to see them play. (Although Mom tells me I did attend games with her that season, and that I watched the game in a crib at the home of a neighbour.)

How long have you been working on this project?

The first interview was done early in the afternoon of Sat., Dec. 10, 2005, with former Roughriders trainer Sandy Archer (since deceased). We talked for about 90 minutes. Then I called Russ Jackson, who was equally engaging. From that point on, I was hooked.

What have you learned about writing a book? How is it different than your current journalistic work with the paper?

I never realized how much was involved. I knew it was a monster project, of course, but figured that writing 150,000 words for a book would be like writing 150 1,000-word features. WRONG! The tough part about writing a book is deciding when to stop, because you could keep researching and revising forever. The dimension of this project was (and still is) beyond comprehension. You also become very aware, very quickly, that you cannot afford to make any errors -- because you can't write a correction the next day. It's rather intimidating! The other eye-opener was how you can never forget about the book. It is ALWAYS in the back of your mind while it's under construction. It is always the elephant in the room -- and it's great! I love being this immersed in a project, but there is always a voice in the back of my head saying, "Work on the book . . . work on the book . . . work on the book.'' Of the first 30 chapters, 23 were written on vacation (12 in Mexico, 11 in New York). I'll end up with 38 chapters, plus a prologue, plus an epilogue.

Were you able to reach each member of that team?

Almost every member!!! I reached everyone who the 40th-anniversary reunion committee was able to track down. I even found one of them (an obscure receiver named Gil Petmanis) whom the reunion people were unable to track down. I gave the number to the organizers, who contacted him and made arrangements to fly him into Regina for the reunion. That was a highlight because Gil ended up getting a free trip out of the deal! . . . Nobody could find a defensive lineman named Moe Levesque. He was the only member of that team who saw significant playing time that season that I was unable to track down. I never interviewed Jim Worden, but only because he was sick (and would be dead within a year). Jim was bedridden 23 hours per day and left me a very apologetic voice mail one day. In all, I've probably interviewed 70 people, including multiple interviews with Ron Lancaster, George Reed, Ed McQuarters, Alan Ford and a few others. I interviewed Ronnie four times, at length, in the last year of his life, and he also answered a ton of questions via e-mail. George has been similarly co-operative. Everyone has been great. Nobody has turned down an interview request.

How did the recent death of Lancaster affect the writing of your book?

Immensely. I've had to rewrite certain portions of the book, and am now preparing a concluding chapter paying tribute to Ronnie. The final chapter was already on Ronnie and George, with the last word belonging to Ronnie. I am in the midst of interviewing people for an additional 4,000 words. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Ronnie is gone. He was so helpful in terms of my research, and he really embraced this project. Ronnie was never excited about having a book written specifically about him, but he was endlessly helpful with this project because it was about his team. He told me so many stories about his teammates and we shared many laughs as he spun some wonderful tales, as only he could. Many a time, after I thought an interview was over, he would say: "Did you hear the one about . . .?'' And he would feed me another gem. I'm so glad I got to know him better over the past 2 1/2 years, and I've had some sad days as a result of the revisions -- at least until I get to one of his funny stories, and he cracks me up again.

When will you have completed the book?

Well, it WAS completed. The first rough draft was finished the night before I left for Beijing (Olympics assignment.) Shortly after arriving, the news circulated that Ronnie had lung cancer. My goal now is to have the manuscript finished by the end of October.

When will it be released to the public?

The plan is for it to be released on Labour Day weekend 2009, as a companion to a 100th-anniversary Roughriders book (to which I am also contributing).
What is your book's title?

To be determined! All we know now is that the price will be $19.66. We're trying to think of a succinct title that defines the purpose of the book. It isn't just about 1966 -- the season or the game -- but about how the team was formed and where everybody went afterwards. There are three sections: (1) 1951 to 1965; (2) 1966; (3) 1967 to present . . . I should note that the 1966 and 100th-anniversary books are being written with a charitable component in mind.

I should note, in conclusion, that I have never enjoyed anything as much as the researching and writing of the 1966 book. This is strictly a joy-of-writing exercise. It's an honour to tell the story of the 1966 Roughriders and I hope it is well-received.

Well maybe not yet.

What all the info out there doesn't tell you is that each of these CFL's contain mercury. According to a Portland Press Herald article (Feb. 26, 2008):

"Mercury is a toxin that affects the nervous system and can harm brain development in young children and fetuses. A compact fluorescent bulb contains only about 5 milligrams of mercury, enough to fit on the tip of a ball-point pen. An old-fashioned mercury thermometer, by comparison, contains about 100 times that amount. But if a bulb breaks, the small amount of mercury can create high levels of vapor in the air, the study showed. The mercury-vapor standard in federal and state safety guidelines is 300 nanograms per cubic meter of air. Broken bulbs created levels that often exceeded that standard and sometimes exceeded 25,000 or even 50,000 nanograms per cubic meter for short periods of time, according to the study."

Light-bulbs break, it's inevitable, now that you have one of these broken bulbs, what are you supposed to do for your clean up, well with an incandescent bulb, I'd sweep it up and throw it in the trash, with my biggest concern being that hopefully either myself, my wife or my dog don't step on a piece of glass shrapnel that I forgot to clean up. With CFL's and according to the EPA there are detailed specifics on how to handle a broken CFL, first and foremost you should evacuate your home, then below you'll find the list of the other clean up steps:

Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room
* Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
* Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
* Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces
* Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
* Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
* Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
* Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug
* Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
* Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
* If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
* Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials
* If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
* You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
* If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials
* Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
* Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
* Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming
* The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
* Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed."

The last thing, is that all of these CFL bulbs are only built in China, there are no manufacturers in the US or any other nation. After finding all this information, it makes me wonder about the pros vs. con's on these lights, especially since we just converted every bulb in our house to a CFL and we recently just had one of them break. We didn't know this information before our clean up and we just tossed it into the trash like one would with any other light bulb. This information isn't readily available, granted any google search will yield more than enough info, but I wouldn't have known to google it. Below you will find a list of my resources for this article.

Portland Press Herald

Scientific American

National Public Radio

Energy Star

Environmental Protection Agency

Made in China

demonstrate their readiness for the Alouettes

"Coach! They're doing it again!"

Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) offer paradoxical energy advantages depending on the place you use it on Earth. A recent paper appearing online on Oct 1, 2008 in the journal Environmental Science and Technology authored by Yale university researchers explain it better:

[...] Estonia, which relies heavily on coal-powered energy generation, tops the list as the country that would see the greatest reduction in mercury emissions for every incandescent bulb it replaces with a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL).

[...] China stands to reduce its mercury emissions by the greatest overall amount. Other countries near the top of the list include Romania, Bulgaria and Greece; within the U.S., North Dakota, New Mexico and West Virginia have the greatest potential to reduce their mercury emissions.

But, paradoxically,

[...] much of South America, Africa, the Middle East and parts of Europe, along with Alaska, California, Oregon, Idaho and several New England states, would actually increase their mercury emissions by making the switch from incandescent to fluorescent lighting.

This is because of several reasons,

[...] including how dependent a region is on coal-powered energy generation, the chemical makeup of the coal used in those plants, and existing recycling programs for CFLs.

[...] CFLs are about four times more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. This increased efficiency lessens the energy demand on generating stations powered by fossil fuels and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the amount of packaging and old light bulbs that end up in landfills. But unlike incandescent light bulbs, CFLs contain mercury, a toxin with potentially hazardous effects that can be released during manufacturing and disposal.

I guess it is best to leave the situation to be handled by the individual countries to decide on using CFLs for their needs and the associated trade-offs.

For a Canadian, pointing blame in the direction of Toronto Argonaut's CEO Mike "Pinball" Clemons is the equivalent of bad mouthing the Pope at the Vatican.

However, our nation's finest sports journalist, Stephen Brunt, mustered the courage to attack the face of the Argos over their dreadful performance in the CFL this season.

First of all, in the name of full disclosure, I should mention that I haven't so much as watched the highlights of a single CFL game since Doug Flutie was still proving that little guys with big hearts can conquer the world.  I can't offer an opinion on the state of the Argos, let alone who's fault it is.  Secondly, I normally consider the praise that journalists receive for writing critically of their subjects excessive cock sucking.  It's their jobs to work angles like that.

However, in the case of Brunt and Clemons, both have such enormous reputations in this country that Brunt's opinion on this issue is given a credibility that would otherwise not be existant for another journalist.  The fact that he's using this credibility to target Clemons, makes it a very brave choice.

Compact Fluorescent Reflectors

Compact Fluorescent Globes

A-Shape Compact Fluorescents

Twin Tube Compact Fluorescent

Triple Tube Compact Fluorescents

2pin Quad Tube Compact Fluorescents

4pin Quad Tube Compact Fluorescents

Linear 4pin Compact Fluorescents

U Shaped Compact Fluorescents

2D Compact Fluorescents

T5 (5/8" Tube Diameter)

T9 (1-1/8" Tube Diameter)

Shatter Resistant Compact Fluorescents

Cold Cathode Compact Fluorescents

Compact Fluorescent Blacklights

Germicidal Compact Fluorescents

Standard Spring Compact Fluorescents

GU24 Base Spring Compact Fluorescents

TCP 19032 Three-way Compact Fluorescents

Dimmable Compact Fluorescents

PAR Shape Compact Fluorescents

Colored Compact Fluroescent Spring Lamp

As I think about it we can apply this same way of looking at things to the present economic situations that the country is in.  In general a green lifestyle is a frugal lifestyle.  We reuse, recycle, re-purpose and reduce.  We turn off the CFL when we leave the room. 

For the last two weeks I've watched the news almost every night live from New York City or Washington DC.  As the days have started to get shorter I've noticed one thing, all the buildings where business' are going bankrupt along with the Capitol have all the lights on.  Why?

If they are out of money or even need to save money or just want to be responsible why don't they turn the lights out?  All of those lights on all of those floors in all of those buildings has got to add up to a lot of money and a lot more wasted energy.

I don't think this will solve the problem, but it's a start.  And I really don't want to give my hard earned money to people that don't even turn the lights out at night.

Problem is, the light fixtures don't want them.  The majority of those 30 or so recessed lights in our house were arbitrarily made so that only a light bulb with a narrow neck can be put into it.  Hence, a CFL, with its ballast near the screw cap, is decidedly wider than a regular ol' incandescent, and won't fit into these fixtures.  The can lights in my kitchen, they have two little metal tabs near where you screw the light bulb in, that from what I can determine serve no functional purpose for the light whatsoever, except they effectively keep CFLs from being screwed in tight enough to work.  It's driving me crazy.  Right now I'm facing having to replace at least 15 of the 30 recessed fixtures in my house just so I can get my jollies by putting CFLs in them.  And I haven't even ventured to try putting CFLs in all of them yet.

And, I have a 3-way torchiere lamp so I bought a 3-way CFL to put in there... and do you think the damned CFL fit in that?  Well, I wouldn't be complaining if the answer was yes.

I suppose it's not unexpected.  When most of the can lights were installed in this house, years ago (probably at least 10-15 years ago) who'd seen a CFL except maybe in IKEA, who carried them only because they were so much more common in Europe?  It still is frustrating me like crazy.  Argh!

In primul rand, un bec fluorescent este mult mai costisitor decat unul clasic - desi, in timp, prin reducerea consumului de energie, cheltuiala initiala se amortizeaza (de obicei). De asemenea, se pune problema daca lumina produsa de aceste becuri fluorescente nu e mai daunatoare pentru ochi decat lumina produsa de becurile cu incandescenta obisnuite? In cazul neoanelor clasice, acest lucru este cunoscut, de aceea, acestea sunt rareori folosite in iluminatul casnic. LFC-urile sunt, in fond, tot niste neoane, doar ca tubul este mai subtire si spiralat, si au aspect de becuri. Personal, eu sunt un pic ingrijorat de efectul lor asupra ochilor.

Se spune ca aceste LFC-uri sunt introduse pentru a proteja mediul, prin “reducerea emisiilor de dioxid de carbon“. Dar, pe de alta parte, ele aduc probleme noi. Este stiut faptul ca becurile fluorescente contin mercur, aproximativ 4 mg. Cu cat vor deveni mai populare, cu atat problema manipularii, depozitarii si reciclarii lor va fi mai mare. Pentru ca, in caz de spargere a unui bec CFL, mercurul se raspandeste si toxicitatea lui dauneaza grav sanatatii (ca sa folosesc o expresie la moda, dar justificata in acest caz). Iar deteriorarea in cantitati mari a acestor becuri, ca orice produse cu mercur, poate genera o poluare grava a mediului. Din aceste motive, LFC-uri trebuie depozitate in doua pungi de plastic (apropo, incepand de anul viitor, pungile de plastic vor fi taxate pentru “poluare”!) si colectate in mod special. Asta va impune cheltuieli suplimentare considerabile.

Alte probleme legate de becurile fluorescente. Se spune ca au o durata de viata mai lunga decat cea a becurilor incandescente (circa 4000-6000 de ore de functionare), insa, in realitate, aceasta durata de viata scade mult daca sunt aprinse si stinse des. De asemenea, variatiile de intensitate a curentului electric le deterioreaza destul de rapid; din acest motiv, LFC-urile nu se preteaza sistemelor de iluminare cu variatia intensitatii luminoase.

Lasand insa la o parte avantajele si dezavantajele becurilor fluorescente, ramane totusi problema: de ce li se impun oamenilor LFC-urile, cu orice pret? De ce oamenii nu sunt lasati sa aleaga in ce mod vor sa-si lumineze propria locuinta?! Daca LFC-urile sunt atat de bune prin reducerea consumului de energie si a facturii la curent, oamenii le vor alege de bunavoie: dar va fi alegerea lor! Nu ma intelegeti gresit, nu sunt un adversar al becurilor fluorescente, eu folosesc LFC-uri. Dar totusi imi pastrez unele dubii in legatura cu ele. (in primul rand legate de efectul asupra ochilor) Si nu sunt de acord cu principiul ca statul stie ce e mai bine pentru tine! Dar lobby-ul producatorilor de LFC-uri este destul de puternic!

Pe de alta parte, cand e vorba de consumul de energie, exista asa numitul paradox al lui Jevon, care afirma ca: prin cresterea eficientei, consumul de energie tinde sa creasca, nu sa scada. Desi aceasta afirmatie contravine aparent logicii, exista argumente serioase in sprijinul ei. Faptul ca eficienta iluminatului va creste, incurajeaza oamenii sa consume mai multa energie electrica in alte scopuri (de exemplu, prin folosirea a tot mai multe aparate de aer conditionat - care consuma mult mai mult decat niste simple becuri!). Problema este in fond alta: economia mondiala actuala se bazeaza pe cresterea economica. Fara crestere economica, toata sandramaua se va prabusi - insa, cresterea economica inseamna in mod necesar si cresterea consumului de energie. Pana cand nu se va schimba ceva radical in modul in care e condusa aceasta lume, toate masurile astea de “eficientizare a consumului” nu reprezinta decat o frectie la un picior de lemn.

This is your touchdown celebration.

This is what you do after lunging across the goal line in the Canadian Football League. This is what you discussed with your teammates when you called them over to your locker before the game. You said, "Listen up, dudes. I've got this great idea for a touchdown celebration. Remember when we were, like, 5-years old and we were in pre-school and we played Duck, Duck, Goose? Well, that's what we're going to do in the endzone if one of us scores. Duck, Duck, fucking Goose."

This is the best thing you could come up with to commemorate the act of scoring during a professional (albeit Canadian, so more like pretend-professional) sporting event. This is your best effort. Because you suck. And so does this touchdown celebration.

(Remember other things that were totally yours? Like the song that killed hip-hop and your theme song? You totally suck.)

[via With Leather]

We converted all the light bulbs in our house to CFLs a couple of years ago. It is a very simple, tiny first step to reducing our impact on the environment. However, not having a plan for the spent bulbs has been something that has long bothered me.

Thanks to Rona, this is no longer a problem! Check out their website for a detailed description of the program, plus a list of all participating locations.

Exit Pierrefonds, de retour en ville illico vers le Stade Molson où les frigidaires à glace d'Eskimos d'Edmonton s'amenaient à Montréal pour échanger quelques coups d'épaules aux Alouettes. Quelle raclée mes amis! Une leçon gratuite de football. Une parade! Une promenade dans le parc pour traduire cette belle expression. 40-4 score final pour les zoizeaux. Les Eskimos devront travailler dur au prochain entraînement et revenir à la base. Genre se rappeler de quelle forme est un ballon de foot, il l'ont sûrement oublié dans ce match.

C'est un des seuls matchs en plein après-midi de la saison et de loin le plus beau.

Me voilà en congé! Ahhhhh!

[5] Former Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist and all-around prick Jay Mariotti is not going to the Chicago Tribune, as had been rumored. Thank goodness. With him, less is more. And none is optimal. The sooner he's not spewing opinions to a willing -- or unwilling -- public, the better. Too bad he's still on ESPN.

[4] Comedy Central aired those reruns of the South Park episodes where they make fun of Family Guy (for part 2 click here). Genius. And hilarious. For me, South Park's one of those shows I don't make a point to watch on a regular basis because of certain elements in the show, but every single time I do watch -- despite its crudeness -- I come away having laughed a ton while remaining impressed at how brilliantly the stories are written and the jokes are crafted. It's funny and it's usually topical, having something to do with the news or pop culture. Family Guy on the other hand, to me, is nothing more than a bunch of mostly crude jokes just thrown out there in hopes its audience laughs at more than they don't laugh at. The funny-to-unfunny ratio doesn't even come close enough to justify my watching. I've laughed at some of their jokes in the episodes I've seen, but I've also found some quite offensive and downright unfunny. I don't get offended too easily these days, but at any point in my life, I can say one thing that's offended me quite a bit is ridicule without reason or a point. And that's Family Guy. When South Park cracks on something, they're generally making a larger point. I appreciate good satire, and Family Guy is not. It's nothing more than dumb humor. Those episodes of South Park brilliantly and hilariously point out Family Guy's comedic laziness as well as the differences between the two shows.

[3] It's not the first time a football team has celebrated a touchdown like this, but it's the first time I've ever seen it (I caught it on SportsCenter). The Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, after a touchdown against the Hamilton Blue Bombers, celebrated with an impromptu game of Duck-Duck-Goose in the endzone. Four players came running over quickly, sat down in a circle, and the guy who scored the TD ran around them tapping them each on the helmet, until he got back the guy he started with. He apparently labeled him the goose, as the dude got up and chased him. It was to no avail, though, as the tagger claimed the goose's seat before he could be tagged back. I have one wish regarding this: I wish the NFL (the No Fun League) would allow endzone celebrations like this. UPDATE: DUCK DUCK GOOSE VIDEO NOW INCLUDED!

[2] The fall softball league season kicked off last night. The team I'm on -- the Homewreckers -- had a couple practices (I use that term loosely: it was nothing more than just one person pitching, one person hitting, and the rest of the players standing around in the field chasing after the batted balls) leading into last night's doubleheader. Our lack of organization kinda/sorta showed. We got mercied both games. We lasted quite a while against the supposed best team in the league, though. Somehow, my team had me batting third. I'm nowhere near a 3-hole hitter; in softball, I'm more a leadoff or 2-hitter. I blame batting third on our first practice, when I was hitting absolute rocket line drives and even one ball farther than I've ever hit before. It was a total fluke; during the second practice and during both games, my hitting was back to light base hits over the infielders and/or hard grounders I'd have to beat out for infield singles. I wasn't gonna complain about hitting third, though. It felt pretty awesome, and plus I didn't wanna get dropped down in the lineup. I didn't do too bad (1-for-3 the first game with a run and an RBI, 3-for-3 the second game with a double, an infield single, three runs, and two RBIs), but none of my hits were worthy of a three hitter. If I were setting the lineup, I'd probably have batted myself leadoff, batted the guy hitting first in the 2-slot, make our 6th hitter bat 3rd, keep our cleanup guy where he was, and make the 7th hitter bat 5th. After that, it'd be a crapshoot.

Anyway, all I know is today my hamstrings are sore, and during the one inning it was my turn to sit out from playing the field (we had 11 players; all could bat, but only 10 could play the field at a time), our team gave up like 9 or 10 runs. Coincidence? I think not. Well, maybe. But the guy who moved to left field to cover for me did make three errors that inning (he wasn't the only one with errors that inning, though). Oddly, that guy was flawless in left-center field, where he played the rest of the time. Maybe it had something to do with the foul line? Eh, who cares. Well, I'd like to win, of course, but it was still a good time just getting out there, swinging a bat, and running around.

[1] Okay, apparently I was a bit late on this, but Day Break is now on DVD. Actually, it's been on DVD since March, according to Amazon. Regardless, I finally discovered it. It was probably a good thing I only just found out about it, though, since, rather than an initially high price of around $40, it can now be found for a mere $20 through Amazon, or if you're lucky like I was yesterday, at Best Buy.

If you don't remember it, or never heard of it, it aired in late 2006 and was totally a cross between 24 and Groundhog Day. Taye Diggs' character kept living the same day over and over again, but instead of learning the piano and memorizing the answers to all of that day's Jeopardy clues, he was busy with explosions, car chases, and gunplay. The premise was that he was a cop being framed for a crime, but when he realized he was living the same day over again, he got to work on trying to figure out who was framing him and how to stop it.

I don't care what anyone says; this show was awesome. I'm honestly not sure the concept could've lasted or made sense beyond just one season -- well, at least with the same characters -- but I'm glad they got it out there at least for the one season. Despite the show having filmed all 13 episodes for the season, though, ABC canceled it after just six episodes, opting for George Lopez reruns in its place. C'mon now... George Lopez? Reruns? Ugh. I was pissed. ABC did air the remaining episodes online, but I didn't yet have high speed internet, so I couldn't watch them. It wasn't until recently I thought about checking Hulu for it, but when I Googled it, that's when I discovered it on DVD. Actually, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go have a Day Break marathon now. Enjoy your Saturday.

There are a number of new "StraightJAB's" up, here's hoping you like them. Also, I'd like to throw out a bit of a note regarding my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY ( a few weeks back) of "StraightJAB". Thanks to everyone who has visited, read and or commented on the cartoons. I've had a blast doing these and am looking to many more years to come

Check out my new "THE SUNDIN DANCE", "PASS THE TORCH", "HOLMGREN KICKS OFF FINAL SEASON", "BRADY BUSTED" cartoons - about a number of topics in the NHL, Olympics and NFL - in the "StraightJAB" section.

Look for my next "StraightJAB" (#55) sports cartoon - about some new equipment that the NHL's Vancouver Canucks are using at their 2008 training camp - in the Georgia Straight this week.

The tributes are already popping up everywhere—many of them from people with longer memories than mine. As a former Eskies season-ticket holder, I'll always think of Lancaster as coach who could adjust his game on the fly. A two-TD half-time lead was never secure against Edmonton, because he would read the opposition's defence; by the third quarter, he'd have his boys back in the game. Lancaster also understood quarterbacks intuitively, having played the position. "I know how stubborn they can be," he once remarked in an indirect reference to the ageless Danny McManus, one of many players who profited from Lancaster's unwavering support. This may explain why Discount Dan, a QB of limited physical gifts, became one of the most prolific passers in league history.

To CFL fans, the Little General will always be great big man.

But, as mentioned in the Herald article, take a survey of any football team, and take a look at the student athletes combining school with athletics across our campuses, and we can see that there are many examples of abilities that transcend the playing field. Already sports, in itself, is such a valuable education for learning leadership, teamwork, adversity, pressure, training, practice, and perseverance skills. With smart players, they are more likely and able to apply and transfer these skills in other contexts in the community, business, and education world during and after their athletic careers.

In the Canadian Football League, especially, with the salary being relatively low for professional athletes, knowing and learning about what players do outside sports makes them more in touch with the common folk. I think an athlete's true power and influence comes when he/she is able to motivate not only other people in the same sport, but when someone who is totally in a different field gets inspired to go beyond limits because of an athlete's example.

-Patrick Law

My name is Lacretia Hardy and I am the Founder and Executive Director of the Michigan Green Expo. I am a strong advocate for natural health and strong opposer of trashing our planet. So, here I am blogging about it.

Now, we all had the lessons in elementary school about the three Rs. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Like many other lessons, such as be nice and share, many of us have forgotten to use the rules. Consequently, we are dealing with a crisis in the earth that is rapidly getting worse and we need to make some changes pretty quickly to get ourselves out of this mess that we've gotten ourselves into.  Or else... where will our grandkids live?

So some of us have caught on... we're trying to spread the "Go Green" message and get others to use cotton grocery bags and squiggly light bulbs. Now don't get me wrong - that's a great start - but we need to do more. I intend to share with you what I've learned about the situation we're in and more ways we can turn it around. Okay? Alright.

So, check back often - like, every day - and tell your friends, family, and co-workers to stop too.

If you're a more hands-on learner, make sure you're at the Michigan Green Expo if you're anywhere in the midwest region. You can learn more about the event at www.migreenexpo.com, where you can also register and find links to other participating organizations.

Thanks for reading, and remember... Quit Trashing Our Planet... Go Green!