In Ottawa for Grey Cup 2004. Sure, it's a bummer that the Als aren't here but the Grey Cup is such a party anyway. Onlt came up last night as I had exams for my course yesterday. Have had a headache for 3 days now so I didn't join up with Sandra and Bev (who have been here since Friday morning) last night. Woke up ok this morning so I met up with them around noon.
We went to the Als party at Landsdown Park and 12:30. Not much happening there so we decided to wander around outside a bit then went back to the B & B they were staying at a few blocks away to get all our junk for the game. Came back to the Als party just after two and a couple of Als were ther to sign autographs. They were the Als finalists for the CFL awards, Anthony Cavillo, Uzooma Okeke, Anwar Stewart and Almondo Curry. We got our pictures with them and their autographs. They didn't stick around for too long so we got lucky with our timiming.
Party was still a bit slow but it picked up. Yakked with a bunch of Baltimore Stallion supporters who come to every Grey Cup since Baltimaore won the Grey Cup in 95 then was unable to defend their title as the US expansion teams folded.
Anyway, enjoyed the game. The seats were really tight but it actually helped with keeping warm. Only got a liitle cold during the half time show when I lost my surrounding insulation due to food, beer and bathroom trips. Didn't have to even wear gloves.
After the game as we wereall leaving we got Grey Cup commerative CDs of The Tragically Hip (the half time act), bottles of Tums, Fructus shampoo and other assorted things. As we walked past one of the big souvineer tents there was a sign said 50% off so although I had already bought my one souvineer t-shirt I said I was going to buy I decided that since things were 50% off I would get the Grey Cup jersey I liked.
After that we headed over to the Aberdeen Pavillion where there was a post game party was going on. This was nice as opposed to Edmonton where nothing was going on after the game so it was almost anti-climatic. We stayed there til midnight. I managed to get another Grey Cup t-shirt for free as one of the bands was throwing them from the stage.
So that was Grey Cup 2004. Next year is in Vancouver. Will we go? Who knows, there was literature around for the festivities including the ticket prices, which are cheaper than the tickets for Ottawa. Oh well, plenty of time to decide.
Will post the photos later on.
With the two test today am now halfway through the CISCO course. Had the final for CCNA2 and the voucher exam. Scored high enoght on the voucher exam to qualify for the discount when I take the certification test. As for CCNA2, managed to raise my grade a few points up from CCNA1. Could do better but as long as I am progressing up that is ok. Now just need a few more points in the upward direction for CCNA3.
A little levity in light of the recent US elections
An interesting excerpt from Electoral Vote Predictor 2004 today:
"One thing that is very strange is how much the exit polls differed from the final results, especially in Ohio. Remember that Ohio uses Diebold voting machines in many areas. These machines have no paper trail. Early in the campaign, Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell, a GOP fundraiser, promised to deliver Ohio to Bush. He later regretted having said that."
I think a lot has been written on these Diebold machines and their posible effect on the outcome of this race. Vanity Fair had an article a few months ago that showed problem or inconsistancies in a Georgian Senatorial (I believe) race that was won by the Republicans. The article also pointed out problems with the system as well as how much the owners of the Diebold machines cozy up to the Republican party. Here is a page on the "Diebold Magic" in the last round of federal elections in 2002 that gives results of the Georgian senate race among others.
I'd be interested to find out which jurisdictions used the Diebold Voting machines, what the outcome was and what the pre-election prediction was. If I do find that info I'll report on it.
This is a quote from an article a couple of months ago:
<<"Imagine what would happen if a close election was determined by voting machines Americans can't trust because they have no paper trail and which have a direct connection to George Bush's biggest supporters,'' Kerry spokesman David Wade says. >>
The Republican Party will (and has) stoop to anything in order to win a race. So much for an even playing ground. Guess this is becoming the new status quo.