And you thought I forgot

Nope, I was just delayed - I wouldn't dare forget the most anticipated event Montifax's calendar, the annual blog-off.

As usual, I plan on entering this year's competition with the understanding that I'll have to put up a fight (as unlikely as that is).

Anyway, can't wait to get going.

Because I'm a generous guy looking for a little bit of competition I'll spot Neil 15 points per post while I'll only take one per post.  If I get any uptake this should make for a close race.

Cameron - 1
Neil - 0

And before I forget

Today marks the start of another year's annual blog-off (seemingly the one month of the year when I make a semi-concerted effort to post semi-regularly).

Because I'm feeling particularly generous this year I'll give Neil a 15 points to 1 advantage per post.  So each time I post I get a single point and each time Neil posts he'll get 15 points.  Maybe this will be skewed enough in his favour that I might get a handful of posts out of him?

Cameron - 2
Neil - 0

Overdue updates

Wow, I've really let the various collections of links on this blog slide.  Some of them have been dead and I continued to let them stay.  Others had long over-stayed their welcome and had also been allowed to stay (I think that you didn't really need this blog to find the The Guardian's website).

For some reason a few years ago I added a widget that was supposed to import my hot YouTube vids and allow them to be viewed on this site.  In retrospect I don't know if it ever worked properly, but I know that as of this morning it was really not working.  It has also been removed.

I'm not sure that I'm yet inclined to dink with the relatively overall look of this blog.  While it's nothing flashy (and likely reeks of 2006) I don't think it's yet bad enough to merit a change.

Anyway, surely only the loyalist of loyal readers would be in a position to notice any of these changes and I suspect that my irregular posting has all but ensured that there aren't very many of you left.  For those of you that still remain, I hope you like the changes.

Cameron - 1
Neil - 0

A Few Quick Notes 604

-It has been between about -24 and -21 for the past 24 hours.  Of course, the windchill's been dipping into the -33 range, meaning that we've been feeling it a little more than we might have.  Amazingly, it doesn't take long for -20 with no windchill to not feel particularly cold - but as soon as you drop that by -10 (either with windchill or pure chilliness) it has a much more effective bite.

-Though we did have a little snow today it wasn't enough to motivate me to head out to shovel.  If I had  to guess it looks as though maybe less than a centimetre.

-At about lunch today I started to prepare some pea soup in our slow cooker.  Unfortunately, I'm now a little nervous that the soup won't be ready for our normal dinner time.  I guess it's good that we don't have a strict schedule today and that a delayed dinner shouldn't be much of a problem.

-We're shockingly close to Christmas.  I guess because we didn't do much shopping this year, and the shopping we did do had to be done early enough to be mailed across the country, it hasn't really hit me that we're only a few days away from Christmas until now.

-I've really been doing a bad job at blogging this year.  Maybe 2014 will be different?

Get your dough hooks off of me! - 2

Much to my surprise, the rising process has been going quite quickly.  While I probably could have let the dough rise for a little more time, I just recently decided that I would move on to the next phase of the process.

So the thing I remembered as I moved on to the next process is that working with wetter dough is much more challenging than working with dough that kind of holds a shape and isn't incredibly sticky.  Maybe at some point I'll need to talk to Peter to get a few tips on how to work with this stuff, but until then I am probably going to basically stick to my 'grab a handful of dough and slap it onto the baking surface' approach that I've been using.

But they'll kind of buff out as they rise, right?

So now I'm back to waiting for dough to rise.  Hooray!

And we now have at least a post-a-day!

Cameron - 10
Neil - 0

Not even a post a day yet

I just noticed that even though we're in the midst of what could be a hard-fought blog-off, we're not even up to a post a day - I'm sure our devoted reader/s (are there even any left?) expect more of us this late in the game.

I guess I will have to really try to ramp things up over the next few days as by the time the middle of the month rolls around I'll have a long weekend road trip and a move/painting to contend with.  And as much as Jeannette completely understands my strange dedication to regularly updating this blog, I'm not sure if she'd be OK with me putting down a box or a paint brush to advance my position in this blog-off.

Cameron - 8
Neil - 0

You probably thought we forgot

Nope, we didn't forget about the annual Montifax blog-off, we just got off to a late start.

Anyway, to fill everyone in on the rules - this year (hopefully to encourage Neil to post) I've decided to give myself a 7 to 1 handicap.  So for each post Neil makes he'll have seven points and for each post I make I'll only get one.  And we keep going until the end of February.

And considering how busy I expect to be this month overcoming even one or two of Neil's post could be challenging.

No matter the handicap - we're now officially off and running.

Cameron - 1
Neil - 0

Eightish years tomorrow

Sure, one doesn't normally count partial years but when it comes to a blog with a questionable premise and minuscule readership I'm willing to play with the counting a little bit.

Back in 2006 did anyone think that Montifax would still be a going concern all these years later?

Could anyone have guessed Montifax's writers would end up living in six of Canada's ten provinces? And that one of these provinces would be Saskatchewan?

Anyway, thanks for reading - and if all goes well we'll return to something approximating semi-regular updates in the not too distant future (though I have to still work a few things out in my head before that happens).

Thanks for reading (even if we're not really doing much writing).

Yup, that's still a thing

Much to my surprise, it's a month and a half later and I'm still updating my vegan food identification blog It's Already Vegan!

Who would have ever expected a non-vegan like me would ever have such a blog?

Though I guess that since Jeannette has become vegan I've become much closer to becoming vegan than I ever though I would.  And it hasn't hurt that at about the same time Jeannette became vegan I learned that red meat consumption can encourage kidney stone formation.  I'm kind of inclined to think that trying to avoid another kidney surgery would be a good idea.

All of this is basically just a way of saying that if you're looking to kill time on the internet by reading a second rate blog that I've got you covered (in more ways than one, two, three, or four).

Because wasting even more time seemed like a good idea

On any given day I waste an embarrassingly large chunk of time on the internet.  While some of this time is spent doing semi-worthwhile things like checking my email or reading news, most of my internet time is spend mindlessly refreshing webpages hoping something will have changed in the past 30 seconds or making posts to an increasingly large gaggle of blogs.

And to top things off, I have recently added another new blog to the list.

This new one's called It's already vegan!

The idea for this blog came from my interactions with friends who are vegans.  Over the past few years I have been thinking about foods that could I could serve them in social settings.  The more I thought about which foods were vegan the more I realized that all kinds of things that we consume on a day-to-day basis are vegan, or can be with a little forethought.  Maybe most importantly, the apparent stigma associated with 'Vegan foods,' a stigma which at one point in my life I may have helped further, is completely ridiculous.

Anyway, I'm not sure that vegans need my help identifying vegan foods or if non-vegans care which foods are vegan or not, but if learning about which foods are vegan from a site that doesn't take things too seriously sounds like something you might be interested in feel free to check this one out.  Maybe from time to time I'll even post something that isn't a failed attempt at humour.

(Oh yeah, and because kids these days demand virality and all that stuff It's already vegan! is already on Twitter.)

New Twitter app idea

As some of you may recall, a few years ago I developed a free Twitter app (and provided an upgrade).  Unfortunately this product did not bring me the fame and fortune I was so desperately craving.  In a fit of frustration/apathy gave up on developing any additional Twitter apps.

It seems that enough time has passed that some of my old wounds have begun to heal and the creative juices have begun to flow through the long-dry creek beds of my mind. I guess this is a pretty convoluted way of saying I have been thinking about another idea for a Twitter app, though this one may require more technical know-how than I currently have.

Anyway the basic idea is that the app would allow me make inane/ill-advised replies to tweets but would then automatically discard these replies instead of actually posting them.  To the user it would look as though the tweet had been posted.

Such an app would allow me to get the satisfaction of making my unfunny/limited value comment but then not have to live with the shame of realizing that my comment wasn't really that funny or witty or remotely useful.  And as much as I would like to be a good Twitterer, I think at this point I would be willing to settle for just not posting too many bad responses.

Maybe I need the same kind of app for this blog?

A Few Quick Notes 567

-Well, we seem to be in the midst of a rather mediocre day in Wolfville.  While it isn't particularly cold, it isn't particularly pleasant either.  The skies are grey and things are generally wet (though it may be the case that some blue is starting to break through).

-I think I must be something like 3 for 12 in the annual RUTRTW contest.  I suspect this count isn't quite right (at least on the consumption side - I know the winning side is accurate).   I continue not to really be trying very hard, and I don't plan on changing my approach any time soon.

What I have been thinking about in relation to this contest is that if there are 47 000 000ish prizes to be won, and the chances of winning are about 1 in 6 does that mean that there are close to 282 000 000 cups printed for this annual event?  And does that mean that, on average, each Canadian is consuming close to 10 participating beverages?  And if the average price of a participating beverage is $1.50 does that mean that over the course of the promotion they are selling something close to $423 000 000 of beverages?  The scale of this whole thing is hard to conceive, particularly when you think that they aren't the only place selling coffee during the event.  I wonder how much land is needed to grow this much coffee?

-Well this year's blog-off seemed to end with a whimper rather than a bang.  For some reason Neil didn't even manage to make a single post, which was definitely a disappointment.  If he continues with this approach to the blog-off I'm going to keep winning in this entirely unsatisfactory manner.  Maybe we will manage to convince him to participate next year?

-Maybe I should get back to work?

The end is near

Well, we're only a few hours away from the end of the blog-off and we still haven't heard from Neil.

Is he just going to let me have this one?

I had really been hoping that he would put up a fight.

Anyway, he only has to post about 8 times, so if he wants to do in the final few hours I think it would possible.

Be sure to check back for the thrilling conclusion to this year's blog-off.

Cameron: 43
Neil: 0

It's that time of the blog-off

With only three days left I have no choice but to defend against a late surge from Neil by making posts about such things as remembering to take my vitamins today (and remembering to photograph them before swallowing them).

Can you tell that my day has been pretty exciting if this mundane event merited (I use the term loosely) documentation?

Maybe a little later I'll go for a walk or take the compost out later or at least do something a little more exciting that remember to take my vitamins.  Whatever it is I end up doing, I'm sure you'll care about it so much that you'll want to kept apprised via this blog.

Cameron: 38
Neil: 0

Back in the saddle (in more ways than one)

Some of you may have been inclined to think that my paucity of blog posts meant that I had given up on this year's blog-off.  The reality could be nothing further than the truth - I am still in it to win it this year (even if Neil doesn't seem interested in taking his usual late surge approach).

My failure to post was nothing more than a few days worth of pre-existing obligations trumping blogging.  And while I would like to say that I live in a world where blog-offs would always come first, it seems that at least from time to time this isn't the case.

Anyway, it has also been a few days since I've had the chance/need to bake bread.

The loaf I am making today is based around some "12 grain" flour I purchased yesterday.  As I was trying to rush the preparation process this morning I didn't really cut this flour with regular flour, so the resulting loaf may be a bit heavy on the multi-grain aspect.

As you can seen in the above photo, there's so much millet it seems to be coming out of the dough (maybe millet doesn't like being smashed up next to sunflower seeds?).  At least it still looks edible?

Cameron: 29

Neil: 0

Off to a slow start

We are now a few days in to the 4th Annual Montifax blog-off and we are averaging less than a post a day?   I am doing so poorly that a single post by Neil would catapult him into the lead.

How is this possible?

Maybe it is sign that I am actually doing a few work related things rather than spending all of my computing time working towards another blog-off win.

That being said, hopefully over the course of the next few days I will be able to add a few posts to protect against a late surge from Neil.

Cameron 3
Neil 0

Glad I'm not driving in Halifax

Well, after a period of on-again, off-again negotiations Halifax is finally in the midst of a transit strike.

Though Halifax's transit system probably isn't used quite as much as it could be, it still has quite a number of users who will be inconvenienced by this strike.  And it sounds as though even non-users are being inconvenienced by increased traffic.

Strangely, Neil and I might some of the few people who might actually benefit.  If Dalhousie is successful in its negotiations we may be reimbursed for the period of time our U-Passes were out of commission.  And as we likely won't be in a position to actually use our U-Passes during the strike this will just be a benefit.

Even though I do stand to benefit from a long strike I hope that they are able to resolve the dispute shortly.

Cameron: 2
Neil: 0

And we're off!

It almost slipped past me, but we're now in the midst of our 4th annual Montifax Blog-off.

I'm sure that our regular readers are very excited about this.  Not only is the blog-off a period of time when I try to post more than usual, but it also tends to be the only time of year when Neil comes out from hiding and posts on the blog.

Be sure to check back regularly throughout the month as we will be doing our best to make the most out of competitive blogging.

Cameron: 1
Neil: 0

Yo, this is Ann Arbor!

Though I grew up in Newfoundland, both of my parents are from Michigan.  And though Michigan isn't the most populous or the wealthiest state it's residents and places seem to pop up rather frequently, or more than you might expect for a state of its size, in various media.  Because of my somewhat tangential connection to the place (and because it is still where most of my extended family lives) I always take note of these Michigan connections, even if knowing that so-and-so or such-and-such is from Michigan will likely serve me no real purpose in my day-to-day life.

A few years ago, just after I had started listening to This American Life, I learned that contributor Davy Rothbart (also of Found Magazine fame) was from Ann Arbor, Michigan.  When I eventually made it to the Found Magazine website I had a sneaking suspicion that the magazine's mailing address was on the same street as an aunt and uncle's house.

When I got around to asking about this they confirmed that while the Rothbart kids were a little older than my cousins they did know one another.  Maybe more importantly, my asking my cousin about this lead her to re-connecting with Davy.  I know that at one point here were plans to meet in-person, but I don't know if those plans ever came to fruition.

Then, just a few days ago, I happened to come across a relatively new blog, Yo, is this racist? that seems to be making waves on the internets.  I happened to learn about the blog through the author's recent Grantland piece on racist portrayals in sit-coms (though I can no longer remember how I ended up reading this article).

After reading the blog for a while I happened to come across the fact that the blog's author, Andrew Ti, seems to be from Ann Arbor and is about the same age as my Davy-Rothbart-knowing cousin.  I decided to ask if she also knew this guy?

Much to my surprise, just last night I found out that she does/did know this guy (though she said she really knew his sister more).

I find it very exciting to have a cousin who is tapped into things/people on the internet and doesn't even always know that she is until I sporadically ask her about people from her past.

The real problem I have now is how I might possibly extend my streak.  Is there anyway I can organically find a third Ann Arbor/Michigan person that my cousin knows who I can ask her about?  Taking my streak from two to three seems like it might be implausible, but then I thought going from one to two would be implausible.

We're getting close

Montifax's 4th Annual blog-off is almost upon us.

Unfortunately, Neil seems a little less than excited.  Sadly, this isn't much different than past years.

I have found that one of the best ways to encourage Neil's participation is to handicap myself to give Neil a real chance of success.  This year I have decided to give myself more of a handicap than ever before - Neil's posts will now be worth 6 points to the 1 point that I get for each of my posts.  Hopefully this will provide Neil with enough incentive to participate.

And that we have a longer month of February this year should allow for additional blogging activity and more blog-off excitement than usual.

I hope that you will all remember to check back frequently during the blog-off to follow the competition and cheer on your favourite blogger.