09:00pm
Mar31, 2005 |
After
15 years of legal battles and bleeding hearts, Terri
Schiavo's time finally came as she passed this morning
after her feeding tube was pulled (again) almost
two weeks ago "allowing" her to starve
to death in what's become a media attention trap
across the continent. It's sparked some heated
debate on Abattoir.BBs, but be forewarned, there's
some language used that's not appropriate for young
readers (that'll make ya' click) (link removed for
archiving). It also appears the pope is not
in good order -- apparently the pope is (from CNN)
suffering from a high fever caused by a urinary
tract infection, the Vatican confirmed earlier today
-- one day after revealing he had been put on a
nasal feeding tube for nutrition. Humble Howard
from Mix
99.9 reported "but luckily he has a living
will that stipulates Terri Schiavo's husband is
not allowed anywhere near the Vatican city."
(listen)
So, since there's nothing else on TV tonight, let's
swing to more important issues...
Yesterday
was my birthday (BFDeal). As a new parent,
it's inevitable that the Abattoir refrigerator eventually
will become the plasterboard for "Baby Art"
-- the dreaded mangled images that our siblings
create which others laugh at but we as proud parents
hoard and protect like so much fine art. The
Abattoir fridge has sported the fine works of other
parents children (family, friends) as well as various
other scribblings and drawings from Abattoir BTM
LAN Party attendees who attempt to mark their spot;
now it has a sMyles original! Myles made this
for me yesterday as my birthday present (...his
idea, I'm told...), this is the first work he's
ever done, never has pastels been placed in his
hands until this. He did this all on his own,
picked the colours, did all the drawing, layout,
concept -- stunning! Isis said he would have
drawn longer and was having great fun, however she
had to end the project "when he started to
eat the red." We will be selling limited
edition digital reproductions in the Abattoir Store
starting Monday -- for a small additional fee, your
copy can be personally drooled on; a true gift of
choice for art collectors near and far; all proceeds
will go toward a fund that will prevent this
bunny from being killed and eaten on June 30th... (or
we'll keep it) My cousin Todd in New Brunswick
just had a viewing of this first pastel via Instant
Messenger, he had this to offer, "bold strokes,
bit of anger on the left, but has a peaceful resolution
as you scan across to the right..." (wtf)
Time to start talking BTM LAN Party again...
We've been throwing a few dates around the last
while but haven't finalized as yet; stay tuned,
we'll be announcing BTM 47's date shortly.
We're having a tournament, there will be DVD combo
drives given out, there will be fun had for all,
there will be ribs, that's all we can say right
now.
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11:11am
Mar11, 2005 |
Yesterday
afternoon in Edmonton, Alberta, over 11,000 RCMP Mounties
and uniformed officers from across North America and
the World attended the national funeral service for
the four fallen RCMP officers who were slaughtered
last Thursday by James Roszko (...a known 'cop-hater'...)
at his Mayerthorpe-area farm. The service was
gut wrenching, emotions overflowed as officers chocked
back tears -- just hearing the service on the
radio was enough to break you... When Milton
RCMP Const. Judy Laurence heard the news (reports
the Toronto Sun), she had to pull over to the side
of the road because she was crying so hard. "You
just think of those members' families waiting for
them to come home," she says, her eyes as red
as her uniform. "And they're not going to come
home." In stark contrast to the national
ceremony, killer James Roszko was laid to rest in
a small private funeral the same day... Our
prayers go to the families and their friends, what
a tragic and pointless loss. (more)
This
weekend begins the busiest air travel time of the
year as thousands of sun-seekers make the trek south
for Spring Break -- well, at least the ones who didn't
book their vacation flights with JetsGo. This
morning at Pearson International Airport, the sky
fell a little quieter than normal as stunned travelers
were left "holding their bags" while JetsGo
booths and banners were taken down after the airline
suddenly shut-down at midnight stranding thousands
of wannabe travelers... Travellers with a return
ticket to fly home were told their tickets were no
good and to make other arrangements. "We
deeply regret that this had to happen. The decision
to cease operations was only taken after difficult
deliberation," said Jetsgo president Michel Leblanc.
If JetsGo needs a new slogan, might I suggest "Pay
a little, fly not!"
(more)
There's
a very good friend of mine who recently shipped off
to Saskatchewan to begin the intense training required
to become an RCMP officer, he wrote the Abattoir and
asked that we pass on this public service announcement:
"I am not really known for giving out free advice.
Since being in Regina, I have had the good fortune
of being exposed to many new and exciting experiences.
As I work my way towards being a law enforcement professional,
I feel as though this may be a good time to share
some sound advice. Should you ever find yourself
in a situation where there are police officers present,
and they are loudly demanding your compliance; whether
you think you're guilty or not of any offence, please
for the love of God just do as they say. Do
not make any furtive movements or sudden gestures.
Do not challenge their authority. Do not tell them
that you pay their salaries. Do not comment on their
mothers. Just simply follow their directions. They
know what is going on far more than you do at that
particular instance. Since the advent of Oleoresin
Capsicum spray, police officers have been given a
new tool. A very painful new tool. For those of you
that need a chemistry refresher, here are some facts.
Spice heat is measured in what is know as Scoville
units. One large jalapeno pepper has a Scoville rating
of approximately 5000 units. Oleoresin Capsicum spray
has a rating of 1.5 million Scoville units. I would
suggest that you do the math, weigh out your options
and see the attached picture." Talk about
red-eye! Keep-up the good work, buddy! (ouch)
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10:00pm
Mar07, 2005 |
Sorry
about the delay in posting the happenings of BTM46
in a more timely fashion, we were pre-occupied with
bailing out LAN Central when our Spa2Go decided
to "go" all over the floor when a fitting
on the pump snapped -- all's well after we managed
to suppress 1,500 liters from flooding the Server
Room, a replacement unit's already set-up and filling
as I type; more to come on flood number two next
update... Thanks once again to all who attended,
even the one who didn't sign-up but showed anyway
(Sgt.Astro). It was nice to get a little Battlefield
1942 in again, damned I've missed that game!
Counter Strike also made a premier at the BTM and
will again I'm sure, now I understand why the game's
so popular, "Oh, that's just MeatMan in the
buy zone picking out shinny weapons -- don't mind
him, he's new to the game." Thanks for
showing me mercy Volrath, Cyclone; my ego's not
too bruised.
A
big thanks goes out to David (Bitch'n'Heat) Grima
who once again answered the call and came in from
Beeton to throw yet another pair of breakers into
LAN Central before the BTM... Although there's
already 80 Amps in LAN Central, another 30 Amps
never killed anyone, unless you're wiring it near
a Spa2Go; now if there's a power outage, our tech
support team can really say "the problem's
not on our end." Although a round of
applause from the gang rang out to thank him, Impaired
felt a hug was in order -- we're so close!
There were also a few newbies to the Abattoir again
this BTM... Welcomes to Michael (Rennick)
McCrea who attended his first LAN Party ever, I
think he'll live, we may even see him again; and
greetings to 'Hidden' who either pulled the most
dreaded "no-show" or holds to his play
name like no one I've seen before. All photos
for BTM46 will be up on the SuperFTP shortly, apparently
there's 16.5 gig of stills and video... Something
must have happened!
The
Abattoir would also like to take this opportunity
to thank (...as all in attendance did...) Sheldon
(Cibervulff) Towey for his most generous gift...
All Tim Horton's coffee served at the Abattoir for
the next year has been brought to you by Cibervulff
-- don't think for a second we don't appreciate
it either! Pizza and Caffeine run the Abattoir's
inhabitants, the infusion will not go unmentioned.
Seems a long-time Abattoir.BBs lurker (...recently
out of the closet...) decided after years of watching
and reading to make a show at the BTM -- Greetings
to Joel (FatElvis) McLean, hope you enjoyed the
party even if you showed later and didn't get a
whole lot of game play in... Hope you'll come
over for BTM47, I hear there's a tournament and
caught wind of 2 nice DVD burners up for grabs.
|
01:35pm
Mar03, 2005 |
What's
all this about Bill Gates being knighted!?
Queen Elizabeth bestowed Gates with the honour yesterday
at Buckingham Palace -- British recipients of knighthoods
are addressed with a "Sir" before their
names; recent years have seen the creation of Sir
Paul McCartney, Sir Mick Jagger and Sir Elton John.
As
an American, Gates is not entitled to use "Sir"
before his name, but he can put the initials KBE
after his name -- Which may stand for "Knight
of Bluescreen Errors" but we're told it stands
for "Knight Commander of the British Empire".
Melinda Gates, described the queen as 'engaging'
company, they had found plenty to talk about, but
on the subject of computers, it seems the monarch
does not enjoy the same passion. "She
said all the kids (use computers), and the computer
helps to schedule things. But she said for
she herself... typing is not as natural for her
as it is for young people," Gates said.
I just keep picturing Gates in a suit of armour
-- it's all wrong.
The
BTM is upon us! There's still spots open if
you or someone you know is looking for a great winter
stress breaker... Head to the sign-up page
and fill 'er in! Game suggestions for this
BTM range from Battlefield 1942, Half-Life 2, Counter
Strike (...for the first time ever at a BTM might
we add...) and Metal of Honour to name some of the
main players -- We're also itching to set-up the
new Spa2Go hot-tub, but until spring arrives, the
only place we've got room is LAN Central so come
Sunday morning, if you're the die-hard BTMer and
still one of proud left standing, you may have the
opportunity to soak away the previous days battle
scares in spa comfort while watching Penn &
Tellers "Bullshit!"
on the Wall of Quake -- BYOB (bathing suit)
Infinity
has a message to pass on... "The Abattoir
is looking for a few good men (or women)! Over the
years, the Abattoir has amassed a porn collection
of nearly 120,000 images and over 40 gigabytes of
video... Duties and Responsibilities: Sort
and organize the porn folder; it is in disarray
and has been neglected for many years. You
will need to view each photograph, each video, title
it properly and place it in its proper folder; duplicates
need to be deleted. A discerning eye is also
required, as the Abattoir does want to take up valuable
space by storing crap. Previous experience
downloading and sorting Internet porn would be a
valuable asset. Ability to work unsupervised
a must. Successful applicant must have own
transportation to and from the Abattoir, hours are
flexible. Remuneration: Our gratitude and
recognition worldwide by those who value your anal
approach and dedication to this awesome responsibility."
...I would add that CorpsE has already begun the
task, and it's safe to say he's working hard *ahem*
but with extra help, the little folder that grew
will be cleaned-up faster.
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MeatMan
Says:
"If you're new to Abattoir.Net and want to get to know what
we're all about, sit back with a cup of joe or a brew and cruise
through the ramblings of the past"
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