cndlenz

This is very simple, sometimes the best deal is the one that was never made. It is common knowledge that the Oilers tried to move up at the draft to take Kyle Turris. It is also rumored that they made an offer for Glen Murray of the Boston Bruins. Neither went through even though it was felt by Oiler brass that they had the deals in place. This is a good thing, Turris is not a sure bet (no draftee is), and Murray would have ate the remainder of the cap space we had available preventing us from getting Dustin Penner. The other non deal for Nylander is also a good thing because again no Penner. Who would you rather have a floating Euro or a 6'4" 240lb difference maker, we needed to bigger on both ends of the ice and this has now been addressed. That brings me to Souray, yes he is no defensive dynamo, he is however a offensive threat and big, big, boy. Simply put we have a stay home dman for him to play with in Staois and Souray's primary job will be to quarterback the power-play. All our recent additions want to play for the Oilers and you can't discount the difference this will make.

Current Mood: hopeful

The wife quit Planet Organic yesterday and has taken on a controller position with a pharmaceutical company. It's a lateral move with the potential to blossom into a VP role somewhere down the line. I have to say it has slowed down considerably at work and won't pick backup until the fall. It is good then that Kevin Lowe has done all he could to keep me entertained. Daily rumors, signed and not signed UFA's, RFA offer sheets, and billionaire take over bids this has been the busiest off season in memory. Here is my take on everything that has gone down thus far:

1. The draft - If ever there was a year for the Oil to take a risk and shoot for the moon this was the year. The pick of Gagner at 6th was a solid pick although he will forever now be compared against Voracek who was miraculously available @ the 6th spot. Now the 15th pick rolls around and we take a big strapping defencemen, safe pick? Yes, good pick? Maybe, both Cherepanov and Esposito were still on the board when this pick was made and you could make the argument that KLO should have swung for the fences and went for the home run. The trade up to pick at number 21 was the perhaps the biggest surprise Backlund was on the board and everyone expected the Oil had finally come to their senses and were going to try to make it a decent draft, instead they picked Riley Nash. KLO justified the first round by saying that "you must trust your scouts." Based on the Oilers past record with draft picks this is hardly promising, just ask MAP who will forever be the guy we picked before Parise.

Next week - Trades and non-trades

Current Mood: contemplative

Ok my first ever book review:

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - A Fair and Balanced Look at the Conservative Right, by Al Franken

Being a true blue Conservative what attracted me to this book was that Franken is known as both a comedian and a left wing intellectual a combination that I expected would provide alot of thought provoking laughter. After all if you can't laugh at your own narrow viewpoint then you obviously take yourself way too seriously. Ok back to the book, in basic terms this is nothing more than a hatchet job on the ultra conservative right. Now I have nothing against a nice drive by smear particularly against some of the wingnuts that conservatism invariably breeds, but Franken does so almost completely devoid of his own trademark humor and satire. So then is the book thought provoking? No, nothing gets said here that hasn't already been picked up by mainstream media. Do yourselves a favor give this book a miss and pick up something like Dilbert which is also not thought provoking but at least it's funny.

Current Mood: bitchy

Ok I like golf...there I admitted it and now I should supposedly feel better. Seriously though I've been playing alot this year (just my second year) and it is both frustrating and rewarding. Frustrating from the stand point that my game isn't on par with, let's say, a twelve year old female, but rewarding from the hobby standpoint. Other than being a devoted aquarist (fish babies on the way) I have not had much to draw me away from work or my parenting responsibilities. It's nice to get out and have adult conversations that don't involve the use of such words as Dora, milk, or daddy (except who's your daddy after a particularly good shot).

Current Mood: dorky

Well there's busy and then there's crazy busy and lately my life has been the latter. Here's a quick update:

Somehow they keep raising my salary at work you would figure after three years they would realize I’m a worthless bum. This phenomenon could also be attributed to the fact that everybody else left my department and I’m now the whole freaking show. Oh well I’ll never leave this job as it suits me to a tee, where else could I work where all labour stops because the NHL draft is live on TSN.
Baby is in the terrible two’s and officially a handful believe me it’s bad enough when they can run away from you but it really goes down the sewer when they can talk back as well. Ava is definitely oversized for a girl (95 percentile in height and weight) and is well on her way to becoming a female professional wrestler.
Stacy is doing fine although she seems a bit transient in her work lately she’s moved on from Luscar and is now intent on moving on from her present job. The sad fact is the economy is so hot that she gets offers by the dozens for ridiculous sums of money. That seems to be the growing trend here high salaries, rampant inflation, and housing shortages. Some idiot real estate guy knocked on my door the other day and offered to sell my house at over $300, I only paid $130, great but where the hell would I live. We entered the Full House Lottery and for the first time in ten years they had a giveaway home topping 1 million…1 million…in Edmonton…ridiculous.

Peace out, Cheers.

Current Mood: crazy

One of the best reasons to get yourself a set of rich inlaws is the fringe benefits. Kinda like surf and turf day at the club, it's still a little bit in the future but my mouth always waters when they annouce the date. There's nothing like an outdoor barbecue, a giant rib eye, and full lobster (flown in overnight...of course).

Current Mood: chipper

Today is baby's bday celebration, or as I like to call it Dora the Explorer day. Can't really call it a baby anymore, it walks, it talks, it weighs 30lbs. Work is still very busy and our buyer for miscellaneous sports decided to retire adding to all the fun were having trying to cope. I am thinking of buying a Zodiak to go fishing on weekends and for general splashing around. The new TV is amazing and I highly recommend upgrading to high definition as the picture is fantastic. Hope everyone is doing well.

Current Mood: crazy

Here is some unsolicited FYI type question and answers for aspiring parents:

Q: How much sleep will I get in the first three months of babies life?
A: None.

Q: What toys will baby enjoy?
A: You, you are their favorite toy, seriously. You can fill your home with toys and your child will play with nothing unless you play too (fortunately I like toys).

Q: What parts of my life will be changed with the introduction of the little bundle of joy?
A: Everything. Hope your not to attached to your fav movie, band, or tv program because soon you will be listening to the doodle bops, watching the backyardigans, and tuning in daily to see what that little minx Dora the Explorer is up to.

Q: How much time and money will my child take up?
A: All of it and when they are not present you will talk about them...it's all very sad.

Current Mood: thoughtful

Ok, so basically because everyone else is doing it and because I know I would jump off a bridge if y'all told me too I guess I will start blogging too. First I'll apologize because I don't call, write, show up, or just say hey nearly enough. In my defense my work life has been overwhelming lately, my co-worker quit, we moved our offices, and merged with another department. I've been putting in alot of OT lately to help out the company and I've discovered, to my utter shock, that I really don't mind OT...provided I get paid to do it. The differences between my job at United Cycle vs the Gap really hit home yesterday when the company decided to reward me for my efforts by cutting me a nice bonus check. I quickly parlayed my newly acquired money into a 37" LCD HDTV, I take delivery of the new TV in a couple of days.They pay out my OT quarterly and I'm going to take this money and put it towards a new bike and a trip to the west coast for some long overdue Buffy bonding.

Current Mood: ecstatic