This is a photo dump from the end of summer. I ended up going to the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Baiscally the pictures are of me taking the train in, the parade that they had through the midway, BMO field where FC Toronto of the M.L.S. played D.C. United when I was there, The IAMS super dog show, Sloan in concert at the band shell, the national trade centre where they were selling almost anything you could think of in a agricenter at the Erie County Fair kind of way.

I was enjoying the day going for a stroll up and down Elmwood. Unfortunately, I was interrupted by a few fools on bikes riding on the sidewalk. You may be eco-friendly by using your own power on two wheels to get around town. Heck it may even make you look cool and give you street cred with some hipsters in the village.

It's just that riding on the sidewalk in against the law! You're a vehicle not a pedestrian. Sorry that your bike does not protect you against that BMW SUV or that Ford 250 driven by some contractor working for some real estate mogul. It's just that I like to walk down the street on a sidewalk and not get run into you.

I'm so sorry that you don't feel safe riding down the Elmwood strip with all of the traffic, but there's always an alternative. Richmond runs parallel and will get you close to where you may need to go and there is even a BIKE LANE, Image that! Ashland doesn't have all that much traffic on it. But that bike you bought at some second hand store along with those clothes you bought at a similar store won't be seen by as many people on Richmond as opposed to Elmwood.

So all I can say is Screw you hipster bicyclists, Obey the Traffic Law. I don't care how you look or anything else. The sidewalk is for walking not riding. If you don't like riding on traffic use Google maps to find a less congested road to ride on.

Why do I have the new Good Charlotte's "i don't wanna be in love" stuck in my head???

On a somber note I stopped by a wake this afternoon. I just hate that freaking feeling of super gravity against you when you are at a funeral/wake. It was interesting to see old posh Lewiston in mass with everyone dressed up. You just don't see men wear suits to wakes/funerals too much any more.

So I ended up seeing a ton of people that I almost forgot from high school but I just wasn't playing that game. I got in and gave me condolences to the immediate family. I know too well of what they are going through, especially with their proportion of their family and a traumatic loss of which they just suffered.

I did find the video that they were playing in the reception line set to a Phish song quite well done.

Time to attempt to get a inline skating session for the first time in forever...

I was just talking to my friend Bill last night when he told me about an accident in Youngstown. Then he said Oh, it's someone you know that graduated around when we did. He gave me some other info that just left me shaking me head. Then I checked the obituary section this morning to read this

Needless to say I hate living stuff over again every time I hear about something along these lines.

I remember going to parties at my friend Wally's during high school. She lived with her Mom next door in this old mansion that was divided into a duplex. Once in a while Walter would sneak on over there with her boyfriend at the time and would have just insane times.

Once in a while I would see her or some ex-boyfriends around town but nothing of real substance. What really is making me think is what was her state of mind the last couple of years. One can get totally sucked into this alternative dimension that is Lew-Port even if they have other things going on with their life.

I just hope it was a just a bad luck wrong place wrong time accident. Having experience in what goes on behind closed doors and the warped perspective people have that are natives down here my mind is just racing. I can let myself get really sad if I let my imagination run wild.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Doyle family.

:'(

Although the Canadian Dollar "the loonie" is not quite at par or equal to the U.S. Dollar it is within striking distance. The last quote was at 98.6 cents US. So it isn't equal as of yet, but if you are going over to Canada anytime soon you are going to be getting less Canadian money than American when you to engage in the exchange transaction. The 5% juice or profit margin that the banks, casinos, traders use to make money their profit will put you "underwater."

So yea, "Helicopter Ben" may have cut rates to save the housing market but in the end he's going to do more damage then good in cutting rates today.

What is going to happen is the people with money are not going to park in the U.S. to get substandard returns with lower interest rates while having their principle getting gnawed at by a depreciating currency. They're going to go to Canada or Europe earn a better return on investment and gain with an ever increasing exchange rate on principle.

So now after 30 years of those red state ugly Americans ripping on the "Monopoly Money" guess what that $1 bill is only worth 0.98 cents in Canadian Funds! Not bad for a "Socialist" country, Eh?

and Whoa, when did I get to 200+ entries!?!