Armed robbery with a screwdriver

Last Friday, someone held up the government liquor store by threatening the clerk with a screwdriver.

Several years ago a series of holdups victimized clerks in convenience stores ("convenience" in the Canadian sense --- you can't get any beer there) and gas stations.  That perpetrator was also armed with a screwdriver.

It didn't take me very long to figure out that if I was working nights in the 7-Eleven or the PetroCan station I'd totally  want to have a Black & Decker power drill under the counter.  But I guess that's just because I am an American, and prone to over reacting to the "need to do something --- anything --- in my own defense.  (Or "defence" as they say here.)

This is what happens in a kinder, gentler country where people are horrified at the notion of owning handguns: You have teenagers in touques (say "tewks") brandishing screwdrivers, holding up night shift clerks for a carton of smokes and a packet of fried pork rinds.

The local SpokesMountie at the time said that there just weren't enough Mounties to have much hope of catching the guy, but after the video tapes aired on the local news, the kid turned himself in.

Oh. Canada.  It takes some getting used to.

This time, the Mounties were in pursuit, even bringing the K9 unit.  Unfortunately, Constable Fraser and Diefenbaker were busy, and the guy got away.

No word if the bad guy was using a Robertson screwdriver.

Play ball, eh?

Yesterday there were three ball games on TV, all of them divisional playoffs for major league teams trying to get to the World Series.  I watched the Cardinals - Dodgers matchup.

In the US, the game was carried by TBS, but up here, Rogers Sportsnet takes the TBS coverage and drops in their own commercials and their own game updates.  So during the 7th inning stretch, they go to the studio for an update...on the hockey.

It takes some getting used to.

Go 9ers, eh?

So I'm here in Canada on a Saturday night, watching a pre-season football game.  It's my beloved San Francisco 49ers playing at home.  They are playing the Oakland Raiders, and I am watching the game on KTLA - TV out of Los Angeles on our digital cable.  It takes some getting used to.

I'm thinking, "Wow, this is kind of weird." And then, who should show up for the Raiders at quarterback but Jeff Garcia!  Former 49er, yes. But also --- and this closes the circle --- former Calgary Stampeder.

Garcia didn't disappoint: he went right out there and threw an interception on third and long.

I feel like a real Canadian now!

I was working my way through my first cup of coffee and my RSS feeds this morning when I came upon this article:

And I thought to myself, "How did the Inuit manage to hold off Microsoft?"

In fairness to me, I HAD just finished reading a curling feed that mentioned Paul Gross, and "Due South" is one of my favo(u)rite shows. But wow. "Inuit" instead of "Intuit" --- It takes some getting used to.