boo

I can't. two weekends in a row I'm missing out on Darjeeling Limited. grr.
I hope you all enjoy it.

I could go Sunday matinee, but nothing else, really. and I'm a little concerned no one is going to 'get' my Frida Kahlo costume tonight.

possibly...depends on the getting home from work/tiredness ratio. Give us a call though.

So... anyone want to see Darjeeling Limited tonight at the Princess? 9:10?

This is going to be a long read, so if you are a mech fan go right ahead:

Star Hornet

Yeah par, disappointing is the word for it. The previews made it seem like it was Criss Angel vs. Uri Geller. It didn't mention a bunch of no-name magicians being judged by Criss Angel and Uri Geller... I call phooey on that!

I think the sliding scale means that:

Prepayout is the time before the rig or facility makes any money. In other words it took X amount of dollars to actually put up the rig. Therefore any profit made from oil or bitumen is used to pay off the facility and rig setup cost. Many oil companies had an agreement with the government which said they didn't need to pay the government anything until they recovered the setup cost. But as we know some oil companies will try to hide profit into these setup and construction cost, or dragout paying back these facility so they can reap the profits. This will insure that Albertans will still get a chunk of the oil money and hopefully make oil companies pay back facility cost sooner. Controversial, yes. Needed, yes.

And the post-payout thing basically explains itself. With their facility cost paid off they should be making pure profit with every barrel of oil they extract. Hence the higher percentage of royalty.

Speaking of provincial politics, the decision on the royalty review has been handed down. What I do know: it's a compromise (because, you know, the review panel were all extremists, so the logical course of action is right down the middle between them and the oil companies.)

What I don't know: what the hell the news release is talking about. Someone care to parse this sentence for me?

A sliding scale will be implemented for oil sands royalty rates ranging from one to nine per cent pre-payout and 25 to 40 per cent post-payout depending on the price of oil.

In response to the panel’s comments on accountability and to the recommendations included in the Auditor General’s 2006-07 annual report, the government will initiate a review of all systems, structures and resources related to the collection and reporting of energy royalties. The project will be led by Former Auditor General Peter Valentine and it will be completed by March 31, 2008.

Jesse, I wish I could help you with that. Admittedly, I'm not really as active about things like this as I could (or perhaps should) be. George Carlin seems to agree with you that perhaps our lives are too comfortable to encourage us to really make a difference. Seems we have a lot to do.

Beck, I don't know how you felt about it, but that Phenomenon show was really disappointing. It was more like "So You Think You Can Magic" than anything else. And Uri Geller's "think what I'm thinking" internet poll was just insulting.

I dunno, but it's certainly not as compelling as Angel vs. Geller might have been.

this is me freaking out:


how is it nearly the end of October? how is tomorrow Friday already?
what the hell am I supposed to do?

I was supposed to meet with my supervisors this month and go over my thesis work for chapter 1. Have I made ANY headway? no! none whatsoever. And the month is almost over. And while usually I think "new month, clean slate" That's just not going to happen this time. I have far too much to do, and the beginning of November consists of me giving lectures in the Forest Ecology class I TA. Talk about pressure... (and NO time!)



Well, I guess, on the bright side, I'll be spending so much time on campus, the fact that my house has mold isn't really an issue... because I won't be breathing in the moldy air.