SARATS Entry #4

Cafiend of Citizen Rider has sent me his SARATS entry. His email:

Imagine this one with all its leaves and better lighting. I never seem to catch it at its best when I have the camera and time to stop.

Cafiend, my man, of course I can relate. Missing the King at his best started this whole contest thing! Thanks very much for your entry... I can see how that tree could be a killer. I also think it has been a pretty tough year for catching a tree at its best for many of us. Into the contest it goes!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Are You #%^1n' Kiddin' Me #6

This installment of "Are You #%^1n' Kiddin' Me" made me feel that way three times over. Here's how it went.

I saw a commercial on TV recently that I really liked:

I liked it because I thought, "Are You #%^1n' Kiddin' Me? That guy just said "Yes, the money's expensive, but there's no collateral""!  That kind of candor isn't something you normally ever see in a commercial. Cool.

When I went on youtube to find it, the comments made me want to throw up. There were a bunch of stupid racist comments about Native people. I know I shouldn't have been surprised... comments sections on big sites like youtube seem to bring out all the worst and dimmest rather than the best and brightest. Just the same, Are You #%^1n' Kiddin' Me? In 2011? Really?

I was, of course, intrigued by this straight-shooting lender. That dude said right out that the money was expensive. How expensive? I went to their website to find out:

pic source

I'm not gonna say it a third time. I will also leave you to do some of the math. I agree with the guy in the commercial. Keep the costs down by paying it off as fast as you can. Like, really really fast. Really.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

London Ontario MEC: Signs of Life

Since I continue to see a surprising number of people visiting this blog thanks to having googled after info on MEC here in my home town, I feel that an update is warranted.

I've been swinging by the as of yet unopened Mountain Equipment Co-op store here in London Ontario once in a while to see what, if anything, was up. After several weeks during which all was quiet on the MEC front (storefront, that is), there are now signs of life. Very green window coverings are proclaiming that the store will open in Late November. Knowing how such things sometimes go, I'm not holding my breath.

As you can see, there's some signage and they've plastered over the scars from the previous store's signs up top. Those green things have been there for at least a week, but this time when I swung by, there were contractors on-site. I stopped short of taking their picture through the window because I figured they might find that a little weird, haul me inside and question me under the glare of a trouble lamp and with threat of nail gun. Maybe I should have though, because if they chose to speak to me I could have at least thanked them for removing that ominous demising wall.

For every single scrap of London MEC info or oddness that I have posted so far, click here.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K