Too Many Choices

I read an article in the New Yorker that discussed the paradox of having to many choices. It had a bunch of stats about how people are 10 times more likely to buy jam when given six samples of different jams than when give 20 samples of jam to choose from.

It seems as if people become paralysed because of their inability to make decisions. Restaurants are a prime example. Rationally people are maximisers. They want the best on the menu, when the menu is long it is more likely that you will be able to find the perfect meal, but the chances of not getting the best thing on the menu goes up. People are afraid that by choosing one thing they are missing out on something better.

There were studies done in the 50's that demonstrated that new car buyers would continue to read brochures about the car they purchased, but would avoid looking at brochures for other cars in order to avoid buyer's remorse. There are people I know that, when in restaurants need to stop looking at other people's food, and quit regretting the choice that they have made for themselves.

The secret is to be a satisficer not a maximiser, to accept something that is great rather than be stuck searching for something that is perfect.

-Gary, this post is long enough

Super Spike V'ball

We went to watch Tracie's sister Becky play volleyball today. I just have to say early-teen girls are very funny. For example, two girls on one of the teams were sharing a pair of socks with black and pink stripes. I said to Tracie, I bet number 9 and number 5 are best friends. It only took her a few seconds to realize why.

Becky is a really good player, a lot of the other girls would only play the ball if it came right to them, but Becky would move around as the play progressed to be in better position for the ball. She also got all of her serves in, which is the most important thing there is in 13 year-old women's volleyball.

I took a couple hundred photos, but they're all at the university, so if I post any it will be in another day or two.

-Gary Milner,

Art is in my blood

These five are my pictures. We are having a great time painting, and in our own opinions, we're getting quite good. (Although I think we each think we're better than eachother).



Next time any of you come to visit, don't be surprised to see our entire house is covered in our own art.





-Tracie, very distracted from homework

Flower Power

We have started painting flowers. You can see my first four efforts here. From first to last, they go in order. I think that I am getting a lot better, that is to say that I'm no longer painting at a sixth grade level. Surely I would get a good mark in Art 30 at least. Not that highschool grades mean very much, pretty much everyone who does all the assignments gets at least a b+ even if the teacher doesn't like them. But I think that I would be in the top few of the class even if it's only in water colours. We haven't gotten a lot of votes on the other paintings, so instead of a competition between Tracie and I, just comment on which one you like the best between my own flower pics this time. Like before, voting is enabled in the comments section. Vote early, vote often, rinse and repeat.



-Vincent Van Gary, My heirs are going to make a fortune!

Paint Paint Paint Your Cares Away

"It is through Art and through Art only that we can realize our perfection"

Tracie and I decided to make watercolor art. Tracie did the picture of me, and I did the picture of her. We've decided that we want to make art to hang up all over the house. The plan is to hang up the real photos with the paintings near them, to contrast. We want to paint the same pictures again only of ourselves next, so that we have two paintings each and the real photos to hang up. Then we will move on to other subjects and do a series of paintings that match.




I think the one Tracie did of me is a little bit nicer than the one I did of her, because she used less paint than I did.




Voting is enabled in the comments section. Vote now, and vote often. Just use aliases and Tracie will never be the wiser.

-Gary, "My paintings will be worth a ton when I die."

JACKIE AND GLEN GET THEIR CAR BACK

The title just about tells it all. But Jackie says that the theives didn,t even steal all their stuff and they didn't wreck the car or put many miles on it. Among the things that were not stolen was their bran new tent.

Stupid Diet

I am really hungry.

I don't know if it's just because I am trying to lose weight or if I am actually hungry. I must have spent my life until now doing nothing but eating. This will be my last post about how hungry I am because of the diet. I'm torn about updating the weight loss progress, because I am very disinterested in hearing about people's weightloss struggles. I may keep it down to every other week or so, and only then if I am actually making progress over that ammount of time. Maybe it would be a good idea to post at 10lbs increments instead of time based intervals.

-Gary, dietalicous

Family Chub Club

Well, as Gary already mentioned, we are now on a weight-loss crusade. I plan to finish school (3 more weeks) before I fully immerse myself in the new project, but only because I have a hard time focusing on two things at once.

As preparation for losing 45 pounds each, we have enrolled in a class at the Running Room starting in April. I figure this will motivate me more than just telling myself I have to work out on my own. I'm pretty excited about it though. There are weekly classes where they teach you about proper footwear, nutrition, running in hot/cold weather and things like that, as well as group runs. A friend of mine from work joined last year and she said she's lost 12 pounds since September without trying or doing anything else besides running. So I figure I should lose at least two or three times that much if I actually try.

Well, hopefully this isn't just something I say I'll do but then don't. I figure that the incentives to go on a trip and get a camera will be enough for us. I mean, if someone offers you $4500 to lose weight, it seems ridiculous to say "No thanks, I'd rather stay fat".

-Tracie, going to Europe

Weekend Visit

Tracie and I went to Medicine Hat on the weekend, to have our taxes done. We're getting about $3000 less than we had been hoping, but it means that we are only paying about %6 taxes. We would be getting a lot more back, but you can only transfer $10,000 worth of school credits to your spouse. That leaves me with a little over $10,000 school tax credits for next year.

On our way back from Medicine Hat, we decided that we are going on diets. I came to the conclusion, that I want to eat more than to lose weight and that as an incentive to move from 245lbs to a mere 200lbs by New Years Eve, if I reach my goal I will be allowed to buy myself a new camera. I'm giving myself a budget of $1000 for every 10lbs that I lose if I am able to do it.

If Tracie reaches her goal, we are going on a trip to Europe. We think that even if we don't have the money, we will go for it, because it will be worth it to have lost all that weight.

I am soliciting pledges, that only need to be paid if we are able to meet our goal.

One more thing, If we are within 10lbs or so of our goals, we agreed that we would have shown enough determination to warrant an extra month or so. think about it, if you lose 30 lbs, you are pretty dedicated. Losing the weight is more important than the money, in any event and if this is the motivation that we need, so be it.

-Fat Gary, soon to be Skinny Gary.

ps. I ate my lunch at 10:30, and I am starting to regret it. I'll just have to get a drink of water.

BLACKHAWK DOWN

Yesterday I watched a documentary which claimed to be the true story behind the movie" Black Hawk Down", but as far as I was concerned the movie did a darn good job of telling the truth as well .

For those who did not see the movie I'll first give some background on what happened. A few years ago the civil war in Somalia which is darn near endemic was causing a particularly hard time because of a bad drought. People were dieing like flies. The United Nations got to feeling sorry for them and sent food aid over to them in a nice gesture of compassion and good will.

However, the food never managed to get to the starving people because a war lord whose name I can't remember had the food confiscated because he didn't want any of the food going to the people he wanted to conquer. This made the United Nations sore and they moved into Somalia to straighten things out. Then one day tragegy struck the United States contingient. On that day the United States sent a party of men into the city of Mogadisue to try to capture the war lord. First one helicopter was shot down and then another when it tried to help the first helicopter. The ground troops also got bogged down in the rescue. Eighteen Americans were killed and up to ten thousand Somali's.

Now my obsearvations and comments:
The documentary did one thing that the movie didn't do. In the documentary, many of the the particpants of the battle, both U.S. and Somali were interviewed on camera and these interviews were shown in the documentary. The most interesting thing to me was the difference in the "attitudes" of the people being interviewed.

The American soldiers grimly testified of being beset be vastly superior forces who were better armed and trained . They all admitted to being frightened out of their wits and broken hearted about the deaths and injuries inflicted on the U.S. forces. They all seemed to agree that the experience was almost too horrific for words.

The Somali's on the other hand were completely jovial during their interviews. With smiles on their faces and gleams in the eyes they described with great relish how they kicked the United State's butt. Their reaction was similar to how you would expect people to react after their country had won the world soccer champianship. They without exception think they won a great victory.

The fatality figures as I mentioned before were: U.S. 18, Somalia 10,000. Strange eh? All I can say is; with victories like that, who needs defeats?

Gauntlet Elections

The Gauntlet elections were on Wednesday. I didn't get to vote though, because the Gauntlet bylaws say that you must be a Student and don't have a provision for non-student section editors. It's too bad because I would have liked to vote, but it doesn't really matter because my vote wouldn't have changed the outcome of the election at all.

We're probably going to Medicine Hat in the morning, but just for the day, so it will be a short visit. Tracie has been itching to come down for awhile, but we just can't seem to find the time so tomorrow is the day. I'm not sure what time we will be leaving, but it will likely be pretty early.

-Gary

HOW COME THERES NO WATER ON MARS?

Well the scienists say they've found out that there used to be water on mars and that mars was suitable for habitation. As Gomer Pile would say, surprise, surprise, surprise. Everyone has always known that there were little green men living on mars. People want to know something new! Well here it is. The reason there is no longer any water on mars or any people is that the people on mars were so darn wasteful of water. This should be a warning to the people of earth---DON't WASTE WATER.

Starsky and Hutch

I got a premier pass to go see Starsky and Hutch today. Tracie and I went, and we both enjoyed it, although it really was mostly just a regular cop movie, only set in the 70's. It was the type of movie that seemed sort of self aware, like it knew what it was doing, that it was using the same old jokes. The jokes were funny in and of themselves, but I think that they were supposed to be funny because of the TV show. I'm sure that I would have liked the movie even a little bit more if I had seen the TV show. All in all, it's probably a renter, but if you can get a free pass it's worth seeing in the theatre.

-Garsky and Hutch

And the best way to get a job is....

Get one offered to you without applying. Without even showing interest in the job for that matter.

That's what happened to me on Friday. I was standing in the back room of the neonatal intensive care unit where I am doing my final school practicum, when the manager looks at me and says "Who are you?"

I tell her I'm a student. She asks me when I'll finish school, and I tell her I'm done at the end of March.

"Don't you have any exams or anything though?"

"No, I'm already a registered nurse. I'm just finishing my degree, so when I've done my hours, that's it"

"Good, you can start at the beginning of April. Bring your resume by my office"

I must admit, I found it a little odd. She didn't ask if I was interested in working there when I was done, or seem concerned that maybe I had a job somewhere else. Well, Saturday, I did drop off a resume in her box, and by Monday there was a message on my answering machine telling me that she was filling in the paper work to "get [me] hired", and that I should call her because she had a few quick questions for me.

That was the easiest interview I ever had. Only two questions. "Who are you?" and "when can you start". Nice.

I guess in April I'll work causal between NICU and the oncology floor that I'm already working on. That's the beauty of nursing. You can just work casual (no set hours, but basically as many hours as you want because they need you). You more or less pick your own schedule and get all holidays off and as many weekends off as you want.

We'll see what I really end up doing though.

The funny thing is that I came back to school thinking I could get some different experiences, which would give me a better idea about where I want to settle down and work. Now that I have had this opportunity, I am more unsure than ever. I mean, I like oncology...but meh. I like NICU, but again...meh. Do I see myself working there for the rest of my life? Or working anywhere for the rest of my life for that matter? Maybe I'm an optimist, but I see myself living for a long time, so the rest of my life seems a little too long to commit to any one thing. I think I would like to try working in public health for a while, just to see if I like it. But then again...

-Tracie, hoping to win the lottery and quit work altogether

MY TRIP TO CALIFORNIA

I can see why they call California the Golden State. It wasn't the color of gold; it was green and warm which is good enough reason for me to call it the golden state. The sun was gold though, maybe that's the reason. Or maybe it's because you can find gold there. If the latter is the case, for sure you don't see any of it just laying around for the taking.
The drag races were wonderful . I wonder why they call the them drag races. When you hear the term drag races it conjures up in your mind a bunch of guys dressed in drag having a foot race. But that wasn't the case and they're not called drag races because they are boring either. They were very exciting. The six thousand horse power top fuel racers were so excruciately loud that each piston stroke was like dynamite going off. You could feel the sound of each piston stroke slapping you in the face. They do the quarter mile strip in as little as four seconds.
'

JACKIE AND GLEN HAD THEIR CAR STOLEN

Jackie and Glen had their car stolen from the parking lot at the mall where Jackie works. It was full of brand new wedding presents at the time as well. I don't know what insurance they had on it.

Shut Out in the Cold

Here's the deal. It gets cold in Canada, so generally you don't want to spend a lot of time locked out of your house. Yesterday, Amy forgot to take her keys with her to work. Which would have been fine if the people she lives with stayed at home all day and night. Unfortunately, we don't.

She was stuck outside for about an hour. Although luckily for her, there was a string of events that prevented her from being locked out for 3 or 4 hours.

First, I couldn't find my regular keys anywhere and had to take my spare set. The weird thing is that they were on the floor in plain sight in front of the TV.

Second, Ryan, a volunteer photographer shot about 150 photographs in the first period of the hockey game, thus filling the memory card.

Third, because I did not have my regular keys, I could not go to the Gauntlet and download the pics off the card, so I just came home.

A lesson about what a person can do to in this situation should be learned.

First, take your keys with you where ever you go. It took me about 3 years to teach this to Tracie, but now she always has her keys. Luckily, I was only locked out by her once. She locked herself out various times.

Second, if you are unable to get into your own house and it is really cold outside, go to the neighbours even if you don't know them. Tell them you got locked out, and they will certainly let you in for awhile. Certainly the neighbours we have are very nice and extremely helpful.

Third, if you are afraid to talk to your neighbours, walk a block to the store and wait inside. Use a pay phone to check if your roommates are back yet.

Fourth, if you don't want to walk a block to the store, start the barbecue. It will make you salivate and you'll smell like steak afterwards, but you won't get hypothermia.

Gary Milner, keeps his keys in his pocket even when he is home.

Second Interview

I had my second interview today. It went pretty well. I think I said a lot of things that the interviewer liked hearing. I am a little unsure of what the outcome will be.

The interview had a lot of questions that followed the out line of, "Have you ever been in a situation where something, something and you did something, something." I pretty sure that I had some good responses, and I hope that I had better responses than the other candidates. I think I have a lot better experience than a lot of other new grads, but you never know I guess.

-Gary Milner

Cookies

Yesterday my sister Amy decided to make cookies. As she was rolling the dough into balls and putting them on the cookie sheet, I walked through the kitchen. She chose that moment to ask me if there is a difference between baking soda and baking powder. I told her there was, to which she answered "Oops". Well, at that point it was too late, so she decided to bake them anyway and see how they turned out. Truth be told, they tasted the same to me. That got me to wondering just how big a difference there really is. And who invented baking anyway? I mean, who came up with the idea that you could mix flour with sugar with egss and vanilla or whatever and make a delicious treat?

-Tracie, puzzled by baking

Call back

I was invited to have a second interview at the Future Shop tomorrow morning. Although I haven't been hired yet, I'm going to have to find out a lot more about the job before I will accept the position. They have materials that they give out to perspective employees, but having completed a degree, I am the type of person who uses his critical thinking skills, and my analysis of the materials leads me to conclude that they don't actually contain much information about working at the Future Shop. They seem to be cheer-leading more than anything.

I'll follow up after the interview.

-Gary Milner