Contest to Make Money Online

Cash Quests is holding a contest to make money online and there are only a few days left. Cash Quests is trying to promote their new domain name since leaving Blogger. There are a number of ways to enter all involving spreading the word of their new domain name. The winner of the contest will be thoroughly promoted on the Cash Quests website. The first time winner is currently reporting revenue of $300 a month and is mainly attributed to winning the first version of this contest. An opportunity like this can’t be passed up. Maybe the Everyday Weekender will be this years lucky winner.

Keep your fingers crossed!

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This Weekend in Sports (29-June-2007)

NBA

The NBA draft was held on Thursday. The top two picks were slam dunks. Greg Oden, the man child, went to the Portland Trailblazers, and Kevin Durant went to the Seattle Supersonics. After those two obvious picks the Atlanta Hawks passed up on a point guard again and picked forward Al Horford. Oden’s teammate from highschool and college, Mike Conley went to the Memphis Grizzlies. In the fifth spot the Boston Celtics picked the Big East’s Player of the Year Jeff Green. However it was unofficially reported that the Supersonics have traded Ray Allen to the Celtics for the Jeff Green and two other players. That would give Seattle two of the top 5 draft picks and make them an instant contender even though they lose Ray Allen

CFL

The Canadian Football League started this week. There seems to be an air of excitement around this season. It might have to do with the new commissioner Mark Cohon, who brings youth and a ton of marketing experience from the NBA and MLB. It might have to do with rule changes such as blocking angles on kick returns and as I watch the Toronto Argos and British Columbia Lions there have already been two kicks returned for touchdowns. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the popularity of the league has been increasing the last couple of years and now if they can put together a fourth successful marketing season we might see expansion again and more interest in the Canadian version of the game.

Tennis – Wimbledon

We go into the first weekend of Wimbledon with rain delays, as usual, and no major upsets. Roger Federer the number one ranked men’s tennis player in the world and the men’s number one seed has one his first two matches and 50th grass court match in a row. Federer is going for his fifth straight Wimbledon championship to equal the record set by Bjorn Borg. An absolutely amazing feat in any era. Federer will have to get by American Andy Rodic and eternal opponent Rafael Nadal. If Roger makes it to the finals this year it will be interesting to see if he can keep his emotions in check with possibility of such a monumental win.

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Picking the Perfect Steak

What is the “perfect steak”? How do you know which steak is better then others? Earlier, I talked about cooking a juicy steak to perfection, but what I didn’t talk about is steak selection. If you make the wrong choice when it comes to selecting your steak, you could be missing out on a whole world of steak goodness.

In my fantasy world, all steaks would be created equally – they would all be the most tender, succulent, juiciest, best cuts of beef you could imagine. They would explode with flavor and they would melt away in my mouth… but that’s not always the case. Steaks aren’t created equally. So that’s why I’ve prepared a quick guide to teach you what to look for when you’re picking your perfect steak.

Juicy Steak Marbling

Colour
Time and time again, steak lovers assume that colour is the only indication of a quality steak. This is not true. Beef is a dark reddish-purplish colour when it is first cut, but once it’s exposed to oxygen, the meet quickly turns into a bright red. As the beef ages, it starts to turn into a darker, brownish red – but even with all this colour change, this doesn’t give us a good indication of how well the meat has aged. The longer the meat is aged, the more tender the steak – and the more costly. The important thing to know is this – colour and age mean nothing in as steak if it doesn’t have the following characteristics.

Grade
I’m sure you’ve all heard the different steak grades: Canada A, Canada AA, Canada AAA, and Canada Prime (which is the best by the way). These are all beef grades that classify the meat based on eating quality. The higher the grade means you have a better chance on getting a quality steak.

Knife Work
The better the cut of meet – the better the steak. Period. Poorly cut, lopsided steaks do not cook evenly which results in some parts of the steak being more under or over-cooked then others.

Marbling
When it comes to steak flavor its real simple – fat gives it the flavour. The important thing to know though, is that its not the amount of fat, but it’s how that fat is distributed. Notice those fine white wisps of fat that are running through the steak pictured above? That’s what is known as Marbling. A good amount of fat, evenly distributed, will melt into the meat with its cooking and that’s what will add all the flavour and juiciness.

Enjoy your steak!

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Toronto Pride Parade

This weekend in Toronto was the Pride parade. The 27th annual pride parade celebrates gay and lesbian pride. Hundreds of thousands of people gay and straight line Yonge St. for the parade.

The festivities now have less to do with being gay and more to do with just being proud of who you are. That being said you will find many of the participants completely or almost naked marching down the streets. You will see drag queens and all sorts of flamboyant costumes. There are still some serious messages displayed reminding people that gays and lesbians are still discriminated against and that there is still a fight to be won. But for the most part everyone is there letting loose, enjoying the weather, and having a great time. The parade and festivities bring somewhere close to $100 million into the city of Toronto. If you are looking to having some good fun and won’t be upset seeing two men kiss then come to Toronto next year. As Mayor David Miller said “everyone has a place in Toronto”.

Toronto Pride Parade

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Deprived Angler Disorder

As I’ve moved closer to owning a cottage I’ve started to become more interested in outdoor activities that I will be able to take advantage of once the cottage is built. One of those activities is fishing. I’ve only recently purchased a fishing license and even at that I might get out 4 times a year when my buddy invites me to his cottage on Pigeon Lake.

Unfortunately for me I seem to have Deprived Angler Disorder or D.A.D. according to the World Fishing Network. My main issue is worms! I have never touched a worm in my life. As a kid I had my grandmother bait my hook because my dad had given up on me by that point and would go out fishing by himself. Now-a-days I bait my own hook, but that is with lures. I still won’t touch the worms. Similarly I haven’t taken a fish off my hook! I caught a Rock Bass last year and had to get one of my buddies to unhook it. I don’t know what it is, but that big red eye on those Rock Bass sure doesn’t help. By the way my best catch is a Blue Gill.

Currently I’m using a rod that was on sale at Canadian Tire for $9.99 and my dad’s old fishing tackle. He hasn’t been fishing in years so I open up his box to find some old ear medicine, ice fishing hooks and line, and some plastic crawdads. The package says if fish don’t like crawdads they don’t like food! So I figure these have to be good even if they are from 1981.

Now I plan on being a father sometime soon and if I can get this cottage built next year then there is no way I can continue to be afraid of worms, use such crappy equipment, and be so ignorant towards fishing techniques. It’s time to be a man and say “give me that worm I’m gonna go catch some fish!”

Help a guy become a man and give me your vote! Click HERE and hit the vote button. You can vote every day so come back and make sure I make the semi finals!

Thanks

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This Weekend in Sports (22-June-2007)

With basketball, hockey, and football all in the offseason there is less and less to talk about for the weekend sports article in terms of North American sports. If any of the readers have any suggestions on some international sports going on right now I would be more then happy to hear from you.

NHL 2007 Entry Draft

Even though the NHL season has ended and it is officially summer there is always something hockey related in the news in Canada. This weekend is the NHL Draft, a very exciting time for many hockey fans hoping their team will draft the next Wayne Gretzky. One of the original six teams, the Chicago Blackhawks, have the number one draft pick this year…and they need it. Not since the days of Ed Belfour, Chris Chelios, and Tony Amonte have the Blackhawks been any good. I don’t know if there is a player in this years draft that will get Chicago into the playoffs, but they better pick wisely or they are never going to get out of the basement. Chicago will be followed by the Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Los Angles Kings, and Washington Capitols as the first five teams to draft in the first round.

MLB

Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees has agreed to meet with Senator George Mitchell to discuss his involvement with steroids and human growth hormones. Giambi admitted to using both drug enhancers during his career and has openly apologized. Giambi says that he is completely clean now. The main concern with this meeting would come from the rest of the players in baseball that aren’t as upfront about their “prescriptions” as Giambi. Even though Jason has said the meeting will only be to discuss his personal use and no one else’s I’m sure there will be a number of players none to pleased with Giambi’s cooperation. It will be interesting to see what comes out of this meeting and if the witch hunting will start again.

Arm Wrestling

The European Arm Wrestling Championship is taking place this weekend in Lycksele Sweden. A Russian competitor, Arsen Liliev, was attempting to move to a lower weight category, but couldn’t make the cut. So when it was time for the official weigh in Arsen sent an impostor that resembled him. The body double passed the weigh in inspection, but officials figured out the plan and disqualified Liliev.

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The Hydrofoil Water Scooter

The Hydrofoil Water Scooter

The Water Scooter allows you to glide across water simply by hopping gently up and down. The odd looking vehicle made of aluminum and fiberglass weighs only 26 lbs., making it easy to transport to the dock or shoreline. The large steps and handlebars provide stability and confidence on the water. The Water Scooter can move up to 17 mph providing an excellent cardio workout. At $500 US is seems a little gimmicky for me and I wonder how much I would really use it. I also wonder what happens when I fall over in the middle of the lake? It doesn’t look that easy to get back on from the water.

An interesting and innovative product, but I don’t think I’ll be spending my money on this one.

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Bolaball

I saw this game advertised on Breakfast Television this morning and I thought I would share it with you. I’m a huge fan of these simple outdoor games. They are easy to play, bring friends and family together, and fun!

The basic idea is similar to Bocce Ball or Horseshoes. Two targets are setup 25ft from each other. The targets are made of 3 levels of coloured doweling. Players are given 1 set of coloured bolas each. The bolas are made of super rubber balls attached by rope. The players must throw from one end of the playing field without crossing the plane of the target and try to have their bola wrap around one of the 3 levels. Players alternate shots for a possibility to knock an opponent’s bola off the level. The top level is worth 3 points the middle level is worth 2 points and the bottom level is worth 1 point. The first player to get 21 points without going over wins the game. If the player does go over 21 the points scored on that round will be subtracted from the score prior to throwing.

Bolaball

The advantage of this game over Bocce Ball or Horseshoes is that it is far less dangerous. The bolas are lightweight, meaning smaller children can throw them and if a throw goes awry it is less likely to cause damage.

This is a great way to spend some time with the family and friends outdoors. If you get a chance pick one up. More information can be found at www.bolaballinc.com

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24 Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor Give Away

For all you bloggers our there John Chow Dot Com, the site that helps you make money, is having another contest!

He along with BlueFur Web Hosting, who are hosting Canada, are giving away a brand new 24” widescreen LCD monitor from LG Electronics.

To enter you simply have to write about the contest, just as I am, along with a few other requirements and that’s it!

Entries will be randomly drawn on August 1st.

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Building a Cottage: Shattered Dreams

Things have taken a turn for the worse regarding my cottage building plans. As I mentioned in the Red Tape article I just found out that there is a minimum building size required by the municipality. The building kit, drawings and materials that I purchased are for a cottage that is 225sqft smaller than the minimum required size. The only way to get an exception to the bylaw is to submit a minor variance application and attend a Committee of Adjustments hearing where the municipal committee members will vote on whether to accept or reject the application.

The process for a minor variance starts with filling out an application with your reason for the variance as well as information about the property that will be affected. Once the application is reviewed and deemed acceptable for discussion at the hearing you are notified by the municipality of the time of the hearing and are required to identify the affected property with a sign. Surrounding neighbours are also sent a notice to alert them to the proposed change. They have an opportunity to attend the hearing and/or submit letters in defence or opposition of the application. Once the hearing is underway you will be called in front of the committee members where you will have a chance to defend your application and answer any members’ questions. All discussions should be directed to the chair as a means of keeping things from getting personal. After you have made you points and answered questions the floor is open to anyone else in the audience that would like to voice their opinion. You have a chance for rebuttal and then if there is a motion to accept or reject there is a vote and the motion is passed.

I went through this entire process with a number of neighbours submitting letters opposed to the change because they felt my small building would devalue their properties. I had a number of valid arguments to defend my position, but at the end of the day the committee decided that the minimum building size bylaw was reasonable and that I should have to adhere to it. My application was rejected.

Now I am starting from the beginning again. I have to select a new floor plan and have the drawing re-drawn. I’m going to revisit my foundation options and determine my new costs. A ballpark estimate shows that I cannot afford this size of a cottage at this time, but I am obligated to purchase the materials and plans. The new schedule is to have the septic, grading, and foundation installed this year (October) and then build the cottage in the spring (May) next year. This should give me enough time to hurdle any obstacles and save enough money to pay for the cottage materials.

We will see how it goes, but for right now the dream is on hold.

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