UFC 116 was one of the best night of fights that I have seen in all my years of watching mixed martial arts.

Starting from the top, UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar impressed me a lot by taking a mountain of punishment from challenger Shane Carwin in the first round, and coming back reinvigorated in the second round to submit him by arm-triangle choke.

Anyone else – and I do mean anyone else – who took those shots would likely still be in the hospital.  Lesnar was being pounded by those jackhammer fists like crazy – so much so that most people scored the first round 10-8, yet he survived the onslaught.  It doesn’t get any easier for Lesnar, as he is now scheduled to face Cain Velasquez.

The co-main event was to have been Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Wanderlei Silva.  However, Silva injured himself during training and Chris Leben, less than two weeks removed from his previous fight, stepped in.

Surprisingly, Leben got the win in the third round.  He was a huge underdog not only because he just got through a fight, but Akiyama is no pushover.  He is a highly skilled fighter who is difficult to finish, yet Leben managed to turn the trick.  Good job, Chris Leben!

Other bouts included:

Heavyweight bout:  Jon Madsen vs.  Karlos Vemola
Madsen defeated Vemola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Welterweight bout:  Daniel Roberts vs.  Forrest Petz
Roberts defeated Petz via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).

Middleweight bout:  Gerald Harris vs.  Dave Branch
Harris defeated Branch via KO (slam) at 2:35 of round 3.

Middleweight bout:  Kendall Grove vs.  Goran Reljic
Grove defeated Reljic via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28).

Light Heavyweight bout:  Seth Petruzelli vs.  Ricardo Romero
Romero defeated Petruzelli via submission (armbar) at 3:05 of round 2.

Heavyweight bout:  Brendan Schaub vs.  Chris Tuchscherer
Schaub defeated Tuchscherer via TKO (strikes) at 1:07 of round 1.

Lightweight bout:  George Sotiropoulos vs.  Kurt Pellegrino
Sotiropoulos defeated Pellegrino via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).

Light Heavyweight bout:  Krzysztof Soszynski vs.  Stephan Bonnar
Bonnar defeated Soszynski via TKO (strikes) at 3:08 of round 2.

Welterweight bout:  Chris Lytle vs.  Matt Brown
Lytle defeated Brown via submission (mounted triangle/straight armbar) at 2:02 of round 2.

Synopsis (from IMDB):  An Army veteran assembles a team of bodyguards to protect a former boxer. Complications arise when the boxer suspects his sister may be romantically involved with the bodyguard.

My buddy – who is a huge Van Damme fan – passed along a bunch of his movies for me to watch, ergo the amount of reviews that I have been doing recently on his films.  I don’t like Van Damme as much, but I must admit to still liking his movies.  I think that he has gotten better as an actor (as opposed to Steven Seagal, who has gotten worse).  Further to the comparison between Seagal and Van Damme, you have to give JCVD credit for keeping himself in shape.

The Hard Corps is more passable fare from the actor, and I must admit to enjoying it.  Lots of gunfire, but this time a decent plot outline.  This movie ran long for a Van Damme flick, clocking in at just under a couple of hours.  Usually his movies have difficulty making the ninety minute mark.

Van Damme and Vivica A. Fox were both good in their roles, as was Razaaq Adoti.  The rest of the cast could have used an upgrade, as they were not very believable (though not for lack of trying).  Because the movie starred Van Damme most people would pan it right away, but it was worth a good two and a half stars (out of five) on my scale.

Many people are getting very antsy over the security measures that have been implemented  for the upcoming G-20 Summit in Toronto this coming weekend.  What the government has done could easily be considered as overbearing, but given who is visiting the city this weekend, is pretty much necessary.

Canada has always been one of the least restrictive countries when it comes to civil rights.  The people are not oppressed (like in China, or worse yet Indonesia or North Korea), so any enhanced security measures are a new thing to us.  We, as citizens, do not want any sort of restraints on our freedom.  I for one am most vocal about such things, as I don’t care for anyone telling me what to do or when I can do it.

In so saying that, these measures are absolutely necessary to ensure the safety of these world leaders.  If a terrorist were to assassinate one or some or all of these people, the world economy could falter.  It sounds like a broad and scary thought – but what happened after 9/11?  It took the global economy a year to recover from that fiasco.

Synopsis (from IMDB):  A Texas cop battles ex-Navy SEALS who are trying to traffic drugs from Mexico into the USA.

The shortest synopsis in IMDB history…but accurate.  The movie itself, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and a bunch of other unknown actors, was not too bad at all.  It is passable fare – and typical of what you would expect a Van Damme movie to be.  If you start watching it with that mentality, then you will not be disappointed.

Truth be told, I’ve always liked these kinds of films.  They are not big on the storyline, but there is lots of action.  In short, they keep it simple.  Since I’m always doing something, sometimes it is nice to watch a movie that does not require much thought.

Even though quality wise I would rate the movie only two stars out of five, I would still recommend it for the reasons above.  Don’t watch it with the woman if you’re expecting some action of your own later on, because you’ll be sorely disappointed.

The Los Angeles Lakers, for the 16th time, are the NBA Champions.  They outlasted the Boston Celtics in a gruelling seven game series.  The Lakers and Celtics have played in the NBA Final ten times, and this victory for Los Angeles may be the sweetest of them all.

This is the first time that Los Angeles has won a Game 7 against the Celtics.  They had been defeated four times previously, and it looked like they were going to lose again until the heroics of Ron Artest and Pau Gasol.  Kobe Bryant was the Finals MVP, but Boston effectively shut him down in the final game of this historic series.

I did not watch the series, although in hindsight I should have.  I just never seem to have enough time in the day (or the evening), and to make room for basketball right now is just impossible to do.

I would love to see the hometown team, the Toronto Raptors, play for the NBA Title one day.  They are pretty far off, however, especially with the pending departure of their superstar, Chris Bosh.

As I sit at the kitchen table, alone on a quiet Saturday morning, I wonder why things are the way they are.  Why are we here on Earth and what are we supposed to do with ourselves?  I look at the events going on, specifically the World Cup, and think to myself.  I look at the global whole, the happy people, the sad people, the poor people, the rich people.  People who live in luxurious mansions, and children living in abstract poverty.

Is the world supposed to be yin and yang?  A counterbalance for everything?  I guess these are questions that could be debated endlessly.  Who knows?  Does God know (if you believe in Him)?  And to that end, if you do believe in him, why does He allow terrible things to happen?

Deep thoughts indeed, and far more questions than answers.

I think I’ll go back to reading the Sports page.

Congratulations go out to the Chicago Blackhawks, who ended their Stanley Cup drought that was 49 years in the making.  To those hockey fans in Toronto, St. Louis, or Los Angeles, your teams are now the dubious holders of the drought record (at 42 years and counting).

As a long-suffering Toronto Maple Leafs fan, I can sympathize with those fans in Chicago who had to put up with Bill Wirtz over the years.  Hell, we had to put up with Harold Ballard!  Now, the team is owned by the Teacher’s Pension Trust, who don’t really care about winning.  They care about the almighty dollar.  If the team is making money, it can go 0-82.

In so saying that, I think we finally have a general manager (Brian Burke) who wants to win.  He is an abrasive personality that pulls no punches (which is what this franchise needs).  He is also more than willing to take criticism and stand up to the powers that be.

Regardless…this is all about Chicago right now.  They built their team through smart free agent signings and saavy drafting of young players.  They let these players mature without rushing them and now they have a very good core of players that will allow them to contend for years to come.  They were built the same way that Pittsburgh was…and of course, Detroit (technically, love them or hate them, the model franchise for every other team).

On the flipside, you have to give credit to a very game Philadelphia Flyers.  It hurts to lose in the final, but you have to admire how they got there.  They squeaked into the playoffs on the very last game of the season, on an overtime goal.  They got through the first and second rounds of the playoffs, and then they found themselves down three games to none to a very strong Boston Bruins squad.

Coming back to win the series four games to three is something that had only been accomplished twice prior in the history of the NHL.  To win that series had to be nothing short of exhausting, and then they managed to extend a far more rested (and skilled) Blackhawks team to six games.  Good job Philly (even though you are one of my least favourite teams, I like to give credit where credit is due).

So, enjoy your moment in the sun Chicago fans…I’m sure there will be many more to come.

Recently, someone that I know (and no, it was not me!) was charged under Ontario’s Stunt Driving Law for travelling over 50 km an hour on a major highway.  In consultation with him, and though various discussions that I have had with others, I have found that this is one of the nastiest laws on the books today.  The legal name is Bill 203 – Safer Roads for a Safer Ontario Act.

The penalties for street racing, stunt driving and driving 50 km/h or over the speed limit are as follows:

Pre-conviction:  Immediate 7-day licence suspension and 7-day vehicle impoundment.

Upon conviction:  $2,000 to $10,000 fine, 6 demerit points, up to 6 months jail, up to 2 years licence suspension for a first conviction.

Second offence:  Driver licence suspension up to 10 years within 10 years of first conviction.

Obviously, the easiest way to avoid contravening the law is to stay less than fifty kilometers over the posted speed limit.  I don’t think anyone needs to drive that fast, though I can see how people can get carried away.  In my car, it’s very easy to drive 150 km on a highway and not really notice.  I have an old car, but it has a big engine that likes to go go go.

On the flipside, cops are generally decent people.  If you are going 120 km on a highway, and not driving like an idiot, they’ll generally leave you alone.  If you are driving funny or weaving in and out of traffic, your ass is getting lit up and pulled over.  Realistically, if you are speeding at 50 km over the posted speed limit, the cops have no choice but to pull you over.

I would like to know – out of the 10,000 charges that have been laid under this new law since September 30, 2007 (when the law was enacted), how many of these charges were dismissed and for what reasons?  The law has been challenged on a constitutional level with little success.  Those challenges arose because there are criminal ramifications to the law (up to six months in jail), but the law (being a traffic law) does not allow the person to submit a defence.

I would hope that the judge in each case looks at the person before passing a sentence.  If someone who has all sorts of previous convictions is in front of the court begging for mercy, then throw the book at them.  If someone is a first time offender who was just not paying attention and got carried away, then I would show them some leniancy.

It’s not that I have lost my desire to write, but alas, this past month I have found myself far to busy to contribute to my blog.  Perhaps that comes down to better time management skills, or re-allocation of priorities.  Inevitably, however, there is only so much time in the day and thusly, something has to be sacrificed.

I have been spending a lot of time working.  I have been working at my job (of course, because I have to pay the bills) and we have had some projects that are taking up a lot of time.  I have also been doing a lot of work at Grace’s house.  We have a laundry list of projects that we have wanted to get done, and the weather has cooperated (to an extent – many days have been very hot and this week has been particularly rainy).

By trade, I am a computer guy.  This means that I work on computer systems all day.  It is my primary hobby but also my job and how I feed myself.  Typically, computer geeks are not very handy and to that end I do not consider myself good when it comes to fixing things up.

Yet, sometimes I do surprise myself.  A lot of the stuff that I have been doing here are things that I have never considered doing before.  For example, yesterday I built (from scratch) a pantry.  I did it all in one day, as well.  I used SmartDraw to lay out the design, and then I did all the measurements by hand (because SmartDraw, being friendly to use, does not allow you to measure things out in fractions.  Everything has to be rounded to the inch.).  I went to Home Depot and gathered the wood, and then had them cut it on their saw.  Lastly, I brought it home and assembled it.

It’s the first time I have done anything like this and I was thrilled that not only did it turn out perfectly straight, but all my measurements were bang on accurate.  I also really enjoyed the challenge as it allowed my to expand my rather narrow scope of vision about what I am capable of accomplishing.

Aside from building the pantry, we have accomplished a lot of other things as well.  We added shelving to the kitchen, which was a challenge unto itself.  I was getting really frustrated because I purchased a stud sensor to try and figure out where to drill the holes for the shelf brackets, and it didn’t work well at all.  Then, we couldn’t figure out what height we should hang the shelves at…which when people start getting personal can result in some somewhat hard feelings.

However, despite those problems, we overcame the obstacles and installed two perfectly level, at the right height shelves in the kitchen.  It also helps that Grace’s sister is a fantastic painter and covered up the holes I mistakenly made while trying to install the shelf brackets.  It looks like new.

While hanging the shelves, moreso due to my frustration than anything else, we switched gears and installed an outdoor speaker system in the backyard.  The backyard has been a big project.  We have spent many many hours on it and thankfully, we are in the final stretch.

About a month ago, we built a playpen for the dog so he wouldn’t run around the backyard shitting everywhere.  This involved cutting down a blueberry tree and and removing a boatload of weeds.  From there, a lot of sweeping and sorting took place as we cleaned out a lot of junk out of the garage.  This allowed us to start installing the speaker system.

I purchased the speakers from Wal-Mart about a month ago because they were priced absurdly low.  Ten dollars each.  Having worked in the industry for seven years, I know for a fact that these speakers generally sell for at least eighty dollars each.  And – even at that price – they sell very well.  Needless to say I bought all of the ones Wal-Mart had on sale.

Initially, I was not sure as to how I would install them.  Of course, I wanted to do it properly.  I’ve never been one to take shortcuts, and this project would be no exception.  The trick was figuring out how to wire the speakers to ensure that the wires would remain in good working order for years to come.  I solved that problem by purchasing electrical conduit and installing it around the house, the fence, and the garage and running the speaker wire through it.  Thankfully, Grace has a small backyard so it did not cost a lot (though we still used close to 300′ in speaker wire!).  The only speaker that I am missing is an outdoor subwoofer, but I have yet to find one at a reasonable price.

It will be nice to have movie nights under the stars.  We have an old projector that will serve the purpose well, and we’ll hang up a bedsheet for the screen.  It’s not the best video solution, and there are much more professional ways to do it, but in the interim it will work well.

During this time, we tackled the front garden as well.  This is a half-completed project as it stands now.  In the front of the house, there are two areas where we can plant.  The top area we have planted vegetables and a couple of weeks ago, we finished it off.

We have not had a change to work on the bottom area of the garden.  It is a smaller area and will require just as much work as the top area, primarily because we have to re-level the patio stones.  Gardening is a burden for me because I do not like it, due to the fact that I have allergies plus I do not know anything about plants.  Ergo – I content myself with doing the heavy work and turning the earth.

As it stands now, Grace is busy organizing the kitchen now that she has a lot more shelf space.  I am happy to say that I am not helping out in any way – it’s her kitchen so she can put things wherever she wants.  I was just the facilitator.  Yesterday, I sat her watching Grace’s sister and daughter offer suggestions and try to assist in the organization.  Maybe its experience, but I just sat back, silent.  Too many chiefs and not enough indians.  The only person who works in the kitchen is Grace and to that end, I think it is best that we leave her alone to organize it however she so pleases.

Today, I slept in (a rarity for me) because Grace is not feeling well.  In fact – the time is 1:16 pm and she is still sound asleep.  I am going out to pickup some speakers for the kitchen so that she can play her music while she is organizing it.  I forgot to mention that I wired the kitchen at the same time that I wired the backyard, as it all plays off of the same home theatre reciever (zone one and zone two, gotta love it!).

We still have a great many things to do, but we are completing them one by one.  It’s the only way to get anything done.  I pride myself on being a highly organized and strategic person, and those skills are coming into play given the amount of stuff on our respective plates.