So unfortunately, the popcorn maker which I purchased back in April of last year has seen better days. It doesn’t owe us anything of course, but the ‘bowl’ part was dropped, and cracked.. and well, now it’s just not worth using anymore as I don’t know how appetizing it is to eat out of a duct taped bowl.

So, we were in the market to find a replacement…. sort of. Truthfully, it wasn’t on the top of our shopping list, but it is something that I enjoy on a regular basis – so we were on the lookout for a good deal. Whilst shopping to buy step stools for the kitchen at Walmart – we came across the Nostalgia Electrics KPM-508 Vintage Collection Kettle Popcorn Maker. This, is crap. I’ve no idea who’s writing these reviews online, but I guarantee they’re being paid to do it. During the first attempt at getting this thing home and making popcorn, it got stuck spinning the kernels around 3 times. This isn’t good.. nor is it safe in my opinion as they kernels have to keep spinning around or they’ll burn! Anyhow, after two attempts, we took it back.

We then headed up to Bed, Bath and Beyond to see what they had in store. I had a 20% off coupon which you get every so often in the mail, so we were prepared to buy something if it really jumped out at us. This is where we came across the Nostalgia Electrics™ Vintage Collection™ 48" Popcorn Cart. Now this wasn’t exactly a cheap investment – we paid over $200 for this sucker, but I figured it would be well worth the investment if we owned it for years and it worked well – I do enjoy my popcorn. Yes, I know it’s a lot of money.. but every so often you have to splurge on yourself a bit.. don’t you??

Anyhow, took this home, and I never realized until now they were made by the same manufacturer.. but I guess you know what happened.. the same fricking thing! And this was after spending 40 minutes or so putting it together! Yes.. I was pissed.. how could something that cost over $200 not work properly from the get go? It stuck 4 or 5 times while trying to spin the kernels around, I did not overload the machine, I did a basic one scoop of popcorn per the instructions. Now that I think about it, that’s another thing.. this thing had WAYYY too many unpopped kernels.. there’s a little tray for them below where teh popcorn comes out and it was catching, I would say at least 1/4 of the kernels which were coming out unpopped..

Unacceptable.. it went back.

This time however, I decided to revert to the older style popcorn maker, but with a trusted brand name. We opted to go with the Cuisinart® EasyPop™ Popcorn Maker – Red. It was also not a cheap purchase as far as popcorn machines go.. but at this point, I was willing to see how it did.

I can tell you that I am very happy with the purchase thus far. Hardly any unpopped kernels.. the heating element and spinning arm did not get stuck, and the whole thing is pretty much dishwasher safe! This is huge for me as the other one I had got pretty gross after awhile and cleaning it by hand was a pain.

Anyhow I wanted to share my experience in case anyone else out there was thinking about buying the crap Nostalgia Electrics ones… stay away in my opinion.

Lesson 1 :

A priest offered a Nun a lift in the parish truck.
She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a little leg.
The priest nearly had an accident.
After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg…
The nun said, ‘Father, remember Psalm 129?’
The priest removed his hand. But, when changing gears, he let his hand slide
up her leg again. The nun once again said, ‘Father, remember Psalm 129?’
The priest apologized ‘Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.’
Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.
On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It
said, ‘Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.’

Moral of the story:
If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great
opportunity.

Lesson 2 :

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch
when they find an antique oil lamp.
They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, ‘I’ll give each of you
just one wish.’
‘Me first! Me first!’ says the admin clerk.. ‘I want to be in the Bahamas ,
driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.’ Poof! She’s gone.
‘Me next! Me next!’ says the sales rep. ‘I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing
on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas,
and the love of my life.’ Poof! He’s gone.
‘OK, you’re up,’ the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, ‘I want
those two back in the office after lunch.’

Moral of the story:
Always let your boss have the first say.

Lesson 3

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.
A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, ‘Can I also sit like you and do
nothing?’ The eagle answered: ‘Sure, why not.’
So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a
sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story:
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson 4

A turkey was chatting with a bull. ‘I would love to be able to get to the
top of that tree’ sighed the turkey, ‘but I haven’t got the energy.’
‘Well, why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings?’ replied the bull. It’s
full of nutrients.’
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough
strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree..
The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch..
Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of
the tree.
He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Moral of the story:
Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there…

Lesson 5

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze
and fell to the ground into a large field.
While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.
As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize
how warm he was.
The dung was actually thawing him out!
He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing
cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.
Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung,
and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Moral of the story:
(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
(3) And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep your mouth shut!

There’s an old phrase that “it takes years to win a customer and only seconds to lose one”…well, in my case, it took two hours for Canadian Tire to lose me as a customer.

I will admit that before I tell you my brief story, that I normally try to buy from Canadian companies…unless the deal is so much more obvious at a larger chain that it cannot be avoided. I think Canadian Tire offers a unique supply of hockey equipment, tools (whether it be vintage hardware or the latest and greatest power machinery), automobile parts, and so much more. I chose to purchase a set of two winter tires for the holiday season, and in this case Canadian Tire had both the supply and competitive prices.

Long story short, an appointment was needed when I swung by which was five hours later at 2:30 PM. The keen guy that I am, I arrived early at 2:20 PM and dropped my keys off. I asked the burly cashier for a timeline, and he suggested it would take between 45 – 60 minutes, so come back at 3:30 PM.

Fast forward to 3:30 PM, and when I walked in I was stoked to see my car in the outside parking lot…however that feeling quickly diminished when I saw it was where I left it. That’s right…the car was unmoved.

Now the one thing we can never get back is time, so now I’m pissed…and of course now every waiting minute seems like it takes five minutes. I asked the cashier in a “Seinfeld-esque” manner why they bother make appointments, and he quipped in an unapologetic manner that “my car is next”.

Here’s where it gets interesting…my car does get on the hoist at 4:05 PM…and 15 minutes later I am checking out and receiving $1 in Canadian Tire money. That’s right, it only took 15 minutes, not 45 – 60. Driving home I felt bad that I overreacted and really the extra hour was not the end of the world…until I get home to find one of my hubcaps flew off on the drive home.

Stay clear of Canadian Tire, the quick service resulted in me purchasing a replacement hubcap that cost me about as much as one of the tires. For more sad stories, visit www.canadiantiresucks.net.

What to do if:

1) You are pushing a cart down a narrow aisle and then run into another person or person with a cart.

Keeping in mind eye-contact is optional, steer cart near one side (normally the right).  A polite and sincere "sorry about that" is encouraged (although you both know this is strictly coincidental contact), to which a response from the other party is not only encouraged…it is mandatory.  A lack of response shows you are dim-witted and lack personal hygiene.

2) You are the victim of a cart on cart crash at any time.

Generally speaking, this happens when both cart pushers are distracted with bargain scanning and/or misuse of a personal handheld device.  Before you break out the wrestling headgear, a verbal "oops, sorry about that, are you ok?" is a better icebreaker for the situation.  Try to refrain from cooing "watch it jackwagon".  This type of hostility will only continue to escalate when you continue your venture through the supermarket and heaven forbid, in the same checkout line (see number 4).

3)  You know you will require a cart when walking in, and pass an empty one in the parking lot.

This happens more often than not, and as we all know, karma is very powerful.  Basically it comes down to this equation:  less carts in parking lot = less dents on your car.  Depending on where you shop…this could also lead to an extra quarter in your pocket when returned to the corral.

4)  You are in the line up waiting to check out.

Please leave at least 22 inches from where the front of your cart is, and the backside of the person who is pushing the cart behind you.  Any closer can result in uncomfortable rubbing and as I have recently witnessed, a plethora of checkout merchandise thrown at each other.

Together we can make a shopping experience with a cart an enjoyable one…please do your part and remember your cart etiquette.

But then I got to thinking – I remember one of these ‘photo bombs’ of Maya from way back when! So I’ll start off with that one!! Ha ha ha.. enjoy!

Image: PhotoBasement

Whether it’s by leaping into the foreground or by doing something unspeakable in the background, it’s not at all difficult to leave a lasting impression in a photo. There was a time when we didn’t have a word for these random interlopers, but now that we do we can properly appreciate the fine art of photobombing. Another interesting feature of the phenomenon is that nearly all of our favorite bombs feature animals (for shame Michael Cera) effortlessly finding (or pushing) themselves center stage – or doing something deeply, deeply inappropriate. Here are 10 of the best!

10. Kittie Bomb

Image: CaveManCircus

This picture encapsulates everything there is to know about cats: cute yet unknowable, dangerously playful yet tired – and deeply scornful of whatever mischief you’re getting up to. They will also always, always want your attention.

9. Leaping Dog Bomb

Image: MobileReadWiki

Getting in the way of the camera will become a theme here. While cats might peek around picture frames, this pooch qualifies in abundance for the sheer gusto he has displayed in flinging himself in front of the lens. That’s dogs for you.

8. Crazy Horse Bomb

Image: TheBerry

Great – kid ruins picture with unstoppable gurning. Or, in this case, horse does same. In fact, this champing beast is probably just nervous – although whether that’s related to his being photographed we can’t know.

7. Yodel Bomb

Image: ThisIsPhotobomb

This cow seems to be rearing its head in anguish, having spotted the gent whip out his Alphorn (that’s an Alpine horn to you or I). We can only assume that this wasn’t quite the tableau of Alpine tranquility that the photographer was hoping for. As someone (persistently) said a long, long time ago: “Nooooooooooo!”

7. Goat Bomb

Image: ThisIsPhotobomb

Almost as bothersome as over familiar kitties: the goat. However, this furry friend doesn’t want to nuzzle up to you and gently claw at your arms; he wants to eat whatever you have, including your shoes. And if you can’t handle that, these Eastern European policemen just sitting at a health care job site are not going to lift a finger to help you. They’ve got better things to worry about.

6. Jealous Chihuahua Bomb

Image: ThisIsPhotobomb

You told your little snootchi-bootkins that you would hold him tight and never let him go. Of course, you then had a real child and the Chihuahua seemed just a little bit more like a skinny rat, skittering around the house and attempting to get between you and your baby – who is not at all amused by any of this. There’s more than a photobomb here: there’s a whole narrative about the battle between infant and dog.

5. Surprised Cat Bomb

Image: ListOfTheDay

Typical. You’re taking a picture of cats humping and another one jumps in front of you, baring its fangs and mewling. While being distinctly untypical of most documented feline hijinx, this picture actually manages to tick three themes of photo bombing: firstly, cats; secondly, animals making love in the background; and thirdly, animals leaping into the foreground. This moggy seems to scream: “It cannot be unseen!” Hello, kitty.

4. Leaping Fish Bomb

Image: Unstructured

Taking a leaf out of the book of 3D cinema, this fish has decided to take to the offensive by leaping out at the camera in a gently alarming, but, in all probability, completely ineffectual way. For animal lovers the fish seems not to be hooked yet – but it’s certainly surprised this fisherman.

3. Enthusiastic Dog Bomb

Image: Photobucket

The hunter’s motto: “Shoot it, kill it, eat it.” Oh, we forgot, there’s also “‘make love’ to it” in there. Fortunately, this man’s dog was more on the ball, and, ticking the photobomb box of “doing something awful”, has mounted the deer to engage in some interspecies necrophilia. Nasty stuff – but worse than shooting an animal for sport? The jury’s out.

2. Sarcastic Whale Bomb

Image: TheChive

When you’re giving a speech at SeaWorld there’s nothing worse than having a sarcastic whale behind you, mouthing along, imitating you and generally making fun of your presentation. Is the killer whale announcing, “So long and thanks for all the fish”? Or is it maybe voicing a plea for help: “Free whale-y. Let me go.”

1. Squirrel Bomb

Image: 1Funny

This ground squirrel is perhaps the emperor of photobombing. Darting between the camera and its intended subjects is a tried and tested method of bombing, but this little rodent has managed to pop up square in the center of the image, switching the auto focus from the couple in the background onto itself. It’s an image that almost looks too good to be true and, unlike the domestic tribulations of under-attended cats, it’s a startlingly unlikely event to have been recorded. That’s perhaps why this surprised little fella looks quite so adorable.

He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out..

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour.This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious I pinned a note to his collar: ‘I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.’

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: ‘He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3-he’s trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?’

There’s pictures of both of them looking pretty darn happy…

Will you.....

Obviously shocked (way to go Comrie!)

Happy Hilary.. HUGE ROCK! (Cost nearly $1 million)

30 seconds later, she must have dropped her ring..

Paparazzi are everywhere...

I think if Comrie ever comes to PEI, I better get some better life insurance.