Call it retroactive boredom. One day — I don’t remember when — a couple years back I was bored. Does that set the stage? I must have been typing odd conversions into Google, calculating the number of hours in a year, or the number of minutes in a decade. It was that type of bored. At one point, if I can pull the dusty file from my memory and recall exactly, I mentally notched out my age in years to a couple decimal points and asked Google to convert it to seconds — and surprise, it was a few millions short of a billion. Again if I recall correctly, I did the reverse: how many years are a billion seconds? And matching that to a corresponding date on the calendar in relation to my date of birth — accounting for leap years — and I came up with sometime in the afternoon of August 3, 2008, local time. I recorded in the calendar, and all week my notification has been blinking with the upcoming event: “One Billion Seconds” So, be nice to an old guy. I’m in my billions now. Yes, the big one-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh. What, No Party? In lieu of a party I’ve decided to host a little celebration contest right here, right now. We’re going to play a little game of FACT-OR-FICTION and the winner will receive, via email, a $10 (Canadian) gift certificate to Amazon.ca! Rule 1: I gotta know you or have met you at least once, face to face. The One Billion Second Challenge Your task if you choose to accept it…? One of the following ten statements is TRUE. The other nine are FALSE, FLAWED, or otherwise MISLEADING. Figure it out. Tell me which one is TRUE. Statement 1: For a short while in University I ran a website in my spare time that reviewed movies where bugs were an essential element of the plot. Statement 2: I was once interviewed on CBC’s Marketplace about copying CDs and music piracy because I had written about it in my blog. Statement 3: When I packed up and moved out to Vancouver, my first purchase upon arriving in that city was a brand new spatula. Statement 4: In December 2006 I camped outside a Best Buy in my car to buy a Nintendo Wii, but they were sold out before I got one, and I still don’t own one. Statement 5: A couple summers ago I burnt my right forearm on a hot lawnmower motor while mowing the lawn and had to see a doctor. Statement 6: While living in Vancouver, over the course of one tedious November, I wrote a NaNoWriMo fifty-thousand word novel about a pirate named Red who stole the colour red. Statement 7: In early 2003 someone broke into our Burnaby apartment while we were out shopping and among the stolen items was my first MP3 player. Statement 8: I placed second in the Provincial Science Fair in Grade 9 and was asked to give a speech at our school assembly. Statement 9: I stopped donating blood because my iron levels have dropped too low since switching jobs, likely due to the amount of sitting. Statement 10: “It’s a Wonderful Life” is one of my favorite movies and I’ve seen every Jimmy Stewart movie ever made. Now guess, and we’ll see you in another BILLION! (Or sooner.) Good luck! |
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And the Winner is… >> Well, as promised, the big announcement you've all been waiting for! Not only were there multiple people who got it right, but there were exactly THREE people who guessed correctly that the only completely true statement was Statement #3 -- and guessed
slow food >> I don't know what disturbs me more: that McDonalds sold twenty-two billion dollars worth of hamburgers last year in the US. Or that Americans ate a little over a trillion dollars worth of fast food last year. Stats. Click
sixty-three and some >> jess freaks out in last minute panic: You're also freaking me out. My notebook is still pretty empty. Plot really isn't an essential element, is it? Is it??? brad leans back in his chair and types with casual ease: I could be
analysis equals what >> While my brother runs through Melbourne eating kanagroos, I'm here working, plotting training materials about the obvious. I received my analysis today. It seems that at some point in my busy working life I signed up for a leadership programme wherein I
August 3rd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Statment 7.
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:35 pm
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Deb
August 3rd, 2008 at 6:23 pm
August 3rd, 2008 at 8:29 pm
August 3rd, 2008 at 8:35 pm
It is so good ah!
(Statement 3)
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:03 pm
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Jeff thinks it is number 2.
Erin says number 3.
Emily says number 7 since we were there shortly after, but it might have been the digital camera.
Jack says number 6…he likes pirates.
Carson thinks it is number 5.
We all like Havarti. Is good at a party!
August 4th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Old cheddar- because nothing quite tastes better. :-D
Still #3
August 4th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
August 4th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Cheddar - It almost works on everything
August 4th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I’m guessing #3
August 5th, 2008 at 8:55 am
August 6th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
[...] multiple people who got it right, but there were exactly THREE people who guess correctly that the only completely true statement was Statement #3 — and guessed that prior to the FIRST DAY MIDNIGHT DEADLINE. (Sorry, Chris. So close but no [...]
August 7th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
August 8th, 2008 at 8:37 am
August 8th, 2008 at 8:40 am
August 10th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
August 11th, 2008 at 11:17 am