Show Notes: Sept. 25, 2026

 Friday is here, and I am ready for the weekend! I am ready to get out there and enjoy my rest and relaxation! Looking like weather should mostly be good for it, too. I don’t have much planned for the weekend. Looking ahead, I see the next few weekends are going to be crazy busy for me, so this is going to be my last quiet weekend for a while. I’m looking forward to it. You know I collect DVDs. Well, I’ve got a bunch of new ones that I’m looking forward to tossing in the ol’ DVD player this weekend. And, of course, go out and get my steps in. Not too much longer when I’ll have to stop getting my steps in outside and start doing it at the gym again. I do that when it starts getting too cold out. Either way, I’m looking forward to doing a whole lot of nothing this weekend. And whatever you get up to this weekend, I hope you have fun doing it.

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So back on Monday, for the texting takeover, we were talking about Halloween candy. I mentioned that I got my first box of Halloween candy for the year, and I was asking you when you start buying that Halloween candy. And in the midst of that, I got this text from Shirley. Shirly says, “I decorate inside and out for Thanksgiving. We have a lot of local and non-local producers who work hard in challenging conditions to grow the food that sustains us all. I fell the bounty is something to be indeed thankful for as well as our local producers. However, when I went looking for decorations, I can find aisles of Halloween decor and even some Christmas out however hardly anything for Thanksgiving. My question is do people decorate for Thanksgiving?” And you know what, Shirley? I kind of agree with you. As we start to make a bigger and bigger deal about Halloween, I can’t help but think we’re starting to forget about Thanksgiving. So I want to hear from you today. Do you decorate for Thanksgiving? Do you really get into it? Or are you just so worked up about Halloween that you kind of forget about it. Do you decorate for Thanksgiving? Text in and let me know!  

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And that’s it for me, I’m done for the day. Thanks for hanging out with me on this lovely Friday morning. Now. I don’t know if this is official yet. But I know the movement is afoot, so I’m going to put it out there. Happy Dolly Parton Day! 

When Dolly Parton passed away about a month ago, a movement started that September 25 should be declared Dolly Parton Day. Why September 25? Because when you right it out as numbers, it’s 9 25. You know...9 to 5, like her hit song. I had the news story earlier in the week that the State of California has declared it so, so I don’t know if that means it’ll spread around the world. But I’m optimistic that it will. So happy Dolly Parton Day, everyone! And whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: Sept. 24, 2026

Thursday is here, and the weekend draws ever closer. I am looking forward to it. I don’t have much planned for this weekend, but the two weekends after are going to be nuts, so this is going to be my last free weekend for a while. Prefect for relaxing and getting out there and enjoying this autumn weather. Man, it’s going to be gorgeous out there. It was gorgeous yesterday afternoon when I got my steps in. Had a little incident when I was getting my steps in. I’ve got a FitBit, right? And when I was starting out, the exercise plan that my trainer put me on was that I power walk for 2 minutes, and then I walk at my regular pace for minute. I constantly switch up my pace like that. And I figured out how to program my FitBit so a little alarm goes off when it’s time to switch up the pace. Well, early into my run, I accidentally paused my FitBit. So I forgot when to switch up the pace and power walked for a lot longer than I wanted to. Oh, well. I need to get a new FitBit. Mine is about 9 years old. The clock runs an hour fast. It doesn’t sync to my phone’s GPS anymore and draw the little map of where I went. So if you’re thinking about a Christmas present for me, new a FitBit would be nice.  

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So back on Monday, for hit and quiz it, the question was 17 per cent of people have done this under the influence of alcohol. And the correct answer was online shopping. You know how it is, after a couple of bottles of wine, you just start going through Amazon clicking on “buy now,” and then the Amazon guy has a surprise package for you a few days later when you’re sober. Now after we did that question, I got a text from Amanda. Amanda felt like sharing her experience. She says she doesn’t drink, so she was sober when she did this. She got goofy when she was online, and she bought a life-sized cardboard cutout of Mr. Bean. She’s had him for 15 years now, and apparently works as a great home defense system. I can see that. Set him up in front of the front door, and people will think there’s always someone home. So inspired by Amanda here, I want to hear from you, what’s the craziest thing you bought online? Maybe you were under the influence. Maybe you were just in a goofy mood. But what’s the craziest thing you bought online? For me, it would have to be my microwave smores maker. You put your graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows in it, toss it in the microwave for 30 seconds, and you get a smore. So I want to hear from you today! What’s the craziest thing you bought online? Text in and let me know!  

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And that’s it for me, I’m done for the day. Thanks for hanging out with me on this lovely Thursday morning. But before I go, I just want to take a moment to wish you all a happy National Cherries Jubilee Day! 

Ya know, I was struggling to find a clip for this one, and I just knew there would be a My Little Pony named Cherries Jubilee. One of the most famous of decadent desserts, cherries are cooking in a sweet sauce, and then mixed with a warm liqueur, usually brandy, and then set on fire! The burning cherries are then served over vanilla ice cream. History says it was invented in 1897 to mark Queen Vicotria’s diamond jubilee, and the Queen loved herself some cherries. So happy Cherries Jubilee Day, everyone! And whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: Sept. 23, 2026

 Welcome to Wednesday, and I’m just shocked at how quickly things are moving. See, I tend to send a lot of greeting cards this year. My brother, my sister, and my brother-in-law all have their birthdays in the first week of October. And when I’m buying all these greeting cards, I can’t help but go, “Oh! That’s a cute Thanksgiving card. I think I’ll send that to my parents!” and also, “Wow! That’s a funny Halloween card! I’m going to send it to my friend.” So within the next month now, I think I’m going to be sending about a dozen cards. But maybe not! I was picking up a few things after work yesterday. And with all these cards on my mind, I started going through the greeting card section. We’re already halfway through September, and they’re already pushing out the Thanksgiving and Halloween cards to make way for the Christmas cards! I couldn’t believe it! With something like this going on, I might be sending my friends early Christmas cards instead. Anyway. That’s just one place. I’m sure some other places in town still have cards for other holidays than Christmas.  

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It’s Would You Rather Wednesday on the texting takeover! I always  like to mix things up by giving you a would you rather question to ponder. Now that fall is in full swing, I was looking around for good autumn questions to ask you. And, since I’m a fat guy who likes to eat, when this one about food showed up on my list, I knew I had to go for it. Would you rather eat nothing but soup or pie for a month? Now, I know some have referred to fall as soup season, because with that chill in the air and all the fresh vegetables coming off your gardens, it’s perfect for brewing up a good bowl of soup. And because of all those fresh fruits coming off your gardens as well, it’s also a good season for fresh baked pie. I do love pumpkin pie, and again, it’s the pumpkin pie season. Ya know, I don’t think I’ve ever had a real pumpkin pie. I’ve only had pies with that canned filling from the store. But an actual pumpkin pie made of pumpkin? I’m curious to try one of those. So that’s my texting takeover on this would you rather Wednesday! Would you rather eat soup or pie for a whole month?  

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And that’s it for me, I’m done for the day. Thanks for hanging out with me on this lovely Wednesday morning. But before I go, I just want to take a moment to wish you all a happy Redhead Appreciation Day! 

I love redheads. I kind of have to, because my sister’s one, and both of my nieces got her red hair. Science tells us that red is the rarest natural hair colour in the world, with only one to two percent of the global population having it. I don’t know why redheads became a people to be discriminated against. It goes back centuries, when people with red hair were thought to be witches. And all I can say is, cut that out! Celebrate the redheads in your life! So happy Readhead Appreciation Day, everyone! And whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: Sept. 22, 2026

 Tuesday has arrived, and I am looking forward to a brand new day. I am looking forward to my new favourite time-waster. I have no idea what’s going on with social media these days. Facebook mines all your data. Twitter has become a dumpster fire. I still like Instagram, but almost no one I follow pops up anymore. But I found a new one that I’m enjoying and wasting a lot of time on. It’s actually been around for a while, but it’s just starting to pick up steam. It’s called Letterboxd, and it’s all about sharing movie reviews. You tell them what movie you’re watching and write up a little review of it. I got bored on Sunday afternoon and finally signed up for it, and I’ve just been having fun, looking for my favourite movies and ranking them. So, yeah. If you want to follow me on social media, Letterboxd is another one where you can find me. In the meantime, I’ll be sitting here, telling the world, what I thought of the last Fast and the Furious movie.  

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Happy first day of fall, everyone! Today is the autumnal equinox, the official first day of fall, when the sun crosses the equator, and day and night are exactly 12 hours long. And I know this because you have been reminding me for the past two weeks. I’ve been talking about autumn weather, the leaves starting to change, and a couple of you folks text in and are like, “Ah ah ah! It’s still technically summer! Stop talking about fall!” OK, then. Since you’ve been giving me a hard time about when fall begins, I want to hear from you today, when does fall truly begin for you? I know today is the official first day of fall. I know lots of folks consider Labour Day the unofficial end of summer, meaning it’s also the start of fall. The weatherman on the TV news said that September 1 is the start of meteorological fall. That’s the first day of fall according to the professional weather forecasters. Maybe you’re one of the folks who think the start of fall is when the coffee shops bring back the pumpkin spice latte! So I want to hear from you today. When does fall truly being for you? Text in and let me know!  

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And that’s it for me, I’m done for the day. Thanks for hanging out with me on this lovely Tuesday morning. But before I go, I just want to take a moment to wish you all a happy Hobbit Day! 

Yeah, Star Wars and Star Trek each have a few national days, so I’m surprised it took me this long to discover that The Lord of the Rings has a day. For those who have read The Lord of the Rings and its prequel, the Hobbit, then you know that today is the birthday of Bilbo Baggins, the main character in the Hobbit, and his nephew Frodo Baggins, who’s the main character in the Lord of the Rings. So Lord of the Rings fans the world over celebrate this day! I don’t know what I’ll do to celebrate. Maybe I’ll finally watch the second season of that Lord of the Rings show on Amazon. I kinda tapped out after season 1. But anyway, Happy Hobbit Day! And whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: Sept. 21, 2026

 Monday is here! I hope you're ready for this brand new week. I know I am. I know I was telling you about this for a lot of last week. My car was due for an oil change. It still throws off with my car. Because you know, cars these days have a gauge that lets you know when it's time to change your oil. But, I've always been taught you change your oil every 5000 km. I hit 5000 km, but my gauge was still telling me that things were good. I decided to go get it done and stop worrying about it. And when I did that, it was time for a new pine tree air freshener! I do that whenever I get an oil change. I did not go with the pine tree air freshener this time. 7-11 had these Slurpee air fresheners, so I went with one of those instead. The pack says it's blue raspberry scented, but it actually smells more like grape popsicles and cotton candy. So I'm cruising around now in a candy-scented car. I am ready for whatever this new week might bring! 

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This is one of the surest signs of fall. No doubt you've noticed it. Halloween stuff is starting to show up on store shelves! Last week, I just had to go to Canadian Tire after work and check out the Halloween decorations. If I had a house, I would definitely be one of those guys with 10 foot skeletons out front at this time of year. And when I was picking up a few groceries last week, I couldn't help myself. I bought my first box of Halloween candy! I love peanut butter cups, right? And I saw the special Halloween shaped peanut butter cups. You know, they're shaped like ghosts and pumpkins and bats. I've got a candy dish on my desk, so that's what my dish is full of now, and they'll probably be gone by lunchtime. So, I want to hear from you today. When do you start buying Halloween candy? I mean, I've seen not Halloween candy specifically, but those mini-chocolate bars go on sale in August. The reasoning is it's for back to school, and you slip them in your lunches. And the problem is if you buy the Halloween candy too early, you'll snack on it too much, and you'll probably be buying three or four boxes between now and Halloween. So I want to hear from you today! When do you start buying Halloween candy? Text in and let me know!  

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And that's it for me, I'm done for the day. Thanks for hanging out with me on this lovely Monday morning. But before I go, I just want to take a moment to wish you all a happy National Chai Day! 

As we learned from Spider-Man, Chai is tea, so we should stop saying Chai tea. All I know it is very tasty, and as a guy who enjoys a cup of tea instead of coffee, it is a great way to get you going in the morning. Of course, one of those popular ways to have chai out here in the west is the chai latte, which is available at most of your favourite coffee shops. And in fact, National Chai Day was invented to plug the Chai latte. So happy National Chai day, everyone! And whatever day you're celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: Sept. 18, 2026

 Welcome to Friday! The weekend is here. I am ready for it. Looks like we're going to have good weather for it. I know I was corrected earlier in the week that this is still technically summer. Tuesday is the official first day of fall, so I guess that means this is the official last weekend of summer. Although, it sure does feel like fall for one important reason. Yesterday, I let the intrusive thoughts win. Yesterday, I got my first bag of Halloween candy. Oh, you've seen it starting to pop up on store shelves! I love peanut butter cups, and when I saw that the special Halloween peanut butter cups are out, I had to get a bag. You know the special Halloween peanut butter cups, right? They're in shapes like pumpkins and ghosts and bats. Anyway. I've got a candy dish on my desk in my office, so the candy dish is now full. And it'll probably be empty by the end of the day. I can't help it! I love peanut butter cups, and Halloween shapes make them taste better.  

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So one of my top vices is cookies. I love cookies far too much. I get a whole bag of chocolate chip cookies at the store, and they're gone in a couple hours. I really need to pace myself. Especially with Oreos. Because I love trying new things, and there's a like a new novelty flavour of Oreos every few months now. I was picking up groceries, and I saw the new Oreos are called the Stuff of Doom. See, Dr. Doom is one of the most famous villains in Marvel. He'll be the villain in the new Avengers movie coming out this Christmas. And he's got in his own Oreos now! They're smores flavoured, so they're like chocolate and marshmallow and graham cracker, and they're really good. But that got me to thinking. With all the different kinds of cookies out there, what cookie best describes you? What is your signature cookie? I mean, I've already said I go to town on those chocolate chip cookies. But I also said earlier that I like peanut butter cups, so there's nothing like a good, fresh-baked peanut butter cookie. But I want to hear from you. What cookie best describes you? Text in and let me know!  

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And that's it for me, I'm done for the day. Thanks for hanging out with me on this lovely Friday morning. But before I go, I just want to take a moment to wish you all a happy National Cheeseburger Day! 

I know what you're thinking. "Mark, wasn't it cheeseburger day just a couple days ago?" Not really. A couple days ago it was double cheeseburger day. Today is just regular cheeseburger day. You've got to love the simplicity of the cheeseburger, right? Beef, cheese, bun. Everything else is extra. I've got to check the apps on my phone now. Usually, to celebrate this day, a lot of the fast food places offer up deals on cheeseburgers. So happy National Cheeseburger Day! And whatever day you're celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: Sept. 17, 2026

 Thursday's here! Must be Thursday, could never get the hang of Thursdays. I know I've been mildly freaking out all week. You know I love movies and I collect DVDs. Well, back on Tuesday, a super, limited-edition DVD I've been after was released. I pre-ordered it way back in June. But see, ever since then, the website I ordered it from changed names and I couldn't log in to check on my order. So back on Tuesday, when it was released, I had no idea if it had shipped or not. So I sent an email to customer service. Yesterday morning, they got back to me. With their rebranding, they upgraded their computers. And in the upgrade, my order was lost in the system. They told me it could be weeks before they get through the backlog. Their recommendation? I should cancel my old order and place a new one. So that's what I did. And now, I'm pacing nervously, waiting for super special edition DVD. My usual wish: I hope it arrives tomorrow so I can watch it on the weekend.  

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There's this one thing I keep reading online. It's that, when you're an adult, there's nothing stopping you from going to the store and buying yourself a cake. It doesn't even have to be anyone's birthday! You had a bad day? Cake. You had a good day? Cake! You can have cake whenever you want! And it turns out people love cake. A new study says that 20 per cent of people list cake at being one of their simple pleasures. But it wasn't the number one simple pleasure. The top five simple pleasures are: listening to your favourite song, having a nice dinner, watching your favourite movie, finishing a really good book, and exercising. And I'm totally on board with those! You know me, I'm always talking about food and movies, so those are definitely two of my simple pleasures. But I want to hear from you today. What are your simple pleasures? Is it something that's not in the top five? 20 per cent of people said cake...maybe you're more of an ice cream person. I don't know! So text in and tell me: what is your simple pleasure?  

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And that's it for me, I'm done for the day. Thanks for hanging out with me on this lovely Thursday morning. But before I go, I know what day I'm celebrating today. Happy International Country Music Day!

 

Yeah, of all the songs about country music, that's the first one I thought of. International Country Music Day was established in 2003, and they chose September 17 because today is Hank Williams' birthday, and he can be considered one of the first country music superstars. So what better way to celebrate the day by cranking up some Hank Williams? Or your favourite country music artist? Just let them play so we can celebrate this International Country Music Day. And whatever day you're celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.