Show Notes: October 16, 2026

 Friday's here! I don't know about you, but I am ready for the weekend! You know, MJ's been on vacation all week. And that means I have to do his office stuff around here, which has made for some long days for me But I am ready to get out there and relax! Didn't get up to too much yesterday afternoon. Well...yeah, I'll say it. I went out and voted yesterday afternoon. I was going to go and vote on Monday, but I figured I'd go to the advance polls yesterday afternoon and get it done with. I know it's been all over the news about long lines at the advance polling stations, so I decided to time it. As soon as I got in line, I started the stopwatch on my smartphone. From when I got in line to when I left the polling station, it was 25 minutes. So not too bad. If you want to vote in the advance polls, the advance polls are still open today and tomorrow. And then the big official day is Monday. Hopefully, you've gotten you voter information card in the mail so you know where to vote. If not, go to elections.ab.ca and they can tell you there.  

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Anybody else on Threads? I love Threads. In case you don't know, Threads was Facebook's big attempt to take on Twitter. It's just like Twitter, but it's owned by Facebook. I love messing around on Threads. My handle over there is @chaosinabox, in case you want to follow me. Anyway. I saw this one question the other day that a user put out there: "A billionaire offers you $500,000 a year to become the world's leading expert on something completely ridiculous. You must give lectures, attend conferences, and defend your expertise. What's your specialty?" Here's what I said. A former boss of mine once tried to embarrass me in a staff meeting by saying my specialty in the company was Hanna-Barbera cartoons. You know, the Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, all that. I tell you, I brought that staff meeting to halt because I started grilling him on what specific Hanna-Barbera cartoon he wanted information on. So I guess that would be mine. How about you? A billionaire offers you a salary of half a million dollars a year to become the world's leading expert on something ridiculous. What subject are you picking? 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 Global Cat Day! 

Of course cats get their own day. Who doesn't love cats? They're just so warm and cuddly. I have set up my TikTok feed to be, like, 90 per cent cat videos. In fact, when I went home for Thanksgiving, everyone was saying I need a pet of some kind. Some days, though, I wonder if I'm good enough for a cat. You know, I work such odd hours, and the last thing I want to do is leave them home alone for most of the day. And then I'd always be worried about them when I'm out and about.... But anyways. Enough about me. Happy Global Cat Day, everyone! Give your cat some extra treats this weekend. And whatever day you're celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: October 15, 2026

 Thursday's here! But it's just not Thursday, it's October 15! We're about halfway through October, which means halfway to Halloween. And you know what? I'm kind of mad at myself. I haven't put up my Halloween tree yet! Yeah, I've got an old little 4 foot Christmas tree. A few years ago, I saw that Halloween decorations were on sale. So at the start of October, I put my tree, put all kinds of Halloween decorations on it, and it's a Halloween tree! Usually, I put up around October 1, but I decided to take some time off and I never did. And I've been busy this week with MJ being on vacation. When MJ goes on vacation, I've got to do all his office stuff around here. But I think that's about to change. Yesterday afternoon, I came back in, and I dropped off all the stuff. The tree and the box of decorations are immediately on my left. Normally I put it up in my office, but I got permission to put it up here in the studio this year. So I hope to get that up before the end of the week! Bring on Halloween!  

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I was talking about this a bit back on Tuesday. Had Thanksgiving at my sister's back over the weekend. After dinner, my sister broke out the games. She brought out this one game called Chronology. It's a history game. You start off with one historical event. The other players then read you historical events off their cards, and you have to guess whether it came before or after your event. If you're right, you get that card. Then you start building a timeline, and you have to guess where the events fall on your timeline. First one to get 10 cards win. Now, my sister and my mother started hyping me up quite a bit to all the other players. I'm pretty good at trivia games. I mean, no one plays Trivial Pursuit with me anymore because I was so unbeatable. The only bar I've ever been banned from is the Legion up in Athabasca because I would sweep their trivia nights. I wasn't so sure about this Chronology, though, because history isn't my strong suit. But, lo and behold, I went on to win. So because of my utter dominance in trivia games, I want to hear from you today, what's the game you absolutely dominate? What is that one game where you take no prisoners? Are you trivia master? Are you the grand chess master in your house? Can you win at Monopoly without robbing the bank? What's the game where you absolutely dominated? 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 Thursday morning. But before I go, I just want to take a moment to wish you all happy National I Love Lucy Day! 

The legendary, groundbreaking sitcom premiered on this day in 1951, and television was forever changed. I mean, I Love Lucy developed techniques for making television comedies that are still in use to this very day. And let's not forget Lucille Ball's contribution to a famous sci-fi franchise. To make I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball started one of the TV's first television production companies, Desilu, and 15 years later, Desilu produced a little sci-fi show called Star Trek. But I digress. Happy National I Love Lucy Day, everyone! And whatever day you're celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: October 14, 2026

 Wednesday has arrived, and I love these short work weeks. The weekend is already one day closer! Have you checked your Lotto Max tickets yet? I haven't checked mine. I couldn't help but pick up a ticket. I mean, a new record of $85 million? That would definitely go a long way towards paying off some bills. I know I probably didn't win. Before I decided I wanted to do this for a living, I went to college and got a math degree, right? And the first thing they make you do in any statistics class is calculate the odds of winning. Do that enough times, and that will scare you off. But still, you've eventually got to ask, "Why not?" I even decided to mess around with AI a little bit. I used ChatGPT to budget my dream vacation. Only $20,000. So I can have my dream vacation and still have a little bit leftover. Maybe I'll check my tickets after work. Or maybe I'll leave it a few days and continue dreaming. In the meantime.... 

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It’s Would You Rather Wednesday on the Texting Takeover! I like giving you a would You Rather Question to mix things up a bit. I will admit, I do spend my free time at work googling them and compiling lists. I saw this one, and I was like, “Ooo! Perfect!” Would you rather have a personal chef or instantly be a gourmet chef? Now that’s the thing, right? Instantly become a gourmet chef. You don’t have to spend the two years at NAIT getting your red seal. You get a genie and three wishes. You say, “I wish to be a gourmet chef!” Pow! You’re a chef now. Part of me would like that, because I get tired of the six or so things I know how to make, and that would really help me mix things up a bit. But...you’d still have to do all the work. By hiring a professional chef, you can just pass of the work to someone else. And isn’t that the dream? Isn’t that why we’re getting so excited about AI these days? It’s the ability to pass the work off to someone else. So I almost think I’d prefer to hire a professional chef. So how about you? Would you rather hire a professional chef, or instantly become a gourmet chef? 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 Wednesday morning. But before I go, I just want to take a moment to wish you all a happy National Dessert Day! 

Desserts! The best part of the meal! Cake, pie, Jell-o, pudding...it’s all good! After a long hard day, you’ve earned that sweet treat. And this is one of the best times of the year for sweet treats. All that wonderful, tasty, Halloween candy out there! And there’s probably some leftover pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving...just so much goodness. So have dessert first today! You’ve earned it, on this, National Dessert Day. And whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: October 13, 2026

 And we’re back! Hopefully you’ve survived your Thanksgiving, you’ve slept off the turkey hangover, and you’ve got a fridge full of leftovers. I had a pretty good Thanksgiving. My sister was hosting down in Innisfail this year, so we all went down to my sister’s place. It was nice catching up with her and her family. And then, they broke out the games. They had this one game called Chronology. How it works is the other players will tell you a historical event, and you have to guess what year it took place. Once you’ve made 10 successful guesses and have arranged them into a neat timeline, you’re the winner. Now when we started this, my sister and my mother were hyping me up quite a bit to everyone else was that I am a trivia master. I’ve talked about this before. No one plays Trivial Pursuit with me anymore because I am so unbeatable. So my sister and mother were all like, “Oh! This is a trivia game! Mark’s gonna win! Mark’s going to be really tough to beat!” I wasn’t so sure, because history is not one of my strong suits. But to everyone’s amazement, I won. Even I was amazed. So I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you came out on top in whatever it is you played!  

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Well, we’re all back from the Thanksgiving weekend, and now, that Thanksgiving spirit is going to be with you all week long because, no doubt, you have a fridge full of Thanksgiving leftovers! You know, I’m fond of quoting Uncle Jed from the Beverley Hillbillies: that’s the good thing about leftovers: there just as good the second time around! So let’s talk Thanksgiving leftovers today. What’s your favourite leftover? Of course, the big one is the turkey. No doubt you’ve got a plate of leftover turkey. Are you doing turkey sandwiches? Turkey soup? Maybe you’re really creative and you’re baking a turkey pot pie! Or maybe you’re like Ross on that episode of Friends with his perfect Thanksgiving leftover sandwich. So I want to hear from you today! What’s your favourite Thanksgiving leftover? 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 International Day of Failure. 

Of course I had to find the Simpsons clip and go for the joke, but I got to thinking about it. You know, we all face setbacks in our life. No matter how hard we work, sometimes, we just don’t get there. I was telling you about this a few months ago. I tried out for the community theatre here in town. Didn’t get a part this year. And I was a little disappointed. But am I going to let that stop me from trying out again next year? Heck no. We learn from the experience, and we do it again. That’s what the International Day of Failure is all about. Accepting that a failure is something to learn from and give it another go. That’s why I’m changing my mind. The better clip is this one from Rocky.  So happy International Day for Failure, everyone! And whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: October 9, 2026

 It’s here, everybody! Friday has arrived, and we’re kicking off the Thanksgiving weekend. I am so ready for it. Bring on that turkey dinner. Me? I love the stuffing. Perhaps one of the best worst things I ever discovered is how easy it is to make Stove Top stuffing. I’ll have it anytime of the year now when I’m sick of rice and potatoes. But I know I’ve talked about this quite a bit over the past few weeks, about how I feel that Halloween has gotten so big that it overshadows Thanksgiving. I think I mentioned that I broke out my pumpkin earlier this week. I don’t carve a pumpkin anymore. I got one of those plastic ones from Canadian Tire a few years ago. The kind with a nightlight bulb in it. But I got fancy and got the lightbulb that flickers like a candle. So I am ready for Thanksgiving, Halloween, and whatever adventures October has in store! So let’s get moving, shall we?  

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Well, the big weekend is here! Thanksgiving has arrived! I know, you’re probably taking off this weekend to have Thanksgiving dinner with the family. And because you might be heading off to Thanksgiving dinner, I need to ask...what are you bringing to Thanksgiving dinner? That’s one of those things where I never really thought about it. I went to the bank the other day to get some laundry money, and you know, when you’re making chitchat with bank teller. She told me she’s just having a friendsgiving around town, and everyone’s bringing something, and she’s making the pie. And that’s when it donned on me...I have never brought anything to Thanksgiving dinner. No one’s ever asked me to, and I’ve never offered. I don’t cook so I don’t have any signature dishes that I can bring. In the past, when I’ve been asked to bring something, I just get a bucket of KFC. So this is part of the Thanksgiving experience I’ve never been privy to. What are you bringing to Thanksgiving dinner? 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, this is my last chance to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving!  

This is one of those weird rabbit holes I fell down a few years ago. When it comes to Thanksgiving, we all know the American story, right? The pilgrims had the feast with the native Americans for surviving their first year in the new world. But that’s not the Canadian story. The Canadian story begins in 1579, when Martin Frobisher’s fleet returned to Newfoundland after a failed attempt at finding the Northwest Passage. They gave thanks for surviving the attempt. That’s the first thing that vaguely resembles Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving feasts were then held sporadically over the years. When the British Loyalists fled to Canada during the American Revolution, they brought alot of the American customs with them, which is why we have the Turkey dinner and all that. Canada became a country in 1867, with Thanksgiving being proclaimed a holiday in 1879. When it first became a holiday, the prime minister would proclaim when Thanksgiving is and what we were giving thanks for every year. As I mentioned in Hit and Quiz It, from 1921 – 1931, Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day were combined into one holiday, it was in November, and the reason for giving thanks was to thank the troops. Finally in 1957, Thanksgiving was standardized as the second Monday in October, and the reason for giving thanks was the abundant harvest. So there you go! The history of Thanksgiving. So Happy Thanksgiving, and whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Mark Tastes Firehouse Subs' Thanksgiving Turkey Sub

 Time for what I lovingly call the lonely guy's Thanksgiving dinner: a turkey sandwich from your favourite sandwich shop. And with a Firehouse Subs now in town, I see they've got a special Thanksgiving sub, complete with a gravy dip!

It's Firehouse Subs' Thanksgiving Turkey Sub, today on Mark Tastes Random Things!

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Show Notes: October 7, 2026

Wednesday’s here. I need to confess. I finally did something I’ve been threatening to do for a long time. A remember a few months ago, for the texting takeover, we were talking about foods you occasionally get a weird craving for. And for me? It’s those pizza subs you get at the gas station. What can I say? I occasionally get nostalgic for them. As a kid growing up, I lived in an era where I could walk home from school for lunch. And Mom would occasionally have one of those for me on the days she didn’t feel like cooking. Anyway, we were talking about those, and some of you mentioned that you can get them in a six pack down at the grocery store. I know! I’ve seen them. So what did I finally do? Well, I pack a lunch to work everyday, right? So when I was getting my groceries on Sunday, I bought one of those six packs, and I’ve been having one for lunch everyday this week. I feel kind of guilty, because I know my dietician will have words for me, but hey. October is crazy with Thanksgiving and Halloween. All kinds of goodies to throw off your diet. As long as I don’t make it a regular thing, I’m sure we’ll be fine.  

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 Well, it’s Would You Rather Wednesday, when I like to hit you with a would you rather question to really get you thinking. And I can’t help but notice that we’re heading into Thanksgiving. So I figured I’d start up the classic Thanksgiving debate again. Would you rather have turkey or ham for Thanksgiving? I mean, I’m lucky. Sometimes, my mom makes both. We’ll have a turkey, and then a small ham for those who prefer ham. But actually, we’re having Thanksgiving at my sister’s this year, so I don’t know what my sister’s planning. But I digress. I think both are fine. They both make good sandwiches if you’re planning leftovers. But I know some people have a clear preference. So how about you? Would you rather have turkey or ham for thanksgiving dinner? 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 Wednesday morning. But before I go, I just want to take a moment to wish you all a happy Canadian Beer Day! 

Of course Canadian Beer would have its own day! We make some of the finest beer in the world! I checked out the official website, Canadian Beer Day dto c a. Canadian Beer Day was started eight years ago to celebrate our brewing industry and promote Canadian brews. And of course, we’ve got the big ones, like Molson and Labbat, but there are so many wonderful smaller craft breweries out there these days! My dad was amazed at how many of them set up at Farmers Markets these days. So pop down to your favoruite craft brewery and raise a glass on this Canadian Beer Day. And whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one. 

Show Notes: Oct. 6, 2026

 Welcome to Tuesday! I hope things are going fine for you right now. I can’t help but dream a little. I noticed that the Lotto Max jackpot is up to $75 million. Man, I remember, like, 15 years ago, when the Lotto Max was still relatively new and the jackpot got up to $50 million for the first time. In case you missed the news, they overhauled the Lotto Max back in the spring, so now the jackpot maxes out at $90 million. Ya know, just for funsies, I decided to use ChatGPT to find out how much my dream vacation would cost. As cliched as it is, I would love to go to Walt Disney World. I want to stay in the Contemporary Resort. That’s the most famous hotel at Walt Disney World. That’s the one where the monorail goes right through the lobby. And of course, I want to go to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. That’s the Star Wars land at Walt Disney World. And I want to build my own lightsaber and my own droid. Anyway, according to ChatGPT, a vacation like that would run me about $20,000. ChatGPT helpfully pointed out that that’s only zero point zero two four percent of the jackpot, so a bargain...if I win the Lotto Max. But no matter how clever AI is, it can’t give you the winning lottery numbers just yet.  

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Yesterday, I’m hanging out, doing the office stuff I do around here when I’m done doing my show, and the boss comes up to me, he wants to show me his pictures. This past weekend, my boss lucked into some Oilers tickets, so he took his grandson to see the Oilers game. Fantastic. The little guy got his picture on the jumbotron, got his picture taken with Hunter, the whole thing. And of course, the boss was telling me about the prices. I haven’t been to Rogers Place to see a game, but from what I gather, the burgers and beer are ridiculously high. And then I got to thinking about the last time I saw an Oilers game. Last time I went to an Oilers game had to be, like, 25 years ago. Dad lucked into some tickets through work, and he took me. And then I’ve got my sister. My sister is the baseball nut in the family, so a few months ago, she and her family went down to Seattle to see the Blue Jays play the Mariners. And that reminds me of a guy I used to work with. He was a real big NFL fan, and his bucket list was to see an NFL game in every NFL Stadium. Had to fly down to San Francisco twice to see his 49ers play. So I just want to hear from you today. Have you ever been to any major league sporting event? What was like? How much was it? Tell me your major league sports story! 

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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 a happy National Taco Day! 

Taco Day is on Taco Tuesday! I love how that worked out! And of course, I just had to go with the old Taco Bell Godzilla commercials for my clips. Who doesn’t love a good taco? The beef, the cheese, the veggies...all in a crunchy shell! And there’s a reason why I went with the Godzilla clip. The Gordita is my favourite thing at Taco Bell. They take a regular taco, then they take a soft taco, fill it with cheese, and then put the regular taco in it. So good! Anyways. I hope you treat yourself to a Taco on this, National Taco Day. And whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: October 5, 2026

 And we’re back! Hi! How’s it going? I had some vacation time I had to burn off, so I decided to take half of last week off. Give myself a five day weekend. But we’re back now, and heading into another long weekend, because Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend. But yeah. I had some lovely time off. I went home to Entwistle to visit the folks. And while I was there, my Mom suggested we take a day trip out to Jasper. I was down for that. I love Jasper. You know, I’ve told you how, when I got my new car two years ago, I was going to take so many lovely day trips with it. I don’t know why I never considered taking a day trip to Jasper. We definitely live close enough that it’s doable. So that’s what we did. We checked out downtown Jasper. Just from my brief tour, it looks like they’re recovering from the fire damage at a steady pace. Then we went up to the Miette Hot Springs for a dip in the pool. I love those hot springs. So, yeah. I had a very pleasant autumn vacation. But now I’m back, and I’m ready to get back to it! 

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So, over the weekend, I got a text from my best friend. He’s out there in Vancouver. Now, apparently, his kiddos have been bitten by the acting bug, and they have a small role in a movie that premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival. So my best friend got to go to his first-ever big time movie premiere! And of course, he had to dress for the occasion. He busted his suit out of the closet. This is what he had to tell me. He reached into the pocket, and he found a receipt from 2013! So it’s been at least 13 years since the last time he had to bust out his suit. He also told me that when he polished up his black dress shoes, they were so old and worn out, they fell apart in his hand. So he channeled his inner Red Green. He ran down to the dollar store, bought himself a roll of black duct tape, and patched up his shoes with duct tape. So inspired by my friend, I would like to hear from you today. When’s the last time you dressed up? When’s the last time you had to bust out your suit or your nicest dress and get all dressed to the nines? For me, it was the company Christmas party two years ago. What can I say? I think I look good in my suit, and the Christmas party felt like as good a time as any to bust it out. But how about you? When’s the last time you got all dressed up? 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 want to wish you all a happy Global James Bond Day!  

The very first James Bond movie, Dr. No, hit theatres on this day in 1962, and one of the longest-running movie franchises was born. I remember back in the 1990s, there was this cable TV channel called TBS, and every couple of months they would have James Bond movie marathons. I lost many a weekend in high school and college to those marathons, and that’s when I really fell in love with the franchise. I own most of them on DVD, so I’ll probably watch one this afternoon. And I hope you do, as well. So happy Global James Bond day, everyone! And whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Mark Tastes KD Ramen

Ever have Cup o Noodles and think, "This could use some cheese?" Well, Kraft decided to answer the call!

It's KD Ramen, today on Mark Tastes Random Things!

Show Notes: Sept. 29, 2026

 Welcome to Tuesday! Shaping up to be another wonderful autumn day. Didn’t get up to too much yesterday afternoon. Got my laundry done. I know what whenever I get laundry done, I bore you with tales of fighting for a washing machine in my apartment’s laundry room. But no...no fights yesterday. Everything went pretty smoothly. I’m just getting tired. You know, I used to have dreams of living in massive house with a six car garage and an indoor pool and stuff like that. But now, I simply dream of having my own laundry room. Being able to do laundry whenever I want without needing a sockful of quarters. Oh, that would be bliss! But in the meantime, laundry’s done. September’s pretty much done, too. We’re off tomorrow for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. So, yeah. It’s a Tuesday that’s feeling like a Friday. Just an overall weird vibe to today.  

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Well, we’re off tomorrow for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, so that means today is my last day of the month! And that means today I’m doing my usual end of the month thing and asking you, what got you through the month? See, I was inspired to do this by my best friend in college, all those years ago. My best friend was the editor of the school paper. Our school paper came out monthly, and he would end each issue with two lists: what annoyed him this month, which is pretty self-explanatory, and what got him through the month, which was all the good things that happened to him that month. So I want to hear from you today! What got you through the month? Share all the good things that happened to you, so we can inject some positivity into the world! What are some good things that happened to me...? Well, McDonald’s had their International Menu Heist again. Those black pepper and garlic Chicken McNuggets were so good! There were some special edition DVDs on sale that I finally got for my collection. I can now watch every single Charlie Brown holiday special ever made! So that’s me, but I want to hear from you. What got you through the month? 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 National Coffee Day! 

I know I’ve mentioned this a few times before. I am not a coffee drinker. I think it was all that time as a kid being told I’m too young for it that kind of killed any desire to start. I mean, coffee’s not like alcohol, right? With alcohol, there’s that magic age, 18, when you can finally drink and you go to the bar for the first time. There’s nothing like that with coffee, where you turn a magic age and you go to Tim Hortons for your first double double. I remember being in grade 12 and my english teacher made a joke about drinking coffee when you’re studying for diplomas, and I was like, “dude, I’m old enough to drink coffee now?” But I still never started. Anyway, happy National Coffee Day everyone! And whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: Sept. 28, 2026

Monday has arrived! Welcome to the brand new week. And I tell you, there’s no denying it. Fall is now in full swing. How do I know? At my apartment building, my parking spot is right under the trees. And when I came out yesterday morning, my car was so completely covered in leaves, that I had to dig out my snowbrush and brush them all off before I hit the road. That’s not too bad. But sometimes, we get a little bit of frost, too, and then the leaves stick to my car. So I’ve got to wait for things to warm up a little before they come off. And then when they do come off, I’ve got all these leaf-prints all over my car. So I’m going to have to put up with that for the next few weeks. But it’s OK. You’ve got to admit the autumn leaves are very pretty, so it makes for a wonderful drive. I just don’t want to take the leaves with me. But anyway. Looks like we’re going to have lovely autumn weather this week, so brace yourself for more leaves.  

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I was wracking my brain for a topic for today. I was sitting at my desk, reading articles, trying to figure out something, when I saw this for a potential Hit It and Quiz It questions. Twenty five percent of people worry that they’ll never find a hobby. Really? That a lot of people! Well, we need hobbies. They help us relax. But sometimes, we realize that a hobby just isn’t right for us. So that’s my texting takeover for today. I want to hear from you what’s a hobby that you tried and decided just wasn’t for you? I mean, I’ve got a few. One is geocaching. Have you heard of geocaching? It’s searching for buried treasure in the modern age. You go to the geocaching website, you get the latitude and longitude of your buried treasure, and then you go look for it. When you find it, you take something and then leave something behind, and write in the log book when you visited. I first read about, I thought it was cool, I visited a few, but...I don’t know, man. It just didn’t hold my attention long enough. I keep saying I’ll go out hunting this weekend, but I never get around to it. Anyway. I want to hear from you today. What’s a hobby you tried and decided just wasn’t for you?  

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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 Good Neighbour Day!  

It’s been said in this day and age that we don’t take the time to get to know our neighbours anymore. I really should, living in an apartment building, when we’re all so close. But I do try to be a good neighbour. For example, there I was, a couple years ago, just at home, watching TV, and I got a knock on my door. My neighbour had just bought some new furniture on Amazon, and needed someone to help her carry it up the stairs. So I did. Just little acts of kindness like that are all it takes to be a good neighbour. So happy National Good Neighbour Day, everyone! And whatever day you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

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.  

Show Notes: Sept. 16, 2026

 Welcome to Wednesday! At the halfway point for the week, and I'm still digging it. What have I been telling you? Nothing but beautiful autumn weather all this week! I'm out getting my steps in in the afternoon, more and more leaves are starting to change colour. And I'll be honest with you. You know what I did yesterday afternoon? I had to stop in at Canadian Tire and check out all the Halloween decorations. Man, I wish I had a house. I'd be one of those people who goes overboard with the decorations on Halloween and Christmas. When I was a kid and started getting too old for trick or treating, that's where I redirected all my Halloween energy: into decorating the house. I still do what I can around my apartment. I'm too lazy to carve a pumpkin, so a few years ago, I got one of those plastic Jack O'Lanterns that they've got at Canadian Tire. But I did do some fancy customization. I put in one of those lightbulbs that flickers like a candle, so it looks more like a Jack O'Lantern. Anyway, the countdown app on my phone says we've got 45 days until Halloween, so still kind of early for that. But in the meantime, we can still have the candy.  

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It's Would You Rather Wednesday here on the Texting Takeover. I always like to get a healthy debate going on these Wednesday and try to break up the monotony. I was going through my list of potential questions, and I really enjoyed this one. You know me, I'm a fat guy who loves to eat, so I always instantly go to the food ones. Would you rather try a new restaurant every day for a month, or go to your favourite restaurant every day for a month? I think I know which one I'm doing here. A new restaurant every day for a month. I mean, whenever the fast food places bring out something new, I just have to go out and try it. So I love the adventure of going to a new restaurant. And I've been in town for five years now! There are still many great restaurants here in town that I haven't tried. So I want to embrace that sprit of adventure. New restaurant every day for a month. So how about you? Would you rather try a new restaurant every day for a month, or go to your favourite restaurant every day for a month? 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 Wednesday morning. But before I go, Ijust want to take a moment to wish you all a happy National Guacamole Day! 

Yeah, I couldn't find a good clip for guacamole, but guacamole is a dip for nachos, so I think it works. But yes, guacamole! That tasty Mexican dip made up of avocado, some other stuff, and spices. That's all I really know about guacamole. It's mashed up avocado. And because of that it, it's so much more than a dip for nachos. You can put it on tacos! You can use it for a pizza dip! And apparently, some vegans like to use it to make stuffed mushrooms. Yup, they stuff mushrooms with it. I like mushrooms That actually sounds really good. So happy National Guacamole Day, everyone! And whatever day you're celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.