My Doppleganger And My Secret Sharer

There are days when I wonder why I answer the telephone.

Just before dinner last night, the caller asks for Cam Hurst. Cameron Hurst grew up somewhere in Manitoba but doesn't, as far as I know, live in Manitoba any more. I'm listed as C. Hurst in the phone book, so I occasionally get calls for him. I explain that I'm Chris Hurst, I'm not related to Cameron Hurst and I don't know where he is. Oh, the caller said. Is Guy Merke there? he asked. Guy Merke had my telephone number before I did, but that was almost thirteen years ago. For the first five years, I regularly got calls for Guy, and the callers really didn't believe that I wasn't Guy. It made me wonder Guy did for a living. I explain that Guy hadn't the number etc. The caller said he was from the Manitoba Conservative Party. I can only assume that they bought some awful call lists. I wasn't very complimentary to their organization and hung up.

Why do I have a home phone number at all? Because I don't have a cell phone.

CTV Advertising and Football

I don't pretend to understand these things, but if advertising during playoff football games is so valuable, why did CTV have so many ads for its own shows during this weekend games? And such lame ads. There were faceless sort-of football people running around a generic urban landscape while billboards featured head shots from the shows in the background. Were these just to fill the space?