August 27, 2006
This is promising
A group of open source coders are working on an operating system that can run Windows applications. It would be most amazing if there was an alternative to Windows that allowed people to run the applications they're already used to. The biggest hurdle that any new OS faces is the dearth of programs available to run. It's all well and good if the GUI is pretty and to have a killer file system but it's pointless if you can't do anything with it. I've had different operating systems installed on my computers over the years -- OS2, BeOS, various flavours of Linux -- but they all ended up being replaced by Windows as soon as I needed to get some work done. Being able to be geekily cutting edge AND being able to run Photoshop would be the cats meow...
Posted by John at 02:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 24, 2006
While on the pool theme
Here is a picture of the flies on one pool table we played on this past weekend. The table was covered with them. Didn't seem to affect the play though.
Posted by John at 09:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
By request
Brian says "i'm surprised you haven't posted about kicking my ass yet". Good things come to those who wait. ;) Brian and I played pool last night and I opened a can of wup ass on him! It was great to play on the fullsized pool tables again just to see if all my and Katherine's playing during the summer on the smaller bar tables had helped or hurt my ability on the large tables. Apparently it did no harm at least. ;)
There ya go, Brian; I've told the world.
PS: This is blog entry 250!
Posted by John at 09:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 17, 2006
If you know me ...
you'll agree that I've never looked better.
Posted by John at 03:05 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
August 10, 2006
J: LO LO LO LO
J: LO LO LO LO LO LO VE LO LO LO LO LO LO VE I'm talkin' 'bout LO LO LO LO LO LO VE LO LO LO LO LO VE
J: my poor neighbors
K: we must break this insidious spell!!!!
J: i'm sure my neighbors will be by shortly to break something
Posted by John at 09:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 08, 2006
I may be out of a job
Doesn't this explanation of how to build a computer make it look sooo easy?
Posted by John at 11:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 01, 2006
Did I ...
... mention it was hot?
Posted by John at 05:35 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
hot Hot HOT
It's only 8:30am and it's already 28 degrees in here ... and that's with the AC running!
Posted by John at 08:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 19, 2006
In other news
In other news, the sore throat and lack of voice I've been experiencing for the past two weeks (can you say annoying cough) has been diagnosed as merely a run of the mill infection and I have antibiotics to fix it. Should be right as rain in a week. Acquiring the prescription for the drugs was the result of a 5 minute visit with the doctor. After a two and a half hour wait in his waiting room. Then there was the three quarters of an hour waiting in the drugstore for the prescription to be filled. All and all quite the waste of an afternoon.
Why can doctors get away with making you wait that long? The *normal* wait for my doctor is an hour and some minutes. He was running behind yesterday. Still even making us wait and hour as normal seems grossly unfair. Is his time worth more than mine? Not happy about that. Didn't mention it to him, of course. He's such a nice guy and he gives me drugs...
Posted by John at 11:51 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
July 18, 2006
There once was a girl from Kentucky...
Well, she's not really from Kentucky but some of her family is and Kentucky sounded better than Germany. Anyway, I've been busy with a wonderful woman and have been too busy to write. I'm sure I'll have all kinds of stories to tell shortly though. Stay tuned. ;)
Posted by John at 10:41 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
July 10, 2006
Tenting tip
If you're going to set up a tent in your livingroom make sure the door is facing in *before* you set it up
cuz it's a bitch to turn it afterwards...
Posted by John at 12:53 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
July 07, 2006
And while we're on the subject...
This is a poster about a TTC employee which I see all over the place. There is something about how this woman is holding the broom that makes me think she's a big hit with the guys...
Posted by John at 02:36 PM | Comments (26) | TrackBack
Devil Virgin
These are posters for a deal you can get with Virgin cell phones when you call after 6pm. Is this really the best poster to display three in a row?
(And I'm avoiding a joke regarding virgins and the devil...)
Posted by John at 02:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 06, 2006
Tree update
So, they didn't just attack one tree the other day, they decimated three:
Posted by John at 11:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 20, 2006
Back from NY
Back from spending the weekend visiting my brother Mark and NYC. It was a good trip. Gorgeous weather, good company. The New York feeling which I didn't feel last time was back. I love New York! The highlight had to be the view from the newly opened viewpoint opened at the top of Rockefeller Center. You're right at the top of the building so you can look all around you. It's quite spectacular.
Thanks to Mark and Paula for letting me visit their corners of paradise. ;)
Looking south with the Empire State Building in the middle:
Looking north towards Central Park:
Posted by John at 12:03 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
June 09, 2006
28 down from 220+
I finally pruned my inbox messages from more than 220 to just 28. I've answered and tested and transfered and labeled and now things are organized. Beauty.
Posted by John at 05:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 05, 2006
Notes from the rainy Saturday past
I'm at a small table by the window at the Victoria Restaurant having meatloaf (because that's what you do when you come to the Victoria Restaurant), looking out at the rain. Shania Twain is on the radio. I am dry and warm watching the cold miserable folks outside. The solitary waitress is plodding around to the few patrons who have come in, shaking themselves and their umbrellas like dogs just inside the door. Outside there are all nature of wind broken umbrellas and packages held over heads, other folks with no protection squinting with their heads down as they scurry along. Those with perfect umbrellas look the most content to be out there; they've properly prepared and preen in their foresight. There is the odd kid, hair a mod mop, walking head up and uncovered, pretending that it's not raining. A guy rollerblading around the puddles and carrying his shoes says that rain is actually good because it washes the negative energy away. A woman walks by wearing a green garbage bag like a hat, which answers the question how hard it has to be coming down before that happens.
Posted by John at 02:39 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Ride for heart aftermath
A few shots from Ride For Heart yesterday: Three of us (Kerry, Enoch and your humble servant) met at the Princes' Gate to tackle the road together.
Happy and rested (amazing for being up at dawn on a Sunday).
Enoch rode the entire route in ONE gear. I used all 18 of my gears and almost had to get off and push. Don't you dare try to take pictures while you're biking; I am a professional.
Proof that we all at least survived the adventure.
I was dead by the end of the ride this year. I'm assuming it was because of wind resistance because of the new paniers I added to the bike. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my not being in shape...
Posted by John at 01:36 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
June 01, 2006
Past my feet
I forgot to post this after the CN Tower climb. Standing on the glass floor looking down through my feet.
Posted by John at 05:19 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 31, 2006
Cue details
Detail of the handle windings
Comes in a nifty case
Posted by John at 01:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
End of the world
What's most interesting about this is not that the world is going to end on a Tuesday (wouldn't it make more sense to end it on a weekend when more people are around?) but the fact that he's still scheduled to do book signings in the days following the rapture...
Posted by John at 12:17 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Pool is great
Yes, I was giggly last night after receiving this. I'm man enough to almost admit it.
And thanks, Kerry, for spoiling the surprise. ;)
Kitty approved:
Posted by John at 11:49 AM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
May 24, 2006
Kerry says ...
So Kerry says I can be on her pool team when it starts up again in September. I'm putting a note here so no one forgets.
I had a good time playing folks last night on the last night of competition. There was no pressure and there weren't too many folks there so I got to play (OK, yes, and win) a lot. Next Tuesday is the banquet. There was great food to be had last time so I'm really looking forward to it. And, more free pool!
And, I really have to learn to remember that 'alot' is not a real word even though it use it, um, alot. I don't know when I decided that it was a word. Probably at about the same time I decided that the t at the end of words needed to be doubled before adding 'ing'. Why not? Words ending in most other letters seem to need it.
Posted by John at 04:53 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 20, 2006
Tax refund money
This is what I bought with the tax refund money. I'm sure you'll agree it's better (bigger! brighter! heavier!) than buying jewelery or bike parts. Please feel free to come over and visit it anytime.
Posted by John at 04:34 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
May 15, 2006
refund
I just received my tax refund cheque for 2004. That will teach them to send me a registered letter telling me I have to file. They could have held on to this money for at least another 6 months before I got around to it!
Posted by John at 01:34 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
May 10, 2006
Eliminated
My team was eliminated from the playoffs tonight but by the narrowest of margins ... it came down to the doubles round at the end of the night. If we had won by three points we would have moved to the next level but our opponents got a couple of breaks and we had a couple of bad shots. I had biked down and had intended to leave as soon as my final game was finished but it was such a nail biter I stayed to cheer on my team members and see how it came out. I personally had a pretty decent night, I won three of my four games and lost the fourth on the eight ball. If not for one bad shot it would have been a sweep! I think it was because I was nice an relaxed after the biking.
We can still show up and play pool for free for next two weeks while we wait for the final teams to finish up. Then, on the 30th: partay.
Then, boohoo, no team pool until September.
Posted by John at 12:31 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
May 06, 2006
Discovery
So I have just by accident discovered while vacuuming that all the power to everything in my apartment save two plugs in the kitchen and one for the air conditioner are running from ONE circuit. All my lights, computers, fridge, freezer, plugs, computers, fans ... everything. I know this because I blew a fuse while vacuuming (a silly thing to be doing, I admit) and the entire place went dark, the UPSs for the computers started beeping and there was mostly silence in the land of John. I thought the power had gone out except that the clock on the stove was still working. There are four fuses in the fuse box and I had always assumed that the power load was more or less divided equally between them. Shows you what I know... I've labeled the four fuses now: plug by sink, plug by stove, plug by AC, EVERYTHING ELSE!
Posted by John at 03:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 03, 2006
Pool update
So, shockingly, my pool team is going into the second level of the finals next week. Our best player was off on vacation or some such other excuse. What really worked in our favour was that the other team spent considerable time drinking shots. I think we're going to encourage all our opponents to get silly drunk before playing us from now on. I, myself, had one bad game (2 points) which could have been worse cuz the guy was running the table but sewered on his last ball which gave me an opportunity to get a couple of points before he finished me off. The rest of the games were reasonable: a 6, a 7 and I won one. Not bad considering our team got into the shot spirit for a bit as well. ;) We'll see how things go next week ... I will be *very* surprised if we go on to the third week. As in: it ain't gonna happen.
Posted by John at 01:02 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
May 01, 2006
Plant killer
I am becoming a plant killer. Yet more evidence that I'm too busy for my own britches. Two weeks or more fly by before I realize that I haven't watered the poor creatures. They should learn to let me know in a manner other than dropping, quietly, the occasional leaf. A good smack across the forehead with a hefty branch would work. Unfortunately, I don't have trees growing in my apartment so they'll either have to put on some serious wood or enlist some outside help. Or perhaps they could fasttrack evolution to the point where they could let out the occasional plaintive wail. The cats aren't doing anything useful during the day, they should check up on them and let me know when the dirt is getting dry. Anything other than my actually having to remember to look in on them myself.
Posted by John at 06:22 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
April 29, 2006
done it again
My time for the CN tower climb this time around was 17:34. Off my best by more than a minute but still reasonable. I knew from almost the beginning that I wasn't going to be able to keep up a record setting pace. By the 20th landing I was already walking and my legs felt like lead. Only the reassuring presence of EMT people (including one EMT babe wearing sexy glasses ... have they always hired supermodels?) allowed me to keep any sort of decent pace without worrying about dropping dead of a heart attack. I am truly out of shape. Mind you, I was still passing most people .. including people way younger than myself ... no doubt they got in shape with the XBox CN Tower climb game.
They ran out of tshirts (they're mailing me one) so they wrote my time on a card instead. The guy who wrote mine was either trying to do it upside down or is dyslexic; he wrote it as 17:E4. If was actually writing my time in hex it would be 20:48. Yikes.
Posted by John at 04:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 28, 2006
Internet update
You may have noticed that connection to my website has been spotty this week. The issue is that my DSL modem is on its last legs and drops the internet connection periodically. To get back online I have to turn the modem off for a period of time and then turn it back on. Even with intense vigilance I don't always notice the the modem is offline immediately so there is often a delay in my performing the necessary steps to get it back online. A new modem is being shipped so this will only be short term spottiness, I hope.
Posted by John at 12:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 26, 2006
It's over
My annual foray into the wilderness of Las Vegas is over. An abbreviated trip this year, although I managed to fit in everything I usually do in a week into three days ... right down to getting a sore back and sore feet from wandering the show. I won $70 in roulette. Not enough to retire on but better than losing. I arrived home at 7:30am yesterday morning after about 12 hours of travel ... including four hours sitting in airports staring at my shoes (and watching other people sitting around staring at their shoes). It was easy to pick out fellow travelers who were in sales. All with short meticulously groomed hair, pleated shirts and slacks; the rest of us in wrinkled tshirts and jeans (or in my case paint stained shorts with patch pockets). At least half the people in the waiting area spent a good portion of their time talking on their cellphones. As soon as each plane landed there were flashes of blue light all over the cabin as people fired up their phones and checked in again after being offline for one or four hours. "Just landed at the airport." Well, duh.
I didn't take my SLR, just poked around with just my point and shoot. Everything looks pretty much the same as always but the neon McDonald's caught my eye.
Posted by John at 01:46 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
April 21, 2006
... except the waiting
Everything is done except the waiting. I'm packed and just waiting for the time to cab it to the airport.
We're off to our annual pilgrimage to Mecc... I mean Las Vegas for the NAB trade show. This is the first time in 9 years that I haven't been there for the full week. I'll be there for the weekend set up and then fly home on Monday night. I have sort of mixed feelings about this. On one hand I'm kinda ticked that I won't be there for all the stuff that happens in the evenings and the camaraderie, but, most of the time during most of the trips I do feel unneeded. Once the show is on, unless there is really big failure, we do not touch the machines. So, every day I would show up and then sort of wander around aimlessly looking at other booths and just basically fill a volume of space until tear down. So, really my leaving after the set up makes perfect sense. Really.
Posted by John at 01:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
J*ggling
Chris Bliss Juggling
Joggling
Is jiggling a sport?
Posted by John at 12:16 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 17, 2006
So, we went to see
So, we went to see Battle In Heaven last night. One good thing about the movie is seeing way too many shots of naked fat guys has made me appreciate the guys in Humpback ... I mean Brokeback ... Mountain a lot more. At least they were attractive and dressed well.
I didn't really care for this movie but I did appreciate how the director kept a consistent style through the whole flick. He definitely knew what he was doing. It just moved way too slow for me. And I don't need to see fat guy penises on a sunday night...it disturbs the sleep!
Most of us gave this movie a score of 1 star so I don't know how the final score ended up being 4 out of 5.
Posted by John at 01:59 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
April 12, 2006
TMI ...
I seriously need to laundry here ... I'm down to my backup undies.
Posted by John at 04:22 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 11, 2006
CN Tower climb
I'll be climbing the CN Tower again on April 29th. Please sponsor me if you have a mind to. Click here and do a search for my name. The climb is hosted by WWF and rather than looking to merely save fuzzy animals this time they're going for something more lofty: saving the planet. Can't have a grander goal than that.
Posted by John at 04:32 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Company curling
We had so much fun on our second curling evening that we're actually talking about having our company Christmas party at the Leaside Curling rink so we can all play again. Tonight though it was boys against the girls and, um, the boys won. (Decidedly.) Oh, did I mention there were three boys and four girls? I probably didn't. I probably also didn't mention that curling is an *impossible* sport. Shotting the rock at exactly the right velocity and with exactly the right spin is very hard! Who knew.
Posted by John at 12:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 07, 2006
Eureka moment
This morning I've made a startling revelation. I would call it a Eureka moment but since it occurred to me in the shower and not in the bath it's not technically correct. Unless in the thousands of years since the original eureka moment they've made allowances for discoveries in other sorts of watery conditions. Anyway, all at once I had this startling thought: the shampoo people don't make their own bottles. Yes, I know; shocking.
This discovery will forever alter my shower time. For years I'd thought of working at a shampoo company, being involved in creating the hair concoctions, designing the labels, marketing, helping with distribution and, yes, designing the bottles. The pop open stopper on these bottles is amazing: it pops open easily (with a comforting pop sound) and yet closes tightly enough that none of the viscous liquid escapes ... even when stored upside down so all the leftover blobs can flow down to the opening. And to have been part (ok, leader) of that team would have been quite the thrill.
Now, when I think about working for a shampoo company I'll have to imagine contracting out the bottles. Calling some guy on the phone and merely *saying* that we want bottles with stoppers that pop. Now that the floodgates are open I will probably have to start imagining that the labels are designed out of house too; the cases of product delivered by some third party trucking company; the shampoo itself could just be requested from yet another company. What's left? Sitting around talking to other people on the phone. Talking to the people who are doing the jobs that *I* want to do. Eureka indeed.
Posted by John at 10:10 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 05, 2006
OK, I have to write this ...
... if only because it's unlikely to happen again any time soon.
I won three of the four games I played at pool last night ... for some inexplicable reason I was completely relaxed and just let things progress on their own and, boom, I won.
So, yes, compared to last week it was a much less sucky evening.
Posted by John at 10:21 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 04, 2006
Another day, another article
There is an article in today's Star mentioning the Toronto Photography Meetup Group. Previous articles in the Star covered the place I play pool and the Toronto Urban Exploration Meetup Group. Do I know how to pick them or what?
(Yes, I realize there are some other folks who share the same affiliations, but hey, this blog is all about *me*!!)
Posted by John at 03:57 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Interesting
My brother Mark sent this (via our dad) :
On Wednesday of this week, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.
This won't ever happen again.....the date being m/d/y
Posted by John at 12:17 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 03, 2006
Two events
To things today to report:
1) Did my taxes ... for, uh, 2004. Doing taxes is just as annoying as I remember.
2) Saw Brokeback Mountain. Good thing it was with a group ... I was uncomfortable during parts of it... I admire the guts of the actors playing those roles.
Posted by John at 01:04 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
March 30, 2006
From spring to spring
I was just taking a few minutes to check out my calendar from this time last year. I had a lot more going on then (hockey lessons, photography course, more outings, other stuff). How in the world did I fit it all in? I'm just barely keeping sane with my current schedule and there are probably half as many entries in this years calendar so far.
On a related note: if I didn't write stuff down I'd forget most of it I'm sure. There were a lot of 'oh yeah' and 'right right' while I was reading the entries.
I should also point out that things *really* picked up in May of last year so maybe the same will happen this. Maybe I hibernate through the winter and don't realize it. Oh, is that a nap calling my name?
Posted by John at 06:58 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Spring has sprung
What an absolutely gorgeous day today. The thermometer at Yonge and Bloor said 13 degrees; I think it was warmer than that. I had to take the TTC to pick up a car so on the way home after dropping the car back at the lot I walked to a further station just so I could enjoy the free vitamin D. I saw four guys wearing shorts ... normally I'm the first on my block to do that, nuts.
Posted by John at 03:42 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
March 28, 2006
suck suck suck
I totally sucked at pool tonight. I got two points twice and three points twice. Ouchie. Boo hoo. Whining is now complete; thank you for your attention.
Posted by John at 11:49 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Groovy
Went to see Hair tonight. This is one of the plays I've heard about over the years but never quite made it to see. It did have a very 60's feel to it but I kept thinking they were going to slip into Jesus Christ Superstar songs but but but didn't quite. The performers certainly had a lot of energy and they sang well but I couldn't quite see the point of the whole thing...
I did like the signature songs (Aquarius and such like) though.
Posted by John at 12:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 23, 2006
9 years
Nine years ago this past Tuesday I moved to Toronto. I still love it. Onward to an even decade. :)
Posted by John at 01:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 21, 2006
Office curling
Lorie at our office set up a curling evening for us.
Click below to experience the excitement!
One person flings the rock down the rink
Others frantically sweep
More sweeping
Until, it stops right in the middle!
It's just that easy! Really.
Posted by John at 12:38 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
March 20, 2006
Product idea
I almost pulled my arm out of its socket carrying this 10L jug of water home from the store. Someone should market dehydrated water, it would be soooo much lighter to cart around.
Get on that.
Posted by John at 05:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
St. Paddy's fun
My favourite shot from Friday nights carrying on.
(Posted with partial permission. ;))
Posted by John at 02:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 19, 2006
My walk tonight
A few observations from my walk in the neighborhood northeast of Bayview and Eglinton tonight:
I was surprised with how many houses were completely dark at 10pm. I don't mean dark with the blue glow of the tv off in the back somewhere, I mean, completely shutdown, dead-to-the-world sleeping kinda dark. Probably about a third of the homes were like that. Another bunch had lights set up on their lawn pointing at the house ... I would have thought that having streetlights shining into your windows all night would be bad enough. Maybe they turn them off later in the evening.
I was also reminded that you don't have to be very far away from a major street before it gets really quiet. I was walking on Broadway where there are a whole line of almost identical two story brick houses with garages; probably built after WWI or II. The only individuality is the size and shape of the awning over the front door. Even after all these years they look amazingly the same.
There's a street in that area called Divavale or Divadale. Do we need a whole street of diva's?
Posted by John at 11:23 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 14, 2006
This should be national
I miss all the good holidays.
Posted by John at 01:17 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
March 13, 2006
chest hair
My research has shown that the softest fur on a cat is the the fur on their chest. And they sit proudly at attention when you pet it. For a gift one day I would like a cat chest hair blanket. Mmmm, cozy.
Posted by John at 06:08 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 12, 2006
Walking home
I was walking to the subway after attending Snap and saw this:
which I assume suggests that dogs don't like wearing glasses.
Also:
This girl didn't at all mind me knocking on the glass.
Posted by John at 10:09 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
March 06, 2006
Favourite recent spam
Subject: not happy with your thing
Good evening Zlevedor,
Recently I read that the majority of women are unhappy with the size of
there wife's, also there unstaisfied by their activity in the bedroom. Is
this soundinglike u. If so, come here www.itsallherwaterrun.com/bq
part of us all. drinking and smoking. As most teenagers in today's world
have come across alcohol at one point or .
Thanks
Baderinwa
Posted by John at 11:04 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 05, 2006
Worn out
I spent the day wandering around the Distillery District and St Lawrence Market and downtown. I walked so much that I wore out a sock.
Posted by John at 12:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 03, 2006
Book table poll
As requested, a better picture of the book table. Now for the first ever jDog poll: Would you have this thing in your home, even if you got it for free?
(Obviously I would.)
Posted by John at 01:41 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Lunch
A huge plate of pasta sitting on my 'new' wooden table which looks like a stack of books. This is an example of something I would never buy in a million years but will happily use forever if I find it for free behind the building.
Posted by John at 12:55 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Find five dollars
Find a 5 dollar bill and pick it up,
Run like hell before the real owner claims it.
Posted by John at 10:44 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
March 01, 2006
Find a penny
Find a penny and pick it up,
All the day you'll have good luck.
Where was this darned penny this morning when I could have used it??
Posted by John at 12:19 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
February 28, 2006
Boldy new and different
I'm starting to sleep on the other side of the bed now. A new exciting adventure!
Actually, it does feel odd, heh.
Posted by John at 10:39 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 27, 2006
Beach view
I was in the Beaches last evening and took a quick foray down to the boardwalk. It was beautiful, as this picture obviously shows. That orange blob in the distance is the Luety lifeguard station. Purdy, eh?
Posted by John at 10:10 AM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
February 26, 2006
Pompoms
Am I the only one who is distracted while walking down the street by the pompoms on women's winter boots? I keep thinking something is flying off as they walk.I wonder how often they smack some poor dog in the eye as they walk by. They look like fuzzy dice for footwear. Next winter the fashion no doubt will be the same boots but with just the strings that used to hold the pompoms as they get snapped off in car and elevator doors or people start performing personal pompomacide in the privacy of their homes. We can only hope.
Posted by John at 02:37 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
February 24, 2006
I'm typing this in a
I'm typing this in a meeting... Ssssh.
(Isn't technology wonderful.)
Posted by John at 10:41 AM | Comments (1)
February 23, 2006
Hilarious
http://accordionguy.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2006/2/23/1779775.html
My station is No Tingle. How apt.
Posted by John at 06:18 PM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2006
Glove blog
The glove blog is up and running!http://www.greyfence.com/gloves/
Y'all should have been at the launch party. Anyone who was anyone who wore gloves was there. Mayor 'Mitts' Miller, Michael Jackson reminisced about the period where he constantly seemed to be losing a single glove. Who else was there? Hmmm.
Posted by John at 10:18 AM | Comments (16) | TrackBack
February 20, 2006
mooooooaaaaaan redux
The wailing through the fire speaker still continues. I am now officially insane and have told the giant pink avocado all my secrets.Posted by John at 04:14 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
mooooooaaaaaannnn
Another day of testing the fire alarms here on Dunfield. They have to check the speaker in every suite and so have the firealarm speakers emitting a low (loud) moan constantly. I'm sure they could use this sound as a form of torture. I have a blanket and some papers wedged in front of it in an effort to stop some of sound. I still feel like ratting out my CIA buddies to someone though.
Posted by John at 11:27 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
February 18, 2006
Legal to Lost
I'm in the process of 'acquiring' the first season of Lost. I read an interesting article in The Star about the mysteries of this series and it has me intrigued. I kind of OD'd on Boston Legal (yes, too much Shatner) and am looking for something to replace it for my zone out breaks for a while.
Posted by John at 05:16 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 17, 2006
George over for steak
Here is George Foreman helping to cook my steak.
Posted by John at 10:52 AM | Comments (13)
February 15, 2006
Red alert.
I saw something interesting when I went out to get a sub for lunch. There was a guy in the elevator who was wearing a red ball cap (backwards, natch). He was standing directly under one of the halogen lights which reflected off his hat and created a bright red band all around the interior of the elevator. It was amazingly bright! Every time he moved his head it would undulate and flash along the wall. It reminded me of the red alert indicators on the Enterprise in Next Generation.
And, yes, all of life is nothing more than a steady stream of Star Trek references.
Posted by John at 02:02 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
February 14, 2006
Yummy
Just discovered that they sell double salt licorice at the candy store on the corner. This is the kind of thing that you either love and can't get enough of or you spit out into the tip jar at the check out.
It's a bad, bad thing that we discovered this...
Posted by John at 04:33 PM | Comments (17) | TrackBack
February 08, 2006
major prize
Here is the prize awarded to the members of the second place team at the pool league. A nice little shot glass. Someone won a pool cue! (Yes, deservedly, but still. ;))
Posted by John at 02:46 PM | Comments (57) | TrackBack
February 06, 2006
My dad's view
Here is the view from the window of the room I stayed in over Christmas. This is NOT the view I saw cuz it was raining and cloudy the whole time i was there.
Posted by John at 02:56 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
February 02, 2006
Bedtime
Nothing makes going to bed so enjoyable as having nice freshly brushed teeth.
Posted by John at 12:47 AM | Comments (40) | TrackBack
February 01, 2006
The ticket came back
Apparently my money isn't good enough so they sent back the cheque for my speeding ticket from last month. Actually, the form says that the ociffer didn't file the ticket into the system with in the prescribed time.
Posted by John at 10:48 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 31, 2006
Pool
OK, off to the office and then to the final final pool night. I'm ready ... I'm even wearing my lucky pants.
Posted by John at 03:33 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
January 30, 2006
Weekend puttering
I spent all weekend working on this cabinet to hide my computers (and their noise) away.
The cats helped by playing with the bags that the stuff came in.
Posted by John at 10:30 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
January 29, 2006
Dead people
It turns out this weekend had a dead people theme. On Saturday morning my photoclub had an outing to Mt Pleasant Cemetery and tonight I went to see that movie with the vampire chick in leather. Ok, honestly, it was more about the leather than the dead people, but still...
Posted by John at 11:08 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
January 25, 2006
Pool shocker
Soooo, due to some weirdness in how the pool league is constructed, our team is actually in the finals next week. Since we won this week, I think the worst we can do at this point is second. Yes, I too am shocked. While there are three of us who are sporadically decent, we have two phenomenal players on our team without whom we would be in the basement. Whee, pool is fun!
Posted by John at 12:33 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 24, 2006
Chill out guys
You'd think the people who worked here would be more, you know, relaxed about stuff ...
Posted by John at 04:00 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
January 22, 2006
Here I sit
Here I sit, brokenhearted; brought my keyboard and only brain-farted. I wanted to write a blog entry but can't think of a thing to write about. Nothing. Nada. Oh ... There's a thought ... oh ... oh ... Nope, wasn't.
It's actually quite comfortable to sit here without a thought in my head. Relaxing. What a nice wall; I think I'll stare at it for a while. Ok, there is a slight danger of drifting off to sleep. What is that strange shape coming up next to me. I think it's a "person". Their mouth is moving and noise is coming out. Uh oh, they're expecting a response of some sort. Wait while I come up with some answer. 'Grunt' seems to have been the correct response, the person has gone away.
Oooh, but they left something. A white thing with something dark in it. Experimental taste. Another. Ahhh, it's coffee! I'm in a restaurant. That person was a waitress. My name is John. Pi is 3.14. The Pizzahut phone number is 416 310-1010. It is Saturday. The answer to the universe and everything is 42. That wall is boring. Everything floods back.
But, I still can't think of anything to write about. Oh well.
Posted by John at 02:18 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 20, 2006
It works!
After struggling with this $%#!&? program for almost two months I finally have a preliminary version running!
I really must celebrate tonight before the temptation to touch and mess it up hits me.
Posted by John at 04:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 19, 2006
Online bookclubs
Article about an online book club. Heaven.
Posted by John at 12:09 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 18, 2006
Sensattional meedicine
Email I just received:
-Sensattional revolution in meedicine!
-E-nlarge your p-enis up to 10 cm or up to 4 inches!
-It's herbal solution what hasn't side effect, but has 100% guaranteed results!
-Don't loose your chance and but know wihtout doubts, you will be impressed with results!
Clisk h-ere: http:// (url removed to protect the silly)
When I first read this I thought they were saying that they could guarantee 4 inches of total p-enis length after using their product. I supposed that if one were smaller than 4 inches, one would likely try any type of meedicine. After rereading it again I'm guessing that's not what they meant.
Posted by John at 02:47 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
January 15, 2006
Blue Man Memories
Seeing these bags in front of the Blue Man Group theatre made me laugh. If you've attended one of their shows you'll know immediately what's in them!
Posted by John at 09:23 PM | Comments (32) | TrackBack
January 12, 2006
Silly people
If you know anything about programming you'll know how dumb this ad is:
They're scaring the real programmers away with this mess!
Posted by John at 04:23 PM | Comments (18) | TrackBack
January 10, 2006
Yurt route
The yellow highlight on this map is the route we took during the Yurt trip. Toronto is on the lower right and Owen Sound is on the upper left (gotta speeding ticket there, grrr). The yurts were in MacGregor Point Provincial park which is the little finger of yellow poking almost to Lake Huron on the upper left. The lower, mostly straight, line was the route to the yurt, the zigzaggy line at the top was the route coming back. We were looking for interesting buildings and horses as we were SICK of trees!
Posted by John at 10:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 03, 2006
What was old ...
... is new again.
Add a $30 bedspread to my old couch and, vavoom, new couch. Amazing.
(Yes, same old languid cat.)
Posted by John at 02:32 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
January 01, 2006
Life as a teeter-totter
In simple terms, all I want for the new year is balance. Doesn't sound like much, but it's been my resolution for a few years and I still haven't managed to achieve it. And by balance, I don't mean that I want my cheque book to magically sort itself out, rather I want my whole life to sort itself out. I know it's possible to do all the things I want to do and spend time with everyone I want to see and spend time with myself and still manage to get some work done and get enough sleep. I'm sure I've met a person or two in my life who have done this. Unfortunately, I think it usually involves things like 'schedules' and 'discipline' and 'budgets' and other such stuff that I've tried to live without all these years.
Realistically, it comes down to deciding what's really important and focusing on those things. But, what's important? Love, work, learning, feeding the cats, climbing Everest, playing pool, winning a Pulitzer, solving the Rubik's cube, doing the daily Sudoku, scoping chicks, barbecuing the perfect steak, photography, rollerblading, discovering the Cadbury secret. The list is already ponderous and I didn't even mention book club or seeing a movie a week or exercise or the much loved 'staring into space'. Maybe there isn't time to do everything after all. Did I mention eating? I'll have to really peruse the list and see if I can pare things down. That part of the resolution should be done by July or so and then I can start working on those 'schedule' and 'discipline' things.
Then, it will be close to the end of the year and it's time to slow down in preparation for Christmas... I don't suppose it's difficult to understand why it's managed to be my resolution for so long.
Posted by John at 11:10 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
December 29, 2005
Home schweeeeeet home
I made it back from Christmas BC in one piece. While I do appreciate your supplying BC style weather here to cushion the transition, it was hardly necessary. This trip has once again reinforced how much I prefer living in Toronto over living in Vancouver. I apologize to all the people I spoke to in BC over this past week because I wasn't shy about saying so. ;)
The suitcase has been emptied and the laundry is done. I did wake up at noon which is a sensible 9am in BC.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and I look forward to seeing everyone in 2006!
Posted by John at 01:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 24, 2005
Finally
I've *finally* seen some changes on the webcam shot of my livingroom. I guess the cat sitter is actually showing up.
Posted by John at 02:08 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 22, 2005
Christmas in BC
It's cloudy and rainy and windy here. I'm installed at my dad's place. I spent an hour last night hooking up my wireless networking access point so I could feel at home. So far today my dad and his wife have been out doing errands and I've been mostly dozing on the couch. I'm feeling so listless it's unreal. I think the problem is that they drink decaffeinated coffee here. OK, I'm going to head out and find some real coffee...
Posted by John at 04:37 PM | Comments (8)
December 18, 2005
Heat update
What I was worried would happen has happened. Now that my radiators are working, it's too hot in here. It's currently at 25 degrees. The plumber showed me where the tap on the radiator is so I have been experimenting with adjusting the heat. This is reminding me of the overwhelming heat in the basement suite where I used to live. At least the radiator is nice and quiet, unlike the furnace there.
Posted by John at 05:33 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
December 17, 2005
Yes, another test
OK, this is interesting. I'm tying this blog entry using my wireless keyboard into my blog website using the browser built into my Palm TX using the wifi connection. So far doing the changeover from my old pda has not being going smoothly. I don't think they really spent enough time troubleshooting this thing before they started selling it. It keeps crashing. Boo hoo. Merry Christmas. Bah humbug.
Posted by John at 08:00 PM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2005
Heat!
This radiator is now working. Can't you just see the heat flowing out of this thing?
Posted by John at 01:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 14, 2005
Socks!
Posted by John at 10:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 13, 2005
Xmas present
When you get your Christmas bonus and are trying to decide what to get me, this should be on the top of the list: PDA from heaven.
Posted by John at 04:57 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
December 11, 2005
another test
Oh, what fun.
Posted by John at 06:10 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
December 08, 2005
Amazing
Mine must be an important riding this time around. (We're in the midst of a Federal Election campaign in Canada for those that don't live near by. Yes, during Christmas. Don't ask.) I've had two of the candidates who're running actually knock on my apartment door and introduce themselves. During the last election campaign I don't think I even got brochures from everybody. We'll see if the other people pay a visit yet too.
Posted by John at 06:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Here, my friends, is a
Here, my friends, is a clean bathtub. It only deserves a picture because it is an exceedingly rare sight.
Posted by John at 12:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 03, 2005
Aeon Flux
I'm glad I went to see Aeon Flux before I read the reviews. It wasn't nearly as bad as they said.
Posted by John at 12:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 02, 2005
Cat fish
This is both the most logical and creepiest cat food flavour ever.
Posted by John at 02:01 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 27, 2005
Equipment failure
Mark took me to the Leafs game on Saturday for my birthday (they won!). Of course, I spent half the game playing with my toys (yes, it was important to find an online review of King Kong during the second period.). I took two self portraits of Mark and myself with the camera on my new phone. Click the link to see them. Obviously only someone with years of photo and gadget experience can be expected to achieve such amazing results. Don't be too hard on yourself if your photographic endevours don't turn out as well.
Posted by John at 09:34 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
November 18, 2005
Oh, and ...
Snow!
Posted by John at 02:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 11, 2005
Remembrance Day
As part of the Remembrance Day activities, the Snowbirds (I think) did I flypast in the missing man formation. Here they are with Markham in the distance.
Posted by John at 12:02 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 10, 2005
A love affair
johnD: ( I really do <3 Trillian)
brian: i don't understand, but i'm glad you're happy
johnD: if it were a woman i couldn't even date her, she would be sooo out of my league
Posted by John at 01:52 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 27, 2005
Upgrade
I've upgraded my blogging software to the newest version. This is a test message to make sure it still works. Please ignore this message.
Posted by John at 11:35 PM | Comments (1)
October 26, 2005
It's about time!
I got my first blog comment spam today! I am sooo proud; *finally* I'm being noticed.
[edit: oddly, my blog entering software doesn't have 'blog' in its spellchecking database..]
Posted by John at 01:14 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 23, 2005
Yesterday I survived another assault
Yesterday I survived another assault on the CN Tower (it took me 16:45, thank you very much) and a rainsoaked bus ride around the Niagara area to view Balls Falls, a winery tour and a ghost walk in Niagara on the Lake. OK, I only made it through a portion of the walk before retiring to the pub to await everyone else's return.
Keeping up yesterdays frenetic pace, the schedule for today consists of:
1) Go out for breakfast
2) Doze on couch
3) Hang out and read at Starbucks
4) Doze on couch
5) Start laundry
6) Doze on couch
7) Play with cats
8) Doze on couch
9) Continue laundry
10) Doze on couch
As you can see it's a full day's worth and I'm only half through it, so I should get back to it.
Picture from Balls Falls:
Posted by John at 04:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 19, 2005
United Way CN Tower Climb
Just a reminder that this is the final week to sponsor me in the CN Tower climb which happens this Saturday. Thanks for your support!
Posted by John at 11:37 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 03, 2005
Ignore this post
I know I will.
Posted by John at 02:47 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 29, 2005
Worst spam
Here is the text of the worst written spam I've ever received:
From: Monte Gabriel
Subject: Are you still apprehensive
Hello, Hi mate, my name is Shannon Mcguire
this is a personal question:
Are you jealous of your friends, enhance your erections.
We can provide you that extra bit of stiffness, for a price you can afford.
Supplies are limited! http://bifurcate.b.50.happinessischeap.com
best regards,
Monte Walton
Q..u..i..t : http://bifurcate.happinessischeap.com/idontwant.php
Bad English; bad grammar; it's from three different people ... the 'bifurcate' in the URL made me chuckle as well. ;) Anything else wrong with it?
Posted by John at 04:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 18, 2005
Summarizing the week that was:
I had a longer version of this written but Zempt ate it before I could post it. I am not about to type it all out again. Therefore, to summarize:
Sunday: We found an amazing Spanish restaurant near our houseboat. Everything they use is trucked in from Spain. Yum.
Monday: Dazed and confused sitting in the booth at the IBC show.
Tuesday: Wasn't able to contact my home server. Immediately decided it was because the cat sitter had stolen everything and sold it on ebay.
Wednesday: Wandered and photographed the streets of Amsterdam full of rattling bicycles rode by supermodels.
Thursday: Woke up in Amsterdam, went to bed in Toronto. Had three breakfasts.
Friday: My final guppy died.
Saturday: I bought shoes.
Posted by John at 11:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 09, 2005
Message in a bottle
We're saying on the houseboat in Amsterdam and we notice a bottle with a note in it floating by. We fish the thing out and here's the note:
Here's the translation from my dad:
"In contrast to girls of the beach,
With salt of the sea in their hair, and sand,
I cry freshwater tears to exchange(?) canals
Of the city, and the rivers of this land.
Sand
between my toes, not from the beach,
But from between the stones of the street,
Makes a trail through my house, from bath-tub to tap,
So you can see where I have been, and where I stood still.
In contrast to the girls of the beach,
With dunes at their feet, and shells in their hand,
I walk with shod feet on the bridges over the canal,
I go along the side of the piers, I stand on the edge."
Posted by John at 06:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 29, 2005
CN Tower climb
I'm participating in the Enbridge CN Tower Climb for The United Way (yes, again) on October 22. To be honest, I usually do it for the enjoyment and the tshirt but if you'd like to sponsor me and help support the United Way, please click here.
I'm hoping to beat my personal best time of 16:15. I've gotten this same time on two different climbs so it would be nice to beat it; if even by a single second.
Posted by John at 02:17 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 26, 2005
Another in the series
Another in the series of Cats Is Strange People
Posted by John at 10:41 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 22, 2005
Saturday surprise
So, the big thing I learned on Saturday was that I might be imperfect. I might have flaws. I know; I was just as shocked to hear about it as you no doubt are. Interestingly, areas I thought might be suspect (swallowing gum, jaywalking, actually believing things I see on CNN, etc) weren't mentioned whereas other areas of my life which I thought were quite fine are in fact crawling, seething with error. Right below my calm exterior lies something sinister and suspect, apparently. I may be the human equivalent of a Van Gogh painted on top of Dogs Playing Poker. Who knew. The important thing is that it was discovered in time. The world is safe.
Obviously, I'm going to have to pull out my receipt and call the Stepford company. At some point during production, errors obviously crept in. It could have something to do with solar flares. Perhaps my personality software runs on Windows and needs to be rebooted at critical times during dates. Flawed RAM might explain my tic's. Or chips from my brain were left too close to the microwave in the lunchroom during a popcorn break. Whatever the problem, if I'm going in for a retrofit, I'll definitely request, um, enhancements.
Posted by John at 10:41 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
August 21, 2005
do over
Don't you hate those times when something pops out of your mouth which you know instantly is the wrong thing to say and you can't take it back? I just had one of those moments. There should really be a 'Redo Last Minute' button on our foreheads that we can use at times like this.
[edit] Fortunately there is a do-over for blogs in the form of 'edit' links.
Now, if I could redo that moment I would have probably said something along the lines of:
"I'm sorry things worked out the way they did. I wish you could have seen me for how I am rather than how I was or the person you think I'm hiding inside. I am going to miss talking to you and your smile."
Trust me, that's much better than what I said the first time.
[/edit]
Posted by John at 11:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 19, 2005
Feline Dromedary
My cat that sleeps like a camel.
Posted by John at 04:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 13, 2005
A good thought
I like this thought from my fortune cookie last night:
Pretty heady stuff coming from a cookie.
Posted by John at 02:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 12, 2005
fish and spam
I needed a valid email address to download some software and so borrowed guppy01@greyfence.com. My poor fish is now going to get spam from Adobe.
Posted by John at 02:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 01, 2005
Um, ok...
Posted by John at 11:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 30, 2005
Lunch with Fred
Posted by John at 12:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 27, 2005
fish update
Update on the fish. One of my guppies has died. Despite the subject of the previous entry, I'm fairly sure he didn't starve to death. Condolences can be sent to the remaining fish at guppy01@greyfence.com. A flushing will be held in lieu of a funeral.
I now have a single lonely guppy. This is the same situation I was in months ago with my first cat which led to the arrival of the fish initially. Quandary: do I get another fish to keep him company again -- they were a playful pair when both were alive -- or let the poor ratter die of loneliness. I'm not terribly excited by fish as pets as it turns out but I do like my pets to have enjoyable lives.
Posted by John at 09:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
fish feeding
I've been trying to find a way to know if I've fed the fish or not. So often when I'm dropping off to sleep I wonder if the poor critters actually got food that day. My IS Brainstorming (TM) method produced two ideas for consideration.
The first method I considered was to install an infrared beam across the top of the fish tank which would be broken when the tank lid is opened. Breaking the beam would send a signal to the computer. Now, since the tank can also be opened for cleaning, I would also need a device which can read the ripples in the water when the food is dropped in. Or a method to read the electric conductivity of the water when food is dropped in would be better. This would also send a signal to the computer. If the lid opening beam signal is followed by a ripple signal or a change in the electrical properties of the water an item would be entered into my Palm calendar. The second method I considered was to hang a calendar and a pencil on a string above the fish tank where I could mark an X on the calendar when feeding has been done. I disqualified the second idea for being unworkable and am now awaiting funding to do the research to implement the first.
Posted by John at 08:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 20, 2005
Crazy cat
Every evening at precisely 11pm my cat Minou goes nuts. She tears around the apartment uttering strange grunts and partial guttural meows. She'll sit in one place long enough to swish her tail around and feverishly lick one paw then tear off again like a rabid squirrel. After 10 minutes she's she's done and goes back to being the merely annoying, high strung, demanding mass of fur that she is for most of the day. By the way, she's smart enough to know when the time changes because she'll change her routine accordingly. And, of course, she's annoying, high strung, demanding in the most lovable of ways.
Posted by John at 11:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 19, 2005
Brewing beer
Lemme see if I have this straight. The deciding factor between Ales and Lagers is that Ales are top fermented and the Lagers are bottom fermented. Top fermenting is quicker and creates a robust, more full bodied brew whilst bottom fermenting takes longer but creates a lighter, more refreshing beer. Most American beers are Lagers (apparently this is because American breweries for the most part were started by transplanted Germans). I've always gotten this confused because to my ear 'Ale' is a light sounding word whereas 'Lager' is heavier sounding so naturally I've assumed that the beers would match.
A Stout, apparently, is a variation of the Ale family in that it's top fermented and also contains roasted unmalted barley, and often caramel malt. Sounds like something copied directly from the Guinness website. It's not; it was actually copied from this website, which very well may have pilfered it from Guinness.
To sum up: Guinness is goooood.
Posted by John at 09:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 10, 2005
Noise
I've turned as many of the machines in my apartment as I can and it is still amazingly noisy. The fridge is throbbing; the freezer is emitting some sort of wavering buzz; this computer is whooshing; the PVR is whining. I've turned off my air conditioner too but I can feel the drone of my neighbor's. One nice thing about winter: it's a lot quieter. No A/C, of course, but also not as many people out on the streets; nobody on patio's whooping it up. At the moment I'm even bothered by the cats chewing their food. Obviously, I'm going to have to get softer food; or pre-chew it for them. A nice quiet blender would help with that.
I'm always preoccupied with noise; most often the noise that other people make that infiltrates my home. I don't mind people being out there but I don't like to hear them. Especially when they're having sex. Especially when they're having sex and I'm not. One of my previous neighbors had a loose headboard that used to hit the wall when she and her boyfriend were getting randy. I was always impressed with the nice rythmn they would get going. Fortunately, they took no longer to finish up than the average and I was back to my blissful silence after a very few minutes. There was an intention to mention that loose headboard to her but somehow I could never broach the subject when I met her waiting for the elevator. "Nice day." "Yes." "That elevator sure is noisy, isn't it?" "Yes, sure is." Following that up with "I noticed you had sex last night." just didn't seem to work.
This apartment is actually quite a bit noisier than I expected it to be. I thought the higher you were up, the quieter it would be. The opposite seems to be true. My theory is that on the lower floors the sound bounces off the other buildings and cancels itself out whereas up here where there are no buildings for the sound to reflect from we get the full dose. I'm not sure about the validity of that but it sounds impressive when I suggest it to people. It seems to suggest a grasp of physics and sound waves which never fails to impress. I don't let people dwell on it too long before mentioning that it's pretty common to see naked people in the buildings across the street. Nakedness wins out over physics every time.
Posted by John at 07:11 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 06, 2005
Ride For Heart
I participated in the Heart And Stroke Association's Ride for Heart yesterday. I've been hearing about this event for many years and have always wanted to bike along the DVP. Now, I had my chance! The route was 50km and took us from the CNE, along the Gardiner past downtown then onto the DVP. At York Mills we biked down the off ramp and backup the on ramp on the other side of the overpass. Then, back down the DVP to the CNE. It was a glorious morning to be on the road and there were lots of people out (leading to the inevitable accident here and there but I didn't see any serious injuries). It's amazing to me that they would close a major artery for an event like this but I'm glad they do. :)
Posted by John at 11:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 31, 2005
Cut loose
So apparently I was cut loose because I'm not Jewish. Which is surprising since I'm not any less (or more) Jewish now than when we met 3 months ago. I was exactly 0% Jewish then and still very close to that percentage now. Therefore, I suspect the real reason lies elsewhere. The problem is narrowing down the list of my quirks and issues to what exactly caused the breakup. I really think women should be required to fill out a form detailing the why they're cutting us off. How are we mere men supposed to learn and improve if we don't get some detailed feedback?
Of course, it's just as likely that the reason lies not in my ponderous list of issues but in hers. She seemed like a pretty together, caring person to me which might very well mean a truly long - and well hidden - list .
So, the long and short of it is I'm not exactly sure what happened, but i do know for a certainty it had nothing to do with my not being Jewish. Which, unfortunately, leaves everything else.
As a footnote: I'm writing this at a Chinese restaurant down the street. When i broke open my fortune cookie it was missing the fortune . I don't think this bodes well at all...
Posted by John at 09:20 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 28, 2005
Read the instructions
A good example of why it's a good idea to read the instructions thoroughly before starting a building project:
Posted by John at 11:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 01, 2005
Yes!
I *knew* it would happen eventually! Wooohooo!!
Looky:
Tim Horton's Car Winning Rim!
Posted by John at 12:41 PM | TrackBack
March 27, 2005
Someone is playing a joke...
I subscribe to the Word of the Day from dictionary.com. Check out this one. I think I'd add at least one more meaning...
Word of the Day for Monday March 21, 2005
furbelow \FUR-buh-low\, noun:
1. A pleated or gathered flounce on a woman's garment; a
ruffle.
2. Something showy or superfluous; a bit of showy
ornamentation.
Posted by John at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2005
Why I live here
This view is one big reason I love it here:
Moonrise tonight
Posted by John at 07:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 24, 2005
A pile
Here's my stack of winning rims:
Yes, two is a stack...
Posted by John at 03:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 22, 2005
Human said; Kitty said
Human says:
I'd like to pick you up.
Kitty says:
I don't want to be picked up right now.
Human says:
I'd really like to pick you up.
Kitty says:
I really don't want to be picked up right now.
Human says:
I'm going to pick you up.
Kitty says:
Posted by John at 08:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 21, 2005
WWF Stair climb
Once again, I've signed up for the WWF CN Tower Stair Climb event. If you're so inclined, you can sponsor my attempt by searching for my name here. As usual, I am just trying to gather enough pledge moneys to get the T Shirt; I need a massive $50. I'm fully expecting to pledge $50 to myself so don't feel obligated to help. However, if you do care to give money to help the fuzzy animals, I'd be more than happy to run the stairs in your honour. ;)
Once again once again, the climb is being held the morning we get back from the redeye return from the annual NAB show in Las Vegas. I'll be getting home from the airport, dropping off my bags and heading out to the tower.
Posted by John at 12:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 19, 2005
Strike up the band
They had one left at the Bell Store near me, so herald the Return Of The Clip!
This is clip on the back of my phone that allows me to hang it from my beltloop (tres chic) or knapsack. The last one broke off after I dropped the phone one day (hey, I was sick) and I really missed it. I thought for sure they'd soak me for way more than the $20 they did charge me for the replacement. Happy Clip Days have returned!
Posted by John at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2005
I'm a loser
Here's my stack of losing Tim Horton's Roll Up The Rim Contest cups. Out of this many cups I've won twice: one donut and one muffin. I can't complain really, I'd be buying the coffee anyway, winning something is just a bonus.
Posted by John at 11:13 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 16, 2005
Same sex marriage
I'm very jealous of people who can find a soul mate; someone they'd like to publicly announce their love for and intention to live with for the rest of their life. Whether they be a man and woman, man and man or woman and woman, it thrills me that they've got someone to love. Having said that, I am very uncomfortable with the idea of same sex marriage. Not against the union, just the co-opting of the term 'marriage' to mean something other than one man and one woman in a union. Why can't there be another term? We can adjust the laws (and, no doubt, the Charter of Rights) to include the new term. Why take a word which has traditional, strongly held ideas already attached to it? I suspect because they want the same feelings attached to their new union as is normally attached to a traditional marriage. If that's true, that's not good enough. Why glom on to that history and distort it? Or, why not choose the word 'puppy' then, or 'spaghetti'; they both create warm feelings too. It would be better to come up with a new term and build up its own meaning.
Posted by John at 06:05 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 14, 2005
Memories of long ago
My dad sent me this picture. First thought was, how cool is it to have a father that can handle a scanner? Second thought was, who are most of these guys? I recognized two people right away -- three if you count me -- but most of the rest are nothing more than vague half remembered ghosts. My dad included a list of who he thought they were and he did much better than I could ever have done. (Dad has always been amazing at remembering things.)
What a well dressed, well coiffed group of kids we were. No one is wearing just a tshirt and jeans. Obviously, there was some motherly influence involved in that.
Two of the kids in this picture have died, one (Garrett) seems to be missing, I saw one (Henry) of them last summer at a reunion. One of the others (Kenny) I spoke to at some church event maybe 5 years ago on a visit to BC. I have no idea what became of the others. Garrett, Henry and I went all the way from grade 1 through highschool together.
I'm not sure how many parties we had there in the rec room. I remember one occasion, maybe this one, where I was constantly whining about something and off crying because I didn't get my way. I don't remember the circumstances; perhaps I was losing at the games that I should be winning at *my* party. What a whiner. Suck it up, sheesh. I'm sure my parents were very happy to have the event over.
This (if it really was that occasion) is one of those times that I wish I could go back and relive. I wonder what ripples of changes would radiate out if I could have acted a little more mature at that one party?
Posted by John at 10:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 08, 2005
Microsoft Irony
OK, MSN IM being down isn't surprising. Sooner or later it comes back online and the world continues. Just for fun today I clicked on the Help link, which according to the dialog is supposed to show me a Status page. This is what I got when I clicked the link. If they can't even keep their *own* servers running properly how are we supposed to trust them with ours?
Posted by John at 02:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 02, 2005
It is done
As much as we agree it was the Right Thing To Do, breaking up still hurts like the dickens. We could have easily let this linger for months yet before calling it off. We were getting some of our needs met by being together; we had companionship, we had someone to talk to and have romantic evenings with, we had someone to share experiences with. But, ultimately, we were vastly different people looking for different things. We have very different personalities; where I am laid back and liking (nay, needing) quiet time, she is very go go go and liking to fill every minute. Hers is a busy life with very few gaps. She was looking for someone to move in and blend into a pseudo-nuclear family unit. I need time to myself. I enjoyed spending evenings with her and her kids, but then I liked to go home to my quiet apartment with the buzzing fish tank.
At the end of the day, there was a great liking between us but not enough commonality to make it last. We've parted friendly and I hope once we get over the hurt a bit we can come back together as friends.
Posted by John at 11:42 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 30, 2005
This is hard
I hurt for me. I hurt for her. But, I know it was the right thing to do.
Posted by John at 10:06 AM | TrackBack
January 28, 2005
scary shit
Here are some pics of creatures grounded by the Tsunami:
http://forum.openwater.ru/index.php?showtopic=611
Posted by John at 03:12 PM | TrackBack
January 27, 2005
Trying Zempt
In an effort to make my life (and server setup) even more confusing, I'm trying Zempt as an entry tool for my blog. Rather than having to log into my server and run all those cgi scripts on my pokey slow server, I'm hoping I can use this and cut down the churning. Hey, there's spellcheck! Oddly, 'Zempt', 'blog' and 'spellcheck' are not in the spellcheck.
Posted by John at 07:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 25, 2005
Too much of a good thing
I have 21 programs running in my system tray. I should keep adding programs and see if I can get the tray to extend all the way over until it touches the Quick Launch bar.
Posted by John at 11:38 AM
January 24, 2005
Sign in Starbuck's bathroom
I think it's odd that you have to remind people working in the food industry to wash their hands after using the bathroom. I mean, if they're capable of reading you would think they'd be smart enough to realize that they should wash their hands. And, if they're not able to read, putting up a sign won't help anyway. So, assuming they're intelligent enough to read the sign: is it really necessary to include a 6 panel cartoon depicting how to do it!?
Posted by John at 03:23 PM
Sunday afternoon hockey
We went to see a St. Mikes hockey game yesterday. Our guys won against, um, the other team. [Edit: Belleville Bulls] I didn't do any investigation to see if they *should* have won. Some of the team member names were interesting. They had Savage and we had Good. They had Killing and we had Elder. Turns out that Good wasn't that 'good' and ended up in the penalty box a couple of times. Our guys pretty much dominated the game.
We also spent considerable time trying to figure out what the Major's mascot was supposed to be. It looked like a shaggy grey Pink Panther to me. We asked someone and they thought it was supposed to be a dog.
Posted by John at 02:46 PM
January 23, 2005
Chilled fish
It's about -17 degrees outside and the radiators in my apartment don't work. With the infused heat from the neighboring apartments and my little heater I have it up to 20 degrees in here. This is reasonably comfortable with a sweatshirt. The only problem is that it is just barely above the lowest level of acceptable temperature in the fishtank and I have to turn off the heater so I can go to bed. I don't trust this old heater to run unattended. Plus, it's electric and bloody expensive to run. I expect the apartment will cool down considerably before I get up in the morning and restart the heater and I'm not sure what's going to happen to the fish.
When I got home this afternoon after my class it was down to 14 degrees in the apartment and slightly less than the safe area in the fish tank. It's very possible that there is enough redisidual heat in the room to keep the fishtank to at least that level for the next 8 hours.
Ah, the responsibility of having $3.88 two-for-one guppies...
Posted by John at 12:17 AM
January 19, 2005
brush brush brush
If I had to choose one gadget from last year that I would take with me to a desert island, there is no doubt what I would choose. If I could take two gadgets the choice would be tougher. Without a doubt, my PDA is the most lifechanging device I've ever owned. Granted, there have been a stream of these lifechanging gadgets, but the idea of having a PDA has made my life so much easier. Having always been somewhat forgetful, I've always tried to find some method of making notes and then retrieving the info when needed. The PDA filled that bill. Now, with the Zire 72 I also have tha ability to play mp3's and take (admittedly low rez) pictures; my life is complete!
Which is exactly why it would be difficult for me to choose the second device to spend eternity with. I believe the most useful secondary choice would be my electric toothbrush. (Note that having electricity would be required of any deserted island I happend to be stranded on.)
I've always been blessed when it's come to my teeth. They're not perfect but I've never needed braces or such a thing, nor have I ever had a cavity. I'm sure most of this is genetics, but I've also been reasonably strict when it comes to mouth maintenance. I only use Crest toothpaste and I try to replace my brush quite frequently. So, switching to an electric brush last year was quite a risk. How am I to know if my manual brushing technique is what has saved me from the dreaded drill all these years? But, the feel of the teeth after using an electric toothbrush quelled my fears. Mmmmmmmm, smooth; just like after a dentists cleaning. And I have this everyday! Twice a day! It's pretty hard to resist.
Last year was the Year Of The Gadget and so there are a number of items to choose from. I have a GPS, a PVR, Digital Camera, cell phone, MP3 playing CD Player. Any of them would be a fine choice to wile away the lonely hours. I guess, since an island with electricity is just as likely to have cell phone coverage in this day and age, the cell phone would have been the most prudent choice. Regardless of that, I would not last a day without being able to run my tongue over my teeth and go, "mmmmmmm, smooooth."
Posted by John at 09:20 AM