2001/12/27

I guess I'm a little past the halfway mark of my Christmas break in the 'shwa. I've regained my sense for what day of the week it is -- the first couple of the days were pretty undecernable in terms of a weekday versus weekend feel.

It was a green Christmas, but Boxing Day made up for it with really nice fluffy flurries, the kind that happily billow off your car when you sweep them; a welcome change from the hard, crunchy stuff that hit Ottawa last week, requiring quite a bit of effort in automobile scraping.

Christmas itself was pretty good; the gifts seemed in abundance this year and it took quite a while to depleat the pile overflowing from under the tree. Dinner was delicious, as usual, and we're still enjoying left-overs :) Not that I'm a huge left-over turkey fan, but the first couple of helpings are really good while the turkey remains novel. Once the sandwich stage arrives, though, I'm ready to return to my regular menu.

Unfortunately, I feel a bit of post-Christmas blues settling in; this akward week between Christmas and the New Year always seems to drag its feet a bit. I haven't been all that social, opting instead to catch up on some recreational reading . . .
15:11 |

2001/12/21

Well, that's it, I'm done work for the year! I'm off to the 'shwa in a couple hours . . .
15:54 |

You just can't put too much faith in the media, or the government, it seems. A new translation of the OBL tape reveals neglected dialog:
The new translation uncovers statements that could be embarrassing to the government of Saudi Arabia, a very important U.S. ally. Bin Laden's visitor, Khalid al Harbi, a Saudi dissident, claims that he was smuggled into Afghanistan by a member of Saudi Arabia's religious police.
13:55 |

2001/12/20

Every month, and even year, seems to be declared something by somebody. Get ready for 2002, it's the International Year of Mountians as far as the UN is concerned. Oh boy . . . (Actually, it reminds me of the 'Save the Mountains' campaign from my early high school hi-jinx.)
13:27 |

For all you Simpson's fans out there, here's the Guide To Springfield, notable for the detailed map found there.
09:17 |

2001/12/19

Consumer Alert

I went to Loblaws the other day. I usually go to a place called Produce Depot, where I can get all my veggies, fruit, and deli stuff real cheap; red peppers, for example, going for $0.79 each. Well, the 'price of convenience' at Loblaws cost me $2.42 for a single red pepper! But that's only the beginning. My shopping list next had me hunting for rice crackers. Among all the Peak Freans and Chips-A-Hoy, there wasn't one package of rice crackers. Boo. So I thought Triscuits would be a yummy substitute. And this is when I discovered what Dave Nichols is really up to. I could NOT find Triscuits anywhere, but I did find the President's Choice equivalent. Then it dawned on me: PC is going to duplicate all other commercial food products w/ their own versions, and then Loblaws will be nothing but a monopolized PC product depot <:o That's right, Mr. Gouda may very well be in trouble.

It should also be noted that anyone interested in purchasing a pair of leather pants should act fast: eye-witness reports indicate that a collective of francophone, middle-aged ladies in Hull, Quebec, are absorbing the stock of Ottawa-area retailers.

And what's with these recent Yahoo ads!? They're getting worse every day!
13:09 |

2001/12/17

Went to Siam Bistro on Friday, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the table spacing was a tad tight, but I quickly got used to it. The food was yum, and the service prompt. The interior was surprisingly neat and nearly formal, given the modest facade of the restaurant that had me imagining something more casual.

Saw 'Suspicious River', which I didn't like very much. The movie was well made and all, but the plot was just plain disturbing, and there hardly seemed to be healthy -- unafflicted by some mental disorder or emotional skew -- character in town.

Sarah R. had a little holiday gathering at her place which made for a decent time w/ a fun crowd, and other than a trip to Oh So Good -- I wish there were more non-franchise coffee places in Ottawa -- there wasn't much else goin' on in the outing department this past weekend. The snow came down on Friday evening, and it looks like it may be here to stay given that it's snowing again today . . . I see a lot of movie rentals for the months ahead :)
16:04 |

2001/12/14

Went to the Resonance exhibit at the Museum of Civilization last night. I far preferred the Children's Museum. Perhaps if I played an instrument, this would have been more interesting for me, but looking at worldly instruments in glass cases just didn't interest me all that much . . . The exhibit does feature a dj set-up and footage from the 1997 DMC championships; I thought this was neat, but also somewhat out of place as there were no other electronic instruments present.
14:29 |

2001/12/13

Forget the crazies runnin' around in the caves, we have our share of sick-o's right here in Ontario: these guys are sick!

I say leave LeBreton Flats alone! Let the ex find another home . . .

I previously mentioned a stroll downtown to see the Christmas lights around Parliament: here's a pic.
17:04 |

I'm literally out to lunch today. On my way to and from the foodcourt I passed three of my co-workers and recognized not a one until they freed me from my aloof trance by saying "Hi Andrew!" I couldn't have picked a better day to not shave under the assumption that I wouldn't run into anybody ;) It's a foggy day, and my head is in the clouds; I've been thinking a lot about digital, or rather technological, art lately . . .

Checked out the OBL transcript, and I can't beleive the hijackers didn't know what they were training for all along . . . I haven't actually seen the footage, but there's already talk of it being a fake in the metafilter comments. I also find all the dreamy preminitions eerie, and all that 'praise Allah' crap -- if the translation is accurate, it really illustrates the dire difference in viewpoints held between cultures; that is, if you can call mass murder in the sake of 'religion' a culture.

This article about enhancing your computer's performance embodies my feeling toward all those import super-uppers :)

More proof that pure idiots still walk the earth, and fall off the edge, according to this guy . . . someone tell me this is a joke!
13:31 |

2001/12/12

This is hilarious if you've heard/seen anything about the Segway scooter.
15:54 |

15 years of work, and the bear-proof suit still doesn't work:
The suit, made from layers of steel, titanium, chain mail and rubber "wasn't built for a Kodiak" he said. "The bear was peeling back the chain mail like it was a banana".
11:52 |

I think I'm becoming a grumpalupagus . . . I don't know if it's the weather, my rountine or lack therefo, or just a combination of everything, but I haven't been a happy camper lately. My car pool puked out on me last week, so I'm trying to get that in order -- sounds easy, but for various reasons it's been anything but. There's no snow to play in, which would be great if only it were warm enough to, say, comfortably scoot or ride around on a bike . . . Maybe I should just rent some funny movies. Boo.
09:25 |

2001/12/11

Here's a pic of dEb and I: Crouching Couple, Hidden Santa style.
14:39 |

I went Christmas shopping -- in a mall -- for the first time last night. It wasn't too busy, and I was glad for that, as the crowds are what I dislike about holiday shopping excursions. I was rather dismayed at how hard it was to find any gifts I had in mind, and as I continued to mill about and my search went from the specific to the general, I began to wonder what the point of running around and buying stuff for everyone is? Yeah, I know it's to show people you care and all that, and I think that delivering that 'special' gift to someone can show that, but all to often it just seems to be gifts for gifts' sake. And I'm sure you've thought the same thing: so why do we do it?
12:34 |

2001/12/10

A privately built, publically run hospital: a happy compromise between private and public health care?

Well, you pay taxes for the stamps, why not pay taxes for being stupid at the same time!? That's right, lotto tics at the post office.

Does anyone even review the presentation of material in the newspaper!? From the on-line Tech/Business section of the Ottawa citizen we have this story saying:
For the first time in eight months, the number of technology jobs in Ottawa-Hull has increased -- bucking a dismal national trend.
Immediately followed by this one:
The ailing economy shed another 43,000 full-time jobs last month, the second consecutive monthly loss, pushing Canada's unemployment rate to a two-year high of 7.5 per cent from 7.3 per cent in October.
So basically, on one hand we finally have an increase in tech-jobs, accompanied on the other hand by a two-year employment low. Am I the only one confused here? And to boot:
The women of Ottawa will typically shop early this holiday season, have fun doing it, probably buy lots of fruitcake, and they will be among the biggest spenders in the country.
Recession, eh?
15:43 |

Here's my holiday travel schedule.
10:24 |

Had a pretty fun weekend. On Friday I took dEb on a 'date' which included din din at So Good, a stroll downtown to check out the Christmas lights, and the film 'The Man Who Wasn't There'. Went to a party at dEb's old place and although it was great to see her old roommates, it wasn't the best of times. There was nothing particularily bad about the party, but some Ottawa parties full of so-called 'young professionals' just seem to be dry. Maybe I'm being a little too hard about the whole thing . . . Anyway, it's Monday, so my outlook isn't exactly brimming w/ cheer. (Doesn't it suck that my last sentence, using everyday words, makes mention of two commercial products? Boo!) Went to CBC Radio's reading of Dickens' A Christmas Carol which I thoroughly enjoyed. (Some more details can be found at he said, she said.)
09:39 |

2001/12/07

Here's a pic of dEb and I from our weekend in the 'shwa.
10:43 |

Last night was a blast! Went to the Children's Museum, and I sure must have zipped through it the last time I was there in order that I missed such nostalgic icons as the original Friendly Giant castle model, Mr. Dressup's Tickle Trunk, and Casey's treehouse! Wow! After the museum, I agreed to entertain dEb w/ a game of squash. It was pretty fun, though it required more running than I thought it would -- that little ball sure can make its way around a room . . . Afterwards, we rented 12 Monkeys, which I think to be a great, albeit eerie and bleak, flic. To read more about my thoughts about the night's activities, check out this new site dEb and I are collaborating on: he said, she said. It's a place for us to compare/contrast our ideas and observations on things.
09:38 |

2001/12/06

I've figured it out! A solution to one of my biggest pet peaves: people who use elevators to go up/down ONE floor! Originally I thought there should just be a rule that states unless you're carrying a large package or are otherwise unable to take the stairs, you can't take the elevator between consecutive floors. But how to enforce it!? So here's my solution: in addition to stairs connecting each floor, install escalators as well, then modify the elevators so they only stop on every other floor; that way, the shortest distance any elevator travels is two floors, and at most one's trip up the building is one elevator ride followed by one short escalator ride to in-between floors not serviced by the elevator. Ahh, but what about the package people and whonot? Well, you have a service elevator operated by an attendant -- like in the glory days of fancy elevators -- which can stop at every floor, and unless you're carrying a packgage, are pregnant, perched on crutches, or riding on wheels, it's "GET OUT!" for you!
09:12 |

2001/12/05

Last night was pretty relaxing. I had Tasha over for dinner. Afterwards we went for coffee at Bridgehead, which serves Fair Trade coffee. We both read our respective papers . . . between that and work, I read A LOT yesterday. Isn't life exciting sometimes? ;)
11:32 |

I think this is just a little much: the translation of Harry Potter into ancient Greek and Latin has been approved in hopes the story will "revive interest in the two ancient languages." It makes sense, as all the hype around these books has long been Greek to me, anyhow.

Since when does zooming around in a bus and nearly running into every car that even comes near you warrant you and your peers $1M in washroom facilities!? (More here) And to add insult to injury, it's been suggested that OC Transpo drivers get private smoking huts to "accomodate" those who are "addicted to tobacco." I say let them use the bathrooms!
10:00 |

2001/12/04

Check out this new self-balanced scooter
14:04 |

I 'saw' Jaffa last night. I saw him sit and sit and sit at the bar as I sat and sat and sat in a booth waiting for him to go on. It was Monday night, so I thought things would get started a little earlier than usual, so I arrived just after ten. By twelve thirty, the dj / live drummer thing was wearing thin. Don't get me wrong, it was great music, but sometimes you just want to skip to the main act. Shortly after one, Jaffa finally got into things, but by this time I was pretty beat and my enthusiasm was waning considerably. dEb and I kicked around for a little longer, but called it a night pretty 'early' into his set. Boo!
09:08 |

2001/12/03

I am a watermelon seeking an orange, oh yeah.
15:23 |

Here's some more snowy owl pics (courtesy of Harfang): I, II. Yeah, I know, I need a pic section . . . it's in the works . . .
13:16 |

Had a nice quiet weekend at home in the 'shwa. dEb accompanied me for a vist w/ my parents, which went really well. This week should be fun. Jaffa's playing tonight at Babylon, and the rest of the week is open for whatever w/ the promise of nice weather . . .
11:23 |

archives
blogger
yaccs