Just because you like a particular dip with your chips doesn't necessarily mean that dip will work out as a vegetable dip as well.
Curse you Farmboy for not stocking enough roasted red pepper dip!!! Oh, and curse Market Fresh for closing its Ontario stores. Especially the one in Orleans.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
I fought the floor...
And the floor won. So I had yet another appointment and guess what, the floor popped!!! I'm not the only person who has heard it now!!! That's a relief. It wasn't quite as loud as it has been in the past but it was decent in my mind and definitely loud enough to hear throughout the condo and it just kept going. The bad news is that he said it is just the wood popping and there's nothing he could really do. So I just have to wait and hope it stops when the wood dries out. He also said that if I had got carpet put in my bedroom I probably wouldn't be hearing it as much and the metal sound I was hearing was just the sound of the pop echoing out through the heat vents. He also said I must be a light sleeper if this is waking me up. I kinda disagree on that one.
So I just have to live with it and hope for the best. But at least now I can forget about having to video tape it and proving to others that there was the popping. Maybe that will help me sleep through it.
So I just have to live with it and hope for the best. But at least now I can forget about having to video tape it and proving to others that there was the popping. Maybe that will help me sleep through it.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Getting geeky
I'm really behind the times but is anyone else really liking the dashboard and widgets that are in the new Mac OS X? They've even added a hula girl!
So, it is to be war between us...
Nobody really wanted to read my rant about the Oscars did they? It was mostly in support of John Stewart and such. Nothing important.
Instead, I go back to talking about the popping under my floor. So instead of wasting anyone else's time (when the floor doesn't seem to want to pop when anyone else is around) I've borrowed my mother's video camera and begun taping it and hopefully they can diagnose it from that. Now, it's not nearly as loud as it was in December and right now it might not even be enough to wake me up but it's the best shot I got at fixing this. The first try was not very successful as I was holding the camera and ended up making too much noise so it's hard to distinguish the floor popping from my fumbling with the camera. The last two days I've just placed the camera on the floor and let it record on its own. Last night, it was popping when I got home so I decided to record what it sounded like when you're in my dining area. I just stood there holding the camera up to my ceiling. I haven't checked to see if I got anything useful out of that yet.
But this battle is taking a bigger toll on me than I expected. I had thought "oh well, I'll just have to get up a little earlier to give myself time to record it". Of course, keeping things simple just ain't in my nature. When I go to bed I end up laying there, unable to get to sleep because every noise makes me stiffen as I wonder "was that a pop? Should I get up and record this?" Then I lay there for a few minutes listening for the next pop. It doesn't come. Eventually I fall asleep but the slightest noise (either in reality or in my dream... I think) has me wake up wondering if it has started popping in the middle of the night or if I've overslept and missed it (even though I soon find out it's only 3 in the morning). Yep, this simple annoying popping has become my Moby Dick and I'm obsessed with capturing it.
Instead, I go back to talking about the popping under my floor. So instead of wasting anyone else's time (when the floor doesn't seem to want to pop when anyone else is around) I've borrowed my mother's video camera and begun taping it and hopefully they can diagnose it from that. Now, it's not nearly as loud as it was in December and right now it might not even be enough to wake me up but it's the best shot I got at fixing this. The first try was not very successful as I was holding the camera and ended up making too much noise so it's hard to distinguish the floor popping from my fumbling with the camera. The last two days I've just placed the camera on the floor and let it record on its own. Last night, it was popping when I got home so I decided to record what it sounded like when you're in my dining area. I just stood there holding the camera up to my ceiling. I haven't checked to see if I got anything useful out of that yet.
But this battle is taking a bigger toll on me than I expected. I had thought "oh well, I'll just have to get up a little earlier to give myself time to record it". Of course, keeping things simple just ain't in my nature. When I go to bed I end up laying there, unable to get to sleep because every noise makes me stiffen as I wonder "was that a pop? Should I get up and record this?" Then I lay there for a few minutes listening for the next pop. It doesn't come. Eventually I fall asleep but the slightest noise (either in reality or in my dream... I think) has me wake up wondering if it has started popping in the middle of the night or if I've overslept and missed it (even though I soon find out it's only 3 in the morning). Yep, this simple annoying popping has become my Moby Dick and I'm obsessed with capturing it.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
A little bit of everything
I've actually been kinda proud of myself... sorta. I've had all these rants built up and I have kept myself from making an arse of myself by posting my inane ramblings on this blog. So on the other hand, I now have this blog that I'm doing nothing with. So here is a quick (well quick for me) blurb about the things I was going to rant about.
First up we have comics, politics and the school system. This rant really got started with the latest issue of the Ultimates. The Ultimates is Marvel Comics' attempt to put alternate (some say they are "updated") versions of characters such as Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, and others in what they see as more "real world" scenarios. At first they started with the Ultimates having to stop the Hulk who is a cannibalistic and very horny monster bent on smashing Freddie Prinze Jr (a noble goal to be sure). But very quickly more political issues began cropping up. Have I lost all the non-comic readers yet? So anyways, I had several ramblings. I had the whole "why are these people still reading this book that upsets them so" and a few politically charged retorts (stuff about being upset with what you see in a mirror... albeit a somewhat distorted mirror). Then I had wanted to point out that much of this book was shown from the bad guys' perspective to give their views, show how they justify their actions to themselves, and what propaganda they are being fed by their own governments. And when you focus on what these other governments in this storyline are doing you'd see that countries like China and Russia had more reason to be upset by how they are portrayed than the US does. But I digress.
After reading some of the arguments about this book my focus has actually moved to our school system (odd ain't it) and how little I learned about the history and make up of this little world we inhabit. After spending a little time with google (and wikipedia for some stuff) I've realized that I've been very ignorant to the world. For instance, I'm a little ashamed to admit it but I never really knew much about the motives behind the two World Wars (yes, the initial discussion inevitably went to Hitler and Germany) or really much about them other than Vimy Ridge being somewhere important for Canadians and that the assassination of an Archduke was pretty important (and I have to thank Jeopardy for that one). And although I've often heard the word "fascist" being thrown around I never really took the time to look into what fascism was (I just avoided using the word myself out of fear of looking stupid... pretty smart huh?). Now, instead of blaming myself for being ignorant I feel the need to point at someone else so I'll go with the school system. My reasoning for this, the only thing I remember about my high school history courses is that I had to memorize a whole bunch of dates (but don't ask me to remember them now). I was never tested on this other stuff. Perhaps they figured that it was too complex to test high school students on that sorta thing or perhaps like with the Ultimates book, any mention of whatever motivated Germany and their allies will be seen as justifying what they did. I can't say for sure what the reasoning was.
Now perhaps I am alone in this area and that other people had a much broader education so this rant can be ignored as the ravings of someone talking out of their ass. Or perhaps I should concentrate on learning this stuff for myself now instead of reading biographies of professional wrastlers. But instead of wading through all the misinformation out there isn't it so much easier to just point the finger at someone? Especially an institution that can't point back. I feel so much better now.
Ok, now that I've gotten that out of my system I realize it's time for some lunch. And to be honest, I can't remember what my second rant was going to be so it'll have to wait.
Cheers!
First up we have comics, politics and the school system. This rant really got started with the latest issue of the Ultimates. The Ultimates is Marvel Comics' attempt to put alternate (some say they are "updated") versions of characters such as Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, and others in what they see as more "real world" scenarios. At first they started with the Ultimates having to stop the Hulk who is a cannibalistic and very horny monster bent on smashing Freddie Prinze Jr (a noble goal to be sure). But very quickly more political issues began cropping up. Have I lost all the non-comic readers yet? So anyways, I had several ramblings. I had the whole "why are these people still reading this book that upsets them so" and a few politically charged retorts (stuff about being upset with what you see in a mirror... albeit a somewhat distorted mirror). Then I had wanted to point out that much of this book was shown from the bad guys' perspective to give their views, show how they justify their actions to themselves, and what propaganda they are being fed by their own governments. And when you focus on what these other governments in this storyline are doing you'd see that countries like China and Russia had more reason to be upset by how they are portrayed than the US does. But I digress.
After reading some of the arguments about this book my focus has actually moved to our school system (odd ain't it) and how little I learned about the history and make up of this little world we inhabit. After spending a little time with google (and wikipedia for some stuff) I've realized that I've been very ignorant to the world. For instance, I'm a little ashamed to admit it but I never really knew much about the motives behind the two World Wars (yes, the initial discussion inevitably went to Hitler and Germany) or really much about them other than Vimy Ridge being somewhere important for Canadians and that the assassination of an Archduke was pretty important (and I have to thank Jeopardy for that one). And although I've often heard the word "fascist" being thrown around I never really took the time to look into what fascism was (I just avoided using the word myself out of fear of looking stupid... pretty smart huh?). Now, instead of blaming myself for being ignorant I feel the need to point at someone else so I'll go with the school system. My reasoning for this, the only thing I remember about my high school history courses is that I had to memorize a whole bunch of dates (but don't ask me to remember them now). I was never tested on this other stuff. Perhaps they figured that it was too complex to test high school students on that sorta thing or perhaps like with the Ultimates book, any mention of whatever motivated Germany and their allies will be seen as justifying what they did. I can't say for sure what the reasoning was.
Now perhaps I am alone in this area and that other people had a much broader education so this rant can be ignored as the ravings of someone talking out of their ass. Or perhaps I should concentrate on learning this stuff for myself now instead of reading biographies of professional wrastlers. But instead of wading through all the misinformation out there isn't it so much easier to just point the finger at someone? Especially an institution that can't point back. I feel so much better now.
Ok, now that I've gotten that out of my system I realize it's time for some lunch. And to be honest, I can't remember what my second rant was going to be so it'll have to wait.
Cheers!
Friday, March 03, 2006
Another quick update
The guy came by to check on my duct/floor banging problem and of course, it doesn't bang. It seems to only do it when we get below -20C (not including the windchill). The odd time it might do some soft banging but that's the only time it's consistent (and loud enough to wake me up). So there's nothing he can do without hearing it for himself. He was kind enough to give me his home phone number as he lives just around the corner but I don't expect we'll be getting cold enough weather any time soon. I'm also planning to borrow my parents' video camera just in case. I really just want someone else to hear it just to prove I'm not totally crazy.
Changing the topic abruptly, I'm looking into joining the fitness facility at work. It's not a great place and has very little in the way of equipment but it's cheap and very few people seem to be using it. I had been going with my cousin to a gym he was a member of that had a lot of equipment and wasn't being used so I've been a little spoiled in that way. But alas, our schedules (mostly his) don't allow for us to get together so I have to make due on my own somehow. And despite the lack of equipment at our facility I can at least do something and that's better than nothing right? I'm not really looking to buff up or anything but I had been doing a fair amount of cardio as of late (hockey, badminton, and tennis) and have been told that adding a little bit of weight training would help put me in better shape (both in losing the tummy and adding a little bit more muscle... not to the point of being buff but to the point where my arms aren't toothpicks). Before I started with the gym I normally weighed in around the 165 pound mark. Now I'm floating around 154/155. But I keep trying to tell myself that it's not about the numbers, it's about looking good naked.
And if you see my brother today feel free to kick him in the arse. It's his birthday and that's the tradition isn't it? I had been hoping to get some drawing done as I'm way behind schedule on my comic but that ain't going to happen tonight. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.
Cheers!
Changing the topic abruptly, I'm looking into joining the fitness facility at work. It's not a great place and has very little in the way of equipment but it's cheap and very few people seem to be using it. I had been going with my cousin to a gym he was a member of that had a lot of equipment and wasn't being used so I've been a little spoiled in that way. But alas, our schedules (mostly his) don't allow for us to get together so I have to make due on my own somehow. And despite the lack of equipment at our facility I can at least do something and that's better than nothing right? I'm not really looking to buff up or anything but I had been doing a fair amount of cardio as of late (hockey, badminton, and tennis) and have been told that adding a little bit of weight training would help put me in better shape (both in losing the tummy and adding a little bit more muscle... not to the point of being buff but to the point where my arms aren't toothpicks). Before I started with the gym I normally weighed in around the 165 pound mark. Now I'm floating around 154/155. But I keep trying to tell myself that it's not about the numbers, it's about looking good naked.
And if you see my brother today feel free to kick him in the arse. It's his birthday and that's the tradition isn't it? I had been hoping to get some drawing done as I'm way behind schedule on my comic but that ain't going to happen tonight. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.
Cheers!
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