Eucatastrophe

Erasing denim stains from leather

2011-11-12T00:33:00.003-05:00

If you happen to get a new pair of jeans that's bleeding all over your leather shoes, wallet, belt, etc. there's an easy way to get those stains out.

Step 1: brush off any dirt or dust.

Step 2: use a soft white rubber eraser and scrub the stained areas.

Step 3: apply a light coat of mink oil or whatever to protect the newly exposed surface.

That's all there is to it. My wallet was stained by the indigo bleeding from

my jeans. After scrubbing, it looks quite a lot cleaner.

-d

Project Trucker: Levis Type III Jacket

2011-11-04T19:46:00.008-04:00

Hit the Levi's store at the Eaton Centre and finally sank the $88 +tx for the 'modern' Type III Trucker Jacket. I hmm'd and haw'd for months about whether to drop the extra $370 for the 21 oz Iron Heart Type III. I just want to mess around, so I finally decided on the cheaper.

The cut is longer than the 'vintage' capital E model. The bottom button is now below the beltline, instead of above. Apparently, this is a 'modern cut.' Stupidly, Levi's has not widened the hem at the bottom, which would have made sense since the closure is hip-height rather than the waist. So now, if you do up the bottom button, the whole thing rides up, and if it doesn't you should consider a gym membership because you are one skinny motherfucker.

The other big change is the addition of two slit pockets to warm your hands in. The pockets are generous and the pocket bags feel pretty tough. I like this addition.

The buttons and rivets are the same shitty tinny looking ones that we come to expect from today's Levi's. I expect the denim to perform same as the other rigids and bleed out until it looks stone-washed. But hey, for less than $100, that's fine. I'll wear the fuck out of it, and then we can compare Big E to Little E.

-d

Garrison Bespoke Part 3

2011-06-18T00:42:00.003-04:00

Samurai S5000VX21oz update

2011-06-11T23:58:00.000-04:00

So, I took my jeans into Sydney's to get the crotch tears and back pocket holes repaired. They send it out to their tailors who conduct the repairs, and ended up doing an amazing job. The back pocket was an especially good job - the back pocket was unstitched, patched, and sewn back on. The repairs are pretty much invisble from the outside of the jeans. You'd have to look very very close to see the stitching.

Update: I played around with the white-balance and the photos below are the best approximation of the true colour.
I also picked up a pair of sweatpants from Roots. Finally found a pair made of 100% cotton. I've been looking for so long, and I was resigned to the fact that they would never make anything other than cotton-poly blends because people like how 'soft' the blend feels. I picked up a terry cotton sweatshirt last year at the GAP. Well, that's another check in the box - 100% cotton sweats.

Garrison Bespoke Part 2

2011-05-21T00:26:00.001-04:00

Garrison Bespoke Part 1

2011-05-07T00:19:00.003-04:00

Samurai S5000VX21oz

2011-01-23T23:19:00.011-05:00

If you aren't aware, I've been wearing the same pair of jeans almost every day for the last year. I dont' wear them every day - more like every other day on average. It's been my pet project for the last little while, so I guess it's my sense of dedication and commitment personified.

Samurai is the brand - a relatively small one based in Osaka with a bit of a cult following around the world. The only retail outlet outside of Osaka is in NYC - Blue in Green, which is where I got mine.

Anyway, here they are - or were - last year pictured above at 1 month old, and below how they look today, almost a year later. (click to enlarge)
Most of the fading is from just everyday wear. I don't do anything particularly intense or rough in them, so I guess the fading is modest when compared so some of my other pairs. A lot of the wear is actually from my canvas messenger bag. I do alternate shoulders, not so that the fading on my jeans is even, but moreso because I ended up with a pinched nerve from shoulder muscle imbalances last year. I have some salt splatter from the GD sidewalk slush.

My grossly oversized wallet busted a hole in the back pocket, and since it was fucking freezing cold today, I stayed in and did some hand-sewing. Just patched with a small piece of scrap denim from another pair that got hemmed.

Yeah, the crotch is blowing out. They'll probably be NSFW in a few more months - according to the company's style guide. I guess I'll start working on another pair.

Mantis

2010-07-28T22:43:00.004-04:00

Found a praying mantis on the field on Tuesday. I'd never seen one so large in the GTA.

-d

Thursday Farmer's Market @ Mel Lastman Sq

2010-07-22T08:38:00.002-04:00

If you have time today, go check it out.

The magic school bus there is actually a fully functional kitchen where they make baked goods. Today, the Peach/Apricot dessert loaf is awesome. The peaches come from the stand next to the baked goods stand. Try the peaches there too. Fresh, in season, and almost-ripe. Probably the best peaches I have ever eaten.

Thornloe and Montforte also sell cheeses there. Some are award winning, and most of their selection is pretty damn good.

Also check out Mark Wilson's bee stand. He normally has a comb from his hives on display.

Avoid the north-east stand (closest to starbucks). They're not really farmers. They're just produce re-sellers.

-d

iPhone 3G & Rogers plans for sale

2010-07-20T09:14:00.002-04:00

My co-worker and her partner are leaving the country, and would like to sell their iPhones and transfer ownership of their Rogers plans rather than pay a cancellation fee. The key selling point is the $30 / 6 GB data plans. Details as follows:

Phone 1:
Mega My5 35 ($35.00/month)
Unlimited Eve/Wknd Minutes
200 Weekday Minutes
250 Bonus Minutes
50 Bonus Minutes
6PM Early Eve. Calling Option
MY5 + Canada Wide
Call Forward/Trans.Pay Per Use
2500 Sent/Unl. Received Txt
9-1-1 Emergency Access Fee $0.75/month
System Access Fee $6.95/month
Data Service Plan 6GB $30.00/month
Phone Value Pack+VVmail $15.00/month
TOTAL = approx 87.70

PHONE 2:
Mega My5 25 ($25.00/month)
100 Weekday Minutes
1000 Eve/Weekend Minutes
Call Forward/Trans.Pay Per Use
Partial Detail Billing
MY5
2500 Sent/Unl. Received Txt
9-1-1 Emergency Access Fee $0.75/month
System Access Fee $6.95/month
Data Service Plan 6GB $30.00/month
Phone Value Pack+VVmail $15.00/month
TOTAL = approx 77.70

Let me know if you're interested and I can put you in touch with her to discuss further.

-d

Entertainment

2010-07-19T00:14:00.005-04:00

For the record, I started growing my beard after my Sister's Wedding, as planned since early June (no hair cuts or shaving until September!). My beard plans predate the beard fad that is now being highlighted by a variety of sources online.

Saw Rock of Ages and Legally Blonde with KT over the last couple of weeks. Both shows were pretty good.

Rock of Ages stars the same French dude who was in We Will Rock You, as well as the chick who played Maria from the Sound of Music. Anyway, we went to the theatre a couple hours before showtime, and entered the lottery for discount tickets. We scored 2 front-row seats for $25 each. I think there are 15 lottery tickets each show, so if there are less than 15 people entering the lottery (only 8 ppl entered the lottery for our show), you’re guaranteed the ticket. We sat front row, off to the right of the stage (don’t sit in the centre because you’ll get spit on by the singers…). I think sitting front row is a totally different experience because you can hear the actors’ real voices belting out those songs, and see the expressions on the faces. It’s pretty amazing. Anyway, for $25 a pop, it was definitely well worth the show.

Legally Blonde was… Legally Blonde. Initially, I was skeptical about how good a Legally Blonde musical could be because of the generally cool reception from critics. It's commonly described as 'vapid,' or 'vacuous,' but I realized that that’s exactly the selling point of a Legally Blonde musical. The musical is the same as the movie, so it stands to reason that if you liked the movie, you’ll like the musical. I liked the movie, so I liked the musical.

Saw Inception last night. Gotta say, it’s my fav movie this summer.

-d

Solid weekend.

2010-06-28T12:10:00.003-04:00

June 26: Janice's Wedding.
I got this engagement photo blown up to 41" x 27" (colour adjusted!) and got a black Ikea frame for it for my sis' wedding.

June 27: the 30-60-90 Tri-Generation Birthday Party.

-d

Father's Day

2010-06-22T22:26:00.002-04:00

Click to Enlarge

Another good real estate article

2010-05-18T08:01:00.001-04:00

Mish's view on the Canadian Housing Market

For a more in depth explanation of why price-rent / price-income is an indicator of a housing bubble, drop me a line, and I can fwd another article that'll lay it out for you.

-d

How to compost in your condo

2010-04-30T12:33:00.001-04:00

Been crazy busy and haven't had much time for blogging.

Anyway, just thought I'd drop this awesome article about DIY vermicomposting towers. I have a similar system under my desk at work where I throw my vegetable/fruit waste. The diff between the one in the article and mine is that mine is a tub system, which is a little simpler to run, but harder to maintain. The tower system has a higher chance of success, and is probably more effient, but it's also a lot more complicated to build.

Anyway, if you're interested, drop me a line, and I can help you get started (ie. with worms and some tips).

As a side note, I'm planted a garlic clove at the office and it sprouted!

-d

Refinished Dining Room Table

2010-04-11T17:00:00.003-04:00

Refinished my parents' old dining room table over the last week. Took quite a bit of work, but it paid off.

You can see that I didn't bother refinishing the centre extension, just the two round pieces.

-d

Uggs leading the physio and orthoped boom!

2010-03-19T08:59:00.000-04:00

After my own ankle injury, I started to look at the way strangers walk and made it a game to spot the telltale signs of flat feet based only on the condition of footwear. I noticed that most women who wear Uggs demonstrate a collapsing arch and serious overpronation on the right foot, most pronounced when going up stairs, but sometimes also when walking in general.

So, when KT & I bomb around the city, we're invariably surrounded by women who wear Uggs. Whenever we happen to walk behind an Uggo, I always point out the extreme wear on the medial (inside) part of the back of the boot. Spotted an article in The Star, and now, I feel vindicated.

I theorized that today's Modern Western woman is adapted to wearing heels, and as a result, has some pretty weak-ass feet and ankles. Now remove all semblance of support and make them walk on a flimsy inch thick piece of compressible foam. What's the result?

When the heel strikes the ground, if there is a predisposition to roll the ankle inwards, nothing prevents the ankle from rolling as the load is increased on the joint. Weight transfers from the centre to the medial side of the heel. This causes two things to happen: 1) the medial side of the boot becomes more compressed than the centre or lateral side, and 2) the traction gained by the heel on the insole actually pushes the boot over to the lateral side. So, from a point of view behind the wearer's heel, this looks like 1) severe wear on the medial edge of the sole, and 2) rotation of the entire heel cup of the boot to the lateral side (outside).

Now, what's all that mean? Vicious cycle. As the wearer over-pronates, the cushioning becomes more and more compressed on the medial side. Over time, the sole of the boot becomes a ramp, lower on the medial than lateral. This further encourages overpronation.

Anyway, this is all speculation based on observation of the way people walk in Uggs. Someone should actually do a study, collect old pairs of boots and assess wearers for flat feet.

-d

Health Break

2010-03-18T14:00:00.002-04:00

3 words currently sum up what I'm feeling right now:

Partially

Herniated

Disc

nice eh?

-d

iPad Gangbang

2010-03-11T16:59:00.003-05:00

So, the word is that Dell is teaming up with Google and Amazon to take on Apple's iPad and iTunes. Some analysts are predicting that this triumvirate will upset Apple iTune's grip on the market. I'm sure those analysts thought MS's Zune would destroy the iPod, and BB's Storm and 'tactile feedback' would break the iPhone's base too.

Nobody has been able to pry Apple's fingers off a market that they have captivated. No, it doesn't happen even when the competition is a single organization (Blackberry, Microsoft), nevermind THREE DIFFERENT companies, with three different agendas.

Individually, they're very very good at what they do - I'd say that they're probably the best at what they do, which is why the analysts have such a hard-on for this alliance. Dell makes cheap reliable hardware, Amazon is a massive online retailer, and Google creates the best software. That's great, but they simply don't have the magic ingredient that Apple has. It was never Apple's price, tech specs, iTunes, or OS that sold their products. The fight has always been about marketing and esthetics, and that's where Dell and Amazon fall short (Google is great too, but in a different intangible way).

Functionality and value don't figure into the equation when someone considers whether or not to buy an Apple product. The only questions are 1) can I afford it? and 2) is this sexy, or what? The only people who bother with functionality and value are analysts and/or people who need to do real work on them.

If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on Apple.

-d

QALY - a four letter U-less Q-word

2010-02-12T15:48:00.001-05:00

My coworkers & I watched a video over lunch about the dangers of eating meat, which prompted discussions about the validity of the arguments for or against meat eating.

I won't reject the hypothesis that modern north american eating habits lead to an early death - quite the opposite, actually. But as one of my colleagues pointed out, life expectancy isn't the only factor to consider in lifestyle decisions. We have to consider quality of life too (ie. enjoy eating lotsa meat).

Enter the QALY. Quality Adjusted Life Year. It's the metric used by Cost-Benefit / Cost-Effectiveness studies of Drugs. A QALY is the product of life expectancy and quality of life. Obviously, quality of life is subjective, so we try to quantify quality of life through surveys (also quantifiable events such as the number of hospitalizations or amount of time spent in a hospital).

So, for example, if you really enjoy smoking and on a scale from 1-10, life with smoking is a 9 and life without smoking is an 7, that's a 20% difference in subjective quality of life [(9-7)/10]. So, how many years does smoking knock off your life expectancy? If it's anything more than 20%, then it's better to quit smoking, because the net QALYs will be less if you smoke than if you don't.

Okay, so what if smoking knocks less than 20% off the end of your life? Well, you have to consider other health effects that will affect your quality of life later on. For example, if you end up with lung cancer, and need to undergo surgery, your quality of life will suck for that duration of time, and for a good period of time after. I mean, your QALYs during chemotherapy will be negligible - you may as well be dead for that period of time. In fact, your QALYs for the remainder of your life will probably be less than if you never had lung cancer at all.

It's quite clear from what we know about smoking that smokers will on average have less QALYs than non-smokers. That is to say, the cost of smoking outweighs the benefits.

Let's take that model and apply it to meat.
Do vegetarians and/or vegans live longer than meat eaters? Anecdotal evidence (for what it's worth) seems to indicate this may be true.
Do people on the atkins diet suffer from poor cardiovascular health and shortened life spans? Again, anecdotal evidence points to some very serious side effects of the atkins diet - case in point: how did Dr. Atkins die, and at what age?
How much will you miss meat? This is the really subjective one that will differ for each person. As in the case of smoking, this is difficult to rate until you've actually tried the lifestyle change.
How will poor cardiovascular health affect overall quality of life?
How will diabetes? A heart attack? A stroke? How does being morbidly obese factor into your enjoyment of life?

Food for thought.

-d

Physio

2010-02-05T09:01:00.000-05:00

Went to my second physio session today. It was like an 1.5 hr workout where you only use your core and hamstrings.

Anyway, the PT prescribed me a brutal 3-day workout regimen that I should be doing weekly, for the next 4 weeks.

It seems like most of their performance training is geared towards sports that require a lot of leg strength - skiing, hockey, football, basketball, track, etc. Seems like everyone who goes there is training for something or other.

There's this sign posted on top of their vertical jump measuring thingie. It says,

NHL Average: 26"
NBA Average: 28"
NFL Average: 31"

My current vertical is 19" i think. Hahaha. The owner's personal best is 36" which he recorded in the new year. His ultimate goal is 40".

-d

Work culture

2010-02-02T13:02:00.000-05:00

Caught an awesome post about Google's work culture. I know better than to believe everything I read, but man... I want to believe.

Anyway, buried in the article are some tips on how to use gmail more efficiently.

-d

Sexy Man Pants

2010-02-01T12:36:00.000-05:00

The New York Times recently published an article about the various fashion faux pas of mens' jeans.

The article pretty much sums up my viewpoint of mens' jeans - the market is flooded with crap, often overpriced crap.

Anyway, it's an okay starter's guide to jeans, but I wouldn't call it great, and I wouldn't follow it to the tee. After all, it's based on a few people's opinions - most of whom are crusty old vintage collectors.

One detail I caught - Sugar Cane, while a great brand, isn't a 'pure' denim. It's been 'tampered with,' you'll quickly find out if you bother to do any research. It's called Sugar Cane because there's sugar cane fibres spun into the weft. Nit-picky, I know - credibility is in the details, though...

I still think that jeans style is based a lot on what image you want to portray. For example, if you're young, dumb, and full of cum, you might want to consider skinny jeans with a lot of bells and whistles. If you're a blue collar hero to your children, then go with the article, and elect for a pair of working man's pants - Wranglers, or Levi's. If you have a little more disposable income, but still want to look masculine, get yourself some raw selvedge. Don't have an ass? Do some squats. Like a nice relaxed fit? Wear sweatpants. Hiding a gun or machete? Pick something a little more relaxed and baggy.

I want to emphasize that wearing something baggy and relaxed isn't very sexy, and really isn't any more comfortable than a pair of sweat pants - so why go there? It was cheap and on sale? Rarely can you beat the MSRP (US$) or value of a nice fitting pair of Wranglers of Levi's.

One last thing - if and when you go and get yourself a nice-fitting pair of man pants, if your balls are getting pinched, it's probably a sign that you're pulling them up too high.

-d

On the other hand...

2010-01-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

Came across a great contrarian view on inflation (or rather, the lack thereof) that we should expect in the near-future.

It's a long-ish article for those of you who aren't that interested in the economic outlook, or who have already parked your money in real estate. Everyone else who has cash to burn on the markets, pay attention.

Firstly, this particular article is super-calm and collected compared to several of the other more dramatic ones I referenced the other day. Secondly, it's both a quantitative and qualitative assessment, based on historical events. Where this article differs from the others is that the sources (skip down to the "Quarterly Review and Outlook" section half way down) take into account many other variables that affect the outcome - not just the mere fact that printing money = inflation.

Their conclusion is quite the opposite. Their prediction is that inflation in our circumstances should be benign and short lived, and we will ultimately enter a period of deflation. They finish with the disclosure that they put their money where their mouth is.

I don't know what to believe anymore.

-d

All hail our new overlords.

2010-01-19T13:00:00.000-05:00

For those of you who haven’t heard the news, Kraft has offered a very attractive bid for Cadbury. Cadbury’s board is recommending that shareholders accept the offer. The deadline for the bid is Feb 2, so if everything goes to plan, Kraft’s ownership of Cadbury will be effective Feb 3. That’s all I can say about that.

The times, they are a-changing. Over the last month or so, with the turning over of a new year, every business writer or economist or analyst and his/her mother has taken the opportunity to write an article about what to expect of our economy in 2010 and beyond. By our economy, I mean mainly the US economy. It seems like there are essentially two schools of thought on this: 1) We’re on the road to recovery, and all is well – the US dollar will make a comeback; or, 2) We’re on the road to hell, paved by US hyper-inflation.

By and large, the first camp seem to be operating on some kind of faith in the dollar, treating this most recent recession the same as any other – recovery is inevitable because the dollar has never failed to recover before. It reeks of some kind of arrogant manifest destiny, and we all know where empires with that attitude end up.

The other school is mostly formed of (what appears to be) Libertarians of one kind or another. They use historical models of hyper-inflation to illustrate how the US economy is doomed, but also fail to explain how the US economy hasn’t failed already (since according to their models, we shouldn’t be able to maintain 4 consecutive months of growth the way we have…). The Libertarians argue that the US economy is being manipulated by… greedy bankers? No. China? Nope. Jews? Wrong again. Black people? Close. They’re accusing Obama and the US government itself (like we’d expect anything else of Libertarians) of manipulating the markets in order to maintain control over the country. In this conspiracy, the Department of Homeland Security is the rough equivalent of the Gestapo, installed by the former regime (but kept around by the current one) to maintain control over the population when the shit hits the fan. These people (Libertarians) are scared. Like, stocking up on water, food, guns and ammo scared.

So, what to do? I have no clue, but I’ve always been risk-averse in my investments. Ordinarily, I’d put my money somewhere safe, with a guaranteed return, but in light of the hyper-inflation doom and gloom, not even those are safe anymore. Real Estate maybe? No, the combination of low interest rates and good health of Canada’s financial institutions has created a local housing bubble. Gold? Yeah, but not GLD gold, maybe solid gold (the real stuff, like the kind they used to use to buy wives with).

Is it embarrassing to want to buy solid gold? Does it put you in the same camp as the gun-toting, forest-dwelling, crazy-for-cookie kooks? Yeah… I think so.

So what should you do? I haven’t the slightest idea. All’s I know is that things HAVE to change. The way we’re doing thing is not at all sustainable, even for the near future. Historical examples of hyper-inflation give us clues as to what’s going to happen – the US will cease being the world’s economic superpower. So who’s next? As much as I hate to say it, and as much as I poo-poo like predictions, the next world superpower looks like it might be China. Why’s that? 1. Solid manufacturing base. 2. High level of personal savings (ie. untapped credit market). 3. Military might (both in a conventional and electronic-warfare sense). More importantly, the US economic hegemony is waning, and the time is ripe for opportunism. All that wealth we've accumulated needs to be invested in the next great scam, and a lot of people are looking at China.

This is not to say that our way of life, as we know it, is doomed. Many former empires still enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. No need to worry. If you're interested in taking the future by the horns though, it'd probably be a good idea to learn Mandarin.

-d

Yoga

2010-01-07T12:55:00.001-05:00

Went to hot yoga on New Year’s day. Moksha Yoga has a Friday evening class based on a minimum donation ($5 - $8 depending on location) which goes to charity. This was my second time ever doing hot yoga (or any yoga, for that matter), and it was pretty enjoyable.

About a month ago, I pulled a muscle in my neck / upper back and it’s been bothering me for a while. I figured some yoga might help relieve the tension and improve the flexibility in my neck, and it worked, at least as a short-term reprieve. It had about the same effect as a massage therapy session.

Going forward, I’m going to try to attend one class a week, generally Friday nights, if I don’t have to work the weekend. It seems like a good way to help even out my muscle imbalances in my neck, shoulders, and back (damned DBR). I’d been advised before by my RMT that I might run into neck and back issues because the difference in height between my right and left shoulders exceed 1”. Sure enough, I get chronic injuries to the left side of my neck.

Over the holidays, Chapters/Indigo had a 20% off sale on yoga equipment, plus KT gave me a few gift cards that she’d received earlier in the year. So, I scored myself a yoga mat and bag. It cost me next to nothing (well, apart from the gift cards).

As for what to wear, I don’t see myself in yoga tights or anything from Lulu Lemon. Based on the two times I’ve gone, I found that compression shorts under running shorts worked the best. Swimming trunks definitely did not work – they kept sticking to my legs and I was constantly afraid I’d bust a seam. The compression shorts don’t stick to the running shorts, so that’s one way to maximize range of motion without sacrificing… privacy.

Anyway, yoga will be an official part of my workout regimen, but I’ll keep it to a minimum. Maybe max once a week, no more. I don’t want to end up a human pretzel, and I still need a little inflexibility to run for distance.

-d

Carry-on luggage banned on Can -> US flights

2010-01-06T15:04:00.002-05:00

The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority has banned all carry-on luggage on flights from Canada to the US. The exceptions to this are:

personal items such as medication or medical devices, small purses, cameras, coats, items for care of infants, laptop computers, crutches, canes, walkers, containers carrying life sustaining items, a special needs item, musical instruments, or diplomatic or consular bags.

-d

Boxing day Adventure

2009-12-27T16:25:00.003-05:00

Went boxing day shopping yesterday. Overall, I'd have to say that the retail scene looked a lot busier this year than last. A good sign - a sign of consumer confidence and spending. Perhaps we really are on the path to economic recovery, but the dread double dip still hangs over us. Maybe this is just the eye of the hurricane, and we're only really half way through. 2H/2010 will give us a better indication of whether our recovery is temporary or real.

Anyway, on the consumer front:

Started the spree at Due West (nothing of interest left there) and Getoutside Shoes on Queen West.

Getoutside.

Picked up a pair of moccasins for my dad. He loves moccasins for use as indoor slippers. For myself, I was interested in the Dr. Marten's vintage reproduction 1460 ankle boots. Made in England at the original factory using vintage equipment, it's probably the only pair of Docs I'd buy. I personally hate the cheap vinyl feel of other Dr. Marten uppers - I'm afraid that my feet would suffocate in them. The higher-end Docs (yes, there is such a thing) have uppers made with various kinds of leather, and the 1460 vintage repro is one of them. Sale price was $200, down from $250. In he end, I decided against it. I'm pretty happy with my current boots, and I really don't need another pair. Then again, need rarely has anything to do with my buying decisions...

H&M.

Gaudy, flashy, cheap, and thin. I had a giftcard for H&M but couldn't find anything worth getting for free. Thats right. I wouldn't take H&M clothing if you gave it to me for free.

Roots.

I swung by roots and picked up a 100% cotton hoodie. It's got a good vintage Roots feel, down to the rough terry inside and embroidered logo. Comes in grey, green and brown. There's still a good selection of sizes available - I assume because it's not as 'soft' or comfortable as the Chinese 80-20 cotton-poly fleece blends that sweats are made of now. If you're into natural fibres, and you're looking for a cotton hoodie, like I am and have been for the last little bit, then this is the hoodie for you.

The winter line of boots from Roots Leather is also out. In the fall, we saw the release of the Leather Chukka's (which I was not too impressed with), and now we have some winter boots. The snow-boots (for lack of a better term to describe them) are basically a Kamik winter boot with a leather shaft instead of nylon. The upper and sole are a soft (as soles go) rubber. Roots also has a workboot styled ankle boot, but I found the supple leather a bit too soft for my liking. Soft leather means stretch. Stretch is weakness. Especially when it comes to footwear. Still not impressed with Roots Leather footwear.

Sears.

I had a gift card for Sears, so I went straight to the kitchen section to pick up some stemware. The discount isn't that deep (just 25%) but the hand-blown lead-free crystal glass stuff is pretty damn good for its price. I picked one that was ~$40/4 glasses ($30 with the discount). The glass is thin and clear, the rim is a fine edge with no ridges. The stem has been pulled from, and forms one smooth line with the generous-sized bowl. I'm pretty satisfied with this particular purchase - It's the next best thing to the Riedel crystal stemware across the street at the Bay, but costs a just fraction (vs. Riedel @ $114/4 glasses). Apart from the pitch of the 'ring' (ping for Riedel, pang for Allegro) you'd be hard-pressed to differentiate the two brands.

-d

Olympic Fatigue Already?

2009-12-17T17:10:00.000-05:00

The Olympic torch passed by my building today at about 2:30 PM. It was pretty cool to see the crowd lining the street as the torchbearer made his/her way down Yonge St.

The one thing I noticed was that security was a sham. I mean, it was a complete joke. They had no control over the crowd whatsoever - unable to keep the crush back from the torch bearer.

How embarrassing for Canada would it have been for a brave protester to run up with a fire extinguisher and put out that 'eternal flame?' A good number of people were able to get pretty close to the bearer with their digital cameras and cellphones. Fact is, if you can get that close with a camera, you can get just as close with a can of ABC.

In light of Canada's recently reinforced stance on emissions and climate change, it would have been fitting had a couple of well-organized rabid environmentalists rushed the torch and put it out.

I think I'm already sick of Vancouver, sick of VANOC, sick of the Bay, and sick of the Olympics... and the games haven't even started yet.

On the other hand, maybe I'll get my sister a gift card to Lulu lemon - I hear they have a special edition line of clothing out called "Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 & 2011 Edition"

-d

Chew-FC Champion

2009-12-11T16:24:00.008-05:00

I entered a Wii-boxing tournament at work courtesy of the Maynards brand. After a week of single-elimination games, I made it to the semi-finals.
The semi-finals and final rounds were played in the lounge with a good crowd from the office watching and cheering.
That there is a real belt. It was mounted on a board for display purposes.

-d

Holiday Party

2009-12-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hit up the company holiday party with KT last week.

-d

Quick update

2009-11-24T22:40:00.002-05:00

Bought some dining room chairs on Craigslist - 6 for $120. They're hard-wood antiques, in pretty bad shape. The construction is solid - no nails - all dovetails, pegs and glue. The glue has pretty much broken down over time and everything is just barely holding together. At some point, I'll have to refinish/restore them, but that's some time in the future. Maybe I'll restore them one at a time at my parents' place.

Made my own lip balm.
2 parts beeswax
1 part petroleum jelly
1 part olive oil

It's not soft enough. I'll have to tweak the formula (- wax + oil). I'm not sure what function the petroleum jelly serves. I'll try 1:1 wax & oil next time.

-d

Gartered Expectations

2009-11-22T23:15:00.003-05:00

Yikes. I caught the garter at KT's coworker's wedding reception on Saturday.

This would be the second time in a week that I've caught a garter at a wedding reception.

At Jeff's wedding, KT caught the bouquet, and shortly after that, I caught the garter.

-d

New links

2009-11-18T10:34:00.000-05:00

Added links to yum., JLoeats.com, and the Ashcan.

Enjoy,

-d

Hudson's Bay: In the business of selling heritage

2009-11-17T17:40:00.003-05:00

In light of the HBC's recent bad press over the outsourcing of Cowichan sweaters for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, I felt the need to provide a different perspective in defence of our venerable trading company.

Despite what the media in general has made this out to be, the HBC didn't sell out Canada's Heritage. But yes, I won't pussyfoot around the fact that this was about making a quick buck off tourists in Vancouver who, in the spirit of the games, are overcome by an impulse to wear an ugly souvenir sweater. That tourist doesn't want a piece of Canadian heritage. That tourist wants a reasonably priced disposable souvenir. A Cowichan-like sweater made in China for $100 is just that. A $350 version made by a BC manufacturer? Maybe.

So, like any good business that smells a market full of suckers, the HBC sought to maximize profitability by outsourcing the manufacture of the low-end sweaters to China, and the high-end sweaters to a Canadian company. Not only is China capable of meeting the volume of demand, they're able to do it cheaply. Two key things that the Cowichans couldn't do - high volume, low cost. So, it's no wonder that the Cowichans didn't get the contract - they just can't deliver the goods.

Another thing, every apparel company out there is now pushing a Cowichan-like sweater. It's okay for American fucking Eagle to make a Cowichan-like sweater, but it's not okay for HBC? Let's stop hamstringing our own Canadian businesses, please - they've already got one foot in the proverbial economic grave.

The fact is, anyone who wants to spend the dollars to get a real Cowichan sweater can go ahead and buy one when they finally become available. There's no reason to deny the HBC access to the market full of people who want the sweater right now. Would we rather have the profits end up with another company? Because the profits wouldn't have gone to the Cowichans... they were unable to deliver the volume in the first place.

Fortunately, for HBC and the Cowichans, an outraged Canadian public has helped drive a market for genuine sweaters, in a classic case of fortuitous bad PR. Now, everyone wants a real Cowichan sweater, and is willing to shell out the cash for a piece of Canadian heritage.

Despite the fact that the sweaters are really ugly, I kinda want one now.

-d

Congratulations Jeff & Beth

2009-11-16T00:09:00.002-05:00

Jeff's a pretty serious guy. I've known him for a really long time, since elementary school, when we were enemies. He had this jacket, see - it was bright blue and yellow, and being the bully that I am, I made fun of him and called him blueberry banana. Seems pretty benign, right? You'd think so, but I haven't seen him wear that jacket since.

He took it pretty seriously. Not unlike how he used to take video games seriously. He and I and the boys used to skip chemistry class to go play counterstrike at the local cyber cafe. Evidently, he didn't take chemistry seriously. Anyway, he really sucked. A lot. So, he studied and practiced playing counterstrike, and the next time we played, he was kicking ass. You’d think he’d be satisfied, but no. Jeff’s a pretty serious guy, and he took counterstrike seriously. He played and played and played until he became one of the best regional players. None of us could even come close. So, it’s no coincidence that at around that time, a few of us graduated from counterstrike and our interest shifted to girls.

As in his start in video games, Jeff was a bit slow in his uptake of our new interest. He’ll deny that, I’m sure, but just ask his mother. She can corroborate what I’m saying. But very much like his career in video games, he showed insight and wisdom far beyond his years. He found Beth.

It’s fitting then that Beth is also someone who has insight and wisdom beyond her years. She’s warm and caring, has a sense of humour and sharp wit to match. And bonus! She’s a red-head... When they’re together, they play off each other like a pair of talk-show hosts and if you’re lucky, you’ll be treated to a string of sarcastic tongue-in-cheek remarks. It’s great, by the way, that she appreciates his sarcasm, which I’m sure would have been lost on a dimmer bulb. It’s this aspect of their chemistry that really strikes me as uncommon, yet strong. It’s the kind of chemistry that yields a perfect match. It’s the kind of chemistry you learn from skipping chemistry class.

So, here’s to Jeff and Beth, who we shall from this day forward refer to as Eliza-jeffa-beth-ery. May you be blessed with logevity, prosperity and... fecundity.

Cheers!

Aaaaand, another for Her Majesty, the Queen.

The Queen!

- The Best Man's Speech, November 14th, 2009.

Now serving Rabbit Stew.

2009-11-11T15:51:00.002-05:00

Hit up St Lawrence Mkt yesterday for some fresh rabbit.

I stewed it with red wine and the regular stewy ground roots and vegetables. It turned out quite good. Texture-wise, rabbit is like a cross between chicken and pork. It's tougher than chicken, but not as stringy as pork.

Keep-it-simple Rabbit Stew (serves 6)
1) coat rabbit chunks in flour, salt, pepper
2) melt butter in pot
3) brown rabbit chunks in pot and then take rabbit out
4) olive oil, garlic, onion, celery, sage
5) deglaze with a dry red wine
6) add chopped vegetables (I used what I had - potato, carrot, beet, mushroom)
7) add rabbit chunks back in
8) melt butter in a pan
9) fry rabbit liver to medium-rare and cut into slices
10) serve liver with cheese and crackers as appetizer
11) thicken stew with cornstarch or flour
12) serve stew when vegetables are tender

Snow

2009-11-05T14:48:00.000-05:00

2:48 PM November 5th

It's snowing outside.

-d

Personal and professional development

2009-11-03T13:17:00.001-05:00

For your reading enjoyment and personal development:

The 12 Steps to Entrepreneurial Success

The Science of Sport: Running Technique

-d

Merino Wool Base-layers

2009-10-27T09:19:00.003-04:00

Hit the Ski & Snowboard show earlier this month. There were definitely some good deals for those looking to buy their own equipment. I didn't buy anything major - I just received a brand new board for my birthday (thanks KT!), and purchased matching bindings last month. So having the hardware boxes checked off, I really only went to check out the clothing. I bought an Icebreaker 150 g/sq m pure merino wool base-layer top for $65.

This year, I'm going to try a 100% natural fibre baselayer. Merino wool, to be specific. 3 reasons, really.

1) sustainability - I'm going green.

2) the main reason - warm, even when wet. I've never been completely satisfied with the synthetic baselayers for cold weather. They do a great job cooling me off in the summer, but they've continually failed to keep me warm (when wet) in the cold weather. Wool is a natural fibre that is supposed to be able to keep me warm, even when wet. We'll see how that compares during this upcoming ski season.

3) no stink. Synthetics have this magical smell after sweating in them. I test-wore my new merino base-layer for 3 days (2 x 16 hr days light activity + 1 x 8 hr day moderate activity), and there was no similar stink.

Unfortunately, most wool products are mixed with acrylic (like yarn) for lower costs. Anyway, because the acrylic fibres are stronger than the wool fibres, friction and wear will cause shearing of the wool fibres, leading to pilling. It's actually pretty hard to find quality wool products. Most of the stuff out there has acrylic in it.

Anyway, if you're interested in merino wool base-layers, the best value will probably be at MEC. However, MEC doesn't carry a base-layer as light as the Icebreaker 150. If you're looking for the thinnest possible (because you overheat quickly and sweat lots), I'd recommend trying the Icebreaker 150.

-d

New personal bests

2009-10-15T09:38:00.002-04:00

Aced my annual physical fitness test last night.

4-mile (6.4km) run: 28:52 (personal best)
5km split: 21:55(personal best)

Chin-ups: 12 (personal best)

Push-ups / 2 min: 50 (personal best)

Sit-ups / 2 min: 45 (previous best - 55)

Funny that at my ripe old age, I've never been fitter in my life. Is it all downhill from here?

-d

Definition of suck.

2009-10-14T13:25:00.002-04:00

If you wiki "suck" you'll see a youtube video of last night's Leafs game. Not really, actually.

I got tickets from a co-worker who couldn't make it, so KT & I hit the ACC for her first live Leafs game ever.

Now, I don't know much about hockey, but I do know suck when I see it... and hear it. Half way into the second period, the stands were about 25% empty and a big chunk of the 300's started cheering "Lets go Blue Jays, Lets go - ! - !" and as if that weren't bad enough, cheers (jeers?) for TFC, the Raptors, and the Argos followed throughout the rest of the night. In fact, the last minute of the game was one continuous resonating "boo."

The loudest cheers were reserved for Darcy during the first period, after a short video of his 'greatest hits' played on the big screens. The camera focused in on him, and the crowd exploded in the longest round of applause of the night, while he meekly waved from the bench.

You know your team is in sad standing with the fans when the loudest cheers of the night were reserved for a player on the other team.

-d

Surprisingly unoriginal

2009-10-08T10:33:00.000-04:00

In the process of developing my new inventory of seasonings, spices and sauces, I thought long and hard about how to organize the various spices I would invariably pick up over the next few months.

I've seen all kinds of spice racks and containers, and there's a lot of very similar stuff out there. So, I decided that to be original, I would buy a set of test tubes and a test tube rack to serve as my original home-made spice rack. How cool would that be? Spices are part of that myseriously alchemical world of flavouring, and the parallel with the world of chemistry, I thought, would be clever.

I got to Science City in underground Yorkville, near Holt Renfrew, and asked about test tubes.
The Manager's reply, "Is this for chemistry, or for a spice rack?"
And my delusion of cleverness and originality falls away.
"Do a lot of people come in here for test tubes to make spice racks?" I ask a little while later.
"We've been selling test tubes here for 30 years, and that's all everyone ever buys them for."
Great.
Back to the drawing board.

Happy Birthday KT

2009-10-02T21:10:00.004-04:00

Cooked 'white chopped chicken' yesterday - aka ginger chicken. It turned out quite well. In fact I would go as far as to say that I made it better than my mom makes it.

I bought the chicken at St. Lawrence Market, on the assumption that it would be fresher and tastier. Fresher, yes - there was no chicken stink that you sometimes get from grocery store chicken. Tastier, I don't know. More like, I can't tell.

Anyway, KT came over before dinner was ready, so to keep her occupied, I had pre-arranged a scavenger hunt for her birthday gift. I hid a succession of clues around the apartment, one by one leading her to the hidden gift:

Well, it wasn't exactly that bag - the colour I chose was a new release that isn't on the website. I got the one that's a darker brown with a tinge of blue-grey. It's definitely distinct from the others.

Speaking with the Roots sales-guy, I learned that Roots ran a whole ton of limited edition versions of their bags in as many premium Italian leathers that they could ge their hands on, for the duration of TIFF. They're almost sold out of all the special stuff, but they have some dregs left. Also learned that they do free repairs on all of their leather goods. That's handy to know.

I also noticed that they have the new Roots leather footwear on display too. While the shoes are nothing special, they've brought back that iconic Roots Boot that everyone wore back in middle school. They look way too dorky. There's an 80's or 90's fashion crime aura around it that overcomes the little bit of nostalgia you might feel when you look at them.

Roots also has mid-calf length boots. They look like wellies made of soft leather. They look great stuffed with paper, but I'm not sure how well they'd stand up with a real leg in there.

Back on topic. I took KT to Ovo after dinner, where I lost my Cirque virginity. It was a pretty good show (not that I have any point of reference). I'm especially impressed by the freaky facial expressions some of those clowns/acrobats can adopt. Nightmarish stuff.

-d

15 milliseconds of fame

2009-09-24T11:09:00.003-04:00

http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/09/clear_sailing_ahead_for_distillery_district/

That dude in the white helmet on the left hand side of the picture looks vaguely familiar. My colleagues & I were also in a vignette on the Weather Network on TV.

Anyway, the segways were pretty damn fun to ride (despite the speed limiters). The guide told us about off-road segway tours at Horseshoe resort. Sounds like fun - tackling mountain bike-esque trails with a segway.

Gave Soma a shot. I was skeptical at first, but I was definitely impressed by their signature Mayan spicy chocolate drink (can't recall the name). I didn't try anything else in the store - I'm still very skeptical.

-d

Glass the way to go

2009-09-14T13:18:00.002-04:00

Remember when the BPA scare hit and everybody started to buy those Sigg aluminum bottles? Remember how I called bullshit on that?

Told you so.

Sigg is now offering free replacement bottles for consumers who purchased theirs before August 2008. Why? BPA.

If you're a Sigg customer I don't know how you can go on using your bottle or even bother taking advantage of their free exchange program. Why support a company that demonstrates either gross incompetence or a lack of integrity?

Which brings us to today's topic. Glass bottles. Reuse your San Pellegrino glass bottle for holding drinking water.

Ohh, but Dust, what happens if you drop the bottle and it BREAKS?!

Well, the same thing that happens if you drop you cup and it breaks. Honestly, people, that's not a good reason to not use glass. Any other reason you can think of not to use glass? I thought so. Use glass.

-d

Barefoot running.

2009-08-24T09:47:00.003-04:00

Ordered a pair of Vibram Fivefingers Classics. It's like a toughened sock for your feet to facilitate bombing around barefoot.

The idea is derived from the principles of barefoot running, which is really white people trying to explain how black people win all the track events. This is how it works: people from poor-ass countries can't afford shoes, nevermind a bike or a car, so they run around barefoot. As a result, they become really good at running marathons and the 400 m race.

So, someone thought "hey, why don't we run barefoot too?" Someone else replied "because you don't want to get HIV from that dirty needle that you might step on." You can see the niche market developing right? Vibram makes soles for shoes. It was a logical step for vibram to start making soles for your soles. And that, in a nutshell is what the Vibram Fivefinger shoes are. Soles for your Soles.

Now, I'm naturally wary of new-age bullshit - and this smells like some new-age hippie bullshit. Still, I like the idea of strengthening my feet - a part of my body that has been found weak and underperforming.

I haven't found any training regimens that satisfactorily address my foot issues, and my orthotics really dampen performance. There doesn't seem to be a lot of real research done in this area - just a whole lot of speculation and pseudo-science. I mean, if you mess up your knee, there are some pretty solid, proven rehab regimens that will help restore your range of movement, stability, and strength. When it comes to feet, "orthotics" is the most common answer. To me, that's akin to saying "crutch" for the aforementioned knee example.

Anyway, I'm easing into the barefoot thing. Starting with a lot of walking and some very short runs (no more than 400 m). My legs are pretty sore in some weird places, so I'll read that as a positive sign that the barefoot thing is working as planned.

-d

Cadbury ads

2009-08-10T12:37:00.004-04:00

Came across these three Cadbury ads from Argentina arguing that a man will never be as good as a whole Cadbury Dairy Milk bar.

You're Right

The Check

Shhhh

They're on youtube, so too bad for those of you who can't access it at work.

Enjoy,

-d

Big update

2009-08-05T10:45:00.002-04:00

So, lots has happened over the last week.

My company sent me on a business trip to New Jersey. Flew Air Canada out of Pearson to Newark. Outbound, we were delayed, cancelled, booked onto another flight, delayed again before departure, and delayed again in the air before landing. I left home at 2:30 PM and checked into the hotel at 11:30 pm. Two of my less fortunate colleagues with checked baggage didn't make it.

Lesson learned: don't check baggage in if you don't have to.

In New Jersey, a lot of the service people seem devoid of personality - from the hotel concierge to the limo driver, they all wear this fake smile and have this glassy-eyed expression. It's like their souls have been sucked out of them and they're a carbon copy of the next guy.

Anyway, I came back to Toronto on the 28th and stayed a few days in Toronto before leaving for Newark again on the 31st - this time with KT, and onwards to Manhattan.

We flew out on Porter Airlines, and though our flight was cancelled, they loaded us onto an earlier flight that was delayed to our departure time. It's an overly complicated way of combining two flights into one. I found out later from some other colleagues that their flights to Newark via Air Canada were cancelled completely and they had to wait until Saturday afternoon to fly. Some other colleagues also made it to Newark that night on Continental flights. So, while AC customers got the shaft, Porter and Continental made it through. From what I've heard, AC was the only carrier that didn't make it into Newark that night.

Lesson learned: Don't fly Air Canada to Newark - not only is Porter cheaper, it actually does the job.

Anyway, we had 2 days of fair weather and 1 day of rain. Did the typical tourist stuff - Battery Park, Ground Zero, Wall St, Empire State Bldg, MOMA, Museum of Natural History, Central Park, 5th Ave., etc. Saw a broadway show - In the Heights. It was awesome - a lot of fun.

Shopping. Did a lot of shopping for myself. Got a new pair of cleats from Niketown. While we were there, Adrian Peterson showed up to check out his wall-sized photo of himself (I guess). Also checked out the Levi's store, which carries completely different clothing than the Canadian counterparts. Uniqlo - lots of really cheap graphic t's. Manolo Blahnik, just to say I've been there. Blue in Green, where I bought myself a big-ass belt. Build-a-bear, where I got some boxers and aviators for my bear. Sales were on in just about every store.

Eating. Checked out Katz's Deli, allegedly the best deli in New York. I don't see what's so special. The meat was okay, but it wasn't melt-in-your-mouth good that I would expect from 'the best deli in New York.' We also went to Anthos, a Greek restaurant which won some kind of award for 'best new restaurant in 2009.' We had a tasting menu paired with a wine tasting. This was unlike any Greek food I'd ever had. Think fine French dining with Greek/Mediteranean ingredients. The Greek wines that they paired with the menu were superb. I didn't think Greek wines were any good, but apparently, they export only their worst wines and keep the best for domestic consumption. Complete opposite of every other country - go figure.

Anyway, that's it for now. Pictures to come.

-d

The New Old Kenzo

2009-07-29T13:54:00.002-04:00

On Friday afternoon, after work, I took Katie to the new Kenzo Ramen (owned & operated by the old Kenzo crew) on Dundas, just a little west of Bay St. I've been to the original Yonge/Steeles location on numerous occasions, but hadn't realized that the ownership changed last fall.

My colleague pointed out an article reviewing the new location in Thursday's edition of Now.

I wasn't that hungry, so I ordered a basic sho-yu ramen, and it was just as yummy as the uptown version. However, the highlight of the meal came after the meal proper.

I got to chatting with the owner, Daniel Park (yes, he's Korean) about his business and the economics of ramen. He explained that the reason there are so few ramen houses in Toronto is because it's horrendously expensive to make genuine ramen. Here's a summarized breakdown of some of the things he mentioned:

Ramen. Japanese Ramen, specifically Japanese Ramen as it is understood by Japanese people in Japan with respect to ingredients, manufacturing, taste and texture, is made in very few places in Canada - most establishments import it from Japan. There's actually only one place that makes ramen that Daniel knows of - his own kitchen. Five years ago, he invested in a ramen machine, so that he wouldn't have to import frozen ramen from Japan. This led to an 80% cost savings on ramen.

Soup base. Soup base is made from dried fish. Specifically, dried mackerel and/or 'flying fish.' Incidentally, won-ton soup is supposed to be made from the same stuff. In any case, dried fish also commands a premium price due to low availability and high demand. So, in an effort to keep bringing down that bottom line, he started making his own dried fish. He bought an industrial drying oven, buys the fish frozen, and dries it himself.

Lastly, he invited me on a tour of the kitchen and showed me the soup bases, ingredients, and ramen.

Pretty neat stuff. Check it out when you get a chance.

-d

The new 'do

2009-07-23T19:44:00.002-04:00

My Dad's reaction: "ho-ho-ho-ho-ho..."

He took it as a challenge. He will now grow his sideburns out like mine.

-d

Roots Footwear

2009-07-15T15:36:00.004-04:00

The Toronto Star last Saturday featured the return of Roots footwear in early August.

Since I wasn't alive during the glory days of Roots boots, I can't say I can associate with any strong feelings of nostalgia. Still, I am curious to see what Roots will have to offer. I regard Roots Leather highly for several reasons:

1) Style. The Canadian identity was born out of the frontier. Plaid flannel, touques, and muk-luks. Frugal simplicity and un-pretentiousness have been the key ideas of this country growing up, and are reflected in the designs at Roots. Tough raw textures combined with functionality resonate with our values and traditions as outdoorsmen and naturists. No wait, not naturists... those are something else. Pioneers, builders, hunters, and if need be, warriors.

2) Quality. Made by Canadian Unionized Labour in Toronto. Not to be confused with Chinese Socialist Labour in Guangdong. Built tough like Ford, but also actually reliable, like Toyota. Case in point - it's been about two years and My Roots Raiders bag has yet to fail me.

3) Price. In terms of bags, you won't find better value anywhere else. Any comparable leather bag is designer-branded and will cost you twice as much. Where jackets are concerned, they're double the price of what you can get at Danier, but almost twice as well made, and twice as tough.

4) Cowhide. It's all about the toughness and stiffness of cowhide. Soft lambskin is for ladies and soft skinned Italian men who switch to the winning side when the outcome of a war is becoming quite clear. If you've been watching the highlights of the Stampede, you'll know where cowhide comes from. It's all about the hyper-masculine Canadian cowboy image. Think Brokeback Mountain but with real men who don't show their emotions and rely on a sense of humour to deal with problems.

Now, if the new old Roots footwear sticks to the model they've painstakingly created over the last couple of years, I'll be really interested in what they have to offer.

-d

Frye vs Car

2009-07-06T10:08:00.003-04:00

As some of you may recall, I have a pair of western boots - Frye Harness Boots, to be exact. Anyway, I've had these boots for about 2 years, and after almost daily wear, through winter, spring, summer, and fall; I wore out the soles and had them resoled this past spring.

On Saturday, my sister had her engagement party, and to save some space in the drivew, my brother-in-law-to-be parked in the garage. On top of my boots. So, after being run over and parked on for 8 hours, they looked pretty FUBAR'ed. There were tire tread marks embossed in the leather, and the hard square toe cap was crushed flat. Figured I'd take a shot at DIY repair. I jammed my car keys into the boot and popped the toes back out, hammered the flattened parts straight again, and stuck a shoe tree in overnight. All-in-all, other than looking a little scuffed up at the toes, they're no worse for wear.

The leather uppers are virtually unharmed apart for a few scuff marks and some extra wrinkles. The left toe is a bit more rounded than the right toe, but I think I can fix that with a piece of wood and a mallet.

Anyway, if you're looking for a solid boot that'll last a long time and a lot of wear, I'd definitely recommend Frye.

-d

You are the Sunshine in my Ass

2009-06-30T08:48:00.002-04:00

For those of you who don't know, the Canadian Organic Regulations came into force last week. This is the logo they picked for Organic foods in Canada:

It looks like the sun rising behind a set of buttocks. Maybe the implication is that if I eat Canadian Organic, I'll shit sunshine.

On a more serious note, these regulations mean that there's actually a framework and legitimacy behind the word 'organic' w.r.t. foods in Canada. When you walk into Loblaws now, you can be a little more confident that the produce labelled 'organic' actually meets the legal definition of 'organic.'

That said, I'll try not to make as much fun of organic food as much as I used to. Actually, belay that; I'll wait until I see some enforcement action before I check my skepticism.

Rebel update: My tomato plant has contracted bugs from my mint plant. I might need to euthanize the plants.

-d

Beer League

2009-06-25T09:17:00.002-04:00

Played ultimate frisbee last night with beer. It was crazy fun. The objective of the game was to catch and throw one-handed without spilling the beer. It was challenging at first, but the more you drink, the easier it gets.

It's amazing how fast you get drunk when you add cardio and alcohol together. I got pretty buzzed after two beers and was mildly drunk after 4. The effect lasted a good 2 hours, but I crashed after the effect wore off.

Finished the night off at Joon's for some tabletop cooking. Every table in the restaurant ordered the tabletop cooking. I rarely see people in there who eat anything else. Our extras for the night: rice cake, cheese, noodles.

I really needed some sleep last night but it was so uncomfortably hot and muggy, I couldn't stop sweating. So, I had to keep drinking water because I felt so dehydrated. I left the door to my room open to promote ventilation, but it didn't help much. It just seems like my room is cursed with being the warmest in the house.

-d

Office ecology

2009-06-18T13:08:00.002-04:00

Rebel update:

My coworkers and I have started our very own departmental vegetable garden, in defiance of company policy prohibiting personal plants and animals.

We just potted our first tomato plant, alongside some basil (apparently the basil will make the tomatos taste better).

We also have some mint growing in a separate pot.

Now, we'll actually be able to use the compost that I make under my desk (also in defiance of company policy).

In other news, I opened a ticket with IT to have OLG.ca unblocked so that we can check our departmental lottery numbers.

-d

No Poo

2009-06-15T10:10:00.002-04:00

So the no-poo campaign has started to hit the mainstream fan. Or at least, the Toronto Star.

No poo, short for 'no shampoo' takes a few forms:
1) washing hair less frequently; ie. less than every day (no wash, no poo).
2) washing hair with a dry shampoo (wash with dry poo).
3) not using shampoo when washing hair (wash with no poo).

Okay, so #1 I heard about from a podcast, and #2 I read about in The Star. #3 is my own practice.

I haven't used shampoo for the last... 8 years at least (exception - coming home from camping or an army exercise, I've used baby shampoo to get that dirt and grime out). First reactions when people find out are generally incredulity followed by disgust. To this I say:
1) my hair is short (up here and down there).
2) my hair is rarely greasy (here, touch it).
3) I have less bug bites than you (they don't even notice me).

I understand why people apply fragrant heavy-duty detergents to their hair on a daily basis, I just don't buy into it. That's all.

-d

Chips are good for you

2009-06-09T15:33:00.002-04:00

I'm eating this bag of PC Kettle Cooked Potato Chips, Sea Salt & Vinegar Flavour, and when I look on the back of the bag, there's a Blue Menu box that's telling me this is "Good For You" - excuse me?

Potato Chips are Good For ME? You gotta be kidding, right? This stuff is almost 20% pure fat, and just becuase they have less fat than the other PC chips, they're good for me?

On another note, I took my shoes off and started walking around the office in socks. So far, nobody has noticed.

-d

INCPLA disowned

2009-06-01T09:02:00.002-04:00

My blog has been banned by China. "so turns out china has now banned your blog too. i used to read it from my home, but now it's gonzo." I find that equal parts funny and disturbing.

Did some Chinese government worker read my blog and determine that it was unsuitable for the Chinese population? On what basis, I wonder? I don't think my blog is particularly critical of the Chinese government.

Let's hope that China doesn't become the next world superpower.

Anyway, starting to pave the gazebo site now. Will probably use the same interlock as the patio, because we have a surplus of it and because it's cheap.

I originally wanted to use stone slabs - natural limestone as can be found in the riverbeds that cross the bruce trail. Expensive stuff, unless you pull it out of the ravine yourself. I envisioned slabs of limestone with a mixture of sand and clay to fill the gaps - substrate ideal for moss. Still haven't decided on furniture. Go with patio set - round table & 4 chairs, or benches and side tables?

As for secondary projects, the trees we planted seem to be doing well. We'll have a few cherries this summer, and hopefully more next year. Need to start thinking about how to construct the swing. Probably will use bench seat and back (no legs) suspended on rope.

-d

House hunting update

2009-05-20T14:23:00.000-04:00

Got off work early on Friday and headed downtown immediately to check out some places downtown. Visited a good number of places in the Bay St corridor (including a little bachelor unit in Ivan's building). Out of the Bay Street corridor, I'd have to say the best bachelor units are at 25 The Esplanade.

The bachelor unit I looked at was about 650 sq ft, for $1200 (all in - utilities, heat, a/c, etc.) The room has a small solarium with glass walls (which you can convert into a bedroom), a bathroom with separate tub and shower stalls, a giant closet, washer/dryer and an open concept kitchen. It's essentially one big open square with the aforementioned occupying space on the perimeter, leaving the centre completely open.

The vacant unit I looked at was on the 11th floor - so half way up, with a south view over the railyards and the lake. Lots of natural light.

The building is very well maintained (probably the best I've seen so far, even compared to brand new buildings). The amenities are amazing (and free of charge) - full gym, outdoor track, 6 garden terraces, billiards room, party room and bbq area, as far as I could see. Security is tight - this is the first place that asked my agent for his real estate licence and picture ID, in addition to the standard business card.

It's pretty much equidistant from union station, St Lawrence market, and queen's quay ferry terminal. There's also a Loblaws and the Bier Markt nearby.

So why is it so cheap? What are the downsides? 1) There's no parking - which for me is an upside, because I don't have a car and it drives down the prices of the units. 2) South view, while beautiful, is also noisy because of the rail yard. 3) The only time any of the good units go on the market is because the owner died.

The wedge units (not the one I'm looking to rent) are considered among the best condo units in the entire downtown core. Those units have a 240 degree view - that's pretty much a full north, west, and south view. The only other comparable view is at 1001 Bay, which overlooks campus - sacred ground that will not likely ever be developed.

The more I think about this building, the more I want to live there - at least for a year to see how I like it. Anyway, the one unit I visited on Friday came on the rental market on friday, and by this morning, was already gone. Now I sorta regret not jumping on it...

-d

What I've been saying about Canada...

2009-05-10T09:58:00.002-04:00

... but without the eloquence.

Haroon Siddiqui captures in his essay the qualities that make Canada the best place in the world to live as a person of colour.

Better than old Europe, that professes liberty, equality, and fraternity while the disadvantaged set fire to cars in ethnic slums, the new Union paralyzed by paroxysms of islamophobia, in denial of economic reality, and drunk on delusions of moral superiority. Better than Austrailia which is said to be very like Canada, save for the overtly racist white majority and intensely protectionist and isolationist tendencies. Better than the US of A, a foundering country with a careless trigger-finger and enough megatonnage to end the world.

We take it for granted that we can enter into competition with a white male and still win the decent well-paying job. It isn't so in most of the world. We take it for granted that we can see a doctor anytime we like, without paying through the nose, but complain that we must wait too long for a service simply non-existent or inaccessible elsewhere (Granted, the complaint is valid since we must always advocate for improvement and positive change). We live in peace, without fear, without hunger or thirst, but we complain about the annual price for such luxuries and necessities.

Of course, I paint in broad strokes (for we are not without our own problems - we do have poverty), but I mean that generally speaking, for us, there are no 'good old days' because our lot in the world has been better than ever.

-d

Going green

2009-05-08T10:32:00.003-04:00

We've started ordering groceries directly to the office. Every week, I order a box of fruit, which is delivered straight to my desk. This week, I got a canteloupe, a bunch of bannanas, a box of strawberries, 3 grapefruits, a bag of apples, and 4 pears. It just happens to be whatever is fresh at the Terminal, local if possible. The food is guaranteed fresh, and we can exchange overripe or rotten fruit. I trade some of my fruits to my colleagues for veggies - namely carrots. I take home some of the bigger or messier items, and the remainder I eat at my desk as snacks. The odds and ends, cores and pits I throw into my secret compost under my desk where I raise and breed worms.

-d

On predators and prey

2009-05-05T20:40:00.002-04:00

This past weekend, I got shot at. Bullets landed not 10 m away from me. Pretty unnerving stuff.

We were conducting training with live ammunition, and the final assault on an enemy position involves crawling up to the position (with your comrades' rounds flying overhead) and clearing it.

The whole time, I was paranoid about getting shot. We trained in pairs at first, and then in groups of four. I had a really good teammate, so no worries there, but the other pair were pretty green. First couple of times, I sent the green troops up to the position, but eventually it was my turn (lead by example). I think next time, I'll choose my teammates more carefully.

For the latter half of the weekend, I led a reconnaisance patrol out to observe an 'enemy' position overnight. It's a strange feeling stalking through the forest, hiding in the darkness of night from patrols and spying on people. On the one hand, we're outnumbered and outgunned, so engaging in firefights and heroics is out of the question - we are clearly the prey in the big picture. On the other hand, we're stalking unsuspecting people who neither perceive us nor understand our intent, and are apprehensive (if not terrified) of our imagined presence. In this sense, the roles are reversed. We are the predators and they the prey. When morning comes and the sun rises, the roles revert back to their original state. We hide like frightened mole rats from the searing brightness of the sun, and they try to flush us out.

-d

Weekend report

2009-04-27T15:25:00.003-04:00

Pretty productive weekend.

After work on Friday, my agent took KT and I around downtown and showed us some condos that I was interested in. One at Bay/Wellesley, and two in Yorkville. There are several factors that I'm finding are important to me as a renter:

1) Locker - I have tons of army equipment that needs to go somewhere. A locker is critical for this purpose.

2) Parking - If I can rent that space out, it's another $100-150 a month.

3) Amenities - If I can cancel my gym membership, that's another forty-something dollars a month.

4) Furnished - Makes it easy to move in and move out of a place if I don't have to worry about many belongings. This feature is awesome for short-term renters, like me.

Saturday morning, I went for a 4 km practice run in anticipation of the 5 km charity run on Sunday. I just needed to make sure I was in good enough shape. I spent the rest of the day working on the gazebo site and cleaning up a felled tree. I built up the ground around the site so as to raise the grade and discourage the water from flowing down into the site. It was tough working against time, watching the storm clouds roll in. It appeared to be only partially successful, but I think it sufficiently reduces the flow of water into the site to avoid future drainage issues future. Progress is slow - I'm maybe half way through clearing the actual site - a 8' radius circle, about 4 inches deep. I'll have to dig down another few inches to improve drainage. Hopefully I'll be finished the gazebo by the end of summer. Had a barbeque with my family and some of my sister's friends. I was the lucky guy stuck outside in the rain, tending to the grill. In any case, I must have spent 9 hours or so outside, and came away with a nice sun burn.

Sunday, I ran the Markham Stouffville Hospital Foundation Legacy 5km. It was pouring rain and kinda cold and miserable in general. I clocked in at 23:21.1 min (4:40 km split time). Not too bad, I guess. Spent the rest of the day shopping.

-d

YYZ

2009-04-16T19:43:00.004-04:00

"I Love You, Man" really rekindled my interest in Rush, which happens to be a staple of Classic Rock stations in the Ottawa area. So, I went ahead and downloaded YYZ from iTunes. I didn't get too carried away, though - just downloaded that one song because I don't hear it played on the radio as frequently as the others.

Fuckin Rogers. Those bastards clawed back my $15 credit, claiming that it was given to me in error. When I called them, Customer Care lied their asses off, at first saying that it was a bundle discount that I shouldn't have received because I don't have a bundle. I called the rep on her bullshit and she backpedaled and deferred responsibility - sent me to Customer Relations (which is apparently different from Customer Care).

I spoke to the Customer Relations rep, who actually had the audacity to lecture me about the primary goal of a business (ie. to make money). Right, that's why you do your due diligence BEFORE agreeing to a service contract (bitch). Because that's what a REAL business does. I really don't see why I have to pay for a Rogers mistake. She tried to convince me that I'm actually lucky that Roger's didn't decide to retractively bill me for the previous months that I'd received the credit. WTF? So, let's see - I'm getting fucked every month for the next two-and-a--half years, and I'm lucky that Rogers didn't come and fuck me last month. Bitch, I'm being fucked RIGHT NOW - do you think the timing really matters to me? Escalate.

So I got to speak to a Customer Relations manager, who offered me a $5 credit. She explained that the 'system' looks for situations where credit > half the plan. Thus, she can give a $5, $10, or $15 credit, but because my plan is $24.50 ($17.50 + $7), and I already have a separate $7 credit, the largest credit I can receive is $5 ($5 + $7 = $12 ~ 50% of $24.50). She did offer to give me my $15 credit back, but mentioned that it'd get clawed back every other month (nets out to $7.50 / mo), and I'd have to call in again to get the credit re-instated.

So I accepted the $5 monthly credit, but after some more moaning and griping, got her to give me a free month of service as compensation.

I guess in the end, my plan is still pretty good (but not excellent). I take no consolation in that, because for some reason, my ass hurts and there's a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyway, another trip pic. I like taking pictures of stairs and flowers. I don't know why.

-d

Trip Pics

2009-04-12T21:51:00.003-04:00

Morning Kisses

2009-04-11T00:35:00.001-04:00

Just came home from watching "I Love You, Man." It was a pretty entertaining movie. Anyway, that's not the point of this post. You sit through an evening show, maybe 1.5 to 2 hours long, not talking, not doing much of anything. It's been approximately 12 hours or more since you last brushed your teeth, and between then and now, there's been 3 meals and maybe a snack. The cumulative effect - bad breath. Good thing you can always pop that piece of gum into your mouth to cover it up.

I've always wondered how they did it back in the day with no dental care - no dental hygeine whatsoever. Every time I watch one of those era Hollywood flicks - say set in the medieval times or maybe a western, a couple of characters kiss and I can't help but think about how much they must stink and how bad their breath must be. I think about that every single time I see it. Every. Single. Time.

I guess they just got used to it, or maybe never knew anything better.

Anyway, I'm going to get my boots resoled tomorrow (hopefully). It's only been 2 years, and I haven't worn through the sole completely, but a chunk of the sole at the toe fell off. I have a habit of tapping the toe against the ground when I'm impatient or nervous, and all that tapping has taken a toll. I also need to find some red-brown shoe polish to match my Red Wing Boots. I completely didn't think about maintenance when I bought them. No Matter, I still like them a lot, and I've received a lot of compliments about them.

-d

Bamboozled

2009-04-06T11:44:00.002-04:00

A couple of months ago, it came to my attention that most (> 90 %) of those "made with bamboo fibre" clothing are labelling and advertising their products in a misleading manner.

Basically, the clothing is made of polyester. Polyester that is derived from a bamboo source. Thus, the clothing labels should read "made with polyester" and not "made with bamboo"

Apparently, the culprit were the textile manufacturers/suppliers who successfully duped everyone with a claim that was just plain wrong. Among the victims (apart from the consumers) were ethically minded retailers such as MEC and Lulu Lemon, who both positioned the polyesters as natural bamboo and environmentally friendly.

I was always a little wary of that bamboo clothing... I always imagined that bamboo clothing would be really coarse and scratchy - worse than hemp, maybe. But when I felt the smooth soft texture of the bamboo material, I was immediately suspicious that it was a little too smooth... a little too soft.

Anyway, this all irritates me a bit. It's like all those stupid bio-plastics - "biodegradable" plastic pens and cups and etc. Sure, they're biodegradable - under high O2 and UV light conditions... I say, if it won't mostly rot away within a year in my garden compost, it isn't biodegradable in the sense that the normal consumer understands.

-d

Fire Sale!

2009-04-02T17:05:00.002-04:00

According to Wikipedia, a Fire Sale is "the sale of goods at extremely discounted prices, typically when the seller faces bankruptcy or other impending distress. The term may originally have been based on the sale of goods at a heavy discount due to fire damage."

As it turns out, the original meaning isn't dead. Bootmaster on Yonge St. is having a Fire Sale following an electrical fire they recently had. All showroom pieces are 50-80% off. Mostly, I couldn't see any smoke/water damage to anything but a couple pairs of boots. I came away this afternoon with a beautiful full-grain leather belt with braided horse-hair reinforcement/decorative layer. It's stiff as hell owing to the thickness of the leather. Retails for $109, but it was half-off. It was the last brown-coloured 34" belt, so I snapped it up. They still have a 34" Black version, also 50% off, if anyone's interested. It'll fit a 32" - 36" waist, but once it starts stretching, I'd say it's probably closer to 33" - 37" waist. The leather is quite thick, so I wouldn't expect that much stretching anyhow.

I didn't like the buckle it came with, so I replaced it with one I got in Japan a couple years ago.

I think I'll go back and check out some boots this weekend. Sizes are limited, so I won't get my hopes up. I'll be hunting for a pair of black boots, simple-looking, with a western heel. Something a little dressier, that can be polished.

-d

-d

Yikes!

2009-03-17T22:23:00.002-04:00

I'm off to Japan and HK again for some R&R. This time, I'm going with friends instead of family. I a little pissed about our travel arrangements... suckered into paying more for crappier flights because I couldn't get my way in that aspect of the trip.

I was all for self-plan, but some of the others who haven't been there were apprehensive about an itinerary not built by a travel agent. Oh well, I guess that's the price of travelling with others - you have to compromise a bit. I figure we overpaid by approx $500 CDN - maybe more.

Anyway, I'm leaving tomorrow (Wednesday March 18th) and I'll be back by April Fool's day.

I find that I'm starting to use the word "yikes" a lot. It's taken the place of the "oh my god" exclamation, as well as the "daaaamn" expression.

So, let's say you watch someone get hit by a car, "yiiiikes..."

The TTC's three-tone chime sounds and the double doors slide shut on your bag - "yikes!"

Not sure where I got it from.

Alright kids, I'll see you in two weeks.

Centses

2009-03-06T10:36:00.002-05:00

To celebrate my 100th post on this blog, I'm going to post something. Gotta love circular logic. Anyway, the big update:

We're supposed to hit 15 celcius today and maybe break a record. I'm happy about the relatively balmy temperature today - it's finally given me the opportunity to rock my new(ish) Roots(tm) leather jacket. I got it because it's thinner than my current leather jacket - the liner in my Roots jacket is a single thin layer of polyester. It's my new 3-season jacket (spring/summer/fall) for temperatures ranging from 0 to 20. The cut is young and slim (unlike Danier's fat-boy cuts), and after a couple months of wear, I'm sure it'll stretch a bit and conform to my body-type.

In other news, my sister's boyfriend proposed on Valentine's day. She said yes. They're tying the knot June 2010. Looks like they're gunning for Estates of Sunnybrook or Liberty Grande for the reception. I wonder who's going to pay...

On snowboarding.
Took 1 lesson last year, and went snowboarding maybe 5 times this year. I am now considered 'intermediate.' Means I can turn and stuff and get down a green or easy blue hill without plowing or falling. I got down a black diamond in Vermont, but I was scared silly. People ask me how I learned so fast, and I tell them that I follow 2 rules: 1) Don't fall, and 2) Go fast. I'm being totally serious. You have to keep pushing the boundaries of comfort in order to improve. Obviously safety and control are paramount, but pick up some speed and don't be such a pussy - you'll learn faster. I'll probably buy a board end of season.

On skiing.
I tried snow-blading. Whoooo-whee, it was FUN! I like it better than skiing. You can do 360s and jumps so much easier. It's like a cross between skating and skiing. I may buy snowblades too...

On the markets.
Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy. I rang in 2008 at about 75% cash. Thank procrastination for not buying anything until October. Since then, I've been committing 50% of each paycheque to the TD Waterhouse account - haven't lost that much, but my RRSPs suffered a bit... maybe 40% down since March '08 (8% in the big picture). I maxed out my RRSP contribution for '08 last weekend, right at the deadline. Thank procrastination again, since I'm buying super low after last week's dismal drop. I hope to be 75% equities by 2010, 90% by 2011. Hopefully, we're not that far from the bottom. I'm no expert, so I'm not going to guess where the bottom is, but hopefully, I'll be able to average out the cost as time goes on.

On moving out.
I've narrowed my focus down to condos on the Bay Street corridor - the area bounded by Bay, Yonge, Bloor, and the lake. With a bunch of new condos having just been finished, plus the exodus of students in May, hopefully, I'll be able to score a 1 br for 1,200 or a bachelor for just under that. There's stuff around that price available in the rental market right now, but I'll hold out for $50 - $100 / month. Some of the rentals on MLS have been stuck in the listings for 60 days... With inventory going up, I can't see those rentals not dropping in price come May-June. In the meantime, I'll just use the rent money to buy stocks and cool shit.

On girlfriends.
Minus one, plus one. It's kinda early, so I don't wanna jinx it or otherwise fuck it up. Knock wood.

-d

Data!

2009-01-23T19:27:00.002-05:00

Yay.

Upgraded my value pack to the new 2009 Rogers $35 iPhone Data value pack.
- Unlimited txt msg
- Visual Voice Mail
- 500 MB data including unlimited instant messaging.
- Call display

Man-icure

2009-01-19T14:02:00.002-05:00

We have free massage, manicure, shoe shining and caricatures today, as part of the Trident Xtra Care gum launch.

I got everything except the shoe shining done (nobody shines my shoes but me). Gotta say, the manicure (sans polish) was nice, and I certainly see the appeal for most women, but I think I take good enough care of my nails. Clean, neat looking nails are a minimum standard, for sure, but you don't need a manicure for that.

iWhore

2008-11-23T11:28:00.003-05:00

Got sold on an iPhone 3G from Rogers last Tuesday, and I received it on Friday. Activated that night, and I'm pretty happy so far. It replaces my pocket calendar, iPod Nano and my cellphone. Anyway, the details...

iPhone 3G (8 GB): $249
$50 mail-in-rebate (= $199, as advertised)

Base Plan: $2.50 / month
- 200 daytime minutes
- Unlimited evenings & weekends
- Early evenings (6 pm)
iPhone essential value pack: $15 / month
- Visual Voicemail
- 2500 sent txt msg
- Call Display
- Who Called
+ System access fee, 911, and applicable taxes
Total: ~$28 / month

Now... to accessorize!

TFC's newest members

2008-10-24T09:27:00.001-04:00

Yes. That's right. I played football with TFC on the BMO field.

I love my job.

Webster's Falls Spring 2008

2008-04-22T22:24:00.000-04:00

Asia trip 2007

2008-01-13T16:52:00.001-05:00

I promised pictures from my trip, but there are just so many to pick from. I've uploaded here my favorite pictures from the trip.

Hong Kong

Kyoto

Yunnan Province

Webster's Falls

2007-10-23T23:48:00.000-04:00

Bon Echo 2007

2007-07-04T20:18:00.000-04:00

It'd be interesting...

2007-06-19T22:36:00.000-04:00

... to see how much the skyline changes every year.

... to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women.

Slap the chains on...

2007-05-24T16:56:00.001-04:00

I'm SO ready to be a corporate slave.

I just came home from a 3-day corporate offsite event at Blue Mountain. Tons of fun - I mean, how could it not be? Free food, free drinks.

Last night, I drank my age. From 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm, I had 8 scotches (=8). Over a dinner of salmon and roast beef, I had a Canadian, followed by a coffee with Liqueur (=9). After dinner, I had 12 more scotches, until the bar closed at 11:00 pm (=21), at which point, the party moved to one of my colleague's suites. There, I proceeded to have 6 ryes (=27). So really, I drank more than my age. Went to bed at 3:00 am, got 4 hours of sleep. I still made it to the 8:00 am breakfast, and the 8:30 am meeting, before stepping out for a few minutes to lose my breakfast in the bathroom. Oh well. It was still fun as hell.

busy busy busy

2007-04-24T22:28:00.000-04:00

*chuckle

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=231

I'm so busy nowadays... Hopefully, once all these army weekends have blown over, I'll have a little more time.

Easter 2008 Cancelled

2007-04-15T16:44:00.000-04:00

Update Part 4

2007-04-02T22:09:00.000-04:00

I can totally associate with people who complain that they don't use their gym membership nearly enough. I think I've used the gym for maybe... 3 hrs 30 minutes total in 1 and a half months. Course, I got the first month free, but I still don't feel like I'm taking full advantage of my membership. The problem is that I go to sleep too late and can't wake up early enough to go before work. I pretty much have to wake up at 6am to have enough time so that I'm not rushed. Means I have to go to bed at 11pm... which is a hard thing for me to do. I'm too young to sleep at 11.

So many of my mom's Orchids are in bloom. About time to prune the Jasmine too, before I boot it outside for the warm months.

Click to Enlarge

Update Part 3

2007-03-29T20:19:00.000-04:00

So this update is about my maternal Grandfather. He's visiting for 5 weeks because his wife, my evil step-grandmother, took a vacation to Hong Kong. She can't take care of him (because she doesn't want to bring him to Hong Kong with her), so she sent him to Toronto. By 'sent,' I mean, told us he's coming, and assumed we'd buy him airfare (which we did).

He's cute, like koala bear cute. He does this thing where he looks at you, half surprised, half stunned, smiling slightly. Unfortunately, behind that cute stunned look is the truth that he is honestly stunned. The guy's pretty senile.

One of my Mom's pet peeves with her dad is the fact that he believes he lives in Hong Kong. That'd be cool except that he's been living in Vancouver for the last 20 odd years. Funnily enough, he also knows that he lives in Vancouver. So, how does he rationalize this in his head? Well, it's simple really. Vancouver must be a part of Hong Kong. So, he's constantly asking us what the exchange rate is. Cdn dollars are actually Hong Kong dollars, and he needs to exchange those for Cdn dollars. When we try to explain to him that Vancouver and Toronto are actually both in Canada, and both very far from Hong Kong, he doesn't belive us. Refuses also to believe the atlases of the world, which we show him.

My step-grandmother is one of those loud-mouthed obnoxious middle aged Hong Kong ladies you see at the market all the time. She's a gold-digger. Complete waste of space. It was my Grandfather's birthday last weekend. She didn't even call. Must be having too much fun in HK with my Grandad's money. I'll waste no more space on that topic.

Update Part 2

2007-03-27T00:24:00.000-04:00

So, I'm sure most of you know that I did something bad to my MCL. All I can say is that physio really really works. After my 40 minute physio session, there was absolutely no pain in my knee. It was almost as if my injury never happened. I should have gone for physio earlier if I knew how super effective it was.

I've got a lot of my mobility back, some power, but not enough for King's Court just yet. I think physio will turn out to be something that makes me stronger than before my injury. Stronger, not just in a physical sense, but also in balance and coordination.

Another bunch of my mom's orchids are in bloom. More to come.

Barb Leslie Rutherford - Mother and Soul Mate
By her husband

Barb was my personal discovery, a settling force in my life - that endeared her to my father and most certainly calmed the worry of my mother for her eldest son that I’m sure – like all mothers – was on her mind at her passing.

It was a summer eve in 1978 when I met my Barb – 10 girls had swept into the local dance hall in Collingwood.

I was there promoting a sport resort – fresh from the brief, yet “scatteringly” life I led in Europe – in wide tan cords – tucked into my Bally boots – a white shirt and narrow tie with a green wool sweater draped around my shoulders ---

NOT your average dress for Collingwood at the time, I approached the table of girls.

I saw Barb – laughing – one of the group – not the party animal of the pack – but one of those people that have an inner sweetness that friends and strangers gravitate to – she had this Farrah Fawcett hair and beautiful brown eyes – and like all others, I was attracted to her. I asked her to dance – tossed my sweater to one of the girls so I had a reason to go back to Barb’s table.

And from that point on, we’ve been dancing together for 29 years.
One does not look out or within,
One does not look side to side,
Nor forward to back to figure how such a thing of beauty came into my life.

But rather one is urged when seeking a soul mate to look up – for there the stars shine – for there in the heavens if you’re lucky – you’ll gaze upon your own personal shooting star leaving a trail of beauty along her path – my star was Barb.

Regardless of one’s spiritual or religious convictions there are core tenets to human behavior that have been handed to us over the eons of civilization that are common to man.

- Success is more than making money
- Life is hard – not always fair
- Life can be fun
- We live by choice
- Attitude is choice
- Being thankful is a habit
- Good people build their lives on a foundation of respect
- Honesty is the best policy
- Kind words cost little but accomplish much
- It’s okay to fail – but not to wallow
- Life is simple when you know what’s essential,

These tenets are but trail markers, fundamental truisms put on life’s path by Sages, Prophets, and the Son of God to guide each one of us in our efforts to achieve a personal sense of goodness and fulfillment. The path isn’t new but cut deep and rutted by generations before – I learned many of these tenets from my parents – but I learned much from my wife on how to apply them – for her wealth was great and measured by the outpouring of loss by all those who have been touched by her.

For me Barb personified wisdom – a wise and loving counselor to her family – a counselor to me in business and in the business of life together.

She was hardworking, dedicated to her sons and husband – a woman of inexhaustible energy.

She enjoyed happy and humorous circumstances and from her – joy radiated to others.

She found strength in humility and was truly blessed for her ability to touch other people – fried or new acquaintance – rich and poor, and take a true, genuine and abiding interest in their needs.

My shooting star was a wife of noble character – an honor for me to have been her husband, to share her life and to give her children.

How does one fill a vacuum created by the loss of such a genuine person – you do through memories of laughter, to live her tenets and complete common dreams.

To become your own star, so that one day – at God’s choosing – he will see fit to allow me to dance in the heavens with my Barb again.

-Forbes Rutherford
In Memoriam,
Barbara Leslie Rutherford,
January 26, 1955 – March 18, 2007

Belated Update Part 1

2007-03-22T21:02:00.000-04:00

I meant to post a lot earlier, but I've been pretty busy at work. A lot's happened recently, but because I know some of you have short short short attention spans, I'll have to spread the news out over a week or so.

So, for those of you who don't know, the Black 2-Door '03 Civic is gone. I smashed it into a pole a few weeks ago, and even though I was able to drive away from that one, the frame got a little bent out of shape. By 'a little,' I mean, the tires were rubbing up against the front panels. Airbags deployed, windshield cracked, Damage to the hood, the two front panels, the bumper, a headlight, the grill, and the frame got a little bent out of shape.

But don't worry. I'm okay. I'm okay in more than that sense too. Shit happens in three's right? I got a parking ticket, I fucked up my knee, and I smashed the car. There - that's three.

So, I drove a Hyundai Elantra around for a few weeks, and my family just bought a new car. By 'my family,' I mean me. Yes, it was quite a financial blow, or rather, it will be when I start paying the new insurance rate. Please allow me to introduce the newest member of the family: Blue 4-Door Honda Civic '06. Took it out for a spin last night, and I'm pretty impressed. It's better than the old one in just about all respects. At first, I was displeased with the digital speedometer and display, but after about 15 minutes, I really started to appreciate it. It's still got that 'new car smell' and feel too, even though it's second-hand.

Anyway, that's about it for now.

Next update: My knee.

iTunes

2007-03-11T20:36:00.000-04:00

It's a love-hate relationship. I really like iTunes. I like the layout, the unobstructive user-friendliness, I even like iTunes Store, Free Podcasts and it's intimate relationship to my iPod. Mainly, the library and the interface really appeal to me. I guess it also helps that I can no longer update my Media Player due to that Windows Genuine itch that I can't quite scratch.

Unfortunately, when I play music on iTunes, there's a crackling/skipping in the sound that isn't there when I use Windows Media Player or any other player. So What The HELL? Apparently, some other PC users have the same issues with the latest release of iTunes, and the fixes that work for some of them don't work for me. It's too bad I guess...

As a player, iTunes serves my music needs so much better than Media Player, except that I can't enjoy my music.

2007-03-09T23:39:00.000-05:00

*picture removed because it messed with my blog's format*

Create your own visited countries map

As you can see, I'm not as accomplished as Irene. I'll get there though... like when I'm 80 or something.

-d

My new iPod

2007-03-01T22:34:00.000-05:00

Thanks Jess.

Should have taken off...

2007-02-15T15:05:00.000-05:00

Yeah. What the title says. I should have left the country last week, as most of my plans kinda fell through - and those were the only things holding me back. Let's take a look at what helped make my decision to stay.

The dinner - I could have hosted that on a subsequent weekend.

Multisport - we lost, so it's not like I would have been missed.

Work at Main Drug Mart was optional. I'll work now that I know I'm stuck here at home and I've got nothing better to do.

The networking night fell apart after the snow-fall, but that was planned last-minute too. Fuck, if that night wasn't a total waste of time.

Spinning with Mr. G was good, but again, could have been done on another day.

Tonight's festivities have fallen through, despite long-standing plans.

I could have memo'ed ahead of time and skipped army on Friday, and arrived some time on Saturday.

So what the hell am I doing in Toronto? I could be on a cruise in the Bahamas, boozing and smoking in the Dom. Rep., or even Cuba again. Instead, I'm gonna work at MDM tonight, make some cash, and spend myself back to contentedness. On a good note, I've been working out so much (out of boredom) that I've lost some flab and gained another 2 lbs. Whatever.

So apparently, a lot of flower shops took a beating yesterday because the supply of fresh flowers was unable to move out of distribution centres due to the unavailability of trucks getting held back by the inclement weather.

Bored and Annoyed,

-d

Like Charlie

2007-02-07T11:41:00.000-05:00

I was invited on a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory on Gladstone Ave. (Dufferin and College, downtown). It was everything I hoped and more. As soon as you walk through the doors, the smell of chocolate just hits you.

I came away with a loot bag FULL of stuff, including fresh Caramilk bars right off the line. Plus, I know, first hand, what the Caramilk secret is now. I watched those suckers being made.

I think I'm gonna love this job.

Dinner's on me next weekend.

2007-02-01T14:58:00.000-05:00

As promised, I will try to arrange a dinner next weekend (Feb 10/11). Originally planned out of spite, from the Tremblant plans falling through, I've decided instead to make it a celebration.

Yesterday, I received my contract from Cadbury Adams Canada Inc. for a 6 month full-time job in their Regulatory Affairs department. I'll be working with Marketing to ensure label compliance. It's entry level, in the foods industry rather than drugs, but I still see the potential for a good future. Hopefully, I'll be such a pornstar that they'll offer me a full-time indeterminate position when my contract is up. I start on Feb 19.

Anyway, I've learned some lessons about the job hunt in the last month-and-a-half.

I sent out approximately 30-35 resumes and applications. Maybe about a third of those were cold, the rest were in response to postings. Out of those 30-35, I got 2 interviews, one of which resulted in this job offer. So, that's about a 6% response rate, 3% success rate. I remember my Dad telling me that when he was job hunting, he sent out 40 resumes, got maybe a 10% response rate and a 3% success rate. So really, during the process of job hunting, while the rate of return seems discouraging, perseverance seems to pay off.

The Cadbury job was referred to me by Leslie Yang - you all remember Leslie from Haig, right? Anyway, I honestly believe that if I didn't have her help, I wouldn't even have warranted an interview. So, like the Career Centre at U of T says, networking is critical in finding a job. We have friends in all different kinds of industries, who have working siblings and friends. Towards the end, I even thought about Facebook - after all, it originally started as a networking tool for university grads. In retrospect, I would say that more of my effort should have been focused on networking rather than responding to published ads and postings.

While preparing for my interview, I explored a lot of the kinds of questions that managers like to ask. I mean, we all know the typical ones and how to answer, but I was more interested in the WHY behind the question. Why would a manager ask a particular question, and what does my answer tell them? For the longest time, those damn behavioural questions stumped me. I thought they were the stupidest things ever. As I researched interview techniques and stuff like that, I came to realize that those questions are designed to establish if a certain behaviour is normal for you. By that, I mean given a difficult situation, how could you be expected to react? The key here is specificity. The rationale is if you can come up with a specific and recent response, it's something that you know how to deal with, because you deal with it regularly. The only issue I take with behavioural questions now is that I feel they're only effective if the candidate has some solid work experience. Without daily interaction with co-workers or team-mates, the opportunity to come across difficult and relevant situations is rare. Basically, what I'm saying is that they're great tools for interviewers, but only if the interviewee has work experience. Asking behavioural questions to undergrads or high school students is still stupid, in my opinion (U of T Faculty of Pharmacy, I'm talking to YOU).

Anyway, I learned a lot, and I think those three points were the highlight of my experience in the last little while. Besides that stuff, I learned quite a bit about cover letters and resumes, and I compiled a list of potential interview questions, and general pointers on how to answer them. So, if anybody needs help in their job hunt, feel free to hit me up.

Vanilla

2007-01-24T21:29:00.000-05:00

This plant sprouted something like a hundred of these flowers. Makes the whole room smell like sweet vanilla.

We Will Rock You

2007-01-02T14:19:00.000-05:00

Is anybody interested in going with me to see this show, We Will Rock You?

It's like $70-90 per ticket, and the show starts in late March. Anyone interested? I'd like to get some half-decent seats, but it appears that we're doomed to sit in the wings on the floor or in the mezzanine. I'm cool with that.

Just email/msn me or leave a comment if you're interested, or if you can get me some kind of deal. I'll organize this one if there's anyone out there that'll go with me.

-d

iCrazy

2006-12-28T20:48:00.000-05:00

Why, oh why is the iPod Nano so aesthetically pleasing?

I've secretly wanted one for so long, but I just can't rationalize buying one. It's just a piece of shiny that looks so pretty that I want to have one.

"You should just get it... isn't it good? And it's so small. People say it's fragile, but that's because people are so stupid. They don't know how to take care of it. They drop it everywhere."
- my sister.

If I get one, then I'll have to get myself a fabrix case.

It doesn't end there. I'll have to buy a radio transmitter too, so I can use it in my car. And, of course, I can't be satisfied with stock accessories. I'll have to get new headphones... it never ends.

Am I ready for this? Nah. Let's focus on my camera and computer for now. I'll just borrow my sis' iPod. Next up for the camera: external flash, bigger CF card, battery grip, second battery. Next up for the comp: quad cpu and gpu, and I suppose I'll be making the transition to HD-DVD / Blu-ray. Of course, I'll have to get a bigger, faster hard drive, and I'm considering getting a new sound card too. We'll see.

So my sister's flexing her new Lulu gym bag.

J: "Should I wear it using the handles or the shoulder strap?"
D: "Shoulder strap."
J: "Why?"
D: "Because it looks more functional. If you sling it by the handles, you look like one of those prissy little bitches."
J: "So I should use the handles, because I WANT to look like a prissy little bitch."
D: "Yeah, I guess so, then."
J: "Don't I look like one of those rich bitches at Bayview Village? Like one of those Jewish girls? I gotta show this off."

Yeah. Lulu makes some HOT gym stuff. Never really took notice until I noticed someone wearing the pants... oh lordy.

-d

HDTV

2006-12-12T09:27:00.000-05:00

HDTV is beautiful.

My dad just bought a 52" Sharp HDTV last week. It was quite the task mounting it to our existing wall unit. We had to cut 1/8" steel strips to anchor the mounting arm to the wall unit safely. In total, the tv and mounting equipment weighs over 160 lbs, so we had to make damn sure that it stays put.

After that, I hooked up our Dolby 5.1 surround sound system. It sounds very weird - we're missing rear speakers. My dad went out a couple of days ago and bought some new speakers. Pickup tomorrow. Mounting on thursday probably.

And then, instead of studying for exams and stuff, I alphabetized the family's DVD collection and inputted it all into an excel spreadsheet. We have 158 movies. My dad wants to systematically watch all the movies to see which ones are worth keeping and which ones to throw out.

So, I've been using my in-between study session break-time to watch some HD programming from Rogers. It's gorgeous... I actually watched hockey for the first time in a long time - it was that good. It's too bad I don't watch House or any of those other shows that other people like - they come in HD too.

Anyway, after exams, say maybe on monday or tuesday, I'm going to move my computer down to the family room and hook it up to the new TV. We managed to get an HDMI-DVI cable (got a deal - $50 - didn't realize how expensive until I saw it on the Dell website for $160), so I can spend a little more time with the newest member of the family.

I can't even imagine how I was at all satisfied with regular TV before HD. It's one of those things that you can't backpedal on. If I ever move out, one of my first purchases will be an HDTV. Before I even get a bed. or kitchen stuff. HDTV.

My grandma (the shanghainese one) is arriving this weekend. Those who would like to learn how to cook...

-d

Consolidation

2006-12-05T10:36:00.000-05:00

I hate having so many different accounts, usernames, and passwords; so, I always jump at the opportunity to consolidate. May I submit, for your consideration, the new Eucatastrophe, under the umbrella of my gmail account.

I started my first gmail account in September and registered for google talk. With this new Blogger addition, my G-sphere is expanding. In terms of functionality, it hasn't eclipsed my MS-sphere - hotmail is still my primary email.

In other news, my sister and I built a gingerbread house yesterday.

Take a good look. What you see there is over 5,000 calories. I bet most of that is in the icing. I don't get to eat any of it though - it's for my sister's kids. It also came with two gingerbread men, not pictured here. Those are about as tall as the house, also decorated. Definitely a must for festive get-togethers.

-d

Comment for Herb.

2006-11-29T13:14:00.000-05:00

What it feels like to throw a grenade.

Take a baseball.

Throw it.

Duck and cover.

That's how it feels like to throw a grenade. Really. They're designed to be easy to use like that.

-d

VO2 Max

2006-11-23T00:12:00.000-05:00

My average VO2 Max is about 45 mL/kg/min. Kinda sucks... I'm gonna aim for 50 by January, and maybe beyond as the multisport season progresses.

Basically, I ran the Cooper's test, and got a score of around 50 mL/kg/min, and then I ran the Beep test (multistage something or other), and got about 45 mL/kg/min. I'll use the conservative estimate and use that as my baseline.

Gonna try and get super fit for the new year. We'll see how that goes.