xkcd

I have made a discovery of magnitude.

xkcd
A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

Some time was spent browsing the archives and below are some of my favorites. However, I encourage you to do some of your own browsing. The site gets updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

• Wood Chips
• Angular Momentum
• Delicious
• Bored with the Internet
• National Language

Who is your role model?

Follow the instructions:

1. Pick any number between 1 and 9
2. Multiply your number by 3
3. Add 3, then again multiply by 3
4. You'll get a 2 digit number
5. Add the digits together

Now scroll down...








With your final number, find your role model:

1. Albert Einstein
2. David Suzuki
3. Zeus
4. Tom Cruise
5. Mats Sundin
6. Mahatma Ghandi
7. Britney Spears
8. Bill Gates
9. Robert Aubertin
10. Barack Obama
11. Fox Mulder
12. Steven Spielberg
13. Rick Campanelli
14. Dana Murzyn
15. Pierre Trudeau
16. Bono
17. Mr. Rogers
18. Mother Theresa

Joel Plaskett "Extraordinary" (live)

jokes, folks

From a Georgia Straight article written by Guy MacPherson about comic Stewart Francis..

He’s an economical writer, too. There’s not a word of fat in his act. Take this brilliantly simple joke: “I love blind dates,” he says, leading us down one path, “because you can stare at their tits.” Such precision. The gag is easy enough to parse, but try coming up with something so beautifully funny. That takes talent. Like this one: “My impression of a lazy porn star: ‘Don’t make me come over there.’”

And he’ll often give you two or three laughs per joke. “I don’t think it’s fair to judge people on their looks,” he’ll tell us earnestly. “Especially the ugly ones.” Great punchline, but wait, there’s more. “They probably have feelings.” He goes from good guy to jerk to soulless asshole in three quick steps.

Same with this one: “My wife and I have decided we don’t want children.” Fair enough. “If anyone does, we can drop them off tomorrow.” Ouch. “The fat one has asthma.” Not only does he not want his own offspring, but he offhandedly dehumanizes one completely.

Noone and Stella

I've been meaning to write this post for a while. Now here it is. Not much time for blogging now that I'm no longer a bum. Working full-time for once in my life means being more selective of how spare time is spent. What I'm wondering is, come February, will there be any spare time at all?

A little over a month ago my grandma passed away. Her given name was Muriel, but she was known affectionately as Noone. She was my last living grandparent and the only one that I had ever met. She lived in New Zealand and had visited us here in Canada several times when I was younger. At least once, when I was elementary school age, she slept in my bed and I slept on the floor. Those visits stopped a while ago as her health got worse. I had also been to New Zealand a few times, living with her for a month in 1992 and visiting her in 1999.

Anyway, I wasn't that close to her, due mostly to the distance between us. But it's still been a tough go, as that generation of my family has now passed. My mom was over there for the final couple of weeks of Noone's life as they knew her passing was imminent. Soon after my mom arrived back, Stella, one of her dogs, passed away. What was shocking about that was that of her three dogs Stella was thought to be the youngest and healthiest. She was adopted from a friend of the family and, in hindsight, hid her ailments well. Too well.

I don't really have much else to say about any of this. I just wanted to put it on here as a way of honoring. I know it's not much, but it's more than nothing.

"Let's let nature take its course."

It's now 3-2!

The BoSox came back! After being down 7-0 they chipped away and won it 8-7 on a bottom-of-the-ninth RBI single.

They now trail the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in the best-of-seven ALCS.

Our perfect record remains intact.

BoSox - NoSox?

What's going on? The BoSox should have had the ALCS versus the Tampa Rays wrapped up already and be preparing for the poorly-named World Series. Biscotti and I saw the BoSox in person for the first time in 2004 at Fenway Park in Boston. Later that season, the BoSox won their first World Series since 1918. The next time Biscotti and I saw the BoSox was in 2007 at Safeco Field in Seattle. Later that season, the BoSox won their first World Series since 2004. The next time Biscotti and I saw the BoSox was in 2008 at Safeco Field in Seattle. Later that season....

The Rays are leading the ALCS three games to one and lead game five 7-0 in the bottom of the seventh. BoSox have runners on first and third with two outs and there's a 2-2 count on Dustin Pedroia.

Go, BoSox, Go!

...and Justice was done.

This cartoon by Geoff Olson appeared in The Vancouver Courier on November 21, 2007 - a month and a week after Robert Dziekański was tasered and died at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). I clipped it, saved it, and now that we have a scanner I'm posting it here. Click it to enlarge it.

A hidden five o'clock shadow

click image to enlarge

From The Georgia Straight's Best of Vancouver 2008 issue, out Thursday September 18, 2008. Click here for the above, and click here for the Best of overview page.

Look ma, no hands

Wendy's on Cambie Street just north of Broadway was closed for a spell. The Canada Line construction had turned that intersection into chaos and getting to their off-8th parking lot was a very difficult task. Consequently, business had slowed. I don't know this firsthand, but had been to neighboring Mongolie Grill and they reported a business slowdown. So sure, why not turn that negative into a positive and close for renos? They recently reopened, and on my first visit post-renos I had reason to use the restroom. I then had reason to be disappointed. Many public restrooms - in malls, in restaurants, in my pants - have been converting their restrooms to a hands-free experience, meaning that after doing your bizness, you are able to wash your hands, dry your hands, and exit the restroom without having to physically touch anything.

In the Wendy's restroom, I had to..

• use my hands to flush
• use my hands to turn on the faucet
• use my hands to get soap
• use my hands to turn off the faucet
• use my hands to open the door

As a result, my hands were probably dirtier after washing my hands and exiting the room than immediately prior to washing my hands. It's simple simple simple to make a restroom hands-free. You've likely been to several in your life.

Whether using a urinal or a toilet, there are sensors on the back which detect when someone is in front and gets engaged. Upon person leaving, flussssssh. Then, the faucets are motion sensor; glide your hand under the tap, and presto, you've got water. Soap I think has to be hand-operated, but that's okay because at get-soap time your hands are still pre-clean. The faucet turns off after a set time, or when it no longer senses motion. Not only does this mean not having to use your hands to turn off the water by touching a dirty handle, it also avoids pranksters from clogging the sink, leaving the water running, and exiting, thereby creating a flooded restroom. The last requirement is being able to exit without having to touch a door handle. At metrotown, the entrances to the restrooms are sort of like S-shaped paths with no doors at all, preventing the other sex from peering in with their curious eyes.

Wendy's had ample time to make their restrooms hands-free while renovating their dining-room area (which remains remarkably unchanged), but failed to do so. As well, their exterior doors still have the handles on the wrong side, despite repeated comments for change made over ten years ago.