« November 2005 | Main | January 2006 »

December 27, 2005

Putting The T In Toronto

I'll be heading out to pick T up from Pearson Airport in a few hours. This will be her first experience with winter in Toronto, and she's a little nervous. Last year we had record cold, and I think she's expecting sub-arctic temperatures, blizzards, polar bears, etc. I'm sorry to disappoint her, but the forecast looks like snow and temperatures just below freezing. If you have any suggestions for good Toronto activities, feel free to leave a comment.

If I don't get to blog before I get back to Seattle, Happy New Year gentle reader. See you in 2006.

08:38 | Stuff | Comments (0)

December 24, 2005

Vacation Halfway Point

Happy/Merry <insert holiday here>!

I'll have more to blog about later this week. So far all I've been doing is enjoying the unseasonably warm weather, spending time with the family, wrapping gifts and getting myself a whole lotta couch time.

And in twelve hours I'll be playing with my new toys.

18:22 | Stuff | Comments (0)

December 19, 2005

Random Thoughts In Toronto

Blogging this from an Internet cafe on Queen St while I wait for my brother to get off work and join me for some Korean BBQ. I'm staying at his apartment in the West end for a few days before doing the family thing at my parents' place in Brampton.

The flights here were fine, slight delays but thankfully uneventful.

The temperature has been overing just below freezing all day today. I've become so aclimatized to Seattle weather, that cold, dry Toronto feels so unfamiliar, not to mention the hard mounds of sand-encrusted snow and ice on sidewalks.

That's it for now. Time for some sweet sweet bulgogi.

14:03 | Travel | Comments (1)

December 16, 2005

Bon Voyage

Well, I'm (mostly) packed up and ready for my flight to Toronto tonight. I got my (new) passport, my ticket and a suitecase full of gifts. I'll be there until Jan 1, so if anyone wants to see me, email me, or call my parents.

Unfortunately, it looks like Canada itself isn't too thrilled to see me judging by the huge winter storm moving to Southern Ontario. It has already closed airports in Québec and coming to greet my flight. Don't worry, I brought plenty of reading material for my inevitable extended layover.

07:34 | Canada | Comments (2)

December 15, 2005

I Remembered This Year!

This year I broke with tradition and actually remembered One Big Rant's 4-year anniversary. Four years of self-indulgence, and it hasn't earned me a damn cent! You stupid blog! Be more profitable!

Oh, I can't stay mad at you... you meticulously record my rants and witty observations without passing judgment. You allow one-way communication with friends, family, strangers, and the occasional blog stalker. You foster uninformed discussions on the war, politics and steak sauce. Happy anniversary old friend.

By the way, here are the lame ways I commemorated the previous three anniversaries: 2004, 2003, 2002, and the lackluster first entry from 2001.

08:37 | Blog | Comments (2)

December 12, 2005

Labeling Of Trans Fats Now Mandatory

This bit of health news made me happy to read: Canada is the first country in the world to require labeling of trans fats on food products. As someone who consciously watches for and avoids the insidious, industry-made trans fats, I applaud this initiative to better inform consumers.

Now what about that trans fat ban?

08:04 | Canada | Comments (7)

December 8, 2005

Down With HPC? Yeah You Know Me

I've noticed an odd ad sitting atop the roofs of cab lately. Usually taxis don Bacardi or Starbucks ads, you know, things that party-goers or caffeine addicts may consider impulse buys. The ads that have baffled me of late are Microsoft ads promoting HPC (High Performance Computing) Cluster Servers. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a cool product, but I just don't see much return on investment from advertising on cabs in Capitol Hill. Sure, there's the off-chance a System Admin who partied a little too hard on a Friday night will need a ride home and have HPC subliminally implanted into his Red-Bull-and-Vodka-soaked mind, but for the most part, I'm guessing most fares won't know what HPC stands for, let alone whether their company need it.

07:29 | Stuff | Comments (8)

December 5, 2005

How Much More Can You Take?

Last night T and I went to see Morcheeba, a band I've been listening to off and on since high school. Little did I know they had recently replaced their lead singer before releasing their latest album. Damn, I thought. I have two tickets to a band that may not be the band I wanted to see.

The show was supposed to start at 9:00, but Morcheeba didn't start playing until after 10:00. To soothe the beast of an impatient crowd, they brought out the most bizarre opening act I've ever seen. It was a small blue-haired woman with pink bunny earmuffs and a ukulele. The crowd wasn't terribly impressed, so she decided to bring out the big guns: sitar, accordion and a Theremin. I give her an A for effort for busting out the obscure instruments.

Finally Morcheeba came out, new singer and all. As if the band knew we were all thinking, they opened with a song from their hit album Big Calm. The new singer was a dead ringer for the old one. It was uncanny. She also had a whole lot of energy, and demonstrated it by bouncing all over the stage, waving her arms and getting the crowd going. Songs from the new album sounded good too, more upbeat than their older stuff. About 40% of the show was new material, 40% from Big Calm, and 20% from their other 3 albums. T and I suspected it was a way to prove that they're the same old Morcheeba.

Even though the show ended by 11:30, I was very impressed. I think I'll add the new album (The Antidote) to my Christmas list.

22:14 | Entertainment | Comments (0)

December 1, 2005

Snow Job

At about 11:00 this morning I heard some commotion outside my office. People were pointing out the window and either gasping with excitement, or with frustration. I peeked my head out to see what the dilly-o. It was snowing big fat flakes outside. I felt irrationally happy all of the sudden. Grinning like a moron, I sought out some of the other Canadians on the team and made sure they saw the white nostalgia falling from the sky. Seattle rarely gets snow, so it's always a treat for me to see even a modest two centimetres of accumulation. Then I thought about how terrible the ride home would be.

For some reason, despite the fact it rains in Seattle for nine months out of the year, Seattleites can't drive when the roads are wet. After a few days of bad traffic and accidents, they eventually clue in. But as soon as there's a sunny dry day, driver's amnesia hits again, and there are traffic jams galore.

I was fearful that my ride home would take hours (especially considering how the whole city shut down the last time it snowed), so I waited until after rush hour to grab the bus. Well, the ride home was fine. The little snow there was had melted by the time we were on the road, so there was relatively no traffic or accidents, and I got home on time.

I didn't say it was an interesting story.

22:10 | Stuff | Comments (1)