Category: life

Another year, another planned fare hike for the TTC. What really bugs people about these prices is how they now have to pay more to stand at a bonechilling bustop waiting for a late bus, which invariably is crowded and filthy.

Here’s my two tokens: most people take the TTC because they have no other choice. The management is not trying hard enough to get people to take it by free will. Their advertising slogan mocks me every time I get on a subway car: “TTC saves hassle, time, and the environment.” One out of three ain’t bad, but it’s time to work on the first two.

Figure a way to reduce travel times!

Get streetcars to arrive consistently, and on time!

Don’t be so stingy with transfers, let us do roundtrips and stopovers!

Make it easier to track schedules! Hamilton has the BusCheck, where each bus stop has its own phone number where an automated voice tells you when the next bus is due to arrive.

Actually enforce the No Smoking by-law!

Give us a Metropass that actually costs less than buying 10 tokens per work-week! How about an adult commuter weekday-only pass that will actually save us money?

In tribute of OverheardinNewYork.com, a conversation Silverlotus overheard in TO on the TTC:

Woman: Did you know Jen and Brad are breaking up?

Man: WHO CARES!?

Woman: I think’s sad.

Man: I should break up.

Woman: With who?

Man: Myself. Then I will only be “Me” and “I”.

Woman: Everyone is breaking up these days.

Man: WHO CARES!?

On Tuesday at roughly 5pm, I was walking in the Toronto Eaton Centre, and saw a man plunge from a railing to the basement level below.

I don’t really want to talk about it again, but here is a thread I upened at DSLR: Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2005Categories life10 Comments on Accident at Eaton Centre

We have discovered the secret to IKEA – visit the store on Christmas Eve. It’s completely deserted.
It’s ironic, on the day every other store is filled to their vents with shoppers with poor time management skills, the Swedish Sensation is silent and wonderful.

Another secret we discovered is that IKEA is good eatin’. The Manager’s Special gives you soup, a refillable drink, and swedish meatballs and potatoes topped with cream and ligonberry sauce. And have you ever tried their ligonberry juice? It tastes like cranberries but without the tartness, and it goes down smoooth.

We came back to IKEA yesterday to help V buy a bookcase. It wasn’t silent and wonderful, but we did manage to pick up some of their swedish meatballs from their food shoppe. Silverlotus and V also tried some glog (no relation to gagh). It was served warm, and they reported it was a bit strange, but not entirely despicable.

Before I left work for the holidays, my very generous manager bestowed on me a bottle of Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad Cava Sparkling Wine. I haven’t tried it yet, but it comes in a nice bottle that is shaped somewhat like a cartoon stick of mutton.

It has become somewhat of a tradition to go to Silverlotus’s parents for Christmas turkey dinner. To mix things up a little, I brought along my bottle of 2002 Jackson-Triggs Proprietors’ Reserve Chardonnay. Last year we had Australian wine, but this is Ontario, and we make great wine too.

New Year’s Eve was uneventful – we ate appetizers stuffed with various cheeses, mushrooms and diced crabmeat while watching some stupid ghost show on W network.

Heather’s parents came over today to have a roast chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes, cream corn and baked sweet potatoes.

So I end New Year’s Day by scanning my computer for viruses while sipping a glass of 1998 Peller Estates Limited Edition Founder’s Series Vidal Ice Wine. Y gave it to me as a gift years ago and it’s won a few awards in its day, so I’m glad I’ve finally had a go at it. It has a great bouquet that smells like apricots.

My sis also crashed at my place for a few days while she was in town. She also brought a bottle of Vineland VQA ice wine, although I promised to wait until she came back to TO so we can try it together.

I’ve finally upgraded my PC to WinXP SP2. I actually upgraded three PCs beforehand this week, so naturally, all the upgrades went without incident except MY OWN.

The problem: my once snappy computer took ages to bootup. It would sit for a minute on the “Welcome” screen, and then show my wallpaper in frozen silence for another minute before loading the desktop.

BootVis only gave me more questions. It actually recorded no CPU activity during the Welcome screen. My PC was just sitting there, twiddling its thumbs.

It wasn’t turns off UDMA in the IDE channels, instantly turning hard drives super-slow.

In dire instances, the BIOS will underclock the CPU and slow everything down. However, the BIOS looked okay.

I scandisked and defragged. I turned off Windows Firewall. I turned off a lot of Services I wasn’t using. I tried every Windows optimization guide on the Internet I could find. Still no joy. I went to bed unfulfilled.

Today, I tackled the problem with renewed vigour. I wasn’t going to stand for a 2min+ wait for a crummy machine!

It wasn’t until I saw this post that a lightbulb appeared. Posted on Friday, December 31, 2004Categories life5 Comments on Taking the plunge into SP2 but not holding my breath

To make things even creepier, the eyes didn’t melt – they just floated in his brain pan until his skull collapsed and the molten wax dribbled out.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Shock horror: reality shows are faked?

Yes, producers hand-pick the contestants, add scripting cues, and create conflict and intrigue with contrived situations and shrewd editing. Several folks from the show business adds their insider info to the Metafilter discussion linked above. Did you know: the bird’s eye shots of the challenges in Survivor are re-enacted by extras?

On the bookshelf: What if what you believe is what makes reality? Neil Gaiman’s American Gods hypothesizes just that: an America filled with gods, folk heroes and conspiracies made flesh living ordinary lives. But it is as much a study of the clash of ancient and modern mythologies as it is an exploration of small town Americana, complete with pilgrimages to San Fran, Vegas, and all the roadside attractions and dingy backwaters in between. That and a chronicle filled with Gaiman’s trademark violence and debauchery.

Silverlotus, an avid fan of ancient religions, probably enjoys this novel on a far greater level than I, but even I can appreciate the irony of having Anubis running a funeral parlour in Wisconsin.

My manager got called to the bar this week (read: he is now officially a lawyer) at the Upper Canada Law Society. He said it was interesting seeing the reactions of the common people as he walked around in public in his barrister’s robes. Half of them looked at him like he was some crazy homeless person dressed as a pilgrim, and the other half properly recognized what the garb signified and cowered appropriately.

The ceremony was held in a space in Osgoode Hall that is usually occupied by a four-star restaurant. Pretty good veal panini – but what do you expect from a venue that has to deal with judges and lawyers? Possibly the best restaurant I’ve been to that requires its patrons to submit to a metal detector (at Osgoode’s front entrance).

Panda Bounce Game It’s like Breakout. Click the panda to start the game. Use the mouse to move the trampoline so the panda can jump and catch fruit. Possibly the only time you will see pandas, squirrels and ninjas in an alliance against Vitamin C.

BBC’s Death in Rome Game You are a detective in ancient Rome, probing a citizen’s death. Luminol and DNA testing is still two thousand years away, so you’ll have to rely on clues at the death scene and interrogations of witnesses and historical experts.

In the PlayStation2: Burnout 3. IGN called this the best racing game ever, and while I wouldn’t go that far, I have the agree it’s a delight to play. What other racing game you know will reward you for driving badly? The controls and premise are simple: outrun your opponents by running them off the road. If Gran Turismo was the Ph.D of driving games, Burnout 3 would be Hooked on Phonics.