MyFaceBookSpace
yeeesshhh... recently I joined facebook for reasons not worth relating. While there, trying to understand the phenomenon, I joined the "St. John's, NL" Network and out of curiosity searched for "Prince of Wales Collegiate, class of 1986", the ol' alma mater. Let me say just this; "I've seen your Facebook page... and you've aged horribly."

Mind you, I'm no spring buck, but by God, I still have all me teeth, hair (and then some) and yes, I'm actually 10 pounds lighter than my last year of high school (which is still 10 pounds too much but don't interrupt me when I'm bragging). Perhaps there are benefits to not having children?

I still don't "get it". Why such a moderately useful site (if it is of any use at all) is worth $2 Billion dollars is beyond me. Let me write that out - Two Billion Dollars - that's $2,000,000,000 (I think? I've never actually had to write out a billion dollars). Oh wait, now it's $10 Billion.

Banana Republic

Banana Republic

This has to be the oddest story of a very odd time; "Chiquita pleaded guilty to paying 1.7 million dollars to one of Colombia's most notorious paramilitary groups". Combine that with news of Blackwater employees killing 8 Iraqis in a fire fight and suddenly Naomi Klein's term, "Corporatism" seems fittingly evil. In fact, even saying "Blackwater employees in a fire fight", is a pretty good indicator that these "employees" weren't working in the laundromat or filing requisition forms. I get the feeling that if Chiquita had hired Blackwater to protect their bananas, they wouldn't have been fined 25 million dollars. Conveniently, the guilty plea and fine ensure Chiquita Brands International executives are off the hook from further charges.

Word of the Day

Word of the Day

If by now we all know what a "metrosexual" is (and aren't we over it by now), then what is a "homopolitan".

A Message to the Kids...
I just wasted 2 hours watching some exceptionally mundane television (I'm not even counting the 1/2 hour I nodded off). It wasn't the kind of television that wins awards or creates a buzz around the water cooler. In fact, it's probably the sort of television that if you said, "hey, did you see that show with the guy and the other guy who did that thing..." your fellow water cooler buffaloes would say, "Never heard of it. Sounds exceptionally mundane."

I'll tell you this. The Romans did a lot of screwing around but they never watched crappy television. Those Babylonians - the ones with the gardens - they never watched any lousy television. I'm guessing Bill Gates doesn't watch a lot of TV (if he did, he might realize what a crummy haircut he's been getting all these years).

To make a point, if you want to accomplish something in this life, watch better shows.

Did Sisyphus Have a Porch?

Did Sisyphus Have a Porch?

Why is September always so busy? Does everyone just decide to make up for the lazy days of summer with a super-work-deadline-freakout? This time of year Angela steps up her "ordinary busy" to "extraordinarily busy" (putting the "extra" in extraordinary). I actually had a week without work obligations, so I made some. I spent a lot of time ripping off the perfectly good eavestrough on our porch so I could remove the old rotting facing board and fascia underneath. Then I had to replace them both (thankfully with the help of our neighbour Neil and his marvelous extendable ladder) and finally, finally, paint the porch (it really needed it). There are still a few details to finish but once it's done I'll post some photos. I'm sure absolutely no one will notice the difference.

Bustin' my hump working on the porch was like some kind of Sisyphean triathlon. Two hours in the crouch and paint position, 2 hours of holding hands above the head and finally, the ladder assent - two hundred reps. There were days when I felt like I had undergone "rendition protocols". Let me just say Saucony running shoes may be perfectly good for running, but are terrible for standing on a ladder all day (though I can't attest to that - as I've never really run in them. They are excellent for crawling, limping and shuffling however.)

Alas, the days when the only things I worried about were roofing nails vs latex sealant, paint chips and paint drips, drip edge or eaves starter, are all but gone. It's back to the gritty world of design. The only fate that awaits me now are grueling hours slouched in front of my monitor and typing pianissimo over a clean white keyboard. The strange thing is, I keep succumbing to tiredness more than the week I spent painting the porch. When I was fixing the eaves and painting, I had to take advantage of the daylight so I would work as late as possible then hurry to barbecue supper, again, rushing to avoid darkness. Once that was done, then and only then could I collapse in a heap of sleep. Yet, going back to work on the computer seems to have thrown a thoroughly modern wrench in my circadian rhythm. Despite not really doing anything that physical, I find that afternoon gray period becoming very dark (as in, eyes-slammed-shut dark). Sometime between 4 and 5 it hits. It's like I've been shot with a tranquilizer dart. I'm like one of those bears on nature shows, walking along wondering how in hell I weigh 400 pounds on a diet of berries and raw fish when suddenly I feel a pinch. What's that? Was that a big bug or some kind of lucy in the sky with diamonds... and plop. I'm out. I'm only half-surprised I don't wake up wearing a radio collar with a yellow plastic tag in my ear. The theory as to why some of us get tired in the middle of the day is that we're just not sleeping well at night. Thus it follows that some 8 hours after you wake, and about 8 hours before you go back to bed, your body feels the overwhelming need to be not entirely conscious. I'm not sure what causes this collapse but luckily, I have a couch near my desk to break my fall.

Apple VooDoo


You do something to me - something that simply mystifies me.
Tell me, why should it be, that you have the power to hypnotize me?