human roblog

Pond Rocky

2012-01-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

Last week it rained and then there was a cold snap, so the lake was super awesome, and it only lasted one day before there was some crappy warm weather and snow again. But I got this picture and some good real winter experience. There is something to be said for skating on the wide wide rink the lake provides.

Jurassic Lark

2012-01-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

Check what I did. See quantz link. I don't want to make too much of this, but I am now famous by virtue of having received the recognition of Ryan North and is my greatest accomplishment since my hockey team won the Kingston Church House League Championship in 1987.

Mission from God

2012-01-03T14:46:00.000-08:00

Courtesy Sketchesnatched

Well the results of the Blues Brothers Poll are in. They tied. Really each bears so many virtuous qualities that choosing one over the other is a lesson in futility as this poll has so clearly shown.

Half Moon

2011-12-16T19:35:00.000-08:00

Here's what I wrote down last week in my sketchbook:

"Dec 6, 2011

Last Night I had a dream. In it, there I was driving down a desert road in my 2003 Chevy Cavalier. I wasn't driving, but was in the passenger seat and there was a heavily built guy with long hair (greying) that was driving and could probably best be described as a cross b/w a hippie and a lumberjack. Suddenly a huge beigy/cream coloured bull with big horns (one of which was broken off half way) was running on an intersecting path with the car from approximately 10 o'clock. I tensed up and crossed my arms in front of my face. The hippie braked hard and swerved left off the road (as it was dirt and one lane). We narrowly missed the bull. We started again and almost immediately another bull was on our crossing path from the same direction. It was the same colour but had both horns this time. Again we managed to stop and avoid disaster but just barely. We finally got to a big circular cavern in the side of a mountain that was all open except for the stones that held up the ceiling. There was wood platform around the outside, wide enough we could have driven except that it was all destroyed by someone, the same person that didn't want us to get to the light/opening on the other side of the cavern. That's all I can remember"

So I wonder.. What does it mean? Obviously nothing, but I couldn't help but look some stuff up. Especially since my dream featured bulls which are super common symbolic animals for strength, masculine fertility and sometimes death. I was also surprised to read that the horns can represent the moon, and made me wonder about the one with only half a horn. Also, right beneath 'steer' in my symbol dictionary is 'steering wheel', symbolizing responsibility authority and higher wisdom. It figures I wasn't behind the wheel in the dream. Ha. Also the guy driving has long hair and is strong.
The cavern was circular, and circles are also super common, meaning stuff like heaven, god (infinity), perfection, enlightenment and protection. Except that the circle in my dream was broken. Can that be good? And that broken circle was keeping me from the light which can mean life, or happiness, and so I read inspiration or spiritual vision. Also the location of the cavern is in a mountain symbolic of joining heaven and earth and the dwelling place of the gods.
Holy nads did I ever have a symbolic dream, so here goes:

My dream means I am following a path of wisdom and responsibility though I am not in control. It helps me avoid death (in a sense) at the hands of the strong, or perhaps it helps me avoid procreating. Both seem true enough. Should I choose to look at this in a temporal sense, I am led close to perfect enlightenment, but cannot reach it. In a spiritual sense, I am led close to heaven, but am barred from going any further. As a shrink would say: 'You're sexually frustrated'

real capital

2011-12-12T20:37:00.000-08:00

So it's been over a year now that I've lived without real TV. I'd say the main thing I notice is that I have become oblivious to new things going on, and maybe even you could say I'm losing my discretion. I rarely know of any new movies, products, toys or music (I do listen to the radio, but mainly a classic rock station). What brought this on is that today I watched (online) a trailer for Men in Black 3. Something in me tells me that that movie is going to suck to an exponential degree, but I've not seen a trailer for any movie in so long, that I have a desire to see that movie anyways. But I won't. I'd rather read a book or even better, take a nap.

Let them eat pie

2011-11-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

Well the results of the 'pie or cake?' poll are in. Pie won by a landslide. It makes you wonder why we eat cake at all. Probably weddings and birthdays pre-date pie as we know it today, and it's their strong association with cake that keeps cake in the game. Pie does have Thanksgiving going for it though, and an obvious math pun, which counts for alot. Pie are round indeed.

Chain refraction

2011-10-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

Today on the way to work I caught this, and my co-worker found a bunch of change in front of the united church. Am I insinuating that the leprechaun spilled his pot of gold. No. But it is pretty rare that I see such a complete rainbow. Dare I call it a "Double Rainbow"?

Ink

2011-10-13T06:41:00.000-07:00

So I can't believe I read 485 of these before I got this pun.

12-2 BMX

2011-09-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

In ancient times, the BMX was a symbol of a bountiful harvest

Tickle the ironies

2011-07-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

So last night I killed a mosquito playing the piano.. let me say, my self-esteem has never been at such an all-time medium.

Utahraptor Jazz

2011-05-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

Here's my submission to a CBC/Dinosaur Comics entry. I strongly recommend everyone on the planet to participate. here.

Citizen Vain

2011-05-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

Well there was an election today. The government's commercials asked me to vote. So I voted. It made me a little nervous that they had numbers on the ballots. Anyways, then I got home and there was a census package on my door handle. Never before had my government wanted to know so much about me! But can you blame them?

Head last

2011-04-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

OCD

2011-04-02T15:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've been thinking about Smallville and Naruto again. Oh Rob.
Anyways, in one of the later episodes of season 4, Lex and his father Lionel are having a little tete a tete (pretend there are accents). Lex knows that Lionel is being less than truthful about the stones from Krypton (that everyone is looking for in season 4) and Lionel tells Lex that there is a difference between finding all the answers and understanding what they mean, and just what does he hope to achieve (which is kinda pot calling the kettle black).
I think I can sort of understand what he means. I was a heck of a lot happier before I read a bunch of books, but I still don't stop reading books. I have stopped thinking, though, that I'll ever find all the answers out.
Then I was thinking how Sasuke from Naruto is just like that. He's obsessive, and he's pursuing something. Only his goal is revenge. He too was almost a good guy, and his teachers all told him or rather tried to convince him that getting revenge is just a big let down. And when he finally killed his brother and got his revenge, it totally was, a big let down that is, especially because he found out it was all part of his brother's plan to protect the village. But isn't it weird that the pursuit of knowledge and the pursuit of a foe can both drive people to obsessive lengths and ultimately don't result in any satisfaction, but the exact opposite? But then again, life is pretty dull without obsession.

Gorbachevy Chase

2011-03-29T20:31:00.000-07:00

Welp, the results of the Balance of Power poll are in. Buncha Commies read my blog. I actually forgot to vote on this one. Oh well.
Balance of power for those who don't know is a computer game that my big brother and my little brother would play for hours on end patiently practicing diplomacy while their middle brother clawed his eyes out just hoping someone would get nuked so that we could play Infiltrator instead. Don't forget to put the helicopter on whisper mode or you've screwed up right from the start. Good times.

Happy Birthday Nice

2011-03-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

Han's Best Friend

2011-03-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

AT-AT day afternoon from Patrick Boivin on Vimeo.

I thought this was pretty excellent. Only from Montreal.

Happy Birthday Nice

2011-03-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

Cops and Robert

2011-03-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

Last night I got pulled over because I was driving a little too aggressively for the conditions. I didn't get a ticket or anything, I wasn't actually doing anything wrong. Man did the policeman seem disappointed when I told him I was an accountant. I think he got another call because he handed me back my license pretty abruptly and took off in his car in the other direction quite quickly.

runtime error

2011-02-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

Well, the results of the 2011 Peterborough YMCA Half are up and I did about how I expected to do. I've been working out, but not like last year. See results here. They also changed the route this year. More scenic and engaging than the old route, but not nearly as flat (especially at the 5k mark where there's a huge hill, that you must pass a second time on the return portion. Ow.). The best part is that I now have a decent enough data set. I made this graph, and another showing my positions in proportion to overall, category and gender placements, but due to some computer pain I accidentally lost the data and am too lazy right now to re-enter it because I ran a half-marathon today.

I love it when you call me big poppa

2011-02-23T18:12:00.000-08:00

Well, the results of the Existentialist Poll are in. It turns out Sartre is to existentialism as Biggie is to rap. One thing can be said for sure: Those Penguin classic paperback covers can't be beat.

Love to. How about Global Thermonuclear War?

2011-02-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

Did anyone else just watch the last three days of Jeopardy? My big brother assures me it's not the singularity, but it's still pretty cool to see a computer giving questions to answers. WATSON had a definite buzzing advantage, but I thought Brad and Ken hung in there pretty well. It's kinda painful, because you can see those guys both know all the answers, except that they can't buzz in fast enough. But what I really wanted to talk about was this certain, I-don't-know-what in human nature that makes us do stuff like this. I wonder if those dudes at IBM have seen the Matrix. I mean, I'm sure the singularity is way off. I'm also pretty sure we'll get there, and maybe it already happened like was suggested in QC. I can't help but think of the tower of babble. It always seemed to me God was a little unfair here, putting the slant on cooperation, ambition and achievement in one fell swoop. But I think the story is more about the danger of this drive that is in people. Scientists are gonna keep trying to find out more junk. Business dudes are gonna keep trying to make more money. Some guy in Utah is gonna keep trying to build a rocket car that will beat the land-speed record. Even though all this stuff can ruin them, or even the human world. Well, maybe not that guy in Utah, keep at it. Kudos. But I think this is also what makes humans so ruthlessly successful. To be able to ignore the things that can't be reconciled in the mind and go and live your life
anyways. Ah, that reminds me of 'The Year of the Dog', a movie about a woman who becomes obsessed with saving animals and basically goes crazy and ruins her life trying because she is unable to just shrug and say, "That's too bad." Man that movie was sad (and it had Molly Shannon!). Or how the planet is getting warmer and in a few years there will be mass flooding and population migrations and no one will be able to breathe our atmosphere. But no one does anything and I still drive my car to work. Oh well, "that's too bad." I figure, I better get my hot showers in now. I guess I'm hoping the computers take over before it gets to that. Keep it up IBM.

Horsepower of love

2011-02-14T19:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tony Danza

2011-02-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

Say what?

Oh man, I love the Superbowl. I actually didn't watch it this year. Thank goodness for Youtube.

New Glasses

2011-02-07T19:14:00.001-08:00

I got new glasses. May I say they are nerdtronic?

Feats of Sleep

2011-01-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

Last night I got home from work and was feelin' a 'lil weary, usin' lotsa apostrophes and such, so I decided to take a nap. I didn't wake up until 11 pm. So since it was past my bed time, I went to bed.

Orange you glad I puched myself in the face?

2011-01-19T18:34:00.001-08:00

Thriller

2011-01-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

Royal Flush

2011-01-11T19:10:00.000-08:00

So basically I've been trying to decide what makes our modern civilization the most advanced ever thus far. How did we get here? I mean, we were already way more advanced than the Egyptians by the time electricity even came around, and I'm pretty sure Spinning Jenny kicks the crap out of anything the Romans ever did. You might say, "Rob, you're pretty awesome, though maybe not very humble, but this is not a new question and is unlikely to be answered in any meaningful way in a short blog entry." and you might be right, but might not be, because the answer is plumbing and democracy.
I know, I know, A couple of Egyptian Pharaohs had something akin to a flush toilet, and there are a few instances of pipes in Roman and Chinese palaces and such, and even what you think about when talking about plumbing wasn't even maturing until the end of the 19th century. But holy snooks, you couldn't build a steam engine without plumbing, and you couldn't proliferate water and gas to the population without plumbing. And really, it's infrastructure that make places great to live in.
How awesome is it to take a shower and be clean. Pretty friggin awesome, and you just have to look at the Egyptians or Romans to see how bad life sucked for the average Joe when there is no plumbing or democracy, or if you want to look at a more recent example, there's any number of examples in the 3rd world. Oh and you can build a potato cannon out of ABS like snap.

Get Shorty

2011-01-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

Well the results of the Favourite Shortbread Cookie Shape poll are in. A four-way tie has us scratching our heads. Perhaps all shortbread are created equal. Or at least equally yummy. I myself and me especially, partook in a great deal of shortbread this Christmas season. Now with the new year I shall resume my in-some-ways Spartan lifestyle.

Practice makes adequate

2010-12-31T15:31:00.000-08:00

Coronation Street

2010-12-20T19:41:00.000-08:00

Magnetic Attraction

2010-12-18T16:10:00.000-08:00

You know, sometimes things just work out.

Dream weaver

2010-12-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

So they other day I was on the treadmill and this video came on. I had forgotten how super excellent this video is. I've been thinking hard about videos I've seen, and I'm not sure there's any better. Sure Thriller is pretty good and is probably the most groundbreaking and important to MTV and famous, but measured against all the videos ever made, I just don't know. The only other ones I can think of that might be better are "Fell in love with a girl" by the White Stripes, or maybe Run DMC vs. Jason Nevins' "It's Like That". But on the Latter I may be swayed by break-dancing. Frig break-dancing is awesome.

Pop quality

2010-12-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

So I've been watching a lot of Smallville lately. More specifically seasons 9, 6, and 7 in that order. I noticed that season 9 is missing something. Don't get me wrong, I still love it and get a weird giddy pleasure when it gets super cheezy, but it's not the same bubble gum pop you find in the earlier seasons. In season nine, there were no featured WB bands showcased in convenient plot holes. And the product placement is not nearly so blatant (but definitely still there). I suppose I shouldn't complain, because I think there was a lot more story substance than usual. I also thought they did an excellent job of explaining Zod. You know I read somewhere that the best villains are the ones you can, if not sympathize with, at least understand where they came from or why they're like that. Like Lex, If only he hadn't lost his mother and brother under suspect conditions and been raised by a megalomaniacal evil genius, he'd probably be just fine smoking dope on the beach in Malibu with all the other trust fund babies. But Zod,.. yeah people would still kneel before Zod.

Steak

2010-12-01T17:54:00.000-08:00

So I recently resumed going to the gym. Oh how my legs have complained these last couple of weeks, but already I feel so much awesomer (re. Tim Hortons). It's pretty good too cause they have TVs on the wall and on the treadmill. But... on the treadmill there is no closed captioning! And when I plug my headphones into it in full stride the swinging cord is too much. Oh the trials I endure... Oh.

I'm about to lose my worried mind

2010-11-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

The results of the Led Zeppelin poll are in. Looks like the debate is over and everyone can just accept that III is the best. I can't believe it took me three years to get a Led Zeppelin tag.

Base hit

2010-11-14T05:19:00.000-08:00

10,000 hits! Thanks, here's some fanart for your enjoyment.

Shall we trance?

2010-11-10T17:41:00.000-08:00

Oh man, I had trouble with that hiss. If it's too painful to listen, don't.

Road to Avonlea

2010-11-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

So when I came across this reading Gundam Sousei, how I laughed. Oh, how I laughed.

Left of Tengen

2010-11-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

Well I just finished reading Hikaru No Go. A very excellent manga about the rough and tumble world of the professional go player. I have been practicing placing my stones like a professional with Junior Mints, but I'm not sure my hair is ridiculous enough to be a superstar at it. It used to be. Does that count?

Wedding Flower

2010-11-01T15:33:00.000-07:00

CHECKIT! I saw this in downtown Toronto on the weekend whilst attending a very excellent wedding. I am inspired by one of my favourite sites Global Graphica. The artist looks to be one Bruni Nielsen, though if this is her website, I'm not sure street art is her usual thing.

Saved by the Bill

2010-10-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

So, I recently finished reading Teklords by William Shatner, a man probably best known for his prior work: Tekwars. Though I didn't feel particularly enriched after having read this novel, I found it pretty entertaining, if not merely because Shatner continually amazed me with his ability to produce cliche after cliche in this sci-fi thriller.
Really, the most frustrating part is that its something like 150 years in the future and there's no cell phones, but they have Skype (see above). Oh well, you can't predict the future I guess, except that he published this book in 1991. I'm pretty sure Zach Morris had a cell phone.

Memories of a garage band

2010-10-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

Check it. Weezer is on auto tune the news.

Herman -o Brother

2010-10-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

Oh snap. I realized I never posted the results of the Narcissus and Goldmund poll. Just like Narcissus, he brought a holy beat down on Goldmund, but was cool about it. Three to nil. Amazingly Narcissus won. What does that say about my readers. All three of them. Anywhap, good book. I recommend it for a midlife crisis.

The hells are alive with the sound of manga

2010-10-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

So, as I read page after page of manga, I usually have my media player on shuffle playing through my whole library. Occasionally a song plays that suits the page I'm reading to a T. Then I'm like, wouldn't it be awesome if the music always suited the page. I guess I've got to watch movies. Anyways I guess it's nice to know that odds are, if I keep reading manga and keep listening to music, sooner or later that one page is gonna be perfect.

Community Collage

2010-10-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

Remember in 1997 when everyone made collages? Oh yeah.

Check out this collage I made when I was 17. ha... poop.

Rob reviews books he accidentally took a picture of

2010-10-06T17:13:00.001-07:00

From Right to left,

101 Amazing card tricks: Amazing. Though I lack the dexterity due to not practicing at all.

The g.i. diet: Have not read, but sounds delicious.

Scott Pilgrim 4: The art totally changed in this one. Scott cuts a woman in half and there's some cool swords. Awesome.

Scott Pilgrim 3: I KNEW VEGANS HAD SUPERPOWERS! Though the DBZ rips are good.

Scott Pilgrim 2: This book is excellent becaus they go to the library. Casa Loma would also be an awesome level on THPS.

Scott Pilgrim 1: Bollywood kicks.

Scott Pilgrim 5: Scott fights a robot. Something else happened. OK.

Scott Pilgrim 6: I think this one is actually an ad for Bryan Lee O'Malley's line of clothing. Swords!

L'Etranger: I read the translation. True existentialists be warned, this world will ruin you by way of social contract. But no use crying about it. Also some pretty excellent stuff when his mind breaks.

Le Livre De Mon Ami: Did not read.

Canadian Short Stories: Did not read these ones.

The Ionian Mission: This one has lots of seagoing in it, and some good naval action. Mowatt was still alive too.

Evolution and Christian Faith: This book argues that Christian faith and the theory of evolution are not mutually exclusive beliefs. I guess I agree with the basic message of the book, but the book was painful to read. I think the author was trying too hard to be conciliatory and constantly dampened her arguments.

The Economics of Education: I only read a couple of pages of this one. Dry. Maybe I'll try again someday.

American Psycho: I only saw the movie. Why do you think I'm scared of Neo-Cons. Man Batman is crazy.

Oresteia: So I think I read this back in university, but I can't really remember what goes on. Like every other greek play it either blew my mind or made me want to stab myself.

The Stagnant Society: Did not read.

Tit-Coq: Did not read.

Candide: Did not read.

The Lives of Girls and Women: Did not read.

Above Ground: Did not read.

Man that was more books than I thought when it first occurred to me to do this. Luckily I haven't read most of them.

Motor ration

2010-10-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

Dig it. I made the rear wiper work again. I thought it might be clever or artsy to photograph my samsnug photo of the motor repair, but really it's laziness. It is a chore to get pictures off that phone. Let me tell you. Let me.

Positive Confirmation

2010-04-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

The final study hard installment. One more day, one more exam, one man. Wild man, wild.

Sound of silence

2010-04-14T11:47:00.001-07:00

Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to ROCK! I guess you can tell which one I voted for. The results aren't so surprising though. I like all the options, and I suppose acoustic has the most mass appeal. Silence isn't bad, but I'm not sure I would pick it over the other two. One can only take so much silence. My car for example has no radio and occasionally I forget to bring along some other means of listening to music, and basically I go nuts, or I sing, which is almost as bad because I don't know more than one line of any song off by heart.
In the lane the snow is glistening.

Golf

2010-04-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I usually try not to be superstitious, but sometimes it's hard. Actually, I guess that's not really true. It can be soft too... Ahh. I digress.
I quite regularly knock on wood and if the salt is spilled, it is also thrown. Those two are ok though, cause I think they have been scientifically proven to be superstitions.
Anyways, just so lately I was bragging about the excellent battery life on my mp3 player. Kiss o' death. This last charge was not so excellent as usual, but maybe the last charge was not complete, or I left it on. For some reason I feel that as soon as I utter some braggart statement I will be contradicted. I guess I should just stop saying anything. Or should I?... I am almost positive the leafs will not win the Stanley Cup next year.

Bike talk with Rob

2010-03-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

I just had an idea!!

Nevermind it's already been had.

But there has been some crazy nice weather lately and my bikes to and from school have been very excellent, and quite fast. I almost broke out shiny bike for the first time this season in order to go even faster. I'm just not convinced winter is actually over. You should see the havoc the salt and snow wreaked on the red raleigh.

Smack run

2010-03-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I ran the Peterborough-Y-Half again yesterday. Results here. I killed my previous times from 2009 and 2008. Also, Peter Bonk musta seen me training, because he didn't even show up.

Study shards

2010-02-24T15:30:00.001-08:00

Ahh, midterms. My favourite time of year. I've but one more to go. It is Auditing.
So, you can tell why I'm procrastinating.

Tomato soup

2010-02-16T15:24:00.000-08:00

Well, the results of the Warhol v. Renoir poll are in. I guess Renoir is better. I'd be lying if I said my favourite past-time was comparing artists from different genres.

Be mine

2010-02-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Flee

2010-02-13T10:52:00.001-08:00

Well, last night I watched the opening ceremonies of the winter olympics in Vancouver. It was pretty crazy. I think I lack a proper appreciation for interpretive dance. My favourite part was when the Governor General declared the games on and then KD Lang immediately sang Leonard Cohen's Hallelujia. Because the VanOC and IOC guys finished their speeches? Bam.
Also, I'm not sure turning and running is the best thing to do if confronted with a bear.

Grey matter

2010-02-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

So I was on a computer at school and someone had taped a little message to the monitor, I suppose as a thought provoking gesture. It seems to have worked because it has made me think about some stuff. But really I think about stuff all the time, but maybe not the stuff they want me to think about with their little message.
Anyways, the message said:

Avoid holding on to ideas just because you are used to them.

At first I was like, “yeah, I guess that makes sense,” being a dude who not so humbly thinks he’s pretty tolerant and open minded, or at least understanding. Then I got thinking about how being like that means I’m never really sure about anything. It’s the truth that the more I learn the less I know, or maybe the less I care. Or it might be the truth. See. Long ago was I tired of people being sure they’re right about anything. I sometimes begin to wonder if they are right merely by the fact that I never believe I’m right. But then I think that, I may not know anything for sure, but I might be able to tell what’s worthwhile, and roll with that.

Nerdtronic

2010-02-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I'm pretty great.

Milk it

2010-02-06T08:18:00.000-08:00

So I read about this in the star. Some of the comments are worth reading.

Forget it

2010-02-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

Today I locked my keys in my room, and couldn't get back in until my roommate came home. So I did the following things. I Had lunch, played video games, did the dishes, watched Seinfeld, went for a bike ride (I fell twice, it was fun), and watched an episode of the office. Then my roommate came home.

Silver Fury

2010-02-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

So normally when i'm driving my Hyundai Accent, I like to go fast. Well, maybe only as fast as I can go without creating too many legal issues. Really the car isn't all that fast to begin with so that alone limits those legal issues. It used to be that I would gladly pass anyone that was, incomprehensibly I might add, not blatantly ignoring the speed limit. But, ever since gas went up to $1.45/L back in '008, I have a better appreciation for the speed limit. It is amazing how fuel-efficient my car is at 80km/hr. I must admit, I still like to go fast, but now when I come up behind some misguided driver concerned with safety or functionality over fun and thrill-seeking, I just follow them. I mean I have patience. I think it might even be a virtue,.. but actually I'm just cheap.

Extreme weather bike

2010-01-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

So today when I biked to school there was some wicked white out and blizzard action. There was even accumulation on me. Accumulated in the time it takes me to get to school. Needless to say I was damp for the rest of the day. That's ok though, because it helped smooth out the wrinkles in my pants that I had failed to iron.

Dreadmill

2010-01-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been frequenting the gym quite a lot since Christmas. The Peterborough Y half-marathon is coming up pretty soon and I was in pretty bad shape after three weeks of doing nothing but stuffing my face. Amazingly I even gained some weight over those holidays, but since going to school I've already lost it again. Oh well. I guess if I ever want to realize my dream of being more weighty I'm going to have to put my laziness into high gear. Well, not all dreams come true.

Graphic festivity

2010-01-26T15:13:00.000-08:00

Well the results of the favourite Christmas special poll are in. Well.. They've been in for a while. The results are surprising. A three way tie. But really they're all so classic it's tough to put one above the others. So I won't.

Young and lovely

2009-12-22T13:18:00.000-08:00

A study in feasibility

2009-12-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

How does Rob bend his wrists like that? It's part of his jutsu.

Trump

2009-12-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

It's in the nose

2009-12-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

So today on my way to and fro school, I saw two separate incidents of people picking their nose in their car. Hilarious.

Bat punch bowl

2009-12-02T14:13:00.001-08:00

Well, the results of the Bat punch poll are up. 'Kapow!' has won. Take that (insert villain here)!! I know it was hard to pick, as really this is only a very select few. Check out some excellent screen captures.

Warm action

2009-11-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

So today I got a new toy. And it was free. It's an ancient snow blower. I know it's bad for the environment but I like burning gas. I also have a feeling I'm going to have a lot of fun fixing this one. It looks almost exactly like the one above except rustier. I'm just not sure if it's ever going to snow this year. It was over 10 degrees today and this warm action shows no sign of stopping. Now I have even more reason for wanting it to snow. That is besides the usual reason of fall sucking.

ghost face road killah

2009-11-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

I remember.. way way back in the 90s, I was in a mall in Pittsburgh when I bought a CD by a band called the Good Rats. Some of the music was ok, but it was very angry. I think I bought it because the CD was $1.99 or something.

Hand signs

2009-11-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks everyone, here's some fanart for your enjoyment.

Lucky solid

2009-11-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I'm not good enough at HTML to make this a video.

Not everyone likes surprises. Really?!! I guess I don't.. but what really got me thinking about this commercial was dumb luck. Is this guy lucky? Sort of? I mean sure his fiancee is making out with his Dad, but at least it was before he got married. Then again, I guess it's not so hard to get a divorce anymore.
Man I want a classic Mr. Sub sandwich right now.

No. Where man?

2009-11-01T14:45:00.001-08:00

The results of the favourite Beatle poll are in. Though there was a tie for the lead, I'm astounded that John Lennon only got 0%. I was sure he was more popular than that.

Annuity Duel

2009-10-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

Corporate Finance.. Corporate... Finance....

Tuesday fury

2009-10-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well today was Tuesday, when I always have a ridiculous number of hours of classes and a couple of hours of tutoring thrown in for good measure. There's a lot of sick people at school. Flu season I guess. I hope I don't get anything. I don't know why people just don't put on a toque.

At the speed of late

2009-10-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

Well, today I had class at 8am. I biked to school and was arriving in good time. It was cold but an exceptionally fast ride, the ground being dry and the street lights cooperating. The sunrise was also pretty nice. Personally I think sunrises are much more beautiful than sunsets, but they're so friggin hard to get up for. Something about crispiness.
Anyways. Pop quiz hotshot, you get to school and realized you left your bike lock at home. This happens occasionally. So I shot the hostage.

Self fulfilling prophesy

2009-10-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

So speaking of foregone conclusions, I've been thinking quite a bit about the player interview. I once knew an economics student that had a little theory that if you want to know how you'll do in life, it will be how you can honestly picture yourself in the future. He would argue that if you really want to be a millionaire, just know it's gonna happen, and you'll get there. Most people develop some picture of themselves based on how their parents did, and they end up with some sort of sense of entitlement that meets or slightly exceeds the type of lifestyle they had growing up. I wonder if that target can be raised based on education and understanding. If it's all based on belief or faith that such and such a life can be achieved, does it not seem, at least in a material sense, that the increase of knowledge would help.
Then I start to wonder whether it's all just some desire in the human mind to want to feel there's some control over its own destiny. There's lots of stories of prophets and sages and such. Sages and such. It can be pretty depressing to think we are predestined to be a certain way, all laid out by God and have no control in our lives. It would be nice if I could think we might exercise some control. This is why the first season of Heroes is so excellent. It's like a big fat paradox where if they hadn't tried to stop the future, none of it would have remotely come about.
If there is an end point in these story lines, is that really control then? Are they driving the future by setting their minds to it or are they marionettes in a play? It's also kind of like when the oracle says to Neo to watch out for the vase, and only when he turns to look does he knock it. Rather it's like the whole Matrix thingamabob. Zion destroyed over and over, rebels playing their part in a grand AI scheme. Who is really in control, who is really free?
I suppose if i'm an impoverished college student at thirty, what did I have in my minds eye ten years ago.

Foregone conclusion

2009-10-12T19:22:00.000-07:00

Well I just caught the end of the hockey game. Man the leafs got smoked.

Impairment

2009-10-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

So today I had a test to do online. It wasn't too bad, except that halfway through I got the blue screen of death. Naturally I had a little panic attack. I suppose I am fortunate though, because after rebooting, the school's fabulous computer system allowed me to resume my test since there was still time left. Never mind what I normally say about the schools computer system. Today it rocks.

Mane attraction

2009-09-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

Well, the results of the Lion King poll are in. I'm not surprised. Admittedly we don't really know how Simba's reign goes, unless someone actually watched those sequels. But Mufasa's reign seemed to be a good one. He had that magic touch, where it didn't really seem like he was doing anything at all, except maybe banishing the Hyenas to that gassy place.
Was that Scars error, collaborating with the hyenas. Or was he just a big douche. It's gotta be tough to rule a place when the weather has an opinion on how you're doing.
I imagine this all must be ripped off of some older story. A bit like Hamlet. Where'd Shakespeare rip that off from. Usurpers to the throne will always make good story I suppose.
I want to know when do the antelopes band together with the zebras to form a more representative system of government. Maybe that happened in the sequel. I didn't see it.

Damp Monday

2009-09-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

An oldie but a goodie. It rained today. My umbrella is only so effective. So I sat through classes and tutoring with wet feet.

Lazy genius of hard work

2009-09-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

So a couple of the polls here on the roblog have been to inquire as to what character in such and so a series that you think you are or that you most relate to. I noticed lately that I ask this with basically every show I watch. But usually I have a hard time picking just one character. Sometimes I can't pick anyone. Like CSI Miami. I am no one. Or I try to tell myself I'm a certain character just because I want to be. I just wish I was like Shikamaru, when really I'm Choji, or more probably Rock Lee. Only lazier. Oh well.

Newt Haiku

2009-09-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

So I was looking for an old assignment in my computer and came across this .txt file:

muss hair poor poor child
he's clapped on the ear again
a salamander

movies anymore

2009-09-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I just caught the end of Top Secret on TV. Man that movie was hilarious. They don't make movies like that anymore. Or maybe they do. I don't really see a lot of movies anymore.

Auto tune the Rob.. Ba da dap!

2009-09-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

So I frequently have the "autotune the news" theme in my head, which is awesome (thanks sis) and today I was trying to make a conscious effort to talk/sing like that. Needless to say, I couldn't. Oh well.

"He's not coming back"

2009-09-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

So Patrick Swayze died. Crazy, all those TPB episodes in-no-way-affiliated will now have a bittersweet irony that i'm just making up. I just saw Point Break for the first time ever this summer. Best movie I ever saw Swayze in. Oh how my life would be different if I'd seen it when I was younger. I mean it's about a gang of surfing bank robbers that gets infiltrated by an undercover cop named 'Johnny Utah'. I'm not making this up. Ok, my life probably wouldn't be any different. But there's lots of trial and tribulation as the lines between friend and foe are blurred in the world of undercover policing. Sure Bodhi is a bank robber and he forced Utah to participate in a botched bank holdup, and he held Utah's girlfriend hostage, but there was... wait... man that guy was a jerk.

Speed rebuff

2009-09-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Oh man. One summer of customer service type work and my non-eyecontact skills have gone down the drain. As I walk to and from school I often get strangers saying hi to me because I obviously didn't look antisocial enough. Then I'm all befuddled and stumble out some greeting. Luckily I've got my bike now so I'm going too fast to have a care in the world.

All fibreglass diet

2009-09-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

Well, It's been a summer and I'm back to school now. I've not done much apart from work this summer but that's ok. Superfrugality comes naturally to me now. I'll let you all contemplate nature v. nurture without explanation. I suppose I was not completely an automaton, but did work a bit on an old boat from the cottage. It's still not done though and fall is fast approaching. Oh well. I suppose there comes a time in everyones life where they must learn some hard lessons about fibreglass.

El Gatto

2009-05-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

Dogs: six, cats: zero. Based on this poll, I'm surprised anyone owns a cat. I suppose it's because they're free. I suppose you could get a dog at the humane society too. Nevermind.

Fleming Nights

2009-04-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

The self evident advantages of variable costing

2009-04-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

Can you believe they let us have a 'reference sheet' for our cost test.

The budget tables are on the back.

Macchiovellian

2009-04-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

So I saw Karate Kid II on the weekend. I now know everything about Okinawa. There is something about those overcoming-adversity-through-martial-arts movies. Personally, I've never overcome anything with karate.

There's still time.

Off with their heads

2009-04-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

You know.. I never seem to go to the gym anymore. I'm often home after classes in the afternoon and think, 'I should go get some exercise', and then I take a nap instead. I figure this is ok because everyone knows the saying 'A man's wisdom can be measured by the frequency of the naps he takes'. Or maybe I just made that up.

WKRP

2009-04-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well the results of the car colour poll are in. I can't believe there were no reds. I like silver. My actual car is silver, but that's just luck, not really choice.

Spring roll

2009-03-29T20:26:00.001-07:00

So spring is here. I'm not the most keen on spring, all dirty and such, still kinda cold and the plants are all still bare. But it does have its advantages. For instance, now I can resume biking routinely. The cold gave me troubles with my brakes, gears and lock making it relatively dangerous to bike. I mean, I'm happy to bike to school on the ice when I have brakes, or bike with no brakes if it's clean and dry, but with no brakes on the ice and snow (not to mention the hills) it's just suicide.
So now I can sit around and contemplate the best route to school. The blue one is obviously the most direct, but it requires some passages on grass and some serious ups and downs. Green is longer, but all smooth and nice, and I can go really fast. The red line is my winter walking route, and I like it because it has a striking vista, and it's pretty direct too.
School to route best the contemplate.

Disambiguation

2009-03-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

Well the results of the Dada poll are in. Well, they've been in for a long time, but i'm super lazy. As it turns out, the word Dada doesn't actually come from the word disambiguation. Sorry if anyone was confused. But wouldn't it be nice to pretend that it did? It's almost believable. Almost....
But no surprises, everyone loves the toilet one. As I am prone to say at inopportune times.. 'a day without potty humour is a day where the sun don't shine.'

Luckily

2009-03-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Well. I went to the gym for the first time since the Y half marathon today. I seemed to have injured my right knee. Luckily it is feeling better now.
Ha. That second sentence is a little ambiguous, as though I may have run the marathon today as opposed to three weeks ago. Just thought I had better clarify.