I don't follow baseball so I didn't hear about this until today.. but apparently on Wednesday the Baltimore Orioles suffered one of the most overwhelming defeats in the history of Major League Baseball. They lost to the Texas Rangers, 30-3. They say that no team has scored this many runs in a game in 110 years!
I couldn't stop giggling to myself as I thought about this, a team losing by 27 runs, how demoralizing that must have been.. hmm.. what's wrong with me.. I'm evil!! Why am I revelling in other people's misery?
I was just asking my cousin about how a team could win like that without feeling bad about it. I mean when it's 24-3 going into the ninth inning, why are you thinking to yourself about the possibility of scoring 6 more runs? Your opponents are demoralized, beaten and battered, why rub salt into their wounds? That's just mean.
Losing like that is the worst. This totally reminds me of when I used to play in the Chinese Christian Softball Association (CCSA), man that I was probably some of the most demoralizing experiences in my teenage life (well, other than being a geek and having no friends). We would lose games just like the Orioles, only it would come EVERY week, not every 110 years. Game after game, slaughter after slaughter, it was awful.
August 24, 2007
August 23, 2007
Fried Rice
I made fried rice a couple days ago, it's the first time I've ever tried it since fried rice traditionally contains eggs. I had a craving for it and went ahead and tried it. The picture really doesn't do it justice, I just took a photo of the leftovers which isn't very much at all. I had to take it really close because there was so little left.Anyway, I was scouring the newsgroups for a recipe that didn't contain egg, and the funny thing is all these white americans wrote in that egg was more of a garnish and unnecessary in fried rice! Most of them rarely used egg in fried rice, or had eggs in fried rice before! Can you believe that? I think it's sad that all these people who are supposedly good cooks have been poisoned by these North American chinese restaurants, of the Ho-Lee-Chow and Manchu Wok variety.
August 17, 2007
It's not just me
As I've mentioned many times before, I have this thing about bags. I *love* bags. I want to have that one bag that will have just the right number of pockets to fit the many little knick-knacks that I feel I need to carry or else I will die.
Today I discovered I'm not the only one. Lifehacker.com asked its readers to submit their "Go Bag", and a picture of all the items within. The gallery can be found here. It's not just me.
A few years ago I developed a fetish for a good bag. Me and this other guy from work would frequent MEC looking for the ultimate bag. I found it -- in the form of the MEC Pod Sling Pack, but shortly after that I found everyone was getting one, including friends I hung out with. It's important to find that unique look, if you know what I mean. So I had no choice but to move on.
That's when I discovered the MEC Transit 6 Shoulder Bag". I've been using this little guy for the past 2-3 years. It's not perfect, but the fact that it fits everything that went into the Sling Pack, plus a bible and notebook, is pretty decent. It's not exactly the coolest looking bag but it's functional.
There are a few bags out there that are kind of out of reach, such as TUMI bags, which simply aren't available here and well, they cost quite a pretty penny. There are also timbuk2 bags which are also very nice, but again, out of reach for me at this time.
A few months ago I found this bag called the slotBar. It's made by UrbanTool, and it is coming out on September 12, 2007. Due to my own selfish reasons, I've done my best to hide this bag from others because I know that everyone will copy me once they see it. I know how silly that sounds.. but it's true.
Here's a link to what I hope will be the ultimate bag for me.
Today I discovered I'm not the only one. Lifehacker.com asked its readers to submit their "Go Bag", and a picture of all the items within. The gallery can be found here. It's not just me.
A few years ago I developed a fetish for a good bag. Me and this other guy from work would frequent MEC looking for the ultimate bag. I found it -- in the form of the MEC Pod Sling Pack, but shortly after that I found everyone was getting one, including friends I hung out with. It's important to find that unique look, if you know what I mean. So I had no choice but to move on.
That's when I discovered the MEC Transit 6 Shoulder Bag". I've been using this little guy for the past 2-3 years. It's not perfect, but the fact that it fits everything that went into the Sling Pack, plus a bible and notebook, is pretty decent. It's not exactly the coolest looking bag but it's functional.
There are a few bags out there that are kind of out of reach, such as TUMI bags, which simply aren't available here and well, they cost quite a pretty penny. There are also timbuk2 bags which are also very nice, but again, out of reach for me at this time.
A few months ago I found this bag called the slotBar. It's made by UrbanTool, and it is coming out on September 12, 2007. Due to my own selfish reasons, I've done my best to hide this bag from others because I know that everyone will copy me once they see it. I know how silly that sounds.. but it's true.
Here's a link to what I hope will be the ultimate bag for me.
August 15, 2007
Lifeline
Thanks to everyone who did wish me a happy birthday yesterday. For those who didn't, don't worry about it, it's not like I celebrate my birthday anyway.
Yesterday I had a conversation with one of my co-workers. He started working for the City a few months ago and is going to be a victim of the cutbacks in the City, he'll be laid off by this Friday. It was really sad to talk to him about it, pretty much anyone who becomes a temp with the City is almost guaranteed to eventually become permanent, and thus are set for life. That's pretty much the route I took with my career at the City.
But talking to this guy you really see how important a job is, especially when raising a family. I think it's something I really far too often take for granted. So we were sitting at the lunch table talking about it and asking him if he was able to find another job, which he wasn't. He mentioned something about doing some hard labor for $10/hour. Then I asked him about if his wife worked, he said yes, but that she didn't make enough to support the family. And then he joked about how he was glad he didn't buy a house. Wow, can you imagine if he had, talk about a family crisis. Then we talked about some of the other temps who are being laid off, most of them were either gone already or still had a couple of months left. Because he was the most junior of the lot, he was getting let go first.
That really sucks.
Edit: So today I was talking to this guy again, and he was telling me about how he brought his car in for service and they tried to rip him off again, it was all over about $50, but due to his financial/job situation, that's like a week of food for him and his family. Then he started talking about some fruit he bought the other day and how his lunch came out to $8, and that if he told his wife she'd probably kick him out.
That's pretty depressing..
It's just the way and manner in which he carries himself, you really feel for the guy, he's really great at lamenting. I feel so bad for the guy that if I had my cheque book I'd probably give him some money.
Yesterday I had a conversation with one of my co-workers. He started working for the City a few months ago and is going to be a victim of the cutbacks in the City, he'll be laid off by this Friday. It was really sad to talk to him about it, pretty much anyone who becomes a temp with the City is almost guaranteed to eventually become permanent, and thus are set for life. That's pretty much the route I took with my career at the City.
But talking to this guy you really see how important a job is, especially when raising a family. I think it's something I really far too often take for granted. So we were sitting at the lunch table talking about it and asking him if he was able to find another job, which he wasn't. He mentioned something about doing some hard labor for $10/hour. Then I asked him about if his wife worked, he said yes, but that she didn't make enough to support the family. And then he joked about how he was glad he didn't buy a house. Wow, can you imagine if he had, talk about a family crisis. Then we talked about some of the other temps who are being laid off, most of them were either gone already or still had a couple of months left. Because he was the most junior of the lot, he was getting let go first.
That really sucks.
Edit: So today I was talking to this guy again, and he was telling me about how he brought his car in for service and they tried to rip him off again, it was all over about $50, but due to his financial/job situation, that's like a week of food for him and his family. Then he started talking about some fruit he bought the other day and how his lunch came out to $8, and that if he told his wife she'd probably kick him out.
That's pretty depressing..
It's just the way and manner in which he carries himself, you really feel for the guy, he's really great at lamenting. I feel so bad for the guy that if I had my cheque book I'd probably give him some money.
August 14, 2007
Rock
Rock, the executive chef, won Hell's Kitchen last night and order was restored to the universe. My brother and I were sitting there thinking, what would it be like if Bonnie had won. What a disaster that could have been. You walk into the Green Valley Ranch restaurant, and plop down $20 for a prawn fettuccine that even a nanny could have made.Not to take anything away from Bonnie's signature dish, I'm sure it tastes great, but who would want to spend money on that when you can make it at home in less than 20 minutes? Where's the draw? What's compelling you to go to the restaurant at all?
Of course there was no way she could have won. I think Jenn was robbed a finals appearance and probably could have beaten Rock, but like last season, Ramsey put an obvious winner against a cutesy girl. Why does he do it? Is it for ratings? Me, I'd rather see the two best chefs go head-to-head. I don't need a "Cinderella" story in my book. Had Bonnie won the competition, Chef Ramsey would have lost all his credibility. It would have been a travesty and an embarrassment for the cooking world.
August 09, 2007
Dinner
Take a wild guess as to what this is. Anyway, I've been doing some cooking lately, I think Darryl and I have now had home-made dinner for about 2 weeks now, still going strong. I haven't followed any recipes, just made stuff off the top of my head, whatever inspires me.
One thing I've been having fun with is cooking with tomatoes. The tricky thing about tomatoes is that it all just falls apart when you cook it. And that's not a bad thing -- it tastes quite good. I made tomatoe/onion/mushroom/chicken breast dish last week, and quite a bit of it to last, and it actually turned out great, it was the first time I'd ever cooked with tomatoes.
Last night I made a similar one, adding cauliflower and substituting the chicken with a marinated ground beef. I found marinating the beef a lot better than what I'd done with the chicken, which had absolutely no taste in my last dish. What's great is that it's simple to make and cheap too, and it's all you need to go with some rice.
The above picture is a "watermelon steak". It's made from watermelon, cooked at 350 degrees in the oven. It was dotted with butter and has sherry poured all over. I guess it's a dessert. Add salt and pepper to taste..
August 07, 2007
Spiritual Leadership
Before he left, Daniel encouraged me to step up more a spiritual leader after the first week at Longlac. For me, it was something I was already looking and trying to do, so getting some encouragement was nice. To me being responsible for the spiritual well-being of our team wasn't as hard as I thought it could be. The thing is you're on a missions trip so God is right there with you, it's impossible not to pray for something before you try it in that kind of scenario. If anything, you're even more in-tune with Him than ever. It's nearly impossible to forget about God while doing God's work.
With God working right there with us, almost hand-in-hand, I barely felt any kind of pressure or burden to lead, other than to lead by example.
Lately, I've been thinking more about spiritual leadership from a relationship standpoint. When I get married in May 2008, I'll have to take on a new responsibility, as head of the household. And more importantly, spiritual head of the family.
I feel a lot of pressure with this one, and rightly so.. to have the responsibility to ensure that we as a couple are living the life God intended us to live. I think about my brother and I, and how I encourage him to attend church and read the bible regularly, but when he doesn't there isn't a whole lot I can do on my end. Yes, it's somewhat my responsibility but not really. I advice will only take him so far.. in the end he needs to make his own adult decisions.
I talked to my dad about this and he didn't seem to have an answer. My parents don't pray together, nor study the bible together, although both do it avidly, they also do is separately. I suppose it is, once again, about living by example. Dom mentioned how he and his wife do devotions together every day, and they pray together too.
I was telling Daniel about how I'd read an article from Focus On The Family, about a woman's expectations, which basically said many Christian women are looking to marry the pastor-type or someone pastor-like. Daniel concurred, saying he was rather surprised even of his own wife's expectations on this subject, even though he IS a pastor. It's definitely a surprise, especially for oblivious men like myself to have an expectation like that upon us without any prior warning.
So what does it take? Are we talking about devotions and prayer time? Or setting ground rules like mandatory quiet times (like we had at Longlac)? Or is it more about leading by example (which doesn't always work)?
I'm looking for advice and/or ideas. What do you think it means to be a spiritual leader of the family? What does it take? Feel free to leave me your thoughts.. thanks!
With God working right there with us, almost hand-in-hand, I barely felt any kind of pressure or burden to lead, other than to lead by example.
Lately, I've been thinking more about spiritual leadership from a relationship standpoint. When I get married in May 2008, I'll have to take on a new responsibility, as head of the household. And more importantly, spiritual head of the family.
I feel a lot of pressure with this one, and rightly so.. to have the responsibility to ensure that we as a couple are living the life God intended us to live. I think about my brother and I, and how I encourage him to attend church and read the bible regularly, but when he doesn't there isn't a whole lot I can do on my end. Yes, it's somewhat my responsibility but not really. I advice will only take him so far.. in the end he needs to make his own adult decisions.
I talked to my dad about this and he didn't seem to have an answer. My parents don't pray together, nor study the bible together, although both do it avidly, they also do is separately. I suppose it is, once again, about living by example. Dom mentioned how he and his wife do devotions together every day, and they pray together too.
I was telling Daniel about how I'd read an article from Focus On The Family, about a woman's expectations, which basically said many Christian women are looking to marry the pastor-type or someone pastor-like. Daniel concurred, saying he was rather surprised even of his own wife's expectations on this subject, even though he IS a pastor. It's definitely a surprise, especially for oblivious men like myself to have an expectation like that upon us without any prior warning.
So what does it take? Are we talking about devotions and prayer time? Or setting ground rules like mandatory quiet times (like we had at Longlac)? Or is it more about leading by example (which doesn't always work)?
I'm looking for advice and/or ideas. What do you think it means to be a spiritual leader of the family? What does it take? Feel free to leave me your thoughts.. thanks!
July 06, 2007
I hate this book.
I really hate this book I've been reading. It's called "Irresistable Revolution". I think the title is misleading, because to me I think I've "resisted" this revolution my entire life. The gist of the book is his interpretation of how Christ has commanded us to live.. but I'd rather prefer not to believe his way of thinking because if I do, it will wreck my life.
And I don't want to wreck my life because I like it the way it is. In fact I love it. But reading the book makes me see that certain aspects of my life should be different, there are things.. comforts, that I don't want to nor have any intention of letting go of. And that's why I hate this book because I am a person who prides himself in working hard to do things the "right way" and this book proves that I am all talk and no action.
I would recommend this book to anyone is okay with messing up their life. But if you're happy and have no intention of heeding God's call, leave this book alone. Believe me, the old saying "ignorance is bliss" applies here 100%. It kind of reminds me of Perspectives, how you can go through life not really knowing what God's *really* called you to do.
And I don't want to wreck my life because I like it the way it is. In fact I love it. But reading the book makes me see that certain aspects of my life should be different, there are things.. comforts, that I don't want to nor have any intention of letting go of. And that's why I hate this book because I am a person who prides himself in working hard to do things the "right way" and this book proves that I am all talk and no action.
I would recommend this book to anyone is okay with messing up their life. But if you're happy and have no intention of heeding God's call, leave this book alone. Believe me, the old saying "ignorance is bliss" applies here 100%. It kind of reminds me of Perspectives, how you can go through life not really knowing what God's *really* called you to do.
"You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great. We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy too. But I guess that's why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest."I think what really gets me about this book is that he's laid out a foundation on how to live, how to follow Jesus -- the way Christ meant it to be.. life that is. And that I'm not willing to accept it because I'm not ready to let go of everything.. It's me admitting that I can't.. or won't live the way God has commanded us to live. And being okay with it.
I'm convinced that God did not mess up and make too many people and not enough stuff.
July 03, 2007
Knocked Up
Been looking forward to seeing this one for a long time now, finally had a chance last night. Went to see it with Ina after we checked out a bunch of restaurants for the wedding reception.
If I were to use one single word to describe this movie, I would use the word "awful". It's just a really bad movie, in every sense of the word "bad". The acting was a total disaster, but this isn't a big deal normally in comedies so I'll lay off on it.
In terms of the story, it was just bad. The character Ben Stone seemed to go from not caring at all, to pretending to be caring, and then not caring again, and then moments later he's in love. And then there was the subplot between the husband and wife that made very little sense, and seemingly really had nothing to do with the main plot. The story was predictable, yet not because you just couldn't believe these people could be so stupid.
So was it funny? There were definitely moments that I thought was really funny, but then there were also moments of complete raunchiness and nudity that I cannot even describe. This movie was borderline soft-core pornography, and I honestly can't remember hearing people say the F word so unnecessarily (as if there was ever a necessary reason to use the F word) as often as in this movie.
I just don't get it -- what's with all the vulgar language, does a script containing over 120 F-words really add any value to the movie? And the nudity? Why?
Speaking of value, we saw it on a Monday evening, which is probably my fault, but still.. we paid $24 for 2 people, which is insane. Had I known more about this movie before going in, I'm not sure I'd have watched it if someone paid me.
Plot/Story - 5/10
Acting - 5/10
Script - 2/10
Entertainment - 6/10
Value - 0/10
Overall: 18/50
If I were to use one single word to describe this movie, I would use the word "awful". It's just a really bad movie, in every sense of the word "bad". The acting was a total disaster, but this isn't a big deal normally in comedies so I'll lay off on it.
In terms of the story, it was just bad. The character Ben Stone seemed to go from not caring at all, to pretending to be caring, and then not caring again, and then moments later he's in love. And then there was the subplot between the husband and wife that made very little sense, and seemingly really had nothing to do with the main plot. The story was predictable, yet not because you just couldn't believe these people could be so stupid.
So was it funny? There were definitely moments that I thought was really funny, but then there were also moments of complete raunchiness and nudity that I cannot even describe. This movie was borderline soft-core pornography, and I honestly can't remember hearing people say the F word so unnecessarily (as if there was ever a necessary reason to use the F word) as often as in this movie.
I just don't get it -- what's with all the vulgar language, does a script containing over 120 F-words really add any value to the movie? And the nudity? Why?
Speaking of value, we saw it on a Monday evening, which is probably my fault, but still.. we paid $24 for 2 people, which is insane. Had I known more about this movie before going in, I'm not sure I'd have watched it if someone paid me.
Plot/Story - 5/10
Acting - 5/10
Script - 2/10
Entertainment - 6/10
Value - 0/10
Overall: 18/50
July 02, 2007
Sports
Something that's been running through my mind lately..
I'm disgusted by the way people glorify Hollywood. How, in the news you read about how some celebrity is in jail, or one's in rehab, or how another has gotten married for the 5th time, how A is having a feud with B. Why do we care so much?
But then that got me thinking, what about sports? I read about athletes and the big bucks they made in an endorsement deal and how much they make. I scour the internet for insider's information about trade rumors, dealings and signings. I spend countless hours looking at player stats, their personalities, tendencies..
Is it any different from people who follow their favorite actors and actresses? Am I just as bad, wasting my time obsessing over sports stars as those who do the same for movie celebrities, instead of devoting all my time towards a worthier being, Jesus Christ?
I'm disgusted by the way people glorify Hollywood. How, in the news you read about how some celebrity is in jail, or one's in rehab, or how another has gotten married for the 5th time, how A is having a feud with B. Why do we care so much?
But then that got me thinking, what about sports? I read about athletes and the big bucks they made in an endorsement deal and how much they make. I scour the internet for insider's information about trade rumors, dealings and signings. I spend countless hours looking at player stats, their personalities, tendencies..
Is it any different from people who follow their favorite actors and actresses? Am I just as bad, wasting my time obsessing over sports stars as those who do the same for movie celebrities, instead of devoting all my time towards a worthier being, Jesus Christ?
June 28, 2007
Mock Draft
Tonight is the NBA Entry Draft. As usual, I'm super excited about this entire process, even though Toronto doesn't even have a pick!
Here's my mock draft:
1. Portland: Greg Oden.
2. Seattle: Kevin Durant.
3. Atlanta: Barring a trade, Al Horford.
4. Memphis: Mike Conley Jr.
5. Boston: Yi Jianlian
6. Milwaukee: Jeff Green
7. Minnesota: Joakim Noah
8. Charlotte: Corey Brewer
9. Chicago: Brendan Wright
10. Sacramento: Spencer Hawes
11. Atlanta: Acie Law (Raptors: Julian Wright)
12. Philly: Al Thornton
13. NO/Okla: Julian Wright
14. LA Clippers: Javaris Critteton (Acie Law if Toronto traded in)
15. Detroit: Rodney Stuckney
16. Washington: Nick Young
17. New Jersey: Jason Smith
18. Golden State: Morris Almond
19. LA Lakers: Sean Williams
20. Miami: Tiago Splitter (Javaris Critteton)
21. Philly: Daequan Cook
22. Charlotte: Thaddeus Young
23. New York: Wilson Chandler
24. Phoenix: Marco Belinelli
25. Utah: Alando Tucker
26. Houston: Rudy Fernandez
27. Detroit: Taurean Green
28. San Antonio: Derrick Byars
29. Phoenix: Josh McRoberts
30. Philly: Jared Dudley
Here's my mock draft:
1. Portland: Greg Oden.
2. Seattle: Kevin Durant.
3. Atlanta: Barring a trade, Al Horford.
4. Memphis: Mike Conley Jr.
5. Boston: Yi Jianlian
6. Milwaukee: Jeff Green
7. Minnesota: Joakim Noah
8. Charlotte: Corey Brewer
9. Chicago: Brendan Wright
10. Sacramento: Spencer Hawes
11. Atlanta: Acie Law (Raptors: Julian Wright)
12. Philly: Al Thornton
13. NO/Okla: Julian Wright
14. LA Clippers: Javaris Critteton (Acie Law if Toronto traded in)
15. Detroit: Rodney Stuckney
16. Washington: Nick Young
17. New Jersey: Jason Smith
18. Golden State: Morris Almond
19. LA Lakers: Sean Williams
20. Miami: Tiago Splitter (Javaris Critteton)
21. Philly: Daequan Cook
22. Charlotte: Thaddeus Young
23. New York: Wilson Chandler
24. Phoenix: Marco Belinelli
25. Utah: Alando Tucker
26. Houston: Rudy Fernandez
27. Detroit: Taurean Green
28. San Antonio: Derrick Byars
29. Phoenix: Josh McRoberts
30. Philly: Jared Dudley
June 25, 2007
All weekend
Another fun filled weekend. Friday we had small group, then Saturday was Kevin and Anita's Jack & Jill party, and then Sunday was my church's annual English Congregation picnic.
Ina was out of town this weekend, so I spent the whole entire weekend answering #2 questions, over and over and over and over again.
"Congratulations! ...where's Ina?", and then followed by
"So.. how did you do it? Tell us the story!!"
And then people would gather around and I'd tell all about how I proposed to her and all that.. the embarrassing and silly parts. Ina and I had felt like we'd told everyone we needed to tell -- evening changing our "Status" on Facebook, but it seemed to me that there were still quite few people left. At the picnic, people really came out of the woodworks to congratulate me, some people I've rarely ever spoken to came up to say hi and ask about the story. That was really cool though.
One thing I found kind of neat, was how every time I told it, people would be hanging on my every word like it was some sort of cliffhanger to a movie. Plus I'd remember more things to add to the story, little details that I'd missed out in the past. And then everyone would be like "Awwww.." at the end, which was weird because I didn't think what I did was all that romantic..
Anyway I had this pretty funny conversation with one of our friends at the picnic. We were talking about how my parents were planning to move back to Toronto after my dad retired.
O: So are your parents moving back?
B: Yea, after my dad retires, the plan is to move back to Toronto.
O: Oh, I see.. is he retiring soon?
B: Yea, he was was telling me the other day he's planning to retire in 6-12 months.
O: Cool.. When they move back, where are you gonna live?
B: I'm going live at Ina's place.
O: (puzzled look) Okay.. and where's Ina gonna live?
B: Huh? We're gonna live together.
O: (incredulous look) Um.. okay.. but.. um.. shouldn't you get married first?
That's when I figured out she hadn't heard about our engagement, so I told her and the world made sense again.
Ina was out of town this weekend, so I spent the whole entire weekend answering #2 questions, over and over and over and over again.
"Congratulations! ...where's Ina?", and then followed by
"So.. how did you do it? Tell us the story!!"
And then people would gather around and I'd tell all about how I proposed to her and all that.. the embarrassing and silly parts. Ina and I had felt like we'd told everyone we needed to tell -- evening changing our "Status" on Facebook, but it seemed to me that there were still quite few people left. At the picnic, people really came out of the woodworks to congratulate me, some people I've rarely ever spoken to came up to say hi and ask about the story. That was really cool though.
One thing I found kind of neat, was how every time I told it, people would be hanging on my every word like it was some sort of cliffhanger to a movie. Plus I'd remember more things to add to the story, little details that I'd missed out in the past. And then everyone would be like "Awwww.." at the end, which was weird because I didn't think what I did was all that romantic..
Anyway I had this pretty funny conversation with one of our friends at the picnic. We were talking about how my parents were planning to move back to Toronto after my dad retired.
O: So are your parents moving back?
B: Yea, after my dad retires, the plan is to move back to Toronto.
O: Oh, I see.. is he retiring soon?
B: Yea, he was was telling me the other day he's planning to retire in 6-12 months.
O: Cool.. When they move back, where are you gonna live?
B: I'm going live at Ina's place.
O: (puzzled look) Okay.. and where's Ina gonna live?
B: Huh? We're gonna live together.
O: (incredulous look) Um.. okay.. but.. um.. shouldn't you get married first?
That's when I figured out she hadn't heard about our engagement, so I told her and the world made sense again.
June 15, 2007
Topics
Is there a way to refine the topics? Seems like I create a new topic name every time I create a post, so that in the end, I have about 2 post for all 80 topics because I come up with a new word to describe it each time. There's got to be a way to refine it, rename 3 to 1 and have it automatically switch for me..
June 14, 2007
Rod Stewart
I've been listening to a lot of rock music lately, classic rock. Ever since I started really getting into the game Guitar Hero, and Guitar Hero 2, I've been interested in learning all these rock songs. This morning I heard this song on the radio by Rod Stewart, I know I've heard it before, but it never really hit me before, the lyrics..
Have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you theres no one else above you
Fill my heart with gladness
Take away all my sadness
Ease my troubles thats what you do
For the morning sun in all its glory
Greets the day with hope and comfort too
You fill my life with laughter
And somehow you make it better
Ease my troubles thats what you do
Theres a love thats divine
And its yours and its mine like the sun
And at the end of the day
We should give thanks and pray
To the One, to the One
I listen to Q107. It's just classic rock now, it's all the good stuff :)
Have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you theres no one else above you
Fill my heart with gladness
Take away all my sadness
Ease my troubles thats what you do
For the morning sun in all its glory
Greets the day with hope and comfort too
You fill my life with laughter
And somehow you make it better
Ease my troubles thats what you do
Theres a love thats divine
And its yours and its mine like the sun
And at the end of the day
We should give thanks and pray
To the One, to the One
I listen to Q107. It's just classic rock now, it's all the good stuff :)
June 13, 2007
Spurs in 4?
I haven't really watched too much of this series because the Spurs are a boring team to watch. They're methodical and effect, but just boring. Plus I never really thought Cleveland had a chance. I didn't think they were even the best team in the East, they just got lucky behind some pretty terrific play by Lebron James. In fact, I think any of the top 8 Western teams would have a pretty good shot of beating Cleveland in a 7 game series. You think of Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, Golden State, Utah, Los Angeles, Denver.. all these teams could probably beat Cleveland if they had made it to the finals. And since the Spurs beat all of them.. I mean it's not rocket science.
I'm not a fan of either team. However I can't help but cheer for the Spurs because of Matt Bonner, the former Raptor who was a fan favorite in Toronto. The Red Rocket, as he was nicknamed because he liked to take the TTC to work, was just a hard working forward who had a knack for hitting open 3s. In terms of basketball smarts, he never really had any but it was his hustle that got the fans behind him.
So the Red Rocket is going to win a championship ring. How great is that?
Another reason to love the Spurs is Eric Williams. This guy, supposedly the centerpiece of that ill-advised Vince Carter trade, this so-called great model role player who ended up whining and complaining about not getting enough playing time, when in all honesty got more playing time than he really deserved, *was* a San Antonio Spur at the start of this season. But the key is he's no longer. And you just have to laugh because somewhere out there he is sitting there watching this series and pondering what might have been.
I'm not a fan of either team. However I can't help but cheer for the Spurs because of Matt Bonner, the former Raptor who was a fan favorite in Toronto. The Red Rocket, as he was nicknamed because he liked to take the TTC to work, was just a hard working forward who had a knack for hitting open 3s. In terms of basketball smarts, he never really had any but it was his hustle that got the fans behind him.
So the Red Rocket is going to win a championship ring. How great is that?
Another reason to love the Spurs is Eric Williams. This guy, supposedly the centerpiece of that ill-advised Vince Carter trade, this so-called great model role player who ended up whining and complaining about not getting enough playing time, when in all honesty got more playing time than he really deserved, *was* a San Antonio Spur at the start of this season. But the key is he's no longer. And you just have to laugh because somewhere out there he is sitting there watching this series and pondering what might have been.
June 11, 2007
Undeserving sequels
This might totally gross some of you out, but I thought of this great analogy for movies that should never have had a sequels. Mind you I'm not talking about bad sequels. Sometimes you had a good movie that had a really bad sequel to it, like Speed 2, or Ocean's 12, Dumb and Dumberer, etc.
But what I'm talking about are sequels to movies that were so unbelievably bad that there was absolutely no reason to make a sequel to it. I'm talking about movies like "Fast and the Furious" which was so bad and yet they made 2, yes TWO sequels to it. "Pirates of the Caribbean" which was just gawd-awful and they again made 2 of them. How about "Weekend at Bernie's", can you believe they had two of those? How dead can the guy be? Wouldn't the body start to rot after awhile? Unbelievable.
Or another example is the most recent 3 Star Wars movies.
One thing I always thought that maybe George Lucas could have done, was say after he made the first one, upon seeing what a disaster it turned out to be, could have just cut ties with the other two and just plead insanity on the first. Like he could have just come to the media and just "Hey you know what, this guy had a nuclear missile pointed at the country and said he'd blow us all up if I didn't make this movie. So I did but then I managed to disable the missile so I'm not making any more of them. Yea I know I said I'd make 3 but I don't really want to subject you to that again, besides I was under duress at the time because I love America and I couldn't let him do that to us." Something like that might make those Star Wars movies slightly more bearable. Then you'd kind of be like "Man, that was the worst movie I've ever seen.. but did you hear that he saved millions of lives by making that movie? Man that George Lucas, what a noble guy, dragging his reputation through a pile of crap just for us. You know, he's my hero."
Anyway back to my gross analogy. When I was little, sometimes I'd take this huge dump and you know it's like the dump is one long strand and it's so unbelievable because it's so long. Some of them would be wound right around several times like a really long snake of poo. Anyway, I'd tell my parents or my brother to come see this unbelievably long piece of crap.
But then the next time someone had a super long crap, they'd invite us to see it but then we'd be like "Umm.. that's okay. I think I'll pass this time." And they'd say "No but this one is really big, and it's got some corns stuck in it.. YOU GOTTA SEE IT, ITS BETTER!", and you'd still maintain your position of "That's okay man, I've seen a long piece of crap before. Even with the extra stuff in it, it's still a long piece of crap and I really don't feel like looking at that right now."
That's exactly like some of these terrible movies that are getting sequels made for them. Can you believe they're making an "Alien vs Predator 2"? And a second "Fantastic Four"? Someone was saying that they think the second installment of Fantastic Four might actually be better than the first. Well I'm thinking that it wouldn't take a whole lot..
But what I'm talking about are sequels to movies that were so unbelievably bad that there was absolutely no reason to make a sequel to it. I'm talking about movies like "Fast and the Furious" which was so bad and yet they made 2, yes TWO sequels to it. "Pirates of the Caribbean" which was just gawd-awful and they again made 2 of them. How about "Weekend at Bernie's", can you believe they had two of those? How dead can the guy be? Wouldn't the body start to rot after awhile? Unbelievable.
Or another example is the most recent 3 Star Wars movies.
One thing I always thought that maybe George Lucas could have done, was say after he made the first one, upon seeing what a disaster it turned out to be, could have just cut ties with the other two and just plead insanity on the first. Like he could have just come to the media and just "Hey you know what, this guy had a nuclear missile pointed at the country and said he'd blow us all up if I didn't make this movie. So I did but then I managed to disable the missile so I'm not making any more of them. Yea I know I said I'd make 3 but I don't really want to subject you to that again, besides I was under duress at the time because I love America and I couldn't let him do that to us." Something like that might make those Star Wars movies slightly more bearable. Then you'd kind of be like "Man, that was the worst movie I've ever seen.. but did you hear that he saved millions of lives by making that movie? Man that George Lucas, what a noble guy, dragging his reputation through a pile of crap just for us. You know, he's my hero."
Anyway back to my gross analogy. When I was little, sometimes I'd take this huge dump and you know it's like the dump is one long strand and it's so unbelievable because it's so long. Some of them would be wound right around several times like a really long snake of poo. Anyway, I'd tell my parents or my brother to come see this unbelievably long piece of crap.
But then the next time someone had a super long crap, they'd invite us to see it but then we'd be like "Umm.. that's okay. I think I'll pass this time." And they'd say "No but this one is really big, and it's got some corns stuck in it.. YOU GOTTA SEE IT, ITS BETTER!", and you'd still maintain your position of "That's okay man, I've seen a long piece of crap before. Even with the extra stuff in it, it's still a long piece of crap and I really don't feel like looking at that right now."
That's exactly like some of these terrible movies that are getting sequels made for them. Can you believe they're making an "Alien vs Predator 2"? And a second "Fantastic Four"? Someone was saying that they think the second installment of Fantastic Four might actually be better than the first. Well I'm thinking that it wouldn't take a whole lot..
Holding nothing back
This CD by Tim Hughes kind of fell through the cracks for me, probably because I spent so much time listening to the Hillsongs United studio album "All Of The Above", in preparation for the concert. In the end, they only played 2-3 songs from the album. The concert was amazing by the way. Check out Andrew's blog for details and a video.
What initially attracted me to this CD was the first track "Happy Day". I had been at Mitchell's with Ina to pick up some greeting cards when I saw the CD on the sample wall. You know, where you can sample the CDs. The first song was so great I had to have the album, so I waited til there was a sale and went and got it.
Unfortunately I've lost my hosting site and can no longer post MP3s as I used to. You'll just have to buy the CD yourself, unless someone's got any suggestions of where I can host my media.. or check out his website for some samples. (http://www.timhughesmusic.com/)
One thing I think that sets this album apart from his other stuff is that instrumentally it's just so much better. The music... fills the room better, if that makes sense. It's fuller, if that makes any sense at all. I'm not sure if I observed that in his previous albums. I mean, we've always known that Tim Hughes is a great songwriter. Lyrically he is solid, like Matt Redman. But musically I think this CD stands out because you can kind of get the sense that it was produced well and that they invested a fair amount of time into it.
Maybe he got better equipment, or his band has just gotten a whole better. Lyrically and musically the album is solid. I am just getting to know the other songs and discovering bit by bit how good these songs are.
Without breaking it all down, I give it 47/50. Go buy it.
What initially attracted me to this CD was the first track "Happy Day". I had been at Mitchell's with Ina to pick up some greeting cards when I saw the CD on the sample wall. You know, where you can sample the CDs. The first song was so great I had to have the album, so I waited til there was a sale and went and got it.
Unfortunately I've lost my hosting site and can no longer post MP3s as I used to. You'll just have to buy the CD yourself, unless someone's got any suggestions of where I can host my media.. or check out his website for some samples. (http://www.timhughesmusic.com/)
One thing I think that sets this album apart from his other stuff is that instrumentally it's just so much better. The music... fills the room better, if that makes sense. It's fuller, if that makes any sense at all. I'm not sure if I observed that in his previous albums. I mean, we've always known that Tim Hughes is a great songwriter. Lyrically he is solid, like Matt Redman. But musically I think this CD stands out because you can kind of get the sense that it was produced well and that they invested a fair amount of time into it.
Maybe he got better equipment, or his band has just gotten a whole better. Lyrically and musically the album is solid. I am just getting to know the other songs and discovering bit by bit how good these songs are.
Without breaking it all down, I give it 47/50. Go buy it.
June 06, 2007
Mess
When I look under my desk, I see a mess. There are wires and cables strewn all over the place, and dust bunnies settled in every nook and cranny down there. It's pretty gross.
With all my electronics and everything that I have under my desk, it's no wonder that there are so many wires and cables. I don't even have my computer covered up, the case is somewhere else in the room (probably underneath a pile of clothes) so there is even more dust in there. That's probably the only thing that reminds me to vacuum once in a while.. the fact that there's all that dust that is in danger of clogging up my hard disks.
That's just my desk too. Moving on to the living room, it's just another big old mess behind my television. Think of all the cables it must take. As I have a home theater, I have inputs and outputs coming out of every device and going in all different directions. On top of the TV, there is the digital cable box, Wii, XBox360, PS2. At one point I even had a DVD player and a Gamecube but fortunately these two became redundant when I got my 360 and Wii, respectively.
There's wires everywhere, and dust everywhere. The worst thing about them is that they're both up against a wall and the only way for me to get back there is to pull it out, and when I do that, things get unplugged.
Whether you're a gadget freak or not, you're bound to have some area in your home with wires strewn about. What do you do with all your cables? Are you organized or is it like my desk and living room, just a great big mess of wires underneath and behind?
Here is a neat way that shouldn't take a whole lot of work to produce. It's very creative. I'm convinced it doesn't have to necessarily be beneath a desk but also against a wall or side of a desk. All it takes is a big board with holes, and a bunch of plastic ties, a drill and a few nuts and bolts!
Pretty "neat" huh?
With all my electronics and everything that I have under my desk, it's no wonder that there are so many wires and cables. I don't even have my computer covered up, the case is somewhere else in the room (probably underneath a pile of clothes) so there is even more dust in there. That's probably the only thing that reminds me to vacuum once in a while.. the fact that there's all that dust that is in danger of clogging up my hard disks.
That's just my desk too. Moving on to the living room, it's just another big old mess behind my television. Think of all the cables it must take. As I have a home theater, I have inputs and outputs coming out of every device and going in all different directions. On top of the TV, there is the digital cable box, Wii, XBox360, PS2. At one point I even had a DVD player and a Gamecube but fortunately these two became redundant when I got my 360 and Wii, respectively.
There's wires everywhere, and dust everywhere. The worst thing about them is that they're both up against a wall and the only way for me to get back there is to pull it out, and when I do that, things get unplugged.
Whether you're a gadget freak or not, you're bound to have some area in your home with wires strewn about. What do you do with all your cables? Are you organized or is it like my desk and living room, just a great big mess of wires underneath and behind?
Here is a neat way that shouldn't take a whole lot of work to produce. It's very creative. I'm convinced it doesn't have to necessarily be beneath a desk but also against a wall or side of a desk. All it takes is a big board with holes, and a bunch of plastic ties, a drill and a few nuts and bolts! Pretty "neat" huh?
June 04, 2007
A night of food coma
Last night I had a steak that had to have been at least 1 pound of meat. It was quite easily the biggest steak I've ever eaten. The amazing thing is my brother had an even bigger steak, however, what's more amazing is that I out-ate him. I finished my steak while he only ate about half of his.
The thing about the steak was that it was pre-marinated from St. Lawrence Market, and it was supposedly Black Angus beef. Although I'm still not sure about that because it was really chewy with lots of tendons and fat.
Anyway, I ate about 2/3 of it at dinner time and then slowly finished it off and was finished by about 10:30. Then I immediately went to bed, and I guess I had food coma all night.
The thing about that is my stomach is hungry now, even though I had this humongous hunk of meat. The blood has been in my stomach working to digest it all night, and as a result I feel like I didn't sleep at all even though I planned to catch up on sleep by sleeping 9 hours!
...
Some of my friends, including my pastor, refer to food coma as "itis" or "the itis". I had always wondered where that came from. As it turns out, according to Wikipedia "the itis" is actually derived from a racialist connotation, "niggeritis", used by slave owners to describe why their slaves did not like to work immediately after lunch. This word was then shortened to "itis" after slavery was abolished.
You can read more about "the itis" here.
The thing about the steak was that it was pre-marinated from St. Lawrence Market, and it was supposedly Black Angus beef. Although I'm still not sure about that because it was really chewy with lots of tendons and fat.
Anyway, I ate about 2/3 of it at dinner time and then slowly finished it off and was finished by about 10:30. Then I immediately went to bed, and I guess I had food coma all night.
The thing about that is my stomach is hungry now, even though I had this humongous hunk of meat. The blood has been in my stomach working to digest it all night, and as a result I feel like I didn't sleep at all even though I planned to catch up on sleep by sleeping 9 hours!
...
Some of my friends, including my pastor, refer to food coma as "itis" or "the itis". I had always wondered where that came from. As it turns out, according to Wikipedia "the itis" is actually derived from a racialist connotation, "niggeritis", used by slave owners to describe why their slaves did not like to work immediately after lunch. This word was then shortened to "itis" after slavery was abolished.
You can read more about "the itis" here.
May 31, 2007
Canada's team
I read an article in the paper the other day that said Canada had embraced the Ottawa Senators (with 16 Canadian players) as Canada's team because they've made it to the Stanley Cup finals and have a chance to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada.
The reception for this has been pretty bleak. In years past I have seen us cheer for the Canadiens, the Flames and then the Oilers. But Ottawa it seems, hasn't gained the same kind of support as those other teams did. I'm not exactly sure why this is, maybe because of all the past years of choking so much and failing to meet expectations. Or perhaps because the team is led by an arrogant moron named Daniel Alfredsson. Or maybe because one of their best scorers is Dany Heatley, the man who threw caution to the wind and drove his Ferrari 160 mph into a tree to kill his best friend and teammate.
Last night while lying in bed, I wondered who had won game 2. I heard cars drive past on Yonge Street, honking their horns repeatedly and I concluded that Ottawa must have won game 2 to even up the series at 1-1. I woke up this morning to check the score. Boy was I wrong.. Ottawa had lost 1-0.
Fans were driving down Yonge Street honking their horns to celebrate Ottawa's misfortune.
Canada's team my ass.
If you're trying to decide what team to pick, go with the team that has the most Canadians. That'd be the Anaheim Ducks with 21.
The reception for this has been pretty bleak. In years past I have seen us cheer for the Canadiens, the Flames and then the Oilers. But Ottawa it seems, hasn't gained the same kind of support as those other teams did. I'm not exactly sure why this is, maybe because of all the past years of choking so much and failing to meet expectations. Or perhaps because the team is led by an arrogant moron named Daniel Alfredsson. Or maybe because one of their best scorers is Dany Heatley, the man who threw caution to the wind and drove his Ferrari 160 mph into a tree to kill his best friend and teammate.
Last night while lying in bed, I wondered who had won game 2. I heard cars drive past on Yonge Street, honking their horns repeatedly and I concluded that Ottawa must have won game 2 to even up the series at 1-1. I woke up this morning to check the score. Boy was I wrong.. Ottawa had lost 1-0.
Fans were driving down Yonge Street honking their horns to celebrate Ottawa's misfortune.
Canada's team my ass.
If you're trying to decide what team to pick, go with the team that has the most Canadians. That'd be the Anaheim Ducks with 21.
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