I caught one, I caught one!

A few months ago, my friend Taras told me about a site that tracks books as they travel around the world. I later learned that my buddy Mark is actually a member of the site. BookCrossing.com allows you to log a book in their database and they assign a tracking number. You then leave that book in a public place with the tracking number. Someone else then picks up the book, goes back to the site and logs the book and enters a little blurb about where they found it. Then they read it and release it back into the wild by leaving it in another public place for someone else to pick up. I thought it was a really neat idea but I haven’t had time to register or to decide on what book of mine I am willing to give up.

Well this morning as I was picking up a coffee at my neighbourhood Starbucks, I saw a book sitting on the counter. I initially thought it belonged to someone but then I saw the post-it on the front. “I’m Free! I’m not lost!” it read. I began to smile as I realized that I had just found my first travelling book. It is so cool! I am now in possession of a book that was initially released in New Hampshire in 2004. It is not a book I would normally read but I will give it a whirl as it is the first in what I hope is a long list of travelling books that I will find. I also registered on the site tonight and will soon be releasing a book of my own. I can’t wait to see the path it will take and how far it will travel.
[tags]book, Starbucks, BookCrossing.com[/tags]

Simple, quick and tasty – 3 of my favourite things

A while back I was faced with an empty fridge and an empty stomach. I had chicken, cauliflower and little else. So I fried up the chicken, threw in the cauliflower and then went in search of something to add some flavour. I happened to have some really good corn salsa kicking about so I poured some into my chicken/cauliflower blend. I let that cook up for a bit, dumped it into a bowl and sat down to eat. I was expecting a mediocre meal that would satisfy my hunger but not my taste buds but I was pleasantly surprised. This very simple mix was really good. I’ve had it a few times since then (including tonight) and I quite enjoy it. It may not sound like a gourmet meal but it is quite satisfying really.

Good-bye Turin!

All the medals have been given out. The flag has been lowered. The flame has been put out. The Olympics are over. I have quite enjoyed watching the Canadians rise to the occasion over the past 2 weeks and win 24 medals. Way to go Canada!! Now that the games are over, I might be able to get to the office on time again.

Yo Harper – I’ll keep my money thanks!

As I was sitting watching TV tonight I spied my T4 on the table and decided to take a crack at my taxes. The RRSP deadline is upon us and I needed to know if I had to up my contribution to avoid paying the government. Well as it turns out I had to throw a fairly hefty chunk of money in my RRSP to avoid that. But I guess the upside is that at least that money is still mine.
I was quite impressed with myself actually. I was able to track down all my receipts and paperwork quite easily. Apparently I am more organized than I give myself credit for. With the exception of two outstanding charitable donation receipts I have everything I need. And so after paying a small pittance to Quick Tax Web my tax return is well on its way. I actually like to do my taxes on paper but this year I know I won’t have time so I am opting for the oh-so-easy online method.
[tags]RRSP, taxes, donation[/tags]

Take 2 beer and call me in the morning

Last night when I got home I was exhausted. As my chicken was cooking, I opened the fridge and reached for the water pitcher. As my hand touched the jug, my eyes were pulled to the green bottles to the right of the water. My hand was reaching for the Heineken before my brain had even made a decision. That beer may have been the best tasting beer of my life! The second one was just about as good. By the time I went to bed I was feeling far more relaxed and I fell asleep about 2 minutes after my head hit the pillow and I didn’t wake up until my alarm went off. Maybe I will be reaching into the right side of the fridge more often.
[tags] beer, Heineken[/tags]

What would you do with $1000?

If I had a thousand dollars to spend I could think of a lot of things to spend it on. I can honestly say however that an ice cream sundae is not one of them. There is a restaurant in New York City that offers a $1000 sundae. And they actually sell one of these each month. Who the heck is spending $1000 on ice cream?? Man, people have far too much disposable income if they are buying this little dessert item. It doesn’t even look very appetizing.
[tags]New York, sundae [/tags]

I type, therefore I am

I was feeling in need of a little pick-me-up tonight so I decided to see if I was making any impact in the land of the internet. Much to my amazement I am actually moving up in the world. On Google, I am the 5th listing for “dumbasses” and I actually have 3 listings in the top 5 (including the top result) for “gwen resmer”. Sorry Mathew – you have fallen to 7th behind Taras and I. For those of you who follow my blog you will know that I have been battling Mathew for months to get to the top of the search results list. It is certainly insignificant in terms of actual impact on the world but it makes me happy anyways.

Doing my part to save hydro

Post for February 21, 2006
Given that I have been staring a computer for about 14 hours a day for the past week and a half I chose to leave my computer turned off last night and to instead enjoy the things life has to offer that do not involve technology. And I have to say that I had a fantastic evening!! No TV, no computer, no RIM, no phone. I love technology but sometimes the absence of it can be quite enjoyable as well.

On another note – yesterday was Taras‘ birthday. He turned … oh maybe I won’t say … don’t worry your secret is safe grandpa. Happy Birthday – I hope it was a great one!!

Paying it forward…the PATH way

A couple of weeks ago I started taking a different route to work that takes me through the PATH from St. Andrew station to Metro Hall. For the first week or so I walked through the various doors feeling lucky that they were always open. Then one morning I noticed something. As every 3rd or 4th person would pass through the doors they would hit the button to keep the door open. It was as if there was some unwritten code that had developed with the commuters and they would just keep hitting the button to keep the door open for the people to come after them. It made me happy actually. It was such a small gesture but it made me smile. I was pleased to see that people do actually think about the people around them. I know that keeping a door open is really not a very significant act but every morning as I watch the process I feel a little happier about people in general.
[tags]Toronto, PATH [/tags]

Monkey porn – huh??

In the past couple of days my shoutbox has been plagued with spam from one particular spammer. Now spam is something that I have had to deal with before on my site but what these people were offering is just odd. This particular company is advertising “cheap monkey porn and viagra pills”. WTF?? I know some people are into some odd things but monkey porn? Seriously??