This recipe is worth it for the combination of the words “bacon” and “dreamcatcher”. I don’t recommend actually making this unless you’re on Michael Phelps’ daily physical regime:

[Photo series courtesy of spingo.]

Take a gander at this – it’s a Maven’s Kosher Foods vending machine. It will cook and serve a kosher hot dog – the food of my in-laws! – on the spot for you, in exchange for five dollars:

There are a couple of these at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where I’m spending the next couple of days as a track lead at Microsoft’s TechDays conference.

Being the curious kinesthetic sort, I have decided that in spite of the fact that TechDays serves a free lunch, I must try a vending machine hot dog. I’m always up for a new experience, and it’s also a good excuse to use the HD videocamera that the Ginger Ninja gave me for our wedding anniversary. Some brave souls and I will order and eat a hot dog from this machine while recording it for posterity and to contribute to the sum of human knowledge. Watch this space!

A mega-shark! A giant octopus! A reference to the "Thrilla in Manila"! Lorenzo Lamas and Deborah (formerly Debbie) Gibson! What more could you possibly want from a movie?

(A tip of the hat to John Bristowe for pointing me to the video!)

The temperatures predicted for later this week in Accordion City don’t look terribly promising:

As a point of reference for my American readers, –11 degrees C, the average daytime temperature over these 5 days, is 12 degrees F. –18 degrees C, the average nighttime temperature over these 5 days, is 0 degrees F.

There is something that can help, but unfortunately, it’s not available in Canada. I’m talking about Bob Evans biscuits and gravy, complete with sausage gravy dispenser:

Why, oh why, don’t our 7-11 stores stock this stuff? I love biscuits and gravy. If it were socially acceptable (that is, if The Missus would let me), I’d spend my day sitting in a tub of it.