Categories
It Happened to Me

Hello from Boston!

In keeping with the tradition on this blog, I’m posting a photo of the fried dough cart in Boston Common:

Fried dough cart in Boston Common.

The Ginger Ninja and I are in the Boston area for the week. We’re catching up with family and friends for most of the week, and this weekend, we’re part of the wedding party of her brother, Andy Ramoniac.

If you’re thinking of robbing our place while we’re gone, let me assure you that you will fail. Our building is protected by the best crime detection system I’ve ever seen: cranky retirees who like to watch the closed-circuit lobby channel on their TVs.

Categories
funny

Schrodinger’s Rice Cooker

For those of you who can’t get enough Schrodinger’s Cat-based humour, I suggest you check out the Schrodinger’s LOLcat entry, followed by the kitty below:

Cat in rice cooker.

Categories
Accordion, Instrument of the Gods In the News It Happened to Me

“Can I Get a Witness?” (or: The Toronto Star’s Story on Julie and Amanda’s Wedding)

Sepia version of photo of Julie and Amanda at their city hall wedding.
Click the photo to see the article in the Toronto Star.
Click here to read my account of the wedding.

Today’s Toronto Star has a story about Julie’s and Amanda’s wedding. I should run over to the corner store and pick up a few copies for the ol’ scrapbook (and to send to Julie and Amanda, of course!).

For the Star readers who came here, my story about the wedding is here.

Categories
funny

“It’s not that we don’t like them, it’s just that Jane Goodall’s cheques always bounce.”

Store sign: “Please: No smoking, food, drink or gorillas.”
Photo courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele and Brian.

Categories
Accordion, Instrument of the Gods It Happened to Me Music

Playing Accordion at the “Give Me Liberty” After-Work Party

Poster for 2007’s “Give Me Liberty” after-work party

The “Give Me Liberty” after-work party takes place on the second Thursday in June and is a chance for people who live and work in Liberty Village — an area of Accordion City full of factories converted into lofts, offices and television and radio stations — to gather for a street party featuring a beer tent, food from local restaurants and live and DJ’d music.

One of the traditions of the “Give Me Liberty” party is my playing a couple of tunes on accordion between DJ sets. This year was no different — I played Fatboy Slim’s Praise You and Steppenwolf’s Born to be Wild for the crowd. The Ginger Ninja shot video of the whole thing, which appears below:

Categories
funny Geek

Internet Safety Guidelines

Here’s something that’s been sitting in my “post this to the blog” folder for some time: Internet Safety Guidelines. Enjoy, and remember — it’s funny because it’s true.

Internet Safety Guidelines
Graphic courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele.

Categories
Work

23 Ways to Hack Your Work

Hands holding up handwritten sign: “Too busy to be creative — it sucks!”
Photo by Mary-Cakes / Desiree. Click to see it on its original Flickr page.

Over at the blog Dumb Little Man (whose slogan is “Tips for Life”), there’s an entry titled Hack Your Work: 23 Ways to Get Ahead, Work Less and Achieve More with some good ideas. Here’s the intro:

It’s something we’re all looking for — the perfect solution that will minimize our work life while still getting the stuff done that we need to get done. Well, that one solution doesn’t exist, but with a combination of strategies, you can get to where you want to be.

Now, none of these tips will turn your life around. But they can make a big difference, and when used together, your work life might just be enjoyable, productive, low-stress and high fun. And these tips won’t work for everyone. They’re not meant to be used as a step-by-step guide. It’s a list of strategies that work — choose your favorites and give them a try.