Happy Holidays.

The gauntlet of events is about to start for me. It all begins with 'sweeps week' at the church. My mother doesn't like that I call it that, but it's true. The sermons are shorter, the decorations are gaudier and the live entertainment plentiful. I see it as the time the church puts it's best foot forward trying to recruit the many that only come to church during the holidays.

Free at last. The work term is over and I am back home for the holidays. Still trying to get into the spirit but play fighting with my brother and tormenting my mother is helping.

Sometimes words flow. If not, respond with 'apparently'.

Apparently.

I’ve been trying to get into the Christmas mood this year, but I just can’t. It’s not as easy as it used to be. When I was in high school and still living at home I could enjoy the Christmas decorations that were put up. There was a warm up period, a time to bask in the glow of the Christmas tree, time to see all the presents under the tree and try to guess what they are. Now Christmas is a rapid event. My family comes home; the tree erected; presents appear underneath it. Then 2 days later you are being dragged around the mall in search of a Boxing Day bargain and can’t remember where the time went.



I miss the simpler times of going to school with a sled, staying outdoors until it was too dark to find my way home, my mother making homemade chocolates, a pond to skate on, Christmas carols sung at school every morning, last day before Christmas break parties, and the time to do it all.

If only someone had been filming me I could have watched a little film titled, "what did you do?" to figure out what happened at the Christmas party. Me, a guy who can drink beer like there is no tomorrow cannot handle wine. It had the strangest effect on me and after a few glasses, I was gone (some sort of allergic reaction). My mind checked out and it’s not really a place I want to go to again.



A wise person told me that everyone has a drunk work Christmas party they would like to forget, so it is better to get it over with while you are young and in co-op than when you are a manager. I guess my adventure was better than hers, she ended up walking out of the bathroom with a trail of toilet paper coming out of here skirt.

Happy National Commando Day!

If someone is looking for "subliminal porn pictures" what exactly is subliminal about them? Is it so you can't tell that it is actually porn, or will looking at them make you a sexual deviant?

In my dream last night I was in trouble so I went to talk to my friends. One of them handed me a gun. I cocked it, which seemed like a natural thing to do, and put it away. The next thing I knew, I was being chased by a cop through the parking lot of the Canadian Tire I worked at when I was in high school. He had shot one of my friends in the arm so I was on my own. I reached for my gun and was shooting at him as I ran away dodging between people and cars. The cop was shooting at me also. Miraculously no one was hit considering we were no further than 3 feet apart.



I must not have been a very good criminal.

I feel like I have been in a haze today. Where you can’t tell if you are dreaming or awake. You feel like there is a translucent lid over your eyes. Your mind works well in some scenarios but murky in others. Your body has the sleeping feeling where it feels like your muscles are paralyzed. Everything else seems more interesting than what you are doing. Your face feels constantly warm and your hands ice cold.

PSA: I would ask that anyone who has sent me an email within the last few days to resend it if they want a response. My undergrad account shutdown because I was at 119% capacity.

Lately I haven't been surfing as much as I would like. I've been sticking to the same sites but they just don't update enough for my liking. Tonight I discovered unpluggedtv.com, I highly recommend it if you want to know: what happened to Mr T? Where all the porno went? anything about Ouchy the Clown, or signs that someone is turning into Kenny Rogers. The site is similar to heavy.com.

You'd think they'd never seen doughnuts: Now that Canada has a Krispy Kreme to call it’s own we can finally answer the question, whose donuts are better, Krispy Kreme or Tim Hortons? Anyone up for a field trip to Mississauga to do a little research?



The fanaticism behind Krispy Kreme amazes me, when people say they would sell their child for one I believe them.

It would have sucked to be a goose this morning. It was cold and everything was covered with a layer of frost. A I walked by Columbia Lake I just stared at all the waterfowl, which seem impervious to the chilled and spontaneously frozen water. After imagining what it would be like to swim around in the crappy water, half water – half geese droppings, I wondered if these geese were permanent residents or just on a lay-over. Is Columbia Lake a premier rest station on the way South? When go by, there are easily hundreds nestled in the water or sleeping on the lawns. They seem to be in groups of 30-50 geese, perhaps the ideal number for the flying V formation. Anyone know?

I woke up this morning with a sore, swollen throat and dragged my ass to work anyway. I had a few things to do and a meeting, I told myself as soon as that was over I could come home and curl up in bed. The said meeting was to be at 1 and someone was going to get me because the schedule wasn't firm. At 2 they came by to apologize for forgetting to come and get me. I should've just stayed home to begin with.

I added some new photos, if your into that sort of thing.

Trying to hold a grudge is one of the hardest things that I have ever tried to do. I don't know how other people do it for years at a time. It just takes so much energy and my laid-back nature (apathetic?) makes it even more difficult.

For those of you who weren't paying attention before, I don't like it when people talk to me in the bathroom. My boss however doesn't share this conviction. Today he decided that he would start talking business as I was on my way out and he was at the urinal. I just couldn't handle it, after a minute I just abruptly ended the conversation, said I'd catch him later and high-tailed it out of there. That's just one level of discomfort that I can't take.

New Year’s is supposed to be one of the most exciting events of the year. You gather with friends to get the new year off to a good start by singing some song no one knows the words to and making empty new year’s resolutions that no one keeps. Everyone pretends that the year has gotten off to a good start when in fact it has gotten off to a horrible start with all the lies and in many cases drunken lewd behavior. This is one of the many reasons that I believe make New Year’s a flawed event.



This year I propose that you do something different. Instead of ringing in the New Year, pay homage to the old year. Gather your closest friends along with photos and any other memorabilia of the last year and share. Reflect on the good (that girl that you picked up in the bar last New Year’s) and the bad (how she stalked you and wrecked your car after you broke up with her) moments. By the end of the night you will have some closure and be prepared to greet the New Year.



Update: I have no clue what I am going to do for New Year’s. Options include: drunken escapades in Montreal, drunken escapades in Waterloo, or hanging out with family.



*Disclaimer*: I don’t often follow my own advise. If you do follow it, I am not responsible for any negative outcome that may occur.

Within my head there are thousands of inane, minute details swimming around fighting for my attention. Many thoughts on how green the grass was when I came home from camp, trying to push out the lyrics to the latest pop song that I heard on MuchMusic. Then there are the hidden thoughts/memories, neither good nor bad. They are triggered by circumstances and come back causing a feeling of déjà vu. This is what happened to me last night. I went for dinner with my parents at a friend’s house and when I was ready to go I was instantly transported back to being 5 years old and having no attention span. I could vividly remember all the times in my life I had gone over to my Dad and whispered, “Can we go now?”, and knowing that no matter what the answer was, we would be there for at least another hour.



Moral of the story: Always have an escape plan.

Some people are creepy. Last night, a group of us are just doing our thing on the dance floor and somehow we ended up in the main traffic flow, so people were cutting through our circle from time to time. This girl bumps into me and looks up, as soon as she sees me she gets this glint in her eye and gives me a sly smile. She then continued to go by me except instead of walking on by she rubs up against me and puts her ass into it. We immediately started to laugh.

There is nothing that I hate worse than being on the end of a losing battle. Being stuck in the corner with no possible action is the most frustrating and enraging feeling. I want to lash out but then I realize that I am not that person. I am the one that says nothing and thinks it through and calms down later. I wish I could be mean. So many witty retorts and razor sharp comments go unused. It would be nice to be an asshole, just for a day without repercussions.

I can't even fathom what 'free pictures bear gay roulette' would be. Maybe it's like spin the bottle except it is played by gay bears and instead of kissing they (insert deviant behavior here).

It all starts out innocently. The snow gently starts to fall and the temperature drops below zero, your lips get a little chapped in the outdoors so you put on some chapstick, lypsol or whatever you happen to have. Before you know it your a junkie, just waiting to apply the goo, to feel it's soothing touch on your dry irritated lips. You, are addicted! You need something stronger so you try the medicated stuff and now you can't go back, you can only move on to the harshest substanse known to mankind, Tiger Balm. Then the worst possible thing happens, you loose you lip therapy. Your body starts convulsing from withdrawl. Your lips start to peel, making them look like Angelina Jolie's. Your most comforting friend has left you. What do you do once you have tasted the sweet nectar of addiction?

Yet another slandering of the good Brad name.

My theory on co-op advisors, they must be burn outs or on crack, was verified again yesterday. You would never guess that my new advisor has a masters in science.

I see a potential problem with BlogSnob, depending on your point of view. The premise is that for each ad that your site serves, another site will display an ad about your site. I first thought that this was a cool idea but now I think that it will only help the popular sites become more popular. Some independent site may serve 10 ads and therefore it will get 10 ads in return, but a popular site could serve over a thousand ads in a day and it would recieve a thousand in a day just making it more popular. You could probably even apply the 80/20 rule, 20% of the sites would account for 80% of the ads.

Last night I was rereading Catcher in the Rye and I find that Holden has a slight preoccupation with death; his own and those around him. He is always thinking about his dead brother Allie, and when Holden is drunk he pretends that he has been shot in the stomach and he has to hold his innards in.



Somewhere in reading that my mind drifted out and thought about one of my friends dying. It hasn't happened, but I started thinking about what I would do if it did. How many days would I take off work? I don't think I would even bother finishing the term, but then maybe I would throw myself into my work. How would the deceased's school life and the deceased's family life come together? It would be a weird mix. One group would know so much about the past and the other about the present. Would I say something at the funeral? Probably. It would be something nice with some humour thrown in to cover the pain that everyone would be feeling. I would be pallbearer. I would hold the casket high while wearing an expensive black suit. I would be the strong one.

Why people insist on talking to me in the bathroom is beyond me. It's okay if I am washing my hands or if I am loaded, but any other circumstances freak me out. Yesterday I was minding my own business when some old senile man asked me if I was famous yet. At first I tried to place him, 'old man , yellow wool sweater with reverend quality' but I couldn't, so I filed him under 'old man, yellow wool sweater with psychotic tendencies' and tried to escape as soon as I could.

In high school we had senior skip day, everyone in OAC would get together for a bush party or BBQ. Today must be senior skip day at the office. No one is around, making the silence deafening and the urge to leave over-powering. Who I am to fight it.

Note to Google.ca: Today is not Thanksgiving in Canada, it was last month.

I am not too sure about this whole Secret Santa thing. I have been burned before. In first year when I was living in residence at UW, we organized a similar event. It was to last 5 days and on each day something special was to be done and on the 5th day you were supposed to reveal yourself.



I ended up getting a free bracelet that someone had received from the local pharmacy and nothing else, not even the identity of my Secret Santa. I found out a year later when they fessed up and tried to make up for it with Bruce the Spruce and M&Ms. And really, who can stay mad after getting a Bruce the Spruce, the most wonderful and scary singing tree of them all.

When I was little I went to camp often. I went to Music Art and Drama (MAD) for several summers, at the local library. We mostly did MAD things for an hour or two and then were set free to pilfer the town. After that I went to a youth camp for 2 summers and then finally in Grade 7 or 8, I’m not sure which, our class went to camp Wahonawin for a week. The latter 2 were your standard we have a mess hall, do crafts and activities and sing by the fire camps.



As hard as I try to remember my adventures at these camps I just can’t remember anything positive. All I can remember are odd little tidbits. I can remember walking outside with a flashlight to go to bathroom. I can remember that the one camp had what I thought to be the highest swing in the world. I can remember having to help out a homesick friend who couldn’t do anything for himself because he was so distraught and in the end he won the stick-it-out-award. I remember missing our ride home from camp and having to drive home with someone’s grandma. I remember the large table we sat at had splinters in the benches. I remember playing horseshoes and when it was my turn I hurled the shoe and someone was standing too close and it hit them in the head. My first instinct was too laugh even though I knew it must have hurt. I remember roughhousing on top of bunk beds with my friends and we all ended up on the ground, and I also ended up with a huge scare.



Did you go to camp? What do you remember from the experience?

If you plan on going to see Harry Potter, I advise you to spend the money on the book instead. A benefit of the movie was to learn the correct pronunciation of a few character's names, Otherwise the movie just shattered any perceptions I had of Hogwarts and the events that took place there.



Give your imagination a try, I guarentee you'll like it.

Random thoughts from the weekend: I am totally unprepared for death; that would make a cool mirror project shot; my hands are going to look like that some day; where is he; damn, it’s too cloudy to see the shooting stars; I can’t believe I’m thinking about when I have a baby; you can see the twinkle in his eye.

I was watching this show called the Human Zoo on the discovery channel yesterday. They were testing the behavior of people in lab situations and gauging people's initial reactions. The best example was people's perceptions of two men. Both looked exactly the same right down to their hair style and eye colour, except that one was 5'2" and the other was 6'4". Everyone thought that short man was making an average of $20,000 a year, had absolutely no respect for him and were unwilling to date him. People were much more receptive of the tall man. The general consensus was that he was very important and influential, highly datable and making $220,000 a year.



I can't believe how stereotypical people still are. I looked at the leaps and bounds that people have made over the years and was very proud, but all that progress has been lost or never really was.



I would be a lot more upset if I wasn't 6'6". According to the show I will make on average, $600 more than others for each additional inch taller I am.

David Usher - Joy in small places [4.3mb] : Just felt like sharing. I really am enjoying David's album.


well i woke up last night in a technology haze

my eyes were all sparked

from this common malaise

so i found me a doctor who said hed even me out

take my highs and my lows

cause the colours were just to loud

and as the day becomes night

and we only want greys

and the innocence runs out

well thsi is the price we pay

mr jangle what you gonna do when the sun breaks down and the rain pours through

mr jangle what you gonna do this time

you got caught on my teeth so i spit out my tongue

and i cut off these hands just to see if the feeling would come

and we drank till we drowned till we chocked on the world

and i bathed in the beauty of all of you

mr jangle what you gonna do when the sun breaks down and the rain pours through

mr jangle what you gonna do this time

well i woke up last night just outside of myself

skin hair bone broke down cell by single cell

and i could not believe i had died in my sleep

just drowned in the beauty of all of you

and as day becomes night...

The Bomber (campus pub) used to be a place of so much joy, now it only brings pain. It has taken off its white glove and slapped me across the face for the last time. Last night I waited over 2 hours and was still unable to get in. In hindsight I feel a little silly waiting so long, but once you have invested in something it’s hard to abandon it.



It all started innocently at 10 o’clock. Twenty minutes later we were near the front on the line when the rookie staff at the Bomber moved the entrance to the doors of the restaurant. There mass chaos as students skipped, ran and jumped their way over. Now we were further back in line and everyone started to get impatient and squeezed in until there was no personal space to be had. After 40 minutes of the squeeze we finally got in and were given a number.



I had just spent an hour to get in the waiting room for the Bomber. Five beers later and plenty of bitching and begging with the staff we were ready to concede. Only a fraction of people had been given the honour of entering and the number system was severely flawed, people who came in after us, went in before us.



What’s up with this rookie staff? Whose idea was it to replace the veteran manager with 4 students? Who do they think they’re fooling with their long lines to create demand while the Bomber lay dormant? Why is Moosehead considered and imported beer? Why don’t they want our money?



The Bomber has won this time. It may have crushed my spirit but it’s hasn’t quenched my taste for revenge.

I finally got around to posting a pic to the mirror project. Currently it is smack dab on the front page. I feel so special. Next time I will try something a little more interesting than the standard.

The weirdest things can make you sad. I was cleaning out my inbox and started to read old messages that I saved, actually it justs takes me a while before I do anything with them. After a while I realized that I had this treasure that I should keep. But what do you keep? There are many things that I have said, many pearls of wisdom that have been bestowed upon me and the thousands of messages that bring a smile to my face.



What is disposable?



Everything is disposable these days. You can get disposable batteries for your disposable camera to take disposable pictures of your disposable life. What happened to reduce, reuse and recycle? Now everything is about convience. Should we change the 3 R's to race, revenge and rage? They at least have a little meaning in our lifes.

Consider yourself warned.

Shall we revisit the topic of smoothness again?

For those that have no idea what I'm talking, the basic idea is that once you have known someone for so long they become smooth, that is no genitalia. You never think of them in that way. [further explanation]

So one night (drunken night, because you never try these things sober) I thought that I could make someone no longer smooth. I scotch taped on some breasts and what not, but they just fell off. It's not that it was a bad idea, it just ended up weird. Weird because I didn't want things to change, but at the same time I wanted something that I wasn't finding anywhere else. I tried looking in a different place. I'm not really even sure why I tried. It was fueled to a certain degree by thoughts planted in my head by others, a lacking relationship and a thousand other thoughts that crept through my mind.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

To: Anonymous User

Re: Cheap Sex


Message: There is no such thing as cheap sex. We all end up paying in other ways. If you really want cheap sex, I'd suggest some lotion and a little porn for the guys, women can just go sit on a washing machine during the spin cycle. Or you could just see Rafi.



Regards

When a cat wants your attention, they want it all. The behave just like a little child who whines "Dad" repeatedly until the parent focuses their full attention.

I am petting the kitten yesterday while watching TV and like any guy when a commercial comes on, I start to surf. This is too much for the cat, she looks up at me with eyes that say "how dare you not use both hands to pet me". She immediately took action and nudged her head into the offending hand until I was defeated.

After a while I figured out just how to stop petting her; she doesn't like this either (she is greedy and wants more brad-love'n and really, who can blame her). If I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep she goes to sleep.

There is nothing worse than coming home and nearly passing out because of the STANK that has been created in your absence. I have only been gone a couple hours and my roommates have created this stench of bong-water and stale pizza.

Maybe if I sing it enough, I'll start to believe it: Philosopher Kings - I am the Man [4mb]

I am the man, that's what I am
I'm a straight shooter, with a master plan
I am the man, that's why I'm here
I am the man, I am the man
I am the last real cowboy
I roped the soul of the world
Can I have your lights
Can I have your mic's
I mean to be heard
I am a radio soldier
Taking aim at the world
Mothers and fathers bring your daughters
Bring your girls, cause
I am the man, that's what I am
I'm a straight shooter, with a master plan
I am the man, that's why I'm here
I am the man, I am the man
Truth and honesty
That's my game
I'm gonna make it simple
I'm gonna make it plain
You're gonna know my face
You're gonna know my name
My favourite colour
My favourite number
You're gonna know my pain
It's all in the plan
I am the man, that's what I am
I'm a straight shooter, with a master plan
I am the man, that's why I'm here
I am the man, I am the man

Buffy as a musical. Brilliant.

If only the MuchMusic VJ Search was 4 months later. Why, oh why?!?

I am about 80% sure that I was chased by the cops last night. Either that or it was all a set of highly coincidental events.



I was out on a run and just as I was nearing home I saw a police cruiser. At that same moment it turned around in a cross street ahead of me.



I continued on running and then ducking down a sidewalk between 2 houses that leads to my street. When I was just at the end, I turned and saw that the police cruiser with its lights on had jumped the curb and was now on the sidewalk.



I just kept on walking, waiting for someone to yell something out, screaming thoughts in my head. I had no ID, I can't prove who I am, what if they harass me, what if they follow me to my place and arrest my room-mates, what if?



Nothing. It ended just like that as I entered the door.

CIA's mad scientists went too far with Acoustic Kitty - Is it wrong to laugh because all their hard work got run over? (poor kitten). I mean, it sounds like something that Stefano would do on Days of our Lives.



I'm afraid to think of what other experiemnts they have tried.

Zippers, where would we be without them? Thanks to Whitcomb Judson in 1893 we've been getting in (and out) of our clothes faster.

Why do most zippers say "YKK" on the pull-tab?
Zippers, a history

Like everything else in my life, the Halloween party was after the fact. Naturally, I wanted to go as the Incredible Hulk once I heard it was a Superheros and Villains party, but you can't get green makeup after Halloween. Instead I took a lame idea and made it worse. I went as Math Man in a pink cape and black body with a pink pi symbol on the chest. It was still better than the trailer trash trio.

One of the events involved recruiting someone off the street to come back to the party wearing a prop that we provided them. This proved rather difficult. No one would do it. We asked over 10 people to participate. What's wrong with this world that no one will go back to a party with complete strangers who happen to be dressed as Superheros. I mean if you can't trust a Superhero, who can you trust?

The pictures are here if you want a perusal.

After seeing Monsters Inc. today, I have to give it to Pixar for creating a movie that was eerily similar to life. Production started a long time ago so the movie coincidentally(?) mimicked recent events with the rolling blackouts in California (rolling blackouts in Montsropolis) and the anthrax scare (infectious children).

I foresee a future career in whoring myself out to soon-to-be-bride parties. Last night there was a group of girls who needed my assistance desperately. They needed me to do a body shot off of the bride-to-be's abs of steel. I was only too happy to oblige.

Last time it was a neck, this time abs, where next?

Some of you may have been experiencing a layout error due to some css error that I wasn't able to find. I was able to fix it by adding an extra set of brace brackets. The question is, which did you like better? 2 squares, or 3?

The Matthew Good Band just released a new album on Tuesday. Enjoy, Matthew Good Band - The Workers Sing a Song of Mass Production [4.9 mb].



he snuck out of the city the night it had come early she always used to say life's a dirty business so why not so it while the world's in bed and there's a fake part of me that comes off so you can read i was made by the taiwanese in taiwan but they don't like that much because it's called formosa he snuck into the city the dawn it had come early she always used to say life's a dirty business so just be a prick and do it while the world's awake

Mmmm sushi, it tastes oh so good. Even better when you make it yourself.

eatsushi.com - the site for the consummate sushi fan. It may clear up a few of your questions on etiquette
sticky rice - recipes, tools and ask the chef.

What are you doing tonight for Devils Night? Soaping Cars? TPing houses? Nicky nicky nine doors? Shaving the cat? Flaming bag of poo? Spray painting a car? Pillaging the local convience store? Trashing the school? Egging anything that moves? Getting arrested?



I never actually did anything on Devils night, but I would love to go to school the next day to see what had been done the night before. I was never disappointed, someone usually did something no matter how mundane it seemed. The usuals were, TPing, window breaking and spray painting the walls. I liked spray painting the best because it would make fun of someone with a nice little picture and you were guarenteed a chance to see it.

The great pumpkin will soon be among us tomorrow night. I just hope I have been good enough to get a gift this year.



If you need a refresher on the story go here, if you think you are a master, take the quiz here.

We're a bunch of pansies when it comes to ending things. How many of us just can't figure out how to end a conversation? When we've finally had it we say "I'm going to let you go now", which roughly translates to "I'm tired of your bitching and moaning, I need out".

How can anyone end a relationship when they can't even end a phone conversation?

We need to grow some collective balls and end these conversations right. No more tiptoeing around. It time to call a spade a spade. End conversations when you want. And once you have mastered that you will finally be able to say, "It's not me. It's you".

So what does this dream mean?

I am back at my old high school. Everything was exactly the way it was when I was there 5 years ago. The school was under attack and we were all scattering, exactly like an episode of Buffy. I ran with a friend and got in her car. I was in the passenger seat on the left side and she was the one driving on the right side. In the process of leaving, the car gets boxed in.

The assailants of the school start firing off shots in my direction. I am hit in the belly 3 times. At the moment of each shot, time slows and I can see the bullet come towards me breaking through the car and nestling inside of me. None of the bullets caused any noticeable pain but there was plenty of blood.

My only reaction was to calmly call 911 and notify them of my situation. Upon arriving at the emergency room I was taken care of and came out moments later with a bandaged abdomen.

Dumb things people say: "I think it's quite a feat for a blind man to father 2 children"

After seeing Riding in Cars with Boys I feel better about my life. It's definitely not as bad as it would have been had I knocked up some girl when I was 15 and then became a heroin addict.

Woo hoo, I have an mp3 player that works, partially. I took it in today and they gave me a new one. As an added bonus it has 32mb more internal memory than my original one. Now the only thing that doesn't work is my 64mb multimedia card.

Sometimes you need a change. I seriously think I could do with a change of everything right now. Everything has become a little too monotonous, a little too the same, a little to familiar. I am not very happy with work. It just isn't a lot of fun and leaves me tired everyday, and because I am tired everyday I don't feel like doing much at night.



It has to stop. I am stuck in this vortex of 'no fun'. It's killing me. Even the readership on my site is suffering. As soon as I started working the number of visitors I had was cut in half.



Maybe another (insert body beatification/mutilation idea here) would help.

It's not that I am not listening. I just can't hear you.

It's cold, wet and snowing outside. The weather is exactly how I feel. I wish I could just get back in bed, curl up in a little ball and sleep. Sleep until the weather has turned and I have nothing left to do but have fun.

Nothing changes the opinion of your boss like seeing him dance on the spot and wave his imaginary fairy wand.

On the lighter side of things, if you scratch the back of the cat's ears they fold down making her look exactly like Yoda.

Who's up for a little e-mail roulette?

It has been suggested that I try out for u8tv, but I think I am going to have to pass on it. There are several reasons:

1) The season starts in January and I want to finish my CS degree at UW this winter

2) As much as I want to be a star, I don't want to be the kind that has their lives out in the open for eveyone. I have things that I want to keep a mystery to some people. (i.e. my family may be a little surpirsed)

3) I'm holding out to be a muchmusic VJ

Apple's new device is called the iPod. It's not the best name I have ever heard but it is a good idea. Basically, it's a portable hard drive/mp3 player with a firewire connection which is super fast compared to USB.

I love thunder and the way rain falls hard on windows. Days like this were built for being in bed with a book, not staring in front of a computer dreading 2 o'clock. That time is feared because it marks when you will have to talk to your boss and when the conversation is over, someone will not be happy.

Can mispelling words and not using the english language correctly be my quirk? I was getting better at actually proofing much of the content before it went up, but after examining some of the latest pieces I notice I may have had a bit of a relapse. Let's just pretend that it contributes to making this site raw rather than polished.

I have no clue what is actually happening to me lately, but I have become absent minded. I couldn't even tell you where my mind is, but it definitely is not on turning off the stove when I'm done using it. I think I lost it somewhere between August and September. Can you help me find it? I am considering putting up a reward for it's return. The one stipulation is that it must be intact, that means no dissections in any form.

Another short to add to the growing collection. Contained.

A forward for those that just don't get marketing.


You go to a party and you see an attractive girl across the room. You go up to her and say, "Hi, I'm great in bed, how about it??

That's Direct Marketing.



You go to a party and you see an attractive girl across the room. You give your friend a $10. She goes up and says, "Hi, my friend over there is great in bed, how about it??

That's Advertising.



You go to a party and you see an attractive girl across the room. You somehow mop up her mobile number. You call, talk to her a while and then say, "I am great in bed, how about it?"

That's Tele-Marketing.



You go to a party and you see an attractive girl across the room. You recognize her. You walk up to her, refresh her memory and get her to laugh and giggle and then suggest, "I am great in bed, how about it??

That's Customer Relationship Management.



You go to a party and you see an attractive girl across the room. You walk around playing Mr. Busy. You put on your best smile and walk around being Mr. Congenial. You stand straight, you talk soft and smooth, you open the door for the ladies, you smile like a dream, you set an aura around you playing the Mr. Gentleman and then you move up to the girl and say, "Hi, I am great in bed, how about it??

That's Hard Selling.



You go to a party, you see an attractive girl across the room. SHE COMES OVER and says, "Hi, I hear you're great in bed, how about it?"

Now THAT is the power of Branding.

In an attempt to piss off the neighbours, I turned up my stereo as loud as possible. I wanted to wake them up because they woke me up last weekend from 2am to 4am. The only concrete outcome was that all the pictures in my room are crooked due to the excessive bass that made the house and couch vibrate.

Yesterday I had this urge to wear my toque when I went out for a hike/walk. Some may say that it can't be done, but to them I say, "If Enrique Iglesies can do it in the summer heat, then I can do it the fall".

I'm glad that people can joke about Anthrax.

Last night I saw Lost and Delirious. I initially wanted to see it because of the lesbians, but I soon found out it was more than that. Actually there was minimal lesbian action.

The thing that struck me most about the movie is that it seemed to launch most people into a reflective mood afterwards. Everyone was silent comptemplating the drama they had just witnessed. It was a little over the top in some places, but in others it conveyed such emotion. It was nice to see that media can sharpen our minds rather than dull them.

Shift redesigns there site, "Now with 50% more content".

Having read two articles on Waking Life (trailer here), one in Wired and the other in the National Post, I really want to see the movie. Believe it or not I am getting tired of all this T'n'A fluff, I need something to make me think.

Sometimes I have it out with people, others I just can't. Say something nasty to me and it won't make me angry at all, but five minutes later I just want to explode. There is this anger that just wants to get out, but I never let it. Instead it festers for a while and then slowly disappates. If only I could say "you're a putz" instead of nothing at all.



I need to be more assertive. Back in the the day when I was working at Canadian Tire, that was the first (and only) critism my boss had had of me. I was 14 at the time so I was young and stupid. I am 23 now, supposedly older and wiser. What possible excuse do I have?

It's always the little mistakes that cause the most trouble. There was a typo in the company phone list and now I keep getting hang-ups. It is really quite annoying. If it keeps up, this may be a typical conversation:



Me: "Hang up and DIE!"

Them: *click*

Me: urge to kill rising, rising...

Apple to unveil digital music device: I can't decide if I should be excited or afraid.

I feel like I have just lost a special friend. It's even more painful because my mp3 player half works. I am in the middle of my run and it just goes kaput. It just decided that is it tired of playing music properly, from now on it is going to play it it's own way. (i tried playing with it to fix it but no luck, now I have to find the receipt somewhere which I don't think is going to happen)

Ugh, I just wrote out a post 5 times and I just can't get it right. It had something to do with corporate whores and how I am a corporate snob, but would consider changing because there is always demand for more corporate whores.

I've never had the falling dream but I often have the tripping dream. They are very similar. In the first you plummet to your death and wake up just before you smack down on the pavement. In the second you wake up from the tripping motion you perform in your sleep.



Some say it's not possible to trip while you are in bed, but I assure you that it is.

I added the stream of conscious piece Something is Nothing to 12 o'clock.

Leave it up to your subconscience to tell you what's really going on.



This whole last month I have found myself rather unaffected by the World Trade Center events. I felt bad and rather disgusted that something so terrible could happen but like everything else bad I shrugged it off. Those around me didn't have it so easy. My mother dwelt on the situation bringing it up every time we had a conversation and I just really didn't want to talk about it.



Now a month later I dreamt that I was in the top floor of a WTC building. I heard a loud noise and then the next thing I knew, the top 4 floors went hurtling to the ground. The only thing I could see was the earth spinning as I approached it faster and faster. The whole time I was praying for my life.



Then it faded into part two. Me and a couple of friends wanted to figure out an escape plan in the event that something where to happen at the WTC. We sneaked to the roof of the building and then had to make our way down as quickly as possible. Our plan was to ride on top of the express elevator to the first floor. It was surprisingly not that difficult but I guess nothing ever really is in your dreams.



......



It's always much easier to be blind to things that we are afraid or disgusted of than to change them. Only once in a while do we acknowledge these events before we close our minds to them.



Why is that we, with so much, often do so little? Simply because it does not directly affect us.

Last year's Oktoberfest Tip's and Everything I know, I learned from Oktoberfest.

Another Oktoberfest has come and gone and in my true form I drank the night away and was merry. It was complete with Polka music, shots of Jagameister (the killer of all shots, once you have it the night goes to a new level) and a bottomless cup of beer.

I ran into a few people I went to highschool with and caught up on the small city gossip. It's always interesting to see them but you always have that awkward goodbye. It's like the visit is a small blip on the radar screen and as soon as they are gone you go back to forgettting them.

The night was missing one important thing, I never heard the "i don't want her, you can have her, she's too fat for me" song.

Even though it has been blinked before I present this essay on addiction. I just think it presents a good insight into addiction. One that I can slightly relate to because I confess to suffering from a few of the symptons listed.

Check out My Pet Skeleton if your into dark tim burtonish art. It has some good flash-work, not even the flashturbation kind, it has a purpose.

Some people really need to tone down their obsession with Osama bin Laden. Yesterday I was talking on the phone with a sales consultant and asked about a company and her response was "they (that company) see us (our company) as Osama and want to kill us". I guess I just can't relate.

Site Update: Posted SanFran pictures from August. I also removed some old mp3's and added a new one a few days ago.

I have been taking care of a friends cat for a couple of days now and it has made one thing abundantly clear to me. I hate cats. I could rant and rave on the subject but someone else already did it for me. I especially agree that cats aren't the sharpest tools in the shed. I push the cat away from my food and it always keeps coming back, just to annoy me.

Your at the urinal taking a leak and your boss steps up to the urinal beside you, what do you?

Winnipeg. slurpee capital of the world. Who knew?

Switching to a new instant messenger is not without it's quirks. My brother is on yahoo and everyone else I know is on ICQ and then I occasionally use IRC so I switched to a client that offers all of these plus AOL, MSN and Jabber. It works great for the messaging part but instead of away messages it has automated responses that lead to people thinking I am ass because of conversations like this:



????: r u there?

Brad: Away

????: are you here now?

Brad: Away

????: i wanna talk to you!

Brad: Away

????: quit saying away

Brad: Away

????: well don't you suck

Brad: Away

????: whatever!

Brad: Away



Just my luck, I choose and IM that behaves like it's 2-years old.

I am watching the new season of trading spaces and frankly, I miss Alex. I am not ready for a new host.

This afternoon I went shopping and saw some underwear on a mannequin that I wanted. The problem was I couldn't find it anywhere else in the store. What else could I do but carefully undress the mannequin reveling it's "smoothness". Afterwards I felt a little dirty but I did get 30% off said underwear, so it was worth the akwardness and the possible "that guy is a pervert" look.

This years 2001 Ig Nobel Prize winners include research on:

• injuries Due to Falling Coconuts


• why shower curtains billow inwards


• airtight underwear with a replaceable charcoal filter that removes bad-smelling gases before they escape


• that people find a way to postpone their deaths if that that would qualify them for a lower rate on the inheritance tax


• protect, promote, and defend the differences between plural and possessive


• an Ecological Study of Glee in Small Groups of Preschool Children


• that black holes fulfill all the technical requirements to be the location of Hell


• patenting the wheel in the year 2001


• medical discovery that nose picking is a common activity among adolescents.

Yes, I am 23 years old and I still like to play with worms on the sidewalk when it is raining. Especially the fat juicy ones.

Somethings you just can't hide or bury for that matter. In Orillia a bunch of people used their pot-dar to dig up 20 million dollars worth of pot that the OPP buried in the dump and covered with rotting compost. [read the article here]

Sometimes there is nothing to say but nothing itself. Now, is not one of those times.



Relationships can really be frustrating to start when you are a busy person. How can anyone be expected to start anything when they only see a person once a week. It's just not the way. I yearn for the days of highschool when you saw someone everyday and finally after a week or two the tension is too much to bear and you finally connect. Now the connection time is way to long. The only other solution I can think of is to become a "playa".

Pot-dar, it's sort of like gay-dar but not. It accurately describes the phenomena at parties when the weed comes out. No one ever says "Hey we are smoking weed now, come over if you want some", instead somehow people gravitate to the said area and commit the act (one of which I am neither condeming or encouraging). There must be some sort of internal GPS system that goes off sending messages to the brain, "psst, pot other there, go, RUN!". Other theories include Y shaped sticks that point in the direction of the desired object or if you wish it, it will happen. Or there could be a simple explanation. People smell it and then head on over.

You can really buy anything these days. My favourite line from the description is "Most likely though I will just fly in, kick your ass, and then leave".

The sing-a-long was way too much fun. I was a little skeptical at first to the ammount of participation that the audience would partake in but I was pleasantly surprised once the Nun stepped up and laid out some of the ground rules:

• Salute the hills!


• Hiss at the evil Baroness


• Boo the Nazis


• Cheer for Julie (Maria)


• Various actions to the songs


• Bark at that dog Ralph

With these in place the hi-jinx easily followed. The costumes must have made it easier too. There were a lot of Nuns, "Ray, a drop of golden light", Maria, Captain Von Trap, the children, a few of my favourite things, coo-coo and 16-going-on-17.

I may have overdone it a bit, a smidge, a tad last night. So today I am hurting a bit but I will survive because the show must go on, for tonight we sing!

If the US is going to ban Britney Spears commercials they might as well turn the airwaves off. Kids shouldn't watch cartoons, they should be educated and every movie about terrorism that should go to. If I were American I would be really happy that I have the government to tell me that I shouldn't move on with my life. Instead I should dwell on the past and not be productive and help everyone proceed with the future.



This explains why the Britney Spears commericial has been playing so much up here.

Paging Michael Jackson's career, the 80's miss you. How long can you ride your reputation? Let us remember you in a positive light.

This boy is restless.



It is so excrutiating to wait to go out and do something important like an interview. You inevitable are ready way too early and end up pacing back and forth couting down the minutes until you are finally able to leave. Then you do and you have the butterflies, if you are lucky. No butterflies means no gut feeling which is equal to no spark, and we all know that a spark is a good thing.

Nothing bad happened. The girl called, we went out.



Sometimes I let my mind run tricks on me and I thought that because there was a misunderstanding that some form of retribution would be involved. Basically I would show up somewhere and about 5 guys would try to beat me up. Of course when I say try I mean they fail because I duck all their punches and knock'em all out, or at least that's what I think happens.

So what's the deal with all the games. Just when I decided that I wasn't going to pursue anything the girl calls me. From the previous encounter I was confused and the more I thought about it I thought that I was just not reading the signs so I filed it in that "never gonna happen" category and now I have to move it to "undetermined".



Not that I really mind, but I know that this is just going to end up being one of those mind game things. You never really set out to play the game but it sucks you in. It all starts with the "I wonder what she meant by that" and then you are stuck, sinking further and further.

I am starting a new adage, "Like a kitten to a laptop". It's very similar to "Like a moth to a flame" except presumably the kitten doesn't die.

You know what's messy?



Accidentally sneezing on your monitor. It's also not very attractive to look at.

That crazy Bush, he can't count and can't seem to decide who his best friend is. Last time I tried to have more than one "best friend" I got dumped.

Last night I was high on life. The beer may have helped but it was mostly because of all my friends being together (most of them at least). We took over the bar and put 5 mismatched tables together and covered it with pitchers of beer and frosty mugs and the occasional round of food. The tables ears must have bleed from all the conversations it overheard full of gossip and razor sharp wit. And the table rejoiced when our friends band played demanding respect from the audience during an acapella rendition of Bootylicious.

I brought my bike inside because I knew it was going to rain last night, and before I left this morning I pushed really hard on the seat to make sure that it was dry because it had rained the day before. Now I am sitting here at work hoping that I don't have to stand up because my bum is wet, soggy and generally feeling quite gross.

Hmm, I have internet again. What now? Updates? Music? Stories? perhaps Pictures?



Some good stuff should hopefully be coming down the pipe, or at least it should because it has been over a month since I have had time and the internet connection to do anything to this site.

Mr Dress-up has passed away. I'll never forget him or his tickle-trunk. I am not even sure what I like so much about the show but I will confess that I watched it for a long time, it used to be on at 11:30 every weekday.



"Mr. Coombs had joked in interviews that he wanted to be laid out on display in the trunk upon his death like former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin."



I am surprised how much of the show I remember. Right now I can hear the theme music in my head, but many other details are sketchy.

Breaking up is hard to do, especially if you aren't going out with them. Having just told someone that we weren't interested in pursueing a business partnership I feel very bad. I feel like I broke the poor guys heart. He just kept going "you don't see a fit" I wanted to reply, "it's not you, it's me" but I just gave a steadfast "not at this time".



This is the first unseen perk to my job, it should improve my ability to end relationships. "Sorry baby, I just don't have the resources for this right now"

It's very sad when people start to lose their memory. I was just talking to my Grandmother who is over 90 years old and usually has difficulty remembering who I am or what she has already said (which everyone does from time to time) . Today was good day though, but then I was troubled by the whole generation gap, what does a 20-something talk to a 90-something about?

Without net access at home I am still feeling rather disconnected from the world. Being so dependent is not a good thing. What would I do if I moved somewhere where there was no high-speed access.



Tracy's new cat, Logan, is the cutest ever. I really pushed for calling it Flanders but she just wouldn't have it. How long does it take before a cat loses all cuteness?

Good Idea: The 6th Sense.

Bad Idea: The 69th Sense.

As time moves so must I.



Not that anything is really normal.



I decided on a day's wait and called Monday and left a message. There was some out-cry about leaving it for 3 days, some people are very passionate about this subject.



The initial call is always weird, your nervous but not really since you have done it before. It's always worse when they don't answer immediately because you have to wait and you know the whole time the person on the other end is trying to figure out who you are and why you are calling, same goes for leaving a message but you have the awkard, "no she doesn't have my number" conversation and then wonder if the message will ever get to her.

I feel as though we are involved in one of those things where later in life you will be able to remember exactly what you did on that day. Just like the day JFK was shot or the day Priness Diana died or when WWII affected you. The only problem is right now we have no clue what the impact is going to be. Could it be a world war 3? I hope not but the incidents have done a good job of throwing everyone off kilter. No one expects anything like this too ever happen, and now it has.



Random thoughts of the marning had me wondering what would happen had they dropped a nuke on the world trade centre. (I would be dying very painfully) A funny thought did occur, if a plane flew into the CN Tower and knocked it over into Lake Ontario. The syline would never be the same.

Have you ever seen Bonzai? How about going to a Keg Party that has a toga and Banzai theme? If you haven't been, you sure are missing out on a lot. You get to place bets on who will stay ducked taped to the wall and who can get a complete stranger to show up at the party wearing their toga. The party was a lot of fun and left me at about a 75% operating efficiency yesterday and I even managed to get a phone number?



This leads to the inevitable question, how long do you wait to call? Some say the next day other say at least 3 days later. What's your call?

I am reviewing a company that has a product with the acronym PAB as its name and no matter how hard I try I keep thinking it stands for Punk Ass Bitch.

Finally settled in, I have been unsettled. I started the new job and it looks to be promising but not all my fears have been relieved. But, that is all I can say because you never know who is reading or if this is going to get back to you.



The vacation is over and oddly enough it has left me sick for the first few days of work. I get to be the hacking cough guy and hopefully that name won't stick. Everything else is in limbo. I am still without internet so that sucks.



So, I had another messed up dream. I was in a huge cave and all the exits were guarded by dinosaurs. Some had horns and others had holes where horns were suppose to be. As I crept around they seemed undisturbed but then I got to close to a door and they charged at me. After ducking away I was attacked by a freak zombie clown. How weird is that?

Moving.gnivoM

Ugh.



Stricken by some malady I am stuck at home feeling like crap. This certainly feels like the first day of the last of my life.

Planes, wonderous planes, what will they think of next?



Nothing happened but it didn't help that while I was on the plane I read an article about some plane crash that Air Transat had a few days ago and then there was that whole Aaliyah thing. Oh Shit, that was a little turbulence, any second now the plane will drop out of the sky and everyone will panic; the air supply will drop from the ceiling; will I have to assume the position? Oh Good, we are going to land; that's fun; that baby is so cute, it is sleeping right though this; that was a sharp bank; can this plane do a barrel role? That would be so cool if it did.



Once safely on ground I had to go through Canadian customs and I had wrote that I had bought nothing for the 10 tens I was in SF. The agent even asked me twice and not until after she approved me did I go "oh shit!" I forgot to declare my mother's birthday gift. Then I got paranoid that somehow I was going to be marked for inspection as I pass through the gates. What do they do to people who lie on that? It can't be jail time can it? I can't go to jail. I wouldn't make a very good bitch. I walked through the gate without any problem.



Now at home I have decided that I am going to try and change my style on the site. I am going to be a little more honest which is going to be a little more chaotic since I have no idea how to bring honesty into to what I say and feel because most of the time I only tell factual stuff. Actually that is a lie, I say what I want and edit out the good stuff for fear of who may be reading. I wish I could be 100% honest but that would lead to trouble. Not jail time or anything but I am sure major disappointments would be had.

because you commented

I envy the freshman at Berkley. They most likely have no clue what is about to happen to them, how they are going to expand and change for better or worse.



I on the other hand only have a lack-lustre 4 months to look ahead too. I try to be positive but it's difficult. How can you get excited about something you have done 5 times before. The only thing exciting is the change from movement A to movement B.



University for me has been like an 8 month track that has been on repeat. The first 4 months are my schooling at UW and the last 4 months are my work terms. The problem is that everytime the track is repeated it degrades in quality. Now I am on the last round so to speak and the track is missing all the excitment and lustre it once had. The only immediate solution is to turn up the volume.

In the last few days I have done many things, I've

• been to the East Bay and Berkley.


• listened into to the conversations of Freshman on the Berkley campus, watched them march around lost while I posed as a student


• been asked directions every single day, not because I look like I am from the area, but because no one really is


• been asked so many times if I am going to burning man that I am willing to say I am.


• see the same girl at each of the clubs that I have been too


• reached my saturation point for all things trance/house


• walked across the Golden Gate bridge


• been educated on many forms of narcotics


• missed ...


• realized travelling alone is not that much fun. It is better to share the experience with someone.


• been able to resist from killing my brother


• been reflective


• started reading a new book


• been checked out and rated by many men in the Castro Area


• tried to immerse myself in a culture and not do the touristy things. I don't want to see, I want to understand. Why is everything so different here? It's all the same but not really at all.


• suffered withdrawl from my daily reads but are no longer dependent on them


• encouraged to be"real" and not do what I think is right but to do what will make me happy because in the end the only person I can control is myself. But, how do you look past the faces that you disappoint along the way?

I had the dream where I was a spy again last night. I love that dream. Could you honestly ask for a better dream than that. You wake up with good thoughts and excitement for the whole 2 minutes you can remember the dream.

Rattling Bass

Tweety treble

Hit the saturation point

No more trouble

I'd choose that over that anyday!

The lesbians, they like to toy with me.



We went to a bar downtown that was rather busy considering it was only , and considering it was only 7 it had a 5 dollar cover. Inside it was like a big wharehouse and they were playing trance music with a new DJ every 45 minutes. Once I settled in and had some drinks and a smoke I was feeling much better but then they found me. This really hot lesbian and her hot girlfriend and they were all over eachother. I had no choice but to watch as they pawed over one another and kissed. The funny thing is, everytime I left and came back they would find me again. Maybe it was all for me.

Last night we went to the Metreon to go and see American Pie 2 and as soon as we walked in I was horrified to see the long ticket line and no ticket kiosks in site. Upon further investigation there were 2 kiosks in the corner but they weren't friendly at all. It yelled "THE TICKETS ARE PRINTING" and then spat them on the floor.



Then I remembered a stereotype that I was once heard (which I am sure is not true) that Americans like everything loud and obnoxious.



The movie was really funny and had a great trailer for Not Another Teen Movie that was funny but probably showed all the good parts in the trailer.

Another foot tour but I think this is going to be the last one. they leave me rather tired. Today's took me through all of the Golden Gate park which is really nice, but big. My goal was to see the ocean, which I did, but it took a lot longer than expected. It was fun to just sit there and be reflective, but you have to watch out or you'll get hit by a wave or a sand tornedo.

My feet are so tired right now. I just did one of many Brad guided walking tours of the area. Today's led me down to Market ST and to Piers 1 thru 15. Some observations for the day.

• San Francisco is not that clean, but they do try. Everywhere I went smelled like Mr Clean, so I guess the illusion of clean is just as good as being spotless


• Nothing in stores here is cheaper than in Canada. Probably because of the low Canadian dollar. When I was in the Virgin Mega-Store, CD's were more than CD's in Canada before the conversion.


• People in the States may be fatter which is helpful because I could find my pant size, but they aren't any taller. Why can't I be big and tall. Why is it either or?


• Children must accompany adults at all times


• The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is rather nice. It had some nice pieces that I enjoyed looking at and some that I didn't enjoy looking at. I almost vomitted looking at one. It was suppose to be "living art" I guess. The artist had ripped pieces of the canvas out and served them on plates. Not so bad but there were blood and guts in the gaps in the painting. It was a little disturbing.


• If you stop and stare a piece of art long enough eventually a crowd will form around it. At this point you can go off an laugh.


• There really is a Pablo Picasso-esque painting of Bart Simpson


• It really sucks when it is cloudy


• There is a Starbucks and/or a Wells Fargo ATM every 50 feet


• It costs a quarter to go to the bathroom on the street

According to google this site is "the easiest way to look at free porn pics with out giving them my name and email".



I am so proud.

This is the part of the trip where Brad becomes very very tired due to a combination of jet-lag and partying.



The flight to SF was pretty good. On the way over I think I was over come with a little bit of air rage. I was sandwiched in the middle seat and really had no space but thankful that the people beside me where small so I could spill over a little bit. The air rage set in a little later when the ass in front of me reclined after turning around to see if there was space to do so. It instantaneously infuriated me and I wanted to rip his hair plugs out. The only other humerous event was just after take-off the lady beside me was franticly looking for something in the seat and theran to the back of the plane. When she came back I offered my barf bag but she didn't want it. She was only looking for her glasses.



After landing in SF at 10 I went to my brothers place which I still think smells like the Crackhouse (Mmmm, baked mouse turd. my brother doesn't agree though) and we headed out for a club at 12 and were back by 2 but that was really 5 in the morning for me which was rather tiring. The club was playing house music and the lights were cool. It felt like we were floating. The funny thing was everyone on the dance floor was facing in only one direction. They were all facing the DJ which I am not used to but it makes sense. When you see live music you don't put your back to the band.



Today we went to Napa Valley for touristy wine tasting, hitting the Coppola winery which was nice but had more movie displays to look at than winery things.



P.S. I hate it when sunburns start to peel. it is messy.

Thanks for the birthday wishes.



I am off to San Francisco so expect sporadic updates at best.

Wow, I made it to my 23rd birthday and it's Friday night and what am I doing, a whole lot of nothing. It's okay I just got back from the cottage and tomorrow I fly out to SanFrancisco so I really should have some down time or I may explode. I need to be well rested for all the trouble I am sure to find myself in during the trip.



21 was sexy, 22 was the age of experience (I failed miserably at that, maybe I should repeat the year) and now 23 is unstoppable. It is the final year of University (which only applies to those of us in 5 year programs) so we are near the end. Basically our lives are going on and we better hurry up or we'll miss the boat. Aren't I too young to hear a biological clock?



I have no idea why 23 seems old. It seems like yesterday I was riding around the neighbourhood on my bike and now I am suppose to be acting like an aldult. It doesnt seem very different though. I still have no clue what I want to be when I grow up and I spend half my time playing.

Weather at the cottage today is totally crap-tacular. I have been forced to stay indoors to hide from the rain and nurse the sunburns and other assorted injuries I have incurred over the last 3 days. (Hence all the posts)

After watching Murder in Small Town X for the first time this week I had some crazy dreams. Which isn't really unusual for me.



This time I was in a house with about 10 other people and we were trying to solve a series of clues to win some prize which I am sure that I really wanted. After doing what everyone else was doing I ventured off on my own to some bathroom and found a clue that led me to the basement maze of the house. In the basement I met up with MacGyver who was running away from someone but was lost. I suggested building something out of a mouse-trap and a furnace filter but he had no idea what to do. Then the man came looking for him so we were ducking in and out of places but then an old lady showed us the way out and we took it.



Am I the only ones with crazy dreams or am I the only one that admits it?

In response to Tom's riddle: Switch. This very problem was the subject of one of my Artificial Intelligence lectures this past term. I could give you a simple explanation of why you should switch but then you wouldn't be in awe of my intelligence any more. Well maybe a little glimpse. Think of it this way. You have a third of a chance of winning with the original door, by switching you increase that to two thirds.



Did you ever wonder how much it would be worth you while to pay for the doorman to open a door is? Exactly one third of the prize in question.

I was excited to go to fray day 5 in Toronto but it seems to have disappeared. I guess the had a problem securing a venue.

Cottage life so far is great. I never realized how tired I must have been because I just fell alseep at 6 last night for a couple hours. This is the chance for my body to just shut down and it is doing a good job of it. On my morning kayak run my leg fell asleep so when I jumped out I almost fell in.



Goals for the week is to walk and talk with the animals. I made my first break through with the dragon-flies. They feel comfortable enought to land on me and damn, some of them are big. Today I will focus on squirrels and chipmunks.



I would try to unplug myself from the online world, but I am way too dependent. I think this may be an unhealthy relationship.

The great adventure begins!

Being in Port Dalhousie (dal-ew-sy) has put me in an excellent mood for my upcoming week at the cottage. I love the water, I think I may have been a fish in a past life.



We went to go celebrate my mother's birthday and as usual she spilt something on herself. This time it was only coffee so not a big deal but funny anyway. Afterwards my grandparents came down to visit and because they like to tell stories I asked about when my Mom was born. This was met with a great smile by my grandfather who said she had been a problem ever since she was born. The first thing she refused to do was breathe so they doctors took her by her feet and swung her around.



Can't you picture it, baby in one hand, beer in another and they spin the baby until it hurls and has no choice but to breathe. Are these the same doctors that shine flashlights on patients who later say they could see the end of the tunnel?

Getting my hair cut is like laying down on the psychiatrist's couch. My mom interegates me on just about anything she can think of. Today's topic was homosexuality. A touchy subject at best because my parents are totally against it and have choice words on the subject. I on the other hand could care less, I judge people by who they are. The problem is whenever someone brings up subjects such as that they are either looking for a fight or for you to say something specific.



My Mom wanted to here me say something and I am not sure if I came through for her. This did lead to a conversation on how my generation should be (is) more accepting because we are way exposed to a lot more diversity than generations before us.

My good friend turns 20 today. I don't know what I would do without him. He has brought so much joy to my life and has proven to be a valuable companion.

Something.

Last night my firends gave me a little birthday party since no one will be around for my birthday next Friday. I knew something was up because Rafi was a little too persistant that I come over to drink after our business final. Of Course I didn't put two and two together until half-way throught the final, which probably not what I should have been thinking about.



Quote of the night: "If there was so such thing as the bong olympics, you would win gold"

You know what I miss?



The way my floor shakes when I use my big speakers at home. My parents must be loving me right now. I think I like it because you can use another sense to the whole music experience. Add a visualizer and you are all set.

Today has been the fourth or fifth really hot day so I have been worshipping the air conditioners of the local establishments. Hopfully the weather will get a littler cooler for my upcoming vacation(s). First off I going to lake Muskoka for some deserved R'n'R and then off to San Francisco for 10 days to reconnect with my alter ego, that is the one I call my brother. It should be an interesting time and now I have the device to chronical it all.



The questions is, will I kill him? We have pretty much fought all our lives and 10 days will be the longest contact we have had since he started University about 8 years ago.

Not only am I a fan, I am soon to be a member.

I did it. I own it. I think I love it.

Another bout of midnight inferno last night, perhaps tha cause of my dreams. I am pretty sure it was caused by all the change I am about to under-go. I have to start packing for the 12th time or so in the last 4 years so I can move to another part of town.



Life never really settles when you are in co-op, you always move on to something new and different every 4 months. I guess it can take it's toll eventually, but it can be a fun adventure since you never look past the next 4 months in your life.

I dreamt that I was sent back to the 8th grade last night. All the teachers were still the same but all the students were now in Univisersity. I think my class was even the same, I still hated it. Right away I adapted my University habits for public school life. I started to skip class, not pay attention and pull answers out of my ass.



The only new thing in the school was a pool that was incredibly similar to a whale tank. All the people who skipped would go there and swim. My one friend did an excellent impression of a beached whale on the cafeteria tables that were in the pool.



Maybe you had to be there.

If you wanted to know..

• Friday night, was pretty uneventful, I crashed at a friends house as I was unable to walk home


• Saturday @ 2, we headed out to Carabana for what was to be a most excellent time. It was marred from the start. The express bus wasn't express at all but rather a portable sauna. The ride lasted 40 minutes and was so hot that some poor girl passed out. Things just never got better after that. After an hour we gave up and retreated to one our favourite restaurants to recouperate for the bar.


• Saturday @ 11, the bar was great, just the sort of thing that you need every once in a while. The music was okay but something else made the night awesome. Maybe the more women than men (which is rare in Waterloo), good air conditioning or plenty of opportunities contributed.


• Sunday @ 3am, a brief stop in the city hall fountain


• Sunday @ 3:30am, potential drug bust across the street that ended in whimpers as the neighbours swept the streets


• Sunday @ 3:35am, nacho fiasco


• Sunday @ 2pm, tubing down the lovely river in Elora Gorge. It was complete with a one hour wait to get tubes and a no show express bus. The river is great with spots to cliff dive, swim and ride the rapids.


• Sunday @ 5:30pm, I saved some poor kid that fell out of his tube. The kid was screaming and scared out his mind so I lost my tube and managed to scoop him out the rapids and place him on the bank. The kid was fine once he was out of the water. Before I left I asked him if he was okay, the only thing he could muster was a stout yes. It's funny how kids can be so proud, even thought you know they were scared.


• Sunday @ 8pm, going away BBQ. Our new friend is headed back to France. It's really weird how you go to a new country and then you make new friends and just when you are comfortable and enjoying yourself you have to go back. Life really is too short.

Wow. I have some cuts and bruises on me and I didn't make it home to my own bed; for sure signs that I had an excellent weekend.

You may now refer to me as Erotic Smurf according to the Smurf name generator courtesy of Lana. This is the best name I have ever gotten from a generator, usually I get dumb names like Stickleback.

When is it an addiction?



My friend was telling me all about her Bell ExpressVu set up and how they had just managed to score a magic decoder card. She was very excited about getting all the movie channels etc. since she is "living the dream" a.k.a being currently unemployed, she has lots of time to surf. As she got higher and higher in the channels she made a discovery, adult content.



Having never seen porn before she was naturally intrigued and watched for a while (plus porn has that i don't want to watch this but for some reason i am compelled to quality). The problem is now she may be addicted. The first symptom is that she switches between Martha Stewart and porn.

I stand corrected, the first civilian in space would be that millionare who paid his way up. The Da Vinci team will be the first to do it in a civilian made rocket. Which should be interesting because I think it would make a pretty explosure with all that raw power. (thanks for the reminder sandra)

Damn, there goes my chances at being the first civilian in space, it looks like Canada's Da Vinci team is going to beat me. What a cool job to have, I want be a self-taught rocket scientist. What a sec, I already am.

Happy Birthday, "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger is 50 years old. Here's Holden's 2 cents.



I never read the Catcher in the Rye until 3 years ago when I met this person and got to know her better. I discovered that she always carried a copy of the Salinger book with her and that it had this unbelievable impact on her. I read the book and was very impressesed. I took away a few things, but mainly that everyone is fake and a phony. Maybe that's scepticle of me but for some reason I inherently distrust people at first. My favourite quote came from the Catcher in the Rye. It goes something like this, "you just can't go anywhere these days without someone writing Fuck You".

This New App Sounds Fishy: This would have been a much better idea for my Artificial Intelligence project. Character recognition isn't as much fun as creating fish that attack each other.

Today's posts are brought to you by the letter K

K is for Ketamine stolen from vets.

Taken by club kids -- intended for pets.

Too much special K, you'll lose motor control --

You'll end up with Alice down Rabbit's K-Hole.

Grafitti is usually a bad thing, but when I am studying in the library I welcome it as a pleasant distraction. Like a horse trapped with blinders I spot hope, a glimmer of blue ink underneath the flourescent light cover. As I get closer I can see something that is more interesting than atmospheric physics. Finally, it becomes legible and it reads "if you are reading this you aren't studying, get back to work!".



Damn, busted again.

Today is Monday, Monday is an update day! (new Song: Fuel) (
new Short: Today)

How much are you worth? Currently I am worth exactly $2,193,280.00, which is sure to go up once I have finished my degree and start making some money.

Tracking Bloggers With Blogdex: Cool idea, hopefully it will link to cool places rather than the most popular blogs.

My friend won tickets to the Radiohead concert at the bar last night. It was really quite weird, we were the last ones to enter and just before the draw, I said "wouldn't it be funny if madame x won", and then she did. I have a gift.

I think I may have ADD. Not really, it's just that studying for finals is not very much fun so I keep slacking off. Finals just aren't the same without the "fear factor". Without that I just have no reason to study.

The weather is trying to mock me today. I am studying in the library because I have those pesky finals next week, which incidently I am not caring a whole lot about since I have passed all my classes already, when the sun decided to send some rays my way. Out of about the 100+ desks/carels, mine was the only one with sun on it. So, I decided to take it as a sign that I shouldn't be there and left.

There is a new breed of animal that is slowly creeping into urban city centres. They prey on the population to feed them and will do anything to get it. That's right, the stalking small animal has come. Everytime you are trying to enjoy a coffee or a meal in the park or out on a patio they're there. The klan consists of birds, chipmunks and squirrels and many more to come. They watch you eat with their cute little faces, but they only have one thing on their minds, your food.



The birds are kind of entertaining. During my coffee this morning 2 birds kept taking turns staring me down and swooping around waiting for me to give them some food or to leave so they can eat what was left over. The b irds are presistant, I'll give 'em that.

Has commercialization taken over the world? Every week for the last 3 weeks my Music prof keeps bringing up the Olympics and why he thinks that Canada lost the bid. He makes a valid point that sponsors rallied for China because they would get more out of their advertising dollar. The population of Canada is a drop in the hat compared to that of China, sponsors would be able to reach more people. The question is do companys like Swatch really have that much control?


Probably. Look what companies are already trying to do.Pepsi started a Generation (of individuals who are cool and drink pepsi) and Labatt wants us to free our time so we can go enjoy life (preferably with a nice cold bottle of labatt). Where do we draw the line?

Today's posts are brought to you by the letter A.

A is for Angel Dust sprinkled on smokes,

all that you need it a couple of tokes.

Tranquilize elephants or just get them high,

give them enough and they'll think they can fly.

The the term is quickly approaching its end an today is my last day of classes before I write 4 finals next week. To say that I would miss these classes when I am done the term is a blatant lie. (maybe my music class) However, once I am part of the work-force for the next 4 months I will yearn for the student lifestlye.



As a student you truly do have flex hours, you work when you want, sleep when you want, drink when you want and pretty much do anything you want. That's the real dream we all want to be living.

It's always better to send two messages to someone if they contain disjoint thoughts. If you don't, one of the thoughts or questions will go unnoticed.

Water balloon hijinks result in assault charge: Sometimes I think zero-tolerance has gone a little to far. On our last day of school "people" raided the entire school throwing water balloons and spraying down their "favourite" teachers with super soakers. I wonder what would have happened had they been caught, life imprisonment?

I think there should be some sort of punishment/award for people who fart in class. Right in the middle of a guest speaker lecture the guy 2 seats down from me lifts up his leg like he was a dog and let it rip. The entire class turned around and then tried to contain their giggles. Why is farting so funny in the first place?

I can still feel the smoke rising from the top of my head like I was in a cartoon and someone did something to really piss me off. Half of it is true, I'm not a cartoon but I am pissed off. I recieved my participation mark in my business class today and according to the high and mighty lecturer my participation is sub-average. Which it wasn't because I actually said things in class while others said not a single word and recieved the same mark.



I am over it now (at least i am pretending i am) but it made me think of the how the reward system works for participation. It's rather stupid because they would rather you said something stupid than nothing at all, and then further reward people who prat on about things they know nothing about and penalize those who make a concise remark but it's too short for them to acknowledge.



This is the reason some smart people don't do well in school settings but kick some major ass in the work force because they know what they are doing while the little brown nosers fumble around in the mail room and bitch to each other about how well they did in school.

You know that the movie you rented isn't going to be steller when the video rental guy mocks your choice.

Lowbrow is quite entertaining, sort of reminds me of Kvetch.

Did you ever have friends that were your friends but really they were just beyond your reach? No matter how long you have know them or how much dirt you have on them you never seem to penetrate that friendship bubble. You are stuck in this weird place right between friendship and aquantence. It's not a very fun place to be, you have more responsiblity with little reward.

I hate being woken up in the middle of the night. This time at 4 in the morning a group of people decided to have a conversation in front of our apartment building. I think it went on for a long time and the whole time I was thinking "shut up" but in not so nice terms. Then someone else yelled at them and they left.



After two weeks of this I have finally learned my lesson. I am not drinking enough on Saturday nights to make me pass out and not hear the world around me. I'll try to fix this next week.

Being woken up and asked to think is very difficult. Tracy wanted my help to get rid of a squirrel but I couldn't figure out what was happening. Who's there? What's a squirrel? You want me to what?

Yes, I am slacking off and not posting because i am/was drinking beer on the bomber patio.

Did you ever notice that in TV shows and movies they always make fun of guys named Brad. Whenever something happens to the main characters they always say things like, "it figure his name is Brad" or upon finding out his name "how perfect is that". The name Brad is never displayed in a good light. Once I heard someone say "i want to go to college and date football players named Brad" but positive things are rare.



In a campaign to bring the name Brad into a favourable light, I bring you blogs by guys named Brad.

• midnight inferno (that's me)


• The Bradlands


• 120 degrees

I didn't have much time to look so if you know of any others send them to me.

Oops. The broken link in the last post is fixed now.

After another great music class I wanted to listen to some of the music we discussed. There was a lot of talk about the Beatles and their many different styles. "Tomorrow Never Knows" [hear it 4mb] I found to be the most interesting since it sounds different from anything I associate the Beatles. This song has a definite Chemical Brothers feel to it.

What are your tipping pratices? Last night at the bar I was watching how much some of my friends tip. One person only tipped 50 cents on a pitcher. I on the other hand would have given a dollar fifty at a minimum.



My philosophy on tipping is to leave your mark straight off; over tip on the first drink to earn the waitress' gratitude. After that first tip you will never have to wait for a drink again. Isn't it better to pay a little more for the premium service rather than tip a quarter and get crappy service?

I just can't write multiple choice tests well. If I don't study I get an 80 and if I study I get an 80. The only reason I can think of is the additional information gets me a few more marks but I lose more debating out the best answer. When I don't study I guess a few right. In the end it doesn't matter except one way I do a lot less work.



Guess how I am going to study for my multiple choice finals.

Growing up in the church definetly has given me a few quirks. Like Julie pointed out I am so accustomed to some phrases that I am only surprised when I don't hear the entire phrase, so the "and with you" made me laugh. Other weird things are I know the words to too many hymns.



The most annoying thing about being brought up in the church is that all your friends that were not brought up in the church look to you like you are this authority on religion. For example, I am expected to know every verse in the bible, every story and all the relations such as who's son is who's etc...



On the other hand when I was a kid, church always gave me time to think because I never paid any attention (not that I do when I go home now). Instead I spent the time staring out the window and thinking.

Today's posts are brought to you by the letter I.

Inhalents are I, and they get you high

by huffing the stuff--here's a few you can try:

Paint and paint thinner, gasoline, glue--

Kids! Kill your brain cells, it's easy to do!

I am spending all my time this morning watching the apple key note speech. woo hoo an OS update that includes some pretty cool features

I finally got around to posting Help Yourself, a short that I wrote a month ago. Enjoy.

All the excitement of the new online registration has finally settled down. After a day of trying I was finally able to get my appointment and will be able to pre-register for Winter 2002. It was a hard choice but I finally settled on my 5 courses (Information Systems, CS & the Law, Intro Pysch, Issues in Canadian Criminal Law, and Human & Cultural Evolution).



You may think these seem like odd choices for a CS major but I figure I should try to end University on a high note. Why should I kill myself the last term, then I will be jaded towards school for the rest of my life. With this plan I may actually want/think further schooling is a good thing. It's all a mind game.

The difference between my idea of fun and parents is quite different. I'm going to visit my brother in SanFrancisco at the end of August. I would like it to involve cool places, things, bars and general amusement. My mother on the other hand thinks that we should go visit my grandparents friends somewhere out in California. Where is the fun in that for me?



What dumb things do your parents want you to do?

• try harder in school?


• don't drink or party?


• talk about them on your web site?

Yes, I may have unresolved issues and resentment towards my mother.

A new song, a new picture, a new day. You can even check out the video that my friend made called the Volunteers. I would only advise so if you have excess time and excess bandwidth and like to laugh at my and other peoples cheesey acting.

Todays (and the last few days) posts have been brought to you by the letter F.

F is for FenPhen if you think you're fat,

it'll work, so they say, but the problem is that

it causes heart trouble and holes in the brain,

but you already have those if you're truly vain!

Memo to all loud drunks:



Please, SHUT UP!



~Brad, the guy that you woke up over 5 times last night.