Category: life

Topics concerning that thing known as ‘real life’ and not virtual worlds.

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Now where did I put that thing?

You know miniaturization has reached a whole new level when it’s possible to accidentally swallow* an entire library of photos, videos, and music.

Sony 1GB Memory Stick

Sony offers a 1 gigabyte (gigabyte!) memory card.

Does anyone remember using 128KB diskettes? I do.

[ * The author of this blog does not recommend taking this product internally. This was only an example intended to demonstrate the compact nature of the Sony Memory Stick. Contact a physician immediately if swallowed. Be prepared for derisive laughter at your expense.]

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Back-to-work checklist

As any cubicle-dweller knows, the first thing you do when you return from a vacation is to run through the checklist:

  • Delete all phone messages. If it’s important they’ll talk to you in person.
  • Check how many unread e-mails you have.
  • Delete unread e-mails.
  • Check for mould on the bottom of your coffee mug.

  • Wash mug and get caffeinated.
  • Check for mould on the lunch that you left in the fridge before you left. If there’s mould, put someone else’s initials on it; otherwise, have breakfast.
  • Check the contents of your drawers — er — desk drawers. Some items may have wandered off.
  • Catch up on important events around the water cooler. If the water cooler is in an inconvenient spot, stand around a different object, like the photocopier or the coffee machine.
  • Make sure the penguins are arranged nicely. Sometimes coworkers may play with your things when you’re gone. You may not appreciate their artistic composition.

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Strad stolen for 45 minutes

Here’s an interesting bit of news. In the parkade where I park my car every day (“…what else does one do in a car park?“), something completely unexpected happened. Someone broke into violinist Esther Boisvert’s car.

Something like this could never be forseen. No one could have noticed that on many mornings there are little piles of broken auto glass next to several stalls. The gigantic signs posted by Vancouver Police that warn about theft are, of course, to be generally ignored too. And the shifty-looking guys carrying baseball bats are probably just showing up to play a game of ball with their friends. So Esther can be forgiven for leaving a $600,000 Stradivarius in the trunk of her car.

Fortunately, within 45 minutes the thief who stole it tried to pawn the Strad without ID… next to a police officer, who was in the shop conducting an audit.

Article on CBC.ca: Stradivarius recovered before reported stolen

Article on Canada.com: Thief fiddled around too long in the wrong pawnshop

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Sea monster of Howe Sound sighted near Vancouver!!!!

I could hardly believe my eyes! Right there in the water, next to a small, rocky island, was the clear shape of a sea monster’s back and head!! In this never-before-published photo, which I took myself at Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver, you can clearly see the beast just offshore!!!



Sea monster photographed in the narrows between Bowen Island and Point Atkinson, West Vancouver.

At last! There is solid evidence that mythical monsters like the Loch Ness Monster and Ogopogo do exist!!!!



This “digitally-enhanced” image clearly shows the back and head!!!!!

This should end the debate over their existence once and for all!!!!!! The proof is indisputable!!!!!!! I think I need to stop drinking so much coffee in the morning!!!!!!!! I’m becoming agitated and tend to shout for no apparent reason!!!!!!!!! I’m going to go have a nap now!!!!!!!!!!!

(!!)