Author: Dan Dickinson

Hard cell

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For about five years now I’ve gone without a cell phone. I don’t miss having one; I can usually do what I need using my Blackberry (which doesn’t have voice enabled). Lately, though, I’ve been thinking I should get another.

So I spent some time poking about cell phone provider’s websites, and I’ve forgotten how freaking expensive they are. The newer phones are $300-400 unless I opt for a long-term contract, and only the oldest few are free, even if I sign for 3 years. Signing up subjects me to all kinds of charges…at least $25/month, plus a “system access fee” which is in the neighbourhood of $8-9/month. What the hell is a system access fee? How is it any different than the $25 I’d already be paying? It’s not, of course, but it’s a way for the phone companies to hide costs and increase the customer’s perceived value.

Now Magazine took a swing at mobile providers this past week, and Tom Purves pointed out last month how much our mobile data access costs. I’m just not sure I want to play along with this little scheme the carriers are running.

[tags]mobile phones, mobile data coverage, bell, rogers, fido[/tags]

Foiled

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At the last minute I had to cancel our plans to meet up with friends in Niagara On The Lake this weekend. This cold just isn’t going anywhere, and over the course of the day my voice has completely disappeared. I felt ridiculous leaving voicemails for people, sounding like a just-pubescent kid drawing his last breath.

I’ve never before taken a double-dose of neo-citran before going to sleep; I fear tonight it may be necessary.

.:.

Happy birthday, Star Wars. I was one year old when you were released, but I came to love you as I grew up. A little too much, maybe.

.:.

Speaking of my childhood obsessions, Chuck Klosterman writes about a Rush song that, 27 years later, shows how badly the mystique of radio has faded.

.:.

The Globe and Mail harrumphs all over the lolcat meme.

[tags]niagara on the lake, sick, star wars, chuck klosterman, rush, globe and mail, lolcat[/tags]

Just like Mel Lastman was Canada's mayor

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It’s warm today. Very warm. But it’s good; I think the sticky, humid weather is good for my cold. Feels like I’m in a sauna, kind of.

Another plus to being up this high, this close to the water: even on really warm days we get a cool breeze up here.

.:.

I left work just after 1:00 today. Got home, ate, caught up on a little work and just rested. I can’t bring myself to take sick days anymore — I’d have to pretty damn sick to not be able to look at a laptop — but today was a good rest for me. We’re going away for the weekend, so I don’t want to be snotty and hacky around my friends.

.:.

Apparently there’s a new poll out that says the Toronto Maple Leafs are who most would call “Canada’s Team”.

Overall, 24 per cent of the just over 1,000 people surveyed between May 17 and 20 named Toronto as Canada’s team, while 22 per cent picked the Habs and just 15 per cent chose the Senators.

This surprises me a little bit. Not because the Leafs got the most votes, but because they won by so little. Given the population of the GTA and the surrounding area, I would have expected the Leafs to have more support, but there’s Montreal right behind them. While that should be a little embarassing for Toronto, this is worse: what the poll doesn’t capture is that the 76% nationwide who didn’t vote for Toronto probably despise the Leafs, whereas — apart from in Toronto — the Canadiens have plenty of fans nationwide. If you were to do a net promoter score, I don’t think Toronto’d do so well.

[tags]toronto weather, humidity, leafs, canadiens, canada’s team[/tags]

Conundrum

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Do I continue to go to Hero Burger because their veggie burgers are so good? Or do I stop going forever because they’re so goddamn disorganized and incompetent?

I’m sick. All I want to do is go home and eat lunch and lie down. And they keep forgetting my order or giving my food to other people.

[tags]hero burger[/tags]

Who's ready to speak ill of the dead? :D

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I don’t understand how one human head can produce so much snot. Incroyable.

.:.

Link dump:

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We watched a documentary called The Bridge (imdb | rotten tomatoes) a few days ago. I’ve wanted to see it since I first saw the trailer last fall, and it was very good. Unsettling subject matter, obviously — the Golden Gate Bridge is the world’s #1 suicide site — but it was very well done and not sensational.

[tags]snot, bill maher, jerry falwell, maple sap, veronica mars, the bridge[/tags]

Touch me, I'm sick

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I feel like hell. I really hope this goes away soon; my choices right now are drug myself up on cold meds, or stay undrugged and constantly fight the urge to drill holes in my own skull.

.:.

The fireworks last night were pretty cool. From our vantage point we could see them going off all over the place, at least two dozen little spots of light popping off at any given time. There seemed to be a bunch coming from Riverdale Park or Withrow Park, but the main attraction was over Ashbridges Bay. We could see (and occasionally hear) them very clearly. Canada Day should be pretty fun to watch from up here.

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Farewell, 24. You were good once, in your first season. Now you suck. I will never watch you again, unless I hear that a) Jack dies and fights Nina in hell; b) Mandy returns.

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I find it freaky that every 17 years a gigantic swarm of insects emerges in the mideast US. Extremely freaky.

[tags]cold, flu, victoria day fireworks, ashbridges bay, 24, cicadas[/tags]

Clearly my timing is off

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Just in time for the warm weather coming this week, I have a cold. Scratchy throat, sinus headaches, lethargy…yay.

.:.

We finally watched Borat (imdb | rotten tomatoes) last night. Yeah, it was funny, but we obviously waited too long to see it since I’m pretty sure I already knew every funny bit in the film. Although, simply knowing that you’ll see Ken Davitian naked in full flight does not prepare you for the sight of it.

[tags]cold symptoms, borat, ken davitian[/tags]

We can, we're strong, we'll beat it

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New music I’ve been listening to:

  • a sunny day in glasgow . “5-15 train”
  • black taj . “woke up tired”
  • dandy warhols . “she sells sanctuary”
  • dt’s . “330 freedom”
  • fujiya & miyagi . “casettesingle”
  • jandek . “nancy sings”
  • junior boys . “in the morning (hot chip remix)”
  • katie melua . “i cried for you”
  • kissaway trail . “61”
  • maximo park . “our velocity”
  • motor . “bleep”
  • papercuts . “take the 227th exit”

The Kissaway Trail and DT’s songs are particularly good.

.:.

From the “disgusting for more than one reason” file, we have this from CNN: a woman in Texas says a jury shouldn’t blame her husband for microwaving their baby, they should blame the devil.

Holy shee-ite.

Anyway…

.:.

Wrote 2/3 of my paper today. Couldn’t bring myself to write the whole thing. Bad, bad MBA candidate…

[tags]kisaway trail, microwaved baby[/tags]

Going out with a very big bang

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Is it cruel to rename your animals after several years? Granted, they’re cats so it’s not as if they give a shit what we call them, but today Nellie floated the idea of naming them Ryan and Cyril instead of Sonny and Michael. Ryan was smart and scheming, whereas Cyril was mentally challenged, so it fits. And we could name the Roomba McManus or something.

If you didn’t watch Oz, you likely have no idea what I’m talking about.

.:.

Wow…while poking through IMDB there I noticed that John Cazale — Fredo — acted in only five feature films before his death: The Godfather, The Godfather II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter. All five were nominated for the best picture Oscar. That’s a pretty impressive body of work for the final six years of one’s life.

.:.

OK, back to my [yawn] corporate strategy paper.

[tags]ryan o’reilly, cyril o’reilly, sonny corleone, michael corleone, pet names, john cazale[/tags]