Category: Food / drink

If you're depressed and have ADD and you know it, download these (and clap your hands)

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

If you’re in need of a song that’s less than two minutes in length and guaranteed to put you in a good mood, here it is: “Quito” by The Mountain Goats.

Ah shit, I’m feeling generous. Here’s another: “Half-Empty Halls” by The Evaporators.

You’re welcome.

.:.

Nellie’s away for the night, and part of tomorrow. I lazed around for a bit, did some errands, went to the Nike store (as I was paying I realized Jason Spezza was standing next to me, buying a stack of stuff as tall as my wife), went for a run, ordered some pizza, watched JFK (just ’cause), cleaned up and am now listening to music at a volume that seems to frighten the cats.

.:.

I needed a drink last night after work, so we met up with CBGB and a friend at The Auld Spot. The veggie burger was extra tasty, the beer was cold, the waitress was hot and the conversation was lively. It was just what I needed to ease into the weekend.

.:.

As of today I am 5/7 of the way through my MBA.

Aweso.

.:.

Two cool bits of news courtesy of the two best Toronto-centric blogs: Torontoist points to the new and improved driving directions on Google Maps (which is very helpful if you’ve ever tried plotting a scenic route) as well as a neat little mashup called Taxiwiz that predicts your Toronto cab fare. BlogTO, on the other hand, discusses the recent decision that permits street vendors to sell more than hot dogs.

.:.

Finally, I leave you with this hilarious little comic my friend Dino sent me.

Vegetarian Zombies

[tags]mountain goats, evaporators, nike store, jason spezza, auld spot, fun with fractions, torontoist, blogto, taxiwiz, google maps, vegetarian zombies[/tags]

Happy Canada Day!

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

What a nice weekend so far. Yesterday Nellie and I slept in a bit, then got up and went back to our old neighbourhood to have some breakfast at Eggstasy and buy some new a/v-related furniture (stands for my side & rear channel speakers, and a new TV/component stand) at Bay Bloor. It was a beautiful day, and one of the first we’ve had in a long time to just spend at our leisure. We ran a few more errands, chilled at home for a bit and went to Fieramosca for dinner with Nellie’s mom and her boyfriend. When we got home the full moon and the wind created an amazing effect on the lake, so we sat outside (despite the cold wind) before heading to bed.

Slept in once again this morning before finding some brunch at the Irish Embassy — I was craving fish and chips, of all things — and saying goodbye to Nellie’s mom. Since then we’ve been trying to muster the energy to finish putting together the TV stand and set it all up, but have been unsuccessful so far.

.:.

According to Gothamist, the Copacabana is closing. This truly is the end of an era in Manhatt…wait a second. The fucking Copacabana is still open?

[tags]canada day, eggstasy, bay bloor radio, irish embassy, toronto, copacabana[/tags]

The best defense against ribs

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Normally after I write an exam I’d just come home and crash, but today I had things to do. I dropped my stuff and went up to the office; I wanted to get moved into my desk so I could hit the ground running Tuesday morning. I shared a brownie with T-Bone, caught up on some email, waited for Nellie so I could show her my new floor and then headed home. On the way I bumped into two of my classmates on Bloor; they’re hanging around the city for the weekend.  Now I’m home, catching up on a bunch of stuff, waiting for Nellie and her mom (who’s visiting) to make pizza. Tomorrow, when I have more energy we’ll visit the Distillery District.

.:.

If I lived in London today, I’d buy one of these t-shirts.

.:.

Thank goodness the Toronto Ribfest has moved out to Centennial Park (wherever the hell that is). I don’t think I could bear to have it just around the corner on Front Street this year.

[tags]keep calm and carry on, london bomb, toronto ribfest[/tags]

41.552%

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Basically, I could have slept through that entire morning and not really missed anything. Actually, I kind of ended up giving a presentation in a half-assed way, and that was definitely worth skipping.

Lunch was a vegetarian’s nightmare so we went to Subway. I stocked up on some diet pepsi while I was there. Just hooking up the I.V. as I type this…

[tags]mba, subway, diet pepsi[/tags]

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Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Lunch today: potatoes, Mexican corn and trout. The potatoes were edible, the rest less so.

.:.

The alarm clock in my room is enormous. It looks kind of like the machine that Jeff Goldblum builds in The Fly. Or the monolith in 2001. It also has more controls than an F-16 cockpit. On the plus side, I can plug my Zen into it and the sound isn’t too bad.

[tags]bad food, alarm clocks[/tags]

Winner of the first annual Least Absurd contest: the independents

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I finally visited the bakery downstairs (called “Porh Pawh”…anyone want to take a stab at what the hell that means?) since I was walking by it around 7:45. I got an almond croissant, still piping hot…it was really good. Dammit. Fresh, tasty croissants downstairs — literally, I don’t even have to outside — is not what I need.

.:.

Is anyone else having problems with Sympatico? Or is it just me? My connection has been le suck since Saturday.

.:.

I am stunned. I knew it was bad down there, but I didn’t know it was this bad.

I remember being amused when three of the Republicans running for the party candidacy admitted, during a debate, that they did not believe in evolution. I thought, “That’s it. Those guys are toast.” Little did I know that they’d probably just read the advanced polling and were giving their constituents what they wanted to hear. That’s horrifying in and of itself, but the fact that 68% of the party who voted in the president doesn’t believe in evolution is just…staggering. I’m flummoxed, really.

Full story here.

[tags]porh pawh, sympatico problems, evolution, republicans, democrats, gallup[/tags]

Experts agree: The Strokes suck

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Our bbq has gas. Not flatulence gas, natural gas. Not natural flatulent gas, just natural gas. We can now cook food. In fact, Nellie is outside doing so now whilst I try to recover from the day that was.

.:.

Four interesting things that RSS’d their way to me today:

  1. There will be a Voltron movie. When it is released I shall re-live my childhood.
  2. Voting for the Golden Tap awards is now open. The awards honor the best microbreweries (and their beers) in the GTA, and in Ontario. My picks are as follows:
    • Best microbrewery in the GTA (Granite Brewery)
    • Best beer brewed in the GTA (Granite Brewery Dry Hop Special Bitter)
    • Best microbrewery in Ontario (Neustadt)
    • Best beer brewed in Ontario, outside the GTA (Neustadt 10W30)
    • Best pub in the GTA, in terms of draught selection (Bar Volo)
    • Best pub in the GTA, in terms of bottle selection (Smokeless Joe’s)
    • Best pub in Ontario, outside of the GTA (Manx, in Ottawa, though I should admit that it’s the only one I’ve been to)
    • Best brewpub or tied house in Ontario (Granite Brewery)
  3. Il Fornello, a Toronto restaurant, will be adding an Ontario-only menu.
  4. There are a lot of “classic” albums that I just can’t stand. A few of them are mentioned in this Guardian article, and some folks agree with me. In fact, the only ones I don’t agree with are the Arcade Fire (which seems out of place from the rest, and I think it’s just an easy and controversial target) and to some degree Nirvana and Pink Floyd. The rest I don’t care for at all.

[tags]natural gas bbq, voltron, golden tap awards, ontario microbrew, granite brewery, neustadt, il fornello, arcade fire, nirvana, pink floyd[/tags]

We'll keep the spider that bites the lady that cleans the couch that swallowed the fly

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Three things about the condo:

  1. We have a new couch. It’s big and squishy.
  2. We have a giant spider (seen here) living on our balcony. I’m not particularly fond of spiders, but he’s eating the swarm of insects that seems to frequent the area, so he can stay. Click on the picture if you want to see a higher-res version.
  3. Cleaning lady: best invention ever.

.:.

CBGB came over last night while I was at work and taught Nellie how to make GB’s excellent veggie burgers. I got home in time to enjoy the beautiful weather on the balcony with them. We actually spent the whole night out there, ate some pizza from Amato, and even saw some unexpected fireworks. It was a nice end to a long week.

.:.

Violent protests in Halifax? Ontario supporting public transit? Yesterday was topsy-turvy day, apparently…

[tags]condo furniture, spider, cleaning lady, amato pizza, fireworks, halifax protests, ontario public transit[/tags]