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I Have a Man Cold

This is how I’ve been feeling for the past couple of days. Today isn’t much better.

Posted in Humour, Personal.


Newfoundland: Birthplace of Some of My Favourite Things

Picture of the Newfoundland and Labrador Flag

Sometimes, I think I should have been born a Newfoundlander.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Alberta. I am very attached to my home province and I will always consider myself an Albertan, no matter where I may live in the future.

It’s just that some of my favourite things come from Newfoundland, and so I think that maybe I was a Newfoundlander in a previous life.

Among my favourite Newfoundland things are:

  • My girlfriend (who will probably object to being called a “thing”),
  • Newfoundland accents (seriously, I loves them, and not in that insulting “oh, listen to the funny Newfie” kind of way),
  • Republic of Doyle (perhaps my favourite TV show of 2010),
  • Pineapple Crush (so good!),
  • Screech (damn good rum, though I do prefer a nice bottle of Havana Club),
  • Mary Brown’s (kicks KFC’s ass),
  • A rather significant portion of the professional funny people in this country, and
  • Salt beef.

People make fun of Newfoundlanders a lot, but they’ve really given us a lot of awesome stuff. I think I might go to Sherbrooke Liquor Store tonight and pick me up some Quidi Vidi (Newfoundland beer) to drink while I watch Republic of Doyle.

I may not be a Newfoundlander, but I sure do like some of the stuff that province has produced.

Posted in Personal.


Fancy Clothes Are Classy and Cool

As I mentioned a while back, I’ve started a new job. This new job comes with a stricter dress code than my previous job (in that it actually has a dress code).

While I’ve always been a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy, my recent renewal of my wardrobe has been pretty exciting. Khakis, trousers, dress shirts, ties. All of these things are now a part of my everyday wardrobe. And I like that.

Frankly, I think I look damn good in clothes that are slightly more formal than what I’m used to wearing. I’m not talking about a full-on suit and tie here (though, I wear that on occasion, too). But a nice shirt, pants that aren’t jeans, and a blazer. And maybe a tie.

That shit looks good on me.

Posted in Uncategorized.


Salad Fingers is Creepy, but Awesome

Last week, I posted the music video for the song “Molten Light” by Chad VanGaalen. That prompted this comment, from Mike Gravel:

Don’t care for the song but the animation is killer. I would definitely swing this more to the unsettling side. Reminded me vaguely of Salad Fingers by David Firth.

Because Mike is a guy who usually has good taste in art (at least as far as music and poetry), I decided to go and type [salad fingers] into YouTube. I’m glad I did.

I’m not sure what to say about Salad Fingers, exactly, except that he is a creepy little character, but something about him (and the animation style and odd, ambient music in the background) draws me in.

I’ve only watched the first episode, so far, but I can’t wait to see what else David Firth has come up with for Salad Fingers.

Posted in Uncategorized.


Music Video: Chad VanGaalen – Molten Light

She’ll Find You and She’ll Kill You

I love this song. And the video is both enchanting and unsettling. I could watch this video on constant loop for hours and not get tired of it.

Posted in Uncategorized.


If You Rant Well, I Will Probably Like You

I don’t even care about half of the stuff that this guy is talking about in this video, but I still think it’s awesome because he rants in such a brilliant (though possibly highly edited) manner.

I also think it’s hilarious that the Today Show reported that Michael J Fox, that famous Canadian who raised money for cancer research by running across the country with only one leg, died. (Yes, I know that was Terry Fox; watch the video and you’ll understand what I’m saying.)

Posted in Humour.


Ground Turkey and Beer Chili Recipe

Earlier this week, I made turkey chili. This, in itself, is not particularly strange. Using ground turkey in place of ground beef is something I’ve been doing for a quite a while now.

What was a bit unusual is the fact that I decided to use beer as the base for this chili.

When I mentioned that I was having leftover turkey and beer chili for lunch on Twitter, MeghanDarker asked me for the recipe. Having just sort of thrown things together, I told her I’d try to jot down something resembling what I had done.

It’s not 100%, but this is as accurate a recipe I can remember, given that I was pretty much making it up as I went when I was actually cooking the chili.

Turkey and Pepper Beer Chili

Ingredients

1 package of ground turkey (approx. 1 kg)

1 can Old Style Pilsner

1 bottle of Route des épices (beer)

1 can diced tomatoes (unsalted, if possible)

1 can mixed beans (rinse off “bean juice” before using)

3 green onions

1 or 2 handfuls of fresh spinach

Chili powder

Cayenne pepper

Cooking Instructions

  1. In a large frying pan/skillet, brown the turkey. When the meat begins to brown, add diced green onions and 1 can of Pilsner. Add chili powder to taste and cover. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until meat is cooked through. Most of the beer should evaporate during this process.
  2. Transfer turkey and green onions into a large stock pot. Add tomatoes and beans. Cook on medium heat.
  3. While the main pot is warming up, fry spinach with olive oil in a frying pan (I used the same pan that the meat was cooked in, to capture some of that flavour in the spinach). Once spinach is wilted and a dark green colour, add it to the pot with the other ingredients.
  4. Stir everything up and slowly pour in 1 bottle of Route des épices (pepper beer).
  5. Add chili powder and cayenne pepper to taste.
  6. Stir everything together and cover pot.
  7. Reduce heat and let simmer for 20-30 minutes.
  8. Serve with cheddar cheese shredded on top.

If I were to make this dish again, I think I would probably add a bit of tomato sauce. This recipe wasn’t quite as tomato-y as I’d have liked. On the other hand, I’m not sure how much of the beer flavour would come through if I added tomato sauce.

Perhaps I’ll try it with added tomato sauce in the future and update this post if it turns out well.

Posted in Uncategorized.


The Absense of Sex

Picture of woman's lips against someone's skin

A World Without Sex

Quite some time ago, I had a conversation with a friend who mentioned something along the lines of: “I hate knowing that my friends have sex, because then every time see them I picture them having sex.”

I don’t remember the context of this conversation, exactly, but for some reason this quote popped into my head yesterday. I couldn’t wrap my head around it, because I think in a somewhat opposite manner to this friend.

While she, apparently, sees sex everywhere she looks, I do not. Unless they actually talk about their sex lives, I assume that my friends don’t have sex. Ever. Even if they’re in a romantic relationship.

It’s completely irrational, of course, but in my mind the only sex that happens outside of porn is the sex that I’m having. Everyone else on Earth is asexual.

It’s not that I’m a prude. And, obviously, I realize that lots of people are having sex even as I write this. But, the idea that my friends have sex is one that never crosses my mind. Even if they explicitly describe a rendezvous with a stranger they brought home from the bar, I don’t picture them having sex. It’s an interesting story, nothing more.

I wonder who else thinks like I do. And I wonder who else thinks like my friend does. Maybe we’re both oddities, and everyone else in the world is somewhere in the middle.

Posted in Personal.


Work-From-Home Productivity Tips

Picture of a home office

I don’t normally blog about work. Doing so can lead a whole host of problems that I just don’t want to have to deal with. However, I thought it was worth mentioning that, in just over a week, I will be starting a new job.

My new job will allow me to work from home at least some of the time.

With that in mind, I thought it might be a good idea to try and find some tips for maintaining productivity while working from home.

Here are a few of the tips that I found, as well as some notes about how I might be able to make them work in my own situation:

  1. Define a workspace: The first tip that just about everyone recommends is that you need to create a workspace that is separate from the rest of your home. When you’re in this space, you’re in work mode. When you live in a small, one-bedroom apartment like I do this can be difficult. But, just as it is when I’m working on freelance projects, my workspace will be my computer desk. I may also create a second user account on my laptop to be used for work purposes, to strengthen the divide between work space and personal space.
  2. Take regularly scheduled breaks: Another tip that turned up fairly often in my reading is the importance of taking regularly scheduled breaks. Because an at-home worker doesn’t have his day broken up by the occasional socialization that tends to happen in an office environment, it’s easy to get burnt out on the project at hand. By taking regular breaks your mind gets a quick rest, which helps to prevent the frustration and burnout that can be caused by sitting at your desk all day. My own ideas for acting on this are to try and take a 15 minute coffee break in the morning and again in the afternoon, and to actually close the laptop and move away from my workspace for lunch (even if that just means walking to the kitchen table).
  3. Plan your day: Making a to-do list for the day is a big tip given to those who plan to work from home. Because there is more potential for distraction at home than in an office environment, planning your day and making sure that you finish all of the items on your to-do list will help to keep you on track. I already do this in my current job, so this will be an easy tip for me to follow.
  4. Get out of the house: Because you work and live in the same place, you’ll sometimes need a change of scenery in order to get your brain firing on all cylinders. Identify places where you can get work done without distractions when you need to get out of the house. Coffee shops and libraries are good choices, especially if they provide free Wi-Fi. In my case, I’ll also have access to an office. If I’m finding that I need a change of scenery—or if I simply find that I’m getting too distracted at home on any given day—I can head into the office and get my work done there.

Those are just a few of the tips that I plan to employ in order to be productive on days when I’m working from home. Others include making sure that my desk (and my entire apartment, really) is kept free of clutter and making a point of getting out of the house at least once a day, whether that’s at lunchtime or at the end of the workday, so that I don’t go crazy from cabin fever.

And now, some things I’d love for you to share in the comments:

  • Do you work from home?
  • Have you ever worked from home in the past? If so, why did you give it up?
  • Do you have any productivity tips that I didn’t cover in my post?

Note: The picture at the top of the post is not a picture of my setup. I snagged it from Flickr user Paladin27.

Posted in Personal.


Alien Apocalypse Drinking Game

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to my Amazon.ca affiliate account. If you purchase anything after following these links, I’ll get a cut of the profit.

On the weekend, Sara and I watched a movie that I got for Christmas. This movie, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, was Alien Apocalypse.

It was one of the worst movies I have ever seen.

Now, I kind of expected the movie to be bad. After all, the star of the movie—Bruce Campbell—is the king of the B-movie. But Alien Apocalypse goes beyond B-movie cheesiness into the realm of the just plain bad.

For one thing, the acting is terrible. I’d say that pretty much the entire cast, with the exception of about 2 or 3 actors, was made up of people who have never acted before.

In addition to bad acting, there are a multitude of ridiculous visual effects. The worst of these is probably the fact that many of the extras (and even some relatively significant characters) were wearing obviously fake beards; they were of no greater quality than those you’d find at a costume store near Halloween.

The aliens looked ridiculous, and the action scenes seemed to consist of an endless loop of the same lumber pile exploding every few minutes.

Cover art from Alien Apocalypse

I could spend hours talking about how ridiculous the plot is. Instead, I’ll just sum it up in brief:

  • Bruce Campbell is part of a NASA team sent into space 40 years ago to set up a deep-space probe (this is referred to as “the Probe Mission;” even their uniforms simply say “Probe Mission” on them). They have been in cryogenic status the entire time (minus a few minutes spent actually launching the probe, one assumes).
  • Bruce and his team return to Earth to find themselves in the middle of a barren landscape. They soon find that this is where Portland, Oregon used to be.
  • The team is captured by “bounty hunters” and taken to a lumber mill where they are to be used as slave labour.
  • The bounty hunters decide that their masters will reward them greatly for capturing the spacemen, and take them to their leaders.
  • It is revealed that aliens have conquered the Earth. They like to eat humans, and decide to feast on one of Bruce’s teammates. The black guy always dies first.
  • The team is put into a dungeon where a fellow prisoner tells them what has happened while they were in space: aliens came and took over. They eat humans and wood. They’re shipping the lumber from the mill back to their home planet and making a lot of space-money in the process. The humans are slaves, but some believe that the President of the USA lives in the mountains nearby, gathering an army of free slaves.
  • Bruce and his female teammate (and lover) escape, along with one of the slaves.
  • They find a hot chick. Her entire purpose is to look hot.
  • They find a village of free slaves and go in search of the President.
  • The President lives! (But he’s a bitch and refuses to fight; he’s been sitting around painting for the past 20 years, claims that he’s given it all he’s got.)
  • Bruce Campbell and crew go back to the village and make their own army. They attack the aliens who, despite having vastly superior technology, are absolutely inept fighters and don’t even attempt to fight back as they’re slaughtered.
  • An alien armoured personnel carrier (APC) shows up and shoots a bunch of missiles. The same woodpile explodes about 20 times. The rebellion is quelled.
  • The alien leader lines up the humans and says that if the human leader doesn’t reveal himself, he will kill them all.
  • I’m Spartacus!
  • The President, who decided to stop being a bitch, shows  up with a second wave of fighters and they kill the aliens again. The APC retreats only to return moments later with a bunch more aliens. This group of aliens actually knows how to fight, and a bunch more humans are killed until, out of nowhere, two of them have Molotov cocktails, which they use to destroy the alien APC. Bruce cuts up the remaining aliens with a sword that he mysteriously found at some point off-screen.
  • Bruce tells the President that they’re going to attack the next mill tomorrow and that they won’t stop until all humans are free. The end.

Now, there is a lot more detail I could get into. Most of it is awful.

But…

I think that Alien Apocalypse would make a great drinking game. Seriously. You should rent or buy this movie solely for the purpose of turning it into a drinking game. I haven’t figured out all of the rules yet, but here are a few:

  • Every time a handshake is denied, take a shot.
  • Every time “hot chick” furrows her brow, take a shot.
  • Every time people chant, “The President lives,” take a shot.
  • Every time the aliens eat someone’s head, take a shot.
  • Every time you see the same woodpile explode, take a shot.

By following even just these 5 rules, you’ll probably die of alcohol poisoning, but I’ve got a few more:

  • Every time you spot a fake beard, take a shot.
  • Every time someone says, “What’s a doctor?” or some variation thereof, take a shot.
  • Every time someone mentions “the Probe Mission,” take a shot
  • Every time you find yourself thinking, “How can giant, termite-like aliens, who probably don’t have vocal chords, speak English?” take two shots, because you’re clearly over-thinking this ridiculous movie.

9 rules. I’ve come up with 9 rules already, having only seen the movie once. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, I want to line up some shot glasses and try this drinking game.

Sara suggested that, if we were to play, we’d have to put all of the rules into a hat and have each person draw 2 or 3. If we followed all of the rules, we’d all die of alcohol poisoning before the movie was over.

But there is it, the Alien Apocalypse drinking game. Please play responsibly. (And, if you’ve seen the movie, and can think of any rules that I haven’t included, please leave them in the comments.)

Posted in Humour.