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I don’t have a large sweet tooth, but there are various candies that I am partial to:

• Peps
• Nerds
• Linda’s Lollies
• Starburst
• Gobstoppers
• Skittles
• Smarties
• Caramilk
• Aero (mint or milk chocolate)

…and I believe that’s it… or at least, as far as I’m willing to admit as this list was larger than I thought it would be.

Anyway, while at Costco on Friday with Mike F., I was looking for more Premier Nutrition Protein bars, as I was tired of always searching for them at the Hasty Market. Turns out, they didn’t have any, but I got a good deal on light Babybels; 22 for $9.79. Not bad, considering that at Dominion they’re 10 for $9.99.

On our way to the cashiers, we passed by some candies, and I initially didn’t think anything about them, but then I spied one of my weaknesses: a box of Peps. 18 for $11.79. Normally, they’re $2.50 each at the convenience store I go to, so I was thinking “Hey, that’s a deal!”. For his part, Mike did try and tell me to walk away and just leave them… but I didn’t listen. I even got scolded by Molly, and rightly so, as they’re NOT good for the diet… but they taste good!

In the end, yesterday I ate four of them, and lo and behold, I’m up to 184 pounds again. Fak. If they stay in my fridge, they WILL BE EATEN, so I have to get rid of them. Me thinks I’ll bring them to work, or hand them out… test how many people actually listen to the rule of “Never accept candy from a stranger”.

…what a disappointment, in my opinion.

Last night, Molly and I met up with Sparky, Seth, Perry and Alison at the Black Bull for some drinks and some eats, prior to making our way down to see “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull“. I didn’t have high hopes for this movie, partly based on what I’ve heard, but mostly due to the fact that a lot of the times when directors and movie companies try to revive a previous franchise, they also try to “modernise” it, in an attempt to appeal to today’s generation. More often than not, the result is a poor representation of the original franchise.

That is exactly what happened with the new Indy.

Ignoring the use of computer graphics and chomekey for a bunch of the scenes, the story just didn’t have the same feel as the previous Indiana Jones movies. Personally, I rank them in this order:

• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
• The TV commercials that played prior to the movie
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The Last Crusade is by far my favourite and I thought it was an amazing story that dealt with religious overtones, and at the same time had a underlying feeling of a battle between good and evil. There was a sense of wonder, anticipation, excitement, and I really felt like I was there with Indy, and couldn’t wait to see how he would get out of the situations he found himself in. The other two movies were good in their own regard, but they didn’t captivate me in the way that the Last Crusade did.

But this new one, 19 years after the Last Crusade, seems to have lost what the previous movies had. The story had giant holes in it, it was easy to guess what would happen next, the enemies seemed over the top, and the movie just didn’t seem to try and test the intelligence of those who watched it. Seems that these days, people expect a movie to throw everything at you, explain everything, so you just sit there, turning your brain off, taking it all in. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull just didn’t seem to engage the mind, mostly because it was so over the top.

I’m glad that I bought the three original movies on DVD, as I will watch them over and over again, without ever getting bored. This new Indiana Jones movie, however, is one that I have viewed once, and don’t plan to subject myself to a second time. Basically, it’s another case of George Lucasism: releasing more movies in a franchise that should have been left where it ended in the 80s.

While playing GTA IV last night, I came across an armoured truck. I recalled that there was something special you could do with them to get lots of cash, so I decided to look it up on the ‘net to see what you needed to do. Turns out, all you have to do is blow the thing up, and cash is littered around the burning remains of the vehicle. Good to know.

However, before I found that helpful little tidbit, I came across this on Yahoo Answers:

For those who don’t know, Yahoo Answers is a place where someone can post a question, and those who frequent the site can collaboratively provide a number of answers to said question. This works… in theory. Obviously, the above didn’t help the dude asking the question (or me, for that matter), but it provided a good laugh.

This morning, while on my way to work, the bus was sitting at King and Dufferin for a bit, and I considered getting off the bus and heading over to the Hasty Market to see if they had the Premier Nutrition Protein bars I love. The light was taking a bit to change, so I opted to go for it.

Attempting to get off at the rear doors, I found them to be locked, so I walked towards the front of the bus. It was at this time that some dude decided to pick up all his hockey gear, and shuffle forward, so I had to skirt around him, and got to the driver before the light changed. I had my headphones on, and didn’t hear what he said initially, so I took them off and asked if I could get off the bus.

He looked up at me, and said “Waited long enough!”, and opened the doors. As I started off the bus, I then replied “I usually do with the TTC.”, which may or may not have been fair to say to him, but he was being an asshole, and I have issues with the TTC overall. For example, before I got onto his bus.

Standing at the Dufferin station bus stop, it is a common thing to see two or more buses arrive at the same time. I don’t know if it is due to traffic congestion as they claim, or if the bus drivers are just lazy and unorganised as some others claim, but it is somewhat irritating, as it usually leads to longer wait times. This morning, two buses showed up, but the driver of the first bus decided to stop in front of the station doors rather than down at the indicated bus stop where we were all waiting. The second bus stopped behind the first bus. So, all of us were standing at the designated spot, yet watched as people at the end of the line suddenly became the people at the front of the line. Bullshit. I then decided to walk down in front of the first bus so it couldn’t go anywhere, and along the side towards Dufferin St. so the second bus couldn’t go anywhere either, while at the same time avoiding the HUGE crowd gathering in an attempt to get on the first bus. Seems that others took my cue and did the same, as both buses couldn’t leave for a bit. In this instance, good.

I can understand that being a bus driver is probably not the best career in the world, but it is a job, with the TTC being one of the better paying transit organisations, as far as I’ve been hearing. The citizens of Toronto put up with a lot of their shit when they decide to go on strike, which has happened a number of times in recent years, so it leads me to wonder where their attitude is coming from. If you don’t like driving a bus for a living (because, let’s face it, who as a kid dreams of being a bus driver), then get a different job. Sure, there will be the odd jackass who will blame a bus driver for their travel woes, but I don’t blame the driver specifically, I blame the management of the TTC who are directing them to suddenly go out of service, or haven’t figured out yet how to properly manage a transit system as large as the one we need in Toronto. Still, just because a TTC employee has to deal with the odd jackass doesn’t mean that they have the right to snap at every other transit rider.

I don’t need attitude from a bus driver just for wanting to get off the bus while the light is still in our favour. I wasn’t holding anyone up, most certainly not like how the TTC holds up people each and every day.

It’s been a topic of Toronto for years: Should the Gardiner come down or not?

Personally, I think that the Gardiner is not only a landmark of Toronto, but it is also extremely valuable to Toronto as a means of transportation. There are some that say that it is ugly, or a barrier from the waterfront. Well, it’s a HIGHWAY. It’s not meant to look pretty, it’s meant to be practical and functional. It is also NOT a barrier to the waterfront; the actual barrier to Toronto’s waterfront is what my Father calls the “Berlin Wall of Condos”.

The Gardiner handles TONS of traffic each and every day, and that is not including Lake Shore Boulevard which runs below it for at least 2/3rds of it’s length. To bring down such an artery of traffic into Toronto only cause the city to suffer a mild heart attack, in terms of this analogy. Traffic would be snarled up all the way back West to where the QEW and the 427 meet up. The DVP would become what previously was just a nickname during rush hour: The Don Valley Parking Lot. All the roads that took the traffic from the exits prior to reaching the Gardiner would be flooded, and the lines to get off at those exits would stretch for at least a kilometer. Essentially, traffic within Toronto, which is already congested as it is, would become worse, and road rage would increase. All because David Miller has been brainwashed by the condo development companies into thinking that bringing down the Gardiner is the best way to develop more of the waterfront.

But, with all this said, something has to be done about the traffic situation on the Gardiner. On it’s busiest day, the Gardiner is usually at a standstill. It can’t be expanded, as all those condos now line to each side. Putting the Gardiner underground is the next best option, but in our politicians’ minds, that would require bringing the Gardiner down before anything could be done. Far be it for them to ever consider digging a new tunnel UNDER the Gardiner, which would make the most sense (if they can dig under the English Channel, I’m betting that digging under the Gardiner would be a tad easier). They focus on the costs of such a project, which is well beyond what they’re willing to commit to; it’s much easier, and cheaper, to piss everyone off by bringing down a highway, than to tunnel under it, and slowly transition between the two. Wake up guys: Sometimes, the cheapest alternative isn’t necessarily the best one. I’d be willing to pay more taxes for such a project.

Anyway, enough ranting.

Owen let me know that I apparently sent a letter to the Toronto Star with regards to this very issue. I must say, I sound quite articulate:

The wisdom of removing a section of the Gardiner Expressway must be evaluated by its concrete benefits and drawbacks. The abstract claim of “removing a barrier” ignores the roughly 10 lanes of pedestrian-level traffic that a grand boulevard would create.

We must ask ourselves: How is the Gardiner a barrier and how does removing it remove that barrier? A close examination will reveal that traffic and multi-stage crossings on Lake Shore Blvd. are the true barriers to waterfront access.

Evan Roberts, Toronto

Not bad, eh?

Thing is, while I told Owen that, yes, I submitted that letter (hey, I was bring praised about my vocabulary!), I must confess: It wasn’t me. Looks like there is another “Evan Roberts” residing in Toronto who seems to be on top of current events as well, yet appears to have been educated at a better school than I. I’d like to think that I can be as eloquent as that other Evan Roberts, but alas, my blog speaks for itself.

However, I’m sure that this other Evan Roberts and I have the same stance when it comes to the Gardiner; bringing it down is not the most viable option when it comes to dealing with this issue.

Today, I’m bringing my new Macbook, Prometheus, into the Apple Store to be repaired. Hopefully he’ll be up and about in no time, but this isn’t the first time I brought him in.

When I first got Prometheus, the space bar was not seated properly. Every time I was typing, it would seem that there was a dead zone where pressing the space bar would either register or not. As well, the feel of the space bar being pressed was enough to throw me off. If you’re reading this blog, you have obviously used a keyboard at some point, so I would assume you know what I’m talking about when I say it feels weird when a key doesn’t press down correctly. If you don’t… well… you don’t type as much as I do.

During my last visit to the Apple Store, they replaced the entire keyboard chassis (thanks Andy!), which fixed the space bar issue, but unfortunately introduced a new issue with the mousepad button; it felt weird when pressing down on it on the left side as it didn’t “click”. I took Prometheus in again to be looked at, and the Mac Genius I dealt with was initially skeptical that it was an issue, but she took it into the back room for a second opinion, and they’ll be replacing the part. I would have been somewhat irritated if this wasn’t going to be repaired on my less-than-two-week-old Macbook, but in the end they said it would, so all the rumours I heard about the Apple Store at the Eaton Centre having poor customer service are completely unfounded, in my opinion. Personally, I have had nothing but great service from them every time I’ve gone there, so those who have complained about the Apple Store’s customer service must be acting like jerks to them or something.

Anyway, since taking Prometheus in the second time, the mousepad button has become a bit more stiff, and it also squeaks sometimes when pressing it. Oh, and the left side still doesn’t “click”. Either way, I’m looking to getting this all fixed!

I’m not sure if this repair will take a few days, or even a few minutes, but I’m eager to get Prometheus back as soon as possible!

So, while playing Ultimate Frisbee yesterday evening, not only did I fall twice due to my useless cleats, but I ended up twisting my left ankle pretty badly, and watched the rest of the game on the sidelines. Naturally, that was the last straw for those clown shoes (they’re too big for me anyway), so I sentenced them to eternal suffering in a garbage dump somewhere… most likely Michigan, as I believe that is still where Toronto ships it’s garbage.

Anyway, it hurt to walk upon, but I didn’t think that it was that bad of a sprain. However, when I tried getting to sleep, my ankle would just NOT stop throbbing. It just seemed that no matter which way I lay in bed, it would just hurt. All in all, I think I got about two hours of sleep. I am a frikkin’ zombie today.

This morning, I asked my Dad for a ride to Toronto General Hospital to get it checked out, as everyone was telling me to do so. After waiting for two hours to be seen, I was told that it was just a bad sprain, that an x-ray was not necessary, and just to wrap a tensor bandage around my ankle, keep off it for a few weeks, and pop an Advil should the pain be too much to handle.

…so… pretty much do what anyone with a brain would figure you’re supposed to do should you sprain your ankle. Glad I waited two hours for that. Personally, I would have liked to have an x-ray done just to be sure, but what can ya do?

What sucks is that this means I’m not able to go spinning, ride my bike, or play Ultimate for a while. However, it does mean that I get to go buy some new cleats, ones that will actually grip the terrain I’m on, and also not have an extra inch of toe space like my last ones did. Also, the actual cleats were directly below my foot, and not distributed out to the sides at all, which made it feel like I was running with ice skates on. Useless, and an accident waiting to happen… which happened a few times too many.

Ah well. Guess I’ll just have to sit on my ass for a while.

Darn.

Two months into my diet, and in the last month I’ve lost 1.6 pounds. But, its been one hell of a roller coaster for the diet. A camping trip up to Algonquin, and then a trip down to San Francisco; both times not adhering to the diet, both times coming back with extra poundage, and both times losing the extra weight gained once I got back on track.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Now that the warmer months are upon us, I’m sure it will be FAR easier to get more and more exercise. I already have Ultimate Frisbee and spinning classes to help get the heart pumping, so I guess now it’s time to start biking to and from work again. I stopped because we had a cold snap, and would have started again last week, but I had a bunch of things going on that were just easier to get to via the TTC.

Anyway, thanks again to all of you for your kind words and support. You all rock!

Sure, it’s my fault for going to bed at 4:50am, and everyone is entitled to freak out once in a while, but this dude seems to do it on a daily basis. I seriously think there is something wrong with him.

I woke up this morning at 9:02am to the sound of a closet door slamming, and muffled shouting. Not impressed.

There’s a good chance that I’ll be in a grumpy mood now thanks to him. WTF.

Dude, its Saturday. Save your meltdowns for the weekdays when I have to get up early anyway. Settle down, breathe deep, and maybe pop a valium or two… or three… better make that ten.

While not paying attention, I forgot to press “9″ to get an outside line when I was trying to call my Father for something. The call didn’t go through, but for some reason it screwed up my phone. The “FEATURE” button was flashing, which I found odd, and didn’t think anything of it.

However, Molly tried to call me after her shift, and she couldn’t get through to my extension. I tried from my cell, and it didn’t work either. Even more alarming, I tried to call my extension from a co-worker’s phone, and it didn’t even work then! So… somehow, I had knocked myself out of the phone system. I could still take customer calls (yay!), but other than that, I couldn’t be contacted via the phone.

Great.

The manuals we have here for the phone system are beyond useless, as they expect that you’ve gone through a course to be taught how to configure this thing with your eyes closed. Unfortunately, I have not taking such a course, and the manuals quickly made my existing headache worse. I didn’t want to have easyDNS contact the phone system company and have them send someone out just to fix this, thus resulting in a service charge, so I opted to see if I could figure it out myself (what the hell… I had to stay late anyway).

Turns out, the power of the internet has been proven to me yet again, and has saved my ass.

Thanks to this post, it would appear that I had inadvertently set my phone to “do not disturb”. Simply pressing “FEATURE”, then typing “69″ (hah!) on the number pad, and hitting “FEATURE” once more, returned my phone to it’s normal accessible self. Kick ass! Not only did I save a service call to the phone system company which might have cost us some dough, I was able to fix it and don’t have to fess up to ANYTHING!

…well, other than the fact that I wrote about this on my blog… but who cares?

I guess I can leave the office now!