We Saw a Chicken …

Author: scruss

  • Ema Tei

    I reckon for more than half the time I’ve worked in Toronto, I’ve been within a block of Ema Tei. Yesterday was the first time I went there. I wonder what took me so long?

    Kenn Cutts enjoys the wasabi at Ema Tei

    Kenn, my former colleague from EPCOR, took me to lunch there. I was impressed; tasty food, great prices, huge portions and a great atmosphere. There was a good amount of wasabi sneakily hidden under the fish in the sushi, so we both ended up suitably decongested.

    (and yes, the Technoid Balloon Gimp Script strikes again. While it does work nicely under Gimp 2.4, it’s hidden away in the very unhelpful Xtns/Script-Fu/Text/Balloon menu.)

  • who are you calling a tube?

    cheapo 12ax7 valve/tube as removed from my Fender Champion 600

    Actually, where I’m from, we call ’em valves.

    I was getting a lot of noise (that is, unwanted noise) from my guitar amp, so on Nichol’s advice, I retubed it. How convenient that Encore had some Electro-Harmonix valves in stock (though I’m told that The Tube Store turns around orders quickly and cheaply). The Champion 600 only takes two tubes, a 12AX7 and a 6V6. They’re a bit like changing a fiddly lightbulb; the hardest parts were working out how to open the 6V6’s retainer (push down on the wings), how to open the 12AX7’s shield (push and twist – it’s a bayonet a bit like UK light bulbs), and how to seat the 12AX7 when the holder obscures most of the pins (the gap faces the middle of the amp on mine).

    Result? Nice. Less noise (though a Tele’s bridge pickup at full volume into a valve amp won’t ever be clean). More fun. $25 well spent. Strange to think that I’m installing components which were getting a bit old hat when my dad first started in electronics.

  • ocarina man is surprised

    ocarina man is surprised

    (it’s the back of an ocarina.)

  • beautiful drone

    The chill units in the new Loblaws Superstore in Scarborough make the most harnonious drone. I might just come here to listen.

  • mind you

    I did just upgrade my server from the previous version of Ubuntu LTS to 8.04 LTS, and it went without a glitch. I had to edit one config file, and it’s all running smoothly.

  • my only gripe with the heron

    I’m quite happy with Ubuntu. If a user didn’t have to be tied into specific, Windows-only applications, I’d recommend it. It’s stable, fast, intuitive and pretty.

    My one annoyance is what the latest release has done to CD/DVD drive naming. In the past, my machine’s first DVD drive was hda. For no reason whatsoever, Ubuntu decide to call it sr0. Similarly, the drive’s name for command-line tools now has a different specification.So all my applications need to be told where the drives are; a pain.

    Maybe I’ve been at this too long – I still like to use applications that I can see what’s running in the background, so I use grip over gstreamer (mainly because, unless you’re using lame, I’m not listening to your mp3s),  cdrdao over (whatever the young kids are using today to burn gapless audio). At the very least, I would have liked to get a summary of changes when I upgraded Ubuntu. Better still, I’d have liked a list of reasons for the changes. Unless my CD/DVD drive is now faster and more secure, why change?

  • farewell to the 13th floor

    Well, this was my last day at EPCOR. The last two and a bit years have been fun.

    It’s strange to think that I can fit my entire desk contents into one file box:

    all my desk stuff in one box

    I also made sure I didn’t break with tradition:

    the customary lone paperclip

  • you are what you eat… and you have obviously eaten something very stupid

    I got the Absolutely Everything box set yesterday; all four series of Absolutely. I hadn’t seen this for more than ten years, and it was absolutely (ha!) my favourite comedy show.

    The first season took a little while to get into stride. I don’t think I saw it ever, as I only caught it from series two in 1990. It is, in the words of Callum Gilhooley, “brilliant”.

  • la belle province

    quebec wind projects

    Hydro-Québec announced their wind RFP winners yesterday. It’s a huge deal for the industry; more than 2000 MW of contracts awarded, with commissioning dates ranging from 2011-2015. Enercon and REpower won all the manufacturing; strict local content requirements mean that they will have to set up shop in Québec.

    This is good for the Canadian industry. Now the real work begins.

  • the most hateful coining in the language

    … Is probably “snackinar”.

  • most abrupt stylistic change ever

    Would have to be on The Silver Apples’ “The Garden”. The zappy bongoid weirdness of Canonball Noodle is followed by a very credible bluegrass version of John Hardy, which is then followed by Cockroach Noodle, a return to their previous “explosion in the VIC-20 factory” sound.

    I like it …

  • no Barnes for you

    Kevin Barnes cancelled his solo Toronto show at the Mod Club tonight.

  • a very nice plank indeed

    My hands hurt. A lot. Why? ‘Cos I went to Encore yesterday, and my perfect guitar was sat there: a cream and black Fender Telecaster. I was sad to see my Godin go, but that sound!

  • signs of life in Scarborough

    A fat brown raccoon without a tail is digging for bugs in our back lawn.

  • … and I can’t wait

    Your order #202-14XXX57-3781XXX (received 02-April-2008)
    ————————————————————————-
    Ordered  Title                          Price  Dispatched  Subtotal
    ———————————————————————
    Amazon.co.uk items (Sold by Amazon EU S.a.r.L.):

    1     Absolutely – Absolutely Ev…   £21.26      1   £21.26

    Shipped via Royal Mail (estimated arrival date: 13-May-2008).

    ————————————————————————-

  • i love this city

    I’m sad to leave Montréal. Not just was it one of the most productive work weeks I’ve ever had (thanks to the fine folks at Hélimax), but the city is great. I’ve had some spectacular meals here – the two little bistros within walking distance of the office are fantastic; way better than the 40+ mediocre fast-food outlets near my office. One evening we went to Pintxo – nummy Basque food.

    I think I’d probably eat less here, because the food is worth savouring. There’s care and love in the food here, not boil-in-the-bag slop.

  • a bit chilly in montréal

    We had a snow flurry yesterday, but it was all made up for by a jolly dinner with Ross Overbury from the Robyn Hitchcock list

  • cutest fish ever

    Rosie the Porcupine Puffer.

  • need for speed

    If you are finding your Ubuntu upgrade slow, I found it worth changing my default download server. Under System -> Administration -> Software Sources you can choose a new server. It has a Choose Best Server test, which pings all 185 Ubuntu download servers and picks the best one for you.

    The default Canadian server is swamped at the moment, but the good people at Rochester Institute of Technology are the fastest for me.

  • this is what I’m talkin’ about, yeah

    The Global Antigolf Movement.