Author: scruss

  • this is not graph paper

    The PhotoSmart has an ability to print various ruled paper forms: lined, todo lists, and graph paper. But what they print for graph paper is merely squared paper:
    HP’s non-graph paper
    Graph paper’s the stuff with 1mm squares. Personally, I was disappointed that it wouldn’t print log ruled and Smith charts, but that’s just me …

  • avec wings and beer

    so we met last night; including Rannie, Eva (happy birthday today!), Arieh, Graham, and a bunch of other good folks (hey, I’m bad with names). We had beer and wings.

    Rannie taught us a nifty prefocus trick for quick portrait grabs. I shall be sure to use it.

  • gtabloggers 2nite!

    The GTA Bloggers will be meeting tonight on the second floor of Paupers Pub on Bloor, just east of Bathurst at 6:30 pm. Be there, or not.

  • GO Transit, you suck!

    I discovered last week that GO don’t have a central announcement system. That means that unstaffed stations like Kennedy and Exhibition always leave their passengers in the dark. Plus, the e-mail announcement system only alerts you if the train is more than 30 minutes late. I think by that time I would have gone home.

    No sign of that train yet …

  • self portrait as mobile phone

    self portrait as mobile phone

    (found while clearing up old files.)

  • scrummy scran from the HAL Burgers man

    I really like HAL Burgers (244 Adelaide). Good burgers, clever decor and decent beer. Not the cheapest burger I’ve ever had, but one of the better ones.

    Update, August 2007: oh no, it’s closed! Notice of Distress on doorway dating back to July, so again I’m the last to know.

  • oh dear …

    I have discovered:

    Laywines Pens and Organizers
    25 Bellair Street
    Toronto, ON M5R 3L3

    (416) 921-7131
    laywines.com

  • everything’s feedbacking, can’t you hear it?

    Best present for Groundhog Day ever – the Apples in stereo‘s New Magnetic Wonder.

  • Groundhogs, it’s your day!

    For Groundhog Day, here’s my gallery of Groundhogs. It’s a shame that Gallery 2 mangled the thumbnails, oh well.

  • “It will feel strange …”

    Leo Marks, on hearing of an old couple who died within days of one another, and were buried together:

    It will feel strange
    Not to nudge you
    Or to talk to you
    Or keep you warm
    When you’re lying there
    Only a few feet away
    Or perhaps even less
    But we shall get used to it in time
    Of which we’ll have plenty

    We always treasured silences
    In which we said everything
    We shall continue to treasure them
    And to say everything
    Throughout the longest silence of all.

     — from Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker’s Story 1941-1945.

  • Woody’s gone

    Forrest S. “Woody” Stoddard passed away last week. He was a pioneer of wind energy in the USA, first working on the UMass Wind Furnace, then dedicated his life to the industry.

    Without people like Woody Stoddard, there wouldn’t be large scale wind energy today.

  • eneffbee

    I just spent a most pleasant hour at the NFB‘s Mediatheque. If you are downtown in Toronto, you should stop by.

  • Nanohazard Symbol Competition

    Here are the entries for the International Nanohazard Symbol Competition. Sadly, the competition is closed, but my entry, given below, would certainly have won:

    .

  • wordpress dates

    I’m a bit peeved that even in WordPress 2.1, they haven’t fixed a very long-standing bug: all templates (especially the default one) should respect the user’s date format. It seems that moderators on the forums see this as a non-issue, and zealously close (or ignore, if such a passive thing can be done zealously) any discussion on the topic, as has happened here. I don’t need or want to edit PHP to make this work; it’s supposed to work.

    Today’s date is 28 Jan 02007. I want you to see it that way. WordPress doesn’t.

  • spring (!) cleaning

    I’m upgrading Gallery right now, so many of my pictures will be unavailable for a bit. I suspect (but I hope not) that my old deep links into Gallery from the blog will be broken by the upgrade.

  • excel: pasting only visible cells

    Ever tried to paste a range of cells in Excel that included hidden cells, but you didn’t want the hidden stuff? This works: Now Who Told Excel To Paste That Data?

  • snarky van graffiti

    “if the sale of spray paint to minors was banned, I’d be dealing drugs and killing your kids. Now I’m an artist …”

  • ’tis a pity they’re major label…

    Currently grooving to: The Aliens. Funky Betas plus Lone Pigeon outthereness equals happy ears. Songs in the key of Fife, indeed!

  • ladies and gentlemen, I give you … the hula hoop sandwich!

    You will need one bag of plain KP Hula Hoops, some plain bread (aka a square loaf), and some kind of butter-like substance. I used olive spread, as I’m watching my cholesterol (in this case, watching it shoot through the roof).

    hula hoop sandwich makin's

    Arrange the Hula Hoops on the bread carefully.

    hula hoop sandwich makin's

    Apply the top slice.

    hula hoop sandwich makin's

    This is the important bit: squodge it down so the potato snacks can’t escape.

    hula hoop sandwich makin's

    Eat, and enjoy.