Dark Matter matters

Cheating with Web.SiteMap - Two links in one sitemap

2008-02-29T12:18:00.006-08:00

A couple of problems I recently ran into is when a client said she wanted two links in the Navigation that point to the same page. Essentially what they wanted is when you click on a MAIN navigation link, it takes you to a default SubMenu link, so when you click on "Products" It takes you to the "All Products" Submenu... highlighting them both.

This was for ALL the Main menu items.

In addition she wanted some pages to be in two places, so e-news would be under products, but a link would exist in the "about us" main menu too.

This problem was solved with some creative naming in web.sitemap and a few other tricks.

Say you have a typical sitemap like so:

<sitemap xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/AspNet/SiteMap-File-1.0">
<sitemapnode url="~/default.aspx" title="HiddenRoot">

<sitemapnode url="~/contact/"></sitemapnode>
<sitemapnode url="~/contact/default.aspx">
<sitemapnode url="~/products/enews/"></sitemapnode></span>
</sitemapnode>

<sitemapnode url="~/products/list/" title="Our Products"></sitemapnode>
<sitemapnode url="~/products/list/default.aspx">
<sitemapnode url="~/products/where/default.aspx">
<sitemapnode url="~/products/item/default.aspx">
<sitemapnode url="~/products/enews/default.aspx">
</sitemapnode>

<sitemapnode>url="~/about/"></sitemapnode>
<sitemapnode url="~/about/default.aspx">
<sitemapnode url="~/about/qa/default.aspx">
<sitemapnode url="~/about/research/default.aspx">
</sitemapnode>

</sitemapnode>
</sitemap>

You'll notice above (in bold) that the parent nodes omit "default.aspx" IIS will take the default page when it navigates to these directories and you will actually end up at the Child Node with that actual page.

When I return Sitemap.CurrentNode() it returns the child... even though I clicked the parent. This allows me to highlight both with a CssClass dynamically (I'm using CSS friendly adapters from CodePlex for the Rendering of a MEnu Control)

Clicking : ~/about/
will take you to : ~/about/default.aspx

You'll notice that I do the same in the contact menu. The link reads /products/enews/
but the actual link in the products menu is /products/enews/default.aspx

In addition... I strip "default.aspx" off the end of ANY link in the main menu just to keep the url clean... with this code which also makes sure the Parent Node is selected :

protected void mnuNav_MenuItemDataBound(object sender, MenuEventArgs e) {

//strips default.aspx (not necessary... just for clean urls.

e.Item.NavigateUrl = e.Item.NavigateUrl.Replace("default.aspx", "");

if (SiteMap.CurrentNode != null && SiteMap.CurrentNode != SiteMap.RootNode) {
if (e.Item.Text == SiteMap.CurrentNode.ParentNode.Title)
e.Item.Selected = true;
}
}

Enabling Script Debugging in IE7 and JINQ

2008-02-27T20:11:00.002-08:00

I found a really cool new screen capture program called "jinq" and to demonstrate it, I will now post something I just made... How to enable Script Debugging for Visual Studio 2008 in IE7. (not that I use IE7 much anyway)

Calculating a Checkdigit using Math.Ceiling

2007-12-20T15:03:00.001-08:00

Calculating Checkdigits

So, something I've been wanting to do is calculate a checkdigit for a UPC-A code in Code. In case you didn't know, the check digit is the final digit on a Standard 12 digits or 14 digit UPC and can be calculated from the preceding digits

The reasoning behind this is if a barcode reader scans a barcode wrong it will internally do a calculation and see if the result matches the checkdigit. If it matches all is good. The UPC is made up of a manufacturer code and a product code. So, for example: 0-12345-67890-5 :

0-12345 marks the manufacturer

67890 identifies the product

5 is the check digit

Anyway, we want to enable people to enter 67890 as a check-digit, and then have the program automatically calculate the UPC to be entered in to the database.

To Calculate the Checkdigit “5” is fairly straight forward to do for human calculators (the brain) but presents some challenges for computers.

The calculation goes as follows,

Add up all the odd position digits
multiply that by 3
add the even position digits
Take the total and whatever you need to get to the nearest 10 is the checkdigit.
To illustrate:

0-12345-67899-?
(0 + 2 + 4 +6 + 8 + 9) * 3 = 87
87 + (1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9) = 112
112 + x = 120 (next multiple of 10)
x = 8

Simple Right? It's basic addition and subtraction.

However, the computer doesn't know how to get 120 from.

However, essentially, what we want to do it go (10 - 2)

MODULUS to the rescue!!!

Modulus is basically an operator that lets you calculate the remainder. If you remember back in Grade school, before you learned fractions or decimals, 10 / 3 = 3 Remainder 1, 3R1

In C# the Modulus Operator is %

Well, If we take the total (112) and do (112 % 10) we end up with a remainder of 2... so All we need to do is this: 10 - (total % 10) = 8 DONE! Right?

But not so fast...

There is a problem. If we end up with a total which IS a multiple of 10, our remainder = 0 (110 % 10) = 0 Rem. And since 10 - 0 = 10, this won't work (the checkdigit should be 0, not 10)

So, just write an IF statement, right? If it's 10, set it to 0, if not, subtract from 10.

The if statement could be written like so:
int checkdigit = (total % 10 == 0)? 0 : 10 - (total % 10);

However, I prefer a purely mathematical approach if I can. The first approach we came up with used the Math.Ceiling function. What this function does is basically returns the next whole number. So, Math.Ceiling(11.2) would return 12.0. How can we use this?

Well, our total 112 / 10 actually = 11.2, If we take the Ceiling of that number, we end up with 12. and 12 x 10 = 120. And 120 - 112 = 8! This also works if we end up with a total that is a multiple of 10. Since Math.Ceiling(11.0) returns 11, 11 x 10 = 110. 110 - 110 = 0!

So, here's the code to do that:

int checkdigit = (int)Math.Ceiling(total / 10.0d) * 10 - total;
Where total = 112

112 / 10.0d = 11.2
Ceiling of 11.2 = 12.0
12 * 10 = 120

120 - 112 = 8

110 / 10.0d = 11.0

Ceiling of 11.0 = 11.0

11 * 10 = 110

110 - 110 = 0

It Works!

Note, Ceiling returns a decimal, but since we will always have a whole number, we can safely cast this as an int.

But yes... there is a 3rd way.... if you're satisfied with this method so far, that's fine. This was our first solution, and it's kind of cool. BUT after looking at the mod function again, we came up with another solution. It doesn't need any casting as int either, is shorter and perhaps faster, I'm not sure.... here's the formula:

int checkdigit = (10 – total % 10) % 10;

What's going on here? Well

112 % 10 = 2 (remainder)

10 - 2 = 8

8 % 10 = 8

110 % 10 = 0

10 - 0 = 10

10 % 10 = 0

Short, concise, easy to read, and I'd imagine... fast.

Here's the enture C# Code for your perusal:


 public static int CheckDigit(string strUpc)
 {
 // strip all non-numeric characters
 string upc = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(strUpc, @"\D", string.Empty);
     int total = 0;

 //add the odd position digits
 for (int x = 0; x < (upc.Length); x += 2)           {                 total += Convert.ToInt32(upc[x].ToString());           }           total = total * 3;             //add the even position digits           for (int x = 1; x < (upc.Length); x += 2)           {                 total += Convert.ToInt32(upc[x].ToString());           }                   //calculate the checkdigit            return (int)Math.Ceiling(total / 10.0d) * 10 - total;          /************************   // could also be written:           //AS A condensed IF STATEMENT             return (total % 10 == 10) ? 0 : 10 - (total % 10);   //That is... if total mod 10 = 10 return 0, else 10 - (total mod 10)              //or... using MOD the MOD             return (10 – total % 10) % 10          *************************/     }

Just stick this into your utility class or anywhere else in your application, and you're good to go.

What is going on?

2007-12-13T23:26:00.000-08:00

Ascent to the Peak of Cheam

2007-08-16T20:50:00.001-07:00

This site pwns Youtube

Wii Safety Video

2006-12-29T14:37:00.000-08:00

Beware... Wii owners... beware.

Beware, the Sushi Police are coming.

2006-12-19T08:21:00.000-08:00

I found this really well written article about how the Japanese Government, the ministry of Agriculture, is going to create a Japanese restaurant certification. Now this may not sound like a bad thing at all... except when you realize that this is a ministry that is certifying restaurants abroad.

I highly recommend the article, but here's the synopsis:

What this means is that a team of Japanese could come to Vancouver, and having gone into a restaurant where !gasp! BC Rolls, California Rolls and Dynamite Rolls are being served, they could decide that since these are not Japanese foods, that this restaurant is not an official Japan sanctioned restaurant. Of course, this is really only meant for Japanese nationals, who are travelling. I suppose they want to create a list of certified authentic Japanese food around the world that Japanese tourists around the world will feel comfortable going to.

I admit there are some bad sushi restaurants, but there are also some very good combinations that even many in Japan would like. I know my wife seems to like rolls with Cream Cheese in them... even though they're definitely NOT Japanese.

I think fusion foods can really bring out the best in a cuisine and if you want my advice, check out "Wild Rice" close to tinseltown downtown for some of the best fusion Chinese you'll ever have.

Sidenote: I wonder if the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture realize that tempura comes from Europe?

Today's Comedy Test

2006-12-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

Your mission... watch this video and comment on whether it is funny. If not funny, watch it again. If still not funny, go see doctor.

Comic Life

2006-12-07T00:48:00.000-08:00

Hehe... I made this comic with a cool program called Comic Life... by Plasq It's really cool. Seriously, i was done in less than minutes. You'll often find this kind of easy to use, quick to learn software for the mac. This was the first time using it and i actually did something cool in 5 minutes. I highly recommend THIS link.

Mentos and Coke? Again?

2006-12-07T00:11:00.000-08:00

Well, apparently a couple of guys are doing some viral marketing for coke and Mentos. Pretty cool stuff. I hope these guys are getting paid for this work, it's some pretty creative stuff. Looks like a lot of fun too.

We want a Wee Wii on a Wee TV

2006-12-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

Say That 5x fast.... i DARE you.

This is pretty cool for fans of miniaturization. FYI, this is by someone in Japan. Is ANYONE surprised?

Saving the environment, one sheet at a time...

2006-12-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

In case you've ever wondered how you can personally make an impact and save the environment:

Why TV Sucks... especially Jerry Bruckheimer

2006-10-03T12:28:00.001-07:00

Allow me to go onto a tirade...

CSI. It's like a drug. But at the same time it isn't. I admit, I was never really into it in the first place. Perhaps I'm not its target demographic. I don't know who is. But seriously, I think it's aimed at information junkies. You know the type. The ones that are constantly searching for keywords in people's conversations so they can look it up on the internet later, or now, on wireless enabled phones and palm pilots.

It's for this reason that I find CSI addicting. It's like it gives you this inside view. You seem to actually learn something... Be it about supernotes or how rare Fire Ants are in Las Vegas. Perhaps it is this educational aspect that draws all its viewers. The other day, there was an episode on Supernotes. I looked them up. I really didn't know much about them before that. It WAS interesting, I'll admit.

But one thing that CSI fails miserably in is character development. I know I haven't watched the show much, but I don't seem to really care about the characters one way or another. It seems that the show isn't really about the characters though, it's about the technology, the cool factor, the special effects. I don't know 'bout you, but I'm sick of them. Any character development seems forced.

I only watch CSI because Seiko likes it, although with all the highly technical language, I'm not sure what she gets out of it. At least it gives me an opportunity to explain high-level english words and phrases to her. Not sure how useful it would be though, unless she decides to go into criminology.

Another thing about CSI is that it just isn't realistic, and there's a whole lot of conjecture, too. It's supposition based on supposition based on supposition.

And one more thing... Jerry Bruckheimer is a genius. He's got three shows with different names and the same storyline set in three different cities. It's like if they launched Star Trek:TNG DS9 and Voyager at the same time but they were all really popular. Talk about Ratings hog.

Give me Battlestar Galactica any time.

The Picard Song

2006-10-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

This is crazy well done:

Red Bull Goodness

2006-10-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

This is actually a really cool sound byte of Red Bull Cans. I can imagine how much work this would've taken.

The Internet is Falling! The Internet is Falling!!!

2006-09-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

I don't know what happened, but today, I opened up my browser and this page showed up. I HAVE NEVER seen a google page go down... EVER!!! This is the company that has thousands and thousands and thousands of computers, for the sole task of searching the internet!!!!

I was shocked. The Internet is Ending.

In other news, I took up my Kanji studies again. I'm doing a little each day. And with the help of http://kanji.koohii.com I'm getting more benefit out of using mnemonics to remember the Kanji.

for example: take

漁

for example. If we break it apart, on the left you have water (three drops) on top you have capture, the grid in the middle is a rice field, and on the bottom you have fire. It means "fishing." Normally Japanese just memorize it... but they learn all these over 6-7 years in school and have the advantage of starting when they're 5 and being surrounded by it everyday. I don't have EITHER of those luxuries. So I make stories. For this one (left to right, top to bottom) you're a Japanese farmer on the water. You capture the fish, go home and throw the head and guts in the rice field (for fertilizer) and then cook it over the fire. water, capture, rice field, fire! Easy! Take the water on the left off and you have 魚, fish(out of water).

Of course, there's more to it than that... and you have to build your way up to that... but now I can recognize seemingly complex kanji like 願 much more easily without studying for 6 years. By the way, it means petition and I remember it by imagine a huge wizard of Oz head in a meadow... don't ask. Of course, I still need to learn the pronounciations, but hey, one step at a time, right? I'm 10% done.

Anyway, it's interesting and Seiko gets a kick out of it... she doesn't see how I can get it... (Of course, because she has these characters etched into her brain from childhood)

A Bipedal Dog...

2006-08-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

Calling all Dog Lovers. Bringing you another gem from the vestiges of youTube. This makes me want to get a two-legged dog. I know it's possible to teach a human to walk on their hands... but this is AMAZING!

The Source of Ultimate Cuteness

2006-08-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

This one's for Kimmy:

Finger Exercises for the Otaku in you!

2006-08-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

Wish you were better at Mario Party? Wish no more! You too can have the amazing skill of 16 button presses per second!

Just do these Japanese finger exercises. Actually, they're really difficult! I wonder if these were sponsored by Nintendo?

You don't know the power of the cute side...

2006-08-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

What happens when Darth Vader goes soft? I don't know where this is, or WHAT this guy (girl) was thinking... but in case you're were wondering what REALLY happened when Vader tried to go undercover in Japan...

Those Crazy Russians

2006-08-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

Click here for a crazy (high-strung?) russian in the Massive Moscow Subway system.

Little known fact: Moscow has one of the most used and most beautiful subways in the world. 8 million people per DAY travel on that subway and it covers a HUGE area. Each station has amazing art and architecture, mostly built while the nation was communist! This map is 35 x 45km.

Crazy Crosswinds

2006-07-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

Ever see a plane land sideways? Check it out.

Don't Copy that Floppy

2006-07-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

For all those that remember the computers of the early 90s and happen to love old-school hip-hop...

In honour of Portugal

2006-07-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's been a while. I promise to never... no scratch that, I can't make promises. Hey, this blog is free entertainment, so quit complaining!
The World Cup is over, and this is a video of Portugal practicing.

For those that prefer a traditional look

2006-06-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

Finally, a teaser...

2006-06-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

Since you've all been complaining (all three of you), I have finally put up a wedding picture.

2006-06-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

Goldeneye live action recreation

Long time no post, I know. Good news... I'm married. I just got the pictures back today, so I will post a few up later when I get a moment... but for now lets turn back the FPS clock to the days of GoldenEye...

Dancing thru the ages

2006-05-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

For anyone who lived through the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s. This guy is pretty good... and FUNNY! And boy, can he dance!

Wii!!!

2006-05-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

Let me get one thing straight. I'm not a gamer. I've never really been a gamer, although when I was younger I loved mario and stuff.

Modern video games have too steep a learning curve.
Enter the Wii. Formerly called the Revolution, it's the first system I've actually wanted to buy. It looks amazing and easy to use... the controller becomes an extension of your arm.

awesome.

Enter the Ping Pong Matrix

2006-05-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

I've seen some cool things on Japanese variety shows... but this one is definitely on the top 20.

Four Old Ladies Beat a guy down...

2006-04-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

Difficult to understand with the accent, but extremely funny! You will split a gut.

Trophies Are Great

2006-04-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

Trophies are great. 10pts goes to the first person who guess what the trophy is for.

Anyway, so I came in second. I was 7. There were only 3 contestants... so I guess the 3rd place guy got third... AND dead last. Man, wouldn't wanna be THAT guy!

Cool Kingdom Hall!

2006-04-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the kingdom hall my brother goes to in Scotland. Cool eh? Looks like a Watchtower, too! In case you're wondering, it's in Tranent.

Which, in any case, is here in case you're wondering.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

2006-03-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

I love Clay. Wallace and Grommet and stuff...

Ask a Ninja : What is a Podcast

2006-03-17T12:58:00.000-08:00

So FUNNY! If you're over the age of 12, you may have asked this question.

I couldn't get through the whole thing without laughing out loud! I LOVE this guys logical rambling.

Wacky Weather Hi-Jinks!

2006-03-10T16:15:00.000-08:00

What strange weather. On the top, it says "COLD SNOW" in the windshield of my car.
On the bottom you see a picture taken 8 hours later!!!! And it was all GONE! No trace of snow left! What wacky weather

Inspirational

2006-03-09T22:42:00.000-08:00

When I see people play like this, I start to wish I could...

Seriously, this is an amazing piece of music. I found this through a friend of mine's blog: http://esspress.blogspot.com Thanks Mon!

Turn up the volume people. It's moving. Listen to it to the end. It's worth it.

Accepting new things...

2006-03-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

One thing about Japan that I think is really cool is that they're open to change. In a big way. About 10 years ago, Coca-cola changed the formula of Coke to taste better (sweeter and with less acidic bite, like Pepsi). Well, when they did, despite blind taste tests proving that people overwhelmingly liked the new flavor better, they had a nationwide boycott and a huge revolt. The people were incensed that Coca-cola actually had the audacity to change their "American icon." In Japan, people would probably think, well, the new product is probably better and hey, it's been improved.

It's ironic, that a nation with 1000s of years of history is ready to accept the next new thing, while a 200 year old nation tenaciously clings to whatever young history it has. Something that's over 50 years old in "the new world" is considered old, over 100 years is ancient, over 150 years... well, that's a relic.

And if you don't believe me, this video will have Ronald turning in his grave.

Isn't Japan cool?

Japanese Rodeo Exercise Machine

2006-03-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

First, there was the Ab-Roller, then the Abdominizer, then the Ab-matical... now they've moved onto the Glutes (The butt)... The Glute-anizer!?

Well, if you're in Japan and you want to get a stronger butt, wait no longer...

Have Kids' shows gotten cuter?

2006-03-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I love about Britain is intelligent pre-school kids shows. Yes, you heard that right. Anyway, one of the cuter ones is Pocoyo, which in Spanish apparently means "little me" or something. Cute.

Japan's New National Hero

2006-02-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

Well, if you've watched the Olympics at all you might know that Japan has not even won ONE medal this Olympics... that is until Yesterday. Shizuka Arakawa won Gold in one of the most popular events, Women's Figure Skating. Combines Short Program and Long Program. Even though her Gold was due in part to Sasha of US and Slutskaya of Russia making mistakes, Shizuka skated cleanly and elegantly. And here's the proof:

Flashback... January 2003 Smalltalk, much ado about nothing.

2006-02-22T19:06:00.000-08:00

This is something I wrote in January 2003... I think it's one of the funniest things I've written, and I actually laughed out loud when I was reading it. Your sense of humor may not allow you to respond in such a hilarious way, but anyway, I digress... for your reading pleasure (Maybe My visitor from Jakarta will actually post):
(note: edited only for spelling errors and clarity.)

smalltalk - Much Ado About Nothing

Smalltalk... what is it? It’s a common word. In fact, it’s actually a real word. There’s even a dictionary entry which says: “light or casual conversation. See CHITCHAT.”

Now I’m not usually one to disagree with Mr. Webster and his word definitions, but this time, I take exception. According to Mr. Webster a conversation is : “oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas”

So how can smalltalk be considered "conversation?" It can't. Smalltalk is none of these. Therefore, it should not be considered “conversation.”

I sense, however, that some of you disagree. Some of you perhaps think that asking
“What’s New?” or
“How are you?” is technically expressing a “sentiment. Let me correct you here, and set matters straight... These are not sentiments. They are filler. They're like the sawdust they put in McDonalds cheeseburgers. No nutritional value.

Oftentimes, we ask:
“How are you?” and expect the answer to be
“I’m fine, everything’s hunky-dory, how are you?”
No one actually wants to hear that you’re a sniveling bag of sickness, though we will sympathize with you. In the end, we’ll say something painfully trite like “hang in there,” or “don’t worry, you’ll be fine” and promptly look for an exit. Don’t get me wrong, we CAN show true concern; just don’t lacquer it with the ugly banality of smalltalk.

Sometimes in smalltalk we make an observation and... well that just gets you in trouble. Imagine making an observation on someone’s shoes or the wonderful scent they’re wearing. You ask the name of the scent and then either forget its name or put it on your shopping list and then you’re now out of material to talk about. The worst-case scenario is that they say they’re not wearing anything scented and so you're forced to therefore conclude it must be the smell of their underarm deodorant. imagine how THAT conversation would continue:

“...so, then it’s your deodorant that has that lovely smell.”
“Yes, I suppose so, I do wear the stuff.”
“I didn’t mean to suggest that you didn’t!” You reply, and fumbling for words you utter:
“So then is it the winter fresh or the spring meadows scent, and what brand do you wear?”
After realizing that you are now staring at their underarms, they utter:
“I really don’t know… it was on sale”

After 2 or 3 minutes of discussing whether stick or roll-on or spray is better and arguing over whether anti-perspirant causes Alzheimer’s disease or not, you realize you’ve just had a small conversation about masking unpleasant body odours. And you also feel like you should be on a Consumer Reports user survey Panel.

As far as I have discovered, smalltalk is just that… small insignificant talk uttered in rapid succession, according to a tried and tested formula that will elicit the standard formulaic response. It’s like practicing math equations with friends. You say something like “how are you”, add a question mark and it equals what you thought they were going to say anyway: “I’m fine.” When they do actually say something you don’t expect like, “Oh, I’m horrible,” your mind goes into jeopardy mode:

bzzzzt, wrong answer, lets go to friend number 2, please pick a topic.
"I'll take proper answers to smalltalk questions for 400$, please"

Conversations should be like game shows, at least we’d come out with some money at the end of them.

So why do we do smalltalk? I suppose it’s because we’re social animals… [yes, we’re animals, no laughing you at the back] If we weren’t, we’d be more like cats [Don’t believe Disney, cats are loners] or lizards.

We also wouldn’t care what others thought of us. We’d eat, we’d sleep, hunt mice, bask in the sun and mind our own business. Hmmm… doesn’t sound so bad, come to think of it. ;-)

I recently stumbled onto this interesting tidbit on the web:
“a Scientific American article once [said] that chimps have a whole part of their brain devoted to the activities of social grooming—which is essential to maintaining good social relations and a healthy simian psyche. That same structure in human brains is devoted to "small talk." Apparently humans have much larger tribes than chimps by an order of magnitude or two, and we don't have the time to groom everyone we know on a regular basis. So we have evolved to chitchat and send little notes. Not to mention emails. All of which is our way of maintaining our personal network of friends, relations and acquaintances; telling them "I value you and hope you value me too." That's why we try to act cooler than we are and why we get stage fright and buy expensive clothes or cars because deep down, just like Sally Field we all hope that everyone really likes us.”

So there you go, now I just have to accept it as social grooming, the necessary method of connecting us all. Hey, what chimp can’t pick out their own fleas, anyway? Trivial or not, smalltalk seems to be all about basic human interaction. Maybe it is all about the human psyche, keeping it all healthy and trimmed and feeling happy and good. Maybe there is some deep-rooted need for useless banter that eludes me, some basic need to ask rhetorical questions that Mr. Spock would deem as not only useless but also inefficient. Of course, Spock was half human and let’s face it, he doesn’t really exist anyway, as he was the creation of a smalltalking human mind, so that puts to rest any Vulcan ideas, doesn't it?

Whatever the case, I can’t seem to get away from it, and I as much as I find it revolting, I sometimes resort to the soothing melodic formulaic rhythmic undertones of smalltalk. I get caught up in its wake, and taken for a right on the rhetorical chitchat train…

So ask me how am I doing... I will respond :

“Oh I’m doing fine, thank-you very much, how are you?

But please call it what it is, "social grooming," you pick my fleas and I'll pick mine, and then maybe after some good flea picking we can actually have real conversation.

Radical Gnarly 80s

2006-02-21T12:32:00.000-08:00

Ah the 80s. Those were some crazy years. We went to an 80s party (click the title for more pictures) and I think Kyle won the prize for the MOST 80s-like outfit. I mean, he got a MULLET. A MULLET!
Not that I REMEMBER the 80s... errr... yeah... I'm dating myself...
To be fair, I was never a teenager in the 80s... but I DO remember watching Back to the Future. I loved that movie.

Bar Harbor, Maine

2006-02-16T12:19:00.000-08:00

So, as some of you have noticed, I added a feature on the blog to see where people have visited from. Basically, it shows the last 100 visitors and displays it on a map found here

And if you take a look at it, you'll see Bar Harbour, Maine keeps showing up. I don't think the map is totally accurate, but it gives a general idea of where each person is It probably actually supplies the area where the ISP (Internet Service Provider) is, but anyway, it's interesting. What's most interesting is the massive amount of visits from Bar Harbour, Maine. I don't know anyone from Bar Harbour, Maine... so I figure it's from a friend who I KNOW reads this blog, from the neighbouring area... New Brunswick. If you zoom into that area, you'll see that it's actually pretty close.

It's not completely accurate, but it's pretty good.

Actually, what surprises me even MORE is the number of East coast visitor I have... I really don't know anyone from there...

And... to top it off... Jakarta... I'd love to know how someone in Jakarta came across this blog.

The Robot...

2006-02-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'll get back to the Japan Series soon enough, but there's this really cool video I wanted to share first. Do the Robot... the second guy is really impressive... REALLY impressive.
I seriously think he's not human... I mean... this guy is some terminator from the future, right?

EXTREMELY COOL ALERT! New Tablet Mac? Who knows

2006-02-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Apparently, Apple is bringing out a Tablet Mac. To those who don't know what that is, it's basically just a screen the size of a laptop screen without a keyboard, or at least with a detachable keyboard.

You would interact with it using touch-screen technology. I know touch-screen technology isn't new, but knowing apple they will implement it in new ways. The current rumour is that they will implement it using some newly developed interfacing at MIT. Here's a video that shows a demo. The longer you watch the cooler it gets, so make sure you watch it to the end.

Poetry in Motion: Symbolism in Video Art

2006-02-08T17:11:00.000-08:00

I really like this video. It's like poetry in motion.
The little man... represented by the organic wishbone (adam's rib comes to mind as a biblical allusion) drives the massive corporate machine.

So does the machine drive the man... or does man drive the machine?

Or has the machine man strapped himself to support the man that the man must work hard to guide?

So many thoughts about this video pop up... maybe I'm overanalyzing.

The Art of Preparation: Japan Series #7

2006-02-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

If there's something Japanese do well, it's food preparation. I suppose this shouldn't be much of a surprise, considering Sushi, which is ALL about preparing fish, comes from Japan.

Gifts are pre-wrapped meticulously and beautifully. Restaurants place place plastic appetize-inducing relicas of their menus out in display windows. And food always looks good.
Anyway, this art goes far beyond food. In fact, it permeates into most of the culture. Appearance is very important in Japan. I remember getting served tea in Japan and a few drops of lemon were added not to enhance the flavor of the ugly-colored brown tea, but to change it to a beautiful shade of deep pink.

This permeates into things such as fashion, floral arrangement and electronic goods as well, as people generally don't buy defective goods. But this is especially evident in food. When you see individual apples wrapped in foam to prevent damage, you know they take presentation seriously.

As a result of this attention to detail, not only do things taste good (most fruits and veggies are organically grown in Japan) but it looks great too!

Jezebel and King Ahab: Japan Series #6

2006-02-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

When I was in Japan, the local brothers and sisters had a small party for Seiko and I and some others who were leaving. It was kind of an engagement party. Anyway, it was really fun. They had practiced bible skits and had them recorded in the background... It was like a real drama. It was really good. I actually have some video of it, but I'm just going to post a picture for now.
I LOVE this picture. I'll let you figure out which one is Jezebel.

Finally, it's done...

2006-02-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

I've been working on this wedding website for the better part of a few months now. It was supposed to be finished a few weeks ago... but I've been adding to it now and then. It's not actually completely DONE but it will probably never really be done, as I'll continually add more photos and revise stuff, working more on making it both 日本語 and English. Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think, or sign the guestbook (You can sign in English or Japanese). One note. If you click on the pictures on the slideshow, you can see the story behind it. Thanks all! Here's the link:
http://www.seikoandgary.com

The Real Canadian Stupidstore

2006-02-02T23:35:00.000-08:00

I went grocery shopping today. I've been eating healthy recently and so to do that means buying more fresh food.

Anyway, a little bit about where I live. I live within 15 minutes walk of Superstore. It's literally down the road. I'm on 1st avenue, it's on 10th.

Superstore is surrounded by a massive surface parking lot filled with minivans and aggresive soccer mom drivers. Actually they're more likely pianist mums, as superstore works hard to cater to minorities. After all, those from different countries usually don't buy brand if it's more expensive as they haven't got the natural prejudice to know that kraft is obviously the superior macaroni.

I tell you the things these people do to find a good parking spot are crazy.

They'll drive around for 10 minutes following people to their waiting cars and leaving their turn signal on for 10 minutes waitng for them to vacate the parking lot. Meanwhile the ones who parked on the spacious far side of the lot are in the store and have a grocery cart half full and are contemplating where the shortest line up is.

I hate superstore.

Actually I make it a point to rarely if ever shop there. Why would I shop in a packed store with half rotten produce (it's seriously gross, sometimes) and 10 trillion aisles spead out so that all the things you need are on opposite sides of the store. And try finding someone to help you. Impossible. Utterly impossible. And when you do ask them they say aisle 40 or 42, somewhere around there. They never take you there because chances are it will take 15 minutes to get there from the part of the store you're in. Add to that, they're gettin paid minimum age. There's a reason they give some employees rollerblades.

In addition, to save big you need to buy mutiplies of 352 to save 10 cents per can. Why do I need four loaves of bread?

Superstore is not designed with single people in mind. In addition to this, it closes at 10pm. I can't understand why a store which has 20 minute lineups at 9:45 doesn't open until midnight. There are NEVER short lineups at superstore. Never.

However, Save-on foods or safeway... Now we're talking shopping in style. A bit further away but that time is recouped in that you don't need to park 3km away.

For me there's a relaxing calm shopping after 10pm. Until closing (midnight) few are in the store, you can slowly peruse the aisles for what you need and casually make your way to the cashier.

You can put it all in your basket and away you go. A short conversation later and a short walk across a small parking lot and you're on your way home.

Ahh... Shopping bliss

Any gripes, disagreements and the like? Feel free to prove me wrong. But you won't change my mind. Well, probably not, anyway.

Paper Doors and sitting on floors: Japan Series #5

2006-02-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

They Really do Exist! Sliding paper doors. And yes, you can see silhouettes through them. How... revealing. Oh the opportunities! Anyway, if you lean against them... you WILL put a hole through them... and they're exactly as you would imagine. Japan may have westernized quite a bit since WWII but there are plenty of old-world Japanese Charms like paper sliding doors and sitting on tatami mat floors, still left in Japan. You just have to look a little harder.

A Fresh Feast of Fish: Japan Series #4

2006-01-31T13:37:00.000-08:00

If you like Sushi, go to Japan, right? It's fresh, it's fantastic! Yes, sushi in Vancouver can be the same quality as Japan, but it can also be mediocre. Quality, in Japan, is consistent. Even the bargain basement 100¥ sushi places are decent. Actually, it's pretty difficult to have a bad meal in Japan. It may not be to your taste, but it won't be bad. This sushi plate was at Seiko's aunt house. It's pretty common to order sushi when relatives come over, because it's fancy and everyone likes it. That's the major difference... No one doesn't like it. At least not many.
And you know what, Sushi (as in Raw Fish slap on Rice) isn't really that scary. Most people who don't like Sushi's taste, is usually because they had unfresh sushi with bad nori (seaweed) and it's the taste of the seaweed that most people don't like. Fresh Raw fish doesn't taste fishy.
Anyway, that's enough of my rant on Raw Fish. Try some Sashimi today! You won't regret it!

金閣寺 : Japan Series #3

2006-01-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

Kyoto is famous for many things, one of which is
金閣寺 [kinkakuji] or "The Golden Temple". It's actually covered in gold leaf and surrounded by a zen garden and "mirror lake" which of course, was full of coy. I wonder what kind of fishing it would be... Anyway, I thought since it's probably one of the most famous images of Kyoto so I thought I'd post this picture. It gives a bit of famous-ness to my life. Kind of like visiting a location featured in Awake! (Seriously, I did that two years ago, when I visited Ireland's Burren) I wonder how many other people make it a point to visit Awake locations. It's kind of cool when you can say... "Oh I went here, it's featured in March 8, 2004 issue of Awake!" (Which happens to be the article showcasing the Burren, by the way) I also flew into Kansai Airport, featured in the Jan 8, 1996 issue of Awake! Hey, I could build a whole itinerary around Awake! locations! Isn't the WT Library great?
v(^_^)v

Please Contact the Phone. Japan Series #2

2006-01-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

If you can't see this picture, you'll have to click it to make it bigger... but there's a few good ones here to point out:

The first point is grammatically perfect... I think it was copied off a parking sign somewhere.

But anyway, even the second point is pretty good... if not a little awkward... but still, understandable and not that strange....

Even the 3rd point is only missing a measly little 'n' in taken. So far, this looks like a 700-800 Toeic tested japanese translator.

But the 4th point... now this is where all the randomness breaks down and it becomes hilarious. I mean, it's understandable and all... and really, if "the" was changed to "by" all would be okay and pretty understandable... but there's something comical about a banner telling you to call the phone... we all understand that you're wanting to call a person... but i had this distinctive urge to go to the nearest phone and start talking to it... imagine:

"Hi, are you the phone?"
"I have a problem with my locker... can you help me?"

The problem is that in Japan... where everything talks to you... I wouldn't be surprised if it actually talked to me...
いらさひませ！元気ですか。嬉しいですか。電話ばんごけて下さい！ありがとうございます！
Welcome! how are you? Are you happy? Please dial your number! Thank you very much!

Seriously... escalators talk to you in Japan... telling you thank-you and to take care.

I need a machine that talks to me in Japanese.

Don't Feed Pacman. Japan Series #1

2006-01-26T13:43:00.000-08:00

While visiting Nara, outside a temple, there was this sign. I couldn't resist taking a picture of it. Please don't feed Pacman!

Actually, it's saying not to drink the water. The first two characters mean drinking water(nomimizu), and the last two are prohibited(kinshi). I much prefer my explanation... DON'T FEED PACMAN! I didn't realize pacman was buddhist... but then again, eating pellets in a vast world of dots and ghosts that reincarnate themselves... maybe he is.

Delicious cakes make us happy

2006-01-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

Although this is not too engrish like, it is very typical of many japanese products. They always have a little bit of english. Although, i can't figure out what is lovely from but i know that this cake package is telling me to have a good time... please.

Well, tomorrow i'm off to Nara, the old capital of Japan. Should be fun.

じゃね。

To Japan! and BIG NEWS!

2006-01-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm off to Japan... as of the time this post, that is. I won't be able to post this at the airport (or will i?) so i set it in the future. And, the reason for my trip should be obvious by the picture I chose. (I'm going to buy a watch). NO! Of course not... (^_^)

Anyway, this trip will be fun, apparently, it's all been planned for me... so it will be the fastest trip ever!!!

I have an entire suitcase full of gifts. It's crazy. I went crazy with 'omiyage'. Omiyage(お土産) is the japanese word for souvenir or gift. I'm not sure where it comes from, but the kanji (characters) are for Ground or Soil and Produced, so I suspect, omiyage had an original meaning of a gift from the gods... something returned to you for your hard effort in tilling the soil. Maybe I'm wrong, however, it has happened once before... (<.<) Anyway, I've been working on a website for our wedding, and since it's almost ready, I'm going to reveal it (let's call it the pre-beta release) Feel free to check it out don't forget to sign the guest book! here it is: http://www.seikoandgary.com

Pretty obvious title, if you ask me!

See you in 10 days! I'll try to post at least ONE weird Japanese blogpost with pictures from Seiko's phone while I'm there... that is, if you want me to. Let me know in the comments for this post.

またね！

Are the Holidays over?

2006-01-11T13:51:00.000-08:00

I must be crazy, but my landlord still has a blow-up santa snowglobe out. These were all the rage this year in Vancouver, and even though they're a little tacky, I think they're a rather innovative decoration. Seriously though! IT'S BEEN TWO WEEKS! I can't believe people still want a memory of their credit card debt inflated on the back porch!

Anyway, I've also included (and completely unrelated) another VIDEO! This one is for Chris. Recently, Bugatti (owned by VW) released a 1001hp (that's a lot!) 16 cylinder car called the Veyron. This is some footage of someone in a BMW M3 who is following the Veyron. Pretty cool. The video is a bit boring, but you have to realize how RARE this car is. Chris will correct me on this, but isn't there like only 75 made per year? You just don't see this car on the street... it's barely released yet. I suspect this was from the auto show. I wish I was driving it. Pure, unadulterated, driving heaven, I say.

Urban Ninja

2006-01-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

I'm back to posting videos, again. but this one is seriously cool. I can't believe the stuff this guy can do!!! It's amazing! I really wish I had taken gymnastics when I was younger. That would've been cool to be able to do a backflip.

On the road... In ikea

2006-01-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

Apparently I can send a blog entry just by emailing my blog. So when I'm stuck somewhere I can blog to my heart's content and write stuff.

Take for example today. I was in ikea and I really felt like a rat in an enormous cage, except instead of rewarding you for finding the way out, the goal of the game is to keep you inside the maze for as long as possible. And when you finally find your way out you're rewarded with long line-ups (queues) and a long receipt you always spend more than you planned to and the furniture typically lasts as long as a three year-old's attention span is while watching elmo on sesame street.

Ikea, swedish for cheap meatballs and pasta.

Then again, ikea may be cheap crap, but it's disposable furniture. Single use furniture, if you will.

Any hardcore ikea fans out there?
--Gary Armstrong--

How can you not love this dog?

2006-01-06T21:05:00.000-08:00

Cute, right? Except that he should read the latest article of the Awake's Young People Ask, "Why do I hurt myself?"

Enough of India... let's learn how to eat Sushi

2006-01-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

Enjoy this video. It's a little dry, and don't take it at all seriously, but there's 5% truth in it as well. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

Welcome to India

2005-12-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

This week's specially hilarious video was brought to you by... Tunak tunak tun... Notice the elaborate hand gestures:

Pre-Wedding wonderfulness

2005-12-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

So, I've been busy building a website for my wedding. It's pretty fun to do, and it will have all kinds of details, stories, photos, slideshows, and contact information.

It will also have a guestbook, so I EXPECT you all to sign it. All two of you, who actually come to this site.

I'll let you know what the address is, but you can probably guess what the domain name is now...

SPECIAL BULLETIN: Need a Room-mate?

2005-12-26T21:53:00.000-08:00

This is not a test of the emergency broadcast system:

No... this isn't for me. I'll have a permanent roommate from May 27th of next year. A friend of mine is looking to move into Burnaby, East Van area... and he needs a roommate. He's really clean and wants to move closer to work and to a congregation with good spirituality. So... if you wanna move closer to the city... let me know, and I'll pass on the word. Also, pass the word around your friends. You never know who wants to move...

Cheers!
~G~

Extremely Shy, you say?

2005-12-24T08:24:00.000-08:00

This is an INSANE movie. First, you have to know that most Japanese people think Dakota (I can't remember her last name) is insanely cute. Okay, most people in general do, but with the blond hair and blue eyes... they just dote over her.... By the way, kawaii (pronounced like Hawaii with a "k" means "So cute!!" , and can be heard by small effeminate women, and large roly-poly sumo wrestlers. Enjoy:

Cool Illusion

2005-12-23T14:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's not perfect, but this is my desk space and about 5 minutes of my time on the Friday before the holidays began. I got the idea off a website somewhere... though, if I spent some time and dimmed the monitor a bit, or didn't have such a shadow in the background... then it would look better.

Gives a whole new definition to "windows"

Hands in my pocket...

2005-12-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

I have had that REALLY stupid advertising jingle, "Hands in my pocket" from the Capital One Mastercard commercial.

HANDS in my pocket, Hands IN my pocket, HANDS, in my Pocket...

Arghhhh!!!! Please, make the jingle stop!!! How are they able to put these stupid things into my head.

Anyone else have annoying jingles they hate?

Five Second Rule

2005-12-22T18:50:00.000-08:00

before, you watch this short clip... remember, it's only a movie... it's not real... he didn't really eat that chip! Anyway... anyone use the 5 second rule, here? Comments? Feel free to weigh in your opinion... ^_^

Oreos and Twinkies

2005-12-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not going to talk about sweet treats and yummy foods. But rather, I'm going to talk about categorizing people. If you're anywhere near Vancouver, you've heard of the term twinkie... or "banana" referring to asians who were raised in a western environment... probably eat non-asian food and likely are more western than eastern. They're often affectionately named: "twinkie." The reasons are obvious, I think... and if you really can't figure out why then email me and I'll enlighten you.

You might not have heard of "egg" referring to someone who's white outside, but knows more about Asia than Asians.

And just MAYBE you're heard of the term "oreo" which if you're following the pattern, is easy to figure out.

But there's no food group representing the jigga's and chigga's and wigga's. You know, people trying to be black... or getting all involved in black culture... dressin' up, and talking in ebonics etc.

I mean, in the end... i think it's stupid to label people as such... based on their skin colour... although it can be funny with the right people... as people are really a product of their environment. If I spent enough time in Japan, I would probably become very Japanese... my parents have been here longer than UK, and though there's this notion that UK is still home... in reality, "home" has changed so much that really... home is here in Canada.

I guess, though, it's different to different people.

Funny Japanese English Lessons...

2005-12-13T08:34:00.000-08:00

When I was in Japan... there were tonnes of these 5 minute shows on TV. Some of them were hilarious... all to teach English... with ultimate hilarity.

Scrumpt-diddly-umptious

2005-12-06T13:33:00.000-08:00

This cake is simply a work of art. And it was very tasty. We had a dinner at work. One of our suppliers takes our department out once a year... so we can pretty much order whatever we want.

The Scotch was great, the Steak was Salivacious, and the dessert was divine. Nothing much else to say right now... i need to do another rant or two... like the McDonald's rant.

Maybe I should do a poll on people's favorite dessert... although the cappuccino cheesecake may biased some, now.

How does McDonald's Do it?

2005-11-28T13:57:00.000-08:00

I was wondering the other day how McDonald's is able to keep prices so insanely low. I mean, come on, 1.49 for a burger? At first I thought it could be the mass of min. wage school workers, and of course, there's obviously an economy of scale. If McDonald's buys enough cow meat to sink Manhattan with its collective bovine weight, I'm sure they get a good discount.

Then, I thought they make a tonne of cash off of Fries and stuff... and just manage their loss leaders well... but why were the prices never this low? It's almost like giving the burgers away.

It came to me while I was watching an Arby's commercial. There's something a lot different about the McDonald's of today. Surcharges.

If you remember the early 90s or the 80s, you'll remember that if you wanted an extra packet of ketchup or one more slice of tomato or something else... they usually just did it... but in the last 10-15 years, a noticable change has happened, you want something extra, you will pay... and you will pay a lot. I don't know about you, but getting dinged 0.49$ for a slice of bacon when a whole pack costs a couple of bucks seems like extortion to me. Or how about how they try to upsell the Big Xtra (with Bacon, sir?) suggesting that it's included, but they just want to make sure that you wanted it. Most people don't notice the "Xtra" charge on their receipt.

This isn't just at McDonalds, it seems that prices just couldn't get lower without cutting these extra services. Some would argue that it's a good thing for consumers... gives them what they pay for and penalizes the ones that try to abuse it by ordering 10 extra pickles, but I would say that it gets us used to surcharges. Now, when I get surcharges on my mobile phone bill, or some random bank charge (they never USED to charge as much as they do now) I barely flinch.

And I don't know about you... but I blame McDonald's for it all.

fun with fog

2005-11-21T08:06:00.000-08:00

It's really foggy here in Vancouver, and one of my favorite places to go in the fog is Trout Lake. The whole city is blanketed in fog, but Trout lake has some really cool and sometimes creepy willow trees and and many trees with tortured branches sticking out from its troubled leafless trunk. Apparently, the fog is low lying so you can get above it on Seymour or Grouse, so I'm going to try that today, I think.

Only in the Wack

2005-11-16T13:50:00.000-08:00

Only in Chilliwack could you find a major street that's not busy enough so that you can push a car that doesn't start, down it. Is that proper grammatical english?

Nature Matching game

2005-11-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

I chose this picture because I thought it was cool that the lights were matching the sunset. It's almost as if they're an extension of the sunset and they too would fade to night as the sun goes down. Sunset sensitive traffic signals.

If you look carefully, you'll see the murder of crows in the sky on their way to the roost by McDonald's headquarters. Sidepoint: Did you know that crows are officially considered songbirds? They may not sound as pretty to most people's ears, but they're actually very intelligent and apparently, as the largest of the songbird family, they sing.

Sensory Overload

2005-11-09T14:46:00.000-08:00

It's too easy to be non-caring about 3rd world countries and their plight. It seems it takes effort to actually caIt's too easy to be non-caring about 3rd world countries and their plight. It seems it takes effort to actually care. I don't mean caring on the surface... like knee-jerk reactions to the starving faces of gaunt African children on TV infomercials. That’s natural. I mean, the deeper caring, the inadequacy that comes from feeling you have to do something, and you really want to, as well. That takes effort. It is much more difficult. This partly results from, simply, too much disaster. But it’s not just the disaster in itself, but rather, the unending coverage of them that dulls us.

With the pervasion of media, we can offer instant satellite fields from the battle fields of Iraq, or a report from the eye of the hurricane. In fact, watching the news wasn’t always all about getting a good video clip of the disaster site. It used to be the case that some news stories were only reported on, or were audio only. That seems more and more rare these days. Just think, a split second event in New York was caught by half a dozen video cameras… and if you can think back 4 years… if there had been no video footage, you probably would’ve almost craved it… and as it was, people pored over the available video footage.

Well anyways, I digress (a lot). The point of all this is that unless things are sensational, they don’t evoke an emotional response… and isn’t that sad? I think we really have to experience it first hand… and even then… in Vancouver, passing beggars in the street no longer elicits much more than an apathetic “no thank-you” as if I’m refusing the service of supplying them with a few cents. You never really get used to seeing people in poverty, but it sure gets easier to tolerate as your sensitivity to it gets dulled. I suppose we just have to work at doing what we can and try not to separate ourselves from that all. Which is harder than it looks. How does today’s picture make you feel?re.

I don't mean caring on the surface... knee-jerk reactions to the starving faces of gaunt African children. Those feelings of inadequacy which result from the thought of "well, what can I do"

Eskimos in style

2005-11-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

In Search of coolness...
So, apparently, these new furry hooded jackets are in style again. Cool, i remember being 3 the last time they were in style... it's about time. Our model, Reuben, here is modeling how you are meant to walk down the street. You are not actually meant to wear the hood (that would be uncool... you can't let people think you're dressing for the weather, after all. Rather than that, you're meant to strike the quasimoto pose and stagger down streets... and that, my friends is definitely the coolest thing I've ever seen.

And if you didn't detect the whiff of sarcasm... then your ofactory sense needs a new scentometer. Seriously though, these jackets are cool... though I don't know why I'd need one in Vancouver, unless it had a built in reverse tractor beam for rain... now someone has GOT to invent some sort of rain force shield. They'd make millions... and of course, spend billions in making it... but that's what military trickle down technology is for, right?

If you click the title bar, you'll be able to get your very own minks... Yay. ^_^

Toe Socks!!!

2005-11-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

I got a package in the mail from Seiko today. And among all the wedding picture stuff I found two pairs of toe socks! They're pretty cool and after the first little bit of weirdness, they're comfortable, too. They take a little longer to put on, but apparently they reduce toe sweat (ewwww!) because the toes don't touch each other.

You can get them here too (not only Japan) but it's so much nicer getting socks as presents... especially when they're mailed. Who doesn't like getting a package in the mail.

Don't buy these headphones

2005-11-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, they're cheap Jensens. Yes, they're only $10 at Future shop... but it's my second pair in about 6 months. One side always quits on me. I know I'm rough on my stuff... but still...

I'm going to buy some quality ones... and lo' and behold I may actually go for the Future shop warranty... i work right beside future shop and so it's not difficult. Also, I've been listening to more and more podcasts recently, so I want something nice...

Normally I HATE those rip-off warranties, but we'll see.

Torigami - fun with cloth

2005-11-03T22:40:00.000-08:00

Fun at Centro!

Just a little explanation... Tori (鳥) means chicken in Japanese... so therefore, the art of rolling and folding a cloth napkin (serviette for any aussies) should be torigami... right?

Hmm... I wonder what Seiko would think if I decided to put torigami on all the place settings as a plate decoration at our wedding reception. ^_^

A brave new day...

2005-11-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

So, I decided to make use of the fact that I have a blackberry (and yes, my dependence on this beast is growing daily) and set it up so I can actually email updates to my blog from anywhere. It's too bad I can't send pictures as this thing has no camera (what was RIM thinking!!!) But it will serve its purpose well as a mobile rantbox.

It scary how fast the world has changed from sending mail to one person to posting videos and photos from a mobile phone (except blackberries) the size of a few credit cards stuck together.

Recently I've also been getting into podcasts, the video versions of which have been feeding my lust for a new video ipod, or at least a new nano.

But alas, weddings are expensive... And therefore technolust will have to be put aside... For a few months.

But if you want to check outwhat video podcasts are all about, you should go to itunes (you are using itunes, right?) And do a search in the itunes music store. There's some pretty cool stuff in the regular podcasts too.

I found Nemo!!

2005-10-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

So, if you're ever in the Reef on Main st. in Vancouver, you gotta check out the aquarium in the back of the place. Ok, with a name like "the reef" you'd expect to find him... but seriously, it's strange... what's even stranger is that popular culture has made the cartoon more recognizable than the actual fish. I found myself trying to find ways to free him before the evil braces-clad little terror came to kill (err... care for) him. Anyway, the picture is cool.

Whose wedding day is it?

2005-10-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

Take a quick glance at this photo and you see a rather innocuous scene. Just a Wedding party right? A wedding party on the streets of Seattle, waiting to cross the street.

Look a little closer and you see a kilt. One lone (Scot?) in a kilt. Look even further and you notice that he's the only one of the wedding party wearing a kilt... while everyone else is wearing a suit. It stands to reason that it would seem that we have located the groom. It wasn't until you saw the bride, with the groom at her side did you realize that your assumption was wrong. I don't think I've ever seen someone who appears to be in the wedding party and yet sticks out more than the groom. Is he just being proud of his heritage, or just showing himself off? You be the judge.

Autumn's last blush

2005-10-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

Autumn's really blushing this year. I think it's the most vibrant autumn I've seen in a few years. It's more than that though... out of all the colours in the colour spectrum, they all match. They are also always pleasing to the eye. It's like it makes it easier to mix and match everything. I've never seen such an easy to match wardrobe. The planning that has been put into fall colours and spring colours is so evident, that we use it to replicate in clothing lines. Because, after all, we have to match with the season, right? It's like we feel this need to fit into nature. Further proof we're part and parcel made up of the same stuff. From dust we were made, right?

Getting things in Perspective

2005-10-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

Yay for Picasa. It enables me to quickly serve the needs of the blogging world while quickly doing a write up of interesting pictures. Seriously, though... as Mac user... it has to be pretty good to gush over a piece of software that only runs on a PC... so I won't... but try it... you will be amazed.

So anyway, this shot is from the International SandCastle Competition... and I thought this sand sculpture was so cool for the way it used perspective. In actual fact, that sculpture is just a flat wall, but it's sculpted in such a way to give it this incredible depth... how many of you were actually fooled into thinking it was a 3D sculpture... okay, technically all sculptures are 3D but this one is totally FLAT! the rest of the sculture was cool too... really though you had to close one eye to see it in perspective.

Interestingly, apparently Ocean sand sucks for this stuff... it's too rounded. The more silty and less "worked" the sand is by tidal or river forces, the better. It sounds like the science of making snowmen to me... you know that snow that really sucks for making stuff... and the stuff that's great for making iceballs and throwing them at people? Sure you all know...
well winter's just around the corner, you better keep your eyes out for me and my cold snow arsenal.

Ooooh... Digital Joy

2005-03-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

So I discovered the joy of digital Photography. Okay, maybe it's not so much digital photography, but the fact that I can take the shot over and over again and know instantly if it works is pretty cool. I have a pretty automatic camera, but it can keep its shutter open for up to 15 seconds...

Keep posted, I'll be doing some cool things in the future with this.

Pork Dumping

2005-03-23T11:11:00.000-08:00

Pork Dumping
Originally uploaded by atomiton.

Okay... So where exactly do I dump my Pork? I mean seriously, I've been wanting to dump my pork for a while now, I've got so much extra. Last night we went out for vietnamese food. the waitress was surprised when I greeted her in Vietnamese. (sounds a little like Dchow Gee) which led to some hilarity as Tony decided that it was insanely funny and rambled on for what seemed like eternity in Vietnamese. Oh well, at least he invited her to the memorial.

It's a funny shot... I've walked past this sign many times, but I've never noticed this... but yes, it is in an Asian mall in East Vancouver. Too funny.

I'm sure starting Sunday, I'll have plenty more engrish to share with you from Japan. Here's another good one from a local Thai Restaurant called "Take Thai Home"

Cheers all... until next time.

Episode IV : In expectation of a Prequel

2005-03-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

No one likes to start at the beginning, so I'm firmly starting in the middle. It's been clearly established (thanks be to George Lucas) that you can indeed start at the beginning, after the conclusion has been made. So from now on, I plan on watching the end of the movie to make sure it ends well, and then go back and view the beginning. It's better that way. Trust me on this one.

Well, so begins (or rather, eventually continues) this blog.

A Preview of things to come:

Japan! Yes, I'm going to Japan... and it will be great.
Japanese! (Closely related to the Japan Topic, I will share my observations of learning a language which has been called as grammatically distant from English as you can possibly get.)
TESOL! (The Joys of teaching people how to talk... in Engrish)
Weddings! There are years which are full of them. Oh the Ills and Spills...

Enjoy...