Month: February 2005

In less than 24 hours, I will be in Ottawa. In less than 36 hours, I will hopefully be on my way to Toronto, and then London.

I'm starting to get really nervous about the whole thing.

I've been doing interview prep ever since I confirmed I was going and I'm starting to lose it a bit. I'm getting all sorts of self-doubt. Am I good enough for this job? Will I make a food of myself at the interview? Add to that the stress of not even being sure I'll be able to travel because of the upcoming storm in southern Ontario and you get a less than happy Richard.

I will be relieved when it's done – for better or worse.

I want this to go well.

Bah.

I was browsing for DVDs at Metro Video a few days ago when I ran across this gem. Instant childhood flashback. I just had to buy it. It was the best 10$ I ever spent :D

Yes, Revenge of the Ninja. I think I was 10 or something like that when I saw it and boom! Instant desire to be a ninja. Sho Kosugi was my hero. Looking back at this movie 20 years later, I cound't stop giggling. This movie is SO BAD! Awful dialogue, cheesy romance (I mean, come on, semi-naked kung fu!), 80s big hair and a series of cliche characters you just had to laugh at.

Add to that fire-spewing ninjas and overacted fight scenes, where even Granny has superpowers and you have a cult classic in the making.

They even have a mask-wearing blood-spurting bad guy. I mean, it doesn't get any better than this. They even have gratuitous booblage (but no, I won't post pictures here :P)

http://meteo.ec.gc.ca/warnings/report_e.html?onrm104

Winter storm watch for Ottawa north – Kanata – Orleans issued

Potential for a significant winter storm beginning Monday..

This is an alert to the potential development of dangerous winter Weather conditions in these regions. Monitor weather conditions. Listen for updated statements.

A pair of disturbances is poised to affect southern Ontario with another winter storm. One disturbance is giving significant snow to northwestern Ontario today while another one begins to get organized over the gulf of Mexico. The first low is forecast to intensify and stall over the lower Great Lakes on Monday and Tuesday while the Gulf low moves up the eastern seaboard. The southern disturbance Will act to transport atlantic moisture towards the Great Lakes disturbance. The result will be an extended period of snow Beginning in the southwest on Monday and rapidly spreading northeastwards. It is expected to continue through Tuesday accompanied by increasing winds with some blowing and drifting snow.

Due to the complex nature of the weather pattern..There is still Uncertainty in the expected snowfall amounts. Nonetheless..It Appears that somewhere in the order of 20 centimetres of fresh snow is likely in a few areas within the watch area by Tuesday night. This watch may be upgraded to a warning as the situation warrants And the storm approaches.

This is WAY too fucking close to deja-vu for me.

Yes, it's late. I'm going to bed as soon as I finish this. I spent a big part of my evening watching MASH reruns for most of the evening, with only a break for Mythbusters (and no, I do not have an addiction to that show). My night wasn't a total write-off though, as I did go through all of Marc's interview preparation stuff and complemented / added new questions to my preparation document, so I'm happy with that. Mainly, it makes me realize that I pretty much know what I want to say, i just need to work on making sure i can say it in a way that won't sound dumb. I'm going to practice talking out loud tomorrow.

After that, i'm going to hit the books to bone up on the technical aspect that's annoying me. I bought a good primer today and I should be done by wednesday for sure, so i'll just keep reading my notes on a daily basis until the interview. I can't really do much more than that :)

On a completely different topic, I scared boris just now. He's sleeping on the bed and as I was putting my paperwork away, a good Santana song came on the radio and I started dancing in my room. He was impressed, I could tell.

Speaking of Santana, he's coming in june at the Bell Center. I hope the tickets aren't some stupid amount of money cause I'd LOVE to go.

LONDON (AFP) – The last remaining bottle of the world's oldest single malt whisky left its distillery in Scotland bound for Hong Kong, where it will be the star attraction at an airport shop.

The bottle of Glenfiddich Rare Collection 1937, left to mature in a cask for 64 years before being bottled, is heading for Hong Kong's Chep Lap Kok Airport, where it will be available for a well-heeled buyer, but only at a steep cost.

Previous bottles sold direct by the family-owned Glenfiddich Distillery fetched 10,000 pounds (14,500 euros, 19,000 dollars) each, but the price levied by the airport is expected to be higher still.

“There are a lot of mixed emotions here,” said the distillery's “malt master” David Stewart of the bottle, claimed as the oldest single malt whisky in the world.

“On the one hand, we're extremely proud of having produced a whisky of such a fantastic quality that's stood the test of time and on the other, there's a tinge of sadness at saying goodbye.”

Sky Connection, which operates shops at Hong Kong airport, has bought the final six bottles of the 1937 malt, the last of which departed the distillery on Friday. As they are so rare, the bottles are being sent in two batches.

Just 61 bottles, described as having “chocolate and treacle” flavours, were produced from the single cask and first released in 2001.

Went bowling last night with eniran,blacksquiggles,chickcurious and a whole bunch of other unknown people as a belated celetration of chickcurious's birthday. Mainly, I used it as an excuse to clear my head of bad thoughts that had been festering all day, with the additional bonus that I finally got to meet Adria and Cambria in person.

Bowling is a sport that you need to be drunk to fully appreciate. It's a sad fact, you just can't bowl when you're sober, even though that according to petkatyyazzick, I am a man and therefore genetically predispositioned to be good at it. HA! That's so not true, as I didn't even break 100 :D

Quotes from the evening:

I really suck!
As opposed to the rest of us? (chorus)

I need to be drunker than this to play.

If I get this, I get 69!!!

You're putting me off my stride!
What stride? You have zero!
(right after which, I got a strike, woot!)

Use the pink balls!

I was just talking and then my boob fell out.

Haircut appointment… check (tomorrow at 2)
Dry cleaning… check (pickup at the same time as haircut)

Now I only need to pick up a few books and I'm all set. Well, sort of.

Woman Turns Husband's Remains Into Diamond

A Minnesota woman has honored her late husband by turning his cremated remains into a yellow diamond so she could always keep a part of him with her.

Nancy Wodziak wanted to honor her husband Richard in a special way after he died from a brain tumor last October. So, she became the first person in the state to turn a loved one's remains into a diamond. Wodziak received her brilliant,half-carat yellow diamond after eight months of waiting.

“This certainly seems like a neat idea as far as diamonds are forever,” Bradshaw Funeral and Cremation Services spokesman Justin Bradshaw said. “Some people feel it's a neat thing and that they're glad that I told them and other people I think feel that this is not for them.”

“I think that's creepy,” a woman said in the report.

To create the ring, the cremated remains are heated to extreme temperatures, and then the carbon is subjected to a tremendous amount of pressure. The result is a stone identical to diamonds that develop deep within the earth over millions of years. The nitrogen in the air causes the diamonds to be yellow in color. The company says yellow diamonds also occur naturally but are very rare.

The cost for a quarter carat is about $2,500 and goes up to $13,000 for a full carat. The diamonds can be made into any size. Life Gem offers the services and some funeral homes assist loved ones in making the arrangements. The company also makes diamonds from the cremated remains of pets.