Haven't had supper yet, and it's almost bedtime, and here's the dilemma. I want to write because I have the urge to, but also I'm hungry. What urge is greater...which is greater: my passion to write or my passion for food?
be back soon...
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Odds and Ends
Driving on Carling Avenue this afternoon, I was watching a street sweeping truck spraying water on grass on a large dividing median. It wasn't cleaning the street but actually watering the grass. I think the sod was recently installed and turning brown like so many of the lawns across Ottawa. On the news for the past few days, they've been talking about a Level 2 drought condition expected to be announced this week, which could mean water restrictions for the City of Ottawa and surrounding areas. Maybe they are holding off the announcement for a couple more days, as there is a possibility of rain for Sunday and/or Monday, but only a 40 percent chance according to the Weather Network. While on the topic of watering, I was riding my bike to the mall this evening and saw an elderly woman using her garden hose to rinse her car off, while she was standing on her front porch. Most of the water was missing the car, and running down her driveway. It was an old car, and not sure it gets driven.
I tried a Mocha Cappuccino at Treats although I was planning to just have a coffee. Standing and waiting changed my mind as I thought how hot it was outside. They had Green tea Cap as an alternate choice, but that didn't sound right. I could tell that others didn't think so either as the transparent plastic mixing container held quite a bit more than the Mocha container. This is by no means a scientifically based study.
Did you know the melting point of sand (quartz) is 1,723 degrees Celsius? Just read that today. Useful if you're concerned if the hot sandy beach you're walking on in bare-feet is about to turn into molten quicksand and entrap you for eternity. Rest assured, even with the threat of global warming, it's not highly likely. However, I also learned the melting point of sugar is only 146 degrees C. So just be careful when walking on a sugar coated beach.
Have a good night and day today and tomorrow.
I tried a Mocha Cappuccino at Treats although I was planning to just have a coffee. Standing and waiting changed my mind as I thought how hot it was outside. They had Green tea Cap as an alternate choice, but that didn't sound right. I could tell that others didn't think so either as the transparent plastic mixing container held quite a bit more than the Mocha container. This is by no means a scientifically based study.
Did you know the melting point of sand (quartz) is 1,723 degrees Celsius? Just read that today. Useful if you're concerned if the hot sandy beach you're walking on in bare-feet is about to turn into molten quicksand and entrap you for eternity. Rest assured, even with the threat of global warming, it's not highly likely. However, I also learned the melting point of sugar is only 146 degrees C. So just be careful when walking on a sugar coated beach.
Have a good night and day today and tomorrow.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Top 10 Inexpensive Restaurant Specials
(WARNING) Avoid consuming any of these dishes including the restaurant offering them:
1. "Five Second Rule" Special of the Day
2. "All You Can Eat" (because somebody else didn't) Dish
3. "Think of it as a Raisin with Legs" Surprise
4. "What You Can't See, Can't Hurt You" Plate
5. "You needed a Day off Work Anyway" Dish
6. " What Doesn't Kill You Only Makes You Stronger" Special
7. "In Some Poorer Countries, That's Considered a Delicacy" Dish
8. "Not Recommended for Young Children or the Elderly" Plate
9. "In 10 Years, You'll Look Back at this and Laugh" Special
10"We Warned the Chef if He Did That Again in the Kitchen We'd Fire Him" Plate.
Preferred Customers, please inquire about our "Thanks for not notifying the health authorities Discount Card."
(Note: Our restaurant policy discourages offering Doggy Bags as contents can be used as evidence)
1. "Five Second Rule" Special of the Day
2. "All You Can Eat" (because somebody else didn't) Dish
3. "Think of it as a Raisin with Legs" Surprise
4. "What You Can't See, Can't Hurt You" Plate
5. "You needed a Day off Work Anyway" Dish
6. " What Doesn't Kill You Only Makes You Stronger" Special
7. "In Some Poorer Countries, That's Considered a Delicacy" Dish
8. "Not Recommended for Young Children or the Elderly" Plate
9. "In 10 Years, You'll Look Back at this and Laugh" Special
10"We Warned the Chef if He Did That Again in the Kitchen We'd Fire Him" Plate.
Preferred Customers, please inquire about our "Thanks for not notifying the health authorities Discount Card."
(Note: Our restaurant policy discourages offering Doggy Bags as contents can be used as evidence)
Monday, August 29, 2011
Oh no, another storm heading our way and the end of the world is near!
Weather warning: a tropical depression has formed in the Atlantic. It is named TD 12 and is headed towards the United States at a speed of 15 mph, however since it’s about 300 miles off the coast of Africa, and Africa is like 4,000 miles away from the US, no one should panic just yet. Unless you want to!! Then it’s okay. As we learned with Hurricane Irene, no amount of press coverage of a panic-stricken nation is too much.
Okay, on to more serious matters, and the end of the world prediction for December 21st, 2012. Apparently there’s no need to worry say’s Juan Valdez, renowned coffee bean picker. “I no worry,” says Valdez, “the end of world not come as long as we pray to “Cizen” god of death and ask forgiveness for our addiction to pornography.” Although Valdez is a fictional character and lived nowhere near Maya people, many people still regard him as the “God of the Mountain Grown Coffee Bean.”
Elsewhere, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, is still in hiding and may be hanging out in a series of tunnels in Tripoli. Maybe taking a page out of the book Saddam Huessein was writing at the time of his capture: “‘Rabbit hole: Yankee Not Smart Enough to Look for Me Here.”
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Can you say "Kijiji; or even spell it?
I'm learning how to spell "Kijiji" today. Not that it is terribly important to mention this in a blog, but because I having nothing better coming to mind to speak about at the moment. As far as Kijiji goes, I started listing some cherished items I've collected over the years on the Ottawa site about two weeks ago. In total I have posted photos of about five different items including a standing plant holder, an Igloo water cooler, a floor lamp and old bar type stool. The only thing sold so far was a bathtub stool, which a gentleman needed for his mother who was undergoing hip surgery. I like the idea that it can be easy to get rid of unused items by taking a digital photo and posting it for free, then waiting for someone to contact me by email. Naturally when opening the door to a "stranger" there is always a risk of being mugged, robbed, or slashed to death by an unscrupulous character who is looking for an easy target. But since I'm a guy, I feel somewhat safer than say a single female would, however I am still cautious as everyone should be.
The sky looks overcast and the temperature is cooler today, and the weather channel is calling for possible rain, so it doesn't look like a great day for outdoor activities. I might consider listing some more items on Kijiji and see what happens. It will be nice to get rid of some gently used older items no longer being used. Guests to my apartment will be thankful that there's less clutter and they have a place to sit down. Oh and yes, I do intend to keep a chair or two.
The sky looks overcast and the temperature is cooler today, and the weather channel is calling for possible rain, so it doesn't look like a great day for outdoor activities. I might consider listing some more items on Kijiji and see what happens. It will be nice to get rid of some gently used older items no longer being used. Guests to my apartment will be thankful that there's less clutter and they have a place to sit down. Oh and yes, I do intend to keep a chair or two.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Learning about growing plants indoors and big dogs
I started this post late last night and was going to publish it then, but a strange thing happened. One of my typing fingers hit the keyboard and erased the whole paragraph. I don't know which key, or even which finger, but it was really annoying, and I was too tired to do it over. Still not sure why autosave didn't work, but I plan on keeping a close eye on this one.
My post was about visiting the horticultural store across the street, so I'll start over and give it another try.
When I entered the store there were two guys (owner and his friend, I found out later) chatting. No one else was in the store, well no other people, that is. I looked a little lower and saw two very large (I mean very, very large) Rottweiler dogs staring at me from behind a very light white plastic makeshift gate that just leaned up against the counter and wall. A small child could have moved the temporary fence out of the way. One of the dogs made a slight growling sound. Thought crossed my mind that this might not have been such a great idea. I made a quick comment as I headed towards the counter out of view of the dogs, saying: "Well that's a really warm welcome, isn't it?" One of the men laughed, and to ease any concern, told me not to worry, and the growl was a "good thing." I'm guessing he meant it was like a friendly hello or something, but I didn't ask. Then he said it was okay to come into the back area with dogs, and have a look around. I thought this sounded a bit risky, with the dogs not knowing me, and would mean moving the small plastic gate out of the way. Well, I could have easily refused, but accepted the invite, and walked towards the fence and stood in front of it. The dogs showed no aggression and one came up to smell the back of my hand. It did and then gave my hand a lick. That was a good sign. The other dog did the same thing, which made me feel at ease. The dogs' owner told them to come back, so I could get past the gate and he moved it out of the way. The dogs had very dark brown coloured coats and being about the same size, looked almost identical. One wanted more attention, came up, brushed my leg and I petted it. It sat down right beside me, almost on my feet. I could feel its weight as it plopped its behind on the floor. The owner told the dog to come away, so it wasn't' bothering me. It obeyed, although I really didn't mind now that I knew they were friendly.
The friend of the owner who has been a horticulturalist for many years, went into great detail about the equipment needed to grow indoor plants year round. He explained about different bulbs required. One being a high pressure sodium (HPS) bulb for flowering plants, another, a metal halide, for the growth or vegetative stage and last, the only one I have heard of, was the T5 fluorescent tube used for seedlings. So much information to comprehend at once, as he talked about different bulbs, watering, amount of light per day, and fertilizers, one being an organic type, containing no blood or bone-meal for people, who like me, prefer an organic plant based type. He said he's experimented with it and it works well.
After picking up some literature, I headed out, while the dog's owner put a leash around one of the dogs to bring it outside for a stroll or whatever dog's do when they go outdoors.
My post was about visiting the horticultural store across the street, so I'll start over and give it another try.
When I entered the store there were two guys (owner and his friend, I found out later) chatting. No one else was in the store, well no other people, that is. I looked a little lower and saw two very large (I mean very, very large) Rottweiler dogs staring at me from behind a very light white plastic makeshift gate that just leaned up against the counter and wall. A small child could have moved the temporary fence out of the way. One of the dogs made a slight growling sound. Thought crossed my mind that this might not have been such a great idea. I made a quick comment as I headed towards the counter out of view of the dogs, saying: "Well that's a really warm welcome, isn't it?" One of the men laughed, and to ease any concern, told me not to worry, and the growl was a "good thing." I'm guessing he meant it was like a friendly hello or something, but I didn't ask. Then he said it was okay to come into the back area with dogs, and have a look around. I thought this sounded a bit risky, with the dogs not knowing me, and would mean moving the small plastic gate out of the way. Well, I could have easily refused, but accepted the invite, and walked towards the fence and stood in front of it. The dogs showed no aggression and one came up to smell the back of my hand. It did and then gave my hand a lick. That was a good sign. The other dog did the same thing, which made me feel at ease. The dogs' owner told them to come back, so I could get past the gate and he moved it out of the way. The dogs had very dark brown coloured coats and being about the same size, looked almost identical. One wanted more attention, came up, brushed my leg and I petted it. It sat down right beside me, almost on my feet. I could feel its weight as it plopped its behind on the floor. The owner told the dog to come away, so it wasn't' bothering me. It obeyed, although I really didn't mind now that I knew they were friendly.
The friend of the owner who has been a horticulturalist for many years, went into great detail about the equipment needed to grow indoor plants year round. He explained about different bulbs required. One being a high pressure sodium (HPS) bulb for flowering plants, another, a metal halide, for the growth or vegetative stage and last, the only one I have heard of, was the T5 fluorescent tube used for seedlings. So much information to comprehend at once, as he talked about different bulbs, watering, amount of light per day, and fertilizers, one being an organic type, containing no blood or bone-meal for people, who like me, prefer an organic plant based type. He said he's experimented with it and it works well.
After picking up some literature, I headed out, while the dog's owner put a leash around one of the dogs to bring it outside for a stroll or whatever dog's do when they go outdoors.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
It's Thursday, but you already knew that
Probably should be doing my income tax return rather than rambling away on this blog. I'll try again tomorrow to get started on the income tax return. I might be in the mood for it. If not tomorrow, then most likely the next day for sure.
I called my internet/phone service provider today and managed to get a better deal on my cell phone plan. Yay. It costs about the same or even a bit less, and I'll get a whole bunch more free minutes. I don't use my cell phone often, but maybe I can now. Still worried about frying brain from microwave signals. That would be a bummer. I learned it's always a good idea to talk to these people and check what features their services provide. Interestingly, I found that I can see who's calling my home phone by setting up visual call display with my TV cable box. Name (if shown) and number of the caller are displayed on my television. That's kind of handy. But it means the TV has to be turned on to work, and recently I've been watching too much television, and try to keep it turned off. By experimenting (calling my home phone with my cell), I see that by the time I turn the TV on to see the caller's number, the call has already gone to voice mail. That's not very handy. So guess not much has changed.
Tomorrow is Friday, but you already knew that. We'll have to see what kind of interesting events take place then, and maybe if time permits, and I'm not doing income taxes, I'll be able to share more stuff about everyday things with you. That would be cool wouldn't it? Did I hear a yes or was that a snoring sound?
I called my internet/phone service provider today and managed to get a better deal on my cell phone plan. Yay. It costs about the same or even a bit less, and I'll get a whole bunch more free minutes. I don't use my cell phone often, but maybe I can now. Still worried about frying brain from microwave signals. That would be a bummer. I learned it's always a good idea to talk to these people and check what features their services provide. Interestingly, I found that I can see who's calling my home phone by setting up visual call display with my TV cable box. Name (if shown) and number of the caller are displayed on my television. That's kind of handy. But it means the TV has to be turned on to work, and recently I've been watching too much television, and try to keep it turned off. By experimenting (calling my home phone with my cell), I see that by the time I turn the TV on to see the caller's number, the call has already gone to voice mail. That's not very handy. So guess not much has changed.
Tomorrow is Friday, but you already knew that. We'll have to see what kind of interesting events take place then, and maybe if time permits, and I'm not doing income taxes, I'll be able to share more stuff about everyday things with you. That would be cool wouldn't it? Did I hear a yes or was that a snoring sound?
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