I'm reading Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. This book is speaking to me directly as I am still a pretty fearful guy, especially when it comes to making moves toward shaping my own destiny. This quotation, mentioned in the book, sums up my fear nicely:

"Fatalism is born of the fear of failure, for we all believe that we carry success in our own hands, and we suspect that our hands are weak."
Joseph Conrad, in chapter 4 of An Outcast of the Islands

Shit. The cat's out of the bag. Get back in there cat...

Coming to you from Waxy.org you can watch Tom Cruise give Oprah what for in this little quicktime video: Tom_Cruise_Kills_Oprah.mov (4.1 mb)

Laugh? I nearly peed my pants. Short and sweet...

How to Perform Strong Man Stunts by Ottley R. Coulter

BEWARE: I'm coming over to your house to tear your phonebook in half.

It would be pretty easy to do on the South Shore of Nova Scotia as its only about 300 pages anyway. An old lady could probably pull it off.

Boom Chicago : Videos
Check ot these videos especially the Michael Jackson and Guantanamo Bay Torture Toys Set. Thanks to the Zookeeper for the link.

Before you forward any stupid email chain letters watch this. Thanks Big Al. He sent it to me via email... I guess it was forwarded to him.

Homeless man sentenced to house arrest
Just when you think the system has done the stupidest thing ever something like this comes along...

Thanks to Prairie Woman for the link.

At my Mom's request here are some more photos of our new place.



They definitely give a better sense of the scale of our loft with furniture.
Click the read more link to see more pictures.

The first picture I scanned is one of my favourites. It's me and my 'Nanny' Hall. My mom's mother who passed away in 2000. I still miss her a lot. She was a good egg. I used to stop into her place on the way home from school for cookies and root beer.

As well as a scanner this new gadget, a Brother MFC-210C is a copier, fax machine and photo capture device. Now I have a ton of photos I can scan and share. I'll finally be able to use that PHP gallery software that comes with my hosting package.

OMFG! I can't believe I found the
Casino Taxi Jingle (LINK DEAD). Just click play on the graphic and turn up the sound. It plays over and over again. I don't even have to cheat to remember the words:

If you’re a person on the go write down this number
It’s the key to traveling quick
It’s Casino Taxi’s number
4296666

Casino Taxi they’re the fast ones
Casino Taxi as near as your phone
No need to run, don’t get wet
Dial that number
429-6666
Or 425-6666!

As a kid in Nova Scotia we heard this jingle over and over again. Just like this graphic... Weeee! I love it.

Wanna listen to some music by a dead deaf guy? Go to BBC - Radio 3 - Beethoven Experience - downloads

No it's not a Photoshop job. It's the real thing. Ananova - Clothing for chickens
I think the only dressing I'll have with my chicken is of the Stove Top variety. This I just don't get...

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

Although this is the popular form of this quotation, a more correct translation from the original Chinese would be "The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." Rather than emphasizing the first step, Lau Tzu regarded action as something that arises naturally from stillness. Another potential phrasing would be "Even the longest journey must begin where you stand." [note by Michael Moncur, September 01, 2004]

from quotationspage.com

The note makes it even more profound. All movement is an inside job. The obstacles are within not without. Pitfalls galore here...

Tired of listening to that same tired story about your pal's kid crapping itself for the first time? Try Outsource a Friend...

Thanks Big Al.

Here are some pictures of our new pad at on Carol's blog at CarolBrowne.com.

Looks great doesn't it? There's a little hiccup already. The garage door opener is 'missing'. I was hoping to move stuff in today but because we can't get into the garage we can't leave the car unattended with our stuff in it. *sigh*

The landlady, Diane, said she left it for us and told Carol exactly where but, no dice. Carol and her friend Kellie scoured the place last night but couldn't find it. I suspect that either a) Diane forgot to leave it as she was moving or b) Diane's cleaning lady picked it up thinking Diane had left it behind by accident. If either of those two are right then we'll surely find it. But if Diane has it then it is in Nanaimo. Argh!

/open rant

I just want to get moved in. Enough of this waiting around crap.

/close rant

Check out Banana Phone - Flash Animation

The song these guys are cussing about is a tune by kids' performer Raffi. Great stuff if you're a four year old. But when I tell someone to speak into the banana phone I don't mean anything nice at all. It makes me angry too... "Ring, ring, ring, ring..." SHUT UP!!!!

Thanks to Etrigan for the link.