Working from home, I hear the clank of our letter box closing after a visit from Canada Post.  It's usually around 2pm and as soon as I hear it I scurry down the stairs to see what I've been left. Since I moved into this home over three months ago,

Commenter Ben doesn't always use the divider when putting his groceries on the conveyer belt.  He also calls the divider "a baton", which may or may not be the proper term. I haven't got around to Googling that one yet... Ben just tweeted at me that he's not an asshole

I know people who are infatuated with the undead.  Specifically, zombies. They watch zombie television shows like The Walking Dead, enjoy zombie movies like World War Z and generally consume anything zombie-related. They just dig the genre. I do not dig the genre.  In fact, I find zombie shows and

MLSE is going to honour Bon Jovi with a permanent banner inside the ACC.  Until now, the only banners you'd find hanging from the rafters honour sports teams and players who have called the venue home.  Stanley Cup banners, retired and honoured players and the like. These teams and players

According to Twitter, it's hot in Toronto.  I'm told it feels like 44°C out there.  Lots of people are complaining, but you won't hear me bitching about the heat. To borrow a phrase my buddy Mark just used on his blog, the hotter the better.  I've never deemed Toronto

I'm rarely impressed with customer service these days, but I just had an experience so fine I had to write about it. My son cracked the screen of our Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook so I called Dell up and dealt with a lovely woman named Linda.  Linda owned this case

For no particular reason, and in no particular order, here are five things I don't appreciate.  I understand why people dig this stuff, I've just never been able to get into it. The Wu-Tang ClanI've always enjoyed rap, with my favourite group being Public Enemy.  My brother Ryan, a fellow

Easter is coming, and that means kids everywhere will be receiving Kinder Surprise Eggs.  Well, not kids everywhere.  I understand they're still illegal in the United States. I must confess that I never did like Kinder Eggs. The toy inside was always a worthless piece of crap and the chocolate

Wendy's seems torn.  The fast food restaurant sometimes serves up advertisements featuring the real Wendy, Wendy Thomas.  She's the daughter of Wendy's founder Dave Thomas. Other times, we see the role of Wendy played by a thinner, younger actress.  This Wendy reminds me of Alyson Hannigan. You'd think Wendy's would

For the past two years, I've been living in an apartment building.  This building has no 13th floor. Actually, it does have a 13th floor, but it's listed as the 14th floor.  Like many buildings in North America, the 13th floor is completely skipped.  I've never understood this practice. How

Some conspiracy theories can be fun grist for the mill, but others can be outright offensive and hurtful.  No, this isn't an entry about the flu shot, a topic of much debate on these pages, this is an entry about Sandy Hook Elementary School and 9/11. Refusing to believe

Our mega-consumer society has hit my last nerve.  The stuff we accumulate, particularly at this time of year, is enough to make me physically ill. For a few years now, I've had a "no-buy, no-receive" policy that I adhere to. My friends and loved ones know not to buy me

The Newtown tragedy of Friday breaks my heart.  We've become somewhat desensitized to such killing sprees, but the idea of a young man spraying bullets into a frightened huddle of six and seven years olds feels different.  Every time I see a picture of one of the young victims I

In 2012, good employees are fired every day.  I'm not talking about getting fired for cause, like incompetence or stealing or something untoward like that, I'm talking about good, reliable employees being let go for a variety of reasons ranging from: corporate restructuringthe fact they can replace you for half

I start every day with a steaming hot cup of coffee.  I usually start boiling the water at 9am and by 9:15 I'm enjoying my first sip. Lots of people are espousing the virtues of Tassimo, Keurig, Nespresso and other convenient one-cup coffee systems but I'm not the least

I've just returned from the dentist.  I had a dental exam, two x-rays, polishing and scaling.  It cost me $157 + tax. Luckily, I have dental insurance through work, and my insurance plan will cover $156 of the $157.  That's right, my dentist charges $31 for x-rays that my insurance company

Rob Ford is an extremely polarizing political figure in this city.  Actually, beyond this city.  Most of the comments on the Rob Ford Removed From Office entry are from commenters I happen to know live outside the 416, but that's okay.  Everyone is entitled to express their opinions here. Some

After years of owning an Olympus digital camera, I picked up a Canon PowerShot camera a few years ago for $199.  It was the only digital camera I used, and it did a fine job. It was also my only option.  The camera built into my old Blackberry was pretty

The CBC headline didn't surprise me in the least, but it still pissed me off.  "Canadians pay more than Americans for Canadian-made vehicles." CBC News looked at the relative prices of 24 models made in Ontario by the five big automakers — Ford, GM, Chrysler, Honda and Toyota — and found that

At my former place of employment, I worked on the 10th floor.  The men's bathroom had urinal dividers between the urinals.  It felt nice and private when taking a leak beside a colleague. At some point, I was moved to the 9th floor.  It was nicer on the 9th floor,

Toronto has removed 38 posters for the hockey comedy Goon, deeming them as inappropriate, according to Alliance Films. Here's the controversial poster. It's a guy sticking his tongue out between his V fingers to make the international sign for cunnilingus. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to learn this poster

I now work from home.  There are so many positives to working from home, but it's not all bread and roses.  It's fantastic having no commute and very few interruptions, but there are a few problems when working from home. Here are five four: You'll Forget to ShaveIt turns out

For my visually challenged friends, here's the quote from Sam Harris. Water is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. What if someone says, "Well, that's not how I choose to think about water."? All we can do is appeal to scientific values. And if he doesn't share those values,

I saw this on Reddit today.  The title was "When people ask why I have a problem with religion, it's hard to come up with a single answer..." and I thought it packed a pretty good punch.