It’s been delayed far too long. I’ve fawned over her, discussed her and even posted Boston Terrier photos of my wonderful new familial addition - the lovely and talented Pixie Pye. You have yet, however, to see a video of my cute little water weasel. So with no further ado…
Strictly snappin’ necks.
And you thought Shep and Rhuby liked to do the head-tilt thing. Pixie is almost able to pull off a full Linda Blair. What do you think? Is she the cutest thing ever, or the probable result of a mad scientist crossing a Mogwai with a retarded bullfrog? I’ll let you be the judge.
Friday's Quizzlet: There Goes the Scotch Appetizer: What was your favorite cartoon when you were a child? I used to love Saturday mornings and remember that Dungeons and Dragons, The Smurfs, G.I. Joe and a bunch of others were always on my dance card. But the 70's version of Spider-Man was my very favorite. I still......
Linkbait for a Living Have you ever thought to yourself - “Gosh. I wonder what Dave Pye actually does for a living“? If your answer was “yes” then please read on. If your answer was “no, you narcissistic prick” - I probably deserved that. I’m going to pull down my professional pants today and......
Veekend Video: Wuthering Sheps [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOXmjh6wMyQ[/youtube] Last week my neighbor Don came over to help me get the lake pump started, and Shep heard him approaching through my bedroom window. He proceeded to bark incessantly and I decided to take some video to undoubtedly use for something silly at some point. Friday afternoon my work......
Update - Monday morning. Smoke is clearing. Dave is smiling. I can’t believe I got nearly every frigging thing on my list done. Thanks to those that helped, especially J and S. I feel caught up and a tremendous weight has been lifted from my formerly overwhelmed shoulders. Maintaining a house is no joke and I’m learning a lot. The most important lessons so far, which I’d like to share, are 1) Make lists (further explanation below in the original post) and 2) Be doing something everyday to make that list shorter - thereby avoiding the aforementioned (and inevitable) “overwhelmshion”. Tasks which could not be completed have notes in red below, and I just made the final list update if you’d like to check my score.
Over my nearly 6 years as a blogger I have seen and taken part in some of the many ways in which your website can cross over and effect your real life. I was nearly lynched in the North End. You may remember the semi-successful Pork Ass Challenge. Recently I’ve been writing a lot about productivity and workflow. Less about Blade Runner.
Although I myself haven’t had a cigarette since New Year’s Eve 1999 there are many blogs devoted to nothing but the author attempting to quit smoking. These, usually futile, attempts are the perfect example of this post’s purpose - calling your shot in public. If you fail to quit the lung rockets, the drinking, the over-eating, the necrophelia - everyone is going to know because you publicized your intentions. Not wanting to appear like a weak windbag in front of your friends can enable you to move mountains. A simple blog post declaring your noble intentions then becomes enormous motivation for completing your mission. And I’m going to need all the motivation I can muster this weekend.
This is all, word-for-word, from a text file I’ve had open on my desktop and have been adding to since I got back from Gooch’s wedding on Tuesday. If you’re a GTD fan you’ll notice some of that methodology (next steps, context lists, etc.) ingrained. If you don’t know what GTD is, and you’re feeling overwhelmed by tasks at work or in your personal life, you absolutely have to buy and read the book I’ve listed to the left. It’s saved my life, and if I were a richer man I’d buy it for you - but I shouldn’t have to because it’s under $10. That, my friends, is a testimonial of which you should take heed.
June 20th & 21st Task List
Phone Call Wentworth Call Spencer re: laptop & dartboard Call Steve Brig & Schedule alternate trailer deliveryCall Bob re: trailer rental and his truck Call Erynn re: dates for visit
Call Brooks-Cryderman re: radiant heating - will do today. Not in office on weekends. Call Mike Bell re: satelitte installation Call Best Buy re: laptop and hard drive repair
Yard Finish staining dock - Got the supplies I need but wanted to wait for sunny weather to paint.
- Get stain & brushFinish dock trim
- Paint trim and install - See above. Call Don re: tractor and whipper-snipper repair
- Repair tractor - Got the belt and took the tractor apart with the help of my neighbor and noticed a crack in one of the very dull blades which has puppy behading-potential. Going to get two new blades then re-assemble tonight with new belt in place. - Repair whipper-snipper
- Get belt for tractor
- Take whipper-snipper to small engine repair shop - Ended up investing in a SICK new one with an 18″ snipping diameter, brush cutting and edging features. This property needs a serious whipper snipper. Fix lake pump- Get new foot valve. Bring old one for sizing- Add new valve, prime, get taps working - Lost the primer cap while working on it Saturday and the new foot valve shot off the end of the hose like the Nautalis. Realized I needed thread tape and got some Sunday when I went to Home Hardware to replace the cap. Almost over the finish line. Pickup dog pooPickup loose trash Store all tools and hardware Clean up mess by basement door
- Burn wood - Was too wet to burn over the weekend, but everything scheduled for incineration has been moved to the fire pit. All I have to do is light a match. - Add glass and refuse to outgoing trash for Monday
- Move deck umbrella- Move ladder to garage
Office Clean office
- Store boxes- Hang pictures- Organize Mom’s desk- File all loose documents- Move current files back onto clean desk area
- Fill bank shelves and then mark for actionMove fax machine Move hard driveGive laptop to Spencer Scan trust documents for Janet Clean out work and personal email inboxes
Winchester Clean Winchester - Sweep - Mop - Change bedding
Install strike plate - I forgot this can’t be done until a proper door frame is built. Shouldn’t have been on the list.
Put tread on stairs - Couldn’t find any. Will likely just cut bathtub tread to fit.
Garage Sort trash - Recyclables - To be burned - To be returned Return bottles Mark garbage with tags for Monday a.m. Burn the burnable
House Laundry
- Master bedroom, sheets only
- Loose clothes in Dave’s room
- Winchester bedding Hang, beat and store mats Clean back deck
- Assemble umbrella
- Return kegs and tap for deposit
- Move bins to garage Store satellite equipmentChange side lightbulb Sort Dave’s room
- Fix closet door
- Hang mirror
- Clean out closet
- Hang pictures
Basement Hang dartboard Cover pool table
- Brush pool table
- Clean pool table coverClean rest of photo glass and rehang Reclean floor re: dog and cat urineClean out and restock fridge
Smiths Falls Get dock stain & brushGet new wallet Get foot valve Get laundry detergentGet stair treadGet belt for tractorTake whipper-snipper to repair shop
Miscellaneous Go visit Dad on Sunday. Check times in letter or phone ahead.
- Clothes to GoodwillGet fucking hydratedTreat head wound (long story) Don’t get distracted (shitfaced)
I won’t get everything done this weekend. I say that because some items, such as launching the boat, are dependant on weather or other people over whom I have no real physical or mental control. Yet. I’m going to get damn close, though, and I’ll update you on Monday, beaming proudly and feeling a whole lot better than I do right now. Dave is in the weeds. Dave needs a “life” whipper-snipper. Don’t believe me? Just see item #3 under “Yard”.
Pretending To Be Pixies Ryan sent me this. It's so entertaining. If you're a Pixies fan, you absolutely have to click through and check it out. Some guy named Matthew - with a love of the band that makes Mark David Chapman nervous - and coupled with an intimate knowledge of Pro Tools, has......
The Pixies Play Letterman, December 14th, 2004. So those monkeys that had gone to heaven? Well they finally flew out of my butt. It wasn't the first time - they performed 'Tame' in 1989 and 'Trompe Le Monde' in 1991 - but it was uniquely magnificent in it's sheer unlikeliness. This time last year, they weren't even......
7 Reasons I Wanty Winter. When you turn the heat up in my apartment, it smells exactly like someone cooking a grilled cheese. As I absolutely love grilled cheeses, this is one of the things that makes fall and winter my favorite time of year. I have found myself proclaiming that a lot lately, and......
This isn’t some kind of virus alarm but it’s still a big dork deal. Especially if you’re a massive tool like I am. Apple released the latest version of the iPhone’s software today and it contains a ton of cool new - and useful - features that you don’t have to buy the new iPhone (released tomorrow) in order to get.
When I read all of the new phone’s features earlier this week, having just purchased the current one a little over a months ago, buyer’s remorse immediately set in. “Damn it - I should have waited.” As my local copy of iTunes automatically began downloading the 230 MB update a few minutes ago, that remorse was replaced with joy. A window popped up listing what was new in the update for current iPhone owners. I quickly realized nearly all of the new features I bemoaned not waiting to purchase so I could enjoy are included in this very software update for current and older models. Well raise my rent!
Here are the additions I’m particularly interested in adding to my productivity/silliness arsenal, and you can click through to a full list as there are many more I don’t give a fig about.
Cut, Copy & Paste with shake to undo Not being able to copy and paste has been a real headache for me. This is at the top of my “thank fuck” list. The shake option will also be perfect for days when you long for your old Etch-o-Sketch.
Landscape keyboard in key applications I have large frigging fingers. Enough said. Thank heavens for this addition.
Enhanced Messages application - Send and receive photos, contacts, audio files, and location via MMS. I gotta tell you, it was weird to shell out for the iPhone and not be able to do simple things like take a picture and text it to a friend like you’d been able to do for years with regular cell phones.
- Forward and delete single or multiple messages Don’t you miss having texts forwarded to you by friends writing to other friends “in confidence”? Or drunkenly forwarding something personal to the wrong person? Happy days are here again.
Spotlight search across iPhone
This new tool allows you to search Mail, Contacts Calendar, Notes and iPod tracks simultaneously. I can’t yet envision how this may be useful, unless you’re a big fan of Elvis Costello and he also owes you money, but I’m willing to fiddle around and find out.
The Best New 3G iPhone Apps.
There you have it, and my list doesn’t mention about 100 brand new applications, also being launched today, which take advantage of the more technical upgrades. Personally, I can’t wait for iShitPants (see the video). If you’re an iPhone owner - get updating.
Friday's Quizzlet: Live and in Technicolor Last week's user-submitted quizzlet was a lot of fun, no? Shall we do it again? I'm about to send out Facebook and Twitter requests for questions and I will add to this post as they come in. Please leave your questions in the blog comments. Appetizer: If you could berate......
My Task List for This Weekend. God Help Me. Update - Monday morning. Smoke is clearing. Dave is smiling. I can't believe I got nearly every frigging thing on my list done. Thanks to those that helped, especially J and S. I feel caught up and a tremendous weight has been lifted from my formerly overwhelmed shoulders. Maintaining a......
Rags to Riches: A C64 Anomaly About 7 years ago, on what I imagine must have been a particularly lonely Saturday night, I not only discovered a website devoted to old Commodore 64 games but stuck around long enough to actually write a review of one of my favorites: Rags to Riches. I have been getting......
I wrote a high school paper about the world-famous Ernesto “Che” Guevara and I remember being more than a little confused as to why he was revered by the left, particularly many actors and musicians of which I was a fan, as such a superhero. As I was a long-banged, Smiths-listening lefty by association (young, dumb and full of… Morrissey) I tended to side with my similarly spoon-fed friends and decided I dug the guy - although in my own defense I never, ever, owned one of those fucking Che shirts. Guevara was either a complete bastard or God’s gift simply depending on which book I was able to sign out of the CCHS library on a given day. The rift, split and division continues to this day, but as far as the influence of popular culture and Hollywood is concerned, el Commandante definitely has a leg up - which is both irresponsible and unfortunate. I’ll explain.
“Knowing what we know, why do we still celebrate him?” - Paul Berman
In the years since my compass has drifted, thankfully, farther to the right. That having been said, I was still excited to devote 4 hours of my life to watching Steven Soderbergh’s Che - and I did so, in one sitting, late Monday night. I certainly enjoyed the movie as entertainment. It felt authentic, gritty, was action-packed and engaging all the way through the Cuban revolution, his operations in the Congo (which are only briefly mentioned by another character and almost wholly omitted from the film) and to the final battles in the Bolivian jungle. To the uninitiated this film’s protagonist would definitely appear to be a revolutionary hero. The movie’s slant is in no way conflicted on this point.
Killer Chic: Hollywood’s Sick Love Affair With Che Guevara
From the above video: It’s something that baffles Cuban jazz legend Paquito D’Rivera. “Che hated artists, so how is it possible that artists still today support the image of Che Guevara?” Turns out the rebellious icon that emblazons countless T-shirts actually enforced aesthetic and political conformity.
My problem with the film has nothing to do with acting, timeline, 85% Spanish dialogue, cinematography or any other technical or aesthetic aspect. It’s solid celluloid. I will never, however, recommend it to anyone under the age of 25 who’ve never read at least a couple of books/articles on the man, preferably one from each side of the aisle. If “Che” Parts 1 and 2 are the only point of reference for a young mind, which they will undoubtedly become once the DVDs are released later this year, you’d think the guy was a cross between Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and Davey Crockett.
A large percentage of Cubans remember him as the “the butcher of La Cabaña” and he is considered by many others to be the genesis of continuing politically-charged brutality in the regions he directly influenced - and many that he did not. Fischer Price: My First Revolution, if you will. As Del Toro’s Che tells Lou Diamond Phillip’s character, “A coup without an army behind it never stands a chance“. Lou Diamond, fresh on the heels of his tour-de-force performance on the George Lopez Show, nods stoically. I have to be honest here though - I think there are 12-yr-old white girls in Northern Minnesota who know they have a better chance of spotting a Yeti than seeing a revolution without violence. Then they get to college and some unkempt 3rd-year activist convinces them otherwise, signs them up for a candlelit vigil during which he tries to finger her and then buys her a Che shirt the next morning as an apology. Does anyone else see the irony in that?
The leanings of Soderbergh and his Hollywood pals are no secret, but there’s “spin” and then there’s blatant omission. Stevey can argue that he does indeed show Che ordering executions. Two of his own troops who deserted, raped and then torched the house of peasants are shot during the first half of the film. (So what you’re saying is that many of his victims deserved to be blown away in jungle clearings. I get it now, and I still love you and your t-shirt, Johnny Depp!). He can also point out that during once scene, shortly before he is dispatched, one of the Bolivian soldiers remarks, “Guevera assasinated my Uncle”. As far as ticks in the “definitely not any kind of hero” column, those calculated, punch-pulling critical additions to the film are just the tip of the firing squad.
About a year ago I was at an Irish pub in Ottawa, Ontario and watched a group of about 30 twenty-somethings, obviously on some sort of bar crawl, stumble through the door all at once. To my dismay I noticed that they were all wearing identical neon-green t-shirts with the infamous Che visage boldly printed on the front. To prove a point to my companions, I told them I’d pay the tab for the entire night if just one of the misguided students pressed against our table like sardines could both a) identify and correctly pronounce the name of the man on their spiffy new shirt and b) tell me why they admired him. I made my point after speaking to about five of them and drank for free into the wee hours.
I’m no expert on the man, but I’ve definitely gone further out of my way over the last 20 years to be able to form an honest, objective opinion of his deserved legacy than the vast majority of my peers - a desire based in large on my early exposure to a book on the Cuban Revolution which my parents had in their house. I’ll shut up now. Spend the money you’re thinking of laying down for one of these incredibly inappropriate (you now know that Che vehemently disliked artists and musicians) t-shirt, dog tag or knit hat symbols of your progressiveness and spend it instead on a book like The Che Guevara Myth and the Future of Liberty - then see if you still feel the same way. That’s all I’m saying. Viva le Gordita !
It's my Blog and I'll Write About Indiana Jones if I Want to... ...Write about Indiana Jones if I want to, Write about Indiana Jones if I want to. You would write too if you happened to be... a huge frigging nerd. Doo doo doo doo doo doo! I'm here all week. Try the chilled monkey brains. As of yet there have been......
Roving Correspondent: PCA At The Olympics. My friend Pete Avgoustits has been in Greece for the past few weeks visiting his parents and attending the Olympics. Since I'ze got nothing tonight, I thought I'd share some snippets from an email he sent me. A LONG ASS email he sent me. So bear with me and give......
Friday’s Quizzlet: Cold Kickin’ It Live! The site from which I used to spelunk my quizzlet questions each Friday has unfortunately gone the way of the Dodo. I’m quite happy to make the questions up myself - but that seems pretty disingenuous. I’d also like to reboot the sense of community we had here on Pye......
Sarah’s supporters wasted only the time they had to stand in the shitter line before beginning to drum up support for 2012.
- From a bathroom stall seen by reader DVS somewhere in CT.
Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys There are no words. I will let Clattenburg do the talking and ruminate further in a future post. “Over the past few months there has been a lot of discussion among our fans and those in the media about the future of Trailer Park Boys. Will there be another season,......
Turn Out The Lights. The house that I sit inside as I write this long overdue post is the one and only geographical constant I've had in my life. My Grandmother bought it shortly before I was born in 1973, and I've been wandering these halls for 33 years straight. We sold it recently,......
GoonBlog: The Podcast. Episode #2. Recorded last Saturday, and now live for your special time hockey podcast fun jamboree enjoyment, is Episode #2 of GoonBlog: The Podcast. You'll hear the dulcet tones of the Tragically Hip - our new theme music - as I get better with the editing equipment. Prick your ears up in......
Here were the instructions I received from Angela via Facebook yesterday morning: “Using only song titles from one artist, cleverly answer these questions. Once you’re finished, tag 15 friends and have them do it! (One bonus point for every album you can pick a song title from!)”
I did this a while back for the Pixies but this is a different group of questions so I’ll take it for another spin. I’ve linked to the different albums and managed to use every one in existence at least once. What can I say? Mr. Black is a prolific songwriter. And I fucking love him.
That was not easy but definitely fun. It was definitely a good idea to pick a musician with a large body of work. And a large body. Pick your favorite band and give it a try yourself in the comments.
Friday's Quizzlet: I Found My Thrill. Appetizer: Name 3 things that you think are strange.Celebutants: That strange mixture of privilige, wealth, fame - and no good reason for any scrap of it. Dog people: Why do cat people always like dogs too, but self-professed dog people always hate cats and wear it pompously like some sort......
Leave Sexy Right Where It Frigging Is. Where has "sexy" been that so many people seem intent now on bringing it back? All praise be to Justin Timberlake for bestowing this special gift upon all of us. Just Google it and click a few pages deep. It's frightening. How many times have you heard it said now......
Oh the Doo Dah Canada Day As all my clients are American I can't exactly kick back, relax and swell with pride today. As usual, there's a lot of the old online marketing to do. But I do want to mark the occasion here on the blog and wish all of my Canuckian readers (and those......
Although he feigned revulsion and walked out of the MTV Movie Awards, Eminem secretly welcomed Bruno’s 69 as a vast improvement over Robert Pattinson’s face.
Giant Squid Discovered = Dave's Nerdery Uncovered. Almost a year to the day since I wrote my acclaimed homage de 20,000 Leagues, which still attracts traffic to my site on a daily basis, a Japanese scientist has finally managed to photograph a live Giant Squid in the wild. I think this is absolutely awesome, as I've been......
Sugarbushwhacked. I wanted to get out of the city this past weekend, and get out of it I did - straight into the wilds of Vermont. My sister's friend Joe has a great house right at the top of a mountain, and Janet has somehow gotten herself an open invitation. I......
Pye in the Face Hath Returned! I’m beyond happy to announce that the bastard hackers have been thwarted and my humor and pop culture blog, “Pye in the Face” a.k.a. www.DavePye.com is back and better than ever! New energy, new backend, new design and all the previous posts were saved and restored. That was a close......
While I’m beyond excited about the new Pye in the Face design (what do you guys think? Too literal? Gotta say, I love it) and the renewed sense of community we’ve managed to restore - I am remiss in my posting! For those of you who don’t know, Janet and I are having a memorial weekend for my dearly departed Mother, starting the day after tomorrow. To say we are preoccupied would be the understatement of the Spring. If you don’t believe me, I’ll cut and paste a portion of my current task list in below. Although I’m sure you do because we’re talking about family death stuff here and people rarely joke about that, right? Maybe in your family:
Stain dock
Install dock
Fix and install boatlift
Build new stairs for Winchester (the bunkhouse I finished over the garage 2 summers ago).
Assemble and recover pool table
Seed lawns
Plant 3 gardens
Get port-a-pottys
Order dumpster
Find and borrow canoe
Schedule plumber, electrician and welder
Get boat trailer in Bancroft
Launch boat
Massive Costco trip
Wash bedding
Pick up kegs
Clean and furnish Winchester
Many, many etc.’s
That’s a miniscule portion of the tasks that must be completed before Saturday morning. Gwen and some family members get here Thursday night and a whackload more arrive on Friday. We’ll have tons of help - but not until the day before the big event. I’m quite certain, however, that we’re going to do just fine. I’ll be taking lots of photos and video of the event which will be eventually posted on the site Janet and I made for our Mom: www.BonniePye.com. Have a look even if you already have as I’ve added memorial details, tons of old photos I dug out of storage and scanned and people have let a bunch of wonderful memories. If you knew Bonnie I’d like to invite you one more time to leave one too.
So please forgive the inactivity. It will come to a screeching halt next week when the big weekend is behind us and Bonnie has been properly memorialized and remembered. Even though I’d naturally spend a good portion of the weekend choked up, what chokes me up more is the incredible response the event has had and the sheer number of people who have told us they are coming. High school friends (both my parents and mine), people Mom used to work with, people I knew growing up in Manotick, Boston, Toronto etc. Gwen is coming all the way from Florida so I think she wins the long distance prize. Which, luckily for me, is to clean the gazebo. Congratulations Gwen and we’ll see you tomorrow with you knee pads and wire brushes!
And in all seriousness - thanks again to everyone for all their support, fond memories, help and friendship. Mom was truly loved and she’d be beyond flattered by the festivities which will be taking place on the land she planned to retire to in her honor. So flattered, in fact, that she might even have had a second glass of red wine were she here on Saturday. Miss you like crazy, Bunz, and I hope you’re able to drop in and see the legacy you’ve left behind. From wherever you are. But just for the one day though because I’m here by myself most of the time and would probably be pretty freaked out otherwise.
Introducing Pixie Pye! Back in February, when Mom was particularly bad, Shep's breeder graciously offered to take care of him for a few days. When I returned to pick him up Megan mentioned to me that Pixie, who was Shepherd 1.0's mother, had to have an emergency spay after her most recent litter......
Crazy Fall Follies, Part 2 Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll continue... Sunday we all picked up and drove back to our respective homes. The departure was anything but early and I got back to Portland, to an extremely psyched puppy, by about 10pm. It was great to be home, but the odyssey wasn't quite......
Calling All Family Tree Huggers Perhaps it's my family health issues - who am I kidding... that's exactly what it is - but I've felt a very strong desire recently to research and document a family tree of sorts. I'd like to use an online tool that allows multiple members of a family to have......
Resuscitate Guelph University's Bullring! Calling all Gryphons, inebriates, b-boys and speaker-dancers… We need the old Bullring faithful. We need your magic. It has been literal eons since the heydays of the almighty Bullring. None of us who were there, however, will ever forget them. The sticky floors, lukewarm draft beer, neon signs, human blood......
The Return Of The Speckled Trout. A friend of mine has just returned to Barrie, Ontario after a 5-year-stint in Holland. I would have kept this information to myself had I not just been sent such a hilarious photograph from his first night back. I strive to keep this page enjoyable for all - with a......
Wednesday Wadio: The Verve's 'Love is Noise' First things first - How the hell did I not know until last night that the Verve's first album in 11 years was released on Tuesday? I have failed myself, and I have failed all of you. Or something. Sufferin' Ashcrofts this album is actually really, really good. I want......
Even if you don’t give a fig about the movie - you have to watch this. Super-creative and also hilarious. Sounding quite a bit like The Streets, two English guys have taken it upon themselves to carefully edit the movie Predator in time with a narrative rap they’ve written describing the plot of the movie. They claim in the description that it took them 9 months to do this, and after watching I’m prone to believe them.
“My team always works alone, Homeboy.”
I love the way in which they rhyme the lyrics they’ve written with actual quotes from the movie: “Now he can see why Dillon was sent as his minder - ‘You cooked up a story and dropped the six of us in a meat grinder’“. And they way they’ve taken special care to include Hawkins’ jokes is also appreciated by this particular fan. Well done to you, sirs.
Behave Yourselves And Discuss Mortality. I have to leave early to get to Triconi's engagement party tonight, and I've a mountain of work to get through beforehand. So the Quizzlet will be delayed until some point over the weekend. A thousand pardons, and I'll leave you with something to keep you busy in the meantime.......
Cut Me, Mick. What an uncanny topic, given my current appearance. I am really looking forward to going to see Rocky Balboa tomorrow night. The buzz is good and I always love the underdog. Whether it's a 56-yr old actor making a boxing movie and having it work - or me not falling......
Gran Torino: Eastwood, Fish Heads & Heart Movies tend to become part of the mix over the Holiday Season, and by "Holiday Season" I of course mean Christmas and New Year's Eve. Nothing, as you can probably surmise at this point, fills me with yuletide cheer quite like political incorrectness. Perhaps that is the reason I've already......
Shall we do another “live” Quizzlet this week, kids? I certainly hope so. Please enter your questions - silly or serious - in the comments below, and be sure to come back later to answer everyone’s queries your damn self. This has become my favorite post of the week. Help a brother out.
Friday's Quizzlet: Ambiencognito. Appetizer: Approximately how many times per day do you yawn?Probably 25. There are many variable contributing factors. Like boredom, sleep deprivation and self-administered ether.Soup: What was your most memorable school field trip?I went to a mushroom farm in Ottawa in about grade 4, and we spent a lovely afternoon running......
Wednesday Wadio: Okkervil River's 'For Real' I have been listening to these guys incessantly for 2 days now after a friend suggested I check the scene. "For Real" off Okkervil River's 4th album, Black Sheep Boy, starts out quiet and measured, turns into a screaming spittle-fest fairly quickly and then gets all kinds of Neil Young......
Friday's Quizzlet: Raiders of the Lost Park I've been meaning to write a few vignette type blurbs about some of the interesting experiences I've had whilst living in a trailer park for the last two weeks. As my time is fairly limited at the moment, I'm going to try and kill that bird and the Quizzlet bird......
Hearkening back to my post last week about how to best integrate an iPhone with an existing, primarily Microsoft-based work process - I think I may finally have it. And I say ‘finally’ because I’ve been hammering away at this like one of the Seven Dwarves ever since. This whole mess really deserves a graphic of some sort, but part of the new flow is that I start work promptly at 9am - so that will have to wait.
I get up at 7:30, shower, feed the dogs then 8-9 is for blogging, RSS feed reading and personal email. At 9am the whistle blows and currently I’ve got only 9 minutes to finish this post. If that sounds rigid it’s because it is - and I need it to be that way.
Email: I’ve abandoned Outlook for Thunderbird - a free, open source and lightning-fast email client with many of the same features and none of the ridiculous loading or lag time. I’ll write more on all these new cogs in my workflow wheel later.
Calendar: Google Calendar was the hands-down winner due to the fact it’s compatible, or has a plugin, for just about every productivity application out there. It plays well with others.
Contacts: Still working this one through. I’d love it to be Thunderbird, but it’ll likely end up being Plaxo as I already have a well-worn account there and the import/export and networking features are slick. Ideally I’d like something that can sync comfortably back-and-forth with my iPhone.
Tasks: This is the discovery I’m really excited about, as I am a GTD disciple and list-making maniac. You name it and I’ve tried it - Remember the Milk, the native Outlook task list, SimpleGTD, etc. After my own painstaking research and reading about 100 blog posts on the subject there is a very clear winner: Toodledo. Thank goodness I found this wonderful site, its iPhone application, Google Calendar and FireFox plugins and iGoogle gadget. My task list nerdery will now know no bounds.
I’ll revisit this post throughout the day (but only during scheduled breaks for personal time, mind you!) and update you on how the new workflow is working out. Wish me luck, and if you feel a need to remark “Gee, Dave. I remember my first beer,” I’ll understand.
Using Your Floodle. I discovered Floodle today while reading one of my favorite marketing blogs. At first look, it is a handy dandy resource for eBooks, Top 10 lists, etc. Pop-advice, if you will. Some sample features include 101 recipes for the deep fryer, Caring for your Pet Hamster, The Big Book of......
The Dregs of MySpace. MySpace is a lot of things to a lot of people, and one of the more poignant analogies I've heard is that it's like a web enabled high school. This is even truer when you consider all of the recent virtual bullying cases that have been in the news. They're......
A Vote for Doris Kearns Goodwin is a Vote for the Red Sox! My friend Joey's mom is up for President of Red Sox Nation. You may have heard of her - she's a very well known, Pulitzer Prize winning historical author - and a genuinely wonderful lady. She is up against a veritable who's who of well-known Bostonians for the coveted position,......
I could actually list 33 reasons my little sister is the coolest - but that would take all morning. Will you good people settle for a quick 5?
“What’s with all the bubbles, bro? Mom says there’s no such thing as sea monsters.”
She looks just like me. Not the other way around - I was here first.
She loves to perform back-breaking landscaping work getting ready for her Mother’s memorial. Although that particular trait won’t begin until next week.
She’s excellent at pool, and will only get better now that we have our own table!
She actually cooks for fun. Which is, in turn, very fun for me.
She is an excellent dog-mommy.
Pumpkin and Janet make up after the previous evening’s kerfuffle.
(It’s hard to see, but she has a ginormous bandage on her chin.)
Happy birthday Janet! Seems like only yesterday you were making fun of me for turning 33. Not so bloody funny anymore, is it? And what better way to celebrate someone’s special day than with embarassing photos I just dug out of storage? Actually, they’re not that bad - but only because there are still about 9 boxes I haven’t gone through. Perhaps we’ll require a part 2.
Curse Of The BlackBerry Pearl. Janet, Matt, James, Sully and I just took Jim to RedBones for his birthday. Jim is one of my oldest friends, and I'm glad Matt organized the dinner, because life gets in the way of the important things sometimes. Most of the time.A few weeks ago I cashed in my......
A Longing Nod to the Auld Sod To be in Boston on St. Patrick's Day would have been very nice indeed. As it stands, I'm in Portland Ontario with narry a beer in the house. Times change, quite often for the better. The novelty of working the door at Tiernan's would have worn off after an hour,......
Cut Me, Mick. What an uncanny topic, given my current appearance. I am really looking forward to going to see Rocky Balboa tomorrow night. The buzz is good and I always love the underdog. Whether it's a 56-yr old actor making a boxing movie and having it work - or me not falling......
Activists spread dirt on their faces during a swine flu awarness campaign in Jakarta. In an ironic twist of fate, it was later learned that spreading dirt on your face is the number one cause of the disease.
Senator, You're No Martin Luthur King 45 years ago tonight, Dr, King gave his famous "I have a dream" speech in Washington D.C. - and tonight Barack Obama makes his long anticipated acceptance speech at the DNC in Denver. What a stomach-churning uncanny coincidence. The late Lloyd Bentsen would have definitely stifled his notorious retort if......
Note To Self: Frig Off. I've been like that little Dutch boy with his finger stuck in the dyke for the last couple of weeks. Yeah, yeah - so you've heard. I've done it to death. We get it, Pye. You're busy at work. We know. I'll bet you didn't know that I've been coming......
A Face Only A Tourist Could Love. They got me 3 times this morning during my merry jaunt to work. The first was at the end of Salem Street - "Hi, how do you get to Haymarket from here?" she asked. "Easy... follow me." I'm not sure if she did, because I walk at a pretty fierce......
I have to ride in the back again? I’m calling Sharpton.
Yes, she resembles a retarded Mogwai. Or may also be the result of a genetic experiment which crossed a piglet with an adult male bullfrog. But little Pixie Pye is all mine - and I loves her! She’s fitting in well with the family and I can’t wait for her to meet Janet and Rhuby next week. The Three Fugsketeers will come together at last!
Toronto Odyssey #1: Go Buck A Fuffalo. I simply don't know where to start in describing the events of last week, and I'm not entirely sure I should. It was an adventure, nay - an odyssey. There were moments of fun sprinkled on top, but I don't think I have ever been as happy to cross the......
Wednesday Wadio: Urban Dance Squad Appreciation "Mellow... That's my styyyyyle". A friend and I were taking a long drive on Monday with my iPod a' crankin'. I have an 80 gig model, and putting it on shuffle is like staring into the abyss. You might get Pixies, but then again you might get Jerky Boys. Luckily,......
Friday's Quizzlet: There Goes the Scotch Appetizer: What was your favorite cartoon when you were a child? I used to love Saturday mornings and remember that Dungeons and Dragons, The Smurfs, G.I. Joe and a bunch of others were always on my dance card. But the 70's version of Spider-Man was my very favorite. I still......
July 04 1845 Thomas Barnado 1885 Louis B. Meyer 1900 Louis Armstrong 1924 Eva Marie Saint 1927 Gina Lollobridgida 1927 Neil Simon 1934 Colin Welland 1942 H.R.H. Prince Michael of Kent 1962 Pam Shriver
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A large percentage of Cubans remember him as the “the butcher of La Cabaña” and he is considered by many others to be the genesis of continuing politically-charged brutality in the regions he directly influenced - and many that he did not. Fischer Price: My First Revolution, if you will. As Del Toro’s Che tells Lou Diamond Phillip’s character, “A coup without an army behind it never stands a chance“. Lou Diamond, fresh on the heels of his tour-de-force performance on the George Lopez Show, nods stoically. I have to be honest here though - I think there are 12-yr-old white girls in Northern Minnesota who know they have a better chance of spotting a Yeti than seeing a revolution without violence. Then they get to college and some unkempt 3rd-year activist convinces them otherwise, signs them up for a candlelit vigil during which he tries to finger her and then buys her a Che shirt the next morning as an apology. Does anyone else see the irony in that?
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- then see if you still feel the same way. That’s all I’m saying. Viva le Gordita !
Here were the instructions I received from 
Shall we do another “live” Quizzlet this week, kids? I certainly hope so. Please enter your questions - silly or serious - in the comments below, and be sure to come back later to answer everyone’s queries your damn self. This has become my favorite post of the week. Help a brother out.
Email: I’ve abandoned Outlook for 
