January 31, 2008

Kinda funny?

(click to make bigger)

This week has been fairly tiring. We've been having classes moved to 9 am (from more manageable hours) to accommodate some job talks that have been going on in the department. I know 9am isn't technically "early", but you get used to a certain frame of time within which you are awake, and that you might call day. When I worked at Monroe I had to get up really early, I had to be at work at 7:30am and I had to bike there most of the time.

Not really that interesting. Give me a break, I just got up. I need to shower. I hate showering, but I'm forced to do it by the demands of "social acceptability". Also, if unconstrained, I might walk around barefoot all summer, and push those people who wear those stupid stelleto "winter" boots. I know, what an unfathomable rebel.

January 23, 2008

Online Shopping

I've been looking for new boots for months. I actually bought a pair a few weeks ago, but I had to take them back b/c the first day I wore them they leaked, all over the freaking place. I've never bought anything you wear online before, but I tried on these Timberland boots in a store, and the only size they had was one too big. So I took a chance, and ordered a size smaller. These are my new winter boots:I have the brown ones. They're way nicer than the ones I got before, better construction.

Tomorrow I get to pick up my Amazon order, consisting of:

And:

As long as they shipped the right thing, my January online shopping will be a success.

Speaking of Chomsky, I had a presentation in Semantics today. It was Chomsky's 1957 "Syntactic Structures". I hate presentations. They make me want to quit Linguistics and live in an isolated cabin far away from people who can see me... with their eyes. I felt really awkward, because I was basically teaching the class. There were a lot of pauses and me saying, "Um, so do I make any sense?" I said some things that the prof liked, but when he said them back to me, I think he was actually reading into my presentation what he wanted me to say. Ho hum.

Syntax reading to do.

January 21, 2008

The dangers of mercury

I made quesadillas for dinner tonight. I wish I had guacamole, but avacados take forever to ripen and I'm allergic to the pre-prepared stuff for some reason.

I disclaimer about the previous post. I like the new series of Doctor Who, mainly because Mich forced me to watch episodes with her in 4th year. It take a lot for me to get into a show, so I've just been keeping up with what I've been properly introduced to. The problem is, people equate my like of Doctor Who with a general science fiction knowledge. A lady on the train (it was a 7 hour ride, which was supposed to be 4 hours, so we had to amuse ourselves) was like, oh, if you like Doctor Who you must be a huge Star Trek fan as well. And I resent that. I do not like Star Trek. I have not seen most of the Star Wars movies in full. I don't watch the Space channel, or dress up to see Lord of the Rings, of read a wide range of comics, or do do anything else that would qualify me as a sci fi geek. So please don't assume, its insulting. And if you happen to like all those things, you must have reconciled yourself to being a geek long ago.

Another thing, I'm a nerd, not a geek. Geeks are people who have a passion or devotion for a specific thing. So you can be a sci fi or comic geek, or a geek for a certain band or genre of music, or for cult films or something like that. I am a nerd, defined by the majority of my time spent of academic endeavours, and reading jargon littered articles. It is debatable whether I'm a dork or not, I'm guessing you all think that I am. But I would like to point out that I only wear pants that are actually long enough for me, so the flood pants category checks off in the "not-a-dork" column.

Just to get that clear.

January 20, 2008

The Smiths

I found this random video, involving The Smiths and David Tennant, AKA the current Doctor Who. I like some of the dance moves, they have that British subtlety that makes them amusing. At the end one of the police officers looks like John Barrowman, AKA Captain Jack, but I don't think its actually him.

January 19, 2008

Enchiladas

I really love Mexican food, and slowly slowly slowly I acquire the skills to make a new dish. I thank Tom for showing me the bean burritos, and Stephenson House for the beginnings of the recipe I’m going to share with you now. Mmmm, Mexican food, so good, so easily vegetarian.

Step 1

Cut up a crapload of vegetables, such as the following:

-zucchini

-carrots

-a few onions, or one big one

-red/yellow/orange pepper

-green pepper

-other types of weird named peppers (some like it hot, teehee)

-diced garlic

Put some oil in a pot and fry em’ on up, till the onions are clear and the peppers are quasi-soft.

Add some fresh tomatoes once everything else is almost done frying.

The first stage of spicing takes place now. A little salt, a bunch of pepper, and Italian seasoning is good (which is mostly oregano). I say you go through the spice cabinet and add stuff that looks good.

Step 2

Dump in a bunch of cans of crap, such as:

-black beans

-kidney beans

-chick peas

-whole kernel corn

The trick for enchiladas (in which this formula differs for vegetarian chili) is not to strain any of the canned things, just pour in all the beans alongside their questionable looking juices.

Then you need to add:

-one of those big cans of diced (possibly seasoned) tomatoes

-a whole little bity can of tomato paste

(These individual steps are getting away from me, perhaps I should break it down more…)

The trick for any such recipe is indeed the tomato paste. No matter how much I’m making of whatever, its always a whole can, no partial cans will do. And you cannot forget the tomato paste, or the whole thing goes to hell.

Second stage of spicing… NOW! You need like at least 3 tablespoons of chili powder (unlike I previously thought, its not actually spicy, so don’t be afraid). Add some cayenne pepper and some hot sauce for the spice that you desire. As a rule, I never taste things until they’re completely done cooking, but I’m sure you’re different from me in this way.

Step 3

Simmer the now very full pot for like 20 minutes (simmer means medium temperature, right?), but its not particularly necessary to cover the pot. Stir it so you don’t have a layer of burnt bean snot on the bottom.

Spice more here if you want. Its your last chance.

Step 4

This is the tricky part, I guess. You have to strain out the sauce from the rest of the stuff. You can hook up a bowl/strainer system and ladle stuff in, and pour the non-sauce stuff back into the big pot. Or you can just use a strainy spoon when the enchilada assembly takes place.

Step 5

So you need a bunch of tortillas, like a 10 pack or something. As an added touch, spread a little bit of cream cheese on like half of each tortilla. You also need like a lasagna type pan to put the enchiladas in. Ok, so take your tortillas, spoon in a few spoons of bean/veggie stuff, put in some grated cheddar cheese, and roll up the tortilla, shove it in the pan (which you may or may not want to line with tinfoil, depending on how good you are at scraping off baked cheese). You’ll have a line of rolled up tortilla things in your lasagna type pan and it should be filled, up to some sense of the word.

Now the fun part! Pour the strained out sauce back and forth over the tortillas, add a CRAPLOAD of cheese on top, put it all in the over at 350 degrees for like 20 minutes and you have enchiladas!

So maybe I’ve made the recipe 20 times longer than it should be, but I think it has my own cooking flare added. The enchiladas do take several stages, but they’re really good. Its better if you’re making them for a bunch of people, b/c the recipe makes a lot.

I’m fairly convinced none of you will cook this, but if you ever come to my house I can make it for you. Right on.

January 17, 2008

Errata

Apparently its "6 degrees of Kevin Bacon/separation."

January 16, 2008

7 degrees of Kevin Bacon

I said that to my prof last year, he's like "Oh, that's very clever" (because it sounds like "7 degrees of separation", just to keep you up to speed). I had to explain that I didn't make it up. Anyway, here's a Kevin Bacon related clip, although I think this little video might be 40 seconds too long.



If you thought that was even remotely entertaining, you'll like this even better. You can trust me on this. Oh, I'm so sad that no one who would get my Doctor Who obscure references ever visits my blog. Where's you Austrian rez friends when you need them?

I get to meet a fellow U of T-er who is checking out our little department under the shadow of Mount Royal. Oh, and I started a google analytics thing, so visit often! And when you travel, make sure you visit from there, so the whole world map lights up! I'm looking at you, Andy, although I'm sure you'll never read this because you don't really love me.

I think the flaw in the analytics endeavour is that I don't have interesting content, and so people a) don't check it, and b) don't search for things that relate to my blog. I got one hit from some little place in Pennsylvania, on account of "Philadelphia" being in the title. Maybe I should add some words to make my blog seem more appealing on search engines:

Stephen Colbert
Cocaine
The Canadian Dollar
Manifest destiny
Uruk-hai
Sex romp
Coldplay
K-Y
Phil Collins
Rhyming Cockney slang

January 13, 2008

Help me

Argh!!

Anyone who knows anything about computer hardware, I call on you now. My DVD ROM has decided to not read any discs any more. I stick em it, its spins a couple times and NOTHING registers. Gah, freaking computers, its not even an old one either. I've reinstalled every related driver and gone through the whole Windows trobuleshooting crap which obviously does not work. I don't know if its the internal cable, but Windows keeps saying there isn't a problem. Please help me! I'm begging you! I'm about two restarts away from flipping the laptop over and undoing the screws, which is not good because I don't know what I'm doing.

Right, in other news, new semester, new classes, new mountains of reading. Ah, the life of a grad student. I bought winter boots, which are guaranteed not to leak, and they leaked on the first day I wore them. Bummer, so I have to take those back and go through the long drudgery of finding another pair of boots. Its a difficult task b/c my feet are ginormous and I would prefer girl boots over hairy man boots.

I saw Juno with some friends on Friday, under the recommendation of my dear friend Dinah. It was sweet, I like Michael Cera, and all his hairless Canadian charm. I suggest you see it, but its a little bit of a girl movie (just a little), so if you're too macho maybe you won't allow yourself to enjoy its "offbeat-ness".

Ok, that's all. But please please please help me. I'm going crazy here. I have programs to install and CDs to rip for my iPod.

January 06, 2008

I don't care if you don't like youtube

Say what? Nuclear Fishin!!! (1, 000, 000 for the first person who names that reference.)



I'm sure you're now asking yourself, "Why don't I watch Clone High?"

January 02, 2008

too oh oh ate

My puppy.

I got a digital camera for Christmas.