G+ Migration Blog

Much Ado About Nothing is a good film adaptation. In fact, it is very good. If not for other geeky people, I might not have gone to see it. Having done so, I can say it would have been my loss. You need know nor care nothing for Joss Whedon or associates to enjoy this as Shakespeare. You don't even have to have much of a grasp of Shakespeare. In the words of an old John Lithgow sketch ... Acting! Thank you. SPOILER SPACE IN CASE, FOR SOME REASON, YOU DON"T KNOW THE SCOTTISH PLAY. I MEAN, THIS PLAY. WHICH IS STILL SHAKESPEARE, BUT NOT  THE SCOTTISH ONE. IS THAT ENOUGH SPACE? The black and white Mad Men vibe really worked, aided by the bossa nova version of Sigh No More Whedon wrote. Shout out to the masked ball peeps, you know who you are. This entire film looks like one of the holiday socials, at least for imbibing. I wonder how much of that was real? The last party scene, whether intended so or no, struck me as an 80's flashback. Joss Whedon's house - yeah, that. Alex...

Cool. Originally shared by Alex Grossman "A hollow flashlight powered by the heat from a user's hand, designed by a 15-year-old girl from Victoria, has been picked for the finals of the Google Science Fair. Ann Makosinski, a Grade 10 student at St. Michaels University School in Victoria, is one of 15 students from around the world who beat out thousands of entries from more than 100 countries to earn their spot as finalists." h/t Alain Chesnais  http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/06/27/technology-google-science-fair-finals-ann-makosinski.html

Shouldn't be, but kind of humorous. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/05/fox-new-evidence-hillary-killed-lincoln.html?intcid=obnetwork http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/05/fox-new-evidence-hillary-killed-lincoln.html?intcid=obnetwork

Vancouver's version of a tropical inversion layer. Also, no more sun. ::( #pnw

Sun! Doubtless, I will shortly pay for this with heat.

Omg, the movie theater has a balcony ! #nowwearefive

Ugh, it's raining (6th day in a row). It's November all over again.

Ugh. We had another major pipe break in the building (work) and now there's dust and mold and who knows what blowing around. Lots of people are complaining about sinus headaches and sneezing and their eyes bothering them. I tried taking Allegra this morning before I came in, but it's not helping enough.

Feeling immature today.

Meant to post this before I got distracted by TX & Wil Wheaton (sorry Evan "Skwid" Langlinais). Some of the imaging and technical and other staff took me out to dinner tonight. It was a huge compliment. We went to Phnom Penh in Chinatown. The first dish is called Butter Beef. It's partly raw, but very tender and has a tasty sauce. The first pic is the platter, the second is after it's served. Then there's an iced drink made of sweet red beans, gelatin, and fruit bits, and crushed ice. It can be made with ice cream or milk but this version wasn't. It's sweet and refreshing. Other things they ordered were the butter garlic deep fried frogs legs, special chicken wings, both with a lemon sauce, and a minced stir fried pork hot pot that had veggies and a little chili and a lot of lemongrass. All of which were tasty. Somewhere in there, there's also fried rice with prawns, and pea tips sautéed with garlic. For dessert, we got durian with sticky rice and...

There are some strong women in Texas. Originally shared by Wil Wheaton

Blah, humbug. Too much grain (gray/rain). #pnw

On the radio this morning, the main comment about this was that the guy who has to put in the "bleeps" on live broadcasts is going to have a busy time. Originally shared by Kathryn Nokony this is great news http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/story/2013/06/25/sp-nhl-canucks-john-tortorella-coach-official.html

I wonder where the name Purolator (the courier service) comes from? #brainleak

Maybe childish, but possibly one of best radio comments ever this morning when announcing George Lucas' wedding - "Apparently, the bride never saw Phantom Menace." Heh.

Query: You know someone is unavailable for a project. You have your secretary contact them at the last minute and ask when they could be available. They say, sorry, not available. You then contact them directly and say you knew they were unavailable, but that's ok, someone else is taking care of it. Passive Aggressive, or no?

Bloody weather. Heavy overcast, steady, pouring rain. I swear I have a PTSD equivalent from living here. #pnw   #whinywhinyprincess

I live near the most persistent cherry tree in Vancouver.* It is long past the season, yet it continues to bloom, not in perfusion, but it is still blossoming. *Considering the ubiquity of cherry trees, this is an accomplishment.

I did get to see a bit of the super moon last night (perigee). Finally figured out had to be looking south to see the moon here, so walked out onto one of the major bridges to be able to. The other challenge being that there was still light in the sky until 11ish. It's well past sunset, but it lingers very late. I suppose that's fair, since it was dark by 4:30 in the winter.

The conservative Canadian government, as of June 19, has made the wearing of a mask during an "unlawful assembly" a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. http://www.truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/18045-canada-outlaws-wearing-of-masks-at-unsanctioned-government-protests-punishing-dissent

Last week I accidentally ran into the French summer festival. Today I accidentally ran into the Vancouver jazz festival. I have been deliberately attending the dragon boat festival and may or may not happen into the vicinity of one of the Greek festivals that are upcoming. This town is one big, continuous party once someone suggests the concept of summer. P.S. I approve. P.P.S. I ran into the jazz fest because I went to get the in season now made of fresh picked locally strawberries gelato at Bella Gelateria. Nom.

TIL that fresh caught Copper River salmon (in season, obs) is Zomg so good. It is so good, I would pay the $30/lb. It is so good, if I knew how to prep it raw, that is the only way I would ever eat it. If you ever have the chance You Must Eat This. P.S. had it free, raw, prepared by the Shangri-La's head chef, and served with a high end genuine oolong in full Chinese tea service. The tea is more expensive than the salmon. It would be so nice to be well-off and live like this.

Happy Summer!  It's cold, rainy, and flooding. That's how you know. Wait ... #pnw

Colleague - most abused word ever candidate. Co-worker - possible relative synonym, except that implies work. Things about which I have nothing nice to say - someone that is supposed to fall under either of those adjectives. Rant Warning Let me sum up - Unfortunately, they also had a paternal sudden illness, not fatal, but serious and now resolving well. They also were given permission to go home to spend time with and so forth.  Divergence x 2 - faculty bought them a ticket to go home, and they have decided not to come back.  We have fallen off the compassion ledge. Let me explain - This isn't a contest, but this amounts to an I'd rather get paid for 3 weeks I'm not working and spend it on a beach in the Caribbean, and conveniently blow off 2 weeks of call I'm supposed to cover. Not because someone is still in danger, but I can get away with it, so I am. No one bought me a plane ticket, and I could have done the same thing. I didn't for 2 major and 1 minor reason. ...

Afternoon clouds.

WTFF world? Why do you keep screwing with the people I care about? Is this some kind of messed up karmic thing? This needs to stop. It needs to stop not just for them, but because if you keep messing everybody else up, where am I gonna go when I need somebody? >_

I saw a real wild otter today. Turns out, they're not so benign. Still cute, just not so benign. They are also much larger than you think.

Good evening.

You know what fixes dealing with horrible people? Getting the last 2 tickets to Hamlet. #can'tthinkofawittytagsoputtingthishere

And you thought it was just the US. Originally shared by Where Canada GAWK AT THIS! You know those giant oversized roadside attractions you can help but love? Here are the 25 best ones in #Canada! »  http://www.where.ca/blog/slideshow/canada-roadside-attractions/ http://www.where.ca/blog/slideshow/canada-roadside-attractions/

Life never really gets past high school, does it?

Ok. The stupid perky little bell that is taking up vertical page space needs to die. My contrast sensitivity is perfectly fine, thanks, and I can see which comments are grayed out and which are not.

I am sitting in one of my favorite haunts. By which I mean a place near work/home that is both likable and has wifi. And is open right now. My wants are simple. I could be volunteering to do more work. I have learned, however, that there is a difference between door mat and team player. This would be door mat territory; therefore, no. I could be renewing my life saving cert, but reqs are different in different countries. Thus, inefficient use of time and money; again, no. The weather people got it wrong, and it is GORGEOUS out. If I had a car, there are a dozen places I would go right now. It is light out until almost 10pm, now. I could do a lot in five hours. Alack. I will probably buy some cookies and go home, knowing there is a regrettably high likelihood of being paged to an after hours surgery tonight or tomorrow night. My life, it is to not inspire.

I have to go to work, now.

I so want to rant about something work related right now, not the people I work with but the, um, client arena? But can't think of any way to do so anyplace less secure than proverbial Fort Knox. Ergo, will only say that I hate abusers of the system, very most especially when they  lie.  And yes, sometimes it is not any of the euphemisms; it's just lying.

So, opinions - is it worth sitting through Hamlet to see him played by Nikola Tesla? Aka half-vampire Sanctuary character played by local Canadian actor.

I have been all around the north side of Lake Huron, but I have never been to the Bruce Peninsula. I totally need to go to this national park. Originally shared by null Under the clear blue water of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada sits the  shipwreck known as the Sweepstakes.

So, aside from work being gobstopper-suckingly long, TIL that you say thank you different ways for different circumstances in Cantonese. I had learned both ways of saying thank you, but then when I used them, people kept telling me I was wrong. So I though I had learned the syllables or the tones wrong. In fact, I'm apparently far more capable of learning these subtleties than I thought, and was saying the words correctly, just not in the right context. I'm still going to need to clarify a bit, but it seems that one is used for when someone gives you something, and one is for when someone does something for you. I suspect it's more nuanced, so we'll see if I can get it before I leave town (and probably never have the opportunity to speak Cantonese again). Thus far, the one way I've learned to say thank you in Mandarin seems to be suitable to any occasion. At least, no one has told me I'm wrong. Cantonese is so much harder than Mandarin! (Random information: ther...

FINALLY - ugh, work.

Augh! I Want To Go Home!

Walking home from work today, and sunset two nights ago.

F-L Silver was in a video call with 11 people.John Dilick, Bethany Willick, Alistair Young, Evan "Skwid" Langlinais, Kenneth Cavness, Melissa Allen, Liz Waddle, Will Frank, Jamie Bowden, Zeynep Dilli, and Drew Gillmore

The moose threat is not over. Originally shared by David Sarachman Welcome to Canada. http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/news/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/2013/06/07/truck-carrying-fireworks-hits-moose-on-trans-canada-highway-shuts-down-road-for-5-5-hours-and-lights-up-the-sky

The sun, it seems, Cannot decide Whether to come out Or go and hide.

Holy frijoles, Batman! It is chilly! What happened to the sun your weather report said we were having when I checked it An Hour Ago?!

"There is no stopping the cuts to Medicare's reimbursement of cancer drugs mandated by the federal budget sequestration, according to a June 3 letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to members of the US Congress. The cuts have infamously caused cancer clinics across the country to turn away Medicare patients." http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/805469?src=wnl_edit_medn_wir&uac=21663HG&spon=34 Congratulations, Congress.

You're all in bed now, aren't you? WAKE UP, FISHIE!!

Naps are awesome.

If I won the lottery today, I'd find something to help my dad. Then I'd drive around North America visiting people and hiking and camping and seeing stuff. Maybe in a year or two I'd start figuring out what to do for a job that would be enjoyable.

I think I am going home and going to bed. In spite of it being gloriously sunny. It is how I am feeling. #possiblynotcoping

Bank stuff fixed. On to the next crisis.

I should be eating fruit. Instead, I am eating chocolate cake, the outside of which is coated with crushed toffee (like a Heath bar). #coping

So, which browsers work best for the out-hanging, again? I know Safari on a Mac is useless for this. Firefox, maybe? I can haz that one.

I wish I could just share the entire copy of the job openings that have been sent to me. I have repeatedly and in writing made it clear that I am not interested in jobs outside the Great Lakes/Upper Midwest region, nor in small towns. And yet ... Maybe these are only mind-bendy to me. Or maybe it's just the hard-sell that is turning me off. "Our founder has never missed opening day of hunting season." (O.o  ...  Do I get free elk steaks?) "Where night skies dance with the emerald glow of the Northern Lights."  (ok, so at least it's possibly the midwest? ) "You need not apply if… your primary drivers are controlling the destiny of others..." (copywriters what?) "Have you ever wished you could live In the sunny southwest ..." (so, not the midwest then) "Imagine the Most Amazing Place To Work" (o, r'lyeh?) "We’re looking for a gentle, kind hearted, ... " (Santa Claus is not available, but Dr. House is.) "Practice...

Someone I met through online dating, not through professional work, just contacted me on LinkedIn. As it happens, we have professional work in common. As it happens, he was suboptimal (read: I'm being polite) and was so classy he terminated our brief association via instant messaging. This is the first time he has contacted me in years. Aykm? Srsly? Whatever, dude.

Because life isn't interesting enough, my debit card just got shut off because there "might be a compromise in the account". Great. I only have to go to the bank. When it's open. Hahahahahahaaa. Sigh.

At YVR Guess I have to be nicer to United. They managed to do everything ok.

Still on tarmac

Oh, god. Alaska cruise season, and the loud, overly chatty, overly perfumed people. In packs. With other terrifying stereotypes in action. More than anything, I wish they would ban perfume on airplanes. If I can't have peanuts, you can't have perfume (not a logical argument dot com). #introvert #hackcough

Music in terminal was soporific so called smooth jazz when we landed, then it switched to big bands. First, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, then Benny Goodman (forgetting name of piece, but know band sound). Now it is back to yucky smooth jazz.

At ORD, exhausted, landed early, though, so Starbucks it is.

At BUF - it's too frakking early.