Your Happiest Years

Perhaps one of the greatest influences on my life (three copies and counting) this book has help me through my teenage years for the past two and a half decades. "At what age should you go steady?", "What's the right amount of make-up?" and "How important is the gang and how can you be a popular member". The best part though is that the book recommends cutting out Dick's autograph picture on the back as it will fit in your wallet or card case.

Off the shelf: the SHARP PC-1401

I picked this up back in 1983 when it was released. No idea what I paid for it. Came with a 252 page instruction manual. The technical specs are available at www.old-computers.com

Tuesday as tuesday

I finished reading Pierre Boulle's The Bridge on the River Kwai which I enjoyed. I recall seeing the movie a long time ago (time to rent again). Different ending.

Currently in the middle of Philip Francis Nowlan's Armageddon 2419 A.D. Interesting little SF piece written in 1928 about Anthony Rogers better known as Buck Rogers...wouldn't mind seeing some of the Dick Calkins art work.

One last hurrah for control freaks

The 2006 Canadian census has a gem of a question (#8 on the short form and #53 on the long form)...

The Statistics Act guarantees the confidentiality of your census information. Only if you mark "YES" to this question will your personal information be made public, 92 years after the 2006 Census. If you mark "NO" or leave the answer blank, your personal information will never be made publicly available.

Polish Snacks

A colleague of mine was in a festive mood today so brought in a couple of boxes of E.Wedel’s Ptasie mleczko chocolates. This is the leading confectionary brand in Poland which you will recall was acquired back in 1999 by Cadbury Schweppes from PepsiCo, Inc. Anyways, he brought in two flavours: coconut and vanilla. Little rectangular cubes of flavoured marshmallows surrounded by a thin layer of dark chocolate – pure joy! Well, ok, at least it’s good.

Back to E-Ons

Went back to E-ONs today to try another dish. This time is was the eggplant dish which is served in some kind of beef/onion sauce on white rice ($3.95). The owner wasn't in today so the number two guy was running the show.

A Librarian Thing to Do

I came across www.librarything.com a couple of months ago, forgot about it, and then remembered to try it. Pretty cool tool that allows you to quickly catalog your books at home and share this info with others. I've added 300 books from my collection so far but I still have a long ways to go. There's a link on the right menu.

Spicy Chicken

Well today I went to E-ON (Google Map) for a spicy chicken ($4.99 before tax). I usually wander over there to pick up lunch when I don't know what to eat and/or I don't have much money on me. Located on the SW corner of Chestnut Street and Dundas (west of Bay) this place is not noted for its decor unless the twinkle of Christmas lights in the window is your thing. For years now the large sign outside this basement establishment has announced that they have been in business for over 25 years. The dining area is a simple room with each table accompanied by chairs. Choice spots are along the north and east walls which afford a pleasant view of the sidewalk for those who enjoy straining their necks and looking up skirts. The bar behind the counter offers no less than six bottles of the finest forgettable spirits in an inviting display reminiscent of cabinets built over 25 years ago. The menu on the wall beside the display offers some 20 dishes ranging from the first item through to the twentieth. Today I went with number 15 - spicy chicken, prepared on the premise while I waited. It came with slices of green pepper and onions. This was served on top of a healthy portion of rice, most of which ended up in the garbage because there really was too much.