David Scrimshaw's Blog

Somebody's Room

2012-05-20T17:54:00.001-04:00

At some time in the past, I found an undeveloped roll of film. I don't remember where I found it and I don't remember when. It might have been in Ottawa. But maybe not. I might have found it last year, but it could have been 5 or 6 years ago.

From time to time, I would think, I must get that developed. Perhaps it's the only photo someone took of some special occasion. But I never got around to it.

Then one day, I learned that Keir was going to a store where they develop film and he was kind enough to take it in for me.

Now, all this time later, the film has been developed. There was only one photo on the roll. It does not appear to be from a special occasion, but it might be a fond memory for someone.

Desperate Times on Bronson

2012-05-10T21:41:00.001-04:00

I know that the construction on Bronson between Somerset and Catherine is hard on the businesses there. It still doesn't seem right that every time I walk past this sign at the Harvey's, I feel nervous until I get home and see that my car is still in the driveway with no ticket on the windshield.

Happy Easter

2012-04-08T05:30:00.000-04:00

Peeps in the wild

These 3 fellas were making their way towards Preston Street on Friday morning. There was a big gathering, maybe an Easter service, that had the street blocked off at Gladstone. If that's where the peeps were going, they were late.

Debatable Uses for Binder Clips: Storing Beer

2012-04-06T15:48:00.000-04:00

"Use a binder clip to keep beer stacked" by Muteboy

Two friends, Jay Zee and Are Jay, sent me the link to a binder clip use reported on a Lifehacker posting that picked up on a Flickr photo by Matthew Petty.

The comments in the Lifehacker post point out some of the issues with this:

Beer probably shouldn't be stored on its side
Fridge space is wasted when bottles are stacked on their sides
Many fridges do not have wire racks that a binder clip can attach to

But if you have a wire rack in your fridge and you need to put beers on a shelf that isn't high enough for the bottles, by all means, you should use a binder clip to keep the bottles from rolling.

Please be thoughtful with your Tim Hortons Cups

2012-03-30T20:50:00.001-04:00

A Tim's cup in a blue bin on Lebreton Street

Cups at Value Village

If you've been following my blog for several years, you'll know that this is the time of year that I really notice litter. Not because it's spring and the snow has melted. But because there are lottery tickets in the form of Tim Hortons Roll up the Rim cups all over the place.

I don't know what it is, but many Tim's customers are remarkably inconsiderate. Do you see what someone did on Lebreton Street? They tossed a cup in a blue bin with a bunch of other garbage. I have no problem with the fact that a coffee cup doesn't belong in a blue bin. I'm upset that the cup is partially covered and the rim has been rolled back down so you have to pull it out and re-roll it to verify that the cup is a loser.

By contrast, notice the cups I found next to my car on my recent trip to Value Village.

They were tossed so that you can clearly see they are worthless "please play again" cups.

It's a lot of trouble taking a cup out of a bin, removing the lid and rolling the rim up just to discover the original owner was right to throw it away.

This is how to throw away a Tim's cup

Rock Star Mullet Kit at Value Village

2012-03-17T17:39:00.000-04:00

Unleash the Rock Star in you!

I don't want to send you on a wild goose chase, but this Rock Star Mullet Kit was at the Cyrville Road Value Village earlier today and might still be there.

You have always wanted a mullet. Now you can have one! Unleash the rock star in you.

This one-of-a-kind kit will transform you into the envy of all your friends. Make your next living room concert one to remember! The Rock Star Mullet Kit includes a mullet wig, a bandana and shutter shades.

Spotted on the #14

2012-02-07T17:13:00.000-05:00

The Responsible Gambling Council seem to have a good idea on how to reach their target audience of problem gamblers.

I think reducing problem gambling is an admirable goal and their quiz might be a good tool for that purpose.

But I'm not going to link to their site because I don't want you going there and reducing my chance of winning the big screen TV.

TV at the Pho 99

2012-02-06T17:07:00.000-05:00

Something I really like about the Pho 99 is how you never know what will be showing on the TV. My favourite is Vietnamese pop songs.

On Sunday night, it tickled me that when most people I know were tuned in to the Super Bowl, the Pho 99 was playing a soccer game. Newcastle United v Aston Villa apparently. Newcastle won.

[Previously:
Dramatic News at the Pho 99
#37 at the Pho 99]

Les marmottes-tôt de Février

2012-01-31T21:20:00.000-05:00

A dilemma: chocolate chips or currants for the paws?

These early groundhogs will be going to my French class.

Getting Ready for February 2

2012-01-29T17:18:00.002-05:00

How do you like my groundhog faces?

Free range poultry at Loblaws

2012-01-08T17:49:00.006-05:00

There was a pigeon swooping around inside the Loblaws on Rideau Street this afternoon.

This was not an advertised special.

As I far as I could tell, I was the only one who noticed it. I've seen little birds like sparrows in grocery stores before, but this was the first time I've seen a pigeon.

Maybe it's time they brought in some hawks or falcons.

Bonus link: Pigeon Photographers

Uses for Binder Clips: Laser Pencil

2011-11-24T21:33:00.003-05:00

Woodsy who is on a bit of a roll at Coloured Marbles lately has developed an excellent new use for a single binder clip. She says:

I unintentionally came up with another use for binder clips while fiddling during a long meeting.
I can now:
easily pick up my pencil (great for anyone with arthritis),
prevent the pencil from rolling off the meeting table,
prevent chewing my pencil (see the bite marks?), and
subtly aim it at speakers that are boring me and pretend it is a silencing laser!

One reason I check my spam folder

2011-11-13T15:43:00.002-05:00

Do you remember an old pre-internet letter we all used to get every couple of years? The letter had been around the world nine times and good luck would come if you copied it and mailed it to 20 people. The letter reported how various people with names like Constantine Dias and Aria Daddit had terrible things happen when they failed to forward the letter but then good things happened when they remembered the letter and followed the instructions.

This message that wound up in my spam folder today somehow reminded me of that old letter and made me wistful for it:

From: Detective Yasushi Uzawa Subject: RE:ARE YOU DEAD OR STILL ALIVE ???? To: Date: Sunday, November 13, 2011, 2:54 AM I am Detective Yasushi Uzawa, a Japanese, I am in charge of scammed victims compensation scheme propagated by the United Nations.My appointment came as a result of the meeting held by the United Nation Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon and African Leaders.

After series of meetings and deliberations, it was concluded that a foreigner should be the chairman, as the African citizens that held the post in the past made no difference; instead they worsen the situation, by defrauding the scammed victims more.

You are enlisted as one of scammed victms that shall will recieve a compensation of $800,000.00 US Dollars (Eight Hundred Thousand United State Dollars) The commission has mapped out modalities and procedures that shall enable you recieve the compensation . (i) You are to forward all the names and telephone numbers of people you have sent money in the past, this will enable us apprehend them and try to get the money you sent to them back. (ii)You are advised to stop forth contact with any government agencies, ministers, commissions, panels of any sort, apex banks or commercial banks, as the continuous contact with these agencies will complicate your transactions. (iii) Reconfirm the following information (a) Your full name and address, (b) Phone, fax and mobile #.

On this note, you are advised to indicate your interest by applying for the Deduction Certificate. This is the only chance to rightly get what belong to us from African Government; we have gone through a lot from Africans. Contact us now. Detective Yasushi Uzawa Executive Chairman scammed victims compensation scheme (SVCS)

A cursory Google search on Yasushi Uzawa turns up a scam email from 2009. It is good to see that he has now gone legitimate and is working for the other side. Unfortunately, I don't believe I've ever been scammed, so have no honest claim on the $800,000.00 US Dollars (Eight Hundred Thousand United State Dollars) he is offering.

Uses for Binder Clips: Cat Doors and ODD

2011-11-06T17:58:00.007-05:00

When you install your screened-in porch, you may find that your cat is reluctant to use her new swinging cat door.

At first, our cat Magi did not at all seem to like the idea of pushing against the screen flap.

Holding her and pushing her through resulted in very unpleasant struggles.

Young Zander tried to demonstrate by pushing his own head through. But perhaps because the rest of his body would not go through or perhaps because Magi suffers from Oppositional Defiance Disorder like everyone else in this household, Magi still did not take to the new door.

After Manon put a binder clip on the flap to keep it partly open, Magi got the idea she could enter and leave the porch on her own with no assistance. The binder clip was adjusted to have the flap lower and lower and now, Magi is in and out like she owns the place. With no assistance and no binder clip.

This should cut down on scratching damage to the screen door and demonstrates that sometimes the best way to deal with the oppositionally defiant is to let them come to the right decision in their own time.

Looks like Steampunk is mainstream

2011-10-27T18:31:00.004-04:00

Bad news for all you kids who thought steampunk is the cool insider cult thing. It's gone mainstream.

How do I know? What's my proof?

Judge the evidence for yourself.

Steampunk is costume idea #8 in Value Village's Alter your Ego campaign. It comes with its own little info sheet on a rack in between "Cowboy" and "Ninja".

We have too much stuff

2011-10-23T21:11:00.006-04:00

There are many signs that our society has become too materialistic.

The top-rated show on A&E is Storage Wars where we watch a group of colourful characters buy and sell the contents of storage lockers whose owners have defaulted on the monthly rent.

The top show on History TV is Pawn Stars where we watch a colourful Las Vegas family buy interesting items from people who never admit they're desperate to pay gambling debts.

History also has American Pickers and Canadian Pickers which each follow two guys who drive around buying stuff that fits the expression "one man's trash is another man's treasure."

Spike's highest rated show is Auction Hunters, another storage locker buying show.

A&E's Hoarders is also doing really well. If you're like me, you watch Hoarders and say, "at least I'm not that bad."

There are many more shows about acquiring stuff. The ones I know about and usually enjoy include Hardcore Pawn, Antiques Road Show (UK, US, Canada), Auction Kings, What the Sell, the very weird Oddities, and Pawnathon Canada.

But here's something that hit me this morning when we were on Catherine Street dropping Zander off at the bus station. See this storage locker building that is a block from Bank Street:

It used to be a bowling alley.

I'm not saying that a bowling alley is the absolute best use of downtown real estate, but it makes me sad that it was more economical for the owners of 270 Catherine to rip out the lanes, pins and ball returns and put in storage lockers.

Shouldn't we be bowling instead of acquiring so much stuff that it won't fit in our homes so we have to rent storage lockers?

Our Screened-in Porch

2011-10-16T19:15:00.006-04:00

One of the things that has distracted me from blogging for the past two months has been all the work being done on the ScrimChateau and Manonsion.

Last week, three projects got finished. The one that has made Manon the happiest is our porch. As you can see it is not just a porch. It is a screened-in porch. And it has been finished in time for her to sip tea, read a depressing novel and enjoy the sunset before winter sets in.

The carpenter who did the work is Kevin Miller. Lots of people, especially other trades workers, who have seen the work have told us they're really impressed. One element of craftmanship you can see in the photo - notice how the wood next to the wall matches the curves in the stucco? I don't know how he even did that.

Do you have a screened-in porch? It's a big deal in certain circles we hang out in.

Uses for Binder Clips: Wedding Presents

2011-10-11T21:43:00.005-04:00

The box of binder clips Real Grouchy gave Manon and me for our wedding was an excellent gift that keeps on giving.

What makes it especially good is that they were free binder clips. Real Grouchy has a relative who works somewhere that receives lots of documents. Apparently even though they tell the people submitting the documents not to clip them together, the submitters ignore the instructions and send in their documents with all manner and sizes of binder clips attaching them together.

Instead of throwing all these unneeded clips in the garbage, the relative saves them for Real Grouchy and he was able to spare some for us.

At his workplace back in May, Real Grouchy had an identity card machine. This meant he was able to make Manon and I official wedding cards.

I carry mine in my pocket.

Another Weekend, Another Festival

2011-08-07T11:42:00.002-04:00

We took the opportunity of being in Montreal this weekend to take in another festival. A downtown Montreal festival has a very different vibe from a festival in rural Eastern Ontario.

Or maybe it's just a different vibe because of the differences you find between a fashion crowd and a folk crowd.

In any case, we enjoyed our visit to the Festival Mode & Design. In a small way it makes up for Slice still not showing the new season of Project Runway.

The Big Star at Blue Skies 2011

2011-08-06T09:58:00.003-04:00

The 20-somethings were super-excited about one of the performers at Blue Skies this year. I'd heard of him, but somehow I never got exposed to his work before.

Fred Penner told us he's doing really well on the college and university campus scene these days.

Mind you, he does have fans who are closer to my age.

On Sunday, Fred gave a workshop titled Respect and Connect with your Audience. His first tip was to demonstrate two ways of taking a drink of water. The wrong way is to have the water bottle on the floor. Stop talking. Bend down. Stand up. Open the bottle. Take a drink. Close the bottle. Bend down. Put the bottle back on the floor. Then resume the show.

The Fred Penner way is to have the bottle at waist height on a stand or stool. While talking to the audience and looking at them, take the bottle and open it. Say "cheers" while raising the bottle. Take your drink while the audience is saying "cheers" back to you. Continue talking to the audience while you put the bottle back.

Besides maintaining a connection with the audience for the whole procedure, this method also avoids displaying any thinning that might be taking place on the top of your head.

(Photos from Blue Skies taken by me and Manon are up on Flickr)

The Unofficial Blue Skies Music Festival Lineup 2011

2011-07-18T18:12:00.007-04:00

The Blue Skies Music Festival in Clarendon Ontario has no website and does not announce its lineup in advance.

However, a little work on Google has turned up a number of artists who say they will be there this year.

Ball and Chain (reliable sources tell me they are participating in a workshop)
Callum Graham
Danny Michel
David Ross Macdonald
Ferron (not confirmed on her website. Pollstar says she’ll be there. )
Fred Penner
Kim Churchill
Lehera - songs
Magoo (no indication that he’ll be at Blue Skies on his website, but come on.)
Matt Anderson
Saritah - youtube

If you want to go to the festival and you don’t have tickets, my experience is that you may be able to get day passes at the gate and if you’re really lucky, someone may show up with a camping pass just when you do. For more unofficial information on Blue Skies, see my other postings:

And here's the Environment Canada Forecast for Sharbot Lake

as of Weds, July 27:

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon

Post festival updates:

I've learned not to trust the Environment Canada forecast even for 1 day in advance when it comes to Blue Skies. It rained for most of Friday until the late afternoon!

Some other artists who were at Blue Skies this year:

Jonathan Byrd (the fantastic cowboy singer from North Cackalacky)
Fred Penner (the 20-somethings went berzerk over him)
Marky Weinstock (performed in children's area on Sunday at 10am)

Other social media on Blue Skies 2011

Boffin + Wonk - Performers at Blue Skies 2011 - video collection
Youtube - The Parade
Flickr Group

A new time saver for me

2011-07-04T18:40:00.000-04:00

This week, I found a way to shave time off the food preparation portion of my morning routine.

Almost every day, I heat my breakfast in the microwave. Whether it is a leftover pasta dish or fried rice, I give it one minute and thirty seconds. Since I left my parents home where the microwave timer is a knob and began using keypad timers, I have typed 1-3-0-start. But this week, it finally occurred to me that I could type 9-0-start.

If it takes me a tenth of a second to push that extra button, this innovation will save me 18 minutes over the next 30 years. It will save even more time if one day it makes the difference between catching a bus and missing a bus.

Ancient Greek Graffitti

2011-07-03T12:21:00.004-04:00

Manon and I had the pleasure of dining this weekend with her brother and nephews. Before supper arrived, young Daniel illustrated a problem that occurred in ancient Greece when the authorities posted Kraken warnings and then young miscreants came along.

Big Showing for Keir

2011-06-03T18:29:00.002-04:00

Remember in March when I asked you to vote for Keir in the National Gallery's So You Want to Be an Artist competition?

Not only did Keir place in the top 12, he wound up showing as the 3rd place finisher. $500 in arts supplies!

Great Glebe Garage Sale

2011-05-26T17:57:00.003-04:00

Saturday is the Great Glebe Garage Sale.

You should stay home.

The weather forecast is 60% chance of showers. Bank Street is under construction. It’s Ottawa Race Weekend [see Notes below].

But if you insist on going anyway, you might want to:

Read the excellent advice I provided two years ago in Garage Sale - My Schema,
Consider Zoom’s well-written but misguided response: GGGS: Breaking Scrimshaw's rules, and
Listen to Real Grouchy’s The Great Glebe Garage Sale Song!

Notes:

Rain will cut down on how many people put stuff out, and will seriously affect book sales, but sales will go on.
Sure Bank Street is under construction, but it's not like traffic actually moves on Bank Street on a Saturday anyway, never mind during the garage sale.
Ottawa Race Weekend always falls on the GGGS weekend. Any Saturday road closures that affect the Glebe start after 3pm when the sales are over anyway.