Spacebunny: Tanya Huang's Blog

April Fools 2008

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:41:00 +0000

Happy April Fools! I indulged myself in it the past two years - one was an Orgy Invite to friends, and another was a Sperm Donation Drive to save the three-toed sloths.

This year, it was midnight and I was tired, but I felt obligated as I had a reputation to maintain. So I drove to work, spent what seemed like forever switching the fridge hinge to the other side. It required taking about 15 screws and three hinges off, taking condiments off the door, and lots of careful lifting of the doors - but it was worth it.

We have two floors and two fridges. I wanted to do the same for the fridge on the 4th floor, but there was one screw I just couldn't get to.

I hope no one breaks the fridge today.

The prank was successful. I heard that pretty much everyone on the 12th floor was fooled, and that one corner of the fridge was pulled out quite a bit from all that forceful prying.

Shame we didn't have a webcam in the kitchen. BUT, these action shots of John caught by Lamont made my day:

Groovy 1.5.4 on Ubuntu

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 06:48:00 +0000

I installed Groovy the other day. It should've been a piece of cake, but it wasn't! When I tried to run the groovy console from command line, I got this error:

java.lang.SecurityException: Prohibited package name: java.lang

Looks like Groovy found Java classes in its classpath and didn't like them.

Edit the startGroovy script. (same dir as groovyConsole, e.g. /usr/share/groovy/bin/)

Comment out the lines where it sets the classpath with the value of your environment variable CLASSPATH:

#if [ -n "$CP" ] ; then
# CP="$CP":.
#elif [ -n "$CLASSPATH" ] ; then
# CP="$CLASSPATH":.
#else
# CP=.
#fi

That's all I did to make it work. The problem seems to happen in Mac OS X also, which has a similar fix.

ToastMasters Experience

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:09:00 +0000

I joined ToastMasters last July. The first time I visited a club, it was a bit daunting. There was just so much friendliness and applauding going on. I felt like I was in a cult.

Yet, the people were great - not too great to the point of being pretentious. They genuinely wanted to help one another out, because they have been helped and greeted the same way when they were shy and when they stuttered.

So after a few visits to a couple clubs among the 60 in Vancouver, I became a member. As I learned more about the club and about speaking, I decided that, if there was ever a cult religion I would take on, the closest would be the ToastMasters!

There's a lot of positivity in all ToastMasters clubs, and if you find a club with a mix of members who are funny and proficient in public speaking, every meeting will be like going to a comedy club or attending an inspiring public talk.

I've done four speeches so far, and I feel like posting some of my speeches. I have yet to learn to move away from memorizing my speech, because once I wrote it down in full, I tend to stick to the words. So hopefully after these speeches I'll have no more speeches to post, because I'll be using nothing but one cue card!

The speeches are:
#1 Made in Taiwan, Calibrated in Canada (Ice Breaker)
#2 Cougarlicious (Oragnize Your Speech)
#3 Food & Wine Pairing 101 (slides) (Get to the Point)
#4 Reincarnation, Yay or Nay (Vocal Variety)

Improv Everywhere

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 08:31:00 +0000

Gill sent me this and I thought it was just brilliant. It's like the movie Enchanted, in real life! If I were rich I would probably hire people to surprise me and make my day this way.

If they do anything in Vancouver (and if it doesn't require me to sing, because I can't sing) then I'd so sign up!

ToastMasters Speech #4: Reincarnation, Yay or Nay

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:42:00 +0000

Who here has ever reincarnated? Would you like to?

If the whole world gets a chance to reincarnate, would you say Yay, or Nay?

Reincarnation is definitely something our ancestors have thought about. It exists in many Indian religions, ancient Greek philosophy, and several Christian denominations. What does this mean? It means there are many different flavours of reincarnation!

Tonight, I'm going to address three questions that you should definitely ask, to find out what flavour of reincarnation you're getting into - before signing off your life to reincarnation, or no reincarnation.

The three very important questions you should ask, are: 1. Does it rely on karma? 2. Do I get to choose who or what I reincarnate as? 3. Will I remember my past lives?

So the first question – Does it rely on karma?

In other words, if I'm kind and loving and do everything with good intentions, would I be rewarded with a great next life? Perhaps a popular popstar, or maybe a blissful bunny rabbit.

If I were a remorseless criminal, would I reincarnate as something awful? Maybe a hideous mole rat, with six legs, suffering perpetual migraines.

In a world of karma, people will strive to be kind, crime rate will drop, and politicians - will be altruistic. The world will be Heaven on Earth!

Or will it? What if good karma cancels out bad karma? Then will some of us choose to earn our karma in one life, and use it up in the next, as though we have earned "immunity" on a reality show?

So it's important to find out what karma system you're getting into.

Question 2. Do I get to choose who or what I reincarnate as?

Well if we all get to choose, then the miserable deep sea creatures and hyenas will probably go extinct.

If we all get to choose, then many of us will want to be born into families of wealth and fame and kindness. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will be having quadruplets every year!

What if we get to choose from a selection instead? We can collect karma points like we collect air miles. When the time comes, you get a catalogue. “Brilliant Public Speaker – 12,000,000 points" – shucks!

Question 3. Will I remember my past lives?

Imagine the amount of knowledge, experience, and skills we will accumulate if we remember our past lives!

Imagine how fast technology will advance, if Einstein keeps coming back! We'll be traveling across galaxies in no time. (Or at least, at the speed of light!)

There will be no racism, no sexism, no discrimination of any kind, if we remember our past lives. Why? Because we'll all have been black, white, yellow, male, female. Been there, done that. We'll all have a better understanding of each other.

On the other hand, Facebook can get complicated. It'll have to keep track of reincarnations. Our friends list can get dreadfully long.

Psychology will be an even more interesting field than it is now. Many of us are messed up because of our childhoods. Now imagine having memory of all ten of them!

Compared to our ancestors, we now live two to three times longer. We travel many times further, around the world. We are exposed to multifarious ideas and cultures.

So as we change careers, as we relocate, we can see them as a form of reincarnation. So think about karma, think about who you are developing into, and make use of all that you have experienced - whether you say Yay, or Nay, to Reincarnation!

TamagoBerry

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:07:00 +0000

I took the suggestion of blogging this. It might only be funny if you have experienced it. I hope my boss doesn't feel that I'm starting a riot.

At work, we are on a rotation for being on-call. We carry a BlackBerry which alerts us of problems with servers - connection timeouts, email queue build-up, database issues, etc etc. A quiet night allows a full night's sleep, but there are also times where one's sleep is completely disrupted because of a few late night alerts. We are in the process of training more people for the on-call shifts, but it's a hard sell. So while I was up late last night (yes, due to the alert), I wrote down a promotional scheme, involving wrapping the infamous on-call BlackBerry in a cute little Tamagotchi skin. If you remember this invention from the late 90s, Tamagotchi was a craze! Really, I'm not kidding. Even guys carried this digital pet (chicken in an egg-shaped device) around, trying to keep their chicks alive by feeding them, playing with them, and tucking them in bed.

~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

In order to make the task of carrying the on-call pager more appealing, we've come up with a solution by adding a level of indirection.

The wild and exciting (and pink) TamagoBerry will bring you joy as you experience simulated love and parenthood, and have you looking forward to your next on-call shift!

Upon receiving the TamagoBerry, your Tamagotchi egg starts incubating. It will hatch in 1 minute and grow up during the next few days of your shift. You'll have to take good care of it or its health meter will drop!

An alert will be a little (or big) chirp, depending on the setting.

There are three buttons on the Tamagotchi - Hug, Pat, and Scold. All of which are equivalent to "Acknowledge" the alert.

Alert messages will be displayed along with cute icons.

Here are the translations for some of the alert messages:

"Tamagotchi wants to play!" = "xxx Server1 is CRITICAL"

"Tamagotchi needs to use the restroom." = "xxx/load is CRITICAL"

"Tamagotchi has a toothache!" = "xxx is CRITICAL - connection refused"

"Tamagotchi wants a midnight snack!" = "mailxxx Queue is CRITICAL"

"Tamagotchi wants a 3am snack!" = "xxx/DISK WARNING - 5% free space"

By the end of your shift, you may experience attachment and unwillingness to relinquish the TamagoBerry. This is very normal. Unfortunately, we all take turns, so you'll just have to be patient. Soon enough, it'll be your turn again to play and take care of the TamagoBerry!

Procrastinated Doodle

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 22:25:00 +0000

I bought the Wacom Intuos 3 graphics tablet something like 2 years ago. I never really used it.

Finally I decided to configure it properly the other day. Now the screen maps to my monitor and pressure-sensitive works in the Gimp. In Photoshop7 though, the stylus is reversed. The pen erases and the eraser draws. Ugh. I was really hoping to use Photoshop in Ubuntu.

A brief blurb on how to configure Wacom graphics tablets in Linux:

1. Download drivers. If you are in Ubuntu, just download the latest using Synaptic Package manager.

2. Find your input:
Go to /dev/input, and use xxd to see where your input is coming from. If input is detected, xxd will output to standard out:
So for example type:
sudo xxd wacom
And draw on your tablet.

If nothing happens, that's not your input. Try:
sudo xxd event0
And so on.

3. Edit configuration
In /etc/X11/xorg.conf, under Section "InputDevice", Identifier "stylus", "eraser", and "cursor", change the Option "Device" to what you've found in step 1. For me it was "/dev/input/wacom".

4. Restart X
Log out or reboot, cross fingers and toes!

Anyhow, I did some doodling to see how well the tablet works. It was quite a bit better than before, with no pressure sensitivity. The drawings look a lot smoother.

"interpolated runtime values are forbidden by the JSP spec"

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:34:00 +0000

I don't usually geek out on my blog, but here's an issue I came across twice. At first I thought it was related to JSP or the tag libraries, but now I think it's got to do with Resin:

"interpolated runtime values are forbidden by the JSP spec"

This happens when your interpolated jsp value is surrounded by text; for example:

<myTag key="myKey" arguments="<%=myInterpolatedValue%>,myText"/>

Work-around:
<%
String arguments = myInterpolatedValue + ",myText";
%>
<myTag key="myKey" arguments="<%=arguments%>"/>

ToastMasters Speech #2: Cougarlicious

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:38:00 +0000

When we were kids, we got asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" We don't get asked that anymore. So instead, I began to wonder, what do I want to be when I grow old? And to my own surprise, the word "Cougar" sprang into mind.

Cougar is quite a frightful word. It doesn't exactly depict an alluring image. Most people probably don't look towards becoming a cougar, or pursuing one. My mission today is reinterpret the cougar image, and to persuade all of you, that cougars have aspiring qualities.

First allow me to give you a definition of cougars. A cougar refers to an older woman, who sexually pursues younger men. How young? As a matter of fact there is a mathematical guide to judge if the age disparity is large enough. It's the "half-your-age-plus-seven" rule. So for example if I was 80 years old and my partner is a hot, lean, muscular man, younger than 47 years old, I'd be a cougar. Cougars are often seen in bars, night clubs, and sometimes, shopping at Holt Renfrew.

So why do I want to be a cougar when I grow old? My first reason is, fashion. Let us imagine what a cougar might wear on a night out. A typical image might be of her wearing a leopard-print polyester top with spandex pants. Or, perhaps she is cinched in a glittering Marciano bodice that shows off her cleavage. There's a WIDE range of what a cougar might wear, but there is one commonality - cougars wear whatever they desire. Usually, an older woman would go for a more conservative or classic look, one that fits her age. Not cougars. Cougars are not concerned with how they "should" dress. They wear clothes that show off their curves, they steal trends from the 20-year-olds. They dress boldly, unashamedly, and unapologetically. When I'm older, I'd like to continue to think that fashion is not about dressing properly, but about expressing yourself and having fun with styles.

Confidence, is another quality that cougars possess. It takes confidence, to bump the younger girls off the stage and steal the spotlight. It takes confidence, to seduce men who are much younger. It takes confidence, to welcome the age difference without fear. When I grow old, I want to have this confidence, to redefine the sex appeal of older women, and to push the boundaries of the status quo.

Aggression is another cougar characteristic. Like cougar the animal, cougar women don't wait around to be picked up - they HUNT. At their hunting ground, usually a night club or a bar, they wander fearlessly into a pack of young bucks, and pick out their prey. Cougars are aggressive and take initiative. These are great qualities to have. When I'm old, I'd like to be at the top of the food chain as well - to actively seek out the best the society has to offer. I wouldn't want to be a scavenger, picking up the left-overs.

A bold attitude towards fashion, a powerful self-confidence, and a I-won't-settle-for-less aggression. These are the cougar qualities and the reason why I want to be a cougar when I grow old. Women ought to be thought of as fine wine, the more aged the better. Like gourmet cheeses. Like treasures found in an antique road show. One does not have to date younger guys to embrace all these qualities. It is most important to enjoy life and to live well, in spite of age. So I encourage every woman to find the cougar in herself. Be a cougar, be a closet cougar, but now matter what you end up choosing, be cougar-licious.

ToastMasters Ice Breaker: Made in Taiwan, Calibrated in Canada

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 12:33:00 +0000

Today I'd like to tell you about my experiences, my challenges, and my discoveries, when I first moved to Canada.

I was born on the tropical island of Taiwan. When I was 13 years old, my mom and I flew over the Pacific Ocean, and arrived on an island of similar size - Vancouver Island. Victoria is where I grew up as a teenager.

Coming here, I thought I was well prepared in the language. After all, I had gone to a bi-lingual kindergarten as a kid, and I have studied English on and off since. However, without immersion, I was at a beginner's level. My entire vocabulary can be covered by an episode of Sesame Street. I was determined to become proficient in English, so I decided that, from now on, I will think only in English. And I tried. Then it was like the light dimmed in my head and my thoughts were greatly simplified! It took some time before my language skills caught up so I can think like a normal person again.

Language is an expected obstacle. An unforeseen one was recognizing people. Caucasians that is. Two people can have absolutely different eyes, noses, voices - but if they had similar hair, I'd be totally lost. When I saw someone familiar, I used to wait for them to spot me rather than going up to them first, in case they turned out to be a total stranger. When someone says, "All Chinese people look the same", I can very much relate, because I know when I was new here, all white people looked the same!

Humour, I discovered, was also different here. It was interesting to see a whole new set of ways of being funny. Humour here was more animated. There was more use of sarcasm, and funny reenactment of what happened. In Taiwan, humour often comes from the use of specific words, phrases, and characters. I can often tell if someone is new to the Canadian culture based on their sense of humour.

School was what I looked forward to the most when I came to Canada. My cousin, who had come here a year before me, told me all about having less homework and not having to wear uniforms. However, when I started school here, I noticed it was more than that. In Taiwan back then, the schools were like military schools. Students were strictly disciplined, talked down to, and were never allowed to talk back. Here, teachers treated each student with respect. One day in class, I forgot to bring my text book. I immediately flashbacked to a class in Taiwan where I had forgotten to bring my text book. As a punishment for being forgetful, I had to stand at the back of the classroom for the entire two-hour lesson. As I thought about this, I felt a surge of panic, and wondered how I would be punished here. To my surprise - and relief - the teacher simply asked my classmate, "Would you mind sharing your text book?" This might not seem like a big deal to anyone, but it meant a lot to me to not be punished for trivial mistakes.

Sometimes I wonder how different I would be had I been born in Canada. I probably wouldn't have enjoyed Chinese foods such as chicken feet. I probably wouldn't have been able to read Chinese literature either. But would I have been more confident? Would I have been more vocal? I used to wish that I was born into a more free-thinking society that is less burdened by its traditionss. However, as I get older, I've come to appreciate having grown up in two wildly different cultures, as it has helped broaden my horizon and given me different perspectives.

Pompidou

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:11:00 +0000

"Pompidou" strikes me as a name I'd give to a bouncy, stubby, and cheerful little miniature pig, but instead it's an out-there building with a large collection of modern art (, or, 19th French President Georges Pompidou).

I had been looking forward to seeing this somewhat infamous and controversial building. I never disliked it judging by the photos I saw. However, as we got there, I was a little disappointed to see very little colour on it. Later I discovered all the colours were on the other side! Guess we'll have to go again!

The escalators, exposed on the face of the building, were long but fun to ride on. The art ranged from sophisticated Dali to psychedelic disco room to lumps of wools on 10-foot sticks. Some made us go, "Cool," most made us go "Hm..."

Our earlier bite at a creperie turned out to be late lunch as well as dinner, as we never got around to eat again after. By the end of visiting the gallery, we had walked for at least 12 hours for the day! I never thought I'd be too exhausted to eat...

Panthéon

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Fri, 04 May 2007 21:30:00 +0000

We visited the Panthéon in Paris because it housed the original Foucault's pendulum. The pendulum was used in 1851 to demonstrate Earth's rotation. Imagine how cool it would've been to show the world that Earth rotates!

The 28kg golden brass ball swung 67 meters off the central dome. Under normal circumstances that would feel like one giant awe-inspiring pendulum indeed, but the enormous and lavish Panthéon dwarfed the pendulum and drowned its significance. Fortunately the pendulum didn't seem to give a damn anyway. It swung quietly and unhurriedly, ignoring all the splendor around it.

The real role of the Panthéon was a burial place for significant people, such as Marie Curie, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Louis Braille.

Perhaps the building was too relatively new, it didn't have the softness and details of the earlier days. The artwork and interior structures just seemed so crisp and cold. It really didn't touch me. I'm spoiled fast - a day in Paris and I was ready to spite the 250 year-old monuments.

Notre Dame

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Fri, 04 May 2007 20:20:00 +0000

Notre Dame took 182 years to build, from 1063 to 1345. Imagine! If the construction had started in 1825, it'd be finishing up just about now, in 2007! Some floors will be internet-ready, some floors will have telegraphs. Odd there were no jokes referencing this, like, "My contractor is pulling a Notre-Dame on me!"

Notre Dame's architecture was out of whack due to an amalgamation of styles from various time periods. Nevertheless, it was beautiful and unique, inside and out. Sacredness permeated every space in the church, from the soaring vaulted ceiling to the grooves in the stained glass windows, to the air around each lit white candle. Despite the constant stream of tourists, Notre Dame maintained its solemness and holiness. We caught a service happening. The intermittent singing was unexpectedly peaceful, pleasant, and almost purifying. It was such a spiritual place, I never would have suspected there being any dirt on the Roman Catholic history.

As we left, we noticed gargoyles sticking way out of the outside wall. Each gargoyle had a cute face almost like the Dr. Seuss' characters. The gargoyles were rainwater spouts in disguise. I'd love to see what they look like when it pours in Paris!

The Louvre

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:07:00 +0000

We woke up refreshed to our first morning in Paris. No jet-lag whatsoever. We got some croissants for breakfast, because it was a French thing to do. Perhaps I expected too much out of the real-deal croissants, as I was a bit disappointed to find them not so different from ours. Tasty nonetheless.

Our first stop was the Louvre, one of my most anticipated sights because of its architecture. "He's not I. M. Free, he's I. M. Pay," I remember hearing that from a biography show about this prominent architect. I'm sure he was worth every penny. The glass pyramids not only existed harmoniously with the centuries-old Louvre royal palace, they enhanced its beauty and antiquity, much like the way MSG brings out the flavours in food.

At the main floor, I was reminded of the silky and modern spiral staircase. I love spiral staircases, and this one is iconic to me. I had seen pictures of the Louvre mezzanine when I was a kid and imagined myself standing on the staircase. Now I really was!

What about the art? Yes yes we spent the next two, three hours browsing the amazing collection. There was so much great art I had to admit the Mona Lisa didn't stand out as exceptional to me. Nor did Venus de Milo. Hypes generated interests in specific pieces, but some were partly circumstantial, or even political.

The palace itself was beautiful and incredibly massive. We were constantly in awe and amazement as we walked down the grand and seemingly endless hallways. In most places nowadays we simply can't - and wouldn't - create a museum of this scale. The French are fortunate to have inherited all these (and to have Napoleon, who looted some more!)

Arriving in Paris

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Fri, 04 May 2007 06:59:00 +0000

A trip to Europe for the first time will not be a vacation, but more like condensed living, history boot camps, and a surreal dream when you look back on it.

Our 14-day itinerary in France and Italy was action packed. That's the way we travel I guess. Recalling our five days in Florida way back when, we did DisneyWorld and Universal Studios HARD. No ride was too small to go on.

We landed in Paris in early afternoon. We were stoked. After months of planning, reading, and anticipating - now we were here for real and it was hard to believe! We turned on our street savvy - living up to the professional-looking big backpacks on our backs - and proceeded to find our hotel. Of course in reality, we had no street smarts at this point.

We hopped on a local bus. Proudly and in French, I asked the driver how much the ticket was. Then it quickly dawned on me I also needed to understand the answer in French! Norm's rusty high school French didn't help on this first day. I wished I had taken French back in Grade 8, but I was still trying to manage English then!

Somewhat to my surprise, most French people we encountered spoke little or no English. Paris however had a very tourist-friendly layout. We quickly learned the metro system, and when walking, there were road names on the buildings so you don't have to walk to the intersection to know what street you are on. Plus, the Eiffel Tower was a perfect landmark; at 106 stories tall, it was always in sight.

We headed to the Eiffel Tower that evening. Her immensity gave the illusion we were a block away, when in reality it was more like eight. Finally we arrived. Crossing under one of the foot arches, we noticed the Tower was detailed with elegant lace-like scallops. We arched our backs under all 7,300 tons of iron and looked up admiringly. I felt like I was looking up a metal giant's skirt.

Crowds never subsided here. Standing amidst a sea of eager tourists, we had our first Street Smarts Crash Course: How to avoid getting cut off, pushed, or groped while standing in line. Hours later, we emerged victoriously at the top of the Eiffel Tower, three hundred metres above ground. The sun had begun to set romantically into the Parisian smog. We watched and cuddled and tried to absorb it all. Yesterday was just another day at work, yet suddenly today, we were in a postcard!

Hot Window Washer

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:23:00 +0000

Days ago I had fun observing the two window washers cleaning a nearby building. An outdoor job that allows you to sit in a swing all day looks appealing - at least looking from inside the building anyway.

Today we had our own window washer, so I was quite excited. When he came down to my window, I waved at him with a huge smile. Turned out he was super cute. He drew a big smiley on my window, and wrote "Have a good day" backwards in the foam. I must've been giggling a lot as my co-worker walked away and said "I'll leave the two of you alone".

A while later I was presented a printout with large red letters that said, "My colleague thinks you're HOT. Can you take off your sunglasses, spin around in front of her window, and write your number in the foam?" HA HAH HA

I had to take my jacket off after reading that as I would've steamed up all the windows otherwise. Sure I was curious to see what he would've done after reading it, but fate had it he missed an entire column of windows for the building and of course the sign as well.

"Leave the sign there; he'll be back tomorrow to clean those windows", one co-worker assured me. But another one said, "Or it'll be a big ugly dude here to clean it and he'll see the sign". Finally, all the guys approved of the idea that a really hot chick in a bikini top will come back tomorrow to finish the job.

House Hippo

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 02:53:00 +0000

This was on TV years ago. I giggled every time it was on. It was my favorite commercial!

Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 18:31:00 +0000

Last year around my birthday time I was busy ranting about getting older, this year I'm just busy!

In Victoria, Mom took us out for dinner at Ceylon, a very nice Sri Lankan Restaurant. At work, I got the biggest and baddest mango cake covered in slices of fresh mango. After work, Norm and I had dinner Morton's. And finally on the weekend we had our 80s-themed birthday party; it was small but everybody's costume was absolutely awesome!

Here are some pics. (More on Flickr)

April Fool's 2007

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 18:51:00 +0000

To carry on the April Fool's tradition I started last year, I decided to send out a Save the Sloths Sperm Drive email to my friends. Took some time to make, but I learned so much about three-toes maned sloths and sperm donation it's been a worthwhile journey. Norm wasn't too pleased when he found out I used his cell as the For More Info phone number.

One of my friends did get fooled! And yes, that makes my day.

Bring back the 80s (but not all of it)

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 21:34:00 +0000

Mr. T on 80's Fashion

Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Passport Renewal Day

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:12:00 +0000

Last time I stood in a lengthy line-up was when Star Wars Episode I came out eight years ago. We waited 13 hours to see the first showing. Though the movie didn't live up to the hype, it was still more exciting than submitting a bloody passport renewal application.

The line at the Richmond office wrapped all the way around the building. The end of the line almost met the front of the line. It was amusing for a fraction of a second, 'til we got in line. Immediately we hoped some suckers will soon join in behind us so we could feel better about our situation.

We had a couple episodes of Heroes on the laptop, but it was raining and the line was moving, so we chatted with fellow liner-uppers instead.

The taller buildings around the Passport Office had a full view of the line. If I lived there I'd set up a webcam and a website to broadcast the state of the line. Put some ads on the site too if I was business savvy. Everyone also agreed that someone should be selling hot chocolate. But the best business idea we heard was a bum selling his spot in line for $200.

So 4 1/2 hours later, we were finally out of there. Now we cross our fingers and hope the passports will arrive in time. Five years from now, we can come back here in line and have a Passport Renewal Reunion. I'll remember to bring a chair!

St. Patrick's Day

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 23:54:00 +0000

For St. Patrick's Day, we went to a house party at Nick's room-mates-to-be's. They are a cool bunch, so I'm happy for Nick.

The party was especially great since I've been missing the house parties we used to have in Victoria. In Vancouver, parties are held in 600sqft walk-in-closets with a sofabed.

There were quite a few divers from the Victoria Diving Club and they definitely revived my interest in learning to scuba dive. The mix of people was good. Everyone had interesting stories.

A couple green jello shooters later, some of us changed the background music to dance music, and got on the sturdy coffee table and danced. It was good fun until cop cars lined up in front of the house. For the record, that was totally reasonable noise levels for a house, on St. Patrick's Day, before midnight!! I feel bad for not chipping in on the $100 fine; well, less bad after Nick donated his Noodle Box stamps coupon.

From Orangutan to Gymnast

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 08:10:00 +0000

Walking normal doesn't come naturally for some people. I'm one of those people. Walking like a girl is even harder; it requires almost a conscious effort at all times.

In grade school, I remember walking across the stage to receive some award. As I stumped my way down the platform, a teacher commented, "How come you walk like an orangutan?" (Teachers in Taiwan back then were blunt as heck.)

Just the other day, on the way to work, I heard a voice behind me saying, "Wow you walk like a gymnast!" I turned around and saw a rather cute guy. "Are you a gymnast?"

I wasn't sure whether it was a compliment or an insult. Is he saying I have a butch-walk? I asked somewhat defensively, "How do gymnasts walk?" He went on about how I must be quite fit and such. And judging by his tone of voice and body language I concluded it was a compliment.

Gymnasts might not be known for their attractive walks, but they are a hell lot better than orangutans!

Razor Taters

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 07:36:00 +0000

At work our kitchen cupboards are always stocked with snacks. This week we got a new type of potato chips by Lays. They are baked and are actually really good, the only problem is, they are so thin and razor-sharp.

If you open up a bag and throw these chips like ninja stars, you can probably hurt someone. They are potatoes in their deadliest (yet delicious) form. I'm cutting the roof and sides of my mouth as I gorged down three bags of these chips. Mmm... and there was salt in them to dress my wound.

How useful these chips could be for hijacking a plane. You can eat the evidence afterwards too.

Britney Spears' Precious Tresses

noreply@blogger.com (spacebunny) — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 03:46:00 +0000

So after the shaving incidence, Britney Spears' hair will be (or is already) up for auction by Esther's Hair Studio, starting at 1 million dollars.

Man, I can't help but compare these locks of dyed brown hair to the bags of pubic hair Borat tried using to pay for his damage at the antique shop. Source matters. Had Borat known better, he would've associated the pubes with names. Ha!

What do people do with this hair after paying 1 million dollars for it anyway? Do they wear it, frame it, or do they stroke it gently and frequently like Gollum does the Ring? "My preeeecious...".