Interesting detail from MASH: Major Houlihan usually wear her shirt tucked
in. But in the episode where her appendix is bugging her, she wears it
untucked. Because her appendix is bugging her so she doesn't want tight
stuff around her waist!

From the happy white wine files: Barossa Valley Spires chardonnay and Les Fumees Blanches sauvignon blanc. Both are a bit dry for my taste, but they're still highly drinkable - the kind where it's easy to drink more than you intended to. fumees Blanches has a screwtop lid, which is good for when you want a decent wine with the convenience of a screwtop.

Blah. That's all. Just blah.

Over the past couple of months, there have been some ads hanging in Yonge
Bloor station that contain a picture that causes me distress. I've noticed
recently that some, but not all, of the ads in the station have changed.
Obviously I avoid the part of the station where there are ads I don't want
to see, so I don't know if these ads have changed. Does anyone know if
they're gone yet?

The great advantage to taking night classes is that when I don't have class it seems like I have so much more free time. After my last class on December 8th, I'm going to be feeling a glorious freedom at the oodles of time available to me each day. I'll still be working full-time five days a week, but the idea of finishing work, doing an errand, and still being home by 6:00 feels like unspeakable luxury.

From the Stupid Things That Annoy Me file:

People who put their babies in carriers/strollers and then cover them up completely. Like they put a blanket over the whole stroller, or somehow close the carrier completely so the baby is in a little closed dark box. I know that when you're outdoors it's to keep out the wind, but you should really let your baby see the world! Actually, it's more for purely selfish reasons - if you're talking up a lot of space with a big stroller or something, I want the compensation of seeing a cute little baby.

The problem with being a translator is that people think I'm an interpreter. Translation is written, interpretation is verbal. They're different skills. Many, if not most, people who can do one can't do both. So then when people find out I can't interpret they get inordinately disappointed in me.

Random, quasi-inappropriate thought of the moment: Wouldn't it be funny if
the hijackers who were flying planes into the World Trade Center missed?
Like they tried to hit the building, but they couldn't steer very well or
something and just flew right in between the buildings? I have no idea if
that would be feasible, but it makes a funny mental image.

Anyone know of any products that can be used for exfoliating the skin around
your eyes and don't require much rubbing or friction?

The Bodybreak people seem to take as a given that "being active is fun". They're going for the wrong audience. They should really do Bodybreak with the given that people don't enjoy "being active", and work from there

Yesterday I learned that at U of T, a 4.0 (the highest mark on the grade point scale) corresponds with 86% to 100%. So if you get 86% in a class, it will show up on your transcript exactly the same as if you got 100% in that class.

This is not good for me.

You see, on my last test, I had more trouble than I had anticipated. I went into the test a bit cocky and was humbled by the number of questions I couldn't answer or had to guess at. I left the test thinking that I'd need to do some additional studying on top of my standard everyday studying.

It turn out I got 90% on that test.

I still got things wrong that I shouldn't have, but since this 90% is considered by the university to be exactly the same as 100%, what's my motiviationto perfect myself? I can just study on the subway on the way to class, and squeak through with guesswork!

WARNING! Do not buy American grapes!!!

Things they should invent: What'sTheDifferenceBetween.com

A website where you can enter two word and it will tell you the difference
between them. It will come pre-programmed with pairs of similar words (for
example, stuttering and stammering, or continuous and continual, or highway
and freeway) and will tell you the difference between those words. If you
enter words that aren't a pre-programmed pair, it will provide dictionary
definitions. If the dictionary definitions don't help, you can "submit"
that pair and trained terminologists will determine the difference and add
it to the database.

My IP address currently starts with 70. For the entire 2-ish years I've been with this ISP, my IP address has always started with 65. Weird.

A comment by someone named Don Meredith, in today's Globe and Mail,
regarding the Jane bus incident:

"A child is shot and there's no outrage?"

Um, there is outrage. From all sides. Who do you know that isn't outraged?

I'm tired and had a bad day. I hate how I can't function as well if I don't exercise and eat breakfast. I HATE that. I LOATHE and DETEST having to take time to take care of myself properly.

According to a sticker on my pill package, oral contraceptives may make contact lenses difficult to wear. I've been on the pill for years and I had no idea!

Thought of the moment: are there little black mousies living under the tracks of the Sheppard subway line too? Or is the line too new?

I've watched my POA DVD three times already since it first arrived on my doorstep last Thursday! It's definitely the best movie so far, which is good because it's definitely my favourite book so far. You can tell Cuaron is having fun with the material instead of just jumping from plot point to plot point.

However, there are a few changes I'd make. First, I'd shorten the following scenes:

1. Aunt Marge inflating and floating away (I'd make her inflate faster)
2. Harry flying around on Buckbeat
3. Harry and Hermione getting tossed around by the Whomping Willow

They're all fun CGI scenes and they do have their place, but I'd shorten them and use the space saved to communicate the following plot points:

1. Show the Wolfsbane Potion
2. Explicitly say that MWPP are Remus, Peter, Sirius and James
3. Tell the story of WHY WPP chose to become Animagi!
4. Explain that Harry's Patronus is, in fact, his father!

It's one thing to assume the viewer is familiar with the backstory of the first two books/movies, it's quite another to assume they're familiar with the backstory of the current story. It's more important to make everyone's motivation clear than to have cool CGI effects.

I'd have also enjoyed a longer Boggart scene, and the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw Quidditch match (which is one of my favourite scenes in the book).

And for any Canadian Potter fans reading this, am I the only one who is reminded of Wormtail every time I see the name of Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierre Pettigrew?

On MASH, they're all wearing their dress uniforms. Col. Potter has a sort
of cropped jacket that ends before the top of his hips, but the other
officers all have longer jackets that fall mid-hip. I wonder why?