First off, my apologies for being so lax lately. I'm weak from lack of food.
My favourite thing to do of late is browse the "Free" section of Craig's List. This started because I was looking for an old computer to setup a server on. I didn't want to spend a lot of money (or any if I could help it) so I thought I might be able to get a deal on Craig's List. That's when I saw the "Free" section. Are there good things posted here? I think it all depends on what you consider good, for me, it's offered hours of entertainment thus far.
Some samples of the postings.
Homemade Cat Gym
I don't have the exact wording of the post but it was along these lines, "I just finished making this cat gym and the cat run away!!!" There was a picture attached as well of what looked to be three scratching posts positioned at different heights to form a staircase. The cat may have run away because he was too embarrassed to be seen on the thing or once it was completed he realized his owner was a little too fond of catnip.
Coffee Pot
"Hi My coffee maker is broken but the pot is still good. Any one want it? It's a 12 cup glass pot, white trim - see picture. For a Black & Decker Smart Brew Delux (or similar) I'll clean it up if anyone can use it. Thanks"
This posting on its own is not all that amusing but the picture was wonderful. The poster had placed the coffee pot in the middle of a mattress and snapped the shot. It was obvious that the poster wanted to display the pot for would be takers but the coffee pot in the middle of the mattress just looked so out of place and, as my brother noted, all the light was at the front of the mattress so we could only see the coffee pot in the shadows.
Curb Alert
These are general postings where somebody has seen something on a curb somewhere and has put it on Craig's List to let the other scavengers know where it is. I can't imagine anyone saying to themselves "a slightly damaged IKEA desk only 25 miles away, Lurlene put on your party dress I just found junior's wedding present."
I've taken to posting false curb alerts at areas around the city to try and cause traffic jams.
Panda
"He could use a bit of a clean but he's really cute and cuddly. Come get him if you want him."
This heartbreaker is probably giving him away because she's moved on to a bigger, cuter and cuddlier panda.
$5.00 off coupon
"I've got an HMV Save $5 coupon that expires april 30, 2008. You can save $5 when you buy 3 of these CDs.
Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride
Britney - Blackout
Brian Melo - upcoming 2007 release
Kalan Porter - Wake Up Living
Paul Potts - One Chance
Bruce Springsteen - Magic
Santana - All time greatest hits
Alicia Keys - As i Am"
Wow, I can save $5.00 when I buy any three of these crappy CDs? The woman who sits behind me at work (I don't know who the woman who sits behind me at home is. I've been meaning to ask her who she is and how she got into my apartment) LOVES Bruce Springsteen so for fear of experiencing her wrath I'll say that with the exception of Bruce these are all junk. Brian Melo and Kalan Porter - winners of Canadian Idol, come on. These things are going to sell 12 copies total and that's including the ones Kalan and Brian will have to buy for themselves.
Playing Cards
"Three packs of Molson playing cards. Take as few or as many as you like."
I like how this guy makes it seem like he has a plethora of playing cards for your perusal. "Take as few or as many as you like." Playing cards for all my friends. Take some for your relatives. Take an extra pack for the ride home. Does your dog play cards? Take a pack for him - good boy. They're all Molson decks and he only has three of them. The choices seem a little limited to me.
Shower Stall Curtain
"White vinyl shower stall curtain. Metal reinforcements, mildew resistant. Measures 48" wide, was too narrow for my shower stall."
Oh my god, is this a magic shower curtain. Let me get this straight, metal reinforcements AND mildew resistant. Usually it's one or the other. He must have bought this in Kazakhstan because that's the only country where you can get a quality shower curtain like this one.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Last of the Europe Pictures
The last two places I went were Munich and Amsterdam - loved Munich, hated Amsterdam. I'm not even entirely sure why I liked Munich so much. I didn't do a whole lot there but the city was extremely clean, everyone was polite and the air conditioning in my hotel room was top notch - pretty much a diametric opposite of Rome. Amsterdam may be a stoner's paradise but for a straight upstanding citizen such as myself I didn't approve of all the drugs and carrying-on.
Munich - Where they do Gothic right.
This is the entrance to the Dachau concentration camp. The gate says "Arbeit Macht Frei" which translates as "work shall set you free". This makes much more sense than my translation of "all workers must wash hands".
A memorial at the concentration camp.
The Michelin Man's older, handsomer, smarter and thinner older brother. Oooh how the Michelin Man hates him.
If memory serves, this one was taken in Amsterdam
You'll have to click to enlarge the picture and see all that the club offers but "ficken auf der buhne" is one of their specialities. You don't even want to know what that translates to.
The hidden staircase leading up to the attic where Anne Frank and her family hid. I don't know why it was so hard to find them, there were signs all over the place.
Munich - Where they do Gothic right.
This is the entrance to the Dachau concentration camp. The gate says "Arbeit Macht Frei" which translates as "work shall set you free". This makes much more sense than my translation of "all workers must wash hands".
A memorial at the concentration camp.
The Michelin Man's older, handsomer, smarter and thinner older brother. Oooh how the Michelin Man hates him.
If memory serves, this one was taken in Amsterdam
You'll have to click to enlarge the picture and see all that the club offers but "ficken auf der buhne" is one of their specialities. You don't even want to know what that translates to.
The hidden staircase leading up to the attic where Anne Frank and her family hid. I don't know why it was so hard to find them, there were signs all over the place.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Dirty, Dirty Rome
Rome was the place I'm least likely to visit again. The city was dirty, the trains were filthy and the lineups were insane. The reason popes are so old is probably because they have to wait in line outside the Vatican before they're ordained.
The history of Rome is of course extremely interesting and there are ruins everywhere which are pretty cool to look at but the city is so run down you don't know if you're looking at an ancient ruin or a slumlord's building.
Here are some shots of St. Peter's Basilica. It doesn't look very crowded because most of the people waiting have expired and been carted away to be fed to the jackals.
A closeup of the roof of St. Peter's Basilica. Some of the figures are holding crosses as a subtle reminder that Jesus was crucified. Come on kids, it's been 2000 years, how about stopping your bellyaching.
I think this is a statue of St. Peter. Whoever it is he looks very judgmental.
Assorted fountains and ruins.
This statue amuses me. Obviously the sculptor ran out of time and thought "what are the most recognizable features of this guy? His face would be good to show and probably his penis, everyone remembers his penis."
Vatican Museum - for those who can't translate the Latin inscription.
You'll have to click on this picture to enlarge it but pretty much right in the middle is a poster stating that you're not allowed to wear bathing suits in the museum. After waiting four days in line in the scorching heat you're damn lucky I'm wearing anything.
One of the ceilings in the Vatican museum. You're not allowed to take any photos of the Sistine Chapel which is the main thing I wanted to take pictures of but this is still pretty cool.
This is from the tomb of the unknown soldier. I just like this shot.
The Colosseum.
Inside the Colosseum.
Apparently these guys didn't hear that the Empire fell.
The history of Rome is of course extremely interesting and there are ruins everywhere which are pretty cool to look at but the city is so run down you don't know if you're looking at an ancient ruin or a slumlord's building.
Here are some shots of St. Peter's Basilica. It doesn't look very crowded because most of the people waiting have expired and been carted away to be fed to the jackals.
A closeup of the roof of St. Peter's Basilica. Some of the figures are holding crosses as a subtle reminder that Jesus was crucified. Come on kids, it's been 2000 years, how about stopping your bellyaching.
I think this is a statue of St. Peter. Whoever it is he looks very judgmental.
Assorted fountains and ruins.
This statue amuses me. Obviously the sculptor ran out of time and thought "what are the most recognizable features of this guy? His face would be good to show and probably his penis, everyone remembers his penis."
Vatican Museum - for those who can't translate the Latin inscription.
You'll have to click on this picture to enlarge it but pretty much right in the middle is a poster stating that you're not allowed to wear bathing suits in the museum. After waiting four days in line in the scorching heat you're damn lucky I'm wearing anything.
One of the ceilings in the Vatican museum. You're not allowed to take any photos of the Sistine Chapel which is the main thing I wanted to take pictures of but this is still pretty cool.
This is from the tomb of the unknown soldier. I just like this shot.
The Colosseum.
Inside the Colosseum.
Apparently these guys didn't hear that the Empire fell.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Switzerland - Beautiful but Boring
If you're going to Switzerland and don't ski bring a book and/or try to catch up on your sleep. I spent 5 days in Zurich and spent most of the time saying "how much?!?!?!? are you out of your freakin' cheese lovin' mind?"
This is the most exciting thing to see in Zurich - a gigantic cuckoo clock. Whenever I asked what type of tourist attractions were around the reply was inevitably "have you seen the clock yet?"
After I got tired of the clock I spent 2 days staring at this thing.
Finally, I decided to take a day trip and went to Lucerne. The picture below shows the actual Keebler elf factory. Head office is still located in a tree but the cookie production is done in the tower.
The "official" explanation of this "carving" is that it commemorates the hundreds of Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. In actuality it is a lion that was accidentally covered in concrete and the Swiss made up the story to avoid embarrassment.
I also decided to do some mountain climbing.
Thank god for this warning sign - "Please don't fall off the mountain".
In retrospect I should have just used the cable cars.
Bern - The city where Einstein came up with the theory of relativity. It's also where I came up with the idea for a shampoo that cuts your hair while cleaning it but I doubt anybody will be talking about that 100 years from now.
Einstein's apartment in Bern. You'd think the plants would have died.
There is an odd law in Zurich that you must have a hat in order to descend stairs. You're allowed to ascend hatless but descending is punishable by a fine or a day's imprisonment. Of course the hat salesman congregate at the top of stairways and make a killing.
James Joyce's grave. The grave stone is just in front of this statue but I thought the statue would be more interesting to look at. In my opinion he is the greatest novelist in the English language and whether you agree (or even care) or not I climbed about 3 vertical miles of stairs to get here and had to buy 3 hats on the way down because they kept blowing off so I'm posting the damn picture.
This is the most exciting thing to see in Zurich - a gigantic cuckoo clock. Whenever I asked what type of tourist attractions were around the reply was inevitably "have you seen the clock yet?"
After I got tired of the clock I spent 2 days staring at this thing.
Finally, I decided to take a day trip and went to Lucerne. The picture below shows the actual Keebler elf factory. Head office is still located in a tree but the cookie production is done in the tower.
The "official" explanation of this "carving" is that it commemorates the hundreds of Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. In actuality it is a lion that was accidentally covered in concrete and the Swiss made up the story to avoid embarrassment.
I also decided to do some mountain climbing.
Thank god for this warning sign - "Please don't fall off the mountain".
In retrospect I should have just used the cable cars.
Bern - The city where Einstein came up with the theory of relativity. It's also where I came up with the idea for a shampoo that cuts your hair while cleaning it but I doubt anybody will be talking about that 100 years from now.
Einstein's apartment in Bern. You'd think the plants would have died.
There is an odd law in Zurich that you must have a hat in order to descend stairs. You're allowed to ascend hatless but descending is punishable by a fine or a day's imprisonment. Of course the hat salesman congregate at the top of stairways and make a killing.
James Joyce's grave. The grave stone is just in front of this statue but I thought the statue would be more interesting to look at. In my opinion he is the greatest novelist in the English language and whether you agree (or even care) or not I climbed about 3 vertical miles of stairs to get here and had to buy 3 hats on the way down because they kept blowing off so I'm posting the damn picture.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Paris - A Smoker's Paradise
Paris was my favourite city on the trip. I inhaled about a carton of cigarettes a day through second hand smoke and yes, some of the shopkeepers were rude but I stayed there a full week and never ran out of things to do.
This is Sacre Coeur in the Montmartre section of Paris. It is at the very top of the city. I once tried to pronounce it in French for a friend who replied "did you just throw-up in my ear?" I'll admit my French is horrible.
The Arc de Triomphe stands in a traffic circle that must have been designed by the Marquis de Sade. I believe 11 "lanes" of traffic all merge into it but it's impossible to tell because there are no lines.
The most thankless job in Paris, directing traffic at the Arc de Triomphe.
A car trying to change lanes at the Arc de Triomphe. He'd been circling for three weeks.
It's a crying shame but graffiti artists seem to get everywhere. I bunch of them have carved their names into the inside of the Arc. I bet if the police ever catch that Bonaparte kid he's going to have some explaining to do.
The view from atop the Arc.
Wikipedia says that 6,719,200 people visited the Eiffel Tower in 2006. I think 6,719,198 of them were ahead of me in line. I'd hate to be that poor bastard behind me.
The view from atop the Eiffel Tower.
I think this is the entrance to a public washroom. Paris's motto is "go big or go home . . . American's just go home."
Below is the bell at Notre Dame. I didn't know this before I visited Notre Dame but the first bell ringer actually had no arms. He was unable to pulls the ropes but would take a run at the bell and hit it with his head. Unfortunately this wasn't very effective and the Monsignor would tell him that the bells had to be louder. Each day he would take a harder run at the bell until one time he hit them so hard he was knocked unconscious and fell out of the bell tower. The police arrived and asked who he was. The Monsignor replied "I don't know his name, but his face rings a bell." My apologies, that was a long journey for a pretty bad destination.
Notre Dame
The entrance to the Pantheon, a veritable who's who of dead French guys. I spent a lot of time in the crypt hiding behind pillars and yelling "boo" at the people who passed by. Eventually I was escorted out.
The inside of the Pantheon.
The tombs of Marie & Pierre Curie. Thanks to radioactivity I was able to microwave a burrito right on top of the lid.
I don't know what this is but it sat outside my hotel room the entire trip and scared the crap out of me.
The entrance to Musée de l'érotisme. No that's not a statue of me but it does bear a striking similarity.
A piece at the museum. We never see this type of garden gnome in Toronto.
This is somebody's tombstone. I'm guessing Ricardo was a cat person.
The Eiffel Tower one last time.
This is Sacre Coeur in the Montmartre section of Paris. It is at the very top of the city. I once tried to pronounce it in French for a friend who replied "did you just throw-up in my ear?" I'll admit my French is horrible.
The Arc de Triomphe stands in a traffic circle that must have been designed by the Marquis de Sade. I believe 11 "lanes" of traffic all merge into it but it's impossible to tell because there are no lines.
The most thankless job in Paris, directing traffic at the Arc de Triomphe.
A car trying to change lanes at the Arc de Triomphe. He'd been circling for three weeks.
It's a crying shame but graffiti artists seem to get everywhere. I bunch of them have carved their names into the inside of the Arc. I bet if the police ever catch that Bonaparte kid he's going to have some explaining to do.
The view from atop the Arc.
Wikipedia says that 6,719,200 people visited the Eiffel Tower in 2006. I think 6,719,198 of them were ahead of me in line. I'd hate to be that poor bastard behind me.
The view from atop the Eiffel Tower.
I think this is the entrance to a public washroom. Paris's motto is "go big or go home . . . American's just go home."
Below is the bell at Notre Dame. I didn't know this before I visited Notre Dame but the first bell ringer actually had no arms. He was unable to pulls the ropes but would take a run at the bell and hit it with his head. Unfortunately this wasn't very effective and the Monsignor would tell him that the bells had to be louder. Each day he would take a harder run at the bell until one time he hit them so hard he was knocked unconscious and fell out of the bell tower. The police arrived and asked who he was. The Monsignor replied "I don't know his name, but his face rings a bell." My apologies, that was a long journey for a pretty bad destination.
Notre Dame
The entrance to the Pantheon, a veritable who's who of dead French guys. I spent a lot of time in the crypt hiding behind pillars and yelling "boo" at the people who passed by. Eventually I was escorted out.
The inside of the Pantheon.
The tombs of Marie & Pierre Curie. Thanks to radioactivity I was able to microwave a burrito right on top of the lid.
I don't know what this is but it sat outside my hotel room the entire trip and scared the crap out of me.
The entrance to Musée de l'érotisme. No that's not a statue of me but it does bear a striking similarity.
A piece at the museum. We never see this type of garden gnome in Toronto.
This is somebody's tombstone. I'm guessing Ricardo was a cat person.
The Eiffel Tower one last time.
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