Dr.Unk's Office... in the Territory

November 4, 2011

basking in the moment....

I know tis but a fleeting moment, but as of this date and time, after 13 games played in the 2011-2012 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the #1 team in the NHL. You weren't predicting that anytime last year eh?

I don't expect it to last, or be a sign of the coming of the Cup, but I am happy they're playing hard and winning the games they need to. GO LEAFS GO!

Posted by Dr.Unk at 5:15 PM | Comments (0)

October 25, 2011

quality craftsmanship lasts...

There's just something nice about looking back on a purchase and realising it was quality and the right choice. Back in 2001, I did a co-op placement at a company called JDS Uniphase. They were growing and a big part of the tech boom. The bust came and within a year of my placement, my old department no longer existed. At one point I bought shares in that company... that was not the quality that I am writing about.

The smart decision I made during that time was to buy myself a nice watch. I went to Eaton's (if I recall correctly) and bought a Roots watch. It was more money than I'd spent on watches my entire life but I really liked it. It's now on it's second battery, and third watchband, but it hasn't missed a beat. A quality bit of craftsmanship and one that I'd like to recognise and pass along. It's far too often that we complain of bad quality gear. So thank you Roots for a great watch!

Posted by Dr.Unk at 6:45 PM | Comments (0)

July 29, 2011

Yes, it is still publishing....barely

So, the gap in my posts is getting ever longer and I'm pondering whether to keep the Dr.'s Office open or not. I can't explain what it is that keeps me from writing. There are the obvious cop-outs like changing jobs several times in the past six months, moving from Darwin to Katherine as well as the slow but ever-snowballing plans for the wedding next June....yeah, if you haven't heard details of it don't worry, we're just a little behind and chances are you're welcome to swing by for the party.

I've yet to fall into the "facecrack" temptation and join a web of people that I'll most likely never come face to face with again. In saying that, I have also lost contact with some good mates. I shouldn't they're really lost as I've got their emails but it's more like I've lost the ability the dedicate time to catching up - that being the sad part of it all. Hopefully, I can find the balance between daily updates of what cereal I had for breakfast (trick question - I don't eat breakfast) and procrastinating too much instead of asking that ole mate of mine, what he/she is up to now and what's exciting for them?

So keep on checking in and I may have some more to say - hopefully in better style and grammar cause I reckon this is nothing less than shocking. This post has been typed like getting back on a bicycle after 5 years....and forgetting the downsides of only braking with the front caliper. Ouch.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)

November 12, 2010

Back in business again

Wow, that was a prolonged absence for the Doctor's Office.

It was a bit of a miscommunication followed by the logistics of dealing with companies half a globe away. I won't bore you with further details, but let's just say that my laziness was a partial contributor.

So what's been happening since?

Nat finished up her contract in Kakadu and is back in town, now working for Conservation Volunteers. I'm still on Mitchell St. at Duck's Nuts.

We've moved into a new place of our own (renting at least); a beatiful elevated house with a large yard for Rusty and a shaded pool out the back for us. It's important to have a little sanctuary for oneselves. There's nothing quite like sitting down under the house when it's dumping rain and reading a book or working on the Cruiser.

Sounds like something you'd enjoy? Give us a bell and come for a visit!

Posted by Dr.Unk at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

September 4, 2009

Good product rant

In the past I used to rant a fair bit in my writing about bad products and services. Not sure if it's maturity or simply better judgment in my shopping habits but I now find myself praising a lot of products for quality and durability.








I bought a new pair of Merrells a couple of months back and ended up getting the same model as I'd had before. Why not try something else you ask? It was simple. It was the spring of 2009 (Canadian spring) and my previous pair was purchased in the spring (Australian spring) of 2005. If the whole season thing is confusing you that's alright. Essentially what I'm trying to say is that my last pair had a three and a half year lifespan that took them from Sydney to the east coast, through the central desert and even north to Darwin, then from Ottawa to Toronto and westward for a season in the Canadian Rockies....kudos to good quality footwear!

Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:51 PM | Comments (0)

August 23, 2009

good craftsmanship

I've got a 1GB Memorex USB stick. Always been happy with it... now, even more so! I recently found it at the bottom of the laundry basket. It had gone through the wash and a dryer cycle. I plugged it in to the computer and amazingly it still worked. Not many electronic devices will stand that amount of abuse and still come out on top. Kudos to Memorex.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:29 PM | Comments (0)

August 18, 2009

Raspberries and bread.....mmmm

Back home as a child, we had an enormous garden. My parents (and other family members) devoted a lot of time to it, keeping it maintained and a result we always had lots of homegrown vegetables to eat throughout the summer and root vegetables to last some of the winter. I guess a lot of that came down to experience passed down from older relatives (mostly farmers) who were of the generation that you ate what you grew, shared or traded any surplus and bought only other limited food supplies throughout the year. But enough background, let's jump to how this is relevant to today.

Raspberries. We've got wild raspberries growing in our back yard here in Jasper and they're in full effect right now. I hated having to pick raspberries as a kid. We had three rows of canes, each about 50m long, with berries needing to be picked on both sides of each row. That was a lot of raspberries. Luckily, we've only got about 4 to 5 canes/bushes here but I now find that I don't mind picking them. Yesterday I picked about a pound of berries and in another couple of days, there'll be just as many ripe for the picking. Not sure as of yet what I'm going to do with them - maybe a coulee for dessert, maybe a liqueur for those cold winter nights. Either way, they will be put to good use.

Bread. I picked up a working breadmaker at a yard sale for $2. It works great. I'm currently baking (better call that making - not a lot of actual skill needed with these machines) what is probably my 8th or 9th loaf of bread as I type....which maybe means that I should turn the raspberries into a jam....Hmmmm? While placing the ingredients into the machine, I realized that for my grandmother to produce the same result, she may have even had a hand in preparing the ingredients themselves. I bought the butter I needed, but originally it would have been churned using milk from the cattle on the farm. Maybe I'm confusing a generation with one previous but I do appreciate the fact that I've grown up eating food that my family has produced and that I've inherited a certain desire to be involved in even the smallest portion of producing food myself now. I'll never be able to manage a 100 mile diet - I enjoy beer and whiskey too much, but I will take pride knowing that the heritage of the 10 mile diet lies only a generation or two away in my own family.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:23 PM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2009

Go Pens Go!

I'm hardly ever right, and I'm by no means the only person who saw this coming from years ago but I rarely get to say I told you so.....so I'll say it now and reference a past entry to give me some credibility.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 3:48 PM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2009

Modern man's hubris

I was just watching a show on the history channel talking about the temple of Angkor Wat. I suggest reading about it as it is one of the biggest stone temples in the world and was completed in only a fraction of the time that most European cathedrals required.

The really interesting fact that caught my attention was how modern man in the 1980's was responsible for a restoration project that actually did more harm than help. They used concrete to try and seal some roofing stones together. The harm came when the monsoon rains arrived and proceeded to seep through cracks in the stone and dissolve harmful chemicals from the concrete. These chemicals had the potential to do damage to carvings that had stood for almost a millennium. What the restorers eventually figured out was that the ancient architects had already factored in the rain seeping through the cracks and had carved the stones with an internal channel that would carry excess water away.

A simple solution from nearly a millennium past almost ruined by the arrogance of modern thinking. Maybe a little something to consider when we say in confidence that we'll be able to develop technologies down the road that will fix the environmental damages we cause today...

Posted by Dr.Unk at 3:52 PM | Comments (0)

December 16, 2008

Skiing

It's been a good 7-8 years since I was last skiing. Before the -25 degrees and below deep freeze settled into town I managed to get up to the mountain for a few days of downhill action. I'm still very rusty but here are a couple photos (apologies for the quality, it was just a phone) of the slopes.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 2:09 PM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2008

It's a cold winter...and it's still autumn

It's still 6 days until winter officially begins and we in Jasper have already had at least three or four days and nights of -20 degrees or colder with a forecast of the same for the next week. This is what I get for spending the last three Canadian winters in Australia. I should expect it I guess. Some people nickname me Earl so I should expect to reap the same karmic rewards....

#213: left Canada to avoid (not really) winter...and the worst 3 years of the Leafs.

payback's a bitch.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2008

Springs Trek

A couple of weeks back, me and a mate, Leon, packed up the ute and headedwest into the ranges for a night of camping and some hiking. We didn't get out of town til around 3pm so we didn't make it to our destination the first night but we stopped before dark and made a proper camp. I've learned the hard way that only disorganization and disaster comes from trying to find and set up a suitable camp after dark. You may be able to do this with a campground you're already familiar with but otherwise give up.... take the next best one that comes along while there's still light for starting fires and cooking, etc.

A good meal of steak and potatoes followed by a few (hmm..) beers and we were pretty satisfied with the progress made considering the late start. A few more beers and we set out our swags by the fire and nodded off under a starfilled sky....at least til the moon rose an hour later.

Next morning, we started the day with a greasy brekky of eggs, cheese, snags and tomatoes and garlic. It's a good thing we had the whole of nature to ourselves cause I'm pretty sure we didn't smell the greatest for the rest of the day.

On the road (well, more like two tyre tracks in the dirt) by 8am with our guts full and leaving only ashes to give away the campground we headed for a few waypoints that I'd plotted in my GPS. These were a few options that we'd checked out on Google Earth and where we were hoping to explore and hike for the day. In the end, the trail dictated the easier one to approach and we arrived with only a few moments of 'lostness', which were soon remedied by a quick jog to find the track and backtracking to an intersection where we'd left at the Y and should have righted.

The trail ended at a nice campground (for future reference if we return) and we began hiking into the ranges looking for a spring. We did finally find it and it was pretty impressive with many waterholes. Unfortunately, being the incredibly dry summer that we've had, there was very little water there and it tended to be murky and quite stagnant. It would have been a very impressive sight with water flowing; it was easy to imagine as there was evidence of water everywhere. Lots of debris washed down from above, water marks on the rocks and even cycads told the story of wetter years.

We looped back to the cruiser and left around 1pm to get back into town by dinner. I also had to ring up another mate by 6 so he wouldn't come out looking for us in case of being lost or broken down. Overall, a great trip that went well with a few lessons learned....ie, there are tracks out there that are overgrown so make sure to remember the fly mesh to fit over the radiator.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 3:58 AM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2008

a return to the electronic world....

I finally got my computer working again after a hard drive crash. I can't complain too much cause I've had it since uni and in retrospect it's down some hard miles. I was hoping to come up with some decent humour in this post but I've lost the will to do so. And what would it be to so befoul my mood?...

a great movie. Strange, right?

But how else can you react to Bobby? A movie that takes you briefly into the lives of a group of people before they were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. And of course, it all ties in with Robert F. Kennedy's campaign and the night he was shot. The movie is interlaced with actual footage of Kennedy's speeches and even though it's obvious how it ends and that this was almost 40 years ago, you almost have a glimmer of hope that it might end differently.

Of course it doesn't end differently and the United States and the great freedom movement of the 1960's suffers for it. We saw LBJ stay on til '69 and Nixon take over the reigns of the country. It is really shocking when you hear some of RFK's speeches, and think of how the US and even the world would be different.

Instead we had a president who was impeached over the Watergate scandal. Fast forward to the year 2000 and in a moment of confusion the United States of America was hijacked by the good ole boy George W. Of alll voting Americans, 500,000 more chose Gore over Bush but alas, the US electoral system allowed the Bush reign to commence.

We are lucky that Al Gore was only 'killed' in his presidential race, for he continues to speek passinately about global warming - the topic of his famous documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. He is a Nobel Peace Prize winner as well as an Academy Award winner and could have been the president of the USA.

It's a messy argument and I haven't really presented things as clearly as I woulda liked but the point I'm trying to make is that the US ended up with Nixon instead of RFK and now they've got George W. when they could've had an Oscar and Nobel Prize winner.....

....almost enough to make you cry.

For a mental exercise, try and think of how the world would be a different place if Al Gore had have been president when 9/11 happened? Don't stress out too much though cause there's nothing you can do to change the past....unless you've created a time machine.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 7:45 AM | Comments (0)

September 8, 2007

a radio show worth listening to

Unlike at home, there is not a lot of variety in radio stations in Darwin, or in Australia for that matter. On average, Triple J is usually the best station to tune to - it plays new stuff, mostly in the rock/alternative genres as well as some stuff that wouldn't get airplay on other stations. That said, my tastes of more traditional rock and classic rock are rarely satiated by Triple J's buffet. Luckily for me, there's a station called Territory FM. It broadcasts from the local uni campus and plays a great show hosted by Alice Cooper in syndication.

Yes, that crazy man who brought you "Feed my Frankenstein" is now hosting a radio show.....and it rules. Alice Cooper is funny. He doesn't try to hard and doesn't really give a shit if you laugh or not. He plays great classic rock and usually has a good party story to go along with it. In the absence of a classic rock station down undah...or at least in Darwin, I turn to Alice Cooper on my commute home to keep me rockin.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 1:50 AM | Comments (0)

February 14, 2007

The Office gets a renovation

So as you can tell, the blog has a bit of a new look. I got tired of the old template that was pretty much what every blog looks like with a few colour changes and such. That and I really couldn't remember the last time I'd ever looked up archives or things off of somebody's default page. Seemed like a waste of space and made things confusing and I was happy to slap them onto a different page.

That said, I haven't exactly been keeping up to date or in practice with coding and such, so between my rusty html and all this new shit like multiple browser support (remember when Netscape was the only thing you had to worry about?) the pages may look a little off at points. If you care to, please email me any issues or things that could be/should be fixed with the blog. Thanks heaps

Posted by Dr.Unk at 5:49 AM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2007

WANTED: Toyota Landcruiser Troop Carrier

I am in the market for a Landcruiser Troop Carrier. I've spent lots of time searching through the trading post, various used car websites and newspapers and reckoned that I might as well put out a 'for want' ad as well.

WANTED: Landcruiser Troop Carrier

Any year from 1986 and onwards.

Diesel engine.

Less than 320,000kms.

Roofrack and bullbar preferred.

Please send pics if possible to Troopy@andrewclelland.ca

I am currently in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.

I doubt this will work but it costs me nothing so it can't hurt. Send me your offers!

Posted by Dr.Unk at 7:07 PM | Comments (0)

December 21, 2006

Alcohol can be healthy....

..as shown in a study of over 1 million cases. I took some stats courses while acquiring my economics degree (weird eh?) and that is a pretty substantial sample size. Now this does support drinking in moderation only; it won't be much good for uni students arguing that booze is good cause the only methods they (and I, for many years) know for consumption are 'skull!', shoot it and 'chug!'.

Boat-racers are still gonna kick it if they're playing beer games through their 40's but those backyard barbecue beers (fact of the day: that was alliteration) might be alright after all (again?). I'm really getting into using these literary devices - my favourite being onomatopoeia (which coincidently, is not where all the vowels from eastern european names came to reside, just looks that way). A good example keeping up the alcohol theme would be "pffshtttt", the sound of opening a nice fresh can or bottle of beer....mmmm......beeer.

So remember, after the fun in uni you can still enjoy lots of beautiful beer, spirits and wine, just keep it in moderation. After all, those who get too hammered never get a chance to nail anything...

Posted by Dr.Unk at 6:05 AM | Comments (0)

November 17, 2006

Pics of the Trews concert

Posted by Dr.Unk at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)

October 24, 2006

Crosby, Fleury, Staal, Malkin....Cup 2010?

The Leafs will always be my favourite hockey team. Sure, the Senators are only 40 minutes away from my hometown, but the Leafs have always been there, while the Sens were quite absent for 80 years or so. After the Leafs, I'll cheer any Canadian team...yes, even the Sens or Canadiens. After that the Pittsburgh Penguins are pretty much the only American team that I'll cheer for. My loyalty started with Mario Lemieux. He's been my favourite player as long as I can remember. Lots of people felt Gretzky was the greatest ever and the statistics and his records don't lie, but he enjoyed a supporting cast much superior to what Mario had during the start of his career. Either way, I'm not going to go further into an arguement because it's something that will never really be solved or settled. Make your own choice: Gretzky vs. Lemieux

But back to why I started writing...the Penguins. Due to their miserable recent seasons and a bit of luck, the Pens have acquired some tremendous young talent in the drafts of late.

Sydney Crosby: drafted 1st overall in 2005
Evgeni Malkin: drafted 2nd overall in 2004
Marc-Andre Fleury: drafted 1st overall in 2003
Jordan Staal: drafted 2nd overall in 2006

Now, the Penguins aren't a spectacular team yet, but the potential they've got is incredible. If they can keep this nucleus of young talent together, I reckon they will be in the Cup Finals in the next 5 years. There are some obstacles in the way - whether all the players live up to their potential, whether the Pens can manage to keep them all paid and under the salary cap (they're already unsure of what to do with Staal, as playing him this season would change his future free agency date) as well as dealing with the rumours they may be moved by their new owner, that guy from RIM....Hamilton/Waterloo Penguins? Who knows.

I just hope the Pens can hold it all together, cause they've got the talent that should be able to bring them back to the Lemieux/Recchi/Trottier glory days of the early 90's.

Go Pens Go!...at least until you meet the Leafs.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 2:38 PM | Comments (0)

October 23, 2006

a release from limbo...

For the past couple weeks, I've been waiting to hear back about my second working holiday visa for Australia. Now, I had anticipated a bit of time involved in the process, during which I'd planned to celebrate some friends' weddings, fix and sell my car, visit the family and generally relax and enjoy myself.

Well, that all pretty much fell apart. Regrettably, I only made it to one of three weddings I had planned to attend. This was due to the lovely fact that the garage took a week to fix my car (understandable) but didn't realize that my heater coil was cracked/broken and leaking coolant onto the floormats. Needless to say my car is still messed. On that note:

For sale, fire sale in fact!
1995 VW Golf, 129,000km
5sp manual, 4 door
new battery, brakes
needs a heater coil
all offers welcome!

I did manage to see the family, through the use of rental cars. And why did I rent vehicles? Sounds expensive? Well, it wasn't that bad. A bus ticket home is around $100. That is a trip with 2 transfers, one in Toronto and one in Ottawa. That's also a one-way ticket. Sounds alright til you realize it's a 10-12h trip. I cannot stand that type of time on a vehicle, unless it's a plane across the Pacific. I rented a car for three days for the same price of that ticket and paid $50 worth of gas, which got me home and back. All that and the total travel time return in the car was less than a one-way trip on the bus. Not a good state of affairs for public transportation in this country.

My time in Waterloo has been highs and lows. The highs were partying with old pals, some crazy nights at Oktoberfest and hanging out in the finally renovated Bombshelter. The lows have been the lack of transportation and what felt like endless days waiting to hear about my visa. I've already missed my scheduled return to Oz, but no worries cause my days of hanging in limbo (the state, not the dance) are over. Today I got my visa. I'm heading back to Australia on Friday!

The flights are booked and now I know my schedule. I'll be back to work, back to paying bills and back to a normal life. Well, as normal as I like it to be...it's not 9-5, but that's why I love it.

As always, drop by Alice Springs if you're down undah! I'll have a couch ready for you and a beer in the fridge!

Posted by Dr.Unk at 10:55 PM | Comments (0)

October 2, 2006

Home for a....rest?

I arrived back in Waterloo last Tuesday and it's been a crazy couple days so far. The first night back I checked out the new Bomber setup - quite nice, mostly how I had imagined it would be. This was followed by a trip to Barber's place for a BBQ he was throwing. He wanted some help finishing a keg of beer so Moose, Thudds and Riley and I graciously offered our services.

The next night was a Bomber Wednesday where we rocked up at midnight and it took me 15 minutes just to get past the front door cause there were so many people to see and talk to. Things change, staff change and the patrons change but Bomber will always have its Wednesday nights...and they're back to Rock'n'roll!

Thursday was the day I discovered my car is broken. And was supposed to be a quiet night at McMullen's with some pitchers and pizza but Moose and I ran into Radey and Kate Lattik which eventually led to some sampling of rye and gingey's at Caesar Martini's...only $2.50! I miss having at least one place in town on any given night that had cheap drinks.

Friday was the Joel Plaskett concert up at Fed Hall. F'ing brilliant! Another thing I miss - the up and coming rock scene. Fresh music and free concerts...

Saturday was homecoming - a football game vs Laurier that we almost won (things haven't changed that much), hanging out with Brent, SKurt, Kyle and a whole other gang that I haven't seen in at least a year if not longer. Homecoming at Bomber was a great sight - people lined up for miles trying to get in, bartenders scrambling around to keep up to an older crowd with a youthful exuberance to recapture their glory days at their favourite campus pub.

And Sunday was a day of rest. Lieing (sp?) on a couch all day watching shows that I haven't watched in a while...or just enjoying so many channels that you can create your own Simpsons-athon.

Choice!

And now I've got the wonderful task of fixing a car that hasn't been started in a year. Working on getting another visa, planning a flight through Vancouver to see friends, two weddings in two weekends, seeing my family, cleaning up all my crap that I accumulated throughout uni and approximately one metric buttload of other little things I haven't even thought of yet....

Home for a rest, my ass. This is the moste stress I've seen in months. Missin Australia's laid back, cruisy attitude/atmosphere already.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 2:01 PM | Comments (0)

September 23, 2006

Steve Irwin...more than just a croc hunter

You only needed to watch a bit of the memorial held at the Croceseum at the Australia Zoo to realize how much Steve Irwin meant to so many people. I remember I was at work when we heard the news of his death. It spread like wildfire and we let every new patron to the pub know. Nobody could believe that he was gone. We all thought he was invincible... or at least that a giant croc would have ended his reign. In the end, it was a bit of a freak accident, being fatally wounded by a stingray. But nonetheless, he died doing what he loved, bringing the public closer to nature through the gift of his genuine enthusiasm and passion which reached out of the TV screen and put the viewers right there beside Steve in his documentaries.

The memorial service was a touching tribute that truly showed us Steve was more than just a crazy guy who jumped on croc's and got bitten by snakes and lizards. He was a caring father and husband who did his best to help us realize how important our environment is and its delicate balance in which we are a part.

We'll miss you Steve!

Posted by Dr.Unk at 11:57 PM | Comments (0)

August 4, 2006

The World is Flat...

Lately I've been reading a book by Thomas Friedman called, you guessed it, The World is Flat. I haven't finished it but for the most part it discusses how several factors including the fall of the Berlin Wall, the easy to use Windows/Mac home PC and the internet among other factors (haven't got that far yet) are flattening the world as we know it. Friedman believes we are at a point in human history similar to the first cave drawings and the invention of the printing press. I tend to agree with him. We tend to believe that nothing changes greatly when we are alive. But somebody had to be alive when those incredible breakthroughs were invented/discovered/performed. With the internet revolution, think of how many people know have access to more information, the ability to produce and publish their own news, views and opinions. The internet is bringing us together as humans rather than nationalities. This is not to say that everybody is getting along perfectly and a utopian society is in the near future. Far from that. As we can see, hateful groups can just as easily use the internet, just like any tool, for evil and harmful means. The positive side is that people have access to first hand information about what's happening around the world and can weight this in with the compact and politically treated versions that often spout from major news networks with their own political analysts and experts.

The section that I'm currently reading deals with how globalization has reached a new level and how India and China among many non-western societies are becoming much more powerful and intrinsic to the manufacturing and technology industries of tomorrow. It's quite intriguing as they are two countries that represent nearly half of the world's population. With more and more Asians (general term) having better and better education and training it represents a large group of intelligence that will be producing more and more new great ideas and innovation.

The one thing that I'm struggling to grasp is for how long will this great new era last? Offshoring, the process of moving factories overseas or to areas of cheaper labour, seems quite feasible now for lowering costs. It makes sense when you can build it somewhere else for tons cheaper and just ship it back easier as parts for finishing or as a complete product. But how long will cheap shipping last? Brings me back to the last book I read which discussed enivironmental problems and societal collapse. I believe that their are ways to drastically reduce oil consumption if, pardon me, when the crisis strikes. There will be a huge infrastructure change and hydrogen or solar or some new technology will step up and allow people to go to work to travel (maybe not as extensively or as far or as cheaply as before) but life will go on. What I'm really curious about is how are companies that have become globalized going to cope when every single form of long-distance travel and shipping is dependent on oil. You can probably drive cars on hydrogen, that technology isn't more than 30 years off. But what about giant freight ships or jumbo jets? Do you reckon you can use solar power to get people from North America to Australia? Are we looking at another age of sail?

The changes going on allow me to let people back home and around the world see my journeys in Oz, read about my experiences and even to watch me at work on webcam. What will the next great changes bring about?

Posted by Dr.Unk at 1:06 AM | Comments (0)

July 8, 2006

This guy rocks

I read about this guy when he was just up to the skidoo. It now appears that he's managed to get himself a house out of the deal.

For some background info, the guy has been playing the bigger or better game for a year. It's what a lot of frosh week events used to be like. You take stuff around and try and trade it for bigger or better things. Apparently if you go long enough you can end up with some really really bigger and better things...like a friggin house!

The great thing about this is that everybody who traded thought they got the better deal. Deep thought eh?

Check out the whole story from the man himself, known to 'les Quebecois' as the trombone rouge guy

Posted by Dr.Unk at 2:44 AM | Comments (0)

July 3, 2006

We're really not all that different after all...

Interesting article about a computer simulation that has calculated how long ago it was where a person lived that everyone now on earth could call an ancestor. It's not very long ago either; only two to five thousand years ago.

I especially like this point, "It also means that all of us have ancestors of every color and creed. Every Palestinian suicide bomber has Jews in his past. Every Sunni Muslim in Iraq is descended from at least one Shiite. And every Klansman's family has African roots."

Which means that the whole world is sorta like the southern states, everybody's married to their cousin...just a little more distant. And what about racism? Turns out it's been a family feud the whole time. Certainly we resolve our differences now? After all, we're family!

Posted by Dr.Unk at 12:27 AM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2006

Charity is not dead

In recent news, Warren Buffett, the world's second richest man has donated $37 billion dollars to charity. The contributions go to the Gates Foundation which Bill Gates and his wife formed. It's good to see that some people with money actually do contribute back to society and do charitable work for more than just a tax break. Hopefully it inspires others to do the same.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 9:33 PM | Comments (0)

March 8, 2006

farewell Sub Club

I had a nice tasty Subway sandwich today and noticed several things:

1) It appears that all those ads on tv featuring Jared have cost Subway a shitload of money cause they've certainly passed they're pricing on to the customer. I paid just under $10 AUD for a meatball sub and a medium drink. I remember back in the day...(approx. a decade ago; yes, dating myself here) when a meatball sub was $3.99 CDN. I realize that things like ingredient get more expensive with time...ie. inflation (I did learn something from all those bloody macroeconomics courses), but that sort of price increase would be like Argentinian infaltion.

2) The Sub Club is dead. You used to be able to collect stamps everytime you bought a sub and redeem them for a free sub. It was great. Then they required you to buy a drink in order to redeem the free sub...fair enough, nothing in this world is free. Now, you've only got a few months left to redeem your stamps before they're worthless forever...

Some people may wonder why I'd even bother to write about this. No, I don't have anything against big business and fast food chains....well, I lie. I do, but it's more for health reasons (in which case, Subway ain't half bad) and for lack of connection to the community....either way I digress.

There are several people out there who have a clue why I'm writing this. They are the Sub Club (Renfrew affiliation), a group of my friends in high school who travelled with me to Subway every Friday for lunch. I remember the good times we had, the crazy shit we talked about and how anxious we all used to be on a Friday morning while waiting in class for the lunch bell to ring. Gentlemen, I toast all of you know, you know who you are...although I'm not sure if any of you read my blog. Imp, Gill, Colin, Dagg, Squeaky...and sometimes Lecuyer. Things have changed, some of us are around the world, some are engaged, and one (possibly more) is/are fathers. Here's to the good ole days (of the Sub Club) and to the future!

Posted by Dr.Unk at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)

September 30, 2005

Me @ Trews!, last monday, last party in Canada

Thanks to Stashuk for the pic...cause I wasn't/couldn't taking any that night

Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:19 AM | Comments (0)

September 4, 2005

Party on Wayne

So I'm trying this new flickr photo thing and went through Stashuk's photos to get an idea of how this thing works...

Lucky me, I run into a great party pic like this. Don't remember this pic being taken but I seem to remember it being at a cowboys and indians party hosted by Katie MacParlan and the gals...good times!

Posted by flickr at 2:41 PM | Comments (0)

A little perspective...

I was gonna start this entry by going into a little rant about how much it sucks being homeless (I'm living in a corner of a friend's basement for 3 more weeks before flying out)....except that I have a house to live in. I'm dry. I have access to food and clean clothes. I have a car (for sale). I have a helluva lot more than the majority of those stuck in and around New Orleans.

So instead of a rant, I'm sounding a little preachy. But I'm fine with that and besides...there's already too many people bitching about things. For once, I'll try not to contribute to the aggregate negativity of the world.

Instead, as I listened to a 3000+ song playlist on random, I came across some songs that my cousin, Sarah Campbell, wrote. It was refreshing and surprising cause I don't think I'd taken the time to sit down and listen to the CD in full before. Have a listen to this track if you enjoy folkish music...sorta Cranberries-like.

Oh, and if somehow Sarah reads this, I don't have any way to contact you so let me know if I shouldn't be posting this track online.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)

August 27, 2005

What the hell have I been up to lately...

So what does a fresh Econ grad do with his degree?

Cut lawns.

Yes, that's right, I'm in the landscaping industry for a while. Working long hours outside for little glory. It's tiring work, that's for sure. Most nights, I come home and try and put together the energy to make dinner but it rarely happens. But that may be a good thing cause I'm goin out less and that's saving money. Working 8-6 does have it's drawbacks though. I really don't know how people accomplish anything while working these type of hours. You can't deal with any business that runs normal 9-5 hours. I've twice had to catch a ride home from work with a co-worker when the garage closed before I could pick up my wheels.

Some things I've learned while cutting grass:
- Large hills suck ass. There's nothing worse than walking sideways across a slope trying to push a mower. Some of these slopes are 45 degrees or worse.
- People are crazy about property lines.
- Keeping up with the Jones. When a neighbour gets his lawn cut, the others around a forced to cut theirs to maintain the 'natural order' of things.
- City folk spend lots of money. They pay to have their lawns cut to look better. Then they install irrigation to have greener lawns, which means that they have to pay more to have their lawns cut more often.
- Rich people have beautiful pools. I'm talking stone walled pools with a hot tub above from which water flows over a mini waterfall into the pool. Pretty nice, I guess.....

Posted by Dr.Unk at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

July 25, 2005

My new two favourite words...

....are ALL ACCESS.

Went to Hillside festival on Saturday with Beee-Rent and caught the Stars and Arcadefire. Brent's cousin, Amy, sings for the Stars and has an incredible voice. Incredible show. I'm not real big on the Brit-pop style rock of Arcadefire, but there was a couple tunes I enjoyed and they put so much passion into it (complete with 7 or 8 of them on stage) that it's a good show, be it your taste in music or not.

Sunday was the reason I bought my passes. Xavier Rudd was playing in the afternoon as well as Buck 65 (whome Chris Lahey praised a while back) and Sam Roberts was closing....

There was some mixups with people not being able to make it so I ended up just going alone and meeting up with Thudds at Hillside. If you were one of the people who could have come and didn't you stop reading now, cause if you proceed you'll probably end up ripping off one of your legs to enable you to kick yourself in the ass.

I warned you.

So Thudds, having booked several of the acts there at various times, scored ALL ACCESS passes through an agent or another connection. I was the recipient (quite possibly the first time I've used that word...had to double check the spelling) of one of the beautiful silver, may as well have been platinum, sparkling bracelets. I meet up with Thudds just as Xavier was coming on. I saw him at the Phoenix in T.O. which was incredible, but this show put that to shame. Xavier was full of energy and the venue was perfect for him - a large, but intimate crowd of respectful fans at an outdoor, daylight show friendly to all. I can't remember all of the songs he played but I do remember dancing and singing along to them all. He capped off his show with his signature 17 minute long, non-stop, foot-pounding, dig-humming, face-melting guitar melding of three orgasmic tunes. And then, to appease the hungry crowd, he returned for the No Woman, No Cry encore. I was feeling pretty fucking awesome at this point.

Thudds turns to me and says, "wanna go backstage?" Hell yes! So we tour on back, and have a pint in the performers tent. Marc knows a bunch of agents and the like so he's shaking hands and I'm meeting guys and trying to remember names of people whom I'll probably never meet again. Back to sipping a pint and I catch some background conversation and realize that the one guy (wearing shades and dreads) I met whose name wasn't mentioned was K-OS....

Now normally I'm not huge into the whole celebrity, oh my gawd he's so incredible, worship thing....but this was pretty cool. We finish our pints and head backstage. These passes were awesome. Literally, the only place they couldn't get us was on stage. We ran into Xavier and got some pics. He's a wicked dude, easy to talk to. I asked him when he's headin back down under - sometime in August and touring for 3 months or so. I'm definitely gonna have to check out some shows while I'm there.

We tour around the site for a while just chillin and enjoying the wicked vibe. Great place, I'd recommend everyone go at least once. It may be full of a ton of hippies and fringe crowd but it was just different and peaceful and respectful of the park....right awesome. Buck 65 was the next act I caught. Unique voice, sort of like Johnny Cash rapping. It's basically just him on stage, scratching and rapping along to tunes. Defies genres.

Thudds was tired and left...big mistake. I met up with Melissa Smith, old Bomber staff, and her friends and checked out Broken Social Scene. First couple of tunes didn't really do it for me but I was impressed by the end of their set. K-OS even came out and free-styled with them. Then he crowd surfed for a bit before they wrapped up their set.

I went backstage again, cause I could....had another pint, complimented K-OS on his crowd-surfing and talked with some performers and promoters. By the way Thudds, I didn't have one of your cards on me, so I just gave your email to Big John, he wants to do some shows on campus. He was introduced as 'the biggest promoter in Guelph', in reference to him being a 6'3 350lb, Trini. Met some really cool people....although everyone kept asking if I played that day. I guess I was the only person back there who wasn't a performer/promoter/agent.

Sam Roberts wrapped up the night with a lot of his hits and some new stuff that sounded pretty good. I'm still buzzing from an awesome fucking day...so that's why I've got this goofy smile on my face.

Pics of me and Xavier to come....

Posted by Dr.Unk at 1:26 PM | Comments (1)

July 15, 2005

Why small business is best...

A friend pointed me to this article about the "I need two dollars" guy. If you've lived in Waterloo for any period of time then you'll probably recognize the catch-phrase of the guy with a shopping cart who roams uptown Waterloo. Anyways, it seems that a new clothing store, Loop, has entered into a partnership with the guy, Anatole Rybas (also a UW alumni). The "I need two dollars" signs are posted at the store and Anatole is carrying signs for Loop Clothing. The deal provides unique marketing for the company and much needed food and care for Anatole. Sure, it sounds like a company taking advantage of someone less fortunate, but as it explains in the article, food can be better than money when the dangers of alcohol are considered. I applaud this business for being able to help someone through their marketing plan....certainly something not seen in plans of most corporate giants...aside from the one day a year where all the sales of some obscure item go to a nice clean, marketable charity...

I'd really suggest reading the article cause I'm not good at summarizing things.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 3:00 PM | Comments (0)

June 5, 2005

Random thoughts on a Sunday night...

Undergrads: incredible show! Very clever and sums up the post-secondary experience to a tee. I wish that they would make another season. Side note: Futurama is on. Not as popular as its cousin The Simpsons but more subtle in its humour. I probably enjoy it because of a background in sci-fi shows.

Storms: a big ole storm just settled in over Waterloo. Not sure if it's the cleansing feeling, the fresh smell of wetness afterwards or just the power and beauty of nature, but I love a good storm. I just wish I had a tin/steel roof to sit under for the duration.

Home Improvement Shows: I've caught a few shows of Holmes on Homes and it's somewhat addictive. The show tonight involved renovating a basement and putting in a bar.... I was so jealous. The bar had a slate countertop; the only thing it was missing was a keg fridge. I will definitely have draught beer in my house.

It may seem like I've done nothing but watch TV all night. A safe assumption, but it's not a common practice. I've been trying to limit the amount I watch as it wastes time and promotes couch potatoism. The excuse tonight was that Monday morning I'm participating in a kinesiology study on fire fighter testing. It involves a VO2 max test and some other strength training. Long story short, I'm not supposed to do any strenuous exercise or consume any alcohol 24 hours before the testing. That eliminates most of my extra-curricular activities. So it's TV and blogging tonight...maybe some reading as well.

As for what I've been reading: Dan Brown, Angels and Demons followed by The Da Vinci Code. The books are relatively similar so chances are whichever one you read first will be the one you enjoy more. Another suggestion is State of Fear by Michael Crichton. I've never been disappointed by one of his books and this one keeps the streak alive. Don't miss it if you enjoy a good techno-thriller.

Job search could be goin better. Haven't got any call backs from the places I've submitted resumes to. It's either the classic 'it's not what you know, it's who you know' problem or I need to clean up my luscious locks...aka, get a haircut and get a real job.

Another side note: if anyone has some good tips for travelling and finding jobs in Australia, I'm all ears.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)

May 28, 2005

Cool Shot...terrible pun intended

Was just looking through old pics and found this one. I forget what the shot is called and I'm too lazy to look it up. If I remember correctly though, it's either Peppermint Schnapps/Creme de Cacao, then Dark Creme de Menthe and Baileys. It shows the artistic side of gettin liquoured up that most bars neglect.

Interesting fact: Shooters, as in the mixture of liquours, liqueurs and juice are a Canadian invention.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 9:16 PM | Comments (0)

April 26, 2005

A philosphical evening of TV and rollerblades

So I've spent most of the evening in a rather philsophical mood cleaning the bearings on my rollerblades. I'm not sure what triggered the mood...maybe it was the fact that tonight was the first night in two weeks that I hadn't been out partying; celebrating being done university. Or maybe it was watching Field of Dreams on TV or TLC's showings of the David Blaine specials or a bit of everything. Either way, I'm stuck in it and I'm its the type of mood that fills your head with questions and half-thoughts, a web of confusion standing between me and a good night's sleep.

So I sit here, thinking "how can I empty my head, how can my mind find peace tonight..."

As I mentioned earlier, I've finished university. Six years, countless hours and much partying later and I've climbed that mountain only to find myself at the base of another mountain...scratch that, another mountain would be welcome. It's more like a mountain range where I can see the peaks where I want to go but the paths there are numerous and clouded. Yeah, sounds like a cheesy metaphor or a dream but hey, that's how bad segways are made (besides, everyday you watch cheesier stuff on Friends, Seinfeld, etc.)

So now I'm stuck in a dream, or looking for one. Ray Kinsella had a dream, so he built a baseball field and they came. But he had a farm and a family at the start of Field of Dreams...I don't know where to start to even get there. I guess what really struck me as profound in the movie was the fear of letting go of one's dreams. I may not be able to see all of my dreams right now but my fears are there. The pressures of 'graduate and go find a job' are there and can be frightening...not because it's hard to find a job, but that I don't want the office job, the career that suddenly pays well and lulls you into a sense of comfort where a change of scenery is no longer refreshing but a shock to the system.

So how does David Blaine relate to my dreams? I'm going to become a street magician!...riiight....no, street magic is not in my future, although I think everyone would be better off if they could look forward to a little magic. In one of Blaine's specials he mentions that, to a baby, everything is magical. The baby experiences everything firsthand and is left in wonder. Blaine enjoys how his tricks, if only for a moment, can leave someone with that same impression. David Blaine also spends time performing acts that many claim are just publicity stunts. He's been buried alive, frozen in ice and has spent 36 hours on a 10 storey pillar in a park in New York City. I feel his stunts represent incredible demonstrations of human endurance. They show that we can surpass what are considered the normal limits. I guess that's what has struck a chord with me...I want to constantly push myself...to test my limits and stretch them. It's not a complete philosophy but it's a good start...I hope.

Maybe now, I'll find some rest...for tonight

Posted by Dr.Unk at 12:20 AM | Comments (0)

April 21, 2005

Stupid Fun from the Halifax trip

I'm still in the middle of my finishing university bender so I've yet had time or inclination to sit down and wax poetic over the changes in my life.

In the meantime, here was a stupid thing we did in Halifax. Call it 'not so self-portraits of drunken tourists'.

Another fun one here

Posted by Dr.Unk at 1:39 PM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2005

Finally some nice weather

I woke up on Sunday before the hour of noon - isn't dat weird, ja?

Couldn't sleep in, even after a night of boozin at McMullen's with some people from Bomber past. Turned out alright though. It was a beautiful day, high of 19, so I was glad not to miss any of it. Went out on the first big blade of the season. A nice 2h tour down to the end of the Iron Horse Trail and back and around the university. If you like blading, definitely check it out - it's like a freeway, nicely paved, and not many road crossings considering how far it goes. I'm always up for tours so give me a shout if you're heading out.

There's just something about a really nice day that energizes me. Maybe I'm solar powered or something. Cleaned up the apartment, put away some clothes, got some exercise and went grocery shopping. Not bad, eh? It would be scary what I could get done with lots of time on my hands...which is where I stand for the summer. No classes, cause as of April 18th my university career will finally come to an end. I'll write more about that when it sinks in the day after the day after the 18th...because I plan to spend most of the 19th recovering from the party on the 18th...how else would I celebrate 6 years of school coming to an end.

It's scary when the questions about the future start creeping into more and more of your conversations. I've started to get tired of explaining to people that I don't really have any plans yet..."yes, that is correct, I don't have a job lined up and I don't care." Call me Peter Pan, but I don't see what the hurry is to start a career. They're dangerous things, take up way too much time, and are very hard to get out of.

I'd like to say that I'll be busy studying for the rest of the week and probably won't have time to write much but I'd be lieing. If I don't post anything for a while it's probably because I'm out enjoying the weather on my blades or on a patio with some wobbly pops.

cya on the patio

PS: I love BBQ's, BBQ'ing, and everything else that ends in BQ...come to think of it, maybe I just love everything that starts with Bar...

Posted by Dr.Unk at 9:33 PM | Comments (1)

March 28, 2005

Home Sweet Home

Being the holiday season and all I headed home (Renfrew) last weekend for Easter. It's never a great drive - averaging about 5h or so without stops, but it's not bad. It's just enough distance to be away and just close enough to permit easy trips home on occasion.

Trips home are always nice cause they mean seeing my family, not having to cook or clean for myself, as well as seeing old friends and ignoring most responsibilities for a couple days. I did, however, get a taste of work when I was back on the farm. We had our first two calves born on Saturday. One was born in the wet corner of our pasture so my dad and I had to take the tractor out to bring it into the barn so it could get dry and warm up. I could make some sort of metaphor involving new life being brought into the world and such but I won't cause that's too academic and it was enjoyable for the opposite reason. It was nice to do some work that didn't require integration or remembering some theory that only applies under special circumstances in the real world.

Now, speaking of the real world, I realize that I'm not in it yet - still being in school after 4..5..six sexy years. Most of my friends from home are in the workforce now and some are married (a couple have kids). That's the real world. It's sort of weird listening in to conversations that involve house shopping and parents talking about grand-kids when those are so far out of my immediate considerations or future. On the other hand, I love sitting out on a friend's patio, drinking some beers and having a great time without people complaining about midterms or leaving early cause they have an assignment due or some other bullshit.

I think too many people in Waterloo think that school is life - they can't seperate business and pleasure. Maybe that's why I've been here so long, I took the time to enjoy and experience life on campus, not just the classes.....

Sorry for the rant about life and work and school...I'm just trying to clear some thoughts as I prepare to finish my final term of school. Real world, here I come? Hell no! I will say a not-so-fond farewell to the pressures of midterms and assignments though....right after I finish an astrophysics essay on the stellar evolution of Wolf-Rayet stars....

....almost makes house shopping some enjoyable, eh?

Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:29 PM | Comments (2)

March 13, 2005

Procrastination....gotta love it

Are you reading this cause you should be doing something else, probably more important but in no way fun? Then you'll enjoy this:

The Amazing Flying Gonzo Game

Posted by Dr.Unk at 3:18 PM | Comments (1)

February 16, 2005

LIVESTRONG

I'm sure that most of you recognize the picture to the right. It's a LiveSTRONG bracelet and there are tons of people wearing them right now. In fact, they have become a bit of a fashion statement with everyone from celebrities to students sporting them. The bracelets show support for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which was founded in 1997 by cancer survivors (and Lance, of course) to provide information and tools to those with cancer so that they can LiveSTRONG. I'm not going to go into more details as you can find more in-depth information on their website(the beauty of the internet).

My friend, Harden, expressed his annoyance recently at how it seemed like a lot of people were wearing the bracelets just as fashion and didn't realize what they represented. He'd overheard one person talking about them who even believed that they were to support Lance Armstrong in his bid for the 6th Tour de France. I can understand his annoyance as misunderstanding their purpose is like wearing a Che Guevara shirt just because you think it looks cool. However, it is important to realize that no matter why people are wearing the bracelet, it was still purchased at some point meaning that a contribution was made to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

What annoys the hell out of me are the American Eagle rip-offs that some people are wearing. I hate the fact that the company is trying to cash in on this trend and that the people wearing them don't even realize it cause they were born in a Gap commercial or something. If you're going to do something cause it's cool and fashionable at least support those that will benefit, the LAF, not some corporate AE/Gap army.

If you're wondering where you can get the LiveSTRONG bracelets, you can order them online from the LAF website. I bought a 100pk, as well, so if you hate waiting for shipping times, just let me know and I can get one to you.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 9:41 AM | Comments (4)

February 14, 2005

Posted by Dr.Unk at 11:21 PM

February 10, 2005

"in 300 years, race won't matter.....we'll all be beige"

The FedS elections are upcoming and candidates are out kissing hands and shaking babies. There have been a couple forums/debates so far and they've been pretty funny. I find them funny cause I ran for a position last year and know how strung out the candidates are on coffee, lack of sleep and general exhaustion due to endless class talks and public appearances. There are some candidates who don't really have much to say, some who say too much about nothing and those who are just angry and will argue for no reason at all. In the end, it makes for decent entertainment. For more laughs, check out the election coverage on uws! If this site had any more trolls posting to it, they'd legally have to change the name to 'www.fairytalebridge.com'. There are random attacks at various racial groups, as well comments attacking the candidates for their various ethnicities, religious beliefs, hairstyles, etc. It's hilarious to see their conviction if it weren't for the fact that I'm not sure if they're seriously that racist and ignorant or if they subscribe to the National Enquirer and believe that Elvis will return and save us from the apocalypse.

A lot of the issues (and even the basis for some candidacy's (spelling?)) stem from FedS clubs dealing with religion or ethnicity/nationality. I can't say that I see the big deal, mostly because I'm not a fan of anything that approaches fanaticism. Hell, I don't even know what political group I'd fall under. Either way, the point I'd hope to make but ended up just ranting around and about, was that people take everything way too seriously. This is a very diverse campus. Deal with it. Enjoy it. I come from a town where 75% of the residents think Mandarin is just an orange. Consider yourself lucky to be exposed to so many wonderful cultures and such variety of, how the French say 'joie de vie'.

The best way to celebrate our diversity? Laugh at yourself and others. Check out Russell Peters. He's a....Canadian of Indian (curry not teepee) descent who does an hilarious job of making fun of all cultures and stereotypes. He's going to be at Fed Hall on March 7, and I believe the show is sold out... but don't despair, the FedS are looking into booking a second show so check out their site for updates.

Remember, you don't make friends with salad....

...right, or howabout - wouldn't the world be a better place if everyone just thought that a racist was what was Lance Armstrong was?

Hope to see everyone out at Russell Peters show...I'll be sure to drag my honkey-can't-dance-white-ass there!

Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:27 PM | Comments (1)

January 31, 2005

A sunny Febtober?

So it's finally warming up a bit. I'm looking forward to some nice Febtober weather...while still remaining cynical, cause there's always Smarch afterwards.

I was supposed to hit the gym tonight. Fell through after I ended up doing laundry and cleaning my room. Homework was put on the backburner as well. Now, it may sound like a lot of procrastination, but it was constructive - so I'll prefer to call it a misalignment of priorities.

Picked up some tickets for Xavier Rudd today. He's playing at the Phoenix in T.O on March 3. My buddy Troy introduced me to his music - pretty cool shit. He's like an Aussie DMB/Jack Johnson songwriter, 'cept with a Yidaki.

Kyle Stashuk is throwing his gloves into the ring of 'blogging. He's got some kickass pictures up in his 'tourist in my own town' entry. Home is definitely one of those things that we take for granted. I've lived in Waterloo for almost 6 years and there's still so many things I haven't checked out yet: the Clay and Glass museum, the lights in Waterloo park during the holidays, so many awesome little shops and cafes on King st, Victoria park down in K-town, anyplace in Cambridge, a play at the Stratford theatre. Makes you realize there's a helluva lot more to being here than just school.

I've run out of music, and of inspiration.....

Posted by Dr.Unk at 11:44 PM | Comments (1)

January 17, 2005

I like this 2005 thing

It's still pretty early to make predictions on the year 2005, but I like what I'm seeing so far....'cept for the lack of NHL hockey. I miss it a lot but I'm coping - I've been checking out a lot more Warrior hockey games. I know a bunch of players on both the women's and men's teams, so I like showing my support. The men's team is doing well of late; undefeated in the new year with some big wins against conference-leading Western. If you've got some time to spare, check out the schedule (men's, women's)and come get your fill of good-quality hockey.

Again, it's only a couple weeks into the term, but I'm proud to say I'm making it to the gym on a regular basis, I'm playing some rec volleyball and trying to squeeze in some squash at least once a week. If I manage to keep that up I may actually end up back in shape...one other than round that is.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 12:02 PM

January 14, 2005

Crazy Ass Weather in Waterloo

Back in the time when the city of Kitchener was known as Berlin, people went about their ways in the winter as always. This, of course, probably meant walking to school, the grocer, the butcher, the brewery, etc. through two feet of snow both ways...

It sounds a little extreme but that's what most grandparents and parents will claim the past was like. In light of recent weather, it may not have been that extreme at all.

I remember winter as a child - it was cold and full of snow and it didn't matter cause you were bundled up in a snowsuit, boots, toque and gloves that were rated for arctic chills. I miss those consistent times. At least back then you could prepare for winter and deal with it on a consistent basis. Over a two day period, Waterloo has gone from regular -5C with 6 inches of snow, to 14C and raining (resulting in no snow), back to -10C with an inch of snow. How the hell do you dress for weather like that? This is the messed up weather of Waterloo.

I don't really know if there's any point to this rant, so I'll have no problem ending this with a question instead of a conclusion.

In 40-50 years, will we talk about how hard we had it back in tha day? How we had to go from wearing toques and gloves and parkas one day to shorts and tshirts then next, and then back again?

Posted by Dr.Unk at 1:05 PM

January 6, 2005

2005 is here....

I hope everyone had a great holiday break. I spent mine back in the 'Frew with family and friends. Usually the changing of the calendar years doesn't have an effect on me. It's just a new calendar...I don't have one in my house and I don't work in an office so it's not a big deal to have to replace my organizer.

2005 has hit me a little harder. My grandparents are moving off the farm and settling down in town. The last Christmas on the farm was a nice one, just a little strange to think of it as the last.

The changes have only started. A lot of my friends are talking about getting engaged or buying houses. Definitely a shock, a slap in the face saying "people are growing up, getting old, and guess what Andrew? You are too, whether you like it or not.."

It's sort of crazy though cause my response has been to go the opposite way. I'm going into my last term of school...yes, those 6 years and change will finally culminate in a degree in econ with a minor in physics (that last sentence was extra hard to type as both hands had fingers crossed) and I could care less about grad school or a 'career' job. Currently, I'm just working wherever I can (Bomber at the moment) to save some money for travelling. Waterloo has been a great town/city but you can only stay so long before the world calls out offering new exciting opportunities. So for now, I'm kicking back and feeling lucky. I've got great friends, awesome family, my health and a roof over my head.

Things are changing in 2005 but I'm gonna be thankful for them. It sounds preachy but we complain a lot about our lives when across the world a lot of people are just thankful to be alive.

In 2005, I'm resolving to just be happy L-I-V-I-N'ing.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 5:30 PM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2004

Happy Holidays...Happy Chrismahannukwanzika

Well, it is the time of year to celebrate family and friends and whatever other beliefs you happen to follow.

I'm still struggling to catch that holiday spirit (mostly because I've still got a bitch of an exam to write on the 21st of December!) but I'm working on it. Mostly I'm working on it by watching holiday movies instead of studying.

Here are some suggestions that will always help:

1. Anything by the Muppets. Jim Henson's creations tell great stories and are funny on so many levels. There's the Muppet Christmas Carol (featuring Michael Caine), A Very Muppet Christmas, and the classic Muppet Family Christmas...just watch out for....the ice.

2. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Chevy Chase and Randy Quaid. I watch this every year drinking too much egg nog with my friends in the Frew. If they can put on a Merry Christmas with this family you have no worries about how dysfunctional yours may seem. Watch carefully when Randy Quaid is shopping with Chevy...classic move when he adjusts his Xmas package.

3. It's a Wonderful Life. One of the originals that even the Muppets base stories on. A classic featuring Jimmy Stewart.

4. White Christmas. Great story with the baratone bu-bu-bu-booms of Bing Crosby and the flashing feet of Danny Kaye.

5. Miracle on 34th street.

6. Eight Crazy Nights. For those of you celebrating Hannukah (pardon the spelling if it's wrong), Adam Sandler puts a hilarious spin on the holiday spirit.

So remember, be thankful of what you have these holidays and remember Christmas (and the other holidays) for that and not the orgy of consumerism that most would have you believe.

Thanks to all of you guys, and Happy Chrismahannukwanzikah!

Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:01 PM | Comments (1)

December 8, 2004

How to be a better bar patron

So I promised in my last entry that I'd give a lesson on how to be a better bar patron and how to get better service from bartenders, so here is the inside line, the down-low, the...uhhhhh, way to NOT piss off a bartender. (these tips are numbered, but in no particular order of importance)

1. TIP! We in the serving industry make serving wage. This is currently $6.20/h. That is below minimum wage, so if you don't tip, then you'd better expect below minimum effort. That's pure economics.

2. If you can't afford to tip a lot every time, save it up and the second and third times to the bar, leave a couple big tips. These will be noticed and should halp you get better service.

3. If you're planning on tipping the remainder of a bill (ie. $10 for a $8.25 order) tell the bartender it's all theirs. This will let them know that it's a tip and they can start serving the next patron. Sometimes it's hard to tell how much someone tips when they just toss it in the rail. Another good example, I've got a regular who gives me $5 for a bottle of Keith's and says keep the change everytime. I will make sure to serve him first.

4. On a similar note, if an order comes to an even $10 or $20 dollars, don't just hand the bartender that bill, especially if the order was $20. If need be, hand the bartender another bill and ask to get some change. This shows that you want to leave a tip.

5. When you come to the bar, have an idea at what you want to drink and have money ready. There's nothing I hate more than someone who stands at the bar, bitching about slow service and then doesn't know what the fuck they want or spends 5 minutes digging in their wallet/purse for money (don't come back if you were digging for exact change either!).

6. You've seen the beer commercial...why don't I snap my fingers to get served? Because you're not more important than anyone else (at least not until you prove it through tipping) and besides that it's just rude. Same thing applies to flashing or waving bills in your hand. I said have your money ready, not wave it around like you're king shit.... you're not. Everyone else has money at the bar and 95% of the time, the punkass bitch flashing a twenty isn't gonna tip me fuck all anyways.

7. Order in rounds. It sucks ass to have a group of people each order the same drink, or worse, all come up and order drinks and shots and each pay separately (girls, I hate to stereotype but this is mostly directed at you). "Hi, can I get a sex-on-the-beach and a polar bear."
And for you? "a sex on the beach and a polar bear"....and so on. It's faster for a bartender to make several drinks at once so please keep that in mind.

8. Leaning over the bar. DON'T DO THIS!!!!! It's not a big deal at other places that have the space, but at the Bomber, we've got narrow bars. When you're leaning over the bar, you're invading my space, you're making it difficult to make drinks and it gives the impression that you might be stealing shit. (This is mostly for the guys, cause when the ladies do it they're usually just trying to show off their assets...which is alright with me)

9. Run a tab. If you run a tab, the bartender can just grab your drinks and not have to worry about making change. It's faster for both patron and bartender.
WARNING: This has its risks. If you leave the bar without paying your tab, you just stiffed the bartender for any tip. If you try and settle a tab while the bar is busy, you're a huge distraction from serving others, so wait and settle when the bar isn't busy or make sure to compensate the bartender accordingly for his/her time.

10. Remember to be polite. Say please and thank you. It is greatly appreciated.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 1:17 PM | Comments (2)

November 24, 2004

...thoughts on a rainy Waterloo November morning

It's raining here in Waterloo right now, which is of course no surprise to anyone to has spent any amount of time in this city. But I'm not writing to complain about the weather, unlike some people...

As is obvious to anyone who knows me, I tend to write stuff when I should be doing homework. It's either procrastination in its purest sense or as I look at it...hmmmm.....cleansing my head of nagging thoughts so that I'm free to concentrate on the stupid concepts that will eventually (and hopefully soon) result in an expensive section of wallpaper that somehow signifies that I am an employable person with valuable skills to contribute to...uhhh...an economics company?

Enough of the explanatory bullshit. I'm gonna take a lot of flak for this but I've recently expanded my listening habits to include a lot more country and.... I like it. There, I've said it. I enjoy country music. You may think this is just the inherent redneck in my genes finally showing itself, which could be true, but I think it's more than that. I hated country music as a teen. Maybe I was rebelling against what was the popular older culture in our small town. There were some songs that I enjoyed, mostly classics like the Gambler, Friends in Low Places, Chatahoochee, Ring of Fire, I Love a Rainy Night, etc. but for the most part I stuck with classic and modern rock (not this alternative cookie cutter bullshit, but the good stuff that spawned it...ie Pearl Jam, REM, U2's old stuff). Most country at the time was way too twangy and involved dog's dieing and wives leaving.

Since then however, country has changed (for the better in my opinion). It's a little more upbeat and catchy. I'd describe it in more depth except that I mostly talk about music as either I like it or I don't. I'd assume that the driving forces of the change were newer, younger artists like Shania, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks and Toby Keith adding new spins to old styles and the advent of specialty country music tv stations. I'm sure that's a very bland generic answer, but again I've never promised to be one of those in-depth artistic critics who are cynical of everything and hate anything that's enjoyed by a group of people larger than their clique of critics.....train of thought derailed....

I guess the whole rant is based on the fact that most popular music I'm exposed to is alternative teen-angst rock that is a pale comparison to the artists that inspired them, boy band remnants and other big-breasted oversexed wannabe divas. Oh, and how could I forget hip hop. I enjoy some hip hop; I won't be specific cause I don't listen to it enough to know names and songs. But hip hop and the harder ghangsta rap (using this definitely proves how unhip I am) is just shit that I can't relate to. I'm a middle class white male in university in a small to medium size city...in Canada! What the hell do I know about puttin a cap in someone's ass cause he was disrespectin me and my boyz. On the flip side, I can listen to Kenny Chesney's "I go back" and relate to it. I listened to John (then Cougar) Mellancamp and Steve Miller and grew up with similar small-town experiences. I guess country just makes more sense, I'm happier drinking beer and whiskey than Courvoisier. I'll never be big pimpin but maybe someday I'll wear a 10 gallon hat.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 10:47 AM | Comments (1)

November 18, 2004

A little dab will do ya...

So although I am no longer in the faculty of science, having switched into arts and the 'economics' program, I still enjoy what scientists are doing around the world. For instance, there is always interesting 'news for nerds' to be found on Slashdot.org. And of course this article may or may not be found there, but is a credit to science! If you're too lazy to read the article (which most of my friends are) it basically talks about a study that appears to show that women who are exposed to semen (yes.... cum, gizz, spunk, dna shower, baby batter, etc.) are less likely to be depressed.

Remember, a good rogering a day keeps the psychologist away.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 5:44 PM | Comments (0)

November 8, 2004

Thoughts on a Sunday night

I spent the better part of my night struggling with an Econ assignment due the next day. I was making no progress with it and was getting frustrated so I decided to watch a little TV to clear my head. I think I watched a bit of History on Film or something... unimportant anyways. The important part was a commercial for some telephone company. It doesn't matter which, just the idea behind the commercial.

The commercial starts with a Canadian backpacking through Europe. He's on a coastal beach and studying the scenery. He picks out his cellphone and calls up his grandfather. His grandfather thanks him for the call and the young man says he's in France. His grandfather says Paris is a wonderful city and asks if the young women are as beautiful as he remembers they were. The grandson then explains that he's not in Paris - he's in Dieppe. There is a silence which he then breaks with one word: Thankyou.

I'm normally not a very emotional person, or at least not overtly so - but I couldn't help but have some tears in my eyes. Please try and take this week of remembrance seriously. We will never be able to completely understand what those soldiers, sailors and airmen went through. And that is why we must be so thankful. We are enjoying the freedom that they gave their lives to protect. If you know someone who has fought to protect our freedom, thank them. Wear a poppy to show your respect and remembrance.

The next time you're worried about a deadline, or your job, some girl or guy.... be thankful. Be thankful that you are free to have these problems, this life. They fought to save that freedom

Posted by Dr.Unk at 2:39 AM | Comments (2)

November 7, 2004

Some random thoughts....

So, I sit here writing this while I should be researching my Econ 421 proposal. They say that procrastination is like masturbation... it feels pretty good at the time, but in the end you're just fucking yourself. Of course, that doesn't stop hundreds of millions of people jerking off around the world. So, in perspective, my lack of work right now pales in comparison to the big picture.

As I was shaving last night, I noticed something that would definitely qualify as a definition of irony. The company that produces my shaving cream has proudly advertised the marketing feature of a 'rust proof bottom'.... unfortunately they have not extended this feature to the top of the can which is covered in rust spots.

I'd like to thank everyone that came in and partied at Bomber last night (Homecoming Sat). It was an awesome night to work and I hope just as fun for those on the other side of the bar.

I'm not big into politics as most people know, so I'm not gonna write very much about the U.S. election. I enjoyed Lewis Black's comment on the Daily Show - "Last night the voice of the people was heard, I promise not to imitate it out of respect to the mentally retarded..."

Jon Stewart's comment explaining the result was also good. I'm paraphrasing here cause I couldn't find the exact quote but it was essentially saying that the US was a great country where people can express their freedoms... as long as it doesn't make middle America feel ickey."

I just read this speech from a link of Rooney's blog. It is Barack Obama's speech. I hope that one day this will indeed be the America that we call our neighbour.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 5:48 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2004

Weekly Roundup of Miscellaneous Fun

Alright, so it's been a while since I wrote something... or at least it seems that way. The second weekend of Oktoberfest went by and was a mess. Spent the Friday night at the Aud courtesy of the Sigma Chi buses. The Saturday night at the Rec Center, or was it the Wrecked Center was a classic. It appeared that anyone I had ever partied with over my years at UW was there, both alumnus and current undergrads. It was awesome to see you all again!!! Ended the night at the Bomber like old times.

I've come to realize that Thursdays are my corpse/ghost days. My body somehow gets out of bed in the morning and makes its way to class. At this point I'm pretty sure it's an automatic process cause I look back and realize I haven't had a thought in my head. My gaze extends to the horizon and any verbal communication with others consists of grunts and moans....I hate thursdays. Better to be spent in bed.

I had the craziest experience today - I went to the MTO office to renew my license and it only took 10 minutes!!! I guess that as long as you owe them money they treat you right.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 2:59 PM | Comments (0)

September 21, 2004

OKTOBERFEST IS COMING!

So it's come near that time of the year again when our fair city shuts down and it becomes socially acceptable for everyone to get as drunk as the Bomber staff for a whole week.... yes, that's right, Oktoberfest is here. It's time for everyone to release the inner frat boy, to drink until you puke, then drink some more, to dance around to polka bands covering early 90's big hair rock tunes, to order up a big ole bavarian sausage covered in sauerkraut and follow it up with a bag of hot salty nuts.... I'm forgetting something too..... oh yeah, hot german broads in durndls carrying trays of beer near their cleavage....
Or that's how I picture it. Turns out it's usually just some old woman sporting a northern exposure duck-logoed sweater selling beer tickets.

Hey everybody's gotta dream....

I've already picked up tickets for Moses Springer on the 8th (probably the best time I had last year), and the Rec Center on the 16th. I'm sure I'll end up at various places in between, but those ones are especially hard to get tickets for, so act fast if you wanna party with the Doctor.

What plans does everyone else have?

Posted by Dr.Unk at 11:10 PM | Comments (1)

September 17, 2004

Grand Opening of Dr.Unk's Office

Call me a wagon-jumper if you want, but I've decided to try out this whole "blog" thing that everyone is raving about. The site is still under construction in terms of aesthetics, but I figured I'd throw up some content (using the term loosely....very loosely) and work out the rest along the way.

If you're wondering about the name, it was something that I came up with in 3rd year or so. Dr.Unk - PhD in Partying. I'm pretty sure it was an original idea, so I'll stick to that until proven otherwise.

Most of the shit posted here will be just that - shit. I'm not gonna pretend to be a good writer or assume that anything I think is going to be of interest to anyone else. The beauty of it is, no one's forcing you to read it so don't blame me if this turns out to be a giant waste of time.

Posted by Dr.Unk at 2:48 PM | Comments (1)