Brussel Sprouts

Am I the only one that didn't know that brussel sprouts grow on stalks? I always thought that they were like baby cabbages or something.

Valuing What Really Matters

"In elevating to a level of demiworship people with big bucks, we have been destroying the values of our future generation. We need a total rethinking of who the heroes are, who the role models are, who we should be honoring."
RABBI BENJAMIN BLECH, professor of philosophy of law at Yeshiva University, on the downfall of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff.



Betrayed by Madoff, Yeshiva U. Adds a Lesson
By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ
Published: December 23, 2008
The university is grappling with a sense of betrayal that goes beyond the $110 million it says it lost with Bernard L. Madoff.

Smarts Girls at the Party

What Did Amy Poehler Get You for Chrismukkah?

This one is going out to all those grad students...

"Don't make fun of grad students, they've just made a poor life choice."
- my friend MJ

More than a little unexpected

Word confirmation for my all-star hockey player vote:


Hmm, "Mathematics" and "mulai"*. I think that is more a reflection on the website creator than any affiliations with the NHL.





*Indonesian for "from".

Christmas Ideas for LynnieC*

Librarian Action Figure


Librarian Temporary Tattoos





*This is my 500th post on blogger.

NHL All-Star Game Picks

Chance of a Lifetime

Brett Leonhardt, web site producer for the Washington Capitals, had the chance of a lifetime to dress as an NHL goalie for a game. NHL teams have two goalies on their roaster and if one gets injured they get another from their minor league team. Last week, the Washington Capitals' goalie Jose Theodore injured himself the morning before a game and the replacement back-up goalie wasn't going to make it to the game in time. The Captials asked Leonhardt, who was a goalie in college, to dress as their back-up goalie until the replacement could arrive.

Leonhardt just one of the guys
Saturday, 12.20.2008 / 1:00 AM / Division Notes
By Mike G. Morreale - NHL.com Staff Writer

Gift Ideas

Aunts And Stepdads Line Up For This Year's Hottest Gift: The Electric Tea Kettle

That's Why I Haven't Used IE in Years

All Internet Explorer Versions Have Hole, Gregg Keizer, Computerworld, Dec 13, 2008 8:00 am

Will my father and mother, who don't like new and different things, finally start using Firefox?

Bacon Quote of the Day

"Bacon is the key ingredient in the fall of communism." - Andrew D'Ambrosi (via Twitter)

Behind the Name

Pretty comprehensive site on the etymology of first names. The name Janice was created by Paul Leicester Ford for his novel 'Janice Meredith' (1899). huh.

Best. Baby. Ever.

Yeah, that's about right

Best Photo Blog Award

I previously mentioned a photo blog Regina in Pictures. The blog is up for a Canadian Blog Awards Best Photo/Art Blog. Give a deserving site your vote.

Is it something about me?

Sources: Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Canceled
Source: Watch with Kristin, Kristin Dos Santos, November 20, 2008, 4:11 PM

Why do shows I love get canceled?

Janny: Your Ultimate Source on Bea Arthur Wrestling Dinosaurs

No fewer than 5 out of the last 100 visitors to my blog were searching for images of Bea Arthur wrestling a velociraptors.

I tried a google search myself and came across this discussion on "Bea Arthur vs a Raptor"

StoneGold: Bea Arthur vs a Raptor

Crinos: Why is Bea Arthur floating? Is she haunting the Raptors her killed her?
Hmm... Bea Arthur goes back in time, gets killed by Raptors, then becomes a ghost that causes the extinction of the dinosaurs, thus gaining an army of dinosaur ghosts.
"Bea Arthur: Ghost dinosaur general."
Hey, I'd read it.

Grazzt:No, she's actually a super hero in real life. Just like Hugh Downs on Family guy, or Lucy Lawless on the Simpsons.
This gives me a good idea for a crossover. Deadpool/Bea Arthur in the Savage Land!

StoneGold:That's just pure lemon fanfic fodder.

Studying Checklist

1. Pen
2. flash cards
3. lab companion
4. Watch hockey
5. Watch SportsCentre
6. Watch recorded SportsCentre from yesterday
7. Search you tube for videos of Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole
8. Watch Jay Onrait interview Sidney Crosby you tube videos
9. Stumble on W5 piece on Carey Price
10. Search for Carey Price videos on you tube
11. Search for Onrait/ O'Toole Facebook groups
12. Take my turn on three separate games of Scrabble on Facebook
13. Blog

Now that I have everything I guess I can study now.*




*The sad thing is my sister procrastinates more than I do. I should have never gotten her an early birthmas present.

Maybe Could You Be Swarmed by Bees?

The Devils haven't been bitten by the injury bug, they've been in the center of a swarm of killer bees.
Source: Atlantic: Injuries just a part of Devils' problems, Monday, 11.17.2008 / 10:30 PM / Division Notes, Adam Kimelman - NHL.com Staff Writer

How dare he insult the majestic bee with his terrible sports analogy!

Roger would be glad to hear it...

Cavaliers Declared NBA Champions As Basketball Knocks Off Early

NEW YORK—A happy, triumphant, and visibly relieved LeBron James accepted the 2009 NBA Championship trophy from commissioner David Stern at a small ceremony in New York Wednesday, just hours after the NBA announced that it would be canceling the remainder of the 2008–2009 season to give itself, and sports fans, a much-needed break.

Source: The Onion, November 13, 2008

Uneasy feeling

As a courtesy, I emailed my professor to tell her I was dropping her class. She replied that she wants to meet with me. Ugh, the thought of what she might want to say to me makes me feel uneasy. I've made a formal complaint about her during a time when the department was considering not hiring her to teach any additional classes.* As of now she is not teaching any classes next semester and the university has no plans to hire her for any in the future. I didn't do anything wrong, I just reported her unprofessional behaviour.** I'd rather avoid her especially since she was hostile towards me even before I destroyed her chances of a career at the university. If she is going to freak out on me, I'd rather her do it through email so then I can forward it onto the department.




*I have worked for the math department for longer than she has. I am well known in the department and am regularly asked by staff to work for them. I was offered 6 different jobs (unsolicited) for the current school year. Despite the rage this situation causes me, the math department head saw my complaints as constructive criticism.
** I have kept a journal since the second week of school. I have documentation for everything she has done plus another student to corroborate.

Withdrawn

I finally dropped the class where I has having problems with the professor. I had gone to the department head and made a formal complaint and nothing improved. She copied notes straight out the textbook, refused to give any further examples not already worked out in the textbook, arrived late to class every day, never was available for help, became agitated when we didn't understand .... I could list so much more. My breaking point was preparing for a midterm that I knew nothing about the topic because I had to learn everything on my own, she refused to give us a proper answer sheet with the work shown because it was "too time consuming" and she never handed back our previous assignments that the test was based on. I just don't have the energy to deal with the drama anymore. I am interested in the topic but don't need the class for my degree. I just wished I would have done this weeks ago.

Fred's Interactive Map

One of the Many Reasons I Adore Carey Price

Who knew that he was funny too?!?!


Potential All-Star Price paying off for Canadiens

Very Bit Makes a Difference

I wish more people in my own country had this attitude:

"This is huge. This is bigger than life itself. When I was coming up, I always thought they put in who they wanted to put in. I didn’t think my vote mattered. But I don’t think that anymore."
DEDDRICK BATTLE, who at age 55 registered to vote for the first time.

What's that sound?*

Is it that sports writers don't take journalism classes?

On the night before Halloween, a botched trick play by the Toronto Argonauts turned into a savoury treat for the Saskatchewan Roughriders

*That's the sound of me losing my lunch

Circus Freak Tall

Mom an I got a treadmill this week and it arrived yesterday. Mom got one with a long surface but it is still too short for me -- 5'9" with a 36" inseam aka Janny gots a long stride. The end of the treadmill is about 3 inches from the wall and I ended up kicking it 3 or 4 times. If I move up closer to the console, I have to be careful not to step on the front thingy*. Do other people have this problem or is just me?

Secondary question: what is your favourite music to work out to?







*Technical term.

Ron Howard's Call To Action

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Mind Officially Blown

So my pre-school teacher added me as a friend on Facebook today. Whaaaaat? She totally remembers me and everyone who was in my class. I posted some pictures of our class and she tagged a bunch of people who I forgot who they were. One tag was wrong because she tagged one girl as her sister. I finished pre-school over 25 years ago, I forget some students from 5 years ago.

How Could I Have Missed it?

I just realized yesterday there is a mistake on my Swingers poster -- I've had it for 5 years. It says:
"Baby, we're gonna give big daddy the old Rainman sweep. Can you dig that money? Vegas baby, Vegas!"

It should read: "They're gonna give daddy the Rain Man suite! You dig that? We're going to Vegas, Mike. VEGAS!"

I don't even know what "the old Rainman sweep" even means.

Is this the year?

Spot the Problems: Political Edition*

Source: Andrew Davidson, CBC News, Last Updated: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 | 1:19 AM ET





*I mean besides the fact that the Tories were re-elected. ZING!
What an appropriate beginning for the newly re-elected government. This shall not bode well.

Spot the Problems

I subscribe to a free service that texts the scores of games of any team or sport I want. With the new NHL season, I needed to make some adjustments to my account. This is what I came across:

Regina in Pictures

Beautiful pictures of a beautiful city, blog updated nearly daily.

Women in Sciences Unite!

In a follow up to me complaining about feeling lonely at the university, Since the beginning of the school year I have gotten to know a couple females from my classes. Two of them are in my Physics class and it really is more of a mentoring role I have. One of the girls told me that it is nice to talk to a female when you need help.

There is another girl from one a math class that we are trying to coordinate schedules to study for a midterm together. Our class has 10 people -- 8 males, 2 females. We are both used to being the only females in classes like that so it is a little refreshing. Us two girls plus a male friend who I worked with over the summer are the only ones who understand what is going on in that class. He doesn't say anything in class so to the other students it looks like only the girls know what is going on -- kind of amusing. I kind of avoided her because of a bad first impression. She came up to me on the first class and said "Hey aren't you friends with that tall girl from Guelph who is really loud?"* Loud just had a bad connotation to me -- I guess I took it as she was calling my friend loud mouthed. After a couple weeks of class I realized that she was alright.



*If she hadn't specified where she was from it really could have been any number of my friends. :)

Day 8: Ok, I cheated a bit

I bought some ketchup chips long before I decided to go off refined sugar. Last night I ate some of them. I don't feel guilty since I haven't had any refined sugar since last Sunday when I was on my way home from a wedding out of town. Last weekend my only refined sugar was from some condiments, a serving desert at the wedding and a snack on the way home. I think I'm doing pretty good for myself but it made me realize I need a plan for when I'm going away from home for long periods of time.

I sort of had a crummy day at school on Thursday and I really wanted some chocolate or something sweet. I still had to be at school for a couple more hours so I bought a fruit bowl that had different kinds of melons and strawberries. Fruit and fruit juices have helped me a lot whenever I've wanted to eat something sweet. We have a natural desire to want to eat sweet things but what you eat is what makes the difference.

ROAARRRRRR!!!!!!

Source: Hamsters and chicks are dangerous, doctors warn, Guardian.co.uk

Day 3: Starting from Scratch

Mom and I went grocery shopping today. I did not find any of the sweeteners I wanted to try out so I'll be using honey and fruit juice in the meantime.

Today I made ketchup from scratch with tomatoes, onions, garlic, honey, soya sauce, apple cider vinegar and various herbs. Turned out pretty well though tastes nothing like any ketchup I've ever had. I had to chop up two whole onions and half a head of garlic -- my hands still smells like onions. Interesting fact: though more appealing, the smell of celery last longer than onions.

Tomorrow I head to a wedding out town so I'm not sure what this will mean for my diet. I'll just have to try the best I can to avoid refined sugar and get back to reality on Sunday.

Judging a Book by Its Cover

I would not go to her for a mortgage. I'd go to her for my fake nails or tanning booth needs.

Day 2: Lack of Options

Today I had a super early appointment so I didn't have time to make lunch before leaving for school or eat breakfast. Huge mistake, it was hard to find anything at the university. I was eating a lot of fruit, vegetables and cheese through out the day. I'm craving salad dressing of all things. Today I didn't use the dip my veggie tray came with and it was taunting me. On the way home I saw A&W and it made me crave Thousand Island dressing.

Next week I'll plan better. Mom and I are making up a meal plan for next week and tomorrow we'll go grocery shopping. When I was a beginning teacher, living up North, I made everything from scratch and rarely ate processed food. What I am doing now is a variation so I've been there before. The difference between then and now is more temptation in the city. There were no good restaurants in my small town and processed food was super expensive. Making food from scratch in large quantities was the cheap and easy thing to do.

So far I have consumed no refined sugar today. Yeah me!

Day 1: No Sugar (almost)

Did you refined sugar is in almost everything? Oy. The only refined sugar I had today was in some salad dressing but it only occurred to me after the fact to check the label. I wanted to have a smokey tonight but then could find no non-refined sugar condiments in my fridge. I came across this website earlier in the day about cooking without sugar but I didn't have any of the right ingredients to make any of the recipes. I improvised my own condiment out of laughing cow cheese, honey and garlic powder.* This is going to be tough.







*I don't know if it was the cheddar smokey, the cheddar I put on top or the sauce I made but the combination was revolting.

Only 3 more sleeps

until the new NHL season.

Sugar, ah honey, honey

I decided to cut refined sugar out of my diet. My sister was telling me how much refined sugar reduces the immune system so I did a little research. A single can of pop can decrease your immune system by 25% for about an hour, a frosted brownie by 60%. I know I am sick all the time because of allergies but my immune system needs all the help it can get. Let's see how that goes.

Suspect Description

The suspect is described as a white male, about 30 years old, with brown hair. He was wearing a blue jacket and blue jeans.

- Police ID girl slain in small Alberta town, CBC Online, Last Updated: Sunday, September 28, 2008 | 5:47 PM MT

I'm not trying to make light of the situation but that sounds like about a hundred guys I know. I remember a news report teaching people what details to concentrate on when they witness a crime but who is thinking of that at the time? I'd probably be way too freaked out by what I was seeing to be focusing on the details of the criminal.

Slacker Uprising

Michael Moore's new documentary Slacker Uprising is available for free form his website. You can either view it from the website or download it and distribute it freely. The movie is about Michael Moore's campus tour in 2004 to get young people to vote.

Seeking New Evil

You can use your powers for good or you can use your powers for awesome. The Evil League of Evil is recruiting, all applications must be in by October 11.

Baseless Postivity

The Power of Negative Thinking Source:New York Times Online, Op-Ed Contributor: BARBARA EHRENREICH, Published: September 24, 2008

The delusional optimism of mainstream, all-American, positive thinking should get its share of the blame for the financial crisis.

Driving Grandmas and Babies*

I am a cautious driver and extra cautious when I am driving children or seniors. One time I traveled with my cousin around Calgary with my her toddler in my backseat. My cousin forgot to attach one of the straps of the car seat but didn't notice until she went to take out -- my driving was that smooth.

Today on my way home, my bus hit a car that ran a red light. The hit car had two babies in the back seat that were taken to hospital. Stupid enough to run a red light but when you are in the care of two infants?!?!? Dad and I checked the news, since nothing was mentioned we hoped that is good news. At the scene we were told they were just being taken as a precaution so I pray that they are alright. Life is big and scary enough but even more when you are helpless or can't understand what is going on. Poor babies.

*Alternate Title: The Butterfly Effect
Last Thursday I asked a question in class and my professor was totally rude to me. I woke up Friday with a cold and have been sick ever since. Today my sinuses started to hurt so I decided to skip my last class, the one with the rude professor. I was well enough to learn but not well enough to put up her nonsense. Since I skipped my class, I took an earlier bus which got in an accident. I wasn't supposed to be on that bus. I had to brace myself so I didn't hit the seat in front of me which hurt my back and neck. I went to the doctor; I don't have whiplash but may be sore for a couple days. My back hurts because I asked a question in class 5 days ago.

Cutting Myself Off

Starting today I'm removing myself from as much entertainment news as possible. The plan for the coming school year is to record* as many shows as possible and watch them in the summer time. Some don't matter but there are shows that I don't want to know what happens. I'm cutting myself off from any sources that may spoil the surprise. This is a huge change for me -- I like being in the know for what is happening on TV. Let's see how well this goes.







*My new DVR is an investment in my education.

'Cause I'm Classy Like That

During my second class today, 3 hours after I left home, I realized I had not brushed my teeth today. Never in my life have I forgotten to brush my teeth before leaving the house. I managed to remember mascara and eyeliner but I forgot to brush my teeth.

During the next class, I opened my mouth to take a bit of my sandwich and let out a huge belch. Everyone thought it was totally intentional.

I Just Can't Win

With the new semester at school comes new schedules. I rarely the people I saw over the summer working at the university due to conflicting schedules. I'm feeling a little lonely in a crowd. I just want someone I can met for coffee (or my case tea) or eat lunch with occasionally. The Physics department is holding a beginning of the year shindig next week during my Physics lab. I know I like to avoid awkward social situations but there are some people in the department I'd like to get to know. I'm sort of lacking in opportunities here to get to know people in my departments so I'm not sure what to do.

Why Won't They Learn?

I got news today that a friend has separated from her husband. They've been together for several years but just in the last couple months got married and had a baby. I realize I am on the outside looking in but when will people learn that your relationship problems will still be there even after you get married and have a baby. Actually you will have new problems in addition to the old ones. Now my friend, who is still on maternity leave, is a single mother with a new born infant and a school-aged child from a previous relationship. For all the hassling I get for being single and 30, I'd never want to be in her situation.

Don't Mind Me, I'm Just Slow

I have most suspense movies I watch figured out in about the first 15 minutes (knew who Keyser Söze was in the first 5). On a crime show I knew whodunnit since the writers named him "Gil T. Parti" in addition to opportunity. For months I've been complaining about a volunteer who answers math questions for the website I work for. Today my boss told me it was his pseudonym -- he thought I already knew. I don't know why I hadn't figured it out before because "her" name is a variation on the phrase "pen name".

Dearest blog readers (all 2.5 of you), I need a pen name for the website: any suggestions?

Spidergoat, Spidergoat, does whatever a Spidergoat does

There is a company that injects spider DNA into goats to produce a lightweight but strong material. This is what I imagine the goats look like:

Take Time to Be Holy While You Brush Your Teeth

A friend of mine writes verses on index cards and puts it up on her bathroom mirror. As she brushes her teeth twice a day, she memorizes the verse with a new one each week. In our church children memorize weekly verses until they are 13 with the idea that the are old enough to do it one their own by then. How many of us continue to memorize verses? With this new school year I plan to memorize a verse a week while I brush my teeth.

That Thing Still On?

I say a commercial promoting the new season of ER. I realized that there are kids starting high school this year that ER has been on their entire life. That is mind-boggling.

Chris Throwing an Atlatl

Some People Should Not be Allowed to Own Computers

I was asked to update a website for a local private school. I've been emailing back and forth with the principal about the needed changes. This afternoon I posted what I have done so far and her reply was when she looked there was no changes. I wrote back instructions about how some web browsers save a copy of web pages and so when you visit it again it just loads the old version it has saved. I gave her instructions on how to clear the cache so she could view the changes I made. Her reply: the content had not been updated. ARgh. Grumble, grumble.

Live action Simpsons

Don't Send a Fish to Do a Puppy's Job

Meet Spot, he fetches files for me much better than a blowfish. Metaphorically it makes sense.

A local private school asked me to update their website for them before the school year started. They gave me most of the necessary information but I could not connect to the FTP server to save my life. I don't why I'd need to connect to an FTP server to save my life but I couldn't do it, I'd be dead like dinner.

I called the help desk of the web host and they gave me some useful information but not much of a help. I could connect through Firefox but not Dreamweaver or Fugu (the aforementioned blowfish). Of course no one at the help desk knew anything about the programs I was using or about Macs. Oy with the poodles already. While I waited for a supervisor to call me back I decided to try to download a different ftp program to see if I could get it to work. I read a review about Fetch and low and behold it worked. A puppy saved Janny's weekend

I'm not sure how that will help

I read "suspect" as a noun not an adjective the first time.
Health officials probe more deaths, advise tossing suspect meat

I think I forgot how to sleep.

Never Put Salt In Your Eyes

Spot the Problem with the Forecast

Latin Skills in My Sleep

Two nights ago I couldn't sleep. In my restless, half-coherent thoughts it bothered me that I couldn't remember what antediluvian meant. I figured out it had to do with something before a deluge so my restless brain was satisfied.
A couple of strange facts:
- I wasn't even aware I knew the word antediluvian
- I know "ante" refers to a time period before when I'm awake but how did I know that when I was half asleep.
- I rarely use the word deluge so how would I know the Latin form.

In conclusion, my brain is weird.

My summer thus far

I know I haven't been blogging much lately but click on the pictures to see what I've been up to!


Proof Ang and Errol will have 10 babies


"True Love" Forever


Aspiring to be like Ky


Thumbs up for good cake


Yes, those are flames

Never Put Salt in Your Eyes

New blog

I starting a blog for math, education and technology called Finnegan's Fidangle.

Chain of Command

In May I became an editor at a university math website. My main job is send visitor math questions out to the appropriate group of volunteers and then post the solutions on the website. There is this one volunteer who insists on sending her responses to the other editor. Since it has been assigned to me, he has to go out of his way to forward the responses onto me. It isn't a matter of her not knowing what to do, she is willfully doing it. The reason I was hired was to decrease the other editors work load and get the responses on the website quicker -- she is not helping the situation.

Ode to Photoshop 10

I love your new smart guides -- you make being a graphic design ninja that much easier.

NPH is the show fairy

Sesame Street: Neil Patrick Harris has Telly's new shoes

Grocery Shrink Ray

The Consumerist: Grocery Shrink Ray reports on the companies who decrease the size of their product but charge the same price.

Commie "Winnie the Pooh"

Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Joss Whedon has written a Sci-Fi musical web series. It stars Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillon.
Doctor Horrible Teaser Video

Here is the official website: Dr Horrible (I'm not sure when the episodes while premier.)

Powerwise Commercial: Treehouse

My favouritest commercial of the moment. Parents, what are you going to do with them?

Honest Reactions

I grabbed the movie off the self and asked Lyn: "Is that the same girl playing three roles?"

New Firefox

Firefox 3 came out today and it runs wicked fast (doesn't use as much memory as the previous versions. One warning though, your add-ons may not be up to date to work with the new version.

Mike Missing Mary*

*Actually he was pretending to be sad by something his future mother-in-law said.

Aerosmith has aged well

Wow, its been 40 years since Aerosmith released "Walk this Way".

Actress Kristen Bell pulling for Detroit
NHL .com, May 27, 2008, 5:12 PM EDT

Bank error in your favor, collect $200

My recent credit card statement has a credit from Amazon.com for $42.96. The strange thing is I haven't bought anything from Amazon since January. Fraudulent credit card credits? Mastercard told me to contact Amazon but they would investigate the matter.* Amazon was thoroughly confused as well. I was on hold for more than 20 minutes before they discovered that I had been overcharged for my purchase in January. They sent me an email but when I saw the title of the email referring to a purchase, I figured it was junk mail.





* The lady was very confused why I'd report an unknown credit to my account. As much as I enjoy an undeserved credit to my account, I don't want that amount charged to my account if an error was found.

Some Thoughts on Spam

I think a restaurant that only serves Spam is less absurd than Viking patrons or customers who drop down from the ceiling.

Japan's Version of The Office

The only funny thing about SNL's season finale was the digital short were Ricky Gervais explains the Japanese origins of The Office.

My point exactly...

I guess I'm not the only one who noticed the plethora of sports writers who know nothing about hockey.

Stackley Cup Playoffs Underway

NEW YORK—The 2008 Stackley Cup Playoffs, a set of odd-number-of-games series that will determine the champion of the National Huckie League, are well underway, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed Monday. At press time,...

Am I being too picky?

As I read a news story about Mark Messier being made into an action figure, these sentences confused me:

For Frank, Wednesday morning was extra special. Frank is a New Jersey native and grew up a fan of the red, white and blue. Messier was the captain of the franchise’s lone championship in the past 68 years, when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994.

Thoughts going though Janice's head: "New Jersey so he is a Devils' fan. Wait, nope. Why would it be extra special for a Montreal Canadiens' fan from New Jersey to meet Mark Messier? Oh, nope. He's a Rangers fan. Stupid sport writer." It isn't just me having them on the brain, "Blue, White and Red" is a commonly used for the Habs. "The Broadway Blueshirts" is the Rangers' nickname. Is it wrong for me to expect a professional sports writer to be a better writer and to know more about hockey than myself? Does this man not have editors?

To the point:
"Being a Rangers' fan, Frank was excited to meet the former captain."*

Colourful sports writing:
"For Frank, Wednesday morning was extra special. Frank is a New Jersey native and grew up a fan of The Broadway Blueshirts. Messier was the captain of the franchise’s lone championship in the past 68 years, when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994."

This warrants a new tag.





*Are you happy now Ky? Or are you going to complain now about the use of the passive voice?

Victoria Pictures!

I've uploaded my trip pictures onto Flickr but not all have been captioned yet.

Frozen Moment

Al the Octopus over looks Joe Louis Arena

First Try

I went through the first tutorial for the program I'll be using for work this summer. This is what I made:


It is a simulation of how much a copper conductor will heat up. I'll actually be running simulations of the how blood flow is effected by stenosis and aneurysm but these tutorials just teach you how to use the different tools of the program. Pretty neat.

My ears are ouchy again...

I finished my antibiotics last Wednesday but my ears are achy again and getting worse. I think I need to go back to the doctor.

The weird thing is I'm okayish* in the morning and most of the work day. Towards the end of work day and my trip home my ears start to ache so I can't ignore it. Into the evening I'm tired and feverish and the pain in my ear is worse. At bed time it is the worst.




*Yes, I made up that word, deal with it.

You're Welcome

I'm giddy with anticipation.

Tim Gunn and Mo Rocca on Polygamist Style

I went to Professor Xavier's house...

Hatley Castle, Colwood, BC

Baby Jellyfish

Baby Jellyfish, Cattle Point, Victoria, BC

I was taking a picture of the shell and realized after the fact I took a picture of a jellyfish. I knew something was moving around in the water but couldn't see it. Neat.

Thirty Years Ago Today

My parents went to bed after watching the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders 5-2 in the quarter finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. My very pregnant mom woke my dad up around midnight to tell him it was time to go to the hospital. I was born around 2:30 am.

My dad used to call me "Little Dudley" before I was born. He would talk to me in the womb saying "Hey there Little Dudley, this is your dad." If if was a boy, his name would be Michael David and they had not decided what they would name a girl.

Filed under "How am I not surprised?": "Night Fever" by The Bee Gees was the top song the day I was born.

Do You Know What is Inconvenient?

When your hard drive crashes two days before a computer science final. Especially when all of your notes from the entire semester are on said hard drive.

Ouchy

I have a very bad ear infection. It came on so suddenly. My left ear felt plugged yesterday after I got home from school but since I have a cold I just thought it was part of my congestion. By bed time anytime I tilted my head to one side it felt like someone was stabbing me in the eardrum. I barely slept all night. The pain from my ear would wake me up anytime I would move my head. My mommy took me to the doctor this morning. I need to take an anti-inflammatory every four hours my ear is swollen so badly. Here I am again, so sleepy yet hurting too badly to sleep.

Fish

You can feed my fish just by clicking.



I added a smaller tank to the sidebar.

Draw me a sheep!

"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to have to explain things to them always and forever."
Le Petit Prince (1943), Antoine de Saint Exupéry, Chapter I

Gooey Brain

I have my first final tomorrow. My brain turned to goo* at about 4 pm this afternoon (I guess at this point it was yesterday afternoon). I have somehow managed to work an additional 5 hours or so. To keep myself alert I would take exercise breaks in addition to caffeine. I can do 64 step ups in 60 seconds.** Now physically I am alert but my brain is done like dinner. I have to wake up in a little more than 4 hours and I am wide awake. Yeah, this is going to turn out well.

I want my mommy to write a note to my professor so I can defer the final.

Dear Dr Redacted,

Please excuse Janice from finals until after the NHL playoffs.

Sincerely,
Mommy Marie

* Much to the amusement of my professor.
** I think that is a lot but I don't know.

Update (6:09am): I think I slept a half hour. I tried but I couldn't. I was half awake and confusing what happened on hockey tonight with linear algebra. As I thought about a particular penalty in the Sens vs Pens game, I got worried that I didn't know what to do with p(2)+p(-2)=0 in this situation.

ARGH!

Do you ever get the feeling someone is taking advantage of your kindness? There is a guy in one of my classes that gets notes from me sometimes. He tells me he is sick or this or that but I know since he found someone to get the notes from he's been skipping class to work. It isn't an inconvenience to get the notes to him so whatever.

He missed Thursday's class and emailed me to see if I'd meet him on Friday so he could get the notes. I replied that I maybe a little late since I take a different bus. The way things worked out, I actually got to school earlier than I said I'd meet him*. I sat for a half hour waiting for him and he never showed up! I just received an email from him:
"I did not get your email until Saturday, I was at Riddell but thought you were late or weren’t coming."

LIAR! He got my email and figured it was a way of getting out of not showing up. Now he wants me to go out of my way so he can get the notes and "any hints" for the final.
I replied that I know he lied to me and left it at that.



*My bus made it downtown in time for my transfer for once. It is amazing how fast you get to school when you don't have to wait for more than 15 minutes for the next bus to come.

Fully admitting that I am a nerd

I've been working on a project since late December, thought some people out there might be interested in the results. I'm open to suggestions, comments and disagreements.
Chronological Buffyverse Viewing Guide(pdf)

For the Grad Students in my life....

Mead Releases New Grad-School-Ruled Notebook

RICHMOND, VA—Company officials say the new notebooks feature lines 3.55 millimeters apart, making them "infinitely more practical" for postgraduate work than the 7.1 millimeter college-ruled notebooks.

Tina Fey: One Hot 'Mama', Kristen Baldwin, EW Online

"Strange things are afoot at the Circle K..."

I think they may be auditioning entrepreneurs for Dragons' Den at the university today. There are "CBC Dragon's Den" signs everywhere directing people to the 5th floor of the Education building. This leads me to believe that either someone made a mistake on the sign or we have a new CBC sponsored burninating room.

Updated: Stanley Cup Prediction (Along with Clouded Judgement)

I feel very uneasy about this prediction:


After scary accurate predictions for the first round last year and overall predictions the year before, I am not feeling so confident this year. My team, the Montreal Canadiens, finished first in the East and are playing a team they beat every time this season. Things are seeming a little too good to be true. Please forgive me for my seriously biased predictions. I do think Montreal can make it to the finals but they struggle against teams in the West so the won't win.

Dark Horse Prediction: Washington Capitals.

First Round Series to Watch: New Jersey Devils vs New York Rangers

Series that Just Might Surprise: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Ottawa Senators (if Ottawa can remember the team they were at the beginning of the season).

Update(April 8, 2008): The TSN hockey panel is predicting San Jose Sharks also.

How NKOTB Saved Me From Public Nudity

In my defense, to some jerks:

I was a very unpopular grade six girl: myself and one other girl were the only girls in the entire grade who were not New Kids on the Block fans. The other girl, Evelyn, is black so it was ok for her not to like them. Not ok for me -- was much worse than the Def Leppard persecution of grade five.

By the end of grade eight, there were only two girls in the entire grade who were fans of NKOTB. I still was very unpopular but at least I wasn't being persecuted for my lack of pop sensibilities.

Towards the end of grade nine, my Phys Ed teacher brought in an aerobics instructor for a couple classes. At the beginning of the first class, she starts the music. The song sounds familiar but when I heard "Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh"* I completely lost it -- I was on the floor laughing. For displaying such rudeness in front of our guest, my punishment was to put away everyone's mats after class.

The rest of the girls were still laughing at me as I entered the change room. I had no idea how I was going to make it to my next class in time since showering was a requirement at my school. As I opened my locker door, the fire alarm rang. Everyone else in the class was either in the shower or in various states of undress. Girls tired to grab their clothes and quickly get dressed. Our teacher came in and yelled at us to get out because "If this was a real fire, you'd be dead by now!" Everyone had to go out as is, I was the only student that was full dressed. Guess who was laughing now?

*Hangin' Tough

I Feel Your Pain, Man

Computer Being Stupid

CAMBRIDGE, MA—After multiple attempts to get the thing to do the thing, 38-year-old freelance writer Joe Garvin gave up Saturday, citing the...

We are so funny

Lyn and I are hilarious. I forwarded her and her sisters an email my parent sent me.

Fw: Phil A[] Award


Janny: I think it really should read Phil A[]'s award. Unless he is presenting the GG the Phil A[] Bravery in Beardedness award.

LynnieC: Seriously, that award needs to exist. I like that the GG would be the first recipient of the Bravery in Beardedness award. She's so brave.

Janny: It takes a very brave woman to wear her beard with pride.

LynnieC: I know, just ask Bronwyn. *zing*

You've Got to Be Kidding Me

As I walked into the university yesterday morning, I noticed a young women affixing a poster that read "theredrevolution.ca". Had the Communist Party of Canada begun recruiting at my school? In small print below the url: "Liberal Party of Canada". Umm, something is wrong here.

Official transcript of a sisterly phone conversation:
QoWP: "Whaaaaa-t? Liberals haven't been revolutionary since 1848."
Janny: "What happened in 1848?"
QoWP: "The Revolution of 1848."
[Rim Shot]

The Liberals referring to themselves as the
Red Revolution* is kind of like call myself Wonder Woman -- doesn't mean I have an invisible plane or a magic lasso.


*Originally Published 1918

How is a girl expected to study?

Canadiens clinch division over Senators
CBC Sports, Last Updated: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 | 10:26 PM ET

I'm so giddy. I feel bad that I want them not to win the Eastern conference so they will play Boston in the first round.

Weird thing is I now prefer to watch hockey en français. It was a pleasant break on Saturday not to have to listen to Don Cherry's nattering. Although I did change to the game in English just long enough for Grapes to complain about "the tree huggers".

That's me in pictures: update

Here’s how it works:
1. Go to http://www.photobucket.com/
2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box
3. Insert the picture into your Blog

Updated!!!!!What is your relationship status?

Yes, I am single but I don't have time for anything else.

What is your current mood?


What is your favourite movie?


What kind of pets do you have?


Where do you live?


Where do you work?


What do you look like?


What is your favourite TV show? (I went with ones on the air right now)


Describe yourself


What are you going to do tomorrow?
What I do every day....


What is your name?


What is your favourite candy?

A to the wesome

Exclusive: James Van Der Beek Gets In on the Robin Sparkles Action
Source: Korbi Ghosh, Watch with Kristin, Eonline, Mon, Mar 31, 2008

Ok, maybe just one more...

I said I would quit when Derek commented but I thought it would take longer.



Derek Fact #2: Derek can only eat toast ironically.

I maybe done with Derek facts but rest assure tiny pointing Derek will not be gone. He's the aweso.

Interesting but Untrue Facts about Derek

QWoP and I are starting a game: state interesting but untrue facts about Derek everyday until he comments on our respective blog. Play along if you like but let me know if you are.


Fact #1: Derek's hats double as 10-pin bowling ball bags.

Where Did that Come from?

I have the Zoobilee Zoo theme song stuck in my head. I probably haven't heard it in over 15 years. Bee-zarre.

Open Letter to the People in My Physics Lab

Dear Girl Who Talks Too Much,

The only thing more annoying than your Uggs is you incessant stories. First, I doubt your boyfriend will die if he has anymore radiation exposure, there is radiation all around us. Second, you can't be partially allergic to cats. You are or you aren't. Just like you can't be partially pregnant or kind of have cancer.

Love, Janny




Dear Only Student Older than Me,

Sliding around the class room doesn't show you are young at heart, it shows you are immature. I like the stubble but your clothes need to be about 3 sizes smaller.

Love but not is that kind of way, Janny




Dear John,

You're adorable. Thanks for staying late so people could finish filling out their evaluation forms.

Love, Janny




Dear Lab Instructor,

You're long hair doesn't make you more Rock 'n Roll. You are an experimental physicist, nothing can make you Rock 'n Roll.

Love, Janny




Dear Lab Partner,

Sorry about messing up the experiment so we had to start again. Totally my fault, thanks for not getting annoyed with me.
Sorry I weirded you out when you found out how old I am. I glad you can still be silly with me despite that fact. I hope you can figure out what to do with your life.

Love, Janny



Dear Other Lab Instructor,

This morning I woke up with this feeling
I didn't know how to deal with and so I just decided to myself
I'd hide it to myself and never talk about it
And did not go and shout it when you walked into the room
I think I love you

Let's get married and have lots of babies.
Love, Janny




Note to Self:

You know you're tired when the bag boy at the grocery store tells you to get some sleep. You have lots of work to do but get some rest.

Love, Janny

Into the Mind of Janny: Part II

For a review of Part I

Dreamed last night my university professor was trying to convince me to be a surrogate mother for him. He always wanted to have children but had never been able to get pregnant. I didn't want to but he would not take no for an answer. He walked in on me when I was in the shower to talk to me about it again. He had taken things too far; I held the slide doors shut and screamed for help. I could see Slash outside in the hallway looking for towels in the linen closet but he couldn't hear me over the steam. I screamed louder and then Slash and Snoop Dogg came to my rescue*. When I woke up, I thought the strange part was the shower had sliding doors.





*Obviously.

From Saint Patrick's Breastplate

Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man
who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man
who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
Salvation is of the Lord.

Saskatchewan Girls

Speaking of stereotypes, a friend sent me this joke this morning:

Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had set their new wives straight on their duties.
The first man had married a woman from Ontario, and bragged that he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning that needed done at their house. He said that it took a couple days but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were all washed and put away.
The second man had married a woman from BC. He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes, and the cooking. He told them that the first day he didn't see any results, but the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done, and he had a huge dinner on the table.
The third man had married a woman from Saskatchewan. He boasted that he told her that her duties were to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, snow shoveled, laundry washed and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything, but by the third day most of the swelling had gone down and he could see well enough out of his left eye to do the dishes and the laundry; and he thought by Saturday he'd be able to shovel the sidewalk.

Judging a Book by Its Cover...

I make up stories about the people I see out and about. For example, I saw a man with a mustache carrying a backpack and immediately assumed he was a mailman. Some prejudice are ridiculous and unfounded but others are generalizations based experience.* To preface my story, the judgments are usually pretty silly and harmless. If the person heard about it, they would have nothing to be offended about.

As previously stated, I am only the oldest student in one of my classes. There is a guy who looks older than me but I figured was probably actually younger. He always wears a ball cap, jeans, a sweatshirt and hikers. He has a goatee. From this I figured out he is originally from a small town, has dated the same girl since high school and is going to university for the first time after working for numerous years. He probably played hockey up until he moved away from his small town if he still doesn't play now.

I bring all my notes for this particular class. It makes me a little paranoid when the rest of the class is silent and Janice is rustling her papers. *Cringe* Anyhoo, once after class said prejudged guy asked if he could borrow my notes. Since then we occasionally talk but up until today it was only ever about class. We started talking about why we were taking our respective degrees when he revealed to me that
- him and his girlfriend moved from a small town to Regina after high school so she could go to university
- he had been working up until last year when he started university for the first time

I prejudge to amuse myself, that is a little creepy.





*Of course, you could have a skewed experience but that is another discussion.

I Blinded Her With Science

For my computer science assignment, I need to create a program that find the first four perfect numbers. A perfect number is one that the sum of the factors equals the number (for example: 1+2+3=6). In one of my math text books, I found a formula that calculates perfect numbers using prime numbers. My CS was warily about me using this formula and I'm not sure why.

The first four perfect numbers are
6
28
496
8128

What would you rather do: find the factors for 8128 numbers and then add the factors or find the first four prime numbers? My program runs faster than the program she would prefer I create. Doesn't everyone want a computer program that no only works but works quickly? My program works perfectly, fulfills all requirements of the assignment question so I'm keeping it that way it is. I'm not going to rewrite a program that is perfectly fine because of preference. I created a computer program that uses Fermat's Little Theorem and the Euclid-Euler Theorem, I should get bonus marks for that.

Ok, Ok, I got to it...

I updated my blog roll, I have others I will be adding in the next week or so.

Some new notables include:
Kicking up Confetti Leaves - friend and former coworker
DC Power - my father, the greatest super hero of all time.

I think I need to tell the story about the pseudonym, DC Power (mostly because I don't think my dad remembers everything about it):
A couple years ago I wanted to demonstrate my new webcam to my parents. I showed my dad how to use MSN Messenger. I set it up downstairs and they watched me upstairs. Dad, set up up his display name as DC Power -- his initials (he has no middle name) plus his occupation (electrical engineer).

Fast forward a couple years and both of his daughters have blogs. After much "frustration" over his "serious reputation being ruined" on his daughters' blogs, he started to threaten "just wait until I have my blog". Just like he claimed he was going to get a trick bike, it seemed like a pretty empty threat. Before Christmas, my dad and I were watching hockey and he threatened me with what he would post about me o n his blog, once he got one. I asked him what his blog name would be. He wasn't sure so I started suggesting ridiculous ones: "Rashumba, Queen of Fabrics", "Papa Brisebois", "David Powpow"* and "DC Power". I even called Dad "Papa Brisebois" for a couple days preceding.

With my dad working more at home during the winter, a coworker suggested they start web conferencing. He logged onto Windows Live Messenger for what he thought was the first time to rediscover he already had some contacts and the display name "DC Power". He admitted to me later that he thought I had just made it up and thought it was a pretty good nickname, not realising it was he made up himself.

Now my daddy has a blog, much to my surprise. Now, I know why my dad wants spring to come, he wants to learn some sick tricks on his new bike.


* Joe Powpow was a quarterback for the RoguhRiders in the 80s. Dad used to tease me that I was going to marry him someday just so my name would be Janice Powpow. I do admit, that would be a pretty awesome name.

Have you seen my silliness? I think I lost it.

The last two days I have been in a funk that I just can't seem to shake*. It started when I got back my computer science midterm. I lost about 17% due to careless errors and not reading the directions properly -- nothing to do with what I do or do not know. I didn't do poorly but it was the difference between an OK mark and an excellent mark. I have to step it up even more to reach my goals. It seems daunting right now but all I can do is improve my work habits one at a time. Sigh.

Yesterday my former faculty adviser emailed me to see how the semester was going. How can I tell him that I know how to learn, I know how to study, I know how to write a test, I know how to achieve the needed higher levels of thinking but I just can't pull it together to make it happen? Translating theory into practice. I've spent years transforming the work habits of students and can't transform my own. Being an above average student isn't enough.

I was feeling a little better this morning like "Hey, I have problems but I can tackle them." I received back an assignment this morning and I lost 10 marks out of a possible 50 because I forgot to include the last page. As the professor handed it to me, he looked at me like "What happened?"** I was in his office last week to ask him questions and he knew I was done. He is the kind of professor that takes his student's results kind of personally. It absolutely breaks my heart to think I disappointed him. OK, maybe not disappoint him but the frustration of a student who's mark does not reflect the ability.***

I'm supposed to go to my physic lab instructor's office to pick up my notebook so I can prepare for this afternoon's lab. I'm filled with dread -- I don't even want to know how I did. I think I did well but I'm not prepared for disappointment.

For disclosure, things that did not help the situation:
- I left my lights on yesterday and my battery died. Why do I only seem to need to call CAA during the winter?
- Bron's post
- etcetera, etcetera, etcetera

* The Project Runway finale didn't even help.
**My interpretation but I know him well enough that it won't be far from the truth.
*** Of course, I think he overestimates my ability since he has a slight bias towards me.

Talking Pants

Sitting in Calculus class, suddenly I heard a woman's voice inaudibly speaking. I looked around to see who was so rudely talking during the lecture only to find no females sitting anywhere near me.* I noticed the guy beside me looking around too. Very loudly she said "Hello? Hello? Are you there?" The guy next me looked shocked and started to TRY to shut off his cell phone from outside his pant pocket. I started laughing as he fumbled to get the phone out which got him laughing which got me laughing even more. His friends became very curious why their friend was in hysterics with a girl he doesn't know. He explained to them after class, his phone was on vibrate and he tried to shut it off but instead turned the speaker phone on. He didn't know what was going on right away. I was the only other person who saw what was going on.






* Contrary to a male classmates complaint of "too many chicks in the class". Stupid engineering students.

Who Says Women Aren’t Funny?

Who Says Women Aren’t Funny?
The idea that women aren’t funny—and which male said that?—seems pretty laughable these days. TV has unleashed a new generation of comediennes, who act, perform stand-up, write, and direct—dishing out the jokes with a side of sexy. Annie Leibovitz photographs a dozen of the wittiest dames in showbiz, from 30 Rock’s Tina Fey to Sarah Silverman, to S.N.L.’s current stars, while the author learns why the setup has changed.
Alessandra Stanley, Vanity Fair Online, April 2008

Some Germanic Truth

"When you say that you agree to a thing in principle you mean that you
have not the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice."
--Otto Von Bismarck

Grinning from Ear to Ear

My Habs are in first place in the East. The start a four game western road trip that should only extend their lead. It has been a very long time since they have been in this position so it is a little surreal right now.
For the past several years they start off strong, have a mid-season slump then pull it together to barely make the playoffs. Last season they started out strong but were hit hard by the flu that lasted about 3 weeks before everyone was back. Almost the entire team was dreadfully ill. They never were able to pull it together enough at the end to make it. (Didn't help that Toronto eliminated themselves and Montreal, stupid Maple Leafs).
Earlier in the week they traded Cristobal Huet, their goalie. I was livid. Former coach Jaques Demers said* that Montreal will not win the Stanley Cup without Huet and I tend to agree. Their go-to goalie, Carey Price, is very young and inexperienced**, you can see he has talent but I worry about the pressures of the playoffs. He has been doing well so far, time will only tell.
16 games to go...

*My French isn't the best and I was watching RDS. I think that is what he said.
**CBC news story about the Huet trade, will open up as a CBC video player.