the ubiquitous ipod. everyone loves the overpriced, overhyped things. ...well almost everyone. i certainly don't, and neither to the guys over at smashmyipod.com.

the plan was simple: take up a collection online to raise $400cdn (they're from toronto) and use that money to buy a brand new shiny ipod at the apple store in yorkdale mall (the same one i visited last week). they would then open the box, and in the middle of the store, with all the sad, scripted, steve jobs wannabe sales people watching smash the thing into tiny bits...

and they would record it all on video. behold.

i finally found time to wander about high park with norah (noreen named my camera). it's hard to explain, but for pagany-types, the title of this post doesn't seem absurd. on the contrary, it comes across as common knowledge. trees, like all things on the planet are just alive in a different way than you and i, but they experience the world just like the rest of us. i spent some quality time with the trees yesterday and tried to remind myself that there's something beyond concrete in this city.

i give you, a toronto high park autumn in pictures:

i took a lot more, (about 150) but these are my favourites. once my imager is rebuilt, you can see the whole lot of them if you like.

i got this from my dad today. originally titled "what it means to be from bc", i re-titled it given that most of the province isn't like this, just the lower mainland. i can however, vouch for the validity of every one of these points in this context.

1. You know the provincial flower (Mildew)
2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans, plastic, or paper, in the trash.
3. You use the statement "sunny break" and know what it means.
4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
5. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.
6. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" signal.
7. You consider that, if it has no snow, it is not a real mountain.
8. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Tim Horton's.
9. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye salmon.
10. You know how to pronounce Squamish, Osoyoos, Nanaimo, Quesnel, and Tsawwassen.
11. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
12. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark-while only working 8 hour days.
13. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.
14. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain," and Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."
15. You cannot wait for a day with "showers and sunny breaks".
16. You have a good concept of humidity without precipitation.
17. You know that Dawson Creek is a town, not a TV show.
18. You can point to at least two ski mountains, even if you cannot see through the cloud cover.
19. You notice "the mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.
20. You put on your shorts, when the temperature gets above 5, but still wear your hiking boots.
21. You switch to your sandals, when it gets above 10, but keep your socks on.
22. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
23. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps, or tourists.
24. You recognize the background shots in your favourite movies & TV shows.
25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you can't find the old ones, after such a long time.
26. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in your car in the same day.
27. You carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them.
28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.
29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer) & Raining Again (Fall).
30. You understand this statement as true "If you can see the mountains it's going to rain. If you can't see the mountains It's raining".
31. You actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your friends in British Columbia, or those who used to live here!

things are getting better on the work front.

i'm getting more responsibility in the areas i'm most interested in. i'm learning more about networking and sql than i had originally thought possible and despite the headbutting i run into constantly with those guys in vancouver, we're making headway on our primary project.

but the really sweet news came today when the boss haulled me into his office for a surprise review: all good things, no bad things and a raise! sweet ass, i now make 2k more/year than i did before.

sure, it's not a lot more money, but it's nothing to sneeze at either. i'm going out with lara and kelly tonight for ice cream in celebration.

in related good news, i finally bought a real winter jacket for the nasty-ass winters they have on this side of the country. i'm finally prepared to wait out there in the cold if need be. and at the same time i was buying the jacket, i checked out mec's shoe section and found some that look ok, and next week i'll probably pick them up since they don't have any my size this week.

lastly, i also won the draw to do the volunteering at the sled setup in a couple weeks at the rosedale location. this means i get to stand in the cold in a new shiny fleacy vest exchanging plain outdoor lights for l.e.d. ones that are more efficient, and near unbreakable. apparently, there'll even be a great big l.e.d. christmas tree setup for me to take pictures of so you can expect something here in a couple weeks.

ok, i'm hungry, going home now.

we had one of the bigwigs from toronto waste management show up for tev training today and i sort of gave him a hard time.

not that i think they're doing a poor job over there, far from it. toronto is doing all sorts of good work, trying to divert as much consumer waste as they can from landfills as possible (they're aiming at 100% for 2010). the problem i had was not with their effort, but more with their focus.

the issue at hand is that we have x tonnes of waste going to a dump in michigan every month, and their goal is to reduce that waste by diverting it to other areas by n% every year... my question then, was where was the focus on reducing the waste generated in the first place? if you generate 100tonnes of garbage in a week and manage to divert 60% of that through recycling and organics composting, you still send 40tonnes to landfill. but what if you manage to produce only 60tonnes of garbage by way of green fees, reuse programs or other higher-level legislation? this effort isn't included in this diversion plan because negative waste can't be diverted. in other words, despite the hard work they're doing, they're still "managing waste" rather than trying to reduce the amount we produce in the first place.

then he covered the new fees they intend to impose on apartment complexes that produce too much garbage. not only are they too low, ($20-$120/week) but they're not coupled with any additional funding (be it by way of a tax write off or financial incentive) which owners can use to retrofit better management systems into their buildings. given this situation, i have to believe that the landlords will opt to write off the levy as a business expense and then raise rents using the levy as an excuse.

the levies need to be higher, much higher and there needs to be federal and provincial money backing renovations and retrofittings for this purpose. but we didn't elect politicians of action. we elected liberals. sigh.

so i was talking to janet at tev today, and she tells me that someone from the city stumbled upon my site the other day while looking for the author and was impressed. i believe she said he was from trca, so when someone from a group like that says you're doing a good job it's always gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling ;-)

so kelly found someone interesting on okcupid the other day and decided to forward the link onto me. what was so interesting was that there was another tree-hugging, urban development type living here in toronto originally from vancouver... and he has a blog. check him out, he's pretty cool. i even commented on his site once.

$2,222,222.22... that's how much money everyone in the office could win (each) if our office pool wins the $40M lottery tonight. Colin was cool enough to front me for the $1 it cost to get in... Everyone, send your lucky vibes my way would you?

andrea sent this to me this morning. anyone else wanna go? i can only go the friday night due to aaron's lan party on the 5th and 6th.

This year, Japanese animation, comedy, horror and artistic experimental short films are coming to the 3rd Annual Toronto Japanese Short Film Festival!

There are four incredible programs, each containing six or more short films, that will be screened twice over 3 nights. The Toronto Japanese Short Film Festival is your only chance to see these innovative Japanese short films that have impressed Japanese film lovers all over the world. Don't miss it!

FESTIVAL DATES & SCREENING TIMES

• Fri, Nov. 4th @ 7:00pm, 8:45pm, 10:30pm
• Sat, Nov. 5th @ 5:15pm, 7:00pm, 8:45pm
• Sun, Nov. 6th @ 5:15pm, 7:00pm, 8:45pm

FESTIVAL LOCATION:

• Innis Townhall Theatre (2 Sussex Ave. - South of Bloor on St. George)

TICKET INFORMATION

• Single Tickets - $10 at the door
• 4 Screening Pass - $25 in advance or $30 at the door

ADVANCE PASSES GO ON SALE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21st 2005

• TJSFF ADVANCE PASSES ARE AVAILABLE AT:
• QUEEN VIDEO (480 Bloor St. W. / 412 Queen St. W.)
• LITTLE TOKYO (199 Augusta Ave.)
• SANKO (730 Queen St. W.)

TJSFF Website: www.tjsff.ca

If you are interested in VOLUNTEERING for TJSFF, please email Safia at safia dot tjsff at gmail dot com

our world is full of these.

if the problem is that you're getting fat,
  the solution is to exersise and eat better.

if the problem is that you're poor,
  the solution is to find a (better) job

if the problem is that you're bored,
  the solution is to find a hobby, play a game, or visit friends

even if you're sick,
  the solution is to get healthy
  or die
  there's always a solution
  even if you don't like it.

but what if the problem is soul sickness?
i am incapable of forming a real emotional bond with anyone
  and i don't know what i can do about it.

for now though, i'll drown myself in my work
'cause there's always more of that to do.