-It strikes me that today was a bit chilly, but as I wasn't really outside very much so I don't really have much of a sense of how things progressed (now that I think about this I find it rather funny as I spent most of my day in front of my bedroom window but apparently forgot to look up for hours on end).
-Yesterday Neil told Rebecca and I about a new blog that he has started reading, it is called Ricecakes ARE Remarkable. The premise is that the author of the blog is slowly working her way through each recipe in a cookbook that features ricecakes in every recipe (and before you crap on the author for stealing someone else's idea she acknowledges that she was inspired by the Julie/Julia movie/blog/experience). The descriptions of the recipes and results are hilarious (and haven't yet encouraged me to run out and buy ricecakes). I can't wait to read future posts.
-Montifax is going to come out against a few more things, notably pouting and Valentine's Day.
To pout, which the New Oxford American Dictionary defines as "push[ing] one's lips or one's bottom lip forward as an expression of petulant annoyance or in order to make oneself look sexually attractive," is one of the more annoying facial expressions in which one can engage. If I was into outlawing things for the sake of outlawing things I am pretty sure that I would be inclined to outlaw pouting.
My animus towards Valentine's Day should also be rather obvious. Not only does the celebration of this day seem to undermine the idea that a committed relationship is a daily commitment, but it also disgustingly materialistic. It seems to send the message that one can be an ass all year but make it up to their partner by buying them something (typically this something is relatively disposable and unnecessary) on their way to a fancy dinner. I think that it is likely that without the cop out that is Valentine's Day many relationships would be much better off. In case you are curious, I think that Mother's Day and Father's Day are problematic in similar ways.
I guess that since they are coming up in the very near future I should reiterate Montifax is also against the Olympics. This event has started hogging a monumental proportion of my newspaper on a daily basis, in addition to my more traditional complaints about this event. We here at Montifax are likely to almost completely avoid watching Olympic coverage on TV (something that will be quite easy as we are without a functioning TV).
-Last night, because Neil was in possession of a number of good coupons, all three of us went to see a showing of the movie Youth in Revolt with Michael Cera. As far as I am concerned the movie was a bit of a bust (though it was nice to see Michael Cera do something other than just Michael Cera around), though Neil and Rebecca both gave it more positive reviews. Actually, they almost seemed to be bubbling over with excitement on our walk home.
-We had another tight game of Ultimate last night. While we were able to whittle away most of a 6 point deficit in the dying minutes of the game, we were one completed pass short of tying the game. I have mixed feelings about how I played. At the beginning of the game I clearly made a number of strategic errors. In the second half I felt as though I contributed much more effectively. I can't quite tell if my contribution was net positive or negative.
-We had black bean soup and corn bread for dinner yesterday, they were both pretty tasty.
Showing posts with label Coupons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coupons. Show all posts
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Saturday, January 17, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 260
-When I woke up yesterday morning Environment Canada was reporting that it was -23, today it was -22 While I think that the location of the weather station may have skewed the reports slightly, they were still pretty cold mornings. Unfortunately, yesterday it wasn't quite cold enough for spit to freeze before it hit the ground, a temperature target that I think I would like to experience about one time in my life. Aside from cool temperatures things are really quite nice. The sun has been out and the wind continues to be low or non-existent.
-This Christmas I was fortunate enough to receive a range of winter hats as gifts. Two of the hats are of the balaclava style, which surprised me as I wasn't aware that I had made my fondness for these hats widely known. Anyway, one of the hats is a hunter's fluorescent orange, and quite warm. Not surprisingly, I used yesterday's temperatures as an excuse to break it out for the first time (aside from in apartment use) since arriving in Halifax. The hat was great, it really kept the cold away from the part of my head that it covered, which was most of my head. If you have the opportunity to get one of these I recommend them, even if they do stand out.
-Yesterday I was able to test the coffee/mug warmer that I pulled from the free crap pile on Thursday. While it seems to do its job I am not sure how much I will actually use it. I think I am a little more comfortable with my mug resting directly on the desk, rather than on some piece of electrical equipment.
-Yesterday Neil and I took advantage of some coupons that a international fast food chain recently distributed. Unlike most coupons, these are returned to the customer once used, meaning that they can be used repeatedly. The best of the two coupons is for a free, no-purchase-necessary coffee. Based on people in line ahead of us, I am getting the sense that this in particular has been a popular coupon, as it basically means free coffee for a month. I am pretty sure that I will make an effort to head back a few more times for free coffee before the coupons expire.
-Yesterday there was a story in the Chronicle Herald about university enrollment in the Halifax area. It seems that the Halifax Chamber of Commerce would like to see it slightly higher, and has even gone as far as to set enrollment goals. Strangely, it seems that these goals were set without the support of the university and without any offers of support from the Chamber of Commerce (at least that is the impression that the article gave me).
Not surprisingly, the enrollment targets have not been met. Thus the Chamber of Commerce is a little disappointed in the situation. Amazingly, the Chamber of Commerce seems to have failed to grasp a number of the challenges faced by the local universities when it comes to increasing enrollment. A huge impediment would seem to be tuition, which is much higher than one would pay in other Canadian provinces. Not surprisingly, as noted by the president of St. Mary's University, a relatively large number of students have decided to go to Memorial (where tuition is much lower). So not only are these universities going to lose local students to cheaper tuition, they are also going to have a hard time attracting out of province students.
While many of the problems faced by the universities in this context are relatively obvious it seems strange that the Chamber of Commerce would set a goal and then seemingly do nothing about fixing some of the problems so that their goal could be met. Additionally, it seems a rather strange that the Chamber of Commerce would try to involve themselves in such an area without the support of the universities.
I guess there is no pay-off for having read the above rant, I just found the situation rather amusing and absurd on a number of levels.
-It seems that we should be having a guest for a few hours this afternoon. In preparation for the guest's arrival I decided to make some humus and a sticky toffee sponge pudding (really, I was just looking for any excuse to make these things). While I think the humus should be fine, I am a little worried about the pudding. It seems that I accidentally doubled the amount of butter in the pudding. This has obviously changed the nature of the dough, hopefully not too negatively. I guess I will find out shortly whether my error has made the dish inedible, or whether it is a great improvement.
-This Christmas I was fortunate enough to receive a range of winter hats as gifts. Two of the hats are of the balaclava style, which surprised me as I wasn't aware that I had made my fondness for these hats widely known. Anyway, one of the hats is a hunter's fluorescent orange, and quite warm. Not surprisingly, I used yesterday's temperatures as an excuse to break it out for the first time (aside from in apartment use) since arriving in Halifax. The hat was great, it really kept the cold away from the part of my head that it covered, which was most of my head. If you have the opportunity to get one of these I recommend them, even if they do stand out.
-Yesterday I was able to test the coffee/mug warmer that I pulled from the free crap pile on Thursday. While it seems to do its job I am not sure how much I will actually use it. I think I am a little more comfortable with my mug resting directly on the desk, rather than on some piece of electrical equipment.
-Yesterday Neil and I took advantage of some coupons that a international fast food chain recently distributed. Unlike most coupons, these are returned to the customer once used, meaning that they can be used repeatedly. The best of the two coupons is for a free, no-purchase-necessary coffee. Based on people in line ahead of us, I am getting the sense that this in particular has been a popular coupon, as it basically means free coffee for a month. I am pretty sure that I will make an effort to head back a few more times for free coffee before the coupons expire.
-Yesterday there was a story in the Chronicle Herald about university enrollment in the Halifax area. It seems that the Halifax Chamber of Commerce would like to see it slightly higher, and has even gone as far as to set enrollment goals. Strangely, it seems that these goals were set without the support of the university and without any offers of support from the Chamber of Commerce (at least that is the impression that the article gave me).
Not surprisingly, the enrollment targets have not been met. Thus the Chamber of Commerce is a little disappointed in the situation. Amazingly, the Chamber of Commerce seems to have failed to grasp a number of the challenges faced by the local universities when it comes to increasing enrollment. A huge impediment would seem to be tuition, which is much higher than one would pay in other Canadian provinces. Not surprisingly, as noted by the president of St. Mary's University, a relatively large number of students have decided to go to Memorial (where tuition is much lower). So not only are these universities going to lose local students to cheaper tuition, they are also going to have a hard time attracting out of province students.
While many of the problems faced by the universities in this context are relatively obvious it seems strange that the Chamber of Commerce would set a goal and then seemingly do nothing about fixing some of the problems so that their goal could be met. Additionally, it seems a rather strange that the Chamber of Commerce would try to involve themselves in such an area without the support of the universities.
I guess there is no pay-off for having read the above rant, I just found the situation rather amusing and absurd on a number of levels.
-It seems that we should be having a guest for a few hours this afternoon. In preparation for the guest's arrival I decided to make some humus and a sticky toffee sponge pudding (really, I was just looking for any excuse to make these things). While I think the humus should be fine, I am a little worried about the pudding. It seems that I accidentally doubled the amount of butter in the pudding. This has obviously changed the nature of the dough, hopefully not too negatively. I guess I will find out shortly whether my error has made the dish inedible, or whether it is a great improvement.
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