| 09:40pm 27/02/2008 | ||||
The first result took me to the American Department of Energy's "Ask a Scientist," where ten-year old Hannah S. asked a similar question: How long does it take for plastic to decompose? Well, whatever. My knowledge of chemistry is probably around the level of a ten-year old, and hey, I'm not above being talked down to. Unfortunately, it was a big fat waste of time. The resident scientist, "ProfHoff 346" -- and with a name like that, I can only presume that it's actually David Hasslehoff assuming the guise of a scientist -- gave the following bullshit answer: Unless the plastic is specially designed to decompose in the soil, such materials can last a very long time because the chemical bonds that hold the molecules together are often stronger than nature's power to take them apart.Then Professor Smartass gave Hannah an experiment to try out that would take eight years to come to fruition. Godamnit, ProfHoff, neither Hannah nor I have that kind of time! Our assignments are due tomorrow! Or at least, I assume Hannah's is. I sure as heck know mine is. We need hard numbers! (And if any of you know how longer polyester takes to decompose, by all means, let me know. The clock is ticking!) |
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working| 06:03pm 16/01/2008 | ||||
"Fly-away Styrofoam Causes Head Injury" And, my personal favourite story of 2007 (And possibly my most favourite Newfoundland news story of all time): "Backhoe Swipe Suspected in ATM Theft" Just to sum that one up, since the story leaves out a lot of details that were revealed later: Some drunk people, in the AM hours, wandered into the parking lot of a heavy machinery dealership. Somehow they managed to steal a backhoe, and took it on a joyride on the highway out of town. Just outside of St. John's, they stopped at a gas station, and used the backhoe to tear a hole in the side of the gas station. They then used the backhoe to steal the gas station's ATM machine (Presumably, and hilariously, they drove off with the ATM in the scoop of the backhoe). After making something of a getaway, and tiring of their life of crime, the drunks drove the backhoe into a nearby lake. Seriously, those kinds of shenanigans are on the level of old-time banditry. I assume that the thieves had masks over their eyes and everything. Even the anchorpeople were trying hard not to laugh the night that story aired. |
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amused| 09:31am 09/01/2008 | ||||
[Anonymous] says: jill! [Anonymous] says: a few of us are here drinking [Anonymous] says: and admiring former entries of your livejournal Frankly, I can't think of a more pathetic drinking activity than reading my former livejournal entries, but to be fair, this was a "Bubble Wrap Party," so things were a bit unorthodox right from the get-go. I'm sorry to say that I don't have any bizarre stories or zany observations. I do, however, have a weather report. Which is kind of boring, but I think St. John's deserves it. So far this winter, the city has received 135 cm of snow (That's 53 inches, for those of you on metric). Worse still, the province, on a whole, has received 195 cm of snow (76 inches). Maybe those of you from other places find this ordinary, but Newfoundland usually doesn't get the majority of its snowfall until February. This Christmas Eve, I was out shoveling the driveway for three hours. Here's some visual representation, to give you an idea of how much Just to give you some fun statistics: of Canada's major cities, St. John's is the foggiest, the snowiest (395 cm of snow a year), the wettest (1514 mm of rain), the windiest, and the cloudiest (1497 hours of sunshine). When Jacques Cartier landed here in 1534, he supposedly said, "I am rather inclined to believe that this is the land God gave to Cain." Presumably, he meant the horrible crap-land that Cain was exiled to for killing his brother, and not the charming garden patch that God gave Cain one day when, as a child, Cain made a rather pleasing macaroni-picture. Essentially, you'd have to be nuts to want to live here. The best analogy I can think of is an ugly dog. You know, those really, really ugly pugs? They're horrible and they drool everywhere and make stupid snorting noises, but for some reason, you love it in spite of its ugliness (Or, perhaps, because of it). Which is sadly ironic, because although Newfoundlanders love their ugly dog province, most of them have to leave it. Fort McMurray, yeah! In other news, apparently I got my Bachelor's Degree in History. Not sure when that happened...these things have a tendency to sneak up on you. Now my Life Plan is to try to get a Master's Degree in Historical Archaeology, so I'm back in classes, trying to beef up my archaeology background so that the Master's program will actually want me. And if they don't...well, most likely, I'll be working at Convergys, like every other student from MUN with an Art's degree. The future's bright! |
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cold| 02:23am 10/08/2007 | ||||
What the heck? This seems like an awful lot of ceremony for taking off your shoes. Most homes I've been in simply have a normal kitchen mat inside the front door. Walk into house, kick off shoes, continue. I usually wear sneakers, and never untie the laces, so the whole affair takes approximately a second and a half. To get down to it: Do any of you reading this (American or otherwise) live in homes where you normally wear shoes inside the house at all times? What do you do if you've been out in the rain/snow? Take off the shoes? Find another pair? How long do you wander around with your shoes on? Like, do you keep a pair of sneakers on right until the moment you step into bed? Just untie them and toss em on the floor, then go to sleep? What if you want to lie down on the chesterfield? Do you keep the shoes on then? I'm sorry, but this whole concept is just completely baffling...any responses are greatly appreciated. |
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| 06:21pm 03/08/2007 | ||||
Now, it's time for Grocery Store Fun!  Now, this box of "Stuffed Jalapenos Poppers" found at Sobey's may appear harmless at first, but then think about it -- Poppers, or Popplers?? These Heinz "hot bites" are suspiciously similar in both name and appearance to the larval Omicronians of Futurama. People of Earth! Don't eat Poppers! Don't eat them with honey mustard sauce! Don't eat them with tangy sweet and sour sauce! Don't eat the new Stuffed Jalapeno Popper! Don't take advantage of the money-saving twelve-pack! Don't enjoy Poppers on the patio, in the car, or on the boat, wherever good times are had!  Also of interest: One box of "Gorilla Munch," found at Shopper's. I am less filled with conspiracy theories and more filled with a general feeling of "What the hell is going on?" Seriously. What the hell is going on? Why is this cereal called "Gorilla MUNCH"???! Is it made of gorillas? Do gorillas officially endorse this product? Does a gorilla personally spit in each adn every box? Why, oh why, would you choose the GORILLA of all animals to associate with a box of cereal!? More late-breaking grocery store images to come, as I take them. |
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tired| I'M BACK!!! GET UP OFFA THAT THING! | ||||
| 12:30am 31/07/2007 | ||||
Get back into livejournal. Life is empty without it. Huzzahs Cheers for new cameras! Feeling that I had pretty much maxed out my Canon Powershot to the full of it's abilities, I decided to upgrade to a digital SLR, and got a Canon Digital Rebel XT. And it's completely bitchin:  I'm still getting a feel for it, but I gotta say, I'm happy with how things are turning out (Although resizing made them kind of choppy):  Puppy!  Another typical Bowering Park pictures. I don't think I'm every going to get tired of these.  Waiting for this pigeon to fly into my line of vision made me feel like I was playing Pokémon Snap. Which is one of the great unheralded games of our generation. Good times.  Chris Finn at his sister's wedding. Since I didn't know the girl, the fact that she came out blurry meant little to me.  The ceiling of St. Patrick's Church, built in 1891, and site of the above wedding. An excellent example of gothic architecture in North America. :) Ok, so not that much. Most of the pictures are still on the camera, which I got a two gig memory card for for super cheap. Compaq Flash rules. Boourns' I'm sick and tired of society tricking me into feeling sorry for inanimate objects such as littlest toasters and lamps from Ikea commercials and all the like. Since I was four years old and first heard the story of The Velveteen Rabbit, this has been going on. Cripes, I'm afraid to throw anything out, for fear that I'm damaging it's immortal soul. The latest culprit of the inanimate object victimization plot: Toy Story 3. I like the Toy Story films, but the third one is clearly evil. Evil plot summary: In the bonus material of the first two films' "Ultimate Toy Box" DVD set, Lasseter mentioned that an intended story line for Toy Story 3 was to follow Andy's toys after Andy had grown up and abandoned them. Good LORD, how depressing is that film going to be? Chris on a crutch! I suppose it's going to open with an adorable Pixar animated short about a puppy with leukemia. Note to self: Personally abstain from this film. Huzzahs On the lineup for next semester: English 3843. Aka: The study of the graphic novel. COMICS. Here's the proposed book list: A Contract With GodWeee! I've been wanting to read Maus, Watchmen, and Tintin comics for awhile, while I've heard of Love and Rockets. This almost makes up for the fact that I'm compromising my morals by reading works about Superman, who I hate. Why couldn't it be Batman?? Why?! I haven't actually read a lot of Batman stuff, but The Killing Joke was absolutely fabulous. I am a bit surprised by the booklist. Three of the nine comics deal with Jewish culture or issues important to Jewish culture, which I find a bit unexpected, considering we're in Newfoundland, which has almost no Jewish population, so the comics (in that sense) will mean nothing personally to the students. But hopefully the profs know what they're doing, and chose the comics because they're good, rather than because they're trying to make some sort of point. Either way, good times. A DC, a Marvel, and a bevvy of others. And no Frank Miller, which is another surprise, because he seems to be de rigueur in the comic world lately. I really dislike his art style, so that's another bonus. Bring on September. |
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pleased| TITLE EXCITEMENT!!!11!1!/ | ||||
| 01:06pm 15/06/2007 | ||||
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} shaw_na_na and I will be hititng the open road, and heading south for PAX in Seattle, the geekiest city on earth. I'll get to explore the wide world of the gigantic American portion sizes I've heard so much about, and I'll lay my hands on some of that wacky green money. I gotta say, it's hard to take a nation seriously when their currency doesn't contain all the colours of the rainbow, but I'll try. :P More thoughts on all this later... |
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| Low Brow, Hi-Flow Shenanigans | ||||
| 02:57am 06/06/2007 | ||||
Jill says:Ok, I'll be the first to admit that I posted that whole conversation solely for the last line, which I'm fairly proud of. :P Props to me and my wit. It may not be Wildean, but it sure is...witty. |
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| 01:33am 02/05/2007 | ||||
This:  Plus this:  Equals:  THIS! This is without a doubt the greatest thing I've ever created in the 22 years I've been alive. Look at the fantastic image it presents: Shawna, astride the graceful yet stalwart manatee, preparing the Lasso of Truth, facing Steve, who takes aim at her with some sort of electro-trident, atop a glorious yet suspiciously lumpy sea turtle. Clearly, this picture is a creation to be held in high regard alongside the works of DaVinci, Michaelangelo, and other artists whose names bizarrely coincide with that of Ninja Turtles. Hells yeah. Hopefully this is a sign of fantasti-awesome imagination slurges to come. On the downside, I'm moving tomorrow and we're not getting the Internet hooked up until May 11th. Here's hoping that I don't commit suicide in a fit of Internet-less crazed madness. |
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jubilant| 12:56am 13/04/2007 | ||||
Oh, hell no. I have no major opposition to curly hair as a rule, but I refuse to live in a universe of hot rollers, perms, stinky volumizing hairspray, and crimpers again. Fuck that. I thought we all agreed those things were lame 15 years ago. This reliving the 80s trend has got to go. At first it was ironic and cute; now it's just an eyesore. |
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aggravated| 01:12pm 26/03/2007 | ||||
Nonetheless, lately the idea of Newfoundland separatism has been interesting me. Maybe it's because we've been studying Quebec's Quiet Revolution in Canadian history. Maybe it's because I'm sick of the Harper government, and tired of the Canadian government in general. Maybe it's because every time I turn on the Comedy Network, there's some comedian making a crack about Newfoundlanders (Three in the last week!) Either way, my curiosity had been piqued, and so I googled "Newfoundland separatism movement." Nothing. "Newfoundland independence movement." Nothing. "Newfoundland Liberation Army." Nothing. Well, not nothing. I got articles that mentioned a Newfoundland separatist movement in passing. However, there was no website that presented an organized view on the subject. Apparently all this talk I hear of a Newfoundland separatist movement is just that -- talk. Everything you see around Newfoundland indicating a separatist movement -- the Pink, White & Greens hanging everywhere around St. John's; the "Free Newfoundland" and "Newfoundland Liberation Army" t-shirts; the newspaper titled The Independent, for god's sakes -- all mean nothing. It's not like there isn't a market for a Newfoundland separatist movement. The Churchill Falls fiasco, for example, usually gets people pretty riled up: Churchill Falls, home to the world's second-largest most powerful hydro-electric power station, is located in Labrador and was developed in the late 1960s. When they were taking bids, they were met with one problem -- any power being sold to the Americans would have to be moved through Quebec to get there, which Quebec refused to allow. As a result, Churchill Falls was forced to sign an agreement with Hydro-Quebec in 1969, providing Quebec with a rather large chunk of power for a fixed low rate. Quebec then proceeded to sell said power to the United States at an inflated price, making a tidy sum of money for it's already over-engorged welfare state. For example, in 2005, while Newfoundland made $20 million selling power to Quebec, Quebec made $800 million reselling this power to the United States. Whoopee. Sure, this is all fair and legal, and makes Newfoundland a burden on Canada because of its inability to support itself, but right now, that's what the federal government wants anyways. Because while the majority of the support for Canada's involvement in the Afghanistan War comes from the western provinces, they sure as heck aren't signing up. Ironically, the majority of Canadian troops come from the Atlantic provinces -- where, not coincidentally, the unemployment rate is incredibly high -- even though the suport for the Afghanistan War is lowest here. Why bother to do something about Newfoundland's economy when unemployment can be used as a form of conscription? Sorry, tangent. I'm kind of mushing together two different posts at once here. Back on track. Although there's plenty of reasons for it, the Newfoundland separatist movement appears to be completely fictional -- the product of the Downhomer Shoppe, which supplies the "Newfoundland Liberation Army" shirts which are so freely embraced by the hipsters of St. John's; much in the same manner "the kids these days" wear the ever-popular "Che" t-shirts, without the slightest idea that Che Guevara was a murderer who tortured his enemies. There's been rumours recently that Danny Williams would be holding a referendum concerning Newfoundland & Labrador's separation -- not to actually propose separation, but to serve as an indication to the Canadian government as to how much discontent there is here. It won't happen. Nothing will come it. There is no Newfoundland separatist movement, and the Canadian government is going to continue walking all over us. Talamh an Éisc forever, eh? |
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thoughtful| 04:24pm 23/03/2007 | ||||
PS: I'm likely going to the Penny Arcade Expo in Seatlle this August! So expect some good entries from that! Just hold out til August, folks! PPS: Reading the reviews for TMNT has pretty much negated any desire I had to see the movie, but increased my hunger for pizza. |
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| 01:37am 16/02/2007 | ||||
Am I the only one who finds this title suspiciously similar to This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Canada's great -- and presumably far superior -- satirical news show? Typical. The next thing you know, they'll have another "brain-storming session" and launch Bill O'Reilly's Wednesday Report, or some such nonsense. I declare shenanigans on Fox News. Actually, I think I may have already done that. That's it, I'm declaring double shenanigans on Fox News. Now, I'd love to sit around and post pointless journal entries all night, but apparently I'm supposed to be reading articles about Anglo-Franco Canadian conflict over conscription during the first World War. Damn this multicultural country! |
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annoyed| 10:14pm 08/02/2007 | ||||
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| 03:04am 17/01/2007 | |||
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Ok kids, I know most of you aren't heading back to Burton's Pond next year, or abandoned BP or Residence ages ago. But if you happen to be in the area, bored, wanting to be rebellious, or simply feel like you're embracing the spirit of the 60s, there's a protest in Hunter Square at 12:00 on Friday, January 17. And for those of you who don't know what's going on, MUN is kicking out anyone who has been in residence longer than three years, and blocking 50% of current Burton's Pond students from returning, to make room for first years. Those of you who've been reading this journal for awhile may recall the trouble I had to go through to get into Burton's Pond in the first place, desperately completing courses to meet the minimum standards, and fighting Housing all the way. Now I'm likely going to be booted out in favour of a first year, and apparently rent in the university area is going up by a minimum of 20%, to take advantage of the hundreds of students who have been now rendered homeless by MUN, and will be desperately seeking a place to live next fall. And, should I be lucky enough to get back in Burton's Pond, I and another senior will have the pleasure of being "mentors" to the two 17-year old freshmen they will be rooming with us. Whoever came up with that crackpot scheme is out of their gourd. Anyone who has any idea what Burton's Pond is like knows that there's little communication between strangers who move in together. And personally, I don't really want to have to deal with two 17-year olds, fresh out of the nest and getting drunk every night, while I'll be desperately trying to piece together my honours thesis. For those of you wondering why MUN's doing this: money, of course. Axel Meisen, the president of MUN, seems to be more concerned with hauling in the cash than building a school renowned for its academia. Apparently us senior students, taking advantage of housing offered by any normal university, are taking up valuable spaces that could be filled by freshmen. Freshmen from Nova Scotia, for example, and New Brunswick, who come here because of our cheaper tuition, and buy larger meal cards than Newfoundlanders, because they don't have local family to take them grocery shopping and don't spend many weekends at home. Other "desirable" freshmen would be international students. Memorial wishes to lure them in, offering on-campus housing, and favours them -- not for the diversity they offer our campus -- but because they will fork over $8,800 in tuition money, compared to the measly $2,550 Canadians give to MUN. A number kept low because of a government-imposed tuition freeze. I'm sick and tired and Memorial University treating me like a wallet, and exploiting me whenever they get the chance. If anyone wants to see me in one of my shrieking rages (Think about the time Laura Hynes punched Lyndsey), head over to Paton College at 12:00 on Friday. |
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| 11:50pm 16/01/2007 | ||||
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| Cooking Up Disaster | ||||
| 11:15pm 16/01/2007 | ||||
I frowned at the shiny blue cylinder that apparently contained 496 grams of dough. With icing. "Heat oven to 180 degree Celsius," the packaging said. Easy peasy. "Grease a square or round cake pan." Said cake pan was soon covered with a thick layer of butter. "Place rolls in pan, as shown." Hunh. I inspected the cylinder from all angles, but could see no rolls. Clearly, the rolls were trapped. I slapped the can desperately with my palm. Nothing. Looking threatening, I shook the can a couple of times. Then, I noticed the words, printed along the top rim. "TO OPEN: Peel off label. Press tip of spoon at seam. Twist open." I tore the label off. Now I had a brown cardboard cylinder. Unsure about the vague directions, I took "press" to mean "stab." And "spoon" to mean "knife." And "at seam" to mean "viciously into can." Which I did. As soon as I punctured the side of the can, dough shot out of the hole. Intrigued, I stabbed again. More dough. Bored, I wandered away to watch Arrested Development. Just as Maeby moved into Lindsey's room, I heard a loud bang from the kitchen. Apparently the dough hadn't been able to stand its cardboard prison any longer, had split the can, and oozed all over the deepfreeze on which it had been sitting. Poking the gelatinous dough monster, I pulled of a piece and popped it in my mouth. Chew...chew...swallow. Let me warn you all right now -- uncooked cinnamon roll dough is likely better cooked. Finding that the dough had a texture not unlike warm clay, I decided to construct some dough forts first. Effectively ruining any chance this dough had of becoming a cinnamon roll, I slapped it on the cake pan in offensively-shaped lumps, and threw them in the oven. Where they baked into offensively-shaped cinnamon blobs, burnt, and quickly found their way into the garbage can. The end. |
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weird| 12:47am 16/01/2007 | ||||
One of the classes I'm taking has a website (WebCT, for those of you at MUN), where there's message boards to discuss what we're learning in class. We've only been in class a week, and already some of my classmates have engaged in a lively debate over the brutality found in The Passion of the Christ. There wouldn't be anything wrong with this, except the course is "History of Canada since 1867." |
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bored| 07:48pm 15/01/2007 | ||||
But here's something interesting. While examining the bulletin boards around campus, looking for books for sale, this caught my eye: SKILLED WITH ELECTRONICS? WANT TO MAKE SOME EASY MONEY?
Well, well, well. What have we here? As even a brain-dead monkey could figure out, St John's has clearly become a festering hive for scum and villainy. Obviously, what we have here is like an amateur evil-genius, inventions-oriented super villain, who's looking to partner up with a more skilled cohort, or is attempting to lure in an electronically-skilled yet ignorant civilian. Said super villain, likely going by a moniker not dissimilar to "Doctor Doom" or "Professor Chaos," will employ our innocent freelancing electrician for this simple job -- a mere DOOMSDAY DEVICE!!! Then, hey, it was easy money and a job well done, and said electrician didn't really know what he was doing anyways -- just making basic components that were clearly intended to be pieced together into something bigger. So when he gets another contract, he doesn't think much of it. Until he gets another, and another, another! And then he's been pulled too far in! He can't go to the cops now! His only choice is to become our super villain's right-hand man! And St. John's is run-amok! Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnnn. Will explore idea more later. Must go make supper. |
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hungry|
aibheaog |
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