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  1. Friday, January 30, 2009


    Just some eye candy - I had a little fun with the felt flower hair pins my craft group made up recently.

    I think I'm pining for spring - can you tell?


    (You can make them too - our free tutorial is here!)

    Posted by burrito at 8:02 AM | Labels: | 0 comments |

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  2. Wednesday, January 28, 2009

    Still not sure if the whole climate change thing is for real?   Try reading this, see if it answers any questions: 
     
    A few choice exerpts that should make you want to take action:
     
    "The warming effects of CO2 have been known for more than 100 years. CO2 has not risen above about 290 ppm any time in the last 650,000 years until now and it is unequivocal that human activities are the cause of this increase."
     
    " The consensus among scientists on climate change includes the following:
    - The climate is warming beyond the range of natural variability.
    -  The major cause of most of the observed warming are rising levels of the greenhouse gases including CO2, methane, and others.
    -  The rise in CO2 is the result of burning fossil fuels and land use changes that have eroded the Earth's ability to breakdown and dissipate emissions.
    -  Today's 387 ppm of CO2 equivalent concentrations in the atmosphere (more than 30% above the historic levels) signifies that temperatures will continue to rise for the next half century even if greenhouse gas emissions are rapidly reduced.
    -  If CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise over this century, the warming will continue and likely accelerate; and
    -  The high-end temperature increase projected by the IPCC (more than 11.5oF by century's end) will pose significant danger to civilization. Even the IPCC 'slow scenario' of increased warming of 3.2 °F with a likely range of 2.0 to 5.2°F will produce very serious economic, social, ecological and political consequences."

    Posted by burrito at 5:31 PM | 0 comments |

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  3. Sunday, January 25, 2009

    Peter went totally over the top with my gift for christmas... which I think is kind okay because it's a gift we'll both use. And also, I love it so I have to find a way to make it okay.

    He got me an Acer Asipre notebook.

    I've been obsessed with ultraportable laptops for a looooong time. It used to be that they were items that were released in Japan only that you had to have specially imported and carried a pricetag of at least $1400, more often closer to $2k. I latched onto the only one commonly available in north america - the Fujitsu Lifebook, specifically the P1620 (my dream machine)- but it was $2500. A little out of my price range. Back in 2001 I was looking for a device that I could take with me to write - I really just needed a word processor. Peter ended up liking the Fujitsu's I showed him and got a refurbished B2620 which was nice but not as small as I would have wanted.

    So I got myself a (used) NEC MobilePro 780. It uses a pocket version of Windows (like PDAs used). It was just enough for my writing needs. I still harboured jealousy over the people with full operating systems and proper internet access, but, really, I had what I needed. Now, in 2009 - I'm really feeling the obsolesence of my MobilePro (and the battery life is dismal now). It's still great for writing, but I wanted something new and shiny that could surf the internet.

    Enter the Acer Aspire notebook. It's a groundbreaking item because it is the ultraportable size and functionality with a $350 - 450 price tag. It is actually one of the cheapest laptops out there. It's not a powerhouse of a machine, you won't be doing 3D modelling on this puppy but is that really a problem? No. Also it's super cute. So far, the only thing I find lacking is a touch screen (which both the Mobilepro and the Fujitsu B2620 had so I'm used to tapping the screen a lot). Other than that, I'm totally in love.

    Here is our full suite of laptops now, with Peter's work laptop (thinkpad) for reference. If anyone is interested in a used Fujitsu or Mobilepro, let me know, I might have one to spare.





















    Posted by burrito at 1:05 PM | 0 comments |

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  4. Monday, January 19, 2009


    So the weaving project I started during the holidays... I finished the weaving portion during the holidays and now just have the dreaded finishing finishing to do (gotta finish the ends properly and wash it to relax the fibres). I'm not super thrilled with how the it came out, it's a little more rustic than I had in mind. Still, I will finish it and show it off properly, but here's an action shot to give you an idea!







    Also - check out my new hat. It's a bit big but I'm loving it. I love being able to make my own hats. It's weirdly satisfying.

    Posted by burrito at 10:32 PM | Labels: , | 0 comments |

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  5. Saturday, January 17, 2009

    I went to London last year to visit my sister, which was awesome. She lived in Notting Hill at the time and I loved the neighbourhood - the streets with picture perfect Georgian rowhouses... I'm a sucker for that stuff. There was one cute little shop there full of delightful things that you would expect to find in a charming, quirky shop in Notting Hill. Including a fabulous umbrella. I loved it, had to have it. Bought it. Forgot that I still had several international flights ahead of me. Needless to say, the umbrella did not survive the baggage handlers. So, I mourned my umbrella - Vancouver would have given it lots of use too.

    Here it is being enjoyed by Kitty. Notice the handle has broken off. It took forever to get the umbrella open once it had broken.... then we couldn't get it closed again. It sat around, open, looking sad for a while.

    Then, inspired by by crafty friend Kalin, I decided to use the leftovers as a light cover!

    I had a drab, boring light in the little entryway alcove to my tiny apartment so I decided to string it up there. A hacksaw shortened the remainder of the pole, and then it was just a matter of some eyehooks screwed into the ceiling and some wire - and - bob's your uncle - it was done.

    I think it's a big improvement.

    Here are the before shots (yawn) - we've got nice high ceilings, otherwise this wouldn't have worked:


    And after - much sassier, I think:

    Posted by burrito at 10:02 AM | Labels: | 0 comments |

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  6. Tuesday, January 13, 2009

    When lacking in content worthy of a blog post, I find it's best to post pictures of my cats.

    This time, let us enjoy a study of Kitty feet:


    Posted by burrito at 8:00 AM | 0 comments |

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  7. Monday, January 12, 2009

    Came down with some yucky 24 hr bug on saturday night....  seem to be better today although exhausted.

    Posted by burrito at 10:30 AM | 0 comments |

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  8. Tuesday, January 06, 2009

    Books of 2008
     
    In 2007 I started keeping a list of the books I finished in the sidebar of my blog.  I was curious to know how many books I was finishing in a year, since I had never kept track before.  Having the list and seeing it grow motivated me to read more too, which is always a good thing.  
     
    2008 was a good year for books for me, I read some spectacular ones.   Here are a few of the highlights, in case anyone is looking for a book. 
     
    MUST READ:  The Omnivore's Dilemma - a good hard look at where our food comes from these days in North America (well, America, but most of it applies to Canada too).   He talks a lot about corn at the start and you can't help but become fascinated along with him because practically everything we eat these days is corn.  Glucose/dextrose/corn syrup, cornstarch, maltodextrin, maltose, fructose, ethanol, mono-, tri-, diglycerides, lecithin, corn flour, partially hydrogenated corn oil, etc. are all corn-based substances - check an ingredients list to see how many your seemingly non-corn-related product has.   A McDonalds cheeseburger is apparently 52% corn, and a McDonalds "milkshake" is 78% corn (if I wasn't off mcdonalds already, that weirds me out enough to do it).    The author also visits a sustainable farm to get an idea of how things could be done, which is an important uplifting break from the rest of the book which exposes how messed up our whole food system is.   It really makes you want to go out and plant a garden and befriend your nearest organic farmer.
     
    MUST READ:  Three Cups of Tea - a easy, quick read.   A dude tries to climb to one of the world's highest peaks, fails, gets lost on his way down and ends up in a very (I mean, really really) remote village in Pakistan where the locals take care of him.   He promises to return to build a school for them.   Except he's a broke dude with nothing to his name.  He returns to the US and starts an amazing journey, a crazy adventure which has led to dozens of schools being built in some of the most remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.   Very inspiring.  If you buy the book through the link shown here, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to his charity that does such good work.
     
    And in the fun, get-lost-in-another-era category: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day which is an entertaining voyage back to 1938.  Very charming.
     
    The Thirteenth Tale is another charming book - anyone who loves Bronte books will probably love this, it's in the same vein.   A great story to snuggle up with on a rainy day.
     
    In the more serious category - Blindness.  An often distressing tale of what happens when the whole world goes blind overnight.  Haunting and intriguing, I couldn't put it down.
     
    I'm searching for books to start off 2009 with, feel free to suggest!

    Posted by burrito at 12:12 PM | 0 comments |

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  9. Sunday, January 04, 2009

    Went to see a movie yesterday with a friend - first time to the movies in ages. We saw Slumdog Millionaire which was really really good. Entertaining, but with a glimpse into another culture, another world. And the soundtrack was fantastic. Definitely recommend.

    I'm spending a lot of my webtime over at http://blip.fm/Beach (that's my account). It's an online music place where you can create playlists, listen to other people's playlists, etc. All online streaming content. I've discovered some fabulous music there, and rediscovered some stuff I fogot about. Peter and I don't actually have a radio (much like we go without tv), so my musical tastes had stagnated somewhat. blip.fm is helping. =) You can sign up and listen to my playlists, if you're interested.

    I went to the gym today. It wasn't the madhouse I was expecting.

    Posted by burrito at 1:33 PM | 0 comments |

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