Spring is in the air

Thought I'd throw in a frivilous photo in celebration of Spring.

Words of Wisdom

... from Dr. Seuss.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

Awww... what a talent: he philosophises in rhymes. A modern Buddha, he be.

"Life sucks, get a touque and embrace it."

Ha ha ha! Rick Mercer is such a smarty-pants.

(Click to play)

Frequent Flyer Health Points

In honour of Nicholas' upcoming aeronautical adventures, in which he will cover Canada in a series of 17 flights over 40 days, here's a quick guide to obtaining Frequent Flyer Health Points.


+24hr Points: Skipping Jet-Lag
Beat jet lag by setting your watch to your destination time-zone and spend as much time outside as you can, because daylight will help you acclimate more quickly. It usually takes two good nights to reset your clock, but it can take as much as a day per time zone.

+1:1 Points: Staying Hydrated

Airplane cabins are between 10-20% drier than outdoors, so keep hydrated. Even slight dehydration can cause headaches and fatigue. Sip about 250mL (1 cup) of water for every hour of your flight.

-8 oz. Points: Drinking Dehydrates

Avoid dehydrating drinks, such as coffee, tea, pop and and alcohol. They may dangerously dehydrate you, due to the dry cabin air. Also, the low cabin air pressure doubles the effect of alcohol, due to hypoxia, or a decreased oxygen flow to your muscles and brain. One drink in the air is equal to two on the ground.

+45 - 60 Points: Airbound Exercise

Blood flows through your veins by means of contraction, such as when you walks or just plain move around. If you sit too long, your blood in your legs may pool, and can form a clot. The real danger is if the clot breaks off and travels to your lungs, forming a pulmonary embolism.

Get up every 45 - 60 minutes and walk around. In between walks, flex your feet under the seat ahead of you, rotating your ankles and alternating raising one foot and then the other, while keeping them both off the ground.

- 12 Points: Wearing Restrictive clothes

To help with blood flow, dress in loose-fitting, comfortable clothes. Layering is best, as airplanes are typically cool, and being cold for several hour can lead to a break-down in your immune system. Whatever you do, dress appropriately, so you don't have an Kyla Ebbert moment, and then have to go work for Richard Branson and pose nude in Playboy.

Cragslist job posting: DO MY HOMWORK $$$

Date: 2008-01-12, 8:45PM EST

I HAVE SOME HOMEWORK THAT MUST BE COMPLETED ASAP, PREFERABLY BY SUNDAY NIGHT. IT IS SOME GRADE 11 WORK PLACE MATH, WORLD ISSUES, GR 9 HISTORY AND INTRO TO ANTHRO. ONLY SERIOUS INQUIRES.

YOU WILL BE PAID.

THANKS

• Location: TORONTO
• Compensation: $100
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

...

Here we have a budding entrepreneur, albeit lacking a little perspective in history and world issues...

Smooth moves of the 07's

In a cost-cutting move, Circuit City lays off all sales associates paid 51 cents or more per hour above an "established pay range" - essentially firing 3,400 for its top performers in one fell swoop. Over the next eight months Circuit City's share price drops by almost 70%.


McDonald's launches a "word battle" against the Oxford English Dictionary to amend the definition of McJobs, which the OED currently describes as an "unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects." The goal, according to a company vice president, it to change the citation to "reflect a job that is stimulating, rewarding, and offers skills that last a lifetime."




A worker in a German screw factory smuggles out 2,000 to 7,000 screws per night, ultimately stealing more than a million units. He sells the screws below cost on the internet, artificially depressing the entire screw market.

In Auguest 2007, Johnson & Johnson sues the American Red Cross for infringement of its trademarked red cross. “For a multibillion dollar drug company to claim that the Red Cross violated a criminal statute ... simply so that J&J can make more money, is obscene,” said Mark Everson, the Red Cross president.



And the smoothest move of all...


Australia's Toy of the Year a bead toy called Bindeez made by Moose Enterprise, is pulled from stores after scientists discover that the beads contain a chemical that converts into the date-rape drug GHB when ingested.





(These smooth moves were brought to you by Fortune Magazine and the letter "Ha!")

When the situation calls for...

I ran to work this morning through a slight drizzle, chased on by the Killers blasting out my headphones. It wasn't until showered and settled in at my desk that I realised I forgot my wallet. No chocolate milk recovery drink and no lunch equals no fun at all.

It was only 10:20am and my stomach was knotting and gurgling. Although I had two runner's pancakes just an hour and a half ago, they were long gone after my 250 caloric burn of a run.

Beg? Borrow? Stea- er, ...Find? I contemplated my options while I filled up my 2 L Nalgene water bottle from MEC, and gulped it down; resentful that the little bit of estrogen I was consuming with my water wouldn't go far towards satisfy my hunger. Indra, the most mothering around our office, stopped by a few minutes into my water binge, offering homemade cookies and I took two, thanking her gratefully. They were the size of toonies but bought me an hour.

I was imaging that I would have to scavenge through the staff kitchen, experimenting with condiments and expired food, when the idea came to me: I grabbed my change purse, which ironically held just six TTC (Toronto Transit) tokens and asked if anyone wanted to buy two tokens for $5. They would get a 50 cent discount, and I would get my lunch.

And boy - did that grilled tuna wrap with a side of homemade barley soup hit the spot!

My image!!

So, Nicholas and I -well, mostly Nicholas, spent one evening last month perusing royalty-free images from the iPhotos website, searching for an 'active + women + weight' picture for my Lightfooted Adventures website. Finally, after about a thousand rejected photos, we found the perfect one.

Unfortunately, she apparently was perfect for a few others looking for a royalty-free image of a fit woman, because we spotted her smiling off the pages of December's issue of Oxygen magazine, and today - I found her here:

It certainly is frustrating being ahead of our times... and yet not fast enough to capitalize on our painfully cutting-edge sixth-sense of setting trends. Siiiigh...

Hmm... a bike union. I'm undecided. Would a union be what it takes to get our paths plowed?

What are your thoughts?