(Another) Unwelcome guest

Suffering from a severe form of the heebie jeebies…was talking to my parents on skype then turned around and saw this crawling up the wall. Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to stick something up beside this beast to show you how bit it was like last time but it was big and chunky and gross and now I think we need to move out of our flat for fear that it may have friends near by (this particular spider fortunately unfortunately got in the way of the hubby waving a flip flop so no fear of him coming back).

Between the pigeons and spiders I feel like I am running a petting zoo….Okay, now I need some vodka and tylenol PM to get rid of my heebie jeebies so I can sleep.

How do you draw with a pin?

Was at a comedy show the other day and the guy was talking about a drawing pin….wont even let you know what I thought he was talking about but it might have included a dual function pencil and pin which I thought was a great idea until I realised that if the pencil  bit got dull it probably wouldn’t hold much up…anyway I googled it and the internet saved me again.

Just to clarify, it means thumbtack, not 'Chiefly British'

Just when I thought I was getting a hang of the English vocabulary….

I am beginning to think that on job applications, when I say I am fluent in English that I should actually point out that it is Canadian English and put quotation marks around it so they don’t have their expectations up too high when they meet me.

Fluent in ‘Canadian English’.

WTF? Friday

I have seen lots of pictures of funny named products from around the world but this one I saw myself when wandering through our local Poundland (for those of you not in the know, everything in the shop costs a pound – the British version of the dollar store). Couldn’t resist….

Whilst on the topic, did anyone notice the wardrobe malfunction of the woman sitting behind Pete Sampras at Wimbledon last weekend? I presume it was a wardrobe malfunction…might not have been, this is London and anything goes…even gingham and a bra (no surprise but Mom taught me the textile based word ‘gingham’ as I had some hand made pink gingham dresses…hawt).

Nintendo DS Glucose Meter

I think it’s been a while since I featured a cool gadget but this one is right up there with one of the smartest I have seen.  Similar to the pedisedate… this gadget integrates games with children’s healthcare.  It was designed by a father of a diabetic son who would often misplace his glucose monitor but never seemed to misplace his Game Boy (although to be fair I am sure there are some adults that do the same, we can’t’ just blame the kids here).

The Didgit monitor fits in the Nintendo DS ports and operates very similar to a regular glucose monitor with the added benefit of kids not wanting to lose it.  In addition,  they have developed a game that rewards the kids by unlocking new levels based on their results which I am sure, helps in increasing compliance as they get something out of it (something that is more exciting to them than just good health).

Realistically, most children don’t fully grasp the importance of treating and monitoring medical conditions and nor should they be expected to, it’s a pretty heavy topic.  I think the best thing is to make it as easy, pain free and least disruptive to their lives and they will be more complacent with treatment….actually I think that sentiment works for adults as well.  I am sure I would remember to take my vitamins or eat vegetables more if I got something for doing so.

Although, I have always been a sucker for incentives…as a kid I was a bit scrawny so was advised by the doctor gain a bit of weight…my parents told me they would take me to Disney world when I hit 40lbs-that was far more appealing than having a doctor telling me to do it ‘just because’.  Unfortunately, the incentive wasn’t extended to future weight gain goals and I didn’t get to go again when I hit 80 or 100lbs.

Britain’s Got People (standing on a plinth)

Britain has always been pretty keen on the reality TV shows but this sort of brings it to a new level. A British comedian, Charlie Brooker, twittered about and called “Britain’s Got People” (instead of Britain’s Got Talent, get it, see, I told you he was a comedian).

Essentially, it is an art installation occupying a plinth in Trafalgar Square and every hour for 100 days, a real live person will get hoisted on top of it to do whatever they want. From what I understand, the places are allocated randomly with no audition process, so anything goes. Best part is that it is streamed live 24 hours a day so you don’t have to even get off the couch to see it  (that being said I think if I am in the area I might have to take a peek as you can’t be too sure if what you see on the intraweb is true).
I discovered it last night when I couldn’t sleep and think that if nothing else, it does give insomniacs something to watch. Although, at that time of the morning, I got stuck watching a dude play the accordion so I could only take it for a few minutes then traipsed back to bed (which is probably a good thing).

It is an intriguing concept and am sure I will find myself widdling away the hours watching.  I do think the whole thing could be improved by making it more interactive and allowing viewers to vote the people off the plinth or better still, rig up a giant slingshot full of water balloons or chocolate pudding which we can aim then shoot at the people via the website…now THAT would be fun to watch, I mean artistic, as intended.

One & Other

Fancy potatoes and margarita sorbet

I am not really big on cooking but in a pinch I can do it and sometimes even enjoy it (quite the opposite to my Mom whom is a natural cook and never seemed to swear, burn herself or dirty every dish in the house as I do when I cook).

Anyway I came across this website called Sea salt with food as it was recommended on the BBC Click website which gives a weekly recommendation of great sites.  Frankl,y I had never thought of food blogs but I have added it to my google reader and admit that I get a bit excited when I see a new recipe has been posted.

I have only tried two recipes but they turned out pretty well so I have faith that I might be able to do more as time goes on (and I continue on with my fun-employment – as once I get a job, its back to Marks and Spener ready meals, who has time to cook!).

The recipes I tried were the Hasslebeck Potatoes (no relation to Elizabeth on the View) which are the Swedish version baked potatoes.  They are really yummy – especially in our fan bake oven as the skin gets nice and golden all over.

The second one I tried was last week during our heat wave was the lime sorbet which was lovely as it was very cold and we were very hot….it ended up tasting very much like a bowl full of frozen margarita mix but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Pictures below are from the website as I can assure you mine didn’t turn out looking anything like that…but they tasted good!

WTF? Friday

I love a good ad campaign…can you imagine flipping through a magazine then coming to a page that is seemingly stuck together by boogers?? Love it.

Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi X, Springdale, USA

Canned air conditioning

So today is bloody hot, one of those days where you sweat when sitting and doing nothing.  I don’t have a thermometer but I have to guess its about 200 degrees out with no sign of a breeze.  In the past I really haven’t been that bothered by the lack of air conditioning but today I would give my (sweaty) left arm for a 5 minute stint in a very cold room.

I do however have some relief in the form of an instant cooling body spray called Magicool (yes, I know, brilliantly stupid name). I bought it last year for some unknown reason as it wasn’t that hot but I remember it was on sale and it is kind of like a gadget so I liked it.  I actually forgot I had it until I saw the hubby trying to cool off by spraying himself with the canned air you clean your computer keyboard with.

My favourite bit is their absolutely horrendous, low budget, badly dubbed commercial…I think though because it was so bad that is why I remembered it and eventually bought it….today, I am happy I did. It’s cheaper than air conditioning and seems to do the job….however I fear I might go through the entire can today, should be okay though as they are calling for rain tomorrow.

Click here to see the horrible amazing advert

Happy Canada Day!

Unfortunately my plans of donning a bright red shirt with Canada written across it and heading to Trafalgar Square for the Canada Day celebrations are ruined due to an ill timed interview…. I didn’t think citing “Canada Day” was a good reason for putting off the interview to another day.

I will however at some point be sure to sing Oh Canada, drink beer, rye and maple syrup (not together) and brew up some Tim Hortons coffee we smuggled over.

I will leave you with some thoughts on the day from someecards which made me laugh….

Tropic of London

Enjoying a bit of a heat wave in London this week (helping add to my unemployment tan) with the temperature today going up to 32, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The one surprising thing is the lack of air conditioning here. Neither of the offices I have worked at nor our flat has the added luxury and more surprisingly,  quite a few retail stores don’t either….including the post office.  I stood in line this morning for 15 minutes behind a man who was sweating so much the brim of his baseball cap was dripping sweat leaving a sweaty trail of water through the Disney land-esque zig zagging line….it is a bit of a health hazard if you ask me.  Surprisingly I am surviving (with three fans on in our room at night) and actually don’t mind that every shop or office doesn’t feel like a walk in freezer.

This has nothing to do with anything, but ever wondered what you could do with a bunch of sun glasses and an oven cooker?  Yeah well there is an empty office building around the corner from my flat which came up with an idea as to what to do with them… (honestly it creeps me out as I am pretty sure we had centipedes that big in our basement growing up).