The Unknown Studio

I mentioned before that my car bit it the other day. A broken thermostat (I think). A $30 part.

Here’s the problem, though: I could totally replace it myself. Except I don’t have a garage, and the prospect of working on my car outside in this weather is less than ideal, especially because I’d have to drain the coolant before doing anything. Drive it to a garage? Tried it on Tuesday. This is how it went:

Adam gets into car, starts it up fine because it was plugged in. Adam scrapes off windows, making it almost possible to see out the windshield. Adam climbs into car and scrapes inside of windshield as well. Adam begins driving, hunching over with chin almost resting on steering wheel so he can see through the narrow gap on the windshield that isn’t completely frozen. After about 600 metres of 20 kph through the neighbourhood, Adam realizes there’s no way he can get his car the 13km to the west end to have it serviced. Sadness abounds. Adam turns back, parks car, and spends rest of the day in his pyjamas.

I might have my brother pull the car to his house with his truck, put it in his garage (which is about -10°C rather than -27°C) and work on it there on the weekend. Or I’ll have her towed to the dealership sometime in the next few days. I haven’t decided yet. Either way, my car—dear, sweet Chloe—is parked. I need to go out there later to see if she’ll even start. I’m not hopeful.

Thank gods the bus service is superior in my neighbourhood, or else I’d be right fucked. Also, I need to buy cat food.

Popularity: 2% [?]

I get to see Jim Gaffigan at the Winspear on Feb 1. He and I have something in common: a love of bacon.

But bacon is that good. I bet if you put bits of bacon on a strip of bacon, you could travel back in time. It’s like a tasty vortex.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVKJpkq-wNo&rel=1]

Popularity: 1% [?]

I was referred to this site today. Man, there are some interesting profiles on VC firms here. If you’re looking for venture capital, you might want to have a peek at www.theFunded.com first.

An excerpt:

Allen Frazier brought Jon Gilbert from Arthur Anderson with him when he formed Frazier Securities. Jon is a former cop, who despite getting an MBA is better suited eating donuts and drinking bad coffee. Allen puts Jon on the boards of his companies, even if the CEO’s [sic] have never met Jon before. Jon destroyed our $150 MM company, just by his actions on our board. His constant whining and squealing at board meetings eventually worked, as he undermined the CEO, and forced the company to be liquidated for $15 MM.

(Thanks CDiddy!)

Popularity: 2% [?]

The Onion‘s more or less accurate take on a few select countries:

• The USA: “The United States was founded in 1776 on the principles of life, liberty, and the reckless pursuit of happiness at any cost—even life and liberty.”
• Japan: “In 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on the nation of Japan, destroying entire cities and instantly killing millions of citizens. However, some survived, and from the radioactive ash rose a mutant race of super-submissive, ultra-vulnerable people able to feel 100 times the shame of any ordinary human.”
• India: “Mired by rising poverty levels, polluted groundwater that threatens the lives of millions, and a rapidly crumbling infrastructure, the nation of India has every intention of addressing these problems just as soon as it finishes telling Midwesterners how to install Windows XP on their home computer.”
• England: “For nearly 200 years, England ruled over 500 million people on six continents—a time in which it was commonly said that the sun never set on the British Empire. Today, however, the sun sets on the British Empire at precisely 5:47pm GMT.”
• Italy: “Italy is known as one of the most racially intolerant nations in the world, where citizens base their opinions of other ethnicities on appearance and stereotypes alone. But then, what more do you expect from a bunch of greasy, filthy womanizers?”

More here.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Back in high school, if I had to go to the bathroom for a #2, I used to drive home. I shit you not.

Read:

Who can be affected by Toilet Phobia?

Toilet Phobia can affect anyone at any time and ranges from a mild disruption through to a significant disruption of daily life.

Causes of Toilet Phobia

Toilet Phobia can be caused by a variety of factors including anxiety, fear, specific experience or trauma and learnt behaviour from someone close. Causes of Toilet Phobia can often be a combination of these factors or none of the above.

Treatment of Toilet Phobia

It is generally accepted that CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) is the recommended treatment for Toilet Phobia due to the fact that it is an evidence based therapy, however, many individuals cited Clinical Hypnotherapy, Counselling, guided self help and other lifestyle changes as being helpful in providing benefit to managing the condition.

Popularity: 4% [?]

I never really realized it, but I’m fairly curious about Inuit and First Nations spiritual and tribal symbols. I remember coming across a Haida artwork print of a frog when I was in Tofino one summer. I meant to buy it but never did. Regretted it for the longest time. Then, in Waterloo, Ontario of all places, I came across it again about three years later. I bought it.

Three years after that, and I still have the print. I’ll never lose it:

Looking for meaning? Aren’t we all:

Frog is often associated with copper and great wealth. Legendary Haida princes are said to have attended feasts wearing necklace chains made of living Frogs. The Haida carved Frog on house pole to prevent them from falling over. They also included them in many other carvings, from feast bowls to totem poles.

EDIT: There, Andy. Now you’ve seen it.

Popularity: 20% [?]