George Harrison

1943 - 2001

Workplace Incidents

I work with a major headbanger.

Breakin' the law, breakin' the law!

Spank Me!

This is the strangest game I have ever seen.

I wonder if there will ever be a home version?

Back from the 'Peg

It was everything I thought it would be: cold, windy and flat.

However, I did get to spend time with an old friend, make some new ones and even found time for some Geocaching.

We went to a Manitoba Moose game (they won), saw the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup (they lost), saw a comedian or two and spent a lot of time just enjoying each other's company.

Note: Winnipeg is sorely lacking in the Internet Café department. If anybody knows of a good place to check your e-mail or just surf, please let me know.

Coincidence? I Think Not!

Fact #1: Someone just placed a cache north of Gibsons.

Fact #2: I'm heading off to Winnipeg, in Canada's Heartland for a few days.

Fact #3: Gibsons is where they used to film the widely-distributed, Canadian-culture-stereotyping show "The Beachcombers".

The Coincidence: The friend I am going to visit in Winnipeg is the son of the man who directed almost every Beachcombers episode.

The Scary X-Files Tie-In: That same man played the "First Elder" in many X-Files episodes and the X-Files movie.

Winterpeg

In a few days I'll be jetting off to Winnipeg, home of Neil Young, the Guess Who, Terry Sawchuk, Doug Henning and more.

Look Out!

Marlas has a package.

Even More Geocaching

More geocaching madness from this past weekend.

Get it hot off the press.

Weird Neighbor

Across the hall from where I live is a strange old lady who wears thick glasses and loose, striped nylons. She looks like she rarely washes, cuts or combs her hair and generally looks confused when I have seen her in the halls or outside in the street.

This morning, like other mornings, I noticed that she put some things outside her door.

Today there was a brown paper bag with chinese characters carefully drawn on the outside. There was something greasy in the bag (noticable by the darkened, almost-see-through patches). A pair of blue plastic sandals were beside the bag and a small brochure for a waterpark in the Okanagan.

Everything was arranged very neatly and carefully. So neatly and carefully that it gave me the chills when I looked at it.

Right on the Money

I swear, I only did this test once, and I got a rather appropriate result:

More Caching

Took the weekend off and went up to Whistler.

Found a few more Geocaches. Check it out.

Oral Love

No, not that kind. I'm talking about this amazing little invention.

After my dental horror show a couple of days ago, the hygenist said I should consider an electric toothbrush to augment my oral health. She even gave me a coupon and a pamphlet. (Okay, I admit...she's a complete babe, so she could have been talking about a periapical abscess and I would have listened cheerfully).

Anyway, I decided to give it a shot considering my lax dental care had resulted in the "soft tooth-sharp probe" incident earlier in the week.

The moment I tried it, I knew I was going to be a shameless advocate of Braun and Oral-B for years to come.

Tip: Put the toothbrush in your mouth before you turn it on. My bathroom walls are now covered in high-speed toothpaste splatter.

TENS

Those of you familiar with me will know I've had chronic pain in my lower back, right leg and foot for a few years now.

I have visited a number of specialists who have poked, prodded, stretched and abused me, tried a number of old and new-age remedies guaranteed to have amazing results, and even experimented with a a few suggestions I found the net.

After years of failed attempts at correcting the situation, I'd pretty much given up hope of living pain-free.

The job that I started about 4 months ago includes some great benefits that include a dedicated medical facility. After some urging by friends, I decided to give it one last try.

After an initial consultation with a doctor, I was dispatched to get some gene-addling X-rays and a visit to another Physiotherapist. Having gone through the entire diagnosis process a few times before and hearing the medical Eureka! of sciatic nerve distress, I wasn't convinced there would be any degree of success.

But this time, there was something new.

On my very first session, I was introduced to TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation). For the uninitiated, this little joy-machine consists of electrical pads that are taped to your body, sending electrical pulses through your body in order to 'stimulate' the nerve in question.

The point seems to be: shock that bastard sciatic nerve to hell, so later when the pads are off, it'll have nothing to complain about.

Really, it's just reverse psychology. Reverse nervology?

Bad-Ass Dentist

I have a mortal fear of Dentists. Ask Sam, she can relate.

Today I had my first appointment in almost 2 years, and I was so freaked out I barely slept at all last night. Even though it was just a check-up, I was sure they were going to find some festering rot in the back of a molar or a crumbling bicuspid and haul out the industrial size tooth drill/chainsaw/meat-grinder.

My fears were confirmed when, while sitting in the chair ostensibly for a 'look-see', the Dentist Butcher used one of those sharp little probes to penetrate a tooth clear down to the pulpy nerve root. The pain was so intense and sharp that I looked like a frog leg I had attached to a battery in Grade 9 for a science experiment.

My intense convultion had the side effect of forced the invading steel probe even deeper into the already screaming tooth with such force that they had to hold me down and use pliers to pull it out.

Can't wait for my next appointment.