So my passport is in the mail and I'm headed to London for a lesbian shotgun wedding. We're basically flush right now but I'm finding that London is a bit cha-chingg.
Flights from Toronto are $400 round trip, which I think is crazy cheap. I am a man of great legs, so I had a peek at first-class: holy crappo! Yeah, we're flying coach.
But now there's this whole lodging thing. We're going to be there about a week, and hotels are either $300 a night, or way out in a bog or something. (e:dragonlady7) suggested staying at a hostel, which is really not that bad, they don't usually steal your stuff and she only knows one person who was sexually assaulted at one, but it's ok because it was by someone she knew. And I'm like: ehmmm. B&Bs start around $100 a night, which we could swing ... but how do you find a good one?
Anyone been to London? You know where's a good place to stay?
- Z
Zobar's Journal
My Podcast Link
03/25/2008 22:17 #43791
travelin shoes was the only shoes i hadCategory: travel
03/22/2008 23:17 #43763
my crazy saturday nightCategory: food
How come whenever I go grocery shopping it always becomes an adventure?
Thing one. OK, so at Wegmans you can buy fresh herbs either in a little tiny tray that is exactly what you need, or a humongo bundle that you could never possibly eat all of. But here's the thing: they cost the same. I am a person who would buy the small tray just so I don't have a half pound of ancient parsley going gelatinous in the bottom of my veggie drawer. But this is really foolish.
$1.29:
$1.29:
Thing two. Maybe in New Jersey, Zubaz are coming back. (e:hodown,43480) But in Buffalo they never left.
Thing three. That is a box of Indiana Jones Cheez-Its in my cart.
Thing four. Speaking of Harrison Ford:
- Z
Thing one. OK, so at Wegmans you can buy fresh herbs either in a little tiny tray that is exactly what you need, or a humongo bundle that you could never possibly eat all of. But here's the thing: they cost the same. I am a person who would buy the small tray just so I don't have a half pound of ancient parsley going gelatinous in the bottom of my veggie drawer. But this is really foolish.
$1.29:
$1.29:
Thing two. Maybe in New Jersey, Zubaz are coming back. (e:hodown,43480) But in Buffalo they never left.
Thing three. That is a box of Indiana Jones Cheez-Its in my cart.
Thing four. Speaking of Harrison Ford:
- Z
tinypliny - 04/06/08 17:45
Chestnut Jamie????!! Wow. And which Guercio aisle is this???
Chestnut Jamie????!! Wow. And which Guercio aisle is this???
james - 03/22/08 23:31
Go to Guercio's for all produce. They are way cheaper than wegs.
I actually went produce shopping today and was browsing their other tasty things. I bought chestnut jam... CHESTNUT JAM. It is better than heroin. I have spread it on everything in my house. Crackers, apples, cheese, my fingers. The sugar high is so immense the walls are buzzing.
A funny sentence: bulk nuts are cheaper too.
Go to Guercio's for all produce. They are way cheaper than wegs.
I actually went produce shopping today and was browsing their other tasty things. I bought chestnut jam... CHESTNUT JAM. It is better than heroin. I have spread it on everything in my house. Crackers, apples, cheese, my fingers. The sugar high is so immense the walls are buzzing.
A funny sentence: bulk nuts are cheaper too.
leetee - 03/22/08 23:28
Go to Guercio's to get herbs. Much cheaper.
Go to Guercio's to get herbs. Much cheaper.
03/20/2008 23:11 #43739
@_@Category: work
So this week I finally went from the ranks of the nearly-employed to the ranks of the telecommuting. That is, I still sit around the house in my underwear, only now I get paid for it. [cha-chingg!]
I thought once I'd gotten into a routine where I had to wake up early and do stuff all day, that I'd be less likely to start going all buggy. Not so! Whenever I got bored with something I could go putter somewhere else. But now I sit in my living room all day staring at Flash Player. I think this kind of shit is hilarious.
My only social interaction spends 23 hours a day sleeping and one hour a day climbing the curtains. I haven't left the house since Tuesday nad it's really freeking me out.
- Z
I thought once I'd gotten into a routine where I had to wake up early and do stuff all day, that I'd be less likely to start going all buggy. Not so! Whenever I got bored with something I could go putter somewhere else. But now I sit in my living room all day staring at Flash Player. I think this kind of shit is hilarious.
My only social interaction spends 23 hours a day sleeping and one hour a day climbing the curtains. I haven't left the house since Tuesday nad it's really freeking me out.- Z
jbeatty - 03/21/08 20:15
Im in the wrong field. I have been siting around the house in my underwear for years and have never once been paid for it.
Im in the wrong field. I have been siting around the house in my underwear for years and have never once been paid for it.
dragonlady7 - 03/21/08 12:03
... Should I?
Also: This is false advertising. You never sit around the house in your underwear.
Unless you just wait until 5:00 to get dressed, so that you can look rumpled and preoccupied by the time I get home at 5:30.
Hey-- get your laundry ready, I'm doing it tonight right when I get home from work. Because you're getting an awful lot of pairs of jeans dirty for a dude that sits around the house in his undies.
... Should I?
Also: This is false advertising. You never sit around the house in your underwear.
Unless you just wait until 5:00 to get dressed, so that you can look rumpled and preoccupied by the time I get home at 5:30.
Hey-- get your laundry ready, I'm doing it tonight right when I get home from work. Because you're getting an awful lot of pairs of jeans dirty for a dude that sits around the house in his undies.
dragonlady7 - 03/21/08 08:41
And Chevy Novas.
> My only social interaction spends 23 hours a day sleeping and one hour a day climbing the curtains.
... What does that make me? I <i>never</i> climb the curtains. And I don't get nearly enough sleep.
And Chevy Novas.
> My only social interaction spends 23 hours a day sleeping and one hour a day climbing the curtains.
... What does that make me? I <i>never</i> climb the curtains. And I don't get nearly enough sleep.
carolinian - 03/21/08 00:02
So, when are we going to find out about the super, top secret thing you're working on?
So, when are we going to find out about the super, top secret thing you're working on?
03/15/2008 16:53 #43680
the e:zobar miracle dietCategory: food
After a comprehensive nationwide study of nearly 50,000 postmenopausal women, lasting eight years and costing over $400M, the National Institutes of Health determined that it doesn't fucking matter what you eat, and promptly buried the results. Particpants cut back their fat calories from 37% to 29%, increased fruit, vegetable, and grain intake by 25%, and cut back an average of 360 calories per day for eight full years, and were closely monitored to ensure that they remained on the diet. Results? Weight loss in the healthy eaters was only about 1.5lb, and furthermore did not reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, or colorectal cancer. And so I present to you:
THE (e:zobar) MIRACLE DIET!
When you are not hungry, do not eat. When you become hungry, think about what you want to eat, and then eat it. When you are full, stop eating and go on with the rest of your life. That's it!
The (e:zobar) Miracle Diet has the best food of any diet plan out there, because it's exactly what you want! You will never mindlessly stuff your face with Low-Fat Kardboard Krisps just to stave off hunger between unappetizing and inadequate frozen meals or Nutrient Shakes! You'll have all kinds of free time, since you won't have to spend it calculating calories or counting cards! You'll feel like a person in charge of his life, and not like a pathetic fatso with no willpower! And when compared with the best long-term diet that the NIH has ever devised, it's only about 1.5lb less effective.
People say that's easy for you to say, Mr. BMI 17. Maybe you don't realize this, but my weight has caused me problems for my whole life. People who are not dieticians regularly use social gatherings as opportunities to tell me I need to go on a diet. People judge me by the food I eat. People will tell my close relations that my weight is a reflection of their poor character. That's fucking bullshit! i say. I am a healthy individual, I can eat what I want, and I do. Food is a wonderful thing, and you should enjoy it.
- Z
Particpants cut back their fat calories from 37% to 29%, increased fruit, vegetable, and grain intake by 25%, and cut back an average of 360 calories per day for eight full years, and were closely monitored to ensure that they remained on the diet. Results? Weight loss in the healthy eaters was only about 1.5lb, and furthermore did not reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, or colorectal cancer. And so I present to you:THE (e:zobar) MIRACLE DIET!
When you are not hungry, do not eat. When you become hungry, think about what you want to eat, and then eat it. When you are full, stop eating and go on with the rest of your life. That's it!
The (e:zobar) Miracle Diet has the best food of any diet plan out there, because it's exactly what you want! You will never mindlessly stuff your face with Low-Fat Kardboard Krisps just to stave off hunger between unappetizing and inadequate frozen meals or Nutrient Shakes! You'll have all kinds of free time, since you won't have to spend it calculating calories or counting cards! You'll feel like a person in charge of his life, and not like a pathetic fatso with no willpower! And when compared with the best long-term diet that the NIH has ever devised, it's only about 1.5lb less effective.
People say that's easy for you to say, Mr. BMI 17. Maybe you don't realize this, but my weight has caused me problems for my whole life. People who are not dieticians regularly use social gatherings as opportunities to tell me I need to go on a diet. People judge me by the food I eat. People will tell my close relations that my weight is a reflection of their poor character. That's fucking bullshit! i say. I am a healthy individual, I can eat what I want, and I do. Food is a wonderful thing, and you should enjoy it.
- Z
tinypliny - 04/06/08 18:00
Yeah, the WHI study was a colossal waste of federal money. The problem was measurement. Though these women were carefully instructed and re-instructed to eat well, all that created was a guilt-trip for these women when they felt like devouring a pack of chips on the sly. Since it was done on the sly, it probably never got reported in their food diaries and food frequency questionnaires. So here you had a study that was perfectly designed in every possible way but discounted one small but important detail. To err is human. They thought they were dealing with obedient robots who would follow diets to a dot. These were postmenopausal women with mood swings and other stresses for sanity's sake! What the hell did they expect?
Your miracle diet is probably the most sensible diet. Eat when you are hungry. Don't overeat. Don't eat when you are not hungry. But how do you make people think sensibly when they have arrived to a conclusion that all those binge eating episodes will be wiped away by the new orange beach or blue beach or whatever the new fad diet is? Do nutritional epidemiology and nutritional interventions work when advertising and other misinformation is working overtime (and getting paid) against the science? The answers are out there blowing the wind and if we don't wake up soon, as scientists, as a society, there will be a tornado and the answers will get lost forever. :/
Yeah, the WHI study was a colossal waste of federal money. The problem was measurement. Though these women were carefully instructed and re-instructed to eat well, all that created was a guilt-trip for these women when they felt like devouring a pack of chips on the sly. Since it was done on the sly, it probably never got reported in their food diaries and food frequency questionnaires. So here you had a study that was perfectly designed in every possible way but discounted one small but important detail. To err is human. They thought they were dealing with obedient robots who would follow diets to a dot. These were postmenopausal women with mood swings and other stresses for sanity's sake! What the hell did they expect?
Your miracle diet is probably the most sensible diet. Eat when you are hungry. Don't overeat. Don't eat when you are not hungry. But how do you make people think sensibly when they have arrived to a conclusion that all those binge eating episodes will be wiped away by the new orange beach or blue beach or whatever the new fad diet is? Do nutritional epidemiology and nutritional interventions work when advertising and other misinformation is working overtime (and getting paid) against the science? The answers are out there blowing the wind and if we don't wake up soon, as scientists, as a society, there will be a tornado and the answers will get lost forever. :/
metalpeter - 03/16/08 10:36
Of course that study is on postmenopausal women and not that I know the science of it but that is the giant factor. OF course the follow up study needs to be what happens when you add at least 20 minutes of Aerobic Exercise at least 3 times a week. The Follow up to that is to see what happens when you use epefederine of wait that causes Heart Attacks. but there are somethings that can turn up your metobolism and that is really what makes most thing people thin and most heavy people heavy. Of course eating habits as you grow up and DNA are other factors. But with out reading the study this isn't what that is about really.
Of course that study is on postmenopausal women and not that I know the science of it but that is the giant factor. OF course the follow up study needs to be what happens when you add at least 20 minutes of Aerobic Exercise at least 3 times a week. The Follow up to that is to see what happens when you use epefederine of wait that causes Heart Attacks. but there are somethings that can turn up your metobolism and that is really what makes most thing people thin and most heavy people heavy. Of course eating habits as you grow up and DNA are other factors. But with out reading the study this isn't what that is about really.
paul - 03/15/08 19:08
If anyone figure out how to preserve intelligence and personally outside of body using technical means it will be the frail bodied, skinny computer dorks. So we might just outlive everyone, although, in a different form.
If anyone figure out how to preserve intelligence and personally outside of body using technical means it will be the frail bodied, skinny computer dorks. So we might just outlive everyone, although, in a different form.
dragonlady7 - 03/15/08 18:55
It is too bad that people with lower BMIs have higher rates of mortality from every possible cause.
Also it is too bad you are a man because you also are more likely to die from everything.
But since you can't really change either of those two things through either diet or exercise, then you might as well enjoy what little time you have.
I, as an obese woman, will probably outlive you by twenty years. The only thing you can really do about that is throw me under a bus, so I should probably shut up now and keep vigilant when we're walking down the street.
It is too bad that people with lower BMIs have higher rates of mortality from every possible cause.
Also it is too bad you are a man because you also are more likely to die from everything.
But since you can't really change either of those two things through either diet or exercise, then you might as well enjoy what little time you have.
I, as an obese woman, will probably outlive you by twenty years. The only thing you can really do about that is throw me under a bus, so I should probably shut up now and keep vigilant when we're walking down the street.
03/10/2008 13:13 #43603
practicing in the mirrorCategory: petty anarchy
I think passport photos are specifically designed to make everyone look like terrorists, in order to keep the customs agents on their toes. I've been practicing my passport photos in the mirror.
Personally, I think Pixel Dave over here in the right margin is more accurate than anything you'd ever get out of a disinterested minimum-wage photo clerk at Walgreen's, but sadly I think Condoleezza Rice would beg to differ.
And for those of you who are wondering about my real life, I have managed to land a freelance gig for the next month or so with a company that would like to hire me full-time when it becomes feasible. For fellow job-seekers: when buttering up potential future employers, ad-hoc beer requisition is key to your success.
- Z
Personally, I think Pixel Dave over here in the right margin is more accurate than anything you'd ever get out of a disinterested minimum-wage photo clerk at Walgreen's, but sadly I think Condoleezza Rice would beg to differ.
And for those of you who are wondering about my real life, I have managed to land a freelance gig for the next month or so with a company that would like to hire me full-time when it becomes feasible. For fellow job-seekers: when buttering up potential future employers, ad-hoc beer requisition is key to your success.
- Z
dcoffee - 03/14/08 13:10
hahaha, scary bastard. You can go to my old place of work if you're ever in the South Buffalo, New Visions, passport photos $12, and it's a photo studio. They know nobody will pay anything for a passport photo so they keep it low. Or go with the terrorist thing.
hahaha, scary bastard. You can go to my old place of work if you're ever in the South Buffalo, New Visions, passport photos $12, and it's a photo studio. They know nobody will pay anything for a passport photo so they keep it low. Or go with the terrorist thing.
fellyconnelly - 03/11/08 08:55
i like your shower curtain..
i like your shower curtain..
paul - 03/10/08 20:56
You looking scary in that picture.
You looking scary in that picture.
jbeatty - 03/10/08 14:52
Welcome back to the land of employment. Congratulations!
Welcome back to the land of employment. Congratulations!
imk2 - 03/10/08 14:08
again, congratulations.
again, congratulations.
dragonlady7 - 03/10/08 13:58
You are such a fruit basket.
Also you really do look like a terrorist. Whoa.
You are such a fruit basket.
Also you really do look like a terrorist. Whoa.
Are you 6'5" tall? Because I think those might be the people who have trouble filling the economy boots.
I meant conversion, not conversation! Ha.
Yah. London will take a big bite out of your wallet. Like (e:joshua) says, the conversation is shit. Your best bet is a hostel. For a good central location I recommend Piccadilly Backpackers: :::link:::
If you literally want a clean place to sleep, you might try the POD dorms for GBP 12 per night.
Fill up on beer and bread ;)
First of all have a great time, I can't figure out how lesbians can have a shot gun wedding since wouldn't they know they where trying to have a kid it isn't like you get pregnant by mistake but maybe there is something I don't understand. In terms of traveling there I have no advice but somehow I think that (e:imk2) and (e:ladycroft) have both been there and might be able to help you out but not positive about that.
London is expensive, which is exacerbated by the shit dollar/pound conversion right now. I have to admit though, I'm jealous... I want to go and see some footy matches. I'm sorry I can't advise you about cheaper places to stay. =(
No lie, I slept on a bench at Heathrow. It was the right price. But the guys doing construction all night over my head made it difficult to sleep.