Tue 14 Mar 2006
I finally have my computer!
And it’s fast! I must say, the MacBook Pro is quite amazing. As Mike assured me beforehand, it took no time to get used to the Mac OS X. Other than running a little hot, I haven’t found anything wrong with it. It holds an average charge of 3 hours, which is normal, and has an extremely good wireless card. Speaking of wireless…silly Lakehead University banning it for health reasons. They are the laughing stock of the world, with international news stations picking up the story and even This Week In Tech calling it “Last-chance University” (For those unfamiliar with Lakehead, they commonly go by LU). Glad I didn’t go there!
I was in Toronto last weekend, the second time in two weeks (the first being the Autoshow, which I’ll get pics up when I get a chance to set up this gallery I’ve been meaning to do). I never really liked Toronto…and I think I like it even less now. I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario Friday, and was disappointed at the exhibits. I know it’s under construction…but it’s barely a gallery at the moment. The Frank Gehry exhibt was nice though. Though….overall Toronto is disappointing. Despite the fact that every time I come I find the CN tower to be smaller than I think it should be (is that really only as high as we can build these days…come on civil engineers!), only in Toronto will a person be asking people for money while wearing a Tommy Hilfiger toque, then swear at you when you say “Sorry”.
I’m also disappointed at the hotel we stayed. We were staying at the Delta Chelsea at $380 a night and they made me pay $10 for high-speed Internet and it’s not even wireless? Horrible. The Eaton’s Centre wasn’t impressive and generally the food we had wasn’t that good. I did really enjoy my Prime Rib at the Canyon Creek Chophouse. (Thanks Mike for the recommendation). To top it off, the Greyhound bus didn’t have enough room between me and the seat in front of me to easily use my laptop. I’ll probably take Via next time as I had a very good trip last term from Windsor to Kitchener with them.
Of course the main reason I came to Toronto was to see the Lord of the Rings musical, another let down. I guess I was expecting something miraculous for the most expensive musical ever staged. It was way too long (proving you can’t effectively write three books into one musical) and the theatre was so hot that we were all squirming in discomfort by the final act. The songs lacked memorability and the orchestration was nothing original. The acting and choreography was well done though, and what I did enjoy very much was the set. Consisting of 3 rotating rings (the inner two which broke into segments) and a centre disk which rose and sank to imitate everything from a forest, to a ridge, to a volcano. I’ll probably write a formal review for the Iron Warrior, or maybe the Imprint.
Now that I have my new computer I hope to get back to writing real entries and not just quick updates. That way I can get Mike and Kas off my back!
Currently Listening to: The Toronto Song - Arrogant Worms
Random Wikipedia Article: Political Spectrum
March 14th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
I remember a time when you were seriusly considering going to Lakehead, and that the only reason that you did not go there was because your admission got ripped up by people that cared about you. I also seem to remember you promising me to quit calling LU crappy…so shut it!
And honestly, why would you pay money to see MORE LOTR? weren’t the movies long and boring enough? would it be better with music and dance. NO. Though, i suppose it couldn’t get much worse.
Write more soon.
~kas
March 15th, 2006 at 11:28 pm
So you didn’t like my poor little hometown, eh? It’s too bad the AGO wasn’t fully open…
As for the Eaton Centre, well, the target audience is wives and daughters of wealthy businessmen. And thus the proliferation of clothing stores. I think it’s an absolutely gorgeous building inside, and I always enjoy Christmas shopping there with people, but it’s not exactly the place to find amazing bargains.
Anyhow, yeah, glad the Mac is working out for you. I definitely have a case of Laptop Envy.
May 12th, 2006 at 4:17 pm
I have to add to this one: it’s amusing now to see all the subway advertising for the LOTR. Consensus among critics was that the play was a great spectacle, but the music not so much.
Looking at the ads, you’d never guess it’s a musical.