Topics

1

Unwashed Village / UV Toronto Meet 2.0

« on: July 22, 2008, 11:18:07 PM »

While it's already a good several weeks into summer, I was wondering if another GTA get-together could take place sometime between mid-August/early-September (around the same time we had it last year).

Sushi, pubs, aimless downtown wandering - whatever you folks would be up for. It would likely be an evening or weekend thing, meeting up around a TTC station.

I'm currently taking a school term, but will be done and back in the area from the 17th right up to the first two weeks of September. In that period, I'll be open for pretty much any time or day of the week.

Shady_Guy had mentioned that he'd be relocating here at some point, though I'm not sure if he's arrived (he hasn't posted in a while). I can also spread the word to a member from the V13 days who's at my Uni.

So, would a repeat of last year's Queen St. crawl be possible?

Feel free to suggest dates, places and events. It would be nice to get more than 4 people this time around.

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Unwashed Village / Paging Nancy Grace

« on: February 02, 2008, 06:18:11 AM »

If you dwell somewhere in the general vicinity of North America, you probably remember the big Natalee Holloway case from a couple of years ago (mainly from the non-stop outrage beamed out nightly on Nancy Grace's primetime character-assassination show and tell).

It seems one Dutch journalist hasn't left the case alone. He's seen in this video getting a glass of wine splashed in his face, after questioning the integrity of main suspect Joran van deer Sloot.

Now, after completing a hidden camera investigation, Peter R de Vries claims to have cracked the case.

His findings will be presented in a documentary, set to air this Sunday on the Dutch SBS6 channel at 9:30, local time. It'll likely be on Youtube by Monday morning. While this originally seemed to be another over-hyped "Action News" type of investigation, there might just be something to it. An Aruban prosecutor is now seeking the arrest of that wine-throwing suspect, after reviewing material prepared by the filmmaker.

At this point, I would find it highly ironic if excessive TV coverage actually contributed in some way to this case. Still, this might just live up to the hype, and succeed where Aruban, Dutch and US investigators had all failed.

(Feel free to move to the general or debate boards if there's any discussion).

- A.S.S.R.

3

Unwashed Village / Mythbusters - Plane on a Conveyor Belt.

« on: February 02, 2008, 05:45:48 AM »

Anyone remember this classic thread? This debate has apparently been raging on the internets for several years now.

Adam and Jamie have finally stepped in - with rather concrete results and a real-life mock-up.

The full episode is currently up on youtube - just search "Airplane On a Conveyor Belt Part _" (I won't link directly - might be taken off soon for various reasons).

I won't spoil the ending for you, but a clip of the big "Science Content" explanation should shed some light.

- A.S.S.R.

4

Unwashed Village / Weird and Wonderful World of Internships

« on: September 22, 2007, 09:23:42 PM »

Some of you may remember that earlier this year, I was busy looking for an internship/job placement for the summer (Sarge, who does some amazing applied work in the field of nuclear energy, even offered his help, but I somehow didn't get a chance to see his post until after my first offer came in).

My uni has a mandatory co-op program for most science/engineering degrees, which has me spending summer/off-school terms doing work marginally related to my chosen field for academic credit (like internships, only decently paying and typically in industry, rather than just in-school labs - and there's a big application/interview processes). I have another such term coming up in January, and today the first postings appeared on the atrociously designed school job-search system. Amidst pages of low-level, code monkey work and inventory management gigs, I've found some real gems:

1) Technician at a weather station. Nice electrical eng. gig, with some applied science thrown in, right?. The caveat: The station's run by the Canadian armed forces in Alert, the northern-most constantly inhabited community in the world. Winter in the high arctic, anyone?

2) Chem lab tech. at all-girls prep boarding school. Well, I am still in my late teens, and single , and these posh places may pay very well. Of course, I'd rather do something a little more involved than setting up bunsen-burners for months on end.

3) Another armed forces gig, this time testing "safety solutions" against "chemical threats." I'd have to relocate for this one. I could also potentially die painfully during some of these tests.

4) Campell's soup - batch preparation. Large scale cooking disguised as industrial chemical engineering. I've already applied, despite no practical knowledge of cooking.

5) Lab tech. at this company testing various radioactive materials. I've applied to this one too, hoping to score some super powers (or, at the very least, some sexy danger pay).

I've also sent my resume to more conventional jobs, including 7 separate positions at this one major company that I would kill to work for (and was apparently ranked in the top 10 of applicants the last time around, when they had one position open). Fuck, on my first co-op term, this past summer, I just tested digital cable boxes (read: watched TV) all day.

Anyone have some good college internship/summer job experiences?

5

Unwashed Village / Canadian Moneys Thread

« on: September 21, 2007, 05:29:21 PM »

To any Canuck villagers out there, I'd suggest doing some shopping online or stateside in the next couple of days, as...

$1.00 CDN = $0.999715 USD

Lets enjoy this while it lasts (this is the first time we've been around parity since 1976, fyi).

- A.S.S.R.

(the rest of this thread can be spent mocking the cutesy colors and banal iconography of Canadian currency)

6

Unwashed Village / UV Toronto Meet

« on: August 15, 2007, 03:52:08 AM »

With Shady_Guy's impending arrival to T-dot, it would seem that this Saturday presents a solid opportunity for the much anticipated Toronto-area villagers meet. I realize this may be a bit sudden, and I haven’t yet been able to get in touch with everybody, but folks in the old TO thread did mention generally being available on weekends.

Going with the original idea of sushi, I can recommend this place. It’s a very affordable sushi/teriyaki/Japanese/Korean eatery and take-out I can vouch for. Not the biggest place, but it should be fairly empty on a Saturday afternoon (if not, there are similar restaurants and some pubs along the same stretch of Dundas St.). If anyone’s up for something slightly fancier or has an alternative suggestion, please post.

It’s about a block west of University Avenue and the Saint Patrick subway station (where we can meet, underground, in front of the main ticket booths), and is near the Art Gallery of Ontario and within walking distance of Eaton’s Center (big shopping mall), Bay St. (tall buildings, financial district) and Queen West (artsy street – lots of clothing, music and book stores).

Time-wise, I’m thinking we can go for a later lunch/very early dinner, to let everyone sleep in or make the drive downtown. I’ll put 1:00 PM as the earliest I can make it, with 2:00 PM as a tenitive time. 

Any guests are, of course, very welcome.

So, would meeting up Saturday, at 2:00 PM in the main hall/foyer of the Saint Patrick’s subway station be alright with everyone? If not, could you make it with a slight alteration of time or location?

Feel free to PM or email me if you would need any more info.

Hope to see some of you on Saturday.

- A.S.S.R.

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Unwashed Village / Shub-Niggurath

« on: August 07, 2007, 10:39:05 PM »

Actual goat or multiple-headed, tentacled, planet-eating alien entity.

Discuss.


- A.S.S.R.