DanceAbility Show: Monday May 28

The School of Dance presents:

YOU, ME, US

DanceAbility Performer Dallacy Tukkiapik, Photo by Jake Hanna

DanceAbility Performing Group Co-Directed by Shara Weaver and Renata Soutter,

Music by Dominique Saint-Pierre

Special Guest Steve Wint Monday, May 28, 2007, 7:00pm Tickets $25 4th Stage, National Arts Centre 53 Elgin Street, Ottawa Ticket advance purchase only at The School of Dance 613-238-7838 theschoolofdance@magma.ca Celebrate DanceAbility’s Fifth Year Anniversary! Information: Shara 613.240.9775 sweaver[at]magma.ca or Renata 819.773.7523 soutter[at]magma.ca

Uses for Plastic Containers: Car Console

Here is a an organizer built by CLKL that makes use of plastic yogourt containers. It also uses duct tape and grommets, which you have to love. She has an excellent set of instructions on her blog.

If you have to have a mini-van, I'd say you have to have one of these. The only thing I wonder: What about binder clips? Could they have made CLKL's console better or would it be overkill?

Dramatic News at the Pho 99

A surprising thing happened at the Pho 99 last week. Instead of asking "same thing?" my server gave me a menu.

I gave her a surprised look.

"New menu," she said.

It had to happen. Winter turns to spring, students graduate from school, plants grow and die and restaurants update their menus.

Here is the important news:

1. The #37 is still the #37. (As is the #35, Kathy A was happy to discover.)
2. Hot coffee with sweetened condensed milk is now #54. (If you write down #52 you will not get condensed milk).
3. Yes, the prices went up, but it's still extremely good value.

[Previously: #37 at the Pho 99]

Uses for Binder Clips - Cable Management

Binder Clip cable organizer
Uploaded to Flickr by my linoleum.

Do you have cords and sockets that get lost and go missing when they're unplugged from their devices?

Use this handy hack from "my linoleum" (or perhaps "jessica") to keep the cords where you want them.

(Ask me if I'm jealous that "my linoleum" got herself on Lifehacker.com for this when I've been blogging binder clips all these months and months without a mention.)

Uses for Binder Clips - Making Kitty Castles

When you are making a kitty castle, you will likely want to fold carpet over to make a window, or to make make a nice edge on a wall. All you need is white glue and binder clips to hold the carpet while the glue dries.

Pictured here is an opening on the tower of the castle that will be going to Lyle as soon as I finish it. (The area around the opening without binder clips was previously glued. You may remember Lyle from the Lyle cam.)

Are you ready for Emergency Preparedness Week? May 6-12

Last week I was bragging about how ready I am for the apocalypse, and I didn't even realize that Emergency Preparedness Week is almost upon us!

In a real emergency these pages may not be available to you!

From the Government of Canada's Emergency Preparedness Week page:

• Prepare an emergency kit
• Make a plan
• Know the risks [sadly they overlook these risks]
• Share Your Story: Have you lived through an emergency? Share Your Story with other Canadians.
• Sign up to receive monthly emergency preparedness tips by email.

Ontario's emergency page is here.

The City of Ottawa's emergency advice is here.

Skills and knowledge I have acquired with some effort that will be of no help post-apocalypse

1. Ability at dim sum brunches to spot and order treats such as har gow, siu mai, and woo gok;
2. Psychic ability to identify the closest on-street parking to a destination bar or restaurant;
3. Ability to balance stacks of coins on an elbow and catch them in the hand that goes with that elbow;
4. Knowing what different characters in a Canadian postal code mean about the address, what the acronyms are for the two 3-character groupings and what those acronyms stand for;
5. Ability to do the Vulcan "live long and prosper" greeting, the Steve Martin "shark bites" hand gesture; and hold my two middle fingers together while spreading the outside fingers apart;
6. Champion-level mumu skill (current high score > 1800 points);
7. Ability to identify a Lynn Miles song playing on the radio within the first few notes;
8. Ability to identify an episode of Star Trek or CSI within ten seconds of viewing;
9. Ability to reduce any aspect of life to a model in an Excel spreadsheet;
10. Can recite the alphabet as though all the letters that rhyme with "ee" instead rhyme with "ed" like "Z" does. (A bed, sed, ded, ed, f, jed....)