While thinking idly about ways to tactfully pass money to people, I had an idea. A company could sell lottery tickets (probably of the scratch-and-win sort) that are guaranteed to pay out specific amounts. You would buy them for the face value plus a service fee. They could be issued in denominations running from $10 [...]

Unfortunately, I had to shut down my open wireless network experiment. That is because I found three people within the span of two days who were both (a) criminal and (b) very stupid.
One thing to remember: if you are going to use open wireless networks to download illegal things, make sure you aren’t sharing your [...]

Emily and I passed a most enjoyable weekend in Montreal, with ongoing Just For Laughs Festival events punctuated by tasty food and visits to the fine arts museum, botanical gardens, and ‘Insectarium.’ The last of those is especially worth a look, for those with a bit of a scientific or naturalist bent. The giant beetles [...]

As it stands, I think that Scrabble favours spatial and numerical abilities a bit too strongly, while not doing as much as it could to highlight and exhibit vocabulary and anagramming skill. In response, I propose two minor rule changes, one fairly trivial and one much more game-changing.
First, when a player has a word challenged, [...]

I visited the Four Cuisine bistro on Preston Street for dinner tonight and enjoyed it thoroughly. While there was only one vegetarian main course available, it was a very pleasant curry with saffron rice. The non-vegetarian options were appealing and varied, with an especially broad selection of seafood options. Also recommended are the chevre stuffed [...]

While road bike style tires create less friction as they move across the pavement, it is worth remembering that they perform poorly in some situations. For instance, when a crowd has gathered atop a bike path in order to watch a Blues Festival show for free, prompting you to try riding beside the path instead. [...]