the drug attic

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Are Pop Cans Too Small?

I remember fondly as a kid drinking a can of Coca-Cola everyday for lunch. It wasn't healthy but man was I pumped for recess afterwards. It was like childrens' steroids. The point of this memory is that I would never finish the entire can of coke and would pour about a quarter of the remaining coke down the drain. Now I am an adult and I could probably down 3 or 4 or those same cans without pausing for a breath.

Monday, August 10, 2009

What is Business Casual?

The phrase business casual has long elicited many questions about what it actually describes. Although many people still are unsure about what exactly is business casual, it is still a popular attire requirement among companies and events.

Business casual attire was first designed allow people to be more relaxed and comfortable, while still maintaining a professional image. For men this meant no tie, buttoned shirt, and slacks. For women, a blouse or shirt with a skirt or pants was deemed appropriate.

A recent trend emerged where people, likely still confused by the term, pushed the limits of what was considered business casual. Many opted for the standard t-shirt and jeans, believing it to be business casual as long as they were well kept. This trend in grossly incorrect and should not be followed when practicing business casual attire.

The acceptable lower limit for how casual business casual can be should be a neatly pressed polo shirt with khaki pants, and leather shoes. A dressier version consists of a long-sleeve button shirt, with the tie being optional. For women, a pants or a skirt to the knee accompanied with a blouse or knit sweater is as casual as it can get. Pants should have a solid color - no patterns - and can be neatly pressed and tailored. All accessories should be fairly conservative, which can include a small purse or briefcase. Grooming should of course be clean and neat, but can vary depending on the situation.

If all else fails, remember this simple creed: it's always better to overdress than to underdress. So don't make the same mistake that many people do and skip the jeans for your next business casual event.

Humans, give youself a pat on the back

Think about all of the events that have taken place for you to be reading this article right now. This article was written in Canada, yet the entire world of humans can potentially be reading it instantly after it has been posted on the Internet. You may be saying well what's the big deal, this sort of stuff happens all the time. However, it is important to recognize the marvel that is the Internet, one of the uncountable innovations that humans have created. Surely if the baboons had beat us to developing the Internet and we saw them being able to do the things we could do, we would be amazed.

In this world that we share, there are millions of species out there. It is fair to say, that each species has its own inherent advantages. Humans can not breathe underwater like a fish, nor fly like a bird, or outrun a giraffe (despite those Man vs Beast specials on Fox). Fortunately, the advantage that we humans have been given is limitless. We have been given intelligence.

With our intelligence, we are able to invent way to mimic other species. We have invented scuba gear to swim with the fishes, airplanes to fly with the birds, and cars to speed by giraffes (possibly an idea for Man vs Beast 2). We know more about the world than any other species and know more about ourselves as well. On top of that, we even know more about other species than those species themselves. We are so dominant that we have even learned to train them as pets. Hell, we've even created species of our own. If God created all of the animals, we've succeeded so much as a species that we're threatening to replicate our creator. How many issues are there out there where humans are supposedly “playing God”?

If we go with the angle that God created us, obviously he would foresee our great intelligence and limit it somehow. That is why we have language. In the story of the Tower of Babel, humans believed that they could uild a tower into the sky to build their supremacy. To prevent this God made all of the people learn different languages so that they could not work together. Imagine today a man from New Delhi working on a project with a woman from Compton. Aside from the obvious language barrier, there are too many differences whereas if it were two elephants from those parts, they could still communicate with each other. Therefore, we have wasted our potential. Imagine what could be possible if 6 billion of the smartest species on Earth worked together. The cure for cancer would be solved by lunchtime. Some people have realized this and are working on developing a universal language.

Humans have their faults as well. No other species kill each other at the rate that we do, especially when it is not for survival. If we saw World War Two played out with bears instead, it would be the most absurd, horrific sight of life. A group of black bears begin to round up all of the polar bears they can find and begin systematically killing them. Soon most of bears of the world intervene and fight each other on the ground, in the air, and at sea. Animal Farm has nothing on this tale.

Nevertheless, the purpose of this article is just to remind yourself how awesome humans are. We have made the greatest impact on this world (not necessarily a good impact) and now control the fate of it. Not bad for a relatively young species that has only been around for 200,000 years.

Student's Haiku Assignment

Here’s my poetry,

I hope you like it a lot,

And give a good grade.

The Buffalo Sports Jinx?

Don't get me wrong. I love the Buffalo Bison, the sports team and the delectible dish. But the city's two professional sports teams, NFL's Buffalo Bills and NHL's Buffalo Sabres are the bottom dwellers of their respective leagues. No one should be surprised of course that both teams are struggling financially. The city of Buffalo, located just past the Canadian-U.S. border, barely passes a population of 250,000. I think some high schools in California have more people. In fact, Buffalo is the 69th largest city in the United States meaning that Anchorage, Alaska is probably better suited for a professional sports team. Anything to see more of Sarah Palin. Of course, smaller markets have survived like Green Bay but the Packers have a history and culture of success behind them. What does Buffalo have?

For those too young to remember, the Buffalo Bill have had the unfortunate distinction of appearing in four straight Super Bowls without winning a single one. In 1971, the Bills had the league's worst record (1-13), fewest points scored (184), and most points scored against (394) a record that still stands today. To make matters worse, their star player was O.J Simpson. The only Bill more cursed than Simpson would probably be Scott Norwood.

The Sabres of the NHL haven't quite had the same ineptitude at the Bills. It is, after all, a tough act to follow. But the Sabres can be the proud owners of the "Bat Curse". Back in 1975, extreme heat in Buffalo caused much of the arena to fog up. Amidst the fog, Sabres player Jim Lorentz swung and killed a bat with his stick. Firstly, why is there a bat in a hockey arena. Secondly, this evil omen led to Buffalo losing the series and can be the reason why they have never won a championship in Buffalo since. Want another evil omen? The Sabre's 1999 cup run feature their leading scorer named Satan. That run ended when Brett Hull famously scored a triple-OT goal with his foot in the crease, which was illegal back then.

Sure Buffalo hasn't had a presence in the NBA since way back to the Buffalo Braves but that team eventually moved to Los Angeles to become the worst franchise in sports, The Los Angeles Clippers.

With the rumoured move of the Bills to Toronto when owner Ralph Wilson dies (quite a morbid rumour I must say), Buffalo fans will be getting screwed once again. Add on to the fact that the Sabres have never really been financially stable and 15% of their season revenues come from Canada when the Leafs come to town. The prospective move of the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton will only steal almost all of those ticket sales spelling impending doom for the city of Buffalo. Did I say "impending"? I meant continuing doom.

"Things could always be worse..." - Adrienne E. Gusoff