Ryan J. Allen

Alex and I went to see the movie Click on Sunday night. This movie was particularly meaningful to me as time control has always been my super power of choice. Even though the movie does not depict time control as a positive power to have, it hasn’t deviated my desire to control time. The movie has, however, given me some ideas as to what sorts of qualifications I should add when making my wish/request for this specific super power. (I say “when” rather than “if” because I assume that everyone, at some point in their life, gets a chance to be given a super power; otherwise, why would homeless people continue to live?)

First, I would be sure to specific the specific time functions that I can control. Rewind, pause, play, chapter skip, fast forward, slow-motion, jog-shuttle, etc. The list would be entirely inclusive, though, at the time the super power request is made.

Second, I would specify that, when time is paused, anything I do is actually done in the instant as soon as time resumes. This way I do not have to try to get myself into the same position after pausing time, or worry about the effects of my body being “transported” because it is in a different location.

Third, I would specify that I cannot fast-forward through my life and resume at any place in the future. I would have to live every moment of my life. I cannot enable “auto-pilot” on myself.

Those are just a few of the qualifications I came up with since watching the film. It’s not an exhaustive list but I wanted to write it down so I could further ponder it. What is your super power of choice, and what qualifications would you put on the power to limit the negative impact that receiving said power would have on your life?

I went to see Click tonight. Before Click they played the official Snakes on a Plane teaser. Awesome. I found a download to the teaser in 1080p from wikipedia. Here’s a link: Snakes on a Plane Teaser.

Watch the teaser. Mark the date on the calendar. See the movie.

I’m starting to notice that I have trouble sleeping when I drink a caffeinated beverage at night. At least, I’m blaming the Coke I drank a couple of hours ago right now. It may actually be the nap that I took this afternoon (instead of doing school work).



Unfortunately I am not able to function well enough that I could do school work, or anything useful at the moment. I am stuck browsing the Internet, posting to my web log, hoping to bore myself to sleep.



I’m sure everyone knows of my enjoyment of the book and movie “American Psycho”. It is in AP style that I am going to start including some light exercise in my morning routine. The crutch of this light exercise will be the crunches–I must work my way up to 1000. I think I will do so with the following routine:

#define ONEDAY (60*60*24)

int crunches;

for (crunches=10;crunches<=1000;crunches+=10) {

    doCrunches(crunches);

    yield(ONEDAY);

} Eric, notice that there are four spaces there–not three.



The routine will also include stretches, of course, and possibly skipping rope on the weekends. I will have to review the book and movie again.



Of course, this could just be another late-night, tired, crazy Ryan idea that doesn’t pan out.

Tomorrow my sister is arriving for a two day visit. To accommodate her visit I have purchased 12 double rolls of Charmin. She poops a lot.

Today wasn’t a bad day at all. It was over in a flash, though.

Tomorrow I hope to do a lot of school work.

Today I woke up with the sun and finished top of my class.

Today was the “longest day of the year”, despite the day still being but 24 hours long. I woke up at sunrise, 5:14 a.m., which lead to a nice start to the day. Workload at work is good, which is helpful in this stressful time of ample school work. Our usually 10 a.m. meeting on Wednesdays didn’t suck quite as much as it has in the past, and the beef stir-fry in the cafe was rather tasty. As far as mornings go, this was a good one.

I ate chili in the afternoon then headed on the bus to school. I was dreading a group meeting but it turned out that we had to meet the TA as a group. This was helpful, as we worked with him to further develop ideas for our group case analysis. We watched presentations, which also didn’t suck as much as in the past, then went off to class. The lecture was fun and informative, as usual, and was a nice prelude to me receiving my Business Management midterm mark.

During the break in the lecture (3 hour class, we get a break half-way through) a classmate (who happens to be a group member) snuck a peak at the exams. They were ordered alphabetically so she actually saw my exam. When she told me this she also shared my mark with me. You’ll remember that I scored 36 out of 40 on the multiple choice section of the test. On the essay questions portion I scored 57 out of 60, for a final mark of 93 out of 100. This mark pleased me, and made me look forward, even more, to getting my midterm back.

When I received my midterm from the Professor I was delighted to see the comment “excellent. Top of the class.” I am quite proud. I think I’ll leave that one on the coffee table for my Great Grandparents to see when they visit.

Today was a good day. Tomorrow is the last day before a 4-day weekend–how could it NOT be a good day? Things are looking up. It’s summer time!

Things I have not yet done tonight:

• my dishes
• prepare an executive summary for two business case analyses
• finish reading the lecture content from my first Macroeconomics class
• prepare my deliverables for my group business case analysis meeting tomorrow

Things I have done tonight:

• made Kraft Dinner
• watched American Psycho
• watched an episode of the original Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles
• finished eating all of the cookies I had in my apartment
• called Alex to confirm arrival and departure times for her visit this weekend

Clearly I am not doing the things that actually matter in favour of procrastinating.

For the past few years I have been an advocate of the Nivea for Men line of products. With the recent boost in interest and competition for mens care products I thought it would be a good time to spread the word of Nivea for Men by posting some details about the products from the line that I use. The Nivea for Men line is high quality, affordable, and available in many stores with a pharmacy and/or cosmetics section (though it fits in neither of these sections). I usually buy the products from Shoppers Drug Mart, though I have also purchased them from Wal-Mart and Loblaws.

To begin, I am not a person who shaves daily. Most who know me would probably guess that I shave weekly, and that’s probably pretty accurate. Ideally I would shave every other day, so I will write this walk-through as if this is the case. My actual use of these products will vary for my schedule because, as I said, my “non-shaving days” far outweigh my “shaving days”.

Shaving Days
On shaving days I will start with a daily facial cleanser designed for sensitive skin, which means it is fragrance, colourant, and alcohol free. The Nivea for Men (NFM) website refers to this as an Extra Gentle Face Wash, though the packaging is slightly different in Canada. This mild, creamy lather gently cleanses without drying out your skin’s natural moisture barrier, leaving it feeling smooth and supple.

Next, I will use a sensitive shaving gel or foam. I am currently using the Sensitive Shaving Gel, though I have purchased the Sensitive Shaving Foam for use when the gel runs out. This gel or foam features an extra gentle formula with Chamomile and Vitamin care, specially developed for easily irritated and sensitive skin. It soothes sensitive skin while shaving, and protects against shaving damage. These products feature Skin Guard Technology, providing effective razor gliding for a close and extra-comfrtable shave while protecting against micro-cuts and shaving irritation.

And finally, after shaving I use an Extra Soothing Balm soothes, calms, and moisturizes the skin after shaving. This light, easily absorbed balm contains calming Chamomile Extract and Vitamins. It helps relieve skin after shaving and noticeably improves its condition. Because it is formulated for sensitive skin it is alcohol-free.

Non-shaving Days
On days when I do not shave I use an Energizing Facial Scrub. This deep cleansing, exfoliated scrub is formulated to gently purify and help clear away built-up dirt, dry rough skin, and help prevent clogged pores. The energizing foaming formula features extra fine scrub particles that exfoliate the skin, and mint extract, vitamin E, and minerals to re-energise it.

The facial cleanser is followed with a Re-hydrating Moisturizer. This moisturizing lotion provides your skin with instant moisture. It is enriched with vitamin E and pro-vitamin B5. NFM’s Re-hydrating Moisturizer visibly regenerates and improves your skin’s appearance, leaving it moisturized and protected.

For those of you who do not currently have a daily regiment I highly encourage you to visit the Nivea for Men website to learn more about Nivea’s offerings, and follow-up with a visit to your local chemist. As I said, I have been using Nivea’s products for years and highly recommend it to anyone looking to provide daily care for your face.

I organized my Kraft Dinner cupboard today. Thanks to “Oneel” my Kraft Dinner collection doubled in size and tripled in variety. I have done what I can to showcase the new varieties in the cupboard.

On an unrelated note, I have no idea where my money goes. In an effort to identify my spending leaks, provide incentive to curb my spending, and subject my spending to public scrutiny I will be posting information about my non-recurring costs on a bi-weekly basis. I believe spending will fall in to one of two categories: groceries, and personal spending. Now, I’m not going to post detailed receipts of my spending but I think I will try to break-down spending on a per-purchase basis.

I think I will also re-instate my use of the gift registry as something that will keep a list of things that I’d like to someday buy, but aren’t necessary to buy right away. I’ll add a new section for these financially posts and, possible, take that section off the front page. We’ll see how the first two weeks goes. (I’m going to do it pay-period to pay-period, so the clock starts tomorrow.)

My final exam for my Introduction to Microeconomics class went well enough. I estimate a mark of approximately 75%. I finished the exam in the two hour time frame that I estimated.



That being said, I cannot get my mind off of this bizarre man who was on the bus when I was traveling home. This man was older than I by 5-10 years. He was skinny, had longer hair than most men, and had a retracting hairline; he also had a mustache. But not only did this man have a mustache, this man loved his mustache. The entire ride–from Mackenzie King to Lincoln Fields–this guy was stroking his mustache. I saw everything from the left hand stroking the left side, to the right hand stroking the right side, to the cupped hand running down and up the mustache (my intention was not to create a sexual innuendo here). It was distracting. I almost had to step towards him and say “excuse me, sir, but your mustache loving is inappropriate in public”. (I should also add, this man’s mustache was not an awesome mustache.)



This lead me to think to myself two independent, but related, thoughts:

1. what knife (specifically interested in the size) would you carry with you and how would you utilize it if you were interested in disabling–but not killing–a person in an aggressive situation? and,
2. how often, if ever, do you think about the most efficient way of killing the people who are on the bus with you if your weapon was one or two handguns and efficiency was measured based strictly on number of kills?