My Broken Toe

If you've never had a broken toe/foot before, let me tell you: it hurts. A broken toe affect everything you do. You can't sleep well, you definitely can't walk, bathing and other bathroom activities are seriously hampered, and the throbbing pain can only be remedied by narcotics (which you stupid and unable to do anything).

So here it is, my dear reader: my broken toe/foot. I hope you get a kick (Ha!) out of this x-ray! May it never happen to you.

Here's Where I Stand On Things

You know, people who don't understand their own politics are annoying. You know who I'm talking about, right? I'm talking about people who associate themselves with a political party rather than a political philosophy, and don't understand the difference between the two.

I recently found two online political philosophy quizzes that I think everyone should take, just to see where they stand. On the first one (called the Votematch Quiz), you answer 20 questions, and you get matched up with the presidential candidate that best aligns with your answers. Then, if you scroll to the bottom of the "presidential matches" pages, and click on the link that says "Analysis and Explanation", it describes to you your overarching political philosophy. Here's where I stand on this test:
According to my answers, I'm a "Hardcore Liberal". Ok, that's fine. Those who know me wouldn't disagree with that characterization. But, keep in mind that this quiz is a bit shallow. For a more in-depth political philosophy analysis, you also need to take the Political Compass Quiz.

This quiz nails it absolutely on the head. Just like the Votematch quiz, it's an X,Y axis. Here's how I fared on this test.

Just to give you a frame of reference as what that little red dot means, here are some important people and where they sit on this continuum:

So, according the Political Compass, I hang with Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama. Not bad company to keep, eh? Where do you fall? What do each of these tests say about you?

The Big Three-Two Looms In The Horizon

Soon, it will be my birthday. On the 13th of this month, I will turn 32. I never thought I'd ever be so old, but there you have it: man's eternal struggle with his own mortality. With that in mind, I thought it would be appropriate to throw a pizza party.

You see, I haven't participated in a pizza party (my own or someone else's) since elementary school. I remember them being fun, but that's about it; it was, after all, 25 years ago. I started thinking about what I'd like to do for my old man birthday party and decided that a throwback to a simpler time was in order. To that effect, my pizza party will have:

• Argentine Pizza
• Argentine Wine (lots and lots of wine)
• Argentine Beer (for the beer drinkers)
• A Grim Reaper pinata full of candy
• An authentic Argentine Tango music act, complete with accordions
  
• A pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game (once everyone is good and drunk)

Everything above that is gravy to me. I'd like to have the pizza party attended people who know me (that's always a plus), and I'll be sending out an email to that effect soon enough. So here's the information for the party:

WHAT
32nd Birthday Extravaganza (with booze!)

WHEN
It's in the email I sent to all attendees

WHERE
Again, check the email I sent to all attendees

HUH?
You bring yourself and money for food and beer, we'll provide everything else

Now, of course, presents are not mandatory. I'm not the kind of guy who will be looking at your hands as soon as you walk in to see what loot you're bringing me. Just come on over and have a good time on a fine Sunday afternoon. However, if you do feel like getting me something, here's a list of suggestions, filled with expensive stuff I'd love to possess, but don't want to spend my own money on! (yes, that was joke.) (but not really). Oh, a lot of this stuff is too expensive for you (or I) to afford, so it's really a wish list rather than a guide, but hey, it never hurts to shoot for the stars, eh?

• SRAM X.0 Rear Derailleur ($225....How much? And what exactly is this?)
• Apple MacBook Pro ($way_too_much.....but oh so necessary!)
• Stainless Steel Toaster Over ($75.....yes, I'm serious. It's a pimp oven, yo!)
• Professional Blender ($160.....Gotta have blender for my smoothies!)
• Transition Dirtbag Freeride Bike ($3000.....Ya gotta have dreams, eh?)
• 8GB iPod Nano ($250....It's small and black and fits in my pocket!)
• XBOX 360 Premium ($400....I won't actually buy one for myself, but you might! Or maybe not, but a boy can dream!)
• DJ Console ($250....it's a DJ Turntable for the PC so you can mix MP3's!)
• Guitar Tuner ($50...Because when I'm in tune, you don't cry!)
• Programmable Bass Pre-Amp ($210....because I need to sound good live!)
• Santa Cruz Nomad ($way_too_much....pay now, or pay at the hospital, that's my motto!)
• A North Vancouver Townhouse ($550,000...You know just want to give me a townhouse in North Vancouver, because you have a couple laying around that you just don't need anymore!)
• A New Kitchen!! ($2200...I need new appliances, and I know you've just been yearning to buy them for me!)
• A Steinberger Synapse ($1100....I've wanted one of these for almost 20 years, yet I still don't have one. What are you gonna do about it?)
• An LCD TV ($2300....I know, I know, I don't watch enough TV to actually have one of these...but what else am I going to play games and watch DVD's on?)

If you've read this far, you see that I don't expect any of these things due to their outrages price tags. It was more of an exercise in wishful thinking for me, not so much a list of things I'd want to get from anyone. I mean, really....if anyone got me a townhouse in North Vancouver for my birthday, how would I thank them? In ass dollars? I mean, really!