The Blork Blog

True story: when I was seven years old I had a squirt gun that I really loved. It was a big yellow plastic thing that held about a litre of water and shot a stream long and true when the trigger was squeezed. One day my big brother — three years older — was teasing [...]

First of all, don’t. You shouldn’t walk or run on a bicycle path. Hardly ever. I want to be clear about that. But I say “hardly ever” because there are a few circumstances when it may be grudgingly permissible. For example: If there is sidewalk construction or the sidewalk is otherwise blocked and you have [...]

It’s pesto season, so I thought I’d do my part to spread the warning about a recent pine nut problem. Apparently (according to this thread on Chowhounds), there is a problem with some pine nuts, including the crop that are in the markets around Montreal right now. It appears to be specific to the cheaper [...]

This public service announcement shows you how to cancel delivery of those huge Canadian phone books that you never use, such as the Yellow Pages and the White Pages. The people behind the phone directories don’t want you to cancel delivery (the more books they deliver, the higher their ad rates), but they seem to [...]

I went to the Annual QWF Awards Gala last night, and on the way out, as I worked my way through the swag, I picked up a bookmark from the Used Book Circle that listed the second-hand bookstores (specializing in English-language books) that can be found in “mid-town” Montreal. As a fan of used bookstores, [...]

While it is incumbent upon all parties to work together to ensure equal, fair, and safe access to our roadways, people who use Montreal’s Rachel Street bike path should be aware that the intersection of Rachel and St. Laurent is particularly dangerous for them. I say this as someone who has both driven and cycled [...]

This Public Service Announcement (PSA) is brought to you by the Blork Blog. No purchase necessary. Over the years I’ve accumulated a lot of computer and electronics junk. I’ve got a couple of near-dead laptops, an old cell phone, a Palm PDA, couple of printers, and a scattering of barely recognizeable parts. But what to [...]