My regular backpack is looking pretty beat up. The zippers often get stuck, and on various places the bag looks worn and discolored. I think it’s time for a new bag, but what kind of replacement should I get? I’ve used shoulder bags in the past, but I never found their capacity large enough to carry all my gear. But then again, shoulder bags have some nice advantages: they’re a lot ...

Do you love feeling nostalgic? Perhaps it’s the smell of summer turning into fall, or winter to spring. Or maybe it’s visiting your elementary school or driving past an old residence. There’s something special about experiencing a sensation that’s instantly familiar to you, but one that hasn’t been felt for so long. I don’t know exactly what nostalgia is, but I imagine it as a pa...

For 15 years, I grew with a dog that I loved dearly, and throughout most of my childhood I was surrounded by other dogs from the neighborhood that I enjoyed almost as much. If it wasn’t for an incident, way back in grade one, where a neighbor’s half-wolf, half-husky decided to go all airport Bjork on me, I would probably have nothing bad to say about the species. Unfortunately, a smal...

The popularity of sparkling mineral water is at an all-time high. I remember starting to drink Perrier a few years ago because I was attracted to the little bottles (there’s something about green and yellow labeling that I find oddly alluring). When I first tasted the drink, I found it so bitter that I had to spit it out! It tasted nothing like what I expected — Sprite or lemonade ...