They called it a “strategy building session”, but it sure felt like a pep rally to me. Don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing wrong with pep rallies. Especially when they’re done right. And this one was done very well. From the hip and inspiring location, to the fresh snacks, to the articulate, well-informed, engaging speakers; it was a pleasure to participate in this event. Continue reading
Strangle the Yak Now!
The spectrum auction is over, and from all accounts, the big winner of the new entrants is Globalive, which runs the “I can’t believe it’s a phone company!” Yak Communications.
Myself, I can’t believe they’ve survived this long! These buffoons are so massively incompetent it staggers the imagination. Continue reading
Look Up. Look Way Up.
Another couple of tweaks to the blog. The first one is transparent to users: I’ve added Google Analytics to the code, so I can tell how many people haven’t visited my pages.
The second is near and dear to my heart: I’ve added a favicon. These appear on the address bar and tab of your browser, and allow you to easily find the page amongst all the other tabs. (This is assuming, of course, that you’re not a drooling idiot, and are, in fact, using a browser with tabs. If you’re using IE 6, wipe your chin.)
More Firefox 3 Plugins You Didn’t Know You Couldn’t Live Without
I’ve been frustrated after the conversion to FF 3.0, looking for the Dictionary.com search engine. The Mozilla addons site only has the Merriam-Webster engine. I went hunting for it on the Dictionary.com site, and finally found the link: https://dictionary.reference.com/tools/firefox.html gives you access to the dictionary, thesaurus and reference engines. Continue reading
Joss Whedon Does It Again!
What cool people I work with! Today at 12:30, we gathered in the boardroom with our lunches. Buddy Richard hooked up his MacBook Pro (oh! How I’m missing Bender. And it’s only the first day…) to the projector, and regaled us with the first episode of Joss Whedon’s latest effort: a micro-miniseries (3 episodes, 15 minutes apiece) entitled Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.
It’s high camp, to be sure, and artfully showcases Harris’ impeccable comedic timing, as well as Whedon’s mastery of the genre. Continue reading
Goin’ Goth
I’m enormously proud to be launching the first tweak to my WordPress theme. Forget the blue. We’re going black and white.
“What’s with the picture,” you ask? Here’s a hint. At one point I was thinking of naming this blog “Precious Bodily Fluids”. Too cryptic? Not to worry: I’ll be changing the header pic every week or so. It’ll provide more hints. In the meantime, expect further tweaks.
I’m having a terrific time learning how to bend WordPress to my will. Still trying to wean myself from Windows, though: I have to break my addiction to Paint Shop Pro and get more familiar with The GIMP. I’ll publish some tutes as I go along. It would be good to have some screen capture software for the Mac. Something like Camtasia. Recommendations welcome.
Russian Army Dancing to Run DMC – It’s Like That
Sitting in a bar with friends, a familiar tune comes on. I’m trying to figure out what it is and where I know it from. Then I remember: a video of the Russian Army, dancing, to Run DMC’s It’s Like That. Loved it.
Sharing it with you here to keep my hand in at placing videos in WordPress posts. It took me a while to figure it out.
A Brief History of the Cows
Shawn Chittle writes that he was there at the beginning of Tucows, when it was just one cow. Before they had a barn, even. I love these impromptu histories. They remind me of my days as a young geek in my high school’s computer room.
Ann Cavoukian: Rock Star
Chad Hensler writes in his blog about Ontario’s Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian, encouraging Google to challenge a ruling forcing them to turn private user logs over to Viacom. In Dr. Cavoukian’s words:
…business should not, in my opinion, rely on the surveillance of consumers to protect their copyright interests. It is not acceptable to allow copyright enforcement to come at the expense of users’ privacy.
My new personal hero.
Read the whole letter here. (Thanks, Richard, for the link.)
Pooh on the iPhone 3G
Earlier this year I dropped my Palm m505. On a really hard surface. At Orly. It survived, but would no longer sync. Clearly the Universe was sending me a message it was time to upgrade my PDA. And, of course, that would mean re-evaluating my entire gadget strategy, including my PDA, cell phone, iPod, and camera. And there, in front of me, was the answer, clear as day: it was time to get an iPhone. I heard a choir of angels singing. Oh, it was so right. Continue reading