Category: Uncategorized

Notes from the blog break

Obviously I haven’t been my normal posting self lately, as I just haven’t found the time to sit at the computer for more than a few minutes to check email. That doesn’t mean that there’s been nothing to write about though! Here is a small list of things I have thought about over my blog break:

  • The construction and city cleaning crews really don’t mess around. At 3 AM, they travel in packs of at least half a dozen, and they have leading and trailing cops. I never really thought about how the streets got cleaned before, but it makes sense now.
  • The key to productivity is sleeping at 4 AM, and waking up at 7 AM.
  • Interactive Voice Response systems go a long way to replacing the menu systems, but only when they are used correctly. For example, the Telus system asks for your phone number, but everytime you finally get to a person, they have to ask again. What was the point of asking the first time?!
  • Soundproofing is a good thing. Wooden floors amplify bass.
  • A proper meal is only required once in two days. Donuts and pringles fill the gap.
  • You simply can never have too much Coke on hand.
  • Anyone who thinks that downtown Edmonton is “dead” can think again. Or go try to find parking at 1 AM any night of the week, even Sunday, and then tell me if you still think it’s “dead.”
  • The Interpreter was a pretty good movie. In fact, it was one of the few movies in which I actually liked Nicole Kidman. Probably not my favorite Sean Penn movie though.
  • One day I am going to move to a place where it never snows. This warm weather followed by snow followed by more warm weather is just painful.
  • Ikea carts make a wonderful addition to any home or office.

Now, hopefully, let’s return to your regularly scheduled blog!

A post about posting

This has been the longest interval between posts for me in a long time! I guess that’s what final exams and moving into an office all at the same time will do to you. Anyway, the latest update is that we now have Internet access at the office, and the wiring should be completed tomorrow. That means that by Monday, I should be back into a more regular schedule, and hopefully I’ll move my desktop sometime this weekend.

Oddly enough, I cannot wait to get back to work. All this moving and building and stuff has totally screwed up my work schedule, to say nothing of destroying my already poor sleeping and eating patterns.

Podcast Radio Station?

You’d think I would be excited about the launch of the world’s first “all-podcast radio station,” but instead I’m disappointed. San Francisco’s 1550 KYCY will now become KYOURadio and will feature content submitted by listeners. The problem? It’s not podcasting at all:

In part because of licensing requirements, which usually cover only broadcast and streaming, the company has no plans to provide downloadable program archives.

More and more, individuals and organizations are attaching the term “podcast” to their audio endeavours, trying to jump on the bandwagon. This is very clearly one such example, and it’s disappointing. KYOURadio is not a podcast radio station – they simply play content submitted by listeners.

Read: Podcast Wizard

Back to the polls?

Did you watch Prime Minister Paul Martin’s national address on prime-time television last Thursday night? No? Don’t feel bad, you’re probably in the majority. Martin thought that going on national television would be a good way to try and save himself and the Liberals some face in the wake of adscam (the last time a Prime Minister went on national television was in 1995, when Quebec was about to secede). While it’s probably too soon to tell if his address had any real impact, the Conservatives are clearly ahead in the opinion polls, with 35% to the Liberal’s 30%.

Which begs the question, are we going back to the polls? Clearly with the Conservatives enjoying a comfortable advantage, it’s not unreasonable they would rather have an election now than later. On the other hand, Canada is a very Liberal country:

The Liberal Party is often described as Canada’s natural party of government, having been in power for the past 12 years, and for 55 of the past 70.

Mr Martin has one aspect of public opinion in his favour: voters agree with him that the full Gomery report should come out before an election is called.

I think it comes to down to whether or not we want Quebec to separate. A strong election for the Conservatives would probably also mean a strong election for the Bloc Québécois, and perhaps, the start of new separation talk. I think that is probably something most Canadians would want to avoid. If history is any indication, it seems likely that the Liberals will be given another chance, if not by winning the next election, by clearly winning the following election.

Maybe the question isn’t “are we going back to the polls”, but rather, will adscam do anything? If this scandal doesn’t make Canadians vote non-Liberal, what will?

Read: Economist.com

Benedict's Burden

You know, I think being the Pope would be a pretty sweet deal. Over a billion devoted followers, and the entire world tuned to your every word. Well, sweet deal if you like the attention I suppose, and maybe Pope Benedict XVI doesn’t:

Pope Benedict XVI has revealed at an audience with pilgrims that he prayed to God during conclave to spare him the “destiny” of becoming Pope. He had thought that at 78 his “life’s work was finished and I was expecting quieter years,” he said.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if he travels a lot of stays close to home. He has the power as Pope to still have quieter years!

Read: BBC News

Marijuana Madness

The good folks at Health Canada announced yesterday that they have given approval for the sale of Sativex in our country. Sativex is a drug derived from cannabis to treat multiple sclerosis-related nerve pain:

This week’s approval of Sativex marked the world’s first cannabis-based drug to reach the market, according to the drug’s U.K.-based manufacturer, GW Pharmaceuticals….The drug is dispensed via a spray, which is delivered under the tongue or on the inside of the cheek. Potential side effects can include nausea, fatigue, dizziness, and reactions at the site where the drug is sprayed. However, the drug will not induce the type of intoxication associated with smoking marijuana.

So that’s definitely good news for people suffering from MS. I think it’s interesting to note that the announcement was made on April 20th, which is apparently International Smoke Weed Day (or 420). Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find an official link or website, just a few blog postings. I wish I could find out some more information on it – first heard about “smoke weed day” from Kim. Apparently it’s a word-of-mouth celebration!

Read: Red Herring

EXAM TIP: Read the answers carefully!

If you’re in university or college, you’re no doubt having to deal with final exams right now. I had my first today, and I must say, it went quite well. I was talking with Andrew tonight though, and realized that you can never be too prepared! So I present to you the following exam tip:

Read the question and answers carefully! As you can see in this example, I did not choose an answer that was given to me. This was a careless mistake that should not have happened! This example also shows that a seemingly simple mistake can have a big effect.

I guess another tip would be to not read blogs when you should be reading your course materials. Now stop procrastinating and get back to studying!

Pope Benedict XVI

I am sure you’re aware that Joseph Ratzinger was selected to be the next pope – it’s all over the news. I think the message is clear: the Vatican did not want another long papacy. You can learn some interesting things about the new pope at Wikipedia. For example, he’s the eight German pope, and the first since 1523.

The name he selected is not all that surprising either. Indeed, Rogers Cadenhead registered a bunch of domain names ahead of the selection of the new pope, including BenedictXVI.com. Apparently the domain has received about 100 hits a minute since Ratzinger was selected. Why didn’t I think of that! I doubt it bothers the Vatican much however, considering they have their own top-level domain “.va” to use.

Symantec's AntiSpyware Beta

Ever since Microsoft released their AntiSpyware beta, I have been using it almost exclusively. In my testing, I found that it worked far better than Ad-Aware. Of course, just like in real life, protection is better when you combine methods, so it’s never a bad idea to have more than one application.

Having said that, it’s worth noting that Symantec released today a free beta of Norton Internet Security 2005 AntiSpyware Edition. Aside from the horrendously long name, I am willing to bet the application is very good at what it does:

Norton Internet Security 2005 provides essential protection from viruses, hackers, and privacy threats. Included are full versions of Norton AntiVirus and Norton Personal Firewall, which efficiently defend your PC from the most common Internet dangers. You also get Norton AntiSpam to block unwanted email, Norton Parental Control to protect your children online and Norton Privacy Control to prevent confidential information to be sent out.

If you’re in the market for a spyware app, this one is probably worth checking out. And unlike Microsoft’s application, the Norton app will work on Windows 9x too. The free beta expires June 1st.

Read: FileForum