An ancient, experimental blog - my intention was to share articles I've found, interesting links, videos, great quotes and once in a while I may have a thought or two to share (read: rant) Instead I'm going to revive it and document my trip to the Philippines instead of annoying all my FB friends with even more frequent posts that usual.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Monday, February 06, 2006
Super Bowl XL Commercials
Super Bowl XL Commercials on Google Video
Friday, February 03, 2006
Thursday, February 02, 2006
"Marcia Brady-style" - hee hee hee
"O.K., I'm not saying violence is funny and I'm not saying that Star Jones is rather difficult to like, but even her producer on 'The View' admits that he can't get enough of seeing her hit in the puss with a football, Marcia Brady-style. Enjoy, people!"See it here
The Empire Tumbles 4 Ya!
The Empire Tumbles 4 Ya! - Defamer
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
IE 7 bugs abound
If you listen real carefully you can hear Jan laughing (and it sounds a little smug if you ask me)
Spell with flickr
Too much money to tax
the tax office in the US has to store his financial data on a special computer because his fortune is so vast
Read more about Bill Gates and how he has too much dough.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
FHM - Top 100
Start your phun here
Internet Explorer 7: Beta 2
Jan is rolling his eyes right now. Get over it, bud. ;-)
You can check out its new features and download the Beta here.
Oh! By the way:
Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview will only run on Windows® XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) systems
Gallery of the Absurd
Monday, January 30, 2006
Google Toolbar Beta
Now you can make your Toolbar as unique as you are. You can add buttons and bookmarks; get instant search suggestions; share web pages with friends; and enjoy the Toolbar's pop-up blocker, web form filler, and spellchecker.
Google Toolbar Beta
A new way to view London: from a toilet
a usable public toilet enclosed in one-way mirrored glass situated on a sidewalk near the River Thames
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Parachute Pyramid
James Lipton recites Kevin Federline's PopoZao
The point is, his lyrics are hilarious. I've read some and couldn't really make sense of them. That's where James Lipton (of the Actor's Guild) comes in. Thanks to The Superficial for providing us the link.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Adult Diapers All The Rage Among Chinese Travellers
Alongside food and fire crackers, Chinese are adding a new item to their
lunar New Year shopping: Adult diapers. Sales have soared ahead of the holiday as travelers prepare for long trips home aboard trains so crowded that even the toilets are jammed with people, newspapers said Tuesday.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Monday, January 23, 2006
U.S. Supreme Court rejects RIM's appeal
A U.S. shutdown of Blackberry service looks imminent as an appeal in a patent infringement case from RIM is rejected.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Doctor: New lips not made for smoking
CNN.com - Doctor: New lips not made for smoking - Jan 18, 2006
Funny Vintage T-Shirts
NoiseBot.com - Funny Vintage T-Shirts ( funny vintage tshirts, funny vintage tees, funny vintage shirts )
Rooftops used for advertising
Google releases Google Earth. Google pays us to put their ads on our site.
How about Google Adsense on my roof?
Rooftops used for advertising News.blog CNET News.com
Happy anniversary, Brain
Slashdot 20 Years of Computer Viruses
Thursday, January 19, 2006
iPod Alarm Clock
Instead of waking up to one of our somewhat lame radio stations in town, I wake up to a podcast instead!
Check it out: http://www.codepoetry.net/archives/2004/08/01/ipod_alarm_clock.php
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Keyboards Are Disgusting
Slashdot Keyboards Are Disgusting
TextArc.org Home
I found it on a link from this equally impressive site:
http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
The brain is so amazing
Can you read this?? Olny srmat poelpe can.? I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!? If you can raed tihs psas it on
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Bash
"The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?"
I found that on http://bash.org
The Quotations Page
"In all large corporations, there is a pervasive fear that someone, somewhere is having fun with a computer on company time. Networks help alleviate that fear.", John C. Dvorak
Shaw Throttling Bit Torrent?
I fought with it for about an hour, read some FAQs and then remembered a friend suggesting that Shaw was blocking Bit Torrent packets. I tried a quick search and found this article.
What a freaking shame - but it seems like a necessary evil as Reuters claims Bit Torrent accounts for 35% of all Internet activity!
Friday, January 13, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Castanet.net - B.C. News
I'm so ashamed of our justice system right now...
Nick Burns Your Company's Computer Guy!
Dee @ Shaw ROCKS
When I hear from Shaw I'm used to "professional", stale, boring, faceless, corporate personalities on the other end.
This time I was lucky enough to speak with Dee. She was unprofessional, easy to speak with, hilarious, personable, a little quirky and SHE TOTALLY MADE A BAD THING GOOD.
As of NOW my Internet connection is almost 3x faster than it was before speaking with Dee. Turns out one of her (less qualified, less personable) co-workers put me on an enhanced telephone service instead of an enhanced Internet service. Easy mistake? I'm guessing not.
Dee. I encourage you to send the link to this blog to your boss to let him/her know how much I appreciate your help tonight. You were one of the most helpful, well spoken and personable tech support people I've ever spoken with. For real. I think that says a lot since I've been in the computer industry for nearly 15 years (like you).
Thanks a bunch, Dee. You made my day.
The Sith Sense
The Sith Sense
Vader actually got my first one (an orange) but "a woman" apparently stumped him. Maybe the burn torched his privates a bit too much?
Redwire DLX
and more...will include an iPod cradle sewn into a pocket on the hip
Who's going to be the first to get me a pair!?
Einstein's 'spooky action' seen on a chip
New Scientist Breaking News - Einstein's 'spooky action' seen on a chip
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Burned CDs Last 5 years Max
Monday, January 09, 2006
Quick Laugh
When a woman wears leather clothing
A man's heart beats quicker,
his throat gets dry,
he goes weak in the knees,
and he begins to think irrationally.Ever wonder why?
Because she smells like a new truck.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Let them sing it for you
Click here and when you arrive, you can type in some words and the site will play them back for you.
You'll see what I mean...
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Google Pack
Its still a bit green, but I LOVE the idea. It'd be great if we could customize the software in the package.
This kind of thing would convince me to blow away and re-install Windows more than once every year or so.
I know my buddy Jan is gasping at that 'cause he apparently does it every couple of WEEKS.
Friday, January 06, 2006
SharpReader RSS Aggregator
Now that we're on the topic, here are some good feeds:
- Official Google Blog
Speaks for itself, so I'm not sure why I'm adding this... - IronSpace
Do you need to ask? - Joel on Software
Smart, smart guy running this site. Sharing his experience working in our industry - Twit
GREAT podcasts - PeekJ's Blank Blatherings
A buddy of mine runs this site - he knows his stuff and finds GREAT stuff out there - Snicker
Something for the boys - Bastardly
Hilarious write-ups about stuff happening in the entertainment world - Dvorak
One of the most well known tech-writers today (and for a while now)
(also a contributor to the TWIT podcasts I mention above) - Wired
Really interesting science articles from this site - CNet News
See above - Slashdot
More hi-tech, but still great articles to help keep us up to speed with our fast moving industry
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
WMF Vulnerbility
Microsoft (wisely) released a patch for this vulnerbility 5 days ahead of schedule so don't bother what's below.
Why are you reading this? Didn't you just hear what I said? Eeesh.
If you're running Windows and you're reading this before January 10, your computer is potentially at risk for a creepy new attack on the Internet.
You really should read this article.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
March of the Penguins
Friday, December 30, 2005
Gisele gets inked
BTW: It seems to take quite a while to load the video and it requires Quicktime to play.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Crazy Spans the ages
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Daily Show - War on Christmas
Friday, December 23, 2005
Science Cures Menstruation, is God's Wrath Far Behind?
Health experts are predicting that by this time next year, menstruation will no longer be an inevitable function but rather an optional feature, a bit like power steering or pay-per-view.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
SmitHappens
- The dog bit my vagina
- Nick Burns: Your company's computer guy
- Dancer falls
- And my favorite comedian EVER: Mitch Hedberg
Best Rejected Advertising Volume Three
They're brilliant!
Festivus Poles
So, if you're unsure of what to get me for xmas this year....
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Why aren't airlines held accountable?
Just because it was so bad, and just incase my rant can bring a little bad press to some airlines, I thought I’d share my experience of getting to and from Little Rock, Arkansas.I was going to Arkansas to help a company (Riceland Inc) design some software to manage a couple of their business processes - long story. I’d done all my research, had all my documentation to get through immigration, and even packed smart enough that it fit in a carry-on and I wouldn’t have to check anything.
I had an uneventful trip from Kelowna to Calgary with Air Canada.
From Calgary I was to fly to Houston, so this meant it was time to cross the border and deal with immigration.
Nice way to start a long day: with a tiny, little man whose job I truly believe is to shake us up a little, just incase we’re trying to hide something. He was so arrogant and curt he managed to throw me a little, despite the fact that I knew he was trying. By the end of our 40 minute interview my hand was shaking with frustration and the forms I was filling out looked like they’d been completed by a six year old. It also cost me an unexpected $50US to enter the states; nice bonus.
After dealing with the little piss-ant (ps: I actually saw a "piss-ant" in Arkansas) in immigration I had a sprint to my connecting flight. Remember that I was carrying everything and checked nothing? The bags got heavy REAL quick.
I got to my Continental gate about ½hr before boarding. And speaking of sprinting, why is it only the COMMUTERS are the ones that are hurrying in an airport? Shouldn’t the staff be a little more motivated? But I digress…
Of course about 10 minutes before boarding I sensed a bit of a commotion. People were looking out the windows in the direction of our plane at something. Soon there was an announcement that our plane was undergoing minor repairs; “nothing to worry about”.
I spoke with a pert little fellow at the gate about my connecting flight and he assured me, with an annoying little lisp, that I’d make my flight and there was “nothing to worry about”.
I’d missed my connecting flight so I arranged for an insurance (second) flight before boarding.
I was the last to board the plane, literally, and despite the assurances everywhere in the airport that we were allowed to bring two items on board with us, I was told there wasn’t room and one had to be “checked” and could be picked up when we landed.
I was seated in the middle of two giant people. To my left (at the window) was one of the larger women I’ve ever seen; her arms and stomach fully covered my armrest. It should also come as no surprise that the fellow to my right was also a giant and, of course, we later learned he snored. Elbows pinned to ribs for 4.5hrs.
Something else odd happened on that flight: about 10 minutes after the crew had brought around our beverages, I noticed a line-up getting longer and longer for the bathrooms. I swear there were 12 people standing in the isles waiting for the toilets. I’d never seen so many and was starting to worry we were all catching something! The guy beside me – in between asphyxiations – mentioned he was a regular on this flight and one of the toilets was broken and had been for a couple of weeks now. You can imagine how that line-up affected the demeanor of the crew.
After a long departure from the plane, we made our way to the baggage claim. The whole time I’m anxious to get my bags as my “insurance” connecting flight was leaving in 45 min.
I waited for my luggage for 20 minutes before the carousel broke down. Soon it was clear I was risking missing my second Continental flight so I darted around in the area looking for one, just ONE representative to help me figure out what to do. It took another 10 minutes to find someone that worked there.
Through the thick East-Indian accent I was able to make out that my bag was in fact on its way to Little Rock so I was free to make my way to my next flight. He directed me to “the train” downstairs.
I race down an escalator that was in the approximate direction his shaky finger was pointing only to find a full train. There was a tiny space left in one of the cars and the group grudgingly let me board with them.
During the smelly, sweaty commute I overheard someone say something about “leaving security”. See, apparently we would normally have taken a tram upstairs, but for some reason it was shut down, so we had to take this train, which left the secure area. This of course means we all had to go BACK through security. Another delay that clearly meant I was going to miss the second, insurance flight. Ugh.
As I enter the main terminal its jam packed with thousand(s?) of angry passengers. As it turns out, we’ve all been re-routed through security on purpose: they found a suspicious, abandoned parcel in the airport and had to destroy it.
After about 20 minutes of confusion and chaos a representative was running through the crowd explaining the situation and assuring us that our flights were being delayed so we could catch them.
It took about 2.5 hours to clear security and another 30 to get the place going since the crews on the tarmac were now short staffed after this unexpected event.
An hour after THAT I arrive in Little Rock and wander back and forth through the baggage claim area, unable to find a carousel that lists my flight. It was never listed, I just happened to see my bag going round-and-round at one point and picked it up.
My host from Riceland was there waiting so we made the hour long drive into Stuttgart and, eventually, I hit the sack around 2:30am. Welcome to Arkansas.
The three days of work were the saving grace of this trip, it went SO WELL.
So, time to get back home.
December 20, 2005: my 34th birthday. Worst on record.
I’m eager to get home to see Canada play the Czechs in the World Junior Hockey Championships right here in town and I had SWEET tickets. I also have to renew my drivers license before 6pm as it expires today.
Little Rock to Houston – flight with Continental is delayed by an hour without explanation.
A super friendly flight attendant assures me I will not make my connecting flight with Continental. She even goes so far as to advise passengers that since we’re late, could people NOT catching a connecting flight please let the rest deplane first. Finally I have a good experience with this airline. They also advise us that new boarding passes are already being issued for those of us that will be missing our connecting flight.
I’m first off the plane (yeah!) and get to the gate only to find that the old guy has no idea what I’m talking about. He struggles to find me a connecting flight for a few minutes as the line builds. Eventually I hear “get yourself over to C42” so I start to run.
I ran for, no kidding, about 15 minutes. Note to self: get back in shape.
At C42 nobody seems to know what to make of my tickets (there are three conflicting times on the ticket) and send me over to Continental Customer Service.
I was there for 90 minutes, and keep hearing the lady at the counter mumbling to herself “this isn’t good, this isn’t good”, “oh, this is all screwed up” and other one liners designed to relax the weary travellor.
Eventually my new friend Connie gets me a flight to Seattle instead of Calgary. We BARELY remember to re-route my bag.
The Continental flight to Seattle is uneventful, finally. I depart and look for my S-gate. The only sign visible points to stairs/escalators that have been blocked for repairs. Unbelievable. After 5 nearly frantic minutes I finally track a fellow down that directs me to the train that will get me the round-about way to the gate I need.
I eventually find my Horizon Air gate and the flight is “on-time”. Ahh. I’m only an hour’s flight away from home and the hockey game I’ve been looking forward to for months.
Departure time is 5pm which would mean I would even have time to go home, change/shower before the 7pm game. I’m so excited I could pee.
4:45: the folks at the gate issue a warning that there’s a maintenance delay. Stomach sinks.5:00: we’re notified maintenance won’t complete until 6pm and they are trying to find another Horizon plane.
5:20: still no word so I get up and walk around to the counter. There’s nobody at the Horizon counter. I check the board it the departure time now reads 6:57!!!
5:30: they show up and explain that "We’re delayed until 7pm - please come collect your $6 food vouchers and sorry for the delay".
6:15: return to the gate at the requested time. Now they tell everyone to move to move to a new Horizon gate a short jaunt away. This is feeling like a bad joke.
6:30: they can’t locate the plane, and the crew will still need to get through customs
6:45: they’ve found the plane and the crew is on their way
7:15: board the tiny, tiny plane
7:45: taxi down the run way
9:00: arrive in Kelowna, game is tied 1-1
9:10: carousel breaks and an angry passenger insists the staff pull the bags out one by one which, amazingly, they do!
9:30: luggage is finished being unloaded
THEY’VE LOST MY BAGS
9:40: waiting in line for security to process the passengers. I watch some chick interview a 4 year old just to be cute. I'm astonished that I'm waiting for this. I wish that kid would answer the important questions sooner!
10:00: a much anticipated hug from my patient, gorgeous girl friend. We fill out the necessary forms and I’m on my sulky way home for a shower and a stiff drink.
Bonus chapter!
December 21. I need to renew my license today and get my photo taken. I’ve woken with a swollen, discolored right eyelid. I have a sty. This is priceless.
Additional Links:
John C. Dvorak's article: What happened to Alaska (Horizon)?
Shouldn't customer service try as hard as this little guy?
UPDATE, Dec.21:
My luggage has been found. Hooray. Oddly enough I feel reluctant to be happy about them returning my property.

UPDATE #2: this feels so appropriate.
UPDATE #3: A friend of mine sent me this:
Air Canada
An Air Canada plane took off from Torbay Airport in St. John's. After it reached its cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom:
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome aboard Flight
293, non-stop from St. John's to Toronto. The weather ahead is good and we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax . . . . OH, MY GOD!"
Silence followed.
After a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "I'm sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, a
flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!"
A Newfoundlander passenger yelled, "That's nothing bye. You should see the back of mine!
Monday, December 19, 2005
The man behind the Segway drinks his own pee
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Cute Overload ;)
this WEEK in TECH
The world's most listened to podcast and winner of the 2005 People's Choice Podcast Award
Where I'm at

I'm in Stuttgart, Arkansas for 5 days. I'm 2855 km away from home according to the City Distance Tool on Geobytes.
I had some holidays to use up and these folks wanted me to visit them on site, so here I am!
It took 14 hours and 2 missed flights (not my fault) but I'm finally here and things are going ridiculously well.
Riceland provides marketing services for rice, soybeans and wheat grown by its 9,000 farmer-members in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas. Each year, its 1,900 employees receive, store, transport process and market more than 125 million bushels (2.5 million metric tons) of grain.
Riceland is the world's largest miller and marketer of rice and one of the Mid-South's major soybean processors.
I'm helping them automate the process of creating sales orders in their ERP system (aka: Adage or ERP) from electronic versions (EDI 850 documents) they receive from their customers. Big shout out to my new buddy Dan who's going be a freakin superstar at the company when he finishes building and implementing everything we've designed.
Tomorrow is my last full day here and its really just going to be wrapping things up since we've accomplished so much in the first two days.
Tuesday I wake up in Arkansas on my birthday, fly home to my girl, catch up and head out to watch Canada play the Czech's in an exhibition game for the World Junior Hockey Championships.... live in our own arena.
Okay, how can you tell I've got too much time on my hands tonight? I should sign off, get some dinner then a much needed rest.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
E-Paper On Cereal Boxes
Pretty cool!
Tiny self-assembling cubes could carry medicine, cell therapy
Johns Hopkins researchers have devised a self-assembling cube-shaped
perforated container, no
larger than a dust speck, that could serve as a delivery system for
medications and cell therapy.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
iPod to get integrated radio?
A new change jar!
RSStroom reader - toilet paper printer!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Napoleon Dynamite Soundboard
There are a ton more soundboards here and some pre-recorded prank calls.
Good fun.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Supermanhood Returns
Here's a sneak peek:
NEW Superman Brandon Routh is giving movie chiefs a mighty headache — with
his supersize LUNCHBOX. Hollywood executives have ordered the makers of Superman
Returns to cover up the rookie actor’s blockbuster bulge.
Friday, December 09, 2005
The Infamous Triumph Star Wars Interviews - Google Video
This video is an absolute classic, albeit a bit dated now.
He's a freakin monkey!
Skip the first 1/4 of the vid, though, its a slow start.
Ding Fries Are Done!!
Happy ... er ... Merry ... uh .... oh WHATEVER
And a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (Not to imply that America is necessarily greater that any other country or is the only “AMERICA” in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wish-ee.
By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms; This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher.
This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.
Windows Live Local
I love that Google and Microsoft are challenging each other so much that they're coming up with this great stuff! And free!
Competition is SO healthy in this industry.
The poor, poor fool
Thanks to my buddy Jan for this link.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
The Darth Side: Memoirs of a Monster
This blog was what really got me interested in blogging and, more importantly, syndication (RSS style).
Remember, as a blog, the story will make more sense if you start reading the older posts first.
Google's Ten Golden Rules
Just another reason I'm gearing up to apply for a job at this amazing company.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
IFILM - Viral Videos: Gap: Pardon Our Dust -
ABC.com: ABC's Official 'Lost' podcast
Google Earth - Home
As far as I know, Google bought Keyhole so they could create maps.google.com, another fantastically designed system.
Have I mentioned recently that I love Google?
"Humps" - A song so awful it hurts the mind
A terrific read about how bad that song is. Yes, its a bit of a catchy tune and Fergie's ridiculously sexy (usually) ... but the lyrics! Why, Fergie?
My favorite line from the article above: "It's a song that tries to evoke a coquettish nudge and wink, but head-butts and bloodies the target instead."
Ricky Gervais podcast
He's got a podcast now and its definitely worth checking out.
I can hardly wait for more episodes.
This was actually one of the reasons I got my iPod Nano.
LifeGem
In short, instead of cremating a loved one (person/pet) you can make them into a gem stone!
Seriously.
