Well, I just got back from the Apple Store a little while ago, my greedy arms full of wonderful new gadgets.
I picked up a new low-end MacBook as well as a soon-to-be-free iPod Touch.
I know I wrote about the Touch already but, since I got it out of the box, I have not been able to put it down. It is just so much damn fun to play with.
I am also completely in love with Leopard on the new laptop (I've still been plunking around on Tiger on my iMac)
While I really love the iPod Touch and the MacBook, my advice to anyone who is thinking of getting one soon, but doesn't really NEED one is this: wait until October. The back-to-school promotion ends mid-September, and Apple has traditionally brought out new laptops and iPods after that promotion. If you need one, there's no point in waiting, because the products are amazing right now, but if you can wait, do. Who knows what sweet updates are coming.
Oh, and for anyone who hasn't seen the fourth Indiana Jones movie yet: don't.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Would The Government Please Stop Trying To Register My Life?
I'm sure most of you have heard about the horrible murder that happened yesterday on a Greyhound bus.
For those of you who haven't, basically a guy stabbed the person next to him to death, and beheaded him without any apparent motive.
This is a rare, tragic, random killing, and should not be used for political grandstanding. Apparently, a few opposition MPs have mentioned a "Knife Registry" along the same lines as our former long-gun registry. Now, I'm no big fan of the current government in Canada, but they had the sense to slap that idea down pretty quickly.
A knife registry would be expensive, invasive, and stupid.
It would be nearly impossible to track the sale of every single knife in a country of 32 million people. And even harder to figure out what knives are already in the hands of the people.
All a knife registry would do is waste funding that could be used for something useful, like health care, infrastructure, etc. It would also give more unnecessary information to a government with a pretty weak track record when it comes to respecting the privacy of the average citizen.
Not to mention the question of actually having to register knives. Would I have to fill out a form every time I buy a knife? Would I have to send in a form to declare all the knives I already own? If I do all that and then find a knife sitting around that I didn't know about, would I be breaking the law?
Also there is the question of how the information would be used. Would it be like the gun registry where the police would check it before raids or before trying to arrest someone? (Personally, if they checked me up in a knife registry, there would be quite a list just for the kitchen) Or would it just be information for informations sake?
And would this be a slippery slope of registries for anything potentially dangerous? A knife is a tool that can be used to kill. So is a screwdriver. Or many power tools. Hammers. Hell, I could probably even bludgeon someone to death with my computer if I wanted to. Theoretically, with enough time, you could even paper-cut someone to death. Would we start keeping registries of these murderous items too? Until the government (and anyone who can get into their systems) has a complete inventory of everything bought and sold, and everything in every home in the country?
The problem here isn't knives, if the attacker had had a gun, he would have used it and more people would be dead. If he'd had a hammer, he would have used it. And so on. It seems that this man was determined to kill someone, with whatever means were at his disposal. The problem is that there are people in the world who will do something as awful as this, and making me fill out a form to buy a pocket knife won't help. You can't register psychopaths, sociopaths, and homicidal maniacs out of existence, you can only register the population into frustration.
I don't know how this awful event could have been avoided, but I do know that treating every citizen as a potential murderer is not the answer.
For those of you who haven't, basically a guy stabbed the person next to him to death, and beheaded him without any apparent motive.
This is a rare, tragic, random killing, and should not be used for political grandstanding. Apparently, a few opposition MPs have mentioned a "Knife Registry" along the same lines as our former long-gun registry. Now, I'm no big fan of the current government in Canada, but they had the sense to slap that idea down pretty quickly.
A knife registry would be expensive, invasive, and stupid.
It would be nearly impossible to track the sale of every single knife in a country of 32 million people. And even harder to figure out what knives are already in the hands of the people.
All a knife registry would do is waste funding that could be used for something useful, like health care, infrastructure, etc. It would also give more unnecessary information to a government with a pretty weak track record when it comes to respecting the privacy of the average citizen.
Not to mention the question of actually having to register knives. Would I have to fill out a form every time I buy a knife? Would I have to send in a form to declare all the knives I already own? If I do all that and then find a knife sitting around that I didn't know about, would I be breaking the law?
Also there is the question of how the information would be used. Would it be like the gun registry where the police would check it before raids or before trying to arrest someone? (Personally, if they checked me up in a knife registry, there would be quite a list just for the kitchen) Or would it just be information for informations sake?
And would this be a slippery slope of registries for anything potentially dangerous? A knife is a tool that can be used to kill. So is a screwdriver. Or many power tools. Hammers. Hell, I could probably even bludgeon someone to death with my computer if I wanted to. Theoretically, with enough time, you could even paper-cut someone to death. Would we start keeping registries of these murderous items too? Until the government (and anyone who can get into their systems) has a complete inventory of everything bought and sold, and everything in every home in the country?
The problem here isn't knives, if the attacker had had a gun, he would have used it and more people would be dead. If he'd had a hammer, he would have used it. And so on. It seems that this man was determined to kill someone, with whatever means were at his disposal. The problem is that there are people in the world who will do something as awful as this, and making me fill out a form to buy a pocket knife won't help. You can't register psychopaths, sociopaths, and homicidal maniacs out of existence, you can only register the population into frustration.
I don't know how this awful event could have been avoided, but I do know that treating every citizen as a potential murderer is not the answer.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Pontiac G6 Passenger Review
So I spent a fair amount of time in a 2008 Pontiac G6 GXP this weekend (as a passenger), and I thought I might as well give a little passenger-view review of the car.
It is sporty-looking on the outside, a pretty handsome car.
Getting into the car will be tricky for tall people (not me) or people with wonky knees (me) because the car is very low to the ground. Once inside the car, there is plenty of legroom in the back seat, however anyone above 5'4" (such as myself) will have to watch their heads, the roof is very low. Inside the car looks and feels cheap, lots of hard plastic doesn't help this. It also feels like you're inside a bunker. The windows are tiny, and very high up on the car.
The V6 version of this car feels pretty snappy on the road. Plenty of power. It also seemed to get pretty good mileage both on the highway and in the city. However, the ride (to put it frankly) sucks. Every bump, crack, nook, and cranny in the road is amplified making the ride quite jarring. Also, it is hard for the passengers to find a good "rest my head somewhere to sleep" position.
Anyways, I should be able to get another video up tomorrow, and hopefully my schedule will normalize a little this week.
It is sporty-looking on the outside, a pretty handsome car.
Getting into the car will be tricky for tall people (not me) or people with wonky knees (me) because the car is very low to the ground. Once inside the car, there is plenty of legroom in the back seat, however anyone above 5'4" (such as myself) will have to watch their heads, the roof is very low. Inside the car looks and feels cheap, lots of hard plastic doesn't help this. It also feels like you're inside a bunker. The windows are tiny, and very high up on the car.
The V6 version of this car feels pretty snappy on the road. Plenty of power. It also seemed to get pretty good mileage both on the highway and in the city. However, the ride (to put it frankly) sucks. Every bump, crack, nook, and cranny in the road is amplified making the ride quite jarring. Also, it is hard for the passengers to find a good "rest my head somewhere to sleep" position.
Anyways, I should be able to get another video up tomorrow, and hopefully my schedule will normalize a little this week.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Jazz Fest!
Well, sorry again for the inconsistent video uploads the last two weeks, hopefully things will normalize soon.
Anyways, the Beaches International Jazz Festival in Toronto is running this weekend, and I recommend that anybody in Toronto head down tonight, tomorrow night, and during the day on Saturday and Sunday. It is always a good time, and a nice chance to wander around a pretty nice part of Toronto.
That's all for me this week, have a great weekend.
Anyways, the Beaches International Jazz Festival in Toronto is running this weekend, and I recommend that anybody in Toronto head down tonight, tomorrow night, and during the day on Saturday and Sunday. It is always a good time, and a nice chance to wander around a pretty nice part of Toronto.
That's all for me this week, have a great weekend.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Euphemisms
I got thinking about euphemisms today.
About when my friends and I were getting our first jobs, we were "employees". You had a pretty good idea where you stood in the grand scheme of things. They were the "employers" and you were the "employee". You did menial tasks, dealt with angry, unreasonable customers, and if the place was in financial trouble, you were at the top of the list of people who would get cut.
Now, a couple years ago, I noticed that I was no longer an "employee", I was "Staff". "Staff" makes you feel a little better about yourself. Emptying garbage cans suddenly feels more important, because you're not just employed there, you're a "staff member". Without you, the place wouldn't run as well, the mighty staff to the rescue.
So today, I'm at an Ikea. And I notice that the employees, who might actually be staff, are now "co-workers". Sort of lets the people at the bottom of the food chain delude themselves a little bit more. They don't just work for the managers, they work WITH them! And of course the company will take care of you, because you are a co-worker! Not just some measly staff member, or (god forbid) an employee. And of course if there's trouble at the company, the management will take pay cuts instead of firing you, because you're a co-worker. Sounds almost equal. Like maybe they'd take the bus to work, and help you move pallets of furniture.
News flash co-workers. It's the same as being called "comrade". It's just a little title to slow down the realization that you are just an employee number and a time-sheet.
About when my friends and I were getting our first jobs, we were "employees". You had a pretty good idea where you stood in the grand scheme of things. They were the "employers" and you were the "employee". You did menial tasks, dealt with angry, unreasonable customers, and if the place was in financial trouble, you were at the top of the list of people who would get cut.
Now, a couple years ago, I noticed that I was no longer an "employee", I was "Staff". "Staff" makes you feel a little better about yourself. Emptying garbage cans suddenly feels more important, because you're not just employed there, you're a "staff member". Without you, the place wouldn't run as well, the mighty staff to the rescue.
So today, I'm at an Ikea. And I notice that the employees, who might actually be staff, are now "co-workers". Sort of lets the people at the bottom of the food chain delude themselves a little bit more. They don't just work for the managers, they work WITH them! And of course the company will take care of you, because you are a co-worker! Not just some measly staff member, or (god forbid) an employee. And of course if there's trouble at the company, the management will take pay cuts instead of firing you, because you're a co-worker. Sounds almost equal. Like maybe they'd take the bus to work, and help you move pallets of furniture.
News flash co-workers. It's the same as being called "comrade". It's just a little title to slow down the realization that you are just an employee number and a time-sheet.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Viacom Exceeds All Known Measurements of Douchebaggery!
Well, Viacom has extended their streak of douchebaggery.
After having the courts hand them all of YouTube's user information, they have started sending out a host of copyright ownership claims to YouTube posters.
Sure, if it's theirs, fine. But they're sending these claims to independent producers with no affiliation to Viacom. They're sending them to people who produce THEIR OWN videos. Videos that Viacom has absolutely no ownership over.
The video that seems to be getting the most attention is a cute short by Joanna Davidovich. (you can watch the video here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0F-WQ9ReFJY ) Viacom is claiming it owns the copyright to "some or all of the audio and visual content". The problem is that Joanna made the short herself, and she actually has it copyrighted. Every distribution of it has been non-exclusive.
This sort of thing had never even occurred to me. While I figured Viacom would be up to no good with all the information, I never thought they'd try to steal people's videos. I hope the judge that gave Viacom information they never should have had feels like a huge douche.
After having the courts hand them all of YouTube's user information, they have started sending out a host of copyright ownership claims to YouTube posters.
Sure, if it's theirs, fine. But they're sending these claims to independent producers with no affiliation to Viacom. They're sending them to people who produce THEIR OWN videos. Videos that Viacom has absolutely no ownership over.
The video that seems to be getting the most attention is a cute short by Joanna Davidovich. (you can watch the video here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0F-WQ9ReFJY ) Viacom is claiming it owns the copyright to "some or all of the audio and visual content". The problem is that Joanna made the short herself, and she actually has it copyrighted. Every distribution of it has been non-exclusive.
This sort of thing had never even occurred to me. While I figured Viacom would be up to no good with all the information, I never thought they'd try to steal people's videos. I hope the judge that gave Viacom information they never should have had feels like a huge douche.
Monday, July 21, 2008
iPod Touch 2.0 Hands On!
I got a little hands-on time with the iPod Touch today, complete with the version 2.0 software.
My opinion?
Brilliant.
I had actually never used a Touch, or iPhone, before so it was completely new to me.
The interface is magnificent. Intuitive, good looking. If this thing was a woman, she'd be quite the catch.
It also seems to have some sort of GPS thingy, that also tracks traffic and such. It was neat. I liked the touch keyboard, it was much easier than I thought it would be, but I think that it can go either way. I can see why some people would hate the keyboard.
Being a university student, I get a free one of these when I buy a laptop, so when I pick up a MacBook later this summer, I'll certainly grab one of these too.
My opinion?
Brilliant.
I had actually never used a Touch, or iPhone, before so it was completely new to me.
The interface is magnificent. Intuitive, good looking. If this thing was a woman, she'd be quite the catch.
It also seems to have some sort of GPS thingy, that also tracks traffic and such. It was neat. I liked the touch keyboard, it was much easier than I thought it would be, but I think that it can go either way. I can see why some people would hate the keyboard.
Being a university student, I get a free one of these when I buy a laptop, so when I pick up a MacBook later this summer, I'll certainly grab one of these too.
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