Month: February 2008

It’s the word of the day in Toronto news and a good name for a band!

Click the illustration to see it on its original page.
Illustration from The Hookah Girl and Other True Stories.

Merlin Mann (of 43 Folders fame) wrote on Twitter:

Pockets of the Bay Area tacitly run on that mix of navelgazing and arrogance you perfect around Christmas of your freshman year.

I’ve lived there. It’s true.

Republican candidates and Vader have the same line:
“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

Here’s a post by Frank J. over at IMAO — one of the right-wing blogs where you’ll find a lot of carping about John McCain just not being bat-shit crazy conservative enough — titled The Lovable, Huggable President, in which he writes about what he sees as the ideal qualities of a president:

Opinion seems to be that Obama is pretty unbeatable. Why? Because he’s so charming. He has no accomplishments and no more experience with foreign affairs than the average college student, yet there’s a good chance he could be elected president just because he’s so darn likable. If this strategy of nominating a nice looking empty suit works, expect future presidential elections to be between two plush toys (“Looks how adorable they are! I can decide which one to pick!”).

Just a reminder: We’re currently the most powerful nation in the world and the definitely leader at blowing crap up. Our leader should never be charming. He should be scary. He should appear in the nightmares of our enemies, eating their children. Diplomats should not want to meet with him unless they have numerous armed guards for protection. That’s who the leader of the most powerful nation should be.

Sounds like an endorsement for the Vader/Voldemort team in ’08!

You can buy the T-shirt here.

I’d like to think that it’s not necessary to point out that there’s a difference between strength and bullying, but given the tenor of the times, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Dig deep enough into a bully, and you’ll find a coward at the core. As the fine folks at The Metaverse put it in their analysis of the short story The Cold Equations (a good read if you’re into the ethical implications of engineering):

It’s a commonplace that our civilization is soft and sentimental. It’s less remarked that soft and sentimental people– particularly the chair-bound geek variant– often idolize brutality. The actual inhabitants of barbarian eras don’t necessarily share this feeling; they often took pains to appear as refined and cultured people.

Click the comic to see it on its original page.

All the talk about McCain “not being conservative enough” to my ears is like complaining that Jamie Lynn Spears isn’t as screwed up as big sister Britney.

(To her credit, she’s trying really hard.)

Next Tuesday is the second Tuesday of the month, which means: Ruby/Rails Project Night, hosted by TSOT!

The Quick Version

• When: Tuesday, February 12th, 2008:
  • Doors open around 5:30 p.m.
  • Presentations begin sometime between 6 – 6:30 p.m.
  • Arrive early to get fed!
• Where: TSOT developer office, 151 Bloor Street West (just east of Avenue Road), Suite 1130
• Admission: FREE (but please register!)
• Register with: Corina Newby or Joey deVilla

About Ruby/Rails Project Night

Ruby/Rails Project Night is a Toronto-area gathering held at the TSOT developer office on the second Tuesday of every month. It’s an event that lets people developing projects in either Ruby or Ruby on Rails show them off in front of their peers in 20-30 minute presentations. Presenters are encouraged to go into as much technical detail as they like (even showing the code, if they’re so inclined) and cover all sorts of aspects of their projects, from programming issues to visual design and usability to the business of making a living off their software.

Whether you code in Ruby and Rails for a living like we do, dabble in it in your spare time or are just curious as to what the fuss is all about, we encourage you to come to our office next Tuesday for Ruby/Rails Project Night! It’s a chance for you to see software that’s being developed right here in town and to mingle with other developers interested in Ruby and Rails. We provide food and drink, so you can focus on the presentations and not your grumbling stomach.

Who’s Presenting

Yours Truly will start the night with an opening monologue to get things going, after which I’ll be followed the the evening’s main presentations:

• How to Avoid Hanging Yourself in Rails, by Rowan Hick. This presentation is subtitled “or: Optimizing Your ActiveRecord Associations”.
• EasyBrandingTools.com: Mike Bowler and Steve Vetzal will talk about their project that helps new businesses be memorable.
• CRMS – Clinical Research Management System. Luke Galea will present this project, a Rails and Prolog/XSB application that manages drug and procedure trials at some of the biggest hospitals in the U.S..

What Happened at the Last Ruby/Rails Project Night?

Click the photo to see it on its Flickr page.

Check out this article, which has a quick write-up and photos.

Today marks the start of Chinese New Year, and this year, it’s the Year of the Rat.

Remy from Ratatouille.

Here’s what Spring’s Greeting Cards’ site has to say about the Year of the Rat:

A Rat Year is a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. This is a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product or make a fresh start. Ventures begun now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find.

Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Here’s what TheHolidaySpot.com has to say:

The Rat year is a year of plenty, bringing opportunity and good prospects. It will be marked by speculation and fluctuations in the prices of commodities and the stock market; the world economy in general will boom. Business will be on the upswing, fortunes can be made and it will be an easy time to accumulate wealth. However, this is also the time to make long-term investment plans as the bonanza the year of the Rat brings will serve to see us through the bleak years that may follow. All ventures begun at this time will be successful if one prepares well. But do not take chances or unnecessary risks: the year of the Rat is still ruled by the cold of winter and the darkness of night. Those who speculate indiscriminately and overextend themselves will come to a sad reckoning.

On the whole, this will be a happier year than most: free from explosive events and wars and with far less catastrophes than, say, the years of the Tiger or the Dragon.

Nonetheless, it will be spicy. It promises a lot of bickering, bargaining and petty arguments that will do little harm. A congenial time that will find most of us socializing and enjoying ourselves.

Ratso Rizzo from Midnight Cowboy.

“Professional Feng Shui Researcher and Practitioner Raymond Lo has a lengthy write-up of what to expect in the Year of the Rat. Here’s an excerpt from the opening:

The Year of the Rat, 2008, in the Hsia calendar, is symbolized by two elements – with earth sitting on top of water. According to the cycle of birth and destruction, which governs the inter-relationship between the elements, earth is the conqueror of water. Therefore, earth sitting on water is a symbol of control. But the water of the Rat year is very strong and the earth floating on top of water has no foundation and cannot control the ocean of water. As such, instead of conquering water, it is more like confrontation between earth and water elements. The Earth on top is Yang earth which symbolizes a mountain, and mountain gives sense of stability and firmness. But such floating earth in the ocean is weak in foundation and the stability appears to be fragile. This elemental relationship will bring a year which apparently is more stable but there are a lot of underlying tensions and confrontations.

Logitech MX Revolution Mouse

Since I work in high tech, I couldn’t pass up quoting his prediction for the industry:

With respect to the hi-tech industries sector, as represented by the NASDAQ. I have postulated that this industry is mainly represented by the metal element [the five elements of Chinese tradition are metal, wood, fire, water and earth]. As such, the prosperity of hi-tech industry requires the strong appearance of water and wood, which are symbols of productivity and money of the metal industry. In 2008 the water element, meaning activities to hi-tech industries is very strong. As such, it is anticipated that the year is favorable for hi-tech or internet types of business. But the absence of wood in this year could mean there are more activities without real substantial money gains.

Raymond Lo also says that the Year of the Rat brings the “Flower of Love” for those born in the year of the Pig, Rabbit and Goat.

NOM NOM NOM!

And finally, although it’s not likely to catch on here, rat is becoming a popular dish in some places.

The battery on my MotoKRZR cell phone can’t hold a charge for longer than an hour. I went to the nearby Bell World, where they wanted:

a) A sales receipt. I can’t provide this as it was a free promo phone given to me by mega-PR firm Hill and Knowlton to promote Moto phones.
b) The phone itself. They tell me that they can’t simply sell me a new battery — it has to go back to service.

If that hasn’t turned me off Bell Canada as a mobile provider, the note at the bottom of their web page about fees for Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Palm devices certainly does. I quote:

System Access Fees are charged by all wireless companies to help pay for the network and the ongoing software, technology and other upgrades to that network. Generally, the higher the fee, the greater the opportunity to invest in network quality to enhance your experience. Just one more reason to choose Bell.

That’s right: we pay more not for better service, but for the opportunity for better service. I should use that trick the next time I negotiate my salary. They’d have been better off just skipping this mealy-mouthed explanation of why they charge more, or perhaps simply said “We’re counting on your laziness so that we don’t have to be competitive.”

So, folks — which Canadian mobile provider is the least lousy of the bunch?

Update

This isn’t the first time I’ve been annoyed with Bell Canada — see my 2003 entry, Hell Canada, in which I deal with bureaucratic ineptitude at the Bell Canada store.