G O B l o g

Ovyian Photography

2012-02-04T11:16:00.000-05:00

My wife has launched a wedding photography venture called Ovyian Photography. Her goal is to bring her love of fashion and photography, to the world of weddings.

I had a debate with her about whether being fashionable is only in the realm of the wealthy, but she made the point that with retailers like H&M, Topshop and Zara, fashion has become available to the masses. More importantly, she said, fashion is more than what you see on magazines...it's your personal style and money cannot buy style. Her final point was that in a wedding, the couple are technically models for the day as they will look the best they have ever looked :P

I couldn't argue with that.

She also started a blog by the same name on Tumblr. Check it out!

Wunderlist

2011-12-21T13:24:00.001-05:00

Stumbled across task management tool called Wunderlist that really stood out in the way the created their interface/user experience. Very Apple-esque in their design but with their unique twists (perhaps an Apple acquisition target). Maybe because for a seemingly small startup, they do have a lot of artists on board. Or maybe because that's how to they do in Berlin :P (it's nice to see some unique start-ups from other than North America)

I probably won't switch from Remember The Milk (an Aussie start-up), since they (still) support syncing with BlackBerry, but when I do, I will consider Wunderlist.

Check it out if you are in need of a good task management tool!

Design + Nature: ARC's International Wildlife Crossing Infrastructure Design Competition

2011-03-27T15:35:00.000-04:00

A video on a design competition to build the best wildlife crossing for a highway in Colorado. It's 12 min long but definitely worth a look. This can definitely apply to many parts of the world (including large parts of Canada).

I especially like the multi-disciplinary nature of how the different design teams came up with a potential solution. Ecologists, engineers and landscape architects (just to name a few), came together to propose a design. More of the world's problems need this type of design collaboration.

ARC: International Wildlife Crossing Infrastructure Design Competition from ARC on Vimeo.

To learn more about the competition visit ARC

Gmail's Smart Labels

2011-03-09T17:26:00.001-05:00

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/09/google_gmail_smart_labels/

You can say a lot about Google (good or bad), but one product where they got it down pat is Gmail. Priority Inbox was the killer app for email, and now Smart Labels will build on that. Looking forward to play around with it.

For those of you with Gmail, enable Smart Labels in Labs.

Send a Webpage with GmailThis

2011-03-06T19:27:00.000-05:00

A quick way to email links to ppl via Gmail:

http://lifehacker.com/#!128451/send-a-webpage-with-gmailthis

Saves you the hassle of opening Gmail, and copying and pasting the link and subject.

Economist caption competition

2011-01-12T11:36:00.000-05:00

I know this is not ground-breaking as user-contributed content is a staple of the internet (and is also found in the physical world: Jones Soda anyone?), but I found it pretty amusing that the Economist would actually have this. Check out the entries in the comments section. Some of them are pretty funny!

http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/01/return_caption_competition

Opera is pretty smart

2010-11-07T12:35:00.001-05:00

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/06/opera_feted_for_apple_iphone_play/

kudos for them still surviving in the land of Safari, Chrome, FF & IE

My automatic garbage can opener

2010-09-17T23:11:00.002-04:00

I hated touching the garbage can lid when throwing away garbage, so I devised this contraption that automatically opened the lid when I opened the cupboard door!

The LXD: In the Internet age, dance evolves ... | Video on TED.com

2010-09-16T23:03:00.003-04:00

Some cool moves...

http://www.ted.com/talks/the_lxd_in_the_internet_age_dance_evolves.html

Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative

2010-08-22T14:27:00.005-04:00

Stumbled across the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, while I was reading about MSF. MSF donated their 1999 Nobel Prize winnings to them. Other notable funders include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

There are a lot of under-recognized diseases that affect the developing world, but there is often a lack of research, drug development and public advocacy for these epidemics. It's nice to see an initiative that is starting to tackle this issue. Keep this organization in mind when planning your gift-giving.

Some excerpts from their website:

"Despite major advances in drug development in recent decades, essential medicines to treat many diseases that affect the world’s poor are either too expensive, no longer produced, highly toxic, or ineffective. Recognising these issues from its field experience, Médecins Sans Frontières committed its 1999 Nobel Peace Prize funds to develop an alternative model for the research and development (R&D) of new drugs for neglected diseases."

"Neglected tropical diseases continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality in the developing world. Yet, of the 1,556 new drugs approved between 1975 and 2004, only 21 (1.3%) were specifically developed for tropical diseases and tuberculosis, even though these diseases account for 11.4% of the global disease burden."

Wave goodbye to Google Wave!

2010-08-05T21:18:00.000-04:00

Google's blog post on Wave: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/update-on-google-wave.html

My feedback to Google (which they probably already know):

As you will likely read in many articles about this, I didn't understand how to use Google Wave in my daily life. I watched the YouTube videos (not all of the cuz they were so long!), and was in awe of the functionality and drooled at the possibilities. However, when it came down to trying it out, the main thing that kept me from using it was the fact that it wasn't linked to my Gmail. That is, I didn't get a chance to play around with it on a regular basis because I did not have any "data" (i.e. communications like email, IM, etc) to play around with.

I would message other Wave users who didn't really check it on an ongoing basis. What's the point in that? No real conversations can be had with that. Plus, dealing with existing email and IM accounts is already time consuming, now I have to manage another set of them?

I understand that it would've been a drastic change to make the existing Gmail like Wave (usability wise and probably back-end technology wise), however it's just as hard to get user adoption when users just don't use this new system. Plus, the other factor was that Gmail was good enough for my communication needs (plus linked to my smartphone).

It was a nice effort.

Perhaps instead of making a revolutionary new communication tool, Google should just incrementally evolve Gmail with similar Wave functionality.

Why you might want reconsider getting the iPhone 4...

2010-06-25T12:39:00.001-04:00

http://gizmodo.com/5572546/design-test-note-fragile-beauty

http://www.intomobile.com/2010/06/24/apple-iphone-4-issues-a-roundup/

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/24/apple-responds-over-iphone-4-reception-issues-youre-holding-th/

http://industry.bnet.com/technology/10009133/apple-iphone-4-shows-that-innovation-without-execution-fails/

I am disappointed. As much as I wasn't a fan of Apple's locked down OS, I have always admired their industrial design. Forcing consumers to get a case for their phone is not a solution, in my humble opinion. Devices should be designed to be used without any required after market parts.

This is also a reason to avoid getting hardware products that are recently launched, especially when they are revolutionary (i.e. 4G doesn't look anything like the 3GS). I don't understand why people line up for hours just to be the first ones to get their hands on a product. You are usually paying more, and getting a product that may be less than perfect. Devices will go through multiple revisions on the manufacturing line to fix known issues but the "mature" device will usually look the same as "first off the line" device.

How to buy a new car (in Canada)

2010-06-05T12:56:00.002-04:00

My parents bought a new car recently (new as in the latest year model from a dealer, not a new "used" car), and as a result I've spent doing the background research. Here are some of what I've learned:

Consumers Reports - Excellent reviews website I use in my research into future purchases that may not have good reviews online. Their car reviews are quite good and more practical minded. A paid subscription required, but I think it's worth the knowledge you gain.

Car Buying Tips - Tips on buying a car; everything from the preliminary research to how to negotiate the best deal. It is mostly US focussed but many of the tips apply to Canada as well and their is a Canadian catered page.

Car Cost Canada - Buy a report on how much the dealer paid for the car from the manufacturer (dealer invoice price). The dealer then marks it up from there and sells it to the public. This report can provide you with a basis for negotiations. The MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) is the maximum price the dealer can charge the consumer and the dealer invoice price is technically the lowest price the dealer can go before losing money on the car (the actual price will usually be 4%-10% higher).

Be informed before you plunk done some serious dough on a depreciating asset!

Brown vs. White Eggs

2010-01-18T00:04:00.007-05:00

When I shop for eggs, I always wondered what the difference between brown eggs and white eggs was.

This time I remembered to Google it when I came home and stumbled upon across a cool blog called The Daily Apple with an explanation to my question. If want the quick answer, there is no difference between white and brown eggs; no freshness, nutritional, or taste advantages. Brown eggs just happen to come from brown coloured hens and white eggs from white coloured hens (pretty obvious when I think about it).

The blog also had some interesting facts/answers about random topics (e.g. how bananas ripen, where birds go to die, etc). The posts have sources at the bottom and seem to be legit; I cross-referenced the egg question and the blog's explanation was valid, but I cannot personally attest to the other topics.

The Internet is good for the curious...

CLARIFICATION:

The colour of egg depends on the skin colour of the hen, not necessarily the feathers. Here's a better explanation from the Daily Apple:

"While you can't necessarily predict the color of the eggshell by the color of the feathers, there is an connection in the color of the earlobes. Hens with white earlobes lay white eggs. Hens with red earlobes lay brown eggs."

made some dahl that taste like my mom's!

2010-01-12T00:11:00.001-05:00

...first time!

ingredients:

2/3 cup red dahl
1.5 cup water
one diced onion
1 teaspoon tumeric spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cloves of sliced garlic
(should've added diced green chili peppers)

steps:

boil the dahl at med-high in a pot heat till it starts breaking apart, stirring occasionally
add onions
add tumeric spice
add salt
mix everything together
add garlic

Commuting in T.O.

2010-01-06T23:06:00.003-05:00

I just stumbled upon this today, but the Toronto Star Google Mapped (is that a verb yet?) how people from different parts of the city commute using 2006 Census data. There's also more information about each area when you click on the map (i.e. % breakdown based on mode of transportation). Apparently they did one for 2008, but they got were able to breakdown Toronto into more regions this time around according to the accompanying blog post.

The results are something Torontonians probably already know intrinsically, but its cool to see it in map form. They also have maps on other interesting things that can be shown in map form (e.g. real estate numbers, dog ownership, smoking etc.)

Neat.

"Believe it or not, the wireless spectrum is a physically limited resource"

2010-01-05T17:32:00.001-05:00

It's a shame we don't hear enough from Mike Lazaridis, co-CEO of RIM, in the news and more about the adventures the other co-CEO. He provides some good food for thought about the wireless industry, specifically about the need to make apps/devices that conserve bandwidth:

"As an industry we need to think of a way to conserve this precious resource just like we're trying to conserve other things today. Believe it or not [wireless] spectrum is a physically limited resource."

Setting Gmail as default email client in Firefox

2009-12-30T01:38:00.001-05:00

If you haven't set this already, you can make Gmail the default email client in Firefox. That is, have Gmail's "Compose Mail" window open up wthen you click on an email address on a web page, rather than have MS Outlook or some other PC-based application open up.

Will save you a copy and paste at least!

http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/4329/firefox-35-gmail-as-the-default-email-client/

StudioTax 2008 - Free software to file Canadian taxes

2009-04-10T15:13:00.001-04:00

If you're looking for software to file your Canadian taxes for 2008, check out StudioTax 2008. It's plain and simple, it works...and it's free!

Canadian Capitalist seems to like it, and I tried it last year to file my 2007 return and it worked out well.

Sita Sings the Blues

2009-03-20T02:03:00.003-04:00

You may have heard the hype about this on the net (well deserved IMO)...it's a full length animated movie based on the Sanskrit epic, the Ramayana.

It's well done...watch it in HD here:

My Wordle

2008-07-13T01:23:00.001-04:00

Taken from my del.ici.ous tags.

Marketing chemistry!

2008-05-19T22:43:00.005-04:00

The World Of Chemistry

I found this on somebody's FB wall, and I thought I'd post it as well. I found it hilarious, but then again, I am a big geek (not necessarily in chemistry, but science in general)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a45dXztokZM

David Olive & Oil

2008-03-31T23:20:00.002-04:00

I've always enjoyed David Olive's articles in The Star; he presents his arguments with concrete facts but in a way that you're not caught up with the numbers. Here are two of my recent favourites all concerning the economy of oil.

Oil firms are caught in a squeeze play
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/407511

Here's a teaser:

"Last year, Exxon spent more money buying back its stock – $36 billion – than on reinvesting in the business. Since replacing his similarly unsentimental predecessor, Lee Raymond, in January of last year, Tillerson, 55, has raised capital spending just 18 per cent against a 75 per cent jump in expenditures on share buybacks.

That gambit increases earnings per share, but obviously doesn't add a drop of oil or gas to the firm's reserves in order to sustain the business. Yet Shell and Chevron Corp. also are furiously buying back their stock, at a rate that will see Exxon and Chevron retire all of their stock by about 2024. It comes down to this: buying back the company's stock is a far more certain bet on increasing investor returns than operating a new deep-water drilling program."

Oil dependency fuels crisis
http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/346541

Stuff White People Like

2008-03-01T15:29:00.002-05:00

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

One of the funnier blogs I've come across (very tongue-in-cheek), however I think yuppie can replace "white" in many instances.

Some of my favourite posts include:

Threatening to move to Canada

Recycling

Study Abroad

Yoga

Apple products

Mattress shopping anyone?

2008-02-02T22:04:00.001-05:00

Read this first: http://www.slate.com/id/93956/

And if you're lazy, this is the thesis of the article:

"Here's the lowdown: Mattress makers rename identical products for each different retail store. Different labels, exact same guts. Why? Obfuscation. It's hard to shop for the lowest price when you can't compare apples to apples. Lucky for you, they're all subtle variations on the same apple—not only within each brand, but even among different brands."

It is oh so very true; mattress shopping is a pain!

The Holy Grail of Synchronization

2007-12-03T22:01:00.001-05:00

The Holy Grail of Synchronization: combining Microsoft Outlook, Google
Calendar, Gmail, iPod, and mobile phone

The link above is a pretty comprehensive guide if you are a big Google Calendar
user and want to sync GCal to your phone without air time charges
(that was my main purpose anyway...you can also the sync the other
stuff they mention, but I didn't).

Warning: I did accidentally delete all my entries in GCal the first
time I tried to read the instructions carefully if you attempt it.
When I first tried it out I was using an older version of the software
they recommend, but a newer version has come out and it works fine for
me now. I've even sync'd up my work calendar to my phone which is
quite useful.

A case for ergonomics!

2007-11-04T21:04:00.001-05:00

So I ordered this "mouse-friendly keyboard" at work (it's mouse-friendly assuming you keep your mouse to your right), and I would argue more keyboards should be designed in this fashion (barring any patent infringements, of course). Now, my right arm doesn't have to reach as far to move the mouse, and my keyboard is centered to my monitor....I don't think a lot of people have considered this apparent design flaw in their own work stations. Yes, it may be that I have fallen for their propaganda, but I think they present a compelling case.

This company also makes a vertical mouse which looks very interesting as well, but I took a different route and got a trackball mouse instead...it's working nicely.

My rant:

It seems to me that despite all the advances in computer technology, ergonomics is struggling to keep up: you can have the latest and greatest PC from 2007, but your keyboard+monitor+mouse setup will often be from the 90s. Where's the Ergo 2.0 revolution?! This is a very dangerous precedent, because as a generation that grew up with the rise of the personal computer and use it increasingly for work and pleasure, we really don't know what state a lifetime of poor ergonomics will leave us with. Twenty-first century knowledge workers should make this a priority in their workplace/school as it may come back to haunt them in the form of repetitive strain injuries.

Greenspan is Clinton's unlikely defender

2007-09-18T13:32:00.001-04:00

http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/257617

This article was very enlightening considering Alan Greenspan is
supposedly a "libertarian Republican". I guess it goes to show the
intelligence does trump partisianship once in a while...

Taskbar Shuffle

2007-07-12T14:55:00.001-04:00

http://www.freewebs.com/nerdcave/taskbarshuffle.htm

don't you hate the fact that when you open an application in Windows,
it is fixed on the taskbar?! (i.e. you can't move them like you can
move the tabs in Firefox)

if you also find this annoying, then this free software very useful
for you. it runs in the background and allows you to drag and drop
each program to the destination of your choosing on your taskbar.

The REAL Optimus Prime DOES NOT have lips!

2007-07-04T23:51:00.001-04:00

Oh the insanity!

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/optimus-prime-does-have-lips.php

Competition for Google Apps

2007-05-22T15:34:00.001-04:00

http://www.zoho.com/

I signed up for some of their services...they look pretty slick too. Competition is a GOOD THING!

The only problem is Google is on a roll (it seems like they can do no wrong), is massive and thus their infrastructure is probably a little bit more stable than Zoho (i'm assuming), and has Gmail as their central tie-in service (Zoho's mail client is in private beta testing right now).

Methinks Yahoo! should just buy them up quickly to be able to compete with Google on online apps front and give Zoho a decent email client to integrate with...it would be a very interesting battle going forward and should be good for consumers!

Quantum Entanglement

2007-05-09T16:58:00.001-04:00

So I was looking into the wonderful world of quantum mechanics, more specifically quantum entanglement and found this relatively accessible introduction into this topic, as well as a very good explanation on something called Bell's Inequality (called by some to be " the most profound discovery of science").

Check it out: http://www.ipod.org.uk/reality/reality_entangled.asp (this article is part 3 in a 5 part series into quantum mechanics)

I think the most fascinating part of this subject is the weird connection between entangled particles that, to the best of my knowledge, has not been fully explained:

"There is a strange connection between particles which instantaneously informs the undisturbed particle of the type of measurement just carried out on its partner"

I'm not a physicist (or a physician...inside joke), but after hearing about entanglement for the first time at a Perimeter Institute public lecture titled "From Einstein to Quantum Information", I've been trying get my head around it for a while...

Lower Don Lands design competition

2007-05-09T11:16:00.001-04:00

I don't know if you've been following this in the news, but there was a design competition in designing the Lower Don Lands of Toronto's Waterfront and the winner was just selected yesterday. From browsing through presentation slides of the the submissions being considered , the winning design looks pretty sweet (huge green areas)!

I also had a soft spot for this entry due to the huge board walk the proposed and because of the very captivating photos/diagrams they used in their presentation.

It will take a while for this design to become a reality (apparently it will take 20-30 years), but at least this is a start...

GOBI = Happiness in a box?!

2007-04-16T09:57:00.001-04:00

Every once in a while, one must Google thyself!

http://www.gobi.com.sg/gobi .swf

read more:
http://www.gobi.com.sg/press .htm

The Happiness Factor

2007-04-01T23:59:00.001-04:00

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/198212

this is a VERY interesting article I read today in the Toronto Star...well written. i recommend it a read when you have some time...it's a bit long, but well worth it.

the article talks about the attempts of economists and other academics to quantify happiness and the challenges and criticisms that come with it. good arguments on both sides...definitely some food for thought!

here's a snippet:

Layard, a policy adviser to U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, is already calling happiness economics a "new science." Others say it's neither new nor a science.

Economist John Crispo groans at the mere mention of it.

"Economics is vague enough as it is," says the former dean of the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Business. "How on earth do you measure happiness? What happens if you do? I'm unhappy about taxes – what are you going to do about it?"

"NOOO...NOT POSSIBLE! NOT POSSIBLE!"

2007-03-31T17:55:00.000-04:00

"actually upon further review...POSSIBLE"

So, this is a clip of the last few seconds of regulation time in the NBA game which saw the Toronto Raptors play the Washington Wizards in Washington on Mar. 30, 2006. Furthermore, this seems to be the Washington's announcers calling the NBA game, so you can hear the disappointment loud and clear!

TOO FUNNY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L6qKF1-pH4

Michael and Dwight: SexyBack

2007-03-10T11:52:00.000-05:00

If you're a fan of the Office, I think you'll like this clip...it's
actually really well done...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8WUcnsIBT0

FYI: Wireless Number Portability in Canada

2007-03-07T21:15:00.001-05:00

Just in case you weren't aware:

According to the CRTC, wireless service providers in Canada (Rogers, Bell, Telus, Fido) are mandated to allow subscribers to switch providers while keeping their current cellphone number by March 14, 2007!

Apparently, you can also switch between a land line and wireless connections (and vice versa) while keeping the same number. This should be good news for consumers as you won't be shackled to company providing poor service/value just because you don't want to go through the hassle of changing your number (especially if you have a coveted area code). So if you're planning on switching subscribers in the near future, it might be beneficial to wait till March 14, 2007 to switch so you can carry over your number and also to see if the wireless telcos have any better deals to entice customers to switch.

I don't know about you, but it seems there's a lot ads from some wireless providers pushing new promotions right now to try and lock you into a contract (you'll have to pay the fee of breaking the contract to switch), however there doesn't seem to be any mention of this potentially valuable feature. I'm guessing the wireless telcos are uncertain on how many people will switch to and from them, so they are playing it coy (info about this development does take a bit of searching to find on their sites). Hopefully you'll here more about it in the news...

One more thing to note, March 14, 2007 is the date wireless number portability (WNP) will be enabled in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Québec. The other provinces have to wait till September 12, 2007 to experience this "freedom".

Anyway, if you wanted more info, check out the site below (it's run by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association).

http://www.wirelessnumberportability.ca/english/index.html

Alberta's on a roll!

2007-03-04T22:30:00.001-05:00

"For the first time, Ontario can't make up for the loss of its young
people to thriving Alberta"
http://www.thestar.com/article/186860

beatboxing flute

2007-02-22T22:44:00.001-05:00

I saw this on The Hour and was very impressed. These are my two favourite clips:

Super Mario Bros.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crfrKqFp0Zg

Inspector Gadget
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ZX5qdIEB0

I think anybody who appreciates music (and grew up in the 90s ;) can appreciate his efforts. After a little Googling, I found the guy's ( Greg Pattillo) myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/pattillostyle

Alleviating the pitfalls of the GDP

2007-02-20T11:14:00.000-05:00

A new index, called the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW), is in development to try and measure Canada's overall well-being in terms of more holistic indicators (see PDF below), and supplement the raw spending and investment Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures. I've always had a problem with the cold, hard, context-less facts the GDP presents and am glad a more well-rounded approach is being explored in measuring real societal progress.

The Toronto Star is running an excellent series of articles on the War on Poverty and documents this recent development in the article below:

"A richer way of measuring wealth"
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/183223

CIW Indicators
http://www3.thestar.com/static/PDF/070219_wellbeing.pdf

doritos "bollywood" commercial

2007-02-14T17:46:00.001-05:00

this is hilarious (in my humble opinion, anyway)! i just watched it
for the first time yesterday...

if you like the first one, watch the other two:

sizzlin'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ2_gWlWiaw

exotic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJJiWsNtoCg

bold
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hijyGUnaL9w

Pan's Labyrinth: GO WATCH IT!

2007-02-06T11:59:00.001-05:00

I definitely recommend it...

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pans_labyrinth/
http://www.panslabyrinth.com/

If you watched the movie and missed something in the plot check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan's_Labyrinth (spoiler alert!)

Click here for show times for Toronto.

Note: It's a Spanish film with subtitles

Globalization + The Economist

2007-01-23T23:32:00.001-05:00

Two articles on Globalization from The Economist. Interesting reads...

Rich man, poor man
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=8554819

In the shadow of prosperity
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8548661

icon story

2007-01-23T11:14:00.001-05:00

this is what icons do when you're not looking...

http://www.xs4all.nl/~jvdkuyp/flash/see.htm

Linux Distribution Chooser

2007-01-15T12:37:00.001-05:00

I found this pretty useful, and being pretty much a Linux newb it
seemed to ask the right questions a new user would ask.

http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

(Found this from Digg.com)

U3

2006-12-30T15:21:00.001-05:00

don't know if you guys have heard about this already, but there is a recent development in USB drives (i just found out about this while i was researching the new SanDisk Cruzer Mini 2 GB drive). its called U3. here's what it does: "the open-standard U3 platform allows users to take their applications, not just data, with them to any USB-equipped Windows PC and to launch them with as little as two clicks"

true, there were already portable apps for USB drives a while back, but now there seems to be a concerted effort to standardize this feature and make it easier to store your own data and applications and work on any computer running Windows XP/2000 (Vista support is supposed to come soon). now with a 2 GB or 4 GB drive, you can have pretty decent portability at a fraction of the cost of a laptop! here's a list of software that you can potentially install (there are free, trial and paid software).

unfortunately you have to purchase U3 enabled/preloaded USB drives for this to work ( i.e. you cannot install it on a regular USB drive...see FAQ # 6)

still...this would've been pretty sweet to have when i was in school!

here's some other good references on this technology:

http://nedwolf.com/Portable-Freeware-With-U3.htm
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1861681,00.asp

Polar Rose

2006-12-22T13:51:00.001-05:00

A new photo search engine is in the works and it sounds pretty interesting:

http://www.polarrose.com/

Here's an article from Red Herring on it, and an excerpt from the company's website on how the technology works:

"Polar Rose relies on a combination of our unique face recognition algorithms and the collective intelligence of our users.

The face recognition technology used was originally developed by CTO Jan Erik Solem during his M.Sc and Ph.D. stints at the universities of Lund and Malmö in southern Sweden. It's unique in that we are able to extract 3D information from regular 2D images, an approach that radically improves the short-comings of existing face recognition approaches.

However, we don't and can't rely exclusively on face recognition, but also harness the collective intelligence of our users who help train our software and tag names on people we haven't seen before.

Tim O'Reilly has dubbed this relationship between user and computer as "bionic software" – the computer helps the user, and in turn the user helps the computer."

sick!

2006-12-11T12:27:00.000-05:00

So it seems like I'm on the verge of getting a full-fledged cold; my sinuses are stuffed up and i have a runny nose. However, from my past experiences of fighting off colds (and there were some nasty ones), I have developed a simple proactive regiment that I feel seems to work when performed at the onset of a cold. It doesn't totally make it go away but so far it has stopped it from becoming even worse. And yeah, it's basically what any doctor would tell you, so it's nothing you haven't heard before, but it took me a while to become a believer! Here's my 3 step rule (btw...I'm NOT a doctor, so don't quote/sue me please!):

1. Get good sleep (at least 8 hours worth!). I know that's tough in the modern day world, but it is CRITICAL!

2. Drink lots of water (preferably warm). Yeah, that means you have to pee a lot, but you want to get better right? I suggest you take this opportunity to sample a variety of different herbal teas like I have :) I just bought some chai green tea and decaf lemon myrtle green tea from shoppers...sick! Soup is a big fixture at this time as well. Yes, SOUP FOR YOU!

3. Take vitamin C supplements or vitamin C enriched fruits and vegetables (e.g. oranges)

I try to fight off the cold using following these tips religiously for about a week, but if it doesn't seem to be getting better, then I figure it's probably best to see the doctor and maybe get some antibiotics.

when in doubt, BLEND!

2006-12-09T22:21:00.000-05:00

"Will it Blend?" Blendtec videos, plus a funny spoof...

blending coke:

spoof:

harmonica beatbox

2006-10-17T21:14:00.000-04:00

check it out:

http://louhi.kempele.fi/~skyostil/archive/dump/flash/yuri_harmonica.swf

OK Go music videos

2006-10-17T21:00:00.000-04:00

I know, i've been a little late to jump on this bandwagon, but here it is anyway for those of you who missed it. Excellent choreography woudn't you say?

on treadmills:

dancing outside:

how MRIs works

2006-10-13T16:43:00.000-04:00

i just recently had an MRI done on my knee and i was interested in how it works. howstuffworks to the rescue!

here's another good link (shorter read).

caffeine + spiders

2006-10-13T16:27:00.001-04:00

interesting...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Caffeinated_spiderwebs.jpg

the bank that won a nobel prize

2006-10-13T14:34:00.001-04:00

Grameen Bank, by pioneering the art of microfinance for the poor in Bangladesh, has led it and its owner Muhammad Yunus, to win the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

UC Berkeley on Google Video

2006-09-27T15:12:00.000-04:00

pretty cool.

http://video.google.com/ucberkeley.html

The Rise and Fall of the Hit

2006-09-11T09:49:00.000-04:00

This is one of the better articles I have read to date:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.07/longtail.html

It was in the July 2006 issue of Wired, and the author is Chris Anderson. The article is actually and excerpt from his book "The Long Tail".

From my humble experience, I think he is right on the ball...but let me know what you think.

microsoft + the office

2006-08-26T01:38:00.000-04:00

if you haven't watched the original BBC version of The Office (the NBC one stars Steve Carell), this is what your missing. In this Microsoft spoof, David Brent (Steve Gervais...the star from the BBC version) is "hired" by Microsoft as a managment consultant...

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=9076288729387457440
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=959125392868390030">

Fishermen survive months at sea eating birds

2006-08-17T22:56:00.000-04:00

now this is crazy! seems like a real live version of the book " The Life of Pi". i wonder if they met any meerkats?!

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=13219695&src=rss/oddlyEnoughNews

Watch CBC's The National online!

2006-08-16T22:46:00.000-04:00

http://www.cbc.ca/national/

need real player though...but its good for ppl who don't have cable and want to watch the news.

jimmy carter's nobel prize speech

2006-03-14T23:00:00.000-05:00

When Jimmy Carter won his Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, I read his speech in the Star and was especially captivated by this line:

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children."

Today I found out, he was actually given that line from a 12 year kid who passed away in 2004: http://www.mattieonline.c om/index.htm

Pretty impressive...

brokeback to the future

2006-02-05T19:01:00.000-05:00

nicely done parody...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfODSPIYwpQ

Share your pain with Microsoft...

2006-01-04T11:23:00.000-05:00

http://www.codeproject.com/redir.asp?id=1364

its actually a microsoft sponsored video...

more $100 computer news!

2005-12-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

an 8 minute video demonstrating the computer...pretty cool

http://www.andycarvin.com/video/100laptop.mov

soccer highlight reel

2005-12-03T12:44:00.000-05:00

google video is now a very powerful procastination tool :(

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6063478215160948442

election!

2005-11-29T00:15:00.000-05:00

http://www.liberal.ca/
http://ww w.conservative.ca/
http://www.bl ocquebecois.org/
http://www.ndp.ca/

based on website design/usability, i would vote NDP...

-the first thing you see on the liberals site, is a form for you to
fill out...stalkers! skipping that part, the rest of their site is
nothing to rave about.

-half of the conservative party's main page is blocked out by
firefox's adblocker.  although viewed in IE it looks pretty good,
although overloaded with info.

-the bloc's site is all in french...they could at least put an english
version so potential english voters could sympathize with their cause.

-thus by process of elimination, the ndp's colourful and RSS enriched
site wins hands down.  it even fits its main page on one screen (no
scrolling!).  but i keep wanting to press the big orange "getting
results for the ppl" banner thinking its a button.

Maps: Yahoo vs. MSN vs. Google

2005-11-04T00:33:00.000-05:00

competition is wonderful!

http://maps.yahoo.co m/beta (new!)
VS.
http://virtualearth.msn.com/
VS.
http://maps.google.ca/

online "office" tools

2005-11-02T20:44:00.000-05:00

online word processor
http://www.writely.com/

online spreadsheet
http://numsum.com/

world on fire

2005-10-31T00:31:00.000-05:00

a very inspiring music video by Sarah McLachlan

what procastinating students do with their time...

2005-10-26T22:33:00.000-04:00

make MUSIC videos!

http://www.duke.edu/~gz 9/I-gnition.mpeg

http://video.go ogle.com/videoplay?docid=-23975 32802194226883

http://video.goog le.com/videoplay?docid=-6739710 473912337648

bmw films

2005-10-19T21:47:00.000-04:00

if you haven't seen these films already, i highly suggest you do before they take them off the site on Oct. 21. they are short films produced, directed and acted by some pretty big hollywood names. one of them even won an award for best short action in the LA film festival.

my favourite ones were:

star, directed by guy ritchie
chosen , directed by ang lee

an inspiring article by a nobel laureate

2005-10-18T23:27:00.000-04:00

a toronto star article by John C. Polanyi

my loaded up BILLY bookshelf

2005-10-13T10:08:00.000-04:00

good grief!

2005-10-10T09:50:00.000-04:00

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/covers_450/9780375726248.jpg

its always fun to see what returns when you google your name and aliases...

MIT's OpenCourseWare

2005-10-09T23:27:00.000-04:00

check it out...the ultimate self learning tool: http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

imagine this, the hand cranked $100 computer and primitive but functional wifi networks in 3rd world countries like africa!

NOW, imagine the possiblities...

free the cell phone!

2005-10-02T14:04:00.000-04:00

an article from Wired on cell phone locking

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,68989,00.html

the optimus organic led keyboard

2005-10-02T14:00:00.000-04:00

saw it this month's Wired magazine...

http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/

now if they can only figure out a way to prevent all the gunk from accumulating beneath the keys!

conan overload...

2005-10-02T01:15:00.000-04:00

Some cool Conan links to keep you occupied:

http://conanismichaeljacksonloop.ytmnd.com/
http://pac-conan.ytmnd.com/
http://iconan.ytmnd.com/
http://conanrayden.ytmnd.com/
http://captainconan.ytmnd.com/

http://gorillamask.net/conanbaseball.shtml (funny video clip from show)

"Confessions of an Engineering Washout"

2005-09-28T23:52:00.000-04:00

an interesting article indeed...

http://www.techcentralstation.com/092105B.html

the $100 computer a reality!

2005-09-28T23:27:00.000-04:00

extra...extra...read all about it:

BBC
PCWorld

sun through pine

2005-05-31T00:56:00.000-04:00

sun through pine, originally uploaded by gobs.

had to wake up pretty early for this sunrise

daffodil

2005-05-31T00:55:00.000-04:00

daffodil, originally uploaded by gobs.

poor lonely tulip

rows of trees

2005-05-31T00:18:00.000-04:00

rows of trees, originally uploaded by gobs.

a row of trees in a wintery waterloo morning

Steve Nash : MVP

2005-05-15T19:35:00.000-04:00

http://www.rabble.ca/columnists_full.shtml?x=39177

Multiplication Hip Hop

2005-04-24T21:33:00.000-04:00

http://cdbaby.com/cd/deurecs

Just one of the many CDs available on CD Baby, a cool independent CD store, I stumbled upon looking for Autorickshaw CDs. Enjoy!

What if every kid had a ($100) computer?

2005-04-05T23:38:00.000-04:00

An interesting article by Joseph Jacobson from MIT about designing a $100 computer for children. He argues that "Given the right equipment, every individual has the potential for a unique contribution."

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.04/view.html?pg=2

Search Engine Fun....vrooom!

2005-04-05T23:27:00.000-04:00

Some cool links I found/people sent me:

Compare Google and Yahoo search results to see where they are ranked by the respective search engines
http://www.langreiter.com/exec/yahoo-vs-google.html

Search using both Yahoo and Google (thus the name yagoohoogle)
http://yagoohoogle.com/

Serendipity Effect

2005-03-28T23:36:00.000-05:00

Definition:
''The gift of making delightful discoveries by pure accident''. In hypertext navigation, the original goal sometimes becomes irrelevant or is forgotten over the current dominance of a new piece of information encountered in the browsing process. This is called the serendipity effect.

My conspirators in crime:

http://boingboing.net/
http://slashdot.org/
http://www.google.ca + random typing of words and phrases
TV (The Hour, and other CBC shows)
Newspapers (The Toronto Star)

Massive Change @ AGO

2005-03-21T23:15:00.000-05:00

See the website
http://www.massivechange.com/

Then see the exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario on till May 29, 2005 (http://www.ago.net/navigation/html/index.cfm).

photos from sibbald point, ontario, canada

2005-03-16T22:16:00.000-05:00

look below...

2005-03-16T22:02:00.000-05:00

serenity now

2005-03-16T21:57:00.000-05:00

water meets land

2005-03-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

tree over water

2005-03-14T23:52:00.000-05:00

lamp post > cn tower?

2005-03-14T23:51:00.000-05:00

organic neighbourhood

2005-03-14T00:40:00.001-05:00

kaboom!

2005-03-14T00:40:00.000-05:00

O Canada

2005-03-14T00:39:00.001-05:00

T dot O dot

2005-03-14T00:39:00.000-05:00

Soldier's Tower 11:36 AM

2005-03-14T00:37:00.002-05:00

rushed