Archive: Posts from January, 2004
January 31st, 2004, 2 Comments »
This week’s column from the Yaletown View is about my nephew, and his digital life 18 years in the future:
When I think about the future, I think of Miles. Miles is my eight-month-old nephew. As the speed of technological change increases, Miles’s generation will interact with the world like no other generation has. So, when I try to imagine what a computer or a phone will look like in the distant future, I begin with my nephew.
But the distant future is the realm of science-fiction authors and popcorn futurists. Let us imagine May 11, 2021, Miles’s eighteenth birthday.
Miles wakes to the sound his alarm clock, which not only announces the time and weather, but also reminds him of assignments due and appointments throughout the day. Most of the electrical appliances in Miles’s apartment are ‘aware’ in one way or another. Not only is the clock able to synthesize speech, but it also recognizes commands. So, when a groggy Miles mumbles “snoozeâ€, it abides.
Read more…
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January 30th, 2004, 5 Comments »
I’m in a list kind of mood today. My MP3-playing app du jour, iTunes, encourages you to rank your songs. You assign one to five stars to each track (I do this about 40% of the time, as I’m listening to each song). This enables you to generate optimized playlist of, say, your favourite jazz songs.
It also enables you to generate lists of the crappiest songs you own. I’ve got about 3500 songs, so there are likely to be some duds. Here’s a little sampling of my least-favourite songs:
- Angels We Have Heard On High – Amy Grant
- America is Waiting (with Brian Eno) – David Byrne
- I Can’t Make You Love Me – George Michael
- Praying For Time – George Michael
- Scream If Ya Wanna Go Faster – Geri Halliwell
- Pieces of You – Jewel
- Angel Standing By – Jewel
- Amen – Jewel
- Satellite of Love – Milla Jovovich
- I Love You (BT Mix) – Sarah Maclachlan
- Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground – The White Stripes
- Not Such An Innocent Girl – Victoria Beckham
Should I feel shame for not deleting these? I suppose, but you never know when you’re going to need a couple of tracks by ex-Spice Girls.
5 Comments »
January 30th, 2004, No Comments »
This is a great story. Seven girls from the auspiciously-named Petaluma, California, spent two and a half years getting a multiplex built in their hometown. As Metafilter points out, it’d make a great 80s teen flick:
Flanked by developer Matt White and Petaluma Mayor David Glass, the seven were ecstatic as they lifted golden shovels and turned over the first piles of earth. Ignoring the night breeze in their nylons and black satin ’50s style jackets, some of the girls giggled and teetered on their high heels in the dirt lot — decorated with black and white balloons and a long red carpet — where a new building soon will rise.
I’m already imagining the final scene. With the building freshly completed, the seven girls, alone in a theatre, watch the latest teen flick with satisfaction. A door at the back of the theatre opens, and one of the girls tells whoever it is to get lost–this is their private screening. The person approaches, ignoring the girl’s warning. Oh my God! It’s, like, the star of the teen flick, who made it to the theatre opening after all! He smiles his perfect, ear-to-ear grin as the girls gasp and the credits roll.
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January 30th, 2004, 1 Comment »
When an ordinary person becomes temporarily famous, there is a short window in which to make as much cash as possible. Whether you’re Tonya Harding or Monica Lewinsky, you need to exploit the short time you have to generate revenue from books, TV movies, blue dresses, etc.
It used to be that you’d have to achieve a certain level of national renown before you could cash in. There was a Warholian event horizon to cross. After all, if you’re only famous in Oregon, literary agents are hardly going to come knocking. The Internet, however, has changed all that.
Now, you can seek reward based on an extremely brief spike in attention. Save Karyn, the woman who got herself out of credit card date debt through effective PR, is a classic example. Sure, she got some media attention, but if I asked people on the street ‘who is this ‘Save Karyn’ woman, 9 out of 10 people wouldn’t know. Still, she enjoyed enough online woofie to make, whatever it was, US $20,000.
There are plenty of similar shallow schemes to make cash, but without some online fame, you’re not going to get very far. I was thinking about this phenomenon when I read about BC’s own Mike Rowe (you remember him, don’t you?) selling his Microsoft Cease-and-Desist Letters and WIPO book on eBay. Why not cash-in while you can? In two weeks, nobody will remember who Mike Rowe is. So, if he can net US $30,320.00 (which I heartily doubt is a legitimate bid), then all power to him.
1 Comment »
January 30th, 2004, No Comments »
For most of the twentieth century, mail order catalogues were a critical link to the outside world for rural Canadians. Furthermore, they were an important retail model for selling just about anything–from seeds to tea sets to lawnmowers. The National Library of Canada has scanned and catalogued an incredible variety of these catalogues. The site includes interesting articles on alternative uses for catalogs and remote personal shoppers.
Bonus Canadiana link: A Fark Photoshop contest whose theme is Photoshop Geddy Lee of Rush on a toboggan. The winning entry is viciously incisive.
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January 30th, 2004, 3 Comments »
The idea is that you post the list, and indicate in with bold text which movies you’ve seen. I’ve done this, but I’m perplexed by this odd assemblage of films. Do you suppose these are the originator’s 100 favourite films? Or the last 100 she’d (and I’m guessing that it’s a she) seen? Maybe I’ll assemble my own list. Regardless, thanks to sn0wangel, here’s my list:
1. Snatch
2. 25th Hour
3. Godfather I II III
4. Memento
5. Roxanne
6. Shallow Grave
7. Nightmare Before Christmas
8. Jackie Brown
9. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
10. Formula 51
Read more…
3 Comments »
January 30th, 2004, No Comments »
Thanks to all of the readers who advised me on poaching eggs. Apparently the modus operandi for the perfect poached egg includes:
- Some lemon juice or vinegar in the water.
- Use an ordinary, not a shallow pan.
- Heat the water to a slow boil, not a rolling one.
- Use a whisk to create a vortex, and pour the egg (from a dish) into the centre of the vortex.
Readers also sent these instructions on poaching eggs, and a link to an old-school egg poacher on eBay for only $9.99. Finally, these page describes how to determine the age of eggs.
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January 29th, 2004, 4 Comments »
This afternoon, I had the good fortune to attend a recording at the CBC of Sarah Harmer playing songs from her new album. For those unfamiliar with Ms. Harmer, she’s from Kingston, Ontario and had great success with her fantastic first album, You Were Here.
About 25 of us descended three stories of cement stairs below the CBC building n downtown Vancouver. Like a cliff face, the building seemed to get older the deeper we went. Down in the bowels (really, the colon) of the CBC, we emerged in a small recording studio. After instructions on when to clap and how to be really quiet, the host introduced Ms. Harmer. She played six songs from the new album, combined with snappy patter with the host. The songs were great, and her voice was in excellent form. She has brilliant tone, an admirable range and a warm stage presence.
Yes, I’m a fanboy and I got her to sign my CBC backstage pass thingy.
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4 Comments »
