I picked up on this little gem at work over the last week. Sprint PCS uses the Broken Social Scene song Cranley's Gonna Make It for their customer service hold music, exclusively. I've transfered a few calls in the last week or so of working on the phones at Teletech, and no matter where the call is directed, the hold music remains the same.
As cool as that is, I'm still glad I'm leaving there on Friday.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Tutorial: How to Make a Left Turn While Driving
1. Drive straight, approaching your desired lane at a 90 degree angle.
2. Slow down until your left side view mirror is aligned with the entrance to the desired lane.
3. When a break in oncoming traffic allows, cut your steering wheel to the left and gently accelerate.
4. Two thirds of the way through your turn, when the nose of your vehicle is nearly aligned with the path of your lane, release your grip on the steering wheel while continuing to accelerate, allowing the tires of your car to steer themselves back into a straight forward position.
5. As your vehicle gently aligns itself with the path of your lane, return your standard grip to the steering wheel and accelerate as necessary to achieve the prescribed cruising speed for your lane.
Note: DO NOT start your turn before arriving at the entrance to your desired lane, thereby approaching at a 45 degree angle and cutting across the oncoming lane adjacent to your desired lane, as you risk a collision with vehicles in that lane!!! I mean, for crying out loud, what is wrong with people in this town?? Twice in as many minutes... come on.
2. Slow down until your left side view mirror is aligned with the entrance to the desired lane.
3. When a break in oncoming traffic allows, cut your steering wheel to the left and gently accelerate.
4. Two thirds of the way through your turn, when the nose of your vehicle is nearly aligned with the path of your lane, release your grip on the steering wheel while continuing to accelerate, allowing the tires of your car to steer themselves back into a straight forward position.
5. As your vehicle gently aligns itself with the path of your lane, return your standard grip to the steering wheel and accelerate as necessary to achieve the prescribed cruising speed for your lane.
Note: DO NOT start your turn before arriving at the entrance to your desired lane, thereby approaching at a 45 degree angle and cutting across the oncoming lane adjacent to your desired lane, as you risk a collision with vehicles in that lane!!! I mean, for crying out loud, what is wrong with people in this town?? Twice in as many minutes... come on.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Back it Up There, Buddy
When it comes to computers, a lot of people sort of idly think, I don't need to bother backing up, chances are I'll never lose any of my files, that's the sort of thing that only happens to other people. If the odds are even remotely in a person's favor, then the path of least resistance is the path we'll almost all take, and in the case of personal computers that path involves doing absolutely nothing to safeguard our personal files.
The only problem is, people have the odds figured all wrong. Chances are that in your lifetime you will experience a hard drive failure, system crash, power surge, house fire, theft, a sudden case of butter fingers, whatever, which will result in the loss of your data - photos, music, e-mails, precious porn, you name it. It'll be gone. Forever. When that time comes, and it will come, you'll wish, oh how you'll wish, that you'd done something to back those files up.
So start backing up now.
I lost 5GB of photos once because I kept them in one place, on an iPod with an invisible ticking time bomb inside. When that bomb went off and the hard drive failed, my photos were gone. Two years of my life in images, gone. Was I upset? Yes. Did I learn anything? No.
Today I almost lost everything. After running an update for my Mac that somehow went wrong, my computer wouldn't boot. It would just hang on the welcome screen, unwilling to go any further. I had some stuff backed up, my screenplay, some TV shows I've downloaded, my music is mostly all stuff I own on CD, but some big things, like all my photos from my life in London, and little things, like carefully crafted playlists in iTunes, all hung in the balance.
I was lucky today. A reinstall of the operating system solved the problem, kept everything in tact like nothing had ever happened. I'm writing you from that same computer right now. But it reminded me that I'm still a total dope when it comes to holding on to the things I think are precious.
I survived the loss of those photos from my early twenties, its true, but I still wish I had them today and I'd do an awful lot to get them back. So why aren't I doing anything to keep what I still have?
As of today, I am.
The only problem is, people have the odds figured all wrong. Chances are that in your lifetime you will experience a hard drive failure, system crash, power surge, house fire, theft, a sudden case of butter fingers, whatever, which will result in the loss of your data - photos, music, e-mails, precious porn, you name it. It'll be gone. Forever. When that time comes, and it will come, you'll wish, oh how you'll wish, that you'd done something to back those files up.
So start backing up now.
I lost 5GB of photos once because I kept them in one place, on an iPod with an invisible ticking time bomb inside. When that bomb went off and the hard drive failed, my photos were gone. Two years of my life in images, gone. Was I upset? Yes. Did I learn anything? No.
Today I almost lost everything. After running an update for my Mac that somehow went wrong, my computer wouldn't boot. It would just hang on the welcome screen, unwilling to go any further. I had some stuff backed up, my screenplay, some TV shows I've downloaded, my music is mostly all stuff I own on CD, but some big things, like all my photos from my life in London, and little things, like carefully crafted playlists in iTunes, all hung in the balance.
I was lucky today. A reinstall of the operating system solved the problem, kept everything in tact like nothing had ever happened. I'm writing you from that same computer right now. But it reminded me that I'm still a total dope when it comes to holding on to the things I think are precious.
I survived the loss of those photos from my early twenties, its true, but I still wish I had them today and I'd do an awful lot to get them back. So why aren't I doing anything to keep what I still have?
As of today, I am.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Ecstasy: Climate Change of the Mind?
For decades now politicians and the media have been mostly denying the existence of climate change, despite all the scientific evidence in support of the fact. Now, all of a sudden the issue seems to have gained some traction and reports are coming in from all sides that, yes, climate change is real, and yes, something needs to be done about it.
What the situation with climate change has revealed (if you hadn't already noticed) is that governments and the media are entirely capable, if not willing, to perpetuate false notions, even in the face of evidence to the contrary, to the point of manufacturing evidence in support of their mistruths. Call it propaganda, call it stubbornness, but the truth is we're not always told the truth about very important matters, and this can affect the way we make choices in our lives.
Ecstasy, or MDMA, is a drug which has received a lot of bad press from the media and politicians. It drains the fluid in your spine, it can lead to epilepsy, it can drill holes in your brain; these are all "facts" that at one point or another have been released into the public as verifiable truths about this drug of choice for clubbers and party goers alike. The only problem is these claims are neither verifiable nor true. Scientists are proving this, and the media is finally starting to latch on.
BBC Radio 4 recently did a 30 minute story on MDMA and the current studies being done on its effects, both temporary and long term, and its findings are incredibly contrary to the popular myths about this drug.
People wishing to look into some of the studies on MDMA currently being done and their findings might be interested in consulting The DEA's website (that's Drug Enjoying Americans, as opposed to the American government's Drug Enforcement Administration).
Of course anything becomes instantly more dangerous the moment it is relegated to the criminal realm. If Ecstasy poses any real danger to people, it may well be entirely due to the fact that it is illegal. Without measures in place to ensure that what people are using is in fact ecstasy and not some cheap and potentially harmful derivatives, the potential for real harm will always exist.
What the situation with climate change has revealed (if you hadn't already noticed) is that governments and the media are entirely capable, if not willing, to perpetuate false notions, even in the face of evidence to the contrary, to the point of manufacturing evidence in support of their mistruths. Call it propaganda, call it stubbornness, but the truth is we're not always told the truth about very important matters, and this can affect the way we make choices in our lives.
Ecstasy, or MDMA, is a drug which has received a lot of bad press from the media and politicians. It drains the fluid in your spine, it can lead to epilepsy, it can drill holes in your brain; these are all "facts" that at one point or another have been released into the public as verifiable truths about this drug of choice for clubbers and party goers alike. The only problem is these claims are neither verifiable nor true. Scientists are proving this, and the media is finally starting to latch on.
BBC Radio 4 recently did a 30 minute story on MDMA and the current studies being done on its effects, both temporary and long term, and its findings are incredibly contrary to the popular myths about this drug.
People wishing to look into some of the studies on MDMA currently being done and their findings might be interested in consulting The DEA's website (that's Drug Enjoying Americans, as opposed to the American government's Drug Enforcement Administration).
Of course anything becomes instantly more dangerous the moment it is relegated to the criminal realm. If Ecstasy poses any real danger to people, it may well be entirely due to the fact that it is illegal. Without measures in place to ensure that what people are using is in fact ecstasy and not some cheap and potentially harmful derivatives, the potential for real harm will always exist.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Feed Me
I've been a sort of half-assed, casual user of feeds for something like a year now. My Goggle home page is set up to receive feeds from some of my favorite blog and news sources, as well as a few pass-time items like word of the day and quote of the day, but the interface is clunky and limited at best. As far as browser home pages go its a knock out, but a true RSS reader, it is not.
I've just tonight made the rather simple leap to a full fledged reader, the stunningly simple and elegant Vienna RSS Reader, and the difference is everything. Now I can keep up on the latest news, technology, Mac buzz, recipe ideas, and yes even words and quotes of the day without the need to open my web browser; without even the need to go looking. Any feeds I've subscribed to arrive in my reader the moment they're available online, organized and ready for me to read/view right there on the spot. Along with the text you'd see on the web page if you were using your browser, embedded photos and even videos come through in tact and in place. I don't know why I didn't do this before.
An easy way to peg a website that uses feeds is that you'll see a little orange coloured square icon in the far right of your browser's address bar with a white little dot and two curved lines in it (looks like a little frequency pulse of some kind). That signifies the page is set up to offer a feed - any time that page updates with new content, a feed will be sent out to anyone subscribing to it with the updated content for them to view.
www.macinstruct.com offers an RSS feed, as indicated by the icon in the browser's addres bar. Clicking on it would give you a choice of how you'd like to subscribe.
If this icon isn't present, its unlikely a feed is available. Sites like Macsurfer's Headline News and Facebook, sadly, do not offer feed services. The former is the greatest daily culminating effort of Mac related news the internet has ever known, and the latter is a social networking site where the activities of friends are constantly offered as updates on your social home page. Both would be ideal providers of RSS feeds, but alas neither does.
The coolest thing about an RSS Reader? You could even subscribe to this blog.
I've just tonight made the rather simple leap to a full fledged reader, the stunningly simple and elegant Vienna RSS Reader, and the difference is everything. Now I can keep up on the latest news, technology, Mac buzz, recipe ideas, and yes even words and quotes of the day without the need to open my web browser; without even the need to go looking. Any feeds I've subscribed to arrive in my reader the moment they're available online, organized and ready for me to read/view right there on the spot. Along with the text you'd see on the web page if you were using your browser, embedded photos and even videos come through in tact and in place. I don't know why I didn't do this before.
An easy way to peg a website that uses feeds is that you'll see a little orange coloured square icon in the far right of your browser's address bar with a white little dot and two curved lines in it (looks like a little frequency pulse of some kind). That signifies the page is set up to offer a feed - any time that page updates with new content, a feed will be sent out to anyone subscribing to it with the updated content for them to view.
www.macinstruct.com offers an RSS feed, as indicated by the icon in the browser's addres bar. Clicking on it would give you a choice of how you'd like to subscribe.
If this icon isn't present, its unlikely a feed is available. Sites like Macsurfer's Headline News and Facebook, sadly, do not offer feed services. The former is the greatest daily culminating effort of Mac related news the internet has ever known, and the latter is a social networking site where the activities of friends are constantly offered as updates on your social home page. Both would be ideal providers of RSS feeds, but alas neither does.
The coolest thing about an RSS Reader? You could even subscribe to this blog.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Review: My Throat Infection
Before the antibiotics completely eradicate the divine pleasure that is my current throat infection, I'd like to offer my thoughts and observations on its presence in my life.
Its worth noting that swallowing is a function of the body most of us probably take for granted. When your father finds you at 2am in the kitchen, clad only in your underwear, having a full fledged, hyperventilating, tear- and sweat-dripping panic attack over not being able to swallow a pill, let alone the water you're gagging on or even the saliva in your mouth, the value of this function is therein forever ingrained.
3am and we're in the Emergency waiting room after checking in with a lovely bunch of nurses, all very friendly and warm. The place is empty apart from a lone figure in the back corner who appears to be there more for shelter than anything else. Eventually I'm escorted to another location where I sit and wait in the dark for a while until a doctor comes and places a tongue depressor in my mouth, shines a light, rubs my throat up and down and walks away. Sometime later, another doctor comes and asks if I've been given a prescription. Its difficult for me to speak through the swelling and the pain, but I say in a somewhat pathetically monstrous voice, I'm not sure. She leaves and comes back with a prescription, along with two pills she's placing in my hand and a cup of water. She waits. I ask, with difficulty, what these pills are. She replies, Amoxicillin. Um, ok... what do they do? They're antibiotics. Ok, thanks. I struggle through the swallow, gagging some, feeling a tad embarrassed. I sit there. Um, am I done now? Yes, you're free to go, remember to drink plenty of fluids. But I can't swallow. Plenty of fluids. Ok. As I walk away, an awkward pat finds its way onto my shoulder. Thanks.
I spend the next day holding onto walls and door nobs while kicking and clenching my way through partial sips of water that splash my esophagus, causing me to gag and spit into the nearest sink. Food is an altogether foreign concept. My visit to the hospital left me with no idea of how long it would be until this situation might change, let alone a diagnosis of what this situation might be beyond one of the nurses casual comments that it was a throat infection. I manage to stave off any further bouts of massive panic, apart from a few choice moments here and there, and by late night the antibiotics have made enough room in my throat to allow small, gentle intakes of mushy food, which by now I am more than grateful for.
Today I've graduated from impossible to difficult to now mere painful swallowing. I'm eating toast and drinking coffee and feeling altogether more human. The uncertainty and terror have passed. Its a whole new day!
In conclusion, I'm sick of doctors that suck but otherwise feeling better.
Its worth noting that swallowing is a function of the body most of us probably take for granted. When your father finds you at 2am in the kitchen, clad only in your underwear, having a full fledged, hyperventilating, tear- and sweat-dripping panic attack over not being able to swallow a pill, let alone the water you're gagging on or even the saliva in your mouth, the value of this function is therein forever ingrained.
3am and we're in the Emergency waiting room after checking in with a lovely bunch of nurses, all very friendly and warm. The place is empty apart from a lone figure in the back corner who appears to be there more for shelter than anything else. Eventually I'm escorted to another location where I sit and wait in the dark for a while until a doctor comes and places a tongue depressor in my mouth, shines a light, rubs my throat up and down and walks away. Sometime later, another doctor comes and asks if I've been given a prescription. Its difficult for me to speak through the swelling and the pain, but I say in a somewhat pathetically monstrous voice, I'm not sure. She leaves and comes back with a prescription, along with two pills she's placing in my hand and a cup of water. She waits. I ask, with difficulty, what these pills are. She replies, Amoxicillin. Um, ok... what do they do? They're antibiotics. Ok, thanks. I struggle through the swallow, gagging some, feeling a tad embarrassed. I sit there. Um, am I done now? Yes, you're free to go, remember to drink plenty of fluids. But I can't swallow. Plenty of fluids. Ok. As I walk away, an awkward pat finds its way onto my shoulder. Thanks.
I spend the next day holding onto walls and door nobs while kicking and clenching my way through partial sips of water that splash my esophagus, causing me to gag and spit into the nearest sink. Food is an altogether foreign concept. My visit to the hospital left me with no idea of how long it would be until this situation might change, let alone a diagnosis of what this situation might be beyond one of the nurses casual comments that it was a throat infection. I manage to stave off any further bouts of massive panic, apart from a few choice moments here and there, and by late night the antibiotics have made enough room in my throat to allow small, gentle intakes of mushy food, which by now I am more than grateful for.
Today I've graduated from impossible to difficult to now mere painful swallowing. I'm eating toast and drinking coffee and feeling altogether more human. The uncertainty and terror have passed. Its a whole new day!
In conclusion, I'm sick of doctors that suck but otherwise feeling better.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Code Name: Spinner
I'm moving forward on an idea I've been developing for something like four years now. The technology has finally become ubiquitous and cheap enough to be accessible to and producible for the masses, and my own talents and skills have developed to a level where I believe I can do it. I can't openly say much more about it for now, but I will say I've begun assembling a team and things are already coming along very nicely.
My first editing job since coming home took place a couple of weeks ago; glad to have broken the seal on that one. A short film with a tight deadline, the work was intense, though a lot of fun. Having to go straight from work at Teletech to the filmmaker's house, pulling 16+ hour days for five days straight, certainly took its toll, but the final product was well worth it, as was the new friendship that developed.
I sort of pushed my way through the doors of Studio 709 on Friday and showed those guys my stuff. Fortunately they had PAL playback capabilities, so I was able to show them some of my work from the UK as well. They seemed impressed and assured me as projects came along I'd be contacted. I'm going to keep on top of that one, though. In my experience, people rarely come looking when they know they're the ones being sought.
Its been a low key weekend, mainly due to my battling a cold and witnessing yet another 30cm of snow descend upon this town. The white, bouldery mountains in front of the house are exceeding 15 feet in height, and extend out into the middle of the road, which has now been reduced to a narrow path suitable for only a single car's cautious passage, one direction at a time.
I'm moving out of my suitcase tonight.
My first editing job since coming home took place a couple of weeks ago; glad to have broken the seal on that one. A short film with a tight deadline, the work was intense, though a lot of fun. Having to go straight from work at Teletech to the filmmaker's house, pulling 16+ hour days for five days straight, certainly took its toll, but the final product was well worth it, as was the new friendship that developed.
I sort of pushed my way through the doors of Studio 709 on Friday and showed those guys my stuff. Fortunately they had PAL playback capabilities, so I was able to show them some of my work from the UK as well. They seemed impressed and assured me as projects came along I'd be contacted. I'm going to keep on top of that one, though. In my experience, people rarely come looking when they know they're the ones being sought.
Its been a low key weekend, mainly due to my battling a cold and witnessing yet another 30cm of snow descend upon this town. The white, bouldery mountains in front of the house are exceeding 15 feet in height, and extend out into the middle of the road, which has now been reduced to a narrow path suitable for only a single car's cautious passage, one direction at a time.
I'm moving out of my suitcase tonight.
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