This highlights a problem that is almost always ignored by the people flogging online services: that you are making yourself completely dependent on them. They can change the service however they like, without asking you first. In reality, you probably don’t even have copies of your own data, and can lose access to it at any time. (You should have, but I bet you don’t.)—Google Reader invades your privacy and it’s not going to stop
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Traveler IQ Challenge
I’d done it something like 10 days ago and then forgot to post about it. The Traveler IQ Challenge is pretty fun. I made it to level 11 with 446 857 points (one try). How about you?
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A very telling proportional map of countries with oil. I guess oil has such a big impact on our economy because we have such a small population because we don’t have all that much of it.
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Love those guys! Michael Geist appeared on Strombo to talk about Fair Copyright for Canada. Not much new info if you’ve been following the issue but still worth a watch.
Station C in The Gazette
Station C is in the Gazette today, page B3 with a picture and everything. I think I have to review how I open up and/or present things better though, not quite how I wanted to put it Seems I’m an ass and it’s fine. (Station C online in The Gazette)
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Looks like I’ll be taking a couple of classes at Yale.
Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to seven introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn.—Open Yale Courses
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Firstshowing offers up a nice detailed list of upcoming 2008 movies. Looks like some good ones in there.
Christmas Comes Early This Year
IE8 passed the Acid2 test.
As a team, we’ve spent the last year heads down working hard on IE8. Last week, we achieved an important milestone that should interest web developers. IE8 now renders the “Acid2 Face” correctly in IE8 standards mode.—Internet Explorer 8 and Acid2: A Milestone
For those who don’t work in web dev and CSS in particular; this means that if Microsoft keeps it up they will stop sucking browser wise. Never thought I’d see the day.
80 Percenter
About half way through last summer’s ultimate frisbee season I quit the team and the sport. For good? I don’t know but as much as I love the sport and thoroughly enjoyed my 7 and a half seasons, I haven’t missed it since. A few days ago I was talking about it with a friend and I said that I’d been having fun while I was learning but that now that I know “everything” about it, to keep progressing I needed to play against crazy in shape people who devote a lot of time to it and I didn’t feel like doing it.
Funny to see that I’m not the only person thinking along those lines:
I’ve always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach 80 percent proficiency level. To go beyond that requires an obsession and degree of specialization that doesn’t appeal to me.
From Dan’s post about Yvon Chouinard. I think I’ll have to pick up that book.
Thanks For Nothing
Seems I’m a minority within a minority and I’m not supported. Intuit, makers of the only half way decent business accounting software for Mac, Quickbooks, aren’t producing the Canadian version anymore. Mac market is smaller, Canadian market for Mac is even smaller. No go. Even worse, the 2005 version which I’m using was going fine but it hangs on Leopard and their only support notice is: upgrade.
So: Quickbooks > Quickbooks for Mac > Quickbooks for Mac on Leopard > Quickbooks for Mac on Leopard, Canadian Version > Me.
Any other software to recommend?
