Archive for August, 2007

Cold wind and tragedy

Tuesday, August 28th, 2007

Camping August 2007For various reasons, our two weeks of camping was cut back to one week and the business trip I was expecting to be on this week was cut altogether.

Camping was black fly free and we were similarly unmolested by sunshine and hot weather.  I enjoy the cooler temperatures and the wind that keeps the bugs away.  But it can get pretty cold in the tent at night.

Unfortunately the brisk wind also brings waves.  These are great to look at from a distance but a hapless young boy was washed off the rocks and drowned.  His mother also drowned trying to save him.  This happened just down the beach from our campsite and it was a tragic note to an otherwise enjoyable vacation.

Posted in Personal | 4 Comments »

Heading out to the wilderness

Sunday, August 12th, 2007

This morning we’re heading off for two weeks of camping in Ontario’s north.  It is beautiful country and my wife has arranged for us to stay at two of the campgrounds I visited with my family as a child: Agawa Bay and Neys provincial parks.

Technology withdrawal aside, I think it will be fantastic and I’m really looking forward to it.

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Internet radio

Saturday, August 11th, 2007

I am really enjoying last.fm.  It is better than Launchcast.  But apparently the two best Internet radio options are not available in Canada.  Here’s what they say…

Short and sweet:

We’re sorry Slacker Personal Radio is not available in your area.  Unfortunately, Slacker Personal Radio is currently only available in the United States. While we are working to extend our licenses to other parts of the world, at this time we can only play music to our listeners within the United States.

And this one… just as sad, way more wordy, yet somehow more heartfelt:

Dear Pandora Visitor,
We are deeply, deeply sorry to say that due to licensing constraints, we can no longer allow access to Pandora for most listeners located outside of the U.S. We will continue to work diligently to realize the vision of a truly global Pandora, but for the time being we are required to restrict its use. We are very sad to have to do this, but there is no other alternative.
We believe that you are in Canada (your IP address appears to be xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx). If you believe we have made a mistake, we apologize and ask that you please contact us at pandora-support@pandora.com
If you are a paid subscriber, please contact us at pandora-support@pandora.com and we will issue a pro-rated refund to the credit card you used to sign up. If you have been using Pandora, we will keep a record of your existing stations and bookmarked artists and songs, so that when we are able to launch in your country, they will be waiting for you.
We will be notifying listeners as licensing agreements are established in individual countries. If you would like to be notified by email when Pandora is available in your country, please enter your email address below. The pace of global licensing is hard to predict, but we have the ultimate goal of being able to offer our service everywhere.
We share your disappointment and greatly appreciate your understanding.

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Fall television season

Wednesday, August 8th, 2007

The buzz is growing louder about the new TV season.  Of course in today’s fractured broadband, narrowcasting world, we’re usually talking all-season re-treads.  Original ideas are hard to come by.  Even original ideas are copied so quickly and with such gusto that it is hard to remember who thought of something first.

The people are talking most this season (as measured by official “buzz tracker” OTX) about Bionic Woman, a re-tread from the 70s.  Keep in mind, the re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica and The Transformers has given me much more faith in re-makes than I ever had before.  I am actually looking forward to seeing what David Eick has done with this classic from my childhood.

The airwaves will be saturated with more medical dramas, perhaps House or Grey’s Anatomy lookalikes — but even ER is soldiering on, returning for a 14th season.  There will even be a few attempts to cash in on the popularity of Heroes, including a try by the show’s creators themselves with something called Heroes: Origins.

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Need a hand(out)?

Thursday, August 2nd, 2007

A recent news story surfaced and then disappeared: Over the past two years, the Ontario government has handed out over $32 million dollars to various groups for capital projects.  Apparently, there was almost no audit trail of who asked for what, why they were asking, and then what they were actually given.  In a classic example, the auditor uncovered a request for $150,000 from the Ontario Cricket Association; the government gave them $1 million.

Governments at all levels continue to explain with growing exasperation to the stupid public that you can’t expect the same level of service without paying more every year.  After all, costs are rising.  What proves that they can’t manage a damn thing is that they are making this case to plead a tax rate increase — not just a total revenue increase. It is laughable to see governments perpetually wringing their hands about the lack of funds, yet to so frequently hear about financial mismanagement and lack of fiscal responsibility like this.

The overall tax burden is at well over fifty percent and climbing.  Perhaps we could give all our money to the government; we might be okay for a while, but based on their record, they would still run out eventually.

Posted in Politics | 1 Comment »