harrumph! january 16-31 2000

current archive July 01 - 31 June 01 - 30 May 01 - 31 Apr 01 - 30 Mar 23 - 31 Mar 16 - 22 Mar 01 - 10 Feb 16 - 29 Feb 01 - 15 Jan 16 - 31 Jan 01 - 15	MON JAN 31 00 19:05 ABC has just revealed all! Princeton Video Image was the force behind that fancy, virtual yellow first down line. I'm a bit behind the times though as the New York Times covered this "Digital Sleight of Hand" on October 1st. Perhaps I can incorporate a "digital sleight of hand" to obscure the boxes which don't seem to want to unpack themselves. 16:22 I want to say that I endured the game to watch the commercials (where's the Mountain Dew Bohemian Rhapsody spoof?), but in all honesty, I have to say that the fourth quarter was quite riveting. What did Kurt get, other than a trip to Disney World (home of the most annoying MIDI file known to mankind), for saying that he's go to Disney World? And speaking of Kurt, how about that fluffy, blue sweater on his "sweet half"? Harrumph's umbilical snapped. The problem should be fixed. 09:07 Peter Jennings is going to tell us all about "virtual ads" tonight. It might go a long way to explain the yellow line. I'll keep you posted.	What tree did YOU fall from?
	SUN JAN 30 00 21:08 What's up with the yellow first down line? How'd they do that? I grew up on a continuous diet of British children's literature - Swallows and Amazons, the Secret Garden and the Narnia Chronicles. Joan Bodger's How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children's Books (Chapters or Barnes & Noble) has just been reprinted. It's a wonderful story of one family's journey to search out the landscapes of many of these classics. 13:10 Psychographics might better explain my inability to identify with my peer group - by definition, I am a baby boomer. The GenX crowd sings a siren song which better speaks to the inner me. Perhaps there is a Myers Briggs-like test that resolve this issue? excerpted from an email: "alpha means it must do something, but is not very well tested, probably has bugs, and may even crash your system, etc., etc. beta means it works pretty well, and looks stable and functional, but not bullet-proof. stable means someone is pulling your leg."	Canadian World Domination. "This web site is half an hour later in Newfoundland." I'm just trying to ensure the appearance of CanCon.
	SAT JAN 29 00 22:12 It's not too late to enter "ThinkGeek is giving away an AIBO!!" contest. Of course if you don't win, you can purchase one for $2,500 between February 15th and 25th via Sony's site. 11:15 The psychology of bad hair days might go a long way to explain my ongoing hair trials and tribulations but what about over processing? The color of my hair is a veritable mood barometer. The abuse reached a climax early last year with all out bleaching which just so happened to coincide with my frustrations with a certain VP (distant relation of Dilbert's pointy hared boss). I've entered the current century as a brunette which speaks volumes. 01:10 I'm afraid to turn my mobile on.During the summer I subscribed to a service that delivers daily weather reports via email to my wee Nokia. I can't remember which service it is and the messages keep coming. For the most part, the phone remains dormant, forwarding calls home. But when it's turned on a flurry of awaiting messages stuff the inbox. I'm going to have to do some research. In the meantime, you can send a brief message if you like. It will be a welcome alternative to dire warnings of impending snow storms.	I wonder if the Y2K dog tag was a big seller over the holidays? It's hard to resist "Show someone special where to find you in cyberspace!"
	FRI JAN 28 00 Have I mentioned lately how much I hate Indigo? I sent one last email last week registering my disappointment with their customer support (or lack thereof). I received the following response: "Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience you have experienced in this matter. Please contact us at 1-888-4-INDIGO and a customer service representative will be most happy to help you in this matter." Well, I went that route before the holidays and got nowhere. I'm now stuck in an infinite loop of customer service hell. The whole debacle was made ever more poignant when I placed an order (The Project Cool Guide to XML for Web Designers) from my hotel room in San Francisco Sunday morning from Chapters. The book arrived Tuesday morning. No muss, no fuss, no pain, no strain. User Friendly's NT's Not Up To Snuff still makes me snicker three months later. While "Just can't get enough" has come around again, I hate to confess that I remember it the first time. Another lifetime ago - first year of Urban and Regional Planning at University of Waterloo. I can't figure out at what point I'm supposed to feel grown up. Inside, I'm still an awkward teenager though I'm sure that it's far too late to become a Navy Seal or join the French Foreign Legion.	18:30 Canadians are an ethnic group in their own right... Best pickup line ever - Canadian women are so exotic
	THU JAN 27 00 Yeeesssss! Victory for Etoy Is at Hand. There's more at RTMark. Meanwhile... Madison magazine (pages 128-9) has a spread for beautyscene.com... "in the future, beauty will be more than skin deep. beautyscene.com. the future of beautiful™" An attractive woman is lying on a plush white towel while the well manicured hand of another woman appears to be sloughing her skin with what looks like an interface board. Dejan tells me that the interface board is at least five years old. Most people may not realize that this is an ad for recycling and not for some futuristic, borg beauty commentary. Then again, maybe beautyscene.com doesn't either.	00:35 While I'm on the subject of beauty... What's with those Sephora print ads? If it was a Rorschach Test , I'd be spying a big, red uterus. 15:10 For the "making contact with former co-workers file": Christopher Hennelly, Design Systems 95-96
	WED JAN 26 00 My Lucida came back today. I inadvertently dropped it just before the holidays. If you are looking for an alternative view of the world, I would highly recommend a Kaleidoscope. Other ponderings in Montréal. Yesterday Dave was musing about Zero-Knowledge and the group Phantom Menace viewing. I must confess that I rode in on the coat tails of an employee to see both Phantom Menace and The Spy Who Shagged Me (thank you Luc). I hadn't heard about the massages though... <blustering>When I have my company it will be manicures and pedicures all round...</blustering> Massages and movies... What else am I missing as I sit home alone?	Zero-Knowledge has a few interesting job titles... "Pizza Wrangler", "Most Evil Genius and Director of Technology", "Queen Stagiaire", and "InfoPimp". I want to be a "Princess" in my next lifetime!
	TUE JAN 25 00 St. Patrick's Day is a couple of months away and yes, this is really silly but, it had me running around in a pot of gurus (must be a subconscious work issue), Owen in a pot of whiteboards, Afsun "running around for 69 minutes in a pot of penises" and Dejan grabbing the leprechaun by the penis. If you do participate, please share your results (I hope that I haven't given too much away).
	MON JAN 24 00 Home again, home again. There must be a guide for modern living. Has Emily Post updated her manual on manners to include such behaviour as lying down and sleeping on airplane seats? My return trip was far more luxurious given the reduced number of passengers. I was able to stretch out and snooze. While others had the same opportunity, they remained upright citizens. Was I committing and unpardonable act? I need to do some further research. I'm not going to comment on the current weather differences between San Francisco and Montréal.	Canadian clothing only carries the ASTM symbols (no text explanation). Here's a handy chart in case you've forgotten what they mean - as I have. Excellent! Memepool has found Paul's Graphica Obscura.
	SUN JAN 23 00 There's nothing to be done. I have to go home. I miss my high speed, dedicated connection dreadfully. I've never got my act together and organized a decent international ISP for road warrior trips so I rely upon my ancient AOL account for connectivity. I endured a tooth filling last month on a tooth that wouldn't freeze. My experience with AOL is no less painful. Granted, my new little VAIO sub-notebook has been a joy with the plug 'n play built in modem, but the rest has definitely left me wanting. How I've been spoiled by a decent dedicated connection. When I think back to my first Hayes modem I marvel at the patience I must have once had. I must have kissed that goodbye awhile ago. Now I'm just a cranky, speed freak.	Hickory, Dickory, Doc... Eric built a clock! I've been walking in circles. Nathalie! Est-ce que c'est toi?
	SAT JAN 22 00 My trip to San Francisco has occurred at the best possible time. Montréal has been in the deep freeze all week. Brrr... I felt rather bewildered stepping off the plane on Tuesday to the more pleasantly temperate Bay area climate. The warmer air sang it's siren song to my popsicle self. I stuffed my hi-tech Kanuk into my bag on Tuesday in the hopes that it would never have to see the light of day again, but alas, it's not to be. Air Canada has a seat with my name on it and the wee pups are plinking tin cups against their food bowls.
	THU JAN 20 00 Hotel rooms are such sensory deprivation chambers - darkened windows and silence (if you are lucky, as I was). I slept very heavily, only to awake at 3:33 and then again at 5:55. I decided that if I woke at 6:66, I would immediately pack up and head home. Given the luggage piled up at Dorval check-in, it became apparent that there was a rather sportif aspect to Tuesday's flight. This was confirmed when it appeared that a number of my fellow travelers might miss a connecting flight due to a delayed departure and strong head-winds. The gentleman, in the seat across the aisle, identified himself to the stewardess as the shepherd of 30 of my fellow travelers who just so happened to be World Cup skiers. This went a long way to explain the snappy slacker duds and a greater than average proclivity for various facial hair combinations - to say nothing of their sun kissed locks. We all enjoyed not one, but two movies. I found the second a rather odd choice given the audience. A teen chick flick! A friend has confessed to always crying at the end of in-flight movies - no matter the subject matter, he would cry like a baby. No one on this flight seemed to have this behavioral oddity.	Flight etiquette: Just because you can crank your seat way, way back, doesn't mean that you have to. I'll dedicate this particular tip to Mr. Row 20 D on Air Canada Flight 671 who, immediately upon take off, did just that. I wouldn't say that I'm claustrophobic, but it was uncomfortable.
	MON JAN 17 00 Well, I might as well cross International Jet Setter off my list of possible career alternatives because I've finally had to come to terms with the fact that I really hate traveling. Not so much being in another place other than home, but getting to that other place. On a recent flight to New York, I spent more time sitting on the runway after the plane touched down at LaGuardia than airborne getting there. Grouch, grouch, grouch. Grumble, grumble, grumble. My plane leaves in the morning.	Somebody needs to create a link lost and found. I've lost a really great link. Photograph of a man sitting on felled tree which has been carved, in somewhat detailed manner, into a penis. I had a great joke about the Blair Witch that this would illustrate.
	SUN JAN 16 00 Well, you can save your $$ and skip Fantasia 2000. While the scale of IMAX is impressive it does nothing to detract from the tired, worn round the edges feeling which exudes from the very first animated sequence. It's hard to imagine that Toy Story 2 and Fantasia 2000 have anything in common. Fantasia 2000 previews feature majestic whales cavorting in Arctic seas. This sequence might have well been titled "A tribute to So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish ". Very bizarre... Someone must have been smoking something funny down at Disney when this was cooked up. If animation inspired by classical music is what you desire, rent a copy of Allegro non troppo. It's far more entertaining.

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