We're Closed

Thanks for coming. This blog is closed indefinitely.

Love the new Blogger

They did a great job on the new interface and extra features. They mentioned it was usability tested and I think it shows (so far anyway).

Nobody wants the Palestinians

Even Jordan doesn't want the Palestinians. Not that this is news, but they are arguing at the Hague that the separation fence hurts Jordan, claiming Palestinians will be forced into their delicate country and upset the economic balance.

Imagine that a Palestinian state was created tomorrow in the West Bank and Gaza with a secure border with Israel. Based on their court arguments, the Jordanians would freak out. Another example showing that the Palestinians remain the world's sorriest pawns.

2 months since my last posting. Glug, glug.

That pesky PDFMaker Office toolbar

I finally eliminated the very annoying Adobe PDFMaker toolbar for MS Office X for Mac OS X. Ever since installing Adobe Acrobat 6, the toolbar would not go away. You could close it or even delete it from the toolbar list (in the Customize dialog) but, like a virus, it would always come back when you restarted the application.

To get rid of this thing, you need to delete the PDFMaker.* files from 3 folders in the Office folder. The paths are:

Microsoft Office X > Office > Startup > Excel
Microsoft Office X > Office > Startup > PowerPoint
Microsoft Office X > Office > Startup > Word

You'll find a PDFMaker file in each of those folders. Trash it and you're done.

Update: A lot of you find this blog via a search that seems to be about this problem. Please post a comment if this fix works for you or if you have found other solutions.

Why are you here?

What are you looking for?

Well?

Saddam Captured

So, unless you're dead, you've no doubt heard or read that Saddam was captured today by US forces.

I wonder if it will cause any change in the level of "resistance". It doesn't sound like Saddam's hiding spot had a lot of communication gear to let him coordinate his remaining forces. Will the simple news of his capture do it?

Ah, now it all makes sense

I missed Imshin's link to my short, short story below.

Hope you enjoy it and thanks for the link, Imshin.

Wow - what a hit

9 hits today. What's going on, I wonder?

Most of you are coming from Imshin's blog, but she hasn't linked to me directly...

At least you aren't searching for remedies for removing skunk stink. That's how most people seem to get here via Google. There's a lesson to all you bloggers -- be careful what you mention, even in passing, as it may attract useless hits. Useless from a public blog perspective, anyway... those people will never link to me or come back to visit.

Take 5 Cafe

If you live in Vancouver, BC, be sure to check out Take 5 Cafe on Granville between Pender and Hastings. Awesome coffee, awesome food, and a comfortable place to hang out.

I'm inserting this place into my routine.

Kill Bill - Brilliant or Utter Crap?

Saw Kill Bill last night and I really did not enjoy it. I sat through it wondering why it was made. The plot was almost non-existent, the characters were laughably shallow, and the violence was bordering on stupid. When I see something like this, I think that it's either a brilliant creation or just a piece of shit. Perhaps Kill Bill is a brilliant commentary on post-modernism, but I suspect it's closer to a piece of crap.

God is Dead - A Short Story

God is dead.

I could feel it. I knew it. The stories of my childhood had resonated within me just yesterday, but today they were silent.

I slipped on my robe and fetched the morning paper. I half expected a headline like "God checks out" or some other editorial wonder. However, the headline "PM Accused of Accepting Bribe" told me it was another slow news day.

I tossed the newsprint aside and went to look out the kitchen window. The sun was shining, glinting off the city towers. A normal day.

My automatic coffee maker had done it's duty. Just like normal. I poured myself a cup and sat down, still gazing downtown.

I thought about what one does when a loved one has died. I suppose there's the body to take care of. Not a problem in this case. Then there's the funeral arrangements. That'll be a doozy with a pope, a few chief rabbis, and God knows - er, who knows - who else arguing over the responsibility.

Or will they? Do they even know? Doubting that I could get a hold of the Pope, I called my friend, David. He was only a Reform rabbi, but maybe he had heard the news.

"David? ... It's Frank. Have you heard any news today? ... Like what? You know, anything unusual. ... No? ... Okay, sorry to bother you. ... You, too."

My eyes brushed the clock. I was going to be late for work. Does one work if God has gone and died? An image of my boss checking his heavy watch convinced me that, yes, one does.

---

The light woke me. Rubbing my eyes, I saw it was almost eight. The days were already getting shorter. I'll have to start setting my alarm.

I wrapped myself in my robe and checked for the paper. It wasn't there. Late again for the third time this week.

Yesterday's paper was lying inside the door. I grabbed it and found the customer service number. The phone was under one of the sofa cushions. I dialed. Waited. Finally, a ring on the other end followed by the droning pre-recorded voice. I had no patience to deal with this. I tossed the phone back under the cushion and got ready for work.

---

It's the two week anniversary of His death. I awoke at 8:30 this morning. No paper again. There was no paper at all yesterday.

I think others are just hearing the bad news. I feel bad having not arranged the funeral, but it seems strange to have one now. On the other hand, they say funerals are for the living. Maybe it wouldn't seem so strange to everyone else to have one so long after His death.

No work today. My boss didn't even show up yesterday, so no guilt either. I grabbed a pad of paper. "Funeral," I wrote at the top. I underlined it. I examined it for a few moments. A box would be more appropriate, don't you think? Three more lines and now it's a box.

Now what?

"Flowers."

I scratched it out. It didn't seem appropriate.

"Eulogy."

That's a tough one as I hardly knew Him. I wrote "David" next to it.

"Location."

Another tough one. The crowds will be enormous!

This is too tiring, I thought, and laid the pen down. I need a coffee.

---

It's been three weeks and one day. I'm not sure I want to go out anymore. There are no papers available, even at the news stand down the block. I don't even feel safe out there now. I swear that Mike, my neighbour, almost hit me in the elevator as I returned home. I guess I shouldn't have asked him who died.

Blogging Takes a Back Seat

This blog is slowly dying.

Of course, studies have shown that most dead blogs belong to men, so thank God I'm normal.

Perhaps I will continue this or, perhaps, I will create a new blog using my real name.

Watching Six Feet Under, an awesome HBO show. The first season is just airing up in Canada now.

Interesting. Blogger's spell checker suggests I replace "Blogging" with "Flogging". There must be a hidden message there, somewhere.

A Better Road Map (washingtonpost.com)

In A Better Road Map, a Washington Post opinion piece by Jackson Diehl, he states that the road map is good, it's just he leadership that's bad. Diehl thinks that both Israelis and Palestinians are ready to accept the two-state solution outlined by the road map. The problem is summarized by Sari Nusseibeh who says, "The question is how do you get there with Arafat and Sharon."

Actually, the question is only: how do you get there with Arafat and the PA? The Israeli public will deal with Sharon themselves when the time comes. Who's going to oust Arafat and his cronies?

But, really, a road map that doesn't consider who's driving the car isn't worth the paper it's printed on. I would have thought that was obvious by now.

The cranky user: What can users do?

The cranky user: What can users do? A users guide to how to deal with unusable products. Cute.

Quality Killer #2 - Too Much Left Brain

A product design should be balanced if you want it to appeal to a large market. Typically, a technical design team is made up of engineers who, despite all their strengths, are often not the most creative people. Each team needs a creative infusion so their final designs balance logic and art.

It's tough to convince companies to change the makeup of their design teams. Often, engineers feel they are creative (enough) and can introduce this aspect to the design. Or, it's impossible to cost justify the addition of a graphic artist or industrial designer based on an intangible like "quality".