I finally took the time and got all my digitals together.

• my apartment, there's more stuff now, and it's less barren, but I'm too lazy to take more pictures.
  
• some grad pictures, and the night at Bomber.
  
• July 4th fireworks, I especially like these two.
  
• lots of Pride pictures - not as eventful as the Toronto one, from what I've seen.
  
• hiking and others.
  

Don't use analogies in arguments. If an analogy is good enough to represent the actual situation, then it most likely won't be an analogy anymore. And if it's not good enough to represent the situation, then it contains holes other people can pick apart.

The new season of the OC doesn't start until the 4th of November. This should hopefully be more than enough time for me to buy a TV and hook up cable, or at least go to Matt's place and watch it on his 43" Samsung.

I read today that a feature in the new iPod is that if the earphones pop out of the plug, the player will automatically pause the music until it's plugged back in. This is a great feature, and all future players should copy this (unless if it's already been done, in which case it's a great copy by Apple).

But someone needs to tell Apple to also support the older versions. I realize that for hardware changes that may be involved like this plug feature, it may be impossible, but it should not be for software. The controls on the iPod have remained essentially the same for all four generations, so for Apple not to port the new features back to the older versions is very disappointing to me. I'd probably pay a nominal $5 or $10 to get some of the new features like dynamic playlists. Or, if they're not going to support the older versions, they should at least open up the SDK for other developers. And if they're afraid to open up the SDK because most APIs are still the same for the new versions, then it's going to incense me even more for them not back porting the new firmware.

So far, the iPod has generated some buzz. But they still have not entered the mainstream yet (just think about how many people own CD players vs. those who own mp3 players). If Apple wants to compete with the rest of the market, and truly become the long term leader for once, they need to open up their platform and let people develop and sell other decoders (like windows media) and plugins, because once companies like Microsoft and Sony get in the game and throw millions of dollars into marketing, the playing field will change. People will start to buy from MSN because it's included on their computers (antitrust aside), and they won't be able to play their new songs on the iPod no matter how cool it looks (I know they can burn to CD, and rerip to mp3, but the thought of my mother doing that just makes me cringe. Most people will not know how to do this). Apple needs to change their mindset in order to leap from being the leader in the early adopters market to continue being the leader in the mainstream market. Unless they're happy with their niche markets, in which case, there's nothing to be done.

It is unacceptable to see dignitaries, rich businessmen, and world leaders wearing their thousand dollar suits and yet only sport a single windsor knowt in their ties.

Equally unacceptable is some governments using electronic touchscreen voting devices while not allowing independent audits of the source code.

Seattle -> Dallas -> Miami -> Philipsburg (American Airlines flight #'s 1112, 1972, 687 on the dates 8/28, 8/29, 8/29)

Philipsburg -> San Juan -> Miami (American Airlines flight #'s 5311, 1550 on 9/05)

Miami -> London (Virgin Atlantic #6 on 9/05).

Total cost: $1178.54 USD.

Now I just have to buy a ticket from London back to Toronto.

Dear Mr. Hami:

Thank you for taking the time to compliment the outstanding service you received in our store. We strive in everything we do to provide you with outstanding service, the best merchandise, the latest fashions and the most convenient store locations. We genuinely appreciate the feedback we receive from our customers and we especially like hearing about the good work of our associates.

I have shared your message with the store manager so our associates can be appropriately recognized.

We look forward to seeing you in the store again soon, and please feel free to continue to email us about your shopping experience.

Sincerely,

Sue McMahon
VP Customer Service
Macy's

Customer Comments:
First Name: Mr. Booby
Last Name: Hami
Address: 652 ridge st
City: garfield
State: nj
Zip: 07655
Country:
Phone:
Email: Mfli@hotmail.com
Division: me
Location: 710075
Overall: Outstanding
Store Env: Outstanding
Assoc Behav: Outstanding

Comments:

Associate Comments:

Name: Timothy
Assc. Number: 202862
Dept: Young Mens

We're never early starters. Everything we do on the weekends begins at noon or later.

We went off-road biking for the first time since I've been here, now that my bike is fixed and ready to go. But our skills fail us, and the temperature was excruciating. My bike steers like a bus. I think I need a shorter stem. But it was good, and we'll get out more now, I hope. Maybe next time we'll do more trail riding, and less technical stuff.

On Sunday we went on a hike. Since we started relatively late in the day (we didn't start planning until almost 1, and left at around 2:30), we decided to do a shorter hike. The book said it was 5 miles. Easy. So after driving for a hour, we started on the hike at about 4 pm. We didn't bring the trail book with us since we were in a state park, and there were maps. But we need a refresher course on careful reading (both the book, and maps), since we eventually ended up on a logging road to a lake (that was less than spectacular once we got there), and the 5 mile hike turned into a 12 mile trek. Needless to say, we were quite spent once we got back. But the sausages we cooked up on the barbeque at Cormie's at 10:30 at night was satisfying, to say the least.

Today, I'm a little disappointed in the new iPods. It seems that there haven't been much effort put into the technology except small upgrades, and they're just shipping "new" models to generate more sales. I want to see something truly innovative from Apple again, like they did with the first gen's scroll wheel.

A ticket from Seattle to St. Maarten to London is at least $1200 USD, and that's with 2 connections each way. Then, if I want to come back to Canada, I'd have to buy another ticket, which is at least $500 CDN, and that's on Air Transat, which nobody wants to fly on.

Maybe I'll look into Travelcuts since I'm still a "student".

I'm reading the The Da Vinci Code right now. It reminds me of watching 24, and I'm not just saying that because I recently watched a lot of 24. It's fast paced mystery, although the time doesn't advance that much (so far - half way through the book, it's been around 6, 7 hours). Dan Brown also leaves a lot of things hanging to get the readers to continue reading. Some of the stuff he brings up about the history of the church is interesting though, and I'll have to do some research to see if they're true.

At his house, for a barbeque.

We were picked up by 5 big coaches on campus, and taken to a church near his house, where the 100 or so interns proceeded through the metal detectors. Any cameras, cameraphones, knives, weapons, etc. were taken and checked. Actually, in the email sent out prior to leaving, they specifically said that if someone brings "a camera we will not be able to return it". That's pretty intense.

Then we lined up and got on smaller shuttles, and were whisked away to billg's house. It's massive, with a 40 car garage aptly called "the batcave" and cedar beams boldly jutting up and across the ceilings. We went down a long set of stairs through his "entertaining" house and arrived at the waterfront, where caterers dressed in yellow and black promptly greeted us with hors d'oeuvres.

The dinner consisted of many different types of salads, skewers of chicken, grilled salmon, tender ribs, and mini-hamburgers. Also available were beer and wine. Lots of VPs, directors and general managers were mingling in the crowd, speaking to the interns about their experiences. Some of the GMs and one VP started at MS as a new grad, which means they've been here for at least 12-15 years.

After a while, Bill innocuously showed up, and was immediately surrounded by a crowd of interns. Some have likened the crowd to a donut, a very apt description. After a quick introduction and address, the evening continued, with the donut around Bill the whole night.

I left as early as I could to catch the bus back to Seattle. No, I didn't speak to him. I didn't shake his hand. I didn't ask for his autograph.

Autographs are so 20th century.

The barista, she knows my order. Now I have to go through with my coffee addiction. I can't become a regular, and then stop going. I think I can affort $2 a day on coffee. But this is only the beginning.

Goal number 2 is now to strike up a conversation.

My 24 watching binge is over. I have finished both season 1 and season 2, and now I have to wait until August when the DVD comes out for season 3 before I can finish the few episodes at the end that I missed.

During the binge, which occurred while my foot was healing, I'd sometimes watch six episodes at a time. Then I'd be tired and have to sleep. That's what happens when you can't get any physical exercise. But the show is pretty captivating, even though sometimes you got the feeling that they were inserting extraneous storylines just to make up for time. But it does make me want to be a secret agent.

August 29 - September 5, 2004. At the Pelican.

Then? A quick three weeks in Europe, maybe?

So I went to see a podiatrist yesterday. $128 later, he told me it's a stretched tendon, and there's pretty much nothing I can do except ice it, buy some insoles, and not do anything physical. I guess it's an excuse not to exercise.

There's a lot happening in politics lately, mostly because Kerry chose his running mate Edwards. Here's a quote from Maureen Dowd's Op/Ed piece in the NYT:

Ordinarily, the John-John ticket might seem a bit off-putting � a little too glib, a little too ingratiating, a little too forced, a little too expedient, a little too eager to please. But when the competition is two oilmen who don't seem to want to please anybody but Halliburton and the Saudis � ask Pat Leahy, Old Europe and the 9/11 panel � overeagerness is a relief.

It's hilarious that the Republicans are trying to paint their ticket as the more optimistic one.

Mr. Cheney and Mr. Bush radiate negativity, even as Mr. Edwards and his photogenic blond kids glow for the cameras. Dick Cheney glowers for the camera, a Dr. No with a dark vision that has resulted in a gigantic global mess. (When he was stopped by applause at a campaign stop in Altoona, Pa., on Sunday, he asked, "You guys want to hear this speech or not?")

I must say, the Bush-Cheney ticket looks pretty glum personality-wise. Definitely not as much life as the Democrats (now that Edwards is onboard).

The amount of money they're getting and spending for their campaigns is mind-boggling. According to this editorial, the Kerry campaign has so far raised $180 million, while Bush has about $216. A lot of senate candidates are also now funding their own campaigns. This kind of reminds me of how in imperial China, some people used to buy their positions in office. This is especially true for Doug Gallagher, a republican trying to get the nomination to be a candidate for the Senate in Florida, who candidly said, "I only want to rent the seat."

And it has been hurting for the last week. I can barely walk, and when I do, I limp. I'm a cripple. I hate to be paranoid, but I think it's a stress fracture. So I'm going to see a doctor tomorrow. My health insurance has a $150 deductible, so the visit will most likely come out of my own pocket. Bah.

I pretty much stayed in the whole weekend and watched a lot of 24. I'm halfway through the second season now.

From a talk on DRM given by Cory Doctorow:

That's what happened to Jon Johansen, a Norweigan teenager who wanted to watch French DVDs on his Norweigan DVD player. He and some pals wrote some code to break the CSS so that he could do so. He's a wanted man here in America; in Norway the studios put the local fuzz up to bringing him up on charges of *unlawfully trespassing upon a computer system.* When his defense asked, "Which computer has Jon trespassed upon?" the answer was: "His own."

His no-fooling, real and physical property has been expropriated by the weird, notional, metaphorical intellectual property on his DVD: DRM only works if your record player becomes the property of whomever's records you're playing.

Also:

Whenever a new technology has disrupted copyright, we've changed copyright. Copyright isn't an ethical proposition, it's a utilitarian one. There's nothing *moral* about paying a composer tuppence for the piano-roll rights, there's nothing *immoral* about not paying Hollywood for the right to videotape a movie off your TV. They're just the best way of balancing out so that people's physical property rights in their VCRs and phonographs are respected and so that creators get enough of a dangling carrot to go on making shows and music and books and paintings.

I would say that I have to agree with him on that DRM will never work, at least never to the advantage of the average consumer.

Just think about it, the only people who cannot circumvent DRM are the average mom & pop whose VCR lights keep blinking 12:00 because they don't know how to program it. It doesn't actually prevent knowledgeable people from pirating. Almost every DRM out there has been, or will be broken, and when we're talking about restricting media, it can *never* really happen. As long as you can play something, you will always be able to re-record it. No, it may not be the perfect quality, but then again, (most) people are willing to give up the quality of CDs to listen to mp3s. And I rarely see CD players on buses anymore, giving way to iPods and the wide cornucopia of other mp3 players. So poeple are willing to give up quality if they perceive a trade-off in convenience.

Another major problem of DRM is that they limit the amout of hardware you can use your media purchases on. Matt has enough trouble reregistering his machines. What kind of quagmire do you think customer support would be in when millions of consumers decide to upgrade from XP to Longhorn, and find out they can no longer play the music that they legitimately paid for? People are not going to understand why they can't play their music, and no one will have read the 1000 page EULA that states that you need to transfer your rights and reregister your machines. Consumers will feel cheated by Microsoft, or Apple, or whomever they bought the media from. But eventually this anger will get back to the media owners (i.e. the RIAA and MPAA members).

If the movie and music industry can see past their short-sightedness, and provide DRM-free, high quality downloads, they would be much more popular amongst the regular consumers in the future. It's time to see the future.

PS - forgive me for using the blink tag