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Note on the Sidewalk

  • Yesterday
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Note on the Sidewalk


Originally uploaded by Skot Nelson

This note sat on the sidewalk where I park my car for about a week, before disappearing just as mysteriously as it appeared.

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Note on the Sidewalk

  • Yesterday
  • Post a comment



Note on the Sidewalk


Originally uploaded by Skot Nelson

This note sat on the sidewalk where I park my car for about a week, before disappearing just as mysteriously as it appeared.

Post a comment

Microsoft Word's Close Document Buttons

  • 2 days ago
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2008-04-29_1000.png

I'm fond of Microsoft Word. I really am. As a word processing program, it won the battle fair and square: it's the best all around application for moving large amounts of formatted words.

Running on Windows though, there's an interface anachronism that drives me nuts.

A Windows application lines up three buttons along the top right edge of it's main window. Those three in the top row on the right hand side. The red X button, as everybody knows, closes the application.

Below that, you can see another X. In most cases, that X would close an individual window (your document, in this case) leaving the application running.

Unless you have a single document open, as it turns out. In Word, if you have a single document open that second X closes the application as well as your open Application.

This would make sense if it were on a Mac, sort of, but on Windows it's just the kind of inconsistent behaviour that drives me nuts.

Post a comment Tags: interaction design, microsoft office

Eight New Universities in a Week

  • 2 days ago
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In what appears to be an attempt to remove all meaning whatsoever from the term university, the Campbell government has announced the eight university in just over a week.

Emily Carr to become university
Name change recognizes what the Vancouver art institute is already, president says
MARSHA LEDERMAN, April 29, 2008 at 4:26 AM EDT
VANCOUVER -- From the comic strip sensation For Better or For Worse to Generation X to First Nations masks made out of Nikes, graduates of the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design have made significant contributions to popular culture - not to mention serious art.

Now the school can boast an achievement of its own: It will be granted university status to become the Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECUAD)
...
Last week, the B.C. government announced it would grant university status to Capilano College, Kwantlen University College, Malaspina University-College and the University College of the Fraser Valley.

My personal favourite announcement was Capilano College. The Premier's own commissioned report recommended against this change, based on the fact that both Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia were too closely situated. Despite this recommendation, Premier Campbell designated Capilano a university.

The Premier's sister is on the board of the college. Think that had anything to do with it?

Pretty soon, there won't be any colleges left, and there sure won't be any value in a university degree earned in British Columbia.

Post a comment Tags: education, universities, gordon campbell

Elusive Objects of Lust

  • 5 days ago
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Despite (or perhaps as a result of) the pure joy that my newly acquired Eddy Merckx Team Alu Mega bike provides for me, I would dearly love one of these.

Post a comment Tags: cycling, bikes, european, frames

New Photos

  • 5 days ago
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New photos, including Lynn Canyon amongst others.

Post a comment Tags: photography, outdoors

About Time in Toronto

  • 6 days ago
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According to the Globe and Mail, cycling in T-dot is picking up at a pretty good pace.

Cycle mania hits high gear; good luck getting tune-up
Soaring gas prices, bad traffic and the TTC strike are getting a lot of people back on their bikes
SUSAN KRASHINSKY
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail May 7, 2008 at 5:43 AM EDT

For cycling enthusiasts in Toronto, it was the perfect storm.

Every year around this time, a stream of people bring their bikes in for tune-ups and repairs. Cycling is growing in popularity, and it's not easy to find a good mechanic. But this year, high gas prices, nasty weather and a traffic-choked downtown core meant tune-ups were in high demand. And when the TTC strike hit in April, a flood of desperate customers descended on Toronto's bike shops.

"The TTC strike just blew our minds. That was the busiest day of my life," said Eric Kamphof, a manager at Curbside Cycle near Bloor and Bathurst Streets. Curbside was so busy that it had to reject repairs. "To reject bikes is a horrible thing to do, it's nothing we want to do. But if you're a mechanic, you want to protect your level of quality.

The truth is, weather aside, Toronto's actually a pretty good city for cycling. The Don Valley Bike Path is a spectacular stretch of pavement with no cars that I used to use to get downtown from Scarborough. Streetcar tracks can be a bit of a challenge, but only on a few roads. The city is relatively flat (at least compared to Vancouver) and the Waterfront path provides a convenient way to move East=West along the Lakeshore through the Beach.

December is a whole different story, although I used to ride through the winter it would be harder to commute. Vancouver's rain can be relentless, but it's relatively...clean.

The biggest problem in Toronto is the seemingly endless sprawl. In a city where people have the longest commute on average in Canada, cycling is tough. Commutes less than 10 km are easy on a bike: commutes farther than 20 km are quite a bit harder.

Still, it's good to see.

Post a comment Tags: cycling, toronto, commuting, public transit, t-dot

Tour de France 2006: An American In Paris

  • 6 days ago
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It's old news by now that Floyd Landis has won today's time trial, all but clinching victory in Paris tomorrow.

This has been the most exciting tour to watch since 1989, when Greg LeMond faced Laurent Fignon in the final time trial and snatched the closest victory ever: 8 seconds.

That Landis' victory today came as much as a result of Oscar Pereiro's failure as his own effort does not diminish from his achievement.

This was a great race.

Post a comment Tags: cycling, tour de france

Ok Lance, We Get It...

  • 6 days ago
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You're the man. Point taken.

Lance Armstrong to run in Boston Marathon
Associated Press / January 17, 2008

BOSTON -- Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong plans to run the Boston Marathon in April to raise money for his foundation.
more stories like this

Armstrong, 36, qualified for Boston by finishing last year's New York City Marathon in 2:46:43, good enough for 214th place among men. The Boston qualifying time for men ages 35-39 is 3:15.

Post a comment Tags: cycling, sports, lance armstrong

3 men, 57 km, 30 seconds

  • 6 days ago
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As expected, after one of the greatest days in the history of the tour, Floyd Landis and the other race leaders took it easy today and hung together in the Peloton.

Tomorrow's penultimate stage is a 57km kilometre time trial. They call the time trial the race of truth -- there is no hiding in the peloton, no group times assigned, no moments of rest to be found in the French heat.

3 men are separated by only 30 seconds, a difference so small that it will be impossible to know who has won this race until the last man crosses the finish line -- barring major incident.

The evidence of yesterday's ride suggest that Landis is able to dig deeper than most at moments that matter to find those extra precious seconds that separate those who have the will to win from those who have the desire to win.

All bets are off, but if I were a betting man I'd put my money on that will.

Post a comment Tags: cycling, tour de france

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Skot Nelson

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