Why Web Design Doesn’t Mean Web Success

A nice article whih dances around the high level discussion of why flashy web tools don’t make a succesful web site:

Why award-winning websites are so awful

Continue reading "Why Web Design Doesn’t Mean Web Success"

Marie Antoinnette

Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette is beautifully shot and directed, as one would expect from such an artist. Like Lost in Translation it’s full of wonderful cinematic moments. The costumes are beautiful, and the sets are lush.

Continue reading "Marie Antoinnette"

Still the Smartest Guy in the Room

Jeff Skilling has just been sentenced to 24 years in jail, a fact which should be entirely unsurprising given the earlier fate of Kenneth Lay.

Skilling and his friends used to refer to themselves as the smartest guys in the room according to rumour. Now that the room only holds one person, the distinction is substantially less significent.

How to Eat An Orange

Life is all about the things that little girls can teach us.

There’s a magic moment when you peel an orange and before you’ve torn away the first slice when it sits there like a perfect little orb with two small holes at either end—the perfect place for a little girl to stick it on her finger.

Olympic Logos

Chicago’s Olympic logo has been released. Well designed, it evokes the Olympic torch while paying tribute to the host city and its legendary urban skyscrapers.

Vancouver’s Inukshuk, by comparison, is quite different with its bold, blocks of colours. The rationale of the Vancouver organizing committee behind the Inukshuk—a structure which means nothing to this region of the world outside of the context of hiking trail markers—is that it evokes Canada and these are Canada’s games, not Vancouver’s.

While they are certainly correct about evoking Canada, I can’t shake the feeling that these are this city’s games first and foremost. Chicago didn’t seem to have a problem.

Lessons in Leadership

I’m disappointed in the Ignatieff campaign team’s tactics which smack of trying to rig a fight rather than going through the battle fairly.

Continue reading "Lessons in Leadership"

Chuckanut Drive and Retiring for the Season

Chuckanut Drive is the only road I’ve ever been on—unplanned, at least—with more motorcycles than cars. This is a narrow twisty road that follows the Washington coast south from Bellingham into farm country.

I had to go to Bellingham for work today, and went gladly when I checked the forecast and realized it wasn’t going to rain. Cloudy but warm, it said; perfect for motorcycling, I said.

I sparked up the Virago early this morning and crossed the border around 0815hrs, worked for a while and then hit Chuckanut after wrapping everything up. It was a great ride-a bit foggy, with the sun struggling to peak through.

As I got to the border it warmed up and the sun came out in earnest. The ride was warm, and pleasant and made for motorcycling. The forecast called for rain for the next few days.

The Virago is now put away for the season with 63,578km on the odometer.

Until April.

Congratulations Bob Rae

Although I admire Michael Ignatieff in part because he speaks his mind, it’s things like this that will make Bob Rae the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and give Stephen Harper a majority government.

Furor costs Ignatieff key backer
CAMPBELL CLARK

OTTAWA — Michael Ignatieff’s comment that Israel committed a “war crime” in Lebanon cost him the support of a Toronto MP Wednesday and sent the Liberal leadership front-runner scurrying to deflect charges that he is gaffe-prone.

North Korea, Japan and Nuclear Warfare

Japan has united with the United States in protest over North Korea’s planned test of nuclear arms.

CTV News tonight broadcast a brief report which does as good a job as any of outlining part of the problem with the news networks today: the report speculated, explicitly, that such a test could lead to a new nuclear arms race with Japan building a nuclear arsenal.

Japan will never, of course, build a nuclear arsenal. The political will simply does not exist amongst the citiznes.

Japan occcupies a unique place in history: it is the only nation to ever be attacked with Nuclear weapons.

Another unique place exists for the United States: the only nation to deploy nuclear weapons in a hostile field of combat; every other detonation has been performed under the guise of test. The United States has detonated their weapons with the intent to kill.

North Korea arming itself with this type of power is undoubtedly scary, but a return to the Reagan era strategy of mutually assured destruction as a defence strategy scares me even more.

We Just Found a new Digital Camera

It’s well known that I was a big fan of the Canon PowerShot G6 and considered it the best digital camera for most uses. It was discontinued, and for the past while I’ve been recommending the Canon PowerShot S3 IS which is a great camera with an extremely long zoom — it is, in fact, probably better for most consumers than the G6 was.

When it comes to cameras, I don’t fall into the category of most consumers as evidenced by my complete lack of a digital camera right now.

Now, there’s a new game in town and I think I like it enough to buy it.

Continue reading "We Just Found a new Digital Camera"

Seattle Terrorist Scare

An article in the Post-Intelligencer has an interesting comment…

Seattle-bound Ferry Gets Scare

“This is not the time in which you make any kinds of comments, or suggestions, about bombs,” said ferry system spokeswoman Susan Harris. “Especially on a ferry.”

I don’t think it’s ever appropriate to be making comments or suggestions about bombs, but it’s been five years since 9/11, and I’m wondering when it will be time to stop refering to this as “the time.”

Storyeum’s Five Week Reprieve

Storyeum has been granted a five week reprieve.

Why?

Is five weeks going to be enough to turn around a business that’s considered “not viable.”

This is just silly.

It’s interesting though — one of the things that seems to happen consistently in Vancouver is these short term businesses. Would a museum sized attraction open in Toronto and close within a year? The Victoria based B.C. Experience also failed in a matter of months, around the same time. Retail outlets open regularly here and close weeks later — in prominent, high profile locations.

It just doesn’t make sense that the capital to do this exists without proper planning for longevity.

Storyeum will die, and arguably it should.

A National Embarassment

The Globe and Mail’s web site is a national embarasment.

Don’t get me wrong — the Globe remains the only newspaper published in Canada that I can actually read. By comparison to the National Post, the Vancouver Sun, the Toronto Star or any other regional paper, the Globe is the gold standard.

It even, dare I say it, approaches the quality of the New York Times.

But the web site is a national embarassment.

Continue reading "A National Embarassment"

Meet the New Boss / Same as the Old Boss

This past weekend was Super Weekend — at least it was if you’re one of the few remaining dedicated hardcore members of the Liberal Party of Canada.

The great party of Pierre Elliot Trudeau started the process of electing a new leader this weekend.

Continue reading "Meet the New Boss / Same as the Old Boss"

Tag Cloud