December 2007 Archives

I like to think that I've mellowed out a bit since I first posted this two years ago. But I still don't get New Years' Eve. 'Nuff said.

A Child's Christmas in Space
by Tom Servo

It's quiet in the cold of our own little orbit, starless and bible black.  And as I look down on the big blue beam we would call home I think it so near, yet... oh, I wish on that star and I hope that in a little snow-covered house with a warm hearth and a loving family, maybe some kid is looking up tonight and wishing upon us.  Oh, and how I hope sweet Santa will fly by tonight because if he does I'm gonna reach right out and hug that big guy.  Oh, for the sound of hooves against the steel hull of the ship.  Oh, to see the rosy face of Santa in the portal offering me a Coke and a smile... of course, his cheeks would be rosy because there's a vacuum out there, I mean Santa's heart would explode!  But he wouldn't feel it because the capillaries in his brain would pop like little firecrackers due to the blood boiling away in his face like pudding in a copper... OH THE HUMANITY!!  And his jolly old belly would start bubbling like a roasted marshmallow, eyes bulging and popping out... AND THE REINDEER--OH THE REINDEER!!!--keep floating like holiday floats and in turn exploding in a hail of blood and entrails!  Prancer: BOOM!  Dancer: BOOM!

Joel: HEY!
Crow: Tom!
Joel: Tom take it easy, Santa's gonna be okay, buddy.
Tom: You sure?
Joel: Yeah, give him a little credit, okay?
Tom: Phew, what a relief!

National Post: Queen's Christmas Day message on YouTube

"Queen Elizabeth II will broadcast her traditional Christmas Day message on YouTube as the monarchy unveils a specialty channel on the popular video-sharing Web site."

Nine years ago, as part of my Internet bubble-fuelled IT training, I had a practicum at a major Canadian oil and gas company where I was doing Y2K-related database/app development and research.

Now we all know why there were global Y2K hysterics, that computers were programmed to read 2-digit years instead of 4.

Printers also fell to this as well, having the years printed in date books, forms, calendars, and whatnot as 19XX, where you filled in the XX with the last 2 digits of the year.

With that in mind, look carefully at this new Canadian tax form.

Haven't we learned anything?

TIME-DISPLACED UPDATE FROM THE DISTANT FUTURE: "And in the end, the Earth was hit by a comet, because the detecting equipment wasn't Y10K ready."

Baconwrapt Scarves

Jason Montgomery International Airport has a nice ring to it. But I'll bet all that I can afford is to put my face on a seat in a waiting area.

Winnipeg airport will sell naming rights to terminals, gates, garages

National Post
17 Dec 2007

Winnipeg’s Richardson International Airport will soon be the first in Canada to sell the naming rights of terminals, gates and parking garages. That means travellers flying into the airport could soon be greeted by flight attendants at the Tim Hortons terminal. read more...

MacNN: RIAA claims CD rips are piracy in lawsuit

"Converting music CDs to audio files on a computer is unapproved and therefore illegal, the Recording Industry Association of America has said (PDF) in a brief ahead of a crucial Arizona lawsuit."

But you BOUGHT the CD!

Via Sailor Mac:

Go to the Wikipedia home page and click random article. That is your band's name.
Click random article again; that is your album name.
Click random article 15 more times; those are the tracks on your album.

Band Name: Marrina Smallwood

Album Name: Goofy Gophers

Tracks:

1. USS Sumter
2. Hiroshi Yamamoto
3. Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company
4. Rendel
5. All Day, All Night
6. Primosphere Limited Partnership
7. James Jebusa Shannon
8. Manorbier railway station
9. Penguin Island (South Shetland Islands)
10. List of dog breeds
11. Robert Maschio
12. Herbert Knowles
13. Andrés San Martín
14. Joseph Edmund Carne
15. Melbourne Skydive Centre

I'm saying that Marrina Smallwood is a present-day indie rock band with comedic leanings, kinda like The Flaming Lips.

But here's one better: Marrina Smallwood's North American tour is called "Communes of the Haute-Loire department Tour '08".

And our music company? Björn Ranelid Records.

I just realized that I've become a very lazy blogger. Long-time readers (all 2 of you) know that most of my posts are the link du jour along with a paragraph from that page and usually with my own snide remarks.

Well, thanks to Google Reader, and it's insidious Share feature, all I have to do is click a button and whatever I'm reading appears here and in the list on the right.

I don't have to copy and paste, do some quickie HTML, just click Share and it's up. Minus the smartassitulity that both my readers come to expect from me.

Darn you Google for making me cut back on my non-paid writing!

National Post's Posted Toronto: Woman arrested after samurai-sword rampage in Milton

"A woman seized a samurai sword and slashed her boyfriend with it, then smashed a gas station window and two car windows before slashing a would-be good Samaritan, police said."