Not Tested on Animals

Just got off the phone with a friend who had some Mac questions he wanted to talk about. He'd also just discovered the hilarious video of Microsoft's "rethink" of the original iPod's packaging on YouTube. Worth a look.

He also told me about a cell phone call he'd got last weekend from his thirteen year-old daughter, who was away on a school exchange program with a nice family in Quebec. She'd broken out in huge rashes and was terrified. She's highly allergic and carries an EpiPen. It had never been fired in anger until this trip though. Paramedics have always arrived in time to give a conventional adrenaline needle! She and her new friend were coached through the task over the phone and a little while later the paramedics arrived to take her to the local hospital.

The source of the reaction appears to have been some Aveda shampoo, which is "not tested on animals". Note to Aveda: THERE'S A F*CKING GOOD REASON WHY THINGS ARE TESTED ON ANIMALS, RATHER THAN ON CUSTOMER'S DAUGHTERS. End of note.

In a similar vein I saw praise for Paris Hilton and Britney Spears on Saturday Night Live for their refusal to wear fur, even their own. Hats off to 'em.

Got another sort-of workout in today, this time at the gym. Think I'm finally getting over this flu! The gym scales tell me that I've lost three lbs. during this little episode.

Listening to: Phantom Limb by The Shins from Wincing the Night Away.

Valentine's Day Blizzard

We got a substantial snowfall last night, resulting in slippery roads and slow traffic today. Too bad I had a million things to do in the car! I knew I had a casting call in the morning, but then Sheryl called from her daughter's house in Rosedale, where they were "stranded" without a car. I agreed to swing by en route to the casting, drop Sheryl at her condo and take Tamara to her office. Then another call from my agent added a "go see" to the end of my morning.

So the day started with a quick trip to a neighbourhood chocolatier for two boxes truffles and then down to pick up the girls. Trying to find a side street route to Sheryl's I managed to do an illegal right turn in front of a police officer and buy myself an expensive ten minute time out. I got to the audition late, but so did everyone else. Later in the day I got word that I'm on "hold" for the part. Lines and everything! Fingers are crossed...

Next I slipped and slid over to the "go see". Met the art directors in their lobby, shook their hands enthusiastically and showed them my portfolio. Waiting to hear about that one. Next stop was my agent, to pick up my first big cheque from the work I did back in December and leave them the first box of truffles so they don't forget me. The second box of truffles were for Sheryl as we were heading out for a celebratory lunch over the pay cheque.

Since it was Valentine's Day I had a card for her to go with the truffles. The card was actually a carefully planned practical joke... She's been complaining that since we "broke up" I've been spending more time with a mutual friend (Adrian the photographer) than I do with her. She's also been teasing that she suspects there is more to my friendship than meets the eye. So her envelope actually contained a pretend Valentine written to Adrian with lots of references to how much he has "taught me", has "opened my eyes" and how I look forward to "learning more." As she began reading the card with a puzzled look on her face I quickly pulled it away from her and told her I'd put the wrong card in the her envelope. I had her going for about ten seconds...

A quick technology "ha ha": Last week while Bill Gates was promoting the launch of Microsoft's new version of Windows (Vista) he stated that there is a new exploit of Mac OS X "every single day" but no one will be able to exploit Vista. Well first of all the slight against Mac OS X was blatantly incorrect, as Bill undoubtedly knew. There have only been a handful of exploits reported in five years and none of them have ever been used to actually compromise a Mac. Secondly, Microsoft has already released it's first security patch for Vista, a critical vulnerability in Vista's security tools! Microsoft has also admitted that they made a number of deliberate and significant security compromises in the name of user convenience. It's also clear that a sound file, played over a Vista computer's speakers and "heard" by its speech recognition can, under the right conditions, execute commands to delete files, go to dangerous web sites, or mail user's documents to a third party. Oops.

Politics: Prime Minister Harper admitted today that he intends to pick judges that support his ideology. That's an unsettling first for Canada, love 'em or hate 'em the Liberals did a pretty good job of keeping the judiciary qualified and apolitical. Also weasel words today from Environment Minister John Baird; in spite of Al Gore's explicit statement to the contrary Baird claims he is still justified in quoting Gore as supporting the Conservative government's do-nothing environmental agenda.

By the way, the worst snowfall this week has been across Lake Ontario in the town of Oswego. They've had 12 feet of snow!

Listening to: In the Beginning by K'naan from The Dusty Foot Philosopher.

The Mythical Man-Month

Ah yes, the mythical man-month. This is the belief that a project can be completed twice as fast by assigning twice as many staff to it. Generally speaking this is wrong, wrong, wrong. Beyond a certain point adding staff decreases productivity because of the spiraling effort required to communicate and coordinate.

This comes to mind today because I see a technology blogger has called Bill Gates out with a $10,000 bet over his recent statement that the next version of Windows, now called Vista but once know as Longhorn, has an 80% chance of shipping by January 2007. Vista was originally supposed to ship in late 2002 and a large number of core features have been dropped...

In my own life Sheryl and I enjoyed a $35 Summerlicious dinner at Thuet on Wednesday. All I can say is wow! Tonight we're going to Era Ora, which is just around the corner from Sheryl's place. I also ran across this remarkable excerpt in the Globe & Mail's morning obituaries:

July 14, 1911
An estimated 300 people died when a huge forest fire swept through the Porcupine area near Timmins, Ont. The blaze was fanned by high winds until it became a fast-moving 40-kilometre front. In places men in mining camps who heard it approaching escaped only by running as fast as their strength allowed for a lake or river. Some who made it to safety arrived with clothes burned off their backs. Hundreds of people in settlements who also went to the lakes were drowned, pushed into deep waters by the crush of late arrivals. A young bank clerk who had conscientiously emptied the vaults before running to the lake guarded the cash throughout the night with a loaded revolver, alone in an open canoe. The fire left more than 3,000 people homeless and destroyed 2,200 square kilometres of forest, taking with it the mining communities of South Porcupine, Cochrane and Goldlands.

The Toronto International Film Festival is also approaching. I spent Wednesday and Thursday evenings helping at the recruiting sessions down at Roy Thompson Hall. Why not join us? Check out the volunteering opportunities here.

Listening to: So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry) by R.E.M. from Reckoning.

Blissed - Out

I'm a Mac user by preference, but often work on Windows computers. When I saw the standard "Blissful" desktop image that is used on so many Windows computers I was instantly reminded of the landscapes of the Teletubbies TV show. (Teletubbies came along too late to appeal to my son thank god.) Anyway a few minutes with PhotoShop produced this variation, which I used to express my disdain for that other operating system. Click on the thumbnail to see the full size version that I posted on Flickr and install it on your own PC. Or maybe a friend's. Let the revolution begin!

Listening to: Get Rhythm by Johhny Cash from The Legend of Johnny Cash.