Archive for the ‘Life’ Category
- Who are you calling stupid?
“Dave, my mind is going,” HAL says, forlornly. “I can feel it. I can feel it.”
Head on over to read "Is Google Making us Stupid" one of Nicholas Carr’s latest essays in The Atlantic Monthly.
Well this is really a great read as I just spent 4 hours at the hospital for what I think is really nothing. But Zed and friends scared the hell out of me when I was presenting at the RubyFringe conference! For the last couple of days I have been having difficulties saying what I think – very unlike me. I could see what I was thinking in my brain, it looked great but when I tried to say it I would end up using the wrong words. While writing things down I also made mistakes that I usually don’t make or used incorrect words (I knew the words were incorrect once I looked at them but not while I was writing them down). So this was all very strange. Now the hospital has done a battery of tests, I have answered hundreds of questions correctly (well except one). And have given blood, urine and God knows what. I am ready to go home now but they won’t let me leave. I also had a CT scan which looks great and an ECG which looks fantastic. So now what?
I am going to blame it all on Google. It is making me stupid. I can’t think anymore, can’t write nor can I articulate my thoughts. Ok, medical folks: please release me. I don’t have a stroke and I need to feed the cats.
Update: They ruled out a stroke but still want an MRI done this week. Obviously nothing urgent otherwise they would have wheeled me to the MRI right away. They ruled out a stroke as well. I am healthy as a horse, now let’s go back to our regular programming.
- Free the data
State-mandated ignorance benefits no one. Oh you folks are going to love this free the data exercise. In the Guardian’s Technology section Heather Brooke writes about how the Metropolitan Police insist that they are not going to release data for crime mapping. Oh but look at what a few citizens can do!
- Best thing ever
Falling so asleep that the morning full sun does not even wake one up. Finally waking up to find that your cat thinks that your stomach makes a great cat bed and realizing that if you don’t shower, pack and get out the house in 5 minutes you will never make it to the airport on time. Bad news: having to wake up the cat, good news: still making it to the airport.
- The road to democracy
Tonderai Ndira we will not forget you.
- Secret Common Sense
Via Loren Feldman, Dave Johnston reveals life’s Secret Common Sense Knowledge, go read!
- Dandelions are flowers. Humans just have an attitude problem.
- Regaining control of my mainframe
My running is looking good. I can’t believe that some days I wake up and actually think that I am too tired, too exhausted, too whatever the excuse is, not to run. I should never ever let my brain talk me into not running. Got to run, got to regain control of my mainframe!
This weekend is Whitehorse weekend: what it means you ask: I am flying to Whitehorse on Saturday, a day to get there, a day to get back and a day to spend out in the wilderness, running, enjoying the weather and most importantly discovering the great North I have this odd fascination with Canada’s North and I very interested in getting it out of my blood! Let’s see what I find up North! Will keep you posted. Of course at this time of year some friends are running the Yukon Arctic and I can continue dreaming about a cold race! It will eventually happen.
- Email Apnae or how you need to remember to breathe
As the email spills onto my screen, as my mind races with thoughts of
what I’ll answer first, what can wait, who I should call, what should
have been done two days ago; I’ve stopped the steady breathing I was
doing only moments earlier in a morning meditation and now, I’m holding
my breath.Linda Stone on what we do when we read email. A good read. Remember to breathe folks!
- Always be working. Always be moving
Stumbled upon Sister Corita’s rules Immaculate Heart College Art Department rules via Scott’s blog and I just love them, specially rule 7. The only rule is work. Amen.
- Eight things you (probably) didn’t know about me
What a way to return to blogging! I was tagged by Maggie Fox for the Eight Things you (probably) didn’t know about me blogmeme; and of course many many many days later I am responding (sorry folks!), fasten your seatbelt:
1. I have absolutely no sense of direction whatsoever. I can navigate cities I have been to by memory while still being totally clueless as to direction. Google maps on a blackberry is now my best friend!
2. I lived in Tanger (Morocco), and it is still one of my favourite cities in the world.
3. I can’t watch a movie without doing something else at the same time. It drives some of my friends insane as they can’t understand how I can not focus on a movie! I don’t need all of my brain to watch a movie! That makes me really not a great person to take to the cinema unless they have wireless and I can work, respond to emails or perhaps read a few articles as the movie is playing.
4. My dog – Robert – immigrated to Canada from Mexico in 2000. He passed away in 2005, everyone still misses him; he was a character. I met him in Puerto Escondido while on holidays, he fell in love with us and decided that he needed to get to Canada; he had heard they had great health care and great people. He was also very tired of being homeless. He loved the ideeplex, was not very fond of the Canadian winters and learned to tolerate cats as long as they did not try to share his gigantic pillow or his food!
5. In the underground animal world, our house is tagged as a refuge… I am sure because every year hurt animals just show up on the door steps. Don’t ask. We have rescued pretty much any city animal that you can think of (cats, dogs, mice, raccoons, snakes, squirrels etc).
6. I am a workaholic. But this is something that some of you already know. Now it is out there for all to enjoy!
7. I am planning a trip across Africa, from Tangier to Johannesburg by either car or motorcycle. Want to join?
8. I can live without music.
Now you have enough boring tidbits about me to ruin your morning coffee!
And since I am so so late to this game I am going to skip tagging anyone but if this inspires you please go ahead and make your own post!
- Back to running and blogging!
I am back to running: nothing like a snow storm to get me out there. Yesterday’s 6km run on Queen Street amounted to being a lovely obstacle course. Getting home I felt fantastic so I went ahead and baked a chocolate cake for the office and prepared French toast for the morning breakfast – and now the Idealists will be having both French toast and chocolate cake at Idee! The benefits of running! (and much energy afterwards).
Today’s links:
VC Baby video, enjoy!Programmers and dress code: what’s with the beards? Somebody should help these folks and introduce them to Gillette!
The story of stuff: a great video. Warning: long video
According Wired Magazine, the person who got the “Here Comes Another Bubble” video pulled down from YouTube was Lane Hartwell. She is the photographer whose photograph of Owen Thomas appears in the video. I love Lane’s photography and it is sad that she took down here Flickr photos. I can see her frustrations but can’t there be a happy medium? How about just some link love, attribution from the video creators. I mean that’s really not hard to do!
Tim Bray’s "Message from the Web" is a must read!
How to evaluate a product idea: this is timely as we are engaging in a new product development!
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