Northern Voice & Basco5

Basco5 makes some great art.

Northern Voice 2008

I'm pretty excited to be going to Northern Voice this year. I was really happy to find out that event sponsor Mt. Lehman Credit Union hired Basco5 to do posters for the event. I'm a fan of his work, credit unions, and blogging, so it all fits together nicely.

His designs are fun, and I recommend you spend a few minutes putting off work to check out a couple of videos with Basco5 over at joystick. Check down the left side for the set of 3 videos.

He did a dope as hell set of poles for joystick.

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My Hero!

via Insidethecbc.com

Inside the CBC

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Loudmouth

	Ramones - Loudmouth (live '79)
	Found at skreemr.com

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A+++ Great Post, Would Read Again

BBC NEWS -- EBay to ban negative seller views

We've been unloading our unwanted or unworn, um, wares, on Ebay. Last I checked I had an underwhelming 7+ feedback rating. It's not that I'm a bad ebayer, I just don't ebay often.

Do I suffer from feedback envy or angst? No, but it doesn't surprise me that Ebay is looking to remove sellers' ability to leave negative feedback on buyers. Feedback on Ebay has been gamed by way too many people for way too long. People have held back payment or delivery until positive feedback is left, cheated by running multiple accounts, even bought and sold feedback itself.

I for one am glad to see it go, as I never really trusted it in the first place. It was a poor foundation upon which to build business relationships.

Not that I'm the authority on foundations or anything, but my main man Harry is:

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Blockbusters?

I'm down with Iron Man, but can it actually be considered a "Summer Blockbuster" before it hits the screen?

Earlier this evening we brought you the Iron Man Super Bowl TV Spot. Now, thanks to our friends at /Film, we have 13 brand new photos from Jon Favreau’s upcoming Summer blockbuster for your viewing pleasure.

New Iron Man Photos Hit the Web! - Film School Rejects

I mean, sure if it makes a ton of money (over 100 million US on release) then it's a blockbuster. Right now though it's really just Jon Favreau's Iron Man.

Also, Summer starts on the solstice doesn't it?

Sorry filmschoolrejects.com I've had a long day. Thanks for the photos though, I sincerely hope Iron Man is more fantastic (4) than the last marvel movie I watched. It was a bowl of fantastic (4) suck.  

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stopping junkmail

So I heard a nice lady advertising, or maybe it was just an interview, a red dot campaign to reduce junkmail. I checked out the red dot website and found out about canada post's Consumers Choice Program. It's pretty much impossible to find out how to sign up, but by searching through canada post's documents aimed at advertisers I found this:

1.5 Consumers’ Choice
Customers can target more effectively by respecting the wishes of consumers who indicate, through a self-produced notice on their mailbox or mail receptacle, that they do not wish to receive unaddressed material. The only exemptions are materials from Elections Canada and Provincial Chief Electoral Officers, House of Commons mailings, municipal electoral mailings and community newspapers. Therefore, the item is received by consumers who want to receive it. Visit our Householder Data, which is available online atwww.canadapost.ca/uasupportdocuments for the breakdown of delivery points with and without these notices.

Canada Post - Unaddressed Admail™

So now I've got to figure out what a self-produced notice is, and how to get our friendly neighborhood condo manager and friendly neighborhood neighbors to not tear off my "no junk mail" stickies.

I've printed the red dot letter to Canada post and I'll send that in, I just find it really surprising that Canada Post doesn't make this stuff a little easier to find out about. The only information as far as I can find is mentions like the quote above, buried in business customer guides.

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Dissident’s Arrest Hints at Olympic Crackdown - New York Times

The article I've linked to here touches on some important points - especially for those of us in Canada's westernmost province. In Vancouver we have strong ties to China, and as the next Olympic host country what happens in Beijing this year creates a legacy to which we are tied.

Dissident’s Arrest Hints at Olympic Crackdown - New York Times

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This will help

	Jackie Lomax - Sour Milk Sea
	Found at skreemr.com

	The Clash - Police and Thieves
	Found at skreemr.com

	Harry Belafonte - Jump in the Line
	Found at skreemr.com

	The Misfits - Hollywood Babylon
	Found at skreemr.com

	D.O.A. - General Strike
	Found at skreemr.com

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Amazing Photography

I'm not including a photo as they are All rights reserved but you owe it to yourself to have a look!

Flickr: Photos from Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff...

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Cabbage Rolls

It was just before Christmas.
The best time of the year to make cabbage rolls.

1. Cabbage in hot water.

2. Grandma separating cabbage for rolling

3. Filling and rolling.

4. Stacking for baking.

5. Wait for them to be ready so we can eat.

Smalls

I stumbled across this thanks to the dreaded book of face.

Hey smalls fans……
And it's AWESOME.

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Project Chanology

Some people be fighting.
Project Chanology/Joining - Insurgency Wiki

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FOUND Magazine

I was given a really cool found-items book this Christmas. I've been meaning to post about it for a while and was reminded today when browsing Darren Barefoot's shared links.

The book is great to page through because of the feeling of innocent voyeurism I get reading abandoned notes, letters, and postcards. I highly recommend checking it out.

Their website: FOUND Magazine | Find of the Day

I find things all the time but I never collect them. My favourites are finding notes with smart-ass replies. I see a lot of these in my apartment building, a recent one read:

"Would the people throwing things off their balcony please cease this dangerous and inconsiderate activity immediately. You are putting the safety of those who live here at risk."

To which someone replied:

"Asshole"

I know it's not the wittiest reply, but because of the history of outraged residents writing insults to management on service notices we laughed at the thought of somebody being pissed off that they'd been asked not to throw things off their balcony.

What I really enjoy is finding edited notices where lyrics and song titles are written in. Stuff like, "Be advised that work crews will be on-site tomorrow. Please excuse the Bang Bang Maxwell's Silver Hammering noise.

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Elastic Warfare!

Growing up I LOVED the elastic guns my Uncle and Dad had. They were simple wood and plastic contraptions that consisted of a cog, a trigger/catch, and a wooden body shaped like a handgun. What fun I had terrorizing my mom and sister, and loading up a whopping 12 elastic bands to rain rubber-justice on imaginary evil doers. Thak-Thak-Thak...

The video embedded below got me thinking about rubber band wars, something I haven't thought about since BN (Before Nevermind Nirvana 1991.)

Now that I'm reminiscing I might as well pass on some important info for those considering engaging in rubber rabble rousing:

Rubber bands sting if shot at point-blank range against bare skin, but are generally harmless.

Rubber band - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Guide to Shooting Rubber Bands

Embedded Video

WEEEEEEEEE!

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Not to scare you or anything but...

Tom Hodgkinson at the Guardian did the digging and wrote up a very enlightening article about facebook. Here's my favourite part, but read the whole article. Mr. Hodgkinson is a great writer and journalist.

Facebook's
most recent round of funding was led by a company called Greylock
Venture Capital, who put in the sum of $27.5m. One of Greylock's senior
partners is called Howard Cox, another former chairman of the NVCA, who
is also on the board of In-Q-Tel. What's In-Q-Tel? Well, believe it or
not (and check out their website), this is the venture-capital wing of
the CIA. After 9/11, the US intelligence community became so excited by
the possibilities of new technology and the innovations being made in
the private sector, that in 1999 they set up their own venture capital
fund, In-Q-Tel, which "identifies and partners with companies
developing cutting-edge technologies to help deliver these solutions to
the Central Intelligence Agency and the broader US Intelligence
Community (IC) to further their missions".

With friends like these ... Tom Hodgkinson on the politics of the people behind Facebook | Technology | The Guardian

Not that I've got much to hide, I'm pretty much an open book and happy to present past and present mistakes to examination and ridicule, but WOW!

This is the first story of 2008 to make me rethink a large part of my life - the social networking & communications side.

Happy monday!

--note to CIA, Michael is not a terrorist or communist-sympathizer, he justs lists socialist as his political leanings on these social sites because he believes in public services over open-market solutions.

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Best Compliment Ever.

From Stevie Wonder:Oscar Peterson was 'best piano player in the world:'

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Knitta Please

Knitta Please

Knitting graffiti is an awesome thing. I had no idea it existed until today, but I've become a huge fan.
Their crew also has some sweet nameage happening:

The Notorious N.I.T
P-Knitty

Find them on Flickr.

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The Perfect Cold Remedy

Hot Toddy (sort of)

• You'll need:
• A Lemon
• Honey
• Fresh Ginger (can be not so fresh too, just not ground)
• Boiling Water
• Scotch Whiskey

1. Boil water.
2. Juice half the lemon and put it in a cup with about a tablespoon of honey and around  half a tablespoon to a tablespoon of chopped up ginger.
3. Pour water into cup.
4. Stir
5. Taste, if too sour add a little more honey.
6. Add 1/2 to 1 ounce Scotch Whiskey.
7. Drink quickly.

Ahhhhhhhhh. Happy, warm, and that sore throat and congestion are gone.
*Note: If symptoms persist administer again. If they persist for more than 7 days you may want to see a doctor.

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Evolution Radio Now at BCIT.ca

BCIT's fantastic web people redesigned the front page and added a handy link to our student-run commercial radio station.

BCIT : : evolution 107.9 :: live streaming radio

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Pete Carr Takes Great Photos

I found this over at digital photography school.

Carr is a photographer from Wales now shooting around Liverpool.

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Great Radio (Video)

Jonathan Goldstein and his team make great radio.

Wiretap.

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CNN

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Warner goes Blu-ray exclusively, delivering crushing blow to HD DVD | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

"Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future."

Warner goes Blu-ray exclusively, delivering crushing blow to HD DVD | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Translation:
 

"We've soaked consumers for about as much as we can now and soon they'll finally realize they don't need plastic discs. If we play our cards right we've got at least a few more years to stretch out this antiquated medium."

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Sony BMG Plans to Drop DRM

Click the link below not to read another boring story about the gradual abandonment of digital rights management, but to laugh your ass off at the most terrible DRM related image ever photoshopped into existence.

Sony BMG Plans to Drop DRM

Durrrrrr. D-R-M, with a U it says DRUM.

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Dine Out Vancouver

Yeah babies! It has begun, and I'm primed from gorging over the holidays to continue the feast right into 02/2008.

The best time to be in Vancouver is from the January 16th to February 3rd.

I've been making my reservations - attempting to anyway. As of 7:19pm on Friday the 2nd Tourism Vancouver's site was serving up a down for maintenance message.

When it's up you can find the menus and prices at Tourism Vancouver's Dine Out page, then reserve the hell out of as many as you can as quickly as possible at opentable.

So far all I've managed to decide upon is the Fish House in Stanley Park. I'm drooling over the Basa...

If you aren't in Vancouver I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but fine dining ain't one. If I keep eating at this rate my pants not fitting will be one of those 99 problems, and probably a big one because of the "no mumu" policy at work.

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Village the Game

sounds cool to me.

BTW: I'm back on the coast, engaged, and sick. Games are on my mind because I play them when I'm sick at home.  

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Going Home

Tonight we begin the long drive home. It's a ways - The roadsigns will tell you it's about 1,400 kilometers, but google maps says it's closer to 1,200. I was having a chat a few days ago with an Italian gentleman and his jaw just dropped at the thought of driving that far and not leaving the country, let alone the province.

It's a long journey for sure, but it's an amazing drive through a series of distinct ecosystems.

Affordable Solar Power

Mmmmm. It warms the heart, and hopefully some homes in the very near future.

The world's lowest cost solar panels are becoming real.

Yay!

And they are shipping, or at least auctioning one of their first on ebay.

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National Pasta Association

THEY EXIST!

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Bucky Awards!

My favourite Canadian music awards are being... well... awarded tomorrow.


The Bucky awards win because of the fantastic categories. Best music to listen to in the fetal position, most unpronounceable name, best yacht rock...

Great Music

I thought I'd point you towards some really good music.

B(oot)log - Bootleg blog. Sweet.

And while you work (if you work by a computer with speakers, HAHA ELENA) stream yourself some Messiah from NPR. It's a great recording and the writeup is interesting.

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Indie rockers all smoke right?

Labels Seek Apology From Rolling Stone for Camel Ad

I've talked about hating bad advertising before right? I actually don't mind this so much, but only because it's basically another brick in the wall between me and wasting five bux on a crappy magazine.

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Joystick 2007

Joystick makes some dope poles and clothing.


Every skier needs some.

Anthony somehow manages to ski like a madman, work on joystick, make movies, and maintain the best personal skiing related website around. I don't know how, but he does.

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Chinatown

Best place for Christmas shopping ever. Everyone wants a bottle-cozy tailored to look like a traditional Chinese wedding dress right? RIGHT?

Honestly, it was uncrowded and inexpensive. That's two big advantages over any shopping mall or downtown core in the country right now.

I loves you Chinatown.

Edit: Oh, and the BBQ pork buns. DAMN!

The post office opens your mail and I hate advertising

I stumbled across a post by Scott Rosenberg about deep packet inspection. He likened the practice to a the post office reading your mail. It's not the perfect analogy, only because the post office would then also have to put RFID tags under your skin and monitor your every move and use that information to push targeted advertising at you.

Right now Rogers is using a kind of deep packet inspection to let users know when they near their bandwidth limit. Any bets on how long it's going to take for them to begin serving ads in the same way they serve bandwidth notices?

It's a new revenue stream that could make them a lot of money, but it's an invasive technology that scares the shit out of me. What the hell, the internet is loosing its cool.

Dear Advertising,
You ruin good television, good radio, and now you are ruining the internet.

Please don't, I like the internet. It's a lot like I thought radio was like before I learned that the different public broadcasters were the exception rather than the norm. I hated you for a long time when I learned that 99% of the radio out there is little more than a vehicle for advertising. I even hated radio its self a little when I worked there and realized how much more money and effort went into advertising than went into content - music included.

My hate turned to a mere dislike as I began to explore the internet, and you became a neighbour instead of an enemy. You could have commercial TV and radio (god what a sick, sick thing) and I could have my telnet, archie, and gopher. As that all changed to my ie and netscape, mozilla and safari, you began to creep in, and my hatred of you returned.

These days my hatred is back in full friggin force. You're trying to creep in to my conversations on Facebook, you change your colours like a chameleon depending on where I shop on-line, and you pose as real people with real blogs when all you are is goddamn commissioned lies.

Advertising, I hate you and I want you to leave me alone.

Sincerely,

Michael Boronowski

Someday I swear I'm going to snap and move to a little cabin in the arctic, then someone is going to start experimenting with monetizing the channel that is my trap line.

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Online Rights

I'm still obsessing over copyrights.

They be good

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Copyrights?

We need over restrictive copyright legislation like babies need rabies.

Help a bunch of people put pressure on the government and Industry Minister Jim Prentice to really go out on a limb and consult the stakeholders and consider their input before radically changing Canadian copyright laws.

I like to write letters so I mailed M.J.P. and my MP Bill Siksay. Bill Siksay's party - the NDP is probably going to oppose the bill, so yay NDP on that one.

You can find your local MP with a handy government website.

Jim Prentice can be reached at:

Jim Prentice Constituency Office
Suite 105
1318 Centre St NE
Calgary, Alberta T2E 2R7
403 216-7777
Fax 403 230-4368
Prentice.J@parl.gc.ca

You could also join the facebook group, but it'd be cool if you took it a step further and actually did something because while facebook is great for letting people know what you want to believe in, it doesn't actually contact MP's or Jim Prentice on it's own.

To find out more ways to help - or some info to open your eyes to the potential threat Jim's bill poses to our rights and educators, researchers, reporters, musicians, artists, Canadians, and human beings, have a browse through Michael Geist's writings and linkings on the matter.

I think someone from the pro-evil-copyright-laws camp has invaded my pc, it crashed twice just trying to post this.

I just wanted to add something - Jim Prentice has said no to Search Engine's request for comments. This story has generated more comments and questions than all their others combined, but Prentice won't respond to the obvious concern and confusion Canadians are feeling regarding this bill.

iMove - Motorists - Home

I love maps. This is probably because I have such poor sense of direction in unnatural settings. I'm pretty good out in the wild, but as soon as streets and drives come in to play, well I'm pretty much buggered without having first checked a map.

Seriously, it can take me three or four trips somewhere before I can navigate confidently sans-carte.

Because I dislike driving into downtown cores I tend to use transit, and here's my issue:

Transit maps or transit websites are generally a cumbersome thing. Translink's website has a really hard time understanding that when I type in something like "Granville Station" I really do mean "Granville Station." It also doesn't let me check road conditions when I'm debating whether to drive or to transit somewhere.

I was really excited a few days ago when I stumbled across google-transit, but now I'm really excited about iMove. Traffic conditions, transit directions, cycling paths, colour-coded density... It's awesome. Seriously, or for cereal as I like to say, bookmark this and maybe join me in sending a thank you card.

I should also note that the always on top of it even though he's in Malta Darren Barefoot has a post about the smartly-simple common craft video that covers iMove.

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The Best Website Ever

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Without People

You are nothing.