steev's thoughts » Random Thoughts

Winter on the prairie

Steve Woodrow — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:26:05 +0000

I read the following in the Globe & Mail on the way back to Boston—rather appropriate after having spent 2 weeks in Winnipeg:

In the winter the beauty is even stronger. The Prairies eliminate the obviousness of a horizon and leave the traveller with the magnificence of an infinite blank page, land blending with sky. I have never understood ‘snow’ to be a derogatory term. —Alberto Manguel

Note to self

Steve Woodrow — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:43:05 +0000

I think I might blog more if I didn’t feel so bad about smaller posts: see format of Daring Fireball.

Notes from the past

Steve Woodrow — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:12:39 +0000

I discovered the following while cleaning up my room — I think it’s notes that were supposed to turn into a blog post at some point after Dan, Paulo and I saw House of Wax. Better late than never, I suppose:

worst… movie… ever…

Walked out of House of Wax.

B-movie tendencies

Reference to Paris Hilton “home video”

What not to do in a scary movie

Showed everything

Horrible character development (“supporting characters” 1 through 6)

Sick fuckers!

And those were my House of Wax thoughts back in the summer of 2005…

There’s a reason that I love this town (and province, and country)

Steve Woodrow — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:51:14 +0000

I think it’s difficult to realize how great Canada is until you start on down the road to leaving her.

Gregoire blogs on the UMSU Elections

Steve Woodrow — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:20:14 +0000

Friend and 2003-04 UMSU VP candidate Dana Gregoire is guest blogging for The Manitoban during the UMSU Election. I’m so excited — I love witty analysis of sketch-tacular student politics.

Thou shalt have no other potters before me

Steve Woodrow — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:11:11 +0000

Too funny:

Source: churchsigngenerator.com; copied from this URL (I could not link to it directly, but believe this constitutes fair dealing).

I especially like the “scar-shaped” crack in the jug…

10 Mags

Steve Woodrow — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:12:46 +0000

A tale of 10 11 magazines:

5 6 I want to/should subscribe to:

MIT’s Technology Review – General coverage of innovative new technology and its implications.
SEED – Tagline: “Science is Culture”. Looking at the confluence of science and society.
Make: – How to Make just about anything. I love the hacker spirit.
The Economist – A witty and reasoned voice on politics, economics, current affairs, etc.
2600: The Hacker Quarterly – The other kind of hacker spirit, captured in an underground zine.
Infiltration – Speaking of underground zines, this one is literally about being underground as an urban explorer. No longer in production, but I’m tempted to buy the back issues.

2 I already subscribe to (and intend to continue):

Wired – Technology and culture are inseparable, and Wired finds some of the most interesting stories about this intertwinement.
IEEE Spectrum – I receive this by virtue of my IEEE membership, but a great magazine all the same. Sort of like Popular Science for electrical engineers.

3 that I’ll never subscribe to again:

Macworld – There are only so many times you can review a laser printer or Adobe Photoshop.
MacAddict – I first got into MA in 1996. Then they changed the editorial team, the style and sense of humor, now even the name (MacLife). It’s a dumbed-down Macworld. Hello inkjet printers and iPhoto.
Business 2.0 – I got a cheap deal on this one, but I’m really not interested in failing to become Google 2.0. Has since been 86′d by the publisher.

Being a Better Blogger

Steve Woodrow — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:38:01 +0000

You might have noticed that I’m getting back in the blogging saddle again. It’s part of what I plan to write more about at a later date (and actually work towards as well) — taking an iterative approach to life. That is, instead of always trying to get it right the first time, just do something that will get you started in the right direction. Hence a small blog post or a few photos — creativity — as frequently as possible. It’s certainly easier than writing a treatise on your thoughts.

On the origins of “bread and circuses”

Steve Woodrow — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:50:22 +0000

In the context of the debate over a Winnipeg waterpark (and its pushing forward despite so many other pressing priorities), I was curious about the etymology of the expression “bread and circuses”. Some wikipedia-ing turned this up, for those of you who are curious like me:

…Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions – everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.

— from Wikipedia, from Juvenal’s Satire X.

I hate to be that glass-half-empty guy, but it sounds about right for much of society’s relationship with its government these days. I suppose, as they say (to follow one cliché with another), “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Living in a single-serving society

Steve Woodrow — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:11:03 +0000

A trip through the local Walmart today was a bit concerning. When you run into products such as the Betty Crocker Warm Delights single serving microwavable brownie, complete with a cardboard enclosure and a plastic dish, or Tassimo green tea discs for single serving instant tea, I worry about the future. Especially the tea. Is it too much to throw a teabag and some boiling water in a cup and wait ~5 minutes?