i am now an official employee of the company i started at 6months ago. i just had my review (can you imagine? a company that not only says you're going to get a review in three months, but actually gives you one!) and all was good. (i'm working on my diplomacy). my official graduation entitles me to benefits (yay dental!) and a $60/mo raise... which after taxes, puts me at about +$20/mo... sigh.

but i like this company. and i'm not just saying that because this post is public and my boss could read it anytime (not that he does... i can see you all you know). but everyone here's been really straight with me with regard to what they expect from me and what in turn they offer as compensation. sure, it's an advertising gig, but given the ultimately evil nature of capitalism holding food for ransom in exchange for labour, can you honestly say that any job is all that moral? ...i don't know about that statement, and i'm not defending advertising -- gods know we need less of it, not more. but when it comes to running a company morally... these guys are about as cool as i've seen.

...especially considering companies like trytel which, under it's previous ownership was by far the worst managed company i've ever worked for. i mean, what kind of "ceo" verbally attacks one of his employees in front of everyone else regarding that employee's political beliefs. that guy was a dick. oo! and then there was the company that canned most of us without severance. that was a treat.

i laughed out loud at the diesel sweeties today. and i have a present for fans of the oh my gods strip. your very own icon set ...if you run linux ;-) if any of you poor windows folk find a way to convert nice, shiny 32-bit pngs to those ugly 8bit windows icons, send me the zip file and i'll post them here. (and yes, i'm aware of the irony of posting linux icons in a zip file, but i figure most of you will want them anyway and linux people can read anything.)

i've been collecting a lot of links lately, always intending to post them to my blog, but i never got around to it... 'till now. so sit back and grab a cup of coffee and play around with some of these, some are fun, others might just be interesting, and others... well nevermind them.

1. unless you've been living under a rock these past couple days, you've probably seen the headlines on all the newspapers: google got beat up by a virus that, instead of going through the addressbook of micros~1's outlook, it just googled for random addresses. and all you losers out there running an un-patched windows, helped to take down the biggest and best search engine on the planet. but the funny part? check out what slashdot had to say about the whole thing. my favourites included one guy: "Google is down ... the world is ending! The beginning of the apocalypse! (I can't even check if I spelt that right without google)" and a link to google's backup plan.
   
   
2. next, and this one is priceless (quinn will love this) a guy spent a considerable amount of time writing a flash-based videogame in which hulk hogan, mr. t. and he-man take on the bush administration to win back america. on the way, they recruit numerous celebrities ranging from rosie o'donnell, to michael moore, to jesus christ. with cameos from the scooby gang and the chocolate factory's "oompa-woompa's", this really is a fun (and scarily educational) game. give yourself a few minutes to play (but not at work.. this game doesn't have a pause button).
   
   
3. a company by the name of skype has developed a way for you to call anywhere in the world using the internet. i know, this is not new. but this is: you can call from your computer to your grandmother's telephone and the quality is supposedly really great. computer to computer communication is free, whereas computer to phone communication has a small (but VERY reasonable fee), and it does all this over a distributed network (think kazaa, gnutella etc. etc.). the technology involved is pretty impressive, and when i try it out, i'll let you know (they have a beta linux client).
   
   
4. natasha sent me two entertaining bits worth checking out. the first is one guy's story about his "p-p-p-powerbook" a detailed account of how he scammed an ebay scammer and then disappeared from the face of the earth. regardless, the story is famous now and people are even selling their very own p-p-p-powerbooks. the second is a cute movie parodying the latest american presidential race. it picks on both kerry and bush and is worth a minute if you've got one.
   
   
5. this piece of news is a little old, but it's almost enough to give me hope... almost. apparently, the ceo of shell believes in global warming. the other big oil companies aren't too fond of his revelation, and the environmentalist groups aren't keen on his proposed "solution" (inject all of the CO₂, but it's a start.
   
   
6. this article is rather old as well, but i figure i'll post it anyway 'cause it's an interesting read -- to the politically minded. it was written before the election concerning the implications of a conservative leadership and what that would mean with regard to the american war in iraq:

   It is a privilege not to be hated for your nationality, and we should not relinquish it lightly. George Bush has denied that privilege to his own people, and Stephen Harper would cavalierly strip it from Canadians by erasing what few small but important differences remain between Canadian and U.S. foreign policy. The danger posed by this act is not just about whether Canadians are safe when we travel to the Middle East. The hatred that Mr. Bush is manufacturing there, for the United States and its coalition partners, is already following the soldiers home.

7. for those that didn't already know, poetry.com is a scam. the details of the scam are pretty cool though -- at the very least it gives you an insight to the degree to which you should filter that which you read online
   
   
8. and last, but not least, the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy is coming to the big screen. brace yourselves for the trailer

so now you have lots of stuff to keep you busy and no one can complain that i don't update my blog enough ;-)

this is a black & white shot of this really huge church overlooking guelph.

my computer's been rather busy lately. that is to say, it's been doing a lot of work without my being around, as well as when i've been using it. you see, i discovered nicotine a while back and have been running that a lot, and then, kde released the new beta version of it's windowmanager, so my poor little athlon has been doing a lot of compiling.... and why am i telling you all this? well i'm using it as an excuse to explain why i haven't posted more of my pictures lately. but then, i went over all of them trying to decide what should go up, and found that even with all of the shots taken in the past couple months, some from the trip to casa loma with chrystal, others with natasha to the park or sheena to guelph... i didn't like any of them. well except for this one of the church in guelph. it's really quite pretty. but i come bearing other gifts instead. noreen's been bitching and complaining about how i need to put up a button for merry, so i finally put it together: it's a combination of some weird japanese cartoon that noreen asked me to use and a little christmas cheer (sorry merry, i couldn't resist). i hope you like it anyway ;-) o, and for those interested, here is the source psd used to make all of these nifty things. lastly, i made a little present for angela and friends. you won't get it unless you read this thread. angela suggested that i was "part of the problem" so this is my own way of trying to be part of the solution. the files are gpl-licenced but since i'm not sure about the font, it wasn't included. hope you enjoy.

i took my grandmother's advice today and (apparently) continued a long standing quinn tradition of staking out your potential allies and opponents on your chosen battleground... in this case city hall. i took the morning off work so i could attend a city council meeting and hopefully get a good understanding of who would support me and what i want to do in toronto. would it be kyle rae the councillor for my ward? or would he come across as someone uninterested in this kind of change?

to be honest, i put in two and a half hours there and i'm still not sure. there's so many personalities in there and to say that i now understand everyone in that chamber would just be plain wrong. this is what i found though.

rae comes across like a cool guy. he wore a loud, fun tie and was friendly with everyone there. the thing that concerned me most though was that he seemed more interested in heckling or praising those who did speak about various things than do any speaking himself. i got the impression that he knew what he thought and didn't much care take part in any dialogue.

among the other interesting folk in the big spherical room, i'd have to point to michael walker and howard moscoe. civil politics are so different from provincial and federal relationships that i still don't know which way these guys lean on much... they did however dominate the floor on almost every topic. walker supported a bill on electoral reform while moscoe poked at him about it, claiming walker to be a supporter of the rich and a friend of john turner while painting himself as a champion for the little guy. i'm not sure which one to consider "my friend" in the environment because the issue was never mentioned, but i can say that moscoe comes across as a respected veteran that knows his stuff, walker seems the type to get behind something that needs to get done.

some others that i took note of were brian ashton, an older man who's respected by most in the council (including the mayor) but doesn't come off as one of the more "animated" councillors. i got a good vibe from both michael thompson and jim veroni (i think that's his name, but i can't find him on the site). both came across as articulate and knowledgeable... maybe good people to help me.

what was really quite entertaining though, was the circus act between gloria lindsay luby and rob ford. it all started with an accusation from lindsay saying that rob went over her head in her riding, then he returned the "she's lying" in not so many words. then after a little more squabbling between the two, the mayor cracked down on them and we went on with the meeting... but later, rob added another tidbit while she was out and she came back furious and there was much yelling.... almost better than a hockey game i tell you, but seriously, these two... at least to me, appeared like children in a sandbox that just can't learn to play nice. i like rob though. he's brash, and loud, but he's got stones.

i took a few other notes on some of the others and quietly watched the debate (MUCH more civilised than the house of commons i might add). overall, a good morning.

lately i've been watching last exile, an anime series i discovered at the anime party i went to a while back. i've been watching so much in fact, that the story line and characters have invaded my dreams these last few nights. kinda odd, that. but i understand now that there's really no reason to get cable. there's nothing good on, and all the really good stuff is only available online anyway.

seriously, get your hands on this series. it's only 26 episodes and it's really quite... beautiful. yes. that's the best word for it. when it finished tonight i asked myself why i wasted so many years watching all that crap on tv when stuff like this has been around for so long. great writing, drawing, and character development and it's all infinitely more creative than nearly everything else on tv. if you ask nice, i'm sure i can even find someone who can hook you up. really great stuff -- have i said that enough yet?

a word to those who might be interested in one guy's impression of a movie. run, don't walk right the hell away from king arthur. it's crap. ranking right up there with eyes wide shut, the ninth gate and mission to mars, if it is within your power, i highly reccomend that you do not waste your time on this flick.

the only saving grace for this really, really terrible movie was keira knightley, who, as always, was absolutely gorgeous. but even she couldn't save this mess.

remember a while back when i mentioned that moore was anti-endorsing the conservative party? well there's been a development...

i saw this a couple nights ago, and didn't want to give any more attention to this idiot... but now it's just funny. some kid is suing michael moore for violations of the Canada Elections Act that states:

No person who does not reside in Canada shall, during an election period, in any way induce electors to vote or refrain from voting...for a particular candidate unless the person is:

1. a Canadian citizen; or
2. a permanent resident

he figures that this gives him the right to sue.

however, the report i saw interviewed a constitutional lawyer who pointed out that the real question should be whether or not someone (Canadian or otherwise) should be allowed to freely express his opinion in our country. if this part of the act negates this right, then it's unconstitutional.

but the funny part? the mayor of sarnia has offered moore honourary citizenship of his little hamlet in hopes of shielding him for this loser. now that's just plain cool.

• 

i just don't get it.

the cn tower, the tallest free-standing building in Canada has disappeared behind a thick cloud of smog that's overrun the city. from my apartment on the 21st floor, i can see most buildings within about a five block radius and the rest is grey.

i wanted to believe that it was just fog coming in off the lake, but fog doesn't do this. it doesn't come into the city and wedge itself between buildings... and it sure as hell doesn't do it on a day as hot as today -- not without help. this mix of car exhaust, industrial waste and fog from the already heavily polluted lake ontario is unnatural and all the residents of this city seem to do is point and utter something stupid like "isn't that neat? the smog's so thick i can't see the scotia tower from here".

maybe it's ignorance. maybe these people honestly think it's always been this way. but really, how stupid do you have to be to think that? toronto is now number 4 on the list of most polluted cities on Earth ranked just behind hong kong, los angeles and new york and the will to fix this mess is just not there. i look into the eyes of the strangers i talk to here and i see that same mind-numbing, defeating apathy. how do you fight that? these are the lemmings that are making your air unbreathable, your water polluted -- and they just smile and point and the funny sky. these people certainly don't want to be educated, and any mention of environmental issues are met with rolling eyes. hell, most people in this city STILL throw their newspapers in the garbage rather than putting it in the recycling bin right next to it!

i talked to my grandmother last night about a lot of things. it was her birthday and i thought i'd call and say "hi". i talked about some of what i've mentioned here, and how i'm generally having a difficult time finding a place to start fighting this mess. but taking her suggestion, i went online to the city's site and did some more poking... and i think i finally understand the problem. i didn't until just now.

most of the initiatives taken by city hall and others in toronto have been directed toward causes rather than people. the sierra club has a "car free day" to help "raise awareness" and get people out of their cars, and the city hosts a number of "environment days" to try to get people to recycle more. these ideas, along with others are all ignoring the simple truth that's as clear now as the cn tower is invisible: most people here don't give a shit about anything these groups have to say and they're not going to lift a finger to fix something that "doesn't seem so bad".

so that's the problem. what's the solution? i hate to say it. i really hate to say it, but it's the only thing that i can think of right now: we've got two choices:

• propaganda
• old fashioned fascism

...and no, i'm not being funny.

people care so little about so many things, but they care so much about the molson indy, or what kind of dress some rich actor wore to the oscars. people care about these things because they're hyped up by a highly motivated media conglomerate. the latest spiderman movie will not affect anyone in any real way, but the lineup of apathetic idiots waiting to get $12 tickets went out the door. i challenge you to show me an example of that kind of dedication on anything environmental or political. hell, when the americans invaded iraq about 10million people protested. that's fewer than saw spiderman in the first weekend.

the other option is just as valid. sure, no one wants to use the f-word, and understandably so, i'm not a fan either. but the apathetic masses, like children have to be told what to do. rules have to be laid down that no one really likes but need to be followed so our grandkids can breathe. i think (and i'm just thinking "out loud" here) that the city could benefit from fewer public consultations and more action. we elected you to get this stuff fixed, not tie it up in committees for 20years. tolls need to go on the freeways, high fines on polluters and major subsidies to waste reduction programs. these things need to be done now not later.

i don't think that most people really understand the humbling strength of apathy. no one can until they try to motivate someone who just doesn't care. options are limited, and unless someone can give me a better one, i'm going to start going with what i know works. and i guess that at that point the real question is: "can not wrecking the environment be cool?"

thanks to smyli, i now know how to say "bullshit" in about 30 languages. you too can share in this great gift. just go to insult monger and select your language. they're top pics? spanish italian french german serbian bosnian punjabi hungarian romanian dutch latin irish chinese-mandarin and yes, even yiddish

WARNING: this site appears to be coated heavily in spyware that can infect windows computers running internet exploder. if you really wanna go there, you should go get mozilla firefox -- a real browser that works.