From the monthly archives:

October 2009

Algoma University’s Unusual Ads

by Joey deVilla on October 31, 2009

I saw these posters for Algoma University yesterday:

algoma posters

There’s always been an implicit promise of freedom in going away to university, but this is the first time I can recall where it’s been used as an actual selling point.

I don’t think that this campaign is a good idea. Algoma’s got some things going for it – as a techie, I’m aware of their $6 million technology wing and game development courses. I think that any good qualities that Algoma may have are tarnished by these ads’ “Live the dream — No curfews! Dress like a skank!” message. In trying to hit 18 or 19 year-olds yearning to break free from their parents where they live, they’re cheapening the school’s image and the value of an Algoma degree.

What do you think?

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Headline of the Day: “Police Seek Serial Groin-Kicker”

by Joey deVilla on October 30, 2009

Beware the Groin Kicker: Woman in pink 1980s Danskins kicking a man dressed for golf in the midsection.

There’s a woman in or around the area of Langley, British Columbia who’s going around kicking men in the groin. One was hurt so badly that one of his testicles had to be removed.

This case will probably spark two types of conversations, editorials and online commentary:

  • One will be some persecution fantasy among men who think we’ve ceded too much ground to women
  • And the other will be that sort of toxic combo of “Too many womyn;s studies courses, too few brain cells” rhetoric along the lines of…

Woman from "SuperFriends": "I think it's empowering!"

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Very True

by Joey deVilla on October 30, 2009

Here’s a piece by the artist known as 9 0 0 0 that I rather like:

No one ever takes a photograph of something they want to forget

You can see the original (and more) in 9 0 0 0’s Flickr photostream.

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Halifax Bound

by Joey deVilla on October 30, 2009

halifaxTechDays, Microsoft’s cross-Canada conference for developers and IT pros took a break in October, but returns in November to complete its tour of the five remaining cities. As leader of one of the conference tracks it means that I’ll be on the road, hitting these five cities over the next couple of months:

  • Halifax: November 2nd and 3rd
  • Calgary: November 17th and 18th
  • Montreal: December 2nd and 3rd
  • Ottawa: December 9th and 10th
  • Winnipeg: December 15th and 16th

If you’re a programmer or IT pro who works with Microsoft tools and technologies or is thinking about doing so, you’d do well to check out TechDays. You can find out more at the TechDays site, or you can always drop me a line.

If you’re in Halifax and would like to catch up, I’ll be holding a Coffee and Code at Just Us Cafe (1678 Barrington) on Wednesday, November 4th from 2 to 6 p.m. Come by, have a coffee and a chat!

I’ll be landing in Halifax this weekend, and chances are I might be looking to do something on Saturday night…

This article also appears in Coffee and Code.
Related articles appear in Canadian Developer Connection and Global Nerdy.

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“Hey Jude” Flowchart

by Joey deVilla on October 29, 2009

The lyrics to The Beatles' "Hey Jude", in flowchart form.

…and if you were wondering: oh yes, I do own the deluxe edition of The Beatles: Rock Band:

Photo: My little red accordion, dwarfed by the box for the deluxe edition of "The Beatles: Rock Band"

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Spider-Man on Chat Rooms

October 29, 2009
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This article also appears in Global Nerdy.

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R.I.P. Hank Young, the “Gladstone Cowboy”

October 28, 2009
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Hank Young, country-and-western musician from Halifax turned Gladstone Hotel character-at-large, died of a stroke this past weekend at the age of 68. I first met him at the Gladstone during its grungy pre-renovation days at its karaoke night, where he was known for his rendition of Hey Good Lookin’. When the hotel underwent its [...]

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Hip-Hop Video of the Day: Deuce Poppi’s “My White Friends”

October 28, 2009
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Accordion City is often referred to as the most multicultural city in North America, if not the whole planet, and we generally get along. If we ever decide that we need a city anthem, I would recommend that we simply adopt Deuce Poppi’s My White Friends:

[Attention Carson T. Foster and Wil McLean! You need to [...]

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Slice of Life: Going After the Dungeons and Dragons Market

October 26, 2009
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While going out for brunch with our friends Liz and Keith and their kids on Roncesvalles, I saw these signs promoting Kennel Cafe’s services. If you never played Dungeons and Dragons, the jokes are totally meaningless, but if you have, they’re pretty amusing:

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The “High-Brow/Low-Brow” Chart

October 23, 2009
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I don’t know when this chart classifying the spectrum of tastes from high-brow to low-brow was createded, but the graphic style puts it sometime in the “Mad Men” era of the late 1950s and early 1960s. You can click the chart to see it at full size:
Click the chart to see it at full size.
I [...]

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Burger King’s Windows 7 Whopper

October 22, 2009
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To celebrate the release of Windows 7, Japanese Burger King franchises are offering a Windows 7 Whopper with 7 patties, selling for 777 Yen (CAD$8.92 as of this writing), available only for the next 7 days. I have no idea why they’re not doing this on this side of the Pacific; I’m sure it would [...]

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Slice of Life: Me and Steve B.

October 22, 2009
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I bought a fuzzy “Cat in the Hat”-style raver hat with a Canadian flag pattern on a whim earlier this year, thinking that I’d probably find a pretty good use for it some day. That day, it turns out, was yesterday, where I turned it into what I believe was yesterday’s only Steve Ballmer photo-op [...]

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Tonight on “The Hour”: Steve Ballmer and Snoop Dogg

October 21, 2009
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Fo’shizzle my Ballizle: on tonight’s episode of CBC’s news show The Hour, “Strombo”’s interviewing an unlikely pair: the CEO of the company for whom I work, Steve Ballmer, and Snoop Dogg. Alas, they’re taping the segments separately, so there’s no chance of Ballmer and Snoop doing a rap duet called Win and Juice.
The Hour airs [...]

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Reporting From the Canadian Windows 7 Event

October 21, 2009
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The official launch of Windows 7 doesn’t happen until tomorrow, but we’re having a big launch event with Steve Ballmer today in Toronto! I’ll be blogging and tweeting all day from the launch venue – Toronto’s Harbour Castle Westin Convention Centre.
For the full skinny on the event, follow the #cdnwin7 (short for “Canadian Windows 7”) [...]

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Portable Computing in the “Mad Men” Era

October 20, 2009
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Are there any computers available today that come in that particular shade of blue, with matching chair?
Click the photo to see it at full size. Photo courtesy of retrofuture.
This article also appears in Global Nerdy.

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