That's my stapler

Memories from Kelowna

2006-06-24T09:28:00.000-06:00

Here are the most memorable things from the golf trip to Kelowna (those that I can remember) : Everyone trying to produce the MMF (Most Memorable Fart)Walking a mile past our street on the way back from downtownGino's podcast from Cheetahs - which is available hereStanley Cup Finals Game 6 Not seeing Auggie for the entire time we were on the hole at Predator Ridge that had the sign "keep away

Things I learned from my trip to Sou Cal

2006-02-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

Things I learned from my trip to Southern California this month:Voice navigation systems are more patient then I am when my wife just turned 3 blocks too soon : "you have left the route, a new one is being created for you now" I should become a weatherman in San Diego: "75F with a chance of clouds, today, tomorrow, ..."I should always carry business cardThere are women who look like Christie

Last day

2006-02-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day of my contract at a major Telecommunications Corporation in Western Canada. As is my tradition, I've created a list of memorable things about my stay that I may or may not miss.This is not a top ten list as I'm sure I will add to it. Please feel free to comment or ask questions.RUDY ? Learning that you don't want to sit by people doing support while you're trying to do

The Lunch Kit

2005-10-22T20:28:00.000-06:00

The stapler's father-in-law retires next week... It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Arnold's lunch kit on November 4th, 2005. The lunch kit came to life 39 years ago, when Arnold, in his early 20's, accepted a job as a Partsman. The lunch kit was first lovingly, and then grudgingly, packed by his wife, Cathy. In the 70's and 80's small bits of leftover lunch and

Vacation - A New Word

2005-10-06T18:50:00.000-06:00

My youngest is in pre-school twice a week. She enjoys "going to school" immensely. The other day, she told my wife that her new best friend in her class won't be there next week."She is going on a va-ca-tion" - she informed her mom as she carefully sounded out this new word/concept.D'oh.Has it been that long since the last vacation for the stapler family ?

Brother can you spare change for parking?

2005-09-19T20:08:00.000-06:00

In Edmonton, one of the booming cities in Alberta, there are many people attracted by the opportunities that await those willing to work. But there is also a social network for those that come here and can't find work for whatever reason, unlike what we saw in the southern United States recently.It's not a perfect system, but there but for grace of god go I. So once in a while I do offer a

More quotes I enjoy

2005-09-14T20:45:00.000-06:00

Managers are essentially secretaries who can fire you. --Theophile EscargotIf it smells like a CR, sounds like a CR and causes a change to the code that is "done", isn't it a Change Request and not a "design clarification?" -- That's My Stapler at his day job (two weeks to go before Integrated Testing, we hope) RUDY ? (Are You Done Yet?) -- That's My Stapler co-worker (A greeting between

Revising Natural History

2005-09-13T15:00:00.000-06:00

If you go the Museum of Earth History in Eureka Springs - Arkansas, you will walk through exhibits depicting Eden and learn that all life on Earth was created about 10,000 years ago. Dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time, but they perished because of hunting and habitat loss.The museum's "exhibit fact sheet" lists the details of their dinosaur exhibit. They claim that the bones

Forty

2005-09-11T04:00:00.000-06:00

This week's post is a re-post in honour of my friend that just turned 40....A number that's all. Like thirty or twenty. But a milestone none the less. This week I "turned 40" and entered midlife.We all should be so lucky to reach 80 !? But it doesn't seem like a promising future with the aging population and the ever increasing burden on health care services. The bozos in government seem so

Fellowship

2005-09-01T20:39:00.000-06:00

These go to 11 pointed out to us that the tragedy in the U.S. gulf coast is not completely comparable to the Tsunami devastation.All too true, but New Orleans is sinking ... into the depths of hell and anarchy ?Last night an ABC news reporter asked a man who was obviously looting : "Do you think this is okay/right to steal these things?!"He answered with the fact that there were no police to stop

Vandals destroy garden

2005-08-27T14:25:00.000-06:00

Today Mrs. Stapler gets her letter to the editor published - because the local paper didn't (yet) publish it in their weekly edition. : I address this letter to the inconsiderate individuals who drove through the vegetable garden at Graminia School: One day after school, several girls gathered at Graminia School to plant a vegetable garden.

The Little Guy

2005-08-25T20:43:00.000-06:00

There are many shops and restaurants downtown Edmonton, but not all of them are run by the independent businessman or mom & pop.Recently, as part of their emergency operations procedures, the major telecommunications company in western canada that I work at decided that they would provide lunch and dinner to their employees/managers that backfilled striking/locked-out union workers.For the first

The Watch

2005-08-22T21:50:00.000-06:00

Today, from my cubicle at a major telecommunications company in western canada, I saw the police block all north and south bound traffic on 100st - in front of the hotel macdonald on the edge of the river bank in Edmonton.Rumour has it that Brad Pitt and his latest conquest (or hers?), Angelina Jolie would be in town 'soon' for the filming Brad's latest movie : "The Assassination of Jesse James."

You might be my neighbour if

2005-08-16T20:06:00.000-06:00

It takes you 5 hours to cut your 1 acre of grass on the lawn tractor 3 times a week You don't wear a shirt while cutting your grass (see also #1) You have an old Edmonton Transit bus and 7 cars on your lot/acreage Your dog freaks out when it sees me while I am in my back yard (100 yds away) You send your kids out to expend all their energy on the trampoline at/near the same time

Dog Days of Blogging

2005-08-14T21:37:00.000-06:00

If you follow this blog, you may have noticed that not much has happened here for the last couple of weeks. Or maybe you were doing other things besides staring at the computer screen all day - like enjoying the odd day in Alberta lately that actually was "summer-like" (global warming where are you now ?). As an aside, I've often wondered why I (now) live in a country/province where you need to

Don't be photo radar sheep

2005-08-01T15:00:00.000-06:00

The city of Spruce Grove, Alberta (west of Edmonton) has announced their photo radar program, using the same company that runs the controversial program in Devon :Effective 1 August 2005, the City of Spruce Grove will be employing Laser Photo Radar Technology within its City limits to reduce speed and increase public safety. Hand held Laser Radar will continue to be operated by the RCMP and City

Summer Prairie Storms

2005-07-29T20:00:00.000-06:00

People who I have met when we lived in the Southwest United States and East Coast have told me that the weather is so drastic where they live that you can "wait 5 minutes and the weather will change." I always told them that they have never been through a summer in Alberta.Here in Edmonton (and Calgary), storms roll off the mountains/foothills quicker than you realize. Tonight's forecast was for

The Future is Hostile?

2005-07-28T20:55:00.000-06:00

Telus on Wednesday applied for a BC Supreme Court injunction to try and block the Voices for Change website from posting pictures of their employees crossing picket lines. Meanwhile, an Alberta court issued an interim injunction that prevents the posting of any pictures on Internet websites with the intent to harass or intimidate Telus employees crossing the picket lines.While I personally can't

The Bert Level

2005-07-27T22:47:00.000-06:00

The Threats & Protection - Advisory System created by the US Department of Homeland Security was supposed to be an easy way for Americans to understand the current level of risk of terrorist attack within the country.It appears that the creators of the system were re-using the classic colour levels created by park wardens of national parks (US and Canada) to convey to visitors/campers the current

Voices for Job Security

2005-07-25T22:58:00.000-06:00

I couldn't ignore this any more. I wasn't going to blog at all about my latest contract assignment at a major telephone Company (Telco) in Western Canada but ...I haven't confirmed this news yet but I will tomorrow morning at my desk. It has been reported Telus has decided to block a website (Voices for Change) run by members of the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU).The Edmonton Sun reports

White Trash Bash 2005

2005-07-23T18:20:00.000-06:00

Tonight is the second annual white trash bash at our friend's trailer.white trash bash 2004Find Your white trash nameYour Redneck nameThe BoonerYour Hell Raisin' Buddysporkle7Your Favorite Nascar DriverRusty WallaceYour Pussy friend that likes Jeff GordondaychokesnightBeer of ChoicePabst Blue RibbonWhat you do for a livingOfficial Boobie inspectorWhat you do on a Saturday nightBang yer sisterFind

Just a bill

2005-07-19T22:12:00.000-06:00

Some bloggers out there would have you believe that the implementation of a bill to discourage party switching by MPs would be a bad thing, as they claim that we vote for people, not political parties.Well, I understand that if I vote for a Liberal in Alberta, even if I thought s/he was not a crook, it still would become an affirmation of the ruling party's scandalous misuse of our tax funds (and

Blogging for $$$

2005-07-18T20:21:00.000-06:00

Darren @ Problogger posted a blog about how much money he was making through Google's adsense program. It got slashdotted (linked by a news site and then it was overwhelmed by thousands of instant viewers. See also flashcrowd : a theory from one of my favorite authors).His most recent post reveals the amount of the cheque (Aussie Dollars?) that he alluded to in the first post :You’ll see from the

Problem Dog Owners

2005-07-17T20:41:00.000-06:00

Dogs bark. I know that. They bark for many reasons - but most of the ones I've ever had issue with bark because their owners are too stupid or apathetic to realize they are the cause.My wife and I have moved many times in the 15+ years we have lived together - everywhere we've lived, there has been that neighbor that is blissfully unaware that rover/fluffy/spot/buddy or napoleon is bothering his

Netscape

2005-07-14T23:04:00.000-06:00

The 10th anniversary of the initial public offering (IPO) of Netscape Communications Corporation is next month. The IPO was the 3rd largest in Nasdaq history and even Google has been called the "son of Netscape" - most likely in reference to the same early innovations, high flying stock prices and promising future.Of course, Google's IPO was released to the common folk, unlike Netscape's. I was

The World that we live

2005-07-13T21:15:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a week now and there are still people on the news full of angst for their relatives that haven't been found/identified yet from last week's bombings in London.It reminded me of the week after 9/11. My oldest daughter was 4 at the time. She hadn't said much about the attack and what was going on, but we knew she was aware that something major had happened. We wondered with the

10 Minutes

2005-07-12T20:59:00.000-06:00

I read Candace's account of a near miss and I am reminded of several close encounters on Edmonton streets I have had during my daily 80km commute to/from work.I drive too fast.Why ? I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I average at least 15km/h over the limit - especially on the highway into the city.Will I be late if I slow down ? Nope. I get paid by the hour and most of us in IT work pretty

Edmonton cop suspended

2005-07-10T20:22:00.000-06:00

An Edmonton police officer was suspended this weekend. Which one was suspended ? They won't say. Why ? We don't know. We can guess that the reason for suspension was because of one of the investigations regarding : racist email; overzealous targeting/stakeouts of those that are critical of them; the illegal access to federal databases intended for criminal investigations only; the photo radar

Current News from a Wiki

2005-07-07T21:32:00.000-06:00

Get your current news regarding the London bombings from the wikipedia.The web page built today already surpasses anything CNN, BBC or PBS could have built with all the efforts of their staff journalists.Wikipedia is a free-content encyclopedia, written collaboratively by people from around the world. The site is a wiki, which means that anyone can edit articles, simply by clicking on the edit

The Pager Incident

2005-07-06T23:18:00.000-06:00

My current assignment as an independent contractor is at a major telephone company in Western Canada. The company is having troubles signing a new contract with their union workers. Senior employees and managers have been asked to keep the company's emergency plans in mind should there be a walk out in the near future and they will be needed to backfill union positions.Many employees are taking

Canada, eh

2005-07-01T18:40:00.000-06:00

Like the rant from Joe Canadian says, I am Canadian.Yes, the majority of our politicians just voted to pass the same-sex marriage bill to the next step to becoming law, but we're not all 'that' liberal as you may think. Our opposition party leader claims he will make the bill/law an issue for the next election. I doubt most of us care that much, but it will be interesting to see what the majority

Ten rules on how to treat an ...

2005-06-28T18:56:00.000-06:00

Ten rules on how to treat an ...Edmonton Police OfficerDon't give them email access for sharing their views/thoughts/jokes within the department.A racist e-mail circulated among some members in the Edmonton Police downtown division. Sources claim that it listed '10 rules for police officers who deal with aboriginals.'Don't openly criticize them.Edmonton Sun columnist Kerry Diotte and police

This blogging thing

2005-06-23T22:17:00.000-06:00

Well, I've been blogging for a few months now. Originally my first web pages in the mid 90's were just another form of blogging - anecdotes about my travels, thoughts and all that.Not much has changed, but now with tools like blogger.com it's just a little easier to put together some miscellaneous ramblings about my spin on the latest news, politics or hack I found. I don't have much else to

Bad design

2005-06-21T22:22:00.000-06:00

There are bad ideas and then there is bad design. A bad idea eventually will die in the evolution of user acceptance, but bad design happens all the time - usually the result of an assumption or rush to implementation.Being a techie, I tend to notice elements of applications or automated systems that just don't work. I'm speaking of those systems that we all use daily, yet never seem to question

Father Day

2005-06-19T19:55:00.000-06:00

Today was that one day a year we acknowledge our thanks to our fathers. As I have mentioned before, as I get older, he appears to get wiser/smarter as the saying goes.Sage AdviceI remember asking my father a long time ago why he wasn't higher up (like a vise-president) in the company that he spent many years working with for 25+ years. He told me that he didn't feel the investment in [over] time

Blog Virus

2005-06-15T20:28:00.000-06:00

The world's first blog virus has infected 'That's My Stapler'!Do not be alarmed, I am assured by various computer experts that your computer will not be harmed by reading my blog - unless of course you're using Internet Exploder from Micro$oft. In that case, you have more problems to worry about ...Symptoms of the virus include an uncontrollable urge of the blogger to infect five (5) other blogs.

Mindbender

2005-06-14T20:22:00.000-06:00

Today is the nineteenth anniversary of an unfortunate accident on the Mindbender roller coaster at West Edmonton Mall.Due to negligence of Triple Five Corp., the owner/operator of the ride, the wheel assembly sheered off on the last car. This caused it to fishtail and hit a concrete foundation before entering the third loop. The train then didn't had enough speed to complete the loop - so it

Identity Theft

2005-06-08T22:23:00.000-06:00

Identity theft is unnerving. It's not like when you had your house or car broken into or your wallet stolen - and you knew right away that you were a victim. When someone steals your identity, you don't know if/when it will stop.If you were a victim of identity theft you would know what I'm talking about. That paranoid feeling I remember having after our house was broken into just doesn't compare

Linux Trivia

2005-06-05T18:41:00.000-06:00

I read an interesting bit of trivia a while back from PCToday.com, who proclaims to be "Your (Microsoft) Windows Authority" :OS Trivia Of The Day: May 7, 2005And In The BeginningIn 1975, Microsoft had three employees, including Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Ric Weiland. The guys produced $16,005 in revenue that year. In 2003, the same company produced more than $10 billion in revenue and a net

Coca-Cola(R) aka Coke

2005-06-01T22:30:00.000-06:00

Things to do with empty coke cansToday's topic is on Coca-Cola(r), which I drink a lot of for some reason. Here is what you can do with the coke cans that result from an addiction like mine.How to make a fire using only a chocolate bar and a can of coke.If you are at a location where you can't build a fire, create a stoveCreate an Apple iPod holder that fits into your car's cupholder.Build some

Beerfest

2005-05-29T16:30:00.000-06:00

The Devon Days1 Beerfest. The last time I attended this get-together was 15 years ago. I remember glaring at the old guys2 who were staring at my girlfriend. But I did notice that when you attend an event like this where a majority of the crowd is half your age - you can really be a fly on the wall as most are oblivious to your existence.Anyway, I was sure that there would be a fight or two.

The Queen's Visit

2005-05-24T20:45:00.000-06:00

Queen Elizabeth II is visiting Edmonton this week. While I care not about it, other than how the heck am I going to get to my parking lot downtown tomorrow, the spin I read today was 'interesting.'The Telegraph's quotes about Ralph Klein show just how crass he can be sometimes (but we love him anyway). The Edmonton Journal's article shows that we tried to put a brave face on a $1M expenditure for

Dear Peter

2005-05-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dear Peter,I'm sorry you had to receive the news this way. I can no longer hang out with you and your friends. It's not you - it's me. I'm at a cross roads and I must in good conscience move on for the good of Canada and my career.Please let Steven and those that voted for me know that I am now working for Paul across the floor. He says he is counting1 on me this week and that I can fill a

Google Maps

2005-05-15T18:30:00.000-06:00

Google maps once again proves it's the experience, not that data.The offerings from their mapping service aren't new - satellite photos, directions and maps with points of interest have been widely available online since the first boom of the internet. The Google service has been around a very short time compared to the stalwart MapQuest, but once again their developers prove that they can

Search Terms

2005-05-11T23:37:00.000-06:00

I've been keeping track of search terms that referred people here since I received a flood of traffic after I published a link to the U.S. blog that was breaking the Gomery publication ban.Some are surprising and a little unnerving. Several terms were utilized several times - showing that the Homulka/Bernadro crimes and the sexiest MP in Canada are searched for quite often.Here's a quick summary,

Victory in Europe

2005-05-08T15:24:00.000-06:00

Over one million Canadians served in the Second World War and approximately 42,000 gave their lives. Per capita, Canada's contribution was one of the largest in the world - our troops played a significant role in the invasion of Normandy and in the liberation of the Netherlands.So this week we should pause for more than a moment to remember a pair of high points in Canadian history : the

Devon Transfers Photo Radar to RCMP

2005-05-06T20:51:00.000-06:00

The Devon Dispatch Paper is reporting today that the Photo Radar Program is being transferred to the local RCMP detachment.RCMP will now make the determination on the location - where the photo enforcement is going to setup on a week to week basis. Policy changes include a decision on enforcing school and playground zone speed limits. Playground zones usually have a speed limit of 30km/h from 8:

Hacking Vending Machines

2005-05-04T23:00:00.000-06:00

Almost all vending machines built in the last 10 years are computerized and since they don't come with an attached keyboard, can be easily 'hacked' by any passerby.Most machines offer an easily accessible menu system to show the operator the machine's statuses without having to take the time to open it. The menu system allows the operator to view the total amount of sales, the quantities

Oklahoma City Drunk Tank

2005-05-03T19:40:00.000-06:00

A sobering view of the Oklahoma City Drunk TankIt was a day like any other day in OKC - the daylight hours were spent toiling over billing system code, arguing with managers about deadlines, test plans and thinking of going out for a beer."Hey - you've had a pretty crappy day" my roommate beckoned - "let's go out!"Out to the Red Dog Strip Club that is. A place famous for its young scantly clad

Free Speech ?

2005-04-30T15:11:00.000-06:00

CBC News is reporting today that Calgary Police Chief Jack Beaton has reached a settlement with two people who were involved with websites critical of Beaton and his senior managers."In documents released Friday, Janette Vahey and Rene Fisher,– who aren't employees of the Calgary Police Service, agreed to pay $5,000 towards Beaton's legal costs, issue an apology and meet with the chief and up to

Letter to the Editor

2005-04-29T20:28:00.000-06:00

Devon Dispatch published my letter to the editor today :I would like to thank David Schaefer, the director of Devon's Community and Protective Services, for taking the time to talk with me regarding their photo radar program. I read that the program was due to start up again this spring and with the issues reported before, I decided to investigate further.I made a request last week to the Town of

The $100 PC

2005-04-27T23:03:00.000-06:00

CNET spoke with AMD's CEO this week about technology trends and his visions for their chips in consumer electronics. He mentioned that he believes a $100 computer is not out of the question in a three-year time frame, even though the initial cost may have to be subsidized like cell phones are now with long term service contracts.Now, we've heard talk of this holy grail recently from another high

Epson C80 aka Boatanchor

2005-04-25T20:15:00.000-06:00

Our printer, an Epson C80, died this weekend. Of course, we just bought all the ink for it. I even remarked to the clerk that a new printer would be cheaper than buying ink as I could get a few bucks for the old one on eBay...Well, we installed the new ink and now it's lights just blink (two red and one green). No paper jam, nothing. The Epson utilities advise us to "remove the paper jam and

Postcard Secrets

2005-04-22T20:07:00.000-06:00

The guy who never washes his hands before leaving the bathroom has confessed.You may have heard about Postcard Secrets. Review it now before it goes mainstream or Oprah hears about it...

This day in NHL History

2005-04-21T00:01:00.000-06:00

2005 Nothing. Natta2004 Ed Belfour (and the Leafs) knock the Ottawa Senators out of the playoffs in Game 72003 America Online whizkid and Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis watches his team get knocked out of the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Lightning after they blow a 2 goal lead. (Buy a team, give out huge contracts to big names, plan the Stanley Cup parade, ... Turns out pro hockey isn’t as

Oklahoma City Bombing - 10 years later

2005-04-19T09:02:00.000-06:00

Murrah Federal Building Bombing At 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, a bomb ripped through the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, burying dozens of people in its rubble. That was ten years ago and was at that time the worst terrorist act ever committed in the United States. One hundred sixty-eight people lost their lives and it is estimated that several hundred thousand people in the

Devon's Traffic Safety Plan

2005-04-13T17:30:00.000-06:00

A printable copy (PDF) of Devon's Traffic Safety Plan (TSP) is available here .I received these pages during my discussion with David Schaefer - director of 'Community and Protective Services' in Devon. He met with me after I formally requested a copy of the plan as per Alberta's Freedom of Information Act (FOIP).

Speeding :A Photo Radar Discussion with the Director of Devon's Program

2005-04-12T23:30:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in previous posts1, I wanted to see the Traffic Safety Plan (TSP) that the Town of Devon created before the Alberta Solicitor General would authorize2 use of photo radar on a major Alberta highway through the town.Well, as you probably can tell by the tone of my previous blogs, my personal view was that the use of photo radar on the major highway through Devon wasn't warranted. But

Request for a copy of Devon's Traffic Safety Plan

2005-04-10T19:48:00.000-06:00

During my research into Devon's controversial photo radar program, I came across an interesting statement on the Alberta Solicitor General's website1 : During the time the Town of Devon deployed photo radar they were able to reduce collisions by 80 per cent and greatly impacted the number of drivers who failed to heed the speed limits.The use of the 80% reduction statistic in collisions seems to

Devon Photo Radar - Intro

2005-04-07T20:00:00.000-06:00

Nobody likes to receive a photo radar ticket. Call it a speeding tax, a deterrent to excessive speed or a way to increase awareness of a high collision area – everybody curses that ticket found in the mail two to three weeks after their picture was taken for going five or more kilometers per hour over the posted limit.This blog will review the issues with Devon's controversial photo radar

Update - 20050406

2005-04-06T20:49:00.000-06:00

CalgaryI was in Calgary this week. Ah, the land of conspicuous consumption - large chrome bush guards on 4X4s (that will never see dirt) and a laser cosmetic clinic on every corner. But I do miss that city, even though it amazes me that their "planners" (for lack of better term) continue to build office and condominium skyscrapers with hardly a though for parking.Next ContractDid I forget to

Gomery Publication Ban - We all want to know

2005-04-04T21:44:00.000-06:00

About a dozen years ago, while I was in the U.S., there was a very big sensational trial for Carla Homulka and her husband Paul Bernardo. Carla was charged with two counts of manslaughter relating to the deaths of two teenage girls. Paul was subsequently charged with murder. The case had received substantial media attention and the Crown was concerned about the impact the publication of evidence

Mr. Mom

2005-04-04T09:30:00.000-06:00

Today's blog is a diary of my weekend of being Mr. Mom with my two daughters (3 and 8 years old). Names and relevant details have been removed to protect the innocent - because I have a "memory like a sieve" and things didn't turn out as planned...Friday11:00 am "By the way, we need cat food and bread - I made a list for you!""Yup, uh-huh. Yes dear. No dear. Of course dear" - the canned responses

FAQ - Last day at the DOE

2005-03-31T23:47:00.000-07:00

Thank you - all of you that replied to my last email and blog regarding the "Last day at the DOE." I tried to reply to each person that sent me email about it, but I also decided to create this FAQ. I'm sure these questions will come up again as more people realize I'm no longer there when they come back from spring break.Q. Why is your blog called "That's my stapler" ?!A. It's a reference to one

Last day at the DOE

2005-03-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day of my contract at Alberta's Department of Energy (DOE).The following are memorable things about the Dept of Energy that I may or may not miss. This is not a top ten list as I'm sure I will add to it. Crazy Paper Guy - I hope he finds that airplane soon Elevator Rides - praying for a non stop trip past the 5th floor (AB Mental Health outpatient clinic) No more TEARS - Time

Reused Acronyms

2005-03-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, there is an alphabet soup of acronyms used in technology today. And yes, we geeks do use them a lot in conversation "when you're around." But most of the time three letter acronyms (TLA) serve their purpose - to abbreviate standards or other terms in technology 'we' know all too well.Many vocations have their own TLA's and I'm sure when each group gets together, their set of peers completely

Entrepreneurship

2005-03-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong - there's nothing like the stability of coming in to the cubicle each day, knowing that somebody will find something for you to create or fix. Programming can be a fulfilling vocation. I look forward to creating something that could possibly add to somebody's life, increase their productivity, solve a problem uniquely or just look cool. But of course, there are barriers and we

Make Money Blogging

2005-03-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

Make money blogging ? Really ? People out there will tell me how I can make a million by blogging? I'll buy that for a dollar! Are you intrigued ? Maybe you'll purchase my "Make Money Blogging for Dummies (tm)" book due out next year. Alternative title for now is "Blogging for dollars."Anyway, a few sites I surfed this evening revealed that some people out there are making money with their blogs

Scenic Drives

2005-03-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

A listing of my favourite roads that I have driven in my travels.Criteria for my list are sports car drivability, scenery and minimal traffic.Calgary/Banff - AlbertaOld Banff Coach RoadA local road that winds it's way out of Calgary on the westend, through a couple foothills to the outskirts and executive acreages. In the early evening, you'll find several motorbikes cruising up and down this

Quotes

2005-03-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

Random Quotes that I enjoyThere are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know. Donald RumsfeldAntitrust laws were written to protect consumers, not competitors. If Microsoft is to fail, let it be because we failed to

Jetsgo & Website Technology

2005-03-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

Jetsgo, a discount airline in Canada, went bankrupt this last weekend. They were accepting reservations right up to midnight the day before everything shutdown. Just for fun, I decided to lookup what technology they were utilizing for their public website. Here is a quick comparision of the technologies used by various major airlines for their public websites.Draw your own conclusions.AirlineOS

About

2005-03-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Why is your blog called "That's my stapler" ?!It's a reference to one of my favourite movies : Office Space.Even though one of the cubicle dwellers : Milton - never really says that line, he appears to mumble it often. He is very upset that his company switched staplers and he kept his old one "because it didn't jam and if they take his stapler away, he'll burn down the building." His boss