Apple TV

We bought an Apple TV a few weeks ago, and have now installed the "Take 2" update. Some quick thoughts.

1. I liked the old UI a little better. The new interface is OK, but not as pleasant as the old one, in my opinion. I sort of miss the big icons.

2. I don't like how all "my" content is now subordinate to the iTunes store.

3. I love the fact that there's YouTube on there.

4. I love the fact that I can now get video and audio podcasts direct to the Apple TV.

5. I like how I can purchase music from the iTunes store from the Apple TV.

6. I don't like that it's not completely straightforward to find video podcasts. They're just lumped in with audio podcasts and audio podcasts are generally not that interesting when I'm watching TV.

Between YouTube and video podcasts, Apple may have invented "Channel Surfing 2.0". I find myself sitting down in front of the Apple TV, browsing one little channel after another, watching bits and pieces of things: The latest images from the Spitzer Space Telescope, high definition footage from Rome and Yosemite, and the "best of YouTube". This is surprising, because channel surfing has been a thing of my past since the arrival of DVDs and our PVR. I was pretty sure that video on demand would more or less put a stake through the heart of surfing, but it seems that the concept may have been revived in its new internet form.

Just a reminder

Just a reminder to everyone who takes the man seriously, that we only have a few days left this year for the mass killing that Pat Robertson predicted would happen in the latter half of 2007.

"There will be some very serious terrorist attacks," he said. "The evil people will come after this country, and there's a possibility - not a possibility, a definite certainty - that chaos is going to rule." Robertson did not say where the attacks would occur.

Definite certainty.

We Are Living In The Future

Permit me one iPhone rave. Putting my shoes on to take Lisa to school the other day, I notice her singing a little song that I've never heard before. Something she learned at daycare, no doubt. I grab my phone, type a fragment of the lyrics into Google, find the full lyrics and song title, search on the iTunes store and listen to clips from a couple of different versions of the song. All from a stool as I'm putting on my shoes. Today, as we were walking home from daycare, Lisa noticed someone wearing a hockey jersey and asked if there was a hockey game on tonight (pretty clever, that three year old of mine...). I pull out my phone, find an open wireless network and look at the hockey schedule. Yep, Canucks at home vs. Wild. Game starts in forty minutes. How cool is that?

defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean YES; killall Dock

I'm in agreement with just about everyone on this one. Necessary upgrade to Leopard's dock.

My Issue with Flax Plus

One of my favourite breakfast cereals is Nature's Path Flax Plus. I'm not sure exactly why I like it so much, probably because it's a very crunchy flake, and stays very crunchy. I hate soggy cereal.

But there's always a problem with everything, and this cereal has a problem, which is that apparently the people who manufacture it don't want you to eat it. Or at least they want to make it difficult.

The top flap of the box of cereal is effectively cemented shut with some kind of industrial grade epoxy. In several years of eating this cereal, I have not once been able to get the top of the box open without ripping the little tab that's supposed to keep the box closed. I have even tried using special tools (well, a kitchen knife) to gently pry open the box without damaging it, but that little tab of cardboard has never failed to tear off.

If that weren't enough, the interior bag of this product is sealed so tight that you can't get it open without scissors. The way this is supposed to work is you tug gently on the two sides of the bag and the top comes unsealed. Then you can pour the cereal out normally. Lots of cereal producers get this right. Just about all of them. Try that with Flax Plus and you'll spray flakes all over your kitchen.

Had to get that off my chest. Sorry.

The Shower Curtain Question

Many years ago I was interviewing a co-op student at Waterloo. I had just asked her one of my favorite interview questions, and she had appreciated it, and in turn told me about one of her favourite questions, purportedly asked by an interviewer from Microsoft. This was during the time when Bill Gates was building his current home on Lake Washington, and the question was tangentally related. The question was this:

"If price were no obstacle, how would you design a shower curtain?"

I always found that question intriguing, but to be honest I never really gave it much in the way of deep thought. I always approached it more as if the question were: "What's the most expensive shower curtain you can design?" and imagined a solid stone wall sliding up from the floor or something equally preposterous.

But a few days ago (while I was in the shower, no less) it occurred to me what the answer should be; at least an answer I'd be happy with if I had asked the question myself. If price were no object, I'd design a shower curtain as a piece of plastic that you drape from a bar reaching across the opening. In other words, just like every other shower curtain in the world. Some things don't need innovation. Use the standard components and then move on. Price may not be an obstacle but time usually is, and wouldn't we rather spend our time on solving more interesting problems?

Innovation

I saw the most awesome example of innovation the other day. It made my head spin. I walked into 7-11 and saw:

A CHEESEBURGER IN THE SHAPE OF A HOT DOG

This is the best idea ever. Why did it take until 2007 for this marvel to make an appearance? Unfortunately, I had already eaten lunch that day, so I don't know what it tastes like, but seriously how bad could it be? It's a freaking CHEESEBURGER and it's shaped like a freaking HOT DOG. How awesome is that?

Wii Fatigue

You know, if I was a Nintendo shareholder, I'd be a little annoyed. I wanted a Wii, but not badly enough to take part in the hunting strategies that seem to be necessary in order to track one down -- find out when a shipment's coming in, then be there that day, etc. I'm the kind of person who, if I just saw it there in the store, would buy one without thinking too hard about it. It'd be fun to have. So every time I'm at a store that sells them, I go take a look, and without fail they are sold out.

And I've got to say, I'm tired of that experience. I'm tired of checking and being disappointed. It's been eight months. Can't Nintendo make sure there's a decent supply of these things? Congratulations for making a great product that they can't keep on the shelves, and all, but I'm going to stop checking soon because it's a waste of my time.

The Only Thing I Hate About Python

Let's get this straight: I love Python. It's a fantastic language that maps particularly well to the way that I think. I find it so comfortable to work in that it seems like I have always known the language, even though it's been less than 2 years.

The only thing that I hate is a small detail about the python interpreter, to wit:


Brent-MacPro:~ $python
Python 2.4.4 (#1, Oct 18 2006, 10:34:39)
[GCC 4.0.1 (Apple Computer, Inc. build 5341)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> quit
'Use Ctrl-D (i.e. EOF) to exit.'
>>> exit
'Use Ctrl-D (i.e. EOF) to exit.'


So, the implementors of the interpreter decide to implement the 'quit' and 'exit' commands as indirections: "Oh, so you want to quit? Well you're doing it wrong, type some cryptic key combination instead of the absolutely clear command you just typed." Who thinks like that?

Argh. I type 'quit' or 'exit' Every. Single. Time. I. Need. To. Quit.

Local Mexican

We went out for dinner last night to El Taco, a little hole-in-the-wall 'authentic Mexican' place on Davie Street north of Granville. I have been looking for a place to get decent Mexican food since my other new favorite Mexican place (Chilo's) was forced to close down for food safety reasons. I guess that's one thing you have to be careful of... sometimes authentic food is actually illegal. Chilo's made the greasiest soft taco imaginable for $1.50 and it was absolutely delicious.

Anyway, El Taco was unfortunately nothing very special. The quesadilla was marginal. I had a tamale that was marginal, and some chorizo soup that was marginal. In sum, it seemed pretty expensive, too, but maybe that's the price you pay for a kitchen that's up to code.

Noodle Surfing

Went swimming with the kids yesterday, and invented a great new game to keep the little ones amused: noodle surfing.

Take one extra-floaty pool noodle, and try to stand on it, staying upright in the pool while balancing on the noodle. It takes a few tries to get the hang of it, and you can always make a big show of "falling" off. The kids will laugh at you, which is fun. If you do fall off, try to arrange for the noodle to go shooting up into the air dramatically, rather than just floating to the surface.

If you manage to stay afloat on the noodle, the next challenge is to swim from one end of the pool to the other while staying balanced. This is a little easier than getting on in the first place, but also offers plenty of opportunities for dramatic failure. Try it! Fun!

Lombardo's

Day off, so we went for a run in the morning, followed by a hot tub and sauna, then out for lunch to Lombardo's Ristorante and Pizzeria down by the Art Gallery. A little noisy at first, we arrived just after 1pm, but it calmed down as the lunch crowd left. We had the Caprese salad and a medium Napoletana pizza, and for dessert we had a medium Prosciutto pizza. A half litre of the house red (sangiovese) went particularly well. The service was good, and the whole experience was definitely repeatable.

Thumbs up.