Another linked video since I’ve been too lazy to write anything in here…good stuff though:
Monthly Archive for May, 2008
If I may, I need to step away from my usual ramblings about technology and self-employment to rant about something that truly makes me sick.
Living in downtown Ottawa, the ByWard Market is frequent stop for me. Walking through, it’s hard not to notice Craazy Dave.
Dave’s “home” is a milk crate behind the Rideau Street Chapters store. There he supports himself by writing poetry on pieces of cardboard and selling it to passers-by. Maybe it’s because of my brief period as a musician that I still romanticize the image of the starving artist or whatever other reason, but I like him. His poetry in big black letters adds character to the area, I’ve yet to see him bother anyone and he’s rather pleasant given the fact that he’s homeless.
This week, some “tax-paying citizen” who was sick of Dave getting a “free ride” took it upon himself to steal what meagre possessions the man had and destroy them. Then in the ultimate act of cowardice, sent a letter bragging about this “accomplishment” to a local gallery owner who displays Dave’s poems signing it “R.F. Cartier.”
I really have no idea how sleeping on a sidewalk constitutes a “free ride”, especially since Dave refuses to go on welfare or take any other social assistance. The possessions that were disposed of mostly consisted of poems and a collection of newspaper articles that had been written about Dave.
One of the defining characteristics that’s supposed to separate human beings from the rest of the animal kingdom is compassion. Clearly this Cartier person is severely lacking in that department. I mean, it’s one thing to walk around yelling at panhandlers to get a job, but to dispose of someone’s property that only has sentimental value seems like a pretty low depth to sink to.
I just hope Cartier remember’s one important thing: Karma’s a bitch!
Xobni, a product I’ve been interested in for some time has finally been released to the public.
It’s a Microsoft Outlook extension that claims to find the “hidden social network” in your e-mails. It’s functions do look really cool. For example, when you click the profile of someone you e-mail regularly, it’ll show things like phone numbers that person has e-mailed you, which sounds insanely useful.
One slight problem for me, though: I deleted Outlook from my life months ago. Being a broke freelancer who can’t afford an Exchange server, I keep all my e-mail synchronized through IMAP and Outlook’s support for IMAP is well, pathetic.
There’s still hope, though. Xobni recently walked away from a Microsoft acquisition which means they’ll be free to work on this extension for other e-mail systems so hopefully a Thunderbird (which has killer IMAP support) won’t be far behind.
Posting has been light lately, especially since this game called Grand Theft Auto IV came out…
But I’ll digress briefly to write about coworking. It’s a nifty concept where freelancers and small companies gain a full-on office environment by sharing the cost of a workspace. It also helps deal with the isolation of being a lone gunman freelancer working from home.
Ottawa will soon have its first coworking space when consultant Ian Graham puts the final touches on The Code Factory.
I mention it now since the web version of an article I wrote on the construction is now up on the Scan web site.
Also, Graham has been providing regular updates (including pictures) on a blog set up to document The Code Factory. Should be pretty damn cool when it’s done.