Here are the rules: he will set me a budget, and the only other guidance he has given me is that I’m probably better off buying a used car so that if he really hates it, he won’t lose too much if he trades it in sometime in the next year or two. (But I think a used or new car at the same price will depreciate by the same amount, roughly.) Also, he indicated he thinks I know what he likes. Worst case is he gets a transfusion so that he can claim we are not blood related.

There’s also an upside for me. If I pick something he really likes, I get a cool grand. The trick is that right now, he drives a Mini Cooper. I’m not sure I can find anything that will even come close to matching that car.

There are plenty of options, none of which I’ll mention here, since he actually reads my blog on occasion. Suffice to say he will not be getting a Chevrolet Cobalt under any circumstance.

While I have yet to see the ultimate handheld device, we are about to reach an important milestone. This year will be the first year to see a cell phone, GPS, decent touchscreen interface running something sensible like iOS or Android, and a camera that can act as a point & shoot replacement all in one device. (For the record, a Xenon flash is required for a replacement as far as I’m concerned.)

There are two devices that meet these requirements. The first is the Motorola Milestone XT720 and the second is the Nokia N8, although that depends somewhat on how good Symbian ^3 actually is. Neither is yet available in Canada. Hopefully they will be soon, and don’t suck.

We’re getting there. I give it another 2 years at least. The iOS4, Android and ilk will take over as the dominant consumer operating systems. When we have faster processors in these devices and can hook them up to external monitors easily (perhaps wirelessly), there will no longer be a need for laptops or desktops. I am looking forward to that day.

Well let me tell you, there is nowhere else I’ve eaten that can hold a candle to this place. It is awesome every single time (well, except that one time with the beetle larvae, but that was entirely my fault). They often give you fresh bread and sometimes a little taste of something the chef is experimenting with. Candied pecans it was one time.

If you live in St. John’s and haven’t gone there, go now. Now!

20. REM (433) - 4 Tied at 13
19. The Posies (463) - Dream All Day (37)
18. Electric Six (465) - Formula 409 (22)
17. She & Him (466) - Sentimental Heart (43)
16. Circus Devils (503) - Before It Walks (22)
15. Velocity Girl (508) - Nothing (37), The Only Ones (37)
14. Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs (519) - Go All The Way (21)
13. Weezer (553) - Automatic (42)
12. Queensryche (586) - The Chase (23)
11. Rilo Kiley (669) - The Moneymaker (38)
10. Weird Al Yankovic (671) - Confessions, Pt. 3 (37)
9. John Frusciante (674) - Look On (49)
8. Brandi Carlile (693) - The Story (44)
7. Pete Yorn (708) - Policies (38)
6. Snow Patrol (759) - Sticky Teenage Twin (34)
5. Pixies (803) - Here Comes Your Man (48)
4. Juliana Hatfield (810) - Let’s Blow It All (35)
3. Sleater-Kinney (880) - Modern Girl (51)
2. The Black Keys (954) - Psychotic Girl (45)
1. Tegan and Sara (1457) - Like O, Like H (58)

1. FruitKicks shampoo, cause the cap is poorly designed. I nearly sliced my poor little finger.
2. Snickers, because they used the Canadian Olympic slogan on their chocolate bar. Sell me chocolate, not patriotism, kthxbye.
3. Northern Petroleum, because they seem to come from nowhere and took over the place. Don’t trust ‘em, I don’t.
4. Esso, because their automated gas pumps drive me nuts with ten million questions when all I want to do is get gas.

I’m sure there’s more, but that’s all the bile I can come tolerate for one day.

1. The Cult - The Cult (1994)

This is a great upbeat rock and roll record that you can listen to over and over and it won’t get dull.

2. Great White - Sail Away (1994)

This one is much more laid back than you might expect from top-40 Great White, but it’s got a great Southern rock sound.

3. Faith No More - Album of the Year (1996)

I love the arrogance of the title. Ok, so it wasn’t album of the year, but it was definitely *one* of the best that year. It rocks out with its cock out.

4. Anthrax - We’ve Come For You All (2003)

This album is probably more approachable than much of Anthrax’s catalog. It’s certainly a worthwhile place to start though.

5. The Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight (2003)

Lovefool, this is not. But a wonderful alt-country-ish record it is. Often I find one remarkably memorable song on an album. This album has two. “Feather and Down” and “And Then You Kissed Me”.

6. John Mellencamp - Life, Death, Love and Freedom (2008)

A friend introduced me to this one, and I haven’t looked back. It’s not his best work, but it’s solid throughout.

7. Alanis Morisette - Flavors of Entanglement (2008)

I love the mix of different sounds on this record. Every song is unique and there is virtually no filler.

8. Pearl Jam - Backspacer (2009)

I’ve listened to this one a lot, and I never have to skip a track. It’s that consistent.

1. Isaac Asimov - Secound Foundation

This is a novel with multiple ending chapters. I’ve never read anything quite like it. It’s the fourth book in the Foundation series, but can easily stand alone.

2. Aaron Conners - The Pandora Directive

This is not what I’d call a great literary achievement by any means. It’s comfort food in novel form, a book about an old-time detective set a hundred years after the classic film noir movies in a post-apocalyptic future. Luckily, it’s not quite as campy as that sounds.

3. William Lederer & Eugene Burdick - The Ugly American

This novel spells out the communist problem in Southeast Asia and explains to the Americans exactly what they need to do to avoid a nasty prolonged war. Ten years after its publication, the Vietnam War happened anyway. If only they had heeded these warnings.

4. Agatha Christie - Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case

This is the second novel on my list with a gimmick. Agatha-C really cheats a lot in this book, but hey, it’s his last case!

5. Aldous Huxley - Brave New World

This is the last book I chose to add to this list and I think the reason I put it here is because I need to read it again. I remember loving it, but the details are mostly scattered.

6. Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird

Perfect prose. It’s a simple but fabulous story.

7. Arthur C. Clarke - Rendezvous with Rama

This is an interesting science fiction novel that, much like the Pandora Directive, is here for its comfort food-ness. It’s a tasty little book.

8. Paula Volsky - Illusion

This is the first in her series of books set in her fantasy world. While there’s nothing particularly special about that world, this book stands out as the best, with a character that is eminently easy to empathize with.

9. Kim Stanley Robinson - Red Mars

This is a sweeping epic of a plausible potential future of humanity. It’s hard core science fiction at its best.

10. Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveler’s Wife

I think the author got REALLY lucky with this. She wrote a great book, but I doubt she will be able to repeat the success. This is the greatest romantic story I have ever read.

I want my computer to eventually be handheld. Obviously that is not a comfortable form factor for long term use, so a wireless keyboard and probably external display (or projector, or fold-out display) would be required. Let me repeat: I want ONE device that does everything I need.

This computer would need a minimum of the following features and specs:

• Cell phone
• Digital camera, preferably as good as a basic DSLR
• 200 GB capacity
• 1280 x 1024 display capability, 3D graphics
• WiFi, Bluetooth
• All features of a typical laptop today, with the exception of an optical drive.
• GPS
• Must be light weight
• Several GB of RAM

Alright, one of you go build that for me.

There are many types of professional or skilled jobs which many people think they can do without any training. Besides teacher and business manager mentioned in my post, I’d also suggest writer and politician.

What is it about these jobs that sometimes allows them to be staffed by the untrained? An untrained person can generally not become a doctor. Maybe that’s because the risks are higher?

If the reason is because of higher risk, then maybe you think it’s ok for an untrained person to take those other jobs. If so, what does that say for the training programs for those types of jobs? Are they worthless? Do they impart anything above common sense to the people doing that type of work? Or is everything they’re learning just academic?

Or perhaps it’s because those skills can be learned ‘on the job’. That’s certainly true of many of the things that doctors learn too.

This is leading me somewhere I didn’t quite realized when I began thinking about this article. What is the value of formalized education to the labour market? Can we just hire high school graduates and train them at work? Are degrees and diploma programs too long or too intensive?

I’ve asked enough questions. How about some answers. Anyone?

Вы говорите по-русски? Напишите пожалуйста, мне. Мне нужен упражняться!

————————

I have been learning Russian for one year. I am approaching a new milestone. My Russian will be soon better than my French. I know about five hundred words, and I wrote this article.

Do you speak Russian? Write me, please. I need to practise!