Category: Life

I manually added 85 posts to this blog, covering a stretch from November 2003 to March 2005.

This covers the period when I first started blogging. At that time my blog was a text file that I updated by hand on a page from my website. The web server was an old Pentium 200MHz box hidden away in my parents basement. I was using a free dynamic DNS service and the domain nxseal.com at the time.

Then in September 2004, I bought jmcardle.com and started to use some real blogging software called BBlog. I then transitioned to WordPress the following March.

I never archived my posts during these transitions. I recovered all of these by using Archive.org’s Wayback Machine. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get everything. In particular, it looks like there’s a good bit missing between February and September 2004.

Going back on what I was able to save, it looks like I was already ranting on ownership, involved in a few pranks, failing classes, working lots, navigating emotions, and I guess just being your average hacker-y/geeky teenager.

One thing is for sure: this Windows, Icon, Menus, Pointer (WIMP) paradigm we’ve been used to for our personal computing needs is going the way of the dodo.

We’ve seen with the rise of post-iPhone world the rise of intuitive software. It’s intuitive  primarily because these programs have been stripped down to their core functionality. I think ease of use was always something developers strived for, and the iOS shook up just how far one could go with that.

That simplification in my view is a positive, and I think it’s a big reason for why tablets are so quickly replacing laptops. While I’m a big fan of this paradigm, I do wonder where does that leave power users like me. We want those features they’ve been throwing out.

They’re things we need when we develop software, edit videos professionally, or do anything at a level above and beyond what a handful of controls permit. So something more intricate will need to remain behind during this evolution to address those needs, but what shape will that take? That I don’t know.

Microsoft’s solution with Windows 8 is to package in a classic desktop. That works for now, but it doesn’t seem tenable. It’s a touch-hostile interface in a world that’s seeing that become the dominant form of interaction. It’s entirely disconnected from the main product. It does some things just plain worse in how it’s integrated.

Microsoft is in an interesting place, because they’re looking to offer a unified experience whether you’re on the recently announced XBox One, a smartphone, a tablet, or a PC. That’s a great thing to strive for. None of those, except for the PC, are typically thought of as power user territory though – so I can see them not seeking to address these issues and instead continuing to bundle these two very separate experiences with their PC OS.

What appeals more on my end is the approach taken by GNOME. They’ve come up with a hybrid interface that works as well with the mouse as by touch. Meanwhile, while still adhering to the WIMP paradigm, they’ve also embraced simplicity. All their bundled applications are about doing few things and doing them well.

But while GNOME addresses the issue of having both mice and touch screens as input devices, it is not as immediately approachable as Windows 8. It may not ever, given that it’s intended for an audience with more extensive needs.

That doesn’t answer where that leaves power users that rely on Windows. Will Windows continue to be that disjointed product, where the classic desktop takes on an anachronistic place like the command prompt does today? What about Apple? Will their next desktop OS continue the WIMP paradigm?

I don’t know about Apple. They’ve more or less had the same interface since 1984. That could be seen as a quality. Meanwhile, that design is also hostile to interaction through a touch screen, and their iOS powered devices have been immensely popular. So who knows. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to create a uniform experience like Microsoft, nor would I be astonished if they kept their desktop OS solidly in WIMP territory.

I watched the news tonight, which is something I rarely do these days.

They had a piece on the Bank Street BIA, and how they wanted to clean up the place by getting rid of pawn shops, money lenders, and other undesirable businesses. It was going to go well with the new condos popping up everywhere. Fast forward to shots of people, expressing how they want to see high end shops take their place. Not a single dissenting opinion was presented.

The message is clear: poor people are not welcome here. Businesses that cater to their needs are not welcome here. Affordable housing is not welcome here.

What really bothers me is that the lower-income residents here don’t even register as people. They are being driven out of their own neighbourhoods and no one cares. Instead the focus is on how driving them away will make it more convenient for all the wealthier folk taking their homes.

It really bothers me that making areas beautiful is synonymous with this movement to remove undesirables. That’s fucked up. So is our solution to income disparity and income-related issues: ignoring it, and when we can’t, hiding it away so that we then can. It’s like that with the bylaws we passed against squeegee kids and panhandling near some entrances.

And I get that condos are naturally going to come into a downtown as our population goes up, and I get that that will instigate gentrification, and I get that there’s lots at play here. But the attitudes we take as these things happen are emblematic of how we view parts of society, and how we view those with lower incomes is with some pretty fucking bad othering.

So Ottawa won an award for being the most boring city.

Sure, the award was satirical. But the thought it expressed is hardly unique – I keep hearing from people how my town is just plain dull.

This is entirely contrary to the city I know. The city I know is a magical place that always has something going on. Right now, we have Chinatown Remixed, which sees dozens artists from all over invade Chinatown’s various eateries and shops to perform and showcase. Interested in trying new beers and seeing what the microbreweries here are up to? The Gatineau Beer Festival Festibière is on all weekend.

How about an outdoors fire spinning class? That’s on tonight over at Strathcona Park. Tomorrow of course is the Great Glebe Garage Sale. You’ll have an entire community come alive and put anything you can imagine up for grabs. It’s also race day for the Ottawa Race Weekend – go cheer them on! Have some spare time after? How about participating in a protest against Monstanto – that’s on Parliament Hill at 2PM. End your night with some karaoke over at the Shanghai, where you have the fabulous China Doll (below) join in. Or if you’re kinky, you can end the night with a bondage bananza instead. Or any numerous number of other kink events that go on here all the time. I can think of three others for this weekend alone.

Want to relax Sunday? Well how about a trip to Brewer’s Park where you can have a huge breakfast at the weekly Farmer’s Market. Everything is made fresh, and it’s all local. Or how about going to the Byward market? You’ll find it packed with people and vendors.

Then how about popping over to the Minto Park, where the Ravenswing Fair will be happening. Local artists, writers, yoga, workshops, will all be there. It’s also where the Clothesline Project will be taking place to speak out against violence against women.

Want to check out more local artists Sunday afternoon? See what’s on at the Cube Gallery, SAW Gallery, Falldown Gallery, or what the Atomic Rooster has up on its walls. Then how about a maple bacon gourmet doughnut at Suzy Q, or a burger at Hintonburger?

This isn’t even the half of what’s going on. It’s always like this, it’s always all around us. This city is alive and breathing – you just have to pay attention.

I get where the detractors are coming from – this is also a sprawling city, it’s also a wealthy city. You have lots of folks living in the quiet suburbs. The action is downtown. They only commute downtown for work, then retreat to their big screen television at home in the evening.

This city does have amenities to cater to that crowd – museums, movie theatres, malls – but it won’t compete with the likes of Montreal. If that’s what you confine your life to, then of course this city will appear boring.

But if you’re willing to leave that comfort zone, then this city offers one hell of a ride.