All the talking heads in this presentation kind of scare me but it's interesting to think of how portable everything is becoming and the movement towards making the interface (technically) transparent for the user:
http://www.vodafone.com/flash/futures/
And in a strange mix of art being showcased by a corporation, vodaphone's latest issue of reciever covers wireless network art:
http://www.receiver.vodafone.com/09/index.html
And one more link.... for those hardcore designer's, computer love is a global community of graphic designers who love -- what else -- their computers and design:
http://computerlove.net
Here's a project from my classmates: Open Radio
Stick it to the corporate (and not to mention crappy and unoriginal) radio broadcasters by uploading your own music and tuning in.
(Note: CKLN, CIUT, and CBC are still worth listening to... it's the rest of them that suck)
I'm quite amused walking around Toronto right now... All the would-be chic urbanites are flailing their arms around trying to find their balance in this extra 15cm of snow that we got over the past couple days. Not like I'm doing much better but at least I'm not trying to run around in heels.... woe is the person who puts fashion over warmth.
Three weeks in Regina must have made me crazy about winter because, if Toronto snow wasn't so dirty, I would have been out making a snowman. I even felt like starting a random snowball fight today but decided that I'd rather not risk the chance of picking an "unstable" local.
There was another blackout in Toronto today -- this time it only hit a small area of downtown. Deja-vu.... once again I was (almost) at work. They sent us home and thankfully my apartment building just barely missed the blacked out area by a block... otherwise I'm sure I wouldn't be so cheery right now.
A girl in my class made my day yesterday. Apparently my group's shenanigans of running through the main halls of Ryerson spreading "joy" (see Aligator picture here) actually did make a lot of people happy.
Since she works in the RyeSac office, she heard a couple of veteran Ryerson staff absolutely rave about how this sort of thing doesn't happen often enough and they talked about it all day.
One day, I'm going to see some other person running around in an aligator costume and be like, "Hey, I helped start that!"
... or maybe not.
and be happy.
http://happygator.da.ru
Oh yes, and happy Chinese New Years to all. To all my monkey friends... it's our year. :)
This one's for Ed and Joe. (I won't be making this for obvious reasons.)
Vietnamese Beef and Noodle Soup
Serves 4
Noodle Base:
1. Dip 1 lb fresh flat vermicelli rice noodles into boiling water for 45 seconds to heat through (do not overcook). If you don't have fresh noodles, use about 10-12 oz of dried noodles and cook as indicated on the package. Drain and divide into 4 large bowls.
2. Top with finely sliced pieces of raw sirloin or bottom round steak (or other variants of beef or meat including chicken, pork, or seafood).
3. Finely slice 4 scallions (green onions) and 4 small red onions. Chop 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro. Add the previous and 2 cups of bean sprouts among the bowls.
4. Ladle boiling beef broth (see below) into the bowls and serve with lime wedge, Asian basil or fresh mint, hoisin sauce, and/or chili sauce.
5. Enjoy (but, for goodness' sake, remember to make sure any raw meat is cooked throughly before consuming).
The Broth:
The fresh way would be to bring about 8 cups of water to boil, add in beef bones with enough ginger, salt and garlic to suit tastes. Simmer for about 20 minutes or more (until all flavour is extracted).
Discard bones. Add star anise, cassia, fish sauce, and roasted onions (to taste). Also, add a large chunk of beef brisket to the broth and cook until tender.
The lazy way would be to use any store bought beef broth and add in the above flavourings.
Three weeks in Regina is like going away to a different country.
View first batch of photos from my Woca (they need to be rescanned though).
Week 1:
Arrived Dec. 11th and I was welcomed with blistering -30 degree weather (compared to Toronto's +5 degrees). I promptly bought a scarf.
I also promptly got put out of service with a cold in which coughing made me feel delerious... At least it was the day after my birthday so at least I got some partying in.
Week 2:
On the road to recovery... Weather also warmed up to -10 so it was great.
Did lots of this and that with old friends from high school. It was really nice seeing people that I hadn't seen in 2- 4 years and meeting their friends. Holly, a friend since grade 1, even dragged out her photo albums and keepsakes box which added much humour into the holiday.
By the middle of this week though I felt like I had been in Regina for what felt like a really long time. I double-checked my plane ticket and realized that I had 3 more weeks left in Regina.
I then promptly changed my ticket to leave Dec. 31 rather than Jan 5.
Week 3:
Did more of this and that. I mean, what can I tell you... it's Regina.
If there would have been a Week 4 then I would have had to suffer -55 degree weather since the cold settled back in the day I left. You don't understand how glad I am to be back in Toronto.
Another reason why I'm glad I'm becoming a health freak...
From 120seconds, a few videos on pre-packaged food and sugar.