Introducing INARA.ME

Family members have for a while seen pictures of my baby girl via a web site that I’ve been running here at home. Lately I haven’t had very much luck keeping it running all the time though due to some work I’m doing at home. Because of that I decided to get a host and put the site up permanently somewhere. Well everyone I would like to introduce you to http://inara.me Family members that have seen the site will recognize that I’m now using the older directory browser that I used initially. I didn’t write this code, and I haven’t even updated the template even though I probably should. For now, please use this address to view the pictures of my daughter and I’ll update the look and feel later.

Isn't it Interesting?

Isn’t it interesting how some people you thought were good folk are actually arrogant bastards? I’m not talking about the fine ale from Stone Brewing Co. I’m talking about truly, “I’m better than you” attitude. I’ve been silent in my blogs of recent simply because work calls, I’m not sure of the direction I want my blogs to go, and I’ve been wrapped up in the fairly simple nature of Twitter. I have a lot of friends on Twitter that I’ve either met in this wonderful virtual Universe known as the Internet and some that I know from work (both past and present).

The election is over. That alone has made Twitter 95% more bearable. During the election season people that I follow would be really ruthless and overly myopic towards anyone with an opinion that was not their own. However, it truly seemed as though the team that won was a lot more abusive towards the team that lost. Either way it doesn’t matter. I understand that some of the people I know have opinions that are the complete polar opposite of mine. I do not shove my political beliefs down their throat, and a fair number of people that I work with and know well don’t force their opinions down my throat. There is still a fair number of people that haven’t spoken to me since the election, and I think that the fact that I didn’t vote for the winning team is the reason.

This reminds me of my second day at work for Extractable (no hyperlink for a reason). It was election day in 2004. A small group of project managers invited me to have lunch with them. On the way the driver of the car said, “I sure hope nobody in here voted for Bush.” I did not say anything, but that was my undoing since everyone else said, “Hell no!” Being silent tipped her off that I did. What she did next amazed me. She pulled the car over and told me to walk back. She was serious. I guess I’m lucky that her boss was in the car and convinced her that wasn’t nice because walking back to work would have been awful.

I’m getting off track a little. Politics is just one area where people think that just because you have different opinions you must not be intelligent and therefore they should look down upon you like a deformed duck. Some people think they just know everything and won’t consider the fact that anyone is their peer. I run into this a lot simply because I drink the Microsoft Kool-Aid.

I know that sounds a bit strange, but I think it’s true. Just because I like Microsoft and their products doesn’t mean I don’t know how to write standards compliant web sites. Granted this one that you are reading now is a bit past its prime and needs updating. I still program first for IE based solely on the fact that most people using the web use IE. Since when did a democracy mean that the minority rule simply because they yell the loudest? IE is a good browser, as long as we are talking about IE7 or IE8. Even back in the day IE6 was a good browser (BTW that day has long past).

Still that doesn’t quite cover all the people that look down on others. Some just simply think they are better than everyone else. I’m not sure I’ll ever know how to talk to those people. If you are one, I am sorry. Maybe you are just an arrogant bastard.

Maybe Starbucks isn’t Evil

I used to hate on Starbucks like everyone else, but lately I’ve really grown to like them. Why? Recently they made a lot of corporate changes and one of them was that they now have the same coffee every day for regular drip coffee. It is called Pike’s Roast and it is really good. Does that mean that I’ve shredded my Peet’s Coffee and Tea card? No, I still prefer going to Peet’s mainly because all the employees know my wife and I. Although recently it’s become clear they only know me when I’m with my wife, but I digress.

The Starbucks across the street from where I work is a great place. The employees are incredibly friendly, they all recognize me, and one (Amanda) even knows me by my name. The added benefit that every time I order a coffee from them it will taste like the last time I ordered a coffee from them makes me wish the Starbucks closer to home were as friendly as this one.

I’m sure nobody from the Starbucks will ever read this blog, but if anyone out there wants an excellent cup of coffee and some truly great and honestly friendly service I cannot recommend the Starbucks at 701 Battery St in San Francisco enough.

Thank you all for consistently providing excellent coffee and great service.

IE6 Is Now Dead to Me

Hello out there in Internet-land. There is a shocking number of you coming to my web sites using Internet Explorer 6. I don’t think that you realize that a lot has happened in browser technology since August 27, 2001. You see, that date almost 7 years ago is the day that Internet Explorer 6 was released. At the time it was a fine browser, but that time has passed. It is time to move on.

Please note that on this blog, the navigation on the side does not appear in IE6. You may be wondering when I’m going to fix that. The answer is simple, I’m not planning on fixing it. There are 3 other released browsers out there that run perfectly well on the Internet today. I would suggest you download one of them. There are 2 browsers coming in the very near future that will hopefully make massive changes to the way the web works, but most developers still have to account for the lowest common denominator, and that would be you IE6. You are the lowest common denominator.

I drink the Microsoft Kool-aid every single day and even in my sleep, but just like I don’t run Windows 2000 anymore (and only use XP begrudgingly at work) I also don’t use IE6. From this day forward I’m going to take the Apple approach to IE6. If it doesn’t work, oh well. (notice all the transparent PNG’s that don’t work in IE6)

So what browser do I recommend you upgrade to? Well of course I’m going to suggest Internet Explorer 7. You already use IE6, you may as well stay in the family. If you are falling into that trap of the haters out there that say all IE’s are evil (they aren’t) and you don’t trust me on IE7 (although you should) then I suggest Safari 3. “Like OMG! Todd just suggested an Apple product, and now has more links to Apple on this blog than to Microsoft.” Yes, I use Safari. I use it a lot. It’s a really good browser, and I like the way it renders fonts. However, Silverlight is not officially supported on it (the Windows version anyway, the Mac version is supported). Finally, I’ll give you the obligatory link to Firefox. I don’t like Firefox. I used to use it exclusively before they released version 1, but now there are too many fanboys out there that think this is the greatest thing since Tim Berners-Lee invented HTMLD.

So, now you have no excuse. I’ve given you the links, and I’m thinking that sometime between now and August 27 I will just redirect all IE6 users to this blog entry.

Next up, I’ll try and find out why some people are still on Firefox 1.5. There is no reason for that mess either. Upgrade! This is the Internet, anything older than 3 years is ancient.

Zune Software V2.5

A lot has already been written on the web about the 2.x version of the Zune software. Most of it is negative, mostly I haven't had a negative experience with the software, but I didn't use the 1.x software for very long before v2 came out.

Recently an update was released bringing some changes that a lot of people should be happy with. For me though the change that I was pleasantly surprised to find is that when you subscribe to a podcast and play an episode, as soon as that episode finishes the Zune will start the next episode in the series. The previous functionality is that it would just keep playing the same episode over and over again. This is a great little feature and has rekindled my practice of listening to podcasts on the train and during my walk to work.

Nathan Bozeman and Holomove Corp

It seems there is some sort of alternate reality game that started recently. Last year there was one that Microsoft was sponsoring where you had to find the identity of Loki. She turned out to be three separate people and the winner gets to go into space.

Anyway, there's another one that seems fairly interesting. This guy Nathan got a job at a company called Holomove and he inherited an office that used to belong to a now dead scientist. He finds lots of strange things and is determined that something is going on.

If you are interested here's some information to get you started on it. I found this on the Wired blog, and Nathan has his own blog.

Check it out, and who knows... maybe this is sponsored by Google and the winner will go to the moon. ;-) Then again, maybe I am only interested in it because I went to Bozeman, MT for college.

Ubik is Coming Soon

Philip K. Dick is undeniably my favorite Sci-Fi author. His stories have been turned into such great movies as Total Recall, Blade Runner, and Paycheck among others.

One of my least favorite books of his is about to be made into a movie. This book is called Ubik. Ubik is one of those stories that I consider to be daydream Sci-Fi. It begins in a really cool setting and then just starts going out of control. The story is set in 1992 where parapsychology is an accepted practice but it isn't legal so there's a company that goes around and blocks telepaths. This company goes to the moon and that's where all hell breaks loose, and time begins to go the other way.

As with all of Dick's stories, there are some really interesting aspects. For instance the main character has to pay to get out of his apartment, but he's so broke he doesn't have enough change for the door. Also, every chapter begins with an ad for a product called Ubik. Telling you what Ubik is would spoil the ending, but the products are everyday things that you'd recognize only the product name is Ubik. As time continues to roll backwards the products get more classic. This could be an interesting advertising mechanism for the movie, or even a nice diversion within the movie much in the way that Starship Troopers used the "Would you like to know more?" ads within the movie.

We'll see what happens when it comes out. My bet is that it will make me appreciate the book more. In fact just writing this blog entry has made me think about going back to re-read the book.

More info about the movie can be found here:
Philip K. Dick's 'Ubik' Is Heading to the Big Screen

The *Duh* Story of the Day

Great tits cope well with warming

Yeah! I already knew that one... oh.. wait... that tit? Well you know. All tits cope well with warming.

Donnie Darko

Out of nowhere a movie started popping up. There was a director's cut and a lot of people I know were telling me how great it was. That movie was Donnie Darko. I had it on my Netflix queue for a while, but I never bumped it to the top. As a result I deleted it one day when I was cleaning up my queue.

This morning I was in bed trying to get my daughter to sleep when I noticed that it was playing on the Sundance channel. I put it on and now I understand why so many people liked it.

First, any movie that has a clip of "Evil Dead" in it must be good.

Second, the case is amazing. From Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, who many would argue would make for a bad movie but I disagree, to Mary McDonnell, Drew Barrymore (also an Executive Producer on the movie) and Noah Wyle. They all did a super job.

Donnie is a fairly dark boy with a horrifying past. He's seeing a shrink and is on medication. One day he starts to see this deranged bunny who tells him that the world will end in 28 days. The next 28 days are a whirlwind of tragedy and horror. I won't spoil the ending but it is a good one.

This movie isn't a horror movie although it has some elements of horror. This movie isn't Sci-Fi, but you could argue any movie with time travel as a theme is Sci-Fi. This is a thriller and a really good one. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Creative 50 - I work with two of them.

It's been a long time since I've posted. A lot has happened in the past year. My wife and I had a beautiful baby girl. We named her Inara Iris Spatafore. She was born 2 months early, but she is doing incredibly well.

In other news, I quit my job tried to start my own interactive agency, but then I got a call to come work for McCann Worldgroup. Answering that call has been the best career move I've made since I moved out of Montana. Anyway, enough about me. Two of the people that I work with were named to Creativity Online's annual Creative 50. This list of 50 people represent the biggest innovators of the year. Although the list includes the Google founders (I'm not sure what innovations they came up with last year), but it also includes the Coen Brothers.

Here's a link to the profile of the two guys I work with:

http://creativity-online.com/?action=news:article&newsId=125181&sectionId=creativity_50