Richard Smallbone

Findings from A List Apart’s Web Design Survey. People who are interested in this kind of thing will find that it’s the kind of thing they’re interested in. I participated in this survey, so it may indicate that web design in Southwestern Ontario is conducted mostly without pants.

Excellent ad for Citroën. Link from Moleskinerie.

Sarah’s back. I enjoy her character illustrations. Check her out.

My Friend, Steve Fossett by Richard Branson

This column predicts that the Wi-Fi at Starbucks will soon be free. I find a couple of things interesting about this. One is that I actually wasn’t aware that Starbucks had Wi-Fi, or that it was un-free (I guess I’ve never taken my laptop to Starbucks). The other is that anyone would pay for the Wi-Fi anyway, since in most areas where there’s a Starbucks, there would presumably be an unprotected wireless signal nearby. I prefer to use the free Wi-Fi that’s available in most residential areas. It usually goes by the name “Linksys” or “Default”.

We’re getting a new holiday! If you live in Ontario, you’ll now be getting the third Monday of February off as Family Day. I’d like to state now that I will be celebrating Family Day by dropping the kids off at their grandparents and getting drunk at a strip club.

Al Gore has won half a Nobel Prize (I wonder if they’ll take turns; weekends and holidays will have to be figured out in advance.) I’m surprised. I would have thought it would have gone to Bush and Cheney for spreading peace and democracy throughout the world.

I caught part of Spark this weekend on CBC radio, and grabbed the podcast later that night (not sure if this is available worldwide or just in Canada. You can listen online from anywhere.) They talked to the folks from Satisfaction, and to Khoi Vinh of subtraction, one of my favourite blogs. It’s like the real world is finally catching up to my online wanderings. I also love that they use Creative Commons songs and audio effects.

This is my second Fake Steve Jobs link in a row, but this headline is possibly the best written on the internet ever: People say we’re getting arrogant. My response? Fuck off, stupid.
“I’m not arrogant. I’m smarter than everyone else, and I have better taste. That’s not arrogant. It’s just true.”

The new Zunes (or “Shit Bricks” as we call them at Apple)

Greenwash: a term that is used to describe the actions of a company, government, or other organization which advertises positive environmental practices while acting in the opposite way.

This is an old tip, but new to me. You can have multiple start pages in Firefox by separating any number of URLs with a pipe (that’s the vertical line above the backslash for those of you just heading out to the garage looking for a metal tube). An easier way is to just open the pages you’d like to use in multiple tabs and in Firefox preferences select “Use current pages” for your start page.

Guitars made from decommissioned AK-47’s.

Apple design - inspired by Braun. Link from Airbag.

Apple has relaunched their online store using web standards and accessibility goodness. All that and good looks too.

Gen. Pace says homosexuality “in my upbringing, is counter to God’s law.” You’d think a General would have the balls to just come out and say that he’s a bigot, rather than trying to hide behind his religion. Why not just say “God hates fags.”

Through the Viewfinder: A Tutorial. Taking photographs using the viewfinder of another camera.

Gruber on Amazon MP3. “Given the Amazon MP3 Store’s audio quality, prices, and user experience, I can’t see why anyone would buy DRM-restricted music from iTunes that’s available from Amazon. And given that Amazon is quite a bit cheaper than iTunes Plus, you might as well check Amazon first.”

Amazon MP3 vs iTunes. Review on TUAW.

Mystery hamster in epic voyage. Link from mimi smartypants

“It’s just not OK anymore to mock Christians and Jesus with impunity.” What? When did this happen? I guess it’s time to take the Darwin fish off the minivan. Or, as I like to call it, “The MockJesusMobile”.

The Evolution of Sugar Bear. Karen bought a Jumbo box of these for the kids the other day. They’re almost all gone and I don’t think the kids have had any. Link from drawn!

Starbucks cups aren’t recyclable. I think the cardboard sleeves are, though. At least I hope so, I always toss them into the blue box.

This is a great story. Link from Seth Godin’s blog.

Ergonomic keyboard for pirates

“A cross between horseshoes and sodomy”
Worth it for the title alone.

Purple-eyed Sock Zombie

Beautiful video. Link from design*sponge

This is EXCELLENT

Open Letter from Steve Jobs to iPhone Owners
“I’m sorry, baby. I still love you. Can we give it one more chance?”