It came to my attention while writing this piece that it can be summed up with two main points:

• Defaulting to string-based search without some sort of smarts and support for booleans sucks, and:
• Not including features in a mainstream product because you’re afraid it will take money from your upmarket products, when a reasonable number of your mainstream products client base will find something else to use isn’t smart

I’ve been using MS Office (specifically Outlook, Word and Excel) much more than I’d like to the last few days.

These are archaic (totally unrelated, but I’ll use this time to link to a complete stranger’s absolutely awesome blog), poorly designed and completely unfriendly ‘tools’.

The problem is it seems they were spec’ed out 15 years ago, and their specifications were never updated. Like, “Word is a word processor, let’s make it the best word processor we can.” is what they repeat every time a review of the product’s future comes up. In that respect yes, Word is indeed faster and more feature rich than pen-on-paper and the old Panasonic electronic keyboard I had when I went off to University.

It’s also slower, clumsier, less customizable, less powerful and more unusable than it should be, and probably in comparison to a best-of-breed cheaper, freeware or opensource competitor for any task you choose.

I’ll start off by saying that I’ve never taken Word training. I’ve probably had more schooling than the average person in it, and I’ve probably logged more professional hours using it than most. So while I know that some of the limitations I’ve experienced with it are likely possible to overcome, the truth is I don’t know how to do it, and that’s the problem (if the program’s help system was in any way helpful I wouldn’t be complaining – but Windows help is a joke, you get better results asking Google most times).

First off, Word was designed to write documents to be printed out, it’s awesome at that (like WordPerfect, OpenOffice, AbiWord, Google Documents and probably a billion other packages). It sucks at everything else.

Here’s what’s up, the world of documents and document processing has progressed lightyears beyond printing something out on paper. Word might be a great way to type stuff out, but it’s a terrible way to try and read something that isn’t meant to be processed in a strictly linear fashion. Take, for example Microsoft’s own help system, or most online manuals.

My other problem with Word is that it doesn’t even pretend to support any interesting page layout features for fear it takes money away from their horrid Publisher (or whatever it’s called now) product.

With Outlook, why doesn’t it support meta comments? How many times have I thought of something that I want to remember, but don’t want to put it in the body of the e-mail? Lots. For example, say someone asks me to provide them with certain information I’m not sure they should have, and I ask someone else for that information in another e-mail, now I might not want to share that information with the person I’m communicating right off the bad, but I might want to make a note of it in the future, well, how do I do that and attach that note to the e-mail? You can probably do it, but it’s not self-evident (I know, there’s a comments feature for Word docs – Word being Outlooks default HTML client but that isn’t really too user friendly).

For sure Microsoft thinks that such a feature is ‘too CRM-ish’ and they want to keep people from getting such features with their mainstream products, but golly, when the freeware has something you don’t, you’ve got to learn more tricks.

Excel should support more automated rules (like looking for the same text next to a date field to add up a third column, which was a problem I had today) and more intelligence, it’s too hard to program macros and scripts as it is. Also, why on earth does it open a new Workbook (as opposed to Worksheet) whenever you open a file? And why, why does it act as though each Workbook is its own instance of Excel in the taskbar, but close the one running instance of Excel when you close one of the taskbar ‘instances’? That’s terrible design.

Anyway, Microsoft, listen to me. Start researching ways to make your products better. Stop thinking about killing the competition and look at what your customers want to do and design your programs around them. No, don’t look at what your customers want to do and then design your marketing around them, stop saying that version x.x of something supports something and then have it not work.

Or you’ll find that the customers are going to start using the right tools for the job.

Categories: Work
No Comments »

The Globe and Mail, for all its faults is Canada’s only really good national newspaper (I’m including the Toronto Star because its readership is actually larger than either the Globe or the Post).

But I think the Globe’s editorial quality has gone down since it was bought by Bell, which I don’t blame on Bell so much as CTV, which is now under the same corporate umbrella.

CTV is one of those established businesses that lacks any sort of an identity, I can just picture CTV employees showing up for work everyday, doing what they’ve always done and then going home without being given much direction or having much interest in doing things better.

Kind of ‘T.V. network by cruise control’ sort of thing.

But thank goodness they’re still sharp enough to rock the foundations of the world with brilliant analysis like this: ‘Top earners leave larger eco-footprint’ [story]

Those who are well off in Canada are far bigger eco-villains when it comes to harming the environment than those in lower-income groups, according to a study that is the first to try to quantify ecological damage done by Canadians based on income levels.

The study, by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, an Ottawa-based think tank with a left-leaning orientation, found that the wealthiest 10 per cent of the population have about 2.5 times the negative impact on the environment as those in the bottom 10 per cent.

Thanks for the news!

Categories: General
No Comments »

I’m going to quote from The Star’s Ellie column:

Q: I’m 23, an IT professional, with my own place/life/career … all the things that never worked out before. However, though I’m friendly, sociable and never had trouble dating, I now feel “pointed at by lesser men,” as though my peers perceive me having little value/importance, because I don’t have much interaction with others in my age group.

… link

Oh, shut up!

You self-centered, immature, whiny, pathetic self! Sorry! You’re a loser, buddy.

You know how you’re a loser? Because you’re writing into an advice column because you can’t get a date or meet friends! You think that jerks have more lasting friendships than ‘nice guys’? You’re probably not even a nice guy! You’re probably completely insufferable to hang out with, and even to look at! Do you not bathe? Do you talk to yourself? Do you stare at people? If no to those three questions, then it must be because people are picking up on your creepiness, and it’s got nothing to do more socially aggressive people taking all the good friends away.

Humph.

Categories: Controversy
No Comments »

Cito Gaston, the only Blue Jays manager to win the World Series (and he did it twice!) was brought back on to try and rescue this season.

Categories: Sports
No Comments »

This one’s for the women:

1) When your man needs clothes, take him shopping, pick the most attractive clothes out according to his sizes and then buy them.

2) When you need clothes, don’t ask your husband to go with you, he might feel obligated to go and that could create a strain on your relationship. Ask a girlfriend instead.

Categories: Controversy
No Comments »

It really makes me wonder how many of the products I buy are made my slaves.

This story is a really scary look at today’s slavery industry.

• There are more people in slavery now than at any other time in human history.
• Human trafficking has recently been described as “the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world.”

I was always under the impression that it was hard to smuggle a human, but then when you think about it, everyone turns a blind eye to evil at some point or another and feels bad about it probably.

There’s about a million (well apparently 40 million) stories that are similar. This one’s about slavery in the U.S., in a major city.

Categories: The love God has shown me
No Comments »

The songlists I posted earlier, for Singstar 80’s and 90’s were wrong, apparently I put the UK lists there.

Sadly, I don’t have ‘Lovefool’ by The Cardigans, but I do have some other goodies.

Like this one.

If you’re my friend and you unwittingly come over to my apartment, I feel sorry for you already.

I try to discover
A little something to make me sweeter
Oh baby refrain from breaking my heart
Im so in love with you
Ill be forever blue
That you give me no reason
Why youre making me work so hard

That you give me no
That you give me no
That you give me no
That you give me no

Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby please give a little respect to me

And if I should falter
Would you open your arms out to me
We can make love not war
And live at peace in our hearts
Im so in love with you
Ill be forever blue
What religion or reason
Could drive a man to forsake his lover

Dont you tell me no
Dont you tell me no
Dont you tell me no
Dont you tell me no

Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby please give a little respect to me

Im so in love with you
Ill be forever blue
That you give me no reason
You know youre making me work so hard

That you give me no
That you give me no
That you give me no
That you give me no

Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby please give a little respect to me

Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby please give a little respect to me

Categories: Games
No Comments »

The Chans have to see Indy 4 soon because I’m dying to write my review.

Oh yeah, and I’m really upset. The track lists I put for the Singstar games is wrong. I must have put the UK track lists.

‘Lovefool’ isn’t in either of the games I bought, it’s not in the Singstar POP package either.

I feel so sad

Categories: Games
No Comments »

I picked up the Singstar 90’s bundle, and Singstar 80’s.

Who wants to come over and hear me sing ‘Lovefool’ by The Cardigans?

My new best friend, Ricardo Montalburns e-mailed me to tell me he’s coming over to test it out.

Here’s my tracklist of karaoke win:

Billy Ocean — Caribbean Queen
Billy Joel — Uptown Girl
Blondie — Heart of Glass
Culture Club — Do You Really Want to Hurt Me
Cyndi Lauper — Time After Time
Dead or Alive — You Spin Me Round
Dexy’s Midnight Runners — Come on Eileen
Duran Duran — Rio
Erasure — A little Respect
Europe — The Final Countdown
A Flock of Seagulls — I Ran
Foreigner — I Want To Know What Love Is
Kim Wilde — Kids in America
Madness — Our House
Madonna — Material Girl
Men At Work — Who Can it Be Now
Nena — 99 Red Balloons
The Pretenders — Brass in Pocket
R.E.M. — Stand
Run-D.M.C. — It’s Tricky
Simple Minds — Don’t You Forget About Me
Soft Cell — Tainted Love
Squeeze — Tempted
Starship — We Built This City
Survivor — Eye of the Tiger
Tears for Fears — Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Thompson Twins — Hold Me Now
Tina Turner — The Best
Twisted Sister — We’re Not Gonna Take It
Wham — Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
ALL SAINTS – Never Ever
AQUA – Barbie Girl
B-52’s – Love Shack
BARENAKED LADIES – One Week
BILLY RAY CYRUS – Achey Breaky Heart
CRASH TEST DUMMIES – MMM MMM MMM MMM
DIVINYLS – I Touch Myself
EMF – Unbelievable
GIN BLOSSOMS – Hey Jealousy
LISA LOEB – Stay
MC HAMMER – U Can’t Touch This
MEREDITH BROOKS – Bitch
M PEOPLE – Movin’ On Up
NATALIE IMBRUGLIA – Torn
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK – Step By Step
NICK CAVE & KYLIE MINOGUE – Where the Wild Roses Grow
POISON – Unskinny Bop
RADIOHEAD – Creep
REM – Everybody Hurts
ROACHFORD – Only to be with You
SAVAGE GARDEN – I Want You
SEAL – Kiss From A Rose
SIR MIX A LOT – Baby Got Back
SPICE GIRLS – Wannabe
SPIN DOCTORS – Two Princes
TECHNOTRONIC FEAT. FELLY – Pump Up The Jam
THE CARDIGANS – Lovefool
THE CRANBERRIES – Zombie
THE CURE – Friday I’m In Love
WET WET WET – Love Is All Around

Categories: Games
No Comments »

I missed last Saturday night’s Wii Fit session because I went to James’ house to help him build a shed.

We didn’t get very far because between the three of us (Ryan was there too to lend a hand) we didn’t now how to use the auger.

We ended up making a pair of trips to Home Depot for concrete, 20 bags (each trip) of 30kg each. I did my fair share of the lifting and moving of said bags, so that was probably a pretty decent workout right there.

Lunch consisted of about 1,000 calories of Ramen, and I drank too much Coke throughout the day.

When I got home (after a big meal of fajitas at the Chanses) I hit Wii Fit, my initial weigh-in put my Wii Fit age at 55!!!!! And said that I’d put on 4.4lbs. from my previous weight (which put me back over 198lbs.)

Wowzers!

I did a complete working (not skipping any of the exercises I’ve already unlocked) and after that did another Body Test, which made me feel slightly better saying I’d lost 1.1lbs. off the previous weigh-in from before the workout and have my Wii Fit age at 44.

Categories: Wii Fit Diary
No Comments »