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By Matthieu, 2011-01-16 00:10

I am currently in the process of cleaning my room. And in two very distantly related events, I came across things which reminded me of the beginning of this decade. 2002 to be exact.

The first was the music video for Avril Lavigne’s “I’m with You”, which I found on YouTube while going about the usual Internet procrastination.

I miss teenage angsty Avril. “Let Go” was so awesome back in ’02. And now we’re stuck with new, “grown up” Avril.

"Grown up" Avril...

The second 2002 artifact is an old Adobe Photoshop 7.0 for Mac CD. Naturally, I figured I’d install it just for kicks rather than continue cleaning, So I whipped out my old 12″ PowerBook G4 (Also from 2002!) and popped the disc in the drive and fired up the installer, only to be asked for a serial number. Now, I have no idea where the documentation or box for this disc are, so I thought “ah crap, I’m stuck!”.

But then, I realized, Google has the answer to just about everything, so why not give that a try. Sure enough:

So I typed it in, and

What do you know, it works! (By the way, I do not condone piracy and bla bla bla. If you really want, I can post a picture of the ORIGINAL Photoshop 7.0 disc. Which I own.)

Those were simpler days, when software was protected only by a string of digits and pirates spoke freely on the message boards, and a short, sassy, Canadian “skater girl” could have international fame.

And this concludes my lame little trip down memory lane.

Edit: Well this is disappointing.

And so was this.

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By Matthieu, 2010-12-18 22:03

QDB: Quote #5273.

<erno> hm. I’ve lost a machine.. literally _lost_. it responds to ping, it works completely, I just can’t figure out where in my apartment it is.

fortune?

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By Matthieu, 2010-12-18 22:02

QDB: Quote #414593.

DragonflyBlade21: A woman has a close male friend. This means that he is probably interested in her, which is why he hangs around so much. She sees him strictly as a friend. This always starts out with, you’re a great guy, but I don’t like you in that way. This is roughly the equivalent for the guy of going to a job interview and the company saying, You have a great resume, you have all the qualifications we are looking for, but we’re not going to hire you. We will, however, use your resume as the basis for comparison for all other applicants. But, we’re going to hire somebody who is far less qualified and is probably an alcoholic. And if he doesn’t work out, we’ll hire somebody else, but still not you. In fact, we will never hire you. But we will call you from time to time to complain about the person that we hired.

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By Matthieu, 2010-12-04 01:33

Hello readers,

First, let it be known that I have no idea where I’m going with this. I just felt like writing. So here.

I just finished watching “Easy A“.I must say, when I first saw the posters and TV spots, I thought “oh god, not another one of those teen dramedies.” But for some reason, tonight I decided to watch it. Maybe it was because my back and abs are in pain from too many sit-ups after too long a hiatus. Maybe it was because I saw the poster again and thought Emma Stone was kind of cute. Maybe it was because I might have seen someone post something about it on Facebook. Maybe it was because of its ambiguous title. In any case, I watched it, and here’s my two cents. Because you all want to hear my opinion. Right?

The movie opens with the customary light rock/pop tune together with some establishing shots of the city of Ojai, California, and its high school. Some beautiful shots, by the way. Really makes me want to visit California. Anyway, the premise of the film is a girl, Olive, who always seemed to pass unnoticed, manages to attract the attention of the whole school after the old rumour mill gets a hold of a little white lie. Naturally, this lie is about sex. I mean, what else would it be? It’s high school, and it’s Hollywood. Sex sells, as they say.

And now, those shots of California. More of my rambling after the break.

Our protagonist sets the scene through a voice-over monologue, sprinkled with humourous remarks, which turns out to be a webcast, sort of a Gen Y take on the classic “This is My Story“. We’re given a who’s who tour of the school and are introduced to the unlikely best friend with large breasts (this fact IS pointed out in the movie, by the way) and the cool teacher. Now I just realized I can’t really say much more without giving up too much plot (and boring everyone), so I’ll keep it short. Smart (pretty) girl feels unnoticed, but is not really unhappy. Besides, she’s above all that angsty teenage stuff and has strangely supportive parents. Happens to tell a lie that gets out of hand, but then decides to run with it because it gives her sort of a rush. Problem arises, stuff happens, presto, a movie.

Not really sure exactly what it is, but I really love this movie right now. Maybe it was the 80’s movie references. Maybe it was the original idea. (At least I think it was original…) Maybe it was the small town, non-LA non-beach view of California. Maybe it was high school nostalgia. Maybe it was the Sylvia Plath reference. Maybe it was the cute, clever protagonist. Maybe it was the 30 Rock-esque product placement.

Anyway. In conclusion, watch it, form your opinion, and make fun of me if you must. Also give me a break, it’s almost 2AM.

And finally, in support of my “cute protagonist” point, some YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9MvUdR6j3w

By the way, I definitely do NOT do this when I’m alone… ahem.

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By Matthieu, 2010-11-26 22:49

YOU SUCK AT POWERPOINT!.

A nicely designed presentation about PowerPoint presentations.

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By Matthieu, 2010-11-23 22:41

So it’s the end of November. Haven’t written a post in the “Life” category in ages. Anyway, finally got my car stuff sorted out, and got my new workstation at work. Helped a few people out, cleaned up my desk, finalized the new FreeBSD-based captive portal… I did manage to miss lunch, which I regret now. I really like hanging out in our depressing little lunch room at work, because while the room might be a bit of a downer, the company is good. Overall, I must say I had a pretty good day today.

Would have been nicer if the temperature didn’t just drop like 20 degrees between 8am and 8pm. Anyway, I suppose it is November after all.

Isn’t it strange that Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving this week? Pumpkins and fall foliage and turkey and all that seems like ages ago for us in Canada. Everything here is cold and frozen, albeit with Christmas just out of sight around the corner. I really could use an apple cider right now.

Another thing I find strange (well not really strange, but kind of wrong) is how Thanksgiving has been turned into another excuse to watch football and go shopping. Black Friday sales anyone? So much for “thanks”.

And what about this Macy’s parade? What’s that all about? This past weekend we had the Santa Claus parade in both Brampton and Toronto (the latter of which I stumbled into whilst on my way to a beautiful choir performance).

My final thought for today: I really need to take to writing more. I’m completely out of practice. Fragmented sentences, unorganized thoughts… ugh. Speaking a random combination of English and French at work can’t be helping either.

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By Matthieu, 2010-11-13 23:17

Was a bit bored, and just set up my Asterisk PBX with outbound calling via Google Voice. As such, I decided to abuse the free calling service to contact a few major American tech companies. Here’s what their IVRs said.

Apple (408-996-1010):

Thank you for calling Apple. We are closed. Apple’s normal business hours are 8AM to 5PM Pacific Time, Monday to Friday. If you are calling for Product Sales, press 1. Technical Support,  2. If you are calling for any other reason, please call back during normal business hours and thank you for calling Apple.

Google (650-253-0000):

Thank you for calling Google! If you know the extension of the person you would like to reach, dial it now, followed by the # key. Press 8 to dial by name. At any time during this greeting Press 9 for the main menu. Most of your questions can be answered by using one of the following 5 options: Interested in advertising, call….

Microsoft (1-800-642-7676):

Thanks for calling Microsoft! Your call may be monitored and recorded. To get started, tell me what you’d like help with. You can say Tech support, pre-sales information, security, partner support, or Call an employee.

I think all 3 of these messages really say what each company’s attitude is.

First Apple. Their message says “We’re closed. Don’t bother us. Call us back at a time that’s more convenient for us here at Apple. Or, if you’d like to buy stuff, press 1. If your Apple stuff is broken, press 2. Otherwise, bug off.” Also, note this message is said in a rather unwelcoming voice.

Second, Google. Their voice is considerably more friendly. And, true to their roots in search/information, they provide you with a bunch of options which hopefully will get you what you want, with the least amount of effort from them or you.

Finally, Microsoft. Again, a happy voice that sounds excited that you called. Then, the legal disclaimer about call recording before anything starts. Also, note the very familiar tone, using words such as “Thanks” and “tell me what you’d like help with”. Very Windows 7. It’s interesting to note this is the only one of the three that uses voice recognition technology. And of course, the menu options correspond to the things Microsoft values most. Tech support (probably for a fee), sales, “security”, and business partners.

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By Matthieu, 2010-10-28 08:49

Note to self: One sausage McMuffin is enough.

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By Matthieu, 2010-10-24 23:27

Stolen from: If Facebook Existed Years Ago.