Category: General Geek

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Bibliotheque!

I’ve recently had the most amazing epiphany… there is a place you can borrow books, for several weeks, read them and return them. At no cost. I’m serious.

Alright, probably slightly hyperbolic but I’m still amazed at the ignorance I seem to have been in about this topic. Even more exciting is going online to view the library catalog, put your name on a wait list for a title (really want to read The Martian before I see the movie) and then give comments and the like to the “community” that is growing around the library website.

Probably one of the most interesting functions is that they have integrated notifications into their service. Say you’ve put yourself on the wait list for a particular book, like The Martian (which at time of this writing I’m 27th in line for one of twelve copies. Read faster people!). When the book becomes available to you they will send an email to you letting you know that you can pick it up. Additionally, they will transport books from any site in Calgary to any other site in the city for you before you’re notified! I also have two preferred library locations: one by my house the other by my work. I can choose to have the book delivered to one or the other branch depending on if I want to pick the book up after work or if I feel like going for a walk on the weekend to my home branch.

They also have e-resources available and, if you install the Overdrive application (link to the Android version), you can listen to audio books or read digital versions of books right on your mobile device.

Such a great ideas and they really make me enjoy the process of getting a book from the library. I’ll be reading more in the near future in light of how easy the process has become.  If you’re interested in getting a library card, citizens of Calgary can register for your library card here. It’s free and is completed online; once you visit a branch for the first time they will prove your identity via a piece of government ID and issue you a hard copy card. From there you’re free and clear to borrow.

Do it; reading is good for your mind and body.

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PROMOTED!!!

Ok, so if you’re not into Battlefield 3 or 4 then the title of this post is probably nonsense.  I’m embedding the video below for some context.

Funny.

I’ve worked at SAIT for several years now.  After graduation, I was lucky enough to get in with the Commercial Services department which allowed me to gain even more experience with the internal workings of an educational institution as well as spend time working on some of my less ‘programmy’ skills. This included acting as a contracted manager for a medium-sized project creating the groundwork for an internally branded and operated RFID based commerce card.

Continue reading “PROMOTED!!!”

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Canadian Mobile Environment Sucks

So I’m in Europe at the moment with an Google Nexus 4 and my wife carrying a 5. Of course they are both unlocked from a service provider, as all phones purchased from Google are,  and  GSM pentaband so we can go with every mobile provider in Europe.

When we first arrived in France, things were pretty hectic: we were all tired and ready to get into Paris, proper. All of the SIM card options I had researched weren’t available at the Relay store we visited so, with the help of Sly, I opted for a “Tourist sim” which offered a flat two hours of international calling, 1 gig of data and 2000 text messages, all of which would expire after a month. This cost me an exhorbitant 39.95 Euro. But it was definitely convenient and got me what I needed, and more.

Fast forward a week and we’re on the Chunnel train to London. I’m leafing through the train’s monthly magazine and find an offer from Lebara for a free SIM card; I would just have to pick it up on arrival in London St. Pancras Station. Thinking this would be just another way to fleece travelers, I pocketed the voucher I would need to trade for a SIM with a shrug and thought little more of it.

Arriving at St. Pancras, I happened upon the location mentioned on the voucher so I walked up, pulled out my wallet for the inevitable ask and pushed the voucher under the window. The location was a currency exchange outlet, one of the more notorious businesses that savvy travelers tend to avoid. The cashier smiled, looked at the voucher and handed me a package containing a SIM card and instructions on how to top up the account. I tossed the package in a pocket and forgot about it until we found our hotel.

After settling-in, I jumped on the Wi-Fi and setup an account, purchased a data plan (only no need for minutes) and then put 5 quid into the prepay section so I could make the occasional call and text my wife (as she was using the SIM from France). And that’s it. In under 10 minutes I was up and running with a phone that could be used anywhere in the UK for only 10 quid.

No hassle, no walking into a store, no setting up a post paid account. Using only an internet connection I was up and running within 10 minutes with very little monetary investment.

I don’t even want to compare the process for someone that needs to do it in Canada as that whole fucking process just sucks.

This is what happens when a dozen or so competitors (yes, real competition) are vying for your money.

I’ll be using Lebara again if ever I find myself in the UK again simply due to the ease of use.

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Chromecast + Plex: Streaming Awesomeness!

I purchased a Chromecast a few weeks ago and managed to get in on a sale of the Plex software for Android.

The Chromecast by itself is amazing! You can push content to the TV it’s connected to and get a nice HD stream going of whatever it is you can get from Netflix or YouTube or whatever. Now the nice thing with Plex is that you can actually stream your own content from your computer or even a friends computer if they share their library with you.

My bud Bill, who’s out in Toronto area, shared his library with me the other day because he had the Fargo TV series and I wanted to see the damned thing. Loaded up Plex on my tablet, found Bill’s library, started up the first episode and sent it to my Chromecast. Bloody. AMAZING.

Course when I found out that the SDK for Chromecast had been released I was planning on building something similar. No need now I guess? 😉