The UWO Alumni Gazette online
As a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, I receive their alumni publication. The latest copy touts that they are moving to making it an online publication. I'd much rather get an online version than a paper copy, so I opted to check out the online version.
The online publication is a disappointment, to say the least. The version I was pointed to is a Flash application that simply recreates the printed version, complete with the need to turn pages.
Here is a letter I sent to the editor summarizing my thoughts on the matter.
Looking at the online version of the Alumni Gazette as pointed to by a letter I received with my print copy, I was struck by the disappointing realization that the Alumni Gazette team has missed a web truism: online is not print.
The online version I was pointed to is two things: an Adobe Flash application and, to be blunt, an abomination of web publishing. Flash applications that display the exact printed version of a publication are not a good way to publish online content. The problems with Flash publications have been well documented, but let me reiterate a few of them for emphasis.
First, there is no way to (easily) cut and paste text from the articles. This discourages sharing. It also inhibits simple text searches using built-in web browser functionality; instead, it makes you rely on (often inferior) searches supplied within the Flash application.
Second, the display of the text almost assuredly requires you to zoom in, which means that instead of simple vertical scrolling to view more text, you're forced to navigate horizontally as well. Further to this, recreation of print means columns, which are great on paper, but awful on digital screens since, again, vertical scrolling is the norm.
Finally, Flash on any platform but Microsoft Windows is slow. Very slow.
Flash has its uses, but distributing textual content is not one of them. As tempting as it may be to recreate the look of print on the web, it has never worked — they are fundamentally different mediums (ask newspapers and magazines). I was encouraged by the fact that all the articles for the same publication are available in more web-friendly format on the Alumni Gazette's website. Enhancing that format is a wiser course of action for the future and should be examined more closely by the publication team.
Incidentally, I tried the search in the online publication and it was useless. For example, I searched for "print" and got no results, even though there is an entire article devoted to the print industry.
The sad fact here is that the university either didn't seem to do their research or feel that reproducing the printed version of something verbatim for online consumption is acceptable.
Welcome to Telus, where printing is a problem
Here are the instructions from Telus on how to print information about your airtime detail (among other things) when viewing your bill online.
How to print (Mac)
- Simultaneously click "Command", "Shift" and "4"
- Click and drag to select your desired area and release
- Open the document that will be created on your desktop and print the image.
And here it is, straight from the horse's mouth (and I even used their instructions!).
What this means, of course, is that I can't print multiple pages of airtime minutes without taking a screenshot of each page. It should also be mentioned that the records appear within an IFRAME, so it has its own scroll bar and I can't resize it. And of course, a page of records doesn't fit within the frame correctly...
Is it any wonder Canadians don't care for their cell phone companies and we're desperate for some real competition?
(Hey Telus, If you're going to make me print the screen, why not at least provide the option of viewing the frame in another window or tab while you're at it?)
Study one thing well, then branch out
Since finishing my doctorate and starting a non-research oriented position, continuing the work from my thesis has been difficult. This is because I don't have much time to devote to it. Much of my research time consists of me ruminating on subjects while driving.
When I do have time to read, I've found it much more fruitful to branch out and study some other topics besides computer science. Two of those have been physics and economics.
Even reading introductory texts on the subjects have provided me with a wealth of ideas. My doctoral work got me very deep into a single thing, even though I tried to diversify in some ways. Branching out to other subjects just to get the big ideas has helped "connect the dots" in ways I had not considered (showing me that I wasn't as diverse in my ways of thinking as I thought!). I'm going to be so bold as to say I doubt I would connect those dots were it not for the fact that I read something in both physics and economics.
What I draw from this is that it is helpful to study one thing in depth, but then branch out and study other things. This is not a revelation, but I think it is important to note.
How the media was useless to me in this election
The most depressing part of this election was how I could not get useful information about it from the media.
This is probably best illustrated by example. When listening to CBC the day after the Liberals announced their platform, I heard a report that told me Stéphane Dion unveiled it in Calgary and how it's a tough sell out west. They talked to some Liberal party supporter about the Liberal's chances to win a seat in Calgary. (The answer was "not good".)
Let's review: the Liberal's unveil their platform — the set of policies they will seek to enact if elected — and the report I get tells me absolutely nothing about the platform and focusses on its presentation.
Stories about the campaign itself, poll results and discussions about "battleground ridings" and what they meant to the parties were the most prominent stories I heard and read about during the campaign. The day of the election, all the reports I heard were about how good or bad the leader's campaigns were. Just to pick another example involving the Liberals, the analysis I heard yesterday on CBC was how Dion did not do a good job explaining the Green Shift.
Again, nothing about the Green Shift itself and how it might influence me were it to be enacted, but instead how Dion failed to sell it. In fact, I cannot recall a single report that told me much about any of the party's policies. (That said, the party's didn't exactly release their policies that quickly.)
But then again, politics isn't really about policy, is it?
Next election, I'll wait for the parties to release a platform and stay away from news about the election even more than I did this time around.
Three weeks with a smart ForTwo
Due to work considerations (such as actually getting there), I recently bought a 2008 smart ForTwo coupe. I've been driving it for almost three weeks and it's been a blast.
The main reason I got the smart was for its fuel efficiency. I have to drive almost 200 kilometers to get to work and back home, and I do this three times a week. I get about 5.1 L/100km, which has worked out to about 550 km per tank. Although it is highly recommended you use high octane fuel for the ForTwo (yes, the 2008 is not a diesel engine), it still doesn't cost as much to fill as a Toyota Yaris, for example, since the smart only holds about 33 liters (28 to fill, usually).
I'm very happy with the smart so far and I'll be posting some comparisons on its fuel efficiency to our other car in the near future. I'm a bit obsessed with reducing my energy usage, even though I'm stuck in the position of commuting a long distance right now, although I plan on reducing that distance in the near future.
Reflecting on my thesis
On Monday I successfully defended my PhD thesis entitled Structuring data via behavioural synthesis. My thesis looked at ways to derive the structure of data given the behaviour of a system. That is, by studying the actions of a system you can determine the structure of the data objects it uses.
It's been a long, hard road getting to the this point. I started my graduate work six and half years ago (January 2002) and started out working in bioinformatics. I then got the itch to work with programming languages and the work finally led me to examine the dynamic elements of programs. In particular, I got interested in context-oriented programming.
Only work from the last two years actually made it into the thesis. While that may seem to indicate the previous four and a half years was a waste, nothing could be further from the truth. The steps leading to the work I did were important because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had the background I did without making various mistakes and missteps along the way. Ideas evolve and rarely spring into being, and I think some of the ideas I examined were greatly helped by making the mistakes I did.
Richard Gabriel was my external examiner. I cite him in my thesis and his work motivated me to look at what I did. Needless to say, I was a little nervous. However, he asked some great questions and got me thinking about where to take the work a bit more. I will certainly be exploring different avenues with it.
I want to thank all my friends who have been supportive of me over the years. You have been a big help in keeping me sane. In particular, I want to thank Ren, Greg, Ian, Adam and Les.
I don't say I'm proud of very much, but I'm proud of my thesis. I put a lot of work into it and went through a lot of stress to get it written. Even if no one else ever reads it, I'll be happy with it.
When I have the revisions complete, I will post a link to the thesis. (Some people may like the first two chapters, actually.) I'd rather not provide a version that requires changes. I'll also work on posting it in HTML rather than PDF, since I'm sure few people will want to print it.
A poor argument against critics
Bruce Corcoran doesn't see much point to film criticism, particularly when it comes to children's films.
We’ve all seen it. Critics review Disney or DreamWorks animated movies. “Kung Fu Panda” and “WALL*E” are two of the latest victims. Critics had issues with the fact one went for looks over plot depth, and said the other had a weak story line.
Bruce apparently missed the fact that both films are getting good reviews and WALL*E is considered to be a masterpiece of storytelling. He also doesn't seem to understand that a critic's job isn't necessarily to judge whether a children's film is good for children or not. A decent critic will consider the notion when writing for the local paper, but not when considering the merits of the art form. His point amounts to the fact that people have a difference of opinion.
And really, children are more sophisticated than he may think. I, for one, saw through the Earnest movies and related ilk when I was a kid. I only wanted to see them so I wouldn't have to take part in church-related activities.
Distressing events and the mob mentality that follows them
Out in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Penny Boudreau is being charged with the first-degree murder of her daughter, Karissa. The death of Karissa was distressing enough, but the fact that these incidents are rare in the town gets people riled up.
It seems, however, that a fair number of people out in Bridgewater don't seem to understand the concept of innocent until proven guilty. At a brief court appearance recently, people gathered outside decided to taunt her. Stuff like, "Kill some more kids!" and "Child killer!". Even worse was the comment by someone about the trial that, "It helps to us to rest, to give us a little peace."
I hate to break it to these people, but the police don't arrest only the guilty, nor are the guilty the only people who get charged with crimes. Just ask Anthony Hanemaayer, who was recently exonerated of a crime he was implicated in over 20 years ago. The crime? Attempted rape of a 15-year old girl. Who really did it? Paul Bernardo, who confessed last year — and they just exonerated the guy now. How about Guy Paul Morin, if you're interested in high-profile cases.
This kind of attitude shows why there is a system of law set up in the first place. People judging ahead of time should be ashamed of themselves.