Surfin’ Safari

I’ve been withholding my judgement on Apple’s new browser for a few weeks now. But much as I like some of its features (clever bookmark management, innovative page-loading progress bar, speed), I still suspect its rendering engine is wonky. Major case in point: this site. Only in Safari would the entire right column be invisible. It’s not gone, since you can still mouse over the invisible links and the cursor turns into a finger and shows the links. Very frustrating. I don’t know how many of you are even Mac users, never mind Safari users, but for now, I think I’m sticking with Chimera. That is, if the developers don’t throw in the towel first.

For any super-smart web developer-type people out there, any idea what’s going on?

Taxicab Confessions

Last night, due to the -18°C temperatures, Brooke and I decided to take a cab home from my dad’s place. Our cab driver was a young Pakistani guy, who chatted amiably about how he’s completely shocked by the cold weather here. He remarked how in Pakistan, there’s a saying, “May the hot winds never touch you.” He joked how in Canada, it should go, “May the cold winds never touch you.” After living in temperatures that approach 47°C in summertime, he’s having a hard time adjusting.

Since so many cab drivers are often professionals in exile, I asked him what he did before he came to Canada. He said that driving a taxi was his first job, not just in Canada, but ever. Assuming he was just out of school, I asked what he studied. Who knows? Maybe he was an aspiring doctor or engineer. “Not much,” he said, “I mostly just played cricket.” From a life of leisure in sunny Pakistan to driving a taxi in frigid Canada. I wish him well.

Those 70s Shows!

Alternative Strokes – Gary Coleman grows up (in a manner of speaking) to inherit his adopted father’s money. He decides to “give back” by adopting a family of Romanian gypsies. Favourite line: “Whatchu talking ’bout, Baltazar?”

Still in the Family – Gloria and Meathead live with a wheelchair-bound Edith, their son Joey and his boyfriend, and their adopted Chinese clone. The opening song finds Gloria and Meathead strumming a guitar and wishing for the days of Watergate and the Vietnam War.

Welcome Back, Horshack – Ron Palillo comes back as a low-paid teacher to the ghetto school where he was once a “Sweathog.” The school has no running water, and the students pass through a metal detector each morning. Ron tells them jokes and tries to encourage them to become teachers, just like him.

What are some other classic 70s shows that need a modern spinoff?

Naked A-Listers!!!

Ever wanted to see Joe Clark “starkers and covered in baby oil”? Er, even if not, how about a “tiny and kute” Jason Kottke? This page promises them all, “NAKED AND VERY SHAMELESS!”

The above page is actually part of the weblog (What a Cute!) of Natsuko from Ottawa, whose English is, as she says, “not complete”. However, she promises “The Blogging is large! Enjoy my place!” And we will… (via ernie)