Author: James McNally

Fame Magnet

I sell computers for one of Toronto’s largest and oldest Apple dealers. Over the past few years, my job has brought me into contact with a lot of famous people, and I usually mention it here. I thought it would be neat to list them all in one place. In no particular order:

And, on a day when I wasn’t there, Michael Caine stopped by for some help with his iPod.

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.