Alright, so I’m heading into the weekend well-armed with movies. I have Star Wars on DVD, Farscape episodes, and a couple of MST3K movies. I may not see the light of day.
Aerodrome news: Black boxes replaced with 50s diners
In the last week at Abbotts Aerodrome, things have been quieter than normal. I’m not sure if that’s because of lingering 1.5 doubts or if people were focused on Burning Life (until it closed). I took advantage of the lull to rip down large chunks of the Aerodrome and replace it with some classic 40s/50s style sci-fi buildings.
Well maybe it turned out more like 50s roadside diner, but I like it anyway. Portholes, rivets, and cheesy deco touches finish off a copper-coloured, rounded building — no more sharp corners to stub your toes on.
I still have more work to do. The Aerodrome Club needs touch-ups in the lobby, the Flight Shop needs walkways and doors, and the elevator needs work. Until it’s done, the ‘drome is open as always.
Hmm
I haven’t posted anything here in a long time.
DVDs by Canada Post
On March 5, I complained that Netflix, the internet video rental service, wasn’t available here in Canada. Well I didn’t have to wait long for someone else to fill the void. In comes Zip.ca, which claims to let you rent an unlimited number movies, four at a time, for about $25/month.
So far, I’ve built a “Zip List” of a couple dozen DVDs that I’d like to see, and I’m very impressed with their catalog. Zip has lots of movies that the local video shop wouldn’t touch (i.e., anything that requires you to think). I especially like their specialty lists (top 25 Canadian films, top international films, etc.) and their sub-categories. The science fiction category has eleven sub-categories! Geek heaven!
Here’s how it works. You create a large list of movies that you’d like to rent. This “Zip List” shows their availability and lets you prioritize them. When the movies are available, they’ll send them out by Canada Post along with a postage-paid return envelope. When you feel like returning them, mail them back, and Zip sends you next movies in your list.
I’ll see if this works out. Already I can see potential problems with ordering multi-part DVDs. I put the first five Farscape discs on my list, but Zip mailed #4 and #5 first. Doh!
The best part for me… no late fees. Ha! Take that, Blockbuster!
40 years inside a cubicle
BoingBoing notes that forty years ago, the cubicle was first inflicted on the office workers of the world.
But Propst’s forward-thinking motives were misinterpreted by some companies, which simply crammed more workers into smaller spaces and took advantage of the system’s huge potential for savings and tax breaks… *
At first the news made me slightly queasy at the thought of generations of drones being stuffed into tiny boxes for their entire office careers. But what would modern offices be like without walls? Without even that much privacy, we’d still have the sweatshop-like typing pool arrangement, where the supervisor watches all the screens for signs of slacking (or blogging).
So really, I’m glad I have my cubicle walls. I only wish they were a little more stylish. And had a door.