Computers fail; often. And if they don’t fail, they get stolen. And if they don’t get stolen, they get lost. And even if you backup, how often does that backup work. I use a Mac, and every so often I’m reminded why I use a Mac. It gets out of my way and just works, [...]
the cheap scottish bastard
he writes about stuff.
Author Archives: Travelling Trini
Corded Phones
My NT Vista 350Northern Telecom Vista 350
Growing up in Toronto in the 80s and 90s meant that my telecom provider at home was Bell.
While you used to be able to buy phones, you also could rent them. For numerous reasons (mostly because Bell was a corporate brother to Northern Telecom) Bell had “NT” phones.
And damn, those phones were good. I should say ARE good.
Google Voice
Google purchased a company many years ago called Grand Central, an aptly named company that gives you a new phone number, performs a few tricks and goes a long way to making your choice of phone company irrelevant. Not available in Canada (yet) and available in an invitation only mode in the US, Google Voice [...]
“Mobile” Web sites for the masses
I still don’t like most web-sites. Most of them seem to forget usability in lieu of eye-candy. As a traveller I often notice travel web-sites more than most. There are some serious offenders from good design rules. Why is it more difficult to get a flight status on Air Canada’s website than search for a [...]
Canada – It Just Works
My country was founded on a principal of “Peace, Order, and Good Government.” Seeing my country celebrate it’s birthday a few weeks ago reminded me of an article from the Toronto Star during last year’s federal election. Stephen Harper, then Prime Minister, but in the middle of an election run, attended his high school reunion [...]
Labeling the paper towel dispenser
As a very frequent traveler, I see a lot of paper towel dispensers. Most of them represent the worst in design. A good designer can make even complex mechanical objects simple to use. But why is this so rarely applied to paper towel dispensers? I have a rule, if you need to label a paper [...]
The ‘splash stick’
I work in a part of the world where neither Tim Hortons or Second Cup is to be found. I’m thankful for Starbucks as a result. I love my coffee. Another feature of the part of the world where I work is bad drivers and pot holes. Starbucks finally introduced the “Splash Stick” to this [...]
RCMP’s Gun Control Method
I read an interesting article in a newspaper a while back about a simple method of gun-control being used in some towns in Northern Canada. Gun-owner’s protest often decry any attempt to control what they believe to be a right: “To own a gun”. Which for the most part is legal in Canada. And one [...]
It Just Doesn’t Work – Furniture Sales
Sometimes the Travelling Trini does rather domestic things. This weekend involved buying a new ‘sectional’. (A chesterfield with a curve for those Canadian’s that are following along.) Maybe I am thick or I am giving away the next great business idea here. The Travelling Trini’s lovely wife and I visited several stores, some with international [...]
The best RSS News Feed Reader!
The Travelling Trini is travelling today, to Trinidad.
As I passed through the airline lounge lobby I was reminded of the best RSS reader, ever!
This RSS reader has solved almost everything that drags down most readers. It prioritizes, reflects local priorities, has incredibly relevant advertising, appropriate pictures and diagrams, is divided itself into multiple sections, never duplicates news items and can be read ‘during take-off and landing.’