dryfly.ca started as a website for sharing one of my DIY projects, a stitch and glue kayak. Since then I've added several more projects including a skin-on-frame kayak, cedar strip canoe, kayak paddles, canoe paddles, building a spey rod, and an antenna for receiving OTA HDTV. I also occasionally ramble on about politics, technology, bike racing, product reviews and last but not least, our kids.
Click on the Photo Gallery to lots of my pictures in their full glory, including family, friends, boat building, travels, etc.
Tight Lines!
Archive for February, 2009
February 14, 2009 at 10:11 am · Filed under Sports
This post is sort of a follow up to another post and comments about Lance Armstrong and doping in cycling. It’s a topic that has been discussed to death but even the dead can still be interesting.
First of all, I can say that I haven’t been much of a Lance fan in the past. It wasn’t whether or not he doped but more about how I perceived his approach to racing. As a cycling fan, his approach approach didn’t strike a chord with me. Lance boiled racing done to just one race a year and was precise and mechanical in how he went about it. I suppose those same methods could be equally revered as they can be dismissed. More than just his approach, I didn’t like how Lance’s teams were structured. Consider some of the most important Read the rest of this entry »
February 13, 2009 at 8:01 pm · Filed under Sports
Here’s a wizbang video clip of Lance Armstrong giving it to Paul Kimmage.
Check it out here
Lance makes Kimmage look like a fool. Having said that, it seems that Lance’s campaign against cancer exists partly in order to feed his ego. That doesn’t take away from the importance (nobility?) of the campaign though.
February 13, 2009 at 9:47 am · Filed under Photos, Technology
I just learned about a new application/plugin that people can use for a real snazzy way to present photo galleries. It’s called Cooliris (formerly it was PicLens). Products like Cooliris are so cool that it’s frustrating to know that hardly anyone uses them. You have to check it.
So what does Cooliris do? It takes certains compatible websites and allows the user to view the website/media in a really slick and attractive interface. I think of it kind of like turning your boring browser screen into a cool iPhone type experience. Using it is very easy. Just browse to http://www.cooliris.com/ and click on the green download button. This will install Cooliris on the browser that you are using. If you use multiple browsers, such as internet explorer and Firefox, you need to repeat this download for each one. Once it is installed and you’ve restarted the browser, you’re ready to rock. You should see the blue/green Cooliris box on your browser now, like in the picture below.
Now all you have to do is browse to a website/webpage that is compatible with Cooliris. Here is a list of supported sites for Cooliris. You’ll see that it includes a lot of popular photo websites such as Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, Zooomr, etc. Next time you visit your friends pictures on line, check out Cooliris.
Check out our family photo album -> Browse to it, click the Cooliris button and have at ‘er!
February 12, 2009 at 11:19 pm · Filed under Just Stuff
I can’t say that I’m big fan of the Keynesian “let’s spend our way out of this recession.” stimulus ideas. That’s partly due to my feeling that some people spending some money isn’t going to make a whole lot of difference. The bigger issue is likely the fact that I know almost nothing about economics. Maybe that’s not really a hindrance to the understanding the issue though because I also think there are a lot of economists that don’t understand economics. I guess there is a reason why economics is an arts degree and not a science degree (that isn’t a slight against the arts).
If we’re going to spend a ton of money though, I like what Jim Stanford, Economist for Canadian Autoworkers, had to say. Rather than spend willy-nilly on every little thing possible, which is what the Harper government has proposed, how about Stanford’s idea? He said the following on CBC’s The National.
Let’s have a massive public investment program. I say $20b a year over 5 years. On the environment, clean energy, green cars, insulate buildings, the whole bit. And you’ll get something that you need, to improve the environment, and hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Harper’s plan in comparison is more of a “throw money at everything and hope something happens.” And Harper is supposed to be an economist and pretty smart to boot. My guess is that his economic plan is much more about politics than economics. A give everybody some money and they’ll all vote for you kind of thing.
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