Blog: Articles from January 2008

I have a lot of projects going on all at once. I’m coding VSNS Lemon, trying to code another site, managing a couple of other sites, trying to redesign this site, doing support at InvisionFree/ZetaBoards—and that’s just in my free time. I’ve also got school and work to balance. So time management is a big deal for me. Unfortunately, I‘m the sort of person who, instead of doing the things on his to-do list, spends his free time finding shinier ways of creating to-do lists.

Now my hunt is over. Today I came across the neatest little site for making to-do lists, and I am very satisfied. Todoist is an excellent example of how one person can turn a personal need into a useful service. I did something similar when I first made VSNS Lemon, although on a smaller scale. Since I don’t have the time to create a task management application, I‘m very glad Todoist exists.

The interface makes use of well-designed JavaScript to be both flexible and intuitive. There’s keyboard shortcuts, but most of the functionality is obvious, so you don’t have to worry about getting lost. The best part, though, is how you can organize your tasks. Not only can you group them into projects, but you can group them into multiple sub-projects, organize tasks into hierarchies within a project, add non-task type notes to your tasks—basically, you can organize everything precisely how you want it to represent your task structure. Since I have multiple unrelated projects going on, this is what made my day.

Getting it set up was really easy. I registered and was able to start immediately. I did watch the screencasts, and they were helpful, but not totally necessary to using the site.

Hopefully now that I have Todoist, I can keep track of what I need to do and use my time more efficiently. Less time spent saying, “Gaaah, I have so much to do!” at least.

I learned today that Gmail offers free IMAP access now (they have for awhile, but I’m out of the loop, I guess). I wub Gmail in general. I forward all of my email accounts to my main Gmail account—except for my university account, which is separate. Using Gmail for their email system was, incidentally, the smartest technical decision my university ever made.

However, up until tonight, I‘ve been using POP to view my messages in Thunderbird. For those of you unfamiliar with mail protocols, POP lets you download messages off a server, but you can’t really interact with them. This means that if I download a message off Gmail in Windows, for example, then when I go to Kubuntu and open up Thunderbird there, the message will have already been marked read and sent to Gmail’s archive. There are various settings I could have played with, but in the end, IMAP is the way to go.

IMAP, unlike POP, keeps the message on the server and lets you modify it on the server. Now that Thunderbird accesses my accounts through IMAP, I have access to every single message in my Gmail account—not just the ones I‘ve downloaded onto my computer. My folders and filters can sync up now, so if I move something through Thunderbird, it moves in Gmail too. That means that if I have to login in from another computer, my email’s all organized in Gmail.

I‘m quite excited to be using IMAP with Gmail. Thank you Google. You have my vote if you ever try to take over the world (or is this a sign that you’re already doing that?).

Update: This article at LifeHacker was a big help in getting the most out of Thunderbird/Gmail/IMAP.

I’ve finished Sandworms of Dune, the final installment of the Dune saga. Originally conceived by Frank Herbert, who wrote six novels before his death, his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have written six prequels based on the material left behind by Herbert. Since then, they tackled the challenge of completing the famed “Dune 7”, the conclusion of the story arc begun in Chapterhouse Dune. This book they split up into two: Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune.

I love the Dune saga. It is perhaps my favourite serious science fiction novel, because it’s just written so well, and it’s so wonderful to read. The prequels will never be as good as Frank Herbert’s original works, even if they are based on his notes and plot ideas. I like Kevin J. Anderson as an author—but that’s one problem. The books have more of Anderson’s voice than Herbert’s. They are pale shadows compared to the original six novels—enjoyable, but not as fulfilling. I experienced the same problem with these last two sequels, and now that I‘ve read the conclusion, I must say that I’m disappointed.

Spoiler warning below.

So basically in Sandworms of Dune, it is Dune meets The Matrix. I’m not kidding—all the parallels are there. You’ve got the thinking machines waging a war against desperate humanity. They have two avatars: the Oracle, a woman; and the Architect, a man. Both of these avatars are independent machine personalities. In Dune, you’ve got Erasmus and Omnius, respectively. Then, you have Duncan Idaho as the Kwisatz Haderach—the Dune universe’s version of the One. Those of you who have seen The Matrix Revolutions can guess what happens next: rather than destroying the thinking machines, Idaho bridges the gap between humanity and machine. To put it in his terms, instead of choosing victory, he chooses peace.

I was fairly disappointed with most of the novel’s plot. It seemed like a contrived series of deus ex machinae. While a miracle plot twist at the right moment can do wonders, when used too often—or too fantastically—it begins to be hard to believe. The entire characterization of the thinking machines was just so cliche—a word that I cringe using, but it applies here. Erasmus is delightfully sociopathic; Omnius is completely megalomaniacal. But I got no enjoyment from watching the Oracle of Time defeat him in the face of his bluster—I wanted to, but I didn‘t. After that event, the book continued its sharp turn downhill. It felt like it took way too long to end, even though one of my complaints is that it didn’t tell us enough about how the universe changed after Kralizec. Also, it seemed like the authors were in a hurry to just dispose of each character now that the climax was over. Leto II just climbs into a worm. Waff dies on Rakis. So what?

Even if this is the ending that Frank Herbert intended, I‘m still disappointed. :/ Sandworms of Dune is a conclusion, yes, but it is a plodding one that beats at the same tired old themes with no new revelations. It lacks the descriptive genius and scope of Frank Herbert’s original novels, and Duncan Idaho is not as cool as Neo.

I had a very good day today. Everything just seemed to go well. Sure, there were some rocky moments—I got stuck behind a tow truck trying to hoist a vehicle on two separate occasions—is that weird or what? But I won’t let that ruin the rest of the good moments.

If you come up to a group of people waiting outside a room, don’t assume they‘re waiting because the door is locked. Until you actually try the door yourself, you don’t know it’s locked—maybe the first person to show up didn’t try it, and people just followed along. That’s what happened today at my English class. I’ve learned this lesson before, however, so I tried the door—and it was unlocked. I turned on the lights, and the rest of the class followed me in. Now all we need are textbooks.

I had a pleasant lunch with my dad, then I submitted my passport application. The person at the passport office told me that everything was in order, so I’ll get my passport in a couple of weeks when they do their next mail-out. Since we’re already required to travel to the U.S. with a passport if we fly, and we’ll soon have to do the same if we drive (currently you only need a birth certificate and photo I.D. if you drive, but that will change soon), I figure it’s prudent to get my passport as soon as possible.

We got PVR! My dad and I bought a new Toshiba HDTV for the living room on Saturday, and today my brother and I set up the PVR box. We got it working literally just as JPod premiered on the CBC. For those of you not up on your Canadian content, JPod is a novel by Douglas Coupland, who is a superb author. JPod, the spiritual sequel to his earlier Microserfs, is about a core group of employees at a fictitious computer game company. They’re a work pod (the “JPod”) and spend most of their time fooling around instead of doing actual work. The main character’s mom runs a marijuana grow-op from her basement. Tim, a rather shady character, attempts to intimidate her for money, only to trip and electrocute himself in a puddle of water. So Ethan, the main character, must help his mom dispose of that body. Only it’s never quite so simple. That’s the reason I love JPod. It’s irreverent, funny, sarcastic, and it’s light-humoured sometimes, but very dark at others. I can’t wait to see how the series compares—Douglas Coupland is writing and producing, so I have high hopes. The first episode covers from the beginning until when Ethan brings one of his workers over to his apartment (the new girl, Katelyn, who just wants to get out of JPod) only to find that his brother has set up a number of illegal immigrants there… . Joy!

PVR is way awesome. The whole pausing/rewinding TV is a very attractive option. Now all we need is our new TV to arrive, and we can actually begin watching high definition television. :O Until then … well, I have a lot of work to do. Good night.