EuroRoss Update Central
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
Chicken Fingles
I just completed an experiment testing the limits of human consumption... I just ate a whole box of 30 freezer chicken fingers. I don't know if my stomack is about to explode or if the shear mass of chicken nugglettes in my stomack is going to colapse into some kind of rooster filling black hole and implode. Mommy.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Urges: Men vs. Women
A hilarious joke on the "Sexual Urges of Men and Women":
"I never have quite figured out why the sexual urges of men and women differ so much. And I never have figured out the whole Venus and Mars thing. And I never figured out why men think with their head and women think with their heart. And I never yet have figured out how the sexual desire gene gets thrown into a state of turmoil when it hears the words "I do."
One evening last week, my wife and I were getting into bed. Well, the passion starts to heat up, and she eventually says, "I don't feel like it. I just want you to hold me." I said, "WHAT???"
So she says the words that I and every husband on the planet dread. She explains that I must not be in tune with her emotional needs as a woman. I'm thinking, "What was her first clue?" I finally realize that nothing was going to happen that night, so I went to sleep.
The very next day, we went shopping at a big, unnamed department store. I walked around with her while she tried on three different, very expensive outfits. She could not decide which one to take, so I told her to take all three of them. She then tells me that she wants matching shoes worth $200.00 a pair to which I say OK. And then we go to the jewellery department where she gets a pair of diamond earrings.
Let me tell you. She was so excited. She must have thought that I was one wave short of a shipwreck, but I don't think she cared. I think she was testing me when she asked for a tennis bracelet because she does not even play tennis. I think I threw her for a loop when I told her that it was OK. She was almost sexually excited from all of this, and you should have seen her face when she said, "I'm ready to go to the cash register."
I could hardly contain myself when I blurted out, "No, honey, I don't feel like buying all this stuff now." You should have seen her face. It went completely blank. I then said, "Really, honey, I just want you to HOLD this stuff for a while."
And just when she had this look like she was going to kill me, I added, "You must not be in tune with my financial needs as a man."
I figure that I won't be having sex again until some time after the Spring of 2008 but godammit it was worth it."
"I never have quite figured out why the sexual urges of men and women differ so much. And I never have figured out the whole Venus and Mars thing. And I never figured out why men think with their head and women think with their heart. And I never yet have figured out how the sexual desire gene gets thrown into a state of turmoil when it hears the words "I do."
One evening last week, my wife and I were getting into bed. Well, the passion starts to heat up, and she eventually says, "I don't feel like it. I just want you to hold me." I said, "WHAT???"
So she says the words that I and every husband on the planet dread. She explains that I must not be in tune with her emotional needs as a woman. I'm thinking, "What was her first clue?" I finally realize that nothing was going to happen that night, so I went to sleep.
The very next day, we went shopping at a big, unnamed department store. I walked around with her while she tried on three different, very expensive outfits. She could not decide which one to take, so I told her to take all three of them. She then tells me that she wants matching shoes worth $200.00 a pair to which I say OK. And then we go to the jewellery department where she gets a pair of diamond earrings.
Let me tell you. She was so excited. She must have thought that I was one wave short of a shipwreck, but I don't think she cared. I think she was testing me when she asked for a tennis bracelet because she does not even play tennis. I think I threw her for a loop when I told her that it was OK. She was almost sexually excited from all of this, and you should have seen her face when she said, "I'm ready to go to the cash register."
I could hardly contain myself when I blurted out, "No, honey, I don't feel like buying all this stuff now." You should have seen her face. It went completely blank. I then said, "Really, honey, I just want you to HOLD this stuff for a while."
And just when she had this look like she was going to kill me, I added, "You must not be in tune with my financial needs as a man."
I figure that I won't be having sex again until some time after the Spring of 2008 but godammit it was worth it."
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
Godess
I'm not sure how many of you know this, but I'm totally in love with Rachel Bilson. An impromptu interview in her car where she displays her comedic talents:
Yummy. Her new movie with Zack Braff is called "The Last Kiss" and is I believe now out in theatres, here's the trailer:
Do something exciting with your life...
Yummy. Her new movie with Zack Braff is called "The Last Kiss" and is I believe now out in theatres, here's the trailer:
Do something exciting with your life...
I Am NOT Canadian
Well people seemed to like the refresh of the Molson Canadian beer commercial "I Am Canadian" that I posted a couple days ago so I thought I'd also put in the parody "I Am NOT Canadian" spoof that the Toronto radio station Edge 102.1 did making light of Canada's loveable stepchild Quebec, enjoy :-)
Boing Boing Boing
Bouncing around the Internet:
Death by caffine.
I love Borat and everything Kazakhstan! That goes double for my #1 vodka drinking partner Leo! ;-)
Failed innovation creating profitable innovation.
The crotch of Europe displayed on every Euro coin!
Drinking is good for your paycheck.
I found a picture of my office on Flickr (second foot window from the top right). Actually I have a new office on the other side of the building now. Having a Tim's right at the entrance was a killer for my stomack for the first month before I built up some donut resistance! :-)
Go to all 5 Worldwide Disney Parks. I'm actually going to DisneyWorld Florida for the billionth or so time in about a month :-) I've also been to DisneyLand Cali and EuroDisney Paris. Only Tokyo and Hong Kong to go, but I won't be in Asia until 2008 :-( Of course I'll have to push that date up if this funky stuff is still going on!
France says "non" to 39 hour work weeks, employees must get out of the office not a minute after 35 hours. Part-timers! ;-)
Death by caffine.
I love Borat and everything Kazakhstan! That goes double for my #1 vodka drinking partner Leo! ;-)
Failed innovation creating profitable innovation.
The crotch of Europe displayed on every Euro coin!
Drinking is good for your paycheck.
I found a picture of my office on Flickr (second foot window from the top right). Actually I have a new office on the other side of the building now. Having a Tim's right at the entrance was a killer for my stomack for the first month before I built up some donut resistance! :-)
Go to all 5 Worldwide Disney Parks. I'm actually going to DisneyWorld Florida for the billionth or so time in about a month :-) I've also been to DisneyLand Cali and EuroDisney Paris. Only Tokyo and Hong Kong to go, but I won't be in Asia until 2008 :-( Of course I'll have to push that date up if this funky stuff is still going on!
France says "non" to 39 hour work weeks, employees must get out of the office not a minute after 35 hours. Part-timers! ;-)
In further confirmation of my "whiteness", I had no idea who Three 6 Mafia was until I (tried) to busta move to one of their jingles. These guys rock!
I laughed when I read the headline for this article: Top ten reasons that men won't commit. Surprisingly, "Girlfriend is compulsive marriage-obsessed nutcase" not among them. There's a few of my mates that I know are in this position (and a few more that have already been reeled in!) :-) There was this site with the recordings from the answering machine of some guy that had a crazy stalker ex, wish I could find it again since it was totally hilarious!
Hilarious, the Russian employee handbook for customer service.
25 best comic strip ever. Period.
Get Dwight Schute from "The Office" (US version) to call your number. Fun stuff.
I'm totally in the mood for that song: "Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay"
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Halloween Sights
It's almost time to get all that can-dee! :-) I just bought a bunch of bags for the kids Oct 31st, hopefully they'll still be some left by then! ;-)
Greatest Sports Moments
It's mainly focused on North American sports unfortunatly, but a good montage none the less:
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Fon Customer Service Sucks
Google has given Fon some investment dollars perhaps they can also give them some good customer service practices. As opposed to the untouchable service given by companies like Newsgator, Fon by contrast is competing for worst ever. Here's the result of my question:
-----
Suggested Answer
• I can’t detect any FON Hotspots from where I am
• My ISP use authentication by mac address to connect the FON router to the modem cable
• I have not had any problems connecting to FON in the past but now I can no longer get access.
• I can detect a FON Hotspot but I cannot connect to it
• I can detect a FON Access Point but I cannot connect to it
We have detected that you have not filled in the order number when sending your delivery request. In order to solve your issue on a timely manner please respond to this message indicating the order number.
Regards
FON customer care
----
Useless. No I won't be asking again and therefore will not be a Fonero. Waste... of... my... time.
-----
Suggested Answer
• I can’t detect any FON Hotspots from where I am
• My ISP use authentication by mac address to connect the FON router to the modem cable
• I have not had any problems connecting to FON in the past but now I can no longer get access.
• I can detect a FON Hotspot but I cannot connect to it
• I can detect a FON Access Point but I cannot connect to it
We have detected that you have not filled in the order number when sending your delivery request. In order to solve your issue on a timely manner please respond to this message indicating the order number.
Regards
FON customer care
----
Useless. No I won't be asking again and therefore will not be a Fonero. Waste... of... my... time.
Gotta Go?
I've got to get back to Germany soon cus sometimes I see something that makes me smile and miss Deutschland in a big way:
Gotta go (zum).... ;-)
Gotta go (zum).... ;-)
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
The Office BBC Training Vids
Wanna have a mid-week laugh? Go check out the leaked Microsoft UK training vids developed with the manager character from the BBC version of "The Office". Some of the jokes might not go over as well for those of you who haven't seen the original Office series, but for those of you who have be prepared to bust a gut (do not take a swig of pop before watching lest you feel the burn as it comes out your nose!).
Cylon Seed
What better way to celebrate Halloween than with a Cyclon pumpkin!
If you don't know what a Cylon is, pat yourself on the back for not being a total geek and move right along to the next EuroRoss post. :-)
If you don't know what a Cylon is, pat yourself on the back for not being a total geek and move right along to the next EuroRoss post. :-)
Monday, October 23, 2006
Hide and Seek
Where are we?
What the hell is going on?
The dust has only just begun to fall.
Crop circles in the carpet,
Sinking, feeling...
Spin me 'round again,
And rub my eyes,
This can't be happening,
When busy streets a mess with people,
Would stop to hold their heads heavy.
Hide and seek.
Trains and sewing machines.
All those years,
They were here first.
Oily marks appear on walls,
Where pleasure moments hung before the take over,
The sweeping insensitivity of this still life.
Hide and seek.
Trains and sewing machines (you won't catch me around here).
Blood and tears,
They were here first.
Mmm, what d'ya say,
Mmm, that you only meant well?
Well of course you did.
Mmm, what d'ya say,
Mmm, that's all for the best?
Of course it is.
Mmm, what d'ya say?
Mmm, that it's just what we need,
You decided this.
Mmm, what d'ya say?
Mmm, what did she say?
Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth,
Midsweet talk, newspaper word cut outs.
Speak no feeling,
No I don't believe you.
You don't care a bit,
You don't care a bit.
Hide and seek.
Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth.
Midsweet talk, newspaper word cut outs.
Hide and seek.
Speak no feeling,
No, I don't believe you.
You don't care a bit,
You don't care a bit...
(click on the pic above for a great unofficial video for Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" from Steve Garfield)
What the hell is going on?
The dust has only just begun to fall.
Crop circles in the carpet,
Sinking, feeling...
Spin me 'round again,
And rub my eyes,
This can't be happening,
When busy streets a mess with people,
Would stop to hold their heads heavy.
Hide and seek.
Trains and sewing machines.
All those years,
They were here first.
Oily marks appear on walls,
Where pleasure moments hung before the take over,
The sweeping insensitivity of this still life.
Hide and seek.
Trains and sewing machines (you won't catch me around here).
Blood and tears,
They were here first.
Mmm, what d'ya say,
Mmm, that you only meant well?
Well of course you did.
Mmm, what d'ya say,
Mmm, that's all for the best?
Of course it is.
Mmm, what d'ya say?
Mmm, that it's just what we need,
You decided this.
Mmm, what d'ya say?
Mmm, what did she say?
Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth,
Midsweet talk, newspaper word cut outs.
Speak no feeling,
No I don't believe you.
You don't care a bit,
You don't care a bit.
Hide and seek.
Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth.
Midsweet talk, newspaper word cut outs.
Hide and seek.
Speak no feeling,
No, I don't believe you.
You don't care a bit,
You don't care a bit...
(click on the pic above for a great unofficial video for Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" from Steve Garfield)
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Comin' Home
I've been down to Georgia,
I've seen the streets in the west,
I've driven down the 90,
Hell I've seen Americas best.
I've been through the Rockies,
I've seen Saskatoon,
I've driven down the highway 1,
Just hoping that I'd see you soon...
I'm comin' home.
I've never been to Alaska,
But I can tell you this,
I've been to Lincoln Nebraska,
And hell you know it ain't worth shit.
I've been through Nova Scotia,
Sydney to Halifax,
I'll never take any pictures,
Cuz I know I'll just be right back.
Cuz I'm comin' home.
I'm comin' home.
I've seen a palace in London,
I've seen a castle in Wales,
But I'd rather wake up beside you,
And breathe that old familiar smell.
I never thought you could leave me,
I figured I was the one,
I understand your sadness,
So I guess I should just hold my tongue.
But I'm comin' home.
I'm comin' home.
I know that we're taking chances,
You told me life was a risk,
I just have one last question,
Will it be my heart,
Or will it be his?
Comin' home.
I'm comin home...
I've seen the streets in the west,
I've driven down the 90,
Hell I've seen Americas best.
I've been through the Rockies,
I've seen Saskatoon,
I've driven down the highway 1,
Just hoping that I'd see you soon...
I'm comin' home.
I've never been to Alaska,
But I can tell you this,
I've been to Lincoln Nebraska,
And hell you know it ain't worth shit.
I've been through Nova Scotia,
Sydney to Halifax,
I'll never take any pictures,
Cuz I know I'll just be right back.
Cuz I'm comin' home.
I'm comin' home.
I've seen a palace in London,
I've seen a castle in Wales,
But I'd rather wake up beside you,
And breathe that old familiar smell.
I never thought you could leave me,
I figured I was the one,
I understand your sadness,
So I guess I should just hold my tongue.
But I'm comin' home.
I'm comin' home.
I know that we're taking chances,
You told me life was a risk,
I just have one last question,
Will it be my heart,
Or will it be his?
Comin' home.
I'm comin home...
Friday, October 20, 2006
Old Time Acquaintance
Totally out of nowhere I'm awoken in the middle of the night by loud knocking at my door. Dragging my glossy eyed sleepy head to the front door and looking through the peep hole I see there's someone standing at my front door... I must be dreaming, I haven't seen this guy in years.
One word: Eh?
Of course getting up for work and starring at a screen all day certainly wasn't easy! Have a great weekend everyone! :-)
One word: Eh?
Of course getting up for work and starring at a screen all day certainly wasn't easy! Have a great weekend everyone! :-)
Rediscover: Milli Vanilli
Girl I'm Going To Miss You
I knew it from the start,
You would break my heart,
But still I had to play this painful part.
You wrapped me 'round your little bitty finger,
With your magic smile,
You kept me hangin' on your lovers cross a-while,
You put a spell on me,
You took my breath away,
But there was nothing I could do,
To make you stay.
I'm gonna miss you...
All the love I feel for you,
Nothing could make me change,
My point of view,
Oh girl, I'm gonna miss ya baby.
Given all the love I feel for you,
Couldn't make you change your point of view,
You're leaving.
Now I'm sitting here wasting my time,
I just don't know what I should do...
It's a tragedy for me to see,
The dream is over.
And I never will forget the day we met,
Girl I'm gonna miss you...
Like a honeybee, you took the best of me.
Now I can't erase those memories.
Like a fairytale, you were so unreal.
You left a scar that's so hard to heal.
When you had a taste of paradise,
The cold earth can feel as cold as ice.
I'm gonna miss you...
Given all the love I feel for you,
Couldn't make you change your point of view,
You're leaving.
Now I'm sitting here wasting my time,
I just don't know what I should do...
It's a tragedy for me to see,
The dream is over.
And I never will forget the day we met,
Girl I'm gonna miss you...
I'm gonna miss you...
I miss you
I knew it from the start,
You would break my heart,
But still I had to play this painful part.
You wrapped me 'round your little bitty finger,
With your magic smile,
You kept me hangin' on your lovers cross a-while,
You put a spell on me,
You took my breath away,
But there was nothing I could do,
To make you stay.
I'm gonna miss you...
All the love I feel for you,
Nothing could make me change,
My point of view,
Oh girl, I'm gonna miss ya baby.
Given all the love I feel for you,
Couldn't make you change your point of view,
You're leaving.
Now I'm sitting here wasting my time,
I just don't know what I should do...
It's a tragedy for me to see,
The dream is over.
And I never will forget the day we met,
Girl I'm gonna miss you...
Like a honeybee, you took the best of me.
Now I can't erase those memories.
Like a fairytale, you were so unreal.
You left a scar that's so hard to heal.
When you had a taste of paradise,
The cold earth can feel as cold as ice.
I'm gonna miss you...
Given all the love I feel for you,
Couldn't make you change your point of view,
You're leaving.
Now I'm sitting here wasting my time,
I just don't know what I should do...
It's a tragedy for me to see,
The dream is over.
And I never will forget the day we met,
Girl I'm gonna miss you...
I'm gonna miss you...
I miss you
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Pic Of The Day
If you're a fan of travel like me and have an internet connection then go add Gadling to your regular website reading list, even if it's just for the picture of the day. Today's gem comes from Mykonos Greece, I know that's one of your favs G. Peter!
What a paradice! I've now officially added it to my 2007 "must" travel list which already has Florida, Chicago and possibly Brazil on for the end of 06' and Winterlude, Germany, France, Ireland and Australia for 2007. So many places, so little time! :-)
What a paradice! I've now officially added it to my 2007 "must" travel list which already has Florida, Chicago and possibly Brazil on for the end of 06' and Winterlude, Germany, France, Ireland and Australia for 2007. So many places, so little time! :-)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Chained Away
After running outside tonight you really realize one thing: man it's hot! It certainly doesn't feel like fall yet despite the cold spell last week. I could really go for a cold one but what's with the torture of chaining away the goods!?!
Maybe I can knaw my way through this one?
Somehow I'm thinking I might have to find an drink or ice cream somewhere else... :-)
(photo's from Taormina, it's not THAT hot in Hamilton!)
Maybe I can knaw my way through this one?
Somehow I'm thinking I might have to find an drink or ice cream somewhere else... :-)
(photo's from Taormina, it's not THAT hot in Hamilton!)
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Roll Rhe Dice
"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original."
Don't afraid to be wrong, don't be frightened of making mistakes. Take a risk, be creative, explore your limits... you'll be more successful than you could ever possibly imagine...
- Sir Ken Robinson
Don't afraid to be wrong, don't be frightened of making mistakes. Take a risk, be creative, explore your limits... you'll be more successful than you could ever possibly imagine...
Monday, October 16, 2006
No Passing
Out on a hike today through some public and some not-so-public trails. No passing you say??
Back into the forest:
I wonder what's on the other side? It's not really visable but there's a deer running around down by the tree line:
Back into the forest:
Sunday, October 15, 2006
CP Roadie
The past few days have been pretty jam packed with some serious partying by the boys including a night out in T-dot, a roadie to CP for the Ottawa-Calgary game, hitting the town in Hamilton and O-fest for yours truely last night in Waterloo.
I never seemed to remember to bring my camera out this week but we were able to catch the most suggestive of sign graphics we've ever seen ;-)
(It was for a massage parlour)
I'm almost glad it's time to go back to work tomorrow!
I never seemed to remember to bring my camera out this week but we were able to catch the most suggestive of sign graphics we've ever seen ;-)
(It was for a massage parlour)
I'm almost glad it's time to go back to work tomorrow!
Gone Geo
It's another beautiful day and after a long, long weekend of partying it's time to get some fresh air! I'm off Geocaching, here's an old pic from my first ever find in Hamilton about 4 months ago:
My Geo-C partner in crime:
My Geo-C partner in crime:
Friday, October 13, 2006
Purpose Of...
Stevie J gets in a forward that I just had to post on this Friday early morning. Why women have two hands:
Why men have two hands:
Have a great weekend everyone and if you're going to Waterloo for Oktoberfesting (the largest in the world outside of Germany) then hook up with us either at Rec Centre Sat night or at Mel's early early early Sunday morning!
Ziggy-Ziggy, Ziggy-Ziggy, Oi, Oi, Oi!!! :-)
Why men have two hands:
Have a great weekend everyone and if you're going to Waterloo for Oktoberfesting (the largest in the world outside of Germany) then hook up with us either at Rec Centre Sat night or at Mel's early early early Sunday morning!
Ziggy-Ziggy, Ziggy-Ziggy, Oi, Oi, Oi!!! :-)
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Sicily Goodbye's
Well hopefully this last Sicily post will conjure up some warm weather thoughts to drive away the last remenants of this nasty flu/cold thing I've been flemming up for the past couple days! Having left the Aolean islands the last stop was to check out Cefalu and the national park before flying back to Europe.
Cefalu is an amazing city. For hikers there's the castle and church that overlook the entire seaside city from a mountain perk that can be climbed. The views (especially at sunset) are unbelievably awesome. The city itself is no slouch either!
Great restaurants, seaside barscene and bit of the unordinary mark this port. Case in point one night I had to check out the puppet museum and theatre:
The 20 minute show was a bit hokey but the kids (and the kid in me) liked it just fine. The best part was the small room upstairs with all the sample puppets from over the years. Some of them haven't been used in a very long time, like that weird looking one on the end ;-)
Best 5 bucks spent for sure! Ok this next pic isn't even the castle in Cefalu, it's Taormina's monestary which is also located on the top of a mountain overlooking the city (I lost one of my memory cards with a bunch of pics :-(
Anyways the monestary was closed as apparently it's only open weekends... man that was a hot day to be shut out at the top of a long climb!
If you're lucky (and get to know the manager the night before) you can make a reservation at one of the many fabuous restaurants in Cefalu. This pic was taken right from our seaside patio table:
Sicily, what peace, what adventure!
Cefalu is an amazing city. For hikers there's the castle and church that overlook the entire seaside city from a mountain perk that can be climbed. The views (especially at sunset) are unbelievably awesome. The city itself is no slouch either!
Great restaurants, seaside barscene and bit of the unordinary mark this port. Case in point one night I had to check out the puppet museum and theatre:
The 20 minute show was a bit hokey but the kids (and the kid in me) liked it just fine. The best part was the small room upstairs with all the sample puppets from over the years. Some of them haven't been used in a very long time, like that weird looking one on the end ;-)
Best 5 bucks spent for sure! Ok this next pic isn't even the castle in Cefalu, it's Taormina's monestary which is also located on the top of a mountain overlooking the city (I lost one of my memory cards with a bunch of pics :-(
Anyways the monestary was closed as apparently it's only open weekends... man that was a hot day to be shut out at the top of a long climb!
If you're lucky (and get to know the manager the night before) you can make a reservation at one of the many fabuous restaurants in Cefalu. This pic was taken right from our seaside patio table:
Sicily, what peace, what adventure!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Toronto Weekender
This was the long Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and since I was going home the week prior and after I decided to take this weekend to just catch up on some work and relax watching the abundance of sports that's going on right now (F1, NHL, NFL, Euro Qualifying, MLB Playoffs, etc.). It all started out with putting my feet up and enjoying a cold Molson Ex with Stevie and Chris:
I couldn't get a good shot cus Steve was squirming too much but basically he was doing vacuming on Saturday night... I'm not sure what's sader, the vacumer or the one watching the vacumer! ;-)
Off downtown to catch the Calgary-Edmonton game:
A very long, long night and another great weekend comes to an end.
I couldn't get a good shot cus Steve was squirming too much but basically he was doing vacuming on Saturday night... I'm not sure what's sader, the vacumer or the one watching the vacumer! ;-)
Off downtown to catch the Calgary-Edmonton game:
A very long, long night and another great weekend comes to an end.
Long Weekend
Long weekends are great but sometimes should be illegal ;-) See you guys Tues. after I recover from yesturday, today and tomorrow! :-)
Friday, October 06, 2006
Trash Talk
In advance of meeting up with the lads for tomorrow nights premiere of Hockey Night In Canada (we're meeting at 7 for beers and diner shoot me an e-mail for deets if you're interested) I'm laying the initial guantlet of trash talk down by wearing this t-shirt tomorrow:
Let it begin fuckers! :-)
Let it begin fuckers! :-)
Proof Is In The Pudding
Now that's customer service! Answers, action items and comments from a human in a less than 24-hour turnaround. I'm telling you Newsgator kicks ass!
I've put the e-mail responce below, I haven't had time to reply with a clarification on the difference between question #3 and #10 with screenshots but I wanted to post the reply now to show the great turnaround time. My individual comments on each item later this weekend... because as the customer I have the luxury of answering if and when I choose ;-)
Thanks Newgator for impressing by doing the little things better than the rest.
----
Hi Ross,
Thanks for the awesome feedback! It great to have customers who are active in helping us make our product better. Let me see if I can try to address your numbered concerns/observations:
1) We haven't actually come across anyone who has asked for this before, but I can see how it would be an advantage to some users. I've created a feature request (74542)
2) As you mentioned, this is actually set by the author. Currently NewsGator Online only displays what is in the source feed. When a posts drops off the source it also drops out of NewsGator Online. HOWEVER, we are currently in the process of redefining what is a current post. I can't give too many details before it is released, but be assured we are working on it ;)
3) Points 3 and 10 are related I think - We actually have this functionality in testing and will be releasing it sometime soon. I don't have an ETA at the moment (it is reliant on some other system parts) but you will be able to add a folder from the context menu of the Folder tree.
4) This is really a performance issue - in order to keep the rendering of the Newspage fast, we restrict the number of posts. Obviously the more posts, the longer it takes to display. In your particular browsing pattern where you open a number of windows and let them load in the background that doesn't really matter, but for the majority of our users they browse in a single window. That being said, it is a good idea, but I can't see it getting development priority in the near future.
5) Whether a post has full content, excerpts or titles is defined by the author, but I think it would be a great idea to make it possible to collapse full content posts to excerpts or titles! I know we have a feature request in the system for this already, but I've created a new one anyway (74543)
6) I see where you are going on this, but I'm not sure how applicable it would be for most users... I can, however, see how some attention reporting could achieve the same results. 2 reports in particular - "Feeds not updated in X days" and "Feeds with my least attention" - Reports are good because they don't clutter the reading UI, but allow you to find what you are looking for. do you think this would suit your needs??
7) There is currently a way to do this!
- Go to My Settings > Edit Locations
- Under the NewsGator Web edition location, select the "Feeds" option
- From here you can de-select the feeds that you don't want to see in your Web-reader. They will still be in your profile, and can be re-enabled at any time.
8) NewsGator Inbox would be the perfect solution for you:
http://www.newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdID=NewsGator+Inbox
It syncs Outlook with NGO including clippings.
9) You should soon be able to add feeds directly to the Folder tree, and I believe this will go to the URL import screen.
10) Covered above in 3
11) Not likely to happen ;) But if it isn't already, you can add it to the taxonomy. To add your feed to our system, you can go to this page to add your site to our search engine:
http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/Folksonomy.aspx
Once your request has been submitted you will get a response advising you that it has been added and instructions about adding our button will also be provided at that time.
Thanks again for your feedback, and I hope this satisfies most of your ideas. Customers like you help us create a better product!
Regards,
Jonathon McDougall
NewsGator Support
----
I've put the e-mail responce below, I haven't had time to reply with a clarification on the difference between question #3 and #10 with screenshots but I wanted to post the reply now to show the great turnaround time. My individual comments on each item later this weekend... because as the customer I have the luxury of answering if and when I choose ;-)
Thanks Newgator for impressing by doing the little things better than the rest.
----
Hi Ross,
Thanks for the awesome feedback! It great to have customers who are active in helping us make our product better. Let me see if I can try to address your numbered concerns/observations:
1) We haven't actually come across anyone who has asked for this before, but I can see how it would be an advantage to some users. I've created a feature request (74542)
2) As you mentioned, this is actually set by the author. Currently NewsGator Online only displays what is in the source feed. When a posts drops off the source it also drops out of NewsGator Online. HOWEVER, we are currently in the process of redefining what is a current post. I can't give too many details before it is released, but be assured we are working on it ;)
3) Points 3 and 10 are related I think - We actually have this functionality in testing and will be releasing it sometime soon. I don't have an ETA at the moment (it is reliant on some other system parts) but you will be able to add a folder from the context menu of the Folder tree.
4) This is really a performance issue - in order to keep the rendering of the Newspage fast, we restrict the number of posts. Obviously the more posts, the longer it takes to display. In your particular browsing pattern where you open a number of windows and let them load in the background that doesn't really matter, but for the majority of our users they browse in a single window. That being said, it is a good idea, but I can't see it getting development priority in the near future.
5) Whether a post has full content, excerpts or titles is defined by the author, but I think it would be a great idea to make it possible to collapse full content posts to excerpts or titles! I know we have a feature request in the system for this already, but I've created a new one anyway (74543)
6) I see where you are going on this, but I'm not sure how applicable it would be for most users... I can, however, see how some attention reporting could achieve the same results. 2 reports in particular - "Feeds not updated in X days" and "Feeds with my least attention" - Reports are good because they don't clutter the reading UI, but allow you to find what you are looking for. do you think this would suit your needs??
7) There is currently a way to do this!
- Go to My Settings > Edit Locations
- Under the NewsGator Web edition location, select the "Feeds" option
- From here you can de-select the feeds that you don't want to see in your Web-reader. They will still be in your profile, and can be re-enabled at any time.
8) NewsGator Inbox would be the perfect solution for you:
http://www.newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdID=NewsGator+Inbox
It syncs Outlook with NGO including clippings.
9) You should soon be able to add feeds directly to the Folder tree, and I believe this will go to the URL import screen.
10) Covered above in 3
11) Not likely to happen ;) But if it isn't already, you can add it to the taxonomy. To add your feed to our system, you can go to this page to add your site to our search engine:
http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/Folksonomy.aspx
Once your request has been submitted you will get a response advising you that it has been added and instructions about adding our button will also be provided at that time.
Thanks again for your feedback, and I hope this satisfies most of your ideas. Customers like you help us create a better product!
Regards,
Jonathon McDougall
NewsGator Support
----
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend everyone!
...and enjoy the turkey and long weekend! :-)
...and enjoy the turkey and long weekend! :-)
Thursday, October 05, 2006
An Open Letter To NewsGator
As many of you may or may not know I am a big fan of Newsgator RSS readers (particulary their online and outlook products) and have set you up (or tried) on their service. Tonight I sent an e-mail to customer support with my top 10 feature requests. Here is the e-mail:
----
Hi Newsgator team,
I’ve been using Newsgator for about 2 years now and I love it (especially the online version). A couple feature requests:
1 – Allow me to open a folder of posts in a new browser. We used to be able to do this when they were regular links but since the remodel when you right click on a folder you get the new options (just add this as one of those options?) This helps because many times reading feeds in a single browser is slow (yes I can also open other browsers and log-in for each and do it that way, but the old way was faster).
2 – Allow me to choose the maximum number of posts to hold for each feed. Each feed is different (ie. Dig is 40, Slashdot 15 etc etc), perhaps the site themselves set this but I don’t see why users shouldn’t be able to set this for themselves.
3 – When making a new folder please set the main feed folder (not my clippings folder) as the default. I never make a folder in my clippings (perhaps others do more often?) and it’s an extra annoying step. Or at least make the default the last folder you created a new one in before.
4 – Allow me to increase the maximum of view per page from 50 so I don’t have to keep clicking each page for some of my bigger folders with lots of feeds.
5 – Allow me to set whether I want titles, partial or full posts for each feed. I’m sure this is probably set by the site themselves but if they set it to full or partial then the user could still have the choice of tapering it down to titles only for that feed (ie. Helpful for sites like digg/boingboing that have lots of partial and full feeds that I’d rather just see titles for.
6 – Allow me to see which feeds I have clicked through on and which ones I haven’t and the time since the last click through. This would help me eliminate feeds that suck or that I don’t click through very often. This really helps those of us with 500+ feeds who are looking for some room for some new feeds (ie. I’ve maxed out time
7 – Allow us to “archive” feeds. There are feeds that I want to stop reading right now, don’t want in my reader list but don’t want to forget/loose the link. Currently I create a separate folder for those feeds but there’s probably a better way.
8 – Is there any other sync with Newsgator Online and Newsgator for Outlook that uses something other than pop as my corporate server masters do not allow outside pop access.
9 – When adding a new feed the default screen is the search feeds screen. This is probably ok for new users getting used to the service but for us old timers it would be great to have the URL input box on that screen instead of having to click through on another tab.
10 – Allow me to create a new folder from the left hand feed list (perhaps as a right click option) and also right after I add a new subscription (currently you can choose a folder to put the new feed into but many times I want to put a new feed in a new folder).
11 – Ok this one is bonus: Include my blog http://www.euroross.blogspot.com/ as a default for all new users (and existing ones if you so incline ;-)
These are just some little suggestions from someone who has tried multiple RSS readers but who goes with Newsgator because of your great product and even more amazing customer service.
Thanks,
Ross
http://www.euroross.blogspot.com/
----
Got some suggestions of your own? Mark them down in the comments section!
----
Hi Newsgator team,
I’ve been using Newsgator for about 2 years now and I love it (especially the online version). A couple feature requests:
1 – Allow me to open a folder of posts in a new browser. We used to be able to do this when they were regular links but since the remodel when you right click on a folder you get the new options (just add this as one of those options?) This helps because many times reading feeds in a single browser is slow (yes I can also open other browsers and log-in for each and do it that way, but the old way was faster).
2 – Allow me to choose the maximum number of posts to hold for each feed. Each feed is different (ie. Dig is 40, Slashdot 15 etc etc), perhaps the site themselves set this but I don’t see why users shouldn’t be able to set this for themselves.
3 – When making a new folder please set the main feed folder (not my clippings folder) as the default. I never make a folder in my clippings (perhaps others do more often?) and it’s an extra annoying step. Or at least make the default the last folder you created a new one in before.
4 – Allow me to increase the maximum of view per page from 50 so I don’t have to keep clicking each page for some of my bigger folders with lots of feeds.
5 – Allow me to set whether I want titles, partial or full posts for each feed. I’m sure this is probably set by the site themselves but if they set it to full or partial then the user could still have the choice of tapering it down to titles only for that feed (ie. Helpful for sites like digg/boingboing that have lots of partial and full feeds that I’d rather just see titles for.
6 – Allow me to see which feeds I have clicked through on and which ones I haven’t and the time since the last click through. This would help me eliminate feeds that suck or that I don’t click through very often. This really helps those of us with 500+ feeds who are looking for some room for some new feeds (ie. I’ve maxed out time
7 – Allow us to “archive” feeds. There are feeds that I want to stop reading right now, don’t want in my reader list but don’t want to forget/loose the link. Currently I create a separate folder for those feeds but there’s probably a better way.
8 – Is there any other sync with Newsgator Online and Newsgator for Outlook that uses something other than pop as my corporate server masters do not allow outside pop access.
9 – When adding a new feed the default screen is the search feeds screen. This is probably ok for new users getting used to the service but for us old timers it would be great to have the URL input box on that screen instead of having to click through on another tab.
10 – Allow me to create a new folder from the left hand feed list (perhaps as a right click option) and also right after I add a new subscription (currently you can choose a folder to put the new feed into but many times I want to put a new feed in a new folder).
11 – Ok this one is bonus: Include my blog http://www.euroross.blogspot.com/ as a default for all new users (and existing ones if you so incline ;-)
These are just some little suggestions from someone who has tried multiple RSS readers but who goes with Newsgator because of your great product and even more amazing customer service.
Thanks,
Ross
http://www.euroross.blogspot.com/
----
Got some suggestions of your own? Mark them down in the comments section!
Panerea
Panerea is the smallest of the Aolean islands and certainly one of the best... but not for the reasons you might think. Panerea is famous throughout the islands for being the "rich" persons getaway with hotels starting 200-300% more than the islands (to start!). Consequently I just took a day hydrofoil to the island, but it's small enough to get everything in under a day anyways.
The best part of the island isn't the lush restaurants (although they are amazing and amazingly expensive), the famous night club (which locals from all the islands come to all throughout the year), the small close-knit community or the absolutely beautiful view... it's the hiking!
This is something very few people actually come to Panerea for as witnessed by the totally overgrown paths, but it's certainly something to experience. Not only is the view exceptional (you can get a full 360 from two different points on the island), but there's also some non-travelled areas to explore (and get into a little bit of trouble as evidenced by the cut up arm I would leave the island with!).
Ok I just realized my pics are all mixed up, this is the view from the ice cream parlor:
I'm pretty sure this is actually Stromboli, not Panerea as I've labelled it:
The docs in Panerea:
The view from the restaurant we had an amazing lunch at:
This is the peak we climbed almost to the top, basically it was totally verticle at the end! A great climb:
The terrain got a bit prickly too... and yes, I did have one of those cactus needles jammed into my hand and arm, not fun!
We hung around the islands for 2 more days and then it was a teary eyed departure back to the Sicily mainland. Tonight I'll post the last of my pics from Celafu and wrap up the trip :-)
The best part of the island isn't the lush restaurants (although they are amazing and amazingly expensive), the famous night club (which locals from all the islands come to all throughout the year), the small close-knit community or the absolutely beautiful view... it's the hiking!
This is something very few people actually come to Panerea for as witnessed by the totally overgrown paths, but it's certainly something to experience. Not only is the view exceptional (you can get a full 360 from two different points on the island), but there's also some non-travelled areas to explore (and get into a little bit of trouble as evidenced by the cut up arm I would leave the island with!).
Ok I just realized my pics are all mixed up, this is the view from the ice cream parlor:
I'm pretty sure this is actually Stromboli, not Panerea as I've labelled it:
The docs in Panerea:
The view from the restaurant we had an amazing lunch at:
This is the peak we climbed almost to the top, basically it was totally verticle at the end! A great climb:
The terrain got a bit prickly too... and yes, I did have one of those cactus needles jammed into my hand and arm, not fun!
We hung around the islands for 2 more days and then it was a teary eyed departure back to the Sicily mainland. Tonight I'll post the last of my pics from Celafu and wrap up the trip :-)
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