OhRyan.ca

…In alphabetical order:

• Audible Ajax – Infrequently updated. Interviews with key figures in the world of AJAX. 3.3/5
• Buzz Out Loud – Daily. Easily the best tech news podcast. 5/5
• CBC Radio 3 Podcast – Weekly. An hour of good Canadian music. 3.5/5
• Best of As It Happens – Daily. CBC Radio long running (40+years?) current events show in podcast digest. Mon – Thurs it’s the best segment of the day. Friday it’s a weekly recap. Listening to this makes me feel old. 3/5
• Diggnation – Weekly. Video. You really should already know about this show. It’s getting a little old, I’m only going to give it 3.8 out of 5.
• ExtraLife Radio – Weekly. Comics and nerd culture. 3.9/5
• Gadgettes – Weekly. CNET podcast where ladies (+ Jason Howell) talk about tech. 3/5
• The Instance – Weekly. World of Warcraft podcast, still listen to it even though I haven’t played in months. 4/5
• Mailbag – Weekly. Video. CNET’s Molly Wood reads funny emails. 3.7/5
• net@night – Weekly. Leo Laporte and Amber Mac talk about the internet, I’ve found out about MANY great Web 2.0 startups through this podcast. 4/5
• Quirks & Quarks – Weekly. CBC Radio’s long running science show, in podcast format. 3.5/5
• RCRD LBL – Weekly. Roundup of the best music on RCRDLBL.com. 4/5
• Search Engine – On Hiatus/Canceled. CBC Radio’s EXCELLENT show about the internet. Even if it doesn’t come back on the air, the back episodes are worth a list. 5/5
• Spark - Weekly/On Hiatus. CBC Radio show about culture surrounding the internet. Frequent contributions from Cory Doctorow and Merlin Mann. 5/5
• tech5 - Daily. John C Dvorak’s take on the day’s tech news. 4.5/5
• This Week in Tech – Weekly. Leo Laporte and friends discuss the week’s tech news. The guests are often really lame and it tends to drag on. But when it’s good, it’s great! 3.3/5
• The 404 - Daily. The best way to discribe tihs is A Tech Morning Show. Usually hillarious. 4.8/5
• White Coat, Black Art – Weekly/Currently on repeats. CBC Radio’s show about the Health Care Industry/System in Canada. Always interesting, sometimes a little dry. 3.7/5
• Xbox Live’s Major Nelson Radio – Weekly. Xbox live’s Director of Programming provides an inside look into what’s going on with the xbox 360, with a good dose of general gaming banter. 3/5

A List Apart is running their annual survey “for people who make websites.”

Ok. Cool…er Cuil. You’re not going to be a legitimate search engine until you strip raw HTML from your search results.

Apparently PETA has somehow managed to strong arm KFC Canada into adding a “Classic Vegetarian Sandwich” to their menu. I don’t really understand how PETA is in any sort of position to convince a multi-national like KFC to do something like this, but that’s beside the point. You can read PETA’s press release (including a buy-one-get-one-free coupon) here.

Being the early adoptor that I am, I just had to try one.

I’m not sure what to say…
It contains most – but not quite all – of the greasy goodness that I’ve been missing out on over the past 8 years or so. The taste and texture seems fairly authentic. I say fairly authentic because it reminds me more of generic frozen chicken burgers you’d buy at a supermarket, then the greasier, crispier type of burger you typically get at KFC. In fact, I’m almost certain KFC is using Schneiders: Meatless Chick’ n Burgers (which might explain why they’re only available in Canada). It would have been nice if KFC had given it a more KFC-like treatment.

Other than that, the “classic sandwich” itself – meatless or not – mighty disappointing, with only mayo and lettuce as toppings.  Next time I’m going to order it “gourmet-style” with tomatoes and cheese.

In Conclusion
The sandwich is pretty tasty. If you’re going to be heading to a KFC, I highly recommend it to vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. With meatless alternatives like this there’s really no need to slaughter cute little innocent chickens for something that barely passes as a meal in the first place.

Back when Rogers initially released their iPhone prices, I filled out a complaint with the Canadian Competition Bureau. To my surprise, they actually replied!

It begins:

Dear Ryan Nerdorf,

Thank you for your correspondence dated June 30, 2008 regarding Rogers Communications Inc. (“Rogers”).

“Nerdorf!” What a classic typo. They must have been getting a lot of complains from nerds like me!

Here’s the meat of the response:

It is the Bureau’s view that Rogers does not hold a dominant position in the market for mobile wireless telephony services in Canada.  Rogers is in direct competition with two other major wireless providers, in addition to a number of smaller carriers, all of whom offer handsets that are functional substitutes for the iPhone.  Moreover, Rogers’ recently-announced pricing plans for the iPhone do not constitute an anti-competitive act as these pricing plans do not have an intended negative effect on a competitor that is predatory, disciplinary or exclusionary.  Rather, they reflect an attempt by Rogers to market a product consumers find desirable and set prices accordingly.  This may ultimately be disciplined by competitor responses, and/or by consumers rejecting such a strategy.  In either case, market forces will determine if these prices can be sustained.