Donna Vitan

How awesome is this designer? Ananda Khalsa Jewellery is a designer of fine jewellery, “tiny original paintings set in sterling silver and 22k gold” to be exact. I’m not so big on fine jewellery but when I came across this at cutable.com I actually had an overwhelming urge to visit Ananda’s site and perhaps, some online shopping.

I think they’re incredibly beautiful and it’s also noteworthy that each one is an original with much symbolism behind it. So it’s definitely something more than a passing fancy.

Now go get it for me as early holiday present. Thank you.

Last Wednesday, I went on a Studio Tour run by RGD in which we visited 4 different design studios, Baker Vandertuin, Field Day, GJP Advertising and q30 design. It was quite rainy that evening but luckily all studios were within walking distance from each other. Nonetheless, I still ended up getting soaked, cold and tired by the end of the evening. Though the tour was definitely a welcome and inspiring event as I don’t often get the opportunity to see how other design studios are like. It was great to see the different work environments, team dynamics and various projects that are being accomplished.

In one particular studio, GJP Gee Jeffrey & Partners, they included an interactive segment to their tour which had us fill out a form then filmed on camera with our answers. See the video, because I’m in it!

All together, the studio tour was definitely good for me and has encouraged me to reflect on my current status. I’ve spent 3 years now in the same place and entered into a regular schedule, something that has been given me the opportunity to branch out with hobbies! I think that’s one of the major factors going for me, I still look forward to coming to work and wondering what is next on my plate. I’m still hungry for that next creative project. I’m pretty happy with this stage in my life, where I am and what I’m doing, knowing that there is still great work to be done and lots of room to grow.

Going to Virgin Festival at the Toronto Island Park (2 Day Ticket)

After going to see Nelly Furtado in concert at the ACC back on Wednesday, April 4 and having such a great time, I’ve gone ahead and bought my ticket to the Virgin Festival. The Virgin Festival will take place at the Toronto Island Park on September 8 and 9. So, after seeing my first concert, I’m now going to see my first music festival! Yey! 2007 is my year baby!

You can find out more about the Virgin Festival by visiting www.virginfestival.ca

Anyway, I know it’s a long time from now but I’m a bit of a planner. I like to get things get things set but this way, I don’t have to worry about it at the last minute. The following are things to keep mind.

Official Check List:

What to bring:

• Your Virgin Mobile
• Photo ID
• One (1) sealed plastic bottle of water
• A small amount of personal food in soft containers
• Small personal backpacks or fanny packs (subject to inspection at entrance to Concert Field)
• Clothing for changing weather conditions (it will likely be cool at night!)
• Raingear
• Bug spray
• Sunscreen
• Hat
• Ear plugs
• Compact Digital Cameras
• Disposable Cameras
• Point-and-Shoot Cameras
• Frisbee, soccer ball, hacky sack

• Ikea Greno Seating Pad ($19.99) or
• Ikea Rasson Seating Pad ($3.00)
• Picnic Mat
• Light Blanket/Towel
• Sunblock
• Aspirin/Tylenol
• Toilet Paper
• Baby Wipes
• Antibacterial Gel
• Large! Bottle of Water
• Soft cooler of:

• Sandwiches
• Chips and Crackers
• Fruits
• Nuts

Top Ten Things To Bring To Music Festival By Megan Romer:

From worldmusic.about.com

1. Sunblock
   We all know the dangers of UV rays, and at most festivals, you’re very exposed to them. You don’t want a sunburn now, and you certainly don’t want skin cancer later, so lather up. For festivals, I like to use sport spray-on sunblock; I can put it on myself without having to ask for help with the hard-to-reach areas, and it won’t sweat off in the summer heat. Remember to reapply every few hours!
2. Headlamp
   I refused to buy one of these for way too long because of the dork factor, but now I don’t leave home without it. These convenient flashlights strap around your head on an elastic band (no more holding a mini-mag between your teeth). They’re invaluable for nighttime Porta-John trips (the scariest thing ever) and they work well for mixing drinks, making beds, and all sorts of other things.
3. Toilet Paper
   No one ever wants to talk about this, but every seasoned festivarian knows to bring a couple of rolls of Charmin from home. PortaJohns often run out of toilet paper pretty quickly and even when they have paper, it’s usually of the super-thin super-scratchy variety. Toilet paper also doubles as facial tissues, and a few well-tossed rolls can take care of your problems with the neighboring campsite (kidding, kidding).
4. Baby Wipes
   Not just for babies any more, wet wipes can keep you feeling fresh as a daisy even after a few days with no shower. Your hair will still be a rat’s nest, but at least you won’t smell. Remember what their original purpose is, as well… they can clean up even the most sensitive areas when a hot shower just isn’t available.
5. First Aid Kit
   Legally-run festivals (which are the only kind you should attend) are required by law to have first aid services available and an ambulance on call, so if something major happens, there will be people to take care of you. However, they often don’t dispense headache medicine, and sometimes it’s more hassle than it’s worth to get a simple band-aid put on, so keep these things with you.
6. Camera
   You can’t go to a music festival without your camera! Some festivals have rules about what types of camera you can bring (no movie cameras, etc.), but every outdoor festival that I know of lets you take snapshots. If you’re worried about your expensive digital camera and you’re not a hotshot photographer anyway, bring a few disposable cameras and you’ll be set. Buy the super-cheap flashless cameras for daytime, and get the still-pretty-cheap flash cameras for the evening.
7. Bottled Water and Sports Drinks
   If festivals let you bring your own drinking water, by all means, do it. Staying hydrated in the hot sun is very important. Remember, also, that if you’re sweating heavily, it’s important to keep the minerals (salt, calcium, potassium, etc.) in your body replenished as well. I seldom attend a festival without a jar of dill pickles for this reason (seriously), but I’m told that normal people just drink electrolyte-rich sports drinks.
8. Easy-To-Carry Cooler
   Some festivals don’t allow coolers, but many do. I personally like the little foam coolers that you can throw over your shoulder and hold a couple of beers and a jar of dill pickles (what more do you need?), but if you’re just attending a festival for a day, or if you have more than yourself to feed, get yourself one of the nice new coolers a long handle and wheels. They can easily hold food and drinks for four people, and they double as a bench.
9. Blanket Or Chairs
   At some point, you’re probably going to want to sit down in one place and hear some music. Some festivals don’t let you bring chairs, but most do, and if you’re bringing them, the folding canvas chairs with carrying bags are the best, comfy and easy to carry. I personally prefer to sprawl, though, and I really like those ten-dollar woven wool Mexican-style blankets. They hold up and they’re easy to carry, but if they get lost or forgotten, they are quite replaceable.
10. Backpack or Knapsack
    Between my little cooler and my little backpack, I can carry just about everything I need for the day. Carrying a purse (as much as I love them) just isn’t practical at a festival; it’s tough on your back and purses generally don’t hold as much as you need. Keep the stuff you’re carrying to a minimum, you don’t need three changes of shoes (that’s mostly advice for me).

I really want to work in Google and become a googler. They have too much to offer: everything is free; free food, fitness center, massages, $5000 for a hybrid car and you can wear your PJs to work? Hell yeah. Now if only I can get my resume to stand out amongst a million applications a year…

These employees are so devoted to Google and are given almost everything they need that it almost reminds me of communism. Perhaps not so extreme but I did have a dream one time of the future.

In the future, instead of countries at war, there will be real corporate wars with each company’s employees acting as the soldiers. Big companies like Microsoft and Apple determining the fate of mankind and maintaining a monopoly over our daily life. That’s insane.

Now, to get started on my Google application.

*Updated: April 9, 2007*

So, I’ve organized my bookmarks once again and realized I had a great link of 10 seriously cool workplaces by Alexander Kjerulf, the Chief Happiness Officer. Sure I envy the people who work in these places just a bit, but it also inspires me to make my own working environment be a place I want to be. The fact that I love what I do sure helps, plus we’ve turned our conference table into a ping pong table when we need it most.

It all began with the GenuineCheck.exe, a validation tool that checked if you are running a copy of the operating system. Initially this was to prevent “pirates” from downloading additional software and addons from Microsoft.com. This wasn’t that big of a issue for me as I only had to download from there a few times and i could easily just delete the exe file afterwards. It has become a more sinister plot when MS decided that this should be on everyones system as a critical update. Not alot of people pay attention to what is being updated and installed when it comes to Window’s automatic updates. You simply click yes and install because you trust that these are critical updates that improve and secure your system.

I run a couple of programs that help me control my system and to prevent unauthorized installation of programs and the like. ZoneAlarm flagged Windows Genuine Advantage Notifcation (WgaTray.exe) as suspicious behaviour. I looked further into it to find out the necessity of allowing it to read and modify my physical memory.

People have been talking about this since June 2006, and many have deemed it to be in the same family as spyware due to the fact that it sends user system information back to the mothership without your consent. Now, granted you did update using MS automatic update but your consent from that doesn’t necessarily cover this invasion of privacy by Microsoft. I’m not a lawyer but that pretty much sounds like spyware and I hate spyware.

During my search into this, I’ve come across hacks, workarounds, uninstalls and various articles on Windows Genuine Advantage Notification. All of these have convinced me that keeping WgaTray.exe around isn’t something that’s critical or necessary for me. It just makes MS look like a bigger ass, not because they make it mandatory to validate your system but because they get shadier in their handling of the situation.

The following are links that I have come across that can help you form your own opinion.

• Microsoft’s official page on Genuine Microsoft Software
• Microsofts’ How to disable and uninstall Windows Genuine Advantage Notification
• WikiHow.com’s How to remove Window’s Genuine Advantasge Notifcations (Does not uninstall)
• The Inquirer.net’s “How to dump Windows’ piracy ’spyware’“
• ZDNet.com’s “The WGA fiasco continues by Ed Botts“
• Groklaw.net’s “Microsoft’s Calling Home Problem: It’s a Matter of Informed Consent“