24Dec 2013 by R&O No Comments
When Price Isn’t an Issue

When Price Isn’t an Issue

Music, Observations, Of Interest, People
Fazioli pianos are arguably the finest pianos in the world, hand made in Italy and priced accordingly. Their model F308 is the largest concert pianoforte in production today at 10' 3" and comes with an equally large base price of $147,000.00. That's the base price. Now add a custom, very high-end case and you're talking about serious dough. Vancouver resident Zhao Zai Chen commissioned architect Ernest Collins and his wife, professional artist/designer Grace Gordon-Collins to design a case for this world-class musical instrument. After all, Collins designed the 19,000 square foot Shaughnessy home (worth $17.5 million when Chen purchased it in 2010) where the piano would reside, so why not design a case for the custom built piano? Duh. Ernest and Grace also designed the cabinet that went in behind…
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23Dec 2013 by R&O No Comments
Are People Awesome?

Are People Awesome?

Of Interest, People
Are people awesome? Most are probably not but there's a few that fit the bill nicely. They're amongst us, they fly above us, skate past us, drive by us and we only appreciate they're awesome for that split second when we realize that they're doing something quite cool. Luckily, someone has taken the time to compile a video that attempts to present a number of awesome people and their feats over the last year. Aptly titled 'People Are Awesome', this may be the best way you spend 10 minutes today. Or this week. Or, sadly, this year. Click the play button and enjoy some awesomeness.
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15Dec 2013 by R&O No Comments
Netscape Flashback

Netscape Flashback

Internet, Of Interest, Technology
Way back in 1995 Netscape was king. It was king because it was a direct descendent of Marc Andreessen's ground-breaking Mosaic software, one of the first cross-platform web browsers available to users on the newly paved superhighway. Those were the days. Sort of. Unfortunately for the Netscape company, who saw part of their future in the secure transactions business, a 27 year-old graduate student in France broke the security code that allowed their commerce server software to offer security to its customers. This, in the world of web server software companies, was a very bad thing. Up to that point, Netscape advertised that its security was bulletproof and would allow all types of sensitive financial transactions to take place over the internet without fear of credit card numbers and bank…
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23Oct 2013 by R&O No Comments
Movember is almost here

Movember is almost here

Cancer, Of Interest
It's that time again. Time to prepare for the month of November which, according to a number of the world's prostate cancer agencies, has been renamed MOVEMBER. A time for all good men (and women, due to a bizarre genetic anomaly or Eastern European performance enhancing drug) to begin growing a moustache and collecting contributions in support of the efforts to eradicate this nasty scourge and help those suffering from the disease. Prostate Canada picked up the considerable tab (in excess of $1200) for my single hormone therapy injection prior to surgery and, without them, would have borne the cost myself. And for that I'm indebted to them, but that's not why I'm participating in this year's event. I'm participating because it's something that needs to be done. It's a…
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