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A View from the Isle

Social Media, Photography, Tech, and Opinion from Tris Hussey

Congrats to AbeBooks on completion of the Amazon dealYesterday

Sure it’s been in the works for four months, but today it’s official, AbeBooks is now part of Amazon:

AbeBooks is an online marketplace for books, with over 110 million primarily used, rare and out-of-print books listed for sale by thousands of independent booksellers from around the world. A true Internet success story, AbeBooks.com has been selling books online since 1996, and is a private company based in Victoria, with affiliates in Germany and the United States. Internet Retailer magazine ranked AbeBooks at No. 73 among North American online retailers in June 2008.

[From Four months in the works - Amazon acquires AbeBooks - Techvibes Blog]

Yes, there is some sadness about a Victoria company being absorbed by a (huge) American one, but you know I’m also feeling pretty damn proud of knowing that another home-grown eBiz has found this kind of success.

Here’s to AbeBooks!

Would the Conservatives lose a snap election?November 27

File under “playing with fire in a fireworks factory”, word is that the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc are seriously considering calling for a confidence vote that could force another Federal election.

Incensed opposition parties are threatening to topple Stephen Harper’s Conservative minority and have begun informally exploring the idea of cobbling together a governing coalition. The Liberals are taking the taking the prospect so seriously that some MPs are privately discussing ways to dump Leader Stéphane Dion without waiting for their party’s scheduled May 2 leadership vote. Sources say former prime minister Jean Chretien has been approached for advice on how to massage Mr. Dion’s early exit. Sources say NDP Leader Jack Layton has cancelled a trip to Vancouver to take part in the opposition talks that went on through much of Thursday.

link: globeandmail.com: Confidence vote: Opposition parties say they will vote no

My thinking is: Are they nuts?!?

Okay, the Conservatives haven’t taken the bull by the horns to deal with the economy, and that seems preternaturally stupid, but I don’t think the electorate would be terribly enthused with another election so soon.

While this would make for a recor

Let us have the peace we need, that we craveNovember 27

Last night while I was watching with horror what was happening in Mumbai, Elizabeth Mori started tweeting a metta (Buddhist prayer) for peace. I asked her if she would be posting the entire metta, luckily for us she did:thanksgiving, peace, mettathanksgiving, peace, metta.

Today, as Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, and the entire world is gripped with the horror of Mumbai, let us all take a moment to reflect on Elizabeth’s prayer.

If nothing else, taking the time to reflect on the blessings we all enjoy.

Never too young for a check, especially when they find something: colonoscopy 101November 25

I didn’t talk about this on Twitter or that much at all, but yesterday I had my first of what will be regular colonoscopies.

As many of you know, my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer at 45 (very young), and the rule of thumb right now is to start getting checked 10 years before the blood relative’s diagnosis (yes, I was overdue).

So Sunday I started my fast and cleans for the procedure yesterday afternoon (hence why I wasn’t at work). Like many will tell you it’s the prep that is unpleasant, the procedure is cake.

Yesterday I got to see what the inside of my colon looks like (pink and fleshy) and I also got to see why I need to get checked regularly: they found something.

That something was a small polyp. A quick snip and they removed it for analysis. From the size and looks of it, I was told that it will probably be benign, however it was there.

Because it was there, and polyps are one of those indicators, I’ll be back for another check in a while. Don’t know how often. I’ll find out in three weeks (also when I’ll find out if the polyp is really benign). I’m guessing probably about every three years or less.

So there it is. I’m in that class of people who are outside the bell curve for when to get checked, but … well I’m glad I did.

Scary? Yeah, of course it is.

So guys, if you have a family history, get checked. If you don’t ask your doctor for the signs to watch for.

Really

FoxGLove results of the “Chrome effect”November 24

Catching up on my newsie tweets this morning I caught Lifehacker’s FoxGLove headline…whoa a standalone Google Apps Portal. Let me at it!

Crafty Firefox user Alex customized his own Firefox Portable installation to tightly integrate with Google Apps. He calls his creation “FoxGLove,” and uses it as his own Google-powered productivity portal instead of Microsoft Outlook. Along with his pick of add-ons that enhance and integrate Google Apps in Firefox, Alex tricked out this portable Firefox version with a Chrome-like theme, custom homepages (that auto-load in tabs), web site favicons, and even slapped the FoxGLove name and icon onto the whole shebang. Best part? You can download and try it out right now without disturbing your current Firefox setup. Download FoxGLove below to give it a spin on your own desktop, and get the rundown of what comes with it.

link: Exclusive Lifehacker Download: FoxGLove Standalone Google Apps Portal

Okay, pity it’s only for Windows (crap the good stuff comes out after I switch to a Mac, figures), but as Gina says it is very much like Chrome.