(v) : to move back and forth repeatedly; to wave one’s hand in greeting or departure
(v) : to break (something brittle) violently; to hit extremely hard
"the demolition team smashed the buildings to rubble."
Friday, December 29, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Tesla's wireless electricity comes to market
http://www.wildcharge.com/solutions.html
WildCharge is the first--and as yet the only company--to provide a universal solution: a solution that actually works for virtually any mobile device. This is ideal for mobile professionals who can now trade in their multiple chargers and adapters for one streamlined package.
Tesla under rug swept
Interesting site (link here) about a 3rd & 4th grade schoolteacher who has provided over $120,000 worth of $6000 busts of Nikola Tesla to various universities, libraries, and institutions... except the Smithsonian.
"This is a photograph of our finished bust we offered to the Smithsonian. Dr. Bernard S. Finn, (Curator of the Division of Electricity and Modern Physics) refused us, claiming he had no use for it.
We could not understand why the Smithsonian would have no use for a $6,000 bust of such a great American and eminent scientist."
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Merry Christmas
What rolls down stairs
alone or in pairs,
and over your neighbor's dog?
What's great for a snack,
And fits on your back?
It's log, log, log
It's log, it's log,
It's big, it's heavy, it's wood.
It's log, it's log, it's better than bad, it's good."
Everyone wants a log
You're gonna love it, log
Come on and get your log
Everyone needs a log
log log log
*whistle*
LOG FROM BLAMMO
What rolls down stairs
alone or in pairs,
and over your neighbor's dog?
What's great for a snack,
And fits on your back?
It's log, log, log
It's log, it's log,
It's big, it's heavy, it's wood.
It's log, it's log, it's better than bad, it's good."
Everyone wants a log
You're gonna love it, log
Come on and get your log
Everyone needs a log
log log log
*whistle*
LOG FROM BLAMMO
Friday, December 01, 2006
Download of the Day: Any Video Converter
The program supports just about every video format known to man, including AVI, DivX, FLV, RM, and VOB. It also comes with output profiles for devices like the iPod and PSP, though you can easily create a custom profile with the audio and video specs of your choosing.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Not enough fish in the sea
3. What is the state of fishery resources?
3.1 The quantities fished in seas and oceans increased from 1998 to 2000, and stabilized at a slightly lower level since 2001 (84 million tonnes). This slight decrease is mainly due to lower catches in the Southeast and Northwest Pacific, but trends vary greatly between regions. Tuna is the single most important exploited resource in the high seas, particularly in the Pacific Ocean. More...
3.2 In many areas, traditional stocks have been depleted and less valuable species are being targeted by fishers. About half of all monitored stocks are now fully exploited and another quarter are overexploited, depleted, or slowly recovering. The remaining quarter are under- or moderately exploited. Available data leads to the conclusion that the global maximum potential for marine capture fisheries has been reached and that restrictive management measures are needed. More...
3.3 Fishery policies and management have usually focussed on single fishery stocks. Growing concerns about ecosystems have prompted a call for increased research into processes that affect, or are affected by, fisheries. Much more needs to be known about interactions with habitats, aquatic communities, land-based activities, climatic changes, and so on. However, the current state of fishery resources and their ecosystems allows little room for delay in management actions that should have been taken in the last three decades. More...
3.4 Fish stocks in inland waters are more difficult to monitor and very few countries can afford to supply complete data. Inland fishery resources are often undervalued and under threat from unsustainable fishing activities as well as from habitat alteration or degradation. Many river basins, especially in developing countries, support intensive fisheries, and in many cases catches are increasing. Inland fish are considered to be the most threatened group among all the vertebrates used by humans. Nevertheless, efforts have been made in many areas to enhance fish stocks in inland waters. More...
Saturday, November 11, 2006
nepalese backwhack
nepalese backwhack is a Google Whack. I dug this one up on my 3rd try, right after I finished watching Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure, probably the funniest video I have seen in a long time. 
Dave Gorman, whose 15 minutes of fame include trying to track down all the Dave Gormans in the world and meet up with them, decides to take on a bet by his friend, also Dave Gorman, to start a chain. It would be a chain of Googlewhacking that would take him around the world a few times, spending his book publishers advances on a quest to get 2 Googlewhacks from every Googlewhacker.
All these mentions of Google whacking should either get me banned or put me in the first page of search results on Google.
Here's a link to his book that I will probably try and pick up soon.
Another book Amazon suggests customers ultimately buy after viewing this item is:
8% buy The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs $11.20
So instead of buying Dave's book, they picked up AJ Jacobs? I really enjoyed his book, it was another one of those quirky, hilarious, idiotic but strangely purposeful reads. AJ decides to go about reading the dictionary, turning it into an obsession and ultimately a book.
I think I have a similar obsessive personality trait to these two... at one point early this year I was asking everyone I knew 3 ways they thought they could get rich. This was most likely because of the books I was buying at the time: Pay Yourself First, Grow Rich Slowly, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Eat The Rich, and Homemade Money (not a book on counterfeiting) to name a few.
Most people suggested playing the lottery, marrying wealth, or selling real estate. Since I was married and didn't own any real estate, the answer was to buy lotto tickets. I didn't go crazy and spend all my money on quickpicks and scratch 'n wins, but I did use some of my pocket change to pick up tickets on a regular basis. How much did I win?
$3 I think.
I didn't measure how much I lost, which really didn't matter to me that much. It was the fact that so many people think the lotto was the way to gain wealth, and it isn't.
Another obsession of late has been the stock market, which is the king of all gambles. Like the casinos, banks and brokeragehouses all have the upper hand and whether you win or lose they will make money. It is only when you step away from the table that they really do lose.
According to Wikipedia, the source of all knowledge, "Gambling offers the near-certainty of completely losing the original stake over the long term, even if it offers regular wins along the way."
The "get rich slowly" way, according to all the other books I have read that don't have "rich" in the title is this:
Start your own business
Work hard
Fail, sometimes many times
Get noticed
Become successful.
This seemed to play out well for those with the Youtube view of things. Youtube probably would have been sued into Napster oblivion if it hadn't been for Google coming by with a chunk of change. Google set the trend and opened the coiffers of many venture capitalists who were once-bitten twice-shy about the dot com craze.
Quoting from the story Google's Abject Failure
"In its 21-month life, YouTube has created value at the rate of $80 million dollars a month, sending every venture capitalist and smart kid searching for the "next big thing" in Web 2.0 "
November has seen a huge amount of Web 2.0 sites trying to capitalize on the craze. Remember the Million Dollar Homepage? There's a bunch of copycats. One red paperclip? There's Swapace. Web 2.0?
Well, what really is Web 2.0, but Web 1.0 with less clicks? Youtube's success was probably moving the play button from the toobar to the middle of the screen. The television's success was the remote. The computer's success was the mouse.
Simplification of great ideas and bringing them to life could be the way to success.
Dave Gorman, whose 15 minutes of fame include trying to track down all the Dave Gormans in the world and meet up with them, decides to take on a bet by his friend, also Dave Gorman, to start a chain. It would be a chain of Googlewhacking that would take him around the world a few times, spending his book publishers advances on a quest to get 2 Googlewhacks from every Googlewhacker.
All these mentions of Google whacking should either get me banned or put me in the first page of search results on Google.
Here's a link to his book that I will probably try and pick up soon.
Another book Amazon suggests customers ultimately buy after viewing this item is:
8% buy The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs $11.20
So instead of buying Dave's book, they picked up AJ Jacobs? I really enjoyed his book, it was another one of those quirky, hilarious, idiotic but strangely purposeful reads. AJ decides to go about reading the dictionary, turning it into an obsession and ultimately a book.
I think I have a similar obsessive personality trait to these two... at one point early this year I was asking everyone I knew 3 ways they thought they could get rich. This was most likely because of the books I was buying at the time: Pay Yourself First, Grow Rich Slowly, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Eat The Rich, and Homemade Money (not a book on counterfeiting) to name a few.
Most people suggested playing the lottery, marrying wealth, or selling real estate. Since I was married and didn't own any real estate, the answer was to buy lotto tickets. I didn't go crazy and spend all my money on quickpicks and scratch 'n wins, but I did use some of my pocket change to pick up tickets on a regular basis. How much did I win?
$3 I think.
I didn't measure how much I lost, which really didn't matter to me that much. It was the fact that so many people think the lotto was the way to gain wealth, and it isn't.
Another obsession of late has been the stock market, which is the king of all gambles. Like the casinos, banks and brokeragehouses all have the upper hand and whether you win or lose they will make money. It is only when you step away from the table that they really do lose.
According to Wikipedia, the source of all knowledge, "Gambling offers the near-certainty of completely losing the original stake over the long term, even if it offers regular wins along the way."
The "get rich slowly" way, according to all the other books I have read that don't have "rich" in the title is this:
Start your own business
Work hard
Fail, sometimes many times
Get noticed
Become successful.
This seemed to play out well for those with the Youtube view of things. Youtube probably would have been sued into Napster oblivion if it hadn't been for Google coming by with a chunk of change. Google set the trend and opened the coiffers of many venture capitalists who were once-bitten twice-shy about the dot com craze.
Quoting from the story Google's Abject Failure
"In its 21-month life, YouTube has created value at the rate of $80 million dollars a month, sending every venture capitalist and smart kid searching for the "next big thing" in Web 2.0 "
November has seen a huge amount of Web 2.0 sites trying to capitalize on the craze. Remember the Million Dollar Homepage? There's a bunch of copycats. One red paperclip? There's Swapace. Web 2.0?
Well, what really is Web 2.0, but Web 1.0 with less clicks? Youtube's success was probably moving the play button from the toobar to the middle of the screen. The television's success was the remote. The computer's success was the mouse.
Simplification of great ideas and bringing them to life could be the way to success.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
New Rules
New Rule: When I ask how old your toddler is, I don't need to know in months. "27 Months." "He's two," will do just fine. He's not a cheese. And I didn't really care in the first place.
All right, New Rule: If you forgot to buy Halloween candy, just say so. Don't hand out random crap from your kitchen. Last year, there was a guy on our block who was handing out batteries and mini-packets of soy sauce. I got so pissed, I had half a mind to poke him in the eye with my fairy wand. [photo-shopped photo of Maher in fairy costume]
-- Bill Maher
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Scott Adams gets his voice back
The day before yesterday, while helping on a homework assignment, I noticed I could speak perfectly in rhyme. Rhyme was a context I hadn’t considered. A poem isn’t singing and it isn’t regular talking. But for some reason the context is just different enough from normal speech that my brain handled it fine.
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick.
Jack jumped over the candlestick.
Darwin Search
This site contains every Darwin publication as well as many of his handwritten manuscripts. All told there are more than 50,000 searchable text pages and 40,000 images. There is also the most comprehensive Darwin bibliography ever published and the largest manuscript catalogue ever assembled. More than 150 ancillary texts are also included, ranging from reference works to contemporary reviews, obituaries, descriptions of Darwin's Beagle specimens and important works for understanding Darwin's context. Free audio mp3 versions of his works are also available.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Name your lane in Toronto
http://www.newmindspace.com/nameyourlane/step2.php
Choosing a Name
The city has prepared an informational document on choosing a name for a street or lane called Street naming/renaming. Its contents are summarized here.
Acceptable Names
In general, street names should reflect local history or the environment. This means honouring great Torontonians, remembering events from local history, celebrating diversity or reflecting local plants and animals.
Certain names are unacceptable, including names that are duplicates or similar to existing streets, offensive and advertising. If you cannot think of a name, we have prepared a short list of street names. The City Surveyor also keeps a list of proposed names on file. You may also consider visiting the Toronto Archives (255 Spadina Rd.) for names of important Canadians or events.
Street Type Designation
The following are recommended when considering what kind of street it is.
Street, Avenue, Road, Boulevard - for major thoroughfares or streets of several blocks in length
Drive, Trail, Way - for streets which are winding or curved
Terrace, Gardens, Grove, Pathway, Heights - for minor or short streets
Lane, Mews, Close - for narrow streets generally used for service
Crescent - for streets which form a crescent
Court, Place - for cul-de-sacs
Circle - for streets that are circular
Gate - for a short street that provides an entrance to a subdivision
Square - for streets that form part of a square
You may also choose North, South, East, West and Upper & Lower if it is appropriate.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Wynn elbows away $139 million
"Smack in the middle ... was a black hole the size of a silver dollar. 'Oh s---,' he said. 'Look what I've done. Thank goodness it was me.'"
Monday, October 02, 2006
Is Google a God?
Google raises my IQ around 15-20%. Consistently people ask me questions that I would answer with a few key hacking terms against Google.
Windows bluescreen? search for site:microsoft.com BSOD
MP3s? search for filetype:mp3 hendrix (blogsearch.google.com of course!)
Video? video.google.com
What is the population of Tuva? Google "wiki Tuva Feynman"
How much is a stock? Google "YHOO"
What car shouldn't I buy? Google misled
Now you just burn out on knowing the answer to everything. This is what God must be like knowing everything. How many times have I been in a restaurant and wanted to clap my hands and have Google come down from ceiling and solve an argument?
Is Google a God
And why isn't Yahoo considered as smart?
Windows bluescreen? search for site:microsoft.com BSOD
MP3s? search for filetype:mp3 hendrix (blogsearch.google.com of course!)
Video? video.google.com
What is the population of Tuva? Google "wiki Tuva Feynman"
How much is a stock? Google "YHOO"
What car shouldn't I buy? Google
Now you just burn out on knowing the answer to everything. This is what God must be like knowing everything. How many times have I been in a restaurant and wanted to clap my hands and have Google come down from ceiling and solve an argument?
Is Google a God
And why isn't Yahoo considered as smart?
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Hard to find 800 Numbers
| Google.com (we have been unable to reach a live human at Google. If you have, let us know how!) | 650-253-0000 866-246-6453 | Main switchboard Advertising | Press 5 for cust. service or technical help. Good luck finding a live human :) |
Monday, August 21, 2006
Top 50 Brunch Stops in TO
NOW names T.O.'s top 50 brunch joints, from cheap to chic, plus the five best dim sum spots, our fave all-day breakfasts and four more great places to satisfy your mid-morning to late-afternoon cravings.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Tug-O-War for Household Chores
Tug-O-War for Household Chores: "Task division requires more effort to figure out which tasks are how much work and for whom, but allows specialization. Both approaches are fairly inflexible, however, in the work load required each week. Attempts to allow exceptions, such as for sickness or deadlines, often slip into large-scale shirking.
When both my wife and I were employed, we split the task of cooking (or picking up) the evening meal with a 'Tug-O-War' board, like:
---------------------------------------
|h /#\ | h|
|i 0 0 ### 0 0 0 0 e|
|m \#/ | r|
---------------------------------------
This has a row of seven holes, with a peg sitting in one of them. The rule is that when you cook, you get to move the peg one step in your direction. If the peg gets all the way to your end, the other person *has* to cook. Now you can cook a few nights in a row if you feel energetic, or wait a few nights if you're sick. If neither of you wants to cook, the person farther down is expected to cook."
When both my wife and I were employed, we split the task of cooking (or picking up) the evening meal with a 'Tug-O-War' board, like:
---------------------------------------
|h /#\ | h|
|i 0 0 ### 0 0 0 0 e|
|m \#/ | r|
---------------------------------------
This has a row of seven holes, with a peg sitting in one of them. The rule is that when you cook, you get to move the peg one step in your direction. If the peg gets all the way to your end, the other person *has* to cook. Now you can cook a few nights in a row if you feel energetic, or wait a few nights if you're sick. If neither of you wants to cook, the person farther down is expected to cook."
America's Top Basketball Model
Mercatus Center - Mason Magic Isn't Rocket Science - It's Economics, at Least When An Acclaimed Faculty Theorizes: "Peter Boettke, a George Mason economist and avid basketball fan, offers an outlandish example: 'I can change one rule in basketball and Michael Jordan will no longer be the best basketball player of all time. You could change the rules to require the game be played on stiletto heels. Then Cindy Crawford would be the best player.'"
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Nuclear vs. the World, and DC vs. AC
Here is more from the blitz of Chernobyl press releases.
"Villagers Return to Chernobyl's Shadow - Yahoo! News: "You cannot escape your death,' said 70-year-old Ivan Muzychenko. 'It's better to die of radiation than of hunger.'"
Not sure if I agree with that one, death by radiation sounds pretty nasty, but I'm not the one having to farm glowing chickens to eat because the government won't support me, so what do I know.
Bartolomeyevka's neighboring village, Belyayevka, was recently taken off the list of highly contaminated population centers, stripping its villagers of a $20 monthly supplement for living there. Mothers say the payment is still justified because most of the village's 58 children have health problems and need healthy food and vitamins.
Belarusian workers who participated in the cleanup at Chernobyl have also seen their benefits sharply reduced.
$20 a month = $240 a year. That is sort of like the $400 Alberta tax credit and additional jobs & perks that are driving lots of people from Eastern Canada into tar pits and oil sands, though the money is worth much more in the Eastern Europe part of the world, and it does not involve enticing someone to live on an irradiated toxic site.
However, there has got to be something up with all of these press releases and reports coming out all at the same time... Here is another one from Greenpeace estimating 250k cancer cases and 100k fatal cancers as a result of the Chernobyl accident.
I am not sure why this is a debate. Whether it is 4,000 people or 250,000, it is still a massive tragedy that needs to be addressed. Yes nuclear is not safe.
Nuclear technology is inherently dangerous. Today, thankfully, it is also unnecessary. Our energy needs can be met with safe and efficient renewable energy technologies. So, why are so many politicians peddling nuclear power at the very time we need it least, when we have safe and sustainable sources available to power the world?
Unfortunately this is skewed too. What is funny (not funny ha-ha but funny sad) is that coal is probably a larger contributor to deaths and medical illness in the hundreds of years it has been in use than nuclear power. The other sad thing is that wind power supposedly requires up to 95% of its generating power in reserve forms. (eg for 100W of wind you need 95W of coal, nuclear or some other backup generator for the times when the windmills don't run).
The saddest thing is that the Ontario government is shutting down our coal plants and forcing us to reply on "alternative" energy solutions (coal energy imported from the US, and nuclear technology). Apparently there are alternatives (zero-emission coal plants) that could supplement our energy needs safely and with less byproducts than glowing fuel core rods with a half-life of 250 years.
Of course I read that information in a presentation last February by one of the coal mining companies execs to the Teacher's Pension Fund, so it's probably a bit on the skewed side. :)
Googling more information, I encountered this listing of minutes from the BC Government. I thought it was recent since it mentioned topics of the day (inflation, nuclear power), until I saw the date at the top.
Tuesday, February 27, 1973.
In terms of energy studies, we have instructed B.C. Hydro to determine in the British Columbia framework what best route we can go in attempting to meet the growth and energy demands.
I don't accept the energy growth patterns that have been shown to us. That's why I made the initial statement about turning lights out. A lot of people were amused at that suggestion. But in actual fact there are a number of significant programmes going on right now in other jurisdictions to that very end. The City of Seattle has an excellent pamphlet out urging people to cut down on the use of power. I've shown that pamphlet to the two Members we have on the board of directors of Hydro.
Con-Edison of New York has an excellent programme known as "Save a watt, " where the whole question of attempting to significantly reduce the energy demand is being looked at.
The California pattern is one that I am afraid that we will either learn by or perish by. The California demands of electricity are astronomical. It has been predicted by that the year 2000 California will need a nuclear plant every 8 miles on its coast just to meet their demand at the present growth of power.
The only significant decrease in power use in California was during wartime. Interestingly enough, when there were heavy industrial demands, there was an actual, relatively speaking - not an overall figure - but an actual, relatively speaking, lessening of demand for hydro power. Perhaps it could have been the blackouts on the coast during the scare years. In 1942, just before the Battle of Midway took place, there was the impression that the particular Japanese fleet that was about in the middle of the Pacific was going to invade California. They had a series of blackouts.
After the Aleutian invasion and the Midway battle, it went on for another 18 months. During that period of time there was a method of actually controlling the use of electricity on a domestic basis. They showed a relative decrease so in terms of state control there was an example.
The energy demands of California are being looked at by a California legislative committee. It would be worthwhile for Members of this House, perhaps, to correspond with some of those committee members. The amount of research that's available by the Rand Corporation would make very worthwhile reading to every Member. It cost about $5.5 million. We've ordered two copies of the research volumes. I went through all three volumes during ...
Interjection by an Hon. Member.
HON. MR. BARRETT: $5.5 million worth of research and we have it for nothing - well, it cost us $15 for a set of the volumes. I took the volumes with me on my recent vacation.
AN HON. MEMBER: How far did you get'?
HON. MR. BARRETT: How far did I get? I got through all three volumes, much to my surprise. I want to tell you that I was very, very proud of the fact that I got through all three volumes, till I opened the back at the flyleaf and read that these three volumes are a condensation especially prepared for Members of the California Legislature. So the technical data was obviously removed. But the patterns were there and they were clearly outlined.
California is faced with decisions on the use of nuclear power. We don't have the wherewithal to duplicate the research necessary in terms of fission. We hope that either the Soviet Union or the United States, or perhaps even Canada, makes a breakthrough. But for my own part, certainly in terms of the foreseeable future with B.C. Hydro, we don't anticipate nuclear power in the Province of British Columbia.
And they still don't have any. And I'm pretty sure California doesn't have nuclear power plants every 8 miles along its coastline.
Nuclear energy in California (and imported from outside the state) accounted for 36,970 gigwatt-hours, represents 12.8 perecent of electricity from all sources in 2004. The total dependable capacity of California's nuclear-supplied power is more than 5,300 megawatts, including the two operating nuclear power facilities in California and portions of nuclear facilities located in other states that are owned by California electricity companies.
This is really fascinating to read that in the 1973 oil crisis the same arguments about energy conservation and renewable resources were brought up. It's too bad most of it was talk at that time, or we wouldn't be in this situation again. I wonder how it all played out back then, and why the average birthday of most of the world's nuclear reactors is 1982.
In Australia, recent disagreement over nuclear technology has centred on the replacement of the HIFAR at ANSTO. Australia's only nuclear reactor has reached the end of its life after over 45 years of operation. The need for a replacement reactor has been accepted by the Australian government and many Australian scientists, and construction of the replacement research reactor has begun. The new reactor will continue providing hospitals, research institutions and industry with a reliable supply of fresh radioisotopes, and a powerful neutron source for research. It will also expand and improve on some of these functions.
The decision to replace HIFAR was not without argument. Critics acknowledge that at present some medical radioisotopes must be produced fresh in a nuclear reactor (not a cyclotron). However, they have wondered whether further research might solve this problem without the need for a very expensive reactor. At a cost of over $286 million, the replacement research reactor will be Australia's most expensive technological investment! Many groups also oppose the new reactor because of the radioactive waste it will generate, and the risks associated with running a nuclear facility, as discussed above.
I bought a book last weekend on Thomas Edison. According to it, if it weren't for his defrauding investors to IPO his company and raise capital for his lightbulb idea, we would still be burning coal or hydrogen for light. He announced his invention over a year before it was actually invented, which caused his stock prices to explode against gas and other fuels. He used the funds to hire the best and brightest staff, and worked them long into the night to harness their ideas and release them as patents with his name. One of his former employees, Tesla, invented AC power, and after a costly battle with Edison's DC vs. Tesla's AC, Edison lost.
Edison went on to carry out a campaign to discourage the use of alternating current. Edison personally presided over several executions of animals, primarily stray cats and dogs, to demonstrate to the press that his system of direct current was safer than that of alternating current. Edison's series of animal executions peaked with the electrocution of Topsy the Elephant. He also tried to popularize the term for being electrocuted as being "Westinghoused".
After over 100 years, not a whole lot has changed. You still have a light bulb with a filament that runs on AC power.
Low frequency (50 - 60 Hz) AC currents are actually more dangerous than similar levels of DC current since the alternating fluctuations can cause the heart to lose coordination, inducing ventricular fibrillation, which then rapidly leads to death. However any practical distribution system will use voltage levels quite sufficient to ensure a dangerous amount of current will flow, whether it uses alternating or direct current. Since the precautions against electrocution are similar, ultimately, the advantages of AC power transmission outweighed this theoretical risk, and it was eventually adopted as the standard.
I wonder how many people found out the hard way that AC power is dangerous over the years? And actually, with solar, wind power, and efficient DC current, Edison may have been able to win the battle today, though he still sounds like a nasty guy.
Transmission of electric power by direct current became commercially significant again in the context of high voltage direct current systems, used for bulk transmission of energy from distant generating stations or for interconnection of separate alternating-current systems. These HVDC systems use solid-state devices that were unavailable during the War of the Currents era. Power is still converted to and from alternating current at each side of a HVDC link. The advantages of HVDC over AC for bulk transmission include higher power ratings for a given line (important since installing new lines and even upgrading old ones is extremely expensive) and better control of power flows, especially in transient and emergency conditions that often lead to blackouts. Had modern HVDC technology been available to Edison, he might well have won the War of the Currents.
"Villagers Return to Chernobyl's Shadow - Yahoo! News: "You cannot escape your death,' said 70-year-old Ivan Muzychenko. 'It's better to die of radiation than of hunger.'"
Not sure if I agree with that one, death by radiation sounds pretty nasty, but I'm not the one having to farm glowing chickens to eat because the government won't support me, so what do I know.
Bartolomeyevka's neighboring village, Belyayevka, was recently taken off the list of highly contaminated population centers, stripping its villagers of a $20 monthly supplement for living there. Mothers say the payment is still justified because most of the village's 58 children have health problems and need healthy food and vitamins.
Belarusian workers who participated in the cleanup at Chernobyl have also seen their benefits sharply reduced.
$20 a month = $240 a year. That is sort of like the $400 Alberta tax credit and additional jobs & perks that are driving lots of people from Eastern Canada into tar pits and oil sands, though the money is worth much more in the Eastern Europe part of the world, and it does not involve enticing someone to live on an irradiated toxic site.
However, there has got to be something up with all of these press releases and reports coming out all at the same time... Here is another one from Greenpeace estimating 250k cancer cases and 100k fatal cancers as a result of the Chernobyl accident.
I am not sure why this is a debate. Whether it is 4,000 people or 250,000, it is still a massive tragedy that needs to be addressed. Yes nuclear is not safe.
Nuclear technology is inherently dangerous. Today, thankfully, it is also unnecessary. Our energy needs can be met with safe and efficient renewable energy technologies. So, why are so many politicians peddling nuclear power at the very time we need it least, when we have safe and sustainable sources available to power the world?
Unfortunately this is skewed too. What is funny (not funny ha-ha but funny sad) is that coal is probably a larger contributor to deaths and medical illness in the hundreds of years it has been in use than nuclear power. The other sad thing is that wind power supposedly requires up to 95% of its generating power in reserve forms. (eg for 100W of wind you need 95W of coal, nuclear or some other backup generator for the times when the windmills don't run).
The saddest thing is that the Ontario government is shutting down our coal plants and forcing us to reply on "alternative" energy solutions (coal energy imported from the US, and nuclear technology). Apparently there are alternatives (zero-emission coal plants) that could supplement our energy needs safely and with less byproducts than glowing fuel core rods with a half-life of 250 years.
Of course I read that information in a presentation last February by one of the coal mining companies execs to the Teacher's Pension Fund, so it's probably a bit on the skewed side. :)
Googling more information, I encountered this listing of minutes from the BC Government. I thought it was recent since it mentioned topics of the day (inflation, nuclear power), until I saw the date at the top.
Tuesday, February 27, 1973.
In terms of energy studies, we have instructed B.C. Hydro to determine in the British Columbia framework what best route we can go in attempting to meet the growth and energy demands.
I don't accept the energy growth patterns that have been shown to us. That's why I made the initial statement about turning lights out. A lot of people were amused at that suggestion. But in actual fact there are a number of significant programmes going on right now in other jurisdictions to that very end. The City of Seattle has an excellent pamphlet out urging people to cut down on the use of power. I've shown that pamphlet to the two Members we have on the board of directors of Hydro.
Con-Edison of New York has an excellent programme known as "Save a watt, " where the whole question of attempting to significantly reduce the energy demand is being looked at.
The California pattern is one that I am afraid that we will either learn by or perish by. The California demands of electricity are astronomical. It has been predicted by that the year 2000 California will need a nuclear plant every 8 miles on its coast just to meet their demand at the present growth of power.
The only significant decrease in power use in California was during wartime. Interestingly enough, when there were heavy industrial demands, there was an actual, relatively speaking - not an overall figure - but an actual, relatively speaking, lessening of demand for hydro power. Perhaps it could have been the blackouts on the coast during the scare years. In 1942, just before the Battle of Midway took place, there was the impression that the particular Japanese fleet that was about in the middle of the Pacific was going to invade California. They had a series of blackouts.
After the Aleutian invasion and the Midway battle, it went on for another 18 months. During that period of time there was a method of actually controlling the use of electricity on a domestic basis. They showed a relative decrease so in terms of state control there was an example.
The energy demands of California are being looked at by a California legislative committee. It would be worthwhile for Members of this House, perhaps, to correspond with some of those committee members. The amount of research that's available by the Rand Corporation would make very worthwhile reading to every Member. It cost about $5.5 million. We've ordered two copies of the research volumes. I went through all three volumes during ...
Interjection by an Hon. Member.
HON. MR. BARRETT: $5.5 million worth of research and we have it for nothing - well, it cost us $15 for a set of the volumes. I took the volumes with me on my recent vacation.
AN HON. MEMBER: How far did you get'?
HON. MR. BARRETT: How far did I get? I got through all three volumes, much to my surprise. I want to tell you that I was very, very proud of the fact that I got through all three volumes, till I opened the back at the flyleaf and read that these three volumes are a condensation especially prepared for Members of the California Legislature. So the technical data was obviously removed. But the patterns were there and they were clearly outlined.
California is faced with decisions on the use of nuclear power. We don't have the wherewithal to duplicate the research necessary in terms of fission. We hope that either the Soviet Union or the United States, or perhaps even Canada, makes a breakthrough. But for my own part, certainly in terms of the foreseeable future with B.C. Hydro, we don't anticipate nuclear power in the Province of British Columbia.
And they still don't have any. And I'm pretty sure California doesn't have nuclear power plants every 8 miles along its coastline.
Nuclear energy in California (and imported from outside the state) accounted for 36,970 gigwatt-hours, represents 12.8 perecent of electricity from all sources in 2004. The total dependable capacity of California's nuclear-supplied power is more than 5,300 megawatts, including the two operating nuclear power facilities in California and portions of nuclear facilities located in other states that are owned by California electricity companies.
This is really fascinating to read that in the 1973 oil crisis the same arguments about energy conservation and renewable resources were brought up. It's too bad most of it was talk at that time, or we wouldn't be in this situation again. I wonder how it all played out back then, and why the average birthday of most of the world's nuclear reactors is 1982.
In Australia, recent disagreement over nuclear technology has centred on the replacement of the HIFAR at ANSTO. Australia's only nuclear reactor has reached the end of its life after over 45 years of operation. The need for a replacement reactor has been accepted by the Australian government and many Australian scientists, and construction of the replacement research reactor has begun. The new reactor will continue providing hospitals, research institutions and industry with a reliable supply of fresh radioisotopes, and a powerful neutron source for research. It will also expand and improve on some of these functions.
The decision to replace HIFAR was not without argument. Critics acknowledge that at present some medical radioisotopes must be produced fresh in a nuclear reactor (not a cyclotron). However, they have wondered whether further research might solve this problem without the need for a very expensive reactor. At a cost of over $286 million, the replacement research reactor will be Australia's most expensive technological investment! Many groups also oppose the new reactor because of the radioactive waste it will generate, and the risks associated with running a nuclear facility, as discussed above.
I bought a book last weekend on Thomas Edison. According to it, if it weren't for his defrauding investors to IPO his company and raise capital for his lightbulb idea, we would still be burning coal or hydrogen for light. He announced his invention over a year before it was actually invented, which caused his stock prices to explode against gas and other fuels. He used the funds to hire the best and brightest staff, and worked them long into the night to harness their ideas and release them as patents with his name. One of his former employees, Tesla, invented AC power, and after a costly battle with Edison's DC vs. Tesla's AC, Edison lost.
Edison went on to carry out a campaign to discourage the use of alternating current. Edison personally presided over several executions of animals, primarily stray cats and dogs, to demonstrate to the press that his system of direct current was safer than that of alternating current. Edison's series of animal executions peaked with the electrocution of Topsy the Elephant. He also tried to popularize the term for being electrocuted as being "Westinghoused".
After over 100 years, not a whole lot has changed. You still have a light bulb with a filament that runs on AC power.
Low frequency (50 - 60 Hz) AC currents are actually more dangerous than similar levels of DC current since the alternating fluctuations can cause the heart to lose coordination, inducing ventricular fibrillation, which then rapidly leads to death. However any practical distribution system will use voltage levels quite sufficient to ensure a dangerous amount of current will flow, whether it uses alternating or direct current. Since the precautions against electrocution are similar, ultimately, the advantages of AC power transmission outweighed this theoretical risk, and it was eventually adopted as the standard.
I wonder how many people found out the hard way that AC power is dangerous over the years? And actually, with solar, wind power, and efficient DC current, Edison may have been able to win the battle today, though he still sounds like a nasty guy.
Transmission of electric power by direct current became commercially significant again in the context of high voltage direct current systems, used for bulk transmission of energy from distant generating stations or for interconnection of separate alternating-current systems. These HVDC systems use solid-state devices that were unavailable during the War of the Currents era. Power is still converted to and from alternating current at each side of a HVDC link. The advantages of HVDC over AC for bulk transmission include higher power ratings for a given line (important since installing new lines and even upgrading old ones is extremely expensive) and better control of power flows, especially in transient and emergency conditions that often lead to blackouts. Had modern HVDC technology been available to Edison, he might well have won the War of the Currents.
Chernobyl report author slanted?
The Chernobyl disaster and its repurcussions has been lingering around for almost 20 years (the anniversary will be next week.) There seems to be a ton of press releases making front page of Yahoo around this.
A new study was released called The Other Report on Chernobyl (TORCH).
Two UK scientists put together this report. One has some interesting enemies.
LLRC Journal Radioactive Times. Vol.5 No 1: "Fairlie, who admitted to being a great friend of Richard Wakeford, BNFL�s Health Effects Rottweiler, even withheld papers which had been submitted for the Committee�s consideration. The deliberations became so altered by the time the minutes of the early meetings appeared that LLRC had to bring a DAT tape recorder to each session to ensure accuracy. Paul Dorfman was routinely excluded from decisions, paperwork and access to meeting transcripts. Finally, when Marion Hill (about whom we were at first the most concerned in terms of possible bias) began to be excluded from the secretariat loop, she resigned in a letter that accused Fairlie and Goodhead of collusion resulting in a bias to the intention of the committee. She further complained that Fairlie�s invoices would soon amount to �100,000 - four times as much as other Secretariat members - when unsalaried members of the committee like Richard Bramhall (who spent days transcribing the tape recordings) and Chris Busby (writing copious papers for the committee) received nothing. This bombshell letter has been followed by a major re-allocation of work in the secretariat. "
There are 443 nuclear reactors in the world, averaging 22 years old.
A new study was released called The Other Report on Chernobyl (TORCH).
Two UK scientists put together this report. One has some interesting enemies.
LLRC Journal Radioactive Times. Vol.5 No 1: "Fairlie, who admitted to being a great friend of Richard Wakeford, BNFL�s Health Effects Rottweiler, even withheld papers which had been submitted for the Committee�s consideration. The deliberations became so altered by the time the minutes of the early meetings appeared that LLRC had to bring a DAT tape recorder to each session to ensure accuracy. Paul Dorfman was routinely excluded from decisions, paperwork and access to meeting transcripts. Finally, when Marion Hill (about whom we were at first the most concerned in terms of possible bias) began to be excluded from the secretariat loop, she resigned in a letter that accused Fairlie and Goodhead of collusion resulting in a bias to the intention of the committee. She further complained that Fairlie�s invoices would soon amount to �100,000 - four times as much as other Secretariat members - when unsalaried members of the committee like Richard Bramhall (who spent days transcribing the tape recordings) and Chris Busby (writing copious papers for the committee) received nothing. This bombshell letter has been followed by a major re-allocation of work in the secretariat. "
There are 443 nuclear reactors in the world, averaging 22 years old.
Armstrong, Discovery Seek New Cycling Star - Yahoo! News
Lance is doing some reality TV.
Armstrong, Discovery Seek New Cycling Star - Yahoo! News: "'Can you imagine the thrill to ride on the legendary Indianapolis speedway with other avid fans, trying out to win a spot on the team for the U.S. championships? That's pretty cool. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lucky fan to actually ride with the team.'
Funds raised will benefit the foundation of Armstrong, a cancer survivor who raises money and awareness to fight the disease. Armstrong compares the experience of competing with the Discovery team at the USA Cycling event to being 'a Yankees fan playing shortstop' in a real game."
I saw Lance speak a few years ago at a Learning Annex event with Mark Burnett, creator of Survivor. He must have left an impression...
Armstrong, Discovery Seek New Cycling Star - Yahoo! News: "'Can you imagine the thrill to ride on the legendary Indianapolis speedway with other avid fans, trying out to win a spot on the team for the U.S. championships? That's pretty cool. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lucky fan to actually ride with the team.'
Funds raised will benefit the foundation of Armstrong, a cancer survivor who raises money and awareness to fight the disease. Armstrong compares the experience of competing with the Discovery team at the USA Cycling event to being 'a Yankees fan playing shortstop' in a real game."
I saw Lance speak a few years ago at a Learning Annex event with Mark Burnett, creator of Survivor. He must have left an impression...
Saturday, April 22, 2006
TheStar.com - Loblaws settles hepatitis lawsuit
The proposed deal is worth $150 to anyone who received a hepatitis A vaccine, or consulted their doctor, as a precaution after public health officials disclosed the employee's condition to the public. It could cost Loblaws and its insurers at least $3 million.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Give nukes to nature
BBC NEWS | Europe | Wildlife defies Chernobyl radiation: "He went on: 'I have wondered if the small volumes of nuclear waste from power production should be stored in tropical forests and other habitats in need of a reliable guardian against their destruction by greedy developers'. "
Monday, April 17, 2006
The pleasure of finding things out - RP Feynman - Google Video
"I know what it means to know something."
--Richard Feynman
Dr. Richard Feynman was one of the smartest people of the 20th century. This video is a really interesting and thoughtful documentary interview with him.
--Richard Feynman
Dr. Richard Feynman was one of the smartest people of the 20th century. This video is a really interesting and thoughtful documentary interview with him.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Solid State IDE Drive
Blurring the line between memory and physical disk, comes the i-RAM.
Gigabyte's i-RAM storage device - The Tech Report - Page 1: "i-RAM revealed
The i-RAM's greatest asset is easily its simplicity. Just populate the card with memory, plug it into an available PCI slot, attach a Serial ATA cable to your motherboard, and you've got yourself a solid-state hard drive. There's no need for drivers, extra software, or even Windows�the i-RAM is detected by a motherboard BIOS as a standard hard drive, so it should work with any operating system. In fact, because the i-RAM behaves like a standard hard drive, you can even combine multiple i-RAMs together in RAID arrays. "
Gigabyte's i-RAM storage device - The Tech Report - Page 1: "i-RAM revealed
The i-RAM's greatest asset is easily its simplicity. Just populate the card with memory, plug it into an available PCI slot, attach a Serial ATA cable to your motherboard, and you've got yourself a solid-state hard drive. There's no need for drivers, extra software, or even Windows�the i-RAM is detected by a motherboard BIOS as a standard hard drive, so it should work with any operating system. In fact, because the i-RAM behaves like a standard hard drive, you can even combine multiple i-RAMs together in RAID arrays. "
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Something Awful - other things to spend war dollars on
Something Awful: "29 Statues of Liberty that shoot laser beams out of their torch
Bear with me on this one. The Statues of Liberty cost approximately 350,000 dollars to construct, including its base. Assuming all of those bucks are 1884 bucks that's worth 6.9 billion in 2005 bucks. The Statue of Liberty is one of the most enduring symbols of the Freedom and openness in the United States. But, we are living in historic times. We are living in the epoch of the terrorist, when our monuments, buildings and ports are in danger.
Enter the ABL or airborne chemical laser. This huge turret is capable of cooking missiles, aircraft and just about anything else that falls within its beam of death. "
Bear with me on this one. The Statues of Liberty cost approximately 350,000 dollars to construct, including its base. Assuming all of those bucks are 1884 bucks that's worth 6.9 billion in 2005 bucks. The Statue of Liberty is one of the most enduring symbols of the Freedom and openness in the United States. But, we are living in historic times. We are living in the epoch of the terrorist, when our monuments, buildings and ports are in danger.
Enter the ABL or airborne chemical laser. This huge turret is capable of cooking missiles, aircraft and just about anything else that falls within its beam of death. "
Page counts are meaningless
Having an RSS feed on your site automatically inflates your numbers, as subscribers poll ever 15 minutes on average. Here's another way to screw up tracking.
terrill.ca | Hacking Google Analytics: "Could it really be that simple?
Turns out it is. Want to scew the statistics of a friends website, how about a competitor? Look up their source code, plug it into your website header and laugh. But don't worry you could run multiple accounts, and hit them both on each page. That way you can keep your stats flowing just like normal. "
terrill.ca | Hacking Google Analytics: "Could it really be that simple?
Turns out it is. Want to scew the statistics of a friends website, how about a competitor? Look up their source code, plug it into your website header and laugh. But don't worry you could run multiple accounts, and hit them both on each page. That way you can keep your stats flowing just like normal. "
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Inside AdSense: Meet Ivan the optimiser -- but please, no paparazzi
Inside AdSense: Meet Ivan the optimiser -- but please, no paparazzi: "
What are the top 3 tips you like to tell publishers?
1. Use wide ad formats. Many publishers find the 728x90 Leaderboard outperforms the 468x60 banner by about 70%. I particularly recommend using the 728x90 Leaderboard, 160x600 Wide Skyscraper, and 300x250 Medium Rectangle.
2. Embed Google ads in your content, and place Google ads at the end of your articles, news stories and reviews. Placing a 468x60 Banner in the typical slot at the top of page, or a 120x600 Skyscraper along the right-hand side of page, work well for cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) ads. However, for cost-per-click (CPC) contextual advertising, AdSense tends to work best when integrated with your content.
3. Blend your ad colours into your website. After running a test with a bright pink 728x90 Leaderboard on a black background, I learned that complementary colours often work better. Try blending the background and borders of your ads into your site, and use a text colour that stands out but already exists on your site. Blending decreases ad blindness and users are more likely to notice ads that interest them."
What are the top 3 tips you like to tell publishers?
1. Use wide ad formats. Many publishers find the 728x90 Leaderboard outperforms the 468x60 banner by about 70%. I particularly recommend using the 728x90 Leaderboard, 160x600 Wide Skyscraper, and 300x250 Medium Rectangle.
2. Embed Google ads in your content, and place Google ads at the end of your articles, news stories and reviews. Placing a 468x60 Banner in the typical slot at the top of page, or a 120x600 Skyscraper along the right-hand side of page, work well for cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) ads. However, for cost-per-click (CPC) contextual advertising, AdSense tends to work best when integrated with your content.
3. Blend your ad colours into your website. After running a test with a bright pink 728x90 Leaderboard on a black background, I learned that complementary colours often work better. Try blending the background and borders of your ads into your site, and use a text colour that stands out but already exists on your site. Blending decreases ad blindness and users are more likely to notice ads that interest them."
Where the Hell is Matt?
Where the Hell is Matt?: "Matt is a 29-year-old itinerant deadbeat from Connecticut. In February of 2003, he quit his job making videogames in Brisbane, Australia to go walk the Earth, like Caine from Kung Fu. He made this site so he could keep his family and friends updated about where he is. Matt realizes that Caine from Kung Fu probably wouldn't make a web site about walking the Earth, but he accepts that there are certain ways in which he and Caine differ."
Check out the Dancing link... this is still the best video on the internet.
Check out the Dancing link... this is still the best video on the internet.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Glad I didn't apply for that fake job from Accenture
"+ The U.N. Human Development Index ranks Nigeria as having one of the worst standards of living, below both Haiti and Bangladesh. For all its oil wealth, and after seven years of governance by one of Africa's most highly touted democrats, Nigeria has become the largest failed state on earth."
+ A drive across Lagos — the country's commercial capital and, with 13 million people, Africa's largest metropolis — reveals unmitigated chaos. The government has left roads to decay indefinitely. Thugs clear away the broken asphalt and then extract payments from drivers, using chunks of rubble to enforce their demands. Residents dig up the pavement to lay cables that tap illegally into state power lines. Armed robbers emerge from the slums to pillage cars stuck in gridlocks (aptly named "hold-ups" in regional slang) so impenetrable that the fourteen-mile trip from the airport to the city center can take four hours. Electricity blackouts of six to twelve hours a day are common. "Area boys" in loosely affiliated gangs dominate most of the city, extorting money from drivers and shop owners. Those who fail to pay up may be beaten or given a knife jab in the shoulder.
Next time I get one of those Nigerian emails, I'm going to tell them to keep my inheritance from my long lost Dr. Uncle. They need it more than I do...
+ A drive across Lagos — the country's commercial capital and, with 13 million people, Africa's largest metropolis — reveals unmitigated chaos. The government has left roads to decay indefinitely. Thugs clear away the broken asphalt and then extract payments from drivers, using chunks of rubble to enforce their demands. Residents dig up the pavement to lay cables that tap illegally into state power lines. Armed robbers emerge from the slums to pillage cars stuck in gridlocks (aptly named "hold-ups" in regional slang) so impenetrable that the fourteen-mile trip from the airport to the city center can take four hours. Electricity blackouts of six to twelve hours a day are common. "Area boys" in loosely affiliated gangs dominate most of the city, extorting money from drivers and shop owners. Those who fail to pay up may be beaten or given a knife jab in the shoulder.
Next time I get one of those Nigerian emails, I'm going to tell them to keep my inheritance from my long lost Dr. Uncle. They need it more than I do...
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Paul Allen was once the Boss of MS
Paul Allen is one week older than me. I have more kids but he has more toys -- a LOT more toys -- including professional football and basketball teams, SpaceShipOne, lots of planes and a HUGE boat. Allen is an enthusiast of epic proportions, but one of my fondest images of him was from the 20th anniversary party for the Altair 8800 computer (arguably the first PC), when Paul Allen-the-billionaire wanted some fast food late at night and -- not having a car -- WALKED through the drive-through as part of a long line of cars.
Interesting article on Paul Allen, and Bill Gates' $10/hr position at MIT.
Interesting article on Paul Allen, and Bill Gates' $10/hr position at MIT.
JAJAH - web activated-telephony
JAJAH - web activated-telephony
So with this service you can set your phone number and call a friend, for $0.0174 USD/min.
So with this service you can set your phone number and call a friend, for $0.0174 USD/min.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Write a book based on your WebLog
Eric Sink's Weblog: "After what seems like an eternity of proofreading, today is the day that my book is being sent off to be printed. The book is essentially a collection of essays from here on my weblog, each one edited and prefaced with an introduction."
Eric is a detailed writer, and his postings are mainly essays, so don't get any ideas about compiling your daily livejournal entries about your cat into a book. This does prove that it is possible to author a book through your blog, and then use existing content to publish your blog in book form.
This entry will appear in Chapter 6 of my book, Wavesmash - Deep Thoughts in a Shallow Pond, titled How to Write a book based on your WebLog.
Get your comments in to the book now...
Eric is a detailed writer, and his postings are mainly essays, so don't get any ideas about compiling your daily livejournal entries about your cat into a book. This does prove that it is possible to author a book through your blog, and then use existing content to publish your blog in book form.
This entry will appear in Chapter 6 of my book, Wavesmash - Deep Thoughts in a Shallow Pond, titled How to Write a book based on your WebLog.
Get your comments in to the book now...
Friday, March 31, 2006
Long-term mobile phone use raises brain tumor risk: study - Yahoo! News
"A total 85 of these 905 cases were so-called high users of mobile phones, that is they began early to use mobile and, or wireless telephones and used them a lot," the study said.
"The study also shows that the rise in risk is noticeable for tumors on the side of the head where the phone was said to be used," it added.
Hmm, wonder why they picked 905 cases and not 1000? 905 is the area code of my cell phone...
Wouldn't handsfree mean you'd get cancer around your pocket?
"The study also shows that the rise in risk is noticeable for tumors on the side of the head where the phone was said to be used," it added.
Hmm, wonder why they picked 905 cases and not 1000? 905 is the area code of my cell phone...
Wouldn't handsfree mean you'd get cancer around your pocket?
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Isn't it semantic? : Articles : Internet : BCS
Isn't it semantic? : Articles : Internet : BCS: "Ian Horrocks spoke to the BCS on ontologies, the application of which would clearly see a true Semantic Web, but how can we apply these principles to the billions of existing Web pages?
Don't. Web pages are designed for people. For the Semantic Web we need to look at existing databases and the data in them.
To make this information useful semantically requires a sequence of events:
1. Do a model of what's in the database - which would give you an ontology you could work out on the back of an envelope. Write it in RDF Schema or OWL (the Web Ontology Language).
2. Find out who else has already got equivalent terms in an ontology. For those things use their terms instead.
3. Write down how your database connects to those things.
Using this information you can set up a Web server that runs resource description framework (RDF). A larger database could support queries.
To make all this really useful it's important that all important things - such as customers and products - have URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers) - for example, http:// example.com/products.rdf#hairdryers - so invoices, shipping notes, product specifications and so on can refer to them.
These would all be virtual RDF files - the server would generate them on the fly and it would all be available on the Semantic Web. Then an individual could compare products directly by their specifications, weight and delivery charges, price and so on, in a way that HTML won't allow."
The Semantic Web, from the creator of http://www
More information...
In your book you mention the aim of making the Web operate more like the human brain in making unusual and richer connections between data - doesn't the Web perform that function better in a way now because of the tangential returns you get from searches? Wouldn't the ontological approach make the Web less like the human brain?
Well, the Semantic Web is about data. The Web of human ideas is served by the hypertext Web but the Semantic Web helps with machine analysis. Take the current concerns over bird flu. Is it only around agricultural areas?
Suppose we have shared terms (URIs) for latitude and longitude and time. That would allow so many forms of public and private data to be correlated. We could also combine any say, medical data, with socio-economic data from the World Bank - land use and so on.
This could co-relate bird flu information and export it to a spreadsheet and lead to serious analysis. So, where HTML provides information in a way easy for humans to read, the semantic Web will enable much better analysis of it.
This sounds like what is happening with Google Maps & Google Earth.
More links to semantic web information:
http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/
http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/Semantic.html
http://www.semanticweb.org/
Don't. Web pages are designed for people. For the Semantic Web we need to look at existing databases and the data in them.
To make this information useful semantically requires a sequence of events:
1. Do a model of what's in the database - which would give you an ontology you could work out on the back of an envelope. Write it in RDF Schema or OWL (the Web Ontology Language).
2. Find out who else has already got equivalent terms in an ontology. For those things use their terms instead.
3. Write down how your database connects to those things.
Using this information you can set up a Web server that runs resource description framework (RDF). A larger database could support queries.
To make all this really useful it's important that all important things - such as customers and products - have URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers) - for example, http:// example.com/products.rdf#hairdryers - so invoices, shipping notes, product specifications and so on can refer to them.
These would all be virtual RDF files - the server would generate them on the fly and it would all be available on the Semantic Web. Then an individual could compare products directly by their specifications, weight and delivery charges, price and so on, in a way that HTML won't allow."
The Semantic Web, from the creator of http://www
More information...
In your book you mention the aim of making the Web operate more like the human brain in making unusual and richer connections between data - doesn't the Web perform that function better in a way now because of the tangential returns you get from searches? Wouldn't the ontological approach make the Web less like the human brain?
Well, the Semantic Web is about data. The Web of human ideas is served by the hypertext Web but the Semantic Web helps with machine analysis. Take the current concerns over bird flu. Is it only around agricultural areas?
Suppose we have shared terms (URIs) for latitude and longitude and time. That would allow so many forms of public and private data to be correlated. We could also combine any say, medical data, with socio-economic data from the World Bank - land use and so on.
This could co-relate bird flu information and export it to a spreadsheet and lead to serious analysis. So, where HTML provides information in a way easy for humans to read, the semantic Web will enable much better analysis of it.
This sounds like what is happening with Google Maps & Google Earth.
More links to semantic web information:
http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/
http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/Semantic.html
http://www.semanticweb.org/
Monday, March 27, 2006
Bush talking to Canada
CNW Group: "TORONTO, March 27 /CNW/ - CTV announced today that CTV News has secured an exclusive sit-down, televised interview with United States President, George W. Bush. This is the first time President Bush has granted such an
interview to a Canadian broadcaster. The interview will air Tuesday, March 28 on CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson at 11 p.m."
interview to a Canadian broadcaster. The interview will air Tuesday, March 28 on CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson at 11 p.m."
IKEA is Religion?
"Known for its inexpensive self-assembly furniture, the family-owned business claims its hefty catalog is the most widely read publication after the Bible."
IKEA's founder is fit and frugal.
"I'm not afraid of turning 80 and I have lots of things to do. I don't have time for dying," Kamprad said.
Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah...
IKEA's founder is fit and frugal.
"I'm not afraid of turning 80 and I have lots of things to do. I don't have time for dying," Kamprad said.
Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah...
Saturday, March 25, 2006
MobileRead Networks - the resource for mobile geeks seeking information and advice for keeping their gadgets happy
Here are some comparisons of the upcoming e-ink readers.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Flouridian Conspiracy
Too much fluoride in water endangers bones - Yahoo! News: "'The bottom line from the nation's top voice on science is that you can protect your children's teeth by brushing them and you can protect their bones by getting rid of fluoride in tap water,' Tim Kropp, the group's senior scientist, said in an e-mail. "
Isn't there flouride in toothpaste too? Guess the communists also had that one covered... (see article)
I am still trying to understand what would posess someone to think that adding something to an entire nation's water supply would make sense, just for the sake of clean, healthy teeth.
Isn't there flouride in toothpaste too? Guess the communists also had that one covered... (see article)
I am still trying to understand what would posess someone to think that adding something to an entire nation's water supply would make sense, just for the sake of clean, healthy teeth.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Passing On the Tim Horton’s IPO (THI, WEN)
The Retail Stock Blog » Passing On the Tim Horton’s IPO (THI, WEN): "Currently, there is one Tim Hortons for approximately every 11,500 Canadians. That is more than double the ratio of one McDonalds for every 21,700 Americans. There are nearly as many Tim Hortons per Canadian as there is McDonalds, Wendy’s, or Burger King combined per American. Given these figures, the market for Tim Hortons in Canada appears to be closing in on saturation. Obviously, this does not bode well for future growth."
I disagree. Until a Tim Horton's opens on my front lawn, I will continue to be bullish on the new stock.
Coffee is really just nicotine in disguise anyway. If I don't have 1-2 cups per day, my eyes start closing and I get headaches. The lineups I see are always long. Ever been to one in Barrie on a weekend, or one somewhere on the 401 near a US border?
It is almost half the price of Starbucks. It doesn't taste like crap like Dunkin' Donuts. It doesn't smell of stale cigarettes like the Coffee Time near me.
I am still partial to the real Costa Rican, Kenyan, or Columbian coffee that Timothy's or Second Cup provides, but the crack-like substance that Tim Horton's sells is growing on me.
Tim Ho's hasn't even really tapped the European market, where a Timmy's cup signifies I Am Canadian. And I didn't see one at the base of the Great Wall in China yet - prime real estate for growth when Starbucks is already in the Forbidden City.
I disagree. Until a Tim Horton's opens on my front lawn, I will continue to be bullish on the new stock.
Coffee is really just nicotine in disguise anyway. If I don't have 1-2 cups per day, my eyes start closing and I get headaches. The lineups I see are always long. Ever been to one in Barrie on a weekend, or one somewhere on the 401 near a US border?
It is almost half the price of Starbucks. It doesn't taste like crap like Dunkin' Donuts. It doesn't smell of stale cigarettes like the Coffee Time near me.
I am still partial to the real Costa Rican, Kenyan, or Columbian coffee that Timothy's or Second Cup provides, but the crack-like substance that Tim Horton's sells is growing on me.
Tim Ho's hasn't even really tapped the European market, where a Timmy's cup signifies I Am Canadian. And I didn't see one at the base of the Great Wall in China yet - prime real estate for growth when Starbucks is already in the Forbidden City.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Pareto revisited - the 80/20 rule and is Google a commu-capitalist organization?
Be smarter at work, slack off - Mar. 17, 2006: "Indeed, 'the notion that busyness is the essence of business can only do us long-term harm,' writes consultant Tom DeMarco in a book called Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency."
If you do the things you enjoy, ignore the things that don't mean a whole lot to you or upset you, and take lots of 'slack-time', you end up in Office Space bliss, perhaps with a promotion if you do it right.
The key to this article's commentary is bigger thinking vs. task-oriented thinking. Instead of the thought "I need to do the laundry", how about "I need to figure out a way to make enough money so that somebody sends me 8 Armani undershirts a day whenever I am working."
"Actor John Travolta has demanded eight new Armani T-shirts a day to appear in his new movie -- because he refuses to wear the same one twice. Travolta objects to washing clothes for religious reasons, so he had it written into his contract for new film 'Basic' that he be supplied with the $350 black tops. Travolta is a devoted member of The Church Of Scientology, which frowns on the chemicals used in dry cleaning. But movie bosses, desperate to sign Travolta up as leading man for the film about army basic training, had little choice but agree to the $2,800-a-day demand. According to Britain's The Sun newspaper, a source close to the production says, 'John wasn't happy wearing just any old shirts - he wanted to look right. He likes the designer Armani shirts and said he wanted to wear those. But the producers were amazed when he said he wanted eight a day.' The source adds, 'They don't come cheap and it adds up to quite a large sum per week. But John told them he wanted it included in his contract before he accepted the part in the movie.'"
Well, laundry is bad for the environment. Just take a look at PHO, a water ETF I was going to buy when it came out in December.
Lots of people are thinking the same thing - we're a little short on water, and it's going to take 10 million years for that new ocean to form in Africa.
Maybe there's a way to use sand to clean clothes. Frugal living must have something on that...
The average interruption is supposed to cost each worker 3 hours in lost trains of thought. The average worker is interrupted every 15 minutes.
Google's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., is a famously laid-back place, replete with lap pools, massage rooms, pool tables, free haute cuisine, and loads of other stress-reducing amenities like onsite dry cleaners and hair stylists.
"We want to take as much hurry and worry out of people's lives as we can, because a relaxed state of mind unleashes creativity," says Stacy Sullivan, the company's HR director. "And everybody's on flextime here, so we don't reward face time or working super-long hours. We just measure results."
Well, working at Google is one way to get out of laundry, though they do have a washer-dryer in the lounge. Maybe working at Google is a lot like a hybrid of communism's ideals with capitalism's cash and stock options. You're focusing on your stock price while you and the collective good live and work in the same environment. Hours and what you do are not important, as long as you are doing good for the collective. Everyone has access to the wave pool, the masseuse, and fine cuisine, and shares these burdens together within the duality of Google's walls.
In the end, what else matters? Of course, not every workplace can match Google's. But plenty of companies might do a lot worse than to emulate the thinking behind it.
If you do the things you enjoy, ignore the things that don't mean a whole lot to you or upset you, and take lots of 'slack-time', you end up in Office Space bliss, perhaps with a promotion if you do it right.
The key to this article's commentary is bigger thinking vs. task-oriented thinking. Instead of the thought "I need to do the laundry", how about "I need to figure out a way to make enough money so that somebody sends me 8 Armani undershirts a day whenever I am working."
"Actor John Travolta has demanded eight new Armani T-shirts a day to appear in his new movie -- because he refuses to wear the same one twice. Travolta objects to washing clothes for religious reasons, so he had it written into his contract for new film 'Basic' that he be supplied with the $350 black tops. Travolta is a devoted member of The Church Of Scientology, which frowns on the chemicals used in dry cleaning. But movie bosses, desperate to sign Travolta up as leading man for the film about army basic training, had little choice but agree to the $2,800-a-day demand. According to Britain's The Sun newspaper, a source close to the production says, 'John wasn't happy wearing just any old shirts - he wanted to look right. He likes the designer Armani shirts and said he wanted to wear those. But the producers were amazed when he said he wanted eight a day.' The source adds, 'They don't come cheap and it adds up to quite a large sum per week. But John told them he wanted it included in his contract before he accepted the part in the movie.'"
Well, laundry is bad for the environment. Just take a look at PHO, a water ETF I was going to buy when it came out in December.
Lots of people are thinking the same thing - we're a little short on water, and it's going to take 10 million years for that new ocean to form in Africa.
Maybe there's a way to use sand to clean clothes. Frugal living must have something on that...
The average interruption is supposed to cost each worker 3 hours in lost trains of thought. The average worker is interrupted every 15 minutes.
Google's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., is a famously laid-back place, replete with lap pools, massage rooms, pool tables, free haute cuisine, and loads of other stress-reducing amenities like onsite dry cleaners and hair stylists.
"We want to take as much hurry and worry out of people's lives as we can, because a relaxed state of mind unleashes creativity," says Stacy Sullivan, the company's HR director. "And everybody's on flextime here, so we don't reward face time or working super-long hours. We just measure results."
Well, working at Google is one way to get out of laundry, though they do have a washer-dryer in the lounge. Maybe working at Google is a lot like a hybrid of communism's ideals with capitalism's cash and stock options. You're focusing on your stock price while you and the collective good live and work in the same environment. Hours and what you do are not important, as long as you are doing good for the collective. Everyone has access to the wave pool, the masseuse, and fine cuisine, and shares these burdens together within the duality of Google's walls.
In the end, what else matters? Of course, not every workplace can match Google's. But plenty of companies might do a lot worse than to emulate the thinking behind it.
Green Day, Beastie Boys, Korn, Nine Inch Nails, Noise with a Beat?
What Happened To Dynamic Range: "Then, one day we awoke to a new technology. It was called 'digital recording.' Wow, now with a dynamic range of over 90 dB, our recordings could almost rival a live performance. Well, in theory. However, the music industry had other ideas.
Rather than use this new technology to take advantage of it's wide dynamic range, the music industry went in the opposite direction. They decided that louder is better. Suddenly, we found ourselves in a race to see whose CD was the loudest. The only way to make CDs louder was to keep compressing the signal more and more. That's where we are today. Everyone's trying to make their CD sound louder than everyone else's. The term that is used for this process is called, hot. Yes, most of today's music is recorded hot. The net result, noise with a beat."
Rather than use this new technology to take advantage of it's wide dynamic range, the music industry went in the opposite direction. They decided that louder is better. Suddenly, we found ourselves in a race to see whose CD was the loudest. The only way to make CDs louder was to keep compressing the signal more and more. That's where we are today. Everyone's trying to make their CD sound louder than everyone else's. The term that is used for this process is called, hot. Yes, most of today's music is recorded hot. The net result, noise with a beat."
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
A good reason to invest in a GPS
Male drivers waste six million hours a year - Yahoo! News: "Men even endure a 'nagging period' of around 10 minutes from their partner before throwing in the towel and stopping to ask the way, the poll showed."
Monday, March 13, 2006
Get out your tinfoil hats again...
NASA - Solar Storm Warning: "'History shows that big sunspot cycles 'ramp up' faster than small ones,' he says. 'I expect to see the first sunspots of the next cycle appear in late 2006 or 2007 and Solar Max to be underway by 2010 or 2011.'
Who's right? Time will tell. Either way, a storm is coming. "
Who's right? Time will tell. Either way, a storm is coming. "
He's a bad mutha... shut yo mouth!
"'South Park' co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply in an interview with The Associated Press Monday, saying, 'This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem and he's cashed plenty of checks with our show making fun of Christians.'"
Issac Hayes quits South Park.
South Park crossed the line with me a couple of years ago, and has been getting worse ever since...
Issac Hayes quits South Park.
South Park crossed the line with me a couple of years ago, and has been getting worse ever since...
Monday, March 06, 2006
Google Interview Questions
Google Interview Questions: "
For each question asked, there are three (3) key factors:
1. How did the applicant go about reasoning (or logically deriving) that answer.
2. How well was the applicant's response communicated?
3. What was the answer relevant to, and how is it categorized."
For each question asked, there are three (3) key factors:
1. How did the applicant go about reasoning (or logically deriving) that answer.
2. How well was the applicant's response communicated?
3. What was the answer relevant to, and how is it categorized."
Sushi may be bad for health: California group - Yahoo! News
Sushi may be bad for health: California group - Yahoo! News: "Gotmercury.org proposes to take the study to various cities across the United States and educate sushi consumers on the risks of mercury intake, which can permanently damage the nervous system in fetuses and may cause temporary memory loss in adults."
That would explain why I can't seem to remember much of anything anymore. I used to eat a Subway tuna sub every couple of days, and tuna sushi handrolls once a week or so.
I stopped with the tuna subs after I found out they were like 72g of fat because of all the mayo, plus the world is running out of tuna.
....what was I talking about again?
Not enough fish in the sea.
That would explain why I can't seem to remember much of anything anymore. I used to eat a Subway tuna sub every couple of days, and tuna sushi handrolls once a week or so.
I stopped with the tuna subs after I found out they were like 72g of fat because of all the mayo, plus the world is running out of tuna.
....what was I talking about again?
Not enough fish in the sea.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
The Keys to Happiness, and Why We Don't Use Them - Yahoo! News
The Keys to Happiness, and Why We Don't Use Them - Yahoo! News: "Make lists of things for which you're grateful in your life, practice random acts of kindness, forgive your enemies, notice life's small pleasures, take care of your health, practice positive thinking, and invest time and energy into friendships and family. "
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Top Gear Winter Olympics 2006 - Google Video
Top Gear Winter Olympics 2006 - Google Video: "Car ice hockey, car ice skating and a ski-jumping Stig in a snowmobile are some of the highlights of Top Gear’s version of the Winter Olympics."
It gets really good about 41 mins into it, with the Suzuki Sprint hockey teams.
It gets really good about 41 mins into it, with the Suzuki Sprint hockey teams.
China Blog - All things Chinese
China Blog - All things Chinese: "Water Supplies to 28,000 Chinese Suspended - Yahoo! News: 'An employee with a local water supply company noticed the river water had turned yellow last Tuesday, the China Daily said. Tests showed it was polluted with high levels of fluoride, nitrogen and phenol, also known as carbolic acid, it said.'"
Flouride, eh? Does this prove that the conspiracy theory is correct?
And why is it that all conspiracy web sites have red and green bold letters with space backgrounds and gradient lines? Don't forget the New World Order picture!
There is a CONSPIRACY around CONSPIRACY web sites to DISCREDIT them by using REALLY BAD GRAPHICS and CAPITALS and GREEN AND RED text. TELL YOUR FRIENDS.
...I really gotta lay off the blogging now...
Flouride, eh? Does this prove that the conspiracy theory is correct?
And why is it that all conspiracy web sites have red and green bold letters with space backgrounds and gradient lines? Don't forget the New World Order picture!
There is a CONSPIRACY around CONSPIRACY web sites to DISCREDIT them by using REALLY BAD GRAPHICS and CAPITALS and GREEN AND RED text. TELL YOUR FRIENDS.
...I really gotta lay off the blogging now...
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Howstuffworks "How Electronic Ink Will Work"
Howstuffworks "How Electronic Ink Will Work": "The Holy Grail of electronic ink technology is a digital book that can typeset itself and that readers could leaf through just as if it were made of regular paper. "
Turkey Defrosting/Thawing
"Frozen turkeys should not be thawed on the back porch, in the car trunk, in the basement or on the kitchen counter."
However, frozen turkeys next to a tailpipe will stay red and fresh for up to five days...
However, frozen turkeys next to a tailpipe will stay red and fresh for up to five days...
Groups Protest Carbon Monoxide Use in Meat - Yahoo! News
From the Groups Protest Carbon Monoxide Use in Meat - Yahoo! News: "Berdahl said Tuesday that carbon monoxide-treated meat could be left on the kitchen counter for five days and would still look bright red and fresh. Carbon monoxide 'also suppresses bad odors and the presence of slime, other telltale signs that meat is spoiled,' Kalsec's petition said."
They tried to kill my cousin, what would you do?
Gosh.. Idiot!
Forest Service Eager to Study Wolverine - Yahoo! News: "Biologists caught their first one just over a week ago in a subalpine forest northwest of north-central Washington. It was a 19-pound female, who measured nearly 3 feet from her nose to the tip of her 7-inch tail. She looked much like a small bear cub, only with long ivory-colored claws."
Forest Service Eager to Study Wolverine - Yahoo! News: "Biologists caught their first one just over a week ago in a subalpine forest northwest of north-central Washington. It was a 19-pound female, who measured nearly 3 feet from her nose to the tip of her 7-inch tail. She looked much like a small bear cub, only with long ivory-colored claws."
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Nobodyware - 99% of all software?
Eric Sink on alternatives to shareware.
MeWare: The developer creates software. The developer uses it. Nobody else does.
ThemWare: The developer creates software. Other people use it. The developer does not.
UsWare: The developer creates software. Other people use it. The developer uses it too.
For completeness, I suppose I should probably mention the obvious fourth category:
NobodyWare: The developer creates software. Nobody uses it.
MeWare: The developer creates software. The developer uses it. Nobody else does.
ThemWare: The developer creates software. Other people use it. The developer does not.
UsWare: The developer creates software. Other people use it. The developer uses it too.
For completeness, I suppose I should probably mention the obvious fourth category:
NobodyWare: The developer creates software. Nobody uses it.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Blogs to Riches - The Haves and Have-Nots of the Blogging Boom -- New York Magazine
"“You gotta have something posted before people get to work,” he explains, “because my audience is people who hate their jobs.”"
David Hauslaib has a celeb gossip site called Jossip. His secret (other than good writing) is to publish in the early hours of the morning, so everyone has something to read when they come into work.
I really like the comment that his audience is people who hate their jobs. That could be an overall company metric - how many people are happy in their jobs based on the amount of web sites visited per day.
As Ben Franklin said, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."
David is trying to match Gawker's $1-2 million in ad revenue.
I'll have to check on my D-list status on Blogebrity.com.
David Hauslaib has a celeb gossip site called Jossip. His secret (other than good writing) is to publish in the early hours of the morning, so everyone has something to read when they come into work.
I really like the comment that his audience is people who hate their jobs. That could be an overall company metric - how many people are happy in their jobs based on the amount of web sites visited per day.
As Ben Franklin said, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."
David is trying to match Gawker's $1-2 million in ad revenue.
I'll have to check on my D-list status on Blogebrity.com.
ACM Queue - A Conversation with Jarod Jenson - Tales from the trenches with a former Enron performance guru
ACM Queue - A Conversation with Jarod Jenson - Tales from the trenches with a former Enron performance guru: "That was probably the best decision we made overall, because we forced ourselves to start with a clean slate. This avoided dealing with historical code where people would say, 'Hey, I don't want to touch that.' We just took the use cases that we had defined, but did them in whatever manner we thought would be best based on the information we learned. If we had gone live and then just tried to go back and fix what is known bad code, then it wouldn't have worked. Starting from scratch was by far the best decision. "
A Java developer talks about his Enron past and ways to improve performance in applications.
A Java developer talks about his Enron past and ways to improve performance in applications.
ACM Queue - A Conversation with Jarod Jenson - Tales from the trenches with a former Enron performance guru
href="http://acmqueue.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=363&page=2">ACM Queue - A Conversation with Jarod Jenson - Tales from the trenches with a former Enron performance guru: "That was probably the best decision we made overall, because we forced ourselves to start with a clean slate. This avoided dealing with historical code where people would say, 'Hey, I don't want to touch that.' We just took the use cases that we had defined, but did them in whatever manner we thought would be best based on the information we learned. If we had gone live and then just tried to go back and fix what is known bad code, then it wouldn't have worked. Starting from scratch was by far the best decision. "
A Java developer talks about his Enron past and ways to improve performance in applications.
A Java developer talks about his Enron past and ways to improve performance in applications.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Monday, February 13, 2006
McDonald's fries are bad, m'kay?
McDonald's: Fries Have Potential Allergens - Yahoo! News: "'They should have disclosed that all along,' she said. 'They should never have been calling them gluten-free.'"
Hmm, how could McDonald's fries be bad for you? Let me count the ways...
1. They're gluten-free (not)
2. They're salt-free (not)
3. They taste good (well, better than Burger King and those paper fries at Wendys). Anything that tastes good is usually bad for you, except for FroYo.
4. They're cooked in beef-flavoured oil, or beef tallow, which is defined as solid fat extracted from the tissues and fatty deposits of animals, especially from suet (the fat of cattle and sheep). Pure tallow is white, odorless and tasteless; it consists chiefly of triglycerides of stearic, palmitic, and oleic acids. It is usually obtained commercially by heating suet under pressure in closed vessels. Tallow is used to make soap and candles. It was formerly in common use as a lubricant. Mmm mmm good!
5. They contain partially hydrogenated goodness.
6. They have a Health aspects title under Wikipedia.
Should have, would have, why are you complaining about McDonald's when you know that every year they need to find ways to cut costs. How do you cut costs? Replace whole foods with synthetic foods.
Stop complaining with your mouth and start complaining with your wallet. Spend what you would on fries on McDonald's charities. Or Roadkill candies. (they're a collector's item now!)
McDonald's Canada is 40 years old next year.
Hmm, how could McDonald's fries be bad for you? Let me count the ways...
1. They're gluten-free (not)
2. They're salt-free (not)
3. They taste good (well, better than Burger King and those paper fries at Wendys). Anything that tastes good is usually bad for you, except for FroYo.
4. They're cooked in beef-flavoured oil, or beef tallow, which is defined as solid fat extracted from the tissues and fatty deposits of animals, especially from suet (the fat of cattle and sheep). Pure tallow is white, odorless and tasteless; it consists chiefly of triglycerides of stearic, palmitic, and oleic acids. It is usually obtained commercially by heating suet under pressure in closed vessels. Tallow is used to make soap and candles. It was formerly in common use as a lubricant. Mmm mmm good!
5. They contain partially hydrogenated goodness.
6. They have a Health aspects title under Wikipedia.
Should have, would have, why are you complaining about McDonald's when you know that every year they need to find ways to cut costs. How do you cut costs? Replace whole foods with synthetic foods.
Stop complaining with your mouth and start complaining with your wallet. Spend what you would on fries on McDonald's charities. Or Roadkill candies. (they're a collector's item now!)
McDonald's Canada is 40 years old next year.
Sponsorship Scandal flies South for the Winter
The Canadian Sponsorship Scandal cost taxpayers over $100 million dollars. That was over a course of years, and it might have even helped to keep Quebec around for awhile longer.
This is the cost of only two and a half years worth of US propaganda:
= $1,863,000,000 CDN! That's nuts!
George takes the cake for manipulating the media - and there wasn't even any good propaganda art produced like the Chinese, Russian, North Korean, or Germans put out.
Bush administration spent 1.6 billion on public relations: report - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush's administration spent 1.62 billion dollars on advertising and public relations contracts over two and a half years, an independent agency said. "
Gerard Donnelly Smith has an interesting essay on the use of propaganda to affect the outcomes of the war.
The BBC had a story on this on December 1, 2005.
$1.6 billion could build Katrina victims 6400 $250k houses, or keep them on cruise ships for the rest of their natural lives, if they weren't being charged $15k/month to stay there.
$1.6 billion could buy over 946 million McDonalds fries @ $1.69. That's enough to feed almost all of the population of India in 2001.
$1.6 billion minus $1.5 billion would keep me happy for quite awhile....
This is the cost of only two and a half years worth of US propaganda:
$1.62 billion USD
= $1,863,000,000 CDN! That's nuts!
George takes the cake for manipulating the media - and there wasn't even any good propaganda art produced like the Chinese, Russian, North Korean, or Germans put out.
Bush administration spent 1.6 billion on public relations: report - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush's administration spent 1.62 billion dollars on advertising and public relations contracts over two and a half years, an independent agency said. "
Gerard Donnelly Smith has an interesting essay on the use of propaganda to affect the outcomes of the war.
The BBC had a story on this on December 1, 2005.
$1.6 billion could build Katrina victims 6400 $250k houses, or keep them on cruise ships for the rest of their natural lives, if they weren't being charged $15k/month to stay there.
$1.6 billion could buy over 946 million McDonalds fries @ $1.69. That's enough to feed almost all of the population of India in 2001.
$1.6 billion minus $1.5 billion would keep me happy for quite awhile....
Sunday, February 12, 2006
5 Steps to Success
Achieve-IT!: What A Drug Addict Can Teach Us About Goal Setting: "act on the plan until they are successful."
1. Picturing what they want (an idea)
2. Attach emotional significance to the outcome. (emotion)
3. Decide specifically what they need to do (planning)
4. brainstorm and think through specifics. (prototyping)
5. act on the plan until they are successful. (iteration, reiteration)
And the last step that seems to be missing, is the reward. Or is just getting to #5 the reward?
I like this comment:
drug addicts dont visualise their goal,
they are driven by a neurochemical receptor
screaming for its chemical mate...the non addicts equivelant of having they're butt
set on fire...just a tiny motivator...
no amount of visualisation will give you
that core biochemical motivation
good metaphor for non addicts though,
thanks for the article..
What is the core biochemical motivation?
1. Picturing what they want (an idea)
2. Attach emotional significance to the outcome. (emotion)
3. Decide specifically what they need to do (planning)
4. brainstorm and think through specifics. (prototyping)
5. act on the plan until they are successful. (iteration, reiteration)
And the last step that seems to be missing, is the reward. Or is just getting to #5 the reward?
I like this comment:
drug addicts dont visualise their goal,
they are driven by a neurochemical receptor
screaming for its chemical mate...the non addicts equivelant of having they're butt
set on fire...just a tiny motivator...
no amount of visualisation will give you
that core biochemical motivation
good metaphor for non addicts though,
thanks for the article..
What is the core biochemical motivation?
DehTrader.com Real Trades, Real Life - Trading Journal
DehTrader.com Real Trades, Real Life - Trading Journal
All I knew was buy and hold for the long term and all I knew was stocks gaining 1000% and $20 a day
Fascinating story about a guy in Canada who traded during the .COM era and lost everything.
All I knew was buy and hold for the long term and all I knew was stocks gaining 1000% and $20 a day
Fascinating story about a guy in Canada who traded during the .COM era and lost everything.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Email Recall in Film - Films considered the worst ever
Well pilgrim, how come yer glowin' green?
The Conqueror (1956)
A Howard Hughes-funded box-office disaster featuring John Wayne as Genghis Khan and the redheaded Susan Hayward as a Tatar princess. The movie was filmed in Utah downwind from an atomic testing range in Nevada and is often blamed for the cancer deaths of many of the cast and crew, including both Hayward and Wayne (although according to an A&E Network Biography episode, Wayne typically smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day). Appears in Michael Sauter's book The Worst Movies of All Time and made the ten-worst list in The Book of Lists. Hughes thought the movie was so bad that he bought up every copy (which cost him about $12 million) and he refused to distribute the film until 1974, when Paramount reached a deal with him. This would be the last film that Hughes would produce.
The Conqueror (1956)
A Howard Hughes-funded box-office disaster featuring John Wayne as Genghis Khan and the redheaded Susan Hayward as a Tatar princess. The movie was filmed in Utah downwind from an atomic testing range in Nevada and is often blamed for the cancer deaths of many of the cast and crew, including both Hayward and Wayne (although according to an A&E Network Biography episode, Wayne typically smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day). Appears in Michael Sauter's book The Worst Movies of All Time and made the ten-worst list in The Book of Lists. Hughes thought the movie was so bad that he bought up every copy (which cost him about $12 million) and he refused to distribute the film until 1974, when Paramount reached a deal with him. This would be the last film that Hughes would produce.
Friday, February 10, 2006
freestudios.tv - Robert Scoble
freestudios.tv
Seth Godin recommends you show your boss Robert Scoble's newest video.
LIFT is about teaming talented observers, explorers, and builders with people whose work depends on understanding current challenges and creative solutions presented by emerging technologies. Attendees will face cutting edge business models, bold predictions, radical thinking -- ideas to inject into their own part of the planet.
LIFT has a simple goal: connect people who are passionate about new applications of technology and propel their conversations into the broader world to improve life and work
Scoble on:
What's a good blog?
Passionate and authoritative.
What does a good business blog contain?
What both me AND my competition does.
Why do you share key knowledge about your business?
Because other people don't have the time or desire to do what you do, they would rather hire you instead.
He used to shop prices and know his marketplace, and created a spreadsheet about both his prices and the competition (ala the grocery store milk/bread/potato price comparison board)
Change is not death
Fear of change is death
Conversations on Channel9 are not edited. It's true reality TV.
Everytime he talks at companies, he smells the fear in the room. (Fear of losing job, worry about talking outside the box, worry about politics, worry about the new world of blogging)
How fast do ideas spread?
The night before Vista's name was released, the leak of the name was on 1200 blogs.
Channel9 had 100k visitors on the first day without any formal PR. Someone figured out the server was live and started emailing their friends. (MEME Effect)
The word-of-mouth network is all powerful.
Back in history, word-of-mouth was physical. (Newspaper, Water Cooler Protocol) Now it's the inter-web.
Mentions the Mac & Engadget & Rocketboom & John Furrier.
Obscurity to front-page of NY Times when Tsunami hit.
If I write Microsoft here... it goes into Robert's aggregator at Pubsub. (I don't believe you Robert... please email me at robertscoble @ wavesmash.com with a coupon for your new book, and post a video on Channel9 with some ideas on what project managers at MS look at when monitoring their projects & project plans. :)
Watches keywords Xbox, Web 2.0, Microsoft.
Trains people on how to use RSS to watch who is talking about your product.
3 Trends leading to blogs
Unemployment and layoffs spark new tools. (Six Apart)
Disgust around corporate scandals and .COM bust. A situation where we didn't know what was going on in the world. Wanted to see and join transparent companies that do no evil. (?)
Sick of the marketing. Perfect advertising. Committee-driven. Wanted to compare notes with people around the world.
Blogs were Robert's way of getting things into Google.
The effect of Superbowl marketing messages that come down on you. Blogs are a pushback.
Question: Is alot of your cultural resistance to blogs coming from execs who are spending big on ad campaigns and polished videos?
The answer as a question from Bill Gates (through the mouth of Robert) Why do I want to talk to 300 people on a blog, when I can afford to print a 20-page spread in the NY Times?
Robert pisses off PR by showing his (and MS's) faults.
....
I just thought of a good idea. Why doesn't MS get rid of the Blue Screen of Death (or the new .NET framework exception) and replace it with a picture of Robert and a link to his blog? Maybe with the 'thumbs-up' sign and a cartoon bubble that says "We're trying harder!"
I've been a fan of Robert ever since he added me to his MSN (before he reached the friends limit.)
more to come...
Seth Godin recommends you show your boss Robert Scoble's newest video.
LIFT is about teaming talented observers, explorers, and builders with people whose work depends on understanding current challenges and creative solutions presented by emerging technologies. Attendees will face cutting edge business models, bold predictions, radical thinking -- ideas to inject into their own part of the planet.
LIFT has a simple goal: connect people who are passionate about new applications of technology and propel their conversations into the broader world to improve life and work
Scoble on:
What's a good blog?
Passionate and authoritative.
What does a good business blog contain?
What both me AND my competition does.
Why do you share key knowledge about your business?
Because other people don't have the time or desire to do what you do, they would rather hire you instead.
He used to shop prices and know his marketplace, and created a spreadsheet about both his prices and the competition (ala the grocery store milk/bread/potato price comparison board)
Change is not death
Fear of change is death
Conversations on Channel9 are not edited. It's true reality TV.
Everytime he talks at companies, he smells the fear in the room. (Fear of losing job, worry about talking outside the box, worry about politics, worry about the new world of blogging)
How fast do ideas spread?
The night before Vista's name was released, the leak of the name was on 1200 blogs.
Channel9 had 100k visitors on the first day without any formal PR. Someone figured out the server was live and started emailing their friends. (MEME Effect)
The word-of-mouth network is all powerful.
Back in history, word-of-mouth was physical. (Newspaper, Water Cooler Protocol) Now it's the inter-web.
Mentions the Mac & Engadget & Rocketboom & John Furrier.
Obscurity to front-page of NY Times when Tsunami hit.
If I write Microsoft here... it goes into Robert's aggregator at Pubsub. (I don't believe you Robert... please email me at robertscoble @ wavesmash.com with a coupon for your new book, and post a video on Channel9 with some ideas on what project managers at MS look at when monitoring their projects & project plans. :)
Watches keywords Xbox, Web 2.0, Microsoft.
Trains people on how to use RSS to watch who is talking about your product.
3 Trends leading to blogs
Unemployment and layoffs spark new tools. (Six Apart)
Disgust around corporate scandals and .COM bust. A situation where we didn't know what was going on in the world. Wanted to see and join transparent companies that do no evil. (?)
Sick of the marketing. Perfect advertising. Committee-driven. Wanted to compare notes with people around the world.
Blogs were Robert's way of getting things into Google.
The effect of Superbowl marketing messages that come down on you. Blogs are a pushback.
Question: Is alot of your cultural resistance to blogs coming from execs who are spending big on ad campaigns and polished videos?
The answer as a question from Bill Gates (through the mouth of Robert) Why do I want to talk to 300 people on a blog, when I can afford to print a 20-page spread in the NY Times?
Robert pisses off PR by showing his (and MS's) faults.
....
I just thought of a good idea. Why doesn't MS get rid of the Blue Screen of Death (or the new .NET framework exception) and replace it with a picture of Robert and a link to his blog? Maybe with the 'thumbs-up' sign and a cartoon bubble that says "We're trying harder!"
I've been a fan of Robert ever since he added me to his MSN (before he reached the friends limit.)
more to come...
Monday, February 06, 2006
BookCorner L.L.C - What is Dubai Reading?
Top sites I would like to visit in Dubai...
1. The Burj al-Arab (7-stars!)
2. The Palm Islands
3. The World
4. Michael Jackson (just kidding...and I'm going to have nightmares about that video)
5. Mall of the Emirates and Ski Dubai
1. The Burj al-Arab (7-stars!)
2. The Palm Islands
3. The World
4. Michael Jackson (just kidding...and I'm going to have nightmares about that video)
5. Mall of the Emirates and Ski Dubai
Bottled Water - the $100 Billion Fraud Industry
The top reasons why I stopped drinking tap water when I moved to Toronto.
1. It comes out of the tap orange in Spring.
2. It comes out of the tap green in Fall.
3. I don't need to take birth control, Prozak or estrogen.
4. It contains pesticide and flouride.
5. I don't want a cocaine habit.
This still doesn't explain why I drank the water when I lived in Oshawa as a kid.... hopefully my tail will drop off soon.
1. It comes out of the tap orange in Spring.
2. It comes out of the tap green in Fall.
3. I don't need to take birth control, Prozak or estrogen.
4. It contains pesticide and flouride.
5. I don't want a cocaine habit.
This still doesn't explain why I drank the water when I lived in Oshawa as a kid.... hopefully my tail will drop off soon.
Curling Up With a Good E-Book
The top 5 reasons why I want a Sony Ebook reader
1. I don't want to wear glasses again.
2. My eyes are hurting right now.
3. I can get over 40,000 books from Project Gutenberg.
4. No more bookbugs.
5. Better than a PSP?
Well, it may not play Grand Theft Auto, but it should save a few trees in the long run.
1. I don't want to wear glasses again.
2. My eyes are hurting right now.
3. I can get over 40,000 books from Project Gutenberg.
4. No more bookbugs.
5. Better than a PSP?
Well, it may not play Grand Theft Auto, but it should save a few trees in the long run.
Let the Good Times Roll--by Guy Kawasaki: Total BS (Blog Statistics)
Guy's Blog - Total BS
The stats coming off of Guy Kawasaki's blog are really million-dollar home-pagey.
1. 2 months of being online.
2. Over 268k unique visitors
3. Over 38k visits/week to one of his referrals
4. A 1000-1500 rank jump in Amazon book rankings for his Art of the Start.
5. Over 900+ comments that are almost as good as his blog.
Keep up the good work Guy.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
More About Lasermonks : Laser Monks, Real Savings. Real Monks. Supporting Real People.
Unfortunately they don't ship to Canada, so I will have to stick with Bestbuy for now, until I can find a monastery up here...
About Lasermonks : Laser Monks, Real Savings. Real Monks. Supporting Real People.: "All I wanted was a little bit of black dust for one of our monastery printers. In my search for a toner cartridge, I was suddenly struck with how incredibly expensive this black dust and a few squirts of ink were. 'There must be a better way,' I said to myself.And so began my foray into the world of imaging supplies. What I discovered was a revelation. Simply stated, the mark-up on ink supplies is sinfully high, reaching in some instances into the 1,000-2,000 % levels. I also discovered that there were many companies that manufactured either new compatible cartridges or remanufactured cartridges at a fraction of the cost of the big name brands. My thoughts starting racing. Imagine the money we could save schools, churches, and other organizations if we could negotiate some deals with the manufacturers directly and cut out the middlemen."
...
The manufacturers were elated with the possibilities. They immediately said we should market not only to schools, churches, and other non-profits, but especially to businesses. "Look, you're monks. You have an image and long tradition of being trustworthy and providing top quality products. You're offering a great product at a great price. Once people hear about you, it's an easy decision. Why would anyone pay more money, when they can have quality products for less, from monks who use the income to help others?"
..
From our modest sales in the first year, our sales mulitpied 700% in 2003. We conservatively project doubling or tripling this year. Our customers typically save 30% - 60% through LaserMonks. At only 40% savings, LaserMonks saved our customers over $200,000 last year.
About Lasermonks : Laser Monks, Real Savings. Real Monks. Supporting Real People.: "All I wanted was a little bit of black dust for one of our monastery printers. In my search for a toner cartridge, I was suddenly struck with how incredibly expensive this black dust and a few squirts of ink were. 'There must be a better way,' I said to myself.And so began my foray into the world of imaging supplies. What I discovered was a revelation. Simply stated, the mark-up on ink supplies is sinfully high, reaching in some instances into the 1,000-2,000 % levels. I also discovered that there were many companies that manufactured either new compatible cartridges or remanufactured cartridges at a fraction of the cost of the big name brands. My thoughts starting racing. Imagine the money we could save schools, churches, and other organizations if we could negotiate some deals with the manufacturers directly and cut out the middlemen."
...
The manufacturers were elated with the possibilities. They immediately said we should market not only to schools, churches, and other non-profits, but especially to businesses. "Look, you're monks. You have an image and long tradition of being trustworthy and providing top quality products. You're offering a great product at a great price. Once people hear about you, it's an easy decision. Why would anyone pay more money, when they can have quality products for less, from monks who use the income to help others?"
..
From our modest sales in the first year, our sales mulitpied 700% in 2003. We conservatively project doubling or tripling this year. Our customers typically save 30% - 60% through LaserMonks. At only 40% savings, LaserMonks saved our customers over $200,000 last year.
Laser Monks, Real Savings. Real Monks. Supporting Real People.
 | Ommmmm. So I was looking for some cheap toner to put in my father-in-law's printer, and I found this site. I suddenly feel more enlightened about being ripped off on toner by the printer manufacturers. Why is it that toner costs more than some printers? Won't this dramatically increase the amount of printers sent to the garbage dump, and ruin our environment? Is there nothing being done about this? How come we can't get ink in 5 gallon drums instead of $1000/litre cartridges? What about recycling motor oil into ink toner? Anyway, I refuse to buy a printer until they come up with one that doesn't use ink or toner. Looks like I will be waiting awhile... unless the monks can come up with a miracle? |
I need another monitor
Check out Synergy. If you have 2 network-connected computers, say a desktop and a laptop, you can share the keyboard and mouse of the desktop and go back and forth between monitors.
Really impressive, no more KVM switches.
It works similar to the multiple-monitor setup, with the addition of a workable-keyboard and mouse every time you move back and forth between monitors.
What does this mean?
I use my personal PC at home, and my laptop for development & work. I could be surfing the web on my desktop while developing on my laptop, and then be able to test web applications on my desktop while running/debugging on my laptop.
Synergy User Guide
Plus it's free!
One neat feature that would be really impressive is if you could drag an icon from one computer desktop to another (eg. copy from one desktop folder to the other just by dragging and dropping). Now I think we're talking about Mac simplicity here.
Really impressive, no more KVM switches.
It works similar to the multiple-monitor setup, with the addition of a workable-keyboard and mouse every time you move back and forth between monitors.
What does this mean?
I use my personal PC at home, and my laptop for development & work. I could be surfing the web on my desktop while developing on my laptop, and then be able to test web applications on my desktop while running/debugging on my laptop.
Synergy User Guide
Plus it's free!
One neat feature that would be really impressive is if you could drag an icon from one computer desktop to another (eg. copy from one desktop folder to the other just by dragging and dropping). Now I think we're talking about Mac simplicity here.
Dave Chappelle On Oprah Winfrey Show - 2.3.06
YouTube - Dave Chappelle On Oprah Winfrey Show - 2.3.06
Great insight into how someone can walk away from $50M dollars, fame and fortune, when money isn't everything.
Dave - "I'm not wearing the dress! What is this, Brokeback Mountain or somethin'?"
Will Dave Chapelle return to Comedy Central?
One comment he made was that he went to his office one day shortly before he left, and there were walls built around it. This has got to add greatly to the stress he felt which caused him to disappear. Adding a wall to his personal space would have a huge psychological impact.
Great insight into how someone can walk away from $50M dollars, fame and fortune, when money isn't everything.
Dave - "I'm not wearing the dress! What is this, Brokeback Mountain or somethin'?"
Will Dave Chapelle return to Comedy Central?
One comment he made was that he went to his office one day shortly before he left, and there were walls built around it. This has got to add greatly to the stress he felt which caused him to disappear. Adding a wall to his personal space would have a huge psychological impact.
Friday, February 03, 2006
smb_super_synth.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object)
This is my new favourite site. The fire sound is cool.
Anti-pattern - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anti-pattern - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Watch out for Object cesspool & Input kludge!
Watch out for mushroom management and warm bodies!
Avoid victimless crimes and witch hunts.
Watch out for Object cesspool & Input kludge!
Watch out for mushroom management and warm bodies!
Avoid victimless crimes and witch hunts.
Seven Secrets of Successful Programmers
1. Code for human consumption
2. Comment often and comment well
3. Layout code to increase legibility
4. Expect the unexpected and deal with it
5. Name your variables to aid readability
6. Keep your functions and subroutines simple
7. Scope functions and variables appropriately
2. Comment often and comment well
3. Layout code to increase legibility
4. Expect the unexpected and deal with it
5. Name your variables to aid readability
6. Keep your functions and subroutines simple
7. Scope functions and variables appropriately
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
BullRunner, following the Market
BullRunner, following the Market: "How to do the Cramer pump and dump dance
Seeking Alpha » Audience Mistakes Cramer’s Pick, Sends Unrelated Fund Up 46%
This should be done wearing a blue shirt and tie and sporting a shaven (or balding) head.
1. Place hands on head with fingers upward and palms touching temples.
2. Open mouth.
3. Scream boo-yah and buy bond funds!"
Seeking Alpha » Audience Mistakes Cramer’s Pick, Sends Unrelated Fund Up 46%
This should be done wearing a blue shirt and tie and sporting a shaven (or balding) head.
1. Place hands on head with fingers upward and palms touching temples.
2. Open mouth.
3. Scream boo-yah and buy bond funds!"
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Speed up Windows navigation by changing icons
Speed up Windows navigation by changing icons
Stupidly amazing that I never thought of this before. Now you can star your folders, and even files, just like GMail.
Stupidly amazing that I never thought of this before. Now you can star your folders, and even files, just like GMail.
How to get people to interact in a group or presentation
How to get people to interact in a group or presentation
+
Test the speakers, wires, and polarity all in one step!
If you are wiring a car stereo or home stereo and have the wires plugged into the speakers but at the other end do not know which wires go to which port? Rather than trace each wire seperately, grab a 9volt battery, hold one wire on a terminal, tap the other wire on the other terminal, and it will make the speaker pop. Now know which speaker is connected to that wire.
Also, if wired correctly +/- the cone will pop OUT; if it sucks in, you have the polarity backwards. Too steps solved in one. You want all of the speakers to pop out with the +/-. This will make your stereo, home or car sound much fuller. If it sounds hollow or lacking bass, you may have just one speaker wired backwards.
+
Test the speakers, wires, and polarity all in one step!
If you are wiring a car stereo or home stereo and have the wires plugged into the speakers but at the other end do not know which wires go to which port? Rather than trace each wire seperately, grab a 9volt battery, hold one wire on a terminal, tap the other wire on the other terminal, and it will make the speaker pop. Now know which speaker is connected to that wire.
Also, if wired correctly +/- the cone will pop OUT; if it sucks in, you have the polarity backwards. Too steps solved in one. You want all of the speakers to pop out with the +/-. This will make your stereo, home or car sound much fuller. If it sounds hollow or lacking bass, you may have just one speaker wired backwards.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
SSE - Give and Take RSS
XML Developer Center: Frequently Asked Questions for Simple Sharing Extensions (SSE)
MS is turning RSS into a viral technology.
MS is turning RSS into a viral technology.
Dotti's Weight Loss Zone
Dotti's Weight Loss Zone
New Year's resolution time? Huge list of motivating links. (even the strangely hypnotic dancing tomatoes.)
They even have a list of Canadian restaurants, plus information and tools for calculating WW points. Umm.. the Caramel Pecan Tart from Starbucks is 21 points. Tim Ho's coffee is 2 pts. Coke's 4 pts.
2 cookies from Subway are 10 pts.
New Year's resolution time? Huge list of motivating links. (even the strangely hypnotic dancing tomatoes.)
They even have a list of Canadian restaurants, plus information and tools for calculating WW points. Umm.. the Caramel Pecan Tart from Starbucks is 21 points. Tim Ho's coffee is 2 pts. Coke's 4 pts.
2 cookies from Subway are 10 pts.
Social Computing Symposium 2005
Robert Scoble posted some great links last year, that are still relevant.
Also check out the various presentations and workshops from the Social Computing Symposium 2005.
Also check out the various presentations and workshops from the Social Computing Symposium 2005.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
YouTube - Family Guy Spiderman
Here comes Peter on a clothesline but his name's not Peter it is ... Spiderman!
YouTube - Pirate Convention - SNL
Arrrr..
My friend had a great idea about selling pirate CDs over the internet, back in 1995. We could have made a killing.
Who wouldn't buy sounds of pirates 'arr'ing and pictures of parrots?
My friend had a great idea about selling pirate CDs over the internet, back in 1995. We could have made a killing.
Who wouldn't buy sounds of pirates 'arr'ing and pictures of parrots?
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Wave smashing
Radio spectrum allocation in the US.
Better get out yer tinfoil hat...
allochrt.pdf (application/pdf Object)
Better get out yer tinfoil hat...
allochrt.pdf (application/pdf Object)
Saturday, January 21, 2006
RedFlagDeals.com - Canadian Deals, Coupons, and Freebies!
Better than all-inclusive?
RedFlagDeals.com - Canadian Deals, Coupons, and Freebies!: "Qantas Airways has an Aussie AirPass special for Canadians travellers. Starting at $1399, you can get a round trip ticket to Australia (your choice of Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane) plus 3 flights within Australia to designated AirPass cities during your stay.
AirPass designated cities are categorized into 3 zones, and priced differently: check out their pricing chart for complete details. Note that chart prices are based on departure from Vancouver, travellers starting in Calgary, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto or Halifax will need to add $200. Sample AirPass itineraries include:
Wine and Culture
Beautiful Beaches
Opera House, the Rock and Koalas
Great Barrier Reef, Ayers Rock (Uluru) and Sydney
Your stay period must be a minimum of 7 and maximum of 45 days. Flights can be booked at 1-800-227-4609, offer is available until June 30. "
RedFlagDeals.com - Canadian Deals, Coupons, and Freebies!: "Qantas Airways has an Aussie AirPass special for Canadians travellers. Starting at $1399, you can get a round trip ticket to Australia (your choice of Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane) plus 3 flights within Australia to designated AirPass cities during your stay.
AirPass designated cities are categorized into 3 zones, and priced differently: check out their pricing chart for complete details. Note that chart prices are based on departure from Vancouver, travellers starting in Calgary, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto or Halifax will need to add $200. Sample AirPass itineraries include:
Wine and Culture
Beautiful Beaches
Opera House, the Rock and Koalas
Great Barrier Reef, Ayers Rock (Uluru) and Sydney
Your stay period must be a minimum of 7 and maximum of 45 days. Flights can be booked at 1-800-227-4609, offer is available until June 30. "
Friday, January 20, 2006
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Johnny Cash - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
So I edited my first Wikipedia article today, to update the Johnny Cash entry. Robert Berry over at Retrocrush convinced me to go see the movie Walk the Line, which got me hooked on Johnny's music, and his legacy. My next purchase will be his book, Man in White.
Johnny put out a couple albums in his time...
Johnny Cash - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Albums
1957 - Johnny Cash and His Hot and Blue Guitar
1958 - Johnny Cash Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous
1959 - The Fabulous Johnny Cash
1959 - Hymns by Johnny Cash
1959 - Songs of Our Soil
1959 - Greatest Johnny Cash
1960 - Johnny Cash Sings (Hank Williams)
1960 - Ride This Train
1960 - Now There Was A Song
1961 - Now, Here's Johnny Cash
1962 - Hymns from the Heart
1962 - The Sound of Johnny Cash
1962 - All Aboard the Blue Train
1963 - Blood, Sweat and Tears
1963 - Ring of Fire
1963 - The Christmas Spirit
1964 - Keep on the Sunny Side
1964 - I Walk the Line
1964 - The Original Sun Sound of Johnny Cash
1964 - Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian
1965 - Orange Blossom Special
1965 - Ballads of the True West
1965 - Mean as Hell
1966 - Everybody Loves a Nut
1966 - Happiness is You
1967 - Johnny Cash & June Carter: Jackson
1967 - Johnny Cash's Greatest Hits
1967 - Carryin' on with Cash and Carte
1968 - From Sea to Shining Sea
1968 - At Folsom Prison
1968 - The Holy Land
1969 - At San Quentin
1969 - Johnny Cash
1969 - Original Golden Hits, Volume I
1969 - Original Golden Hits, Volume II
1969 - Story Songs of the Trains and Rivers
1969 - Got Rhythm
1970 - Johnny Cash Sings Folsom Prison Blue
1970 - The Blue Train
1970 - Johnny Cash Sings the Greatest Hits
1970 - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: Jackson
1970 - Johnny Cash: The Legend
1970 - The Walls of a Prison
1970 - Sunday Down South
1970 - Showtime
1970 - Hello, I'm Johnny Cash
1970 - The Singing Storyteller
1970 - The World of Johnny Cash
1970 - Johnny Cash Sings I Walk the Line
1970 - The Rough Cut King of Country Music
1970 - The Johnny Cash Show
1970 - I Walk the Line - Movie Soundtrack
1970 - Little Fauss and Big Halsy - Movie Soundtrack
1971 - Man in Black
1971 - Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis Sing Hank Williams
1971 - Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music
1971 - The Johnny Cash Collection: Greatest Hits Volume II
1971 - Understand Your Man
1971 - Original Golden Hits, Volume III
1972 - A Thing Called Love
1972 - Give My Love to Rose
1972 - America
1972 - The Johnny Cash Songbook
1972 - Christmas: The Johnny Cash Family
1973 - The Gospel Road
1973 - Any Old Wind That Blows
1973 - Now, There Was a Song
1973 - The Fabulous Johnny Cash
1973 - Johnny Cash and His Woman
1973 - Sunday Morning Coming Down
1973 - Ballads of the American Indian
1974 - Ragged Old Flag
1974 - Five Feet High and Rising
1974 - The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me
1975 - Johnny Cash Sings Precious Memories
1975 - The Children's Album
1975 - John R. Cash
1975 - Johnny Cash at Osteraker Prison
1975 - Look at Them Beans
1975 - Strawberry Cake
1976 - One Piece at a Time
1976 - Destination Victoria Station
1977 - The Last Gunfighter Ballad
1977 - The Rambler
1978 - I Would Like to See You Again
1978 - Greatest Hits, Volume III
1978 - Gone Girl
1979 - Johnny Cash - Silver
1979 - A Believer Sings the Truth
1980 - Rockabilly Blues
1980 - Classic Christmas
1981 - The Baron
1981 - Encore
1982 - The Survivors
1982 - A Believer Sings the Truth, Volume I
1982 - The Adventures of Johnny Cash
1983 - Johnny Cash - Biggest Hits
1983 - Johnny 99
1983 - Songs of Love and Life
1984 - I Believe
1985 - Highwayman (Columbia)
1986 - Rainbow
1986 - Class of '55: Cash, Perkins, Orbison & Lewis
1986 - Heroes: Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings
1986 - Believe in Him
1987 - Johnny Cash: Columbia Records 1958-1986
1987 - Johnny Cash is Coming to Town
1988 - Classic Cash
1988 - Water From the Wells of Home
1990 - Johnny Cash: Patriot
1990 - Boom Chicka Boom
1990 - Johnny Cash: The Man in Black 1954-1958
1991 - The Mystery of Life
1991 - Johnny Cash: The Man in Black 1959-1962
1991 - Come Along and Ride this Train
1992 - The Essential Johnny Cash
1994 - American Recordings
1995 - Highwaymen: The Road Goes on Forever (Liberty)
1996 - Unchained (American Recordings)
1996 - Johnny Cash: The Hits
1998 - VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson American Recordings)
1998 - Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison and San Quentin
1998 - Johnny Cash: Crazy Country
1998 - Johnny Cash: Timeless Inspiration
1998 - Johnny 99
1999 - Johnny Cash: Super Hits
1999 - Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins: I Walk the ine/Little Fauss and Big Halsy
1999 - Just As I Am (Vanguard)
1999 - Rickabilly Blues
1999 - Cash on Delivery: A Tribute
1999 - The Legendary Johnny Cash
1999 - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: It's All in the Family
1999 - Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (Legacy Recordings)
1999 - Sixteen Biggest Hits (Legacy Recordings)
2000 - Return to The Promised Land (Renaissance Records)
2000 - Love, God and Murder (Columbia)
2000 - At San Quentin (Legacy Recordings)
2000 - Super Hits (Columbia
2000 - American III: Solitary Man (American Recordings)
2001 - Sixteen Biggest Hits: Volume II (Columbia)
2002 - The Essential Johnny Cash (Sony)
2002 - American IV: The Man Comes Around (American Recordings)
2003 - Unearthed (Box Set)]] (Lost Highway Records)
2004 - My Mother's Hymn Book (Lost Highway Records)
2005 - The Legend Of Johnny Cash (Island/American/Columbia/Legacy)
2005 - The Legend (Box Set) (Columbia/Legacy)
2005 - The Road Goes On Forever: 10th Anniversary Edition (Capitol/EMI)
Johnny put out a couple albums in his time...
Johnny Cash - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Albums
1957 - Johnny Cash and His Hot and Blue Guitar
1958 - Johnny Cash Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous
1959 - The Fabulous Johnny Cash
1959 - Hymns by Johnny Cash
1959 - Songs of Our Soil
1959 - Greatest Johnny Cash
1960 - Johnny Cash Sings (Hank Williams)
1960 - Ride This Train
1960 - Now There Was A Song
1961 - Now, Here's Johnny Cash
1962 - Hymns from the Heart
1962 - The Sound of Johnny Cash
1962 - All Aboard the Blue Train
1963 - Blood, Sweat and Tears
1963 - Ring of Fire
1963 - The Christmas Spirit
1964 - Keep on the Sunny Side
1964 - I Walk the Line
1964 - The Original Sun Sound of Johnny Cash
1964 - Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian
1965 - Orange Blossom Special
1965 - Ballads of the True West
1965 - Mean as Hell
1966 - Everybody Loves a Nut
1966 - Happiness is You
1967 - Johnny Cash & June Carter: Jackson
1967 - Johnny Cash's Greatest Hits
1967 - Carryin' on with Cash and Carte
1968 - From Sea to Shining Sea
1968 - At Folsom Prison
1968 - The Holy Land
1969 - At San Quentin
1969 - Johnny Cash
1969 - Original Golden Hits, Volume I
1969 - Original Golden Hits, Volume II
1969 - Story Songs of the Trains and Rivers
1969 - Got Rhythm
1970 - Johnny Cash Sings Folsom Prison Blue
1970 - The Blue Train
1970 - Johnny Cash Sings the Greatest Hits
1970 - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: Jackson
1970 - Johnny Cash: The Legend
1970 - The Walls of a Prison
1970 - Sunday Down South
1970 - Showtime
1970 - Hello, I'm Johnny Cash
1970 - The Singing Storyteller
1970 - The World of Johnny Cash
1970 - Johnny Cash Sings I Walk the Line
1970 - The Rough Cut King of Country Music
1970 - The Johnny Cash Show
1970 - I Walk the Line - Movie Soundtrack
1970 - Little Fauss and Big Halsy - Movie Soundtrack
1971 - Man in Black
1971 - Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis Sing Hank Williams
1971 - Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music
1971 - The Johnny Cash Collection: Greatest Hits Volume II
1971 - Understand Your Man
1971 - Original Golden Hits, Volume III
1972 - A Thing Called Love
1972 - Give My Love to Rose
1972 - America
1972 - The Johnny Cash Songbook
1972 - Christmas: The Johnny Cash Family
1973 - The Gospel Road
1973 - Any Old Wind That Blows
1973 - Now, There Was a Song
1973 - The Fabulous Johnny Cash
1973 - Johnny Cash and His Woman
1973 - Sunday Morning Coming Down
1973 - Ballads of the American Indian
1974 - Ragged Old Flag
1974 - Five Feet High and Rising
1974 - The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me
1975 - Johnny Cash Sings Precious Memories
1975 - The Children's Album
1975 - John R. Cash
1975 - Johnny Cash at Osteraker Prison
1975 - Look at Them Beans
1975 - Strawberry Cake
1976 - One Piece at a Time
1976 - Destination Victoria Station
1977 - The Last Gunfighter Ballad
1977 - The Rambler
1978 - I Would Like to See You Again
1978 - Greatest Hits, Volume III
1978 - Gone Girl
1979 - Johnny Cash - Silver
1979 - A Believer Sings the Truth
1980 - Rockabilly Blues
1980 - Classic Christmas
1981 - The Baron
1981 - Encore
1982 - The Survivors
1982 - A Believer Sings the Truth, Volume I
1982 - The Adventures of Johnny Cash
1983 - Johnny Cash - Biggest Hits
1983 - Johnny 99
1983 - Songs of Love and Life
1984 - I Believe
1985 - Highwayman (Columbia)
1986 - Rainbow
1986 - Class of '55: Cash, Perkins, Orbison & Lewis
1986 - Heroes: Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings
1986 - Believe in Him
1987 - Johnny Cash: Columbia Records 1958-1986
1987 - Johnny Cash is Coming to Town
1988 - Classic Cash
1988 - Water From the Wells of Home
1990 - Johnny Cash: Patriot
1990 - Boom Chicka Boom
1990 - Johnny Cash: The Man in Black 1954-1958
1991 - The Mystery of Life
1991 - Johnny Cash: The Man in Black 1959-1962
1991 - Come Along and Ride this Train
1992 - The Essential Johnny Cash
1994 - American Recordings
1995 - Highwaymen: The Road Goes on Forever (Liberty)
1996 - Unchained (American Recordings)
1996 - Johnny Cash: The Hits
1998 - VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson American Recordings)
1998 - Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison and San Quentin
1998 - Johnny Cash: Crazy Country
1998 - Johnny Cash: Timeless Inspiration
1998 - Johnny 99
1999 - Johnny Cash: Super Hits
1999 - Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins: I Walk the ine/Little Fauss and Big Halsy
1999 - Just As I Am (Vanguard)
1999 - Rickabilly Blues
1999 - Cash on Delivery: A Tribute
1999 - The Legendary Johnny Cash
1999 - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: It's All in the Family
1999 - Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (Legacy Recordings)
1999 - Sixteen Biggest Hits (Legacy Recordings)
2000 - Return to The Promised Land (Renaissance Records)
2000 - Love, God and Murder (Columbia)
2000 - At San Quentin (Legacy Recordings)
2000 - Super Hits (Columbia
2000 - American III: Solitary Man (American Recordings)
2001 - Sixteen Biggest Hits: Volume II (Columbia)
2002 - The Essential Johnny Cash (Sony)
2002 - American IV: The Man Comes Around (American Recordings)
2003 - Unearthed (Box Set)]] (Lost Highway Records)
2004 - My Mother's Hymn Book (Lost Highway Records)
2005 - The Legend Of Johnny Cash (Island/American/Columbia/Legacy)
2005 - The Legend (Box Set) (Columbia/Legacy)
2005 - The Road Goes On Forever: 10th Anniversary Edition (Capitol/EMI)
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Montr�al Exchange: Canadian Derivatives Exchange Listing Stock Options and Financial Futures
Montreal Exchange: Canadian Derivatives Exchange Listing Stock Options and Financial Futures
Good summary of options & futures trading strategies...
Good summary of options & futures trading strategies...
Salem, Ontario - a nice place to retire
Salem, Ontario - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Salem, Ontario
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Jump to: navigation, search
Salem, Ontario, Canada, is a community located in the Township of Centre Wellington, north-west of the village of Elora in south-central Ontario. It is home to around 500 residents. Its quiet neighbourhood and peaceful environment makes it a choice place to live.
This small village boasts of a gas station, local convenience store, two bridges over the Irvine River, a school, and even a subdivision. It also has one traffic light, but has more gravel roads than paved ones.
The town was founded before Canada became a nation and has many old stone houses to prove it.
The main controversy surrounded Salem is the new subdivision coming in on William Street, between Water Street and Victoria Street. Salem's only pine forest was cut down to make way for urban development. However, Salem is still a nice, quaint place, and is a must see for nature lovers."
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Jump to: navigation, search
Salem, Ontario, Canada, is a community located in the Township of Centre Wellington, north-west of the village of Elora in south-central Ontario. It is home to around 500 residents. Its quiet neighbourhood and peaceful environment makes it a choice place to live.
This small village boasts of a gas station, local convenience store, two bridges over the Irvine River, a school, and even a subdivision. It also has one traffic light, but has more gravel roads than paved ones.
The town was founded before Canada became a nation and has many old stone houses to prove it.
The main controversy surrounded Salem is the new subdivision coming in on William Street, between Water Street and Victoria Street. Salem's only pine forest was cut down to make way for urban development. However, Salem is still a nice, quaint place, and is a must see for nature lovers."
"Because your wife uses the car too..."
Mujeres no al bricolaje - Google Video
I wonder how fast that ad got pulled. That was almost as offensive as that fake Ford ad that lopped off the cat's head.
I wonder how fast that ad got pulled. That was almost as offensive as that fake Ford ad that lopped off the cat's head.
Irreversible breast sag
Next time you see a woman jogging, be sure she's wearing a sports bra! ;)
The study suggested as a woman runs a mile, her breasts bounced 135m.
I hope this doesn't happen to men too, otherwise a couple of my friends are in for a droopy surprise later in life.
They claim that wearing an ordinary T-shirt bra reduced bounce by 38%, but wearing a sports bra by the firm Shock Absorber - which sponsored the research - reduced bounce by 78%.
Where's the fun in that?
Anna Kournikova led a campaign to get women wearing sports bras
I thought Nike was already paying Brandi Chastain to do that.
The study suggested as a woman runs a mile, her breasts bounced 135m.
I hope this doesn't happen to men too, otherwise a couple of my friends are in for a droopy surprise later in life.
They claim that wearing an ordinary T-shirt bra reduced bounce by 38%, but wearing a sports bra by the firm Shock Absorber - which sponsored the research - reduced bounce by 78%.
Where's the fun in that?
Anna Kournikova led a campaign to get women wearing sports bras
I thought Nike was already paying Brandi Chastain to do that.
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