Prodigy

I think I may have discovered the most incredible solo cover act ever.

Ewan Cunningham, a self-taught musician, who started on drums when he was 4, enjoys doing drum covers of various Pink Floyd songs (and so much more).

But in this particular video, he plays every part of the song Echoes by Pink Floyd. 25 minutes. Oh yeah, and he mixed it and filmed it too.

Phenomenal.

He was 18 when he made this!

Best wedding invitation ever

Van Gogh on dark water

Most mesmerizing video I've seen this year.

Make sure you watch this right to the end. Just when you think it's over.............. nope.

Labatt 50 beer did a slight re-branding for Canada's 150th birthday

Things I learned lately - 27 May

• Tim Hortons opens in the UK on 2 June 2017. In Glasgow.
• Stanley Black & Decker just bought Craftsman tools from Sears.
• The governor of Vermont vetoed the marijuana legalization bill. I guess he doesn't want to be re-elected......
• US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin thinks the threat of automation taking away jobs was negligible and that a two-decade timetable grossly exaggerated what was likely 50 to 100 more years away.
• Cyndi Lauper's debut solo album She's So Unusual was the first debut female album to chart 4 top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Apparently, the TPP is not dead. It's just proceeding without the US.
• There are serious studies that have concluded that it is very possible, that electric, self-driving vehicles will catch on quicker than anyone expected. This would theoretically lead to a major collapse in the current fossil fuel car sales business model, and inadvertently, the fossil fuel industry as a whole. Timeline: 4-6 years. From now.

Things I learned lately - 22 May

• Ronald Wayne, one of Apple's co-founders, sold his share of the company in 1976 for $800 to get out. He now lives in a trailer in Nevada, selling stamps and coins.
• Canada has 6 cities with populations over 1,000,000. China has over 100. There are more people in Shanghai and Beijing combines than all of Canada.
• Diamonds are not made from highly pressurized coal. Both coal and diamonds are formed from carbon. But the carbon that forms diamonds is much more pure, and the process requires much more heat and pressure.
• An apple didn't fall on Newton's head.
• Vermont was the first state to abolish slavery.

Killing in the name..... of fun!

Rage Against the Machine on toy instruments.

See parents, not so scary!

Poor bread

Drowning's not funny.....

His hobby is boring

Listen to Elon Musk reveal his latest predictions for the future of transportation. It's boring, pun intended.

There's a lot more discussed as well, it's not ALL about cars. But it's 100% amazing. Batteries! Solar roofs! Electric monster semi trucks! Rocket boosters that return and land! Probability streams! AAAHHH!!

Kindles

Things I learned lately - 13 May

• Burpees and pushups (3 + 1), together, are the simplest full body exercise.
• Sears is now blaming the media for its latest financial woes.
• These celebrities have teased they could run for President in 2020: Kanye West; Chris Rock; Dwayne The Rock Johnson; Katy Perry; Ron Pearlman; Will Smith; Oprah Winfrey; Tom Hanks; Bob Iger (Disney CEO); Howard Schultz (Starbucks CEO); Mark Cuban; Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook CEO). 
• Horse meat is supposedly served in Canada. I've never come across it myself (that I know of), but your mileage may vary. It is definitely served in Europe, and it comes from Canada.
• American Idol is returning, this time to ABC.
• Portland Oregon has pledged to be on 100% renewable energy by 2050. The whole of Multnomah County got in on this too.
• Apple is now worth over $800 billion.

Women in songs

Abbie  Abilene  Adia  Alison  Amanda  Angie  Annie  Barbara-Ann
Beth  Bette Davis  Billie Jean  Bonnie  Brandy  Carey  Caroline
Carrie Anne  Cath  Daphne  Deanie  Debra  Delia  Diana  Diane
Eleanor  Emily  Emma  Fanny  Gloria  Guinevere  Harmony
Helen of Troy  Ingrid  Jackie  Jane  Jeannie  Jennifer  Jenny  Jessica
Jezebel  Joan  Jojo  Jolene  Josephine  Josie  Judy  Juliet  Kathy
Kelly  Lady Madonna  Layla  Lilith  Lola  Lorelei  Louise  Lucy
Lucy Jordan  Maggie May  Mandy  Maria  Marlena  Mary  Mary Bell
Mary Jane  Maxine  Meg White  Michelle  Mimi  Miss Chatelaine
Miss Clare  Miss Gradenko  Mrs Jones  Mrs Robinson  Nikita  Peg
Rhiannon  Rikki  Rosalyn  Roxanne  Ruby  Ruby Jean  Sally  Sara
Sarah Jane  Shannon  Sharona  Sherrie  Sister Moonshine  Sophia
Talullah  Teresa  Tracie  Valerie  Vera  Yoko Ono

Creating a password

Trade policy

I thought this was a very well written article that explains in simple terms why the Trump administration's reactionary trade policies doesn't make much sense.
Also, US home builders' stocks slid right after this announcement......

Excerpt:

"US timber lands are mostly privatized. That means logging companies have to pay out to landowners to harvest timber. In Canada, timber lands are controlled by provinces. Those provinces aren't out to make a profit the same way private landowners are, and as such, Canadian lumber companies don't have to worry about landowners jacking up prices if timber prices are higher.

In other words, Canadian companies can keep their lumber cheaper because they're not as subject to the whims of the market. You can complain and whine about this all you want, but this is the structure Canada, a sovereign nation, chose.

And we chose another one — one that makes us less competitive than our neighbour."

Trekkie Road

Things I learned lately - 6 May

• Teens now typically live a double life on Instagram. They have a sterilized, curated profile on their 'rinsta' or real Instagram account that the masses are allowed to see. But then they have a more honest 'finsta' or fake Instagram, with goofy fake name for a select group of friends.
• It costs USD$62 to get a men's haircut in Zurich Switzerland. Having said that, I'm fairly certain a barber wouldn't earn $15/hr.
• Wendy's pioneered the first drive-thru window in 1970. It had a separate grill for quick drive-thru service.
• The Jack in the Box chain started in San Diego in 1951.
• Cognitive Systems has developed an intrusion detecting security system called Aura, that uses an analysis of RF energy to detect when intruders are in your home, and can make exceptions for people who have registered their cell phone in the device.
• April 22, 2017 was Britain's first 24 hour coal-free period since the industrial revolution.