What kind of warped mind thinks this shit up?

Even New Zealand isn't immune to insane over-reaction to the perceived threat of online copyright infringement. They have created a law to kick people off the internet (permanently) on the basis of three unsubstantiated accusations of copyright infringement.

"Of all the unreasonable and awful proposals to come out of the entertainment industry, none is so bad as the three-strikes rule, a rule that would leave everyday people vulnerable to having the connection that brings them freedom of speech, of assembly and the press, the link that connects them to family, school, work and government, terminated because someone, somewhere made three accusations of copyright infringement, without having to offer a shred of evidence."

More than just making babies...

Good news for folks who had a problem with using embryos to harvest stem cells, now they seem to have found a new source - sperm cells.

As my friend Ernest said to me last night, "See, men do have a purpose after all...."

Mail goggles

I can't really identify with this new gadget from Google Labs, but I guess some might find it useful. If you ever find yourself lacking reason late at night due to being inebriated or whatever, you may need protection from writing emails that you'll regret once you ummmm...... wise up. The Google-folk have devised a thing that tests your reasoning skills (math problems) before letting you answer your Gmail.

Where Is It? reaches the big 50!

For anyone new to this blog, I throw up this little geo-hound game up from time to time. this is edition 50. The goal is to name the city. You can click the picture for a bigger view. To any newcomers - act fast - the veterans take no prisoners.

Good luck.

How many people will be evicted this year?

An Illinois sheriff is standing up to mortgage companies and declaring that he won't evict innocent renters where the building owners have fallen behind on their mortgage payments.

Thanks to Ernest for the tip.

Correct = elitist

Word has it the conservatives in the US are criticizing the way Obama pronounces Pakistan (pock-i-stahn versus pack-ee-stan) as elitist and exotic. Never mind that it's correct.

By the way Sarah Palin..... the way you pronounce Iraq (eye-rack)...... you're doin' it wrong. It's not 'eye-ran' (Iran) either. And y'all can stop saying 'nuke-you-ler' any time too.

Plastic electronic paper

The concept of electronic paper hasn't really built up a lot of interest. But a friend sent me this link to a very light and fairly rugged plastic display device designed to replace your papers in a business environment.

Pretty neat.

Did the bailout pay for that too?

I have very mixed feelings about the financial bailout plan the Americans passed into law to ease the pain created by the latest rounds of financial system failures precipitated by the sub-prime mortgage crisis. I don't feel the bailout sets a good precedent. It sends a message to the financial community that messing up in a big way is rewarded with taxpayers' money. Now, if the money was being spent on rescuing investors and homeowners screwed by the fallout of the crisis, I'd be a little more sympathetic, but it is my impression that most of the money is going to help the financial industry while most of their clients get squat.

My friend Ernest tipped me off to this little incident south of the border, where AIG executives spent almost a half million dollars on a retreat at a posh resort south of LA. The financial division of the company wasn't part of the retreat, but law-makers in the US are still a little miffed that less than a week after the bailout was agreed to, the company treats themselves at a time of economic downturn and for some people - economic disaster.

Bad timing........

[Waving bye bye to summer]

We saw our first snow of the season today. It didn't accumulate at all because the ground is still too warm, but there's a definite chill in the air.

Pictured is a ski resort (Sunshine Village) in the Rockies - picture taken today.

In case you thought Bill C-61 was gone

The Conservatives just released their actual election platform today, a full week before voting day.

(yes - that was sarcasm in one of its purest forms)

In their platform, they pledge to re-introduce Bill C-61 if re-elected. If you don't yet know what that would mean to your Canadian consumer lifestyle, you've got some reading to do before the handcuffs go on.

If brains were trains, these ones would never arrive

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers don't get a lot of respect in these times of increased vigilance over terrorist threats and so on. Well, ya best not be infringin' on nun-a-dem-dare copyrights either. Even if you're innocent, they'll find a way to make you look guilty.

Coles Notes version (shit - I just infringed right there!) - a US resident was detained at the US border because she had a drawing of a sport-utility vehicle in her sketchbook.

Found at BoingBoing.

Invest it now while you can

As you may or may not know, Alberta's government gets a royalty from non-renewable resource revenues (oil and natural gas). This money has been used for everything from investing in the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, to filling the general revenue coffers for the province. I wish I could recall exactly what kind of numbers we're talking about here, but I'm pretty sure it's in the hundreds of millions per year, probably more. Does anyone know?

I was discussing this little benefit of living in Alberta and I got to thinking - this perk isn't going to last forever. Some day, oil and natural gas will be a rare resource and the royalties it generates will become a thing of the past.

In light of this fact, I think it would be a better idea to invest at least some of this money in developing new, renewable forms of energy for the time that we can no longer depend on fossil fuels. To me, the concept is logical - use the money generated from fossil fuels to explore the next alternative, while we still have the fossil fuels. The thing I fear most is that once this stuff becomes rare (and therefore exorbitantly expensive), only then will we look at each other an ask, "Now what?".

It's all about speculation now......

In another contribution by my good friend Ernest, CNN got caught with their pants down after publishing (or put more accurately - after allowing to be published) a citizen-created report that "Steve Jobs (was) rushed to ER following (a) severe heart attack". This had an expected negative effect on Apple stock until people got wise.

What I love about this story is not what happened, but some of the responses that fell out of the story:

This article should not be about the citizen journalism, it should be about the stupidity of Wall Street. Our stock market is driven by rumour and not financial statements. Even if Steve Jobs had passed away, does that indicate that I-Pods and I-phones would stop selling? This is the problem with Wall Street. I wouldn't trust my money with those idiots for nothing. Why are my tax dollars going to bail out people who would sell Apple stock over a rumour? Even if it had been true, this should not affect stock prices. The same thing happened with an airline recently. We need to stop letting the stock market affect our economy when they don't know what they are doing.

90 minutes and 5456 calories = $264

A while back, I blogged about the 45 minute time limit at a McDonald's in the UK. I guess they're not the only UK fast food chain with parking lot restrictions. KFC has a 75 minute limit, which if you exceed, you will be fined.

"We were hungry", claims one patron who over-stayed her welcome and got a fine in the mail. Yeah, hungry is an understatement. Check out what her and a mate ate.

Thanks to Ernest.

Needs a shine

Sometimes Darlene and I get a great laugh from some of the stuff that's listed on eBay. Like this Birks sterling silver ring box. It's in "....excellent condition with no dents. Hinge is a bit bent."

That's the box on the left. On the right is what would normally be classified as "excellent condition".

A novel idea to improve online purchases

There are still a lot of people who are hesitant about using their credit cards to make online purchases. Let's face it, there are some risks and when you don't know who you're doing business with at the other ends of a transaction, it can get a little scary.

Citibank has instituted an idea that I hope catches on with other credit card companies - the virtual account number. A Citibank card holder receives a temporary virtual account number. This number is different for each purchase - you only use it once, but is recognized as legitimate by Citibank during a transaction. Retailers don't even know that the number is different from the customer's actual card number. It's a great idea because there is no way a person could use it more than once. In the ultimate scenario, you find something you want to buy, log into Citibank, get your virtual account number, buy your item - done. The number lasted a grand total of minutes.

Google comes clean

Google is expanding way beyond the realm of internet search technology. They have an operating system, Android, designed for mobile devices. They have online services such as maps, email, productivity applications and document sharing.

Now they have a plan for the future of energy in America. It's called Clean Energy 2030. Here's a sample of the summary:

"Right now we have a real opportunity to transform our economy from one running on fossil fuels to one largely based on clean energy. Technologies and know-how to accomplish this are either available today or are under development. We can build whole new industries and create millions of new jobs. We can cut energy costs, both at the gas pump and at home. We can improve our national security. And we can put a big dent in climate change. With strong leadership we could be moving forward on an aggressive but realistic time-line and an approach that offsets costs with real economic gains.

Our goal in presenting this first iteration of the Clean Energy 2030 proposal is to stimulate debate and we invite you to take a look and comment - or offer an alternative approach if you disagree. With a new Administration and Congress - and multiple energy-related imperatives - this is an opportune, perhaps unprecedented, moment to move from plan to action."

Showing some true colours

I've never been a fan of Bill O'Reilly. Which is probably why I've never seen this video clip of him losing it during the taping of the closing of an episode of Inside Edition. The same person who showed me this little pearl also sent me a clip of a kid doing his best O'Reilly impersonation. I don't know which is sadder - Bill's antics or the fact that a kid can mimic him so well.

Thanks Ernest.

iPhone not actually for sale... it's for trade for your soul

So, I may not go on and on about it, but I really did want an iPhone. There were only 2 things about it that I felt could be better. Lack of copy and paste. And the data plan cost that is - sorry to say - outside my budget range, considering how often I would use it. I just like the phone dammit! OK!!??

So, when I found out the Apple store opened in Calgary.......... I got a little giddy with excitement. In the US, you can buy an iPhone right in the Apple store and walk out without even interacting with a phone company.

So today I went to the store, figuring the hoopla would have died down a bit. After 2 minutes of drooling over a 24" iMac, a young lady offered to assist. I asked about the iPhone. "Oh...... yeah..... sorry. In Canada, we're not actually selling the iPhone in our stores. They're just for people to play with..... to try them out."

I am more than willing to pay full price for my phone to be free of any strings. But alas, this is not possible like it is in the US. What kind of deal-with-the-devil did Apple agree to with Rogers / Fido that forces Canadians to buy their iPhone only from a cell phone provider? I don't want your data plan. I don't want to renew my contract. I just want my iPhone. And I have just one thing to point out to Rogers / Fido. I'm pointing it out with the longest finger I've got. Ok....... I mean pointing it 'up'.......

There's still plenty more to try too........

A short while back, I blogged about a (new to us) hole-in-the-wall eatery in trendy Inglewood called Eat! Eat! We've only had breakfast there and Darlene was craving an early dinner. I recalled that Eat! Eat! had many items on their menu we had yet to try so off we went. Now, at one time, they were only open until 3pm, but they've extended their hours to 5pm - so that's cool. But today also marked the opening of their expansion into the space next door, so there were plenty of seats still available (this place is very popular and fills fast).

I ordered the tuna melt with their famous yam chips and Darlene had the grilled cheese sandwich - they give you up to 2 of 5 cheeses to put on your grilled cheese, which she added bacon to. Darlene loves a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich. When I asked her what could be better about her sandwich, she said "nothing at all". My tuna melt was great too, as were the yam chips. They were..... yammy. [snort]

Just after we were served our food, the owner of the restaurant came to our table and fussed over us. Then he commanded us to "Eat! Eat!" So that was surreal (note the name of the place). I tell ya, if you're in the mood for comfort food, it's the place to go.

MPG means nothing to me - show me the cost!

I found a web site that calculates the cost to drive from any two places (in the US only - sorry) by car or truck. You plug in the start and end points, the model and year of the vehicle you're driving and it tells you how many dollars you'd spend getting between those two places.

Just for fun, I chose a trip from Great Falls Montana (essentially south of Calgary) to Portland Oregon, and plugged in various vehicles for comparison purposes. This is what it told me it would cost to drive (based on a cost of gas of $3.43 per gallon):

Ford Expedition $193.43
Toyota Tundra 4WD $180.13
Dodge Magnum $124.83
Lexus GS450 Hybrid $117.76
Toyota Hylander Hybrid $105.47
Acura TSX (my car) $105.47
Honda Civic $93.82
Nissan Altima Hybrid $83.53
Toyota Camry Hybrid $82.83
Honda Civic Hybrid $66.62
Toyota Prius $60.91
Toyota Yaris $50.59

Finally, some of our politicians wake up

Michael Geist, whom I have spoken about before whenever discussing the Copyright situation in Canada, has created a 2008 Election Copyright Pledge. This pledge is designed to be taken by voters to the candidates in their ridings, asking them:

"Will you commit to a balanced approach to copyright reform that reflects the views of all Canadians by pledging:

1. To respect the rights of creators and consumers.
2. Not to support any copyright bill that undermines or weakens the Copyright Act’s users rights.
3. To fully consult with Canadians before introducing any copyright reform bill and to conduct inclusive, national hearings on any tabled bill."

So far, this pledge is getting great support from the NDP, whose candidates in both Calgary Centre-North and Calgary Centre have supported it. Even better news - the Green Party (as a whole political party) has agreed to the pledge!

That's freaking awesome.......

Help me help you

Here's an interesting story about an alternative way a restaurant is using to raise capital for its expansion. No banks - just a clever financing strategy that not only gets them their money, but also gets patrons a deal on their food.

It's win-win!

It's not as exciting as US politics, but meh....

While I was kinda looking forward to watching the American Vice Presidential debate last night.... for the same reasons someone who knows beforehand that an accident is about to take place at an intersection.... I had to pass on the opportunity and watch the Canadian leader's debate (which was on at the same time).

I'm still undecided as to who will get my vote this time around and I wanted a chance to see some new players in the Canadian political debate arena for the first time. Mr. Harper, I'm afraid you won't be getting my vote in this election. Bill C-61 (the Copyright fiasco) was the deal breaker for me, but ignoring the Kyoto Accord and replacing it with bullshit 'intensity targets' had me leaning elsewhere long before. Anyway - back to the debate. It wasn't a surprise that Harper was attacked from all sides. Some pundits claim he weathered the storm and won the debate. I didn't see it that way.

Dion had an opportunity to explain the new Liberal platform, which he did, but not very eloquently. I'm a Liberal by nature and he doesn't inspire me a great deal. Layton made some good points for the NDP, but he just seems too much like a dweeb to make a good Prime Minister. Yes - I said dweeb. Duceppe was his usual Quebec nationalist self, but even he made some points on Harper, harassing him on his manufacturing policy and explaining to Canadians why intensity targets for pollution reduction is smoke and mirrors.

But the person who surprised me most was the new guy ummm woman on the scene, the leader of the fledgling Green party, Elizabeth May. She held her own with the boys at the table and called Harper on a few reality checks regarding the economy, the environment and health care. People seem to forget that the Greens had the Green Shift idea before the Liberals stole it. Anyway, colour me impressed.

What really sucks for me in this election, is now that the right side of the political spectrum has united behind one party, the left side doesn't stand a chance - voters split amongst 3 parties - the Liberals, the NDP and to a certain extent, the Greens. If the left side of the table were to unite and put the best of each of their ideas into a unified party and platform, the Conservatives wouldn't stand a chance, IMHO.

I used to live on this at certain times of my life....

Quick poll:

Am I the only one who thinks this looks yummy?

Yes, that's Kraft Dinner with ketchup. Or Kraft Macaroni & Cheese for you Americans. When I saw the picture, I started to drool.

Palintology [snort]

Best line read on another blog all month....

"Palintology: the study of dinosaur / human coexistence."

(Sarah Palin thinks dinosaurs and humans coexisted)

Thanks to defectiveyeti

Driving you off the road

Particularly if you live in an urban area, the skills needed to drive today are far more demanding than they would have been 20 or 30 years ago. There are far more incidents of road rage, unpredictable and unsafe drivers, eating and using phones among other things while driving, higher speed limits, more congestion on the roads....... all of these factors combined require a higher degree of concentration and quick reactions.

Which makes me wonder - how are the oldest drivers on the road handling all of this? Elderly drivers get a bad rap as it is, but it must be far more difficult to react to the kinds of hazards that exist today compared to a few decades ago. I'm convinced that as time goes on, the statistics will show a higher rate of elderly drivers getting into accidents due to their inability to adjust to the increasingly demanding pace of modern driving. Drivers aged 70+ have the second highest rate of traffic fatalities of all age groups at around 25 deaths per 100k. Could we soon see the day when this group surpasses 30 deaths per 100k, the rate for the highest group - teenagers? I foresee governments legislating driver re-tests at certain milestone ages to re-evaluate their suitability to be behind the wheel. Which will suck for them not just because of the inconvenience of having to re-test, but because these re-evaluations will most certainly not be free.

So we may find ourselves in a situation where the elderly pull off of the roads, not only because they have lost the ability to drive safely, but because they can no longer afford the license fees. I've often thought ahead on how I'm going to react to the increasing stresses of driving as I get older. As it is - I'm getting less tolerant of the kinds of idiots I encounter on the roads and find myself experiencing mini fits of road rage in my 40's. I can only imagine how I'll feel in 10 or 20 years.

That's some web site.....

When I first saw this web site, I thought, "Wow, what a nice web s....... wait a second, what the fu....."

And then I read the details:

"Child Trader ....has brought happiness to more than 1623 American households who otherwise had very few options in creating a more loving family and home life when realizing their child wasn’t the right fit for them. Child Trader Child Exchange Network isn’t about not loving your children. Its about finding a family that can love them more."

This is one of the best executed hoax web sites... ever! I don't know whether to laugh, cross my arms in disgust or call the cops.

Thanks to Jon for the tip.

Old friends and warm weather...

I don't know how many posts I'll get to hammer out today, but if my output seems below par, it's because someone from my youth is dropping by for a visit. Someone I haven't seen for...... I'm guessing at least 23 years.

On a totally unrelated topic, we set (high) temperature records across Alberta today. It got to 27C in Calgary (80F)....... not bad for October 1st.

It's just to teach you tolerance....

I'm sure plenty of Calgary drivers can identify with this road sign - obviously photoshopped, but accurate in many cases nonetheless.