Chicken samich

Small things 31 Aug

• Imagine a President who suggests that if you impeach him, the stock market will go crazy and a lot of people will lose their money; and if the Democrats win midterm elections, there will be violence. Rule through fear and intimidation.
• "Who is this clown?" is a pretty good insult, because 1. you're calling them a clown, and 2. you're saying they're not even a well known clown.
• In Canada we have the "using 'sorry' unnecessarily" jar.
• I'm an Adobeist. I converted my family to PDF.
• Daylight savings should not happen at midnight, it should happen at 4:00 pm on a Friday. That would make it 5:00 pm and everyone gets to go home early.
• I have a dad bod. Or as I like to call it - a father figure.
• Youtube. Your child's first words might be "Don't forget to subscribe."
• If I live to be 100 and people ask me how I did it, I'm going to make something wacky up. 

Domino's review on Yelp

Happy birthday is so last year

There's a growing trend to stop singing 'happy birthday' to someone on their birthday and instead completely demolish the birthday boy/girl's favourite song.

I like this trend and I'm hoping it grows exponentially.

Things I learned lately 31 Aug

• A 10 bedroom penthouse apartment in Hell's Kitchen in NYC comes with some extra perks to try and sell it, because it's been on the market for 5 years. 2 tickets to outer space ($250,000 each); and extra 5,000 square feet (half of the next floor down); 2 Rolls Royce Phantoms and a Lamborghini Aventor ($1.2 million); a Hamptons vacation rental for one summer; court-side season tickets to the Brooklyn Nets for a year (up to $130,000); a $1 million yacht with one year of docking fees; a $2 million renovation credit to fix things you don't like. Cost: $85 million.
• Trump's disapproval rating hit 60% during the last week of August 2018.
• U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan ruled on May 23 that comments on the president's account, and those of other government officials, were public forums and that blocking Twitter Inc users for their views violated their right to free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
• Google now sells a security dongle called the Titan Security Key (pictured). It is meant to be a physical layer of security to protect your Google account. Hackers would need your username, password, AND the dongle to get into your account. It costs $50 and either plugs into your USB port or pairs with your phone / tablet via Bluetooth or NFC.
• Trump's claim that Google is biased because it didn't promote his State of the Union address on 12 Jan 2016 is completely fabricated. Not only is the video he used to prove it fake, because the updated Google logo is missing, that day also featured a Cinderella doodle, also missing from the video clip.
• As of June 2018, Germany boasts 1 million homes that have rooftop solar installed. And now, 100,000 homes also have battery storage for excess electricity.
• People don't have a strong intuitive sense of how much bigger one billion is compared to one million. One million seconds is 11.5 days. One billion seconds is 31.7 years.
• Typical garage sale banter: Browser: How Much? Seller: $2 Browser: Are you firm on that price? Seller: .........................

Refugee statistics

• Number of asylum seekers who entered Canada illegally in 2017: 18,116
• Number of people who entered Canada and made refugee claims in total in 2017: 50,469
• Number of people who entered Canada and made refugee claims in total in 2001: 44,640
• UNHCR estimates of forcibly displaced people: 68.5 million worldwide
• UNHCR estimates of refugees forced to flee conflict or persecution in their home countries: 25.4 million
• Number of refugees Turkey is coping with: 3,500,000
• Number of refugees Pakistan, Uganda, Lebanon and Iran are coping with: 1,400,000; 1,400,000; 1,000,000; and 980,000 respectively.
• Number of refugees that entered Europe (Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Spain) by sea in 2016: 363,504
• Number of refugees Germany is coping with: 186,644 in 2017

Small things 24 Aug

• Dentists make money off of people with bad teeth. So why should I buy toothpaste that 4 out of 5 dentists recommend?
• Being an adult means you still know you shouldn't eat just dessert for your supper. But you know you can. And we damned well do too. 
• The stock market. If you're rich and it goes up, you make money. If it goes down, you lose money. If you're poor and it goes up, nothing happens. If it goes down, you lose your job.
• A colleague at work has Matthew McConaughy saying his famous "Alright, alright alright..." line as a ring tone. It made me smile.
• Is a rubber gasket on an aircraft carrier considered a Navy seal?
• Geology rocks. But Geography is where it's at..............
• A pentagon has five sides. How many sides does an Oregon have?

Zoom earth

It's always cool to look at the world in satellite view in Google Maps or Google earth, but the pictures aren't live.

Well, Zoom Earth gives you a much more recent satellite image. You can even go back in time. So for example, I can see that on 16 March 2018, while Toronto and southwestern Ontario were free of snow, most of the rest of Canada was still covered in the white stuff.

In the picture above, taken 16 Aug 2018, we see just how much wildfire smoke is drifting from British Columbia into Alberta and right across the prairies and into Ontario. That's Hudson's Bay at top right.

Things I learned lately 24 Aug

• Google Chrome plans to stop supporting Flash web content by 2020. As it is, you'll have to enable flash web site by web site.
• If you omit the terrorist attacks on September 11, in 41 years (1975-2015) only 41 US citizens were killed by a foreign born terrorist. In 30 of those 41 years, nobody was killed in such an attack.
• Roughly 1.6% of immigrant males age 18-39 are incarcerated in the US, compared to 3.3% of the native-born. That's less than half.
• Cameron Crowe only got to direct the movie he wrote, Say Anything, because nobody else was available. He had never done it before and really had no idea what he was doing. He didn't even consider doing scenes from multiple angles until people told him it was something he had to do.
• Canada's Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that 39% of university grads and 33% of college grads are overqualified for their current jobs.
• In Canada, 62.6% of 20-24 year olds still live with their parents.
• Visible minorities make up 51.4% of the population of urban Toronto.

It's 4:25 somewhere.........

Oh Henry put out a limited edition chocolate bar to commemorate the legalization of cannabis, called 4:25.

Get it?

Yes that's Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad

Computer musical accompaniment is now a thing

Olafur Arnalds, the Icelandic composer known for the title music in the UK TV series Broadchurch, did a Tiny Desk concert on NPR lately that is an amazing example of how technology can be leveraged to create music in an entirely new way.

At the 3:55 mark, he starts to play his synthesizer, but the two pianos behind him accompany him on their own, as if a ghost is playing the keys. In fact, he's using a system called Stratus, which listens to what he's playing, and responds by creating patterns that are musically in tune with the chord or notes Ólafur performed.

"Basically, it's a way to break out of the box musicians often fall back on as performers — the familiar responses that years of playing can reinforce. With that is the hope that the computer will create a response that is unfamiliar and, in some cases through speed of performance and the sheer number of notes played, impossible for a human to have made. So, it breathes new life into the music for the listener and the performer."

Small things 11 Aug

• When you visit the doctor and they ask, "How are you?" and you say "Fine." Why don't they say "Well, I guess we're done here....."?
• When I can smell your cologne from the next car at the red light....... you're wearing too much, okay?
• Veni Vidi Wiki. I came, I saw, I edited collaboratively.....
• Never tease a little person with a really high five.....
• "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect." ~Mark Twain 

Dear pipeline protesters: You're too late

Somehow I think that people protesting pipelines haven't seen this map.

The purple lines are all the oil pipelines in Alberta. The orange lines are all the natural gas pipelines.

I tried to find an equivalent map of BC and failed, but I hope I made my point.

Model 3 sales not doing well? Fake news my friends......

Things I learned lately 11 Aug

• There are still about 1000 homes without electricity in Puerto Rico one year after Hurricane Maria.
• It takes Kylie Jenner just over 2 hours to make as much money as the average American makes in a year.
• The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia executed a man by crucifixion in Mecca on 8 August amid waging a public-relations battle with Canada over human rights. The man was accused of murder, theft, and attempted rape.
• Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte will debut on August 28 this year, according to internal documents.
• KFC announced on 6 August that the newest celebrity Colonel is Jason Alexander, best known for playing George Costanza on "Seinfeld."
• Facebook has been in talks with banks about accessing users' financial data and integrating it into its platform. Facebook is reportedly considering showing users their bank balance or potential fraud alerts, as well as encouraging people to use its Messenger app more, if the partnerships ultimately go ahead. Needless to say, after what's been happening to user data, most people are not thrilled with this development.
• McDonald's employees typically have a hard time getting the smell of fries out of their clothes.
• In the new version of GMail, you can send messages in 'confidential mode', where the recipient won't be able to forward, copy/paste, download, or print your email. You can also enable an SMS pass-code requirement to open the email.
• The Mercatus report on Bernie Sander's plan to extend Medicare to all Americans cost of $32.6 trillion from 2022 to 2031 doesn't take a few things into account. For one, it doesn't allow for the concept of lowered costs due to mass purchasing power. It doesn't allow for reduced insurance costs when profit isn't priority one. It doesn't take into account that one of the reasons healthcare costs are as high as they are is because uninsured people tend to wait until their illness is serious, which tends to cost more to cure. When people don't hesitate to go to their doctor, problems can usually be solved before they get out of control.

Small things 27 Jul

• To think that when I was a kid, I thought nap time was a punishment........
• There's no award for best wedding.
• My mind is like my web browser. 10 tabs are open, 3 of them are frozen and I have no idea where the music is coming from.
• The community pool. The original unisex bathroom.

A rare shot of an 8 bit cat

The 5 thoughts to think before engaging in an online debate

Listen before responding.
If you wouldn't say it in person, don't say it online.
No insults, meet anger with kindness.
Find the common ground and good in others.
Consider you might be wrong.

True facts: Carnivorous plants

Ze Frank (remember this guy?) is at it again, narrating a mini doc on plants that eat bugs.

It's good fun.

It's never 4:20 at work.......

Things I learned lately 27 Jul

• The 23 countries with the fastest average internet speeds. No, Canada is NOT among them. Countries with speeds better than Canada: France; Madagascar; Slovakia; US; Hong Kong; Andorra; Lithuania; Spain; Estonia; Taiwan; Latvia; Japan; Switzerland; Jersey; Hungary; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Belgium; Romania; Norway; Denmark; Sweden; Singapore.
• A hyperloop research team based in Munich (WARR Hyperloop, Technical University of Munich) shattered speed records and got their pod up to 467 km/h (290 mph).
• Stalin sent hit squads (yes, plural) to try to take out John Wayne.
• Remains of Homo sapiens have been discovered recently that are more than 300,000 years old. That updates the origin timeline by another 100,000 years. Neanderthals and Denisovans were around at least 400,000 years back.
• Steve Bannon is now setting up a foundation called The Movement in Europe to promote far right wing political groups in Britain, France, Germany and Hungary.
• If you press the 'j' key in Facebook (web page), you'll be taken directly to the next post in your newsfeed, no scrolling necessary.
• Calgary has a bike path network over 1000 km long, the biggest in the world. This same city has some very vocal motorists who don't approve of separated bike lanes downtown.
• Netflix penetration: US - 64.5%; Norway - 62.4%; Canada - 56.3%; Denmark - 54.9%; Sweden - 50.2%

Small things 13 Jul

• A giant angry orange baby Trump effigy balloon floating over London made Trump feel unwelcome. You mean, like the illegal immigrants entering the US unwelcome feeling?
• kijiji ad funnies: (for a tool kit) price is firm. worth way more. includes [lists stuff]. two batteries i think one doesn't hold much charge. Yeah, it's so barely used that one battery is already at the end of its life.
• "Don't just teach your children to read...teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything." ~George Carlin
• "If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to have selfish, ignorant leaders." ~George Carlin
• Do militant feminists hate the word boycott?

Lasers......

"Oh my God!"

This was me the first time I looked through a telescope at Saturn and Jupiter.

It's one thing to see pictures of our solar system objects. It's quite another to see them with your own eyes, up close(r).

Cold, dead heart

Songs that are 50 years old this year (2018)

The Beatles - Hey Jude
Otis Redding - Sittin' on the dock of the bay
Cream - Sunshine of your love
Herb Alpert - This guy's in love with you
Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs Robinson
The Doors - Hello I love you
Sly & the Family Stone - Dance to the music
John Fred & His Playboy Band - Judy in Disguise (with glasses)
Steppenwolf - Born to be wild / Magic carpet ride
Ohio Express - Yummy Yummy Yummy
Mason Williams - Classical gas
Tom Jones - Delilah
Cream - White room
Dionne Warwick - Do you know the way to San Jose
Manfred Mann - The mighty Quinn
Aretha Franklin - Think

By the way, if you haven't heard Judy in Disguise, you must go listen.......

Things I learned lately 13 Jul

• Streaming services now account for 75% of all music listening in the US, up from 50% in 2016 - just 2 years.
• Billions of low-energy neutrinos from the sun pass through one of your thumbnails every second.
• Virtually all things made from iron in the Bronze Age were made from metal that fell from the sky in the form of meteorites. As a result, iron was considered a gift from the gods.
• Steel was first created by India around 400 BC.
• Vacation perks: Airbnb gives $2000 in travel coupons per year; BambooHR gives $2000 for travel; Evernote gives unlimited vacation days plus $1000 for travel; Expedia gives up to $750 reimbursements plus discounts through their site; FullContact gives $7500 for travel per year; Moz gives 21 PTO days, 7 sick days, 10 vacation days and $3000 for expenses.
• Statistically speaking, couples who spend more on their weddings are more likely to get divorced.
• Brands owned by Amazon (US)
  
  : Arabella (lingerie); Basic Care (pain relief and antacids); Beauty Bar (cosmetics); Buttoned Down, and Goodthreads (men's clothing); Ella Moon, Lark & Ro, North Eleven, and James & Erin (women's clothing); Mae (underwear); Franklin & Freeman (men's shoes); Scout & Ro (kid's clothing); Happy Belly (fresh food); Mama Bear (baby products); Pike Street, Pinzon (linen); Presto (paper and cleaning supplies); NuPro (tech accessories); Small Parts (spare parts); Solimo (assorted goods); Strathwood (furniture); Wag (dog food); Wickedly Prime (groceries).
• 800,000 ex-pats have left Saudi Arabia, creating a hiring crisis.

Small things 5 Jul

• I don't know exactly what women are shaving in those women's leg shaving advertisements, because they don't have any visible hair to begin with. (except for one ad for Billie brand)
• "We've become very focused in the world of sustainability about being 'less bad', less CO2 emissions, less water pollution, less waste. What we really need to do is turn that on its head and think about what does it mean to be a truly good company, where you leave the world every day better off than it was the day before." ~Jeffrey Hollender, CEO Seventh Generation
• Why is it that tire stores insist on you coming back for a re-torque after a tire install / rotate, but when your car dealership does maintenance that involves removing the wheels, they don't ask you to come back for a re-torque?
• Worst Tinder pickup line ever: "There's a black friday sale at my place. All clothes are 100% off."
• You know what I don't get? The newspaper. I have never subscribed to the newspaper..... I used to deliver it when I was a kid though.
• Ever been told that a well-prepared Portabello mushroom is as good as a steak? Vegetarian propaganda!

Soon to be deployed - all electric UPS delivery vans