Do you look at the stars?

Here's something to ponder. Looking up to the sky on a very clear night, the Triangulum Galaxy can sometimes be seen. This is a distance of 3.14 million light years. The Andromeda Galaxy is also sometimes visible, which is a distance of 2.5 million light years. When we see these galaxies what we actually see is light from the object rather than the object itself. According to the Astrogeology Team of the USGS, we can see about 2,500 stars in the clearest of night skies.

Am I the only one who marvels at the idea that light energy has travelled millions of light years to our eyes? Do any of my readers do any star gazing? Is the view great where you live, or do you have a special spot you go to?

TV commercials from the 80's

If you were born in the 80's, you might have been too young to appreciate the wacky commercials that existed in that era. Luckily, there are web sites like this one to satisfy your curiosity.....

Shown, William Shatner flogs the Commodore Vic 20.

Just breathe

Researchers have shown that it's possible to detect DNA methylation in the breath of smokers and lung cancer patients. This means that, in theory it may be possible to identify people who have undiagnosed lung cancer or are at high risk of developing it.

My flight simulator would look splendid on this...

Hey computer gamers! Drool over this Siemens monitor......

Go see the big picture here.

20 cute business slogans and other clever signs

In a Restaurant window:
"Don't stand there hungry. Come on in and get fed up."

On a Septic Tank Truck sign:
"We're #1 in the #2 business."

More here.

This really sucks

Get informed about vacuuming. It's not just about how much you suck. Eight myths about vacuuming.

Picture by noahstone.

Hey Mom, Dad. Maybe they're crying for a reason.

It's that time of year again, so let's all enjoy pictures of children traumatized by being in the presence of the Mall Santa. Once you relish the looks of sheer terror on the children's faces, make sure to take note of the Santa in the pictures. Some of them are downright scary. No wonder some of the kids are crying.

Hey Santa! How many shots of tequila did you have last night dude?

Best online thank you card - ever!

But can you last to the end? I don't think so.........

Text this!

If you're the type of person who owns a cell phone but hasn't really taken to the whole culture of text messaging, you're not alone. Many people think of text messaging (SMS) as just a less efficient alternative to talking. Although texting is huge in other parts of the world, it hasn't really caught on to the same extent in North America. But let me tell you about a service that could open the world of SMS up to a lot of new people, if but for a very specific purpose.

Google SMS is a free service that allows you to submit very specific types of queries via a text message and the results will be sent back to you via text message as well. In other words, no web access required - text only. First - let me be clear - this is not the full blown Google search engine. But Google SMS could prove to be very useful. Some examples:

[postal code] to [postal code] will return the driving directions from one location to the other.

[city] to [city] will also return directions.

134.95 usd to cad will convert the US dollar value to Canadian dollars.

translate snow to german will tell you what snow is in German.

tim horton [postal code] will list Tim Horton franchises near that location.

19 in in cm will convert 19 inches to centimetres.

403 will tell you where that area code is.

define facetious will give a definition of the word facetious.

casino royale [postal code] will tell you where that movie is playing near that postal code.

This web page explains all the types of queries that work with Google SMS. All you do is send a message to 46645 and put the query in the message body. Then wait for the answer. If there's no response, Google SMS has nothing to tell you. Otherwise, you'll get a text message with the answer. Even without an SMS package with your cell provider, sending messages average around 10-15 cents per send (receiving is usually free). If you happen to have an SMS package, the costs are next to nothing.

I [ohm] you

For the geek girl on your Christmas list: jewelry made from electronic components. Nothing says "I Resist Everyone but You" more than dangling a few ohms under her ears.

Now if only Lick's would come to Calgary....

In our never ending quest for good eats on the run, Darlene and I passed (and almost missed) a new place downtown at the TD Square (bottom level) called Chachi's. It's a sandwich place - nothing more. You grab an order sheet on a mini clipboard, make your choices (there are many) and then watch them make your sandwich. They don't go easy on the fillings. Then they wrap it up in butcher paper. How quaint.

Darlene and I shared a ham and havarti cheese sandwich - it sure hit the spot. One of their specialties is New York style smoked meat sandwiches. I hope to try one soon. I hope more of these places open around town. One can never have too many good sandwich places.

Pizzoogle

If Google sold pizza..............

Am I becoming the definition of crotchety?

Sometimes retail stores just tick me off. Yeah..... OK..... they quite frequently tick me off. Here's the letter I fired off to the Hudson's Bay Company store today:

I am a Canadian consumer looking to buy a decent, stylish watch. The issue is that I've found some watches I am interested in - on the web, which I have recently tried to find locally so that I may try them out. I fully intend to buy one if it is a good fit. Here is where I run into some curious obstacles.

The watches I am interested in are Fossil, specifically the Philippe Starck line. There are currently (based on the Fossil web page) 10 discrete styles of Philippe Starck watches if you do not include colour variations, 25 if you include every colour. One would imagine then, that I should find some of these styles in a store in Canada. From what I have seen, it seems that The Bay has the exclusive rights to distribute these watches in Canada. Which is fine - but no matter which outlet of The Bay that I visit, they only have 2 or 3 watches in this line. The display case, specifically crafted to showcase the Philippe Starck line, is desolate and empty looking. It has been this way for weeks. Sales staff at the stores don't seem to know when more stock will arrive.

So, being a resourceful consumer, I decided to check The Bay's web site. Perhaps I can order the watch I want and then try it out when it arrives at a local outlet. There are no Philippe Starck watches listed on the web site.

So here you have a consumer who is willing to part with $190 (plus GST) of his hard earned money to buy a product (that actually sells in the US for US$90) that the retailer who has exclusive rights will not even make an effort to keep in stock - during the holiday season.

Well done.

Yeah.......... I have a lot of time on my hands. And money too. I know someone was going to say it, so don't bother.

[Update] The Bay answered my message. They told me that the reason selection was so bad is that they're in the middle of revamping the line of watches they sell (during the biggest shopping season of the year - isn't that special?). So no new stuff until this is sorted out. They also indicated that not every store would carry this line anymore. But they offered to choose from a limited list of models and suggested I could order one of those watches in a store and it would be sent to my store if Fossil had it in stock.

I just bought the watch I wanted on eBay. I saved $100.

If I had my own radio station - Afro Celt

If you're into World music, you may already know about this crew - Afro Celt Sound System. They blend two styles of music you wouldn't think compliment each other, traditional Western African and Irish.

Two songs that stand out for me are Release, on which Sinead O'Connor sings and When You're Falling, on which Peter Gabriel provides guest vocals. Check out the samples while they're still up.

Drop your pants, we need to check for explosives

Here's a gem from The Show with Ze Frank, where he comments on the fact that researchers have taught bees how to find explosives, which might find its way into applications with Homeland Security: "It was deemed that the experience of being screened at an airport may suck - but doesn't quite suck enough. We need bees."

And sometimes 'Y'

Why couldn't they have had venn diagrams like this when I was in school? This and many other cool t-shirts here.

Low tech art exhibit number two

OK, if you thought that was cool, how about this white board art?

Computer Generated Images.... the low tech way

Check out this video of someone drawing a car......... in MS Paint. Not an easy task to do.

Santa cannot be seen drinking

The State of Maine is banning the sale of Santa's Butt Winter Porter (beer) because the label depicts Santa enjoying a pint. Last year, they had a problem with Seriously Bad Elf Ale.

Where is it round 6

Where is this? City only. This one will be tough to verify, because Google Maps doesn't label this part of the world very well. I did link to a bigger picture this time though. Good luck my little geography hounds........

The latest Meme

This is yet another awesome meme I saw elsewhere, so I thought - what the heck. P.S.: Yes, that's me in the picture, circa 1982, just a young buck Private in Canada's military.

I’ve worked as: a Disc Jockey, a blueprint machine operator, a short order cook (at a Zeller's restaurant no less), a teletype technician, an instructor (technology), a shop supervisor, an Army boot camp instructor. Now I’m a combination training developer / instructor / information assurance analyst / ILS analyst ( I have fingers in many pies).

I’ve never: been on a cruise ship; punched anyone; been arrested; been lost; broken a bone; been in a threesome; killed an animal (insects don't count); been weightless - yet; seen my dad in 13 years (he's alive - as far as I know).

I have: set a huge grass fire (by accident - I was 10); been stung by a bee in the ear; played real war games; driven across Canada (except for the Maritimes); owned 3 successive motorcycles; kissed a man on the lips (once - his name was David Devlin - great friend - not that way - man you guys are homophobic!)); been caught shoplifting (and lied my way out of it getting reported to my parents - HAHA!!).

I have taught: telecommunications to journeymen technicians; how to fix computers; eBay; blogging; internet security; and how to use Microsoft Office.

I am: pompous (so I'm told); someone with the gift of gab; mischievous; logical; adaptable; too blunt; a very good driver; a liberal; the creator of my own reality; curious about a great many things.

I know how to: find stuff on the internet; cook; connect your home theatre; navigate; troubleshoot things; dumb complex things down for everyone to understand.

I refuse to: put ketchup anywhere near my eggs; drink and drive; allow the stuff on my plate to intermingle; switch to boxers; bungee jump; be seduced by second life.

I might try to: get hired to do commercials; start my own business; lose another 20 pounds, become a DJ on CJSW (University of Calgary radio); guest-host The Hour on CBC; stop letting bad drivers upset me; get behind the controls of a plane (by invitation only, of course).

Egypt, Planet, Apple, Tron, Rain - have a thing in common

Anyone who is fairly familiar with the late musician Frank Zappa knows that he and his wife Gail named their first two children Moon Unit (a girl) and Dweezil (a boy). But did you know that he also named his other kids Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen Zappa ? When he was a guest on the Tonight Show, Jay Leno asked him why he named his children with those unusual names. In true Zappa style, he answered, "Because I wanted to!"

Favourite Zappa quote: "A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians."

For more fun names that entertainers have named their spawn, visit Am I Right.

Inconvenient in more ways than one...

I have yet to watch the movie An Inconvenient Truth. I bought it, but it's still waiting for me to have a couple hours of free time lately to actually watch it. If you haven't heard anything about the film, it's a documentary about (former - and perhaps future Presidential hopeful) Al Gore's campaign to increase awareness about global warming. I have read a lot of reviews on this film and the jury is in - anyone who thinks Mother Nature will sort herself out is right. With a vengeance.

Meanwhile, the producers of the movie have generously made 50,000 copies available for schools. The National Science Teachers Association turned down the offer, suggesting it risks key financial supporters will cut their funding. What supporters? Ohhhh.......... like Exxon-Mobil........

They've got us by the gonads, my friends............

Radio my way

I have a question. Wouldn't it be cool if there was a radio station in every jurisdiction that only played music that WASN'T on any top 40 chart? Think about it. Only tunes that had yet to make it big.......... (or hadn't been big in ages)

I would call it "the un-radio station". [running to the copyright office]

Picture by roadsidepictures

evian Flu

It's very contagious....

Watch out!

I'm usually not big into those online flash games, but Snowball is one that you could easily get addicted to. The idea is to roll a snowball down a hill and try to make it as big as you can without running into anything (smaller than you).

Did anyone else but me notice I have posted 2 things about snow hitting people in 2 days?

Nifty architecture

Another example of green(er) architecture, this Urban Cactus project in Rotterdam is arranged in such a way that each unit gets more sunlight on its terrace. Very funky lookin'.

Y.. M.. C.. A..

Every time someone makes fun of Christianity, God kills a kitten. Except this time - he was laughing too hard.....

How much!?

I know someone (who shall remain nameless of course) who has listed their home in Calgary. The City of Calgary graciously puts their current property assessment values on the web. This is a great way to view a neighbourhood and determine the overall value of homes in an area and how yours compares. The home in question is valued by the City at about $270,000. Even though the City has recently adopted a True Market Value Assessment system, many realtors will tell you that this number is still on the low side and that actual asking prices will typically be quite a bit higher. But I always wondered - how much is quite a bit? In this case, 'quite a bit' means
significantly higher, as in $430,000.

I think I know why our housing market is so 'hot'. Perceived high demand and lack of supply of houses has made realtors greedy.

Lights!

In what has got to be my most soul-baring act to date, I am extending an invitation to my readers. If you happen to have nothing to do this Tuesday night (December 5th, 2006), maybe you might find your way downtown (Calgary) to the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts. At the Engineered Air Theatre at said Centre, you'll find a small group of amateur actors and actresses putting on a performance to showcase some of what they have learned in 10 weeks (20 or so hours) of acting classes. There will be group performances and each person will perform solo or in a small group. The focus is on improv, so you will not be seeing any remakes of known works. Although, the piece I have crafted for my performance is a liberally adapted take on the famous cafe scene from the movie Girl in the Cafe. And I do actually mean liberally interpreted - with loads of changes.

Yes, that's right, yours truly will be on stage in what may be the birth of a new career path. Awww who am I kidding....... Anyway, if you want to see some fun acting exercises, come on down. Be there no later than 7:45pm. I can't guarantee they'll let people in who arrive late. Besides, it'll probably be over by 9:00pm.