He's a what now?

Attention all staff: Please ensure that the book “My daddy is a giant” is NOT placed at the front of the book box. 

Thank you.

Things I learned lately 26 Apr

• Alberta has 1.65 Gigawatts of solar electricity generating capacity right now. Which, according to some people, is bad. Solar bad! Well, guess what? Texas has 18.3 Gigawatts. This is expected to increase to 55 Gigawatts by 2027. Yeah. Texas. Those oil loving sons of bitches.
• The military has dropped its aptitude test from the application process for dozens of jobs and plans to start accepting recruits with pre-existing medical conditions. These are efforts meant to boost the Canadian military's low recruitment numbers.
• The Australian Alps receive a significant amount of snow, particularly in comparison to what many people might expect from Australia's generally warm climate. These mountains have become a popular destination for winter sports like skiing and snowboarding.
• The Indian Pacific train, which traverses Australia from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Indian Ocean in the west, includes the world's longest straight section of railway track. This stretch spans 478 kilometers (approximately 297 miles) without a single curve.
• Australia is home to the world's longest golf course, known as the Nullarbor Links. The course stretches over 1,365 kilometers (approximately 848 miles) along the Eyre Highway, from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia. Each hole is situated in a town or roadhouse along the highway.
• Australia is home to the largest population of wild (feral) camels in the world.

Great Lakes profile

 

Also, is that duct tape?

 

Me calling the flight attendant over:

Umm, what is that guy doing to our plane?

Music formats revenue over the years

 

Small things 19 Apr

• Did you hear about the new corduroy pillows? They're making headlines.
• "Audiophiles don't use their equipment to listen to your music. Audiophiles use your music to listen to their equipment."  ~Alan Parsons
• I went to the barber today and had to wait while a toddler got his haircut. Half an hour of non-stop whining and crying. I know, I probably shouldn't have reacted that way.
• Some people consider themselves first world poor, which means they have a smartphone and a laptop just so they can get online and see that they have $10 left in their bank account.
• Self checkout. A technology developed to show how technically inept the average person is.
• Alternately, the most inept piece of technology ever devised.
• Alternatively, a technology proving we can be tricked into doing menial labour for free.
• When you're out for dinner on your birthday and a large number of the restaurant staff starts walking towards your table.
• Traffic will always increase until it’s faster to take the alternatives.
• To err is human. To arrrr is pirate.
• Every Teams meeting: “Let me share my screen. Can everyone see my screen?”
• “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”  ~Banksy
• “When you go to an Art gallery you are simply a tourist looking at the trophy cabinet of a few millionaires.” ~Banksy
• The police will never think something is as funny as you do.

Mom not happy

 

This is how you punk someone’s voicemail

 

Guy scouts

Badges Guy Scouts would earn:

Having too many cables

Kitchen knife sharpener

Emotional awareness

Own a multitool

Use winter tires in winter

Know 4 ways to cook potato

Grill master

Owns at least 5 remote controls

Fantasy hockey player

Wears shorts in the cold

At least one pair of mis-matched socks

Netflix navigator

Parking space hound

IKEA furniture builder - zero leftover parts

Duct tape master

Why are fire trucks red?

 

Guide to fish in the workplace

 

The original frontier

“Last year, I had a life-changing experience at 90 years old. I went to space, after decades of playing an iconic science-fiction character who was exploring the universe. I thought I would experience a deep connection with the immensity around us, a deep call for endless exploration.

I was absolutely wrong. The strongest feeling, that dominated everything else by far, was the deepest grief that I had ever experienced.

I understood, in the clearest possible way, that we were living on a tiny oasis of life, surrounded by an immensity of death. I didn’t see infinite possibilities of worlds to explore, adventures to have, or living creatures to connect with. I saw the deepest darkness I could have ever imagined, contrasting so starkly with the welcoming warmth of our nurturing home planet.

This was an immensely powerful awakening for me. It filled me with sadness. I realized that we had spent decades, if not centuries, being obsessed with looking away, with looking outside. I did my share in popularizing the idea that space was the final frontier. But I had to get to space to understand that Earth is and will stay our only home. And that we have been ravaging it, relentlessly, making it uninhabitable." 

~ William Shatner

Alphabet car

 

They be devils

 

Things I learned lately 19 Apr

• There is a 2018 Tesla Model S owner in Australia that has so far put 707,000 km on his car. At 666,000 km, he experienced a battery error that triggered a warranty replacement. He would have gotten a refurbished Model S battery, but since they didn’t have any, he got a new pack under warranty.
• Many of the immigrants from Ukraine that have come to Calgary have opened restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops featuring their food.
• In 2004, the average purchase cost of a home was 35% of the median household income. In 2019, it was 47%. Now it’s 62%.
• Herodotus, a Greek historian and geographer born 484BC wrote that whenever an important decision was to be made by Persian men, they discussed the matter when drunk. The next day, the consensus they reached was reexamined when sober. If it was still amenable, the motion passed; if it wasn’t, it was scrapped. Conversely, any decision they make when they are sober is reconsidered afterward when they are drunk.
• A law requiring that motorcycle riders wear helmets came into effect in Canada in the 1960s.
• The average person has about 130 pieces of clothing, such as shirts, pants, jackets, etc.
• In March 1981, Blondie had hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 12th AND 13th spot, with Rapture and The Tide is High respectively.
• Billie Eilish is now the youngest 2-time Oscar winner in history.

If it fits, I sits

 

Small things 12 Apr

• If you ever think that hate doesn't make you age poorly, remember that Will Wheaton is two years older than Alex Jones.
• What are the strongest days of the week? Saturday and Sunday. Because all the rest... they're weekdays.
• What do you call a woman on the arm of a banjo player? A tattoo.
• In France, an egg is an oeuf. So they just have one.
• What did the shy pebble wish for? That she was a little boulder.
• David lost his ID in Paris. Now we call him Dav.
• What do you call a pencil without lead? Pointless.
• What’s fun about my job: I know a few things about Excel. Everyone at work thinks I’m an Excel guru and calls me for help with Excel. They are truly disappointed when I can’t solve their problem.
• You know you belong to the instant gratification culture when you lose patience with a phone reboot. Or a computer reboot.
• Why do gorillas have big nostrils? They have big fingers.
• Which side of the chicken has more feathers? The outside.
• What did one eye say to the other eye? Between you and me, something smells.
• Oxygen and Magnesium are totally going out. Like, OMg.
• Did you hear about the two antennas that got married? The ceremony kinda sucked but the reception was awesome.

Here’s something 1970s Montreal area residents will recognize

 

EV sales in Canada 2023

2023 was a significant year for electric vehicle (EV) sales in Canada. Here's an overview of the EV sales landscape in Canada for 2023:

Overall Growth: EV sales in Canada saw a remarkable increase, with a staggering annual growth rate of 46%, resulting in an eightfold increase between 2017 and 2023.

Market Share: EVs captured over 10% of new vehicle sales in Canada for the first time, with a precise figure of 10.8% for the year. The fourth quarter alone saw an even higher market share of 12%.

Regional Leaders: British Columbia and Quebec led the country in EV sales, each reaching around 20-21.4% of total vehicle sales in 2023.

Sales by Manufacturer: General Motors Canada led the industry in total sales and market share, with Chevrolet's all-electric Bolt and Bolt EUV seeing a 121% increase in sales[2]. Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) also reported record electrified vehicle sales, with 99,824 units sold, representing 43.9% of the company's overall vehicle sales.

Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Registrations: ZEV registrations, which include both full electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles, surged to 13.3% in Q3 2023[5]. For the full year, ZEVs had an 11.7% market share, with BEVs alone accounting for 8.8% of registrations[6].

Challenges and Opportunities: While the EV market faced challenges such as price and public charging infrastructure, there were also positive developments. These included the introduction of less expensive and smaller EVs, the production of passenger electric vehicles in Canada, and the expansion of the public charging network.

In summary, EV sales in Canada in 2023 were robust, with significant growth in market share and strong performance from various manufacturers. The trend towards electrification was clear, with regional leaders like British Columbia and Quebec setting the pace, and the industry as a whole moving towards a more sustainable future.

Pineapple!

 

A great way to meet for sake

Two young lads tag teaming the song ‘Just the two of us’, one on acoustic, the other on electric guitar.

They’re good.

Bagberg

 

Things I learned lately 12 Apr

• The Edmonton Eskimos were a hockey team that played for the Stanley Cup in 1923.
• The Benson & Hedges International Fireworks Competition, also known as the "Symphony of Fire," started in 1985 in Montreal, Quebec. This competition quickly became one of the most prestigious and spectacular fireworks festivals in the world, attracting teams from various countries to showcase their pyrotechnic talents against the backdrop of Montreal's night sky. 
• The song "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams is often cited as one of the most quintessentially Canadian pop songs.
  
  
  
• Remember back during the Covid pandemic, how Sweden decided not to lock things down like other countries, hoping to keep the economy moving and achieving herd immunity? In the end, they had significantly higher death rates per capita compared to other Nordic countries, mostly involving vulnerable seniors. Their economy fared worse than other countries as well.
• A common urban legend is about New York’s sewer alligators. According to the myth, in the early 20th century, wealthy New Yorkers would vacation in Florida and bring back baby alligators as exotic pets. When the alligators grew too large or became too much of a hassle to care for, these pet owners would allegedly flush them down their toilets, leading to a population of alligators thriving in the city's sewer system.
• There are no fewer than 12 specialty, non chain stores in the Calgary area that sell pierogi (also spelled pyrohy, and verenyky).

Small things 5 Apr

• Where are all the people complaining / protesting the resumption of the rest of the Alberta Gas tax?
• When your wife is mad at you and you keep seeing the three dot speech bubble pop up, disappear and pop up again 25 times.
• Don’t serve cut up hot dog pogos at your next pot-luck. Serve Midwest Sushi - Pork franks in a cornmeal tempura, garnished with tomato reduction & mustard vinegar aioli.
• When you check your alarm clock to see how many more hours you get to sleep and it’s 10 minutes before the alarm will go off.
• Is buttcheeks one word, or should I separate them?
• Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.  ~Anne Lamott
• Did you hear the score of the game between the ocean and the beach? It’s tide.
• What is invisible and smells like carrots? Rabbit farts.
• How often do I make chemistry jokes? Periodically. I actually told one the other day. There was no reaction.
• There are people who think solar panels don’t work well in the cold. I guess they never saw pictures of the International Space Station. Or any of our orbiting satellites.

The one that got away

 

I don't understand

The carbon tax only went up by 11 cents per litre between 2018 and 2024. Gas should only be $1.43 compared to 2018.

Also, why is oil less than half what it was in 2008, yet gas, even in 2018, is roughly the same price?

Stool sample

When Dad buys a 3D printer just to make the ultimate dad joke

Copyright no longer serving its original purpose

Derek Khanna is a former US Republican House staffer who got fired for writing a paper that used careful objective research to argue for scaling back copyright. Now, Khanna is a fellow at R Street, where he's expanded on his early work with a paper called Guarding Against Abuse: Restoring Constitutional Copyright [PDF] https://www.rstreet.org/research/guarding-against-abuse-restoring-constitutional-copyright/, which tackles the question of copyright terms from a market-economics approach.

The framers incorporated a modified version of the British legal system of copyright, first into state laws; then, in the specific language that appears in the Constitution; and finally, in the federal statute adopted in 1790. The Copyright Clause limited the duration of both copyright and patents, and when the founders wrote “limited times,” that limitation historically had been for 14 years. That original U.S. statute created a 14-year term, with the option of a 14-year extension if the author was still alive. Until 1976, the average copyright term was 32.2 years. Today, the U.S. copyright term is the life of the author, plus 70 years. 

Side note: One of the biggest lobbyists to extend copyright has been the Disney corporation, because they repeatedly tried to prevent Mickey Mouse from entering into the public domain.

By contrast, patent terms have changed very little. Today’s term for utility patents is either 17 years from patent issuance or 20 years from patent filing, whichever is longer.  (The term for design patents, which resemble copyrights in some key respects, is still the original 14 years.) As legal historian Edward Walterscheid puts it, while patents and copyrights were included in the same clause of the Constitution and originally had the same or similar durations, the patent term has increased by just 43 percent while the copyright term has increased by almost 580 percent. Congress must justify why a 20-year term can provide sufficient incentive to inventors, but not to writers and artists.

The Supreme Court has been relatively clear on the ultimate purpose and goals of the Copyright Clause in the Constitution: The limited scope of the copyright holder’s statutory monopoly…reflects a balance of competing claims upon the public interest: Creative work is to be encouraged and rewarded, but private motivation must ultimately serve the cause of promoting broad public availability of literature, music, and the other arts. The immediate effect of our copyright law is to secure a fair return for an ‘author’s’ creative labor. But the ultimate aim is, by this incentive, to stimulate artistic creativity for the general public good.

The primary objective of copyright is not to reward the labor of authors, but “[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.” To this end, copyright assures authors the right to their original expression, but encourages others to build freely upon the ideas and information conveyed by a work.

Khanna recommends a new copyright policy. There would be a free 12-year copyright term for all new works. Following that, there could be an elective 12-year renewal, at a cost of 1 percent of all US revenue from the first 12 years. There would then be two elective 6-year renewals, at a cost of 3 percent and 5 percent of revenue, respectively. There is one final elective 10-year renewal period at a cost of 10 percent of all overall revenue, minus fees paid for the previous renewals. This proposal would terminate all copyright protection after 46 years.

In Canada, the copyright term is the life of the author plus 50 years.

Lotta snow revisited

Hey Alberta, you think you get a lot of snow? No. No you don’t. (Pic from outskirts of Quebec City)

Things I learned lately 5 Apr

• There is currently a volcanic eruption taking place on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland. It began on 16 March 2024 between Hagafell and Stóra Skógfell, north of Grindavík town. This is a fissure eruption, which means that the lava flow is contained in a localized area. This is the 4th eruption since December 2023.
• July 2024, thousands of young, healthy athletes from all over the world will converge on Paris for the Olympic Summer Games. Olympic organizers have ordered 300,000 condoms to be distributed free to the athletes in the Olympic Village.
• Finnish children are taught media literacy in school. They are taught to recognize misinformation with the phrase, “Stop. Think. Check.”
• Customers waited outside up to 8 hours overnight to be able to check out a new In N Out Burger in Idaho.
• When old warships were decommissioned, the cannons would be sunk into the ground on London streets and used as bollards.
• From 1940 to 1945, a total of 647,925 Jeeps were produced for the war.
• They invented ‘zero sugar’ soft drinks because ‘diet’ was becoming too stigmatized.
• A venti eggnog latte at Starbucks has 590 calories. That’s more than ¼ of the total calories a male my age should be consuming daily.
• "Pierogi" is plural of "pieróg". No need to add a redundant "s" as in "pierogis". One eats pierogi.
• In the Colorado portion of the Rocky Mountains, there are 53 peaks referred to as the fourteeners, meaning they are all over 14,000 feet in height.