Interesting links of the week

I had one of those days where a lot of interesting stories and websites and I couldn't post about them individually. I don't know if I remember all of them because Blogger was so kind enough to delete my post. So here goes nothing:

• First Monopoly...now...BLOGPOLY! (really, it should be "Blogopoly")...
• Robert Cringely comments on the implications of technologies coming out of Microsoft, Apple and Google and whether this will lead to a drastic change in how we'll be using internet technologies.
  
• Speaking of Microsoft, Bill Gates warned of the future demise of the iPod at the hands of...cellphones?!?! Could he be slamming the iPod in order to tout Windows Mobile smartphone technology? Not that it matters since Apple's in cahoots with Motorola to put out its own multimedia phone anyways and all new and popular technology will eventually be replaced by better stuff. So is it such a bold prediction or merely another step in technology advancement?
• Everything you want to know about emerging green car technology can be found at, well, Green Car Journal Online.
• Manitoba Premier Gary Doer and Quebec Premier Jean Charest want a bigger role in dealing with international trade. Aren't they treading on federal jurisdiction? We know how loud the provinces complain when the Feds wanna play doctor or teacher too. Are they just taking advantage of the debacle that is our current federal government to further weaken its institutional powers?
  
• the Sudanese ambassador rejected our offer of 100 military advisers/officers to Darfur on the grounds that they only want African peacekeepers and their government weren't informed (our PM disagrees). They welcome bodies to deal with humanitarian and technical assistance programs, however. No troops, but money's ok. So what's the world's next step if we can't send our troops in to halt the slaughter? Methinks something's afoot.
• "You know that thing about interrogators at Guantanamo Bay desecrating copies of the Qu'ran and inciting anti-American rallies around the world? Well, turns out our source wasn't credible and that military reports didn't actually find such a thing happening. Sorry, our bad"...half the people will ridicule Newsweek for shoddy journalism and the other half will think it's a conspiracy to hide the fact that it may have actually happened. Boy, they sure hit the jackpot...
• "Global experts rank top 10 nanotechnology applications to aid poor"
• Finally, Songdo is a city to be planned and built from scratch in South Korea. They hope to replicate the neighbourhood diversity, mixed uses elements that great cities are endowed with by existing for centuries in a fraction of a time through 'careful planning.' Let's just say, as a planning student, I don't intend to hold my breath...
  

the Son of Abramovich?

It is confirmed that Malcolm Glazer, the millionaire owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have bought controlling shares of Manchester United, the famed UK football club. Reactions so far are on the opposite side of good. Fans are uber-pissed and are worried about ticket and merchandise prices increase, the possible offloading of Glazer's 300 million pounds of debt (evidently borrowed to leverage the bid in the first place...currently, ManU itself is debt-free somehow) onto the club and a general distrustfulness that since Glazer probably has never seen a proper game of football in his life, he'll probably run the club into the ground and become the anti-Abramovich.

The media's coverage has an underlying tone of "the American Maverick" taking over a prim and proper of a club, albeit a fantastically rich, celebrated and well known one. So, it's not the most objective of sources. As an ex-United fan, this takeover has the smell of the transaction of shares being good for business, but not necessarily for the club itself. The Glazers' have yet to give details as to their plans for ManU, a big reason for the skepticism. Apparently, details will be given out in the next few days by one son, Joel, who is a huge follower (supposedly).

I'd rather like to hear my football friends' reaction to this, who follow English Premiership football more than I...

Green thoughts of the day

1) As the BC provincial elections are heating up, CBC produced a story on the BC Green Party and the aspirations of its leader, Adrianne Carr, to be the first Green Party member to be elected into a legislature in Canada. While it was mainly a fluff piece, they guaged BC voters on their willingness to vote Green. One particular person emphasized his 'love' of the environment but was concerned about the 'economic reality' of the way we live.

If there's one thing I'd like any 'green' movement/party to hammer to voters, it's that the environment and the economy are one and the same, especially in Canada since we're a resource-based economy. The movement needs to raise more environmental economists and push the idea and the policy that economics, like health, industry, etc, are tied in one way or another to the natural environment that we live in. The societal view that the environment and economics are separate issues because they're handled by different ministries needs to b changed.

One method that may become useful is the valuation of environmental services. Last week, the Economist's cover story discussed 'ways' to 'rescue' environmentalism, mainly a discussion of environmental economics. While I disagree with some of their points, I see the usefulness of valuation. It would provide more tangent arguments to people to convince them that different natural features are worth protecting, even enhancing. People understand numbers better than aesthetic arguments like 'intrinsic value.' Studies have shown, for example, how wetlands provide better and cheaper water filtration services than treatment plants. Edmund Fowler, in his book, "Cities, Culture and Granite," contend that insurance companies are getting involved in climate change issues because of the associated risks in the uncertain effects it would have on natural disaster frequencies and the effect on insurance rates and premiums. Why not extend that into other areas of the environment, like conservation strategies for water consumption vs. importing water or desalinization?

It's time we stop being afraid that valuation will allow economists or business to gobble up the environment. Considering environmental issues are usually considered 'externalities' in economics anyways and therefore not factored in at all, at least valuation will internalize the costs involved in using nature. That, and I think that almost all valuation will show that natural processes will always be cheaper than human intervention.

A good place to start is the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment. Comprehensive and global in scope.

2) My other thought involves Hansen et. al's work in Science on April 28, 2005. (Note: As I'm writing this, I just found the full article since the Science website requires a subscription so I haven't had a chance to read it over, but now you all can) One of the authors of the paper has posted on RealClimate, which will provide a better explanation than I ever could. What I want to point out is this. Climate change detractors and commentators (like our bright but inaccurate friend HERE from the Queen's Journal) LOVE, and I mean LOVE, to cite James Hansen's apprehension about the issue of climate change. Unfortunately, they always take his work out of context (I should know, I've previously written one op-ed to the Journal around the time Kyoto was being ratified by Chretien and someone tried to pull out Hansen as an argument).

For those who don't know, James Hansen is a climatologist who testified before a US Senate committee about climate change. If anyone bothered to read the bloody testimony, you'd find that he finds that climate change is occurring, that human induced forcings are one of the major contributors. What he does acknowledge, like any good scientist, is the existence of uncertainties. Now, with other scientists, he's published another paper (hopefully in print soon) confirming how his models are not only corroborated by measurements, but they show that anthropogenic climate change is occurring. You don't have to take my word, his material's linked in this post.

So, if anyone ever tells you that James Hansen doesn't believe that climate change is occurring, please either direct them to the Senate testimony or his new paper. Hell, direct them to this post. As for me, I think our friend from the Journal's op-ed's is gonna get a nice May 24 present in the form of Hansen's paper...

He's got a fat wallet, damn!

First the Atlantic Accord, then Saskatchewan and the 5 billion dollar deal with Jack Layton, now comes another 5 billion dollar handshake between Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Seriously, if PM Martin had this much money to spend, why didn't he commit these funds in the budget in the first place. Show some guts, some principles, anything! Now all it shows is that if you want him to pony up cash for whatever project you have, all you have to do is bitch, complain and threaten to seccede from Confederation.

Hmm, come to think of it, I need some cash for my tuition next year. I wonder if I can annex my apartment like in Family Guy...

"I claim this 900 sq. ft of carpet in the name of Calvinia!"

Update: May 10, 2005 9:48pm
Evidently, I was incorrect in my rant. Saskatchewan's prairie fields haven't been showered with 5 dollar bills yet. But soon, as there are talks about the premier gearing up to talk with PM Martin. On the other hand, veterans are getting 1-billion dollars to aid in their transition from service to civilian life. This, through an agreement between the four party leaders as they were flying back from V-E day commemoration ceremonies. I've obviously nothing against this package, but merely to note that this is another in a series of massive payouts to various parties as the Liberal government bogs down further into irrelevance (though once you're into irrelevance, there's really no further irrelevance...)

Microsoft vs. Google

Last post of the day. Blogging is taking up more time than realized. Anyways, here's an interesting article about Microsoft's measured response to Google. Money vs. Innovation. Never count out Mr. Gates, but damn, if Google isn't just absorbing every single feature that doesn't involve Microsoft...yet. I'm waiting for a team-up between say, ESRI and Google to bust out the best WebGIS ever, able to pull geographic data from any municipal, state, or federal website that allows customization into GoogleMaps...I'm wrong often, but that'd be sweet.

Why Google Scares Bill Gates

Stupid Politics

PM Paul Martin actually had to call a 'truce' so that our government (and other political parties) could be represented at ceremonies commemorating our efforts to liberate the Netherlands, and only after missing most of the week's events. Has politics become so lacking in honour and respect that none of the opposition parties were willing to, on their own accord, let the Liberal government perform its duty in honouring our veterans in the Netherlands by sending representatives (like, I don't know, the PM) without political repercussions? Frankly, reps from all parties should have been there from the get-go. I would have thought, oh, I don't know, that the Canadian public would understand, even appreciate, the parties appealing to something greater than their own political victory, by attending these ceremonies...

I'd think that, but I'd be wrong...or I'd be right but only after being shown how stupid they were by our WWII vets. Brownie points for all the parties.

Mayflies

I don't know what convergence of environmental factors caused the recent mayfly explosion in Kingston, and I would seriously be interested in knowing, but something needs to happen to kill all these sons of bitches. They don't bite so it's not a big problem, but they're seriously irritating. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. You can not walk one step outside of Kingston without eating one in your mouth or finding one in your ear. It's just gross.

Last week I found a made-for-TV movie flipping through channels about bioengineered locusts attacking the US landscape, eating crops, killing people, etc. so much so that they wanted to use VX gas on them. I think I could totally pitch a movie with mayflies instead. They're already swarming and infesting everywhere as it is (When they start covering a minivan or my front door, it's seriously a problem) and all the plot would need is some extra zinger, like, they carry the West Nile Virus, SARS, or herpes or something as they infest Kingston first and then move across the country...

Yeah, it's probably not my best idea. At best, it'll end up HERE.

Update: May 8, 2005 11:25pm
Mea Culpa: So apparently I've been going around telling everybody about the crazy mayfly infestation when I should've been telling people about the midge infestation. I don't have to hand in my biology degree for that mistake, do I?

The Canadian War Museum

The Canadian War Museum, having moved from Sussex Drive to its new location on the LeBreton Flats, will be having its grand opening this weekend May 7-8. Since it deals with how we remember war, it's not without its controversies.

Some veterans, as reported by the CBC, have decided to boycott the opening because it is displaying of two paintings of the two Canadian Airborne Regiment soldiers involved in the 1993 Somolia torturing incident, which they found to be 'trashy and insulting' to the Canadian military heritage. Other veterans have defended the museum's decision as a truthful account of our military's roles since its creation.

While I agree with the Museum's decision to showcase all Canadian military history in its entirety (glories and failures), I do sympathize with those veterans who believe the portraits have no place in the same building as exhibits commemorating the sacrifice of so many young Canadians. That said, it simply reflects the honestly difficult task of how history is written and what actually is written and what is omitted from being written. We are obviously not the only ones dealing with this, as we've recently seen with China and Japan (any news search will give you a compendium of stories about the whitewashing of both their country's history).

What I do want to talk about is the museum itself. I frankly can't wait to visit this building because I'm very much impressed in its design. I saw the exhibits with Katie last year and while the castle/archive house where it was previously was nice, I think a revisit will give me a whole new set of experiences because this building is designed specifically for these exhibits so that it will strengthen them further.

The building is designed so that it blends in with the landscape around as opposed to a standalone building jutting out of the ground. It also basically reminds me of a bunker, which helps to reinforce a person's understanding of what they're looking at. In this case, form and function are not following each other; rather, they are working together to complement each other.

The concept (as described by the architect), is that places, particular natural areas, ravaged by war will adapt, survive and reinvigorate itself. While that certainly is there, it seems that it is also reflective of Canadian society's view of war and the role of the military. Our values have changed such that war and the military isn't as important a focus anymore so much so that it has blended into the background of our thoughts. That's not to say that remembrance isn't important, because it is, and the museum is there to aid in our efforts. It is also coincidentally appropriate that the museum's opening occurs at a time when our government's decrease in international influence has resulted in a major push to re-examine the importance of our military and the efforts required to revitalize it.

Other design elements are well constructed. The interior is cavernous, so as to amplify the sights and sounds of war in each exhibit. The outdoor area serves as event spaces as well as roofing (a green roof, in essence), which will decrease maintenance costs. Multipurpose use of space, what a novel concept that few EVER use. And then, there are the windows into the interior. They were designed so that the initials of the museum (CWM/MCG) are spelt out in morse code. On sunny days, these letters will be projected into the building. Absolutely brilliant in terms of form and function working together again.

There're plenty more design highlights that the architect, Raymond Moriyama, discusses and it's well worth reading. This was just the highlights. I intend to visit it when I head up in May (hint, hint, Matt and Chris). So I say to all you few who read my blog, if you're up in Ottawa at any point in the summer, visit the Canadian War Museum. I guarantee it will be well worth the trip to Acto...err, Ottawa. Really.

A new mission

The blog has never had a particular focus because I wanted to be able to write about whatever the hell I damn well please. And while I haven't consciously avoided discussing planning issues, there certainly is a lack of posts regarding my chosen profession. I've definitely become quite interested in various aspects (though you wouldn't know by how well THIS term was...) though I don't think I've found quite the right item yet to post. But soon.

In the meantime, I search far and wide in the blogosphere for planning-related blogs. While City Comforts has been my anchor, I certainly want more variety. I also don't believe as I did previously about environmental blogs, that there aren't any out there. They are. They just have to be found.

First shot's across the bow

I was walking to campus today and bumped into a friend who was packing up and moving out now that she'd finish her last exams of her undergraduate career. And for the first time, I felt a bit sad that I may not see these friends ever again. It was a strange feeling. I graduated last year and yet I didn't get the same sense of nostalgia and longing, probably because I knew I'd be back this year and I still knew several people who'd still be around.

But now that they're leaving, it's starting to dawn on me that the curtain call's coming and that I've a year before I leave my comfort zone that is Kingston and Queen's University. Next year's going to be a bit stranger, as more strange faces arrive without the familiar ones returning. Does it mean that I actually have to grow up now?

Whoever came up with this is a genius...

...and by genius, I mean brain-dead idiot who needs to be fired from his/her job.

Our local Mac's convenient store is now selling a new flavour of Froster (their name for a slushie). The froster: Bloody-Zit Froster.

That's right. Someone out there thought it was a good idea to remind me that I'm drinking some oily, scarred pimple-faced adolescent's blood and pus...

If this isn't a sign of humanity's (or maybe just marketing's?) slow decline, I don't know what is.

Quick Comments (there are such things)

- No one should be surprised that the Catholic Church elected a conservative Pope...really, it's the Catholic Church, people, the same folks who brought you ruler-carrying nuns...

- The Liberal Party ship is sinking hard and fast. The question remains, how much wreckage will be left after the election and will tomorrow night's national address be an air pocket of hope or a new gaping hole in the hull?

- After Dennis Miller's appearance on Jon Stewart tonight (April 20, 2005), I gotta ask: If I get him to defend his rep and talk about the environment long enough, will his head explode to shower us with Libertarian candy?

- What is the point of Cogeco Cable telling me I can sign up for their services online when all it will do is get a Cogeco phone drone to tell me that I HAVE TO visit their customer centre (which moved from 30 feet from my house to 3 kilometres?) to sign up. And this is the service rep TELLING ME THIS. I mean, seriously, why would they actually not use the service that they're providing to others to run their own business? And what is that saying about the product that they're providing me?

Quick Reflection (if there ever is such a thing)

Blogging has definitely become sporadic this term, but moreso in the last few weeks. It has felt much longer than the 20 days from my last post and the 25 days from an actual opinion on this blog. Many blogs have actually gone quiet as of late, particularly those in my 'peer review' section. Some have remained strong, others are all but abandoned, while still others have refused to go gentle into that good night.

Anyways, I just wanted to say that this has been a very disappointing four months. It held a lot of promise at the beginning of the year, but like the Paul Martin government (it's like shooting worms at a bait shop these days), it's failed to deliver.

It didn't help to have to end things with Amy, relationship and otherwise. But that apparently was just the beginning of a snowball that was apparently rolling down from the peak of Everest all the way to sea level. The school term's material just didn't generate the interest that it made itself out to be and the workload was defintely greater than expected. Not just the amount but the time required to finish anything was quite surprising. Instead of igniting our hidden passions for planning, it really created contempt in a lot of my classmates and me for our program, with most of us just wanting our term to end. Certainly, most of this deals with personal responsibility, but it seems my year spent a lot of time finishing tasks last-minute, and I don't know if our level of work ethic and intelligence isn't as high as last year or whether we're more apathetic and not as uber-keen as the upper-years. Or is that our failing as a year? Is it required of Masters' candiates to be uber-keeners?

In any case, I've definitely become more jaded and cynical (and thus, quite apathetic) in the last few months. Part personal responsibility and part bad luck/karma/whatever. I worked as hard as I could have but without the karma, nothing got me out of the hole. I've definitely worked harder than in previous terms and yet have little to show for it, academically or in my personal life. Either way, in a few days, I will get a chance to shut down for a day or two and just decompress. This is the first time I've actually been mentally burnt out and it'll be good to do some real reflection.

Hopefully, by then I'll have a job and be posting a bit more regularly. The prospects of no summer income for next year is not helping the stress level or time management side one bit. With the summer comes the start of my thesis research. While I want to be optimistic (the one time I was and looked what happened...) about the summer's progress I'm going to be cautious and hedge my bets, particularly since I'm still working out my methodology. In any case, I'm relying on me having hovered around the bottom long enough that I'll start finding an upward slope. Here's hoping.

On the issues side, there'll definitely be things to talk about, particularly the likelihood of using the title 'Foreign Affairs Minister Stockwell Day' in a conversation and the consequences of some sort of Conservative government on issues such as the Kyoto Accord, same-sex marriage and our newly unveiled (and quickly buried by Sponsorship Scandal news) foreign policy. There should be interesting posts in the summer on my thesis and just Canadian issues in general, so hope you stick around.

P.S. I would like to announce and extend my congratulations to my ex-housemate Katie for winning the Society for Conservation Biology Annual Charity Photo Contest. Hopefully sometime in the next week, I will get her permission to post her absolutely brilliant photo ont this blog.

Too dumb to pass up.

Discovered via Bacon and eh's, this is just one of those incidents where you wonder whether human intelligence is progressing at all...

POTTY-MOUTH MAN CAN'T FOOL SCIENCE
IAN ROBERTSON, TORONTO SUN- MARCH 30, 2005

An allegedly drunk driver with a taste for trickery failed to foil a police breathalyzer machine after stuffing his mouth full of feces. "I don't think alcohol alone would make you do something as disgusting as that," South Simcoe Police Insp. Tom McDonald said.

"I've never heard of anything like this before," the 28-year veteran said.

Arrested Sunday after his Ford pickup truck was pulled over on Hwy. 11 in Stroud, the 59-year-old driver was loaded into a cruiser and taken to a South Simcoe Police station for testing.

En route, Sgt. James Buchanan said, the prisoner vomited, urinated and defecated in the squad car.

At the station the man grabbed a handful of his own waste "and placed it in his mouth, attempting to trick the breathalyzer machine," he said.

It didn't work, Buchanan said.

The machine registered two readings of more than twice the legal blood alcohol limit. The man was charged with impaired driving and driving over the limit and was released on a promise to appear in a Bradford court on May 12.

I guess what they'll say about him's true...anything coming out of his mouth is shit.

In Defence of the Queen's Centre

This should've been posted a while back, but it's been a busy few weeks and I only feel like procrastinating now.

On March 4th, Queen's Board of Trustees approved in principle with the go-ahead of the creation of the Queen's Centre, a projected $230 million dollar to expand our student life facilities, upgrade our athletic facilities and provide the School of Physical Education with new facilities.

On a late Saturday night later in the month, I was spectator to a lively debate on the merits of spending so much money on non-academic facilities. I wish I could've been much better help to the lone defender at the time (sorry Lisa, my bad). But here now, my spirited defence.

1) The size of the project is throwing people off. I think if this was actually 3 or 4 separate projects being proposed over a longer time scale, fewer people would object. What some people might fail to realize is that we're actually constructing 5 new buildings: new multipurpose arena, pool, student life centre, athletic and leisure facility and a building to house classrooms and labs for the School of Phys Ed. This became one big project because of how current buildings are situated.

2) The cost. Average that out over 5 buildings and that's around $40-50 million. Additional costs are being incurred because the site isn't level (min. 4m gradient from one end to the other) and a lot of the facilities had to be buried below grade so that all the buildings could fit in with the rest of the surrounding buildings and maintain the campus' character. Add the need for underground parking and the cost goes up. I'm sure it would be cheaper if the facilities became 5-6 floors high...but then it'd just look terrible on the campus.

3) I'd be really surprised if the student life issue raises its head within 30-50 years of its completion. I don't presume to know what students want that far into the future, but based on the decor of the JDUC and some of the little-used equipment in the PEC, that seems to be the timeframe where upgrades or renovations may be needed.

4) Martin argues that Queen's is known for academics and nothing else. Why can't we be known for more than that? We've had championship sports individuals and teams in the past so why shouldn't we build on that? Top-grade athletic facilities won't just be used by the athletes alone. Besides, aren't we trying to promote an active and healthy lifestyle? Shouldn't we provide the facilities to accomodate that objective?

5) Why can't Queen's be known for its academics AND athletics AND student life? We all say that the best part of university isn't the classes but what you do outside? So why shouldn't we provide the facilities to enhance that? Can't we attract both top students, top athletes and top student athletes? Most people in my urban planning program are not from Queen's and they are quite surprised when they see a lack of areas for social gathering The Queen's Centre is one project attempting to improve upon that.

6) I hate using a comparison with UofT, but they are now contemplating a new student life facility (albeit current projections are a $29 million facility) because a survey of US and Canadian campuses found negative responses to their student life facilities. My point is not that 'hey, UofT's responding to surveys and rankings too!' Rather, it's that students probably do also consider the type of facilities available to them outside of classes when picking universities. This is particularly pertinent to Queen's, since frankly, there's not much to do in Kingston.

The true question becomes, should students who will probably never have the chance to use the facilities be asked to pay for it? It's a tough question to answer. I would be willing to pay for it only because my university experience has been so rich and I personally feel morally obligated to ensure that future students have the opportunity to receive the same, if not better experience. That being said, I realize there are income equity issues in this matter and the fact that few people would agree with me. One half-hearted argument would be that students now are paying for the facilities that their children would be using if they went to Queen's.

I don't know what's better, having students pay for it now (so that it costs less in the long run because of the lesser need to borrow to pay for construction and inflation effects) or have the students who will actually use it pay for it (but having to pay more because of more borrowing for construction costs and thus, the interest incurred).

The debate ensues as the schematics are being drawn up. Love to hear your comments.

ANWR-Round 87

The US Senate, in a tight 51-49 defeat, did not pass an amendment that would have removed a provision for the start of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. While DailyKos is a bit more optimistic in offering further avenues to pursue, I am not.

There are enough arguments against the proposal:

1) It's a WILDLIFE REFUGE
2) It will do harm to the surrounding environment. GUARANTEED.
3) The oil to be extracted won't be available for 10 years, which doesn't solve current price issues (even though we pay at least half as much as Europeans...)
4) Once that reserve is used up, the US are back to square one in terms of energy security.
5) The US could easily provide incentives to reduce energy use by the amount of oil it expects to extract
6) It's a WILDLIFE REFUGE!

It's one of the last remaining near-pristine arctic environments left on the North American continent, if not the world, and now they're one step closer to exploratory drilling and extraction. Brilliant, fellas. They really won't learn until a major accident happens on the lands and then it'll be too late.

*Clap......Clap......Clap*

Thesaurus much?

I've been busy so I haven't had much time to post anything interesting. So once again, I'll use another of my student's writing to tide you over. This was the start of one particular sentence in a paper:

"The explanation of causation posits a direct sequence of causes starting with climactic abnormality..."

Methinks Microsoft Thesaurus is now a little dog-eared now...

Brewing a tempest in a teapot

Most of the time, Queen's' name usually only comes up in stories about research or gripes about lack of funding.

So it was a surprise to learn from my friend that Queen's University's name appeared in the New York Times. And then I read the story from the Globe and Mail and the Kingston Whig-Standard...

Apparently our new Principal, Dr. Karen Hitchcock was embroiled in an ethics inquiry (during her transition from SUNY Albany to Queen's) regarding a supposed discussion with a developer about guaranteeing a construction contract at the university in exchange for endowing a chair that she could fill when she left her position of Principal at SUNY. The New York Times article apparently questioned why Queen's would hire her while she was involved in ths inquiry by the state's ethics commission.

State law in New York prevents further inquiry once she left her academic position. Her lawyer responded that Hitchcock answered all the commission's questions and that everyone was aware of her resignation, that it hadn't been accelerated or anything. In fact, she already had tenure, so why she would need an endowment from outside was also questioned. Our Chancellor Charles Baillie back her and the school's decision fully, saying that she had been forthcoming with the inquiry and that Queen's own investigation showed no reason to delay her hiring.

I would have to read the NY Times to see what the big deal really is about. This seems like one of those situations where it sounds and looks worse than it actually is. Had the inquiry actually found some substance to those allegations, I'm sure it would've come up during the hiring process and that local media would've picked up on it sooner rather than now. And I have confidence in Queen's that they wouldn't hire someone who may be ethically compromised. Therefore, I'm really intrigued as to why the NYT would bring it up now...but frankly, I can't be bothered to register their website.

What's really irksome is the response to Hitchcock's hiring. A friend who works for campus fundraising apparently had to prepare responses for her callers if alumni were to ask about these current 'allegations' (that have since been picked up by no one, thank goodness) or why Queen's decided to an American (gasp!) or a woman (gasp gasp!!). The American question was also made by sources of the Globe article.

If alumni are seriously asking these sorts of questions, then I'm truly ashamed. These are the same people who graduated from a university that prides itself on cultivating 'global citizens.' But apparently, we can't even donate money without bad-mouthing our neighbours to the south. Can someone give me a good reason why an American can't be our Principal? American universities attract our administrators all the time (ask UofT) because they look for the best, not because they're looking for a particular nationality. Why should we disqualify someone just because they're American? It's this type of knee-jerk anti-Americanism that gives the CPC (Conservative Party of Canada), Bill O'Reilly and Tucker Carlson's ilk ammo for their mouths. And if you're asking why Queen's hired a woman, then you need to go back to the 1950s and stay there. There's no point in arguing with you. You're hopeless.

For most people, this is a non-story. For the Queen's alum readers out there, hoped you enjoyed this post with your afternoon tea.

A place called 'home'

My friend Jess has been applying to teaching positions all across Canada but can't make a decision on where to go. If you live or have lived in the following cities:

Ottawa
Calgary
Saskatoon
Vernon
Yellowknife
Vancouver
Victoria

why don't you go and make her life a little easier by telling her about the joys and pitfalls of that particular city? you'll receive her much prized appreciation and gratitude. You can leave a comment HERE.

Say something, say something...just not that!

Let me just say that I am against ballistic missile defence (BMD). I've yet to to hear convincing evidence that the system can hit a missile (let alone be able to hit the broadside of a barn). I think that terrorists are more likely to use low-tech methods (dirty bombs, etc.) against America (mainly) or Canada if they were to launch an attack. It seems to me that our defence dollars could be better spent on retrofitting our armed forces for rapid response to diffuse volatile situations abroad and to shore up continental and border security within existing land, sea and air organizations.

That being said, our PM Martin announced on thursday that we would not participate in BMD after our new ambassador to the US Frank McKenna stated that we were more or less involved in missile defence (because NORAD would share missile information and we're in NORAD). At this point, mass confusion ensues, as described by Paul Wells HERE and HERE, and the Christian Science Monitor.

After the announcement, ex-US ambassador Paul Celluci shoots off his mouth about how we've given up our seat at the table AND our SOVEREIGNTY by not participating in BMD while Martin retorts with a demand that the US consult us if the missile is to be shot down over Canada...

I think it's important to realize that regardless of whether we agreed to participate BMD or not, if the unlikely happened and a missile targeted the US, they will blow it up wherever it needs to be blown up in order to ensure the security of the American people. I'm sure they'll try their damndest to blow it up over the ocean, but if it needs to be done over Kelowna, it will. I don't think Celluci would have made such an outrageous comment if our government had articulated in a straightforward manner that we will not participate in this program, but we will participate in all the other programs that we jointly run to maintain continental security.

Secondly, I'm sure that PM Martin realizes that in the event of a missile attack, tough decisions have to be made quickly so I don't know what kind of consultation he expects. The most I would expect is a phone call telling me 'the missile is approaching over X airspace. It will likely explode over the Canadian town of Y. Get your emergency response teams ready...' They're not going to ask us permission to fire into our airspace. It's going to happen. Security of America will always come first. It's understandable and shouldn't be a surprise.

The Globe and Mail reports that by refusing to join BMD, "the government would have had a say in the evolution of the technologically challenging project, and would have had a role in the day-to-day anti-missile operations." Really? Do they really think that the amount we would've put towards the project would've given us a big enough say in how it works? The Americans have put billions into this boondoggle of a project. They're not going to let someone who's late joining the party in on all the goodies.

The only thing our acceptance of the program could've given them is more political legitimacy. We shouldn't have and the government made the right decision in its refusal. Giving different answers to please different people was not the way to go on this one. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Bush probably would've done a better job articulating our refusal than Martin in this situation, and that's saying something.

Today is 'Free Mojtaba and Arash Day'

For those interested in preserving human rights and journalism:

GO HERE

Everyone's gotta have a hobby...

So you want to destroy the Earth...

Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?!

So I put on the Brit awards on MuchMusic as background noise because frankly there's nothing decent on after midnight on a Saturday night. Anyways, it was background noise until they introduced Minnie Driver as having recently released a 'rock album' over in England...

Yea gods...I don't know what's worse: the album itself, or the fact that some music producer thought it was a good idea...

Freudian slip

While marking a question about the difference between traditional breeding and transgenic breeding techniques, I came across this student's offering as an example of traditional breeding techniques in his/her midterm:

"a farmer would breed with a sheep that produced more wool."

In Cryptic City, nothing is what you know

Off I go back into posts where nothing really makes sense unless you're directly inside my head, because these are the times when I inadvertently return to Cryptic City and everything's changing without an explanation. That's what makes this place so great: everytime I return, it changes into something unfamiliar, so it's always somewhat of a surprise.

Having been away since my wrong turn at Alberquerque, I thought I had found road less traveled...the sun's shining and the top's down on this baby. Then I hit this patch of fog that came out of nowhere and it just starts pouring. I barely had a chance to get the top back up but it didn't matter. I was soaked and so was the interior. It didn't let up either. When my windshields couldn't get any cleaner, I somehow hit the city limits and next thing I know I am posting from an internet cafe off the main street before my next assignment.

But this has a place in my heart. Whenever nothing out there makes sense, I end up here where it's just as confusing, but I at least understand the confusion. It's the meeting point for contradictions, and there's nowhere else quite like it...

Oh, what's my assignment you ask? To figure out how to how to communicate in the dark, how to make words tangible and to look for the missing link. Yeah, what is up with that? I seriously have to stop agreeing to these jobs.

You might as well hide it under the bed...

Sheila Fraser issued a report today about the lack of accounatability in non-government grant-giving foundations and how, although the government's given about $9 billion to these foundations, $7.7 billion remain in bank accounts. Accountability to me seems a minor problem as long as SOMEONE does an audit on the foundation's annual reports to make sure each cent is where it should be.

One question I have is whether the money isn't being spent because the $7 billion is the principal used to generate the interest (which becomes the grant itself), so that the grants are available in perpetuity? If not then, what the hell are they doing with the cash? My Urban Planning school in particular's definitely strapped for cash and could use a couple dollars to hire profs for research/teaching and to expand the computer lab. I'm sure there are many labs and departments across the country who are in the same situation.

One possibility is that there isn't enough good research out there to warrant giving out that money. In which case, we've a bigger, more systemic problem of not producing good researchers. Though, I highly much doubt that.

As for value-for-money auditing, that seems ripe for politicking when we start asking who decides which research has value (besides the experts who sits on the foundations. And if that's not the case, my argument fails). I'm also concerned if the foundations do start doling out cash, some will invariably criticize these organizations for spending it frivolously on 'needless' research, which relates to my previous point.

One solution would be to make the grants bigger or make the applications easier. I know many profs who finish applying for one grant only to start on another application. Now, it would seem to me that this time could be better spent doing research. Providing bigger grants for longer periods of time would probably help that situation.

'til then, I'll be joining the line-up of students and professors killing many trees as we fill out forms in triplicate for the money available now...Joy.

THIS (Canada TV) is Wonderland...

My friends know I complain ad nauseum about the wasteland that is the TV landscape. There are enough reality TV shows out there to choke a donkey. People complain further about the lack of good TV shows, especially from Canada, and especially with the demise of Hockey Night in Canada (way to kill the season. I'm looking at the players AND the owners).

I'm not here to complain. Instead, I'm here to tell you that within the vast detritus of the American TV dominated landscape, tehre's actually a lot of good shows out there, Canadian-made, that are worth watching:

1) This is Wonderland- a tight, well-written drama about a small group of public defenders (i.e. lawyers) that has many, many funny moments. I can not rave about this show enough. It's set in Toronto without having the blatant "I'm set in Toronto! Look at me!" feel to it. All the actors are phenomenal and unlike most of the legal dramas out there, this ones deals with many different social issues, from mental health to assaults, drugs, you name it. Though the show is supposed to focus on Alice (get it?), the entire cast has the kind of depth that makes every character interesting and endearing, something I haven't seen since the early seasons of the West Wing. I hope CBC puts this out onto DVD. I can watch this repeatedly.

2) Corner Gas- Half hour comedy set in the middle of Sasketchewan. You'd think they'd run out of ideas pretty quickly. But they're in the second season and it's still very funny. Strong cast + absurd, rural Canadian situations = who needs laugh tracks, anyways? Plus, they've got the Hip guess starring in an upcoming show...SWEET!

3) The Newsroom- back for a third season from Ken Finkleman, this is the Canadian version of The Office before The Office even existed. Like the rest of Ken Finkleman's work, every show is painfully funny in its awkward situations...

4) Degrassi-The Next Generation- I personally haven't watched it but it's been getting rave reviews from everywhere, especially since they are more willing to talk about more diverse adolescent issues than most shows. Plus, you can't go wrong when it's got the Kevin Smith seal of approval, right (for those who don't know, Kevin Smith and the Jay and Silent Bob characters were an entire storyline unto itself)...

So my suggestion. TURN OFF CANADIAN/AMERICAN IDOL!!!!! These shows are infinitely better. Trust me on this.

Addendum: This is an Amy recommendation- Sticks and Stones is a CBC Fifth Estate documentary on American Media. It's very fascinating. I'd recommend you watch the whole thing before they take it off; at the very least watch the short clip where Ann Coulter makes an ass of herself...it's hilarious.

Sittin' on a goldmine

Once again, Matthew Yglesias came through for me tonight. Going through his post, I find one to a link of a counter-response to a critique on New Urbanism. As a planning student, I obviously had to read the post, which came from City Comforts Blog. What's even better is their blogroll, which consist of various urban spaces issues blogs and ENVIRONMENTAL blogs (with such names as Alternative Energy Blog and Real Green). I'm hesitant to add their links because I've yet to read them, but at least they're out there and they're accessible.

The bad thing is, I just found out what I'll be doing this weekend at night when I should be doing work...

Google's takeover, one function at a time

Way back when, someone postulated about the future of the media, they dubbed, "Epic" HERE, in which Google, and not Microsoft, became the convergent force that brought the collection and distribution of information into one outlet.

While I thought it was a very novel idea and was skeptical how far Google's influence could be, it seems my skepticism is being whittled away.

Google News, Gmail, Google Scholar were the latest addition I had heard of, and there were rumblings of Google working on its own browser, especially when they hired away one of Mozilla's developer.

Now comes Google Maps (courtesy Matthew Yglesias), a map function ala Mapquest. It's still in the beta phase and while earlier attempts proved...not so successful, tonight's test run of their directions function from Newmarket to Kingston (the more accurate address, the better) provided pretty good directions. Suggestions for us Canucks in the north: have the ability to change from miles to kilometres. Not a big deal, but I'm a metric man m'self. Love those 1's and 0's.

And now, I await the next Google takeover: Google Travel Agent. Trip planning and flight-booking wherever you need to go...

Laws of Nature

Lunchtime
Originally uploaded by blackhole.

So I turned the corner of my apartment on my way out and I came upon this...

Needless to say, I was capitvated by what was going on. I'll let the picture speak for itself. Now, can I get a confirmation from someone (Katie or Amy?) that this is a Cooper's Hawk enjoying a fine meal? (Click on the picture to enlarge...)

Smog on the horizon, Cap'n.

Today, parts of the US and Southern Ontario got the first winter smog alert...and everyone's shocked and dismayed.

What's more shocking to me is that we've accepted summer smog alerts as a given and only show concern when an alert appears in the winter. We don't even blink an eye in June, but in February, it's news all of a sudden.

This should spur us to work towards bettering our air quality, but it won't. Give us enough time and we'll just adapt to these winter alerts and not have our children or seniors go outside because of the smog. We'll continue on with our lives as if winter smog alerts weren't all that special. Maybe when everyday turns into a smog alert day we'll get off our asses and do something about all the crap we put into the air.

So, from here on out, don't be surprised anymore by winter smog alerts. You'll definitely be seeing more in the future.

Men (and Women) with Brooms

Tonight, I'm very pleased to say that we notched up our first victory in intramural co-ed curling at Queen's, with an impressive 6-3 win.

While half our team (actually, all the women on the regular lineup) was unable to attend, their spots were filled-in very nicely by friends.

We were lead by our skip tonight, Matt Fletcher, who placed excellent shots at key moments. Andria got him a pair of real curling shoes to use and in this case, the shoes definitely played a key part (yes, yes, he shot well too...).

But congratulations should also go to the rest of the team for playing a solid and gritty game. In no particular order (since there's 6 of us, we rotated positions):

Grant Baldwin, Katie Hopkins, Katie Langin (last year's teammate) and Andria Sherstone.

Our regular team will return, but I worry not. We're just building momentum from here, folks!

Worst. Slogan. Ever.

So this is the slogan of one of the candidates running for a student trustee position:

"You can trust me."

What do you say to that. Really?

AMS elections: let the saturation begin

For Queen's grads and those not familiar with the Queen's student government, the Alma Mater Society's (AMS) elections are under way, with our student centre the JDUC completely blanketed with campaigning and bad music to go with it.

This year is certainly different from the past in that there are six teams (the President and two VP positions are vied for together, for those who don't know) running and a new voting system: preferential balloting. This is one type of proportional representation, in which the teams are ranked such that the votes are counted and recounted until one team receives more than 50% of total votes cast, after candidates are eliminated and votes shifted to each voter's next preferred choice (go to HERE for a more complete explanation).

This was installed after last election's debacle of disqualifying a team and its votes and thereby disenfranchising a bloc of the voting student population. Granted, student elections are nothing like the real thing, since a lot of the votes are cast based on pure popularity rather than policy. While I'd rather see some form of Proportional Representation in the actual levels of government, this will be good because it'll give me some idea of PR at work in Canada and how well it works out on a small scale.

This election will also be interesting because there are supposedly two 'joke teams' running, one of whom (Team BMP, aka. Khaki Snack) have a blog HERE. As I said before, some votes are based on popularity. I guess I'm just wondering, what if Khaki Snack wins? Or would they sabotage their own campaign in order for them not to have to actually deal with student politics and go back to playing fun music?

Since I can't vote as a grad student and the grad society here's not all that influential/important anyways, I'm going to enjoy watching this election consume the campus. I just hope student turnout will be as high if not higher than previous years (~30% of the total student population)...

The future is green. Find it there.

In my ongoing search for environment-related blogs, I came across Treehugger, courtesy of Accordian Guy and the 2005 Bloggies. So, they're out there. They're just damn-hard to find. I only found this one because it's huge and being nominated for an online award.

The search continues...

Environmentalism as nostalgia

This piece will probably be up for about 5 more days, but it ties in nicely with what I posted below. A piece by a former environmental reporter for the Toronto Star, David Israelson opines about the older generation of environmentalists' obsession with the heyday of the environmental movement and less with our current situations.

While he's a bit optimistic that the new generation of environmentalists being less shy about working with business, he wants the whole movement to get up from looking through the photo albums of past successes and get back to working for the future. As he says,

"The environmental movement needs to be less excited about being invited into the room and more interested in what they're bringing away."

See, I'm not the only one cracking the whip here...

Kyoto no more, it's time to move forward

Feb. 16 is the day that the Kyoto Accord comes into effect and word has leaked out from the Federal Government that we won't meet our commitments by 2012, that our targets will be lower than required for industries, etc. etc. Different media outlets are reacting as they're expected, with the National Post and the Calgary Sun relieved and plain happy about the collapse of Kyoto; the Toronot Star, courtesy of Richard Gwyn, is stating the obvious: that we were never serious about Kyoto from the beginning.

While I supported the ratification of Kyoto and believed it to be an important first step in international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, I also am now of the belief that Kyoto is a lame duck. Our government was never serious in the first place. Chretien wanted it as a legacy without actually putting in strategies or frameworks to make it happen. Some have said that it was a last 'screw you' to Paul Martin. Perhaps. Regardless, I'm quite confident that as stated in the Gwyn article, that Canada, Japan and probably Russia will pull out in 2012, when Kyoto is up for renewal (though Russia stands to gain from the treaty, so I don't know why they would pull out).

Government policies on combating climate change will limp its way into 2012, causing little effect on our emissions. So what happens in 2012? Europe and the other countries who actually pulled their weight and implemented policies will not only be years ahead of us in using environmentally friendly technologies (can somebody say, economic advantage?), they will certainly be scrutinizing our response to our current weak efforts.

However, our failure at Kyoto does not mean we have to give up on dealing with climate change. We can look at 2012 with either an opportunitistic outlook or with a sense of dread. If we're serious about reducing emissions (which I think we should be), then the Martin government should declare up front that we've failed in our current endeavours. However, he should turn this defeat into a future victory. He can seriously use these next seven years (whether his government will last this long is another post, but I mean him and subsequent governments) to set up the frameworks and the strategies (working in conjunction with industries to promote, say, industrial ecology, or municipalities with energy conservation) to coordinate a massive effort to be launched in 2012.

This will be the so-called 'Made in Canada' solution that the right have been blabbing on about without doing a damned thing. There are enough companies out there (Dow Chemicals, DuPont in Kingston, Interface Carpets, etc.) as evidence that being environmentally friendly have definite economic benefits. All the rest of them need are structures and incentives. As for energy conservation, it's a no-brainer. Reduced reliance on foreign oil, increased savings for citizens, reduced costs on infrastructure, reduced emissions. All it takes is a massive public effort. If we can get Toronto to separate its garbage, it can't be that tough to get us to use less energy.

All our talk about the world needing more Canada, well, here's our chance. Time for us to make the 21st century Canadian economy a green economy; something we can export abroad, something to show that Canadians can make a difference on the world scene. We have so many rich environments and ecosystems, how can we teach developing nations to leapfrog past our mistakes if we can't keep our own house clean? And yes, instead of forcing developing nations to live the mistakes of our industrial revolution in order to develop to our standards, let's help them leapfrog them. Otherwise, we're merely generating the problem over again.

It's time for the government to let the leashes off Environment Canada. Let them talk to the private sector. They boast so much about being able to run things so much more efficiently (only in certain cases), let's make them prove it.

The fight between business and environmentalists is over. We've kicked at each other's shins for long enough. It's time for us to grow up and be mature individuals. It's time for us to own up to our collective responsibility and work together to come up with solutions.

No one else will do it for us. Now get to work.

Real Climate

Soon after posting my thoughts below, I came across Realclimate, courtesy of Crawl Across the Ocean. This is a group blog composed of scientists of various disciplines all studying climate change. Here, they try to combat their view of inaccuracies in the media and elsewhere regarding certain claims about climate change. Although it can get technical some of the times, this is an excellent resource to tap into if you want to learn more.

Where are the green blogs?

I was talking to my friend Angela tonight and she asked me about environmentally-focused blogs. I was at a loss. I hadn't come across any in my purview of the blogosphere. So this is a call to anybody who may come cross my blog. If you know of any 'green' blogs, let me know. Otherwise, I'd like to find out why they aren't as prevalent as other blogs.

Little Fish and Big Fish

There's a small computer 'game' (it's actually not that fun) out there called Fishbanks, which is used to teach students about resource allocation. The prof for the Global Food Security class that I'm TAing is using the game for its intended purpose. The caveat was that we needed several laptops to work from and lo and behold, she didn't believe there was a Mac version.

She was wrong, because there certainly is a Mac version and it is now sittin' pretty in my hard drive.

My beef is not with Fishbanks, but rather all the GIS and CAD software out there. There's tons of anecdotal evidence that Macs are used all the time for graphic design and such. Obviously, Apples have no problems dealing with graphical software. My question is, why the hell aren't there GIS and CAD software out there for Mac users.

Granted, we're a small percentage of overall users, but guess what, GIS and CAD users are a small percentage in and of themselves. While you may argue that this is their argument, that the market is way to small for them. Yet, Microsoft has no problem creating cross platform software (see MacOffice and MSN messenger) and neither did the creators of Fishbanks. So what gives?

ESRI, makers of ArcGIS, and what I believe to be the leader in GIS software, is a pretty big group. I would think that they could definitely reach out to new users if they offered a Mac version, even if it's a basic, streamlined one. MapInfo, the other major GIS software designer, used to put out a Mac version about 3 versions ago. Now? Nothing. and don't get me started on Autodesk, makers of AutoCAD...they're nowhere.

Maybe this is an anomalous company, but Matt's dad's consulting company does transit consulting work, the entire office uses Macs, except for the PCs required for the GIS software. That's at least one example where MacGIS software would come in handy. I'm sure I could find more if I looked hard enough.

So, in the end, I'm an urban planning student with Fishbanks on my computer but not MapInfo or ArcGIS or AutoCAD Map.

Yeah, this makes a whole lot of sense to me.

To A.

"You Came Along"- Joel Plaskett Emergency

True love is sharper than stones and sticks
Louder than bombs and clocks that tick
I feel as deep as the ocean blue
When I'm standing here with you
And the world keeps spinning faster
What am I to do in the face of a disaster?
I've been here before but I don't know what comes after
The night's a lonely place to be
When the lights go out I want you here with me

When I could not trust myself
I put my trust in someone else
But she led me astray and then she went away
All my lessons learned after all my bridges burned
Everything felt wrong until you came along

It's quicker than sand
It's thicker than blood
It's like the slight of the hand
The stick in the mud
It's as deep as the ocean blue
What am I supposed to do when all the fire's gone?
How do you want me to play along?
I know it's true
Somewhere we went wrong
The night's a lonely place to be
When the light's go out
I want some company

Mr. Brightside

Caveat: A., don't take this the wrong way, please. I meant every word I said to you this afternoon. I just have to say this...

I had something special. I had never felt this way before. It felt so good. It felt so good to make someone else happy. It had been a long time since I've been this happy. And now...

There's a postponement. I understand every reason behind and I support her (you) all the way. If it means time away now so that we can be together later, so be it. I will be with her (you) every step of the way. I meant it then, I mean it now. I want to be able to be her (your) friend through this time. I do.

It was fine. Until I took a step out onto the street, and my foot just fell through the pavement and I got swallowed up by this emptiness. It was strange. The world just developed this weight, making everything FEEL heavier. To have someone special like her and then not, in a heartbeat, I felt...incomplete. Again, I've never felt this before. It was strange. That's the only way to describe it.

I have my memories and my copy of Men with Brooms. I have her friendship. But most importantly, I have hope. That is what I hold onto. That is what I hang my toque on. Because my memory's shoddy at best. And it sometimes fails me when I need it most.

Those who know me, know I'm a cynical bastard. So, it will come as a surprise to those people (and even me) when I say I have hope. I've always thought of myself as without hope. Not in life overall, but in some instances, yes, without hope. But then she came into my life and I thought for the first time, that the world may actually be different. That, maybe, I have hope after all. This is why I hope. Because it is my hope that she will return, that we can start over and make something even better.

Hope, don't fail me now.

I'm not hinting at anything...

Oh, just as an addendum to the Apple post below,

They show the iPod Shuffle beside a pack of gum to showcase the size of the mp3 player. On a footnote it says,

2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle.

I kid you not. It's noticeably absent from the Canadian site. That's all I'm sayin'.

The Apple rage

At today's MacWorld (expo for all things Apple), It released three new products and numerous upgrades, two of which are aimed at getting more mainstream people to buy Apple.

First, the iPod Shuffle. Basically, a USB mp3 player with no display, holds 512 mb or 1 Gb of music (around 240 songs), battery life of 12 hours but the size of a stick of gum starting at $129 Cdn. Nothing innovative here because it's basically Apple's offering into the flash player market. I don't know what the price difference is like with players already out, but it'll at least appeal to people like me who don't have a flash player right now but loves the ability to integrate an mp3 player with iTunes without shelling out for an iPod. That, or anyone who wants follow the Apple crowd. Plus, it's probably easier to exercise with and there've been increasing reports of people being robbed for their iPods. So, it'll likely appeal to more people than I think it will.

Second, the iMac Mini. It is around $629 Cdn, doesn't come with keyboard, mouse or monitor, but has the power and storage of my 12-inch powerbook. Oh my god, am I drooling over this right now. I think this will definitely sell and convince people to switch. It's cheap, it's small (light), it should appeal to people who only used their PCs for basic things (word processing, email, internet, movie) and can now switch over to avoid the spyware, viruses and instability with windows. Plus, they can use their existing peripherals or buy cheap aftermarket USB keyboards and monitors. A cheap, versatile, one-time purchase computer for the mainstream user. I'm definitely considering getting one for my parents.

Finally, iWorks. Currently, it consists of Pages, the Apple created word processor, and Keynote, its answer to Powerpoint. Now, both have unique features, but I particularly like Keynote's new features of providing two displays: the presentation for the audience and the other that can include notes, a timer and the next slide. It basically integrates the stopwatch and cue cards directly into the program. Beautiful. While I like MacOffice, I'm hesitant about getting iWorks. It still lacks a spreadsheet and a database program that can work with SQL. Also, I would also be concerned that this would deter cross-compatibility since software developers would see this as Apple responding to MacOffice to take a bite out of Microsoft's market share and wouldn't want their own product to suffer the same fate.

But the Shuffle and the Mac Mini. Man, two more reasons to switch to Apple (if you don't have a flash player and you're not a hardcore computer user).

Wearing sunshine on my sleeve

One late night, I was joking with my friends how we should somehow adapt chlorophyll into our bodies so that we could just convert sunlight into energy, thus removing the need to eat. Now that I think about it, it also allows us to walk around naked...(hmm...)

While that's not going to happen anytime soon, something just as good is on its way. I was told earlier in the summer by Rob Harrap, a very smart man in the Queen's GIS lab, that somone in the US was working on a sprayable material for solar panelling. The potential applications seem endless, since it would be possible to add this material to any surface (cars, houses, clothes) and allow it to convert solar energy into electricity. Now I didn't hear about it much since then. Until now.

This is the CBC story. Not only is it flexible (since it's formed from quantum dots and polymer...ahh, nanotechnology at its finest) but it purportedly captures 5 times as much energy as existing technology.

This technology needs to be funded ridiculously. It could be a major answer to the energy question. The quicker this becomes marketable, the quicker we can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. That is a prospect I'm very excited about.

Putting the DART before the SEAHORSE

The Toronto Star reported yesterday that the Canadian DART response team is now being deployed to one of the worst hit regions of the tsunami. Due to the not-so-rapid response of our government, they're arriving to an area where their expertise...is no longer required. It seems their specialty, providing safe drinking water and medical treatment, are already being covered by assistance agencies already in place. There is now a concern that the overlapping roles will confuse the victims there, that some are being diagnosed more than once and given more medication than necessary.

I'm not certain whether such confusion would emerge in any large-scale relief operation such as this, but it seems DART could be deployed elsewhere, or not at all. Our late deployment has given us time to assess the situation and realize that DART's roles have already been covered by existing organizations. The now retired Maj. Gen. Lewis MacKenzie wrote a piece in the National Post discussing our ineffectiveness this time around, that there are more than enough NGOs to cover such functions as medical assistance and water treatment.

Instead, he advocated a proposal submitted by a group of military officials called SEAHORSE, which called for a rapid-reaction military force instead of a humanitarian response team. It would rely on assualt transports and helicopters for transportation. Not only has this idea (rapid-reaction force) been discussed for a while, but I didn't realize a proposal existed. SEAHORSE seems to make more sense in this context and future situations.

In the tsunami scenario, they could be there to help clear debris, find bodies, reconstruct roads and clean up water sources instead of just treating them. Reconstruction will be the next big challenge and it could be there for a long haul to help the many nations that need to rebuild their coast. Canada's role in providing help would not overlapj as much, if at all, with the many NGOs already there. I doubt the Red Cross or Oxfam are picking up their hammers and nails.

In addition to the many functions this force would have (transport, evacuation, security, construction), there are other advantages. We would no longer be relying on other nations (US, Russia, etc) for transporting our own troops nor incur the cost of maintaining a fleet of Hercules or Antonovs. This force could be used in both disaster-relief and peacekeeping missions, since they are still trained as military personnel. It is the exact type of force that seems to fit Canada best as a middle power- small, yet flexible, self-sufficient and quick-response.

Besides, Mackenzie's a major-general for pete's sake. I think he knows what he's talking about. PM Martin and his defence minister definitely needs to seriously consider SEAHORSE or a similar idea for the Canadian armed forces. It's a win-win. You win support for spending on the military, but you're not just buying troops and equipment for a war effort because they can be deployed for the above reasons. You've just covered the entire political spectrum.

Your move, PM Martin.

Fear-mongering, on both sides

Michael Crichton's "State of Fear" is now a bestseller. For those who don't know the plot, the premise is that a string of environmental disasters occur due to a "nefarious" plot by environmentalists to convince the world that climate change is occurring. The "brave," contrarian scientists who don't believe in climate change goes off to save the world. Obviously, I'm not going to look to Mr. Chrichton for my knowledge of climate change. His contribution to the debate has about the same value as "The Day after Tomorrow." In this movie, climate change is responsible for cataclysmic disasters around the world and governments ignore a 'brave' believing scientist's warning.

A lot of reviewers picked up on the underlying tone of both works as a call for or against climate change. Unfortunately, both merely raise the raucous of the hype while giving nothing of substance, thereby only confusing the general public further. I know the movie received a lot of bad reviews, and oddly enough, I've yet to see a good review, let alone, any review on the story itself. The only news are angry reactions from environmentalists about how they're portrayed. It's a good thing we're focused on the important topics...

In a more perfect world, neither piece would exist.

Jon Stewart 1, Tucker "Dick" Carlson 0

Apparently, Crossfire will no longer be its own show in the near future, as it has also no longer renewed the contract of one pundit, Tucker Carlson.

Thinking that Jon Stewart's appearance (part of the transcript and videoclip HERE, google elsewhere for the full thing) is the reason for Crossfire's cancellation would give him too much credit. What he did was announce to the viewers outright what they knew, that the show was not a debate show. He merely said what no one would. As the article states, viewership had decreased from last season and had lost its previous slot for the show.

While the very public fight between Carlson and Stewart probably made the decision easier, it doesn't make CNN's job any easier. The fight probably brought some viewers to the show, even if it was to see for themselves how bad it was. Of course, that kind of viewership doesn't last long. While the slot to be filled isn't too important, I wonder whether CNN will try again with another debate-type show and try to compete again with the likes of Hannity and Colmes from Fox News or whether they'll keep a good distance from that show idea.

Either way, it's not a total victory for Jon Stewart's vision of media programs. We've removed a bad, vacuous show. Now it's time to replace it with a better, insightful, more thought-provoking one.

Damn It!

I did a stupid thing and reformatted my template for this blog without saving my changes....ARGH! Therefore, the site's going to be constantly updated repeatedly so that all my old links are back up. Sorry for the inconvenience (mainly the inconvenience is to myself).

This is the direction they want to head in...

"US Said to Mull Lifetime Terror-Suspect Detentions"

This is the headline from the Reuters article, whose information they received from the Washington Post (which I don't have an online subscription to; otherwise, I'd be linking the Post). It seems that since they lack the evidence to try these terror suspects, the Pentagon is asking for money either to build a better prison in Guantanamo Bay to hold these people...indefinitely. Or, they're going to have them moved to US built facilities elsewhere (Saudi Arabia, Yemen, etc.) to hold them...indefinitely.

So, the idea here is to imprison people permanently (based only on suspicion of terrorism) in Guantanamo Bay or transfer them to US built facilities in countries with poor human-rights records and ask their treatment abide by human rights standards. Can someone PLEASE explain the logic or the legality of this?

The best line from the article still has to be, "it would be modeled on a U.S. prison and would allow socializing among inmates." This must be so comforting to all those who will never see the light of day ever again.

What a happy way to start off the new year...

Fruitcake

Like an old fruitcake that nobody wants after Christmas, I was thinking about discussing the supposed 'war on Christmas' (so-called by some conservatives), which if you think about it, is way too ironic for them to understand. Anyways, I realized that I'm a little late for the party on that one so instead, if you're interested, go read J. Kelly Nestruck HERE.

The way I see it, if you want to say Merry Christmas, go nuts. If you don't, that's fine. If you're not sure, than take the time to ask if that person celebrates Christmas. Yes, it may be a pain at times, but we're not in some time warp where we don't have the sensabilities to realize that NOT everybody celebrate Christmas...

Oh, and by the way, to all those who think there's a 'war on Christmas' going on...you do realize that Jesus wasn't actually born on December 25th, right?

Would my hand still be broken?

For those of you who went to high school with me, or just any high school, this was probably the time when you were introduced to the time-waster and distraction known as pen-spinning. Basically, you spin your pen around your thumb. For those of us who could do it, it was a way to keep busy after wasting hours learning how to do it. For those who couldn't, it was pure frustration.

Now, for those of you in my Grade 11 English class, you may remember how me and Matt did it ALL the time. So much so, that our very good and very funny english teacher, Mr. Dunlop, once threatened to break my hand if I spun my pen one more time.

And that was just for spinning it around my thumb. My question is, would he have let it go and be impressed if I could do any of THIS, or would he just not only break my hand, but the rest of my arm to go along with it?

The politics of disaster relief...or who can be more petty?

After the Boxing Day Tsunami disaster/tragedy/act of God/act of nature/etc., relief is being delivered to the various affected areas. It is very comforting to see so many countries willing to donate money, goods and volunteers to people who had little to begin with and now have nothing because it was washed away by the raging waters.

However, it would seem that even in disaster relief, we need to play games of one-upmanship, as seen HERE. I guess if this is what it takes to persuade countries to provide more relief than they were willing to originally, then I guess there's nothing really bad in and of itself. But at the same time, it's so petty to see these exchanges between the French and US representatives. Therefore, they win the no-prize of the week.

On a sidenote, as all these countries are pouring in to help Southeast Asia, it makes me wonder why there hasn't been the same outpouring for the crisis in Darfur. An act of nature brings out the best in people. An act of human politics brings out....hand-wringing and hesitation. I realize the complexities of the Darfur situation, but I still one can't help but wonder the vast difference in response. Maybe I've become one of those "but people are dying" people in this situation...

Well, so ends the year of 2004. I hope that in the year 2005, human society will be a bit better: a bit more compassionate, a bit more tolerant, a bit less violent. I know we can't make leaps and bounds. So let's take those few steps that we can. Peace and happiness to you all.

Storytelling...or a recommended holiday reading

'Twas the night before Christmas...and I finished a book (not what you were expecting, were you?)

For those of you looking for a good non-fiction read that isn't heavy (like Romeo Dallaire's "Shake Hands with The Devil"...I haven't read it and I'm sure it's good, but I'm confident that the material is quite serious), I recommend "The Truth About Stories" by Thomas King. It was part of the 2003 Massey Lectures.

I will probably think and reflect about it some more, but I enjoyed it mainly for two things. One, it gave me a better understanding of the importance of stories in the Native tradition but also how stories are important in everyone's life in general as well.

We are writing the story of our life right now. It is almost a post-modern take on how we view history without the baggage of post-modernism. It reminds me of a line from Dogma. Rufus, Chris Rock's character, talks about ideas and belief. Ideas can be changed, he says, but not beliefs. People fight, die, etc. for their beliefs.

In the same way, I think that's what Dr. King's getting at with history. Stories can be changed (as you'll read in the book). But history, as the general public sees it, becomes cemented into a linear progression of events. If not for post-modernist thinking and the expansion of history as different narratives (Mr. King's subtitle is "A Native Narrative"), we would not hear about all the other stories out there that exist. In a sense (and trying very hard not to fall into the romanticizing of the Native traditions), storytelling is the realization of post-modern thought, of the existence of different narratives; only it doesn't seem to be as rationalized as post-modern thinking. The history of the world is a story of many stories and it always has been.

The second lesson I learned was how the perception of First Nations Canadians and Americans has become so regimented in such a variety of ways. It's a very big Catch-22. I don't think I'm up to the task of explaining it, needless to say, it seems that a First Nations person can't live his/her life as they see fit without either giving up their past or their future. But according to Dr. King, society's been lamenting their demise and surprise, surprise, the First Nations are still here.

But in a way, I've just told you a very bland story. Go read the book. Dr. King's a much better storyteller.

I woke up to this?!

Now that my exams are over, I'm able to resume my daily purview of the news by going to Bourque's website. This is what I found:

"Back to drawing board on Kyoto"

"Another spill at Terra Nova"

"Iraq Explosion at U.S. Base in Mosul Causes Many Casualties"

"New jail abuse allegations hit US"

And it gets better from there. So, to me, it seems like the world's been having a good morning.

Now, as an environmental science student, the first two articles drew me in (the other two just highlights the ongoing tragedy that is the US involvement in Iraq).

The first, by columnist Stephen Handelman, basically describes another meeting to meet by governments about setting new targets and such for the Kyoto Accord. Why, you ask? well, you see, Kyoto comes into effect, wait for it, February 16, 2005. And while the Europeans are the only ones who seem to give a damn, the Martin minority government isn't going to lift a finger as our emission rises, the US (who aren't in the treaty) continue to obfuscate their responsibilities by calling for 'better research and technology,' Japan's emissions rose by 12%, and China and India (who also aren't involved) sit on the sidelines pumping out carbon dioxide. The cynic in me is just depressed.

Several points. The US are right in wanting better research and technology and getting China and India involved. No question. However, we always want better info and technology. We'll never have perfect information. So what will it take for us to act? The lack of political will or our refusal to do something about it because we're too comfortable in our North American society's just frustrating. The information we have now suggests that there's a good chance something will happen. So why don't we act?

It seems if we put up and actually make the environmental technology a major part of our economy, isn't that a signal to China and India that it can be done, and that it's WORTH IT to be done? Can't we then export these technologies abroad and increase our influence? China's starting into the game. With economies of scale, they could just leapfrog us. How much dominance will we have then in the global economy if China's going to be productive AND clean?

There's a good chance that nothing'll happen. I don't dispute that possibility. But if the technology's going to benefit people anyways, isn't that worth pursuing? I'm not saying the ends justify the means, but if the journey's worth taking (since it'll reduce reliance on foreign oil, reduce our impacts on our environment, reduce health care costs, etc.), why don't we do it? History's shown us that some human tragedies could've been prevented. Why can't we, for once, be forward-thinking? Why must we fall back on "necessity" as the mother to get us out of this mess?

Now the second story tells us that Petro-Canada's floating platform Terra Nova spilled again. Now, it's not a major spill (compared to their previous spills or other companies' spills), but any spill is not a good spill (that's a lot of spills). This may, in some quarter, renew the call for privatization of this quasi-Crown Corporation. While there are many arguments for or against, I do not want to see these people use these spills as one of them, since they seem to think private businesses are so much better at running these operations. Need I remind them that in this instance, their track record is not so hot. So I better not find privatization and these oil spills in the same article.

Finally, the CFL is looking to expand a franchise in Halifax. The site is a call for support. Now, here's the killer thing. The name of the proposed team? The Halifax Explosion. Yes, you read it right. Now, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it seems to me the name lacks a certain, oh, I don't know, tact. It's like the Montreal Alouettes being called the Montreal Massacre. C'mon people, what is wrong with you? Halifax has such a great history and culture and the Explosion's the best you can come up with?

Man, if my sheets weren't packed away, I'd want to go back to bed and hibernate until this is all over.

I am truly blessed

I know this already, but I need to emphasize it yet again.

My life is rich and full of joy because of the company I keep. I am truly blessed with friends like these. I can not emphasize that my friends are the funniest, brilliant, and just all-around nice people that I will ever know. Because, in the end, it's not what you know, but who you know.

And I know that these bonds will not be broken, that they will all achieve great things. And with each passing year, I will remember that these are the pillars of my life, and they create the magnificient temple that is friendship.

Now, I'm going to bed, because I'm a little tipsy.

Cheers to the world, may everyone be blessed by friendship as I have been.

First snowball fight

It's the simple joys in life.

Like finding out that Ocean's Twelve is sold out from Andria and Matt and ending up having an impromptu snowball fight outside my apartment building for a good 10 minutes with them. Kingston had the worst weather ever today (cold, wind, and freezing rain) but redeemed itself by providing enough packing snow for a good ol' fight. This is why I love Canada

May the rest of the school year be filled with more snowballs!

Missing the Pierre Berton Train

Tons of stories have flooded the airwaves commemmorating the life and works of Pierre Berton, the author and commentator who died recently. While this has affected many people around me, I am not so moved.

This is because I have never to date read any of his works. It's not that I hate the man or anything, but I've just never been exposed to him. And from what I gather, he seems to write alot about the Canadian experience, a topic that I find fascinating. And yet, here I am, completely ignorant about his influence on our view of Canadian history. Well, I guess that goes on my list of things to do as a Canadian.

#875: Read Pierre Berton

Ok. right. good thing I've worked so hard at whittling that list down.

Hi, let's insult Christianity today

nativity
Originally uploaded by blackhole.

So, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London released their nativity scene to the public and guess who's filling the roles:

Joseph and Mary: the Beckhams

the Wise Men: Tony Blair, George W. Bush, and the Duke of Edinburgh

Shepherds: Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, etc.

Angel: Kylie Minogue

So my question is, were they intentionally trying to offend Christians or did they not realize that they maybe, just maybe not like the idea of having the extravagant Beckhams representing the Holy Mother and her husband?

Hell, I'm not a Christian and I'm offended. It may not be a big deal considering it's in a wax museum (which is kitschy enough as it is), but the fact that they could use some of the biggest symbols of material wealth as the cast of this scene just seems preposterous.

And Blair, Bush and the Duke of Edinburgh may be smart people, but they're not wise.

This whole thing just makes me wonder, is this the culture we're living in? Really, is it? Because I want out.

Dreams

There are definitely interesting news I want to blog about, but frankly, I need to keep my posts nice and short. So my peanut-gallery analysis will have to wait until after exams and papers are due (unless something utterly incredible drops on my lap).

I'm typing in a what appears to be blustery day and I couldn't care one bit. The last few days feels like it's been a dream, and not the ones where I'm being chased in an underground parking lot by vampires and the people running beside me are Matt and Lou Diamond Phillips. No, this is one of those dreams that I just don't want to wake up from because it feels too damn nice and that pile of work on my desk just doesn't want to get done. oh well. Here's to the joys of December and the winters of Canada.

Taking it for granted

I stumbled upon this news story in Metafilter. One of Google's top exec was INTERVIEWED about the technology behind Google.

Now, I know very little about computer architecture and computer science in general, but I'd never thought about the actual amount of technology required to bring about a web engine so powerful and yet so ubiquitous and easy to use. We take Google's ease of use for granted so much. I remember the days fo yahoo and altavista searches and how lacking they were. Google was the light out of the cave. As Matt Loney says,

"When Arthur C. Clarke said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, he was alluding to the trick of hiding the complexity of the job from the audience, or the user. Nobody hides the complexity of the job better than Google does..."

Later on in the article they discuss the actual "Googling" process and the petabytes (PETABYTES!) of information stored in the hundreds of everyday hard disks located and mirrored everywhere. What intrigued me was the discussion about redundancies in the system, easily replaceable parts, parallel processing, and teaching the system about recognizing different strings of texts. Now, anyone who knows AI, in comp sci, psych, etc., please help me. Does this not sound like the foundation of an electronic brain? You know, hard disks as neurons, parallel processing, teachability? And if that's not the case, what's lacking in it being a foundation? I really would like to know.

Otherwise, why wouldn't I be surprised if Google's system somehow generates the first AI through their web engine?


On a side note, MSN released its own blogging pages...HEY MSN, you're a bit late to the party on this one. With Blogger and LiveJournal, you shouldn't have gotten into the game at all. Their page templates are better and frankly will work way better than yours ever will. You tried to compete with Google and embarrassed yourself and if it wasn't for metafilter, I wouldn't have known about this at all. Stick to something you're good at, like charging an arm and a leg for software...

Wait, is that the Sun?

Today was a good day mainly because I didn't allow myself to think about the tasks to come for the next few weeks so I enjoyed a fully stress-free day. Went grocery shopping, browsed through CDs, go mindless in class, plan to go see a movie that may be good or bad...it was that kind of day.

You know what, I can't believe how good that feels? It's been a while since I've had a day like this. Granted, I probably won't have one for the next little while, but that's ok. I wonder though, does it take months of being stressed out to make me appreciate the times when I'm not?

Tonight was a lot of fun too, being with someone who just makes you feel so good and comfortable and relaxed. I hope I was able to do the same...

But the sun set, the day came to an end, and soon the sun will rise and work will have to get done. And for the first time in a while, I can accept that.