Driving and Talking

This is a great idea... i am definately a violator of this, and should probably invest in a handsfree headset. But this is good to keep in mind when travelling within Canada. we all know that the majority of cars pulled over in QC will likely have Ontario plates (oh the memories of having my car towed from a parking lot, or melissa getting a ticket while being passed by a truck pulling a boat... oh the memories of QC traffic tickets) but regardless... stop talking on my phone when in Quebec! :) :)

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Cellphone Bans in Nova Scotia and Quebec
Josh Pringle
Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Quebec and Nova Scotia are hanging up on hand-held cellphones.

Starting today, both provinces have banned the use of hand-held cellphones while driving.

Motorists are still permitted to use hands-free devices.

Quebec provincial police say they will hand out warnings for the first three months. The fine in Quebec for using a hand-held cellphone while driving is around $100.

Canadarm Update

I wrote about this awhile back, upset that MDA was selling Radarsat-2 and the Canadarm to the US. I'm happy to see that this isn't going to happen without a bit of a fight.

Ruling on sale of Radarsat-2, Canadarm to U.S. arms maker delayed
Last Updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 | 1:52 PM ET
The federal government is taking an extra 30 days before it makes a decision on the controversial proposed sale of the Radarsat-2 and the Canadarm technology to a U.S.-based arms maker.

Industry Minister Jim Prentice informed U.S.-based weapons and rocket manufacturer Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, on Thursday that he wouldn't meet the Saturday deadline to approve or reject the company's plan to acquire the satellite and space businesses of Richmond, B.C.,-based MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., or MDA.

Prentice had until Saturday to review the $1.3-billion deal under rules of the Investment Canada Act.

Critics of the sale, including former Canadian Space Agency head Marc Garneau, had called on Prentice to block the deal, arguing it handed over taxpayer-funded technology and, in the case of Radarsat-2, gave away technology designed to protect Canada's sovereignty.

To read more see CBC News website

Cyclophobia

i am going to embrace my fear of bikes...

thats right it has been over 15 years since i've ridden a bicycle and i will re-learn the beautiful hobby of bike riding this summer.

the reason for this - - apparently being able to ride a bike in
vietnam is essential. (oh for those who didn't know - i'm off to Korea and vietnam this summer for a holiday! woo hoo!)

JUST incase what they say about bikes isn't true (or in case i never actually knew how to ride one properly) i have already made some arrangements:
1. practicing with my friends here once the snow melts (snow should be gone by june or july at least)
2. ensured that I am covered internationally for medical emergencies
3. I have a phone number to call if i am in an emergency and require
medical aid

Why can't tricycles be more common???


History of my phobia: two bike accidents that landed me in the hospital... was hit by a car when i was 6, and well the other one resembled the move from waynes world... so we need not discuss that one - - I swear i didn't see the red SUV.

Being Canadian Rocks!

and why you ask? b/c these wretched things are not available in Canada :) they are only being sold in Europe, so hopefully we won't have to see them around for awhile.

YES, it is true, sad but true... not only can you wear ugly plastic shoes, but now you can get ugly plastic holders for your cell phone that look like crocs... EWWWW GROSS!



The following is a post from www.shoewawa.com (a great shoe blog if you are a shoe fan).

Crocs make cellphone cases: shoe lovers mourn
Brace yourselves, people. You may have hoped that the Crocs craze was dying a slow death (how much longer can people think plastic shoes are stylish, after all?) but this week our sister site, Shiny Shiny, brings us tidings of the Crocs mobile phone case: where will this madness end?

As you can see from the image, the case is basically a Croc for your phone. It comes complete with "heel strap", to keep the phone safe, and can even be accessorised with 'Jibbitz' charms, just like the real thing. There's also a panel at the back which you can use to store your credit cards and important documents, showing that, just like the shoes, the Croc phone case is useful, but not remotely stylish.

It'll be available soon in Europe only, and will cost £6.95.

Public Transit

For those of you who know me, will be surprised that i'm writing a post about public transit... i am def not what you would call a "bus person" - -but that being said, maybe i could become a bus person? thats right i said it...

but in all seriousness, i would def consider parking my car and hopping on a good ol red and white limo as i'm told they are called by the 'cool kids' sometimes. BUT why are there no park and rides in the east end of ottawa? - - what i can walk over the scary archway in the dark alone to the blair station... or what... drive to the park and ride at college square? how does any of this make sense? if the city can't create a plan where i can walk from my car onto a bus, or from my front door onto the bus without significant walking in the dark - - then i will continue to drive and pay for parking downtown.

the city has posted the 4 plans on the following site. LINK you can click on each of the plans on the left hand side and you can fill in the feedback form letting them know your comments.

i think 4 is the best. it connects all the major nodes to downtown and to each other, it doesn't ignore the north/south east or west. and it has included plans for future growth - - and if we've learned anything from the past - - we've learned that cities GROW with time.

anyways... thats my bus story.

flip flops, white shorts, kids playing in the sprinklers. . .

What a weekend!

Great times for sure! friday i worked late... can't say that was great, but at least i wasn't tempted to brave the storm to get to the pottery studio.

Saturday night i went out partying to Gracies :) SUCH A GREAT NIGHT (and I’m sure it goes w/o saying that Monday's Grace was Playing) :) :) i started the night off just like any drunken night should start ... by falling down... blame the snow, blame the shoes... or just the Bacardi co co rum (note: bacardi has higher percent of alcohol than malibu). anyways... i fell, in the snow. Shannon looked down at me... laughed and then helped me get the snow off. Poor rachelle missed it all. but off we went to meet christina and tanya at the bar, so that we could protect greg from all his groupies :) :) they are the best cover band in Ottawa you know...?

something else Rachelle missed was the white short fiasco!!! ok... so flip flops... totally a summer thing, kids playing in the sprinkler... also a summer thing... white shorts! A SUMMER THING. but this chick thought that she should wear her white shorts to the bar on sat night (in February!)... it was special, and by special i mean just wrong. But what is a Monday's Grace show without badly dressed people.

OH and guess what? Gracies has a straightener in the bathroom! you pay like a dollar for 10 min or something! its a bit odd... but still sorta cool. i def saw a few people who i was thinking i should recommend Rachelles services lol... but we were too busy drinking and busting a move! as Tanya would say, some of the outfits were sickitating (but not in a good way)! lol... ha ha. good times good times.

that night i crashed at Shannon and Greg’s (thanks guys!) and what great hosts, they let me sleep in till 12:30! it was superb! then off to my art vernissage, to the superbowl party at kevin, angela and cat's... quick pit stop to the hospital b/c kevin burned his hand prity badly. but it was fast b/c we had some connections. couple shots of morphine, some rolls of gauze, and a few hours and we were back at the party, then off to blairs superbowl thing and finally home sweet home for 10.

tonight i taught my first official art class! :) :) (sorry erin, katherine, christina and johanne... you didn't totally count)

anyways those are my stories from this weekend.

PS 1 - Mr. Jones is the best song ever!
PS 2 - mcdonalds is very good after the bar!
PS 3 - sleeping till 12:30 eliminates most of your hangover :)

Segregation... I thought we wanted integration and assimilation?

What is happening in the Toronto School Board is a perfect example of segregation in the 21st century. My friend Todd posted on his blog about this. Toronto District School Board trustees Tuesday night approved a contentious proposal for a black-focused school .

I totally thought it was a joke at first b/c i didn't think something like this would ever be allowed (this is the 2nd one in Canada - - which I was surprised to learn)

This is going to definitely lead to a snowball effect where other religious and cultural groups want their own school. This will lead to people not learning to work and live in an environment similar to the one they will have to be part of after graduation (and on evenings and weekends too). School is supposed to prepare students for the 'real world', and in the real world people from all over the world interact with each other on a daily basis.

And how can it be "argued that would be the equivalent of segregation" -- THIS IS SEGREGATION

US-Arm???

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) is sold its space missions and satellite business, including the division that built the Canadarm on the space shuttle, to U.S. defence contractor Alliant Techsystems (ATK) for $1.325 billion in cash

so the question is... will the Canadarm become the US-Arm? can they change the name?



The other question is... will the tax payers get back all their money that went into the Canada Arm, Radarsat 1 and Radarsat 2?

RADARSAT-2 is/was our new satellite (Launched only on Dec 14, 2007). It can survey the arctic, report on ice conditions, spot unauthorized shipping and detect oil spills. It was built largely with government money ( $450M of the $525M price tag) and was to be wholly owned by MDA in a typical public-private partnership. It will now be wholly owned by the US parent company.

As the CSA website says "RADARSAT-2 demonstrates the Canadian space community's leadership in developing remote sensing technology and applications. With state-of-the-art technology, it is one of the world's most advanced commercially available Earth observation radar image providers and offers users around the world an expanded range of high-quality data products for hundreds of applications."

guess not only were the images commercially available, but the satellite itself was too... for a billion and some dollars.

A solution for the coyote problem

I have discovered a solution to the coyote problem that is wreaking havoc on Greely, Manotick Station and now Barhaven to name a few places...

HAMMOCKS!!!

what? you may ask... how will this solve our problem??? WELL this new website i am now obsessed with (thanks dan! - www.trendhunter.com) had these coyote hammocks the other day. and they are on sale for over 8,000!!!! so not only would we eradicate our coyote infestation, but our city could make some money in the process.

Farts - the good and the bad...

I have some news for everyone about FARTS... yep, for those of you who know me, know very well that i do not like to talk about farts... and i like to pretend they don't exist (even if they do smell like chips). But today i have some information that is very interested.

1. Moose farts contribute to greenhouse gas!!!!
(Researchers at the technical university in Trondheim have discovered that the moose, the country's national symbol, is a major contributor to greenhouse emissions. Annually, one moose produces greenhouse gas equal to 13,000 km of car travel.)

2. Kangaroo farts have no odour!!!!
(Thanks to special bacteria in their stomachs, kangaroo flatulence contains no methane and scientists want to transfer that bacteria to cattle and sheep who emit large quantities of the harmful gas.

3. Horses can't burp!!!!
(Overfeeding grain to a horse can lead to a serious case of gas colic, which is an illness caused by a horse's inability to burp. Gases develop in the horse's digestive tract and cause the horse to suffer from severe abdominal pain.)

Now... that is cool stuff. don't you feel smarter b/c you now know these 3 interesting facts?

I would miss Scrabulous

Hasbro Lawyers Descend on Scrabulous

Two guys from India in hot water over the popularity of Facebook app.
By Mark Whiting, 01/14/2008

Say it ain't so. Fortune magazine's Techland is reporting that toymaker Hasbro is getting ready to sue brothers Jayant and Rajat Agarwalla, the two Calcutta-based guys responsible for coding up Facebook's uber-popular (and free) Scrabble knockoff application, Scrabulous.
"But wait!" you say. "If Scrabulous was somehow immoral and/or illegal, wouldn't the toy giant have said something before it became the 9th most popular application on one of the world's most popular social networking websites?" It's not like the brothers Agarwalla are making money off of their programming handiwork after all -- Scrabulous is free to play, even with 2.3 million people using it every single day. Hmm. Perhaps that's the problem.

Scrabulous, beloved by members of the Internet community, rests in a tenuous legal area somewhere between loving homage and copyright infringement. Surprisingly, at the moment, none other than Electronic Arts happens to be the entity currently enjoying exclusive rights from Hasbro to make and distribute electronic copies of Scrabble. This has not stopped dozens of freely available Scrabble applications from circulating around the Internet, of course.

Sadly, the brothers Agarwalla concede that no actual permission was given by Hasbro or EA before they went to work coding up their program, although an (unanswered) letter was sent to Hasbro at the project's commencement. Now the two men admit they may have begun their work "without thinking through the legal aspect at the time." Like many things in life, The Man is here to harsh the buzz.

"We're trying to work out some kind of deal," comments Jayant. "[Hasbro] sent a notice to Facebook two weeks ago. The lawyers are working on it."

Hey Hasbro and EA, here's an idea: instead of coming down hard on a well-known application that everybody already loves (and earning yourself boos from tons of gamers in the process), how about officially licensing the technology from a pair of hardworking coders who aren't actually making big money anyway off your IP? With some ads, it'd probably net you way more money than all those copies of portable cellphone Scrabble that you might not be selling anyway.

Just sayin'.