Why did it not occur to me until right this moment that today is Buy Nothing Day? I'd heard about it for at least the last three years, and that was a time when people actually had money to spend.
The world confuses me.
--Ryan
Friday, November 28, 2008
Double dipping
(Quick political update, it looks like Stephane Dion is going to be Prime Minister at some point in the very near future. Consult the usual websites for more information.)
I'm starting to understand the concept of anxiety - the idea that there's too much going on for any one person to completely grasp it, and a feeling of a sort of helplessness that arises from that.
But one thing has really struck me, and it's the one event that's contributing to everyone's anxiety - Mumbai.
As we understand it now, a group of terrorists with a questionable or unknown background invaded two high-end hotels in the Indian city, held some people in the hotels hostage (whether they were officially classified hostages or not is irrelevant - if you're barracading yourself in your hotel room and won't leave until the invaders do, you're a hostage), and despite the best efforts of Indian forces, the siege continues with over 150 known dead at this time.
What I can't figure out is how it took us this long to know this much. The attacks began Wednesday night Indian time (I'm assuming Wednesday morning our time), and yet by late afternoon Wednesday, no Western news outlets seemed to know more than that there was a terrorist attack in India, and it involved hotels. It wasn't until Thursday morning that the picture began to be filled in, and Thursday night by the time most people were caught up with the situation so far.
This was a similar timeframe to 1989, when something else happened halfway around the world - the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. (Interesting to note from the introduction, it seems to have been similar to today in that there's simply a lot going on.)
Back then, we didn't have the technology we do today - Tom Kennedy had to file his report, wait for open time on a satellite feed, and send it to CBC by satellite. This was made even harder by the Chinese government's decision to close all in-country satellite feeds and not allow any pictures or video to leave the country.
Yet we still got the news in roughly the same timeframe it took for the story of the Mumbai massacre to be fully understood in Canada.
How is it that one man can be stabbed on a bus in backwoods Manitoba, and the entire world be aware of it within a few hours, yet when hundreds of people - mostly tourists and thus Westerners at that - are held captive by terrorists in a major city, it takes us far longer to figure it out?
--Ryan
I'm starting to understand the concept of anxiety - the idea that there's too much going on for any one person to completely grasp it, and a feeling of a sort of helplessness that arises from that.
But one thing has really struck me, and it's the one event that's contributing to everyone's anxiety - Mumbai.
As we understand it now, a group of terrorists with a questionable or unknown background invaded two high-end hotels in the Indian city, held some people in the hotels hostage (whether they were officially classified hostages or not is irrelevant - if you're barracading yourself in your hotel room and won't leave until the invaders do, you're a hostage), and despite the best efforts of Indian forces, the siege continues with over 150 known dead at this time.
What I can't figure out is how it took us this long to know this much. The attacks began Wednesday night Indian time (I'm assuming Wednesday morning our time), and yet by late afternoon Wednesday, no Western news outlets seemed to know more than that there was a terrorist attack in India, and it involved hotels. It wasn't until Thursday morning that the picture began to be filled in, and Thursday night by the time most people were caught up with the situation so far.
This was a similar timeframe to 1989, when something else happened halfway around the world - the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. (Interesting to note from the introduction, it seems to have been similar to today in that there's simply a lot going on.)
Back then, we didn't have the technology we do today - Tom Kennedy had to file his report, wait for open time on a satellite feed, and send it to CBC by satellite. This was made even harder by the Chinese government's decision to close all in-country satellite feeds and not allow any pictures or video to leave the country.
Yet we still got the news in roughly the same timeframe it took for the story of the Mumbai massacre to be fully understood in Canada.
How is it that one man can be stabbed on a bus in backwoods Manitoba, and the entire world be aware of it within a few hours, yet when hundreds of people - mostly tourists and thus Westerners at that - are held captive by terrorists in a major city, it takes us far longer to figure it out?
--Ryan
The Parliamentary blues
If you read the following passage to somebody who hadn't been paying attention to Ottawa in the last 24 hours...
...they'd think it was a satire. Then they'd point out that we've known Chretien doesn't speak English for decades, and the real revelation is that he can apparently speak French.
So you'd explain the context - Chretien and former NDP leader Ed Broadbent are seriously involved in discussions about at least their parties (perhaps also the Bloc Quebecois) forming a coalition government, rather than sending Canadians into another election. Unless the Conservatives are willing to back down on a new piece of legislation, one or the other will happen.
The response would be, once again, that it sounds like a satire - or at best, an Andrew Coyne-esque fantasy sequence where we're thrown into a constitutional crisis because there's not enough on the government's plate as it is.
It's neither.
As if this wasn't odd enough on its own, the question of 'who would be Prime Minister in this coalition?' is much less clear than normal. Would it be Stephane Dion, who isn't supported privately by ANYBODY in his own party anymore? Jack Layton, who has frequently been described by centrists as 'right leader, wrong party'? Gilles Duceppe, which would be the funniest thing to happen in Canadian politics ever?
This is getting more interesting by the hour.
--Ryan
Chretien was seen on his way to his downtown Ottawa office, but when asked about the coalition talks he feigned an inability to understand English.
"Je ne comprends pas anglais," he said.
...they'd think it was a satire. Then they'd point out that we've known Chretien doesn't speak English for decades, and the real revelation is that he can apparently speak French.
So you'd explain the context - Chretien and former NDP leader Ed Broadbent are seriously involved in discussions about at least their parties (perhaps also the Bloc Quebecois) forming a coalition government, rather than sending Canadians into another election. Unless the Conservatives are willing to back down on a new piece of legislation, one or the other will happen.
The response would be, once again, that it sounds like a satire - or at best, an Andrew Coyne-esque fantasy sequence where we're thrown into a constitutional crisis because there's not enough on the government's plate as it is.
It's neither.
As if this wasn't odd enough on its own, the question of 'who would be Prime Minister in this coalition?' is much less clear than normal. Would it be Stephane Dion, who isn't supported privately by ANYBODY in his own party anymore? Jack Layton, who has frequently been described by centrists as 'right leader, wrong party'? Gilles Duceppe, which would be the funniest thing to happen in Canadian politics ever?
This is getting more interesting by the hour.
--Ryan
Thursday, November 27, 2008
To yours from falling hands we throw
I'm a little late on this one, but if you're in Canada, the Olympic Torch is coming to town. Or at least, it's pretty safe to assume it will - 90% of Canadians will be within a one-hour drive of the Torch at some point. The relay will run through roughly one thousand different communities over the course of 106 days.
You can view a full map showing the Torch's path here, but I'll quickly summarize things:
It all starts on October 30, 2009, in Victoria. From there, the Torch travels (primarily by air) through the northernmost reaches of Canada (including a stop in Alert, Nunavut), travelling west-to-east, ending up in Newfoundland.
The rest of autumn is spent in Eastern Canada, with the first cross into Ontario (in Ottawa) not happening until December 12. The Torch then goes down the 401, into Toronto, through Hamilton and the Niagara Falls area, before hitting Brantford on December 21.
From Brantford, the trek continues southwest through Chatham and into Windsor, turning around and going up into Sarnia. Then the Torch stops for a two-day Christmas break in London, before making the trek to Waterloo Region.
Stops in that area include Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Stratford, and New Hamburg (where, from what I understand, this will be the biggest even since the Johnsons installed indoor plumbing).
The Torch then goes up Highway 6 through Guelph, eventually reaching a destination of Owen Sound. Then it crosses over into cottage country, and begins the long journey through the prairies, culminating in the beginning of the Games on February 12.
Mark your calendars!
--Ryan
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The History of Peanuts (Part V)
(As always, click on the images for a size increase.)
When we last left the Peanuts gang, 1953 was turning into 1954, and Charlie Brown was still far from the lovable loser we all remember. How's he doing now?
Better. Although he'd become more famous for not receiving anything on Valentine's Day, ever - maybe this is why? Also, if anyone misses my birthday by a day, this should give them a good excuse.
I remember that song! No other reason for posting this one, I just liked the Raffi reminder.
Ah, how I long for a simpler time - one where people read comic books and remembered the Korean War. I'll freely admit to knowing barely anything about that one until learning about it in a history class this year. Also, I don't think Vietnam was as bad as what Charlie Brown was assuming was next. Hurrah?
And we end this batch with the debut of a man who would go on to be far better known as a vacuum cleaner salesman.
--Ryan
When we last left the Peanuts gang, 1953 was turning into 1954, and Charlie Brown was still far from the lovable loser we all remember. How's he doing now?
Better. Although he'd become more famous for not receiving anything on Valentine's Day, ever - maybe this is why? Also, if anyone misses my birthday by a day, this should give them a good excuse.
I remember that song! No other reason for posting this one, I just liked the Raffi reminder.
Ah, how I long for a simpler time - one where people read comic books and remembered the Korean War. I'll freely admit to knowing barely anything about that one until learning about it in a history class this year. Also, I don't think Vietnam was as bad as what Charlie Brown was assuming was next. Hurrah?
And we end this batch with the debut of a man who would go on to be far better known as a vacuum cleaner salesman.
--Ryan
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Grey Cup liveblog
2:56 - Here we go! At this moment, TSN's showing some sort of snowy car race (play-by-play by the immortal Vic Rauter), but Grey Cup pregame starts in four minutes!
3:00 - I stand corrected. First they're going to update us on everything else going on in sports (mainly NFL football). NOW here's the pregame!
3:06 - Six minutes in, and we've already seen seven commentators - not including the two who will actually call the game. And hey, here's an interview with Joe Theismann, because there's nothing Canadians love more than seeing American football stars from the 1970s patronizing our game!
3:12 - Maybe the current Motts Garden Cocktail commercials would seem like less of a ripoff of the Philadelphia cream cheese angel if the latter commercials weren't still on the air.
3:23 - Tonight's atmosphere is going to really be something. You don't get the hometown team playing in the Grey Cup very often, and as I learned when I went to a Habs game last year, nobody does sports passion like Montrealers. (The post-1994 Expos don't count.)
3:27 - See, what they're not telling you is that Gus *has* to eat KFC because all those hobbies don't leave him any time to cook (and judging from the commercial, he doesn't have a wife).
3:35 - Dave Duvall, Montreal's kicker, is practicing field goals. TSN's desk is located directly behind the goalposts. My lifelong dream of seeing Dave Randorf get hit in the head with a football on-air might come true here.
3:44 - I was wondering what kind of hilarity would ensure as TSN tried to fill three hours of pre-game coverage. Unfortunately, it seems like they've found a solution to unintentional comedy - video packages. Blargh.
3:47 - Spoke too soon. Brian Williams is interviewing CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon, who is trying to argue that the fundamentals of his league are strong. And Ottawa's return has been pushed back another year.
3:56 - I'm doing a lot of multitasking here. Watching, blogging, snacking, and homework. So if you suddenly spy a whack of text in here on John Updike and Islam, that's why. Likewise if there's bite marks.
4:00 - There it is! The Grey Cup! And its honour guard of Mounties! Don't we get enough of the RCMP whenever Americans turn their attention up here? Also, the commentator count is now up to nine.
4:09 - DAVE NAYLOR! I completely forgot about him! That's ten, and we *still* have at least Chris Cuthbert to come! I bet TSN has more people in Olympic Stadium than the Expos did some weeks.
4:15 - The annual tribute to those CFL-connected people who have died in the past year. Unfortunately, there were a LOT this year, including at least five broadcasters. Hard to believe in a way.
4:36 - I was away from the TV for the last little while, and from what I heard, I think I missed some Dixieland music. Right now, there's a guy talking through Microsoft Sam. Halfway to kickoff!
4:47 - The fans are starting to trickle into the stands, which gives you some idea of just how big Olympic Stadium is. You barely even notice the roof, because the stands stretch so far back.
4:53 - We see a group of Baltimore Stallions fans in attendance (quite possibly the last Stallions fans on Earth). The Stallions were the only successful part of the CFL's ill-fated mid-90s American expansion, and they moved to Montreal after 1996. Baltimore went to the Grey Cup in two out of their three seasons of exitences, while Montreal has been in six of the last nine, meaning this might be the most successful franchise in the history of pro sports.
5:01 - So is the new trend in commercials to name and reference a specific (and likely fictitious) person, showing how your products relate to the average person? I've seen at least four examples of it so far today. Can I blame this on Joe the Plumber?
5:10 - I just realized I haven't made a prediction yet. Probably for the best.
5:11 - Okay, fine. Calgary. Probably by quite a bit.
5:19 - Pretty sure I just saw the referee signing autographs for a guy in a Saskatchewan jersey. Rider fans are awesome.
5:24 - I'm a little freaked out at the moment. Reading Updike, the main character is about to make a delivery in Camden (New Jersey, as that's where he's from and he can't legally drive a truck out of state). On TV, Brian Williams introduces a video feature on Avon Cobourne, wherein Williams travels to the town Avon grew up in - Camden, New Jersey.
5:28 - And as TSN goes to commercial, they focus on the Grey Cup in such a way that you can clearly make out the word 'excellency' on the bowl. In the book, the guy drives a truck for the Excellency furniture company. I think I'm being mocked.
5:33 - Special pregame live performance by Mobile! And only a few weeks after I decided that 'Out Of My Head' was the best song of 2007! (I'm slow with this stuff.)
5:37 - Wow. So, um, the lead singer really isn't that great live. And they only sang one song ('The Killer'). Hopefully the halftime show's better, although looking over the lineup makes me doubt it.
5:38 - "Anthony Calvillo plays every play like it's his last." Get ready for a lot of Hail Mary passes.
5:46 - They showed the pre-game speeches from each coach to their respective teams. That was different. Oh, and Rod Black brings the commentator count to an even dozen.
5:56 - There's not much to say about player introductions, but I think I was wrong before - a large portion of the roof seems to have been removed. Weird.
6:01 - Is it just me, or is the girl singing the national anthem something like 13 years old?
6:08 - Kickoff! And this crowd is LOUD!
6:14 - Montreal with a quick, efficient drive down the field, but they're stuffed at the goal line and settle for a field goal.
6:19 - Glen Suitor's (and Reggie Hunt's) favourite movie is Gladiator. This is one more trivial factoid about a ocmmentator than I expected to hear by this point.
6:28 - I had a dream last night that involved a smoked-salmon-and-cream-cheese flavour of instant oatmeal. I mention this in case it ever inexplicably becomes reality, in which case I can say I had the idea first. I have weird dreams.
6:34 - First quarter comes to a close (this seem fast to anyone else?). Still 3-0, but Calgary's in the midst of a big drive. Burris has yet to throw an incompletion. And my book's running out of time to turn itself around.
6:42 - 3-3 after a Calgary FG.
6:51 - I'm starting to think that there is no food which wouldn't seem appealing if it was featured in a Tim Horton's commercial.
6:56 - Touchdown Montreal, on a rush by the pride of Camden, New Jersey! 10-3!
7:07 - 13-3 Montreal after another field goal. Boy was I wrong.
7:14 - Twenty-yard pass leads to a touchdown for Calgary. Maybe I wasn't so wrong. 13-10, and probably going to halftime as such.
7:17 - Wow. With his helmet off, the guy who caught that ball can't be much older than me.
7:20 - Yep. 13-10, and time for the Diet Pepsi halftime show. Cue the jokes about how we only get a secondary brand as sponsor because we're a secondary league in a secondary country.
7:24 - I have absolutely no interest in seeing Vince Vaughan Celebrates Christmas With A Dysfunctional Family.
7:35 - But slightly more interest than I have in watching more of this halftime show.
7:45 - Last year's Grey Cup telecast was innundated with commercials for the Wendy's Bacontaor. So omnipresent were these commercials that, after the game, I went out and bought a Baconator. I haven't noticed any ads as oversaturated this year. Maybe Future Shop. At least it's not Viagra.
7:58 - Calgary's defence stops Montreal quickly, but Calgary's offense can't get anything going either.
8:05 - Told you I hadn't been following the CFL this year. I forgot Dave Dickenson was even in the league, let alone on Calgary. Too bad he's relegated to backup status (again).
8:07 - Huge run for Burris brings the Stamps to the 10. It's like Montreal just doesn't expect him to run, ever.
8:09 - And they don't get it in, settle for a field goal. We're tied, 13-13.
8:14 - Montreal goes up 14-13 after a botched punt. American viewers are now very confused.
8:20 - Calgary once again gets within ten yards of the endzone but has to settle for three. At least they're in front now, 16-14, as the third quarter ends.
8:24 - Old Dutch all-dressed potato chips, the official snack food of honeygarlic's Grey Cup coverage! I also ate half of a frozen pizza, but it wasn't that good, so they don't get sponsorship.
8:27 - 19-14 following another Calgary field goal. I smell strategy coming into play pretty soon.
8:33 - I like how, as Calgary has made their comeback, the announcers' narrative has changed from "Anthony Calvillo has never had much success in Grey Cups, maybe this time's going to be different" to "The knock on Henry Burris has always been that he can't win the big games, maybe he's about to dispel that myth!" They're not even being subtle about it.
8:35 - From the 20, Calvillo throws to the endzone and a Stampeder picks him off. If the TSN Turning Point still exists, that might be it.
8:41 - 50-yard field goal just makes it through the uprights, Calgary extends their lead to 22-14.
8:45 - Three-minute warning. Als basically need to score on this drive.
8:48 - They don't. Ended up punting. I don't think Calgary can run down the last two minutes and change, so Montreal should get one last shot.
8:56 - Here we go, last chance for the Als. 14 seconds of playing time, starting from their own 30 after an unexpectedly good punt return.
8:57 - It was working, but it takes them a moment too long and they don't get far enough. Stamps win! Here's hoping they don't break the trophy the way BC did a couple years ago. Less exciting than this year's Super Bowl, maybe even last year's Grey Cup. Still fun though.
Goodnight everybody!
9:04 - Okay, I thought I was done, but Jim Flaherty presenting the Grey Cup to the winning team was too funny not to mention.
--Ryan
Double-Clicking Madness!
Good thing there's the icon archive! It's got icons for all your Windows, Mac, or Linux needs!
Shown right are some examples of clever social-network icons to look like they were scanned from a ballpoint pen. (Maybe they were!) I just downloaded the Buuf collection for a wide variety of fun and excitement in my documents! Many of them have long names of perhaps inside jokes, and many of those are potentially obscene, but the icons turn out alright.
So point your browser to the icon archive today and find yourself something more fun to double-click!
--
D. Phillips
(p.s.: Ryan, I take it you gave up on labels... but I'll continue to use only the ones you've created. Now excuse me while I Google "Bovine" for the next half hour in preperation for my next post.)
Saturday, November 22, 2008
A preview of things to come
As the old saying goes, it's fun to liveblog anything.
(I'm not entirely sure how old that saying really is.)
Nevertheless, tomorrow marks the 96th installment of the Grey Cup, the annual championship of the Canadian Footbal League.
And while my following of the CFL this year has been somewhat lacking - I probably haven't watched more than five minutes of any one game - I'll be watching this one. Montreal against Calgary. From Montreal, no less.
TSN's pre-game coverage (and thus my liveblogging) starts at 3 PM. The game kicks off around six. Tentatively scheduled for 3:45 is me wondering why I'm devoting most of my day to watching football when I have lots of school stuff I could be doing.
--Ryan
Friday, November 21, 2008
Ho ho...no...
While working on something for next Wednesday's Sputnik, I realized that with only minor rejigging, part of it could make a pretty good blog. So without further ado, I present the four worst Christmas movies of all time!
(Note that in this case, "worst" does not mean "avoid at all costs", but rather "so bad they're good".)
4) Jingle All The Way. This one would be a lot higher if it wasn't (inexplicably) a moneymaking success. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a well-meaning business executive who leaves getting his son a Christmas gift until Christmas Eve. Unfortunately for the Governator, all the stores are sold out of Turbo Man action figures, and Arnie goes on a quest to find one, while being alternately aided and thwarted by a crazed mailman (Sinbad). Somehow this involves beating up several mall Santas. Oh, and Phil Hartman hits on Ahnold's wife. Best intentionally-funny quote: a caller to a radio station, trying to name Santa's reindeer - "Randy, Jermaine, Tito...". Best unintentionally-funny quote: Arnold escaping a bouncy castle while yelling "I AM NOT A PERVERT!".
3) Santa With Muscles. In theatres at the same time as Jingle All The Way - but far less successful - Santa With Muscles features Hulk Hogan as a bounty hunter who develops amnesia en route to saving an orphanage from Yuletide closure while thinking himself to be Jolly Old St. Nick. Amazingly, one of the more believable plots on this list.
2) Santa Claus. Made a strong case for #1, but it was originally in Spanish, so there's a chance (however slim) that the hilarity arises from poor translations. In this movie, Santa Claus does not live at the North Pole. Rather, he lives in a "gold and crystal palace". On a cloud. IN SPACE. And if that's not enough for you, his next-space-cloud neighbour is Merlin the Wizard, whose skills Santa needs to help fight Pitch, the devil's assistant. I'm not entirely sure if Christmas ever actually comes up in this one.
1) Santa Claus Conquers The Martians. See, this is the one where you'd expect Santa to be spaceborne. And possibly some sort of warrior. Neither are really true. Instead, Santa is kidnapped by a Martian leader who believes that Santa has the ability to make Martian kids happy for the first time in centuries. Two Earth children are captured as well, because otherwise they'd tell the authorities where Santa had disappeared to. (This isn't welcomed by the Earthlings, who try to hide from the Martians, at which point they encouter a man in a really bad polar bear costume, and opt to hide in a cave. Which the bear sees them go in. This doesn't lead to their cornering and death.) Naturally, some Martians are against this plan, and try to kill Santa instead. I don't want to spoil any more for you, you really just have to see it, even if you can only find the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version.
So this Christmas, ignore the little boy who just wants a BB gun, ignore the man who is visited by Christmas ghosts, and ignore the Muppets. Watch one of these instead. You'll be glad you did.
--Ryan
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
About time
Sometimes I have trouble thinking of something to blog about. Sometimes I have to scroll endlessly through news sites, or reach into a repository of ideas I've never fleshed out.
Other times, I see things like "global economies explained using cows". Those times it's pretty easy.
It wasn't exactly what I expected, but some of them are really funny. Surrealism is (perhaps unsurprisingly) my favourite.
--Ryan
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Ranch
Say what you will about Wendy's, but you have to admit that out of the big three global fast-food burger chains, they are by far the best. Best tasting, best value, freshest beef - and most importantly, best advertising campaigns.From Dave Thomas peddling his company's wares, to "unofficial spokesman" Mr. Wendy, to the animated Wendy's girl extolling the virtues of her employer, Wendy's has found commercials that, unlike any from their competitors, people remember.
And then there's the Ranch Tooth. That little guy (as seen on the right) popped up at inopportune moments to remind people how much they wanted something with a little ranch flavouring (playing on the idea of a 'sweet tooth').
It was only a matter of time until Wendy's shifted their focus to another product, and the Ranch Tooth was phased out. With no discernible skills other than subtly saying "ranch" every now and then, what was our lovable hero to do?
Well, since this is the 21st century, Toothy McGee did just what any of us would do - look to the Internet for help! The result is Ranch Tooth!, a downloadable application which, once installed, pops up on your desktop at random intervals to say 'Ranch'!
What an age we live in!
--Ryan
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Just call it Dr. Google
They say Santa Claus knows when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good, et cetera.
Good for him.
I could know all of that too, if I were to have a camera follow you around 24/7.
But does Santa Claus know when you've got the flu? Not unless you're outwardly displaying symptoms.
That's where Google, the Santa Claus of the 21st century, comes in - with Google Flu Trends!
GFT looks through all Google search logs, and highlights every search term related in some way to the flu. They then break them down for each US State - and through five years' worth of analysis, have determined that flu-related searches are generally higher when more people are reported sick with the flu.
Not only is this a neat little tool to tell you where the virus is going, traditional methods of gathering flu statistics generally take a week or two before completion, by which point most of those infected will be healthy. Google provides instantaneous data!
Best of all, maybe this will convince Madagascar to stop closing their ports as soon as somebody coughs.
--Ryan
P.S.: Look down! I've started using labels! Maybe not for their intended purpose, but baby steps, right?
Good for him.
I could know all of that too, if I were to have a camera follow you around 24/7.
But does Santa Claus know when you've got the flu? Not unless you're outwardly displaying symptoms.
That's where Google, the Santa Claus of the 21st century, comes in - with Google Flu Trends!
GFT looks through all Google search logs, and highlights every search term related in some way to the flu. They then break them down for each US State - and through five years' worth of analysis, have determined that flu-related searches are generally higher when more people are reported sick with the flu.
Not only is this a neat little tool to tell you where the virus is going, traditional methods of gathering flu statistics generally take a week or two before completion, by which point most of those infected will be healthy. Google provides instantaneous data!
Best of all, maybe this will convince Madagascar to stop closing their ports as soon as somebody coughs.
--Ryan
P.S.: Look down! I've started using labels! Maybe not for their intended purpose, but baby steps, right?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
CAUTION: Hot Beverage
I was watching some Japanese cartoon about a professor called "Mr. Despair" (or, I guess the Japanese equivalent of that... I'm sure it was a clever pun in their language), and it made a joke about Westerners suing over ridiculous things.You know the type of thing I mean. Like for sexual harassment when a teacher looks at a student for too long... Or suing McDonald's over serving too hot coffee. (With the new iced-coffee flavors, could someone file on brain-freeze? I should like to see that.)
What I'm getting at is, what ever happened to stupid lawsuits like that? Don't tell me America has smartened up... I want to see something really ridiculous like a town called Sin City suing the movie for slander. Or maybe someone suing a spam company after he falls for their game.
But I guess we've smartened up. It sure would rock if someone posted some current stupid lawsuit links in the comments section of this blog though!
--
D. Phillips
P.S.
On second thought, I actually hate this sort of thing. But I'm sure someone does, and they might find this site one day. Do it for them.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Border patrol
I haven't posted anything about Barack Obama's electoral victory last week yet. Although the real reason might be something closer to laziness, I'm going to say it's because there was an oversaturation of Obama-praise throughout the blogosphere and the rest of the media, and I wanted to offer something else. Sound good?
Something's been grating on my nerves quite a bit since last Tuesday. In the buildup to the election, the storyline was that an Obama win would prove that race no longer matters in the US. Since the election, I've seen story after article after roundtable discussion about the future of race relations in the America, what Obama's victory might signify, how history will remember this election...
...but all of that has been in the international media - BBC, CBC, TVO and the like. On CNN, in other major American outlets, the talk's been on policy, on the economic crisis, on the usual irrelevant celebrity news. Looks to me like America's gotten over their race problem just fine, it's the rest of the West that's still fixated on it.
Meanwhile, Canadian left-wingers have their own stories to follow, as the Liberal leadership race is heating up. Sort of. The big story over the weekend was that the methodology for picking the next leader has been determined. Now, I've recently become a fairly-serious political junkie, but even I find this "story" ridiculously dry.
A few weeks ago, I heard CTV-reporter-turned-filmmaker-and-occasional-Laurier-professor Rick Gamble talk about how the news media gets most of its stories through press releases, and how he once joked to his assignment editor that "if some kid opened up a lemonade stand and put out a press release, you'd have me cover it" (which did actually happen a couple of years later).
I think the same thing's going on here - the people who decide what the news is going to be see a Liberal Party press release, and think "Canada's natural governing party? Leadership? We're there!" - giving no thought to the idea that the few people who actually care about this news care enough to search it out on their own.
As for who the next Liberal leader will be, Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae still look like the front-runners. That's not necessarily as bad as some people are making it out to be when they complain that we need an Obama of our own. In fact, each of the last four times there was a Democrat elected in Washington while we had a Conservative PM, our next election was a Liberal victory (King, Pearson, Trudeau, Chretien).
What the Liberals need now is somebody who's a good speaker, able to win over more centrist Canadians, and move the party slightly to the right. Michael Ignatieff would probably fit this bill best, even if he's not the most exciting personality, and then he can hand off to Kennedy or Trudeau or LeBlanc or whomever to take the party in an exciting new direction.
Or at least, that's how I see it.
--Ryan
Something's been grating on my nerves quite a bit since last Tuesday. In the buildup to the election, the storyline was that an Obama win would prove that race no longer matters in the US. Since the election, I've seen story after article after roundtable discussion about the future of race relations in the America, what Obama's victory might signify, how history will remember this election...
...but all of that has been in the international media - BBC, CBC, TVO and the like. On CNN, in other major American outlets, the talk's been on policy, on the economic crisis, on the usual irrelevant celebrity news. Looks to me like America's gotten over their race problem just fine, it's the rest of the West that's still fixated on it.
Meanwhile, Canadian left-wingers have their own stories to follow, as the Liberal leadership race is heating up. Sort of. The big story over the weekend was that the methodology for picking the next leader has been determined. Now, I've recently become a fairly-serious political junkie, but even I find this "story" ridiculously dry.
A few weeks ago, I heard CTV-reporter-turned-filmmaker-and-occasional-Laurier-professor Rick Gamble talk about how the news media gets most of its stories through press releases, and how he once joked to his assignment editor that "if some kid opened up a lemonade stand and put out a press release, you'd have me cover it" (which did actually happen a couple of years later).
I think the same thing's going on here - the people who decide what the news is going to be see a Liberal Party press release, and think "Canada's natural governing party? Leadership? We're there!" - giving no thought to the idea that the few people who actually care about this news care enough to search it out on their own.
As for who the next Liberal leader will be, Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae still look like the front-runners. That's not necessarily as bad as some people are making it out to be when they complain that we need an Obama of our own. In fact, each of the last four times there was a Democrat elected in Washington while we had a Conservative PM, our next election was a Liberal victory (King, Pearson, Trudeau, Chretien).
What the Liberals need now is somebody who's a good speaker, able to win over more centrist Canadians, and move the party slightly to the right. Michael Ignatieff would probably fit this bill best, even if he's not the most exciting personality, and then he can hand off to Kennedy or Trudeau or LeBlanc or whomever to take the party in an exciting new direction.
Or at least, that's how I see it.
--Ryan
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The History of Peanuts (Part IV)
As I explained last week, people seem to be at least a little bit interested in this subject (at least interested enough for multiple people to Google it every day and end up here), so it's back. Parts one, two, and three, should you care.
As always, click on the picture for a larger version.
We last left our colourful cast of children in late 1953, with Charlie Brown professing his fondness for 'plaid' ice cream. Additionally, Charles Schulz was making frequent musical puns, as illustrated here:
You know, I'm *sure* that when I flagged that comic for inclusion many months ago, I was going to comment on something Liszt wrote (Finlandia? Did he compose Finlandia? Do I rememeber Finlandia?) - but it's long been forgotten. Your loss.
Poor Snoopy. Had he remembered this trick forty years later, he could have made a killing on the talk show circuit. Incidentally, I just tried balancing various common household objects on my ears, and they all either fell off or got stuck in much the same way one would stick a pencil on their ear. I want big ears.
Forty years, however, would *not* have been enough time to see significant advancements in 3D technology. I remember 3D Dinosaur Adventure, a computer game I had as a kid which came with the same glasses, and 3D effects that were negligible at best.
(However, I will point out that we've now improved that technology, culminating in the impending release of Toy Story 3D.)
And the final strip of the evening has me questioning its entire premise. If Charlie Brown is even 5 years old in this strip (probably a safe minimum bet), he'd have been born in 1949. It's certainly not unreasonable to think that even a very young grandfather probably wasn't born later than 1900. Weren't boys and girls segregated in schools in the late 19th century/early 20th century? Or was that only Catholic schools?
And what's an inkwell?
--Ryan
(Normal service will resume soon. In the meantime, enjoy the tea and biscuits being brought around by the stewardesses. We will depart as soon as we have received our delivery of lemon-soaked paper napkins.)
As always, click on the picture for a larger version.
We last left our colourful cast of children in late 1953, with Charlie Brown professing his fondness for 'plaid' ice cream. Additionally, Charles Schulz was making frequent musical puns, as illustrated here:
You know, I'm *sure* that when I flagged that comic for inclusion many months ago, I was going to comment on something Liszt wrote (Finlandia? Did he compose Finlandia? Do I rememeber Finlandia?) - but it's long been forgotten. Your loss.
Poor Snoopy. Had he remembered this trick forty years later, he could have made a killing on the talk show circuit. Incidentally, I just tried balancing various common household objects on my ears, and they all either fell off or got stuck in much the same way one would stick a pencil on their ear. I want big ears.
Forty years, however, would *not* have been enough time to see significant advancements in 3D technology. I remember 3D Dinosaur Adventure, a computer game I had as a kid which came with the same glasses, and 3D effects that were negligible at best.
(However, I will point out that we've now improved that technology, culminating in the impending release of Toy Story 3D.)
And the final strip of the evening has me questioning its entire premise. If Charlie Brown is even 5 years old in this strip (probably a safe minimum bet), he'd have been born in 1949. It's certainly not unreasonable to think that even a very young grandfather probably wasn't born later than 1900. Weren't boys and girls segregated in schools in the late 19th century/early 20th century? Or was that only Catholic schools?
And what's an inkwell?
--Ryan
(Normal service will resume soon. In the meantime, enjoy the tea and biscuits being brought around by the stewardesses. We will depart as soon as we have received our delivery of lemon-soaked paper napkins.)
Friday, November 7, 2008
May the Farce be with you
Royal Canadian Air Farce, the long-running CBC sketch comedy show, is in the midst of its final few episodes, with the grand finale coming on December 31.
While Air Farce was seldom as good as This Hour Has 22 Minutes, particularly when the latter had Rick Mercer or Mark Critch, it was still a solid ground for satire of Canadian politics.
The official Air Farce site I linked to above contains video clips of their entire 15-year TV run - in fact, every episode ever, which is really quite remarkable.
There are song parodies ('Osama Sama Ding Song'), celebrity guest stars (Peter Mansbridge and a whole lot of politcians), and lots more!
--Ryan
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
CBS May Have Covered the Election in HD, but CNN Covered it in 3D!
Ryan did a post on something I usually write about? Then Danny's writing on CNN's election coverage.
So, who saw the holographic interview on CNN last night? Yeah, me neither... I just channel surfed through it.
From the second or two that I saw, I thought it was very well done. They kept camera angles consistent... and even though Jessica Yellin seemed to have no feet, it's a step in the direction of the Simone film.
The difference between this and things like this in the past is just that it's a live broadcast, I suppose. Something about it seems fancier than your typical green screen... and I hope it's not the glow that's surrounding the hologram. And yet, we've still seen live things like this in the past from CNN.
--
D. Phillips
So, who saw the holographic interview on CNN last night? Yeah, me neither... I just channel surfed through it.
From the second or two that I saw, I thought it was very well done. They kept camera angles consistent... and even though Jessica Yellin seemed to have no feet, it's a step in the direction of the Simone film.
The difference between this and things like this in the past is just that it's a live broadcast, I suppose. Something about it seems fancier than your typical green screen... and I hope it's not the glow that's surrounding the hologram. And yet, we've still seen live things like this in the past from CNN.
--
D. Phillips
Monday, November 3, 2008
Analyze this!
Dan usually handles the technological blogging, but since he clearly doesn't want to talk about this one, I guess it's up to me.
Google Analytics is a handy service from Google which, once you've signed up, gives you information on the people who visit your website. There is an incredible level of depth in the information tracked, and as the easiest way to explain it all, here are some highlights from this blog:
All stats taken from October 1st to October 31st, as it seemed like the simplest period. In that time...
Google Analytics is a handy service from Google which, once you've signed up, gives you information on the people who visit your website. There is an incredible level of depth in the information tracked, and as the easiest way to explain it all, here are some highlights from this blog:
All stats taken from October 1st to October 31st, as it seemed like the simplest period. In that time...
- We had 470 visits from 332 different visitors.
- The average visitor looked at 1.56 pages and spent 1 minute 5 seconds on the site (not counting time spent looking at the last/only page they visited).
- The vast majority of those 470 visits came from North America - 222 from Canada, 159 from the US - but we also had visitors from locales as exotic as Malaysia, Belgium, South Africa, and Honduras.
- The top city for visitors was Brantford, with 113 visits (no more than 74 of which were me), followed by Kitchener (30), Toronto (20), and London (13).
- The top non-Canadian city was a tie between Santa Clara (CA), New York City, Chicago, and Sydney (AU), with three visits each.
- With 33 visits, October 15 (the day after the election) was by far the busiest day on honeygarlic all month. The least busy day was October 25, with seven visits. Most days averaged between 14 and 20 visits.
- 239 visits (or just over 50%) were from people using Firefox - impressive, since I was by far the top visitor and I still use IE.
- 412 visits from Windows users, 45 from Macs, 13 from Linux.
- 4 visits from the odd combination of Apple's Safari browser and Windows.
- 1280x800 is the most popular screen resolution for our visitors, narrowly beating out 1280x768 and 1024x768. Highest resolution is 1920x1200 (how this nine-time visitor hasn't gone blind is beyond me), smallest is 720x480 (didn't know that was still possible).
- There were 53 views for Part I of my long-forgotten "History of Peanuts" series, and other 67 views for the January 2008 archive (which contains all three parts of that I did). The
Internet has spoken, and I guess I'll be going back to that sometime. - 150 visits came through Google, with 53 of them searching out "is xkcd shitty today" and presumably landing at Dan's post on that subject.
- Second place is 8 searches for "brantford international jazz festival blog" (if you think that's a wide gap, another 20 or so searches were for derivatives of "is xkcd shitty today").
- One person seems to think that rather than favouriting the blog homepage, they can just continually search out my review of the Oxford Circus restaurant and get here through that.
- Out of the 75 different search terms which led people here, I can't decide if my favourite is "how many moles of pencil lead are there in 10 hand written copy of mole pledge" or "what song is dun na na yeah highs chool bands play". I'm sure neither of them found what they were looking for.
Well I found it interesting.
--Ryan
(P.S.: All together now...dun na na YEAH! Dun na na YEAH!)
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