The Globe and Mail: Liberal resigns over vulgar blog

Count this as another example of what

The Liberal Party Thinks of You

Okay the last time it was the fact that the Liberal intelligensia think you're incapable of being a good parent. Now we find find another high ranking Liberal decides its okay to use ethnic slurs against candidates of other parties. Yes by now we've all heard how Mike Klander has described Olivia Chow to a chow-chow. Or how Rahim Jaffer is an ethnic. Oh but Liberals will say, Mike is a great guy, he worked on Paul Martin's campaign team. He's a respected leader. I mean he supports diversity. In fact this is what one person said: Mike has been a long-time Liberal and holds the Liberal values of diversity and tolerance and inclusiveness so [making racial remarks] certainly wasn't his intention. His intention was to have a humorous site with some biting humour that he and some fellow Liberals could [read]. He recognized there's a couple of things that crossed the line.

No, let me tell you about the real Mike, he is a racist. He has to be, one doesn't wake up one morning and make racist remarks. Deep down inside him it's obvious he has problems with people of other races and groups running for office.

Another thing, he called people who wear cowboy hats, 'gay'. Oh wow, what a slam. Like you hear that word used as an insult in a lot of SCHOOLYARDS. In other words, besides being racist and homophobic, he's also immature.

Yes a fine outstanding Liberal.

The Globe and Mail: Martin aide apologizes for child-care comment

What the Liberals think about you

Every so often the Liberals will tell you what they think about you, the average Canadian. You'll not read about it in their campaign literature, or their rather dumb television ads, because that's too controlled, but every so often, someone like Scott Reid comes along and shares with you what they, the Liberals, think about us.

The incident in question was a debate on televison, Mr. Reid was criticizing the Conservative plan of giving families $1200 per year for each child under six, rather then developing a national day care program. The Conservatives want flexibility and want to give people the choice. But I digress, what is so fascinating is his comment about the Conservative plan. He said Working families need care," he said. "They need care that is regulated, safe and secure and that's what we're building here. Don't give people $25 a week to blow on beer and popcorn. Give them child-care spaces that work.

In other words, the average Canadian is an idiot and if given a few extra dollars would blow it on a case of 2-4 or microwave popcorn. Notice he didn't say, give families extra money ahd they'll blow it on food, clothing and shoes for their children. Nor did he say, if the children are infants, they'll blow it on formula, diapers or food. No, because in his mindset, the average Canadian can't be trusted to do the right thing. That's why the Liberal party is here, to control us. You see, they leave us just enough money to buy the basics and trust me, if they could get away with it, they'd tax us at 100& and give us all food stamps and coupons to purchase the goods we need.

Now someone might think this is just an isolated statement from somebody speaking before their brain started working, then you get Mr. John Duffy, another high ranking Liberal, who said that he agreed with the statement wholeheartedly. Again, this is the thinking of the Liberals, you are a simpleton. You can't be trusted, it is up to the Liberals to make sure we don't do anything dumb.

There's another thing about this, it's our money. You see governments do not make money, they take money. The return some of it back, but most of the time it stays with them.

Remember this is the same party that had no trouble giving millions to Liberal friendly ad agencies in Quebec. Money that was later siphoned off to the Liberal Party in Quebec by the way. They had no problem with that idea, but giving hard working Canadian parents $1200 a year is a problem.

Let me make a suggestion, let's set aside a special day to bring to the local Liberal campaign office, a bag of microwave popcorn.

Peace

The Issue that dare not Speak its Name

I'm talking about AdScam. The Gomery Inquiry revealed widespread corruption within the Liberal Party of Canada, yet the National Media, or MSM seems silent. Yes you have a few articles here and there, but no one seems to be pressing the issue at all.

I remember writing quite a while ago that if that happened in the States, the Press would have been all over it, in fact journalists would be fighting to break the news. This is because they would know whoever takes credit better rent a tuxedo because the Pulitzer is all but theirs.

As an aside, visit the Gomery Inquiry webpage and go to the section labelled Who is Responsible? Summary it makes for some incredible reading. In fact, make sure your local Liberal candidate sees it too. Why not drop a copy off at their campaign office. Plaster the sign posts nearby with it. If your liberal candidate is an incumbent, when they knock on your door ask them only two questions:

What Did you Know about AdScan?
and
When did you know it?

Peace

Christmas Elf Name

This is a bit of fun

Christmas Elf Name My Christmas Elf Name is Get your Christmas Elf Name at JokesUnlimited.com

CBC News: Martin takes aim at handguns

Why do I think this will not work. Sadly this is the typical knee-jerk reaction to a problem that is vaster then rap music. Paul wants to ban handguns in Canada. Yes an outright ban on them.

Now wait a minute, I thought the billion dollar boondoggle called the Gun Registry was supposed to deal with the problem of guns and crime.n Well it did in a way, it threatened to make law abiding citizens criminals if they didn't registered their guns by a certain date. I guess this means the program failed. In fact I think the problem with guns in Canada is most of the guns being used in crime aren't registered.

So why won't the ban not work, simple, criminals don't really care about the law. That's why they are criminals, they tend to break the law. Why Paul thinks the gun play will end because he has said so is beyond me.

Of course this is one of those motherhood issues, if you stand up and say this is idiotic, then you come across as being soft on crime, yadda yadda yadda.

What is needed is one of two things, perhaps even three. One, mandatory jail time for anyone who uses a weapon to commit a crime. Use a handgun, tack on a minimum ten years, no parole, no time out for good behavior. Straight ten years. Second, get a greater police presence in areas of high crime. Of course the problem with this is when you have a soft headed mayor like they have in Toronto who doesn't like the police. The third thing is give people more opportunity to better themselves through education and job training. Let's be honest a person holding down a good job is not likely to commit a crime. I realize this doesn't apply all the time but still.

Notice, nowhere did I say anything about banning guns, rap or Fifty Cents.

By the way, one more thing about Buzz's strategy, it will backfire. People will vote Liberal instead of NDP and that might mean a strong Liberal presence with an almost non-existent NDP. Hope you like that cushy federal appointment Buzz. Oh by the way, ever read Dante's Inferno, there's a special place called Coctyus, it's the place reserved for traitors.

Election 2006

I have to admit this was a shocker at first, after all the President of the CAW endorsing the Liberals. What would be the possible motivation for such a thing. Of course Buzz Hargrove's answer would be along the lines of a Liberal minority government backed by the NDP will ensure a socially sensitive government. It will be the case of the tail wagging the dog, in other words the NDP will be to extort all sorts of policy that would not normally wouldld be there.

Then I realized the awful truth, Buzz Hargrove is interested in only one thing and that is Buzz Hargrove. Why would Buzz support a party that has no interest in any socially enlightened policy, three words Cushy Government Appointment. I'm sure there's some federal agency that Buzz could become the president of. Perhaps some agency that has to do with workers' rights or something. Buzz is getting old and looking for some well paying job with a great pension.

Would Buzz sell out his party for selfish interests?

In a New York Minute.

Peace

Sympatico / MSN Entertainment : Celebs : Gossip : Paris goes pop

Consider with me the failed strategies of the RIAA.

1) Get court injunctions against P2P companies-all this did was foster the development of other less centralized P2P software.

2) Sue everybody who has a computer- slowed down file sharing for a bit, but it's back.

3) install rootkits on CD's- ended up getting everyone mad at Sony. By the way, Sony is now on the receiving end of lawsuits.

All those have failed but now the Recording Industry has produced a plan which will guarantee the end of file sharing- allow no talent gorms to launch music careers. Paris Hilton wants to be a pop star, what wasn't Ashley Simpson painful enough?

Now some may say that I'm being a bit unfair, how do I know Paris Hilton is talentless? Ask yourself this question, has she exhibited any talent with the exception of getting her name into the press?

Oh and a message for Pete Waterman, you're considered a genius, the mark of real genius is to know when to turn down a project that will forever scar your reputation.

Peace

Free Office Suite

Thought I would take a few minutes to talk about my new favourite office suite. As you can see by the title, I've included the word "free".

No, I'm not talking about downloading some illegal copy of Microsoft Office, rather I'm talking about Open Office 2.0. It's available at this website. It features all you want in a suite, a word processor, spreadsheet, database and a presentation program. I've been using it and truly enjoying it. There was a bit of a learning curve just finding the features I require that I was familiar with, once that happened I'm off and running.

I highly recommend this latest manifeatation. Also, because it's open source we can all play a part in its enhancement and improvement.

Support Open Source Software.

Peace

I got this book out of the library and spent the last week reading it. I wasn't sure about it, considering it was written at the end of the 20th century. The premise of the book is that the children of the Baby Boom are the ones ready to take over the Internet. They are so used to it and so comfortable with it that they put their elders to shame. It is a very positive book which is in contrast with much of what the mainstream media still produces about the Internet. The MSM reports that, you can find the formula for Crystal Meth, or there are nothing but predators using the 'Net and all that stuff. The author, Don Tapscott based his book on observation and conversation with members of Generation-N. He has a webpage based upon his book, it's called Growing Up Digital. One point he makes is that this generation is growing up away from Television, in fact he has one part of the book that refers to the Net as being the antithesis of television. Television is states is passive, you sit there and watch absorbing what ever message that is comihng across.

Now we have the Net and what impressed me was his comment on the interactivity of the Internet, which is active. Certainly many thought the Net would be just television on computer, again one way with very little interaction. He says it's the opposite and all this was written before Blogs and before IM really took off.

He mentions the difference in politics between the two, my generation produced the 20 second sound bites and commercials that do not discuss or articulate opinions but rather simple demonize the other side. Certainly with an election coming in Canada, we will see this, Paul Martin will declare Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have a hidden agenda or they are Anti-Canadian, you know the usual stuff. Generation Net on the other hand believes in interaction, they want answers and not fluff.

If this is true, then this may be a very interesting election. I wrote last time an open letter to Bono telling him how things operate in Canada, visualize an election where Paul faces thousands of very angry U2 fans, who believe the same things Bono does, who believes we need to do more for Africa for example.

I wonder, speaking of the election, if this will be the election in Canada where blogs come to their own, like the 2004 election in the States?

My one 17 year old daughter is very disappointed about the election, she turns 18 two days after the election, she so wanted to vote. She is going to vote Green.

By the way, I'm listening to the the Mighty Q, Bill Waters states if the Liberals are returned to power, he will never vote again. I have to agree. Listen if you think that all politicians are crooks so why bother, then you are letting those who are corrupt win.

More about the election later.

Peace

ottawasun.com - Ottawa and Region - He still hasn't found what he's looking for

Dear Bono

Welcome to the cold harsh reality of Canadian politics. I hate to say this my friend, but you were used by Paul Martin.

You see Bono, Mr. Martin cares not a whit for Africa or the needs of that continent. Yes he will say he is concerned, especially if there's an election coming and he needs a famous celebrity for a photo op ( which is a photo opportunity-just in case you didn't know), but otherwise, Africa means nothing to him and his government.

While the name is Liberal, the policy of the government is more monetarist and isolationists. This is a government that would rather squander millions on their friends use government funds on concrete social policy.

I must point out to you that the current and past Liberal governments have a litany of broken promises and while you are 'mystified' by the failure of Paul Martin to come across with more aid, here in Canada, it's just one more broken Liberal promise. Something we have sadly become very accustomed too.

One word of advice, the next time Paul Martin calls you, tell him your very busy.

By the way, the concert you and the band put on in Detroit was incredible.

Your fan

Paul

Aerial by Kate Bush

As you may have heard, Kate Bush has ended her 12 year hiatus with the release of the new CD, Aerial. It is an amazing CD, it has all the uniqueness and warmth one remembers from Kate Bush. It at times, seems a combination of Kate and one of those "Nature Solitude" CD's, equal parts relaxation and nature sounds. However it is better, since it has some incredible lyrics and her voice will simply mesmerize you.

Go ahead, get it. I've already put it on my iPod.

EMI Says Apple's Jobs Will Change ITunes Pricing - Forbes.com

So the President of EMI says Steve Jobs wants to go along with the scheme of introducing multi-tier pricing in the iTunes Music store. This after Mr. Jobs called the Music Industry "greedy". In fact he said that in response to comments made by the Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. He said the industry is being greedy for wanting to introduce the multi-level of costs.

The idea is this, the new stuff, the popular stuff will cost more. The older stuff or the music that really bad will be at the $0.99 level.

You have to wonder if the Music Industry is still familiar with the concept of peer to peer sharing of files? I guess they believe because Kazaa got busted in Australia and Grokster was killed by the US Supreme Court they are back as the 'only game in town'. Well let's not tell them about Bit Torrent shall we?

What makes this interesting is Sony BMG is also backing the effort, what the debacle of the rootkit wasn't enough?? Let's be honest whne the release of CD's shows another decrease, the industry should point to the heavy handed and illegal efforts of the industry to screw with our computers.

Steve Jobs understands computers and the people who use them, he knows that if the users feel they are getting screwed again, they will simply go back to all the methods out there to get music and will tell the industry to get stuffed all over again.

Steve said: ""If they want to raise the prices, it means that they are getting greedy," . "If the price goes up, they (consumers) will go back to piracy and everybody loses."" . I will say it again, the consumer will not lose, they will go back to free.


Peace

DRM this, Sony! - CNET.com

BOYCOTT SONY!!!

Sony Boycott Blog

Boycott Sony

Boycott Sony Petition

BetaNews | Lawsuit Fights Back Against Sony DRM

So one lawsuit has been initiated by Sony by the State of California and soon another one by the State of New York, and when consumers
get into the act it could mean a whole lot of litigatory acts leveled at Sony-BMG Music.

You know, it's funny but Sony, as part of the RIAA has been suing people right left and centre and now, chickens have come home to roost.

Removing Sony's CD 'rootkit' kills Windows | The Register

So not only does the nasty program found on some Sony-BMG Music CD's leave your computer open to all sort of security issues and potential attack from hackers there is also this.

Getting rid of it may cause your computer to not work properly, causing a person to format and re-install windows.

Can anyone say "Lawsuit"???

Editorial: Let Us Pay

I took the time to read this editorial from All the World magazine. It is about international ministry and missions. What got my attention is the editorial dealing with debt relief aid and the Christian response.

It is still an important issue, the third and fourth world is still paying more money in debt payment then in the development of a superstructure or to meet the social needs of the nations. Often as well, as part of debt payments, governments are forced to privatize social services to pay off the debt. For example, in Nicaragua, the government has been forced to privatize parts of its water services. It is done because the IMF and development banks want it done. You can read about it here.

As you can believe, the companies that are established are often part of large multi-national corporations and so the money flows from the poorest to the wealthiest.

All that leaves is further impoverishment.

End the Debt.

One.org
Make Poverty History
debt, AIDS ,Trade, Africa

Annuaire Mondial de la Partition Gratuite - World Wide Directory of Free Sheet Music

If I can add one more comment for tonight: this is a very interesting site. It is as it is, free sheet music, in .pdf file format.

New Scientist SPACE - Breaking News - The World's Best Space Sci-Fi Ever: Your verdict

Another interesting poll of sci-fi fans. This one has books, television and movies as the groups to consider.

What is interesting is the position of "Firefly" and "Serenity". While they are both great in fact I agree with putting "Serenity ahead of the last three Star Wars movies, I don't know if it should have first place over all. To me that honour should go to 2001: A Space Odessy. I would have also placed "Blade Runner" in the top 10, perhaps even the top 5. Also I would have included the first Matrix movie, which was simply astonishing and was far better received then the first Star Wars movie.

What about television? Firefly may be the best sci-fi series, if you consider the fact that it is such a refreshing change. Some more additions, the original "Outer Limits" and "The Twilight Zone" to add a few. Good to see Dr. Who in the top 5.

Now books, good choice overall. Can't argue with this placement.

Last night my daughter and I attended BookFest Windsor a three day event at the Art Gallery of Windsor. It's a relatively new event, this being it's fourth year of existence. I must admit it was quite an event, we attended the The Story Teller's Bash that featured four authors discussing their experience, answering questions and reading from some of their writings. The authors were Caroline Adderson, Austin Clarke, Russell Smith and Leon Rooke.

All shared their stories of growing up in either households were reading and books were an important part to the horrors of touring across Canada. The horrors were the funniest often sharing the theme of showing up at a place and either having no one come fot the reading, or hearing voices from the recently departed ( you had to have been there). The 'failures' sometimes were followed by going to the local Legion and getting nicely plastered.

It was the readings that were a great part of the entertainment and they were entertaining. Each gave their unique voice to some super stories. But certainly the highlight was Leon Rooke reading a chaper and putting all his emphasis into the action of some one chasing a bus. He had the place roaring with laughter and applauding his effort.

Russell Smith mentioned that the men of Windsor must be cool since the audience that night had a strong contingent of men, which was far from the norm. Not having attended one of these before, I cannot vouch, but with his experience, it's probably true.

What makes this interesting is that it is Windsor demonstrating quite a vibrant literary culture. Certainly the image often portrayed of Windsor is that of a dull industrial city that is now inundated with bars, a Casino and all the vices that follow. Yet it is developing a community of culture that is quite impressive, especially when you consider that the city is often not on the cultural map of Canada.

To demonstrating the developing culture, there's also a

film festival. The Windsor International Film Festival is providing the showing of a number of interesting movies at some of the cinema milieus in the city and the county.

Quite impressive events for a place known more for minivans then the arts.

I wanted to encourage all who read this blog to make sure you buy a poppy from a member of the Royal Canadian Legion this week. I'm on the second one. So when you see them standing outside banks, or if you see the cardboard container, toss a loonie or whatever loose change in your pocket and wear it as your way of saying thanks.

As I thought about the reasons for the sacrifice, I recall these men went off to fight against an evil, a darkness and a tyranny that would have instituted a new dark age, if I man quote Winston Churchill. Then I realized there is still darkness in corners of our world today.

Freedom is still not enjoyed and I point you in direction of 'Abd al-Raziq al-Mansuri who is in jail for writing critical things about the Libyan government on his blog. While the government claims he was arrested for possessing firearms, it is likely he was arrested for his comments on his blog.

Remember him and others who are still fighting for freedom.

Chretien's Legacy

With the Gomery report now out, at least the preliminary one, it's time to consider what the legacy of M. Jean Chretien will be. I understand he put on quite a performance when he let off a verbal assault against the findings. But consider with me some of the highlights of his time as PM.

1) His office came under suspicion for violating the civil rights of a number of students at UBC. Seems demonstrators were arrested, pepper sprayed and generally harrassed because the government didn't want the then President of Indonesia, Suharto offended by seeing signs calling him a butcher.

2) While he was walking around the country doing his best Afred E. Neumann imitation, people like Jean Charet were trying to keep Quebec in confederation. When Chretien finally realized he needed to do something, the vote came in and the separatist lost by 51000. Later Chretien had the good idea of using federal funds to enhance the federal government's role in Quebec, as well as 'brand' Canada. So money was poured in and the results was AdScam. The allegation is money was siphoned from this fund and given to the Liberal Party of Canada. Read the highlights as given by the Winnipeg Free Press.

3) He cancelled the helicopter replacement project, thus forcing members of the Canadian Armed Forces to deal with aging and ancient equipment.

4) Kashechewan is now a household word synonymous with all that is wrong with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. This community has been under a boiled water alert for two years and probably more. Chretien was at one time Minister of Indian Affairs and in fact felt one of his great legacies with the new Indian Act and making life better for the First Nations, pity Kashechewan wasn't included. By the way,this is only one of many reserves that have this problem.

5) GST, you still paying it?

6) Voter cynicism. He elevated cynical politics to a fine art, calling elections when none were required.

7) With all that has happened in Quebec, the end result of the sponsorship program has been a resurgence in the Separatist movement in Quebec. It should have died of natural causes but now it has new life.

8) Canada-US relations at historic lows.

9) Used submarines. They still aren't working and one death is attributed to the fact that the UK unloaded junk on us.

Need I say more?

I have just completed the book Darknet: Hollywood's War against the Digital Generation. It is a study how Hollywood and by this the author means the entertainment/culture industry that controls a lot of what we hear, read, listen and watch. It encompasses both music and movies. He examines how Hollywood has reacted to the digital culture that is now the reality of our age.

With the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and almost yearly changes to copyright, the vast majority of people in the US and Canada can now be considered criminals. If you download, sample or watch anything over any P2P network or Bit Torrent, you are now a criminal. In a recent TWITS broadcast (#27), John D. Dvorak mentioned that all this copyright is part of the sovietization of American culture, by that he meant the laws are so draconian it makes anyone a criminal. Therefore the state had the right at any time to arrest anyone, since they were probably criminals anyway. This explains the RIAA's action of lawsuit. They figure since most people are doing it anyway, no matter who they snare, they are guilty of priacy.

what is amazing is how black and white Big Entertain is towards the digital culture, they believe it is the tool of present and future piracy and are bent on using everything in their power to stop it. Even if it means crippling present technology and kneecapping future technology.

The title "Darknet" refers to the underground of the Internet where copying takes place and is the ulitmate source of all things culture. They operate because they can and Hollywood is unable to stop it.

The author describes some of the people who are using the digital culture to enhance their work and life and for the most part what they are doing is considered illegal. Not that these people are going out of their way to do illegal acts, it's just the law makes them that. Normally law abiding citizens are criminals by the definition of groups such as the RIAA and the MPAA. Their spokesmen refuse to concede anything but call all such individuals as pirates.

The author, J.D. Lasica has a website with up to date information on the struggle between creativity and copyright.

One of the optimist chapters is the one I almost missed, he talked about games and how modders have been an asset to the industry. By pushing the envelope of their hardware, gamers have been able to do interesting things, plus the modding of the games and software has led to some fascinating results.

While one review commented on the fact the book is one of many, its worth reading to get you involved in saving your digital rights.

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Ipods

So I came across this article and website that simply disgusted me. What it featured was a video clip of this person from Toronto (figures) who decided to purchase an Apple iPod. Now understand he didn't have the resources to do it, rather he requested donations for this project. When he gathered enough people, and it was going to cost him $400.00 he proceeded to the nearest Apple store to make the purchase. He bought a 20gig iPod. Upon purchasing the said item, he took it out of the box, in the store, and began to stomp it with his foot. Needless to say the devised was smashed into pieces. Later the video shows him leaving and then taking a hammer to the devise to wreck it even further.

I know some people are going to hate the iPod because of all the hype but really, to smash one into pieces. This is ridiculous. Then again I don't know if it is even more ridiculous that people donated money for him to do just this.

I am not including the website for obvious reasons. This sort of person simply is annoying and after he enjoys his 15 minutes of webfame, should return to his job in the fast food industry.

U2 in Detroit

This past Tuesday I was able to enjoy my birthday present from one of my daughters, two tickets to see U2 in Detroit. It was first time to see the band live and let me say they did not disappoint. I can think of three words that can describe the concert A Maze Ing. I've heard they put on a good show, and they did. It was great, a mixture of both their classic hits, Sunday, Bloody Sunday, Where the Streets have no name and Pride to name a few. Of course this being the Vertigo tour, there were a number of songs from their new CD How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. As well, they played Beautiful Day and Miss Sarajevo which is a very moving song. Some of the unique moments; when Bono asked the crowd to show their cell phones, the place lit up. He asked everyone to text a message to this number. The number was for One.org, it's a group dedicated to AIDS works and debt relief in Africa. You could pick up a silicon bracelet, which I did. It's white and so yes I am now one of the silicon bracelet wearing people you see.

I went to the U2 website, and found the list of songs played. Here it is. We also bought a t-shirt each and I got a couple of buttons.

I also read at the website that the band will be releasing a DVD of the concert. I think I shall buy it, yes I shall.

It was a great night, and I do want to attend another U2 concert.

Peace

What's playing on My iPod

Wired Magazine had a regular article in which people were asked what was playing on their ipods. I mentioned in an earlier blog what sort of podcasts I was listening too. I have to admit it was techie stuff, Techphile and this week in technology or TWITS. As well, Diggnation.

Now I have branched out; I listen now to: UNICEF which gives some good background on third world events, Grace to You, the podcast of the ministry of John MacArthur. He's got a great bible study radio program. Other ones are the CBC Radio3 podcast, which is a compilation of new and undiscovered Canadian talent. Then there is a neat sci-fi one called EscapePod. This gives some interviews and some readings, plus news for sci-fi geeks.

Another one I found, and this is good news for all Browncoats is the Signal a "firefly" podcast.

Understand, you don't need to have a iPod to listen to these, simply download them all to your computer and enjoy listening.

p2pnet.net - the original daily p2p and digital media news site

I think if I did a blog covering the RIAA and their ongoing malfeasance I would never run out of things to comment about on a daily basis.

To give the quick backgroun, the RIAA decided to sue Candy Chan for possessing pirated material and being a distributor. She claims no knowledge and told the court it was her daughter Candy that was the evil-doer. She had the handle. So immediately the RIAA went after the 12 year old girl. Here's some of the documents. They want to appoint a guardian for her during these proceedings. The end result of all this was the plantiff's motion was denied. Good for the courts, at least with Candy Chan. The matter is now, will the RIAA decide to go after Britanny or will they realize how stupid they look and how this will damage what little credibility they have with the public.

One chart for example shows that p2p file sharing has tripled since the start of the lawsuits. Good idea guys and gals, perturb your clienteles even further.

This is an example that the citizens have decided the actions of the RIAA is wrong and should be ignored.

Record labels, satellite radio seen in showdown - Yahoo! News

Another one for the "Music Industry Doesn't Get it" file. Now they want to have a show down with satellite radio. In particular the fact that there is a new radio coming out that will store music. A couple of decades ago, all stereo systems came with tape players. Each one of them had a "record" button.

Now the industry wants the right to veto all technology that they deem may have a negative effect on them. This is ridiculous, no industry should have the power to control and stifle new technology. Which is exactly what they are doing. They should be thankful people still want to listen to anything they produce. Consider the difference in technology; Sony produced a sony walkman minidisc player that could be used to record or download digital music. It's a nice player, good sound, but the software is so clumsy that it's hard to do what you want. Then there is the Apple iPod, a wonderful devise that has iTunes, which is very easy to use and you can download music quickly and easily. Which is more popular? Sony's devise or Apples? Now imagine if the industry gets away with dictating technology, goodbye any improvements to the iPod because after all you can download illegal music to play on it.

Here's a quote from the article "The record industry, led by major labels, such as Vivendi Universal' (EAUG.PA),> Warner Music Group Corp (NYSE:WMG - news), EMI Group Plc (EMI.L) and Sony BMG, believe the recording capability is a clear copyright violation and could take revenue away from paid download music services". Nonsense, the satellite industry is paying for the music, it's all part of the stream, the consumer is paying for the right to listen and if that means listening a little later what is the problem.

Also the increase in contract from 80 million to 1 billion dollars, as you know Steve Jobs called the Recording Industry 'greedy'. and that's what they are. Is the recording industry so bad off that their only revenue stream is through litigation, now that's a healthy industry.

I once read that Google's revenue stream is greater then the worth of all five recording companies. Please Google, buy these clowns out and operate the industry like it is in the 21st century.

Memo to the RIAA, the tar pit is getting closer and closer

Fiona Apple is extraordinary - The Beacon - Life!

Mark the date on your calendar! October 4th.

This is a great CD.

www.shibumi.org/EotI

An interesting page. A good idea.

This is a continuation of the blog from last night. Josh Wheldon may have given Sci-Fi a much needed change of direction. For too long sci-fi has been in the hands of the Star Trek franchise and the visions of Lucas and Speilberg. All of them have seemed to become devoid of ideas and quite frankly has grown tired. George Lucas probably destroyed the Star Wars series with the prequel which started poorly and never improved and Speilberg seems to want to rehash old stories and hasn't added to the equation.

Sci-Fi has had some nice additions, one thinks back to the Babylon 5 series and realize things can be good. Now Josh gives us a movie that improves both sci-fi and the westren in one deft well written movie. Certainly this is not new, since the same characteristics were obvious in the series Firefly. When I first heard about it I was sceptical, a western based in Outer Space, but with great acting and fantastic writing the series was wonderful.

Now the movie, I discovered the hope is that a trilogy will emerge from this first movie. I think it will, I also believe that if Serenity doesn't do well the first week not to worry, it will get stronger as the weeks go on. Word of mouth will drive people to see it and those who see it will go again and again. In many ways this is the New Matrix. If you remember the first Matrix and certainly the best of the three came under everyone's radar. After all it came out the same year as the first Star Wars movie and yet the Matrix got stronger while SW fan could spew enough venom and hatred towards Jar-Jar Binks. The vision of the Matrix would seem to have only appealed to the hardcore cyberpunk and yet it had a message which got into people. However then came 2 and 3, which although good movies, except for that rave scene in the cave, never could capture the essence of the first. Let's hope that same problem doesn't ruin the start of the potential trilogy. Keep the spirit of Firefly alive in the next two and this may be the best sci-fi movie trilogy of all time.

After saying all this, let me repeat, You will see Serenity and you will see it again. You will also buy Firefly the complete series on DVD and then when the movie comes out you will buy that DVD. Trust me you will.

Okay, I just got back from seeing "Serenity". If you don't know, it's the movie that's based upon the short lived sci-fi series Firefly. It was an incredible movie that was both 500 years in the future and 150 years in the past. It combined both space ships and horses.

What can I say about the movie, without being a spoiler. It's this. Go see it now. That's it. Well, what are you waiting for, get going. Get your coat ( and it better be brown) and get out to the shindig.

It is amazing, intense, funny, sad, amazing and amazing. I know I said it twice, it's that good. You can go to the official movie site and read more.

Besides being an incredible movie, one that simply leaves the "big" sci-fi movies like War of the Worlds and Star Wars 3 in the dust. It also proves one other thing and that is, the Fox Television network is run by idiots.

Top 50 Science Fiction Television Shows of All Time - Boston.com

An interesting article. Good to see Dr. Who makes it into the top 10 (it's #8). Also Firefly, my new favourite sci-fi show is recognized, it's 17th.

Also a hit with me is Dark Angel, 19th, although had they not messed with it the second season it probably would have been higher. Oh yes, X-Files is number 4.

Guess what's Number 1.

Spyware Warrior: Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites

I've blogged once today, but this is an important link. I knew of a few rogue but this is an amazing list.

Australian IT - Music industry 'greedy' (Astrid Wendlandt and Jeffrey Goldfarb, SEPTEMBER 21, 2005)

Consider filing this article under your "The Music Industry Still hasn't got a clue" file. They want to mess with the price of downloadable music. Steve Jobs calls it plain greed on the part of the music industry and you have to agree with him. He also predicts:"If the price goes up, they (consumers) will go back to piracy and everybody loses". Well the loser will be Apple and the Music Industry, people willl simply go back to whatever is the son of Napster, or are we at the grandson of Napster? As long as the option is free downloads the Music industry has to realize they can't gouge the public like they did with the costs of CD's. The consumer now has options and are no longer beholden to the Industry as the only source of quality music.

I should say that the opinion of the music industry is divided and from the sound of the article, equally between the raise and the keep the price. Actually there should be a third, drop it. Consider once a file is placed on iTunes it can be downloaded again and again, there is nothing physical. One fellow said this:
On the other hand, Sony BMG CEO Andrew Lack said earlier this year that Apple is benefiting from two revenue streams, sales of both the iPod devices and song downloads, while the music industry has only one.

"I'm not making any money on this," he said. "I've got one revenue stream that a proctologist would have a hard time analysing. It's not pretty" . He has more then one, he has iTunes as one, he has retail as the second and record clubs as the third, so this Andrew Lack fellow is blowing smoke out his, well where the proctologist is interesting in examining if you know what I mean.

Just a quick note to the industry, you are a lumbering dinosaur and the tar pits are just a little to your left. Enjoy the slow death. I am so looking forward to the day the industry is bought out by Yahoo! or Google and are dragged, kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Sympatico / MSN : News : CTV.ca: "Martin says scandal has been hard on politicians "

It probably has been hard on the politicians, but consider this; it was the government that he was a part of that brought this scandel into being. If PM Martin believes that the civil service is composed of individuals of the highest calibre of integrity then he should do all in his power to ensure this never happens again. There needs to be checks and balances into the power of the PMO ( Prime Minister's Office) and the Privy Council. That would be a start. There needs to be fiscal transparency in all items of the budget so this cannot be hidden.

Found it interesting that the first fellow found guilty of defrauding the taxpayers is not going to jail. On one hand he has repaid 2/3rd of the outstanding money and it has cost him personally. However this is still fraud. I suspect his sentence is very lenient compared to what it should be. I mean he has to go to schools and talk about his experience. Not even a little bracelet? No house arrest? Just a curfew?? What about weekends, why is he allowed to stay up late on Saturday and Sunday nights?

Come on, this is ridiculous. If governments want this sort of thing to stop, then put some teeth into the law. I mean the old saying is supposed to be if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Sadly in Canada, you can do the crime and not worry about the time, especially if you have connections and are wealthy.

With all the renewed controversy regarding former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, I'm glad to read this interesting comment by Stephen Lewis, now the UN envoy for HIV-AIDS Africa.

He is very correct in his comments regarding the stand the Prime Minister took towards South Africa and aparteid. What people forget is that his stance was in opposition to President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Mulroney wanted and agreed with sanctions and also supporting the 'front line' states.

No doubt much will be said about some of his colourful language in the new book "The Secret Mulroney Tapes" by Peter C. Newman. I don not believe this is a hatchet job by Mr. Newman, it would fit in that Mulroney would want a complete portrait of himself. He is a fascinating figure and while many may complain about Free Trade and the GST, it is those policies that brought Canada into the 21st Century.

Of course, his foreign policy may be the best kept secret. Here he demonstrated the genius of Canadian policy, the third way that was first espouced by Lester Pearson.

When Nelson Mandela addressed the House of Commons a few years ago to commend Canada for its efforts in the defeat of apartied it was PM Chretien which took the bows. However I wondered with the way Chretien liked to cozy up with dictators, (read Suharto), I wonder if he would have favoured the status quo and keeping apartied in South Africa?


Stephen Lewis praises former PM Brian Mulroney

A Bid to Repair a Presidency

Damage control is always interesting. President Bush realizes his performance during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was abysmal and was responsible for an incredible drop in popularity. He also knows the mid terms are just over a year away and pictures of the devastation will haunt Republicans, especially if New Orleans stays destroyed.

He goes before the nation and promises to rebuild the city and region. While laudable there is a few question marks, namely how do you rebuild a run a war at the same time. The war in Iraq is costing the US economy big time, and with the increase in gas prices eventually going to cause a slow down, it spells great problems ahead.

Among the danger, to stimulate the economy the government will pump in a lot of money, something in the area of 200 billion dollars which may trigger some inflation, which may make matters harder on the lower class.

Meanwhile the war will drag on, with no end in sight. For a war that was declared over, it's still costing the US economy a whole lot of money.

My hope is for a rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and more preparation for hurricanes. But what the final price tag will be and who will eventually pay for it all, remains to be seen.

UN control of internet? Try again

this is an interesting comment by the Christian Science Monitor. The UN is concerned that the Internet is too controlled by the US and isn't doing enough for the third, fourth worlds, you know the usual stuff that comes from the UN.

Now the UN wants to set up an advisory board to develop and here's the quote: "The document, produced by the UN's Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) this summer, calls for shared roles by government, commercial interests, and private citizens but doesn't spell out exactly how these roles would be played. It also calls for "effective and meaningful participation of all stakeholders, especially from developing countries" and more resources - human, financial, and technical - for poorer countries."

While laudable let's remember who is wanting this, the United Nations, a body that interested in anything but what they say they are interested in. This body is totally corrupt, the plaything of dictators and also anti-US.

The Internet works because the US government did not feel a great need to control the Internet. In fact the first group to 'own' the Internet didn't want commercial interests involved at all. The Internet is flourishing because people and businesses are able to exist with a minimum of interference.

Who will be responsible for this new Internet? Will the Chinese who are busy with another crackdown on dissidents? Or the Saudis? The list goes on. Let's remember this is the same group that chose a Libyan to head a committee on freedoms.

Simply put, the UN needs to keep its hands off the Internet. If they want to expand Internet access to the third and fourth world then make money available to develop it. Their plan of another 'body' to control it will spell disaster.

Un control Internet?

I want to send out thoughts and prayers to all those who lost a loved ones on 9-11.

I spent two weeks there helping the Salvation Army and it's an experience I'll never forget.

To the firefighters, police officers and the ems crews who were there, the reserved troops who guarded and came so often for the coffee. Bless you all.

To my friends who joined with me at the site, bless you as well.

Never forget.

Student takes on Microsoft

Talk about your classic David and Goliath story. Kent State University student takes on Micro$oft and wins. They tried to sue him for reselling software he couldn't use and they end up looking very very bad.

This is an excellent lesson for anyone getting a letter from the RIAA: stand your ground and don't give in.

Frank's podcast "Techphile" did a live stream of the show and it turned out to be very interesting. In fact it was really cool.

check outTechphile for more information and when it will be live.

Sympatico / MSN Entertainment : Music : Music News : Record industry says Canada must follow Australia on tough file-sharing law


Cranky, cranky cranky. These people are never happy are they? If they're not complaining about satellite radio, it's this. Well, news flash people in the CRIA, the
rest of the world has moved on from Kazaa. There are now all sorts of great P2P programs and most of them can't be shut down.

have fun guys.

Thirty Stories Up

an interesting read.

take the time and apply it to yourself.

Toronto Super Meetup Summit | techPhile.ca

Well, they had a meet and greet in Toronto, featuring some of the people from TechTV.

Looks like a great time was had by all. I'm looking forward to the various ipod reports on the event.

Google Moon - Lunar Landing Sites

Just in case you missed celebrating humanity's visit to our nearest celestrial neighbour, Google provides us Google Moon. It marks the various landings and gives the crew of the Apollos missions.

For an interesting display, zoom in to the max.

Online pirates pounce on new Harry Potter book - Yahoo! News

I don't condone such things as illicit trading of files. That is so wrong. But here's something interesting, the new Harry Potter is available on the internet as a file. I understand from some more research that you can download it as either a .rtf, .pdf, .txt, or a .lit file. The latter means you can read it on your pocket pc devise.

The book sold, according to one article
8.9 million copies in the US and the UK. That is a huge number of books and truly all the fans of Harry Potter have probably bought the book. So it could be argued that those who are taking advantage of the various copies on the Internet probably wanted to have a copy for their computer, and I doubt these copies have had a negative effect on sales.

Ian on Cats and Endangered Small Wild Cat Species - The Official Jethro Tull Website

While the article is a few years old, it still worth a read. I've been a fan of Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson for over 20 year, perhaps even thirty years and I was impressed to read about his concern about the wild cats of the world.

I suppose it's easy for us to think all cats are domesticated but it's not true at all. There are still a number of species that are wild and now require our help. It's a project worth supporting, especially if you are a cat fancier.

I recall and i wish I could find the quote, 'a cat is as close to a tiger as most men will come". It's true, we all have a tiger in our homes, if we have a cat. Notice I didn't say, 'own' because as more then one person has said, no one owns a cat. The cat allows us the indulgance of thinking such thoughts but in the end, it does as it pleases and still expects us to feed it.

Peace

Sympatico / MSN

this is an interesting article. Also a little troubling; the UN wants to control the development of the Internet. The feeling is among many nations that it is a little too controled by the US. Well historically speaking, it was developed by the US government you can read about it through this link. I won't go into the history lesson, but let it be said, it's anarchistic nature is because of the fact the US did develop it. Consider this, for the most part the US doesn't care too much about ideology. No I mean it, yes they want to present a capitalistic point of view, but that view means making money. For many years they have recognized that it is a sort of cyber wild west with very little rules to control it. yet, it has thrived. Indeed it has also become the haven of a lot of nasty stuff too, but it's really part and parcel.

Can you visualize an Internet controlled by the UN? I can it would be a place where thought is controlled and corruption is even worse.

Let the Internet stay as it is, uncontrolled, anarchistic and one of the best communication tools we have. Let the UN work on getting the 'Net to the third world and leave the rest of it alone.

Peace

For this blog, I thought I'd mention three of my favourite podcasts. Now that iTunes has a feature that will collect blogs, I thought I'd mention the three I listen too regularily. Mind you, I don't listen to them on my iPod, I listen to them on my Dell Axim. Since it has wifi access I can download and then listen to the MP3 file on the Media Player.

Here they are: the first is techphile. It has a number of things going for it, the first is, it's Canadian. The second is the interviewer has done some great interviews over the past little while; people such as Kevin Rose, Leo Laporte, Mikey from Call for Help, Andy Walker and Amber MacArthur.

The second is diggnation. The format is simple, Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht sit around and talk about the stories that are making it on Digg.com. Digg.com is, to quote the website: "Digg is a technology news website that combines social bookmarking, blogging, RSS, and non-hierarchical editorial control. With digg, users submit stories for review, but rather than allowing an editor to decide which stories go on the homepage, the users do". Kevin and Alex talk about these stories, giving their own unique spin. What makes it interesting, besides bringing together the former hosts of The Screen Savers, is that it's casual and informative. Sure they sit around, shoot the breeze and drink beer, but you know these guys are techies and know what they are talking about.

The third is THIS WEEK IN TECHNOLOGY or TWIT. This features Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, Yoshi and guests. Yes it's the TechTV podcast and it's great. If you like your tech hard core and funny then listen.

follow the links, follow the instructions and enjoy some of the best tech podcasts out there. If you like any of them you can vote for them at Podcast Alley.com.


Emjoy

Meditations on Zucchini

the green thing

long and string

opens my minds to the divine

as I injests its magic seeds

by moon and stars it ripens

to bring me to the throne of creation

eternity in its design

of the pathway of life, nirvana in its white flesh

covered with green, the colour of paradise

so let take its body

and make our union complete

come o zucchini and fill me

with your taste

NewsChannel 5 Network

I believe the sin of CPB is being too liberal. Funny, the right has Fox News, aww let's say almost all the major news media, because corporate America is in bed with the Bushies. What they want total control.

Last Throes. I watched this interesting video of a news conference from the White House. Apparently the latest news is that the Iraqi insurgency is in it's last throes. Why they say this is because there are more attacks and these attacks are causing more casulties. All this proves the insurgents, the terrorists are losing. Now let's figure this out, more US forces, more Iraqi police are being killed in May and June then at any other time. There have been more attacks, but what the US public is asked is to look beyond the casulties. I mean they have better weapons, so they don't need so many people blowing themselves up.

Okay, let's figure it out, if you blow up more people then the other side that usually means you are winning. "Desperate terrorist" are trying to derail the trip to democracy in Iraq. The Terrorist don't want democracy, but for some reason, these terrorists are able to operate with impunity, they seem to be able to blow people up at will. All the battles the US have engaged in have not stopped the insurgents, this sounds like a group with a fair level of civilian support. I mean how can they get away with it.

I thought President Bush declared the war over, yes but still people are getting killed, there are still military operations going on.

Now we have the release of the Downing Street Memo, which gives some discussion on the then upcoming war. The telling paragraph is: It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbors, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran". Reminds me of the quote from Charles Foster Kane regarding Cuba, "You supply the photos and I'll supply the war".

Now there are cracks showing in the ranks of the Republican Party, one Senator has told that the Bush administration has to face reality on the situation in Iraq. It is going badly, the war is on the verge of being lost by the US forces. For a Republican Senator to even admit this is amazing and so the truth must be far worse then imaginable. What is interesting is this is not the news the US people are getting, they are getting the news of the White House, that the war is going well, that the Iraqi people are taking over the policing of their nation and they are making headway in the war against terror. Meanwhile, there has been another suicide bombing this time at a police station in a Kurdish city. Wait a minute, the Kurds hated Saddam, they backed the US they wanted regime change. Now this?

I wonder if it's time for someone to use the "I" word around President Bush, and by that I mean "Impeach" him.

A couple of things to blog about. I watched Call for Help today. It was the episode featuring Kevin Rose, late of Attack of the Show and before that the late and lamented The Screen Savers, he was discussing with his old friend Leo Laporte. The purpose for this week was to discuss how one can produce television for the internet. Kevin has launched a new website called systm. He has produced, to this point, two episodes in which he examines, with his co-host Dan Huard. Dan is another victim of the TechTV to G4TechTV to G4TV debacle. He lost his job when the powers at Comcast decided to "change" The ScreenSavers again.

Other things on my mind. The roses are doing incredible. I'll post a pix of some of them in another blog. The garden is also thriving, I am expecting some flowering any day now. Can't wait for the first harvest of peppers and tomatoes. That will definately be photograph worthy.

Peace

A couple of weeks ago, I attended an archery demonstration put on by the local medieval society. It was near my hometown. My daughters, who are very big into all things medieval and such begged me to come along. I was able, at their behest to borrow some garb and so here I am. 

Patriot Act Push Angers Some on Right

The USA Patriot Act, an act devised to protect Americans from those who would take advantage of the rights and freedoms they have enjoyed for over 200 years.

I was thinking about my history the other day and was impressed that it was a Republican, small government President that instituted an act which had the most far reaching effects in the lives of the average citizen. It is also interesting at the timing of the bill. It did not happen during the cold war. Yes there were times when the various government agencies either toed the line or in some cases straddled the line. Usually they ended up being punished.

It was always understood that the Bills of Rights was the cornerstone to American Democracy. It punished those who would abuse it, consider Daniel Ellsberg and his struggle with the Nixon White House.

Even when there was incidences of domestic terrorism, Waco and Oklahoma City, the Bill of Rights held firm.

Now, external terrorists bring about the change of government thinking so that a draconian measure such as Patriots can be accepted without realizing the full ramification.

The sad thing is, the threat of terrorism is used to bring about exactly what the terrorist want, the freedoms enjoyed by the West. And Bush, wanting to do what he wants with the minimum of interference, is shredding the Constitution to protect his agenda which is to make the world safe for his oil buddies, including the Saudis.

www.myspace.com/papermoonmusic

PaperMoon, an amalgam of the Bonaduces and B'ehl have their own music page. I've been a fan of B'ehl for a number of years, having both their CD's.

I missed getting the first paper moon, a mistake I will not make with their next CD. Right now as I write this, they are working on their second CD, so look for it. You can go to
Endearing Records for information regarding the release date and the cost. Or join the newsletter. Their website is papermoon.ca, there you will find information on joining.

Oh by the way, they're looking for a fifth membr of the band. Read about it on the website.

Sympatico / MSN Sports : Home : Gliebermans back in charge of CFL in Ottawa as Renegades ownership unveiled

I am a CFL fan. I love the game, love the teams and the tradition and so to hear that the Glieberman's are back in charge of the Ottawa Renegades brought both a smile to my face and a gulp. Let's put it forward and the points are brought out in the article, there were once the owners of the Ottawa football franchise and they did have problems. However, the obviously love the game since they did establish a team in Shrevesport and you know there were a lot of fans down there. They want the CFL to succeed. I thought it was interesting they believed this to be their only business failure and it sounds like the don't like failure.

I wish them both well and all the success of the future. Glad to see Joe Paopao is staying on as coach and GM. Great guy.

Peace

Just a few thoughts for the end of the month

Paul Martin looked so good and happy when Belinda walked across the aisle to join the Liberals. I was thinking about it recently and it occurred to me, he may regret her joining. I believe Belinda has now become ambitious and her ambition is simple, she wants to run the country. Looking at the benches of the Liberal party the pickings are not good but now you have Belinda. She is young, attractive and rich. What more does she need in the way of credentials. Paul, you have just signed your own demise.

Next month, June is Bike to work month. I'd participate but work is only 900 metres away and i walk there practically every morning.

My garden is planted and taking hold, I've lost a few plants and I may replace them.

JAZZ FM91

Now this will be worth listening to: a five part series on Miles Davis. If you are close to Toronto, you can listen to 91.1, on the Internet it's jazz fm. It's also avaiable on Canadian satellite. I guess what I'm saying is, there's no excuse to miss.

A schedule can be downloaded here.

don't miss.

peace

A couple of points for this blog. First, I've finished working on the garden I started last weekend. As I posted, I started with some tomatoes and yellow peppers. Well, over the weekend, I planted some more peppers, this time hot peppers. With that, cucumbers, zucckinis, pumpkins, head lettuce and some herbs. The herbs I placed in a large planter that had been growing weeds for the past two summers. I threw in some corn seeds and sunflower. I'm hoping they grow this year. I'll be posting some pixs in future blogs to let all know how its going.

Also I'm watching another episode of Doctor Who. I truly believe Christopher Eccleston would have been the best Doctor ever if he stayed more then one year. He is fantastic and the scripts are great. He made an interesting comment, he said an ordinary person, the most important part of the universe. He talks to the bride and groom and says they had a great life, 2AM meeting on a street corner, he never did anything like that. He also plans to save the world and he probably will.

Oh yes one more, I was listening to Jupiter Project by Pulsar Bleu. It's great. Discover them and enjoy.

Peace

Yesterday I started working on my garden. Actually, I started that about two weeks ago with the first turning of the sod and then adding some peat moss. However yesterday I planted six seedlings into the soil. Three tomato, beefsteak variety, and three pepper, yellow variety. I also added 18 kg of sheep manure compost to enhance the nutrients of the soil.

I've been thinking about what I will plant in my little garden. Last year I tried corn , sunflowers and various squash plants. The results were mixed, I did have corn, one spectacular sunflower but the squash turned to be a dud. I did have one zucchini, which was tasty but nothing else. I didn't even grow any potatoes and those tend to be so simple. In past gardens I've grown potatoes even when I didn't plant any, having missed harvesting one of the potatoes.

I'm going to try squash again, I think the wet late spring and summer had a negative impact last year, plus with all the peat moss, it should help with the drainage. I'm also thinking of some herbs, they make such a nice touch. Perhaps peppermint and som e catnip, to drive the cats nuts. You know I do have that one container, perhaps I should turn that into an herb garden.

Peace

You Deserve Your RiVo - Popular Science

Here we go another act of the RIAA to stifle the free development of technology. They will be happy to shut down a whole new industry to "save" it's beloved copyright. I mean how often do we have to deal with this. what makes it ridiculous is people have been recording off the radio for years. Ever since they combined a cassette player and the stereo people have been recording music off the radio station. But now, because you can put it on the computer, it's suddenly wrong.

Of course they bring the same argument: "The RIAA went on to outline how RiVo would be an “immediate and substantial threat to the recording industry,” recalling 1982, when the president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) told Congress that the VCR's “primary mission is to copy . . . material that belongs to other people.”


You know it doesn't matter what is going on, it's just the same old line brought out every time. Remember this is the group that wanted to kill digital cassette. They destroyed Napster, and birthed Kazaa and other p2p sharing. Now they want to kill RiVo. When will it stop? when someone stops them. That's when.

Then again, people are ignoring them and posting music.

This is how a dinosaur acts then the comet hits.

Sympatico / MSN : News : CTV.ca

Well, I'm officially pissed off today.
No, that's wrong...How's this. Say it ain't so, Belinda!!!!
She went to the Liberals, to the evil empire. She turned to the dark side of the force.
Well, I do wish her well.


sigh

Amazon.ca: Books: The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution

I decided finally to order this book from Amazon.ca. I have been following the going on's of the music industry since the days of Napster and I am still amazed how they, the industry continues to miss a tremendous opportunity.

to give an example, let's go back to Fiona Apple's incredible CD Extraordinary Machine. It is a wonderful piece of work that has been permanently shelved by Sony, or so they say. However it has been leaked onto the internet and it is possible to download it by doing a bit of hunting. One site that featured the cuts received a Cease and Desist order from RIAA. Again, here is an organization which deserves to vanish through extinction. Sony does not want to release it, so how can they complain.

So the book to get back to the original topic examines the industry and suggests the future of music, one without CD's and record store. Well, both points I'm not sure, i do believe there will always be record stores because people like records and the same holds true for CD's. Although the future may be filled with home made CD's burned from tracks downloaded from the internet, either legally or illegally. Trust me people will always find a way.

Right now, if you're interested, I'm listening to U2, "Rattle and Hum", a great CD. I am still so ready to see the concert in October.

H�tel-Dieu Grace Hospital

People who know me may find the subject of this blog odd. Let me say that I actively discourage people from going to Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital, in Windsor Ontario. I say it to you as well, if you become ill or require a visit to an emergency ward, do not go to HD/GH. If you are ill, may I suggest that you simply you lie down for 10 days. After that period of time you will either be well, or dead. If you go to HD/G you will probably be dead.

Let me give you some examples, recently a person I respect and know told me an incident, of which she was a witness. This woman came to the aforementioned hospital complaining that she thought she was having a heart attack. They gave her an EKG and had her sit in one of those rooms in ER- they told her she had some indigestion and sent her home. Now listen my knowledge of medicine is nil, but I know a few things the main being that women have different symptons of a heart attack, also their symptons are different. She returned, in far worse condition and was air lifted to Detroit Recovery Hospital; they felt her condition was to far to risk a flight to London. So she was flown to Detroit where she died. I suppose it could be argued whether she would have lived anyway, but the delay of time ensured death was inevitable.

The second incident is recent, this fellow I know checked in with some curious symptons, such as confusion and cold sweats. He went in and after seeing some sort of nurse practitioner he was released. His conditioned remained at least the same and the doctor he saw on Tuesday said he should not have been released. He is now at HG/G having tests to determine whether or not he has had a stroke. Let's consider it, for two days he received no treatment.

So the bottom line, stay away from Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital.

The Globe and Mail: Volpe won't apologize to Tories

It's nice to see the governing party is acting like the government. Now theyare calling each other names. When my kids do that there is usually punishment. Such as going to a room, or writing out lines, that sort of thing. What to do with Mr. Volpe? Well, he won't apologize. Makes sense, this government has squandered our resources, screwed us royally and not a word of apology.

Just remember all this when you go to the poll.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: The Greediest Generation

All us baby boomers need to read this article and then remind ourselves the world was NOT created for us. The people of the First Nations have this quotation:
" We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.". Let's remind ourselves of this fact.

We babyboomers are in danger of becoming the most despised generation of people ever produced. We consume without the slightest interest of the impact we have on our world. We seek only that which is benefical to ourselves. Our politics are of the most selfish of natures. We care only for our needs. We are corrupt and unthinking, and it's time we GROW UP!!!!

Remember you have children and perhaps you older BB's have grandchildren. Stop thinking of ourselves and think about them.

It's not too late to change.

Peace

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Went to see the movie opening day, loved it. Yes there was the romance between Arthur and Trillian, or Patricia McMillan but that is forgiveable.

I loved it, yes totally enjoyed it. The book parts were funny; Arthur was funny, Ford was great, Zaphod was off the wall, like he should be and the stuff that only a true fan would get, super.

What sort of thing, the bejewelled crustasian of Vogsphere, the home of the Vogons.

I laughed and like a lot of fans, clapped at the end.

by the way, I did annoy my daughter by speaking along with some of the great quotes from the book. You could also tell the fans, they were the ones really laughing at things.

There was a cameo from the original Marvin and the original Arthur Dent, and for the latter, had to google to see where he was.

for more on the Vogons, see this link.

Also, if you want to read the book, go to this site.

Peace

With the fact I watch a lot of Call for Help, I hear a great deal about Macs and Linux. A few weeks ago there was asegment on Linux Live CD-ROM. What this does is allow a person to boot from a CD-ROM and use a brand of Linux on the computer. After looking around I was able to download Slax Linux and put it on a CD. It took a while to find the right way to burn the program onto a CD, because the program is downloaded as an .iso, it requires a person to make an image onto the CD. It is not the same as doing the same as a regular burn.

Yesterday I ran it on the main computer and it worked. There is still some work needed, first of all I couldn't get the mouse to work, but it was interesting to discover how it works.

I'm going to be reading the Slax documents to learn more how to use the program. I'm sure it will be interesting.

Another Linux I decided to try is ubuntu Linux, which means humanity for others. It's another Live CD so I will find it interesting to use. Perhaps eventually I will move to Linux in all it's glory.

Peace

viksoe.dk - GMail Drive shell extension

Andy Walker of Cyberwalker.com and CAll for Help mentioned this great Gmail hack. You can use the file and turn your gmail account into a virtual hard drive, accessible from your computer.

Follow the directions, it does work and it is great. You may want to move all your files to the archive, since they will show up as emails.


With Gmail offering over 2 Gigs of storage, it's even mor enticing.

Peace.

Earthday Network Homepage

Tomorrow is Earth Day. I know some get cranky and want to make a day in March Earth Day, for most tomorrow will be the day. It's the day we go out and walk softly on Mother Earth, thanking her for the life she gives us. We also must stop and consider what we are doing to the Planet. It is still our only home and as one poster declared, a good planet is hard to find.

I came across this site, celebrates the Celtic feast of Bealitainn. It is the festival of fertility. It is also known as May Day, and while that's still a few days away, there is some advice for that feast and also a good idea for earth day.

It suggests we:

1 Take an early morning walk, greet the animals and plants, look for Faeries.

2 Wake early to gather morning dew to bathe for face-one could also gather some from a stream or spring for the same purpose.

3 Collect water from the above sources for use in scrying or blessing for magickal workings.

4 Pick Spring flowers to braid into your hair or make into crowns or wreaths-add some tiny fairy bells!.

5 Set offerings of flowers or wreath into a pond, lake, river, etc.



All in all, not a bad idea.

Be at peace with the Earth.

AdScam.CA

A website dedicated to all the news regarding AdScam that is fit to print. You want to know something, reading it will give you fits.

Enjoy working on your income tax after reading this.

FaireBulletin: Guilds

So last night my daughters encouraged me to take them to their club meeting. Being the loving father that I am I agreed. I knew the club was a medieval group and it lived up to my expectations.

The name of the group is the "Essex Medieval Heritage Society", and I have to admit I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, the girls suggested I wear my Monty Python t-shirt, it features a scene from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's the scene where Arthur deals with the black knight and the knight has no limbs and the t says "It's only a flesh wound". Plus my Jethro Tull bandanna, I felt I was readly. Well everyone loved the t shirt.

There wasn't much happening and my daughters explained that they had a huge convention over the weekend, plus they moved to a new location so things were slow. They wanted to know if I will take them next week. They also told me they will make a costume.

OH well, as long as I don't miss Doctor Who.

London Free Press: News Section - Election fever taking hold

I have some concern about this. I know lately the PM has been goading the leader of the Opposition to 'pull the plug' and force the government to resign and call an election.

while I would say that might work I have only one question and that is, why does Paul want an election? Why not wait for the full release of the Gormey Commission. While what has been said is damning and damaging, is this the proverbial tip of the iceberg?

Perhaps it would be better to let the government swing. Right now the government is on its heels; they can't do much more then respond to the the accusations. This mean they don't have time for much else, so nothing is getting done. Perhaps allowing them that is the LIberals is revel in their incompetence would be a good thing, although perhaps not for the country as a whole.

By the way, expect Paul to wrap himself in the flag and constitution. He will paint the Conservatives as intolerant, mind you what would we want an 'intolerant' government or a 'corrupt' one. That may be our choice in the next election.

Peace

Martin glad to be rid of turncoats

It's always interesting when a person in the midst of scandel attempts to gain the moral high ground. Witness the case of Paul Martin, the Prime Minister of Canada. The Gormey Commission is revealing so much of the horror that was the Chretien years, it's amazing these people don't do the honourable thing and resign. Now we find out that a personal confidente of Chretien received payment totalling Six Million Dollars for well, no one is quite sure what he did.

I love the last paragraph: n a pep rally to his dwindling troops, Martin said Liberals must prepare to fight a campaign focused sharply on a strong fiscal record and mainstream Canadian values. Just one question, what values would those be, vaciliation, graft, corruption squandering resources, just what are our mainstream values Paul. Because all that I mention seem to be the Liberal Party of Canada, but do they represent ours?


Peace

Piercing the peer�to�peer myths: An examination of the Canadian experience: "First, that the Canadian recording industry has sustained significant financial losses in recent years due to decreased music sales. Second, that those losses can be attributed to peer�to�peer file sharing. Third, that the losses have materially harmed Canadian artists"

This is a fascinating article. The author takes on what he calls the three pillars of the CRIA lobbying campaign, which are: "First, that the Canadian recording industry has sustained significant financial losses in recent years due to decreased music sales. Second, that those losses can be attributed to peer–to–peer file sharing. Third, that the losses have materially harmed Canadian artists". It are these three that the RIAA base their lobbying and harassment of music fans, ie the law suits on.

What this article by Michael Geist does is demolish each of the pillars or myths. Everything that the Music industry says and does is to blame all their woes on peer to peer sharing of music files. They have launched court challenges, lobbied governments, thrown obscene amounts of money at candidates and sued everybody on the myth that it is the mp3 that has had such a negative impact on their industry. The truth is, the industry has hurt itself by gouging consumers, through bad talent andn just by being idiotic and refusing to use technology. They prefer to hold to the old method when the old is definately out.

This is also coming out in the trialMGM Studios v. Grokster, the idea that Grokster should be closed down since it has only one purpose and that is to all the free flow of copyrighted material across the 'Net. One of the concerns is that if MGM wins it will basically end technological innovation. There are some who believe this case might send a chill through the computer industry because some may argue that any item that can be used to playback illegally obtained material should be stopped and the manufacturer should be sued.

Geist argument destroys the CRIA's argument. Then again it always was tenuous, which is why the lobby was all for throwing huge amounts of money to get what they want. Why argue facts when you have a wheelbarrow full of money to throw at politicians?

So read the article and read some of the background articles, they are equally as interesting.

Peace