Pluto is SO a PLANET

Every so often an issue comes around that does galvanize people into action. Recent just such an issue entered both the Internet and the Blogverse. Let me say I am not talking about Iran or Iraq but rather the recent insult that has been labelled upon the Planet Pluto. Recently at the XXVI or 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union voted to declassify Pluto as a planet and declare it a mini-planet. The actual state is a dwarf planet.

As you can see by this photo


This group of three deserve our scorn, as does the entire body that makes up the IAU. It's one of those issues that demands a response from concerned citizens throughout the cosmos. After all what gives them the right to decide what is a planet or what isn't. We have to draw a line in the sand and stop this madness. You see, if they can declassify planets, what next? Will they now decide what is a galaxy or a star? There is honestly no stopping these people, once they feel they can make such decisions their lust for power will know no bounds. Hey Andromeda! you better watch out, they may have you in their gunsites soon.

The question is, how can we stop them?

Let me suggest a few things:

1) Sign the Petition


2) Write to the Executive of the IAU and express your dissatisfaction and request an immediate re-instatement of Pluto as one of the nine Planets that make up one of the best darn Solar Systems in the Cosmos. Remind them their duty is to discover the wonders of the cosmos and not decide the fate of planets.

3) Buy a TShirt, Mug, Button or Bumper Sticker and let the world know how you feel.

Pluto is counting on all of us. Let's not let him down.

2006 Hugo Award Winners

I'm getting caught up on all the blogging I missed. Just came across this posting from the Science Fiction convention. The Hugo Winners were announced and winning the dramatic presentations were; the movie Serenity for best long presentation and Dr.Who. For the latter the awards were for the first season programs The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances. The reason for the both is that it was a two part story. It was a great story and worthy of such accoldates. Good on the judges to recognize quality.

While travelling along the Yellowhead Highway west of Edmonton, you pass a sign proclaining the place of East of Edson. You may wonder what makes this special. It's this, if you are a fan of Captain Tractor you are familiar with their album East of Edson. You can see the sign and as a fan of the band, I had to stop and take the picture.

It was a magic moment of Canadian Culture.

Kimberly's First Day


This past weekend, Jo-Anne, Kimberly and I drove up to Ottawa, another 1800 km on the van for those of you who are keeping track, to move Kimberly to her new school and address. As you can read in her blog she is going to school at Algonquin College in Ottawa. There she is taking courses on museum management. I'm sure she will correct me on her blog and give the course the proper name. It sounds fascinating.

On the Friday we moved her in. Her dorm room consists of three rooms, a sleeping and living room for each person, she shares the room with another person. The room has a bed, desk, telephone and TV with cable. The room also has internet connection. Then there is a common room that has a kitchenette with microwave, sink and fridge. There is also a bathroom with shower.

She stayed with her Aunt and Uncle on Friday. Then Saturday it was shopping day, for all she might need to get the week started. We first went to Ikea to buy some furniture. She purchased a book case, bedside table, throw rug for the bathroom and a small basket. She still needs to get a power bar and an extention cord. It was then over to Best Buy to purchase a printer, a usb cable and a DVD player.

Greg, her uncle and I were dropped off at the dorm to put together the ikea products and get her set up. We managed to build the table and bookshelf and now she was ready to move in. After buying some cutlery and groceries this room was now her home. She then spent the night in her new digs.

This being Monday, she started her classes, hopefully she'll blog about it.

Kim, I want to let you know I am very proud of you. This is a great step forward and you are starting a wonderful new chapter in you life.


You take care and see you this weekend.


Love Dad

The Trip West

Well, we finished an 8000 kilometre round trip to Edmonton to visit Stephanie. It was good to see her and our friends Ian and Glenda McKenzie.

It was a good trip and an interesting one. On the way out, going through the States, we saw "The Home on the Range". And yes we did break into a few verses of the famous song. I mean what else could we do?

The trip through Montana was amazing, this is a state in which they allow you to go 115 kph on glorified dirt roads, and by that I mean, rolling roads with pavement. What was interesting was the number of signs warning people from taking Crystal Meth, must be a problem. We stayed one night in Lewiston Montana. It was a very scenic trip.

You know, it's getting late and I'm taking Kimberly to Algonquin College tomorrow and it will be an early morning. I'll give a full report on the trip later.

EO Newsroom: New Images - Ash Cloud from Mount Ubinas, Peru

This is a fascinating photograph of an ash cloud from a volcano.

What's amazing is the detail of the cloud and the volcano.

worth a look

MLB - Detroit Tigers/Chicago White Sox Recap Sunday August 13, 2006 - Yahoo! Sports

Okay, the Tigers are in a slump. yes I acknowledge it. Yes they have lost five in a row, for the first team this season and yes, they were swept by their AL Central opponents the Chicago White Sox.

Let's put this in perspective; they are still in first, they still have the best record in baseball and there is over a month left. This is not the time to panic. It was bound to happen, that's the nature of baseball.

There is still plenty of time to recover and prove that the season has not been a fluke.

Their next opponent is the Boston Red Sox, another team going through an August funk, let's hope Bosox's problems continue.

The Tigers at 112

Right now the Tigers are 76-36, 40 games above .500 and staying strong. If you consider the last ten games, it looked like the sheen may have been off the Tigers. To give a quick review of the 10, it started with a loss in Minnesota. Sure the Tigers won two out of three, but the loss was the result of an 8th inning brain cramp by the infield; two errors and a balk by the pitcher. To be honest I feared this series with the Twins since historically the Twins have had the Tigers number. I read an interesting fact which proves this, the Twins, at the start of the year were 32-20 at Comerica.

Then it was off to Tampa for a four game set. Knowing how the DevilRays are a struggling team this, like every year, one would have thought, sweep. Yet the series started with a loss, leaving the Tigers with a rare two game losing streak. This was followed by two wins and then a loss. So instead of a series victory, this was a series split. This was the end of a ten game road trip which saw the Tigers win 6 games.

The last weekend was a home series with another AL Central opponent, the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers met them at a great time, the Indians are definately in a slide and could realistically say hopes for a playoff are long and probably not going to happen. Their hopes took a bad break when the Tigers swept them. The series was not without excitement, the Tigers won the first two in exciting fashion, especially the second game in which they won in the 9th. So here's the logic of baseball, a team will lose a game (Sunday at Minnesota) they should have won and win a game they should have lost. Then again Yogi Berra said it best: "The two words that describe baseball are 'anything can happen'". Sunday was a pitching duel that was won by the Tigers through a combination of 'small ball' and an error. Still good teams make their own luck.

This leaves game 112, against the hated Twins. Again the Twins brought to the mound their ace rookie pitcher Francisco Liriano, who was 12-2 ERA of 1.96. This may have looked like a potential loss, but the Tigers took care of him. His boxscore- ip4, HITS-10, RUNS-4, ER-4. He took the loss and his ERA went to 2.19. By the way, his ERA against the Tigers is 4.94.

The Tigers went 7-3 over the last 10 games. They are now 10 games up on the White Soxs.

I'm not sure if it's time to start this but Detroit's magic number is 42. Which also happens to be the ultimate answer to life, the Universe and everything.

1984 vs 2006

GP W L Pct GB Home Away


Detroit 96 65 31 .677 - 32-16 33-15

Chicago WSox 95 58 37 .611 6.5 33-15 25-22

Minnesota 95 55 40 .579 9.5 37-11 18-29

Cleveland 95 42 53 .442 22.5 23-24 19-29

Kansas City 96 34 62 .354 31.0 21-23 13-39



Much of the talk regarding the beloved Tigers has to do with comparisons. Comparing this team with the great 1984 World Champions. I heard on the radio yesterday that at 95 games the '84 Tigers were 66-29. As compared with the 64-31 2006 team. While the '84 team was great I think this year's team may be their equal.

Consider this, while we all know in 1984, the Tigers were 35-5 after 40 games, the best record for 40 for all time. This year the Tigers were 27-13 after 40, good but not as good. However, here is where it gets interesting. If the above statistics are true and as we know statistics never lie, especially when they concern baseball, the '84 Tigers were 31-24 for the next 55 games. This year the Tigers have gone 37-18. If you want further comparisons, the next 55, the '84 Tigers were playing at a .563 clip, while this year's Tigers are playing at a .672 clip. This means among other things, the Tigers have been playing at a consistent pace over the season so far, while the 1984 Tigers had an incredible start and then coasted through the season. In 1984 it was .875 for the first 40, in 2006 it was .675.

This is not to take anything away from the 1984 Tigers, they were a team for the ages and had some great players, but let's also enjoy the 2006 Tigers. Will they win the World Series, that's still too far in the future to consider. However they are a consistent team that is beginning to take every challenge and prove their mettle. To give an example, when they lost 7-1 on Tuesday, there was some concern being expressed by Tigerfan. But what does the team do? Wednesday, come from behind win. Thursday a pitching duel and another win.

I remember watching the '84 Tigers, they were great. I truly believe 2006 will be a great year and perhaps even better because this is a team that is removing the bad taste of a lot of bad seasons from the mouth of us fans.

Go get 'em Tigers!

A fan's comment on Doomsday



Thank you Rose Tyler

This blog will contain spoilers. Quite a number of them.

The final episode of this season of Dr. Who was entitled "Doomsday". In it we have the Earth being invaded by its two greatest enemies, and the two enemies of the Doctor, the Daleks and the Cybermen. A breach between two universes takes place and at first Earth is totally unaware, thinking it to be a good thing, thank you Torchwood. However it is a bad thing and the Earth is in mortal danger. It is only the work of the Doctor, Mickey, Rose, Pete Tyler and Jackie Tyler to save both worlds. They do, however Rose is transported to the other Earth, where she must stay.

This episode marks the final appearance of Rose Tyler as a companion of the Doctor. She ends having saved both planets. What else do we expect from a companion of the Doctor?

I want to say thank you to Billie Piper for her role in the revival of Doctor Who. She was a tremendous companion, one who broke the mould and set the path for other companions to follow. No longer would the companion be simply the straight person or being the classic damsel in distress. Rose was the Doctor's equal in many ways. She took charge and revealed a strength that was truly amazing. Billie Piper made this character come alive and for that we are thankful.

One other thing about Rose, only Rose could elicit an emotional response from the Doctor. She was amazing.

So thank you Billie, thank you for making Rose come alive and for being a part of the two finest seasons in the long history of Doctor Who.
One more thing, 170 days until the Christmas Doctor Who Special, which will be entitled The Runaway Bride.

My Time in Jail



A couple of weeks ago I was apprehended and incarcerated for crimes against people. I was working in my office when a member of some local constabulary, Wonder Woman and some guy with a camera stormed in and put the cuffs on me. I was dragged off, with two others to face the court system on what must be considered trumped up charges. In one respect, I was fortunately since all the charges; hiding Mad Magazine in the Old Testament, listening to AM800 and wasting my youth with Rock and Roll, and riding my bike were dropped but I was found guilty of not wearing my cap. The bail was set for $1150 and I was tossed in the jail.

Now before you begin to wonder, this was all part of the local Crime Stoppers Bail or Jail program. It was a fundraiser for Crime Stoppers. The idea was I was tossed in, given a cell phone and a phone book and would call as many people as possible in order to raise the money. I called family, friends and anyone else I could think of. The response was shock, laughter and demands for dinner as payback. It was quite an experience and ultimately a lot of fun.

MLB.com : 2006 All-Star Online Ballot

If you haven't, vote for your favourite Tiger today. In fact today is the last day you can vote for the members of the 2006 All-Star team. So click the link and vote for your favourite Tiger, in fact vote for any player that is a member of the Detroit Tiger team. The push is for Pudge to be the starting catcher.

Just vote.

Friday Afternoon Thoughts

Just a few thoughts about the week that was:

Tigers are still in first place, although only by half a game. Talk about exciting, not only are the Tigers in first but the division has a very nice power struggle going on. In any other division, the Tigers would be ahead by 10 games or, just a rough estimate, but when you're in the same division as the defending World Series Champions, Chicago White Sox, you had better bring your best to the park every night.

A couple of weeks ago I filled out one of those comment cards from the local Starbucks. Today I got a letter and a gift card for five dollars. Yes that will buy one drink, but hey its still a gift. So let that be a lesson to you, fill out the comment cards, you just never know. By the way, the Banana Coconut Frappuccino® Blended Coffee is definately worth it, as well as the Banana Creme. Go order yours today.

According to the iTunes Music store rating, Paris Hilton's new song "Stars are Blind" is at %2 on their top tunes list. We are still living in the age of Irony aren't we. You can if you're really interested watch the video that goes along with this dreck but let me save you the bother, it isn't worth the bandwidth. You know how we were told to eat out dinner because people in Africa are starving, well, don't download, don't play this song because people in Africa don't have the bandwidth, it's simply a waste of time. The song, the video is boring, it is vapid, it lasts 4 minutes and it will be the longest 4 minutes of your life. To the people who bought it off iTunes, what you had 4megs of space on your iPod you JUST had to fill. If you were that desperate to fill the time let me make some better suggestions, the white noise off the TV, the sound of a busy signal. In other words ANYTHING would be better.

Like I said this is the age of Irony and perhaps people are downloading it just to find people and say "you gotta listen to Paris Hilton, it is so ridiculous". I mean seriouly there are people who would actually enjoy it???

Look if you want to download music, check out Neko Case. Her newest CD is entitled Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Neko is a true talent, her voice and her writing abilities are the highlight of this CD. Download some of the songs, each one of them is worth the 99 cents it will cost you. Just get her songs and thank me later.

It seems we have a rabbit warren in the backyard. Yesterday I got a phone call from home saying there were some creatures in a nest on the ground. A quick call to "Wings" a local animal rescue place revealed these were baby bunnies. So, we have a nursery. The mother has been spotted yesterday and today feeding them, so things seem to be going well. Reading this article gives some interesting feedback.

Right now, we have to keep the cats away from the nest, that means either they will be inside, or someone has to watch them.

Some people may not like rabbits, but they are a part of life and have the right to exist.

I'll keep you posted.

Save the Internet

If Christopher Eccleston is the best one season Doctor of all time, then Season Two of the revised series is going to rate as one of the BEST seasons of all time. Skip that, it is. I just watched "The Satan Pit" and it is brilliant!!!!

I'm not adding any spoilers but let me say, it will have you on the edge of your seat.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, —and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor ever eagle flew—
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee Jr


Jo-Anne got her wish and flew in a single prop airplane yesterday. I hung out as a passenger to the whole thing. It was quite an experience and she did take the controls for the flight from Essex to Amherstburg. As you can see from the photos, it was quite the trip.

What is the World Doing?

This is interesting. You can type in what you're doing and add yourself to the list. You can also see what everyone else is doing as well.

Today I finally got to work on my little vegetable garden. The month of May was too busy, but today I got out the rake, shovel and started turning the soil again and adding some compost. if you are interested, the compost of choice is Sheep compost.

In my garden I have planted tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, swiss chard, cat nip, peppermint and pumpkins. Those are plants, I've also planted seeds for; sunflowers, carrots and zucchini.

Got the watering out and I'm hoping it will be a good season.


Peace

Bloggin' the Tigers

Okay, this is a blog about the Detroit Tigers, the team with Best Record in Baseball. Yes they had a bit of a slump, losing four games in a row and all that, but here's my take on all this. It was bound to happen. No team is going to win 162 games, or keep at a .700 pace, it's just not going to happen. But a detractor may say, they couldn't the Yankees/ Well, as a matter of fact, they did win 1 out of 4 against the Yankees. What was the problem, well, could be that it was just their time to put togather some bad games, or they remembered they were playing the Yankees and they thought about it. You have to understand that baseball is best played when you don't think, I believe that's a quote from Bull Durham or words to that effect.

Well, the Tigers won last night, a come from behind win in the bottom of the ninth, doesn't that sound good. Hey, the Tigers stay at a .500 clip the rest of the season, they will be 17 games above .500, or 99-63.

Go get 'em Tigers.