I've been thinking about trying some Linux on some of the home computers. In fact I've downloaded a number of linux distros and burned a number of live cd's to try them out.

I've also ordered and received a number of Ubuntu discs to try on the computers.

On the whole I've been impressed with Linux and have been dying to find a computer and turn it into a linux machine.

Finally the opportunity has arisen. Katrina when she went off to university inherited the family computer, a 1 gig machine which has served the family well. However she had a few problems with it and asked if I could do something about it. I tried to re-install windows, but I didn't have the right disc. So I told her I'd take it home and work on it. So, I had a computer, and a few Ubuntu discs. I couldn't resist and so I installed the Ubuntu 5.10 version. It turned out to work very well on the machine. I was able to surf the Internet, write a few documents and generally play around with the various software programs.

Then a few days ago I decided to install one of the later programs, 6.06, also called Dapper Drake. Let me say installation was a snap. By simply following the steps and answering a few questions, I was able to format the hard drive and install. It took approximately 30 minutes to do the full installation. Since then I've installed other software and it has been a snap. I will admit it is different from Windows but I'm making my way around it. At first one of the challenges was playing MP3 files. Since Ubuntu is open sources the developers kept strictly to all open source software and files, and mp3 is apparently now a propriatary software. However the problem was solved by downloading EasyUbuntu. This program claims:"EasyUbuntu is an easy to use (duh!) script that gives the Ubuntu user the most commonly requested apps, codecs, and tweaks that are not found in the base distribution - all with a few clicks of your mouse." It truly is that easy.

I don't know if she will want to use Ubuntu or go back to Windows XP, that is her decision, but for right now, I'm using Ubuntu.

Give it a try, you just might like Linux.

Judge Orders RIAA to justify its piracy charges

You know, it's been awhile since I've written anything about the RIAA or the CRIA. Our favourite groups must be getting ready for the Christmas season so they are not suing dead people or those who have no computers.

This caught my eye and it makes some very interesting reading.

To sum it up, one of the people who were sued challenged the RIAA and their calculations for damage. The RIAA claims each and every download is worth $750.00 and so they use that to calcuate how much they are suing each person. You got a hundred songs, congratulations, it will cost you $7,500.00. Which for the average student is a lot of cash.

So one of the people decided to challenge the calculations. The basis of the argument is the fact thatonly costs $0.99 to purchase a song. Therefore the argument goes, why are they coming up with such an outlandish figure.

What makes this even more interesting is the judge demanding the plaintiffs to justify their numbers.

You can read some of the court documents here. The judge is agreeing with the defendant and she can amend her defense to include this. In other words, if the RIAA sues you they can only sue you $0.99 a song. So instead of 7500 it might be only $100.00.

If the RIAA can only get $0.99 a song, then it may not be worth their effort.

Let's see how this rides out.

Wearin' My Toque

A couple of weeks ago I decided to call up CJAM and make a donation. I was their annual pledge drive and since I enjoy campus radio I thought it would be a good thing to do.

With my gift I was given a choice of prizes and after a few moments I thought the beset thing to get would be a toque. I figured it was going to get cold soon and a new toque would be perfect.

Today it arrived in the mail, so I decided I should model it for all to see.

It's fleece and quite comfortable. As you can see, the logo is on the front and if this isn't enough, it came with a button. Yes an official CJAM button.

I am now ready for winter.

While looking up material for Remembrance Day, I found this song by Bryan Adams:

"Remembrance Day"

For our king and our country and the promise of glory
We came from Kingston and Brighton to fight on the front line

Just lads from the farms and boys from the cities
Not meant to be soldiers we lay in the trenches

We'd face the fighting with a smile - or so we said
If only we had known what danger lay ahead

The sky turned to grey as we went into battle
On the fields of Europe young men were fallin'

I'll be back for you someday - it won't be long
If I can just hold on 'til this bloody war is over

The guns will be silent on Remembrance Day
There'll be no more fighting on Remembrance Day

By October of 18 Cambrai had fallen
Soon the war would be over and we'd be returnin'

Don't forget me while I'm gone far away
Well it won't be long 'till I'm back there in your arms again

One day soon - I don't know when
You know we'll all be free and the bells of peace will ring again

The time will come for you and me
We'll be goin' home when this bloody war is ended

The guns will be silent on Remembrance Day
We'll all say a prayer on Remembrance Day

On Remembrance Day - say a little prayer
On Remembrance Day

Well the guns will be silent
There'll be no more fighting
Oh we'll lay down our weapons
On Remembrance Day

We need to remember those who served and died on foreign fields, who wore "Canada" on their shoulder.

Let's remember those who still serve Canada in equally dangerous places, wearing their uniforms with pride.

I debated what to call this blog because I've got a couple of themes.

What got me thinking about the election was an interesting radio program on CJAM. The radio documentary was called a A Public Eye on the Christian Right. It examined the religious right as it pertains to the American political landscape. In particular it centred on a meeting that was called the Values Voters Summit which was sponsored by the Family Research Council, which is the political arm of Focus on the Family. But more on that later.

Alright, it's time to express my bias. I am an evangelical Christian. By rights I should be a supporter of the Religious Right but I'm not. Yes I did vote Conservative up here, but that's because I thought it was time for the Liberal Party of Canada to be tossed out, plus our Member of Parliament is a good guy. Look, I joined the Green Party of Canada, doesn't that mean I'm trying to cleanse my soul. I believe the Religious Right is both dangerous and heretical. They twist scripture to suit their agenda, no surprise there, and they seem to have forgotten the purpose of the Church. They agenda is also fueled more by hate then by Love.

There, I said it. Now about Focus on the Family; it appears that Dr. James Dobson it a bit miffed at the Republican Party. He thinks they failed the religious constituents and were defeated because of it. The GOP forgot they are the party of family values and morality, just like Mark Foley et al.

Here's the thing, the Republicans were never about family values, morality and all that, because their agenda is one of securing victory and remaining in power. The stereotypical Republican is opposed to Christianity because the party is one of privilege and wealth. Social justice means discrimination against anyone who is not like them. They proclaimed themselves a party of family values because they knew it would resonate among people who truly believe in family values. If you disagree with my assessment ask yourself this, why is it the party which has controlled both the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary over the past 18 of 26 years, has done nothing to end abortion, which they keep claiming to oppose, or why have they not strengthen the institution of marriage. They haven't because if they did they would lose their red button issue. They know all they had to do was use the words gay or abortion and the Religious Right would march step their constituents to the ballot box. They would scare people into believing if the Republicans did not win, it would lead to Sodom in the States.

Now read what Dobson had to say: "The unfortunate thing is that Republican leaders still don't appear to get it. Sen. Arlen Spector, R-Pa, said on Wednesday that the election results represented a 'seismic earthquake' and that his party must become 'a lot more progressive and a lot less ideological.' Dick Armey emerged from four years in the wilderness to blame conservative Christians for Tuesday's defeat. They were, he said, 'too involved' with the party. He can't be serious! Someone should tell him that without the support of that specific constituency, John Kerry would be President and the Republicans would have fallen into a black hole in '04."

No Jimmy, you don't get it. This administration has nothing to do with morality and everything to do with preservation of power. The election was stolen by the Bushies and you have been willing dupes in the charade. Wake up Jimmy, the enemy isn't the Democrats it's the Republicans. You were used and used like a cheap hooker, which by the way, many Republicans are very familiar with.

While I'm at it:

Stephanie had this on her blog.
Kimberly at this on her blog.
Now it's my turn.

What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?

You will sink in a mire. You like to think you're normal, but deep down you really just want to strip off your clothes and roll around in chicken fat.
Take this quiz!








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Stephanie should enjoy this blog:

I was reading Digg.com and someone has posted a digg about a free open source planetarium
. The program is called Stellarium and it's quite amazing. It offers a view of over 100,000 stars and you can coordinate it to your local area. There are groundscapes that you can change and a lot of different ways to look at the starry night.

Here are some screenshots from the program.













It's enjoyable and available for a number of platforms.

Give it a try.

Halloween Night

So I've been by the door, handing out the candy to the ghost, goblins, pirates and other assorted trick or treaters making their round. I think we had more this year then last year. Then again it's a nice night with a clear sky and a half moon in the sky. In other words a perfect night for the gathering of goodies.

While waiting I had my laptop fired up and waited. During the wait, I watched an episode of Torchwood, the spin off from Doctor Who. More on that for a different time. Also I decided to listen to the local University Radio Station CJAM, it is the local access radio station that serves the university population and the communities of Windsor and Detroit. With children at various post secondary centres of education I decided to listen to the various college stations and other alternative radio stations. It's the annual pledge drive for CJAM and so if anyone wants to send them a few dollars, the information is on the website.

I thought about other alternative stations I listened to for example when we lived in Vancouver, I used to listen to Co-Op Radio. It was a great station, they had every Wednesday night, for example a show dedicated to science fiction. This was all sorts of sci-fi, fantasy and other forms of speculative fiction- it was great. There was also a lot of various programming that was not featured in any other media outlet. That was not the only station, I also listened to CiTR, which was UBC's radio station. They were also involved with Discorder Magazine, which had a fantastic number of articles. The great thing about Vancouver was it's alternative press, plus the great free outdoor recreation magazine. Plus the computer magazines, especially the computer magazines. You could get a eclectic mix of reading just grabbing all the free magazines that were available around Commercial Drive. Hey I just checked, Magpie Magazine Gallery is still in operation, now that was a fun store. Lots of great magazines and a good place to check out the alternative works. Of course another fascinating bookstore is People's Coop Bookstore.

Quite a blog, from handing out candy to college radio stations to alternative literature in Vancouver. By the way, Coop Radio is also having a pledge drive, so there you go, two radio stations that can use your support.

Peace

Thank You Tigers

Okay, it's over. The Tigers lost in 5. Their pitching staff made five errors and the Cardinals scored 8 unearned runs. The Tigers batted a huge .108.

Now, that's the bad news. Indeed there will be enough discussion over those numbers for the next few weeks. All those nay sayers will show how this proved the Tigers did not deserve to be in the World Series and other such nonsense.

Yes, they were 19-31 over the last 50 and they blew 3 games at home against the KC Royals. There, it's all been said, for all those clowns at ESPN who are still crabbing about the lack of a New York based team in the World Series, it has been duly noted. Now consider this:

1) The Tigers improved 24 games over last year.
2) The humbled the much vaulted New York Yankees in four games, even though after game one everyone was saying what frauds the Tigers were.
3) They swept the Oakland A's.
4) They led the majors in pitching throughout the year.
5) They have a lot of young players who will only get better
Can you imagine what this series will do for; Bonderman, Verlander, Zumaya, Rodney, Granderson, Munroe and all the others. How about Inge and the few who remember the 119 loss season. This will be a team that will want nothing more then to repeat. Remember 2 years ago the Cardinals were swept by the RedSoxs.

Oh yes, congratulations Cardinals, you played hard and in the end deserved this win.

One more thing, pitchers and catchers report on February 15, 2007, and you want to believe there will be a lot of fielding practice for the pitchers that week.

In a Couple of Hours



In a Couple of Hours we will either be cheering on the Tigers as they go to Game Six back in the friendly confines of Comerica Park, or congratulating the Cardinals on their championship.

It's baseball, any thing can happen.

It ain't over, 'til its over

It ain't over 'til the Fat Lady Sings.

You Gotta Believe.

Why does orange juice taste so bad after brushing your teeth? :: ABC Gold & Tweed Coasts

This is an interesting answer to a question that does pass through out mind but we never think about finding the answer.

The Weekend in Sports

The weekend started with a football game at University of Windsor stadium. The Lancers were hosting the 2005 Vanier Cup champion Laurier Golden Hawks. We plucked our $8.00 dollars a ticket down to sit in the gold section of the stadium and waited for the game to start. There was a good contingent from WLU, in fact there was quite a number of them in our section.

The game was won by Windsor 39-29, and while Windsor jumped out to an early first half lead it became very interesting in the third and fourth quarter. However the defence for Windsor stiffened up and forced four turnovers (2 fumbles and 2 interceptions) to ensure the lead stayed with Windsor. It was both an exciting game and a great day for football, especially when the sun came out in the second half.

The result will be Windsor will host a semi-final game this Saturday. Their opponent will be the University of Western Ontario Mustangs. If I have one concern its this, Windsor has got to play a full game and not just 3 out of the four quarters. Western is their nemisis and this is a chance for the Lancers to stomp all over this rival. Still you have to believe.

Now the rest of the weekend, Saturday was to witness a rare Tiger loss. It was upsetting but then again, one has to realize this is the World Series and these two are the best teams in baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals are a great team and must not be forgotten. Now what TigerNation should do is find that idiot reporter with USAToday who said the Tigers win in three and slap him silly.

Then Sunday, Kenny Rogers pitched a gem of the game and the Tigers tied up the series. Now right now, much is being made of the alledged "substance" on the hand of the Gambler. The question is why didn't LaRussa come out and challenge the umpires to check him out. There's a couple of reasons and here are some given, 1) he didn't see it, like someone didn't phone the dugout from St. Louis and tell him all about it; 2) he has so much respect for Jim Leyland, he didn't want to confront the best pitcher in the playoffs or 3) he has this in his back pocket for game 6.

Consider this, you see something and you confront Rogers, if the umpires decide it was intentional and Rogers is tossed out. The potential is that Tigers lose game two and now the Cardinals return home for three games with the potential to win at home.
Did Rogers have something? Who knows, was it pine tar, or chew? By the way, Rogers worst inning was the first, so perhaps the Cardinals should demand Kenny have the substance on his hand for game 6.

Whatever, it doesn't matter. The Tigers are tied and it's still good.

Mag's Home Run



This is never going to get old. This video is from YouTube and shows not only the home run, but the reaction of the crowd. What a magic night. Magglio Ordonez's walk on home run in the bottom of the nineth with two men on base put the Tigers into the World Serious and took the bad taste of that 119 loss season out of everybody's mouth.

The Tigers are going to the WORLD SERIES. Oh I just said that didn't I. Who cares say it again and again and again.

Bankers for poor win peace Nobel - CNN.com

This is exciting news. Bangladeshi microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the area of microcredit and microbanking. If you're not familiar with the concept, microcredit is a small loan that is provided to poor families in third world countries so that the recipient of the loan can start a small business and allow them the chance to bring themselves up from poverty.

The loans are used by the person to buy some chickens or a cow, or as the article points out a mobile phone. The idea of the latter is that the person becomes a small telephone company and charges people to make phone calls. The loans tend to be small and for a short period of time, such as a year.

What is amazing is that it is working, people are buying chickens, selling the eggs and then buying more chicken and then hiring people to collect and market the eggs. Eventually not only does the family benefit but friends and neighbours benefit from a fresh supply of food and the opportunity to work. Others have purchased sewing machines and material and become a clothes manufacturer. I recall watching a video in which this was shown, the woman made childrens clothing and sold it to others. She made a good living and was able to start quite a nice business.

One of the concepts of the loan is that the loans are usually given to women, the idea is to allow them financial freedom and to become independent. Probably another reason is that since the woman watches the children she will be more interested in the long term viability of the business and the family, the husband would take the money and buy beer.

By the way, the return on investment is amazing with almost all the loans repaid in time and in full.

It's a success story that will have a tremendous impact on poverty levels in the third and fourth world.

And Thomas Carlyle called economics the Dismal Science.

MLB - Detroit Tigers/Oakland Athletics Box Score Wednesday October 11, 2006 - Yahoo! Sports

Phew!

Now this was a wild game. The Tigers pulled out a win in a game that featured a lot of home runs (3 by Oakland, 2 by the Tigers) and strikeouts ( 13 by the Tigers, 7 by Oakland). I guess you could say that batters were either walking slowly back to the dugout or trotting slowly around the base paths. With the possible exception of Milton Bradley who sprinted from third to home on his home run. He was pumped and excited.

You would think a game that was 8-5, it meant the Tigers had an easy time, but the bottom of the 9th was the classic, bases loaded and two out. Fortunately for the Tigers, Frank Thomas flied out to center to end the potential rally.

What is amazing is the Tigers find a new player to come to the fore and be the Man. In this game it was Alexis Gomez who hit a home run and drove in four of the eight Tiger runs.

Still it was nerve wracking at the very end, Todd Jones made it interesting. So now on to Detroit for three games. What will happen, can we use the "S" word? Have to wait for Friday night.

Let's Go Tigers

Buck O'Neil Was Voice for Negro Leagues - washingtonpost.com

I would be remiss if I didn't stop and say something about the passing of Buck O'Neil. As you can read in the article Buck O'Neil was a player in the Negro League who became a voice of the time when people were barred from playing baseball because of the colour of their skin.

He was featured in the Ken Burn's brilliant miniseries Baseball.
If you ever heard him speak, or listen to an interview he was always a great gentleman and a man who harboured no hatred. His telltale remark of 'uh huh', spoke of his folkiness and his humour. You can listen to him here.

Sadly he didn't make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is what he said: "God's been good to me. They didn't think Buck was good enough to be in the Hall of Fame. That's the way they thought about it and that's the way it is, so we're going to live with that. Now, if I'm a Hall of Famer for you, that's all right with me. Just keep loving old Buck. Don't weep for Buck. No, man, be happy, be thankful. "

Good night Buck and Good bye.

ESPN.com - MLB - Box Score - Yankees at Tigers
Bring On Oakland

Now the real series starts.

The Tigers finished off the Yankees. The team that was supposed to be 'just a minor annoyance' finished the GREATEST TEAM IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND in relatively easy fashion. If we all thought Friday's game was one-sided this was worse. The Yankees were hitless in five innings and didn't even get a run until the 7th. The vaulted Yankee line-up was anemic at best.

If you are interested here are some numbers:

Yankees BA .246
Tigers BA .309

Yankees ERA 5.5
Tigers ERA 3.5

In the end it wasn't even close.

Now it starts for real on Tuesday. Game One in Oakland on Tuesday. Can the Tigers prevail, I suppose the question should be asked, which team has the most confidence? Plus, why not the Tigers. They just eliminated the Evil Empire.

You have to believe.

6-0

Consider this:

Kenny Rogers 7.2 5 0 0 2 8

Translation: Kenny Rogers schooled the vaulted Yankee batting order. He went almost 8 innings and let not one Yankee cross home plate. In fact he caused a whole lot of them to walk back to the dugout talking to themselves. The Gambler made them look very bad and that's something because this is supposed to be the "Greatest Team Ever". In fact the Tigers aren't supposed to be even in the same league as the Yankees. After all the Tigers are a fraud, they had a horrible last 50 games, they lost three in a row to the Royals. Yes the Tigers should simply give up now and allow the Yankees to face the A's because the Yankees were supposed to sweep the Tigers. The pity is, the Yankees are the frauds and the Tigers are, after tonight the real deal.

Now it's not over. The Yankees are still the best team in the history of the world after all. They are so good, they actually won tonight. Yes they won every place but, on the scoreboard.

Think it over, the fraudulent Tigers shutout the greatest team in human history.

It is a beautiful thing.

Major League Baseball : News : Major League Baseball News

The kids are all right.

Yes the kids are alright. The Tigers managed to pull out a win in the unfriendly confines of Yankee Stadium to tie the series 1-1. You don't need me to tell you that, I mean if you are a Tiger fan you know that already.

This was a good win but believe it or not, not a surprise. After the first game, which saw Derek Jeter go 5-5, you just felt the Tigers could play even with the Yankees.

This game was delayed from Wednesday and it obviously helped the Tigers more then the Yankees. The kids were able to rest and obviously remind themselves that they are fighting for the forces of good against the Evil Empire. And we know good always triumphs over evil.

There is a couple of concerns, namely Pudge's lack of offensives prowess so far this series, hopefully that will change. Then again, you have A-Rod for the Yankees not doing anything. Ahh yes, another stellar playoff year for the guy who's quickly becoming the most hated player in pinstripes, and that's from the Yankee faithful.

Two games in Comerica. You gotta believe.

Playoff-bound Tigers keep the party going back home - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

The Sun is shining a little brighter today isn't it? Yes as you can see from the headlines, the Tigers clinched a play-off berth for the first time in a very long time.

This does not mean its all over and now we wait for the post season, no there are still a few goals to reach, the first being to take the AL Central and second, to get to the World Series.

The Tigers have been first since May 20th, or some time like that and it would be a shame to lose first to the hated Minnisota Twins.

Its amazing how strong the Central is, here is Detroit with one of the best records in Baseball, fighting to retain first place. To compare the Yankees, which is a percentage point behind Detroit in the overall standings, won their division last week. Still it is good and I hope the guys enjoy this day off, because its not over yet.

By the way, congratulations also go to the Toledo Mud Hens for winning the International League Championship and to the West Michigan Whitecaps. They won the Midwest League Championship. Both teams are part of the Tigers organization so with winners being produced in the minors the promise for more championships coming to Comerica Park seems a reality into the future.

By the way, Tigers magic number is 6.