So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Astrobiologists at the Cardiff Centre have built a model of our solar system travels through our galaxy. Our solar system is on the outer edges of one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way, taking its sweet ole time to complete a complete revolution (around 250 million years, if I remember correctly). But that's not the only movement of the solar system. Apparently, it bounces up and down through the plane of the Milky Way every 35-40 million years -- and with each bounce through the plane, the solar system is exposed to a denser region of the galaxy -- the plane has much more stuff. A bounce through that stuff could lead to catastrophic events -- such as comets colliding with Earth. In fact, the 35-40 million year cycle coincides quite well with mass extinction events on Earth.

Now here's the bad news. We're up for another bounce through the galactic plane -- tomorrow in fact -- so place your head firmly between your knees, it's going to be a rough ride.

Pioneers of the Pacific

History tells us that Captain James Cook conquered the Pacific back in the late 18th century. Of course, the peoples he discovered were not really people, so they just didn't count. What was completely lost on Cook was that he was over 3,000 years too late. The Lapita, a people originating from somewhere in the Pacific, conquered the Pacific Ocean in their day, spreading their language, culture and customs to most of the Pacific islands, including Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand, Easter Island, and Tahiti -- where their influences can still be seen today. Unfortunately, no one knows who they were, how they sailed the Pacific, and why they ventured so far. Read more at the National Geographic site.

Another Reason Why Metallica Sucks

What happens when a band comes out against their fans who pirated their music? They're hated to the core of their sold-out souls. What happens when that band contemplates an internet distribution model after years of sucking? They get creamed by music fans for being hypocrites. Who's the band? Metallica. Read more on Wired.

Spying on America's Secrets

So what would happen if, a Canadian agent convinced a U.S. Army mechanical engineer to secretly bring classified U.S. national defence documents home, so they could be photographed and sent back to Canada? What if those documents included atomic weapons and fighter jet information? What if the Americans finally found out via an FBI investigation? What would the U.S. government do? Well, for one thing, they'd be pissed. They'd call a news conference and show the world how pissed they were at Canada. They'd feel betrayal that one of their closest allies ... friends ... had come into their house and steal secrets from them. In fact, had they asked, the information would probably have been shared with them. Diplomats would be pulled, and the U.S. would be mad with us for quite some time.

This of course did happen ... the stealing part that is. But it wasn't Canada. It was Israel that did the stealing. And it happened for years. An investigation has culminated in charges being brought against a traitorous mechanical engineer. The U.S. government however, hasn't reacted. That's because this situation involves Israel, and as usual, Israel will be forgiven for their transgressions. Israel can do no wrong because Israel has the entire Arab world arrayed against them, and that very fact is why America will always have a soft spot for Israel, despite their stupidity. America's penchant for forgiving Israel for all wrongs however is also the reason why America will never have credibility in the Arab world -- why it will never bring peace to the Middle East; and why there will be no democracy in Iraq if America has anything to do with it.

Having a Firm Grip on Spending Taxpayers Dollars

The UK's Office of Government Commerce (OGC), responsible for government procurement, recently underwent a branding exercise, the culmination of which has resulted in the creation of a logo. Everyone loves a logo, and one that is memorable, capable of surviving the changes in strategy and messaging. An OGC spokesman commented to the Register on their new logo:

"The proposed version, which you have sent over, has been shared with staff, and is now going through final technical stages. It is true that it caused a few titters among some staff when viewed on its side, but on consideration we concluded that the effect was generic to the particular combination of the letters 'OGC' - and is not inappropriate to an organization that's looking to have a firm grip on government spend!"

The logo will indeed be memorable, firm grip and all. Just rotate it 90-degrees clockwise to see why.

Evil Cola

What's wrong with Coca-Cola India? They're supplying a toxic sludge to local farmers in Kerala as fertilizer, to placate them for the pillaging of their water supply to create sugar water and profits for Coke's coffers. Coke claims the toxic sludge is good crops, but an independent study revealed that the sludge would be totally useless as a fertilizer.

Disemboweled and Torn Apart for Teaching Girls

The world does not need the Taliban. The world does not need Islamic fundamentalists. The world doesn't need fundamentalists, period. They should be killed. Everyone single one of them. Killed -- because if it's not them, it's us. This report from 2006 is a reminder of why the war in Afghanistan got as much support as it did; and why it's still a just war. If George W. hadn't fucked it all up by invading Iraq, the world would have been a different place today. Muslim moderates would have cheered to have the fundamentalists purged from the planet. Instead, George W. succeeded in irking Muslim moderates and turning a war against fundamentalists into a war against Islam. Way to go jackass.

The gunmen came at night to drag Mohammed Halim away from his home, in front of his crying children and his wife begging for mercy.

The 46-year-old schoolteacher tried to reassure his family that he would return safely. But his life was over, he was part-disembowelled and then torn apart with his arms and legs tied to motorbikes, the remains put on display as a warning to others against defying Taliban orders to stop educating girls.

Saying No to Weapons Export

Way to go South African dock workers! A Chinese ship docked at a South African port encountered problems when it tried to offload its shipment of weapons destined for Zimbabwe. While there is currently no UN or AU embargo on shipping weapons to Zimbabwe, public interest groups are concerned about the use of those weapons in the political turmoil that is Zimbabwe today. So, dock workers refused to offload the ship, and it had to leave. The ship had on board, three million rounds for AK-47s, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and several thousand mortar rounds. Just what is a country, with no economy, doing, in importing such weapons? And what is China doing, exporting such weapons to such an unstable country?

The Arms industry is huge. The economics of dealing in death just makes for good business. It's startling however, when you start digging into the flow of cash for weapons. The top 20 arms exporters in the world include the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Yes, the body whose "primary responsibility, under the [UN] Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security," supplies the arms to conflicts around the world. Canada is just as guilty as the five permanent members. We rank number 12, and export $10-25MM in small arms. Those very weapons that are handy in ethnic and religious conflicts in developing nations; those very weapons that are light and easy to carry and use by children who supply the bodies in some of those armed conflicts.

The Dirty Truth About Plastic

Plastics were making the news this week in Canada, with Health Canada not really announcing much that they haven't already announced. In effect, what Health Canada said this week was, yes, plastics do represent a risk, however, at the end of the day, plastics are so ubiquitous in our environment, that an outright ban due to the risks of chemicals such as Bisphenol A would create a vacuum that would cause more harm than good. And to be sure, the economic ramifications to an outright ban would be tremendous. That doesn't mean that Health Canada made a political decision and closed the door. The door remained open, even if it is just slight. Health Canada label Bisphenol A toxic, and that will now allow the government to regulate the chemical. It's a warning to industry that the days of using human health and the environment as a test bed, are gone.

Will there be changes overnight? Not the dramatic ones that vocal critics of the chemical industry had hoped for. Sure, there were forward thinking retailers who saw the financial risks of still carrying such products -- and they reacted, even to just the rumour of Health Canada releasing findings, but that will not be the end of it. The chemical industry needs to innovate, and that will result in some hits and misses -- but it also represent an opportunity for companies to deliver alternatives and shift the game in their favour.

As much as Bisphenol A is a problem, there are also a slew of other chemicals that are in plastics that remain a potential risk, and these will be examined over time by Health Canada. Verdicts will be delivered. The old ways of industry doing as they please are changing. Consumers are more educated, and a vocal subset are advocating for more transparency and social responsibility. Businesses have to respond. It's a moral imperative. To not respond to this awareness would be unethical. Responses at this juncture will signal whether corporations respect their customers and the environment, or are simply evil.

This month's Discover magazine is also running an article on the Dirty Truth About Plastic. As I said above, phenols aren't the only concern -- so are phthalates and the sheer volume and longevity of plastic. We live in a plastic world it seems, and are slowly getting buried under the stuff. There are viable alternatives out there, so why aren't they being used?

Why do we let this shit happen?

Helix Wind

Helix Wind has created a unique, and absolutely cool, wind power generation system for homes and small businesses. The Helix system works in low wind conditions, capturing wind from any direction and funneling it into the turbine. Helix Wind has more details on their site, including techincal drawings that architects and engineers can use to easily integrate Helix systems into their work. From an architectural perspective, the Helix system could be used to compliment a design. You can be the envy of your neighbours in more than one way.

Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear

There are few faceless corporations that are truly evil. Monsanto is one of them. One must wonder about the people who are the tireless cogs in its machinery -- as they slog away, do they ever wonder about the machine they power? Vanity Fair is running an investigative piece that looks at Monstanso: its quest to control the food supply chain and the destruction of the environment that it is responsible for. If I worked for Monsanto, I think I would breaking glass and diving out of the offices of its highest towers, because I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Evil.