The Meatrix

A friend sent this to me ... this will be funny, until you realize that everything -- everything they say, is true. Do you know where your food comes from?

Transit of Venus

On June 8th, Venus will transit in front of the Sun. It will appear like as a dark circle moving across the face of the Sun. This is a historic transit, for it was in 1768 that James Cook, on a mission sponsored by England's Royal Astronomical Society, set sail for Tahiti to construct an observatory to observe Venus' transit a year later. Venus transits the Sun for us to see every 120 years, so it was a historic moment. Unfortunately, Cook's logs doesn't spend much time talking about Venus. Cook had other, secret orders from the Royal Navy, and after he was finished in Tahiti, he went off to search for a missing continent and mess with the Maori and Australian Aborigines.

Mini-KISS

This can't be real!

Something Awful

If you're easily offended, don't follow this link. It's hard to describe this site. It probably says more about the people who laugh their butts off when reading it than it does about the site itself. Something Awful, is, well, really, really awful. There is no taboo. Porn is reviewed. Everybody and everything is made fun of -- in very cruel ways. Where do they find all the time?

Defending Canada

I was reading a few articles from the Fraser Institute's latest publication on Canadian National Security and Armed Forces. I always thought the decline we allowed in our armed forces has been a national shame. After the 2nd World War, Canada had an armed forces that was at the very least, in the top three military organizations of the world. That our politicians and citizens allowed its decline since, is unforgivable. The bleeding hearts liberal view that Canada is not an aggressive nation and having a strong military id counter to the way Canadians view themselves is a sorry excuse. An armed forces is not an offensive force only. Neither is it just a defensive force only. As our committment in helping create and maintain the United Nations shows, armed forces can be used constructively in bringing peace and stabilization to nations around the world. Contrary to being counter to our international policies, a strong military supports and strengthens our international policies. Shame. Shame that we've sent our soldiers to Afghanstan in jungle camouflage uniforms. Shame that they had to hitch a ride from the US to get there because we couldn't fly them. Shame also that we don't have the ability to patrol our own coasts and reinforce our sovereignty over our lands and waters. No wonder the Americans act like we're not an equal partner on the world stage -- we're not. After Trudeau left government, Canadian leaders have been nothing but bitches for US presidents. Shame. Mulroney was the worst -- he wanted it so bad from the Americans, he was groveling on his knees for it. -- It's time to start having pride. It's time to restore our dignity. It's time to be an equal player and reassert ourselves on the international political stage. To some degree, American international policies are our fault, cause there is no Canadian there to tell the US government to stop being such an ass. We have a place on the world stage -- yes, beside, together and as an equal partner with the US. We need to live up to that role -- the US needs us in that role and the world needs us in that role. But without a strong military force, we're just sniveling whiners who haven't realized it yet -- worse, just an American bitch. Shame on us. Shame on us for letting down those who gave their lives for what we have today. Shame on us for sending our sons and daughters out to defend freedom and democracy ill-equipped and unprepared.

Canadian Military History -- check out this site from the Directorate of History and Heritage to learn more about Canada's rich military history.

Canadian Navy -- a site that chronicles the Canadian Navy vessels and aircraft from yesterday and today.

Holding Corporations Accountable

The War Profiteers -- it was no secret that businesses gained during wars. During WWII, American businesses made profits from both sides. The degree of the association of war and businesses however, is inseparable today -- today, war is business (and to some degree, business is war). From the contracting of non-combat services (another reference here) and non-combat military missions to having contractors perform military missions for businesses in a war zone. The War Profiteers is an organization of CorpWatch, who's mission it is to counter "corporate-led globalization through education, network-building and activism." While I don't agree with their stance against globalization, I agree with their concerns about corporate interference and corporate wrong-doing. In many cases, Corporations skirt the law, where laws exist, or break laws because of an absence of enforcement -- the fact that Corporations have no morals should come as no surprise -- they're out for profits and will do so at the expense of human life, dignity and the environment. The fact that the leaders of these corporations can willingly bring death and destruction, and not feel guilt is tells a lot. The fact that we in the industrialized nations have nothing to curtail this behaviour is also telling. -- The War Profiteers have created a number of reports to bring attention to the plight of third world countries in face of (mostly) American businesses.

Houston, We Have a Problem [PDF] - this is an alternative annual report for the Halliburton Corporation (see their 2003 Annual Report [PDF])-- an oil and gas services company from the US. The report chronicles Halliburton's military and energy operations, as well as their political connections, around the world. Even if 10% of what the report says can't be denied, it's still scary.

Know Your War Profiteers Card Deck [PDF] - like the US Government's deck of most wanted Iraqis deck of cards, here's a deck of cards of the most wanted in the war against terror -- they have been accused of war for the sake of colonialism. And I have to agree.

Private Contractors and Torture at Abu Ghraib [PDF] - it has been accepted that Iraqi prisoners were tortured by US forces and possibly private contractors. The fact that they may have been terrorists or not became moot -- and it's reasonable to believe that some were just misguided young men caught up furor of a war torn country. The story that a old boy was raped as a female US soldier took pictures is frightening. The Americans were supposed to be heroes. Heroes don't rape and torture. They have something called morals.

(Naj, thanks for the links and the story.)

Illegal Art

This is funny until you start taking it seriously -- then it becomes down right disturbing. Check out some visual critique of politics, government, big media, and all the things that go bump in the night. Want to see how entertaining it is bombing the hell out of Iraq? Care to see American politicians at their base-best? (Lord bless them!) Ever wondered what George W. and the Teletubbies have in common? Or how about the Last Supper revisited as the Last Pancake Breakfast? (By Dick Detzner -- who did a Mary Mother of God magazine cover that asks questions like: 'What to tell your husband when God knocks you up, Matthew 1:19.25') Very disturbing stuff. (Also too damn funny!)

Sue Me Asshole [PDF]

Todd Bosely made a bobbing head Arnold doll. The world then went ape-shit -- for Todd that is. Martin Singer, Arnold's lawyer, sent a stern letter threatening to sue the hell out of Todd if he doesn't stop with the dolls. Apparently all images of Arnold is owned, and can't be used without permission. Seems like someone forgot to tell Arnold that as a public figure, he's fair game for media abuse. This was even made funnier because Singer copywrited his letter to Todd. Check out the book that gives the finger to Arnold. You can also check out Arnold's penis ... don't ask, just click on the link, it's funny!

Awful Plastic Surgery

On the web, you will find everything -- including a site that chronicles the plastic surgery escapades of celebrities.

Weasel Circus

Here's a bit of time waster for work -- think of it as the bringing out of your inner Dilbert.

shmodiggity

"The basis, the very subconscious primal nature of man, consists of two questions: should I fuck it or should I kill it?" Just read that funny line on a blog.

When Does IT Matter?

Nicholas G. Carr says something that I agree with. This is a no brainer, and has been around for a while. The S-curve that predicts the evolution of technology adoption, and the z-curve, that predicts a technology's potential for providing competitive advantage. When selecting technology for competitive advantage, you really need to know where the technology lies on the z-curve. If it's at the beginning, it's expensive, but it has the potential to move you to the head of the pack. If you have already missed your chance, you might as well wait for it to become ubiquitous, because you're not getting to the head of the pack anymore. Granted, things are a little more complex than the oversimplfying -- like it depends on the industry's adoption of the technology. It may be bleeding edge in one industry, while it has been languishing as a commodity in another.

Spammer to Prison

eWeek reports that a spammer who sent 850 millions spam messages through accounts he opened with stolen identities, was sentenced to as much as 7 years in prison. But that's not good enough -- for the revenge minded like me, I'd like to see him forced to eat nothing but spam for the rest of his stay in prison.

Raed ... the Movie

The Blog that brought the Iraqi peoples' voice to world is going to be a movie. Salam Pax, the 20-something, gay student from Iraq, wrote the blog to keep in touch with his friend Raed, who was studying in Egypt when the war broke out. The popularity of the blog spawned a book and from the book a movie deal.

New America Foundation

This is an American public policy think-tank, that goes to show there is hope for America after all -- though not in their politicians. The organization publishes the Atlantic Monthly, with articles such as "Are We Still a Middle-Class Nation?" The organization also hosts public discourse on many diverse topics -- ranging from health, social welfare to science & technology. Most of these have transcripts posted on their website.

USS Enterprise Flies [MPEG]

A guy from Kumamoto, Japan has built a flying model of the USS Enterprise. Cool!

The New Wal-Mart?

OK, may not. But boy are they growing. Amazon.com that is. In the last five years, Amazon has grown from less than a billion to over $5 billion. Their expectations are that will continue to grow as Amazon differentiates from it's core books, music and videos. Already they're making money from businesses they've expanded to -- but how far can they go?

Power of Productivity

This McKinsey article looks at poverty in the world, and comes to the startling conclusion that things are not changing -- in fact at current rate of growth, it would take centuries for poor countries to catch up to where the G7 nations are -- that is, if they ever catch up. The McKinsey article contends that trying to solve third world poverty has been focusing on the wrong problems to solve -- the economic problem was viewed at an aggregated level, which loses the intelligence contained in the details. The article contends that productivity is the primary driver of economic growth, and it is something that developing countries lack -- and aren't even set up to foster, as competition is stymied government policies that strive to protect established production. Those that receive government favours tend to be large corporations, as any disruption in their productivity levels would lead to political and economic instability that a country may take sometime to recover from -- if ever. It's the industries with the greatest productivity levels within a country that by far impacts the overall well being of a country -- it's the industries creates sensitivities in the economy, but also the ones where a increase in productivity would benefit the country's economy. Catch-22. The article suggests that more competition, including opening up a country for foreign investment and competition is healthy. I don't buy that. I don't believe in the benevolence of businesses -- especially foreign businesses entering a third world country. They're driven foremost by profits -- or they wouldn't be there. Foreign businesses in third world countries is just another form of colonialism -- rape and pillage under an altruistic guise. So where does that leave poor countries? Nowhere. No one's out to help them. They're screwed. Unless of course the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund can shake off the shackles of G7 business malevolence and return to being benefactors of goodwill. Yeah, and what are the chances of that happening?

Coder or Killer?

Here's a quick quiz to test your ability to determine if an individual is a coder or a serial killer from their mugshots. I scored 8/10. How about you? When you're finished, check out the blog -- now that's a cool design! (I'm a tad jealous of the creativity and the technical expertise.)

Technovelgy

A site where "science meets fiction" -- chronicling the inventions made by SciFi. Cool site! Read about intentional and sometimes, unintentional, SciFi items that make it into the news -- like the Church of Fools' debut, with the avatar of Reverend Jem Clines disappearing; or the idea of thin-film transistor LCD Displays, that first appeared in Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age. The coolest however has got to be MADMEN -- Modular Asteroid Deflection Mission Ejector Node [PDF] -- a NASA concept to put low-orbit robots that could be called upon to attack asteroids that pose potential threats to Earth. (And the program name? The League of Extraordinary Machines. I love it!) This idea was first proposed by Robert Heinlein, in his 1939 story, Misfit.

Human Capital Management [PDF]

Baseline Magazine has a great cover article on Human Capital Management -- the processes and system enablers of leveraging human assets to achieve business goals with efficiency and cost constraints. The article is a case study in the use of HCM software and processes in sports, and primarily focuses on the Boston Red Sox's drive for a world series championship this year by employing some smarts and lots of statistics in determining who will make it into their roster. If this is good for sports teams, think of how well it could be for businesses, where people can make or break a company. What I found totally surprising, was the fact that the software employed by the Red Sox is based on the Lotus Domino platform. Who'd have thought that? Baseline also has related articles on the use of HCM software in Basketball, Football [PDF], and Hockey [PDF].

Does IT Matter?

Here's a BusinessWeek review of Nicholas G. Carr's book by the same title. Carr argues that IT is all washed up, and the industry's transformation powers are all gone. He directs businesses to stop looking for new gains from IT, and to instead being followers -- waiting until a new technology has proven itself before adopting it. I find this advice narrow and reflective of the kind of short-term thinking that permeates much of US policies and business thinking. Business that don't strive for long term growth and differentiate from their competitors are doomed to stagnation and decline. This stance from Carr isn't new. In his article in Harvard Business Review [PDF] last year, he made similar comments. Well, if nothing else, his postulating is good for a healthy debate -- if nothing else, it certainly should serve as a kick in the pants to CIOs who want to keep their jobs.

Manufacturing in the US

This shouldn't be news -- this should be obvious. Manufacturing is down in the US (and most first world countries in general). Well stop the presses. The politicians love to rally behind saving jobs, subsidizing manufacturing that can't compete with cheaper more efficient foreign competitors. But it's a losing battle -- it makes no sense to even try and win those battles. While the world's new manufacturers (the Asian countries) tuned their manufacturing for efficiency by employing technology, the first world countries let their manufacturing prowess slip by not investing in production capabilities. We're reaping the results now. Businesses that were not strategic, but kept a short-sighted eye on the bottom line have allowed this to happen. We let this happen.

Leadership vs. Management

Another article from Inbound Logistics magazine -- this one focusing on what makes a Logistics Leader. While the article talks about Logistics and the leadership required in the field, its generalities speaks to leadership in general. The following are highlights from the article I found interesting enough to underline while being jerked about on the subway this afternoon.

Great leaders maximize ROI by inspiring their organizations to achieve goals. "As a leader, you must understand the surroundings and you must win the hearts and minds of your team to be successful. A great leader is able to bring the best out of each person whether on the warehouse floor or in the executive wing." Vision: "The vision is really a dream with a deadline ... leaders create something that becomes a passion for everybody."  -- need to differentiate from the present state -- "leadership evolves around change" Inspiration and motivation: inspire others to pursue their vision Empowerment: "create an environment that allows people to exercise their talents and maximize their potential" Authenticity: a certain degree of integrity, respect for others, and an ethical and moral framework from which they operate -- Good leaders inspire confidence, and relish -- and seek -- responsibility and accountability.  -- "Leaders who are loyal to the organization, the people they work with, and themselves is a valuable commodity. They understand the power that loyalty and integrity bring and the confidence they instill." Leaders or Managers?  Don't confuse leadership with management. "Leading means inspiring and enabling an organization," says Ralph Drayer. "Managers don't really inspire or lead an organization; they are there to manage a group of people. It's more administration than leadership."  -- "Leadership means holding people responsible and capable of performing a mission."  -- "Management is focused on effective deployment of resources, systems, and processes."  -- "Execution involves getting people to do what needs to be done. Having a vision and giving people hope -- those are big parts of leadership."  -- "You can be a good manager and not be a good leader; you can be a good leader and not be a good manager."

SCM & Logistics: What's the Difference?

Over the years, Logistics seemed to have evolved to Supply Chain Management (SCM). As Logistics functions became more and more important to an enterprise -- that's where the dollars were being spent -- enterprises placed a lot of focus on it, to bring down costs and implement efficiencies and controls. The evolution from Logistics to Supply Chain Management is the natural move from managing down one constraint and moving on to another. After the Logistics hurdle was overcome, enterprises moved to their purchasing and distribution functions. This article from Inbound Logistics magazine, explores these topics and tries to make sense of Logistics, SCM and where it's all going next.

Nanobacteria

A team of researchers from the Mayo Clinic are hypothesizing the existence of nanobacteria. They're looking for further evidence of their existence -- if they do exist, we're looking at another set of bugs that can cause illness, and may have symbiotic relationship with us. The world just keeps getting bigger, doesn't it?

Iran's Model Economy

While the US wages war in Iraq to convert it to a model of Middle East prosperity, Iran, a member of Bush's "Axis of Evil," has been slowly converting itself to a market economy -- led mostly by moderates and conservatives within the country. More and more, the Iran story is shaping up to look like China's. No demise like the Soviet Union and no revolution needed. Just slow plodding conversion of state control to private control. The gains aren't only going to the country -- for a market economy to thrive, all resources must be exploited to their fullest -- and so women are gaining ground in participating in businesses -- owning a stake in the reforms. As they gain more influence in the country's economy, expect the demand for social change to follow.

Googling Your PC

The NY Times is reporting that google is going to release a search tool for information stored on PCs soon. The foray to PC search is seen as a preemptive strike at Microsoft, who plans on rearchitecting the Windows file system in Longhorn (due out in 2006) and make search of both the PC and internet a key feature of the new OS. Previously, Google's arrival on the desktop has been limited to their Deskbar product that allows internet search from a dialog box residing on the start bar.

Regeneration

BusinessWeek has does a good job covering the current state of regenerative medicine -- the catchall term for the fields of gene therapy, stem cell research, protein-based drugs, etc. Regenerative medicine is about accessing and exploiting the body's natural regenerative abilities -- but taking it to the extremes. Giving the body the ability to grow replacement parts for organs such as the heart and brain. It's not that far fetched. It's already being done in nature, in newts and the like, as well as in humans to a certain extent -- you lose some skin, your body can regrow it. Unlike the newts however, humans can't regrow a leg, or intestine, or spine, or eyes -- not yet anyway. The science is at its infancy, with many paths being explored across the world -- however, in North America, especially the US, Big Pharma is being stymied by the government that's bending to pressure from religious groups that see such science as unethical -- meanwhile, millions die every year.

Personal Widlife Sanctuary

Here's a cool idea -- build a personal wildlife sanctuary in your own backyard. This is timely, especially with the debates going on in Toronto regarding the use of pesticide -- cause using pesticide just doesn't kill weed -- it kills indiscriminately -- including things like ladybugs, butterflies, etc. So for the dumb-asses who want green grass, go get yourself some artificial turf. When I get myself a house with a backyard -- this is what I want for a garden -- a jungle.

Poo-poo Power!

Next time you use the washroom, you could be powering your electric toothbrush. OK, not really -- but NASA is looking at converting human waste to power to enable full utilization of all resources on board of spaceships on long voyages -- say to Mars, for example. Scientists are investigating the use of bacteria to convert human waste to usable organic compounds as well as electricity. The research is looking to create microbial fuel cells that will be powered by waste. This research could have a tremendous impact right here on Earth -- if we're up to it.

Fraser Institute

The Fraser Institute is an independent public policy organization. They publish a free monthly journal that serves as a review of public policy in Canada -- the conclusions in the journal tend to lean towards the Fraser Institute's interests, but the analysis tries to present information that is unbiased. If public policy, economics and Canada is of interest to you, this is site you'll want to bookmark.

Innovating the Customer Experience

BusinessWeek goes ga-ga over IDEO -- a design firm that not only design innovative products, services and the like, but has also created a sandbox where the customer experience can see some innovation. Armed with social scientists, designers, architects and engineers, IDEO has moved into the space traditionally occupied by management consultants, but takes a novel approach to analyze, design/build, prototype and implement process changes -- the results: clients that are quoted in the article are gushing -- and these are executives of companies like P&G, AT&T and GM. For a quick lesson of the IDEO way, click here.

Baller's Cult

If you think Gates is the devil himself, you'll laugh yourself silly when you see what Steve Baller does in his spare time. Does the man have no shame?!

Growing New Teeth

Paul Sharpe of King's College, London, has successfully grown new, natural teeth by inserting harvested stem cells in the gums of mice. It's expected that within a couple of years, a similar procedure will be ready for clinical trials in humans. The process can produce new teeth within a few weeks. The teeth grows, attaching itself into the jawbone and hooking itself into the available blood and nerve supply.

Wings on Mars

Kakkattukuzhy M. Isaac, professor of Aerospace Engineering at University of Missouri-Rolla, is working on creating a flapping, gliding robot that could someday explore Mars. NASA is already thinking of putting complex robots on Mars to explore -- some of those are modeled after insects -- there is even an insect-sized flying robot already built. Isaac however is working on something a little bigger -- something the size of an eagle perhaps. The big barrier with a flapping robot is weight and energy. The gears and energy needed to power the gears are a problem. Isaac idea however is to use artificial muscles, made of plastics with the ability to flex when an electric charge is introduced, as well as change shape to glide more efficiently -- doing away with heavy gears. The robot would be powered by the Sun, taking the energy problem away. Thus far, only the wings have funding -- but if successful, the rest of the robot could be funded as well.

Brown vs. Board of Education

On this day, 50 years ago, in the case of Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, the US Supreme Court ended federally sanctioned racial segregation in the public schools by ruling unanimously that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." 50 years has passed, but are blacks any better off today? The answer is yes. They are more well off socially, economically and educationally. But since the late 80s, there has been slow reversal of the trend, and more and more, schools are becoming segregated again -- where there are schools dominated by whites, and visible minorities are provisioned schools that are usally underfunded and unequal. Read the BusinessWeek article.

Rational Exuberance

Michael J. Mandel's Rational Exuberance has been excerpted in BusinessWeek. The book makes an argument for technology as a growth driver of the economy and paints an optimistic view for the US' economic future based on its ability to innovate. Technology innovations have continuously driven the US economy to achieve large scale growth -- which Mandel calls "exuberant growth." He's optimistic of the US future. There are numerous innovations on the edge of commercial viability; committment to R&D and education continues to expand in the US and the world (and what's good for the world economy is good for the US economy); and capitalism in the US feeds private capital funding and risk taking, encouraging and fostering innovative technologies that will push the production envelope. Of course, there are those who disagree. Evagelical-economists, funded by the political-self-interested, try to paint doom and gloom to further their own agenda -- how else do you explain the fact that offshoring a few jobs from the US is taking on campaign importance in the latest idiot-race? Policy makers crave stability, but in a world (not to mention countries) where disparities exist, change, especially economic change is the only hope the poor have for equality -- and it sure as hell is better than the revolution that has plagued the Latin American countries to no effect.

Lord of the Peeps

Here's a tribute site to the Lord of the Rings -- but quite different. Funny. And different. Very different!

Mr. Picassohead

Be Picasso ... go on! This site features some nifty work with Macromedia's Flash.

Zim Mobile

Seems like Michael Cowpland is at it again. What he thinks of his wife is beyond me, but -- is that her gracing Zim's homepage? Those not keeping up with the trash of the Canadian high-tech industry will be forgiven for forgetting about Cowpland and his trophy wife. A gentle reminder then: Cowpland is the man who created Corel and then brought it to its knees. Check out the pictures: [1] [2] [3]

Trunk Monkey

(This was forwarded to me by a friend at work.) Trunk Monkey -- or as it was pointed out, chimpanzee -- is a trained monkey, with a steady source of ice-cold beer, living in the trunk of certain Subaru vehicles. It's good for a few things -- keeping your car stable as you drive, and mitigating risks posed by suburban miscreants bent on messing with you. Check out the site -- scroll down and enjoy the videos.

Advertisement Ave.

If you're like me and you hardly ever watch TV, you probably aren't contributing to society by taking your daily dose of commercials. Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief because the internet does have an aswer for everything -- this site keeps all those commercials around for you -- you can watch them online or download them to your computer. Just remember -- you need to play a commercial at least once every fifteen minutes while using your computer!

The Drawing of the Three

I recently finished Stephen King's The Drawing of the Three, the second novel in his Dark Tower series. There's probably enough written about the Dark Tower series already, so I won't bore you with yet another review. I will say however, that the series is quite a departure for King, who's more known for his horror series. For the uninitiated, the Dark Tower series is really a fantasy novel for adults. And yes, it can be scary too -- but it's not horror.

Roboethics

Increasingly, robots are entering our society -- from automations delivering bombs in Iraq and performing scouting duties in Afghanitan, to robot pets, servants and automations that toil endlessly in manufacturing plants. Robots are here to stay. Questions however abound -- will we face future conundrums posed by Issac Asimov's "I, Robot" -- or the Terminator and Matrix movies? Scientists are trying to stay ahead of the curve on this one, and at the end of January, they wrapped up the first symposium on roboethics in Italy. Where the future's headed? Nobody knows.

Ladykillers

Just came back from seeing the Ladykillers. The movie was definitely quirky, with amazing performances by Irma P. Hall and Tom Hanks. For those who are familiar with the movies of the Coen Brothers, they'll find that the Ladykillers fit into their mould readily. (The movie is a remake of the original 1955 movie, starring Alec Guinness.) Check it out the trailer here.

IIS Sightings

The International Space Station made a pass