Hans Island is part of Canada

I don't know much of the history, but being Canadian, I think I will stake a claim on Hans Island for king queen me and country! Recently, the squabble over Hans Island reared its head when Defense Minister Bill Graham visited the uninhabited island, and Canadian soldiers planted the Maple Leaf flag there. Canada and Denmark have long claimed Hans Island as their own -- it being between Greenland and Ellesmere Island. Canada's claim dates back to the handover of British territory to Canada in 1867, of which Hans Island was a part. Denmark claims Hans Island because it's closer to Greenland than it is to Canada. Like that's a good enough excuse. Denmark still maintains a hold over Greenland -- a hold that goes back to the colonial days. Someone ought to remind them that colonialism died out a while back.

The bad news in this for Canada is that we don't have much of a northern military presence [PDF] -- in fact, we hardly have a military, so there's no way we could reinforce our claim on the island -- as small and insignificant as it is. Why should we even care about Hans Island? Well, global warming is slowly but surely making the Arctic a place where ships could easily traverse without the need for ice breakers to clear the way. A north-west passage from Europe to Asia would be of vital economic importance to whoever controls the passage. Right now, Denmark and Canada are squabbling on the east, and the US, Russia and Canada are having words on the west.

Water Ice on Mars

ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has taken images of a water ice patch within a crater on Mars. The crater is located in northern latitude of Mars, in the plain known as Vastitas Borealis. The possibility of finding evidence of past life on Mars -- or perhaps life still existing, has increased. The finding also provides a boost for future manned missions to Mars, as water will be needed for the astronauts to survive there. Previously, ESA has detected a large frozen sea below the surface of Mars.

Image credit: ESA's Mars Express, High Resolution Stereo Camera.

Random Sites by Naj

A friend just sent out this list of random sites to his distribution list. Without further ado, here they are:

FutureMe.org -- it's a neat concept that I wished I had thought of first. The site offers you the chance to send yourself an email in the future. Compose something today, set the date when you want it delivered and it will be emailed to you then. Send something inspirational decades from now, or an email reminder to leave the office in the afternoon. The catch: how long will FutureMe.org be around to ensure your email gets sent -- and, how long will you be keeping your email address around. OK, maybe I should be an optimist.

the Longevity Game -- want to know when you're going to die? According to the site, I'm going to be dead by 80 unless I smarten up. That sucks. Although it does allow you to mess with the answer -- ie. see if you made some intelligent choices, how many more years you'll get. Eating fruit for instance will give me 3 more years. If I had a sex change, I almost instantly gain 10 more years in live.

About You -- want to know what information your browser gives away when you surf the net? Check this site out. You are so exposed baby!

Colour Quiz -- this appears to be a whole lot of BS. Chose colours on the screen and site will tell you how you're feeling -- just in case you haven't a clue how you're feeling that is. If you know how you're feeling, skip this link and don't waste your time. I was curious, and this is what it told me:

Your Existing Situation
Attracted by anything new, modern, or intriguing. Liable to the bored by the humdrum, the ordinary, or the traditional.
Your Stress Sources
Wants to overcome a feeling of emptiness and of separation from others. Believes that life still has far more to offer and that he may miss his share of experiences if he fails to make the best use of every opportunity. He therefore pursues his objectives with a fierce intensity and commits himself deeply and readily. Feels himself to be completely competent in any field in which he engages, and can sometimes be considered by others to be interfering or meddlesome.
Your Restrained Characteristics
Feels that he is receiving less than his share and that there is no one on who he can rely for sympathy and understanding. Pent-up emotions make him quick to take offense, but he realizes that he has to make the best of things as they are. Egocentric and therefore quick to take offense. Able to achieve satisfaction through sexual activity but tends to hold aloof emotionally.
Your Desired Objective
Strives for a life rich in activity and experience, and for a close bond offering sexual and emotional fulfillment.
Your Actual Problem
The fear that he might be prevented from achieving the things he wants leads him to play his part with an urgent and hectic intensity.
Your Actual Problem #2
Fights against restriction or limitation, and insists on developing freely as a result of his own efforts.

It lied. I randomly chose the colours without thinking.

Relativity Tutorial -- and the last one ... because everyone needs a little physics in their life, a tutorial on relativity.

Emoticon Patent

Further proof that we live in a wacky world, and if we're not careful, we could all be owned by someone else someday. Microsoft has filed a patent with the US Patent Office to trademark the creation of custom emoticons. Microsoft apparently believes that it created emoticons; emoticons have commercial value; and wants to own it. WTF? Bill, how far do you intend to go? The emoticon patent hasn't been granted as yet. However, this ridiculous patent was recently granted to Amazon. It represents a process by which is a visitor's viewing history can be used to form relationships -- e.g., "products A and B are related because a significant portion of those who viewed A also viewed B." There's nothing unique in the process Amazon patented. It's used by many already -- like bricks and mortar stores that will recommend a product with another based on the purchase history of the latter -- e.g., people who buy a coffee, sometimes buy a cookie with it. When will the madness end?

10th Planet Discovered

Astronomers from the Palomer Observatory, the Gemini Observatory and Yale University, have discovered the 10th planet in the solar system. The planet is located beyond the orbit of Pluto -- just over twice the distance from the Sun than Pluto, which puts it smack in the Kuiper Belt. The planet is currently the third brightest object in the Kuiper Belt. Astronomers are estimating that the planet is most likely larger than Pluto, based on the amount of sunlight it is reflecting. The temporary name of the planet is 2003 UB313. The IAU is determining the permanent name for the planet.

The announcement of the planet, follows the announcement of the discovery of another large Kuiper Belt object -- currently known as 2003 EL61. 2003 EL61 appears to be as large as Sedna -- although it appears that the verdict is still out on whether Sedna, Quaoar and Orcus (other Kuiper Belt objects) are really planets.

Image credit: Samuel Oschin Telescope, Palomar Observatory

India: Life Science Industry

The latest issue of the journal Nature has a supplement on the emerging life science industry in India. India is expected to rapidly ascend to the third largest economy, behind China and the US, in the coming decades. With a huge population, that is young and hungry for opportunities, the future appears bright. There are serious obstacles in the way however. Health is one of the biggest [PDF] -- and unless India makes a concerted effort to turn the tide, the road to economic success may be a bumpy one.

The outlook is an interesting read, as it provides a life sciences view of an emerging economy. This perspective is interesting in that it demonstrates that if health can be improved in third world countries, to a point where it is self-sustaining, then improvements in economic health would have a chance -- and improvements in economic health would surely be followed by improvements in social health. Or maybe I just have a dose of optimism.

Office Vocabulary

The following comes from a friend. Some have been around for a while -- most likely for a reason. Try them out in the office -- I'm sure you'll find the application. [Thanks Naj!]

Blamestorming - Sitting around in a group discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed and who was responsible.

Seagull Manager - A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps all over everything and then leaves.

Salmon Day - The experience of spending an entire day swimming up stream only to die in the end.

Chainsaw Consultant - An outside expert brought in to reduce the employee head count, leaving the brass with clean hands.

CLM - Career Limiting Move - Used by microserfs to describe an ill-advised activity. Trashing your boss while he or she is within earshot is a serious CLM.

Adminisphere - The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.

Dilberted - To be exploited and oppressed by your boss. Derived from the experiences of Dilbert, the geek-in-hell comic strip character. "I've been Dilberted again. The old man revised the specs for the fourth time this week."

Flight Risk - Used to describe employees who are suspected of planning to leave the company or department soon.

404 - Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error message "404 Not Found", meaning that the requested documentation could not be located. "Don't bother asking him...he's 404, man."

Generica - Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls and subdivisions, as in "We were so lost in generica, I forgot what city we were in."

Ohnosecond - That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've made a BIG mistake.

Percussive Maintenance - The fine art of whacking an electronic device to get it to work again.

A couple that I use in the office ever so often:

WGARA - Who Gives a Rat's Ass

FIP - Fiasco in Progress

Virtual Earth

Not to be outdone by Google Maps, Microsoft has entered the fray with Virtual Earth. Take a tour of both and decide which you prefer. While Microsoft's offering is quite good -- comparable to Google's, with a few interface enhancements -- Microsoft still can't beat Google's satellite images for just exploring the planet. If you're looking for a map to get you some place, either one will do fine. As Google and Microsoft duke it out, we can only benefit.

The Creative Economy

BusinessWeek's latest features a cover article on the latest shift in focus of the economy -- from a knowledge economy to a creative economy. The knowledge economy has become commoditized, with the emerging economies of Asia and Eastern Europe taking the bread and butter of the industrialized nations. Manufacturing has already gone. Highly skilled and cheap labour is now devouring what was the differentiator for the developed economies, driving the development of a new core competency -- creativity.

What is creativity? It's about right brain thinking -- imagination -- innovation. It's about the manufacturing of experiences, not just products. It's about catering to the whims of consumers, before consumers even know they have those whims. Leading the charge in this unfolding creative economy are companies like Procter & Gamble and General Electric -- aided by a new breed of consultants from design firms such as IDEO and Design Continuum. GE, credited for creating the standards for process optimization with Six Sigma, has already established a standard for creativity with CENCOR (calibrate, explore, create, organize, and realize) -- and where GE goes, it is quite likely that many will follow.

More on this topic can be accessed via:

BusinessWeek's Innovation and Design Portal

Doblin Group -- Innovation Strategy Consultants

IDEO -- Innovation Consultants

Design Continuum -- Design Consultants

Source: BusinessWeek.

Windows Vista

Longhorn has a new name -- Vista -- a name that is amusing in many ways. The Microsoft marketing whizzes apparently think that the software will bring focus and clarity to your world -- hence the name. Amusing when you think of all the promises that were dropped from Longhorn to make Vista. It's also amusing because Microsoft chose a name that happens to be the name of a software company also located in Redmond -- and they're apparently not amused at all -- especially since Microsoft has apparently claimed trademark protection for the name.

Sound of Dec. 26th Underwater Earthquake

Researchers at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University have used data from the hydroacoustic station at Diego Garcia to piece together a more accurate story of the magnitude 9.3 Sumatra earthquake that rocked Asia on December 26, last year. The Diego Garcia hydroacoustic station, like others around the world, consist of underwater microphones setup to listen for the sounds of atomic blasts -- however, they end up recording other sounds that travel underwater, from the cracking of icebergs to earthquakes. The sounds coming from the Sumatra earthquake revealed the quake was traveling at 2.8 km/s to 2.1 km/s -- from south to north along the zone where the India Plate is being pushed beneath the Burma Plate. The researchers have made the sound of the quake available online in MP3 format. For more on the tsunami that resulted from the Dec. 26th quake, check out the South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog.

83,431 Digits of Pi

Akira Haraguchi of Japan has recited 83,431 digits of Pi is a 13-hour marathon. This is amazing on two counts: 1) that someone memorized it; and, 2) that someone felt the need to do this. Pi World Ranking List, which hasn't been updated with the new results, keeps track of this and similar feats wasting brain cells.

NASA's New Launch Vehicles

NASA has decided that when we next go to the Moon and Mars, we will be employing two new launch vehicles to replace the aging shuttles. Both new launch vehicles will be based on the current space shuttle hardware, whose derivatives will come in two flavours: a heavy cargo lifter, and a vehicle to launch the Crew Exploration Vehicle. The heavy cargo lifter, while resembling a standard rocket launch vehicle, will reuse shuttle engines. The multi-stage lifter will come in a stacked configuration, with the cargo riding on top of successive booster rockets. The other launch vehicle to carry the CEV to orbit will also similarly be multi-staged, but with smaller rockets of different configurations for boosting. This all means that the era of the space plane may be over.

Tobermory Weekend

My wife and I are off to Tobermory this weekend -- Friday to Sunday. We haven't been there for a couple of years, and it's as good a far off driving destination, as any. Tobermory is located on the tip of the Niagara escarpment, where Lake Huron meets Georgian Bay. Haven't a clue what we're going to be doing up there, but it's not going to be scuba diving -- even is Tobermory is the scuba diving capital of North America. Most likely, we'll try to get in some hiking along the Bruce Trail and definitely an evening boat trip out on the Bay. Next week, I'll be putting new photos up.

Google: Out of this World

Google is celebrating the 36th anniversary of the first landing on the Moon by humans in their own, unique way -- Google Maps, using NASA imagery.

Control of the Internet

How far the internet has traveled. From a small US military funded research network to an international network that is increasingly becoming the road of commerce, and just about everything else imaginable. Through this incredible growth, the United States has maintain control over the network -- their network -- even as it has moved beyond their borders, both physical and digital. With recent moves, the US has been moving to reiterate their dominion over the internet.

I'm of two minds on this. The internet was created in the United States, for the United States. It's theirs -- but not the network beyond their borders, and they should not have dominion over the extended network. It's about control. Right now I trust the intentions of the US, but I'm becoming increasingly concerned with where their society is heading. Control of the internet is power, and the US lives in uncertain times. Would they ever use the control they have over the internet to extend their views, policies and values? I think the use of the power would be too tempting for some future US government.

At the same time, I don't trust ICANN's commitment to democracy and independence -- nor do I trust the effectiveness and independence of the UN. It's a conundrum.

Subterranean Inculcation

Dude, Where's My Digital Car? -- It isn't news that the South Koreans have embraced the digital future, but sometimes, when news like this comes out, it makes you wonder -- just what kind of future awaits us out there? Kart Rider is a popular online car racing game. So popular that at any time, as many as 200,000 South Koreans are online driving. So popular that online drivers can make a living from it by driving all day, becoming an expert, a racing champion, and getting real world sponsors to slap virtual ads on their virtual cars. I have this feeling that there is a big part of the future I'm going to be missing out on.

When Your Name is Mud, Advertise -- What happens when your company runs afoul of the law? When your CEO is being arraigned on charges of sticking it to the shareholders? You don't go into a period of quiet, shunning the limelight -- no, you advertise a positive image! Read how companies are going on the offensive when they run into a legal setback.

Is Heart Surgery Worth It? -- Modern medicine has set some great expectations. Today, many of us don't put up with the slight aches and pains that accompanies life, and instead run to the nearest medical establishment for the latest cure -- and there we encounter a medical industry that is only too happy to provide some pills or carve us up on the meat slab. What happens however, when the cure may be worse than the ailment? There is new data that is now questioning whether heart surgery may be good for patients. There is no real evidence that it extends life for a certain segment of the population -- pointing to the fact that may an ounce of prevention may really be worth a pound of cure.

Honing its Digital Game -- South Korea aims to keep its leadership status in technology, and is doing so by investing heavily in a program, IT839, to propel the country beyond the reach of global competitors. The government, along with industry partners, are cooperating in an initiative to focus on eight services, three infrastructure projects and nine new or upgraded devices.

Why CEOs Get Fired

Leadership IQ released a study a month ago, documenting the reasons why CEOs get fired. When you hear the news, it's always dressed up with euphemisms and more often than not, a nice package before boot hits butt. You're left thinking that it could have been political or a result of bad financial results. Not so says the four year Leadership IQ study, that spoke to over 1,000 board members. They found that "31% of CEOs get fired for mismanaging change, 28% for ignoring customers, 27% for tolerating low performers, 23% for denying reality and 22% for too much talk and not enough action." Makes you wonder how the CEOs ever got to where they are if they carry such incompetence.

SQL and the Siring of Lord Byron

Not sure how many of you know this, but there is a link between the sql language and Lord Byron's sexual escapades. A friend at work asked me about a little about the SQL Server from Microsoft and the sql language, in context of Oracle's migration plans for their application suite in the Fusion project. My answer, which is a little convoluted, is below:

"SQL database queries and SQL database? You could mean many things by that. In context, however, SQL server database is Microsoft's entry into the database market. It's not unlike Oracle or DB2 -- it just lacks the credibility, scalability and platform independence. That has never stopped Microsoft before. SQL database queries = queries to the Microsoft database. However, sql, or structured query language, is standard query language used to create, modify and retrieve data from relational and object-oriented databases. The language wasn't created by Microsoft, they just stole the name for their database in a deft marketing move. The other SQL you heard yesterday was PL/SQL, which is Procedural Language/Structured Query Language, and is Oracle's proprietary server extension to the standard SQL language. (Interesting tidbit -- PL/SQL emulates the Ada language, which was developed in the 70s, and is considered an equal to C/C++ and the language Java was developed from. Ada is named after Augusta Ada King, the Countess of Lovelace, who is generally considered to be the first computer programmer, having programmed Charles Babbage's analytical engine -- the first computer. Ada was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron -- the dead poet guy. Ada was named after Byron's half sister, Augusta Leigh, with whom he had an incestuous relationship with, and fathered a child.) So, like I said, that question could have meant many things. ;-)"

Fact of fiction?

V for Vendetta

A new teaser poster has been released for the Wachowski Brothers adaptation of the Alan Moore & David Lloyd graphic novel. I'm looking forward to this movie.

Cold Fusion

Researchers at Purdue have confirmed nuclear fusion in a tabletop experiment. The researchers fired ultrasound at deuterated acetone, which contains deuterium instead of hydrogen, in a chamber flooded with neutrons. As expected when high-frequency sound waves hit the liquid, cavities and bubbles were formed in the liquid in a process known as acoustic cavitation. What wasn't expected was the formation of perfectly spherical bubbles which implode with greater force than irregularly shaped bubbles. The implosion produced high temperatures and light in a phenomenon called sonoluminescence, which fused deuterium atoms together as they're fused in stars. Is it fusion?

The researchers have estimated the temperature within the imploding bubbles reach upwards of 10 million degrees Celsius, with pressures of 1 billion earth atmospheres. The experiment also resulted in the emission of neutrons of 2.5 MeV and the production of the radioactive tritium -- both of which are expected from nuclear fusion. All they have to do now is harness the energy that is being produced by the fusion reaction. If they can do that, I think I'll start believing in the whole cold fusion thing. I'm actually rooting for them.

Shenzhou VI to Fly Again

China's space agency, CNSA, has announced that their manned spaceflight of two years ago will be followed up by another one shortly. Targeting an October launch date, China will put two men in space, chosen from 14 air force pilots. China's foray into space continues, as it plans to put two additional weather satellites into space by 2008 -- after it's successful launch of the FY-2C; and two scientific satellites into orbit by year end, to be recovered after three week missions. Hopefully China's space adventures will continue to be for peaceful purposes, and it won't follow the US, Russia, Britain, France and their ilk in militarizing space -- after all, there's no money in building military capabilities in space. Is there?

All Over the Map: A Feast of Global Sounds

My ladies and I were at Harbourfront Centre this past weekend to enjoy one of their summer festivals that run from July to the end of August. This weekend's was All Over the Map -- described as "a closer look at how geography, language and tradition influence current world music and culture." We sampled some of the international cuisine at the World Café: mu daughters did something Indian and my wife and I went African. I wish I knew what it was I was having -- it consisted of some rice with peanut sauce, bbq chicken, fried plantains, and some other stuff. It was good.

The acts we saw were also pretty good. We caught Yakudo, a group of Japanese Taiko drummers, as well as Daara J, a Senegalese rap group, and Tinariwen, a Mali band blended traditional Persian sounds with rock music. They were different, good -- but by far, Daara J was the best of them all. The group was very energetic, dancing across the stage and whipping the audience up into a dance frenzy -- not an easy task for anyone with the usual Harbourfront crowd. And not something you necessarily want to see either. Some people just shouldn't be allowed to dance -- but that's another story. Daara J blended rap, hip hop, reggae and sang in Wolof, English and French. I went to get their CD after the performance, but all they had at Harbourfront was already sold out. They were that good -- and good enough to also make the cover of this week's NOW magazine.

Strings 2005

I found out about the Strings 2005 conference held at the University of Toronto this past week when I was researching strings for the post below. The conference apparently boasted 400 attendees from around the globe, with over 50 speakers. Since I found out about it yesterday, it was too late for me to investigate it in much detail -- what I did catch however, was the public talks by Robbert Dijkgraaf of the University of Amsterdam, entitled "Strings, Black Holes, and the the End of Space and Time" -- and Leonard Susskind of Stanford University, entitled "Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design."

These were public talks, geared towards the generalist audience, for which I was thankful for -- I don't think I would have stayed awake through any in depth exploration of the mathematics of String Theory. Both Dijkgraaf and Susskind were good public speakers -- aware of their audience and not going too deep. Their sense of humour made the talks that much more lively -- not that the topic wasn't interesting -- it was. Susskind took a call from the Pope before he started his talk (not for real) and Dijkgraaf kept referring to Dutch stereotypes. Both speakers were enjoyable to listen to. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know, but that didn't really matter.

The audience however was a different story. For the most part, they were polite and attentive, but during the question periods, the lunatics woke up. One man had left his seat during the talk, presumably to go to the bathroom. When he came back, someone else was sitting in his seat. How was anyone to know he was coming back? He started yelling at the guy who was in his seat when he approached the row -- oblivious to the fact that people were there to listen to the speaker. Another guy got really pissed when he couldn't ask his question, and during the second question period, he got a chance to ask one. His question was dumb. He wanted to know what String Theory meant to the existence of life on Earth. WTF? The friend who was with me at the talk, overheard him during the break commenting about how he didn't care for outer space and aliens, just what was happening on Earth.

I'm just confused. Did these people come from an asylum? Based on some of the questions being asked, I don't think any of them knew what the topic of the talks were going to be. Somebody should have done a sanity check at the doors.

For related information on this topic, check out the following links:

Presentation materials from the conference.

String Theory and the Path to Unification: A Review of Recent Developments [PDF] -- an older, but still valid paper.

String Theory Reviews -- more articles and papers on String Theory than you can shake a stick at!

Testing String Theory

Michio Kaku has a great way of bringing ideas shrouded in physics mysticism to the layperson -- and he's done it again in the latest issue of Discover magazine, this time taking on String Theory. What is String Theory? In very simple terms, String Theory states that at the elementary level, the universe is made up of tiny vibrating strings of energy. The elementary particles -- electrons, photons, quarks, gluons, bosons, the anti-particles, etc. -- are therefore strings of energy vibrating at specific frequencies. As these strings vibrate, time and space are forced to curl around them, giving rise to gravity -- in fact, the vibrations result in all the known forces that govern the universe: gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces.

The big problem with String Theory is the fact that it is just that -- a theory. There is no proof that it is true -- and to complicate things, there are different versions of String Theory. The prevailing theory -- the Supersymmetric String Theory -- calls for the universe to exist in 11 dimensions (or sometimes 10 or 26). The outcome of this theory is the unification of the macro with the micro -- a single theory that unifies the theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics -- a theory of everything. One theory, one equation, that explains the entire universe. Cool, and it's only a theory -- a theory that has so far been extremely successful at matching the predictions of other accepted theories -- such as Einstein's theory of relativity -- as well as predicting some of the things we've seen in the universe. The only way to verify String Theory however is to test it completely, by creating a universe in the lab and observing it. Since we're not about to do that, we have to find other creative and indirect ways of verifying String Theory.

Gravity-Wave Test: The vibration of strings in the early universe should have created ripples in gravity -- gravitational waves -- that spread across the early universe. String Theory predicts the frequencies of gravity waves. None have been observed as yet. Like the recent Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe that looked at the microwave energy left over from the Big Bang -- going back to an early universe 300,000 years old -- two observatories are being readied that will peer back to a time around one-trillionth of a second after the Big Bang -- the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory and the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.

Particle-Accelerator Test: Particle accelerators make things go boom. They smash particles together, such as electrons, and observe the pieces that come flying out from the collision. If String Theory is correct, and the elementary particles are vibrations of strings of energy at specific frequencies, then we should see particles with other vibration modes that String Theory predicts. Specifically, String Theory predicts that all subatomic particles have equivalents belonging to a more massive family, called superparticles. Further, particle accelerators may be able to miniature black holes, as predicted by one version of String Theory -- or confirm that there really are more dimensions to our universe than those we can observe, by knocking some particles and energy into another dimension. Physicists are looking forward to the Large Hadron Collider coming online in 2007, as it will be the world's largest particle accelerator, capable of smashing protons together.

Dark-Matter Searches: Studies show that a good deal of our universe doesn't emit any light or interact with ordinary matter, other than through gravity. Our galaxy for instance is surrounded by dark matter -- in abundance more massive than our galaxy itself. String Theory has an explanation for dark matter. It's superparticles. If superparticles are in such abundance, we should be able to observe them with sensitive enough detectors, as the Earth should be constantly moving through this material. All we would have to do is detect the superparticles colliding with ordinary matter. String Theory predicts a leading candidate for dark matter in the superparticle called a neutralino -- in fact, it states that there should be 10 times more neutralinos than there are atoms in the universe. If only we could see some. Another possible explanation for dark matter is the muti-dimensions predicted by String Theory. There is a possibility that the dark matter whose gravitational influence we observe, resides in dimensions outside our reach -- perhaps even in dimensions that belong to another universe altogether, as predicted by multiverse versions of String Theory. It's interesting to note that Einstein's theory of general relativity does predict that gravity from matter in another universe would leak into ours.

Laboratory Gravity Tests: If the additional dimensions or universes predicted by String Theory exists, then gravity should leak into those dimensions, and we should be able to measure the effects as deviations in Newton's law of gravity. To date, there has been no luck with this route. Newton's law shows no deviations at sub-millimetre scales -- so experiments are now being designed to look how Newton's law holds up at the atomic scale.

Pure Mathematics: This is Michio Kaku's preferred way of vindicating String Theory -- putting pencil to paper, and completing the theory. If, or when, the theory is completed, it will provide a single equation to explain the entire universe. From first principles, it would be able to predict the properties of everything in the universe. That would be the ultimate test -- when everything could be explained, without exception -- and the answer to everything would come from the human brain. How neat would that be?

My summary doesn't do Michio Kaku's article justice. It needs to be read to be appreciated -- as it also includes some neat graphical representations of the proposed tests of String Theory. The Discover site for the article also provides the following additional recommended reading:

Official String Theory Web Site

Not Even Wrong -- a skeptical look at String Theory, specifically, the entry titled Is String Theory About to Snap? that responds to the Discover article.

Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos -- by Michio Kaku.

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory -- by Brian Greene.

Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimension -- by Michio Kaku.

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality -- by Brian Greene.

A First Course in String Theory -- by Barton Zwiebach.

Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions -- by Lisa Randall.

Of Train Wrecks and Terrorism

I saw the news in the elevator yesterday morning at work: "118 people die in a train collision in Pakistan." The death toll has now risen to 300 or more, with thousands more injured in the triple train accident. The first thing I thought of was the 52 that died in the London subway bombing. First, let's get this straight -- people died -- 300 and 52 (and counting) -- and that is never a good thing. Families scarred. One an accident, the other a deliberate act to take life. There is a lot of grieving, a lot of suffering, in both cases. The coincidence: trains and Pakistanis. I can't help but think that there are some who would think that the accident in Pakistan was just revenge.

I also can't help but think that the world probably cares less about the Pakistanis that died in the train accident. I discussed this with a few colleagues at work yesterday. The coverage of the London bombing was instantaneous. Governments around the world sent their condolences. The media was plastered with images of the grieving in England. What have we seen of Pakistan? Not much. Even in the media in Pakistan, the news has moved on to other things. Why is this? Why does the deaths in London continue to haunt us in the media? Is it because of our fear in the west that if it happened in London it could also happen here? In our neighbourhoods? Partly, I'm sure. Is it because we place more value on a western life than we do in a Pakistani's? Most definitely. We place more value in the lives of those living in the developed western nations than we do in those who live in the third world nations. If that wasn't true, we do a better job of taking care of those less fortunate than us in the world. What else does the Pakistanis have going against them? They're poor. We don't care for our own poor, so we care even less about those from another country. Not that the Pakistanis that died are necessarily poor -- just by our standards they are.

There is something else though, which is more disturbing -- so disturbing, most of us will not want to acknowledge it. The Pakistanis are not white. They're Asian, they're brown -- and because of that, their lives are just not worth the same as the whites in world. Think about it -- if the 3000+ that died in the World Trade Center bombing were all black -- or if the terrorists had targeted some heavily populated black neighbourhood in the US -- do you really think US soldiers would be in Iraq right now? I don't think so. There would certainly be effort to stamp out terrorism, but it wouldn't involve such long protracted conflicts in far off lands, costing the lives of western soldiers. It's a sad truth about the world we inhabit. Every three seconds a child dies in Africa, but who cares? If you're in the western world and you care, you labeled and marginalized. You're a bleeding heart liberal. You're a socialist. You're left wing. You're ignored.

In the movie Hotel Rwanda, Nick Nolte's character says to Don Cheadle's: “You’re not even niggers, you’re Africans.” That's how we place value in lives. Race. Money. Country. Where your grandfather came from. We're all human, we're all the same -- but our prejudices places us at the point where some are no longer regarded as human -- some are no longer regarded as the same as us. We all do it. Every single one of us -- including me, every time I walk by a homeless person sitting on the sidewalk, beyond despair. We all secretly thank whatever god we believe in that we are who we are and live where we are -- we're all glad that we're not stuck in some third world country, dying in some train wreck -- and move on with our lives without another thought. And we're all terrified that the terrorists will get us like they got the poor Londoners -- because the Londoners are just like us.

Yes, I know I've made generalizations about our prejudices here -- but generalities are just that, generalities. If you don't want them to be, do something about it. Change it so that something else becomes the norm. Change it so that when we think about our place in the world, we're not also ashamed for not doing what we have the power to do.

Live 8

It came, it went -- the euphoria is over. It cost a lot of money to put on -- some rough figures put it around $10 million -- but it raked in $100 million in funds for Africa. It was probably bigger than Live Aid. The celebrity turnout was unprecedented -- there were the musicians, some band reunions, some new, some old. There were actors and actresses. There were people like Bill Gates and Nelson Mandela. Everybody it seems had a message to send to the G8 leaders. Did they hear? Are they putting on the pretence of hearing?

Promises were made to increase aid funding to Africa -- and cancel debts owed. There were statements made about controlling the proliferation of armed conflicts, renewing efforts to reduce famine and focus on health. Basically the same stuff that was promised in the past -- granted the amounts have changed -- but did the G8 countries deliver on the promises of the past as they make more for the future? No, not really.

I'm generally cynical, but I'm holding out hope that Live 8 wasn't just another party. Time will tell if promises are kept, and if the few that actually want to do something gain any ground on the endless fight. In the meantime, in case you missed the concert, you can catch the shows online, as documented by Ian Daye.

For comprehensive coverage of the 2005 G8 Summit, check out this BBC site. The Live 8 website is still up if you want to see what the fuss was all about -- and the BBC has a look back at Live Aid for those that weren't around the first time this was done. For a serious look at why Africa needs our help, check out the Make Poverty History site.

The Truth vs. the Dollar

This comment is on the Free Press and the Media, taken from Media Centric, by Jon Fine, from BusinessWeek.

Fine makes some very good points about the “fight” journalism has to put up in order to report different issues, and the fact that sometimes journalists are silenced by the economic duct tape of corporations, instead of doing what they love to do; good, solid, investigative reporting. I wouldn’t quite agree with Fine about his description of today’s “limping media business”, but I would say that some journalists are definitely limping … or handcuffed. It’s just stupid. Yet not many people would think that the great democratic environments we live in would have anything to hide. Journalists know. They know what some governments and corporations hide under the guise of “confidentiality”.

“There is a huge cost if, say, a source who has documents proving a corporation is fouling the water supply decides to stay silent because her anonymity can’t be guaranteed. It costs media companies nothing if that story is never written”. And it costs the environment, and possibly some people, their lives. Sad, really.

Google the world?

At http://maps.google.ca/ you can see the world! Well, At least any of it that Google deems important. Google has a service where you can type in any address in Canada, U.S., of Great Britain, and view it either on a map, or from a satellite image. It's so good I can see the buildings we live in, and the park across the street. Talk about an identity boost! But then, those three areas are the only ones that have any level of detail. The rest of the world is only mentioned by countries. No capitals, even. That sucks. I would be interested in seeing what streets look like in Israel, or getting a satellite view of the pyramids, and their souvenir shops ... or what about Potsdamer Platz in Germany? The Eiffel Tower? This map is interesting for a while, but then it just feels like a disappointment, because of how lacking in worldly detail it is.

The Goblet of Fire

Apparently, Warner Bros. has screen tested an unfinished version of the latest Harry Potter film, slated to be released in November. Ain't It Cool News has some reviews from gushing fans on their site. Fair warning, there are spoilers in the review -- but then again, if you've read the book, you already know the story.

On other Potter news, the latest book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hits bookstores on Saturday. Depending on where you're at, you can still order your copy from Amazon to get it delivered on Saturday.

Movies

Last couple of weeks I indulged in a couple of movies that were quite different. One, a Hollywood blockbuster, the other, an anime blockbuster -- just not in North America. The latter first:

Howl's Moving Castle -- an anime based on the children's book of the same title by Diana Wynne-Jones. The story is an unconventional fantasy. Sophie the heroine, doesn't become a heroine until she's turned in a 90-year old by the Witch of the Wastes. Her young life of boredom turns adventurous as she goes off to the Wastes and takes up with the no-so-evil wizard, Howl, who lives in a moving castle powered by the fire demon Calcifer. She turns out to be more brave as an old lady, and soon becomes a very important part of the misfit group that crews Howl's castle. Little does she know that both her and Howl hold the keys within them to free each other from the spells that they're under. Yes, it's love. Corny, but you had to expect it. The anime was pretty good. The only disappointment was the ending. Things were wrapped up way too fast, with some lose ends tied rather awkwardly. Altogether not that bad a movie though.

War of the Worlds -- Speilberg pulled off an excellent adaptation of the H.G. Wells book -- and even Tom Cruise, with his recent idiotic hijinks, couldn't screw it up. The movie was dark, not just in tone, but also in the filming. It stayed true to the book, even though it adapted the story, moving it to America and changing the characters. Dakota Fanning was exceptional as the young daughter to Cruise's character -- she has a scream that will do her well if she pursues a career as a scream-queen. Justin Chatwin, the son, had an annoying character. My only complaint was that he didn't have a swift death. He lives. The film is worth watching if you've read the book (or are a fan of SciFi) -- it comes close, but it's not the Academy Awards material as the 1953 George Pal version was. I suppose today we demand more special effects for our SciFi movie -- but Speilberg was good enough to let the story tell itself that distract with over the top special effects. Not to say the special effects weren't great -- they were -- and they were perfect compliments to the story, making the movie well balanced.

Subway Proselyte

I've found more time for general reading since I started taking the subway about a year ago. Before that I had to drive to work, since I found myself at different locations, in different cities, during the week. The subway rides to and from work have afforded me the luxury of reading some magazines almost from cover to cover -- which gives me quite the value from the BusinessWeek subscription.

Why Asia Will Eat Our Lunch -- this review of Clyde Prestowitz's Three Billion New Capitalists has me curious about the book. Curious enough to maybe purchase it at the right price. The book is a warning to American complacency on the global competitive and economic front, and warns that there is a shift of money and power to Asia -- unless America does something to keep up, it may be left behind. Already America lags behind in education, savings rate, conservation and investment in training, research and infrastructure.

Boeing's Plastic Dream Machine -- Boeing's upcoming 787 Dreamliner is made almost entirely in carbon fibre-reinforced plastic. An accomplishment that makes the plane stronger, lighter and cheaper to make and maintain. The strength of the new airframe will also allow cabin pressurization to be higher -- providing increased comfort. Sounds like a great plane -- now all Boeing has to do is get it off the ground.

Tougher Days, Bolder Apple -- it's already old news that Apple is leaving IBM for Intel. This short article provides a bit of analysis on what the future bodes for Apple with this switch. Already, iPod and iMac sales are set to slow. Will Apple become just another software company at the mercy of Intel's product roadmap?

Central America Is Holding Its Breath -- this article is a good introduction to the CAFTA-DR agreement that Bush is trying to pull off. There is a lot at stake for Central American's looking for an in to the all important American market -- but American businesses, especially the powerful sugar farmers, are looking to derail any progress.

The Power of Us -- BusinessWeek's cover article takes a look at the future of technology -- specifically, how the mass collaboration, enabled by the Internet, is disrupting the business world. "The nearly 1 billion people online worldwide -- along with their shared knowledge, social contacts, online reputations, computing power, and more -- are rapidly becoming a collective force of unprecedented power. For the first time in human history, mass cooperation across time and space is suddenly economical." It's blogs, the open source movement, virtual supercomputers and collective knowledge and opinions -- what Yochai Benkler of Yale Law School calls "peer production" -- and the force of it's coming will impact every industry. What the vast network of the internet has done is democratize commerce.

Battle of the Sexes

In the battle to ensure their genes get passed on successfully to future generations, fire ants have devised a unique strategy. Both males and females, reproduce by cloning themselves. They do engage in sexual reproduction, but all they produce are sterile worker ants. This adaptation has led to the question of whether the females and males should be considered separate species that are simply dependent on each other. Just goes to show you -- nature has quite the imagination.