One goose step leads to another

I know I feature Rick Mercer's Rants a lot on this board. That is in part due to the fact he is a Newfoundlander I admire and find amusing, but also because sometimes he just nails a point.
This is one of those times.

Vic Toews' big brother quest for online surveillance of Canadians has generated a lot of media attention- but not enough public outcry. Few seem to understand the implications this kind of unfettered access into our private lives Bill C-30 would provide.

Bill C-30, or as the Tories would gift wrap it: "Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act". As much as I would like to see child molesters flayed, and then burned slowly over an open fire, I cannot support an act that would:

--> allow authorities to demand access to subscriber information from both ISPs and telephone providers without needing to present a warrant

--> require telecommunications providers to ensure that there was a back door entrance to allow all communications to be intercepted when desired. Guess who is paying for that.

--> these powers would be granted to police agencies, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Competition Bureau officials, as well as anybody "appointed" by the Minister of Public Safety to carry out such actions.

--> allows any of these persons to make copies of the data taken from citizens' digital devices, without oversight or a right of appeal.

--> prohibit ISPs from answering affirmatively if a customer asked them whether authorities had been searching their data.

Think about that.

Pure Energies and Rick Mercer

This week on the Mercer Report, Rick was with Mike Holmes to install solar panels on the roof of a home in Oshawa, ON. David Suzuki makes an appearance as well. They are working with an innovative Canadian company called PURE Energies. Based in Toronto, this company was created by solar specialists who design, install, finance and operate residential rooftop systems. They offer a no cost profit sharing lease or the option to buy a system for your house.





I think this is a fantastic idea! While this is something I would seriously consider, I have to admit, I am still looking for the catch.

Also, I wonder how the solar panels will affect the cost of replacing the roof? Eventually those shingles are going to need to be replaced. Would I have to call PURE Energies back to first remove the panels, and then get them to come back and put those suckers back up once the roof has been redone? What about a leak? How much more would the panels complicate things?

Regardless, this is something I plan on looking into. Have any of you had experience with this kind of thing? Suggestions? Concerns?

It's resolution time again

It's resolution time again. Common resolutions like losing weight, quitting smoking, spending more time with family and less time at work are likely to be on the top of many resolution lists. I have not made New Year’s Resolutions these past few years because they rarely stick, and there is nothing more pathetic than a lie you tell yourself.

I asked friends how successful they were with resolutions in the past and the question is met mostly with laugher followed by an unconscious bow of the head and a sheepish admission that most of the resolutions they make don’t make it past February. Why is it so hard to keep those promises to ourselves throughout the year?

It is simply a lack will power; or is it unrealistic expectations? Whatever the answer may be I have decided I am going to make a resolution this year. And here it is:
I am going to take better care of myself and enjoy the time I have.

Yep. That is it.

Now I know a lot of you are asking what that means- and I am not sure I can really quantify it for anyone. Actually, I think that is part of the point.

I can say it means if I have to make a choice between mopping the floor, or coloring with Wil before he goes to bed- I am going to break out the Crayola. It means I am going to eat breakfast most days of the week rather than just on the weekends- but I am not going to flog myself if all I can manage Monday morning is a mug of tea when I get to work. I will reduce my portion sizes, try to drink more water, and as soon as my foot heals, I am going to exercise again. Not to lose weight, or to look better, but to feel better. To be around as long as I can with the people I love. However, I will have the occasional cookie with my son after school but it is more important to me that we will bake them together.

I don’t know if it was the four soldiers and the first Canadian journalist who were killed over Christmas in Afghanistan , or the poor men sent to the winds on a scaffold Christmas Eve but I have just decided that I don’t have the time to waste of worrying or berating myself over things that really have little meaning.

This is one New Years Resolution that I really hope I stick with.

How cool is this?

Anyone remember Mr. Mugs?

I never really liked the Mr Mugs stories when I was in school, because I found them too boring. There was little story and zero character development (yeah, I was a geek, but then, I was a kid who read). But there was this one Mr Mugs adventure I really liked. I think it was called Mr Mugs Goes to the Moon, or some such inventive and creative title *ahem*. Anyway, it focused on space exploration and the future. Even the cheesy drawings of Mr Mugs in his space suit didn't turn me off. I was fascinated by it, I loved all the possibilities it postulated. It presented a positive version of the future, and made it seem like when I grew up, this was how life would be.

As I got older I continued to be drawn to science fiction, and fantasy. My parents gave me the book the Hobbit when I was about 7, and that pretty much sealed the deal. When my dad introduced me to Star Trek, I was convinced that when I grew up, we zip to the moon just like people hop on a plane today, and I couldn't wait to go.

Even today when I see movies, I marvel at future technologies and wonder, when will we have something like that?

Don't laugh.

Your cell phone is very much like those old communicators from Star Trek. Skype much? Jules Verne predicted this video chatting technology in his novel In The Year 2889, which was published in 1889. Michael Crichton’s 1972 thriller The Terminal Man: the implants in the main character's brain were not unlike implants later developed to help deaf people hear and blind people see. Bradbury’s classic dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451″ predicted that large home theater mounted on your wall in 1953.

And now XBox is building on predictions made by authors like Tad Williams, and Phillip K. Dick with it latest generation console. It makes the interactivity of the Wii look a little like Pong. The possibilities for future applications are exciting, and a little scary. Either way, I think I am going to want one.

Take a look.