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03-28-09
Saturday, March 28, 2009
03-26-09
Thursday, March 26, 2009
 Some really neat news today on Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy blog. Apparently, a fellow named Ralf Vandebergh has taken a photo of the International Space Station and the docked space shuttle Discovery, from Earth, using readily available amateur equipment: a 25cm telescope and a digital video camera.
Apparently, using the video camera is a bit easier, because the fluid distortion caused by our atmosphere makes it difficult to capture a good single still shot. As you can see, the image is pretty fuzzy. A 3D rendering of the station and shuttle on the Bad Astronomy site helps you see the physical configuration of the two spacecraft.
Regardless, I find it absolutely fascinating that you could see a manmade orbiting object from the ground using everyday equipment. It reminds me of the scene in First Contact where Geordi shows Zefram Chochrane the orbiting Enterprise through a telescope. Seeing is believing: we're UP there.
Now, who wants to go out and try it?
03-24-09
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
I made the worst kichuri (rice and lentils) ever last night. To my credit, I think the garlic I used was too old, and it would have been much better with basmati rice. Still, I probably used too many cloves. Kichuri FAIL.
The bread I made, on the other hand, has achieved an unexpected WIN. It didn't go bad. Jeff finished the last piece, which he described as somewhat over-hard, last night. In more than two weeks, the bread never grew any mould or developed any unpleasant odours, despite being stored in a plastic bag like commercial beads. And unlike commercial breads, it wasn't loaded with artificial preservatives.
The only thing I can think of is that, in place of sugar, the bread recipe I used requires a load of honey. Honey naturally has several different antiseptic and antibiotic properties, most of which have only recently been scientifically explained. However, most of these properties are supposedly broken down by excessive heating. Nonetheless, I really have not other way to explain this magical bread that does not go bad.
Clearly, further experimentation is necessary...
03-19-09
Thursday, March 19, 2009
After it was pointed out to him that the example he gave constituted "adaptation" and not "evolution", Science Minister Gary Goodyear is continuing to dodge questions on evolution.
I never thought I'd find myself linking to a National Post editorial, but well, here we are.
As the article points out, you can't put someone into a position that is in conflict of interest with their personal beliefs. You wouldn't put a scientologist in charge of Canada's mental health system. You wouldn't put a pacifist in charge of Canada's military. You wouldn't put a convict in charge of the justice system.
I think its about time that I write my MP, and the PM, calling for Mr. Goodyear's resignation.
03-18-09
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
We interrupt this broadcast of the Alien-Predator grandmaster chess tournament to bring you important breaking news:
In a recent interview with the Globe and Mail, Gary Goodyear, the federal Minister of State for Science and Technology, said the following when asked if he believed in evolution:
“I'm not going to answer that question. I am a Christian, and I don't think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate,”
What? Hmm... it seems that a reporter asked the Honourable Mr. Goodyear a question about evolution, and he responded as if it were a question about religion. Not only is this a dangerous confusion of science and faith, but it would seem to suggest that our federal Minister of Science is a creationist.
Naturally, this touched off a huge furor in the blogosphere and scientific community. So in a CTV interview yesterday, Mr. Goodyear responded with some additional comments about whether he believes in evolution:
"Of course I do, but it is an irrelevant question... We are evolving every year, every decade. That's a fact, whether it is to the intensity of the sun, whether it is to... walking on cement versus anything else, whether it is running shoes or high heels, of course we are evolving to our environment. But that's not relevant and that is why I refused to answer the question."
Well, let's break that down, shall we? It seems to me after reading this statement a couple of times, that we can surmise one of two things. Either, a) Mr. Goodyear is deliberately trying to muddy the waters about his stance on Darwinian evolution, or b) Mr. Goodyear doesn't actually understand what evolution is.
Now, I don't know about you, but as a liberal Canadian, there are reasonable limits of Conservatism I am willing to tolerate. Having a creationist as our federal Science Minister is beyond those reasonable limits. Canada is a culture of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Atheists; and our government should be representative of our pluralistic culture. That means appointing a science minister who is capable of recognizing the scientific consensus on the history of our planet, the foundation of genetics, and the system which all biological taxonomy is based on. It does NOT mean appointing a man who confuses science with the literal interpretation of Genesis.
It is darkly ironic that, at this moment, our Canadian forces are fighting in Afghanistan against the Taliban, whom we call so terribly evil because of their insistence on theocracy and use of the state to foist their conservative religious beliefs upon all members of society. Truly, our actions at home show us to be utter hypocrites.
But we need to show both sides of the story. I'm sure that there are those among you who feel that Mr. Goodyear must have some professional qualifications for this job...
Gary Goodyear briefly studied biomechanics and psychology at the University of Waterloo before dropping out. He then attended the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College and became a Chiropractor.
03-17-09
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
03-16-09
Monday, March 16, 2009
03-14-09
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The times, they are a-changin'!
It has come to light that, last week, the US House of Representatives approved a resolution that designates March 14th as "National Pi Day". The resolution encourages schools to use the date to teach their students about Pi (obviously not this year, though) and "engage them about the study of mathematics".
Here's a CNET article on Pi Day and the link to Pi Day resolution on the Library of Congress site.
The nerds have POWER again! MUAH HA HA HA!!!
Ahem... Happy Pi Day!
03-12-09
Thursday, March 12, 2009
So, in the past 31 days I have had the flu, a norovirus, and a common (through very nasty) cold. I have now completed the trifecta of viruses. I've also used up more than half my sick days in the first three months. Boo.
Although starting the day today was hell, once I got going it felt absolutely GREAT to be actually DOING things again. Despite it being a somewhat busy day, I felt totally on top of things. New hardware is arriving at work for me to play with, which should make for an entertaining week or two. W00t.
Since mom and others have asked about the bread, allow me to ruminate. Sunday was my second attempt. The first wasn't very good, and my co-workers suggested our yeast was dead. Replacing it has worked wonders (though I might use a little bit more next time to get faster/more rising). The bread was delicious. Honey-rosemary is an excellent, versatile flavour and it goes good as grilled-cheese, peanut-butter and jam, or just warmed up with some butter. The first loaf disappeared quickly and there's a second loaf in the freezer ready to be devoured. I'll definitely do this again from time to time. Regrettably, it's hardly economical: fresh bread is available daily from the local bakery at less than $2 a loaf. Whatever... mine's better...
Now that there's some actual sunlight out there, including in the evenings, I find my mood improving quickly. It's a good feeling.
News flash: man makes racoon butt-shelf to improve animal's comfort while waiting for rescue.
A lot of American Corporations have fallen on hard times. Even Lexcorp is looking for a bailout.
An awesome secret wine cellar.
And in closing: long socks are totally sexy. Angela and I really have to visit Portland.
UPDATE: I must have some of these magnetic light mines.
03-09-09
Monday, March 09, 2009
03-08-09
Sunday, March 08, 2009
While I am waiting for my honey-rosemary bread to bake, I am going to tell you about Watchmen.
Angela and I went to see this highly anticipated (at least by nerds) movie adaptation of Alan Moore's seminal graphic novel Watchmen, the only graphic novel to appear on Time magazine's 2005 list of Top 100 Novels of All Time.
A little history: In 1985, right about when the "kitschy" era of comics was drawing to a close, Alan Moore set about to create a sort of alternate universe Earth, where costumed superheroes were a reality. Consequently, Alan Moore's superheroes of Watchmen were not immune to the brutal events of the 20th century, and find themselves embroiled in Vietnam, homophobia, the Cold War, and the kind of real-world mortality that DC and Marvel superheroes often seemed to avoid (one historic Watchmen character is shot by bank robbers when his cape becomes entangled in a revolving door).
The plot of Watchmen is incredibly complicated and intricate, involving a couple of subplots which serve as foils for the main plot. As such, it has long been considered "unfilmable". To further complicate matters, the author, Alan Moore, is a bit of an anti-authority crackpot. Though to his credit, he is a genius writer, and many of his best graphic novels (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, From Hell, V for Vendetta) have been butchered by Hollywood.
Regrettably, critics of the Watchmen movie are bitterly divided. The film stands at about 65% at Rotten Tomatoes. I have to admit that I feel a lot of these critics simply don't "get" Watchmen. The graphic novel is very much a reactionary work: it hammers the final nail in the coffin of the happy-go-lucky era of superhero comics where everything always turns out OK and nothing is ever morally ambiguous. Watchmen the novel, along with other works such as Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, changed the face of comics for the next 20 years. The filmgoing public however has already been exposed to Christopher Nolan's Batman films and the politically-charged X-Men series. So the it's very hard to fully appreciate the movie without considering the novel, and thus parsing the film in a semi-historical, cultural context.
As a fan of the novel, I'm going to say the the movie was an excellent distillation of the graphic novel's main themes. I particularly enjoyed the acting of Patrick Wilson (as Nite Owl II), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (the Comedian), Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach) and even the much decried Matthew Goode (Ozymandias). Zack Snyder managed to hold back his Snyderisms enough so that the movie didn't feel like 300 or Sin City (which are fine on their own, but do not embody cinematic styles that would be good for Watchmen).
Watchmen, as a film, was exactly what I was hoping for. It is by no means a replacement for the novel (in my opinion, no film version of a book should ever try to be). It distils the plot without losing the essential elements, and adds a couple of things without losing the spirit of the story. I won't spoil too much, but the opening titles contain a great history montage of Watchmen's earth, with important events involving costumed heroes and/or famous real-world events occurring differently. Any complaints the die-hards have (with one major exception) will likely be rectified in the Director's Cut of the film on DVD, which will probably include a lot of deleted scenes and the "Tales of the Black Freighter" subplot interspersed throughout the film.
For the die-hard, the Watchmen film probably isn't Watchmen-like enough. For older film critics, Watchmen will likely seem alien and inflexible. For discerning geeks such as myself, the film adaptation of Watchmen was just about right, and I applaud the job done by all involved.
:)
03-07-09
Saturday, March 07, 2009
| Out | In |
| Acronyms | Portmanteaus |
| Superhero movies | Actually reading comics |
| Divorce | Growing up and working through it |
| Fantasy | Sci-Fi |
| Windows | Any other OS |
| Bush | Obama |
| The Wii | Shamelessly copying the Wii |
| Partisanism | Getting us the fuck out of this mess |
| Astronauts | Robots |
| Petty crime | Gang wars |
| 4:3 | 16:9 |
| Pirates and Ninjas | Wizards (possibly befuddled) |
| RRSPs | Gold bullion, antidepressants |
| Individualism | Communalism |
| One CRT | More than one LCDs |
| Replicating the 80's | Replicating the 90's |
| Droids | Cylons |
| Stupid lists on the internet | ... |
03-05-09
Thursday, March 05, 2009
03-02-09
Monday, March 02, 2009
Yawn.
Yes, I'm all better. But life is not very interesting and the lack of major developments is frustrating me. I've felt trapped and in-limbo for more than 6 months now, and it's really starting to get on my nerves. I just want to throw everything out the window and escape into the wild blue yonder. I've never been one for backpacking, though.
Temporary amusements:
- Want to make Skittles vodka. I just need to find some of them fancy swing-top flasks...
- If you're not already reading it (like Bryn) you might want to read Anathem.
- 4 days until Watchmen
- 3 more nights of Battlestar Galactica until the end.
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