What took them so long to make it? What took me so long to find it?

Because you knew they'd come up with it:

A Porn clone of YouTube.

Who has the most to gain from 9/11?! Kyle! Who was nowhere to be found the morning the towers fell?! Kyle! Who dropped the deuce in the urinal?! Kyle!

Remember that there are, in fact, 2 towers. 2-1 is 1. 1,1: 11. 2-1 is 1. 1,1. And there are 9 members on Silverstein's board of directors. That's 9,1,1: 9/11. And take 2-1 + 9/11 and you get 12. Which leads us all to the master mind of the 9/11 attacks…Kyle!

An appeal to readers

Please, please, can somebody track down an MP3 copy of this song?

MONTREAL (CP) - A Montreal city police faces disciplinary action over a controversial song about accommodating minorities.

The title of the French-language song means "That's Enough Already."

It says Quebec culture is being spit on and suggests those who don't like the way things are should head to the airport.

"Reasonable accommodation, we're no longer able," says the song, which was not commercially produced but is circulating on the Internet.

"We like to accept ethnic (minorities), but not at any price."

Update, 3:11am: The name of the song is Ca va faire là, and one of the lyrics is

notre culture se fait cracher dessus

Still sporadically online

Again, any regular readers, I apologize deeply for the lack of posts here lately.

Since the new job fell through (the job which preparing for interviews took most of my time this past couple weeks), I've had no motivation to write about anything.

Alan Kellogg, Todd Babiuk, and Graham Thompson all had offensive articles in the Edmonton Journal today, and even that isn't enough to get my dander up.

I could just blame the sucky Oilers...

No new job.

No new city.

No new laptop.

No new lifestyle.

No new experiences.

No.

Special Third Edge of the Sword book review

America Alone? Er, no, I haven't got around to that one yet. I've read it (three times), but don't have the energy to write a review for it.

So instead I'll do a quick review for a book that I only needed to read 20 pages of:
Contemporary Paganism: Listening People, Speaking Earth by Graham Harvey.

This is a book anybody could have written. In fact, if Harvey was clever, he would have just plugged some data into a computer with a thesaurus attached and wrote 85% of the tome that way. In fact, its entirely possible that Harvey is clever and actually did this.

What does it suppose to tell us about paganism?

Well, when it comes to [Ceremony A] some people do it [Method 1] and other people do it [Method 2]. However, some pagans will do [Method 1]+[Method 2] and yet other pagans will do neither method. All of these are the "right" way, this book is not claiming one is right or wrong. Also, in [Ceremony B] pagans worship [False Idol Alpha] but some pagans worship [False Idol Beta] and some even [False Idol Gamma] and others worship all three. Still yet others worship two or none of the above and sometimes none at all. These are all the "right" way, this book is not claiming one is right or wrong.

And so on, and so forth. By the end of a subsection, you're so sick of his wishy-washy writing style you just want him to be honest with us and say

hey, you know what? Pagans believe in a spirit earth. If you're an athiest you can't believe in a spirit earth and you're only saying you're pagan because you think its some sort of individualistic kick or you've just joined the Green Party and somebody told you becoming a pagan was a mandatory initiation step. If you don't do paganism precisely how its been done by the people I've studied than you aren't really a pagan and please lets just go back to the good old days when words meant something and there was a simple formula to apply and figure out which people are pagans whom we can beat the living shit out of just for fun.

This book really tells you nothing. Oh, and the chapter entitled "Experimenting with ectasy" has nothing to do with dropping a hit of E and making out with a hot raver chick. I guess its up to me to write the sequel.

The Univeristy of Alberta: Giving Doug Roche another pulpit for some reason

University of Alberta International Week 2007: Beyond Terror

Okay, you know with a slogan like this you aren't going to be seeing anything worth seeing, but just to make it official:

In recent years, terrorism has been in the international spotlight and the menace of weapons of mass destruction has been used to provoke underlying fears about the world we live in. But what is actually causing terror and mass destruction? Environmental disasters, endemic poverty and malnutrition and small arms kill millions each year. A global crisis of human rights leaves countless people terrified on a daily basis. The numbers tell us our attention needs to be refocused -- increased security and binary notions of good and evil are not winning this struggle. How we approach these issues today will define our generation, and has the potential to save, or destroy, the next.

Speakers will include:

• Hamid Abdeljaber's talk "Predicament of Definition: Why the International Community does not Agree how to Define Terrorism" (ie. the Jews are at fault)
• Janine Brodie and Julian Castro-Rea blathering about "Deep Integration in North America: The Stakes for Canada" (ie. Bush is evil, all worship Jack Layton)
• "The Role of Canada’s Military" by Captain Peter Avis and a chick from Women for Women Afghanistan (ie. arms are for hugging, soldiers should be taking spanked children away from their parents instead of imposing Bush doctrine in peaceful Arab communities)
• "Political Weapons of Mass Destruction" by disgraced British MP George Galloway (pg. 62 of Ann Coulter's How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)) (ie. Saddam's cheque still cleared and I'll discuss why all white people are the spawn of Satan)
• Andrew Nikiforuk on "Pandemonium: Global Trade and the New Free Market for Disease" (ie. only fair trade coffee is free of SARS)
• And finally...
  
  Douglas "Best Argument for Assassination" Roche, leftbag PC-cum-NDP anti-nuke zealot, on "Nuclear Weapons: A Theft from the Poor". (ie. every other speech on nuclear weapons Doug Roche has ever given)

Can't wait to attend. I hope they don't use metal detectors.

You don't go to campus for a year and when you go back...

...your building is gone.

Alberta's catching up on you, Quebec!

One year down.

33 left to go!

Does the Kermode Bear taste different than a normal bear?

Hey, it's a fair question!

Cold winter night // Storms in Ontario now // My eyes are a little heavy // I'm feeling in the past tense // I'm hardly aware

The lengthy title? Just some revamped Honeymoon Suite lyrics. Bet you'd never expected to see that phrase on this blog!

The reason? Well, its time to do one of my favourite hobbies: showing you how beautiful the female body can be when summer in Edmonton ["summer in Edmonton" is also known as "July 3-9" -ed] heats up and the ladies like to flaunt it.

In this particular case, I promised pictures from the Capital Ex parade. That was July 20th 2006. A mere five months later, here they are! (Click each image to see it in full sized glory)



Okay, to be fair, I did say Capital Ex Parade, and these are "just" girls from "the X" itself. Tough. I might post the parade girls later today. Or in five months.

So my old man he says to me....

...what the (expletive deleted) is Stephen thinking giving a billion dollars in resource revenue to Quebec.

My answer. He what now?

"Quebec will get a boost of at least $1-billion for 2007 from Ottawa's equalization program, according to new figures provided to the provinces yesterday by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty."

How about we rejiggle the formula so that Quebec loses all $6-billion it gets? Sound like a plan?

I know I'll have at least one man two persons in favour of this plan. At least, if Blogger would stop giving them errors when I click their links on my site...

Update, 10:20am: NateDawg reports the FLQ have been sending letters again. I give my take on it. Geesh, I go offline for 3 weeks and everything important goes down?

The Edmonton Journal is officially blind

Triple Tragedy
Joel Kom, Edmonton Journal
Published: Sunday, January 14, 2007

Three men lay on the floor of the nightclub. Two were dead. The other was about to die.

Patrons screamed and scrambled to escape as friends ran to the three men. They cradled their heads, searching frantically for signs of life. The police tried to round up witnesses to the shooting while emergency crews cut away the clothes of the wounded survivor. He soon stopped breathing. Thomas Orak, Jacey Pinnock and Dave Persaud had never met before they died at the Red Light Lounge last October in Edmonton's worst homicide in nearly three decades.

Other than the way their lives ended, they seem at first to have little in common. They were born in three different countries and were raised in vastly different circumstances: war for one, a nomadic suburban life for another, wealth followed by near-poverty for the third.

Besides the fact that all three were immigrants, only the Redmonton Urinal could possibly believe that absolutely no common thread bound these three men together:

If you strike me down Darth, I shall return more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

Well, not really.

But to let you know, the reason I haven't posted lately (and posted rarely when I did) was because I'm in the process of repairing my PC.

It's not as easy as it sounds, and I'll give the lowdown on the problem(s) if and when I finish solving all/most/one of them.

In the meantime...uh...here's an old photo of a couple nice pieces of ass boarding Edmonton Transit last summer. Since, you know, it's freaking freezing out here.



See you in a week. Or three.

Sorry Colby, I'm coming up short

Colby Cosh asks:

Can anybody supply a remotely acceptable explanation for the way Felipe Fernandez-Armesto was treated by the Atlanta police on January 6?

My one possible source on inquiry has come up short:

Perhaps an odd question:

But when you search for "Canadian Consulate" in Google Earth, why is the 2nd item after the consulate (which looks nothing like it did in Due South by the way) Timothy O' Toole's Pub on the other side of the Chicago River? (directions)

The quick end to FACLC's acting career

EDMONTON JOURNAL - JANUARY 13, 2005

1. PRETEND PATIENTS PRACTICAL
U of A medical students taught by pretend patients in diagnosing diseases and developing bedside manner. Physiotherapy, pharmacy, nursing, speech and language pathology students also get to practice on actors. U of A medical professor Stephen Aaron says all major medical universities in Canada have similar programs to test clinical and communication skills of students.
Page B1; by Jodie Sinnema

2006, I am offered an acting role in this program, but have to turn it down due to emergency comittments.

'Tis a pity...

Ending a Windows XP annoyance

Never see this balloon again once you check this site.

Debian vs. Ubuntu resources

PolishLinux.org's take:

Choose two GNU/Linux of BSD flavors and see how they compare in features and supported software/hardware. This may help you select the right operating system for your needs.

Some info from informit.com:

Ubuntu is slightly easier to install and use than Debian, and is updated every six months, so if you want the latest and greatest software, Ubuntu is probably a better choice. Like Debian, Ubuntu uses Synaptic and APT for installing software and package updates. It also installs GNOME as the default desktop environment and offers KDE as an alternative.

LWN.net's take:

What Debian gives you over Ubuntu, from a technical standpoint, is more choice. There are three principle release levels: stable, testing, and unstable. There are more packages, over 20k with a couple of additional repositories (including Ubuntu's Universe and Multiverse gets you pretty close). I'm not entirely sure where the CPU architecture support compares, but I believe Debian's going to buy you those odd PPC and MIPS chips where Ubuntu won't. It's not atypical to start a Debian installation as a minimum of packages (a hundred or so fitting within 150 MB) and simply install additional packages (and their dependencies, through the magic of APT) as you need them. You can do this with Ubuntu ... but you're sort of losing the principle advantage of Ubuntu in doing so.

Differences between the distros on the Ubuntu forums:

Debian stable is really stable and slow-moving. Debian Unstable is really fast-paced, a challenge to use and is pretty much as close to bleeding-edge as you would want to be.

Ubuntu takes a small portion of the Debian unstable packages them and patches them to work well and supports them. The release cycle is a predictable six-month period. The reason Ubuntu can release that often is that they only take into account the small subset of packages that are supported.

No, you cannot use Debian repos. You may compile the packages from source packages, but not the binaries.

"Microsoft, Novell, and now Ubuntu join to boost Apple and Debian":

I have happily used SUSE Linux in the past and currently run Ubuntu. I like Ubuntu, even though my friend Logan says that Ubuntu "is a Swahili word that means 'Too stupid to configure Debian.'"

ProgressiveTech.org discusses installing Ubuntu:

I didn’t spend too long on this step since I’ve kept up to date with developments in the Linux world and had pretty much narrowed my choices down to Debian or Ubuntu (a Debian based system).

I’ve used Debian in the past for servers, and while I like it a lot, I wasn’t interested in all the configuration work I’d have to do to get a basic desktop system up and running properly. I’d been hearing a lot of good things about Ubuntu, so I downloaded the CD image, burned a copy, and started the installation.

DesktopLinux.com's take:

Still can't decide? It's time to turn your attention to an online Linux Distribution Chooser quiz created by Daniel Eikeland, a project leader at Norwegian open-source consultancy Zegenie Studios. It's a handy little test, and I've found it surprisingly good.

MouthShut.com helps you choose a Linux variant:

In my case, I did not want to shell out money to buy an OS like SuSE, RedHat Enterprise etc. I also have a slow dialup connection, I use to check mails, not to download ISOs or binary packages. I also don’t like teasers like SuSE, they’ll have to give out a full-sized OS.

Raible Designs compares Ubuntu to OpenSuse:

When I started installing Ubuntu last night, I figured it'd be a breeze. I have a DVI KVM Switch hooked up to a Logitech cordless keyboard/mouse, and Ubuntu immediately recognized them both. However, at 44%, it failed to install gstreamer0.8-jpeg and the installation bailed out. I was able to login to the desktop and (seemingly) get stuff working, but I'm always a bit leary about a failure in the middle of an OS install. After an hour of futzing with it, I tried again and got the same error. Around 1 a.m., I said "screw this" and threw in the Suse DVD.

The OpenSource blog says that:

I believe that Debian and Ubuntu are an example of mutual symbiosis. In other words, their relationship is advantageous to both entities. (Disclaimer: I do not claim to be an expert on this subject. I am just an observer)

A Debian developer has set up a script to track Debian/Ubuntu package differences.

Firefox on Ubuntu versus Debian:

I’m sure many folks are aware of the tension between Mozilla and Debian over the use of the name “Firefox” for the web browser package. A good exchange of comments between Chris Beard of Mozilla, and Mike Hommey of Debian highlights some of the challenges involved.

Kryogenix's take:

What I’d really like to see, in the fullness of time, is this entirely-Free approach be supported by Canonical and the Ubuntu distro, so there are no restricted modules, I don’t get offered the choice between free and non-free video drivers, that sort of thing. My wireless card won’t work, and I’m happy with that.

Jem Report looks at various Linux distros:

This article is meant to help you understand the basic, fundamental differences between GNU/Linux distributions. If you want an in-depth comparison of several distros, your best bet is to find individual reviews of the ones you're interested in and decide for yourself -- don't let others decide for you. Go to Distrowatch, then find the sections for the distros you want to research. Distrowatch provides links to all of the online reviews of each version of every distro that it tracks -- it's an excellent resource for getting a variety of perspectives on many different GNU/Linux distributions.

Debian and Ubuntu: The keyword is freedom:

So, it is very likely that some of those Debian based distributions, in this case Ubuntu, just couldn't do both things at the same time; keep full compatibility and pursue their unique goals. Now I will echo what many said in comments. Ubuntu is a GNU/Linux distribution technically aimed at people who want their OS stable, to "just work" out of the box and at that include the very latest of available software.

Newforcge is concerned with the business side of Debian/Ubuntu:

Politics aside, Ubuntu has diverged enough from Debian that you can no longer assume a Debian package will install and run in Ubuntu or vice versa. And there are other factors that separate Ubuntu from its Debian parent

Another DesktopLinux.com take:

One of my gripes about Kubuntu is when you want to get your hands on the command-line controls. Maybe everyone doesn't want a Linux distribution that has a default terminal window at the top interface, but I do.

Keep on posting it, and eventually people will be impressed

A-Computers, one of three excellent computer stores in Edmonton (HCS and Memory Express being the other two), has just posted its January 4-6 New Years specials. They include:

1. A VK Mobile "unlocked" mobile phone for $98.90
2. Foxconn MP3 player for $14.90
3. A Samsung ML-2010 Laser Printer for $109.90 (with $30 mail-in rebate)
4. An IBM USB external floppy drive for $24.90
5. My personal favourite, an Acer Aspire AS5112WLMI for $1039.90

Problem is, these same items were on at the same price for the January 2-3 sales. And the Boxing Week sales. And the pre-Christmas sales. You know, just once I'd like to see that the AS5112 was on for, say, $939.90. Or, better yet, $889.90.

Dare to dream.

Headline: Canada Deports Russian Spy

No? Dammit, one of these times its going to work!

In memorandum of Meigs Field

As is well known, the famous Meigs Field, starting point for many a Flight Simulator moment, is no more: removed by crooked Chicago mayor Richard Daley obtensively over terrorism but really to get his wife a sweetheart development deal. (Corruption runs in the family)

Fortunately, nobody thought to inform Google Earth, which apparently is using four year old imagery of Chicago. Therefore, fellow Flight Simulator junkies can delight in old-school images like this:

Post #600 Baby!

Wow, here we are. 600 posts into this little blog experiment thing. Happy New Year by the way. To make my job easier (and only slightly less accurate) I'm going to count the entire month of December when I do my usual calculations. It will introduce a day or so of inaccuracy, but there are worse fates in this world. For November, 33 posts in the 9 days since Post #500, for a post every 0.279 days (ie. every 6 hours, 41 minutes, 30.91 seconds). In December, as my easy math indicated, 31 days and 67 posts for a post every 0.463 days (ie. every 11 hours, 6 minutes, 16.12 seconds).

What happened over these 100 posts? Oh, just a little thing I like to call the one year anniversary of this blog. As usual, I'm providing you with a few highlights of the past 100 posts.

---

Best Reads:

Alberta Politics
• Just before the first ballot of the PC Leadership race, I gave a post in support of Ted Morton. It contains to date the only discussion to take place in my comments section.
• I also put up a sticky post on the day of the first ballot.
• Playing around with morphing software, I show how you you too can turn Jim Dinning into Paul Martin, or Ed Stelmach into another famous wimp.
• Ed Stelmach gets another late endorsement from the world's most famous civil servant
• For the second leadership ballot, I made another sticky post
• I look at the leadership race and find some curious geographical results.
• When Premier Ed Stelmach created his cabinet, I was alone in the blogosphere in noticing that it was pretty leftist.
• In a two-part series, I do some serious analysis of what's wrong with the province. I cover both the liquor and the policing aspects of the job of the Solicitor General. You really should check on this one, its probably some of my most extensive political writings ever on this site.
• A recent exchange of letters in the Edmonton Journal contrasts very nicely with an opinion on where to spend this wasted arts money.

Federal Politics
• Nationhood for Quebec? It's a dumb idea, but a benignly important one: an oxymoron I prove is the order du jour when dealing with Frogland.
• Speaking of Quebec, somebody posted to the Shotgun blog a list of famous Quebekers that only the French could be proud of
• Stephen Harper on Quebec seemed like a moment directly out of Yes, Minister
• I explain exactly what it would take to lay waste to all of Ontario with nuclear weapons. To date, nobody has explained a good reason not to do it.
• Colin James performed at the 2006 Liberal Leadership Convention. Hopefully he didn't play some of his earlier hits, because one of them doesn't mesh well with Liberal policies
• I drop out of the Liberal Leadership race, with exactly as much authority to do so as some of the actual candidates.
• Just over a year ago, a regressive American got excited about the city of Montreal. I contrast this with the Liberal leadership convenction.
• The RCMP revealed that they spied on Tommy Douglas. I have a unique take on the subject.
• I failed CalgaryEdmontonGrit's 2006 political year in review test. But I failed it hilariously, which should be worth bonus marks.

Sports
• I have a brief but attention-worthy analysis of the 2006 Grey Cup.
• I rundown the Chris Pronger situation on the day of the Oilers' first game against Anaheim this season. I also post a followup
• I am more than a little angry about a recent change in policy at MLB.tv
• In late December, the entire Northwestern Division of the NHL was tied for points. Twice. I post during the first occasion.
• I find a page posting the results of the Vote for Rory Campaign.
• Edmonton might get a new stadium. Pittsburgh might not get a new stadium. Should either of them get new stadiums? I address the question.

Media and culture
• I have written episode reviews for several episodes of Day Break: specifically episodes 2, 3, and 4.
• I put my vote down for the day Dakota Fanning pulls a Paris Hilton/Britney Spears/Lindsay Lohan.
• I do a small discussion about Mel Gibson, his new film, Andy Dick, and Michael Richards. This new fad cannot go unnoticed.
• When Day Break went on unannounced hiatus, I was left to review Bones and Just a Kiss.

Hot girls
• Two hot girls from a local Edmonton eatery with bonus breast footage.
• Girls from the 2006 Fringe Festival.
• I test out some eye candy graphics to use to advertise Third Edge of the Sword.
• Three girls from the great state of Virginia. I think.

World Politics
• George Bush, September 11th, and Islam. These three things were key figures in the year 1911. Huh?
• As if to respond to an old blog post of mine, Mark Steyn brings up South Park while a reader brings up America at war.
• A third party candidate has been brought up for the 2008 American Presidential elections. Who he is, and who supports him, is a bit of a surprise.
• What's more vital to world affairs, hay bales in northern Alberta or the Pakistan-Afghanistan border where Osama lurks about? If you said the former, I have good news for you.
• I have two thoughts on the execution of Saddam. One is in-depth and well thought out. The other is just plain funny.