Aurora Walking Vacation

Trimming the tree

2011-12-07T23:41:00.001-05:00

Tonight we set up the Christmas tree, and discovered that the lighted snowflake we've had as a topper for the last several years doesn't light up any more. Pat commented that trying to figure out which little mini light bulb was burned out was more trouble than it was worth, and we should just buy a new tree topper. Which statement immediately brought to mind this post from the original AWV, originally published in December of 2007:

We put up the Christmas tree today. As the wife was trimming it, she mentioned that we needed to get a new angel to put on top. As I recall, the conversation went something like this...

Paul: Can we get one that shoots lasers out of her eyes?
Paul's wife: Lasers? That wouldn't be very angelic.
Paul: Can we get one riding a shark?
Paul's wife: Get serious.
Paul: I am serious. I think an angel riding a shark with lasers shooting out of her eyes would be all kinds of awesome.

Banana Mocha French Toast

2011-12-04T13:34:00.001-05:00

Chop one banana into a blender. Add four eggs, and a dollop of milk. Season to taste with salt, sugar and vanilla. Blend until smooth. Heat your pan, and melt some butter in it. Soak bread in the banana/egg mixture and fry. I used a plain white bread for Matt, and a multi-grain bread for me. The white bread was far more successful for this recipe. I'll have to try it again with a light egg-bread, or maybe a croissant - I think that would work well.

When you've plated the french toast, dust it lightly with Starbucks Mocha Powder, and drizzle with pure maple syrup. Garnish with fresh chopped banana and stawberry, or perhaps fried banana slices and mint. Experiment.

Makes 4-6 slices.

Let me know how it came out for you. I had seconds.

Welcome to the Internet, Dr. Burzynski

2011-11-30T10:02:00.001-05:00

All the cool kids in the skeptical blogosphere are talking about Stanislaw Burzynski, and I didn't want to be left out. Never heard of him? I hadn't either, until yesterday, when the Internet, as we know it, exploded on Dr. Burzynski's head.

Here are the salient facts, as I understand them:

Dr. Burzynski owns and runs The Burzynski Clinic, in Texas. The Burzynski clinic specializes in "Alternative Cancer Treatments." According to its website, the clinic also offers conventional, FDA approved cancer treatment, but that's not what they are currently in the spotlight for. One of the modalities they offer is something called "Antineoplaston" therapy. It is this treatment that everyone seems to be talking about right now.

Antineoplastons were "discovered" by Dr. Burzynski, himself. Dr. Burzynski has published the results of several clinical trials of this therapy which appear to show effecacy. These studies were published in fringe journals with questionable peer review policies and, often, questionable professional detachment from the subject (they are journals whose purpose is the publication of studies supporting alternative medicine). Other researchers have been unable to reliably replicate Dr. Burzynski's findings. In fact, 100% of properly blinded, random, placebo controlled, peer reviewed trials published in reputable journals have been negative - that is, they all fail to show any benefit at all of Antineoplaston therapy in the treatment of cancer. The FDA has not approved Antineoplastons for use in cancer treatment in the USA. That means that doing so is against the law.

It is not, however, against the law to administer Antineoplaston therapy if it is done as part of a registered clinical trial. Dr. Burzynski has been running "clinical trials" of Antineoplaston use in the treatment of cancer for over thirty years. People travel from all over the world to the Burzynski Clinic to ~~receive treatment~~ participate in a clinical trial, and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so.

Recently, several prominent medical and skeptical bloggers have published articles critical of Dr. Burzynski and his Antineoplaston therapy, and calling into question Dr. Burzynski's research, and the ethics of his practice of charging patients exorbitant amounts of money to ~~receive treatment~~ participate in a clinical trial of a drug that has not been demonstrated to be effective at all. In most instances, when faced with criticism or questioning of their research, scientists respond by presenting the evidence which supports their work, but that doesn't seem to be what's happened here.

Instead, these bloggers were contacted by a gentleman by the name of Marc Stephens, claiming to "represent the Burzynski Clinic, Burzynski Research Institute, and Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski," and threatening legal action if the "libelous and defamatory information" was not removed from their websites. It turns out Mr. Stephens is not a lawyer, but an employee of The Burzynski Clinic who may or may not have overreached in his zeal to defend his employer. In what has become known as "The Streisand Effect," an attempt to suppress criticism on the Internet has resulted in that criticism becoming far more widespread than it ever would have. Virtually every skeptical blog I read has posted an article about Burzynski over the past two days. Well done, Marc.

Word is Mr. Stephens is no longer employed by Burzynski. He appears to have been thrown under the bus by his former employer in a desperate attempt at damage control as this story spirals out of control across the World Wide Web. And Dr. Burzynski is learning a valuable lesson. If your particular form of pseudoscience has been the subject of criticism on the Internet, either bring the evidence, or, if you don't actually have any evidence, lay low and hope it all blows over. Making lame and empty threats is only going to turn you into a deer in the headlights of the monster truck that is the web.

Splat.

To read more about this topic, I recommend you start here, here, and here, and then go on from that.

Wifi protest in Aurora

2011-11-24T10:55:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, a group of concerned parents held a protest at the local school board offices, demanding to have wifi internet routers removed from public schools in York Region. Click here to watch video news coverage from the local media. Happily, it appears there was a very small turn-out, perhaps 5 or 6 mothers with their children in tow. That's a positive sign that the majority of local residents have their heads screwed on straight, and aren't fooled by the silly mumbo-jumbo being spewed by these anti-EM radiation groups.

The video shows three people addressing the camera. The first is what appears to be a concerned parent who has simply been mis-informed by her peers about the issue. The second woman has all the smug, self-satisfaction of the true activist. She has all her talking points down, and her rant so smoothly practiced that she can effectively prevent anyone from getting a word in edgewise to rebut her claims. This is a standard tactic of those who do not have the facts on their side. If you do not ever let your opponents speak, they can never correct you.

The third person to speak is one of the children. This is the part that brings tears to my eyes, and rage to my heart. "It's our human rights," he says. "They're experimenting on us," he says. "In ten years, we're all going to have cancer," he says. Can you believe that? This poor child has been told, by his mother no less, that he's going to get cancer if he goes to school. That's abuse, as far as I'm concerned. The kid's going to have nightmares for the rest of his life. Who does that to a child? Number one: it's a lie. Number two: it doesn't matter if it's a frickin' lie, or not; it's an horrific thing to say to a child. That's a parent whose own personal crusade is more important to her than her child's emotional health, and it makes me insane.

End of rant. We now return control of your internet to you.

Weekend Breakfast

2011-09-26T22:10:00.001-04:00

Multi-grain toast, Sliced Avocado, Chopped Tomato, Soft Boiled Egg, Grated Asiago Cheese.

Coulda maybe used a touch of salt.

Served with hot, fresh coffee.

The hazards of WiFi in our schools

2011-09-22T22:48:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week, as I was taking Shadow for his evening walk, I came upon this flyer tacked to a hydro pole in front of the local elementrary school (click here for a larger, easier to read version).

I'm not quite sure exactly how to describe my emotional reaction to this poster. Exasperation is probably as close as I can come. I wish I could call what these people are doing, 'beating a dead horse,' but, unfortunately, this horse ain't quite dead yet. Allow me to attempt to provide another bullet for the gun of reason.

First, perhaps, a little bit of background would be helpful. About a year ago, there was a minor kerfuffle in the local news over parents concerned about WiFi internet in classrooms. The school boards involved provided the correct response to the alleged concerns, that being there is no health danger from WiFi signals. This position is backed up by all the available scientific evidence, and fully supported by Health Canada.

The claims of the local parents groups were carefully examined, and disassembled by the blogging community at the time, as were the identities and possible ulterior motives of the groups' leaders, spokespeople, and alleged experts. The story slowly faded from the public view over the next several months. But, as we are so seldom reminded, just because the media isn't reporting a story anymore, doesn't mean it's gone away. As can be clearly shown by the above flyer, the proponents of this tempest in a teapot are still on the offensive, trying to spread their delusions to more and more people.

So, is there anything to it? In a word, no. The cartoon included on the flyer pretty much explains the entire case these folks are trying to make: The radiation produced by a microwave oven and a WiFi router are exactly the same. Putting your head in an operating microwave oven would be bad for you. Therefore, putting your head in a room containing an operating WiFi router would also be bad.

My response to that claim can best be summed up by this excellent cartoon, provided by Russ from Inner and Outer Demons.

You wouldn't allow what's going on in the top panel for even ONE SECOND.

But it's okay to allow the radiation in the bottom panel for 6 or 7 HOURS, and DAY AFTER DAY?!

After all, those are two examples of exactly the same type of radiation. No, really, hear me out. An electric oven contains an element made of metal. When an electric current is passed through the metal, the electrical resistance causes the element to heat up, emiting radiation in the form of heat and light. An incandescent light bulb contains a filament (a very small metal element). When electric current is passed through the filament of the light bulb, it emits radiation in the form of heat and light. So, in real world terms, a common light bulb is exactly as dangerous to you as an oven element.

What's that, you say? There is a difference between those two scenarios: the oven element is way hotter than the light bulb, and it's also way closer to the little girl. Give yourself a gold star. You've hit upon the lie in these two cartoons. There is a difference between the radiation emitted by an electric oven and a light bulb, and between a microwave, and a WiFi router. That difference is one of scale. The element inside an average electric oven operates at about 2500 watts. The average bulb in a reading lamp, at about 40 watts. So, the light bulb is about 60 times less powerful than the oven element. As well, in the top panel of my cartoon, the little girl's head is barely six inches from the oven element. When you're reading, your head is more like two feet, or more from the light bulb.

We know how Electromagnetic Radiation behaves over distance. It has been studied in great depth for centuries, and described by what we call the Inverse SquareLaw. The Inverse Square Law explains that the intensity of EMF decreases by the square of the distance. So, if we are twice as far from an EMF source as someone else, we experience four times less radiation. If we are ten times farther away, we experience 100 times less radiation. So, in the case of the light bulb, which is about four times farther away than the oven element, it's radiation would be decreased by a factor of 16. Multiply that by the difference in starting intensity, and we find that the radiation hitting the little girl reading her book is almost 1000 times less powerful than the radiation hitting the little girl with her head in the oven. So, as long as she doesn't actually reach up and touch the bulb, we are confident that she is safe sitting under its light.

Let's compare that to our microwaves. The power of an average microwave oven is about 1000 watts. The power of an average WiFi router is about 0.1 watts. So the router is already 10,000 times less powerful than the microwave oven. As well, in the classroom setting, the little girl is going to be much farther away from the router than she is from the light bulb at home. She's probably somewhere between five and fifteen feet away from the router, compared to about six inches away from the radiation emissions in a microwave oven. So, let's say she's five feet away from the router, which would be 10 times farther away in the classroom than in the oven. So the strength of the radiation is reduced by a factor of 10², or 100. Which means, when you do the math, that the radiation hitting the little girl in the classroom is on the order of one millionth as strong as the radiation inside the microwave oven. One millionth.

Here's an experiment for you to try. Take a cold cup of Tims, or water, or a piece of steak, if you like. Check its temperature with a thermometer. Put it in the microwave for 60 seconds, then check its temperature again. There's a pretty significant difference, isn't there. Now, put that same cup of Tims (OK, not the exact same one, 'cause it's hot now, right?) - put another cold cup of coffee, or whatever right beside your wireless router. Turn the router on. Leave it like that for a week. Then check the temperature of the coffee again. What will the temperature be? Room temperature. Now, don't get me wrong, the microwaves from the router are definitely heating the coffee, it's just that the coffee is re-radiating that heat faster than the router can produce it. That's what is happening to our brains from exposure to WiFi. They are being heated by a miniscule amount - so small we need sophisticated scientific machinery to even measure it - and our bodies are redistributing and re-radiating that heat far faster than it can even accumulate. In fact, the effect of the WiFi on our bodies is thousands of times less than the effect of that light bulb on our bodies. You can actually feel the warmth of that.

Is that it, then? Are the heating properties of microwaves the only cause for concern? Well, not to hear the anti-WiFi crowd tell it. They spin a great yarn about as-yet undiscovered dangers of which they are somehow aware, while the rest of the entire scientific establishment remains unenlightened. The group that are hosting the event advertised in the poster have a website at which they link to a couple of articles in the British Columbia Teachers' Federation Newsletter. These articles tell us that:

The wireless signal, oscillating at 2.4 to 5 GHz, moves much too fast for the body to recognize. So this wave isn’t doing the damage. However, anytime any data or information is transmitted, say through our voice, through text messages, or through the sending of information, the data is packaged and “piggy-backed” onto the first wave. This creates a second carrier wave and this wave is called the information-carrying radio wave, or ICRW. It is the information-carrying radio wave that is producing the harm.

This is, to put it bluntly, poppycock. Whoever wrote that paragraph has been watching far too much Star Trek, because that is what we call Techno-Babble of the highest order. It sounds science-ish, but it means nothing. The idea that information can be "piggy-backed" onto a radio wave or microwave by somehow attaching a second radio wave is so far from the way the world works it's what we call 'not even wrong.' There is no second carrier wave; the microwaves themselves are the information. In much the same way as you can communicate using morse code via either radio or light, by simply turning the signal on and off again using a specific pattern, the microwaves used by WiFi routers, and cell phones, and cordless phones, among many other devices, communicate their information via the modulation of the frequency, amplitude and phase of the waves themselves. In this case, the old cliché from Marshall McLuhan is literally true: the medium is the message.

So should I be concerned, or not? I'll end this the way I began it: In a word, "no." There is no evidence to show that there is any harm, whatsoever, from WiFi signals. And any alleged evidence the anti-WiFi community claim to be able to produce can be very easily shown to be nonsense by a simple examination of the laws of reality. And that, as they say, is that.

Do I think this will be the last bullet that puts the horse out of its misery? Hardly. As long as there are people, there will be credulous people, who will believe almost anything, regardless of how unlikely or unrealistic it is. As a skeptic, critical thinker, and proud member of the reality based community, I consider it my responsibilty to vocally point out where people like the anti-WiFi community are mistaken, or sometimes flat-out wrong. Sure, we're not going to convince the hard-core fringe element out there, but if we can speak out loud enough, with reason and evidence on our side, perhaps we can keep the fringe to the fringe, and keep the average Jane and Joe from being led astray.

(Note: this article has been edited since it first appeared to reflect more accurate numbers regarding the intensity of the radiation from various sources. As well some minor changes were made to the wording of the final three paragraphs in order to reflect a more general point of view. -- Paul)

Let's play a game

2011-09-10T01:38:00.003-04:00

Apparently, this blog is the first result in a Google search for the phrase, "npr penguin poem mary poppins asks do you like kids and the penguin says yes in a red wine sauce."

Ima let that sink in for a little bit. According to my stat package, someone actually visited AWV from a Google results page for that combination of words. I cannot image why someone would Google that combination of words. That's where you come in.

Please feel free to speculate in the comments what you think the person who typed in that search criteria was really looking for.

Nothing to see here

2011-08-13T14:56:00.003-04:00

Clearly I have neglected this spot for far too long. My last post garnered no more than fifteen views, and a solitary comment. My own fault, of course. One doesn't leave a blog lying fallow for four full months. I'll try to do better. I swear.

It's another list...

2011-08-11T11:18:00.000-04:00

NPR (National Public Radio in the United States) has published a list of the "Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books OF ALL TIME!!!ZOMG." They collected nominations from over 5000 people, had an in-house panel of "experts" pare that list down to 237(?), then collected over 6000 online votes to create a top 100 list.

Like any of these lists, the results cannot be said to be definitive, merely a starting point for discussion. So, let's discuss. What doesn't belong on that list? What doesn't appear, that should? My thoughts below in the comment thread.

A fine dining experience

2011-04-20T20:46:00.003-04:00

I decided to make an Epic Meal Time inspired dinner tonight: Steak and Bacon Tacos!

Step 1: meat.

Chop a fine piece of steak. Chop several slices of bacon. Combine in a bowl. Cover with beer. Add some sugar. Mix well and let marinate in fridge.

Step 2: toppings.

Peel and chop cuke. Chop tomato. Chop garlic. Chop green onion. Chop cilantro. Chop Jalapeno pepper. Combine in a bowl. Season with salt, sugar and lemon juice. Voila: cucumber salsa.

Chop tomato. Chop garlic. Chop green onion. Chop cilantro. Chop Jalapeno pepper. Scoop out avocado. Combine in a bowl. Season with salt and lime juice. Voila: guacamole salsa.

(I chose to leave the tequila out of the salsas tonight. It's kinda a game-time decision.)

Grate cheese. I like cheddar. White or orange, it doesn't matter as long as it's good cheese. I'm a personal fan of Balderson's.

I also put out a little bowl of sour cream, and a little bowl of taco sauce.

Get your mind out of the gutter!

Step 3: meat again.

Heat some oil in a pan. Strain the beer marinated steak and bacon and brown. Strain again, add one cup clear water and one pouch of premade taco seasoning (OK, so I'm lazy). Cook at a low boil for about five minutes, or until liquid cooks down a bit.

Serve those puppies!

A song of feis and ire

2011-04-19T21:06:00.001-04:00

Am I the only one in the world who is not interested in the new HBO miniseries "Game of Thrones," and the multi-part series of novels upon which it is based? Can anyone explain to me the attraction of this piece of media?

Here's the way I see it. "A Game of Thrones" is the first of four novels published by George R. R. Martin as the "A Song Of Fire And Ice" trilogy. Yes, you read that right. Martin was writing a trilogy. There are four books. So far. There are, according to published reports, at least three more novels to come in the saga. Publication dates for the fifth novel have come and gone multiple times now, with each successive date, including the latest one, being touted as absolutely the real deal. To date, there are still only four novels available.

Anyone who has read the four novels currently extant will gush about them ad-nauseum. Their list of positive attributes includes, as far as I can tell: a long, rambling plot that leaves narrative threads dangling at inopportune moments, and then doesn't return to them until the next book, or possibly even the one after that; a cast of characters so extensive it requires a large Excel spreadsheet to keep track of them; a propensity to kill off main characters at the drop of a hat; and a use of language so exotic and arcane as to require one to keep the Kindle dictionary loaded in the background at all times. I'm afraid to ask readers what they didn't like about the books.

My wife read the first four books, and did nothing but grumble, moan, and complain all the way through them. She then proceeded to recommend them to me. Did she forget that I was sitting right there beside her while she read them?

So, aside from the fact that I can't find the silver lining in anything anyone I've ever spoken to about the books has said about them, I'm not really interested in picking up a series of books so epic even the author doesn't know how many there are going to be in the end. Especially considering the fact that the guy's sixty-something years old, and might not live to complete the work. No, really, think about it. The first three novels were published in increments of two years. It then took five years for the fourth book to come out. If - and that's a pretty big if, I'd say - if the sixth book comes out according to the latest pie-in-the-sky prediction of July 2011, that'll be a span of six years since the last one. On that schedule it could be anywhere between twelve and twenty years from now before he finishes. Did I say he's sixty-something?

Listen, I'm the guy who's read the First and Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant five or six times each, and still won't buy any of the books of the Third Chronicles until Donaldson has finished them all. He's got one more to go, but I'm not buying the first one, even in paperback, until I can be assured that I can read all the way to end of the series uninterrupted.

So, seriously, can someone explain all this to me? Because I just don't get it.

Are you aware?

2011-04-13T22:17:00.000-04:00

Apparently, it is World Homeopathy Awareness Week. As is my wont during these occasions, I would like to direct you to my post explaining exactly what homeopathy is. That post, dated June, 2009, is a repost of an article originally written in May of 2006 on the original AWV.

Another retro playlist - All Canadian Edition

2011-02-10T00:45:00.000-05:00

My last retro playlist was predominantly Canadian in flavour, but I decided this one would be exclusively so:

This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide, by The Kings

Mama Let Him Play, by Doucette

Fly At Night, by Chilliwack

I Like To Rock, by April Wine

The Boys In The Bright White Sports Car, by Trooper

Armageddon, by Prism

(Make Me Do) Anything You Want, by A Foot In Cold Water

(Sitting On A) Poor Man's Throne, by Copperpenny

Signs, by Five Man Electrical Band

Takin' Care Of Business, by Bachman Turner Overdrive

Enjoy, eh?

Ogle my bookshelf

2011-02-03T23:45:00.002-05:00

I came across this at Byzantium's Shores. Jaquandor picked it up from someone else and passed it on, so I shall do the same. It's called, "Ogle my shelves!" (I don't know how manditory the exclamation point is). Forthwith, to follow, numerous pictures of my bookshelves, close up. No hiding here; it's all out in plain view, embarrassing or not. Feel free to peruse. If you'd like a closer look, click on a pic to see it larger at Flickr.

Here is our bookshelf. Pat and I are book buyers. We both love books, and would rather own them than borrow them, great resource though the local library is. Pat is also, however, a rather organized person, who keeps a fine house. Left unchecked our book obsession would easily lead to a house with every horizontal surface piled high with reading material. So we check...and balance. We keep one set of bookshelves, and we allow ourselves to keep only the books that will fit on it. Once a year we hold a garage sale, and we thin out our books rather mercilessly each time, in order to preserve space on the shelf for valuable personal favourites, and new acquisitions.

Below is the bookshelf in its entirety. If it ain't on that, or stacked on a bedside table, it's in a box in the crawl space, ready to be sold off cheap at the next yard sale.

Mostly big books below: hardcovers and trade paperbacks. You can see the notable presence of at least 9 volumes by Guy Kay here. In fact, the only one of his novels missing here is A Song For Arbonne, which, for some reason that escapes me right now, I do not seem to have in hardcover. Also, I see a book I borrowed from Brent and never gave back. And the DaVinci Code, that's kinda embarrassing.

The cats are not mine.

Look, it's a scene from Tigana (another Kay novel) immortalized in paint. If you look closely you can see the red hair, that identifies this as Catriana. The hands are out of frame through the window, so you cannot see the single matching glove. This was painted by a friend and sent to me as part of a Secret Santa gift exchange.

Also, there's some books that Pat read.

Bottom shelf is populated by Calvin and Hobbes, and The Far Side, and Bloom County, oh and a whole bunch of high school yearbooks.

Below are some of the books I've owned the longest, including Gulliver's Travels. I can't find a date in it, so I'm not sure exactly when this edition was published, but it was given to my Father on the occasion of his eighth birthday, in 1945. He gave it to me when I was studying it in University. Also, a King James Bible, presented to my Father, by my Mother, in 1959. They passed it on to me in 1975. I've read most of it. (I kinda skimmed the begets).

The big, black thing isn't a book. It's a speaker.

Wow! That's a few National Geographics. They span January, 1988, to April, 2001. The bottom shelf is all photo albums.

Here's the start of the paperbacks. The corner section of the bookshelf used to be all knick-knacks and pretties, but you can see it has been somewhat taken over. You can just see the Twilight books sticking out of there. They'll be in the next garage sale for sure. Also, a couple of my antique cameras are on display there.

A Daily Mail Tobacco tin. And a piece of wood off an old crate of HighLiner Jumbo Fillets. Oh, and some books.

Ooh, the Mythic Tarot (insert spooky dramatic music here). Also, Kurt Vonnegut, who is another one of my favourite authors. And, tucked in the back there, yeah, Harry Potter.

But, what, you may ask, about the bottom section of the shelves? What's hidden behind closed doors, you might well demand. Oh, that's not books.

And didn't I see a bunch of stuff on top of the shelves, you ask? Well, here are my Sinners' Brier Mugs.... Yeah, don't ask. The explanation would be long, and not really all that interesting.

So, there you have it, my bookshelf. I hope you had fun ogling.

What do your bookshelves look like?

Should religion be a government service?

2011-01-06T00:16:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting to write about this issue for a week now, but every time I read the article in question, I get so angry I can't bring myself to set down my thoughts clearly. I've taken issue with the writing of Father Raymond J. De Souza before. The man's a bit intellectually dishonest, if you ask me, and this most recent article of his highlights that like none other to date.

As mentioned in the above linked piece, the Quebec government subsidizes daycare in the Province. Not all daycares are subsidized; there are private, unsubsidized daycare centers available to any who want what they offer. However, any daycare provider who follows government guidelines can offer customers daycare for only $7 per day, with the government picking up the balance of the tab (about $40).

Until recently, the government guidelines did not address the issue of religious instruction of children in daycare centers. I mean, why would they? We're talking about children under the ages of five years old here. Surely there isn't any serious religious instruction going on, is there? Well, it seems there is - at least in some centers. According to government figures, there are over 2000 subsidized daycare providers in the Province, and it has come to light that about 100 of them are religious in nature - that is, their purpose is primarily to provide religious instruction to specific cultural groups. So, the government has moved to stop the practice, and the religious people are all up in arms about it.

Father De Souza's December 30th column in the National Post is an example of the hyperbole being bandied about.

As far as I'm concerned, the Quebec government has taken the only steps they could have, given the situation. In disseminating government funded public services, whether they be unemployment benefits, or health care, or drivers licensing, or daycare, there are only two essential requirements: universality of access, and universality of experience. Government funded public services must be, as much as possible, available to all with the same level of access, and providing the same level of service, and the same service experience to all.

If I were Jewish, and my next-door neighbour were Muslim, and we both sent our children to the same neighbourhood daycare center, and we both paid the same price to do so, that constitutes identical access to the service. However, if the daycare in question is run by a Synagogue, and provides religious instruction in Judaism to the children, and no instruction in Islaam, then that does not constitute an equal level of service. The Muslim family would be right to complain.

"But," I might say, "you can take your children to the daycare run by the Mosque. It's only ten blocks away." That might be true, but while I could walk my child one block to the local daycare center, my neighbour would have to inconvenience himself by driving ten blocks to get the same level of service. In some communities, there simply isn't another alternative. We are no longer talking about universality of access. If a government funded public service does not provide equal access and equal services to every member of society, regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual preference, it is unfair, and, quite frankly, unconstitutional.

That is what the government of Quebec is trying to fix. To hear Father De Souza tell it (and many other commentators around the web), the government is furthering some kind of anti-religion agenda.

The educational world in Quebec does not leave much room to breathe. The consensus position, as defined by the curriculum apparatchiks, must be taught without exception in all public schools, private schools and even at home. Until now, the preschoolers had escaped the stifling grasp of government. No longer.

This is, however, disingenuous. The government is not trying to prevent you from teaching your children your religion. They are simply trying to prevent you from teaching my children your religion, in a publicly funded venue, against my wishes. In order to ensure equlity of service experience in this situation, there are only two possible courses of action: either provide instruction to all children in every possible religion, or provide none. The former, being impractical, and virtually impossible, the latter becomes the only real option. To deny this is to deny a free and equal society.

The thing that makes me so angry, though, is that Father De Souza knows all this, and he doesn't care. He's trying to make it sound like someone's rights have been violated, when that just isn't the case. The entire purpose of secular government is to protect everyone's rights equally. He says:

The heart of every culture is its attitude to the big questions of human life and existence. That's why a sensible people leaves culture in the hands of the churches, the artists and the writers. Only a deeply insecure society entrusts culture to bureaucratic inquisitors. And only bureaucratic inquisitors see threats in the cradle.

But, Father De Souza, aren't you arguing in this piece that you want religious instruction in the government regulated daycares? Why don't you leave it to the churches, the artists, and the writers?

He's trying to turn the argument around, and make it sound like the the state is advancing an educational agenda, when, in truth, they are withdrawing one. Religious belief is a personal thing. Let's keep it where it belongs, in the homes and the churches of the believers, where, contrary to what Father De Souza would have you believe, it is not under attack.

Friday Random Ten

2010-12-18T11:10:00.000-05:00

...because I haven't done one of these in a while...here are the first ten songs, randomly selected by iTunes to load on my iPod.

1) When I Die, by Motherlode
2) Siberian Khatru, by Yes
3) Runaway, by Leahy
4) Torn and Tattered, by Joss Stone
5) Anything For You, by Gloria Estefan
6) The Ribbon Dancers, by Michael Occhipinti
7) You're Everywhere, by The Tragically Hip
8) Sick & Tired, by Default
9) Rinse, by Vanessa Carlton
10) Own True Way, by Great Big Sea

plus, one bonus song, because I really like this rendition:

11) Ode To Billy Joe, by Molly Johnson

Animation fan? Prove it!

2010-12-16T10:52:00.000-05:00

Complements of Byzantium's Shores, here is a quiz similar to the books and music ones I've found before at Kelly's blog. This one's about animated movies. I've modified the rules he quoted a bit. I removed the words "loved" and "hated" from the descriptions, as I think that someone who hates a movie has difficulty judging the importance of things in life (not you, Kelly - I know you were just copying and pasting). I've also removed the "seen part of/haven't finished" category. Really, why would anyone be interested in hearing about movies of which I've seen only bits and pieces?

Also: commentary...

The Rules:

- X what you have seen
- Bold what you liked
- Italicize what you disliked
- Leave unchanged if neutral

CLASSIC DISNEY
-------------------------------
[X] 101 Dalmatians (1961)
[X] Alice in Wonderland (1951)
[X] Bambi (1942) Even as a little kid, I found the depictions of the various animals to be too cutsie. Never turned my crank. Also, I never got that Bambi's mother died.
[X] Cinderella (1950)
[X] Dumbo (1941) This one was alright, I guess. I always found the Pink Elephants on Parade number to be overlong, and practically incomprehensible.
[X] Fantasia (1940) Saw this one in the theater with my parents when it was rereleased in the seventies and was frankly bored silly by it. Watched it years later on video and loved it, although I have always found the Fantasia 2000 version to be a more enjoyable film.
[X] Lady and the Tramp (1955) We are Siame-ese if you ple-ease.
[X] Mary Poppins (1964)
[X] Peter Pan (1953)
[X] Pinocchio (1940)
[X] Sleeping Beauty (1959) Although I know I've seen this one multiple times, I can't really remember much about it. It clearly did not make much of an impression on me.
[X] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Fun.
[ ] Song of the South (1946)

DISNEY'S DARK AGE
-------------------------------
[X] The Aristocats (1970) Everybody wants to be a cat!
[X] The Black Cauldron (1985)
[X] The Fox and the Hound (1981)
[X] The Great Mouse Detective (1986) This marked an interesting departure from Disney's former offerings based on traditional children's literature. The Great Mouse Detective was their first feature film adapted from adult literature.
[X] The Jungle Book (1967)
[X] The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
[X] Oliver and Company (1986)
[ ] Pete's Dragon (1977)
[X] The Rescuers (1977)
[X] Robin Hood (1973) When I was a kid, I had this movie in the form of a book and LP record combination. I used to listen to the album over and over again, until I could recite the dialogue from the entire movie from memory.
[X] The Sword In The Stone (1963)

THE DISNEY RENAISSANCE
-------------------------------
[X] Aladdin (1992) A huge coup for Disney, this film marked the return to glory for the company.
[X] Beauty and the Beast (1991)
[X] A Goofy Movie (1995) Huyuck!
[X] Hercules (1997) This was an interesting experiment in a more stylized from of animation, based upon traditional Greek artwork. They would continue to play with this idea in films like The Lion King, Mulan, and The Emperor's New Groove.
[X] The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) This was one of the less popular Disney movies, but I enjoyed it.
[X] The Lion King (1994) The pinnacle of Disney's second golden age.
[X] The Little Mermaid (1989)
[X] Mulan (1998) The last good thing Eddie Murphy ever did.
[X] Pocahontas (1995)
[X] The Rescuers Down Under (1990) This one's a ton of fun. The cinematography of the opening scene is brilliant.
[X] Tarzan (1999)

DISNEY'S MODERN AGE
-------------------------------
[X] Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) I always thought this one was a great idea that was never really fully fleshed out. At 95 minutes, it isn't really all that short, but it feels like it is. The whole thing seemed rushed to me.
[X] Bolt (2008) Another ton of fun.
[ ] Brother Bear (2003)
[X] Chicken Little (2005)
[ ] Dinosaur (2000)
[X] The Emperor's New Groove (2000) I like David Spade. He and John Goodman really clicked on this film.
[X] Fantasia 2000 (2000) Excellent.
[ ] Home on the Range (2004)
[X] Lilo & Stitch (2002)
[ ] Meet the Robinsons (2007)
[X] Treasure Planet (2002)

PIXAR
-------------------------------
[X] A Bug's Life (1998)
[X] Cars (2006)
[X] Finding Nemo (2003)
[X] The Incredibles (2004)
[X] Monsters Inc. (2001)
[ ] Ratatouille (2007) Need to see this one.
[X] Toy Story (1995)
[X] Toy Story 2 (1999)
[ ] Toy Story 3 (2010) And this one
[X] Wall-E (2008)
[X] Up (2009) Meh.

DON BLUTH
-------------------------------
[X] All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
[X] An American Tail (1986)
[ ] An American Tail: Fieval Goes West (1991)
[X] Anastasia (1997)
[X] The Land Before Time (1988)
[X] The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
[ ] Rock-a-Doodle (1991)
[X] The Secret of NIMH (1982)
[ ] Thumbelina (1994)
[X] Titan AE (2000)
[ ] A Troll in Central Park (1994)

CLAYMATION AND STOP-MOTION
-------------------------------
[ ] The Adventures of Mark Twain (1986)
[X] Chicken Run (2000)
[X] Corpse Bride (2005)
[X] James and the Giant Peach (1996)
[X] The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) I thought this was considerably better than the aforementioned Corpse Bride.
[X] Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
[X] Coraline (2009) I can't understand why everyone raved about this. It wasn't any better than just so-so, and I couldn't really discern a plot, a climax, or a resolution. Did not like.

CGI GLUT
-------------------------------
[X] Antz (1998)
[ ] Bee Movie (2007)
[ ] Happy Feet (2006)
[X] Ice Age (2002)
[X] Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
[ ] Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
[X] Kung Fu Panda (2008)
[ ] Madagascar (2005)
[X] Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) Bad, just bad.
[X] Monster House (2006)
[X] Over the Hedge (2006)
[ ] The Polar Express (2004)
[X] Robots (2005)
[ ] A Shark's Tale (2004)
[X] Shrek (2001)
[X] Shrek 2 (2004)
[ ] Shrek The Third (2007)
[ ] Shrek Forever After (2010)
[ ] Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)

IMPORTS
-------------------------------
[ ] Arabian Knight (aka The Thief and the Cobbler) (1995)
[ ] The Last Unicorn (1982)
[ ] Light Years (1988)
[ ] The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
[ ] Persepolis (2007)
[ ] Waltz With Bashir (2008)
[ ] Watership Down (1978)
[ ] When the Wind Blows (1988)
[ ] Wonderful Days (2003)
[X] Yellow Submarine (1968) How can you not like the cartoon Beatles?

STUDIO GHIBLI/MIYAZAKI
-------------------------------
[ ] The Cat Returns (2002)
[ ] Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
[X] Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
[ ] Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
[ ] Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
[ ] Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
[ ] My Neighbors The Yamadas (1999)
[ ] My Neighbor Totoro (1993)
[ ] Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
[ ] Only Yesterday (1991)
[ ] Pom Poko (Tanuki War) (1994)
[ ] Porco Rosso (1992)
[ ] Princess Mononoke (1999)
[X] Spirited Away (2002)
[ ] Whisper of the Heart (1995)
[ ] Ponyo (2009)

SATOSHI KON
-------------------------------
[ ] Millennium Actress (2001)
[ ] Paprika (2006)
[ ] Perfect Blue (1999)
[ ] Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

SHINKAI MAKOTO
-------------------------------
[ ] She and Her Cat (1999)
[ ] Voices of a Distant Star (2001)
[ ] The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
[ ] 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

OTHER ANIME FILMS
-------------------------------
[ ] Akira (1989)
[ ] Angel's Egg (1985)
[ ] Appleseed (2004)
[ ] Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007)
[ ] Arcadia of My Youth (U.S. Title - Vengeance of the Space Pirate) (1982)
[ ] Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2003)
[ ] The Dagger of Kamui (U.S. Title - Revenge of the Ninja Warrior) (1985)
[ ] Dirty Pair: Project Eden (1987)
[ ] End of Evangelion (1997)
[ ] Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone (2007)
[ ] Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance (2009)
[ ] Fist of the North Star (1986)
[ ] Galaxy Express 999 (1979)
[ ] Ghost in the Shell (1996)
[ ] Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
[ ] The Girl Who Lept Through Time (2006)
[ ] Lensman (1984)
[ ] Macross: Do You Remember Love (U.S. Title - Clash of the Bionoids) (1984)
[ ] Memories (1995)
[ ] Metropolis (2001)
[ ] Neo-Tokyo (1986)
[ ] Night on the Galactic Railroad (1985)
[ ] Ninja Scroll (1993)
[ ] Patlabor the Movie (1989)
[ ] The Professional: Golgo 13 (1983)
[ ] Project A-ko (1986)
[ ] Robot Carnival (1987)
[ ] Robotech: The Shadow Chronicle (2006)
[ ] Silent Möbius (1991)
[ ] The Sky Crawlers (2008)
[ ] Space Adventure Cobra (1982)
[ ] Steamboy (2004)
[ ] Sword of the Stranger (2007)
[ ] Unico and the Island of Magic (1983)
[ ] Urotsukidoji: The Movie (1987)
[ ] Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer (1984)
[ ] Urusei Yatsura: Only You (1982)
[ ] Vampire Hunter D (1985)
[ ] Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust (2000)
[ ] Wings of Honneamise: Royal Space Force (1987)

Not being a fan of animation per-se, I haven't gone out of my way to watch any Japanese animated fare. I'm not a fan of the Japanese Anime style animation at all - I particularly find thier depictions of women distasteful. People seem to rave about Miyazaki, but I found the two of his films I saw to be merely so-so.

CARTOONS FOR GROWN-UPS
-------------------------------
[ ] American Pop (1981)
[X] The Animatrix (2003)
[ ] Beavis & Butthead Do America (1996)
[X] Cool World (1992)
[X] Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
[ ] Final Fantasy: Advent Children (2005)
[ ] Fire & Ice (1983)
[ ] Fritz the Cat (1972)
[ ] Halo Legends (2009)
[X] Heavy Metal (1981)
[ ] Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)
[ ] Hey Good Lookin' (1982)
[ ] Lady Death (2004)
[ ] A Scanner Darkly (2006)
[ ] Sita Sings the Blues (2008)
[X] South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
[ ] Street Fight (Coonskin) (1975)
[ ] Waking Life (2001)

OTHER ANIMATED MOVIES
-------------------------------
[ ] The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
[ ] Animal Farm (1954)
[ ] Animalympics (1980)
[ ] Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon The Movie (2007)
[ ] Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
[ ] Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
[ ] Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
[ ] The Brave Little Toaster (1988)
[ ] Bravestarr: The Movie (1988)
[ ] Cats Don't Dance (1997)
[ ] Care Bears: The Movie (1985)
[X] Charlotte's Web (1973)
[X] Fern Gully (1992)
[ ] G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987)
[ ] Gobots: Battle of the Rock Lords (1986)
[ ] Green Lantern: First Flight (2009)
[ ] He-Man & She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985)
[X] The Hobbit (1977)
[X] The Iron Giant (1999) I Superman! Great film!
[ ] Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
[ ] Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
[X] Lord of the Rings (1978) I saw this one in the theater somehow. In 1978, I wasn't old enough to be interested in Tolkein, that I can remember, so it must have been rereleased at some point. It was pretty bad.
[ ] Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1992)
[ ] My Little Pony: The Movie (1986)
[X] Pink Floyd's The Wall (1982) Used to go downtown and see this with a group of buddies regularly. I own it on DVD, but the in-home viewing experience simply cannot match the big-screen, big-sound, in-theater experience.
[X] The Prince of Egypt (1998)
[ ] Powerpuff Girls: The Movie (2002)
[ ] Quest For Camelot (1999)
[ ] Ringing Bell (1978)
[X] The Road to El Dorado (2000)
[ ] Shinbone Alley (1971)
[X] Space Jam (1996) What? I liked it.
[ ] Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985)
[ ] Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)
[ ] Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
[ ] Superman: Doomsday (2007)
[ ] The Swan Princess (1994)
[ ] Transformers: The Movie (1986)
[ ] Wizards (1977)
[X] Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
[ ] Wonder Woman (2009)
[ ] Balto (1995)
[ ] Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

As Kelly pointed out, this is hardly a comprehensive list. There are many sequels to listed films that do not appear here, and I can think of at least a few stand-alone films I have seen that have been missed here. Still, for what it is (an interenet quiz), it's an interesting look at people's animation viewing experiences.

Sally Anne Hates Harry Potter

2010-12-09T10:49:00.000-05:00

Are you donating toys to The Salvation Army this year? Maybe you should rethink that.

Recent news items have brought to light the fact that many donated toys never make it the children for whom they were intended. Because the Salvation Army is a Christian organisation, any toys that are deemed "not in line with Christian principles," are rejected by the charity. This includes the most popular items for young teens this year: Harry Potter and Twilight themed merchandise.

Are these items rejected at the donation sites? No. Your donations are taken to a warehouse where they are sorted, and the $40 Harry Potter Lego game you gave, and other toys like it are separated out, and discarded. Why? According to a representative of the Sally Ann, it's because they promote the occult and black magic.

So, you decided to donate a gift this year. You chose something you thought a child might like. The charity is second guessing you, and your choice of toy might be labelled inappropriate. If you thought it was inappropriate, you wouldn't have donated it.

The Salvation Army claims that the rejected toys are sent to a third party, where they might end up being distributed to children in a different manner, but they did not deign to identify that third party, so, really, who knows?

My charitable donations will certainly be aimed somewhere else this year. Yes, I think so.

hat tip: The Friendly Atheist

Beer Reviews #1

2010-12-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

A couple of years ago I frequented a website where the community could post online ratings of beers they had tried, including detailed descriptions of their impressions of said ales and lagers. I don't spend much time there anymore, but the interest in and taste for fine beer the site engendered in me continues today. I thought I might, from time to time, post a review or two here of beers I have tried.

In late September the wife and I took a short road trip to the Washington, D.C.-Richmond, Virginia region, where I tried a few new beers in area bars and restaurants. In addition, I brought several bottles of beer home with me to enjoy (see photo at left).

Herewith, then, please find attached the first of the aforementioned beer reviews for your reading, and drinking enjoyment.

Middle Ages Brewing Company - Wailing Wench Ale

The Middle Ages Brewing Company is in Syracuse, New York, which could be considered local to the Buffalo store Premier Gourmet, where I bought the beer. Middle Ages bills this beer as a "full bodied ale screaming with hops," which fit in with the profile of several other beers I had been wanting to try, for example Stone Arrogant Bastard, so I put it in my basket. Who am I kidding, it also has a picture of a woman with big boobs on the label. It comes in a full pint bottle, which is a little more than I'm used to consuming in one sitting - especially since it's 8% alcohol by volume. Kinda like drinking four Coors Lights at once...except with flavour. If you're interested, they also make a Double Wench, at 12% ABV, with a girl with even bigger boobs on the label.

At 8% alcohol, I expected some kick out of this beer, but the alcohol is not intrusive in the taste at all. The hops, on the other hand... The "screaming with hops" subtitle on the label indicates that this was an attempt at a 'hop bomb' by the brewery, and they certainly succeeded in that. A bit too much so for my tastes. Now, don't get me wrong, I like hops as much as the next beer snob, but this beer was just trying too hard. The malt was definitely there, but the hops simply overwhelmed it on my palate.

There wasn't much in the way of complexity here either. The brewer's website doesn't indicate how many or what varieties of hops were used in this beer, but I couldn't really distinguish between the start and the finish here. It was just bitter hops all the way through. I didn't dislike this beer, but in the American strong ale/IPA category, there are many that I like better.

What? I need a rating system? OK, let's call this one 3/5.

Woman's world

2010-09-21T23:20:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago I posted about Stacey Kaniuk stealing the show at the Aurora Jazz Festival with a smoking rendition of a James Brown classic. Here is the video of that performance:

Tonight's retro playlist:

2010-09-21T22:03:00.001-04:00

Kayleigh, by Marillion (this song got stuck in my head for days a few weeks ago)

(I Just) Died In Your Arms, by Cutting Crew (I just like this one)

Dance Desire, by Haywire (best song opening ever)

Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone), by Glass Tiger (most famous band from closest to where I live ever)

Turn It Loud, by Headpins (turn it up - just do it)

Whatcha Do To My Body, by Lee Aaron (hottest rock chick ever)

Roxy Roller, by Sweeny Todd (sung by Nick Guilder - for years I thought it was a chick)

Fantasy, by Aldo Nova (most pretentious video ever)

Lunatic Fringe, by Red Rider (most boring video ever)

Fox On The Run, by The Sweet (worst sound ever, but I like this song)

What's your retro playlist?

In remembrance

2010-09-11T14:32:00.004-04:00

...and in support of those who grieve:

http://awvarchive.blogspot.com/2005/09/now-of-it-all.html

http://awvarchive.blogspot.com/2006/09/weekend-assignment-remembering.html

Those posts now reside in an archive of the original Aurora Walking Vacation blog. If you feel moved to comment, please do so here, rather than there.

The ABCs of Curling - Z

2010-09-02T10:19:00.003-04:00

is for Zhou, as in Zhou Yan, lead on the 2009 women's world champions from China. Zhou, and her teammates Yue Qingshuang, Liu Yin and Wang Bingyu burst onto the international curling scene in 2005, winning the Pan-Pacific Championships. They had been curling for only four years. The Chinese experience is but the most notable of what has been a recent explosion of popularity of curling around the world.

There was international curling in the early days of the twentieth century, but it was usually confined to a team visiting another country and touring around playing exhibition games in various clubs. This happened numerous times between Canadian and Scottish clubs during the first half of the century. Curling was also contested at the 1924 and 1932 Olympics. In fact, in 2006 the IOC declared the 1924 result to have been "official" and awarded medals - for most, posthumously, I suspect. In 1959, an international championship, the "Scotch Cup" was inaugurated, having developed out of a semi-regular Canada vs. Scotland contest over the previous decade. The Scotch Cup grew from two to eight countries, and led to the formation of an International Federation.

The World Curling Federation was formed in 1966 (originally as the International Curling Federation), with seven members: Scotland, Canada, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, and the United States. Germany joined a year later, and membership stayed at eight until the seventies. For three decades, growth was slow, with six new national organisations joining in the seventies, and only five in the eighties. And then, something happened. Thirteen new member nations joined the WCF during the nineties, and another fourteen since the turn of the millenium.

What happened? Why, the Winter Olympics happened. Curling returned, after an absence of 64 years, as a demonstration sport at the 1988 games in Calgary, and again at the 1992 games in Albertville. It was made a full medal sport just in time for the 1998 games in Nagano. It has proved to be more popular with the fans at every games since. So much so that during the 2010 tournament the players had difficulty hearing themselves over the raucous, capacity crowds filling the venue.

Recent additions to the roster of WCF member nations, along with China, include Brazil, Croatia, Turkey, Serbia, Lithuania, and this year, Slovenia. Most of those countries have only a handful of curlers, but significant growth is only a matter of time. Take Brazil, for example. The Brazilian Ice Sports Federation has been an official member of the WCF since 1998, but the address listed for them on the WCF website is a post office box in Norwell, Massachusetts. All that is changing in a big way this year. In August, Nutrogena hosted a ten day, open to the public curling clinic in a local mall in Sao Paulo. Several Canadian and Norwegian curlers and coaches were on hand to not only teach people how to curl, but to train local coaches to carry on without them. Reportedly several hundred people tried the game over the course of the event, and the Brazilians will be left with a solid base upon which to build. Will we see a Brazilian curling team competing at the 2014 Olympics? At first it sounds farfetched, but considering the success of Zhou Yan and friends, maybe not so much.

Time will tell.

<- Start at the beginning.

The (not so) great wi-fi debate

2010-08-19T00:44:00.002-04:00

You probably haven't been able to turn on your computer and surf the Internet the last few days without running into a story about Barrie, Ontario area parents claiming their children are being made sick by Wi-Fi radiation in the schools. The media is giving all kinds of attention to one or two scientists who are saying there might be a health concern. Unfortunately, it is giving little more than lip service to the vast bulk of the scientific community who say the opposite.

Sure, many publications have expressed some more or less skeptical opinions - in a wishy-washy kind of way, but no one, anywhere, is telling it straight. No one is saying what should be said. No one is saying that there isn't a shred of credible evidence that there is any harm whatsoever from Wi-Fi signals. No one is saying that the cell phones all these kids have glued to their heads twenty-four hours a day emit considerably more radiation - in the same frequency range - than Wi-Fi transmitters. Heck your DVD player emits more RF radiation than your wireless router, but I don't see any of these parents cutting up their Blockbuster cards.

What needs to be said - loud and clear - is that, in order for the claims of this group to be in any way valid; in order for there to be a health risk from Wi-Fi signals, everything we currently understand about physics would have to be wrong. I'm not talking about a minor correction to our scientific understanding of the world. I mean we'd have to throw the laws of nature out the window and start all over again. Microwave radiation is non-ionizing. That means it doesn't have enough power to damage cells beyond heating them. A typical microwave oven is about 1000 watts. A typical cellphone is less than one watt. What that means is, in order to reheat your cold cup of Tim's to a piping hot, drinkable state (what your microwave would do in about one minute), you'd have to hold your cell phone up to the cup for around seventeen hours...in a shielded box that didn't allow any of the radiation to escape into the environment at large...in an insulated cup that didn't allow any of the heat to escape into the air. OK, let's be honest, it's impossible. And your average Wi-Fi transmitter is about half the power of a cell phone - and typically not held up against your head.

This idea - that Wi-Fi radiation can somehow be harmful to people's health - is what we, in the skeptical community refer to as, "not even wrong." What we mean by that is it is an idea that is so far out of the realm of reason that it's like asking how many pot-roasts the Yankees scored last night. It's a statement that doesn't even make sense in the context of a reasonable discussion. No, these parents are barking up the wrong area rug. They're "not even wrong."

(not quite) 100 more SF books everybody should read!

2010-08-08T21:22:00.000-04:00

Kelly has come across another list of somebody's opinion of indispensible science fiction novels. He called it 100 more SF books..., but I only count 84. This list overlaps the previous one only a small amount. Once again, I will boldinicize those titles I have read, and add commentary where the inclination strikes me.

1. The Forever War – Joe Haldeman
2. I Am Legend – Richard Matheson
3. Cities in Flight – James Blish I have this book (got it for Christmas a couple of years ago from an online secret santa gift exchange). I haven't read it yet.
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick
5. The Stars My Destination – Alfred Bester
6. Babel-17 – Samuel R. Delany
7. Lord of Light – Roger Zelazny
8. The Fifth Head of Cerberus – Gene Wolfe
9. Gateway – Frederik Pohl
10. The Rediscovery of Man – Cordwainer Smith
11. Last and First Men – Olaf Stapledon
12. Earth Abides – George R. Stewart
13. Martian Time-Slip – Philip K. Dick
14. The Demolished Man – Alfred Bester
15. Stand on Zanzibar – John Brunner
16. The Dispossessed – Ursula K. Le Guin
17. The Drowned World – J. G. Ballard
18. The Sirens of Titan – Kurt Vonnegut
19. Emphyrio – Jack Vance
20. A Scanner Darkly – Philip K. Dick
21. Star Maker – Olaf Stapledon
22. Behold the Man – Michael Moorcock
23. The Book of Skulls – Robert Silverberg
24. The War of the Worlds – H. G. Wells
25. Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes I have not read the novel, but I have read the short story by the same author upon which the novel was based.
26. Ubik – Philip K. Dick
27. Timescape – Gregory Benford
28. More Than Human – Theodore Sturgeon
29. Man Plus – Frederik Pohl
30. A Case of Conscience – James Blish
31. The Centauri Device – M. John Harrison
32. Dr. Bloodmoney – Philip K. Dick
33. Non-Stop – Brian Aldiss
34. The Fountains of Paradise – Arthur C. Clarke
35. Pavane – Keith Roberts
36. Now Wait for Last Year – Philip K. Dick
37. Nova – Samuel R. Delany
38. The First Men in the Moon – H. G. Wells
39. The City and the Stars – Arthur C. Clarke
40. Blood Music – Greg Bear
41. Jem – Frederik Pohl
42. Bring the Jubilee – Ward Moore
43. VALIS – Philip K. Dick
44. The Lathe of Heaven – Ursula K. Le Guin
45. The Complete Roderick – John Sladek
46. Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said – Philip K. Dick
47. The Invisible Man – H. G. Wells
48. Grass – Sheri S. Tepper
49. A Fall of Moondust – Arthur C. Clarke
50. Eon – Greg Bear
51. The Shrinking Man – Richard Matheson
52. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch – Philip K. Dick
53. The Dancers at the End of Time – Michael Moorcock
54. The Space Merchants – Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth
55. Time Out of Joint – Philip K. Dick
56. Downward to the Earth – Robert Silverberg
57. The Simulacra – Philip K. Dick
58. The Penultimate Truth – Philip K. Dick
59. Dying Inside – Robert Silverberg
60. Ringworld – Larry Niven
61. The Child Garden – Geoff Ryman
62. Mission of Gravity – Hal Clement
63. A Maze of Death – Philip K. Dick
64. Tau Zero – Poul Anderson
65. Rendezvous with Rama – Arthur C. Clarke
66. Life During Wartime – Lucius Shepard
67. Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang – Kate Wilhelm
68. Roadside Picnic – Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
69. Dark Benediction – Walter M. Miller, Jr.
70. Mockingbird – Walter Tevis
71. Dune – Frank Herbert
72. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein
73. The Man in the High Castle – Philip K. Dick
74. Inverted World – Christopher Priest
75. Cat’s Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
76. The Island of Dr. Moreau - H.G. Wells
77. Childhood’s End - Arthur C. Clarke
78. The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
79. Dhalgren - Samuel R. Delany
80. Helliconia - Brian Aldiss
81. Food of the Gods - H.G. Wells
82. The Body Snatchers - Jack Finney
83. The Female Man - Joanna Russ
84. Arslan - M.J. Engh

Like the previous list, this one seems Philipp K. Dick happy. In fact, there are more Dick books on this one than the last, and only a few of them are duplicates. How many books did this guy write? It seems that there are dozens of novels on this list by authors I have read other works by, but not the ones listed here. Also, there are a good number of books on this list that I've never even heard of before. I guess, between this list and the last, I won't have to look far for ideas when I need something new to read.

How did you fare on this list?

Hello, Police? I'd like to report a stolen show.

2010-08-01T22:54:00.003-04:00

The second annual Aurora Jazz+ Festival was held this past Friday night and Saturday. I didn't have a chance to see any of the Friday night performers, but I spent the entire day at the Town Park Saturday listening to the Jazz, Blues, R&B, Pop, Folk, and Rock music line-up the organizers had put together. Along with returning artists like Joel Krivy, Bobby Rice and the Mike Massaro Band, there were a bevy of new performers along for the ride.

Joel Krivy from King City performed his acoustic renditions of blues standards

The organizers, George and Sher St.Kitts, seem to be dedicated to showcasing as much local talent as possible, and included many amateur, semi-pro, and up and coming York Region performers. The absolute highlight of the show, for me, was Stacey Kaniuk - a cute-as-a-button local girl with a voice that'll knock your socks off. This girl cannot be far from breaking through into the big time. During a hot enough to set the stage on fire rendition of the James Brown hit It's a Man's Man's Man's World, the performers due up next stood on the alternate stage, arms crossed, watching the rug being pulled out from under them. This is a singer-songwriter on her way to the top, mark my words.

Stacey Kaniuk's rendition of the James Brown hit It's a Man's Man's Man's World brought the house down

Other local performers included the amateur acts Higher Ground and Six Way From Sunday, and aspiring pros Chris Hau, and The Julian Troiano Band. Also in the mix were the traditional Jazz sounds of the After Hours Big Band - another local group - and big name headliner Robert Michaels' cuban/flamenco (cubamenco) guitar stylings.

After Hours Big Band trombonist

The event was in support of two local charities; The Canadian Center for Abuse Awareness, and Safehaven.

I was somewhat disappointed with the turnout this year. The park was pretty much empty until evening. Most of the spectators came out to see Robert Michaels play after 8:00PM, but during the day acts were, unfortunately, playing to a sparse littering of no more than a couple hundred people. I'm not sure whether the problem was the timing - on a summer long weekend - or a lack of widespread promotion, or something else - or, more likely, a combination of these factors, but hopefully next year's event will be better attended.

For more pictures of the event, visit my Flickr photoset.

The ABCs of Curling - Y

2010-07-27T09:34:00.002-04:00

is for Yellow, a common identifying colour for curling rocks. At one time, curlers owned their own rocks, and brought them to the rink for each game. Everybody's rocks were different, and one became familiar with the way one's rocks behaved on the ice. Different stones would go farther, or stop sooner. They might curl more, or less than other people's rocks. As the game evolved, and rules became more universally standardized, and clubs accquired their own buildings and facilities, privately owned rocks fell by the wayside. A friend of mine recently mentioned to me that he has one of his grandfather's old curling stones propping open a door in his house in St. Catherines.

The goal of any modern curling club is to have all of thier rocks behave the same way on the ice. In reality, that turns out to be something of an impossible dream. There are just too many variables involved, and miniscule variations in the texture of the running surface can result in dramatic differences in how far a rock will travel, or curl. Most icemakers will spend a not insignificant amount of time throwing all the rocks in the club, and trying to pair up - or 'match' - identically running rocks to make sets of eight that will be at least similar to each other during game play. This is an exhaustingly laborious undertaking, and as such, most clubs rocks will be matched in only the most rudimentary manner. And that doesn't even take into account the fact that a rock's behaviour might change over time as it's running surface wears.

At large national and international curling events being contested by the best teams in the world, exceptional care is taken to ensure the curlers are playing with the best possible rocks. The Canadian Curling Association keeps a set of top quality stones that they transport around the country for use at major CCA sanctioned events. Before, say, the Brier national championship, the stones will be carefully matched so the players can have the best possible experience on the ice. With all this care, the players still find minor differences between the rocks, and will often swap rocks around in throwing order based on how they believe they will behave under different circumstances. During the course of the week at one of these events, as teams play on each different sheet of ice, using each different set of rocks, they will meticulously chart the performance of the stones. Should they reach the finals, they will be allowed to select any of the rocks from across the rink to assemble a set of eight they like.

At most organised bonspiels, rock colour is preselected for the teams before they go on the ice. During regular in-club league play, however, the team who is throwing first as determined by the coin toss will usually select whether to throw blue or yellow rocks. Regular club curlers will often have their own opinions which colour rocks are better to choose on any given sheet based upon prior experience. Of course, during the off season, the rocks might be stored without handles, and reassembled in a different order the next year. Or, the running surfaces might be retextured at some point, which changes everything. Each team starts a new year in club curling having to suss out the rocks all over again before they come to a conclusion, like: "on ice two, don't take blue!"

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: Z is for...

100 SF books everyone should read...

2010-07-23T12:01:00.001-04:00

Kelly points out a list, at Bookstove.com, of 100 Science Fiction Novels Everyone Should Read. They don't give any commentary on these books at all. They just say, "hey, you should read these." As with all such lists, it is highly subjective. There are books on this one I'd probably leave off, and books I've read that I think should be here. What are your thoughts?

Taking a cue from Kelly, I've emboldenated the ones I've read, and added commentary here and there.

1. The Postman – David Brin
2. The Uplift War – David Brin Of course, this is the third book of a trilogy, so if you want to pick up some Brin, I wouldln't start with this one.
3. Neuromancer – William Gibson Big fan of Gibson. Highly recommended.
4. Foundation – Isaac Asimov
5. Foundation and Empire – Isaac Asimov
6. Second Foundation – Isaac Asimov ...and the multitudinous sequels and prequels - I have seven Foundation Series novels.
7. I, Robot – Isaac Asimov
8. The Long Tomorrow – Leigh Brackett
9. Rogue Moon – Algis Budrys
10. The Martian Chronicles – Ray Bradbury
11. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury I'm pretty sure I've read this one, but I don't really remember it at all.
12. Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury
13. Childhood’s End – Arthur C. Clarke My grade ten english teacher passed copies of this book out to the class, and told us to read it for an upcoming assignment. He never mentioned it again.
14. The City and the Stars – Arthur C. Clarke
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke
16. Armor – John Steakley
17. Imperial Stars – E. E. Smith On this list? Perhaps as an example of Golden Age Science Fiction pulp novels, but important? Good? No, I wouldn't say so.
18. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley I've tried to read this several times, but have bounced off (as Kelly puts it) the antiquated writing style.
19. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
20. Speaker for the Dead – Orson Scott Card
21. Dune – Frank Herbert
22. The Dosadi Experiment – Frank Herbert I'm a fan of Herbert, but I think Dune is probably representative enough for this list. Not sure why such an obscure example of his work appears here.
23. Journey Beyond Tomorrow – Robert Sheckley
24. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
25. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick
26. Valis – Philip K. Dick
27. A Scanner Darkly – Philip K. Dick
28. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch – Philip K. Dick Hard to believe I've never read any P.K. Dick. I should do something about that. Having said that, is his work really important enough to rate five inclusions on this list?
29. 1984 – George Orwell
30. Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut
31. Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut
32. The War of the Worlds – H. G. Wells
33. The Time Machine – H. G. Wells
34. The Island of Doctor Moreau – H. G. Wells
35. The Invisible Man – H. G. Wells
36. A Canticle for Leibowitz – Walter M. Miller, Jr.
37. Alas, Babylon – Pat Frank
38. A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess
39. A Journey to the Center of the Earth – Jules Verne
40. From the Earth to the Moon – Jules Verne
41. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne
42. Old Man’s War – John Scalzi Again, not sure why this one's here. I mean, it was a pretty good book, but I wouldn't call it excellent, literary, or important.
43. Nova Express – William S. Burroughs
44. Ringworld – Larry Niven I've read just about everything Niven's written. Yep, a fan.
45. The Mote in God’s Eye – Larry Niven and Jerry Pournell
46. The Unreasoning Mask – Philip Jose Farmer
47. To Your Scattered Bodies Go – Philip Jose Farmer
48. Eon – Greg Bear
49. Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton
50. The Andromeda Strain – Michael Crichton
51. Lightning – Dean Koontz
52. The Stainless Steel Rat – Harry Harrison
53. The Fifth Head of Cerebus – Gene Wolfe
54. Nightside of the Long Sun – Gene Wolfe
55. A Princess of Mars – Edgar Rice Burroughs
56. Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson
57. Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson Another author I really have to read.
58. The Stars My Destination – Alfred Bester
59. Solaris – Stanislaw Lem
60. Doomsday Book – Connie Wills And another.
61. Beserker – Fred Saberhagen
62. Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
63. The Word for World is Forest – Ursula K. LeGuin
64. The Dispossessed – Ursula K. LeGuin
65. Babel-17 – Samuel R. Delany
66. Dhalgren – Samuel R. Delany
67. Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
68. The Forever War – Joe Haldeman
69. Star King – Jack Vance
70. The Killing Machine – Jack Vance
71. Trullion: Alastor 2262 – Jack Vance
72. Hyperion – Dan Simmons
73. Starship Troopers – Robert A. Heinlein
74. Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein
75. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein
76. A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
77. More Than Human – Theodore Sturgeon
78. A Time of Changes – Robert Silverberg
79. Gateway – Frederick Pohl
80. Man Plus - Frederick Pohl
81. The Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham Lots of people seem to have studied this book in high school. I didn't.
82. Mission of Gravity – Hal Clement
83. The Execution Channel – Ken Macleod
84. Last and First Men – W. Olaf Stapledon
85. Slan – A. E. van Vogt
86. Out of the Silent Planet – C. S. Lewis Here's a classic I should check out.
87. They Shall Have Stars – James Blish
88. Marooned in Realtime – Vernor Vinge
89. A Fire Upon the Deep – Vernor Vinge
90. The People Maker – Damon Knight
91. The Giver – Lois Lowry
92. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
93. Contact – Carl Sagan Saw the movie, but haven't read ths book.
94. Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand
95. The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand
96. Battlefield Earth – L. Ron Hubbard Yeah, I really did. Take my advice: don't.
97. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court – Mark Twain
98. Little Brother – Cory Doctorow I've read other Doctorow, but this one's pretty new.
99. Invasion of the Body Snatchers – Jack Finney
100. Planet of the Apes – Pierre Boulle There was a book?

Well, looks like I've read 40% of these titles. I was doing really well on the top half of the list, but fell off a bit on the bottom half. Author's I think probably should have made this list:

Cordwainer Smith
Roger Zelazny

What do you think?

Fionavar Tapestry Character Test

2010-07-20T15:40:00.004-04:00

This has been sitting in my Test Journal since April 24, 2007. I never published it here before because I didn't think anyone would be interested. Activity here being what it is, however, I thought I'd dig out some old stuff just to let everyone know I'm not dead or something.

I'm Paul Schafer!
Take The Fionavar Tapestry Character Test today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

You are Paul Schafer, the Twiceborn. You are a private person who values self-control but inspires loyalty in your friends. You expect much of yourself and are willing to push yourself to your limits, both physically and mentally. You may have a fondness for tree-houses.

So, WTF? The Fionavar Tapestry is a fantasy trilogy by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay of which I am very fond (the trilogy, I mean - OK, and the author, too). If you haven't read it, the quiz results will be somewhat meaningless to you. Also, if you haven't read it, I recommend you do so. It's rather good.

Monday Stealing

2010-07-12T22:46:00.001-04:00

I ripped this off from Kelly, who, apparently, ripped it off from somewhere else (as it was meant to be ripped). I'm not a big quiz kinda guy, but this one fed right into my own personal sense of misanthropy and self-superiority. You probably shouldn't read it.

1. Lindsay Lohan was recently sentenced to 90 days in jail. What do you think her future has in store for her?

Who cares?

2. What is the biggest fashion "don't" that you would like to police?

Who cares?

3. How should we punish sites that lure us in with "read this" and take us somewhere where we are first greeted by a pop-up and then a series of click throughs to actually read the meat of the story?

Be smart enough to not click on the lure link in the first place. I mean, c'mon, they're pretty damn easy to spot, you know. Also, who cares?

4. What is the most you will do to post a comment on a site? At what point is it not worth posting a comment?

I usually balk at signing up for some proprietary commenting system that isn't widely used. I mean, I have a Blogger (Google) ID, an AOL ID, a Wordpress ID, a Yahoo! ID and a Typekey ID. If your blog uses some other sign-up required system that I've never even heard of before, I'm unlikely to make the effort, 'cause, you know, who cares? Unless, of course, I need to point out how stupid you are, or something.

5. If you purchase something online and you are charged for postage, is it still reasonable to charge for "shipping and handling"? What exactly does "shipping and handling" entail?

"Shipping and handling" is just another scam way of inflating the profit on your sale. I just add it to the purchase price in my head and then decide if I think it's still a good deal. Ebay users who charge it deserve to be shot. And, to carry on the theme, "who cares!"

That's all.

Oops.

2010-07-01T16:15:00.003-04:00

In my recent inactivity and inattention, I have let my blogiversary pass unmarked. This past Monday was the sixth birthday of Aurora Walking Vacation. What, you're skeptical? Please allow me to present my evidence.

As you were.

Everybody draw Mohammed day

2010-05-20T07:51:00.000-04:00

This post is very important. Discuss.

The ABCs of Curling - X

2010-04-26T22:48:00.004-04:00

is for X-Rated. If the nineties was the decade curling discovered it had an audience, this will be remembered as the decade curling discovered it had sex appeal. Several internet lists of "Olympic Hotties" at the 2010 Vacouver games were topped by 43-year-old Canadian skip Cheryl Bernard, and included many other curling athletes - women and men included. But this was not always the way.

In 1987, with the Calgary Olympic games around the corner and curling included as a demonstration sport, the Canadian Curling Association issued a directive to lose weight to several national level curlers expected to compete at that year's Olympic trials. Ed Werenich, a former Canadian and World champion, considered one of the favourites to represent Canada the following year, took great umbrage at the threat of being excluded from the trials if the national body did not consider him 'fit enough.' If a team is winning at an elite level, what matter if the members weigh two hundred, or even three hundred pounds, he argued. He and his vice, Paul Savage, threatened to show up to the trials with a case of beer as a training aid, and a local exotic dancer as their official coach. In the end, cooler heads prevailed, and Eddie showed up without "Marina" and eighteen pounds lighter - a fact on which he blames his loss to this day (the weight difference, not the lack of a stripper).

In the end, the CCA needn't have worried. The general rise in the level of competition in the upper echelons of the game over the past two decades has resulted in elite level curlers looking to improve their overall fitness levels in order to remain competetive on the world stage. Kevin Martin's Olympic gold medal winning squad became so devoted to their fitness regimens it led vice John Morris to write a book about curling specific exercise routines.

In 2006, following on the rousing success of naked or nearly naked fundraising calendars from firefighters, golfers, skeptics (and skep-chicks), and quilting guilds, Andorrran professional photographer and competetive curler Ana Arce convinced a dozen world-class curling women to pose nude or semi-nude for their own calendar, Fire on Ice. The project was successful enough to spawn a 2007 version. It lapsed in 2008, but was revived in '09 and published again this year.

Clearly, even in curling, sex sells.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: Y is for...

Concerning Debcons, and The Great Tim Tam Heresy

2010-04-12T00:38:00.004-04:00

My friends, my dear, dear friends, we have been led astray. The path we have been following faithfully, it turns out, is but a maze of deception. We have been led astray.

Let me explain.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was about seven o'clock on a Saturday night. Most of us had arrived at Lai Toh Heen restaurant near Mount Pleasant and Eglinton for our "Taste of Kitai" dinner and ~~Debcon~~ Bright Weavings Get Together. Things were going about as usual. Guy was buying drinks (thank you, Sir); people were renewing old accquaintances, and making new ones; we were all admiring Niel's authentic first off the press editions of Lord of Emperors, Ysabel, and Under Heaven; I was calling Paula on my cell phone... As is also usual at these gatherings, new people were fitting in like old friends. At one point, I wandered over to the other table to see how things were going. Loni was there. Our eyes met. There was a sudden hush around the table - almost a stillness in the room. And then, she said those three little words: "I brought Tim-tams."

For a moment, I didn't say anything. Then, as is my wont, I tried to make light of the situation. "Where," I said, "are we going to find hot chocolate?"

It was Loni's turn to spend a moment in silence. The look of confusion on her face alarmed me. "What," she finally managed, "what ever would you want with hot chocolate?"

I looked around furtively. There were several of the uninitiated in the room. I leaned in close. I whispered, "you know, for the...slams."

She laughed. Not with malice, but with affection. She patted my hand reassuringly, much as one would pat the hand of a young child who had just announced that he doubted the existence of Santa Claus, or the Easter Bunny... or Jesus. "Silly boy," she said. "You do Tim-tam slams with coffee, not hot chocolate."

The room spun. I struggled to maintain my footing on a floor threatening to fall out from under me. "But, but, Thunderchi-, Terry... he said-"

Someone else spoke then. In my condition I could not even tell who, but the words shall be burned indelibly on my soul from this time until eternity: "Paul, Terry didn't drink coffee." At last the heresy was revealed. Terry, Thunderchild, he who preceeded us all, had taught us an alternative Tim-tam slam. He had modified the traditional ritual in order to suit his own, personal tastes and preferences. Our slamming had never been authentic. From the very beginning, we had indulged in a fake cultural phenomenon. Happily, blissfully unaware of the error of our ways, we had slammed Arnott's Chocolate Biscuits using the wrong hot drink. We were like Anglicans taking fake communion, moderate muslim women wearing pants, Hindus eating hamburger. We were heretics.

I welcomed the inquisition. I confessed my sins. I renounced my heretical ways.

I ordered a coffee. Carefully, I nipped the diagonally opposite corners off a delicate chocolate biscuit. I dipped it into the strong, black, unsweetened chinese brew. I drew the warm liquid in through the makeshift chocolate straw. Just as the bitter coffee hit my tongue, I shoved the rapidly softening cookie into my mouth.

Oh.

My.

God!

My friends, the truth was revealed to me that night. The everlasting truth that is the real path of the Tim-tam slam was delivered to me in a blast of mouth watering, soggy, bitter-sweet Arnott's Chocolate Biscuit. And I cannot keep this truth to myself. It fills me to overflowing. I must pass it on. Hear me now, friends. Get up off your couch. Get youself down to your local imported confectioner and buy a package of Tim-tams. Pick up a coffee at Dunkin Donuts on the way home - black, no sugar. And then, my friends, my children, my dear, dear children, and then... Slam those babies!

Hallelujah!

2010-04-08T00:01:00.001-04:00

A couple of years ago I happened across the blog of one Denyse O'Leary. One of many, actually - she maintains about fourteen, it seems, and spends most of her time contriving to link from each to all the others in an attempt to create some kind of meta black hole. Mixed in between the links to her other blogs, and the further links to her Amazon page where she hawks her books, she manages to cram in some confused, rambling anti-"Darwinist" screeds, and Intelligent Design apologetics.

I don't remember the exact matter in question, but I left a comment on one of Ms. O'Leary's posts asking what I thought was a perfectly reasonable question. The comment was deleted in extremely short order. I emailed Ms. O'Leary, asking her why she had deleted the comment, to which she replied that she only allowed comments that were truthful, or factual, or some similar descriptor. Funny, that. I had thought the point I raised was factual. What Denyse really meant was that she only allowed comments that agreed with her world view and personal opinion.

I guess those weren't all that common, as her blogs no longer accept any comments at all.

That kind of reaction, censorship in order to protect oneself against uncomfortable and inconvenient realities, is all too common in the world of "Woo." Whether it is religion, or alternative medicine, or conspiracy theory, woo-meisters will always choose to end a dialogue when presented with actual facts that are difficult for them to rebut. On another occasion, I wrote a blog post about a local Homeopath in which I discussed some of the claims she made on her public website. Rather than address my criticism of her claims, she chose to complain to my ISP, and they chose to delete my blog entry with no warning, no explanation, and no recourse.

These events are brought to mind by a couple of similar experiences I have recently had, although not with people who traditionally fall into the category of "woo." At least people who do not, at first look, appear to fall into that category...

The first instance occurred last week, when I was directed to a web forum for audiophiles. Now, audiophilia is generally not grouped in with other "woo" because it really does no harm to individuals - unless you count to the wallets of those who fall under its sway. However, the claims made by audiophiles, and by the companies that make and sell the products they buy, are equally as specious as those of any homeopath, astrologer, or Catholic Priest. On this occasion, I read a forum thread talking about accessory power cables available for high end audio equipment. Never mind the miles of questionable wire the power flows through to get to one's house, apparently changing a three foot power cable from the wall to one's amp can result in remarkable improvemments in sound.

The person who directed me to the discussion - a Grammy winning sound engineer - had spoken up to say that he had done careful listening tests and was unable to hear a difference between different power cables - or any reasonable quality speaker or interconnect cables for that matter. He was looking for some support from some reasonable and skeptical people, so I registered for the forum, and posted a reply.

I did not criticise any of the posters. I did not accuse them of lying, or of being deluded, or of being stupid. I wrote one simple, factual sentence. I said, "if you can successfully tell the difference between different cables in a controlled listening test, you can win one million dollars." That was all.

Being a brand new member, my post was not published immediately, rather directed to the moderation queue, so I determined to come back later to see if there were any replies. Later, I was unable to login to the forum. It appears that the forum moderators/administrators deleted my first and only post, and immediately IP banned me from the forum. For making a simple statement of fact.

The second thing happened just this past weekend. Have you seen the NHL commercials currently airing in which famous plays are "rewound"? The first one I saw was the one that asks, "what if Orr didn't fly," and shows Bobby's iconic goal being "unscored", and Orr flying backwards through the air to land on his feet and retreat from the net. The ads end with the line, "history will be made." I believe the suggestion is that, even if the NHL's most famous plays had never happened, new history will be made, starting in this year's playoffs.

The ads have become popular fodder for YouTube spoofs, with video creators picking out all their favourite imfamous plays, and asking, "what if..." They are being reposted all over the internet. One of my Facebook "friends" posted one to her profile showing the contentious triple overtime goal by Brett Hull that won the Stanley Cup for Dallas over Buffalo in 1999. This spoof asks the question, "what if Brett didn't cheat?" Of course, this "friend" is a Buffalo fan.

I commented on her link, pointing out that Brett did not, in fact, "cheat;" that the goal, though hotly contested by the Buffalo team, was completely legal. She promptly responded that I didn't know what I was talking about, that she was a huge hockey fan, and had been all her life, therefore she knew the goal was illegal, and that "they" had changed the rule right after that game (the inisinuation was that the NHL had somehow tried to post-legitimize Hull's goal).

Well! Anyone who knows me knows that attempting to present me with "facts" based on ideology rather than information is just begging to be schooled. I did the research. I scoured YouTube for every replay of that goal I could find so I could refresh my memory of exactly how it had unfolded. I looked up the rule in question - the crease crashing rule that was in force for only that one year - and read it carefully. I compared the details clearly visible in the replays to the rule. I then returned to comment again. I quoted the exact language of the rule that pertained to Hull's goal, and pointed out where and why in the replay it was evident that the goal was legal. I also explained that the rule wasn't changed in order to validate Hull's goal, but because it was a poorly thought out rule to start with. The rule did, in fact, do what was intended, that is, reduce the instances of players crashing the net in order to distract and impede the goaltender. Unfortunately, it also resulted in dozens of goals being called back that should not have been; goals on which there had been no goaltender interference or distraction, either intentional or inadvertent.

The response to my reply? She "unfriended" me. It was more important to her to preserve her illusions about the perceived massive NHL conspiracy against the Buffalo Sabres, than to engage in honest dialogue about the actual facts of the matter. She was just like the audiophiles, or the Homeopath, or Denyse O'Leary, all of whom chose to avoid dialogue rather than confront reality; to surround themselves with sycophants and toadies and yes-men who were willing to join them in drinking the woo kool-aid.

Me, I choose to live in the world of fact, and deal with uncomfortable realities as they present themselves.

Weekend Assignment #311: Cheese It!

2010-03-23T23:43:00.001-04:00

via Outpost Mavarin

Karen says:

Weekend Assignment #311: What is your favorite kind of cheese and why? Do you have it often, or just occasionally?
Extra Credit: Is there a kind of cheese you hate?

Yeah, I'm a cheese fan. A big cheese fan. Last summer the wife and I went down to the St. Lawrence Market and bought rice and cheese. We bought nothing other than rice and cheese, and we spent about seventy five dollars. Mmmm, cheese.

Lessee, in the fridge right this instant we have: cheddar (of course - probably a couple of different varieties), mozzarella (for all that Italian cooking), provolone (goes good on cold cut sandwiches), swiss (no - wait, I just finished the swiss for my night time snack), roquefort (a form of blue cheese {although roquefort's marbling is more green} that I think I will use in an omelet this weekend), Kraft processed food-type cheese-flavoured slices (Matt won't eat a grilled cheese sandwich made with anything else), and Beemster.

I saved the best for last.

Mmmm, Beemster. We discovered Beemster several years ago, and enjoyed it so much we try to always have some in the house. It is a very versatile cheese, going well with crackers or by itself. It also melts well, making it great for cooking. I like to grate it over cauliflower, or put it on burgers. Then there's the onion, bacon, Beemster and lime omelet. Very yummy.

Is there a cheese I don't like? I haven't found one yet. But, you know, I haven't tried them all, so I guess anything's possible.

The ABCs of Curling - W

2010-03-03T21:17:00.004-05:00

is for Weight. Of the many aspects of the game of curling, perhaps the most difficult to master is weight control - that is, how hard or soft to throw the stone to achieve the desired result. Beginners are generally taught two weights: draw and hit. Draw weight is what one throws to put a rock in the rings, and hit weight is what one throws to take one out.

Due to the four rock free guard zone rule, and because they start at the lead position, beginners learn, in very short order, that there are actually two draw weights, one to put a rock in the house, and one to put a guard in front of the rings. A few more weeks in, and they will probably be asked to throw a slightly heavier draw weight, intended to tap a rock back without actually removing it from the rings.

A curler who has moved on to join a more competetive team may be asked to throw several new weights in the hit category. Most teams will establish what they call a "normal" hit weight - a default weight for most take-out shots. Some circumstances dictate a change in that weight, and player will eventually be asked to learn to throw a firmer weight shot for situations in which more than one rock is to be moved, or if a long roll is desired, and a lighter weight shot, used when some curl is necessary, or when the team wants to avoid having the shooter roll out of the rings.

Learning to throw all of these different weights consistently requires throwing many practice rocks over many years. My current team usually uses about eleven different weights. Lessee, there's long guard, tight guard, draw in front of the T, and draw behind the T. Then there's back-line, hack, bumper, control, normal, firm, and peel hit weights. At higher levels of competition, the weights are broken into even smaller demarcations. During the Olympic curling coverage, you might have heard the sweepers calling out numbers as the rocks travelled down the sheet. These numbers were telling the skip where they thought the rock was going to end up. The high level curlers break the in-play area of the curling sheet into ten zones (plus one - see diagram). Those zones are defined as, long guard, halfway guard, tight guard, top twelve foot ring, top eight foot, top four, t-line, back four, back eight, back twelve, and just through. That's in addition to whatever number of hit weight shots they have to master.

Now, the throwers are not all alone in trying to put a rock in a certain spot. If you remember our discussion of sweeping, you'll recall that two strong sweepers can extend a rock's travel by up to twelve feet. So, if a thrower can get the rock to within a few feet of its intended target, the sweepers can do the rest. In fact, most skips rely on their sweepers to judge the weight of a running rock, and sweep as necessary to arrive at the right spot. The exception to that, of course, is if one throws the stone too heavy. There is nothing a sweeper can do (legally) to slow down a rock thrown with too much weight.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: X is for...

Apparently, the Olympics are over

2010-03-03T10:13:00.001-05:00

Good thing The Brier starts this weekend.

Bubble

2010-02-26T13:57:00.003-05:00

http://wttf.org/bubbles/

Ha, ha, ha...

Oh.

Damn.

Where all you all coming from?

2010-02-25T22:10:00.003-05:00

This blog, which usually gets between five and fifteen unique visitors per day, has averaged over 60 hits a day over the last ten days, with a high of 91 unique visitors on February 20th. Virtually all of that traffic has been generated by Google searches for curling related terms. The most common searches have been for variations on 'curling t line'. That comprised about 41% of incoming traffic. Another twelve percent of people were looking for information on curling measuring devices, and six percent seem to want to know how thick curling ice is.

The ABCs of curling series is certainly not an in-depth look at the game, but I hope those of you who have checked it out have found something interesting to take away.

The ABCs of Curling - V

2010-02-25T10:50:00.004-05:00

is for Vice, also known as the third on a curling team. The term is a diminuitive of vice-skip, meaning, perhaps, assistant skip. Traditionally, the vice-skip throws the fifth and sixth rocks of each end, and then holds the broom in the house for the skip's rocks.

As the vice is responsible for the house, and making sweeping calls during the skip's rocks, it is important that he or she have a good understanding of the game, and the ice. The skip will often discuss shots and strategy with the vice during the game, as well.

While I am of the firm opinion that, on a competetive team, every position's rocks are of equal importance, the vice rocks come at a crucial point during the end. The vice is called upon to make the set-up shots that will give the skip the opportunity to complete the end according to the game plan. As well, if the end is not setting up as desired, the vice may be counted on to provide the bail-out shots - tough double take-outs, or touchy freezes that will allow a team to escape from an end that is going against them.

The vice is also often the line of communication between the skip and the front end players. He has to manage the lead and second for the skip, as well as manage the skip for the lead and second. The best vices are often true diplomats and negotiators.

In some instances, the vice delivers the last two stones in an end, while the skip throws the third pair. The most notable example of that being the Randy Ferby rink from Alberta, on which Ferby calls the game - having the best grasp of strategy - but vice David Nedohin - who is the best thrower on the team - throws the last two stones. I am currently playing the Randy Ferby role on my team. I have been a skip for many years. Last year, we made a switch, moving the player who had been vice to skip, and me to vice. This year, due to an injury that prevents me from sweeping, I am calling the game, but delivering third stones. Sometimes the roles are even more fluid. On the Colleen Jones 1999-2005 rink - considered the most successful women's team of all time - lead Nancy Delahunt held the broom for skip Colleen Jones' shots.

The rule governing the positions of team members only states that the players must declare a throwing order at the beginning of the game, and must throw in that order for the entire game. There is a penalty for throwing a rock out of order. Outside of throwing order, there are no rules that govern where and what the players do. The team member that holds the broom and calls the game can change at any time during a match, as long as the team continues throw in the same order as they began the game.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: W is for...

The ABCs of Curling - U

2010-02-13T22:31:00.005-05:00

is for Ursel, one of Canada's great curling families. Jim Ursel learned to curl in Winnipeg, and had early success as a member of the 1954 Manitoba Provincial Schoolboy Championship rink of Gene Walker. Eight years later, as a third for Norm Houck, he won the Manitoba Men's Provincial Championship, and made his first appearance at the Brier, where the team finished in a three way tie for first place, losing in the tie-breaker to teams Hec Gervais and Ernie Richardson.

In the seventies, Ursel moved to Quebec, where he won the Provincial Championships six times between '74 and '80. His team of Art Lobel, Don Aitkien, and Brian Ross won the 1977 Brier - the first ever Brier win for a team out of Quebec - and went on to finish second at the World Championships in Karlstad, Sweden to home team Ragnar Kamp. In addition, he was selected first team all-star skip at both the '74 and '77 Brier.

Ursel later returned to Manitoba, where he won the Senior Provincial Championships in both 1990 and '91, going on to win the national title both years. As an interesting bit of trivia, his vice from 1977, Art Lobel, was on the 1989 and 1992 Senior Canadian Championship winning team of Jim Sharples.

Jim's son, Bob Ursel, following in his father's footsteps (or slider path?), is a former Canadian and World Junior Champion, and has appeared in the Brier three times.

1977 Brier Champions Jim Ursel, Art Lobel, Don Aitken, and Brian Ross
(plus some dude from MacDonald Tobacco)

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: V is for...

Pear Chutney

2010-02-11T23:09:00.001-05:00

Put about a half a cup of white wine in a small pot or pan. Add about a half a cup of malt vinegar, and a tablespoon or so of brown sugar. Sprinkle in some cloves to taste. Peel, core and chop two pears and drop them in there, too. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the pear pieces are soft enough to mash. Continue simmering until liquid is reduced enough that sauce is at your desired consistancy. Cool and serve with your favourite pork dish. We had it with garlic and clove rubbed tenderloin. Yummy!

(quantities are rough estimates because I didn't measure anything - I was just making it up as I went)

The ABCs of Curling - T

2010-02-05T10:10:00.001-05:00

is for...hmmm. Like 'H', T is for a lot of things in curling. There is a T-line, which crosses the centre line in the exact centre of the rings (or house). It is usually desirable to keep ones rocks "in front of the T." There is, of course, the "takeout" shot, in which an opponent's rock or rocks are removed from play - including the always exciting triple takeout.

T can be for timing. Several times a year I am asked by new curlers, "whatcha doing with that there stopwatch?" By measuring the time it takes a rock to travel between two predetermined points on the ice, one can extimate how much weight to throw for a given shot. By using two points close to the delivery end, for example, timing how long a rock takes to travel from the back line to the hog line, the sweepers can estimate how far the rock will travel and whether it will require sweeping.

Other things T can be for are Tap Back, a light weight hit, and twelve foot, the largest ring in the house. But, the most important T in curling is the T in Team. Curling is a team game like very few others. Each player throws the same number of rocks, and it is impossible, with so few members, to hide a weak thrower at any position. A missed shot at any point during the end can be disasterous. Even the very first rock thrown, depending on where it comes to rest, will have a significant impact on the outcome of any given end.

Curling is such a social game, that the team extends beyond the field of play. Pick the four best players available, and put them together on one team. They might win a lot of games, but if they don't get along off the ice, they won't be a team for long.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: U is for...

The ABCs of Curling - S

2010-01-14T11:29:00.001-05:00

is for sweeping. The most iconic thing in curling, the thing that makes people unacquainted with the game ask, "what the heck is that all about?" is the sweeping: two guys with brooms sweeping the ice in front of a piece of granite, and everybody else screaming their heads off at them.

What the heck is that all about?

Although nobody knows for sure, it isn't hard to deduce how sweeping the running rocks in curling began. Curling was originally played outdoors, on frozen ponds and rivers. Early participants would certainly have brought brooms along, in order to brush accumulated snow off the playing surface. If it was snowing, or windy, it isn't difficult to imagine regular breaks necessary during the game to reclean the surface...and have a wee nip o' whiskey. In fact, letting imagination run, one can naturally arrive at an image of a player cursing because his rock was impeded by a little tendril of snow that had crept across the rink unnoticed. From there it's a short step to the idea of appointing a team member the duty of escorting a running rock down the sheet, and sweeping away any snow or debris that might interfere with its natural (and perfect - naturally) path. After that innovation, it was only a matter of time until a thrower shifted the blame for a missed shot off of the ice, and onto the sweepers - and thus, the modern game was born.

So, what, exactly, does sweeping do? The answer to that question was touched upon in the entry L is for line, where we talked about why a curling rock curls. If you clicked through to the "sciency stuff," you learned that the downward pressure on the ice of the weight of a running rock momentarily melts the surface a bit, reducing friction, and allowing the rock to travel smoothly along the ice. Vigorous sweeping in the path of a running rock slightly warms the ice surface, adding to the effect, and reducing the friction even more. So a rock that is swept will travel farther than an identically thrown rock that is not swept. Conventional wisdom has it that a rock swept end to end, by two strong sweepers, will travel as much as twelve feet farther than it otherwise would have. The sweepers will decide to sweep a rock if they believe it is not going to travel far enough to make the shot as called.

Another aspect of the game is that the rocks curl more dramatically as they slow down. Because sweeping a rock helps it maintain its momentum, a swept rock will curl less than an unswept rock. This leads to the classic sweepers' conundrum. In order to reach the desired spot in the rings, a rock must both have the right amount of weight and the right amount of curl. If a rock is going to curl too much, it needs to be swept...unless it also has too much weight, in which case it should not be swept...except then it will curl too much...you get the picture. I am reminded of one of the guys I played with in high school, who called sweeping on every shot like this: "Yeah!...No!...Yeah!...No!...Yeah!...No!..."

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: T is for...

Another Friday random ten

2009-11-18T23:47:00.001-05:00

Just cuz.

1) Slaughter In Robot Village - FM
2) Stick With Me Baby - Robert Plant & Alison Krause
3) Rock The Casbah - The Clash
4) Shame - Eurythmics
5) Hard To Handle - The Black Crowes
6) Jesse - Joan Baez
7) Dreams - The Laws
8) Little Red Rooster - Willie Dixon
9) Dance On A Volcano - Genesis
10) Long Way From Gone - The Laws

Interesting that, in choosing 125 songs at random from among over 6300, iTunes selected four songs from the same artist: The Laws - two in the first ten, and from the same album.

note: this has been sitting in my test journal since September. I can't even keep this blog updated regularly when I've got finished posts already in the pipe. Sad, really.

Six years of secret Santa hints

2009-11-03T21:50:00.000-05:00

This will only be significant - or even comprehensible - to four or five of my dozen or so regular readers, but I wanted somewhere to put it so that I could link to it from elsewhere, so here it is.

Brightweavings.com secret santa sign-up/hints Q&A, 2003-2009:

2003

I prefer a more contemporary spelling system, so I'll just refer to our organizational elf as:
The Mail Man

1. What is your age range?

I don't want to be too specific, but I'm somewhere between 38 and 39.

2. Gender?

Maille(ok, so I'm not as clever as I like to think.)

3. Do you have a favorite color?

No. Colour is good.

4. Favorite authors/ type of book?

Fantasy/Science Fiction, but I'm picky.

5. What books have you really been wanting?

Can't think of one.

6. What type of music do you like?

Really picky here too. I only listen to Hard Rock, Rap, Classical, Jazz, Flamenco Guitar, Inuit Pop, Celtic, and South American Zydeco music.

7. What cds have you really been wanting?

Can't think of any of those, either. I'm kinda an impulse CD shopper.

8. What movies have you been wanting? (Specify DVD or VHS and region code)

Kinda thinkin' about The Nightmare Before Christmas (region 1)(widescreen only), but no nevermind.

9. What is your t-shirt size?

Large. Well, really medium, but you know how T-shirts go. Definitely not XL.

10. Do you collect anything? if so, what?

Antique cameras, just in case my secret Santa wins the lottery just before he/she shops for me.

11. What are some of your other hobbies?

Well, curling. Who'da thunk it? Um. BBQ. Sure, yeah, BBQ. And B&W photography.

12. Do you prefer gold-tone or silver-tone jewelry?

Platimun.

13. Do you have any food allergies or serious dislikes?

No food allergies. I really, really, really don't like today's crop of Saturday morning cartoons.

14. Anything else you think your Secret Santa should know?

The older I get, the more concerned I am with nose hair.

2004

1. what is your age range? without being too specific, approximately 39 years, 8 months.

2. gender? 19, 20, 21! Male.

3. Do you have a favorite color? No.

4. favorite authors/ type of book? Mostly science fiction. Big fan of Larry Niven, Frank Herbert, David Brin, Orson Scott Card...

5. what books have you really been wanting? Medea: Harlan's World.
Ringworld's Children or Scatterbrain by Larry Niven
Kiln People or Life Happens by David Brin

6. what type of music do you like? Almost every known form of music. Except country. And opera. I enjoy hearing traditional music from all over the world.

7. what cds have you really been wanting? Is the new Lee Aaron CD out yet? Why, yes it is.

8. What movies have you been wanting? (Specify format and region) I Still think the DVD (North American widescreen release) of A Nightmare Before Christmas would be cool.

9. what is your t-shirt size? Is there more than one? Large, I guess.

10. do you collect anything? if so, what? If I don't come up with a gift for my wife that beats what I sent to Daisyjane last year, I'll be collecting bad mojo for some time to come

11. what are some of your other hobbies? writing, watching TV, napping.

12. do you prefer gold-tone or silver-tone jewelry? my jewelry quota is currently filled.

13. please include anything else you feel is important that would help your secret santa know what you would like. I absolutely loved Clinton's inclusion of the concept of the 'mathom' last year.

Remember that "negative hints" such as allergies might also be helpful. I got nuthin'

Ho! Ho! Ho!

2005

1. What is your age? 40...ish

2. Male or Female? Male. At least I was when I filled out this survey last year. Don't think anything has changed.

3. Do you have a favourite color? Yes

4. Favourite authors/Type of book? Um...kinda obvious, no?

5. What books have you really been wanting? I've been looking to dive into Dunnett, but have not yet taken the plunge. Also, something in a skeptical vein might be interesting, like Sagan, or Dawkins.

6. What type of music do you like? I'm pretty much a huge music fan. The older I get, the less exclusive I become. If you like it, I'll likely like it.

7. What cd's have you really been wanting? A new Loreena McKennitt CD, but unless you can persuade her to start recording again, it's probably not gonna happen.

8. What movies have you been wanting? DVD(include region code) or VHS (NTSC or PAL) I'd love the Nightmare Before Christmas Special Edition DVD (NTSC, region 1)

9. What is your t-shirt size? L

10. Do you collect anything? If so, what? Antique cameras. Artwork is cool.

11. Do you collect things from other countries? There are other countries?

12. What are some of your other hobbies? Curling...I need a new hogs' hair push broom. Or a beer mug that says Scots do it with 44lb. rocks.

13. Do you prefer gold-tone or silver-tone jewelry? Gold

14. Please include anything else you feel is important that would help your Secret Santa know what you would like. I (heart) my dog. The cats I can take or leave. Also, mathoms rule!

15. Do you have any food allergies? Nothing has killed me so far, but something in Italy made me break out in spots. My wife thinks it was the peaches.

16. Full mailing address (Include real name)Has been sent to our seasonal elf.

17. What is your BW.com username? Um, isn't it at the top of the post? If it's too much trouble to scroll up to it, Robin_of_Lox.

Merry Christmas to come.

2006

1. What is your age range?
I am several months short of being "the answer."

2. Gender?
Male.

3. Do you have a favorite color?
Yes.

4. Favorite authors/ type of book?
Yes.

5. What books have you really been wanting?
I have recently thought I might like to do some reading on skeptical topics. Sagan or Dawkins come to mind.

6. What type of music do you like?
Music. Recently I've been enjoying folk and traditional music, but it's hard, really, to go wrong. Classical. Blues. Jazz. Good old fashioned Rock 'n' Roll.

7. What CDs have you really been wanting?
That new Sting album of Lute music sounds really cool. No, I'm not kidding. Also been eyeing Rachelle Van Zanten, Kelly Trottier, April Verch, and Eileen Laverty since seeing them all at the Ottawa folk festival.

8. What movies have you been wanting? What region DVDs can you view?
Region 1 (North America). Got a hurt on for the new Battlestar Galactica series, but that's a little bit too dear for this venue.

9. What is your t-shirt size?
Men's large. Medium in real clothes, but T-shirts are different.

10. Do you collect anything? if so, what?
Abusive letters from indignant astrologers and creationists. Antique cameras. Withering looks of scorn from my cat. You know, the normal things.

11. What are some of your other hobbies?
Curling. Golf. Poking astrologers and creationists.

12. Do you prefer gold-tone or silver-tone jewelry?
I have all the jewelry I'll ever wear.

13. Please include anything else you feel is important that would help your secret santa know what you would like.
In the sprit of this event, mathoms and hand made items are greatly appreciated. Things from where you are, or that represent what you are. It's the participation and interaction that count here, not the gift itself.

2007

What is your BW.com username? Robin_of_lox

What is your age range? 42-42

Gender? Male

Do you have a favorite color? Yes

Favorite authors/ type of book? SF/Fantasy. Right now I have a hankering for all things Scalzi (I already have Old Man's War). Also would love some Sagan (non-fiction), particularly The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.

What books have you really been wanting? Oops, see above.

What type of music do you like? Music.

What CDs/music have you really been wanting? Any of the Johnny Cash "American Recordings" series.

What movies have you been wanting? What region DVDs can you view? Meh. Not so much.

What is your t-shirt size? M or L. Mostly L.

Do you collect anything? If so, what? Antique cameras. Extra pounds.

What are some of your other hobbies? Writing on my blog. Curling. Unappreciated acerbic wit.

Do you prefer gold-tone or silver-tone jewelry? Meh, not so much.

Do you have any food allergies or serious dislikes? No.

Please include anything else you feel is important that would help your Secret Santa know what you would like. Mathoms are good. Homemade stuff is good. Fun is good.

2008

What is your BW.com username? Robin_of_lox

What is your age range? I am no longer the answer.

Gender? In a binary world, I'd be a one, not a zero.

Do you have a favorite color? Yes.

Favorite authors/ type of book? SF/Fantasy (duh!) Recently reading skeptical and scientific non-fiction a bit. Got The God Delusion last year and enjoyed it.

What books have you really been wanting? The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. John Scalzi's The Last Colony. Is it too early to start the new Thomas Covenant series?

What type of music do you like? Just about everything. No country.

What CDs/music have you really been wanting? Arc Angels, Haywire, and more recent, Haley Westenra, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Georgie Auld, Armik. Just some artists I've written down while listening to Pandora.

What movies have you been wanting? What region DVDs can you view? Region 1, I believe (North America). Nothing specific on my want list here, but I'm open to suggestion.

What is your t-shirt size? L

Do you collect anything? If so, what? Antique Cameras, unapproving stares, waistline inches.

What are some of your other hobbies? Curling, picking on the credulous.

Do you prefer gold-tone or silver-tone jewelry? Don't really wear much.

Do you have any food allergies or serious dislikes? No. I'm an adventurous eater. No bugs.

Please include anything else you feel is important that would help your Secret Santa know what you would like. Mathoms are good. Really, it's the thought that counts.

2009

What is your BW.com username? Same as it ever was.

What is your age range? Fo-di-fo.

Gender? Maniscule

Do you have a favorite color? Blue - no Yellow - Aaaaaahhh!

Favorite authors/type of book? Haven't really been reading much lately.

What books have you really been wanting? Something by Carl Sagan or James Randi would be fun. Also, if you could contact Ricardo Pinto, and give him a smack upside the head and tell him to hurry up and finish the third book of The Stone Dance of the Chameleon series, that would be good.

What type of music do you like? Music. Like music much much lots. No country or opera. Pretty much anything else is fair game. Wait - if John Scalzi likes it I probably think it's stupid.

What CDs/music have you really been wanting? Nothing specific comes to mind right now. I'm open to trying new things.

What movies have you been wanting? What region DVDs can you view? Region 1 (North America). I got The Nightmare Before Christmas last year, so that's out.

What is your t-shirt size? L.

Do you collect anything? If so, what? Richmond Hill Curling Club Sinner's Brier commemorative mugs. Fat lips for my smart mouth. You know, stuff.

What are some of your other hobbies? Curling.

Do you prefer gold-tone or silver-tone jewelry? Not really a jewelry kind of guy.

Do you have any food allergies or serious dislikes? No. Well, OK, I'm pretty averse to homeopaths and astrologers.

Please include anything else you feel is important that would help your Secret Santa know what you would like. As in previous years, mathoms and regional items are fun. Homemade is cool. Stuff like that.

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot - Halloween Edition

2009-10-29T09:31:00.000-04:00

In this week's Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot, Carly invites us to post pictures based upon a Halloween theme. For extra credit, she says:

Show me a GHOST. A real one. A Fake one. Any old GHOST will do! Feel free to use your photo editing software if you like. The spookier the better! Scare me please!

Never having been one to be hung up on doing things in the right order, I chose to dive right into the extra credit question - mostly because it gave me a chance to dust off one of my old skeptical articles from the original Aurora Walking Vacation blog. Herewith, I am pleased to present a repost of a piece first published on Thursday, February 10, 2005. Boo!

SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY

The other day on a message board I was accused of ridiculing somebody for my reply to their post offering spirit photography lessons. I wrote a fairly long and detailed reply offering up my expertise on the subject right there on the board, without people having to resort to taking some kind of formal lessons. Apparently, I stepped on somebody's toes, because my post was taken down by the powers that be in short order. A lesson learned. Far be it from me to impinge upon somebody's ability sell themselves and their 'talents' on AOL's message board system.

Here, however, is an entirely different matter. In my personal journal, I can chose to make my expertise available to all for free if I so choose.

I so choose. Herewith, find attached evidence of my mad spirit photography skillz. I have 'em. You can have 'em too. This entry shows the evidence. If there is interest, I will do another entry detailing my methods.

An introductory note: All of the photographs in this entry are (with the exception of one) taken by me, and, other than some cropping and resizing for editorial purposes, unmanipulated. No photoshopping here. These are pictures of actual phenomena.

First, let me introduce you to Matthew. Many of you, if you have been reading me for a while, have heard me mention his name. You may even have seen a picture or two of him here from time to time. Little known to us, Matthew has a guardian spirit who helps him with his homework. I have taken hundreds of pictures of Matthew before, and never before seen anything like this before. However, I had never before taken a picture of him doing homework before. Yesterday I did, and got this.

It looks like, in this picture, there is a spirit of some kind hovering over Matt's head as he does his homework. In fact, if you look close enough you can see what looks like fingers reaching out to touch his head; almost as if some kind of otherworldly knowledge were being imparted to him. This may explain many of his teacher's comments regarding Matthew's homework assignments. Obviously, the answers he is providing are simply beyond her ability to comprehend.
I enhanced the above photo with specialty software to reveal this:

You can clearly see the otherworldly violet aura surrounding the spirit manifestation. It is in stark contrast to the more earthly colours of the rest of the photograph. You can even see that aura impacting on the hanging, potted plant in the background. I always wondered why that plant grew so well.

A photograph taken a moment later reveals that this spirit falls into the famous spirit photography category of a vortex spirit. This appears to be a rare double vortex. Or a close up of the ghost's elbow, I'm not sure.

One night I was in my basement, trying to take a picture of my cat. She didn't want to sit still for the picture, and was very restless. Later, when I looked at the pictures, I saw this:

Look very carefully at the left hand side of the picture, and you will see the visible manifestation of spirit orbs. There are several to be seen in the picture, but the clearest one is right near the top of the frame. I have enlarged it to bring out more detail. You can clearly see a face, not unlike that of the man in the moon, on the close-up of this orb. These orbs are obviously ghosts. Due to the similarities in appearance, it is also quite clear that the moon is a ghost, too.
I have hypothesized that these ghosts were attempting to protect my cat, when she did not want to have her picture taken by me. Due to my frequent sneezing at the time, I suspect that these were the ghosts of cats, thereby causing my allergies to flare up. On a related note, we have been erroneous in using the terminology 'the man in the moon' all these years. We should have been saying, 'the cat in the moon.'

I was outside the other night, and happened, entirely by accident, to take a picture of the tree in my front yard. When I looked at the picture later I was amazed by the amazing colours of the colourful lights I saw.

Look at the colourful illumination of the snow on both sides of the street. And the colourful lights in the background, behind the tree. None of these colourful lights was colourful like those colours to my eye. Obviously, the spirit world is at work here. There must be many ghosts of painters around the Aurora area.

Look how the lights in this close up appear to be dancing around the telephone pole. In colours.

What AWV entry would be complete without a picture of the redoubtable Shadow? Here he is with a piece of garden edging in his mouth. Somehow, he managed to tear this up out of ground that was frozen solid during our -30 degree cold snap a couple of weeks ago. It was originally about twenty five feet long. This is what is left. As you can see, of any member of our family, Shadow attracts more spirit attention than any other. They are drawn to the young, and cute.
This picture shows Shadow surrounded by ghostly orbs. There are dozens of them in view, maybe hundreds, and remarkably, every single one of them unique. Not a one exactly like any other. (It's because they used to be people, and people are all different).

Finally, here are two astounding pictures of spirit phenomena. I have saved the best for last. I have elected to link to the pictures rather than post them here so I could show them at a larger size, the better to view fine details. The first example is a picture I took in my back yard one January evening. I was standing there, doing nothing, minding my own business, with a digital camera in my hand, when I inexplicably started feeling cold. I suspected there was a spirit, or ghost nearby. Breathing heavily with fear, and fear, I raised the camera and snapped a few frames. The first picture is here: http://members.aol.com/plittle/ghostface.jpg . In this picture, one can see the bio-thermal pulmono-exhalatory cloud as it coalesces. If you look very carefully, you can just make out the outlines of a face.
The second picture was taken a moment later, but still slightly too early. The carbondioxygenic vapourous apparition had not yet fully formed. Yet, the image is unmistakable. It is still quite fuzzy, but you can clearly see that this is the spirit of a young woman wearing a hat. http://members.aol.com/plittle/ghostface2.jpg .
I am left to wonder; who was this woman? When did she walk this earth? What is she doing in my back yard?

I would like to close this topic with a short statement. We at Aurora Walking Vacation are on a quest for the truth, and are interested in an open minded examination of these phenomena. We invite all discussion, as long as it agrees with our views. Be advised that anyone who suggests there are rational, scientific explanations for our results will find their closed-minded comments immediately deleted, and their rude, harassing asses banned from making subsequent comments. Furthermore, we may complain about them on the message board and threaten to report them to AOL, the police, the F.B.I., and our Alien Overlords. Remember, open minded means, "in agreement with my point of view."

A few notes:

1) This post is made in memory of Lahoma Taylor, A.K.A. MzGoochi, who was alive when that last picture was taken, but was subsequently taken from us by cancer.

2) I left the text form of the last two links as they were. However, AOL Hometown, and the members.aol.com domain no longer exist, and the photographs are now hosted on my Flickr account.

3) If you like, you can visit the archived version of this article at http://awvarchive.blogspot.com/2005/02/spirit-photography.html. Some of the comments are interesting.

4) Happy Halloween.

Lime and limpid green, a second scene.

2009-10-23T00:12:00.000-04:00

And now we present several species of small furry animals gathered together in a cave and grooving with a pict.

I'm a little farklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic: there is no dark side of the Moon really ... as a matter of fact it's all dark. Discuss.

Visit a Chiropractor...

2009-10-21T13:18:00.001-04:00

...it could be the last medical appointment you ever make.

Talk about truth in advertising! There's a tagline the various Chiropractic Associations could use in all honesty. Although, in all honesty, the truth of it is somewhat more sinister than the headline might suggest on the surface.

A recent article by J.D. Haines in eSkeptic, the electronic newsletter of the Skeptics' Society, takes on Chiropracty, and Haines doesn't pull any punches. He begins by relating the story of Kristi Bedenbaugh, who visited her Chiropractor in the hopes of getting relief from a serious sinus headache. She died of a stroke caused directly by the Chiropractic manipulation of her spine.

Haines goes on to systematically dismantle the claims of efficacy made by Chiropractic for the treatment of any medical contition. Any condition whatsoever.

Some choice quotations from the article:

...however rare the incidence of adverse outcome, the risk always outweighs any perceived benefit. There is no medically proven benefit whatsoever to chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine.

and

The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics stated on May 27, 2002, “For neck and low back pain, trials have not demonstrated an unequivocal benefit of chiropractic spinal manipulation over physical therapy and education.” The report continues: “Repeated reports of arterial dissection and stroke associated with cervical spine manipulation and cauda equina syndrome associated with manipulation of the lower back suggest a cause and effect relationship.”

and

As practiced today, chiropractic is a threat to public health.

I strongly suggest you click through to read the rest of the article. And, I also strongly suggest that your take your Chiropractor's phone number off your speed dial. No matter how strongly you believe that he or she has helped you in the past, do you really want to risk the possibility that your next Chiropractic appointment will be your last...ever?

My new favourite skeptical quotation...

2009-10-14T22:49:00.000-04:00

I have a text file full of quotations I like. I have picked them up here and there over several years of internet surfing. Most of them, as you might imagine, are of a skeptical nature. There are well over a hundred of them, so far. Maybe as many as a hundred and fifty. I use them as Facebook status updates every few days, you know - just to piss people off.

Today I added a new favourite to the file, from comic artist Wiley Miller, who writes the well know Non Sequitur comic. In Monday's comic this week, he writes, ""Stupid is a condition. Ingnorance is a choice." Click through to see the context. So true, in so many different ways.

I'm off to update my Facebook status.

Comments revisited

2009-09-22T15:43:00.002-04:00

I have just approved eight comments that were sitting in the moderation queue - some of them for over two months. Clearly I am not all that good with this whole comment moderation thing. The blog was only asking for moderation on comments on posts older than fourteen days, but with my current blogging activity rate, that has, at times, included everything, even the most recent entry here. I have decided to remove the comment moderation requirement, and just go with the captcha method of spam comment prevention for now. We'll see how it goes. That may well be enough.

If you've commented and been disappointed in not receiving a reply, I apologize. Thanks for coming by, and I hope you'll be back again to allow me to make ammends.

A Friday random ten

2009-09-18T22:07:00.004-04:00

Here are the first ten songs randomly selected by iTunes to populate my iPod today:

1) See How I Miss You - Bruce Cockburn
2) Subculture - New Order
3) Children And All That Jazz - Joan Baez
4) Aranjuez - Robert Michaels
5) Practice What You Preach - Barry White
6) Someone That You're With - Nickelback
7) 4:39 AM (For The First Time Today - Part 2) - Roger Waters
8) Cum On Everybody - Eminem
9) Alien (Live Version) - Bush
10) Right Hand Man - Joan Osborne

An interesting collection of songs, I thought. Have an interesting weekend, everybody.

The ABCs of Curling - R

2009-09-16T23:30:00.002-04:00

is for rock. I've touched on the rock in several previous entries, including 'A', where I discuss a rock's origins; 'I', in which I mention the rock's unique shape, and 'L', which treats the way a rock interacts with the ice when it is in motion. Finally, the rock gets to be the star of its very own entry.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: S is for...

A little bit of decorating

2009-09-15T18:01:00.000-04:00

We recently repainted the living room/dining room area in our house. By recently, I mean, last summer. Since then we've been slowly picking away at this design element, and that accessory, and the other piece of furniture. The new couch arrived last week (and when I say arrived, I mean, we borrowed my father-in-law's van and went to Sears to pick it up ourselves). Prior to that, Pat had nabbed a large mirror for the wall above the couch from one of those discount home stores for some stupid stupid low price. I think it was regular fifty nine dollars, on sale for twenty nine dollars, on clearance for seventeen-fifty. Looks awesome, and no one notices the teeny little crack in the bottom corner. (Or, you know, if they do, I hit them over the head with a big stick, drag them down into the basement, and brick them up behind a wall.)

The one thing we had the hardest time with was deciding what to do with the long wall that runs the full length of both the living room and the dining room. Finally, we decided to create a photo mosaic of multiple smaller pictures, rather than try to find larger, affordable (key, that) prints to hang. I dusted off the CD full of pictures I took during our trip to Italy four years ago, and we made a run to IKEA to pick up a gaggle (herd? pride? clutch? flock? drove? brood?) of frames, in a variety of sizes.

Here is the result:

You can click on the picture to go to my Flickr photostream, where you can look at a larger version of this picture, and all of the photographs we used to fill the frames. You know, if you want.

Don't click this link!

2009-09-01T09:23:00.002-04:00

Today I signed in to Facebook to find a message telling me that one of my "friends" had posted a link on my wall. It was a You Tube link with the title, "WOW Video!" I was about to click on it to see what video this "friend," Kathryn, was sending me. Before I could, though, my skeptical radar kicked in, and I hesitated. Why would Kathryn, who is the older sister of a guy I was sorta friends with, on and off, in public school, more than thirty years ago be sending me a link to a video with no note of explanation attached? I mean, I knew her, and all, but we "friended" each other on Facebook because of that "friend" suggest feature: she was a "friend" of a "friend" of someone who was a "friend" of one of my "friends"...or something like that. But since we "friended" each other, we haven't actually exchanged two words. (Hi Kathryn - there, that's two).

I have this little habit I have developed over several years of web surfing. Before I click any link, I hover my mouse over it first, and look at the bottom left corner of my browser to see if the actual URL is the same as the one presented to my mouse. In this case, it was - no flag there - or was there? Sure it was a web address that had the words, "youtube," in it, but YouTube addresses all start with youtube dot com slash something, something, something. In this link, the 'youtube' was later in the address, with a bunch of random numbers in front of it. But Facebook pages are wierd, they embed other links within them all the time. I clicked on the link.

I did it, I clicked the link. I was lucky. It took me to a page titled, "Facebook Video," with a little video window on the left, and a picture of my "friend" on the right, and a message that said, Kathryn wants you to see this video. But the little video screen was black, with a message in it that said, "you must upgrade to the latest version of Flash to see this video. Click here to upgrade." I...almost clicked there to upgrade. Two things saved me. First, I have a teenaged son who uses YouTube on a daily basis. I'd seen him using it yesterday. I mean, it's possible that my Flash player needed an upgrade from yesterday to today, but that skeptical radar was buzzing again. I did my little hover the mouse trick again, and noted that clicking the link in question would download a file called setup.exe - a perfectly reasonable thing for an upgrade link to point to. I almost clicked the link. I didn't click. I have this pathological fear of exe files.

I started adding up all the little warning signs in my head, and they added up to, "danger, Will Robinson!" I deleted the link from my wall, and headed over to Kathryn's profile page to ask her if she, indeed, had sent me the link intentionally. And I wasn't the first. There were seven comments before mine, all saying, "hey! Why'd you send me a virus?"

Chalk one up for skeptical radar.

The ABCs of Curling - Q

2009-08-18T00:42:00.002-04:00

is for Queen of Hearts. In the 1990s the hearts of curlers everywhere were captured by an attractive, outgoing, and talented woman by the name of Sandra Schmirler. Over a six year period, from 93-98, Schmirler guided her team of Jan Betker, Joan McCusker, and Marcia Gudereit to three Canadian Championship titles, three World Championship titles, and an Olympic gold medal. They were perhaps the first women's team to dominate the sport in a significant way, and certainly one of the first women's teams to become strong ambassadors for the sport. To this day, they are considered to be among the best women's teams to ever play the game.

Sandra Schmirler succumbed to cancer in 2000, at the too-young age of 36. She left behind a loving husband and two young children. She is remembered as The Queen of (the Scott Tournament of) Hearts.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: R is for...

Beware the spinal trap

2009-07-29T21:47:00.003-04:00

I'm joining a large group of skeptical activist bloggers around the world today in reposting an article written by Simon Singh in the UK about Chiropractic "medicine." Simon wrote a fully factual article about the complete lack of evidence supporting the efficacy of chiropractic in treating non-spine related conditions, like colic. (No, I'm not joking. Some chiropractors actually claim to be able to treat colic via chiropractic spinal adjustment. Frightening, isn't it?)

Mr. Singh, for his efforts, prompted the British Chiropractic Association to provide evidence for their claims-

-no, wait, that's not what they did-

-oh, yes, they sued him for libel. Once again, I am not joking.

British libel laws being what they are (guilty until proven innocent - I swear this is not a comedy piece, the burden lies upon Mr. Singh to prove his case, even though he is the defendant), no one would have blamed Mr. Singh for retreating in the face of a large group with deep pockets able to fund hot-shot lawyers. That is not what happened. Mr. Singh has appealed the initial judgement against him, and is taking his fight - at great personal cost and risk - to a higher court. In support, I, and hundreds of other bloggers have agreed to repost the article that started the entire kerfuffle. Note that minor changes have been made to the article on the advice of legal counsel in order to prevent the BCA from adding more defendants to their suit. Should you wish to read the unedited version of the article, you can do so, I am told, at Respectful Insolence.

(via Skepchick)

(10:02PM - edited to add: Go here to read an excellent article on this situation by Ben Goldacre, science writer for UK newspaper The Guardian.)

Beware the Spinal Trap

Some practitioners claim it is a cure-all, but the research suggests chiropractic therapy has mixed results – and can even be lethal, says Simon Singh.

You might be surprised to know that the founder of chiropractic therapy, Daniel David Palmer, wrote that “99% of all diseases are caused by displaced vertebrae”. In the 1860s, Palmer began to develop his theory that the spine was involved in almost every illness because the spinal cord connects the brain to the rest of the body. Therefore any misalignment could cause a problem in distant parts of the body.

In fact, Palmer’s first chiropractic intervention supposedly cured a man who had been profoundly deaf for 17 years. His second treatment was equally strange, because he claimed that he treated a patient with heart trouble by correcting a displaced vertebra.

You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact some still possess quite wacky ideas. The fundamentalists argue that they can cure anything, including helping treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying – even though there is not a jot of evidence.

I can confidently label these assertions as utter nonsense because I have co-authored a book about alternative medicine with the world’s first professor of complementary medicine, Edzard Ernst. He learned chiropractic techniques himself and used them as a doctor. This is when he began to see the need for some critical evaluation. Among other projects, he examined the evidence from 70 trials exploring the benefits of chiropractic therapy in conditions unrelated to the back. He found no evidence to suggest that chiropractors could treat any such conditions.

But what about chiropractic in the context of treating back problems? Manipulating the spine can cure some problems, but results are mixed. To be fair, conventional approaches, such as physiotherapy, also struggle to treat back problems with any consistency. Nevertheless, conventional therapy is still preferable because of the serious dangers associated with chiropractic.

In 2001, a systematic review of five studies revealed that roughly half of all chiropractic patients experience temporary adverse effects, such as pain, numbness, stiffness, dizziness and headaches. These are relatively minor effects, but the frequency is very high, and this has to be weighed against the limited benefit offered by chiropractors.

More worryingly, the hallmark technique of the chiropractor, known as high-velocity, low-amplitude thrust, carries much more significant risks. This involves pushing joints beyond their natural range of motion by applying a short, sharp force. Although this is a safe procedure for most patients, others can suffer dislocations and fractures.

Worse still, manipulation of the neck can damage the vertebral arteries, which supply blood to the brain. So-called vertebral dissection can ultimately cut off the blood supply, which in turn can lead to a stroke and even death. Because there is usually a delay between the vertebral dissection and the blockage of blood to the brain, the link between chiropractic and strokes went unnoticed for many years. Recently, however, it has been possible to identify cases where spinal manipulation has certainly been the cause of vertebral dissection.

Laurie Mathiason was a 20-year-old Canadian waitress who visited a chiropractor 21 times between 1997 and 1998 to relieve her low-back pain. On her penultimate visit she complained of stiffness in her neck. That evening she began dropping plates at the restaurant, so she returned to the chiropractor. As the chiropractor manipulated her neck, Mathiason began to cry, her eyes started to roll, she foamed at the mouth and her body began to convulse. She was rushed to hospital, slipped into a coma and died three days later. At the inquest, the coroner declared: “Laurie died of a ruptured vertebral artery, which occurred in association with a chiropractic manipulation of the neck.”

This case is not unique. In Canada alone there have been several other women who have died after receiving chiropractic therapy, and Edzard Ernst has identified about 700 cases of serious complications among the medical literature. This should be a major concern for health officials, particularly as under-reporting will mean that the actual number of cases is much higher.

If spinal manipulation were a drug with such serious adverse effects and so little demonstrable benefit, then it would almost certainly have been taken off the market.

Simon Singh is a science writer in London and the co-author, with Edzard Ernst, of Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial. This is an edited version of an article published in The Guardian for which Singh is being personally sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association.

New commenting practices at AWV

2009-07-06T13:36:00.002-04:00

Due to a recent spate of spam commenting, in Japanese no less - I had to use Google Translate to find out how I could increase my "male performance" - I have been forced to institute a couple of new measures here at Aurora Walking Vacation. First is the "captcha" system. All commenters will be required to enter the verification word. I'm sure you've seen this system in use at many blogs. It is intended to defeat automatic commenting bots by requiring human eyes to read and interpret an image of a word, rather than a piece of text. Second, comments on posts older than fourteen days will be moderated. I will have to approve those comments before they appear on the blog, so if you are leaving a comment on an older entry, don't be alarmed when it doesn't show up immediately.

I regret having to do this, but it's better for me than spending fifteen minutes every day deleting spam posts.

15 books

2009-07-04T00:32:00.005-04:00

The rules, as passed to me by Jaquandor: This can be a quick one. Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag 15 friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends choose. Only 15...

1) Lord of the Rings (Duh!)

2) Dune et al. (There are so many layers to these)

3) Gulliver's Travels (the full book is so much more than what most of us are familiar with from the abridged children's versions)

4) Don Quixote (made me laugh out loud - several times)

5) Tigana (not my first Guy Kay book, but my favourite)

6) Tesseracts (a collection of Canadian science fiction, most notable to me for its inclusion of the story Hinterlands by William Gibson - by far the most powerful thing he has ever written)

7) The Bible (because, well, just because)

8) Slaughterhouse Five (so it goes)

9) Science Fiction Hall of Fame (a collection of classic short SF published in 1970 - my copy is falling apart it has been so regularly thumbed through)

10) Norstrilia (The residents of Old North Australia made their immense fortunes raising gigantic mutant sheep. Their planetary defence system is called Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons. You kinda gotta read it to get it.)

11) 1984 (instilled in me a healthy distrust of bureaucracy)

12) The Tree of Swords and Jewels (not sure why, but I've always remembered this C.J. Cherryh book fondly)

13) The various and sundry works comprising Larry Niven's 'Known Space' opus (which most notably includes Ringworld)

14) The Chosen (Ricardo Pinto has created one of the most detailed worlds I've ever come across)

15) A Wizard of Earthsea (probably one of the first fantasy novels I ever read)

I tagged people on facebook, from whence this came, so I'm not tagging here. But if you want to, by all means. Let me know you did, so I can come see.

Today's Headlines

2009-06-26T16:24:00.002-04:00

Sources are reporting the death of an unidentified 50 year old man due to heart failure. His friends and family say he was taken before his time.

In unrelated news, hundreds of young men in their late twenties and early thirties are celebrating their sudden release from decades old non-disclosure agreements...

An open letter to C.W. Coops, Aurora location

2009-06-22T06:41:00.001-04:00

Dear ownership and management of C.W. Coops restaurant, in Aurora, Ontario,

I visited your establishment this past Friday evening, at 8:23P.M. I know exactly what time it was because I took my cellphone out and put it on the table in front of me as I sat down, in case my son or my wife called during what I expected was going to be my evening repast. I only mention it because it will become important later on. Stick with me.

While I wouldn't exactly call myself a regular, I have visited your restaurant several times, both with my family and alone. We quite enjoy your chicken wings, and always spend several minutes agonizing over which of your 100 flavours of wings to choose. We have yet to be disappointed with our selection.

On this occasion, however, that decision was not going to factor into the equation - for a couple of reasons. First, I was in a bit of a hurry, and had already decided what I was going to order before I sat down. The second reason I'll get to in a moment. Honest.

I noticed that you weren't too busy that evening. Less than 25% capacity I would estimate. Now, maybe it was in between rushes for you; the dinner crowd having already left, and the Friday night partiers yet to arrive. Still, it was Friday evening, and the Blue Jays were playing, and you are, to some extent, a sports bar. I was surprised to see how empty the place was.

And yet... And yet, when I picked up my cellphone again, and looked at it, five minutes had passed, and I had yet to be served. Served? Heck, I had yet to even be acknowledged. I don't think either of the two waitresses/bartenders had even noticed me come in, or seen me sitting there, slowly starving to death.

I call them waitresses/bartenders because I am not sure which of them, if either, were which. I did not see either of them actually come out from behind the bar at any time I was in the restaurant. Oops, that was a bit of a hint, wasn't it? You can probably see where I'm going, now, can't you?

Yeah, when my cellphone told me it was 8:33P.M. - I had been there for ten full minutes and had not been spoken to, or even looked at by any staff member in the place in all that time - I got up and walked out the door. I was watching the girls behind the bar as I went. Just as neither of them took notice of my arrival, they didn't see me leave either. So, they're not in a position to advise you of the lost revenue they are responsible for. They didn't even give themselves the chance to find out if I'm a good tipper, or not.

I got in my car and drove two minutes up the road to the other wing place in town - I'm sure you know the one. Their wings aren't really what they used to be, and they just have the one flavour. But, you know what? Less than a minute after I sat down, there was a waitress at my table. In a span of time short enough that it has to be measured in seconds, my food order was being taken. Less than two minutes after I walked in the door, there was a cold beer in my hand, and I was eating wings and fries less than eight minutes later. Sure, they weren't Jamaican dry jerk, or smokey maple, or any other unique flavour. But they were hot, they were fresh, and they were on the table in front of me in less time than it took me to get fed up and walk out of your establishment.

In these difficult economic times, customers can seem like a dwindling resource. Certainly, the other place wasn't any busier than you were. But they were definitely doing all the things they knew how to do to make sure they got full value from the customers they had.

Now, I'm not saying I'm never coming back to your place. As I've mentioned, we like your wings. And let's be honest, if I'd already written you off, I wouldn't be taking the time to write this. I only criticize because I care. I'm just saying, a little pep talk might do wonders for your staff, and your customer retention. 'Cause I gotta tell ya, if I have a similar experience there again, and my family's with me, that will be the end of it. The wife and the teenager are less likely to get up and walk out unserved, but they are much more likely to reject the idea of second chances.

I hope you receive this in the spirit in which it is offered, and look at it as an opportunity to instruct your staff.

regards,

Paul Little
Aurora, Ontario

A Fathers' Day random ten

2009-06-21T13:56:00.001-04:00

It's not Friday, but here is a random, random ten for you. These are the first ten songs randomly selected by iTunes to populate my iPod on this fine Sunday afternoon:

1) Try Honesty - Billy Talent
2) Ripples - Genesis
3) Lily (My One And Only) - Smashing Pumpkins
4) Last Song - Edward Bear
5) Vogue - Madonna
6) Waiting On A Friend - The Rolling Stones
7) These Colours Don't Run - Protest The Hero
8) Bring Me To Life - Evanescence
9) Marche Funebre - Elliot Goldenthal (from the soundtrack to the movie Interview With The Vampire)
10) Flowers And Beads - Iron Butterfly

The ABCs of Curling - P

2009-06-19T18:09:00.002-04:00

is for...well, the most important 'P' in curling is the pebble on the ice surface, but we covered that one already, under I is for ice. From a strategic point of view, 'P' is for Peel. A Peel is a take-out shot intended to remove a guard, and roll the shooter out of play. The peel is a defensive play, designed to prevent one's opponent from placing a rock behind a guard, where it is protected. Here is a very high level example:

When a team with last rock advantage plays a peel, they are attempting to prevent their opponent from hiding a rock and stealing a point without the hammer. A team without last rock who peels away guards is generally trying to hold their opponent to a single point that end and get the hammer back with minimum cost.

It is widely felt that Kevin Martin's Team Canada lost the 2009 World Curling Championship by neglecting to play the peel shots early in the tenth end of the final game against Scotland. The shot Kevin needed to make on his last rock to win the championship was blocked...by a guard.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: Q is for...

Isn't her fifteen minutes up yet?

2009-06-17T21:22:00.002-04:00

It is completely beyond me why anyone is still talking about the whole Letterman-Palin joke issue. I can't imagine why Dave felt it necessary to issue a public apology, much less two. I mean, Sarah, really. When you join the American political process at such a high level, you become a target for these guys. When you involve your family in as public a manner as you did, you become a wider target. When you demonstrate, by word and by deed, that you are hopelessly out of touch with the real world, that you are, effectively, a moron, you become an easy target. When you demonstrate, by word and by deed, that you are a hypocrite, you become a juicy target. When you moan and whine about it, you become...well, quite frankly, you become a bit pathetic. And when you make the mistake of thinking that everything is about you, it just becomes a little bit sad. Because, let's be honest, Sarah. You and your family were convenient comedic accessories, but that joke was aimed at Alex Rodriguez. And you don't hear him crying about it, do you?

Homeopathy Awareness Week

2009-06-16T12:38:00.003-04:00

The British Homeopathic Association has declared the week of June 14-21 Homeopathy Awareness Week. In the spirit of doing my part in raising awareness of exactly what homeopathy is, I would like to present to you an article I wrote in the original AWV blog on AOL back in May of 2006. Enjoy.

   The results of my poll (Ed. poll results no longer available - Thanks, AOL) about homeopathic medicine were very close to an even split between those who think there might be something to it, and those who think it's nonsense. It was pretty much as I expected, with the only difference being that I thought more people would weigh in on the side of homeopathy than against it.
   The purpose of the poll was to test a theory of mine. Well, it's not really a theory, as theories are defined. More like a hypothesis. Well, really, it's just a supposition.

   I suspect that many people who are willing to allow that there might be something to the claims of efficacy of homeopathic remedies have never really heard a good, clear explanation of exactly what homeopathic remedies are.

I would like to attempt to make this that clear explanation.

   The page explaining Homeopathic medicine to which I linked from my previous entry was that of the Toronto School of Homeopathy. They provide a basic explanation of the practice they teach:

...there [are] two ways of treating ill health, the way of opposites and the way of similars.

Take, for example, a case of insomnia. The way of opposites is to treat this by giving a drug to bring on an artificial sleep. This frequently involves the use of large or regular doses of drugs which can sometimes cause side-effects or addiction.

The way of similars - the homeopathic way - is to give the patient a minute dose of a substance which in large doses caused sleeplessness in a healthy person. Surprisingly this will enable the patient to sleep naturally. Because of the minute dosage no side-effects or addiction will result...

   This explanation is a little light on detail, but it does mention the two most important foundations of homeopathic medicine. The theory of similars, and the concept of minute doses. Remember those two things as our story moves along.

OK, here we go.

   Once upon a time, in a far off land, there lived a man named Samuel Hahnemann. Well, actually, the time was the end of the eighteenth century, and the land was Germany. Mr Hahnemann was a doctor, and he had a problem. His patients kept dying.
   Now don't think I'm trying in any way to impugn Dr. Hahnemann's reputation as a physician. He was an unfortunate victim of his era. People who got sick in the eighteenth century died. A lot. We are talking about a time when one of a doctor's most sophisticated treatments consisted of making a big cut in his patient, and letting the blood run out for a while.
   In fact, I believe that Dr. Hahnemann deserves a lot of credit. Unhappy with his lot...well, the lot of his patients, anyway, he was searching for more effective ways of treating them. One day, while he was working on a little side job he had picked up translating English medical papers to German, he came across a description of a native Peruvian remedy that was being used, with some success, in the treatment of malaria. The treatment consisted of an infusion brewed from the bark of a tree common to South America, called Cinchona.
   Now, you might think of malaria as being a disease of the tropics, but at that time in Europe, it was a considerable problem. Hahnemann was eager to learn more about a potential new way to help his community. He undertook to experiment with this new remedy he had read about.
   Uncomfortable with the idea of experimenting on his patients, Sam tried taking doses of the concoction himself, and found he suffered drowsiness, heart palpitations, trembling, weakness, thirst, and redness of his cheeks. The symptoms would last for several hours, and then subside.
   Hahnemann, believing that he was experiencing malarial symptoms, made a sudden, intuitive leap. He came to the conclusion that substances that cure a disease in someone who is ill, would cause symptoms of that disease in someone who is healthy. Conversely, he thought, if he could discover substances that caused the symptoms of other diseases in healthy people, those substances would cure people who were afflicted with those diseases. The idea was that "like cures like." This is his law of similars.

   How the concept of minute doses came about is less clear. One article I read suggested that Hahnemann was dismayed to find that his homeopathic remedies did, indeed, cause unwanted, harmful reactions in his patients, and so diluted those remedies until the harmful effects stopped presenting, but I was unable to verify that account elsewhere, and it may be apocryphal.
   Whatever the reason, the fact is that Hahnemann began diluting his remedies in extreme ways. The following account of his dilution practices is from an article written by Oliver Wendell Holmes, in 1842.

A grain of the substance, if it is solid, a drop if it is liquid, is to be added to about a third part of one hundred grains of sugar of milk in an unglazed porcelain capsule which has had the polish removed from the lower part of its cavity by rubbing it with wet sand; they are to be mingled for an instant with a bone or horn spatula, and then rubbed together for six minutes; then the mass is to be scraped together from the mortar and pestle, which is to take four minutes; then to be again rubbed for six minutes. Four minutes are then to be devoted to scraping the powder into a heap, and the second third of the hundred grains of sugar of milk to be added. Then they are to be stirred an instant and rubbed six minutes, again to be scraped together four minutes and forcibly rubbed six; once more scraped together for four minutes, when the last third of the hundred grains of sugar of milk is to be added and mingled by stirring with the spatula; six minutes of forcible rubbing, four of scraping together, and six more (positively the last six) of rubbing, finish this part of the process.

Every grain of this powder contains the hundredth of a grain of the medicinal substance mingled with the sugar of milk. If, therefore, a grain of the powder just prepared is mingled with another hundred grains of sugar of milk, and the process just described repeated, we shall have a powder of which every grain contains the hundredth of the hundredth, or the ten thousandth part of a' grain of the medicinal substance. Repeat the same process with the same quantity of fresh sugar of milk, and every grain of your powder will contain the millionth of a grain of the medicinal substance. When the powder is of this strength, it is ready to employ in the further solutions and dilutions to be made use of in practice.

A grain of the powder is to be taken, a hundred drops of alcohol are to be poured on it, the vial is to be slowly turned for a few minutes, until the powder is dissolved, and two shakes are to be given to it. On this point I will quote Hahnemann's own words. "A long experience and multiplied observations upon the sick lead me within the last few years to prefer giving only two shakes to medicinal liquids, whereas I formerly used to give ten." The process of dilution is carried on in the same way as the attenuation of the powder was done; each successive dilution with alcohol reducing the medicine to a hundredth part of the quantity of that which preceded it. In this way the dilution of the original millionth of a grain of medicine contained in the grain of powder operated on is carried successively to the billionth, trillionth, quadrillionth, quintillionth, and very often much higher fractional divisions...

   I see, at this point, that you are skeptical. You are asking, "do you really want me to believe that homeopathic remedies have been diluted out to concentrations as low as one part per million, or more?"
   Well, yes, I do. Those are the facts of the matter. This afternoon, I took a little jaunt over to our local monster-mega-ultra-super-store, and had a look at their homeopathic medicine section. It took me a while to find it, as it was nowhere near the pharmacy. They had an impressive selection of remedies, all of them available in 6C and 30C dilutions.
   Let me explain those terms. Levels of dilution in homeopathy are represented by a number, and a letter. The number represent the number of serial dilutions a substance has undergone, and the letter represents the amount of each dilution. The letter 'X' represent a dilution in which one part of a solution is combined with nine parts of solvent, for a one-in-ten dilution. The letter 'C' a one-in-one hundred dilution.
   So, in the case of the above mentioned remedies, the term 6C means that one part of an original substance, or 'mother tincture' was diluted into 99 parts of solvent (either water or an alcohol solution). One part of the resulting mixture is then diluted into another 99 parts of solvent, creating a solution in which the original substance is present at a concentration of one part per ten thousand. This is a 2C solution. The same process is then repeated four more times, to produce a 6C dilution, in which the original substance now represents a mere one part per trillion.

   Let's pause for a minute, and think about what that means. How big is one milliliter of a liquid? Say about the size of a cube of sugar. How big is one trillion milliliters? Take a football field. Extend its width until it is as wide as it is long. Build walls around it that are as high as it is wide and long. You now have a huge cube measuring approximately one hundred meters a side. Fill it with water.  Add your sugar cube of the original substance. Stir. That is the equivalent of a 6C dilution.
   Now, take a bottle of simple sugar pills. Touch each pill with the merest fraction of a drop of that solution, and you have homeopathic medicine.
   Remember I said the remedies were also available in a 30C dilution? That represents a concentration of the original mother tincture of 1 part per 1x10 raised to the 59th power. That's a one followed by sixty zeros. To use a similar analogy as we did for the 6C dilution, picture...um, picture... No, I can't picture it.

...

...

...

   Sorry, I had to take a break there. I was having difficulty wrapping my head around the numbers involved in these serial dilutions. Unable to come up with an analogy to describe the 30C dilution, I went to my friend, fv, for help. Vinny, who has a university science degree sent me back this:

Ok...

Take a grain of rice. Cut it in half. Cut it in half again. That is the amount of your original solution. (Ed. The football field sized swimming pool.)

Now, take the distance from where you live to the south pole. Now think about the distance around the earth. Now think about the distance from the earth to the sun. Ok, now think about the distance from the sun to Pluto. Pretty big, huh? Ok, now think about the distance from here to the nearest star. It takes light 4.3 years (light that came from our sun when Bush was re-elected will reach that star 4 months after he leaves office) to reach that star, Proxima Centauri.

Got that? Ok now imagine a cube with each side the length of that distance. I am going to hide that crumb of rice in that cube. Try to find it...

Wow. Big concepts. Hard to really imagine numbers that big. Here's another interesting fact. At about the 12C point in the dilution process, it becomes extremely unlikely that even one single molecule of the original medicinal ingredient still remains in the solution. At 30C it is a virtual certainty that the remedy is now comprised of 100% solvent. And yet, homeopathic practitioners maintain that it retains it's efficacy due to something they call potentisation.
Scroll back up to that quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes. Yes, I know. It's a long way back. This is the part I want you to remember:

the powder is dissolved, and two shakes are to be given to it.

Those shakes are important. They are what is referred to as succussion. In between each step of the dilution process, Hahnemann would succuss the solution by shaking the vial, or tapping it upon a hard but elastic surface, like the leather cover of a book. He believed that this process of succussion 'potentised' or energised the solution, counteracting the effects of the dilution. Nowhere can I find an explanation of why the succussion would retain the beneficial properties of a remedy, but not the harmful ones the dilutions were undertaken to remove.
This web page has a series of quotations referring to the practice of succussion as Hahnemann conceived of it. An example:

In the Organon, however, he stated that trituration and succussion release the ‘spirit-like power’ of the medicine - which is compatible with his assumption that medicines act through their spiritual (geistlich) or dynamic impact upon the organism.

   Here we have the basic underlying concept behind the origin of homeopathy. Samuel Hahnemann believed there was some kind of magic force acting upon the remedies he was preparing keeping them potent even after he had diluted any trace of the original ingredient out of them.
   At this point, I have to pause once more and ask you a question. Does any of this make any sense whatsoever? If you are a die hard adherent to the practice of homeopathic medicine, your answer is that is doesn't matter if it makes sense, as long as it works. Right? What do you have to say about that? Huh?
   <Best John Wayne Drawl>Well, I'll tell ya.</John Wayne> I don't have to say much at all. I'll simply let the headlines speak for me. Here is a news report detailing the results of the latest and largest clinical study of homeopathy: Homeopathy no better then placebo, says study. So, beyond the fact that it sounds silly, it just plain doesn't work.
   This is the end of my story. If you would be so good as to vote again in a poll, I would like to know how many of you, whether you believe(d) in homeopathic medicine or not, knew exactly what it was before you read this entry, and whether your opinion has changed at all.

Ed. The polls, of course, are no longer available, but if you would like to express your opinions in comments, I'm all for that.

The ABCs of Curling - O

2009-06-02T11:54:00.001-04:00

is for Out-turn. Like any sport or activity, curling has developed its own unique terminology (as touched upon in the previous installment). The terms, out-turn and in-turn are used to describe which direction a curler turns the handle when delivering a rock. On an out-turn, the handle of the rock is turned out from the body of the thrower, and an in-turn is turned in towards the body of the thrower. Of course, that means the terms refer to different directions of spin depending on whether the thrower is right or left-handed. For a righty, the out-turn revolves counter-clockwise, and the in-turn, clockwise. For a lefty it is the opposite.

In-turns and out-turns tend to behave differently, due to differences in the way the rock is released. That means there are sometimes shots that a left-handed curler can make (with his out-turn), but right-handed curler (throwing his in-turn) cannot. And vice-versa, of course.

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Up next: P is for...

A bunch of stuff

2009-05-05T01:33:00.000-04:00

Role reversal?

Rebecca - also known as 'she who goes walkabout' - who blogs at Provocation of Mine(d) - from whom we are familiar with sudden, long absences from the world of blogging - has been pumping out an entry a day for over a month now.

I - who used to be good for at least three or four entries a week - am having difficulty managing three a month these days. I - in comments at Rebecca's blog - early in her 30 entries in 30 days experiment - suggested that I might try to emulate her. At some point.

What was I thinking?

Now, she's nosing around here - leaving oh-so-polite comments - sending me friendly emails - reminding me - asking me - prodding me - refusing to let me pretend I never made the comment. "When are you going to start your 30 posts in 30 days?" she queries. I can almost see her batting her eyelashes in mock innocence; hear her voice dripping with honey...and cyanide.

What can I say, Becky? My blogging output recently has suffered greatly at the hands of real life - and internet ennui. I'm not sure I can muster the wherewithall to create an entry a week, much less one a day. Let's just say I'll try to put something here more often that I have been lately and see what happens, OK?

Counting in Japanese...over and over again

The family and I have been watching the first season of Heroes on DVD. Good times.

In one recent episode - which we watched last night - our Hero - Hiro - is locked in a broom closet. The scene opens with him counting to three - in Japanese - and throwing himself at the door - over and over - which resolutely refuses to open - throwing him to the ground - over and over.

The point of my story is the counting. In Japanese. The subtitles say, "one, two, three," but Hiro says - out loud - "Ichi, ni, san..." Listening to this, I cannot help but hear the opening bars of the 80s Canadian hit song, The Second That I Saw You, by Strange Advance, that begins with a female voice counting in the song. In Japanese.

Here's a sample. Listen.

For the last twenty four hours, this song has been playing in my head. Over. And over. And over. You can have it for a while. OK?

A thing about spring

One of the things about spring that can be annoying is the dramatic temperature swing we see over the course of a day. How many of you have looked high and low for your jacket one morning, only to remember that you left it at work the day before because it was cold when you went in, but warm when you came home?

Today I had lunch on the run. I had to drive down to Richmond Hill to sign some cheques for the curling club. I'm cruising along - window down - radio playing - and about halfway there, I realize the there's hot air blowing at me from the vents. Really hot air.

This is another manifestation of spring: drive to work with the heater on full - 'cause damn, it's cold - then get halfway home that afternoon - when it's warm and sunny - before you realize you forgot to turn the heater off when you got out of the car that morning, and your shoes are melting.

Stupid spring.

That's all I got.

Movie night

2009-04-26T10:19:00.003-04:00

Watched Slumdog Millionaire on Friday night. It was pretty good. Eight Oscars good? I can't see it. It was just another relatively enjoyable movie. I have no idea why it has received all the critical acclaim and awards. Your thoughts?

The ABCs of Curling - N

2009-04-22T23:40:00.002-04:00

is for nose, the exact center of the curling stone (as you look at it from the hack). When a take-out shot is thrown - that is, a shot intended to hit another rock and remove it from play - and it impacts slightly off center, the thrown rock will roll one direction or the other after it makes contact. If you don't want the stone to roll away, you must hit the rock in the house "on the nose." Of course, the terminology used is fluid, and popular expressions change from year to year. A few years ago, you might have heard someone express a plan to "beak" a shot (beak being a synonym of nose). The high level curlers this year were repeatedly heard calling for a shot to hit another rock "dead nut."

If you are Jeff Stoughton, the 2009 Manitoba provincial champion and Brier runner-up, N is also for "nice." Viewers of this year's Brier were amused by Jeff's use of the word nice to describe a take-out weight call. Most teams use specific terms to describe the amount of weight to throw on a shot. Some name the spot on the rink to which they want the rock to travel, like "back eight foot," "back line," "hack" or "back board." Some use a number system, such as the number of seconds it takes a rock to travel between hog lines. The lower the number, the faster the rock is travelling. The Stoughton team this year used somewhat more nebulous terms for their hit weight calls, like "up," "regular" and "nice." I understand next year they will unveil two new hit weights: "fine" and "OK, I guess."

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Up next: O is for...

The ABCs of Curling - M

2009-04-17T23:54:00.003-04:00

is for Measurement. Sometimes, when an end of curling is finished, it is difficult to tell just whose rock is closest to the center of the rings. If it is not possible to determine by eye, a measurement is necessary.

The most common curling measuring stick is a device with a pin at one end, that rests in a hole in the exact center of the rings, a straight rod which extends past the edge of the circles, and a moveable deflection lever attached to a scale of some description (see photo). The two rocks in question are measured in turn, and the vice-skips on each team must agree which rock is closer. If a determination cannot be made with the measuring stick, both rocks cancel each other out and are removed from play, neither scoring.

A second type of measuring device is the straight stick, that is exactly six feet long - the radius of the rings. It is used to determine if a rock right at the edge of the circles is, in fact, touching the rings. In general, measurements cannot be made until the last rock of the end has been played. There is one exception to this rule. In regards to the free guard zone rule, a rock may be measured before the fourth rock of an end has been played in order to determine if it is touching the rings or not - that is, to determine if it is in the house, and thereby able to be removed by another rock, or in the free guard zone, and protected against hits.

In general club and bonspiel play, measurements are conducted by the vice-skip of each team. In official events sanctioned by state/provincial or national associations, measurements are conducted by officials. By officials, of course, I mean volunteers who may or may not have received adequate training.

In one notorious incident during the 2002 Brier, an official attempted to measure a rock using a measuring device that was improperly set up, which resulted in them moving the rock they were trying to measure. As you can surmise, hilarity did not ensue. The end had to be replayed. Said the official involved (according to reliable sources), "it wasn't my fault."*

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Up next: N is for...

*In fairness to the official in question, Joe Potter, he wasn't the one who assembled the measuring stick improperly in the first place. It's easy to say he should have noticed it wasn't set up correctly before he attempted the measurement, but those saying that have never had to perform a measurement in a game-on-the-line situation on national television before. I intended no disrespect to Joe with the last sentence of this entry. I just can't resist the opportunity to include a Star Wars reference in any blog post. My thanks to George Karrys of The Curling News, and TCN Blog for his research and remeniscences of the incident.

The Jenny McCarthy Body Count

2009-04-16T00:02:00.002-04:00

One of the biggest stories in the skeptical world in 2008 was the ascension of Jenny McCarthy to the role of chief talking head for the anti-vaccine group Generation Rescue, an anti-science organization dedicated to the chimera of "Biomedical" treatment of autism spectrum disorders. I wrote a blog article mentioning Ms. McCarthy after her visit to Toronto about a year ago that received some positive feedback from the autism community, including a complimentary email from a Dr. Samuel Wang, Ph.D., a professor of molecular biology at Princeton University.

In the comments of that entry, Beth made an important point about the consequences of failing to vaccinate one's child:

...people seem to be conveniently forgetting that these vaccines prevent infections that can kill. These are not just little infections that kids will fight off, these can be killers, and they can run rampant in an unvaccinated population.

Beth's comment turned out to be prescient, as the news over the last year has been full of reports of outbreaks of diseases we used to think were nothing but distant memories from our grandparents' time. The number of reported cases of measles in the USA in 2008 was almost triple the average annual number of cases for the preceding four years. Measles. Seriously.

You may think that's no big deal. Many people think of measles the way they think of chicken pox, or rubella, but that's an error. Measles is in no way as innocuous as those diseases. Complications from measles can result in blindness, brain damage, and even death. And because of people like Jenny McCarthy, and the anti-vaccine militia at Generation Rescue, vaccination rates in North America are plummeting. It's going to get worse before it gets better.

The reported rates of vaccine preventable illnesses and vaccine preventable deaths in the United States has risen over the last two years, and a reduction in vaccination rates has definitely played a part in that. And Jenny McCarthy openly and vocally encourages people to not vaccinate their children. Dr, Steven Novella and the crew from The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe put it very bluntly late last year when they said, "Jenny McCarthy has a body count."

Now, another member of the online skeptical community has taken that quote and run with it, creating the Jenny McCarthy Body Count website, at which he keeps a weekly running tally of all vaccine preventable diseases and vaccine preventable deaths in the USA since Ms. McCarthy began spreading anti-vaccine bullshit in June of 2007. To the right, in my blog sidebar, you can see the Jenny McCarthy Body Count Widget, which will automatically update the tally each time the website does. Of course, Jenny McCarthy is not directly responsible for all of those illnesses and deaths. Perhaps not even any of them. But as each and every one of those illnesses and deaths were preventable by the simple act of proper vaccination, she does bear the burden of some indirect responsibility due to her anti-vaccine campaign.

I have reproduced the relevant portion of the blog article I wrote on the topic last April below for your further reading pleasure.

originally published April 15, 2008

But She Was On Oprah, So She Has To Be Right
Also back in March, former model Jenny McCarthy was in Toronto for the Holistic World Expo, and spouting her load of nonsense about Autism and Vaccines to anyone who would listen. Toronto Sun columnist Michele Mandel wrote what started out to be quite a rational and skeptical article on the subject, saying:

According to McCarthy, the recent alarming rise in autism -- as high as one in 150 children -- is directly tied to the increasingly heavy childhood vaccination schedule that began in the 1990s...

The scary thing is that no one in this town's goo-goo-eyed media bothered to challenge her controversial stand...

The scientific evidence, though, is pretty conclusive. The oft-touted link between autism and vaccination has been examined to death and endless studies have concluded there is no connection.

Somewhere along the way, however, Mandel lost the script.

So I was all prepared to completely discount the 35-year-old crusader and her Internet science. But it turns out that part of her message may actually have something to it. McCarthy credits a complete change in diet for helping to "cure" her son of his autism. After removing wheat and casein (found in milk) and adding vitamins and supplements, she noticed a dramatic change in just six months. "I do know I undid the damage that was done by vaccines," she told one local morning show, "and healed the body. You heal the body and you heal the mind and then he was able to function in society."

Mandel appears to accept McCarthy's statement at face value, leaving all semblance of skepticism behind. There are several things Mandel had overlooked in credulously reporting McCarthy's claims on this matter.

First - and you've heard me say this before - correlation does not necessarily imply causation. Just because two things happen at the same time (or one follows the other) does not necessarily mean they are related. They might be, be it can be hard to know for sure.
Autism is a condition marked by developmental delay. Note that is delayed development, not arrested development. It can seem like an autistic child is stuck at one level of development forever, then they can suddenly progress dramatically, seemingly overnight. It isentirely possible, indeed likely, that had McCarthy not changed her son's diet, he would still have experienced the same rapid improvement at the same time. Of course, Jenny would have just found something else to credit for the change.
There are all kinds of alternative autism therapies out there - modified diet, heavy metal chelation, what have you - that people claim are effective. Scientific investigation has, to date, shown that they are not.

Second, by allowing McCarthy's statement to go unchallenged, Mandel undermines a fact she presented earlier in the piece - that there is no scientific support for the 'vaccine causes autism' claim. She has allowed McCarthy to throw in her contention that she has undone "the damage done by vaccines." Even if there is something to the claim that a modified diet can have an effect on autism, that in no way points to vaccines as a cause. But Mandel allows that idea to slip back into her readers' minds by not applying critical thinking to the whole story.

The third thing that Mandel completely overlooks is that McCarthy claims to have healed her son. She conveniently leaves out the fact that Evan McCarthy still has autism. It hasn't gone away. He just showed some developmental progress. The fact is, everything McCarthy says is complete, and utter hogwash. Mandel needed to stick to her skeptical guns all the way to the end of her article. By failing to do so, she has failed her readers. She doesn't think so. She ends by saying, "at least this prescription of hers won't cause harm." Michele, I beg to differ. If just one of your readers abandons traditional treatements and therapies in favour of the woo presented by Jenny McCarthy, then there is harm. I've said this before, too. Alternative therapies that are ineffective, are not harmless.

Atheists day?

2009-04-01T22:28:00.000-04:00

   I have read it all over the Internet that today, April first, is "Atheists Day." I don't know who came up with that idea, but I can't imagine it was an Atheist. More likely it was a Christian, who thought he or she was being oh-so-clever throwing around Bible quotes like, "the fool has said in his heart, There is no God." Psalms 14:1.
   In response, I can only, humbly, offer another piece of scripture. "Whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." Matthew 5:22

   Why would an atheist come up with the idea that April Fools Day should be called Atheists Day? Indeed, why would an atheist think we need any day at all? It isn't athesists who are all about public exultation. We're perfectly happy to believe what we believe, without trying to impose our beliefs on any others. If I remember my scripture, it isn't Christian to be all about public exultation either. Didn't Jesus rebuke his disciples for public prayer?
   Because, let's be honest, public prayer isn't about exultation of God, is it? It's about exultation of the self. "Look at me, I'm all righteous, and stuff!" To those who want to spout off in public about their piety all the time, I recommend a thorough and careful reading of The Book of Job. Don't come back until you understand what Job's sin was. Then let's talk.
   How's Easter for you?

My finger, let me show it to you...

2009-03-31T23:12:00.002-04:00

I'm too nice a guy to throw up just the finger. Here's all four. Note the result of bouncing a fifty pound car battery off the middle one of the group. Typing's gonna be a bitch for a while.

The ABCs of...skepticism?

2009-03-30T14:07:00.001-04:00

He's an astronomer by education, and profession. Not a bad astronomer, but The Bad Astronomer. He's a successful writer. He's the president of the James Randi Educational Foundation. He's a...a poet?

...D is Debunker, it's said with a jeer
But we cannot debunk without bunk, that is clear...

Who knew?

But that whole "ABCs of" idea...You come up with that yourself, Phil? I'm skeptical.

The ABCs of Curling - L

2009-03-28T09:26:00.005-04:00

is for Line, the path the rock follows as it travels down the ice. In order to hit an opposition rock, or draw behind a guard, the line the rock follows is very important. Because a rock will begin to curl more as it slows down, and sweeping a rock helps it maintain its momentum longer, the players will sweep a rock to make it curl less, or stop sweeping to allow it to curl more, as desired.

This brings us to the age old question: why do curling rocks curl? It is an interesting question, but an even more interesting question is: why do curling rocks curl in the direction that they do? When you throw a curling rock, and impart a clockwise spin to it, it will curl to your right as it moves away from you down the ice. This seems to make sense.

Here's an experiment for you to try. Take a small drinking glass, and turn it upside down. The rim of the glass simulates the running surface of the rock, as we saw in I is for Ice. Slide the upside-down glass down your kitchen counter, while spinning it clockwise, as if you were throwing a curling rock. You will see that the glass curves to the (wait, what?) to the left, as it travels along the counter. The exact opposite to what a curling rock does. What's going on here?
The answer has to do with the only recently understood physics of the interaction between the gaseous, liquid, and solid states of water at the interface between the air and the surface of a sheet of ice, and the changes to that interface under the pressure exerted by the weight of a running rock.

It's pretty sciency stuff, so I'll forgive you if you don't want to click through, but here is an article by University of Northern British Columbia physics professor Mark Shegelski that describes the effect, and here is a neato flash presentation from the University of Toronto that illustrates it.

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Up next: M is for...

Friday random ten

2009-03-27T00:09:00.000-04:00

Haven't done one of these for a while. Here are the first ten songs randomly loaded onto my iPod during my last update.

1) Security - Joss Stone
2) Lady Sings The Blues - Billie Holiday
3) The King Of The Golden Hall - London Philharmonic Orchestra (from the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers soundtrack)
4) Gone For A Long Time - The Johnstones
5) Fully Alive - Flyleaf
6) A Pillow Of Winds - Pink Floyd
7) Don't Damn Me - Guns 'N' Roses
8) Trust Me (This Is Love) - Amanda Marshall
9) Do What You Like - Blind Faith
10) My Imagination - Wide Mouth Mason

The ABCs of Curling - K

2009-03-22T23:10:00.004-04:00

is for Kilsyth, a small town in central Scotland, about halfway between Glasgow and Stirling. Near the old Roman Antonine Wall, Kilsyth is situated on the main east-west route across the narrowest part of Scotland. It is also, according to many, the birthplace of modern curling.

There are many claimed birthplaces of curling in Scotland. The earliest known curling stone, inscribed with the date 1511, was found at the bottom of a pond in Dublane, near Stirling. The earliest known written mention of a contest played on ice using stones comes from the records of Paisley Abbey, in Renfrewshire, dated 1541.

Kilsyth, however, does hold a credible claim to having organised the sport into something akin to the game we play today. The Colzium estate, just outside the town proper, boasts one of the earliest known man-made curling ponds, dating to the early eighteenth century, and the Kilsyth curling club, officially constituted in 1716 and still extant today, is considered the world's first formalised club.

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Up next: L is for...

The ABCs of Curling - J

2009-03-14T15:01:00.003-04:00

is for Jitney, an informal curling outing. Not part of regular league play, and really too small to be considered a bonspiel, a Jitney may encompass one or two games, but winning and losing takes a back seat to fun and friendship. The off-ice socializing after the games is just as important as the games themselves at a Jitney.

J is for Juniors. Junior curlers, separated into three divisions: little rocks - ages 6-12, bantam - ages 12-16, and junior - ages 16-20, are the lifeblood of any curling club. While membership drives to bring in new adult curlers are important to the health of any club, those curlers who start at an early age become the most avid and competitive club members. Today's juniors are tomorrow's champions.

J is for Jennifer Jones, the current reigning Canadian women's national champion. Jennifer's team successfully defended their 2008 title at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts played in late February, 2009. Jennifer is a former junior national champion as well.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: K is for...

Something to celebrate?

2009-03-12T11:13:00.001-04:00

   There has been a fair amount of squawk in the atheist/humanist blogosphere over the recently announced results of the latest American Religious Identification Survey, ARIS 2008.The survey appears to show a significant increase in the number of atheists and agnostics in America, accompanied by a matching drop in numbers of Catholics and Protestants. There has been much hooting and hurrahing, and raising of hands in celebration, as if this were some kind of victory, in some kind of contest.
   Leaving aside the question of whether or not this is an appropriate thing to celebrate, I'm not sure the celebrants are feting the right thing. I don't know that they are correctly interpreting these results. Are there really more non-religious people in the USA now then there were in 2001, the last time this study was undertaken? Or is something else going on?
   The most important point to remember is that this is a study of religious self-identification. What do you call yourself? The secular community has always recognised that the non-religious have long been under represented in surveys. Most non-religious people are not activist atheists; they are just people for whom religion has no place in their lives. They never think about it. But if they were raised in a Catholic, or Baptist, or Jewish household, that's the little tick they make on the survey. It is an answer stemming from culture, rather than religious belief in many cases.
   Over the past eight years, we've seen a dramatic upsurge in the visibility of atheism and secularism in our every day lives. There are a couple of different reasons for this.
   First, we've seen several best-selling books on atheism from authors such as Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins. Additionally, the advent of the popularity of blogging has many people expressing themselves in ways they never have before - and many more able to easily find information on atheism/agnosticism than ever.
   Second, there have been several high profile court cases dealing with seperation of church and state issues. Along with focus on the previous administration's rather liberal (heh) interpretation of the constitution, these have brought secularism under a microscope in America in a way it never has been before.
   The offshoot of all this is that more Americans than ever before are thinking about what it means to be agnostic, or to be an atheist. More Americans than ever before are considering whether or not the USA truly is a nation founded on Christian ideals, as the religious right would have you believe, or whether it was, in fact, envisioned and created as a secular nation.
   More Americans are looking at that questionaire, and stopping, and thinking, "what am I?" There aren't really more atheists in America than there were eight years ago. There are just more people willing to be honest when answering that survey than there were before.
   And maybe there is cause to celebrate that.

The ABCs of Curling - I

2009-03-11T09:56:00.006-04:00

is for Ice, upon which the game of curling is played. The playing surface of a sheet of curling ice is between 146 and 150 feet long, and between 14 feet 6 inches and 16 feet 5 inches wide. Most clubs have four or six sheets of ice (well, it's only one big sheet, usually, but it's got multiple playing surfaces laid out on it). While there are some curling clubs that share an arena with an ice skating or hockey rink, most clubs have their own facility. Curling ice and Hockey ice are different enough to make sharing a rink undesirable.

First of all, hockey ice is usually much thicker than curling ice - more than double the thickness in most cases. Ice that thick used for curling results in very heavy conditions. The curlers have to throw the rocks really hard to get them to the other end. When a high profile curling event, like the Brier, is held in an ice skating facility, the ice makers will spend several days slowly scraping down the ice surface until it is thin enough to make good curling ice.
The other big difference between skating ice and curling ice - the one most people immediately notice upon stepping onto the playing surface - is that curling ice is not smooth. The surface is "pebbled" by sprinkling water droplets on it from a specially designed watering can.

Likewise, the bottom of a curling stone is not smooth either. Or flat. As seen in the picture to the right, the surface is concave, and only a thin circle of stone actually touches the ice. This circle, about ¼ inch thick, is roughened, or sharpened, or textured (depending on who you talk to). The result of the rough running edge of the rock, and the pebble on the ice is a significantly reduced surface area of rock and ice actually in contact with each other.

Reduced surface area translates to reduced friction, and allows the rock to travel as far as it does. If you were to try and throw a smooth bottomed stone across smooth ice, you'd have a hard time gettting it to go fifty feet, much less the one hundred and fifty needed to get to the far end of the sheet.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: J is for...

An experiment

2009-03-10T10:24:00.000-04:00

Try this:

   Stand up. Bend over as far as you can. Put your head down between your knees. Just hold that position for a minute while I get the camera. Only joking. OK, ready? Now, stand back up as fast as you can. Whoa! Feel woozy? Room spinning? Most people have experienced what is commonly called a "head rush" before. Imagine feeling that way all the time; every minute of every day. Welcome to my world.
   It started with a cold. You know, sore throat, cough, runny nose, sinus congestion. After four or five days with no let-up, I visited my doctor, and she felt there was a good chance it was a bacterial infection, and prescribed some anti-biotics. That afternoon Mr. Vertigo came to visit, and my world, quite literally, turned topsy-turvy.
   For three days I couldn't stand up without the room reeling around me, my stomach roiling and threatening to jettison its contents. I could sit on the couch and read for short periods of time, but would quickly have to retreat to my bed when the dizziness and nausea became overwhelming. Two nights running my wife had to hold my head while I retched over the toilet at 2:00 AM, brought on simply by sitting up in bed to take some cold and sinus medication. Finally, on the third day, she dragged me back to see the doctor again.
   "It's a virus," she said (the doctor). She had made me turn my head this way and that, push or pull back my arms and legs against resistance in a number of positions. She had shined a light in my eyes to check my pupillary response, checked my reflexes with that pointy little hammer, and asked me a myriad of questions - all to rule out a neurological cause. I don't have a brain tumor. "It's a virus," she said. "It's found its way into your middle ear, which is the physical center of balance control for your body." That's why I have to hold onto the walls to walk from the bedroom to the bathroom.
   The worst of it should be over in a week to ten days, she told me, but the balance problems could persist, off and on, for three to six weeks. Three to six weeks! I've already been off work for eight days (and missed six curling games, damn it). Another week, and I'll have exhausted my accrued vacation pay, and be incomeless. And while the nausea has abated, I still feel like I have a head rush for most of every day. I'm unsteady on my feet, slow-moving, and slow-witted.

   Curse you, Rhinovirus!

   On another note, Celle dropped by to say hello the other day. She has a new blog, and is hoping you'll all go visit her. I have no idea who Celle is, or how she stumbled across AWV. Still, she asked nicely.

The ABCs of Curling - H

2009-02-26T10:06:00.007-05:00

is for...well, H is for a lot of things in curling. For example, H is for:

Hack - Embedded in the ice at either end of the sheet, the hacks provide a piece of solid footing from which to push off in the curling delivery.

House - The rings to which the rocks are thrown is called the House. A rock in the rings is called, "in the house."

Hog Line - A thick line across the ice thirty-three feet out from the hacks, and fifteen feet out from the top of the house. During the curling delivery, the rock must be released by the thrower before it crosses the near hog line. A rock that is held past the line is declared "hogged" and removed from play for the remainder of that end. At the house end of the ice, a rock must be completely inside the hog line to be considered in play.

Hammer - The last rock thrown in an end. The team with the hammer is considered to have an advantage, although the importance of the last rock advantage has lessened significantly since the implementation of the four rock free guard zone rule.

Handle - Literally, the handle by which the curling rock is grasped during the delivery. Handle also commonly refers to the turn imparted to the rock upon release.

Hit - A curling shot played with increased weight, designed to hit another rock, and remove it from play.

Heavy - If the ice is 'heavy' it is slow, and the players must throw the rock harder to get it to the other end. If a running rock is 'heavy' it is travelling too fast. The delivering player has thrown more weight than intended.

And, of course, the 'H's of curling would not be complete without Hurry, Hurry Hard!

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: I is for...

Wooville, Ontario

2009-02-25T11:25:00.001-05:00

I live in a pretty affluent town. I'm not sure what the numbers are today, but at one time, Aurora housed the most expensive postal code (like a zip code for all you 'Mericans) in all of Canada. So, there's a fair amount of disposable income floating around town. And where there's lots of money, there's always lots of...Woo.
Just as it doesn't matter if gas is a buck a litre, and their monster SUV gets three and a half miles per gallon, because they can afford it; it doesn't matter how unlikely, or far-fetched a potential health and wellness thearpy is, they can afford to give it a try. Here are a few photographs taken of signs of local businesses.

   Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Chiropracty, Astrology, Accupuncture, Matrix Repatterning (Matrix Repatterning! Sounds like something that would happen in a transporter buffer, doesn't it?) That last sign doesn't even say what they do. You've got to call them to find out.
   Note that these businesses are a but a drop in the bucket in my town. They are simply the ones within walking distance of my house. In fact, with the exception of one, every picture here was taken during a single walk with Shadow.
   "Yeah, but, so what?" I hear you ask. "You said the people frequenting these businesses have money to burn. So what if they waste it on dubious verging on useless therapies? What's the harm?" Somehow I knew you'd ask.

   Visit whatstheharm.net and find out. Remember, alternative medicine that is ineffective is not harmless.

Do you have biblical morals?

2009-02-24T22:52:00.002-05:00

So, does this mean I have no morals...?

Your morality is 0% in line with that of the bible.

Damn you heathen! Your book learnin' has done warped your mind. You shall not be invited next time I sacrifice a goat.

Do You Have Biblical Morals?
Take More Quizzes

Or does it just mean I got my morals from somewhere other than The Bible?

Hey, what did you score?

via Pharyngula

Monday Photo Shoot

2009-02-24T11:30:00.003-05:00

   Back when this blog lived on AOL, the community blogfather, John Scalzi, used to run regular participation memes, like the Weekend Assignment and the Monday Photo Shoot. Since the demise of John's AOL blog, By The Way (indeed, the demise of all AOL blogs), those two memes have been taken over by other former members of what we used to call AOL J-land. Karen, at Outpost Mavarin original took them both on, but eventually passed the Monday Photo Shoot on to Carly, at Ellipsis.
   My participation in the Photo Shoot was always occasional, as I'm not very active as a photographer, but once in a while Carly comes up with a topic that allows me to troll my back catalogue for images, rather than take new ones. Such is this week's Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot: Hit me with your best shot. Carly invites us to consider what kind of photography is our personal specialty, and post our best example of that.
   I don't think I really have a certain specialty when it comes to photography. I'm lucky if the shot is properly exposed and in focus. The picture I consider my favourite all-time photo was a lucky grab shot:

   That said, in perusing my photo archives, it strikes me that I seem to take a lot of pictures of leaves. Like these ones:

   Why not visit Carly at Ellipsis and play along.

   At the bottom of that entry, Carly asks a question: What sort of camera was your very first? Do you still own it? I'm not sure if that question is attached to this week's meme, or to last week's, but what the heck, I'll answer it anyways.
   My first serious camera was originally my Dad's. It was a 35mm Kodak Signet 40 rangefinder. I used it to take many pictures, including this one:

   I do still have it, although I have not used it in many years.

The ABCs of Curling - G

2009-02-19T23:08:00.006-05:00

is for Grand Match, an outdoor curling Bonspiel - sometimes referred to as "The Bonspiel" - that is held periodically in Scotland. The Grand Match has traditionally been a match between the North and South of Scotland, and often attracted several hundred teams. As curling was originally played on frozen rivers, there was not enough room to hold large scale events. Tournaments featuring more than a handful of teams required more sheets of ice in order to be played in a reasonable amount of time. A Bonspiel the size of a Grand Match required a frozen lake, or loch, or very large pond.

Winters in the British Isles are relatively mild, tempered as they are by the Gulf Stream, and large bodies of water there freeze over completely only on rare occasions. Not only must a lake or pond freeze over completely, it must freeze to a depth of at least seven inches in order to support the thousands of curlers and curling stones a Grand Match will attract. This happens so infrequently in Scotland that the Grand Match has only been played 133 times since 1847, and only five times since 1929.

Some sources say it has been played 138 times, but on five of those occasions, it was played on indoor ice rinks in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and The Royal Caledonian Curling Club, the world governing body of curling, does not recognize the indoor competitions as having been official Grand Matches.

The format of the Grand Match is such that an equal number of northern and southern teams play a single game against each other, with the winner being the side with the highest aggregate score. Play is timed rather than a fixed number of ends, with a shotgun start at 11:30AM, and a shotgun finish at 2:30PM. Teams are expected to bring their own rocks, brooms, and a crampit (an iron plate with spikes on the bottom on which to stand while delivering the rock).

The Grand Match was last played in 1979. Since that time, no winter in Scotland has been sufficiently cold enough for any loch or lake to freeze solid enough for play. Still, the RCCC plans the event, takes entries, and makes a draw every year...just in case. In the event that the chosen venue (usually the Lake of Menteith) freezes adequately, the call will go out, and curlers across Scotland are expected to drop everything, and attend. The rules state that any team that registers for the event at the beginning of the season, and fails to appear at the match when it is called, will be held responsible for the travelling expenses of their scheduled opponent.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: H is for...

The ABCs of Curling - F

2009-02-19T11:51:00.005-05:00

is for Four Foot. The rings at the ends of a curling sheet measure twelve feet, eight feet, and four feet in diameter. At the center of the four foot ring is the button. Because scoring in curling depends on having rocks closest to the button, the four foot ring is strategically important. This is demonstrated nowhere more emphatically than in a skins game format, where both teams spend three quarters of each end jockeying for control of that prime piece of frozen real estate. Common curling wisdom has it that any skip worth his salt should be able to draw the four foot at will.

Other important Fs in curling are the Free Guard Zone, and the Four Rock rule, both of which serve to inflate the importance of the four foot ring.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: G is for...

OMG! WTF? im so 1337!!1

2009-02-16T22:04:00.002-05:00

via Patrick's Place

You Are FAIL

You love the internet, but it sometimes gets on your nerves.

How can so much of humanity be so stupid? Wait, you don't even want to know.

While there are some good aspects to being online, you can't help but notice there's so much fail.

You liked the internet so much more in the good old days... before all the idiots found out about it!

What Internet Slang Are You?

The ABCs of Curling - E

2009-02-16T10:21:00.004-05:00

is for Ends, of which there are eight (sometimes - see below). One 'end' of play consists of each team throwing eight rocks to the far set of circles. Rocks are thrown alternately - that is each team takes turns throwing one rock at a time. Once all sixteen rocks have been thrown, the score for that end is counted, the rocks are gathered, and thrown back the other way.

Scoring in curling depends on having rocks closest to the center of the rings. Only one team can score points in one end: the team to whom the rock closest to the center, or button, belongs. The scoring team counts one point for every rock of their own that is closer to the center of the rings than any of their opponent's rocks.

As mentioned above, there are most commonly eight ends in a full game. In some club leagues and bonspiels, games are six ends long, so as to fit more games into a shorter time. At high levels of competition, like the Brier, games are often ten ends long. In most instances, ties after eight (or six, or ten) ends of play are broken by playing an 'extra end.'

Much like Cricket, curling games used to be much longer. It was quite common, at one time, for in-club games to be twelve ends long. The first Toronto Single Rink Championship game, played in 1896, was decided after twenty-two ends of play. That game would have taken five to six hours to complete!

Eight is also the highest number of points a team can score in one end. 'Eight enders' are rare, and for that reason, special note is usually made of them.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: F is for...

Safina has been infected

2009-02-12T23:43:00.005-05:00

In a comment to my last post, Vinny pointed to the New York Times article, Darwinism Must Die So That Evolution May Liv e, by Ecologist Carl Safina, which says, in part:

Science has marched on. But evolution can seem uniquely stuck on its founder. We don’t call astronomy Copernicism, nor gravity Newtonism. “Darwinism” implies an ideology adhering to one man’s dictates, like Marxism. And “isms” (capitalism, Catholicism, racism) are not science. “Darwinism” implies that biological scientists “believe in” Darwin’s “theory.” It’s as if, since 1860, scientists have just ditto-headed Darwin rather than challenging and testing his ideas, or adding vast new knowledge.

   I was familiar with the article, as it had been referenced by Professor Myers, at Pharyngula, but I really hadn't paid much attention, until Vinny forced my hand, so to speak. So, I gave it a more in-depth read. It really only took me about thirty seconds, or so, to form an opinion. And that opinion is, of course, that Safina is talking out of his ass. Let me tell you why.
   Now P.Z., and Jerry Coyne, both Evolutionary Developmental Biologists, disagreed with Safina, but my reasoning is slightly different from theirs - although springing from the same basic ideal. Remember a few weeks ago, when I wrote a couple of articles about Fred - an occasional blogger whose writing I admire - and his reaction to the atheist bus ads in England? I pointed out that Fred, who was an intelligent, college educated, self-proclaimed agnostic, verging on atheist, repeated virtually every canard in the Creationist, anti-science propaganda bible. I lamented the fact that Answers in Genesis and their ilk had so inundated the public with their dishonest talking points that even Fred was unconsciously repeating them without even realising it. We see exactly the same thing in the Safina article.
   Safina harps on the overuse of the terms Darwinism, and Darwinist, in the description of the science of evolution, and suggests that we need to lose those terms in order to focus attention on the "real" science of evolution, and look less like we are following some sort of atheistic dogma. Myers and Coyne both speak very strongly about how important Darwin's work really was, and how, while the science has moved far beyond his original ideas, we need to note his contributions, and celebrate them for the revolution in the scientific community they created. But they both ignore the question of just who it is that is currently using the term 'Darwinism' today.
   Quite frankly, I have not encountered the term 'Darwinist' being used anywhere except by Creationists, and their more mendacious cousins, Intelligent Designists. They use the term 'Darwinist' and sometimes 'Evolutionist' almost exclusively when talking about evolutionary scientists in order to suggest that just such a dogmatic view is being held by them.
   But, when you talk to actual students of evolutionary theory, the term almost never comes up. Certainly, Myers and Coyne, in their blogs, never refer to their field of expertise as 'Darwinism.' In looking at the courses available at my local universities, I can find no mention of one called Darwinism, or Darwinian Evolution. But Safina, just like Fred, has been brainwashed by the constant whispering in his ear by the religious right, into accepting that 'Darwinism' is an actual scientific course of study. He's been fooled so completely that he isn't even aware that his opinions might be the least bit misguided.

   The next time you hear someone say, "Darwinism must die," just tell them: "don't be silly. You can't kill something that doesn't really exist."

Happy Darwin Day

2009-02-12T11:02:00.004-05:00

Today we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of the most important and influential scientists in our history. Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin.

The ABCs of Curling - D

2009-02-09T14:05:00.007-05:00

is for Draw, a curling shot in which the thrown rock comes to rest in the rings. There really isn't anything more to say about that. Better just to show you what it looks like. The following video also clearly demonstrates how the rock curls as it travels the length of the sheet of ice, and how the sweepers work the brooms to help control the distance it travels.

The word Draw may also refer to a set of games, as in a bonspiel or league series, and, the person who schedules the games and tallies the results for a bonspiel is called the Drawmaster.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: E is for...

I'm no Sally Field

2009-02-08T23:38:00.000-05:00

Gosh! So many best wishes messages, both here and via email and Facebook. My heart says, "thank you so much," although I cannot get my knees to concede to anything more than, "damn you all! Damn you all to Hell!" Also, I can now visually communicate my age by holding up a number of fingers on both hands without having to think about which hand comes first, and whether that's from my perspective, or yours. I do, however, have to worry about being mistaken for making some kind of gang hand signal, and inadvertently inviting a drive-by shooting. I feel much safer responding to questions about my age by gesturing with a single hand.

Dan took the time to publicly ~~out me~~ wish me a happy birthday on his blog, where he made a somewhat stunning admission: my blog was the first one he ever read. He credits me with prompting him to start his own. So, to those of you who have been reading The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind for the last few years, let me just say..."I'm sorry."

The ABCs of Curling - C

2009-02-02T13:42:00.006-05:00

is for, well, Curling. It's what the rock does as it travels the length of the ice when you impart a spin, or turn to it upon release. The curl allows running stones to "bend" around stationary stones in order to hide behind them. Curlers use their brooms to sweep the running path of a stone in order to control how far it travels, and how much it curls. It also seems obvious that the curling motion of the rocks gives the sport its name, but that may not necessarily be the case.

The origins of curling are unclear, with both Scotland, and the Low Countries claiming genesis. References to a game played by sliding heavy objects on ice are found in both Scots and Dutch arts and literature during the fifteen hundreds. As there was much trade and cultural relations between the two areas during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the game may have originated in either locale and been transplanted to the other. The Dutch played a game on ice involving pushing large blocks of wood or clumps of frozen earth with a stick, called "kuting." In fact, many early Scottish curling stones were called "kuting" stones, and that word may have eventually evolved into the common name used today.

There is no question that it was the Scots who embraced the game, brought it to the rest of the world, and made it what it is today.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: D is for...

A Rare Sunday Seven

2009-02-01T10:28:00.001-05:00

From Patrick's Place.

I don't participate in Patrick's memes (the Saturday Six and the Sunday Seven) very often, but once in a while one of his topics piques my interest. Here is the Patrick's Place Sunday Seven for Superbowl Sunday, 2009:

Name your seven favorite sports-related films.

(in no particular order)

1) Field of Dreams - "Hey Dad? You wanna have a catch?" There was a time when Keven Costner could do no wrong.
2) Bull Durham - "C'mon Meat, throw me that weak-ass shit!" See above.
3) Rollerball - "There aren't any rules at all." The original, of course. No stupid Shaquille O'Neal remakes.
4) Rocky - "Ain't gonna be no rematch." Uh huh.
5) The Longest Yard - "I don't think the guards know this formation. It's called 'incidental punishment after the ball is blown dead.'" - Again, the original (although the remake wasn't a complete write-off).
6) Major League - "Heywood leads the league in most offensive categories, including nose hair." - Not the best movie ever, but it was this, or Jerry Maguire, and quite frankly, I didn't want to use that quotation. You know the one.
7) Slap Shot - "Look at that. You can't see that, I'm on radio." Had to have one hockey movie on the list, didn't I?

I know what you're gonna say. You're gonna say, "what about Men With Brooms? How can you not include the world's only curling movie on your list?" Simple really. I haven't seen it.

The ABCs of Curling - B

2009-01-28T23:59:00.011-05:00

is for Bonspiel, a curling tournament. The word is apparently of Scottish origin (go figure), meaning a contest or match between different clubs or parishes. Traditionally, a bonspiel is a series of games played over several days, most commonly Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday. In today's fast paced world, many bonspiels have now been reduced to a single day, although there are some notable exceptions.

The Energizer Bonspiel, which is the annual Toronto Curling Association Single Rink Championship, begins on a Saturday, and concludes on the following Saturday, with successful teams playing two games the first day, as many as four weeknight games, and two games the final Saturday. This TCA bonspiel (Johnson Controls, the maker of Energizer automotive batteries, has bowed out as title sponsor of this bonspiel, and will be replaced next year by Goldline Curling Supplies) is the oldest continuous curling event in Canada, having been played every year since 1896.

The Manitoba Curling Association annual men's bonspiel is the world's largest, hosting 512 teams this year, each guaranteed a minimum of six games. The top five (local) finishers are granted a spot in the Manitoba provincial championships.

And what would any discussion of bonspiels be without mention of curling's most important 'B': The Brier, Canada's national championship, and the world's most challenging bonspiel. The Brier is a unique national championship, highlighting curling's grass-roots, community centric nature. Every team competing in The Brier had to first qualify by winning a playdown in their local club before moving on to zone, regional, and provincial competitions. Competition at The Brier is so stiff that the winners (and therefore Canadian Champions) have gone on to claim the World Championship title thirty one times since 1959. The next best showing at the world level is by Sweden, with five wins in that time.

(Ed. With their win in 2009, Scotland pulled even with Sweden, with five world championship titles.)

The Bs of curling also include the "button," or the center of the rings on a sheet of curling ice, and the broom, with which curling rocks are swept.

<- Start at the beginning.

Up next: C is for...

Whistling past the graveyard?

2009-01-27T22:49:00.001-05:00

I compose all of my blog entries in a "test journal," which is pretty much exactly like this one, except for the fact that you can't read it. I try, as much as possible, to polish each entry until it is fit for general consumption. I can't always catch all of the typos, spelling errors, and grammatical pratfalls, but I do my best in an attempt to not look like a total idiot.

Once I have an entry pretty much the way I want it, I copy and paste it into AWV, and publish it. This process leaves behind a backlog of finished posts in the test journal, which I occasionally go in and clean out.

From the Blogger Dashboard, I click beside the journal name on the link labelled, "edit posts." This brings up a list of all the posts in the journal, with the option to edit, view, or delete each one. I click on, "delete," and am taken to a page that displays the entire, unformatted textual content of the post, and asks for confirmation that I really do want to delete that entry.

Down at the bottom of that page I click on the button labelled, "delete it!" and am suddenly gripped by a paralysing fear that I have just done something VERY BAD. My eyes dart to the top of the page, where I am positive I am going to see the words, "Aurora Walking Vacation," and come to the sickening realisation that I have just deleted, never to be retrieved, one of the posts on my main blog.

What my eyes always see (so far, at least) are the words, "The Test Journal!" and I chuckle to myself, and say, "yeah, I knew that."

The ABCs of Curling

2009-01-26T23:33:00.006-05:00

is for Ailsa Craig, an island in the outer Firth of Clyde on the southwest coast of Scotland, and the traditional source of the stones used in curling around the world. The extremely fine grain and homogeneity of the granite quarried on Ailsa Craig made it ideal for use in Curling rocks, which must withstand years of crashing and banging, and more importantly, freezing and thawing. Almost seventy percent of the curling stones currently in use around the world came from Ailsa Craig.

The quarry was closed in 1971, and the island was made a bird sanctuary. It is noted for its population of Gannets, and much has been made of the return to the island of a small colony of Puffins. Most new curling stones now come from a quarry in Wales.

More recently, a Scottish company received permission from the Scottish government to begin removing granite from Ailsa Craig again. No new quarrying is being undertaken; the company is merely removing large, loose granite boulders left behind when the quarry closed. The 2002 women's Olympic curling gold medal winners from Scotland used new rocks made specially for them from Ailsa Craig granite.

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