Tuesday, July 30, 2002
Canadian Distance Guide
I found a useful site while researching our upcoming vacation trip.
United Van Lines has a very handy Canadian Distance Guide.
You select 2 Canadian cities and the site returns the road distance between the cities.
Simple and useful.
United Van Lines has a very handy Canadian Distance Guide.
You select 2 Canadian cities and the site returns the road distance between the cities.
Simple and useful.
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
Saving Us From The West Nile Virus
A Canadian neighbourhood agressively blockaded their streets last weekend!
On one side, a bureaucratic initiative to save us from the West Nile Virus, Genus: Flavivirus Japanese Encephalitis Antigenic Complex And on the other, neighbours scared of the unknown risks of fogging the air with Malathion (Dimethoxy Phosphino Thioyl Thio Butanedioic Acid Diethyl Ester (C10 H19 O6 P S2)).
This, Alloway Rebellion, by residential Wolseley, Winnipeg, does have a history. Since 1999 the area has avoided being spraying by cleverly using provincial legislation to ban pesticide use around their homes.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control describing the West Nile Virus in humans, says that "...the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, can become very ill."
The Stop-Malathion citizens also suggest that the same group, "children, pets, elderly people, and people with breathing difficulties and weakened immune systems" are those most affected by pesticide spraying.
In general, I find the use of pesticides unfriendly. Personal responsibility for limiting mosquito breeding opportunities by eliminating stagnant water, and sensible precautions to avoid being bitten, are probably more economical and effective solutions than adding poison to our environment.
On one side, a bureaucratic initiative to save us from the West Nile Virus, Genus: Flavivirus Japanese Encephalitis Antigenic Complex And on the other, neighbours scared of the unknown risks of fogging the air with Malathion (Dimethoxy Phosphino Thioyl Thio Butanedioic Acid Diethyl Ester (C10 H19 O6 P S2)).
This, Alloway Rebellion, by residential Wolseley, Winnipeg, does have a history. Since 1999 the area has avoided being spraying by cleverly using provincial legislation to ban pesticide use around their homes.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control describing the West Nile Virus in humans, says that "...the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, can become very ill."
The Stop-Malathion citizens also suggest that the same group, "children, pets, elderly people, and people with breathing difficulties and weakened immune systems" are those most affected by pesticide spraying.
In general, I find the use of pesticides unfriendly. Personal responsibility for limiting mosquito breeding opportunities by eliminating stagnant water, and sensible precautions to avoid being bitten, are probably more economical and effective solutions than adding poison to our environment.
Sunday, July 21, 2002
Ogg Vorbis v1.0 Released
OGG VORBIS Releases v1.0
And that's excellent news!
Remember, if you save your music as MP3s, that the encoding technology is owned by the MPEG Consortium. Why not try saving your WAV files as OGGs?
Most current players support OGG files and the sound is better.
The Ogg programs are released under the GNU Public Licence, which means they are free, including the source code if you want it.
I tried the Ogg Drop program. The program's interface is just a small window displaying the message, Drop Files Here.
And that's how it works. Just drop a WAV file into the window and the result is an OGG file in the same directory as the source. Right-click on the Ogg Drop window for extra settings and options.
Saturday, July 06, 2002
Cheeka Cat
This is CHEEKA.
She lives with me.
In return for feeding her, she gets to leap out from hiding places to attack my leg.
She's the cat with the combination lock collar.
A fantastic gallery of feline ferocity can be found at www.mycathatesyou.com
Warchalking
Does anyone else have trouble pronouncing WARCHALKING?
 | For urban laptop hobos. A chalked symbol on a wall identifying the presence of an accessible wireless network. |
Tuesday, July 02, 2002
Truth, Spin, Or Myth
Here we are, immersed in the content of the global infosphere. Ideas, Brands, News, Memes, all being manipulated, twisted, selected, both with intent and with ignorance. How to decide which to pay attention to and which to take action on? My Guide: 1. Be sceptical. 2. Research diverse viewpoints. 3. Trust the scientific method.
Before taking action and making a fool of yourself, check out Truth or Fiction and The Urban Legends Reference Pages.
If you receive a virus warning from an aquaintance by email, you can check out it's authenticity at Virus Myths (although useful, be aware that this site will barrage you with very annoying popups)
And visit Junk Science to read an update on the ongoing French Fry scare.
Before taking action and making a fool of yourself, check out Truth or Fiction and The Urban Legends Reference Pages.
If you receive a virus warning from an aquaintance by email, you can check out it's authenticity at Virus Myths (although useful, be aware that this site will barrage you with very annoying popups)
And visit Junk Science to read an update on the ongoing French Fry scare.
