A few things: 1) The Ladies of Star Trek (original 60s series); 2) Looking for some seaweed sheets, steel-cut Irish oatmeal, or a bottle of tender cactus to deal with those late night munchies?; 3. Do you need caffeine in the morning, but don't feel like having coffee after you've showered? Try Shower Shock soap; 4) A US law firm is preparing to file lawsuits against Dean Kamen and DEKA on behalf of people who are injured using the Segway, which isn't yet available for purchase to the public; 5) NYPD Green; 6
1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from? Hungary, Germany (somehow), Scotland, France, Quebec.
2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit? wouldn't matter, but Scotland would be cool
3. Which would you least like to visit? None of them, I'd visit all of them if I could.
4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage? No.
5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)? 13 generations back to my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great grandparents, a man named Nicolas Marsolet, who was born in Roeun, Normandy, France in the late 1570s or 1580s, and a woman named Marguerite De Planes. Their son, also named Nicolas, born 1601, came to the New World in 1612 on Samuel de Champlain's second voyage to New France. However, these dates are in question, because when you do a Google search on "nicolas marsolet", you will find sites that suggest he was born in 1587.
Blog has reached William Safire's On Language column in the NYTimes Magazine (you need to register to see the article). Does that mean it's now a real word?
Have you heard of the latest trend in trying to get your attention to buy something? How about: undercover or stealth marketing, or better yet, and more truthful: viral marketing, or roach bait marketing. Actors and actresses pose as regular people and interact with the public, engaging them in discussion or making them aware of a new product. They can pose as phony tourists, locals in a nightclub, whatever. You can close pop-up ads. But if you're at the top of the Empire State Bldg, and a nice elderly couple asks you to take their picture with their fancy new quadro-quirk T68i cellphone...
At work, I am building an online resource guide for nanotechnology. At the U of A, the National Institute for Nanotechnology is now open, and soon to expand into its own, yet-to-be-constructed building. I've added this site, which I think is very cool: "KurzweilAI.net features the big thoughts of today's big thinkers examining the confluence of accelerating revolutions that are shaping our future world, and the inside story on new technological and social realities from the pioneers actively working in these arenas.
We are witnessing intersecting revolutions in a plethora of fields: biotechnology, nanotechnology, molecular electronics, computation, artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, virtual reality, human brain reverse engineering, brain augmentation, robotics, and many others. The leading visionaries represented on this site examine these transforming trends and their profound impact on economics, the arts, politics, government, warfare, medicine, health, education, disabilities, social mores, and sexuality."
Last February I lost my 90 Corolla in a fire. More about that later. A week later, I bought a 96 Corolla. It's ok, it runs, it plays CDs. Yesterday I was out for dinner at a friend's place, and when I left, my licence plate was nowhere to be seen, certainly not on the back of the car where it's supposed to be. I couldn't tell if it fell off, or was stolen. Regardless, I drove home, hoping no police cars would happen by, and reported it to the police. I received a file number, and this morning went to the AMA to get a new plate (we use only back plates in Alberta). The replacement was fast, costing $20.49Cdn. I also stopped at my local Toyota dealership, and picked up two special plastic screws (no charge!) for the back plate area. The police constable told me that plates are stolen as much as cars these days, and that he doubted seriously that the plate fell off of its own volition. Whatever.
Thanks to Rebecca for highlighting a sf story in the form of a weblog, from NZ Bear, and for mentioning Obtainium, "an online community of constructively creative folks who exchange ideas, stuff, and services, "an online community of constructively creative folks who exchange ideas, stuff, and services. Now if I can only find the time to peruse some of these sites.
I find when I need a break from whatever I'm doing in the office, or just in front of the computer, I play this for a short break from reality. Or I check out movie trivia. Good night.
One of the frustrating aspects of living in Canada, if you like quality tv, is that HBO is one of dozens of channels that the CRTC does not allow on cable. Those who get it in Canada do so with dishes that have access to C-band. Use of C-band systems in Canada is not illegal, so those who can afford it, can buy 1.5 metre dishes together with the necessary electronics, and voila - access to HBO, etc. I've been thinking about this lately, as I plow through videos of both seasons of Six Feet Under in less than one month (which, if I may so, is a treat, like chocolate every day). Also, my favorite all-round entertainer, Dennis Miller, is ending his show after 9 seasons on HBO, so I will not get to see him at all. Check out his latest rant, on the evils of Corporate Culture.
To paraphrase Mark Knopfler: "I want my, I want my, I want my HBO"
A group of four French comedians and one French comedienne are performing Monty Python sketches en Français at the Palais des Glaces. Monty Python was a hit in Canada about five years before they had success in the USA in the mid-70s. I attended their cross-Canada tour in 1974 or '75, and still have the program (50˘), which is a major collector's item. I wish I had bought 20 of them... *sniff*
Mike sent info on ibiblio: "Home to one of the largest "collections of collections" on the Internet, ibiblio.org is a conservancy of freely available information, including software, music, literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural studies. ibiblio.org is a collaboration of the Center for the Public Domain and The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill." There is amazing stuff to be found here, including the wacky. What's of note is that you have the option to expand on the collection, or create and manage a collection in your own area of interest.
This afternoon Anne and Kari came by to lend a help hand with my blog archiving problem. Anne, wizard(ess) that she is, solved a couple of problems for me for which I am eternally grateful. (Kari watched and took notes!) Anne convinced me (easily) to scrap the Blogger code for archiving and to manually input the code myself using HTML. As you can see on the left, it worked fine! Thank you Anne! We had much fun this afternoon, please come again! :-)
Another different site worth a look: Sharpeworld. Click on Sharpeworld T.V., and enjoy an eclectic selection of video treats. Also, take the Depression Poll.
visits since 07/15/02
