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I don't know much of the history , but being Canadian , I think I will stake a claim on Hans Island for king queen me and country! Recently, the squabble over Hans Island reared its head when Defense Minister Bill Graham visited the uninhabited island, and Canadian soldiers planted the Maple Leaf flag there. Canada and Denmark have long claimed Hans Island as their own -- it being between Greenland and Ellesmere Island. Canada's claim dates back to the handover of British territory to Canada in 1867, of which Hans Island was a part. Denmark claims Hans Island because it's closer to Greenland than it is to Canada. Like that's a good enough excuse. Denmark still maintains a hold over Greenland -- a hold that goes back to the colonial days. Someone ought to remind them that colonialism died out a while back. The bad news in this for Canada is that we don't have much of a northern military presence [PDF] -- in fact, we hardly have a military, so there's n...

ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has taken images of a water ice patch within a crater on Mars. The crater is located in northern latitude of Mars, in the plain known as Vastitas Borealis. The possibility of finding evidence of past life on Mars -- or perhaps life still existing, has increased. The finding also provides a boost for future manned missions to Mars, as water will be needed for the astronauts to survive there. Previously, ESA has detected a large frozen sea below the surface of Mars. Image credit: ESA's Mars Express, High Resolution Stereo Camera.

A friend just sent out this list of random sites to his distribution list. Without further ado, here they are: FutureMe.org -- it's a neat concept that I wished I had thought of first. The site offers you the chance to send yourself an email in the future. Compose something today, set the date when you want it delivered and it will be emailed to you then. Send something inspirational decades from now, or an email reminder to leave the office in the afternoon. The catch: how long will FutureMe.org be around to ensure your email gets sent -- and, how long will you be keeping your email address around. OK, maybe I should be an optimist. the Longevity Game -- want to know when you're going to die? According to the site, I'm going to be dead by 80 unless I smarten up. That sucks. Although it does allow you to mess with the answer -- ie. see if you made some intelligent choices, how many more years you'll get. Eating fruit for instance will give me 3 more years....

Further proof that we live in a wacky world, and if we're not careful, we could all be owned by someone else someday. Microsoft has filed a patent with the US Patent Office to trademark the creation of custom emoticons . Microsoft apparently believes that it created emoticons; emoticons have commercial value; and wants to own it. WTF? Bill, how far do you intend to go? The emoticon patent hasn't been granted as yet. However, this ridiculous patent was recently granted to Amazon . It represents a process by which is a visitor's viewing history can be used to form relationships -- e.g., "products A and B are related because a significant portion of those who viewed A also viewed B." There's nothing unique in the process Amazon patented. It's used by many already -- like bricks and mortar stores that will recommend a product with another based on the purchase history of the latter -- e.g., people who buy a coffee, sometimes buy a cookie with it. Whe...

Astronomers from the Palomer Observatory, the Gemini Observatory and Yale University, have discovered the 10th planet in the solar system. The planet is located beyond the orbit of Pluto -- just over twice the distance from the Sun than Pluto, which puts it smack in the Kuiper Belt . The planet is currently the third brightest object in the Kuiper Belt. Astronomers are estimating that the planet is most likely larger than Pluto, based on the amount of sunlight it is reflecting. The temporary name of the planet is 2003 UB313. The IAU is determining the permanent name for the planet. The announcement of the planet, follows the announcement of the discovery of another large Kuiper Belt object -- currently known as 2003 EL61 . 2003 EL61 appears to be as large as Sedna -- although it appears that the verdict is still out on whether Sedna, Quaoar and Orcus (other Kuiper Belt objects) are really planets. Image credit: Samuel Oschin Telescope, Palomar Observatory

The latest issue of the journal Nature has a supplement on the emerging life science industry in India. India is expected to rapidly ascend to the third largest economy, behind China and the US, in the coming decades. With a huge population, that is young and hungry for opportunities, the future appears bright. There are serious obstacles in the way however. Health is one of the biggest [PDF] -- and unless India makes a concerted effort to turn the tide, the road to economic success may be a bumpy one. The outlook is an interesting read, as it provides a life sciences view of an emerging economy. This perspective is interesting in that it demonstrates that if health can be improved in third world countries, to a point where it is self-sustaining, then improvements in economic health would have a chance -- and improvements in economic health would surely be followed by improvements in social health. Or maybe I just have a dose of optimism.

The following comes from a friend. Some have been around for a while -- most likely for a reason. Try them out in the office -- I'm sure you'll find the application. [ Thanks Naj! ] Blamestorming - Sitting around in a group discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed and who was responsible. Seagull Manager - A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps all over everything and then leaves. Salmon Day - The experience of spending an entire day swimming up stream only to die in the end. Chainsaw Consultant - An outside expert brought in to reduce the employee head count, leaving the brass with clean hands. CLM - Career Limiting Move - Used by microserfs to describe an ill-advised activity. Trashing your boss while he or she is within earshot is a serious CLM. Adminisphere - The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the probl...

Not to be outdone by Google Maps , Microsoft has entered the fray with Virtual Earth . Take a tour of both and decide which you prefer. While Microsoft's offering is quite good -- comparable to Google's, with a few interface enhancements -- Microsoft still can't beat Google's satellite images for just exploring the planet. If you're looking for a map to get you some place, either one will do fine. As Google and Microsoft duke it out, we can only benefit.

BusinessWeek's latest features a cover article on the latest shift in focus of the economy -- from a knowledge economy to a creative economy. The knowledge economy has become commoditized, with the emerging economies of Asia and Eastern Europe taking the bread and butter of the industrialized nations. Manufacturing has already gone. Highly skilled and cheap labour is now devouring what was the differentiator for the developed economies, driving the development of a new core competency -- creativity. What is creativity? It's about right brain thinking -- imagination -- innovation. It's about the manufacturing of experiences, not just products. It's about catering to the whims of consumers, before consumers even know they have those whims. Leading the charge in this unfolding creative economy are companies like Procter & Gamble and General Electric -- aided by a new breed of consultants from design firms such as IDEO and Design Continuum. GE, credited for cr...

Longhorn has a new name -- Vista -- a name that is amusing in many ways. The Microsoft marketing whizzes apparently think that the software will bring focus and clarity to your world -- hence the name. Amusing when you think of all the promises that were dropped from Longhorn to make Vista. It's also amusing because Microsoft chose a name that happens to be the name of a software company also located in Redmond -- and they're apparently not amused at all -- especially since Microsoft has apparently claimed trademark protection for the name.

Researchers at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University have used data from the hydroacoustic station at Diego Garcia to piece together a more accurate story of the magnitude 9.3 Sumatra earthquake that rocked Asia on December 26 , last year. The Diego Garcia hydroacoustic station, like others around the world, consist of underwater microphones setup to listen for the sounds of atomic blasts -- however, they end up recording other sounds that travel underwater, from the cracking of icebergs to earthquakes. The sounds coming from the Sumatra earthquake revealed the quake was traveling at 2.8 km/s to 2.1 km/s -- from south to north along the zone where the India Plate is being pushed beneath the Burma Plate . The researchers have made the sound of the quake available online in MP3 format . For more on the tsunami that resulted from the Dec. 26th quake, check out the South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog .

Akira Haraguchi of Japan has recited 83,431 digits of P i is a 13-hour marathon. This is amazing on two counts: 1) that someone memorized it; and, 2) that someone felt the need to do this. Pi World Ranking List , which hasn't been updated with the new results, keeps track of this and similar feats wasting brain cells.

NASA has decided that when we next go to the Moon and Mars, we will be employing two new launch vehicles to replace the aging shuttles. Both new launch vehicles will be based on the current space shuttle hardware, whose derivatives will come in two flavours: a heavy cargo lifter, and a vehicle to launch the Crew Exploration Vehicle. The heavy cargo lifter, while resembling a standard rocket launch vehicle, will reuse shuttle engines. The multi-stage lifter will come in a stacked configuration, with the cargo riding on top of successive booster rockets. The other launch vehicle to carry the CEV to orbit will also similarly be multi-staged, but with smaller rockets of different configurations for boosting. This all means that the era of the space plane may be over.

My wife and I are off to Tobermory this weekend -- Friday to Sunday. We haven't been there for a couple of years, and it's as good a far off driving destination, as any. Tobermory is located on the tip of the Niagara escarpment, where Lake Huron meets Georgian Bay. Haven't a clue what we're going to be doing up there, but it's not going to be scuba diving -- even is Tobermory is the scuba diving capital of North America. Most likely, we'll try to get in some hiking along the Bruce Trail and definitely an evening boat trip out on the Bay. Next week, I'll be putting new photos up.

Google is celebrating the 36th anniversary of the first landing on the Moon by humans in their own, unique way -- Google Maps, using NASA imagery .

How far the internet has traveled. From a small US military funded research network to an international network that is increasingly becoming the road of commerce, and just about everything else imaginable. Through this incredible growth, the United States has maintain control over the network -- their network -- even as it has moved beyond their borders, both physical and digital. With recent moves, the US has been moving to reiterate their dominion over the internet. I'm of two minds on this. The internet was created in the United States, for the United States. It's theirs -- but not the network beyond their borders, and they should not have dominion over the extended network. It's about control. Right now I trust the intentions of the US, but I'm becoming increasingly concerned with where their society is heading. Control of the internet is power, and the US lives in uncertain times. Would they ever use the control they have over the internet to extend the...

Dude, Where's My Digital Car? -- It isn't news that the South Koreans have embraced the digital future, but sometimes, when news like this comes out, it makes you wonder -- just what kind of future awaits us out there? Kart Rider is a popular online car racing game. So popular that at any time, as many as 200,000 South Koreans are online driving. So popular that online drivers can make a living from it by driving all day, becoming an expert, a racing champion, and getting real world sponsors to slap virtual ads on their virtual cars. I have this feeling that there is a big part of the future I'm going to be missing out on. When Your Name is Mud, Advertise -- What happens when your company runs afoul of the law? When your CEO is being arraigned on charges of sticking it to the shareholders? You don't go into a period of quiet, shunning the limelight -- no, you advertise a positive image! Read how companies are going on the offensive when they run into a legal s...

Leadership IQ released a study a month ago, documenting the reasons why CEOs get fired. When you hear the news, it's always dressed up with euphemisms and more often than not, a nice package before boot hits butt. You're left thinking that it could have been political or a result of bad financial results. Not so says the four year Leadership IQ study, that spoke to over 1,000 board members. They found that "31% of CEOs get fired for mismanaging change, 28% for ignoring customers, 27% for tolerating low performers, 23% for denying reality and 22% for too much talk and not enough action." Makes you wonder how the CEOs ever got to where they are if they carry such incompetence.

Not sure how many of you know this, but there is a link between the sql language and Lord Byron's sexual escapades. A friend at work asked me about a little about the SQL Server from Microsoft and the sql language, in context of Oracle's migration plans for their application suite in the Fusion project. My answer, which is a little convoluted, is below: "SQL database queries and SQL database? You could mean many things by that. In context, however, SQL server database is Microsoft's entry into the database market. It's not unlike Oracle or DB2 -- it just lacks the credibility, scalability and platform independence. That has never stopped Microsoft before. SQL database queries = queries to the Microsoft database. However, sql, or structured query language, is standard query language used to create, modify and retrieve data from relational and object-oriented databases. The language wasn't created by Microsoft, they just stole the name for their databas...

A new teaser poster has been released for the Wachowski Brothers adaptation of the Alan Moore & David Lloyd graphic novel . I'm looking forward to this movie.

Researchers at Purdue have confirmed nuclear fusion in a tabletop experiment. The researchers fired ultrasound at deuterated acetone, which contains deuterium instead of hydrogen, in a chamber flooded with neutrons. As expected when high-frequency sound waves hit the liquid, cavities and bubbles were formed in the liquid in a process known as acoustic cavitation . What wasn't expected was the formation of perfectly spherical bubbles which implode with greater force than irregularly shaped bubbles. The implosion produced high temperatures and light in a phenomenon called sonoluminescence , which fused deuterium atoms together as they're fused in stars. Is it fusion ? The researchers have estimated the temperature within the imploding bubbles reach upwards of 10 million degrees Celsius, with pressures of 1 billion earth atmospheres. The experiment also resulted in the emission of neutrons of 2.5 MeV and the production of the radioactive tritium -- both of which are ex...

China's space agency, CNSA, has announced that their manned spaceflight of two years ago will be followed up by another one shortly. Targeting an October launch date, China will put two men in space, chosen from 14 air force pilots. China's foray into space continues, as it plans to put two additional weather satellites into space by 2008 -- after it's successful launch of the FY-2C; and two scientific satellites into orbit by year end, to be recovered after three week missions. Hopefully China's space adventures will continue to be for peaceful purposes, and it won't follow the US, Russia, Britain, France and their ilk in militarizing space -- after all, there's no money in building military capabilities in space. Is there?

My ladies and I were at Harbourfront Centre this past weekend to enjoy one of their summer festivals that run from July to the end of August. This weekend's was All Over the Map -- described as " a closer look at how geography, language and tradition influence current world music and culture. " We sampled some of the international cuisine at the World Café: mu daughters did something Indian and my wife and I went African. I wish I knew what it was I was having -- it consisted of some rice with peanut sauce, bbq chicken, fried plantains, and some other stuff. It was good. The acts we saw were also pretty good. We caught Yakudo , a group of Japanese Taiko drummers, as well as Daara J , a Senegalese rap group, and Tinariwen , a Mali band blended traditional Persian sounds with rock music. They were different, good -- but by far, Daara J was the best of them all. The group was very energetic, dancing across the stage and whipping the audience up into a dance frenzy -...

I found out about the Strings 2005 conference held at the University of Toronto this past week when I was researching strings for the post below . The conference apparently boasted 400 attendees from around the globe, with over 50 speakers. Since I found out about it yesterday, it was too late for me to investigate it in much detail -- what I did catch however, was the public talks by Robbert Dijkgraaf of the University of Amsterdam, entitled " Strings, Black Holes, and the the End of Space and Time " -- and Leonard Susskind of Stanford University, entitled " Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design ." These were public talks, geared towards the generalist audience, for which I was thankful for -- I don't think I would have stayed awake through any in depth exploration of the mathematics of String Theory. Both Dijkgraaf and Susskind were good public speakers -- aware of their audience and not going too deep. Their sense of h...

Michio Kaku has a great way of bringing ideas shrouded in physics mysticism to the layperson -- and he's done it again in the latest issue of Discover magazine, this time taking on String Theory . What is String Theory? In very simple terms, String Theory states that at the elementary level, the universe is made up of tiny vibrating strings of energy. The elementary particles -- electrons, photons, quarks, gluons, bosons, the anti-particles, etc. -- are therefore strings of energy vibrating at specific frequencies. As these strings vibrate, time and space are forced to curl around them, giving rise to gravity -- in fact, the vibrations result in all the known forces that govern the universe: gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. The big problem with String Theory is the fact that it is just that -- a theory. There is no proof that it is true -- and to complicate things, there are different versions of String Theory . The prevailing theory -- the...

I saw the news in the elevator yesterday morning at work: "118 people die in a train collision in Pakistan." The death toll has now risen to 300 or more, with thousands more injured in the triple train accident. The first thing I thought of was the 52 that died in the London subway bombing. First, let's get this straight -- people died -- 300 and 52 (and counting) -- and that is never a good thing. Families scarred. One an accident, the other a deliberate act to take life. There is a lot of grieving, a lot of suffering, in both cases. The coincidence: trains and Pakistanis. I can't help but think that there are some who would think that the accident in Pakistan was just revenge. I also can't help but think that the world probably cares less about the Pakistanis that died in the train accident. I discussed this with a few colleagues at work yesterday. The coverage of the London bombing was instantaneous. Governments around the world sent their condolenc...

It came, it went -- the euphoria is over. It cost a lot of money to put on -- some rough figures put it around $10 million -- but it raked in $100 million in funds for Africa. It was probably bigger than Live Aid. The celebrity turnout was unprecedented -- there were the musicians, some band reunions, some new, some old. There were actors and actresses. There were people like Bill Gates and Nelson Mandela. Everybody it seems had a message to send to the G8 leaders. Did they hear? Are they putting on the pretence of hearing? Promises were made to increase aid funding to Africa -- and cancel debts owed. There were statements made about controlling the proliferation of armed conflicts, renewing efforts to reduce famine and focus on health. Basically the same stuff that was promised in the past -- granted the amounts have changed -- but did the G8 countries deliver on the promises of the past as they make more for the future? No, not really. I'm generally cynical, but I...

This comment is on the Free Press and the Media, taken from Media Centric, by Jon Fine, from BusinessWeek . Fine makes some very good points about the “fight” journalism has to put up in order to report different issues, and the fact that sometimes journalists are silenced by the economic duct tape of corporations, instead of doing what they love to do; good, solid, investigative reporting. I wouldn’t quite agree with Fine about his description of today’s “limping media business”, but I would say that some journalists are definitely limping … or handcuffed. It’s just stupid. Yet not many people would think that the great democratic environments we live in would have anything to hide. Journalists know. They know what some governments and corporations hide under the guise of “confidentiality”. “There is a huge cost if, say, a source who has documents proving a corporation is fouling the water supply decides to stay silent because her anonymity can’t be guaranteed. It costs media compan...

At http://maps.google.ca/ you can see the world! Well, At least any of it that Google deems important. Google has a service where you can type in any address in Canada, U.S., of Great Britain, and view it either on a map, or from a satellite image. It's so good I can see the buildings we live in, and the park across the street. Talk about an identity boost! But then, those three areas are the only ones that have any level of detail. The rest of the world is only mentioned by countries. No capitals, even. That sucks. I would be interested in seeing what streets look like in Israel, or getting a satellite view of the pyramids, and their souvenir shops ... or what about Potsdamer Platz in Germany? The Eiffel Tower? This map is interesting for a while, but then it just feels like a disappointment, because of how lacking in worldly detail it is.

Apparently, Warner Bros. has screen tested an unfinished version of the latest Harry Potter film , slated to be released in November. Ain't It Cool News has some reviews from gushing fans on their site. Fair warning, there are spoilers in the review -- but then again, if you've read the book, you already know the story. On other Potter news, the latest book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hits bookstores on Saturday. Depending on where you're at, you can still order your copy from Amazon to get it delivered on Saturday.

Last couple of weeks I indulged in a couple of movies that were quite different. One, a Hollywood blockbuster, the other, an anime blockbuster -- just not in North America. The latter first: Howl's Moving Castle -- an anime based on the children's book of the same title by Diana Wynne-Jones . The story is an unconventional fantasy. Sophie the heroine, doesn't become a heroine until she's turned in a 90-year old by the Witch of the Wastes. Her young life of boredom turns adventurous as she goes off to the Wastes and takes up with the no-so-evil wizard, Howl, who lives in a moving castle powered by the fire demon Calcifer. She turns out to be more brave as an old lady, and soon becomes a very important part of the misfit group that crews Howl's castle. Little does she know that both her and Howl hold the keys within them to free each other from the spells that they're under. Yes, it's love. Corny, but you had to expect it. The anime was pretty good...

I've found more time for general reading since I started taking the subway about a year ago. Before that I had to drive to work, since I found myself at different locations, in different cities, during the week. The subway rides to and from work have afforded me the luxury of reading some magazines almost from cover to cover -- which gives me quite the value from the BusinessWeek subscription. Why Asia Will Eat Our Lunch -- this review of Clyde Prestowitz's Three Billion New Capitalists has me curious about the book. Curious enough to maybe purchase it at the right price. The book is a warning to American complacency on the global competitive and economic front, and warns that there is a shift of money and power to Asia -- unless America does something to keep up, it may be left behind. Already America lags behind in education, savings rate, conservation and investment in training, research and infrastructure. Boeing's Plastic Dream Machine -- Boeing's upcomin...

In the battle to ensure their genes get passed on successfully to future generations, fire ants have devised a unique strategy. Both males and females, reproduce by cloning themselves . They do engage in sexual reproduction, but all they produce are sterile worker ants. This adaptation has led to the question of whether the females and males should be considered separate species that are simply dependent on each other. Just goes to show you -- nature has quite the imagination.

This is further evidence of the decline of western civilization. The US patent office has granted Jeff Bezos, he of Amazon.com, the patent for " coordinating delivery of a gift ." In a nutshell, the patent covers an automated computer process by which a gift is delivered to a recipient when enough address information has not been provided. The system first tries to contact the recipient for additional information, and if that fails, then tries looking up additional information on the recipient from other unspecified databases. Do I have a collective, "WTF?"

Wired has a little bit of an insider view into the US $1.8 billion buyout of IBM's PC business by Lenovo of China in their latest issue . The buyout instantly catapulted Lenovo to the number three spot behind Dell and HP in the PC business, and place a Chinese company on the international stage with a global brand, great products and an IBM management team. "All of which shines a spotlight on an extraordinary reality: American executives in New York will mentor Chinese executives as they run a largely Chinese company that wants to model itself on a Japanese corporation in order to challenge two American competitors, with the ultimate mission of helping China achieve its patriotic goal of kicking butt in international business." Welcome to the new face of globalization.

BusinessWeek magazine has coverage of the 2005 annual Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). The competition this year was as hot as it was last year -- with some predictable outcomes, and a few surprises. No surprise was the top design firm: IDEO, which has been taking home most of the design awards for the design firms in the last few years. Surprisingly however, other design firms have been closing the gap on IDEO -- most notably, Design Continuum. From the corporate perspective, Apple and Samsung continue to bring in awards for having designed innovative products -- but this year, there was a surprise leader of the pact: HP. Who would have think that staid ole HP could out-design Apple and Samsung? For a slideshow of the award winners, click here .

Jonathan Huebner, a physicist at the US Naval Air Warfare Center in California has proof that we're heading to an innovation dark age in 2024. His prediction came out of comparing 7200 arbitrarily selected innovations over the time with the global population. Huebner asserts that since the innovation/population rate is declining, we've reached the peak of technology fueled innovation. Although in all fairness, he doesn't believe we'll sink in medieval anarchy, as we will still be generating more innovations than the dark ages had -- it's just the rate that has declined. Coming out of the woodwork to counter this absurd claim are a bunch of critics, including Ray Kurzweil, who just wants to reassert his claim of the future that states we are heading to a technological singularity -- a point where change will occur so fast, that we will be unable to predict the future direction of innovation. These guys carry degrees and have invented a great many things that ...

Saying Africa is one unhappy place is an understatement -- but the words to describe the continent fail me. Saying Africa is a hopeless cause would be easy, and it would make our lack of response to the plight of the Africans an easy response. The statistics are staggering. With an optimistic annual GNP growth rate of 3%, it would take 120 years for Africa to join the industrialized nations of the world -- by which time, the industrialized nations would have already moved on. Africa has a GNI of US $650 and a life expectancy of 50 years -- simple math would put the average African earning just over US $22,000 in their lifetime. Add to the poverty, rampant disease (both the ones with cures and incurable epidemics), the social and political strife that has lead to civil unrest and wars, and you get quite the depressing picture compared to the standards and expectations of the industrialized nations. Using the commonly accepted measures of economics and the widely held expectations ...

It has been one year since the Cassini spacecraft has been in the Saturn system, conducting scientific research. The latest science reported last week has Saturn spinning slower than it did when the spin was measured by the Voyager and Pioneer spacecrafts. Saturn is now spinning seven minutes slower. Another bit of stunning news was that like Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, Saturn's rings has an atmosphere of molecular oxygen. The oxygen is most likely the result of hydrogen being stripped away from water molecules coming from the ice making up the ring material. The latest coming out of observations of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, has scientists speculating that they may have found a methane lake , about 235km by 75km. Scientists have long expected to find large bodies of liquid methane on the moon, but have so far found no definitive evidence.

Deep Impact image of the initial ejecta that resulted from the impact at 1:52AM. Tempel 1 before and after the Deep Impact encounter, as seen from Hubble.

My apologies to the french person who came from videotron.ca looking for pictures of "big breasted women" from webshots . For some reason, Google placed me at the top of the search results for what you were looking for. Not my fault, but you're looking for an-udder site.

Just a few hours to go until the Deep Impact spacecraft and with its impactor companion will light up the heavens (only if you have a telescope) as they encounter Tempel 1. Deep Impact will be able to observe the explosion, the resulting plume of material and the crater on the comet for about 13 minutes before the comet and spacecraft part company. After that, Deep Impact will spend the rest of its life orbiting the Sun, just like Tempel 1, never to make such an encounter again. Read more while you wait for the 4th of July celebrations. Update at around 1AM EDT. The impactor is now about an hour away from making the quietest, big boom in history!

... fusion that is. After nearly two years of argument, the industrialized nations that matter have agreed to build a $10 billion nuclear fusion research facility in France. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter) will be built in southern France, in Cadarache, not far from Marseille, already the hub of France's nuclear research programme. Already, environmentalists are raising alarms about the project. To accomplish nuclear fusion, the project will have to heat gases to temperatures hotter than the Sun -- and Cadarache apparently lies on an earthquake faultline. The expense is also at issue, as there is no guarantee that there will be any success, or that any useful technologies will emerge from the project. Personally, I think the research is a good idea, and a good waste of money. And if any meltdown happens, it's going to happen in France!

I spent the Canada Day weekend quietly -- like I do most Canada Day weekends. I visited some of the quiet spots of the city, stayed away from the noise, the alcohol and the crowds. I love my country, but I don't necessarily want to love it with alcohol and a crowd of drunks. I also don't care for fireworks, so I stay away from what is a late night ritual for many. On my travels this weekend, I encountered one jarring weirdness at Dundas Square, in downtown Toronto. The Chinese Community was celebrating Canada Day -- and I went I happened by, a little 7-year-old Michelle was placed on stage by proud parents to girate, grind, pout and act sexy, while she sang Britney Spears' Oops! ... I Did It Again and Baby One More Time . It was bizarre. My wife and I seemed to be the only ones who found this disturbing. The announcer was none too happy to have the 7-year-old child prance around the stage, and the crowd -- the stupid, fucking crowd -- they cheered! WTF is wrong w...

Here are a few business articles of interest that kept me distracted from the subway freaks the past week or so. Still Marching to Purcell's Drumbeat -- talk about corporate governance gone bad ... here's a case of how not to do it, unless you're Machiavellian. This is a tale of Morgan Stanley's CEO & Chairman Philip J. Purcell, who basically got his friends onto Morgan Stanley's board, then proceeded to run the show, with no critical questions being asked. Screw the shareholders! Color-Blind Drug Research Is Myopic -- the US FDA just approved the heart failure drug, BiDil, specifically for the use by blacks. There is clear evidence that, for whatever reason, blacks to seem respond to the drug, more so than people with different genetic histories. This is a move towards personalized medicine, however, the implications to race in medical research is uncertain -- after all, there is no such thing as race. Iran: Rafsanjani's Second Shot at Reform -- w...

Over the past couple of weeks, I indulged in a few movies. Mr. & Mrs. Smith -- suspend belief to see this movie. It's an action/comedy, and will in no way explain all the tabloid covers featuring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The pace of the movie was pretty good, with humour and action well timed. The latter half of the movie however, did descend into a free for all shoot-em-up, with the bullet proof Jolie and Pitt killing a lot of people. Moral of the story: if you want your marriage to work, find a common enemy and kill them. Batman Begins -- this is a Batman movie for the comic book fan. The performances of everyone was pretty good, with the exception of Katie Holmes. I don't get it -- what's so hot about her? Her acting is nothing special -- and she has a twisted smile. The movie could have carried on just fine without her. Not many people will get the story -- the whole thing with ninjas and Ra's Al Ghul will be lost on most of the general public....