G O B l o g

Taken from my del.ici.ous tags.

The World Of Chemistry I found this on somebody's FB wall, and I thought I'd post it as well. I found it hilarious, but then again, I am a big geek (not necessarily in chemistry, but science in general) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a45dXztokZM

I've always enjoyed David Olive's articles in The Star ; he presents his arguments with concrete facts but in a way that you're not caught up with the numbers. Here are two of my recent favourites all concerning the economy of oil. Oil firms are caught in a squeeze play http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/407511 Here's a teaser: "Last year, Exxon spent more money buying back its stock – $36 billion – than on reinvesting in the business. Since replacing his similarly unsentimental predecessor, Lee Raymond, in January of last year, Tillerson, 55, has raised capital spending just 18 per cent against a 75 per cent jump in expenditures on share buybacks. That gambit increases earnings per share, but obviously doesn't add a drop of oil or gas to the firm's reserves in order to sustain the business. Yet Shell and Chevron Corp. also are furiously buying back their stock, at a rate that will see Exxon and Chevron retire all of their stock by about 2024. It come...

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/ One of the funnier blogs I've come across (very tongue-in-cheek), however I think yuppie can replace "white" in many instances. Some of my favourite posts include: Threatening to move to Canada Recycling Study Abroad Yoga Apple products

Read this first: http://www.slate.com/id/93956/ And if you're lazy, this is the thesis of the article: "Here's the lowdown: Mattress makers rename identical products for each different retail store. Different labels, exact same guts. Why? Obfuscation. It's hard to shop for the lowest price when you can't compare apples to apples. Lucky for you, they're all subtle variations on the same apple—not only within each brand, but even among different brands." It is oh so very true; mattress shopping is a pain!

The Holy Grail of Synchronization: combining Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar, Gmail, iPod, and mobile phone The link above is a pretty comprehensive guide if you are a big Google Calendar user and want to sync GCal to your phone without air time charges (that was my main purpose anyway...you can also the sync the other stuff they mention, but I didn't). Warning: I did accidentally delete all my entries in GCal the first time I tried to read the instructions carefully if you attempt it. When I first tried it out I was using an older version of the software they recommend, but a newer version has come out and it works fine for me now. I've even sync'd up my work calendar to my phone which is quite useful.

So I ordered this " mouse-friendly keyboard " at work (it's mouse-friendly assuming you keep your mouse to your right), and I would argue more keyboards should be designed in this fashion (barring any patent infringements, of course).  Now, my right arm doesn't have to reach as far to move the mouse, and my keyboard is centered to my monitor....I don't think a lot of people have considered this apparent design flaw in their own work stations.  Yes, it may be that I have fallen for their propaganda, but I think they present a compelling case. This company also makes a vertical mouse which looks very interesting as well, but I took a different route and got a trackball mouse instead...it's working nicely. My rant: It seems to me that despite all the advances in computer technology, ergonomics is struggling to keep up: you can have the latest and greatest PC from 2007, but your keyboard+monitor+mouse setup will often be from the 90s.  Where...

http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/257617 This article was very enlightening considering Alan Greenspan is supposedly a "libertarian Republican". I guess it goes to show the intelligence does trump partisianship once in a while...

http://www.freewebs.com/nerdcave/taskbarshuffle.htm don't you hate the fact that when you open an application in Windows, it is fixed on the taskbar?! (i.e. you can't move them like you can move the tabs in Firefox) if you also find this annoying, then this free software very useful for you. it runs in the background and allows you to drag and drop each program to the destination of your choosing on your taskbar.

Oh the insanity! http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/optimus-prime-does-have-lips.php

http://www.zoho.com/ I signed up for some of their services...they look pretty slick too. Competition is a GOOD THING! The only problem is Google is on a roll (it seems like they can do no wrong), is massive and thus their infrastructure is probably a little bit more stable than Zoho (i'm assuming), and has Gmail as their central tie-in service (Zoho's mail client is in private beta testing right now). Methinks Yahoo! should just buy them up quickly to be able to compete with Google on online apps front and give Zoho a decent email client to integrate with...it would be a very interesting battle going forward and should be good for consumers!

So I was looking into the wonderful world of quantum mechanics, more specifically quantum entanglement and found this relatively accessible introduction into this topic, as well as a very good explanation on something called Bell's Inequality (called by some to be " the most profound discovery of science "). Check it out: http://www.ipod.org.uk/reality/reality_entangled.asp (this article is part 3 in a 5 part series into quantum mechanics) I think the most fascinating part of this subject is the weird connection between entangled particles that, to the best of my knowledge, has not been fully explained: "There is a strange connection between particles which instantaneously informs the undisturbed particle of the type of measurement just carried out on its partner" I'm not a physicist (or a physician...inside joke), but after hearing about entanglement for the first time at a Perimeter Institute public lecture titl ed " From Einstein to Quantum Infor...

I don't know if you've been following this in the news , but there was a design competition in designing the Lower Don Lands of Toronto's Waterfront and the winner was just selected yesterday. From browsing through presentation slides of the the submissions being considered , the winning design looks pretty sweet (huge green areas)! I also had a soft spot for this entry due to the huge board walk the proposed and because of the very captivating photos/diagrams they used in their presentation. It will take a while for this design to become a reality (apparently it will take 20-30 years), but at least this is a start...

Every once in a while, one must Google thyself! http://www.gobi.com.sg/gobi .swf read more: http://www.gobi.com.sg/press .htm

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/198212 this is a VERY interesting article I read today in the Toronto Star ...well written.  i recommend it a read when you have some time...it's a bit long, but well worth it. the article talks about the attempts of economists and other academics to quantify happiness and the challenges and criticisms that come with it.  good arguments on both sides...definitely some food for thought! here's a snippet: Layard, a policy adviser to U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, is already calling happiness economics a "new science." Others say it's neither new nor a science. Economist John Crispo groans at the mere mention of it. "Economics is vague enough as it is," says the former dean of the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Business. "How on earth do you measure happiness? What happens if you do? I'm unhappy about taxes – what are you going to do about it?"

"actually upon further review...POSSIBLE" So, this is a clip of the last few seconds of regulation time in the NBA game which saw the Toronto Raptors play the Washington Wizards in Washington on Mar. 30, 2006. Furthermore, this seems to be the Washington's announcers calling the NBA game, so you can hear the disappointment loud and clear! TOO FUNNY! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L6qKF1-pH4

If you're a fan of the Office, I think you'll like this clip...it's actually really well done... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8WUcnsIBT0

Just in case you weren't aware: According to the CRTC , wireless service providers in Canada (Rogers, Bell, Telus, Fido) are mandated to allow subscribers to switch providers while keeping their current cellphone number by March 14, 2007 ! Apparently, you can also switch between a land line and wireless connections (and vice versa) while keeping the same number. This should be good news for consumers as you won't be shackled to company providing poor service/value just because you don't want to go through the hassle of changing your number (especially if you have a coveted area code). So if you're planning on switching subscribers in the near future, it might be beneficial to wait till March 14, 2007 to switch so you can carry over your number and also to see if the wireless telcos have any better deals to entice customers to switch. I don't know about you, but it seems there's a lot ads from some wireless providers pushing new promotions right now to try and...

"For the first time, Ontario can't make up for the loss of its young people to thriving Alberta" http://www.thestar.com/article/186860

I saw this on The Hour and was very impressed.  These are my two favourite clips: Super Mario Bros. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crfrKqFp0Zg Inspector Gadget http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ZX5qdIEB0 I think anybody who appreciates music (and grew up in the 90s ;) can appreciate his efforts.  After a little Googling, I found the guy's ( Greg Pattillo) myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/pattillostyle