Category: Uncategorized

Google and NASA

Post ImageWhen I first came across this story a couple days ago, I didn’t give it much thought. As soon as I saw NASA and Google in a story about them supposedly collaborating on various technology projects, I figured it was a joke. Turns out, it’s not. From the September 28th NASA press release:

NASA Ames Research Center, located in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, and Mountain View-based Google Inc. today announced plans to collaborate on a number of technology-focused research-and-development activities that will couple some of Earth’s most powerful technology resources.

NASA and Google have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that outlines plans for cooperation on a variety of areas, including large-scale data management, massively distributed computing, bio-info-nano convergence, and encouragement of the entrepreneurial space industry. The MOU also highlights plans for Google to develop up to 1 million square feet within the NASA Research Park at Moffett Field.

I don’t know about you, but it makes me wonder how Google scored such a deal. And it makes me wonder why. What the heck does search have to do with space travel?

Read: NASA

REVIEW: Stay on My Side Tonight – Jimmy Eat World

Post ImageA quick review for today. I recently acquired the new EP from Jimmy Eat World called “Stay on My Side Tonight“, and I absolutely loved it. You’ll remember Jimmy Eat World by their huge hits “The Middle”, “Sweetness”, “Work”, and “Pain”.

This new album includes only five tracks, one of which is a remix of the song “Drugs or Me” from the Futures album. I quite liked all the songs, but the one I like the most is “Disintegration”. I just can’t get it out of my head! And not because it’s annoying or anything, but because it’s a great song – great music, great lyrics. Definitely listen to that track, I think you’ll like it.

I’ll give this album a solid 8/10, keeping in mind that it’s a shorter EP. “Stay on My Side Tonight” has been available online since September 13th, but if you’re still into purchasing music at a physical store, you can pick it up October 4th.

Read: Jimmy Eat World

Die Texas Holdem Poker!

Post ImageI think if I see another advertisement for something related to “texas hold ’em poker” I am going to go completely bonkers! As if the email and blog spam I get weren’t enough, legitimate companies have created advertisements using texas hold em! First there is the Edmonton Sun, and their poker challenge or whatever it is. And just last night I saw a Telus TV spot where they advertised that you can play games on your phone, games like, you guessed it, texas hold em! Combined with all of the banner ads on the web and TV commercials to play poker online, it’s enough to make you go crazy.

I just don’t see what all the fuss is about. Here’s the Wikipedia definition:

Texas hold ’em (or simply hold ’em or holdem) is the most popular of the community card poker games. It is the most popular poker variant played in casinos in the western United States, and its no-limit form is used in the main event of the World Series of Poker (abbreviated WSOP), widely recognized as the world championship of the game.

Although it can theoretically be played by up to 22 players (or 23 if burn cards are not used), it is generally played with between 2 and 10 people. It is one of the most positional of all poker variants, since the order of betting is fixed throughout all betting rounds. Holdem is commonly played in the rest of the world as well, but seven-card stud, Omaha hold ’em and other games may be more popular in some places.

So if it’s just a form of poker, why all of a sudden is it everywhere!? Please! Make it stop!

Skype 1.4 Released! Video coming soon?

Post ImageSkype launched the latest version of their Windows software yesterday, bringing the popular VoIP tool to version 1.4.0.71. I installed it on both of my machines this afternoon, and it appears to be running quite well. Here are some of the more noticeable new features:

  • You can forward calls on to mobiles, landlines and other Skype Names.
  • They have added downloadable ringtones!
  • There’s a bunch of new emoticons, 21 to be exact.

You can see the entire list of new features, changes, and bugfixes here. And the coolest feature of all? A feature that might be coming in as little as a month, according to a post by Roland Tanglao:

There you have it! Skype introduces video calling in November 2005 for Windows. So Mac and Linux Skype video calling will be there in 2006 which means 2007 is the year of video calling for the masses.

Definitely check out his post to see the picture he attached. Interesting indeed! You can download the latest version of Skype at their website, and be sure to keep your eyes open for that video version!

As the new version of Skype has call forwarding, and because the application seems to work fairly well on my Tablet PC, I have decided to have my “mastermaq” account connect automatically, and I have set the old “blogosphereradio” account to simply forward. So if you want to get in touch with me over Skype, please use my mastermaq account.

Read: Skype

Thoughts on the Telus Labour Dispute

Post ImageI have given much thought to the Telus dispute over the last couple months, mainly because I see the workers on strike every day across the street from the office. An article in The Gateway (the University of Alberta’s student paper) today also made me think of the issue again. I’ve come to the following conclusions:

  • The labour dispute has only reinforced my desire to look for alternatives. Vonage is looking pretty good right now as far as my landline is concerned. I don’t want to get a new cell phone number though, so I am stuck with Telus Mobility for that.
  • I think Telus needs to look in the mirror and accept that they have not always acted appropriately. They have done some things wrong, and they need to own up and fix them.
  • No matter how much Telus the company might be at fault, I cannot bring myself to support the workers on strike. Never in my dealings with Telus over the last six years (I lived in the NWT before that) have I encountered an employee that was helpful, let alone polite. Ridiculous wait times on the phone only to be greeted by a rude, unhelpful employee is not my idea of a good time. And don’t give me that crap about how they’d be more polite and helpful if they were paid better, etc. I don’t buy it. People at McDonald’s aren’t paid very well, but at least they are usually more helpful and polite than Telus employees.

Clearly that last point is the most important, and it’s the one that I have thought about most.

REVIEW: Life In Slow Motion – David Gray

Post ImageToday’s review is for David Gray’s album titled “Life In Slow Motion“. The first single from the album is called “The One I Love”, a track you’ve probably heard on the radio. Actually I heard the song a while ago, but never caught who the artist was. This is actually David Gray’s seventh album, though it’s the first I have heard of him. From David’s website:

In a break with prior tradition Life In Slow Motion is the first of David’s albums to be recorded in a ‘full scale’ studio environment as opposed to the ‘bedroom’ sized facilities favoured in the past. This increased physical space is matched by an evolution in David’s musical aspirations.

I really enjoyed “Life In Slow Motion”. My main criticism applies to almost every album released these days – only ten tracks for a total playing time of 45 minutes is not enough! Why these artists can’t spend a few more months and crank out longer albums is beyond me.

The album itself is what I would call “slow and easy”. All of the songs are easy to listen to, easy to sing along with, and easy to get hooked on. My favorite song is probably “The One I Love”. The album is full of different instruments like a piano, an acoustic guitar, a harmonica, and others. Some other stand out songs for me are “Hospital Food”, “Ain’t No Love”, and “Nos Da Cariad”.

I would highly recommend “Life In Slow Motion” if you’re looking for some good music that is outside the normal top 40 stuff we hear everyday. I’ll give David Gray’s latest album 7/10.

Read: David Gray

Do you miss the CBC?

Post ImageThe CBC lockout has been ongoing for more than a month now, and people are starting to reflect on how it has affected them. Barry Reuger over at Canadian Journalist had this to say:

It’s been over a month since the CBC locked out its employees. In that time a flurry of podcasts have started and subsequently been ignored by yours truly. I now find myself reading – although not really liking – the Macleans that arrives in my mailbox each week thanks to the previous tenant.

I find that I’ve stopped missing CBC Radio, except perhaps once each morning when I would really like a newscast. I find instead that I fill my head with American public radio programming.

I would have to say I don’t miss the CBC. I think the lockout came at a particularly bad time for the workers. It’s not like I am going to miss Hockey Night in Canada, because I went a whole year without for the NHL’s lockout and somehow I survived. There are no Olympics coming up that need coverage. Actually, besides those two shows, the only thing I really watched on CBC was The Simpsons. I never really listened to CBC Radio, and I’ve always been a Global (or ITV back in the day) viewer for news.

I think the CBC is in need of a major overhaul! I don’t know what a new incarnation should look like, but The Hour was a good start. I can’t say if I think CBC has been fulfilling it’s mandate, because I don’t know what the mandate was. My generation hasn’t really had to care about mandates or responsibilities of the CBC, until now I suppose. Perhaps that would be a good step to making the CBC relevant again, review the original mandate. And on the committee that reviews said mandate, let’s have some people under the age of 30, yes?

Read: Canadian Journalist

MusicGiants

Post ImageI have always had two questions in the back of my mind about purchasing music online. First, how do the record labels/music stores decide what quality to encode an audio track at for sale? And secondly, how can they charge similar prices for CD’s and online music, the latter of which is generally much lower quality than a CD? Well I still don’t know the answers to those questions, but I discovered via Om Malik a new service called MusicGiants that sells high quality music:

Musicgiants, a high-def digital music download service is all set to launch on Wednesday. Billed as a download service for audiophiles, the 15-person company will offer songs that are uncompressed and are encoded using windows media technology at 1100 kbps. In comparison, Apple’s iTunes and others like Real’s Rhapsody offer music at a compression rate which is a tad lower than the CD-quality, mostly to keep the file sizes down. Musicgiants’ business model is predicated on widespread deployment of broadband and speeds which can handle the big-phat downloads. So far, the service works only on Windows PCs.

The songs cost $1.29 a download, and you have to pay $50 a year membership fee. The Nevada-based company claims its sound quality is seven times that of other download services.

I generally rip CD’s into WMA at very high quality, though not as high as MusicGiants – I guess I am a “sorta-audiophile”. I can’t really tell the difference when I play music on my computer, but I definitely can on my Zen with good earphones. MusicGiants looks like a very interesting concept, but I am not sure how well it will fly. Most people seem to be pretty happy purchasing from iTunes and others at a lower quality bitrate.

Oh and if you’re in Canada, don’t get too exicted, you currently have to live in the US to use the service.

Read: MusicGiants

TEC Connector

Post ImageI attended TEC Edmonton’s TEC Connector event this afternoon with Dickson. TEC Edmonton is a joint venture of the University of Alberta and the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation. Here’s what the event was all about:

This TEC Connector event will showcase companies created from the results of University of Alberta inventions and technologies. In addition, the event is an active connector which will provide networking tools and tips, plus generate opportunities to connect with useful representatives in our community, including: university researchers, start-up company leaders, professional service firms, financial support organizations, government agency representatives, media representatives, inventors and entrepreneurs.

Obviously Paramagnus is not a spin-off company, nor we do use any University research or innovations, but we though the event might be a great opportunity to do some networking anyway. We met some interesting people and found out more about many of the local companies we had only just heard of in the past. I also learned some interesting statistics about University of Alberta spin-off companies:

  • As of March 31st, 2005 there were 69 active UofA spin-off companies
  • There have been 84 such companies formed since 1963, including those that have merged, been acquired, or discontinued
  • These companies employ more than 1000 high-skilled workers
  • More than 80% of the spin-offs are based in Alberta
  • Seven are publicly traded

One of the speakers at the event also mentioned the pending offer to purchase to the Hudson’s Bay building downtown, which if approved is where TEC Edmonton’s new headquarters would be. University administration presents the proposal to the Board of Governors on Friday, so we should know either this week or next whether or not the deal will go through.

Networking events are always lots of fun! This one was especially good because there was free food and drinks 🙂

Read: TEC Connector

Commander-in-Chief

Post ImageI came home from the office relatively early tonight, so I had time to catch the first episode of ABC’s “Commander-in-Chief“. Here’s the very to-the-point plotline from IMDB:

Mackenzie Allen becomes the first woman American president after she ascends to the job following the death of president Teddy Bridges.

What’s that?! Her name is Mackenzie? That’s so awesome! I have always wondered why there weren’t more characters with my name; I quite like it. She is played by Geena Davis.

Oh yeah, and she’s the first female President of the United States. As if that weren’t enough, her ascension to the Oval Office was full of controversy – she went against the wishes of the dying President who had asked her to resign. Her daughter didn’t agree with her taking the position. Lots of good storylines.

I don’t quite get the Hillary Clinton bashing though. As Allen’s husband was being shown around the “First Lady” areas, his tour-guide kept commenting on what Hillary had done and how “it didn’t go over very well”. Hillary for President, 2008!

Interesting show! I don’t know if I’ll make it a point to watch, but we’ll see.

Read: Commander-in-Chief