Category: Uncategorized

New DNA with 3FB

Even thought I decided not to pursue it beyond the first level biology courses, I have a pretty strong interest in genetics. The entire topic is just curiously fascinating. I just read about some research that includes a new artificial base pair being replicated:

DNA…is a double helix formed of the base pairs of adenine and thymine (referred to as A and T for short), and of cytosine and guanine (C and G). But now, for the first time since life began, a third, artificial base pair is being replicated. The unnatural molecule is 3-fluorobenzene (3FB for short), which forms a pair with itself.

That’s pretty hardcore if you ask me. The research should help answer the question of why, in every organism, there are only two base pairs. The 3FB base pair is not yet perfect though, “A mistake typically occurs once in every 1,000 base pairs that are copied, compared with around one in 10m bases of natural DNA.”

If they can improve the copy quality, some really interesting things could be on hand:

That might help evolutionary biologists answer the question of why, for billions of years, and in every form of life on earth, only two base pairs are used. It might be that the two base-pair system is the best. Or it might be a simple accident which occurred when life began. In any case, expanding the genetic code of simple organisms could lead to radical new applications for medicine and biotechnology, and to useful information storage and retrieval systems based on DNA.

Read: Economist.com

Google News Sued!

I, like most people, have always said it was only a matter of time. Google News, the perpetually beta service, has finally had a lawsuit brought against it:

Agence France Presse has sued Google, alleging the Web search leader includes AFP’s photos, news headlines and stories on its news site without permission. AFP said it has informed Google that it is not authorized to use AFP’s copyrighted material as it does and has asked Google to cease and desist from infringing its copyright work.

Read: CNET News.com

Why the NHL should be blogging

I was thinking recently about the NHL and the problem it faces as a result of cancelling the 2004-2005 hockey season. People have stated that the league’s failure to come to an agreement with the players is just the beginning of the end for professional hockey. Hockey as a product will struggle even more if it returns next season than it has already. And it fascinates me to read about the countless hours both sides waste in their negotiating. Most recently, the NHL made two offers to the players who promptly responded that they were not impressed. How long has this been going on now? Do you even remember what hockey is? How can we get both sides to come to an agreement? And how can the NHL save hockey?

The NHL should start a blog. And I don’t mean marketing crap in the form of a blog, but an actual blog with posts written by people involved in the running of the league and in the negotiations with the NHLPA. The league has in the past been anything but open and transparent. Closed door meetings, “no comment” answers, secret phone calls, the works. As a result, their customers (that’s you, the fan) have grown to ignore and ridicule the league almost as much as the greedy players. And if their lack of transparency keeps up, their customers will only become more indifferent. How can you re-launch a product when your customers just don’t give a damn about it?

If the NHL were blogging, I think they’d see a number of benefits:

  • Communication with their customers!
    What’s the best way to keep your customers interested as you try to improve your product and prepare it for consumption? Find out what your customers think. Involve them in the process, and let them guide you. And not just customers, but partners too!

  • An improved public image!
    Who would look more like the bad guy after a round of negotiations goes nowhere? The NHLPA who is closed, private, and bureaucratic, or the NHL who carries on an open dialogue on their blog? Clearly, the respect and admiration the NHL would gain from blogging would give them the upper hand in negotiations with the players. Not only that, but the NHL would be seen as a forward thinking organization, cutting edge even.

  • Education and understanding
    Just as going into the locker room between periods gives you greater insight into how a team is feeling and thinking, an NHL blog would give fans better insight into the stresses the league apparently faces. Another example is Microsoft’s Channel9 – readers have the ability to learn why Microsoft makes certain decisions and what’s coming down the pipe. The NHL currently lacks such educational capabilities.

  • Eye opening experience
    Perhaps by starting their own blog, the NHL would be interested in reading other blogs and would start keeping track of what is being said about hockey and the league by the fans. The big thing here is learning to listen. Hockey is a product that does not change to reflect customer wants and desires, and there is no reason for that. Want to impress your customers with a re-launch? Find out what they want first.

I am sure there are many more benefits as well, but those listed above came immediately to mind. The cost of getting involved in blogging is almost zero, and the return on investment is incredible. I think everyone would benefit if the NHL started blogging – the league itself, the players, and most importantly, the fans.

If I were the NHL, I’d be franticly looking for ways to “save hockey” and make it a viable product again. So if you’re reading this NHL, start a blog!

Toyota launching record label

Toyota, yes the car company, is apparently launching a record label in conjunction with its Scion line of cars. The announcement was made at the SXSW conference:

“We’re not making a profit from this,” Jeri Yoshizu, sales promotion manager of Scion said. “We are enabling unsigned artists to get their feet up.” She added the program is not for consumers, but to promote underground artists.

Makes me wonder just how bad the state of the music industry when you get companies launching their own record labels. Toyota isn’t the first, I am sure you have seen Hear Music at Starbucks. Even though they claim they are not making a profit directly, there must be some money in it. I don’t imagine that launching such a venture comes cheap.

Read: Brand Noise

Jetsgo founder sorry

Not that it will mean much to you if you were caught up in the Jetsgo mess, but company founder Michel Leblanc has finally apologized – or did he?! I don’t see where he says the actual word “sorry”:

“Very clearly, I have deep sorrow for the people whose plans at school break were shattered, but we didn’t have any choice,” Leblanc told The Canadian Press in an interview in his office Thursday.

Not to miss a chance to jab at WestJet, Leblanc also continued his tirade of corporate espionage and general naysaying of his former competitor. Talk about a sore loser.

Read: Canoe

Darren's doing the 30-Hour Famine

I remember doing the 30-Hour Famine back in junior high. It was tons of fun – we stayed at the school throughout the 30 hours, playing in the gym, running through the halls, and generally having a good time. After it was all done, we held a big buffet for everyone to gorge on, and I remember it containing a lot of pizza.

I haven’t given much thought to the event since that time, but I was recently reminded of it by Darren Barefoot. He’s taking up the challenge on April 1st and 2nd, and he’s looking to raise $1000 by the end of the month:

Seeing as the last time I tried fasting I caved after about 15 hours, this should at least be good for some entertainment. I’ll take whatever you got. Five bucks. Great. Fifty bucks? That’s great too. You Americans can give money too—we’re an equal opportunity website around here, and your money goes farther north of the border. I’m probably going to go on about this thing a fair bit over the next two weeks. Indulge me—it’s for a good cause.

It’s a great cause, so stop by and help him out! At the very least, wish him luck 🙂

Successful Weblogger Meetup!

Just finished the first Edmonton Weblogger meetup, and it went quite well! We went to Cargo & James Tea and most of us ordered coffee, go figure. On the plus side, there was wireless Internet! If you didn’t make it to this one, we hope to see you out at the next one!

We asked everyone who came to answer, “what is the funniest thought you’ve ever had after you were done doing the nasty?” Here is what they said:

Dickson: “When I woke up it was all over!”
John: “I want my money back!”
Felicia: “I should never have attended that weblogger meetup.”
Megan: “Thank god for twins!”
Mack: “Where did they go?”
Melissa: “I’m never wearing pigtails again.”

See you next time!

My latest addiction is delicious!

No, it’s not a food or drink. It’s del.icio.us, a social bookmarks manager. Here’s some details from the about page:

del.icio.us allows you to easily add sites you like to your personal collection of links, to categorize those sites with keywords, and to share your collection not only between your own browsers and machines, but also with others. What makes del.icio.us a social system is its ability to let you see the links that others have collected, as well as showing you who else has bookmarked a specific site. You can also view the links collected by others, and subscribe to the links of people whose lists you find interesting.

I remember first hearing about del.icio.us a long time ago, but never actually tried it until last night, and I have been using it pretty extensively since then. It’s already quite useful and very simple to do! Not only can I track the sites and pages I read and might want to refer back to later, but I can monitor keywords and see what other people have found too. You can check out my page at del.icio.us, and you can even subscribe.

GoogleX

First Google created a Firefox start page. Now they have gone and paid homage to OS X, the latest operating system for the Mac, with GoogleX. I almost expect to see a Google Penguin page soon! While it is an interesting use of DHTML for the fancy buttons, it’s too bad they link to the old pages.

Read: Google Blog

Blogging Beyond the Men's Club

Here’s more on the “not enough women bloggers” topic:

The perks of alpha bloggers—voluminous traffic, links from other bigfeet, conference invitations, White House press passes—are, in theory, bequeathed by a market-driven merit system. The idea is that the smartest, the wittiest and the most industrious in finding good stuff will simply rise to the top, by virtue of a self-organizing selection process.

As I said before, I don’t think there is a “problem”. If anything, I’d say its more of an early adopter syndrome. And before you argue that with 8 million blogs we’re past that stage, let me remind you that there are hundreds of millions of instant messaging users and even more email users. Saying that “there are not enough women bloggers” is probably akin to saying “there are not enough women emailing” when only 8 million email addresses existed. Absurd.

Read: Newsweek