ok.. omg...

Something in Toronto to do with bikes that is actually worth getting involved with!



http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/04/27/rental-bicycles.html

http://www.ibiketo.ca/blog/2009/04/23/bikesharing-coming-soon

Yes.

They seem to have carefully studied other systems such as Paris' Velib and Montreal's Bixi. There will be "secure, automated self-serve parking stations" that can be easily moved. Members will use smart cards to get bikes, which they can take out for free for the first half hour. After that members pay. The bikes will be sturdy, with racks, at least three gears, and locked up at the stations located every 200 to 300m in the urban area bounded by Parkside, Broadview, Dupont and Lake Ontario. There will not be any advertising in the "public right of way". After the first year the system may be expanded to other parts of the city.

A cheap fish-eye camera!

170-180 degree pictures!



http://shop.lomography.com/shop/main.php?cat=&pro=few

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JFJ06G/ref=s9_sims_gw_s1_p114_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0JMM6QMX33H8H0BYMG6F&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

I saw these on sale at the AGO gift shop, and am thinking about picking one up... just need to read a few reviews first. Pretty cool!

The future is powered by farts.

I know some of you will make a killing!



It works like this: giving small jolts of electricity to single-celled microorganisms known as archea prompts them to remove C02 from the air and turn it into methane, released as tiny "farts." The methane, in turn, can be used to power fuel cells or to store the electrical energy chemically until its needed.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/23/electric-fart-machine.html

Another Jungian quiz...

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/index.htm

Another day, another meaningless test. I haven't, and don't plan to take this test, but definitely relates to one of the previous books I read of the intertwined Jungian brain.

Bicycle racing in Turkey...

It gets interesting at 3:30...

On a lovely afternoon stroll...

Best place to launch a canoe to Toronto Island?

... and, I suppose, best landing site? Anyone got any ideas?.. This is what I got so far...

http://www.canoetoronto.com/trip.php

Get into the lagoons? -(ummm... pdf warning - but good detailed maps) http://www.toronto.ca/parks/pdf/TorontoIslandsPermitInfo.pdf
.

http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/

I want to try to get over there in the next week or two, and maybe even this weekend if anyone is up for it... This would be the first trial run, so the run won't be ideal, but it will give some ideas on what's possible, where you can and can't go (lagoons??), what will and won't fit on the canoes (bikes, picnic equipment, etc), learning what would be good to take, what is not necessary, and if two canoes are possible to portage on the bike trailer (which has arrived!).

Anyway, if you're up for the inaugural run, let me know.

Meat business cards

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/04/23/business-cards-made.html


Goes well with the a new Walrus blog entry by Joel McConvey:

...these ideas give us meat as one of the few things in our culture that signifies both elite status and normalcy, both power and conformity. What I find puzzling is that, when you look at how we eat these days, the notion of meat as manly in the predator/prey sense, or as traditional in the sense of being a great normalizer, falls apart.

Wiretap

http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/

http://www.supernintendochalmers.net/wiretap/

The above link will allow you to download almost any Wiretap episode, organized by date. I'm downloading them now, and will post a zip with all of them soon!
_________
Also, Goldstein is showing up at This is Not a Reading Series which I'm planning on attending...:

Has any book inspired as many jokes as The Bible? And can you think another bestselling title with such a clumsy ending? To celebrate the launch of Ladies And Gentlemen, The Bible! (Penguin Group Canada) noted author and CBC Radio personality Jonathan Goldstein will share the stage with Canadian Comedy Award-winners Monkey Toast: The Improvised Talk Show. Come, witness all of human history, from The Book Of Genesis to The Apocrypha, told in the form of divinely-inspired improvised comedy. Marc Glassman, Executive Director of This Is Not A Reading Series and Proprietor of Pages Books & Magazines will host the evening. – A This is Not A Reading Series event presented by Pages Books & Magazines, Penguin Group (Canada), NOW Magazine, and Take Five On CIUT.
The Rivoli, 334 Queen St West, Toronto
Wed Apr 29; 8pm (Doors 7:30pm) $5 (Free with Book Purchase)

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/event.php?eid=81765211463&ref=nf

More bittorrent news.. Judge on the take.

Peter Althin, who represented Pirate Bay spokesman Peter Sunde in the case, said Thursday he would request a retrial after Judge Tomas Norstrom confirmed Swedish Radio reports that he was a member of two copyright-protection organizations.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/04/23/pirate-bay-retrial.html

Super. And he says he's apparently unaffected by that, coming in with no pre-conceived notions. Uh-huh. The music/film industry distribution faculties are really fighting for their obsolete existence.

Morning sickness is great for everyone, especially the baby!

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/04/23/morning-sickness-iq.html

This is something I didn't realize...

"It's long been known that while hard to endure, nausea is actually a sign of a healthy pregnancy. Women who suffer from morning sickness are less likely to miscarry and less likely to give birth to babies with congenital cardiovascular problems.

The thinking is that some hormones secreted by the placenta — hormones needed for a healthy pregnancy — trigger the nausea..."

And they come out more developed and smarter?! Cool!