Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park
Today, we travelled up the Icefields Parkway from Lake Louise. We didn’t make it all the way to the Columbia Icefields but we saw lots of incredibly beautiful mountains and glaciers. I took this picture near Glacier Lake.
The next photo, I believe, has a view of the Crowfoot Glacier.
I’ve been reading How Old is that Mountain? by Chris Yorath. In answering the question in the book’s title, Yorath uses a metaphor that will stay with me longer than most of the geological terms. He said it’s like a new house built with hundred-year old timber. The rock was formed first long before the forces that “deformed” the rock and created the mountain. The sedimentary rock in the Banff National Park was formed about 610 million years ago but the mountains were created 90 to 60 million years. In addition, glaciation and erosion continue to change the mountains as well as carve the valleys between them.
I was disappointed not to get further north. (Ok, I’ll admit that I didn’t top off the gas tank before leaving Lake Louise and there were no services along the way, so I had to turn back fearing we might not have enough gas for the round trip.) I wanted to get to the Columbia Icefields and ideally all the way to Jasper. The sight I wanted to see was Mount Athabasca, which is described as the hydrographic apex of North America. That is, water from this mountain drains in three possible directions — west to the Pacific, east to the Atlantic and north to Hudson. Yorath writes that it is the “one point on which a mountaineer can pollute all three oceans with a single act.”
I will have to come back again. There’s lots more to explore. I want to see the Canadian Rockies in other seasons but this glimpse of early winter is really wonderful.
Obama’s Cellphone Records Breached by Verizon Employees
Billing data for a cellphone account belonging to Barack Obama was “improperly breached” by Verizon employees, according to the president-elect’s transition team. Obama’s spokesperson says the phone was old and no longer in use. There is no indication that email records were accessed or voicemails or call contents monitored. Snip:
Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the team was notified Wednesday by Verizon Wireless that it appears an employee improperly went through billing records for the phone, which Gibbs said Obama no longer uses.
In an internal company e-mail obtained by CNN, Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam disclosed Wednesday that “the personal wireless account of President-elect Barack Obama had been accessed by employees not authorized to do so” in recent months.
McAdam wrote in the e-mail that the phone in question has been inactive for “several months” and was a simple voice flip-phone, meaning none of Obama’s e-mail could have been accessed. The CEO also wrote the company has alerted “the appropriate federal law enforcement authorities.”
Gibbs said that while the Secret Service has been notified, he is not aware of any criminal investigation. He said he believes it was billing records that were accessed.
Obama’s cell phone records breached (CNN)
Warcraft Identity of Obama’s FCC Transition Team Co-Chair Revealed, Analyzed
Earlier on Boing Boing, Cory blogged that President-elect Barack Obama has appointed Net Neutrality advocates and “virtual worlds nuts” Kevin Werbach and Susan Crawford to co-chair his FCC transition team. Okay, so we might know the guy as Kevin Werbach out here in meatspace, but to his Terror Nova Guild buddies, he’s better known as Supernovan Jenkins (the first name presumably a reference to Werbach’s Supernova tech conference series), and he’s a Level 70 Tauren Shaman. Livejournaler Waltermonkey opines on the deeper meaning of Werbach’s WoW identity:
What does this tell us about him, as a person, as a gamer, as a government official? I will attempt to translate all the dorkese.
1. - CULTURAL RELATIVISM
Every player in WoW belongs to one of two warring factions, Alliance or Horde. Werbach is Horde. Children often choose to be Alliance because they perceive them as “the good guys”, but students of history (both ours and Azeroth’s) recognize that Alliance culture is based on medieval European culture and Horde culture is based on the indigenous cultures that were supplanted by the West.
Werbach is a Tauren (a minotaur), which basically makes him a Native Kalimdorian. The Tauren revere nature, living in wigwams near giant totem poles. As a Shaman (see below), he could also have chosen a troll (blue-skinned Jamaican-like monster) or an orc (green-skinned Klingon-like monster), so there must be something about the cow-man that appeals to his liberal guilt.
Read the whole thing: victory or death! yes we can! (Waltermonkey; thanks Drew Coombs of Project Lore! Recompense of phat lewt, reagents, and pizza await thee.)
WSJ: How Detroit drove into a ditch
Great article from the Wall Street Journal’s Paul Ingrassia that summarizes how and why the US auto industry fell to pieces. My favorite part was this telling excerpt:
In Detroit, amid worker alienation and the “blue-collar blues,” Chevies, Fords and Plymouths rattled, rusted and rolled over — and those were the good ones. The Ford Pinto’s gas tank was prone to explode into flames when the car was hit from the rear, making the Pinto the poster product for corporate callousness. In 1978, after three Indiana girls burned to death when their Pinto got rear-ended, Ford became the first company to be indicted for reckless homicide. The company later was acquitted, but public opinion judged the Pinto guilty.
For all the Pinto’s infamy, perhaps no car better captured America’s decade-long haplessness than the pug-ugly AMC Gremlin, which debuted in 1970 and died — mercifully — in 1980. The Gremlin’s shape, fittingly, was first sketched out by an American Motors designer on the back of a Northwest Airlines air-sickness bag. On Aug. 20, 1979, 18-year-old Brad Alty, fresh out of high school in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, was driving his Gremlin to work when the car broke down. He was two-and-a-half hours late to his first day on the job at a new motorcycle factory that Honda Motor was opening in central Ohio.
For the next few weeks, Mr. Alty and his 63 co-workers did little but sweep floors and paint them with yellow lines. Then they started building three to five motorcycles a day. And at the end of each day they would disassemble each bike, piece by piece, to evaluate the workmanship.
How Detroit drove into a ditch
iPhone 2.2 firmware update available now, Google Street View and plenty more
It’s here. Google Street View and over the air Podcast downloads from iTunes. Yup, public transit and walking directions too and the ability to share your location via email. Bug fixes, Safari enhancements, and plenty more… just like we heard in the pre-rumor run-up. Now get outta here, your iTunes update awaits.
[Thanks Gustavo and badburro]
Filed under: Cellphones
iPhone 2.2 firmware update available now, Google Street View and plenty more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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ASUS summons Core i7 power in ROG CG6190 gaming desktop
If you thought your ARES CG6155 was hot stuff during the sweltering summer, well, you were right. Sadly, your bragging days have come to an end, as a new era of cutting-edge buyers are fixing to one-up you with the purchase of ASUS’ ROG CG6190. Timed to be released alongside Intel’s potent Core i7 processor, this beast is built around the X58 chipset and includes an eye-catching chassis, 52% faster processing speed in 3D gaming applications (thanks, overclocked Core i7!), up to 12GB of DDR3 RAM and support for an NVIDIA triple-SLI GPU setup or an ATI CrossFireX rig. You’ll also notice a biometric fingerprint scanner, a unique 2-kilowatt dual power system, customized liquid cooling modules and a SupremeFX X-Fi audio card. As ASUS loves to do, we’re left in the dark on pricing, but we’d guess it’ll launch somewhere between expensive and ludicrously pricey here soon.
[Via ComputerMonger]
Filed under: Desktops
ASUS summons Core i7 power in ROG CG6190 gaming desktop originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Ask Engadget: Best DSLR for a committed amateur?
With the holiday season fast approaching, there’s nothing that warms the heart like giving a gift with no expectation of anything in return. It’s with that spirit that we pass along Dylan’s incredibly important question:
“I’ve been nagging myself to get into digital photography and with Christmas coming soon I’ve decided to get a DSLR so I can dive in. I’m leaning heavily toward the Sony Alpha 350. I’ve always been a big Sony fan but I can back off of that if someone gives me good reason to try Nikon, Canon, etc. I would like to hang around the price range of the Alpha 350; ultimately, I’m looking for a good camera for a newcomer to the scene but I don’t want to have to upgrade soon.”
We hear ya Dylan, and our dutiful readers do too. (Right? Right.) After giving this one a response, feel free to send in your own inquiry to ask at engadget dawt com.
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Ask Engadget: Best DSLR for a committed amateur? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Xbox 360’s lack of Sony Pictures films streaming on Netflix "unrelated" to competition
You probably recall that two days ago, when the new Xbox Experience launched, sadly, about 300 Sony Pictures films were unavailable for Netflix Watch Instantly on NXE, thus quashing your hopes of streaming The Karate Kid series. At the time, it seemed possible that missing titles were due to the fact that Xbox 360 manufacturer Microsoft and Sony are direct competitors. Well, according to a Sony spokesperson, the problem isn’t specific to the Xbox, nor is their beef competition-related in any way. Sony also says it is in talks with the several “relevant parties” to work out these vague licensing issues, though there was no word on when the issue would be resolved. We really do hope it’s soon because we’re dying to see how everything turns out with the Cobra Kai.
[Via Joystiq]
Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment
Xbox 360’s lack of Sony Pictures films streaming on Netflix “unrelated” to competition originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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"Der Untergang" clip used as real estate downfall video
Some joker used a clip of Der Untergang to portray Hitler as a real estate sucker.
Today on Offworld
Today Offworld got an exclusive sneak peek at the awesomely retro-futurist super HYPERCUBE, a game by Montreal art collective Kokoromi and developer Polytron that uses both red/blue anaglyph glasses and Johnny Lee-style Wii-mote head-tracking to play a stylishly minimalist block game inspired by the famous “human Tetris” Japanese gameshow video. The game makes its debut tonight at Montreal’s Society for Arts and Technology (the SAT), so head down if you’re in the area.
We also mapped the evolution of the rhythm game from Parappa to Rock Band via a new interactive timeline, snickered behind the back of Kids In The Hall’s Scott Thompson utterly failing at Portal, worried about UK indie dev Introversion trying to build an AI that cannot be stopped from blowing up the entire world, and finally, celebrated the tenth anniversary of Valve’s original Half-Life, with new footage from a team of modders attempting to bring the game into the 21st century.
BBtv: Tibetan Sovereignty Supporters Hold Historic Meeting in India to Plan Future.
In this special episode of Boing Boing tv (Direct MP4 link for download), Xeni interviews Tibetan sovereignty activists Lhadon Tethong and Tenzin “Tendor” Dorjee from Students for a Free Tibet, over a Skype video chat.
They’re in Dharamsala, India, the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government In Exile, and they’re attending an historic week-long meeting taking place this week to determine the future of the Tibetan independence movement.
Snip from a New York Times story by Edward Wong about the “Special Meeting”:
The conclave is the first of its kind since 1991. The Dalai Lama has called for hundreds of Tibetans to gather in the Himalayan town of Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile, to help decide on a new strategy for Tibet.
In a statement released Monday, the government in exile sought to play down speculation that a significant shift in its approach to the issue of Tibetan independence might be near.
“A change in policy need not come from this meeting,” the statement said, according to Reuters. “If a change in basic policy is considered necessary, there is a way that is democratic and which has the mandate of the Tibetan people.”
Lhadon and Tendor are updating the SFT blog here, and they suggest that people interested in following the story check Phayul.com, and the High Peaks Pure Earth blog, with commentary from Tibetans inside Tibet and China. Here is a statement on the “Special Meeting” from the Dalai Lama, who is not personally attending. The Tibetan Government in Exile is producing video reports from the Special Meeting here. Tibetan poet Woeser has published her thoughts on the meeting here. (Special thanks to Laird Brown, and Phuntsok Dorjee)
NYT writer drinks NASA water distilled from the finest astronaut pee and sweat.
Oh, what won’t intrepid NYT reporter John Schwartz do for space journalism! Snip:
There are many elements of [NASA's current Space Shuttle Endeavor] mission, which is devoted to further construction of the station and improvements that will allow the station to double its crew size from three to six next year. But the gizmo that is getting the most attention is the “water recovery system,” which will recycle the station’s water supply. That’s right: urine, sweat in the air, waste water and other forms of moisture will be fed into the system, distilled and sent back to the tap.
The system, created at a cost of about 0 million, will recycle about 93 percent of the water used aboard the station. The cost of lifting supplies up to orbit is so high, though, that NASA estimates the system could pay for itself in as little as two years. Similar systems would be essential to maintaining long-term bases on faraway outposts on the Moon and Mars.
The astronauts don’t have a problem with this system. As Sandra H. Magnus, one of the astronauts who will be among the first to drink water produced by the new system aboard the station, noted in a recent interview, our earthbound water has been endlessly filtered through bodies, evaporated and rained down again. “We drink recycled water every day,” she said, “on a little bit longer time scale.”
You’ll have to read the whole piece to learn how the stuff tastes.
Bush snubbed at G20 Summit
Rick Sanchez on CNN showed this video of world leaders at the G20 Summit refusing to shake hands with President Bush. Sanchez says “It’s almost sad.” (Via The Fire Wire)
Good example of pareidolia
Forgetomori came across this neat example of pareidolia.
Have you seen Jesus today? The photo above may be a good chance. Sent by Jessica Lundgren from Sweden to paranormal.about.com, you can see the clear profile of a giant bearded man with closed eyes. It does resemble common representations of a fellow named Jesus. Even though that enormous Jesus head doesn’t quite fit into the rest of the image. What’s going on there? Jessica writes that “the child died short after the photo was taken”.
The link also has another photo that is either pareidolia or a hoax.
Good example of pareidolia
Zillionaire.com infomercial
Everything is Terrible found this funny infomercial from a long gone company Zillionaire.com, pushing a site called dotplanet.com (”the world’s only lifestyle destination portal”).
If George Bush would have ran an Internet business in the late 1990s, he would have had the same spiel and delivery style of Zillionaire.com CEO Hubert Humphrey (Not the politician):
“I firmly believe that Dot Planet is the most powerful phenomenon to ever hit the Internet. Our goals are just mind-boggling. We will be the fastest portal to ever hit one million users, two million, three million and all. Our vision is limitless. And I’m totally convinced that Dot Planet will be just as well known in the very near future as America Online. Microsoft, Yahoo, and it’s all because of one thing: out great Zillionaire Internet army.”
Here’s an interesting 1999 article from Investment News about Hubert Humphrey and Zillionaire.com. Humphrey now runs a company called WLG International. From perusing the WLH site, I can’t make heads or tails of what the business does: “WLG International has the Quantum Compensation Plan, which is specifically designed to help associates build and grow their ‘business within a business.’ One of the most powerful compensation and promotion plans in marketing, it offers a unique blend of great Personal Contracts, Infinity Overrides, Generational Overrides, Bonus Pools and Equity Sharing Pools – featuring a 100 percent gross payout to the field.” Huh?
The First Zillion is Always the Hardest
Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security chief? "We could do worse"
Reason’s David Weigel thinks Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano (rumored to be Obama’s pick) wouldn’t be a bad choice for Secretary of Homeland Security. My favorite part of Weigel’s piece is his assessment of Rudy Giuliani:
I think history has already forgotten Battlin’ Bernie Kerik, the laughably corrupt and mobbed-up cop whom Rudy Giuliani commended to George W. Bush as a great replacement for Ridge. Kerik’s nomination caught fire like styrofoam in a microwave, and we as a nation got the first clue that Giuliani had been replaced at some point in 2001-2004 by a strange, bald cyborg that needed to recharge batteries by making inopportune phone calls to its “wife.”
BBtv: Offworld Premiere. What’s Offworld?
Here’s the debut episode of our regular video updates from OFFWORLD, Boing Boing’s new gaming blog. Editor Brandon Boyer says:
After an oxygen fire knocked our interstellar video link temporarily out of commission, we bring you our Boing Boing TV premiere via Azeroth, where my spiritual Death Knight equal gives you a little background on where we’re is coming from and where I hope to steer the ship. As usual, here’s the direct MP4 link, if you prefer a downloadable rather than the Flash.
Offworld bonus fact: in real life, my eyes and sword glow a much more vivid shade of blue. That is indeed, though, almost exactly how I shake a tail feather.
Here’s a direct MP4 link, if you prefer to download the video. Like this episode? Tell Brandon and the Offworld gang what you think over at offworld.com: the comments thread is here.
(SPECIAL THANKS to the Project Lore guys, who showed us around the ‘hood — namely, Charles Ottaway.)
Illustrating Alan Kay’s Role in Portable Computing
It’s usual practice for a magazine to run an excerpt of a book written by one of its editors. However, BusinessWeek went one step further and converted an excerpt from senior editor Steve Hamm’s new book into a comic or manga. His book, The Race for Perfect: Inside the Quest to Design the Ultimate Portable Computer, is “a popular history of portable computing and also a narrative of a single, contemporary product (Lenovo’s X300) as it travels from conception to the marketplace.” Here’s the first panel of this version, which tells the story of Alan Kay, one of the creative visionaries and inventors of the computer revolution.
Steve wrote in his Globespotting blog that one of his purposes in writing the book “was to get young people interested in being engineers, designers, inventors, and entrepreneurs.” Make magazine shares that goal.
I use Alan Kay’s famous quote in my talks: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” I take the liberty of substituting “make” for “invent.” I would love to have Alan Kay come to Maker Faire.
View the rest of Alan Kay series on the BusinessWeek website
Best Desktop Customization Tool? [Hive Five Call For Contenders]
Sure your computer’s desktop may be functional out of the box, but some of us need to put the ‘P’ in PC before we really feel at home at a computer. We love looking at how our readers have customized their desktops, so for this week’s Hive Five, we want you to share your favorite desktop customization applications. Keep reading for more details and to nominate your faves in the comments.
Hive Five nominations take place in the comments, where you post your favorite tool for the job. We get hundreds of comments, so to make your nomination clear, please include it at the top of your comment like so: VOTE: Desktop Customization Tool Goes Here. NEW RULE: Please don’t include your vote in a reply to another commenter. Instead, make your vote and reply separate comments. If you don’t follow this format, we may not count your vote. To prevent tampering with the results, votes from first-time commenters may not be counted. After you’ve made your nomination, let us know what makes it stand out from the competition.
About the Hive Five: The Hive Five feature series asks readers to answer the most frequently asked question we get—”Which tool is the best?” Once a week we’ll put out a call for contenders looking for the best solution to a certain problem, then YOU tell us your favorite tools to get the job done. Every weekend, we’ll report back with the top five recommendations and give you a chance to vote on which is best. For an example, check out last week’s Hive Five Best Video Chat Applications.
Email Activity Random but Cyclical [In Brief]
Looking at aggregate data of 3,000 email accounts over a three month period, researchers at Northwestern University say that emails are responded to randomly, but the volume of sent mail follows predictable patterns. Namely, late at night on the weekends it’s much less likely you’ll receive any reply, for the obvious reasons — sleep and time off from work on weekends. The study suggests that the best time to contact someone when looking for a timely response, such as Monday morning, and can help network administrators plan for high-volume periods. Connectivity at home is better than it was when the data was recorded, but is it just me or do you actively avoid email outside of business hours as well?
