The New York Times has a number of interesting mini-sites developed to countries, states and cities mentioned in the Times over the years. Among the sites are California, the Catskills (of Dirty Dancing fame), Berlin and Chicago, which I had the pleasure of visiting for a weekend a year and a half ago. (My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I flew in for a Cubs game and a weekend of walking around and admiring the city - that else are Air Miles for ?).
Artificial turf is the subject of an article in the Sunday Times magazine. It briefly mentions the origins of astroturf - a Ford FOundation grant in the 1950s develop an "all-weather low-maintenance grasslike surface for city kids to play on", before getting to the present, where a Montreal company is going head to head with the big boys. Interesting.
He's always been somewhat of a fixture. We always see him when we go grocery shopping at the Provigo down the street. And you sometimes see home on the #18 bus that goes all along Beaubien Street. Until yesterday, I just thought he was some odd fellow with extremely long hair selling religious stuff on small cards. Turns out that they are pictures of him and that he is the world-famous Grand Antonio who performed strong man feats in the 60s, 70s and 80s. La Presse had an article on the Grand Antonio yesterday, and The Gazette has profiled him in the past. Indeed, a 1996 La Presse article describing the Grand Antonio is used in a French class as a grammar and understanding exercise.
The Grand Antonio once pulled 4 buses loaded with passengers, and was on Johnny Carson a number of times. Though his origins (Siberia or Yugoslavia), (age 76 or 79?) and spelling of last name are in doubt, he seems like a fascinating character, though known to be disagreeable at times. He can be found holding court at the Dunkin' Donuts across the way. He is even known to play golf with his hair. Neat stuff.
Written in 1945 by Vannevar Bush and entitled "As we may think", it is considered a classic in the field of computer science and one of the seeds of the Internet.
A second thought-provoking article is "The computers of tomorrow" by Martin Greenberger, which appeared in 1964 in The Atlantic. It discusses future uses of computers.
Bill Joy, a prominent computer engineer with Sun Microsystems, wrote a provoking article "Why the future doesn't need us" a few years back in Wired. I didn't finish reading it then, though I probably should. Maybe I'll do that this week.
Lastly, News.com talks about computers are entering a new phase in life.
As avid readers of the column know, I am fascinated by many things, and would be happy to keep studying various subjects for the rest of my days. My retirement is pretty much already planned but don't tell HCW™.
While I was in the process of applying to the MBA, I also considered a number of other programs "just in case"... My choices included a Master's in International Relations (the preferred one) as well as a Masters in Urbanism.
Perusing the Internet, I have come across some very interesting courses. This one at Harvard sounds very interesting. Oh that I were rich. Oh well. :)
Closer to home, Concordia (my future alma mata) has set up an online extension called eConcordia. Among the fairly limited selection of courses available right now is one on Organized Crime. Hmmm. I took the quick quiz that they offer to see how up to date you are on goings on in this dark yet fascinating world. I scored 8 out of 8, confirming that I definitely need to spend more time with HCW™.
Speaking of the Cosa Nostra (or as Big Tony Soprano would say, "our thing"), il capo di tutti capi is having a rough time. Apparently, the rest of the EU doesn't think as much of him as his enamoured countrymen do, the recent snubbing of a German Member of the European Parliament not helping his cause either. (auf Deutsch; in English (2); en français). Only five months and three weeks to go. Here in Canada, we remark the parallels with our own Jean Chrétien, who himself suffers from hoof in mouth disease as well as doubts about his own integrity, and has only about seven months to go. 'Nuff said.
About two weeks ago, the US military finally released a Mac version of America's Army (AA), the first of many video games it is going to release to the civilian population. The goal of the game from the army's standpoint is a mix of recruiting tool and marketing / propaganda (is there a difference?) effort. So far, so good.
Before heading out into combat, you have to go through some basic training. After surviving weapons training with a rifle (the model number escapes me; I got the rank of marksman), running an obstacle course, and lobbing grenades at trees, I was fit for combat. I promptly joined a couple of team–based missions where I was quickly slain (shot in the back like a rat!) by a number of player killers (PKs... the bane of online gaming) posing as fellow squad members. Oh well.
Here's where it gets complicated. The military is so preponderant in popular culture that I have a hard time playing the game without slipping into memories of movies such as Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Three Kings, Black Hawk Down and others. I find myself blurting out quotes from these movies (with a Southern accent*, like say from Fort Benning, Georgia, for example) both during and after playing and wondering just what kind of soldier I would be.
Too many flashbacks from movies. Having difficulty separating reality from fiction. What was real though was that dis–illustiioned, loser guy on my high school bus in Fredericton who had worked it all out how to take the high school with as little as three men armed to the teeth. What was merely weird then (just beyond funny–hmm, as opposed to funny–haha) is now become a real problem today. But I digress.
And so I found myself recently asked to take over our efforts on the military simulation side, complementing my existing game focus. That meant bringing our military product info up to speed, or in this case, actually creating some. This meant "marketing to the military" which is either just plain weird or doesn't sound right. The next question being, how far do you go in being enthusiastic about your product, and the inevitable role it has in making people better able to kill others. (It's harder than you think; most companies prefer to skirt the issue, embracing higher ideals like liberty and freedom.) And throw in my gung–ho–edness related to playing America's Army and my Southern accent, and you had a first draft that was not very short of "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."
My boss was a little freaked out at first as well, and he's from the parts of Alberta where kids learn to shoot shotguns before picking up a hockey stick, but I digress. A little freaked out by the whole affair, I went home, got some so–so sleep, and made a mental note to revise the page the next morning. Which I did.
'Nuff said, Soldier. Sir, Yes, Sir.
* = In fact, I find myself using a Southern accent a lot on the phone these days, especially for the simulation clients. I also tend to say the word "Hooa" alot now.
From WHITEHOUSE.ORG :
"To you I say, 'Get over it already. Or don't. We don't really care. We don't need you or anybody else. Because we're America, and we're number one. So get with the program or hit the road. And maybe, just maybe, we won't blow you away this time.'"
or as Team America sings, America, Fuck Yeah!
I know the following is written in English, but I still don't understand it. I am officially laying down a new life goal; ability to read cricket match scores and play-by-play.
'nuff said.
from: BBC SPORT | Cricket | India hit form to win in Lahore
India hit form to win in Lahore
Third one-day international, Lahore: India 292-5 beat Pakistan 288-8 by five wickets
Scorecard
India produced a thrilling batting display to beat Pakistan in the third one-day international and take a 2-1 series lead in the five-match rubber.
Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Dhoni all hit half-centuries as the tourists reached a target of 289 in Lahore with 14 balls remaining.
India won the toss and chose to insert the hosts, who hit 288-8 thanks to Shoaib Malik (108) and Abdul Razzaq.
Irfan Pathan and Rudra Pratap Singh each took three wickets.
Malik and Razzaq came together with Pakistan in trouble on 158-6 but tore into the bowling of Sreesanth (0-74) and supersub Zaheer Khan (0-36 off four overs).
Razzaq finished unbeaten on 64 off 56 balls after Malik had been dismissed just before the final onslaught.
Pakistan supporters were in good voice at the mid-innings break, perhaps bearing in mind that it can be difficult for a team to chase a score under floodlights.
And initially the tourists' reply was a shaky affair.
Gautam Gambhir and Pathan perished early on to the excellent Mohammad Asif and captain Rahul Dravid was out of sorts.
Dravid hung around for 42 balls, making just 24, before being run out to bring Yuvraj and Tendulkar together.
With well over six runs an over needed, the two concentrated on accumulation early on with just the occasional streak of aggression.
And it served India well, so much so that with 97 balls remaining only 100 runs were needed.
But at that precise point Tendulkar, on 95, cut Razzaq straight to backward point and Umar Gul trapped Mohammad Kaif lbw for a duck.
The pressure was back on India, but they rose to the occasion as Dhoni found his timing immediately.
The pair were soon racing along to the delight of their travelling fans, many of whom had faced dreadful problems crossing the border and picking up their tickets.
But those difficulties were soon forgotten as they watched Dhoni tear into the Pakistani seamers in the latter stages.
He supplied the winning runs, hooking Razzaq down to fine leg for four to finish on 72 off just 46 balls, with Yuvraj on 79.
The typical pro-Indian business puff piece. "Oh you in the West, you do not fully understand your chakra and you also can not compete in the 21st century." Meanwhile, who the hell can't get their head out of their asses long enough to make sure the trains run on time, the sewage gets treated, and more ... see Too Many Missed Opportunities.
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