bopuc/weblog

Just ran the above Traceroute on the IP of what I knew to be a search spider, picked up from my access logs. Why is this interesting to me? Well, this tells me Teleglobe, a (what I believe was originally) Montreal based company provides the bandwidth for at least one of Microsoft's MSN data-centers in Palo Alto, California.

Useless but neat trivia.

Jim Moore's Journal: Addiction to the Center

Friend Jim makes a dire observation:

This reminds me of the alcoholic wag who said, "I have lost my wife and family, my job, my health--and my memory is getting poor.  Of course I drink!  What the hell would you do?"

Here is the same line from the DLC:  "The Democratic Party has lost the Senate, the House, and the Presidency.  People see us as unprincipled and without vision.  Of course we need to run like Republicans!  What the hell would you do?"

There is a rather precise definition of addiction, in cybernetic terms:

1. A signal indicates that a problem has been encountered that requires the system to make a change in its behavior.  For example, losing one's health might be a signal to an alcoholic to stop drinking and seek recovery with the support of Alcoholics Anonymous.
2. The operator of the system turns off the signal, or turns off awareness of the signal.  This action is generally called a "palliative"--i.e., it makes you feel better, but does not cure the true problem.  In the case of the alcoholic, further drinking turns off anxiety, guilt, shame, depression--at least temporarily.
3. Because the underlying problem  has not been addressed, the condition of the system continues to decline.
4. [Return to #1, and loop the program again.]

/.../

Most Americans are tired of right and left--tired, frankly of Republicans as well as Democrats.  Look, please, at the polls on non-voting and the expansion in numbers of independent voters. Most Americans would like a  newspectrum entirely, a new perspective.  Americans would--I believe--reward a party that creatively reframed our fundamental challenges.

/.../

A Democratic victory, however wide [or narrow -ed.], will not be a victory of ideas, but of tactics.  It will not have advanced political thought in our country, it will have further demeaned it.

We will not be on the road to recovery, we will be one loop deeper into addiction.  And as a nation, the process of this campaign is likely to leave us more misinformed, less effectively led, and more turned off.

/.../

Unfortunately Democrats may have a hell of a hangover from the campaign--having spent millions of dollars promoting a Republican point of view.

Remind me to rant about the Center... and how this election is not about progress or any such thing. It's about slamming the brakes. Not just on the hawks, the Reps et al, but the whole damn thing.

Over the last few weeks, a realization has been slowly rising to the surface from the depths of my subconscious. (This is actually an apt portrayal of how generally my mind works, but I am going to share with you this specific one. Yes, I said slowly. My brain is one of those massive room-filling supercomputers with reams of storage and processing power but who take weeks and months to spit out an answer. I regularly get my ass handed to me by these whippersnapper desktop PCs who think they are so clever with their quick and dirty solutions... Hrmmm, I am also thinking of doing a quick re-read of Hemingway's "The Old Man and The Sea"... A-ny-ways...)

For the past few weeks I have very much immersed myself in work and almost completely shunned my local social network and it's related scene. More on that second part later.

Similar to what Joi describes, work-wise I have become very "On Demand". First of all, if I am not asleep and not out doing something, I am online. Work related Instant Messages and emails are responded to and acted upon, for the most part, almost immediately, and if not, queued up in my short-term memory (This is a process shortcoming I have to fix, mind you. Stuff starts falling through the cracks real fast. Ticket tracker, work log is in the planning stages.).

(Major design/set-up work notwithstanding, the nature of web work is such that many of my task requests from clients/friends are quick to-dos that can be done in real-time and on-the-spot. It literally takes more effort to log some of these than to do them.)

As for socializing and friends, a switch was thrown at much the same time. Today, when I think "who are my close friends?" I think of a short list of people, almost exclusively all of whom appear in my IM buddy list. No joke. Essentially, if I don't have quick and easy access to you (and you to me), you are lower on my list of people I keep in active memory as people I interact with (I do not wish to get into "what defines a friend?" at this time. I am speaking of people I want and can interact with, when I want.). This has had two immediate impacts in who I spend time with. None of my "going out/party/fun" social network is online, at least not to the extent required to be present in my mind. So, they have not seen me in ages. ;) On the other hand, the 3-4 local people who are accessible to me (Karl, Aaron, Anders, Francis, Steven... some friendster people... ;) have seen me on quite a regular basis, and I enjoy the time spent with them immensely, despite the fact that we can chit chat as much as we want online... and we do.

There is one exception and he demonstrates how decisively this works. Stevey lives one block from me, and he is online all day every work day, during business hours. Outside of that, he rarely appears on my Buddy List. Having a girlfriend, this is all fine and dandy, but we'll often say things like "hey we should hook up..." By his being just one step out of my loop, and my being SO "On Demand", there is almost never a situation where one of us will say "hey wanna go do this now?". However he contradicts my position by consistently being one of my best friends AND someone I will often think "hey if Stevey'd be into...".

Karl, I must say, is also a special case as he disappears downtown, ex-communicato, every afternoon. He does interesting stuff all the time that sometimes I'd love to around for, or I'll sometimes go do something I think he'd be into, but, hey, no way to reach the bum. ;) However, Karl is the one person I've seen the most in the last month. Perhaps because he is just as IM hooked as me, when he's around. Aaron, you're just always busy and you do a damn fine job of pinging me for coffees and lunch anyways. :)

(Non locals, like Ado, Joi, Jim, Dav, John, Jon, make me genuinely feel "really looking forward to seeing you again!")

This is all about availability and accessibility, On Demand. So far.

Now, the ramifications of this on my perception and use of time. Which has always been limbo-esque to begin with.

I always get asked "so whatcha been up to?" to which I always answer "work, mostly" because I feel at a loss to explain this very situation. It is a half truth, if not an all-out lie. I do not work any more than most people, in fact I work far less than most people. I also get asked "so, any plans for the weekend?" to which I also answer "work, mostly", but really, weeks mean nothing to me. Weekend, weekday; same diff. My time is measured in moments and events.

The reality is, I am On Demand. I am liquid. I do what I want/need, when I want/need. At any given moment, on any given day, be it a weekday or a weekend, I can be working on something or I can be out having a coffee, watching a movie, doing groceries, helping a friend.

Sounds great but it has drawbacks of course. Discipline is needed; discipline of the order I sorely lack still. That's why much of the time when I am not working, I am fretting about how I should be working... ;)

Well, Adriaan's really done it this time. ecto now has (what he is calling) WYSIAWYG (What You See Is Almost What You Get) weblog entry composing "without having to bother with HTML tags".

Trying it out with this post right now and so far it is a godsend. A little rough, like the dutchman himself, but nice (as well). ;)

/me kicks himself for above gratuitous use of pop cultural reference.

So I finally got fed up and hacked up a PHP script that generates a single RSS 1.0 feed containing the 20 most recent entries to my weblog, photolog and links. The script is run via CRON every 10 minutes or so, and a few Apache Redirects make sure you all get this new feed now instead of the old ones.

That was serious fun. Was up until 5am on this one. :)

I must thank the past week I spent redoing and moving smartmobs.com for teaching me the wonderful ways of Apache .htaccess files. I'd never really played with them before and at first I hated 'em, especially some rewrites smartmobs.com was using ("Do not be fooled by Apache mod_rewrite. Sure it looks all nice and cool but it is Satan."), but yay. Good stuff.

Yeah, that's right. Guess where emails to webmaster at smartmobs get sent to... :D

/me does a little strut around the room.

This makes me so incredibly, furiously ill.

Why, oh why oh why oh why oh why does the human so single-mindedly seek to destroy his own humanity?
Eloquence eludes me. I just want to yell... Gah! You stupid fucking bastards. Wake the fuck up. Damnit. Damnit damnit damnit.

This poor girl, so full of life, so full of thirst for experience and joy. Snuffed out, her death precipitated by that self same flame that made her live; the catalyst in the environment she sadly found herself.

(To be clear, this is not, in my view, an islamic issue: it is human. This kind of madness has happened and continues to happen under every system we have ever conceived for ourselves.)

I'm going to go lie down and cry for there is nothing else to do. Sadly.

Do not go gentle into that good night
- Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Mourrir pour des idées
-Georges Brassens

Mourrir pour des idées, l'idée est excellente.
Moi j'ai faillit mourrir de ne l'avoir pas eu.
Car tous ceux qui l'avaient, multitude accablante,
En hurlant à la mort, me sont tombés dessus.

Ils ont su me convaincre, et ma muse insolente
Abjurant ses erreurs, se ralie à leur foi.
Avec un supson de réserve toutefois :

Mourront pour des idées, d'accord, mais de mort lente.
D'accord, mais de mort lente.

Jugeant qu'il n'y a pas péril en la demeure,
Allons vers l'autre monde en flanant en chemin.
Car, à forcer l'allure, il arrive qu'on meurre
Pour des idées n'ayant plus court le lendemain.

Hors s'il est une chose amère, désolante
En rendant l'√¢me à dieu, c'est bien de constater
Qu'on a fait fausse route, qu'on s'est trompé d'idée.

Mourront pour des idées, d'accord, mais de mort lente.
D'accord, mais de mort lente.

Les singes en bouche d'or qui prèchent le martir
Le plus souvent, d'ailleur, d'attardent ici bas.
Mourrir pour des idées, c'est le cas de le dire :
C'est leur raison de vivre, ils ne s'en privent pas.

Dans presque tous les camps, on en vois qui supplantent
Bient√¥t Mathusalem dans la longévité.
J'en conclus qu'ils doivent se dire en apparté :

Mourront pour des idées, d'accord, mais de mort lente.
D'accord, mais de mort lente.

Des idée réclamant le fameux sacrifice.
Les sectes de tous poils en offrent des séquelles.
Et la question se pose aux victimes novices :
Mourrir pour des idées, c'est bien beau mais lesquelles ?

Et comme toutes sont entre elles ressemblantes,
Quand il les vois venir avec leurs gros drapeaux
Le sage en hésitant, tourne autour du tombeau.

Mourront pour des idées, d'accord, mais de mort lente.
D'accord, mais de mort lente.

Encore s'il suffisait de quelques écatombes
Pour qu'enfin tout changeat, qu'enfin tout s'arrangeat.
Depuis tant de grands soirs que tant de têtes tombent,
Au paradis sur terre, on y serait déja.

Mais l'age d'or sans cesse est remis aux calendes.
Les dieux ont toujours soif, n'en ont jamais assez
Et c'est la mort, la mort, toujours recommencée.

Mourront pour des idées, d'accord, mais de mort lente.
D'accord, mais de mort lente.

Oh vous les boute-feux, oh vous les bons appotres,
Mourrez donc les premiers, nous vous cédons le pas.
Mais de grace, morbleu, laissez vivre les autres,
La vie est à peu près leur seul luxe ici bas.

Car enfin la camarde est assez vigilante,
Elle n'a pas besoin qu'on lui tienne la faux.
Plus de danse maccabre autour des echafauds.

Mourront pour des idées, d'accord, mais de mort lente.
D'accord, mais de mort lente.

Tonight, i am recoding the UI on an e-comm storefront I did originally did over 3 years ago. Tables upon tables, font tags, et al; no sign of semantic markup anywhere. I even had tables for 1 pixel high dotted divider lines.

Recoding it properly is a joy. Like peeling away layers of fat, bloated markup. We're talking on the order of 80% less html in some files.

But there is a tinge in this fun. I remember the month I spent working on this site. The girlfriend of the time, though patiently sharing suggestions, was getting seriously annoyed at how much time I was spending on it.

Earlier this evening I walked down the street to the liquor commission to stock up on some sake and red wine. Friends for my long nights of coding. Meandering home, a white car drove by the corner of my eye as I double took it: "Is it...? No, it's not."

"She must avoid this area at any cost, surely" I thought as the Nissan Sentra, and not the Saab 900, continued on it's way, and I on mine.

Arriving at the street before mine, I engage the intersection, crossing kitty corner, when something else catches my eye... and I freeze.
Gently sailing on down the street away from me, a lithe figure on inline skates, arms up adjusting her ponytail. I recognize her immediately.

I am transfixed. My first impulse is to call out her name and run after her but I know she'd just give a quick kick and fly away. Just the thought of the piercing in my heart this would engender stops me.

So I just watch, until she turns the corner and disappears. There I stood, in the middle of two streets, rastafari t-shirt, pinstripe jacket, jeans and sneaker clad, with a giant branded bag full of alcohol. I turn to go on home only to see a smiling James DiSalvio looking at me. "What the heck is this guy doing?" he must've thought as I gave him a nod and a smile... and limped home.

bjork.com : med√∫lla special : interview

“You know, its ironic that just at the point the lawyers and the businessmen had calculated how to control music, the internet comes along and fucks everything up.” Björk gives the finger again, this time waving it into the air. “God bless the internet,” she adds.

And what about you, then?
“I'll still be there, waving a pirate flag.”

Glad to hear this.

Or: "Helping folks with their webpages since 1995!"

The Papa Page

I would also like to thank Boris Anthony for his ongoing support and advice on technical and layout matters.

-Marcel Mitran, 24th of September,1995

Yeah yeah yeah, I am Googling myself! Doesn't everybody from time to time?! Not like it'll make me go blind or give me hairy palms, right? RIGHT?!?! Aack!

- STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

Inflammable material is planted in my head
It's a suspect device that's left 2000 dead
Their solutions are our problems
They put up the wall
On each side time and prime us
And make sure we get fuck all
They play their games of power
They mark and cut the pack
They deal us to the bottom
But what do they put back?

[Chorus:]
Don't believe them
Don't believe them
Don't be bitten twice
You gotta suss, suss, suss, suss, suss out
Suss suspect device

They take away our freedom
In the name of liberty
Why don't they all just clear off
Why won't they let us be
They make us feel indebted
For saving us from hell
And then they put us through it
It's time the bastards fell

[Chorus]

Don't believe them
Don't believe them
Question everything you're told
Just take a look around you
At the bitterness and spite
Why can't we take over and try to put it right

[Chorus]

We're a suspect device if we do what we're told
But a suspect device can score an own goal
I'm a suspect device the Army can't defuse
You're a suspect device they know they can't refuse
We're gonna blow up in their face

(More links, per line, to come. any suggestions?)

Non-stop now for the last 2 1/2 weeks. Sleep, work, eat, jog, work, sleep.

Thought I'd share quickly a few of the sites I've touched recently (the one's I can and want to show ya, that is...)

Extreme Democracy
Jon and I were IM'ing about... well... democracy and politics and culture, and before I knew it I was in on some email back and forth between he, Mitch Ratcliffe and Adam Greenfield about a new logo Adam was knocking out for them. Looking at the site, which Jon put up really quickly last night, I asked if they'd mind a clean up. I'm up to my eyeballs in other work, but this would actually be fun. So I spent this evening on that. I'm quite happy with it, and thank the guys for the opportunity.

Worthwhile Magazine
Halley Suitt hooked me up with the fine folks at Worthwhile and they've been clients of mine since about May. Today we finally hooked up the subscription stuff and the mailing list. Still some kinks to work out but it's all good.

Let's see.. what else...

La-Grange
Good friend Karl redesigned his "carnet web" and I made a suggestion or two. It's always the most fun when it's for friends. :)

D-Structure
Long time friends and clients, the boys wanted a redesign, so they got one of the partner's brothers to do the graphic design. He did a great job, not only with the look but in chopping up the templates so I just had to go and pop in some images and change some CSS. More or less. Not done. Big site. Probably looks wonky in some browser... yay... ;)

Erskine Bowles for U.S. Senate
Matt Gross, of Howard Dean's weblog fame, asked if I'd give him a hand with some Movable Type setup and template work. Happy to oblige!

Of course, also good friend Joi keeps me busy with his requests... as well as side projects. I'd tell you more but I'd have to kill you. ;)

Oh and... the pressure is on... This will be fun too!

At the moment there are... 3 other projects in various states of completion, or at least readiness. A ways to go!

12:45am and an email from a client just appeared in my Inbox. Back to work!

Olympian struggle - Fans face boot for eating or drinking wrong brands at games

Strict regulations published by Athens 2004 last week dictate that spectators may be refused admission to events if they are carrying food or drinks made by companies that did not see fit to sponsor the games.

I am not shocked, dismayed or even surprised. I am merely curious to see how long this kind of stuff will go on for.

It is up to us, afterall. It is our minds and cultures they are corrupting.

Precision:
us = all of us
they = corporations and marketing supported economic/political systems

The weapon against boring and weary surroundings

With seamless vision diminishers, adjustable safetybelt, 40 Watt stereo speaker installation and standard compliant 3.5 mmm jack-plug for fully compatible audio-experience, you can totally shut yourself off from the surrounding world and it's annoying inhabitants!

Yes, well, clever but... most people walk around completely oblivious to their environment as it is. No surrounding is "boring and weary" when your senses are fully engaged and you are actually processing the data they are feeding you.

Someone wearing this must be quite boring and weary themselves... not to mention obtusely jaded and cynical. ;)

(via near near future)

Ed Bilodeau: How things have changed

Some features of codes of professional ethics are common to all professions. A universal rule is that against advertising. Advertising among professional men has been defined as an ‘attempt to get practice by other then the legitimate means of proficiency in the profession and skill and success' in dealing with clients. […] ‘Probably, however, the principal objection of the honourable professions to advertisement is neither the fact that is misleads the ignorant nor that it is an unfair method of competition, but the indication it affords of a character who is more concerned with exploiting the profession for his own personal advantage than with the service to be rendered to society.'

A.M. Carr-Saunders, Professions, their organization and place in society, 1928.

Indeed.

(Via mikel.org)

On shuffle, first this (Daft Punk - Face to Face), and then this (Ben Harper - Walk Away).

I am on the floor.

Ah, phew! Flaming Lips - Do You Realize

Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize - we're floating in space -
Do You Realize - that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize - that everyone you know someday will die

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun don'-go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

Much better already. :)

Gees.. rough Saturday...
(Harmonium - Pour un instant)

Pour un instant, j'ai oublié mon nom...
ça m'as permis enfin d'écrire cette chanson...
Pour un instant j'ai retourné mon miroir...
ça m'as permis enfin de mieux me voir...
Sans m'arrèter j'ai foncé j'ai foncé dans le noir...
Pris comme un loup qui n'a plus d'espoir...
J'ai perdu mon temps à gagner du temps...
J'ai besoin de me trouver, une histoire à raconter...

Pour un instant, j'ai respiré très fort...
ça m'as permis de visiter mon corps...
Des inconnus vivent en roi chez moi...
Moi qui avait accepté leurs lois....
J'ai perdu mon temps à gagner du temps...
J'ai besoin de me trouver, une histoire à raconter...

Has cell phone blogging found its place? | CNET News.com

This article makes no sense to me. It seems to be a jumble of keywords like "weblogs", "moblogs", and "Social Networks"...

LoMoSo, "Location-based mobile social networks".

Then they go on to say our own Bell Mobility has implemented LoMoSo stuff, providing a maps-and-directions service... Hunh?! What does that have to do with weblogging, moblogging or social networking?

Nevermind the cost. These people just don't seem to get that the way to make money in wireless is to charge LESS.

(found via smartmobs.com)

Armed with poetry
poets lurk
streets and shoes
skirts and sun
poets lurk
armed with poetry

with lyre and
rhythem
poets yell into a
sea of heads
bobing across
concrete
below the
shadow of the
all seeing buildings

armed with poems poets lurk
inside large rooms
conventions and stalk
political
armed with poems
words as pierceing
bits of glass
upon the skin
of knowing

that poets are armed with words...

Found in the comments of another blog. If someone knows the original author, I'd love to know.

Bloomberg: Bobby Fischer wants to give up his US citizenship

Onetime world chess champion Bobby Fischer has submitted to the U.S. embassy in Tokyo a letter of intent to renounce his U.S. citizenship, said John Bosnitch, the head of the Free Bobby Fischer Committee.

Bosnitch said he handed the three-page, handwritten letter to an embassy guard and asked it be delivered "urgently'' to a consular officer, he said in a telephone interview.

"I believe this renunciation has full validity under the law,'' Bosnitch quoted Fischer as writing in the letter.

"Bobby Fischer is sick and tired of how he has been treated by the U.S. for the past 12 years,'' Bosnitch said. "The letter is a statement of renunciation of U.S. citizen ship by Bobby Fischer, and he issues that statement unilaterally.''

Fischer's attorney Masako Suzuki today filed suit against Tokyo immigration officials seeking to overturn cancellation of his permission to land in Japan and a deportation order, Bosnitch said.

The support committee is seeking to have Fischer recognized as a "stateless person'' and an international refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and obtain UN travel documents for him, Bosnitch said.

Wait a second... one can DO this? I mean, the "Stateless Person" and UN travel documents part?! Do you have to be a refugee or politically persecuted?! What if I just don't want any citizenship?!

Where do i sign?!
(Not that being Canadian is bad, far from it... just.. curious I guess... ;)

"Funny" is a point in space-time where any number of seemingly unrelated elements come together in a surprising and/or unexpected way.
"Comedy" is a point in space-time where any number of seemingly unrelated elements are brought together in a surprising and/or unexpected way.

(Is it only truly funny the first time around though? Hrm.)

Just logged into one of my online banking accounts whereupon I was greeted with a quick questionaire.
I wonder what response this would get me...

Some context: I do freelance web specialist work: web design, architecture, etc...

I'll often take on small jobs for extra disposable income (or paying off the debts incurred from thinking I have disposable income... heh.) You know, those little brochure-type websites: "Hi, this is our little company, this what we do, this is how you can contact us." Yeah people still want those. Anyways.

Invariably we do the "how much is this gonna cost" dance. I severely suck at this dance. especially since these contracts usually come through acquaintances who don't want to insult me (with their deflated sense of value) or I them (with my inflated sense of the value of my time... ;) For this kind of work, the clients usually rather a package price, one figure, easy to swallow, no time tracking. Invariably I do way more than what I'm paid for but at least everyone is happy.

Just now I had to dance again. A return client who wants a redesign. Super nice guys, developing a product with some very interesting environmental implications (think carbon filters). "How much" says he. "How much you got" says I. "I'm thinking between $X and $Y... don't wanna insult you..." "Don't be silly!"

Here is what I suggested:

I am perfectly able and happy to stay within that range.
I am thinking of a very "organic", "sensitive to my environment" approach to this job. It is perfect that you give me a range. I have an idea, if you are comfortable with this, here is what I suggest:
Think of a gauge, like an RPM gauge. As the work progresses, the "revs" will fluctuate between X and Y. Without necessarily being mathematical about it, I'll average out a final price as we get to the end. Agreed it seems a bit arbitrary, but then again not... we have a set range that we are both comfortable with, and an unclear amount of hours/work.

Now, I wouldn't do this with just any client, but I think he may go for this. And I'll feel better than just saying "Ok, I'll take $Y..."

It's an experiment.

Microbe blamed for 100 deaths at Quebec hospital

A bacterial agent commonly found in health-care settings has
been blamed for the deaths of 100 patients in the last 18 months in a
single Quebec hospital, says an infectious disease expert at the
facility, who is calling for government action to forestall more
outbreaks across the country.

Dr. Jacques Pepin says cases of Clostridium difficile at University
Hospital in Sherbrooke have been steadily increasing. And the incidence
among those most vulnerable to the disease " patients aged 65 and older
" jumped 10-fold between 1991 and the end of 2003.

The infection has been blamed for killing 54 patients in 2003 and
another 46 in the first six months of this year at the 683-bed hospital,
said Dr. Pepin, lead author of a study in the Canadian Medical
Association Journal.

Using patient records, the University of Sherbrooke researchers compiled
cases of C. difficile and deaths from the infection over the last 14
years. They found the proportion of patients who died within 30 days of
diagnosis soared to almost 14 per cent in 2001 from less than 5 per cent
in 1991.

Obvious french pun aside ("C'est difficile" means "it is difficult"... which I imagine going into plummeting blood-pressure shock due to severe diarrhea must be...), I have to wonder a few things here:

1. Our much vaunted healthcare system is going down the tubes, isn't it?
2. 54 deaths in one hospital in one year from one bacterium?! HELLO?!
3. Where's my facemask? ;)

Ok, I posted that purely for the morbid poo-poo joke.

I don't usually mention technical details about this site here but, um, comments are back up.
(I was being spam flooded the other day and quickly renamed the comment script... and promptly forgot to name it back...)

Wirefarm : ∀ chat with Boris

Jim and Ado got me, but good. I am SO gullible sometimes.

Le soleil, un rève, est là, a l'Est, juste après l'horizon.
Le tempérament accabré du désir, ma monture,
s'éforce contre l'unique corde, robuste et solide, qui me retient.

Longtemps ai-j'essayé de défaire ce noeud damné.
À défaut de volonté suffisamant violente,
sinon d'intellecte sur-aiguisé,
d'un coup sec le restraint doit ètre coupé.

Le matin venu, je partirai à la conquète de l'Asie.

Sudan: The Passion of the Present: A failure of will

Forces from across the world are poised to help the people of Darfur, but no nation has the will to move forward.

We are in a tragic and signal moment, a catalytic moment, where the world sees the need, has the means, and yet continues to experience a failure of will. Giving the Sudanese government 30 more days--and then asking Kofi Annan for a report to the UN Security Council--assures 30 more days of death and destruction. Given the nature of the genocidal process being carried out in Sudan--engineered, intentional famine and epidemic disease--30 more days translates into months of additonal famine, and hundreds of thousands of additional lives lost.

Now it is the public's turn. It is our turn. The time is now for our action. We must ask our leaders to act now, not in 30 days.

Anybody have any information about what Canada is doing about this, if anything?

Google News Search: Canada Darfur. Good start.