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what do you guys think of this news story? do you think hate speech should be a crime? or should canada have a more american set of laws regarding free speech?
January 24th, 2008
curiousJanuary 3rd, 2008
what comics do you keep up with? thanks to rss feeds, i'm into:
dinosaur comics
cat and girl
perry bible fellowship
we the robots
a softer world
i used to subscribe to xkcd, but it's too nerdy for me.
dinosaur comics
cat and girl
perry bible fellowship
we the robots
a softer world
i used to subscribe to xkcd, but it's too nerdy for me.
December 20th, 2007
here's a story about conjoined twins born in bc last year.
it makes me wonder about their situation. as they age, how would their quality of life be? would they suffer any more or less than any other wheelchair-bound child? what does sharing a brain mean? will they have normal verbal communication skills? it'll be interesting if they survive until they are old enough to talk because then then a different range of tests can be done on them to see how their brains are connected and what that means for thoughts, emotions, memories, etc.
it makes me wonder about their situation. as they age, how would their quality of life be? would they suffer any more or less than any other wheelchair-bound child? what does sharing a brain mean? will they have normal verbal communication skills? it'll be interesting if they survive until they are old enough to talk because then then a different range of tests can be done on them to see how their brains are connected and what that means for thoughts, emotions, memories, etc.
December 7th, 2007
Fire destroys historic buildings in Barrie, Ont.
CTV.ca News Staff
Crews are still dousing hotspots after a massive explosion and fire ripped through the historic downtown core of Barrie, Ont. overnight, destroying several buildings and forcing the evacuation of dozens of people.
Firefighters fought for hours to extinguish the blaze, which broke out at 11:20 p.m. in a Thai restaurant located at Dunlop and Bayfield Streets.
A number of people in the community, located approximately 90 kilometres north of Toronto, heard the explosion. The blast occurred in the basement of the restaurant, scattering furniture and glass.
"Boom, everything just blew out the bottom windows," one Barrie resident told CTV News.
The fire quickly spread to neighbouring buildings and at least 50 residents from nearby apartments and patrons at a hotel were evacuated. The evacuees were provided shelter by the local church, Salvation Army and local hotels. One building collapsed in a flurry of flames and debris.
Dozens of firefighters from neighbouring communities rushed to the scene, pumping in water from Lake Simcoe to extinguish the blaze. One firefighter suffered a dislocated shoulder; however, no other injuries were reported.
One distraught downtown resident said she may have lost all her pets in the blaze.
"A dog that goes everywhere with me, two cats, two birds and two guinea pigs," said Rosemary Bonhamschriver, shaking and in tears.
Dozens of people who lived above the businesses have been left homeless.
Fire officials described the blaze as one of the worst in decades. At least six buildings were destroyed, among them the landmark Wellington Hotel.
Coun. Jeff Lehman told CTV Newsnet the hotel's destruction comes as a great loss to the city.
"It's the historic centre of the downtown. That is a great loss and there are some stores to the north and to the west that have also been gutted," he said Friday.
Eight businesses have been destroyed along the large block of buildings known as the Five Points Intersection. Fire officials estimate millions of dollars in damage has occurred.
Deputy Fire Chief Rick Monkman told CTV Newsnet on Friday that the fire has been contained and fire crews are trying to extinguish a number of hotspots.
"We've had to close down a number of businesses in the immediate area because the building structure is still in question. We could have further collapses up the street," he said.
Monkman said the age of the buildings was a factor that challenged fire crews.
"(One of the buildings) was over 100 years old. It was balloon construction and for firefighters that know construction, balloon construction is one of the hardest fires to fight," he said.
"Also, our water supply was taxed quite heavily in the downtown core."
Barrie Mayor Dave Aspden told Canada AM on Friday that the city will rally despite already sinking money into restoration projects in recent years.
"I'm sure Barrie will pull together and we'll see business back in the same location in time," he said.
Part of the downtown area will be closed for the day which will likely cause a "traffic mess," he said.
Aspden said there is no indication what caused the explosion. "I just know the Barrie fire crew and the adjoining fire departments that had to come in and help have done a terrific job," Aspden said.
There are over 600 property owners and business operators in historic downtown Barrie, which was established in 1814.
With a report from CTV's John Musselman
CTV.ca News Staff
Crews are still dousing hotspots after a massive explosion and fire ripped through the historic downtown core of Barrie, Ont. overnight, destroying several buildings and forcing the evacuation of dozens of people.
Firefighters fought for hours to extinguish the blaze, which broke out at 11:20 p.m. in a Thai restaurant located at Dunlop and Bayfield Streets.
A number of people in the community, located approximately 90 kilometres north of Toronto, heard the explosion. The blast occurred in the basement of the restaurant, scattering furniture and glass.
"Boom, everything just blew out the bottom windows," one Barrie resident told CTV News.
The fire quickly spread to neighbouring buildings and at least 50 residents from nearby apartments and patrons at a hotel were evacuated. The evacuees were provided shelter by the local church, Salvation Army and local hotels. One building collapsed in a flurry of flames and debris.
Dozens of firefighters from neighbouring communities rushed to the scene, pumping in water from Lake Simcoe to extinguish the blaze. One firefighter suffered a dislocated shoulder; however, no other injuries were reported.
One distraught downtown resident said she may have lost all her pets in the blaze.
"A dog that goes everywhere with me, two cats, two birds and two guinea pigs," said Rosemary Bonhamschriver, shaking and in tears.
Dozens of people who lived above the businesses have been left homeless.
Fire officials described the blaze as one of the worst in decades. At least six buildings were destroyed, among them the landmark Wellington Hotel.
Coun. Jeff Lehman told CTV Newsnet the hotel's destruction comes as a great loss to the city.
"It's the historic centre of the downtown. That is a great loss and there are some stores to the north and to the west that have also been gutted," he said Friday.
Eight businesses have been destroyed along the large block of buildings known as the Five Points Intersection. Fire officials estimate millions of dollars in damage has occurred.
Deputy Fire Chief Rick Monkman told CTV Newsnet on Friday that the fire has been contained and fire crews are trying to extinguish a number of hotspots.
"We've had to close down a number of businesses in the immediate area because the building structure is still in question. We could have further collapses up the street," he said.
Monkman said the age of the buildings was a factor that challenged fire crews.
"(One of the buildings) was over 100 years old. It was balloon construction and for firefighters that know construction, balloon construction is one of the hardest fires to fight," he said.
"Also, our water supply was taxed quite heavily in the downtown core."
Barrie Mayor Dave Aspden told Canada AM on Friday that the city will rally despite already sinking money into restoration projects in recent years.
"I'm sure Barrie will pull together and we'll see business back in the same location in time," he said.
Part of the downtown area will be closed for the day which will likely cause a "traffic mess," he said.
Aspden said there is no indication what caused the explosion. "I just know the Barrie fire crew and the adjoining fire departments that had to come in and help have done a terrific job," Aspden said.
There are over 600 property owners and business operators in historic downtown Barrie, which was established in 1814.
With a report from CTV's John Musselman
Little Jin from China has to be one of the cutest babies I've seen, but damn! Jin was born weighing in at around 7 pounds, but his weight quickly ballooned. He's only 8-months old and weighs around 41-pounds.
His mother said he started gaining weight almost immediately. She said she has to nurse him around 20 times a day, because he gets hungry. Unfortunately, the poor thing can't crawl or walk, because of his weight.
The article from the Daily Mail didn't say anything about him having a medical condition. His mother needs to look into it, because that ain't right. Stop feeding him 20 times a day and take him to the doc!
Jin is still not the biggest baby in the world. A few years ago a woman in Italy gave birth to a 28-pound baby. I think her insides are still recovering. A coule of months ago a woman in Siberia gave birth to a 17-pound baby.
Jin is a darling and hopefully his mother sorts out his medical situation STAT before he eats her out of house and home! Literally.
September 23rd, 2006
You like my new avatar, click on the picture above and get one of your own.
boredAugust 24th, 2006
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co
Pluto is no longer a planet. I'm pretty big into astronomy and I 100% agree with this decision. Good job guys.
The solar system now only has 8 planets.
Pluto is no longer a planet. I'm pretty big into astronomy and I 100% agree with this decision. Good job guys.
The solar system now only has 8 planets.
August 17th, 2006
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Three Mexican shark fishermen survived nine months at sea in a small boat by eating raw birds and fish and drinking rain water as they drifted thousands of miles (kilometres) across the Pacific Ocean.
The fishermen said they left their home town of San Blas on Mexico's Pacific coast last November and were blown 5,000 miles (8,000 km) off course after their 25-foot (8-metre) fibreglass boat ran out of gas and they were left to the mercy of the winds and the tides.
Their families had given them up for dead, but they found a way to survive.
"We ate raw fish, ducks, sea gulls. We took down any bird that landed on our boat and we ate it like that, raw," said Jesus Vidana, one of the three survivors, in an interview with a Mexican radio station from the ship that rescued them.
The odyssey finally ended when Vidana and the other two men, identified as Salvador Ordonez and Lucio Rendon, were rescued last week by a Taiwanese tuna fishing trawler in waters between the Marshall Islands and Kiribati.
"They were very skinny and very hungry," Eugene Muller, the manager of the fishing company that found them, said on Wednesday.
The three men were sunburned but were otherwise in good shape. Vidana said he and his crew mates always believed they would be found.
"We never lost hope because we were always seeing boats. They passed us by, but we kept on seeing them. Every week or so, sometimes we'd go a month without seeing one, but we always saw them so we never lost hope."
It was not clear why none of the boats stopped for the Mexicans earlier on, and they were lucky to be picked up in the end because they were fast asleep and only noticed the rescue boat was coming for them when they heard its engine.
Details of the extraordinary journey were sketchy, in part because of language difficulties between the Mexican fishermen and the Taiwanese trawler crew.
The first reports were that they had been lost for three months, and Muller said he thought they were drifting for 11 months.
Vidana and relatives in San Blas said they set out on their dramatic fishing trip last November.
Muller said he understood that there were five men aboard the boat when it set out from San Blas, and that two of them jumped overboard a few days into their ordeal. But Vidana made no mention of any missing fishermen.
In San Blas, relatives and friends of the fishermen had given up hope and were astonished to hear of their survival.
"I lived so sad. ... Now that I know my grandson is alive, I just want him to come home," Francisca Perez, the grandmother of Lucio Rendon, told the Televisa news station. "
"There are no words to express it. The emotion here is very strong because we thought they were dead," said Efrain Partida, a fellow fisherman from the small village.
Mexico's government is sending an official to meet the survivors in the Marshall Islands when the trawler that picked them up returns to port in a couple of weeks. The government will then help them return home.
Soure: Scotsman News and the Vancouver Sun dated August 16, 2006
Absolutely incredible...
The fishermen said they left their home town of San Blas on Mexico's Pacific coast last November and were blown 5,000 miles (8,000 km) off course after their 25-foot (8-metre) fibreglass boat ran out of gas and they were left to the mercy of the winds and the tides.
Their families had given them up for dead, but they found a way to survive.
"We ate raw fish, ducks, sea gulls. We took down any bird that landed on our boat and we ate it like that, raw," said Jesus Vidana, one of the three survivors, in an interview with a Mexican radio station from the ship that rescued them.
The odyssey finally ended when Vidana and the other two men, identified as Salvador Ordonez and Lucio Rendon, were rescued last week by a Taiwanese tuna fishing trawler in waters between the Marshall Islands and Kiribati.
"They were very skinny and very hungry," Eugene Muller, the manager of the fishing company that found them, said on Wednesday.
The three men were sunburned but were otherwise in good shape. Vidana said he and his crew mates always believed they would be found.
"We never lost hope because we were always seeing boats. They passed us by, but we kept on seeing them. Every week or so, sometimes we'd go a month without seeing one, but we always saw them so we never lost hope."
It was not clear why none of the boats stopped for the Mexicans earlier on, and they were lucky to be picked up in the end because they were fast asleep and only noticed the rescue boat was coming for them when they heard its engine.
Details of the extraordinary journey were sketchy, in part because of language difficulties between the Mexican fishermen and the Taiwanese trawler crew.
The first reports were that they had been lost for three months, and Muller said he thought they were drifting for 11 months.
Vidana and relatives in San Blas said they set out on their dramatic fishing trip last November.
Muller said he understood that there were five men aboard the boat when it set out from San Blas, and that two of them jumped overboard a few days into their ordeal. But Vidana made no mention of any missing fishermen.
In San Blas, relatives and friends of the fishermen had given up hope and were astonished to hear of their survival.
"I lived so sad. ... Now that I know my grandson is alive, I just want him to come home," Francisca Perez, the grandmother of Lucio Rendon, told the Televisa news station. "
"There are no words to express it. The emotion here is very strong because we thought they were dead," said Efrain Partida, a fellow fisherman from the small village.
Mexico's government is sending an official to meet the survivors in the Marshall Islands when the trawler that picked them up returns to port in a couple of weeks. The government will then help them return home.
Soure: Scotsman News and the Vancouver Sun dated August 16, 2006
Absolutely incredible...
