Recently in News Category

I watch Keith every night on MSNBC because of his occasional Special Comment... here is the latest one! The ending Shut up is extra special this time around. Well said! 

Doors Open Toronto is back on May 24th and May 25th this year with free admission to all events as always. What is it? Well here is a little more about it: 

EcoCab is an environmentally friendly, pedal-powered taxi designed to reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions while providing a unique form or urban transportation. This May, EcoCab will make its way on to Toronto streets and offer downtown commuters an environmentally responsible form of transportation that is not only free of emissions, but free of cost as well. Funded entirely by corporate advertisers, Torontonians will be able to enjoy a fast and free commute between the areas that they live, work and play while doing their part to help the environment along the way. In return, drivers acting on behalf of the participating advertisers will interact with riders while on route, offering them promotional information and in some cases product samples. Great idea as long as they keep the advertising and promotions within some decent limits, we are bombarded with advertising 24/7 as it is so hopefully people will not be turn off by the concept too much. I wonder how the (real car) cab drivers will feel about this new green concept? 

"People have complained about photographers being stopped from taking pictures by police, PCSOs, wardens and by various officious people," he said. 

A special message for Earth Hour 2008 from Bijan Anjomi, Hermann Muller and Sonia Ricotti. 
www.TorontoEarthHour.org

In the resent study you learn more about the above topic: 

People are happier when they spend money on others than when they spend it on themselves, a new study by researchers in Canada and the United States suggests. "Our results suggest that how people spend their money is at least as important for happiness as how much they earn," co-author Lara Aknin, a master's student at the University of British Columbia told CBCNews.ca via e-mail. "Therefore, small alterations in your spending choices — even small amounts — can have a significant impact on your happiness level."

MoveOn.org has posted a petition for media outlets regarding Fox (News) Noise smear campaign about Barack Obama, it reads the following:  MoveOn letter explains it in more detail:

I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to world leaders and the international community for their concern over the recent sad turn of events in Tibet and for their attempts to persuade the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint in dealing with the demonstrations. Since the Chinese Government has accused me of orchestrating these protests in Tibet, I call for a thorough investigation by a respected body, which should include Chinese representatives, to look into these allegations. Such a body would need to visit Tibet, the traditional Tibetan areas outside the Tibet Autonomous Region, and also the Central Tibetan Administration here in India. In order for the international community, and especially the more than one billion Chinese people who do not have access to uncensored information, to find out what is really going on in Tibet, it would be of tremendously helpful if representatives of the international media also undertook such investigations. Whether it was intended or not, I believe that a form of cultural genocide has taken place in Tibet, where the Tibetan identity has been under constant attack. Tibetans have been reduced to an insignificant minority in their own land as a result of the huge transfer of non-Tibetans into Tibet. The distinctive Tibetan cultural heritage with its characteristic language, customs and traditions is fading away. Instead of working to unify its nationalities, the Chinese government discriminates against these minority nationalities, the Tibetans among them. It is common knowledge that Tibetan monasteries, which constitute our principal seats of learning, besides being the repository of Tibetan Buddhist culture, have been severely reduced in both in number and population. In those monasteries that do still exist, serious study of Tibetan Buddhism is no longer allowed; in fact, even admission to these centres of learning is being strictly regulated. In reality, there is no religious freedom in Tibet. Even to call for a little more freedom is to risk being labeled a separatist. Nor is there any real autonomy in Tibet, even though these basic freedoms are guaranteed by the Chinese constitution. I believe the demonstrations and protests taking place in Tibet are a spontaneous outburst of public resentment built up by years of repression in defiance of authorities that are oblivious to the sentiments of the local populace. They mistakenly believe that further repressive measures are the way to achieve their declared aim of long-term unity and stability. On our part, we remain committed to taking the Middle Way approach and pursuing a process of dialogue in order to find a mutually beneficial solution to the Tibetan issue. With these points in mind, I also seek the international community's support for our efforts to resolve Tibet's problems through dialogue, and I urge them to call upon the Chinese leadership to exercise the utmost restraint in dealing with the current disturbed situation and to treat those who are being arrested properly and fairly.

According to a new study recently done by researchers at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne who were looking into the psychological benefits of blogging came out with results that bloggers tend to feel more connected with a particular community. They also feel that they have a larger social support system behind them compared with those who do not blog. The same applies to social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace. Blogging can help you feel less isolated, more connected to a community and more satisfied with your friendships, both online and face-to-face, new Australian research has found. They were also more likely to use venting or expressing your emotions as a way of coping. Could blogging be used as a form therapy for those who feel isolated, misunderstood or lonely? It is possible, those who do blog frequently seem to have high sense of self worth and higher self esteem. I guess it is not all about ego, or is it? 

This is another reason why we all should boycott China and its brutal leadership as well as this coming Olympics. I think Canada and other countries should pull their teams from participation as act of protest. It is time to put pressure on them and stop the human right abuse, Tibet is a free country, the occupation must end. 

On landing runway 23 Hamburg Germany, in severe cross wind conditions, the aircraft was caught by a gust lifting its right wing up causing its left wingtip to strike the runway. Pilots were able to go-around for a 2nd safe landing on runway 33. Damage to leading edge and left winglet.

Featuring a new, easier user interface designed to be more intuitive and accessible, Aperture 2 now lets users navigate between Viewer and Browser modes with a single key command. Screen real estate is maximized for images with an all-in-one heads up display that allows users to toggle between library, metadata and adjustment controls in a single tabbed inspector. The All Projects view, modeled after iPhoto’s Events view, provides a poster photo for every project and the ability to quickly skim through the photos inside, and the integrated iPhoto® Browser offers direct access to all the events and images in the iPhoto library. Performance has been enhanced in Aperture 2 so it’s faster to import, browse and search large volumes of images. Embedded previews let photographers caption, keyword and rate images as they are being imported, and with the ability to export images in the background, photographers can continue working while images are processed to JPEG, TIFF, PNG and PSD file formats. Quick Preview allows users to browse RAW images in rapid succession without having to wait for files to load, and the Aperture library database has been re-architected to provide fast project switching and near instantaneous search results, even when working with extremely large libraries of 500,000 images or more. Aperture 2 delivers powerful new imaging tools for getting the most out of each photograph. Apple’s next-generation RAW image processing is at the core of Aperture 2 offering uncompromising image quality and precision controls that let users fine-tune the image profile for each of their cameras. New tools for improving and enhancing images include Recovery for pulling back “blown” highlights, Vibrancy for selectively boosting saturation without adversely affecting skin tones, Definition, which offers local contrast for adding clarity to images, Vignette & Devignette filters for providing professional visual effects and a true soft-edged Repair and Retouch brush for quickly and easily removing blemishes, cleaning up sensor dust and cloning away problem areas.

• Image adjustment controls such as Highlight Recovery, Definition, Vibrancy, and Vignette 
• Retouch tool with soft-edged brush to remove unwanted elements from photos. 
• Next-generation RAW image processing for highest-quality images 
• Quick Preview mode for rapid-fire photo browsing 
• Simplified user interface that maximizes screen space and provides direct access to your 
• iPhoto library from within Aperture Integration with .Mac Web Gallery to instantly publish your photos, allowing visitors to view and download images.

Surprise! You got a new magazine in the mail... well I did not ask for it but it came so I thought I will have a closer look at it. Everywhere Magazine is a new magazine from the same publisher who is making JPG Magazine for which I actually do have a subscription hence the reason why they send me their first complimentary  copy of Everywhere. 

Internet services have been disrupted in parts of the Middle East following damage to an undersea cable in the Mediterranean, according to reports from major news networks. It appears that there is a disruption to 70% of the nationwide network in Egypt due to a faulty undersea cable which links Palermo, Italy and Alexandria in Egypt. Due to this failure there is huge impact on many other countries in the region like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Even India has lost about 60% of their internet access today. The repairs may take a while so for now they are trying to fix the issues by re-routing the Internet tracking using other routes and satellites. Impact could be huge not only on communications but also on economy if this issue is not resolve as soon as possible.  

Time Machine has been an amazing feature in the new Mac OS X Leopard for those like me who use a new iMac but when it comes to taking a full advantage of it on a MacBook, it is a different story. You must connect an external drive to use this back engine for it to work well. But now we have a new solution from Apple called Time Capsule. Which will allow you to back your MacBook and iMac wireless, there going to be two models released in February: 500 GB version for $299USD and a 1 TB $499USD. Effectively cutting the cord from a backup! Isn't it brilliant? 

I think everyone should be getting those in 2008!

For the next couple of days which is tonight and tomorrow night both the Moon and Mars will be the brightest and closest ever to the Earth in long time. The Moon will be the highest ever and at 98% full, Mars will be aligned with the Sun and the Earth so you will be able to see it in full. It has been reported that it's the first time in 47 years that we are able to see this next again not until 2023. If you have get a clear sky and you are outside make sure you lift your head upwards to see it.

As a European who holds dual citizenship I am very pleased with the new larger Schengen Zone as of midnight tonight. Not only it simplifies travel between member states but also is a step in right direction for the world. I am firm believer that we as human race should completely abolish all borders between all countries. There should be free flow of people all over the planet, boarders are not natural in itself and often a cause of hostile behaviour and many conflicts around the world. We are all the same even though we may look different or speak different languages, we are humans on our own planet, we should be free to live and work where we want to. Not built barriers and restrict others who may want to be elsewhere. EU is a step in right direction and I hope the expansion continues over the years and it includes more and more countries hopefully they idea spreads elsewhere in the world at the same time. 

Since I have decided to switch from Windows to Mac, I have been asked about how will I cope without some of the more essential programs I am so used to use for so many years. I have thought about it long before I decided to change the platform and came to simple conclusion: I don't need to have many of those programs install on my computer anymore because most of them applications are web based now. It was the idea behind Web 2.0 which has brought many of useful programs from a desktop format to the web. The nice thing about doing many of the usual tasks right on the web is that you don't need to worry about the programs, upgrading them, installing and uninstalling, dealing with crushing etc. Plus since they are web based you can access them anymore you are as long as you have Internet access, you do not even need your own computer. Web based projects can be also useful if you want to collaborate on something with a friend or a group of people. From your online based e-mail rather than using Outlook to Google Docs where there is no longer a need for Microsoft Office, more and more old school applications are available as web based tools. When you are on your own computer is would be nice simply click on an icon to access some of your frequently access web based tools online quickly. This is where the Mac OS X application comes handy, it is called Fluid! It helps to bridge the gap between online and desktop applications in a fast and efficient way. It is still in a Beta but it works very well. When open Fluid, you type in the URL of the app required like Google Docs and the name of it, then it creates a shortcut that can be easily dragged onto the Mac dock. Click on the newly created icon and up pops the web based online like it was a normal piece of software on your computer. Very simply and easy way to create a handy shortcut to your favorite online tools.