All things Chocolate

This article, The Chocolate Wars – NYTimes.com, has a great rundown of the state of affairs when it comes to chocolate in the world today. The article starts with the fight for Cadbury, with Kraft on one side and Hershey on the other. This is not appealing to the British, I suspect, based upon the comments of the Mayor of London, Boris Johnston, who says they…

“…face an appalling choice of succumbing either to Kraft, makers of the plastic flaps of orange cheese, or to Hershey, whose Hershey bars have been likened in flavor — by independent experts — to a mixture of soap powder and baby vomit.”

Ouch!

Chocolate is big business, especially as places like India start substituting traditional treats for chocolate ones. (Think of all the cultures that don’t have chocolate desserts: those will be the countries and cultures that the big chocolate makers will go towards.)

But it’s not just business. The article has a summary of the history of chocolate over the 20th century and some guesses as to why we find chocolate so appealing. So break open a box of Christmas chocolate — or heck, have the last one! — and check out this article.

Bah Humbug! The infamous CHRISTMA exec worm

Back in the 1980s when I worked on VM as a system programmer, people used to send around VM executable code like the CHRISTMA exec that people would run. The execs (as we called them)  would show a text message like the one in this picture. Pretty harmless and nice.

However, the CHRISTMA EXEC was different. It was not harmless or nice. It was dangerous and sneaky. It would not only display a Christmas message, but, without you being aware of it, would read a file (the NETLOG file) that would find out email addresses of people who sent and received email from you and send itself to them as well. A worm, essentially. Since people were used to getting scripts as Christmas greetings, they ran it without looking at it (indeed, the comments even tell people: “browsing this file is no fun at all       just type CHRISTMAS from cms “…sneaky). The next thing we knew, this worm was showing up all over the place. A nice way to spend Christmas time, killing this worm.

So to the CHRISTMA EXEC I say, “Bah Humbug!”.

But to everyone else I say: Merry Christmas!

Jane Hamsher’s “10 Reasons to Kill the Senate Bill” and a rebuttal to those reasons…

..can be found here: xpostfactoid: Eight rebuttals to “10 reasons to kill the Senate bill”

I think Hamsher makes some good points, and even this rebuttal cannot overturn them all. That said, I still think the HCR bill before the Senate provide a great benefit to Americans. I was going to say, “despite it’s flaws”, but like all legislation, it goes without saying it has flaws. (Even the U.S. Constitution has its flaws (and the Amendments to correct them)).

People on the left who are agreeing with Hamsher should check out the link above.

African Graphic Novels


I came across three great links on a tweet from @gkofiannan who was retweeting @emeka_okafor and pointing to African graphic novels that will be interesting to anyone interested in Africa, graphic novels, or smart things in general. “aya” is one, and you can find it here: Africa Unchained: Search results for aya.  As well the Guardian has a story on “Marguerite Abouet’s hugely popular series of books, centred on the life of a young woman in a cheerful Ivory Coast suburb, show an Africa far from stereotypes of war and disease” which also sound interesting. Finally there is a good blog post on “The Shadow Speaker”, another such work.

I believe France has a strong tradition of graphic novels. And I noticed that two of the authors here are associated with Côte d’Ivoire. I wonder if there is any connection there? Regardless, they look great. Check them out.

On NORAD tracking Santa


CNET News has a great story on NORAD tracking Santa with some good gems in it, including this one!

“…it actually began in 1955 with a wrong number.

One morning that December, U.S. Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, the director of operations at CONAD, the Continental Air Defense Command–NORAD’s predecessor–got a phone call at his Colorado Springs, Colo., office (see video below). This was no laughing matter. The call had come in on one of the top secret lines inside CONAD that only rang in the case of a crisis.

Grabbing the phone, Shoup must have expected the worst. Instead, a tiny voice asked, “Is this Santa Claus?”

“Dad’s pretty annoyed,” said Terri Van Keuren, Shoup’s daughter, recalling the legend of that day in 1955. “He barks into the phone,” demanding to know who’s calling.

“The little voice is now crying,” Van Keuren continued. “‘Is this one of Santa’s elves, then?'”

The Santa questions were only beginning. That day, the local newspaper had run a Sears Roebuck ad with a big picture of St. Nick and text that urged, “Hey, Kiddies! Call me direct…Call me on my private phone and I will talk to you personally any time day or night.”

But the phone number in the ad was off by a digit. Instead of connecting with Santa, callers were dialing in on the line that would ring if the Russians were attacking.

Before long, the phone was ringing off the hook, and softening up, Shoup grabbed a nearby airman and told him to answer the calls and, Van Keuren said, “‘just pretend you’re Santa.'”

Indeed, rather than having the newspaper pull the Sears ad, Shoup decided to offer the countless kids calling in something useful: information about Santa’s progress from the North Pole. To quote the official NORAD Santa site, “a tradition was born.””

The whole article in CNET is good. Go see!

The long arm of the law catches underage drinkers using a Facebook sting

As if we don’t have enough examples of why it is bad to break the law or the rules and post it on Facebook, here comes another example where police in Wisconsin used Facebook to catch underage drinkers by friending them. You can see the details here on Wired Campus.

You know those hundreds of friends you have on Facebook? Some of them are not your friends. Beware.

What will Health Care Reform (HCR) mean for the rest of the world?

I believe that HCR is actually great for the rest of the world. Because with HCR, Americans will be spending more of their money on Health Care, versus other Things (Things = cars, houses, etc.). As more money gets devoted to Health Care, there will be a greater focus on Health Care generally. I believe the result will be more innovations in the area of Health, with more cures and better ways to deliver health care. This will benefit Americans, but indirectly it will benefit the rest of the world as well.

I used to be envious of Americans because they received tax deductions on their mortgages. Sadly, this likely led to the Great Recession we are just starting to pull out of. If Americans put their money into better Health Care versus better houses and better cars, we all will benefit.

The oddly negative articles of Konrad Yakabuski in the Globe and Mail

His latest, With bitter pills, Obama gets his health vote, is typical of his articles in the Globe. While it’s a good thing to have editorial columns criticizing Obama (and all other politicians, left and right), to see it in articles is another thing. If you read this, and his other columns, you will see how Yakabuski sees Obama and his situation in a very negative light. The overall column is more balanced. For example, this is true:

That is a singular achievement and the second in as many days for the President, who also extracted a commitment from developing countries to join the fight against global warming. But in both so-called successes, Mr. Obama acted as a broker of deals rather than a principled idealist. As such, he risks alienating his most fervent supporters.

Sounds pretty positive, yes? There’s lots more, too. And that’s what makes them odd: the articles themselves are balanced and well written, but there is almost an attempt to make them more negative then they are or need to be.

For example, on this article that I referenced, it is true that there is a strong negative reaction to this. But there’s also columns by such notable people like Paul Krugman and over at TPM media that balance that out. That’s the bigger picture, and from the Globe and it’s writers, I would like the bigger picture. If I want smaller more partisan pictures, there’s lots of blogs and other places for that.

There’s alot of good coverage in Yakabuski’s articles. But his negativity is odd, to say the least.

P.S. Thanks for reading this. If you have found it useful and you’d like to say thanks by buying me a coffee, you can do so here. Thanks! That’s awesome!

Want to be “green”? Keep the SUV…ditch the dog.

Yikes! If you believe this, it looks like you may be greener to own an SUV than a dog! (Cat owners may smile at this…)

Now I would argue that if you are going to have a vehicle at all, you should aim for something greener than an SUV. As for dogs, it’s clearly not a choice of: should I get rid of the dog or the SUV. Still, it’s interesting food for thought. See here for more: Is Owning a Dog Worse than Owning an SUV? – GOOD Blog – GOOD

Crossdressing for freedom in Iran

Why are these men dressed as women? Apparently it happened when the activist Majid Tavakoli was arrested in Iran, and the government released (doctored?) photos of him wearing a chador and a scarf around his head in a suspected attempt to embarass him. Instead, it encourage other men in and out of Iran to post photos of themselves dressed the same way as a brilliant way to protest against the government and their actions.

 See IRAN: Apparent attempt at humiliating activist sparks widespread hijab backlash in the Los Angeles Times for more details.

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Mitchell Kanashkevich’s Travel and Photography Blog


Mitchell’s Travel and Photography Blog not only has great photographs, like this one, but good posts on his travels around the world. He also writes well about photography and his thoughts on it. Anyone interested in good photography and how to make it should pay his blog a visit. I am taking the liberty of linking to this photo of his to encourage you to go see the rest of his site.

French Health Care beats American Health Care

If you are to the left of the political spectrum in the U.S., then this article, Why I Prefer French Health Care by the head of Reason Magazine, is not going to tell you anything you don’t already know.

But if you are to the right of the political spectrum, you owe it to yourself to read it. The author has lots of experience with the French and the U.S. health care system, and he makes the case for the French system over the U.S. with strong personal examples. And face it: reason.com is all for free minds and free markets, and yet they (or the author) argues this.

Americans deserve better health care. Certainly they deserve care that’s as good as the French (and Canadian, etc.) Hears hoping they get it.

Goats: a great Christmas gift idea

Yes, that’s right, these things:

If you have a friend or loved one who doesn’t really need anything for Christmas, why not buy a goat for them? Now, if you go here, you will see that if you Donate a Goat you Give Charitable Gifts to a Family in Need via the program Oxfam America Unwrapped. It provides food, fertilizer, and empowers women. Not bad for $50.

Or consider this: if you have to buy a present for someone you would rather not, you can give them a pile of manure! How awesome is that? 🙂 Either way you can helps others and help yourself with your gift list.

Oxfam America has a video describing the program. Watch it, then go get someone a goat or something else for this December.

The Big Banks blow off Obama

What’s impressive about this photo is who’s not in it. Namely, the heads of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Apparently bad weather meant that they could not make the meeting. But really, if they were looking for money, do you think they would have missed this? No, me neither.

I find this interesting. Clearly they think they no longer need taxpayers help. Which is good, in a way. They probably think that it’s unlikely that Obama will do the same thing that Gordon Brown is doing in the UK with the Bonus Tax. And they must have been checking their Blackberries when Paul Volcker was lecturing them recently. Otherwise they would have made this meeting, even if they had to have their limo drivers drive them here.

Post meeting, it will be interesting also to see what happens between when Health Care gets settled and when the 2010 elections get going. Either Obama and team take their eye off this ball and focus on something else, or, they remember this meeting when the bankers decided to try and show them who’s the boss. My guess is that beating up the big banks will make for good electioneering by the Dems. So if they decide to ignore him when Obama Presses Giant Banks to Make More Loans then he’ll give them something to pay attention to later.

If you like Scotland, Johnnie Walker or Robert Carlyle, watch this

It’s a well filmed, single shot monologue by the great Scotch actor, Robert Carlyle, walking down the road in some remote place in Scotland, talking about Johnnie Walker blended whisky. Sounds simple, yes? It’s actually really well done. Like I said, one take, but with all the props in it as Carlyle strides down the road matching perfectly his monologue, it must have been very challenging to do.

I love the scenery as well as the use of English subtitles, despite Carlyle speaking English (but of course with a Scotch accent).

Brilliant.

YouTube – Johnnie Walker – The Man Who Walked Around The World

Art Interiors / Emily Bickell update (or, if you are STILL Christmas shopping… :))

The art interiors festival of smalls is still going on, and they still have lots of great art work by Canadian artists selling at a very low cost (I would say “cheap”, but there is nothing inferior about these paintings).

I got an update from Emily Bickell that she is sending more of her work to the sale, which is great, because her painting are selling fast!

Which gets me to my last point: if you are STILL Christmas shopping and you find the thought of crushing in with the crowds and lining up with the lineups depressing, you can order online from art interiors! But do it fast: the paintings ain’t hanging around (in any sense of the phrase).

Finally, here is another of Emily’s work, which is related to but different from her abstract water works.

I am a big fan of Christopher Pratt and Winslow Homer and this painting and the ones like it remind me of that, though it is calmer than some of Homer’s painting and not as stark as some of Pratt’s. Great stuff, all, though. And since you likely can’t afford Homer or Pratt…

To paraphrase Edna Mode: Go! Shop! Buy! And tell me all about it when you get something… 🙂

Emily Bickell / Red Sailboat / Affordable Artwork / Canadian Art / Gallery / Framing / Canvas / Art Interiors – Toronto, ON

Great movies posters of the last decade by Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert has a list of what he considers the best movie posters of the last decade. And no doubt he has seen alot. This is one of them here (it helps to step back from the poster to see more detail).

Many Hollywood movie posters tend to be predicable, with the art work often taking a back seat to the text. In most of these posters, the art work is predominant.

There are quite a few posters here at Great movie posters of the decade – Roger Ebert’s Journal. It’s worth seeing them all.

If you are going to run a morning marathon, train in the morning

I was really surprised by this article in the NYTimes.com because it is saying that even with the same workout done the same way, your heartrate could be higher in the evening than the morning. The article goes on to discuss why this could be. It’s fascinating in itself, but as someone who trains mostly later in the day but runs early morning marathons and other long distance races, it’s also concerning. I train with a heart rate monitor, and my tempo runs are based on my heart rate later in the day. When I run the race, I am assuming my heart rate is going to be the same for the same effort. But in fact, to get the same heart rate in a morning race, I might have to be running alot faster. This sounds like it could be a good thing, but you could also end up over-exerting yourself and not having enough strength in your legs to get to the finish line.

The net of it is, if you are going to run a morning marathon, do some long distance and tempo runs in the morning as well to have a better understanding of what pace you should be running at come race day.

Beware of the new Facebook panel asking for your privacy settings

Why should you beware? Because it appears what they are recommending is that you be alot more open with your data. That is certainly the case with me. For my settings, I restrict my settings to “Only Friends” for most people. For my photos, I restrict that mainly to close friends and family.  However, what Facebook advised is essentially making most of that open to others beyond that. So, if your old settings were locked down like mine are, pick “Old Settings”.

Facebook is making this look like they are offering more Privacy, but what they really want (need?) you to do is open up for their own benefit. I think you should pick what works best for you.

I also didn’t like that I needed to have to move my mouse over an Old Settings radio button before I could see my old settings. They could have made it alot more obvious. I suspect most people will have a hard time with the panel and pick settings that don’t work for them.

That’s just me. You need to decide for yourself what your privacy settings should be. I just don’t see Facebook being all that helpful in that regard.