Julie Payette on The Hour (November 17, 2009)

Canadian astronaut Julie Payette (wow, my former TA) says spacecraft operators are Type A personalities and explains a few things about what it’s like in zero gravity. Julie was recently in space for the second time in mission STS-127.

Good news for non-lawyers to understand U.S. legal opinions. Now, I hope Google will index Canadian legal opinions soon too. Here is an excerpt from Google’s announcement,

“Starting today, we’re enabling people everywhere to find and read full text legal opinions from U.S. federal and state district, appellate and supreme courts using Google Scholar. You can find these opinions by searching for cases (like Planned Parenthood v. Casey), or by topics (like desegregation) or other queries that you are interested in. For example, go to Google Scholar, click on the “Legal opinions and journals” radio button, and try the query separate but equal. Your search results will include links to cases familiar to many of us in the U.S. such as Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, which explore the acceptablity of “separate but equal” facilities for citizens at two different points in the history of the U.S. But your results will also include opinions from cases that you might be less familiar with, but which have played an important role.”

[via WSJ Law Blog]

What do you think? Art Gallery of Alberta: Odd Building, Odd Logo?

[via BMD]

From CNBC (transcript and video) (emphasis added),

“QUESTION:  Hi.  My name is Katrina Gankena, and I was born in Russia.  And I’m a second-year student at Columbia Business School.  My question is for Mr. Gates.  What industry do you think is going to produce the next Bill Gates?  Because that’s the industry I want to get a job in. [LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE]

GATES:  Industries do have different paces of innovation.  So the IT industry, driven by the magic of software, the magic of the optic fiber, magic of the chip which doubles in power every couple of years, it’s been the industry that has not only been the most exciting, it’s also changed the rules for many other industries.  The idea of information being available, what the online world is like, that’s incredible.  I’ll tell you, there are a few other industries that will compete for being exciting in the decades ahead.  The energy business, some approach will provide cheaper energy that’s environmentally friendly.  And there’s a lot of science, a lot of business.  That’s a global thing.  There will be some great careers there.  Medicine, you know.  We haven’t solved Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s or about 20 diseases of these poor countries, and yet we can be sure that we’re on track to do that.  And so those three industries I think you would do great in.  There’s many others, but those are the ones that have the strongest appeal to me.

BUFFETT:  Find what turns you on.  Find what you have a passion for. If somebody said to me when I was getting out of Columbia, you know, that Bill’s business was going to be the one that would be exciting, you know, I don’t think I’d have done so well.  [LAUGHTER]  But I knew what turned me on.  I had a professor, Ben Graham, I offered to go to work for him for nothing.  He said, “You’re overpriced.”  Nonetheless, I went into the business. [APPLAUSE]  I will guarantee, you will do well at whatever turns you on.  There’s no question about that.  Don’t let anybody else tell you what to do.  You figure out what you are doing. [APPLAUSE]“

The AIG bailout report (PDF file) from SIGTARP (Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program).

Have a read of what Paul Krugman wrote, insightful.

WINDmobile would rather have its shops open and doing business already but, under the current circumstances, it is nice to see Canadian charities benefit from WINDmobile’s down time. Cool to see WINDmobile building some bridges and doing some Social Business. Good luck to people of the WIND.

By the way, here is the Calgary WIND group.

[via WINDmobile]

Nov 20 Update: Another Amazing Day.

Have a listen to CBC The Current interview with Malalai Joya. I may not agree with each of Malalai’s suggestions but what she saw and experienced in Afghanistan is scary and we need to know.

Here are some info from The Current (emphasis added).

“Malalai Joya

Hamid Karzai was sworn in for another term as Afghanistan’s President this morning. This against the backdrop of explosive news here in Canada that in 2006 and 2007, senior government officials including the prime minister’s office and the defense ministry were told Afghan detainees taken by Canadian troops and handed to Afghan officials were subject to beatings and electric shocks.

This morning as Ottawa reels from news that could affect Canadian politics and it’s place in international law… a lone Afghan woman is making her way across to Canada arguing that our troops and all foreign forces should get out.

Malalai Joya was 27-years-old when she became the youngest person elected to the new Afghan Parliament. She’s now suspended from Parliament for criticizing other MPs and accusing many of being warlords and criminals. She calls Afghanistan’s democracy a farce and says her country’s liberation is a lie. She has written a book called A Woman Among Warlords. Malalai Joya was in Toronto.”

Douglass North, 1993 recipient of the Nobel prize in economics, talks about the 2009’s laureates, Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson.

[via Gary M C Shiu]

From CTV, “Groundbreaking technology powers Olympic Torch Cam“. Plus this video via @CTVOtorch, “Video from Canada AM : Alon Marcovici describes cutting edge technology for the live cam following the torch. http://bit.ly/4CzmwE“

Based on what I understand at the moment, I think the smart people at Dejero Labs in Waterloo, Canada are doing some groundbreaking stuff. Take a look of these cool features.

I am trying to get more information from the Dejero Labs team and will add more neat info to this entry if I have things to add.

P.S. I’ve been attending the Banff World TV Festival (for broadcaster and producers) and NextMEDIA conferences since 2006. And I have always been on the lookout for cool technologies. Dejero Labs is really cool in my eyes.

P.P.S. For my blog entry about the Torch relay itself, see “Live Webcam @ Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay“.

CTV is doing a great job putting up a Live Webcam @ Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay with a Google map show where they are. You can also follow the Torch at Twitter. Check these out, quite cool. Got to see a bit of Canada and where the Torch is traveling.

I’ve blogged more about the live webcast technology in “Dejero Labs – Powering Live Webcast of Olympic Torch Relay“.

P.S. At the end of the day, it is not the about the Olympic flame. It is not about the Olympic Torch. It is not even about the famous Canadian stars and people carrying the Torch. It is about the lovely Canadian towns and cities that the Olympic Flame has traveled to. It is about the Canadian hearts and minds the Olympic spirit has touched. It is about us.

The following are pictures of some Olympic Torch bearer: John Ells, Rodney Helpard, Cia Tweel, Sarah Bryson, Sidney Crosby, and Mallory Sanford on a Zamboni. I’ve also included a video clip of Sidney.

Here is a video of our beloved Sidney Crosby running with the Olympic Torch. (sorry no audio).

CTV has a report with better picture, “Sidney Crosby runs with Olympic flame in Halifax“.

Note 1: The @CTVOtorch Live Webcam went down or became “temporarily unavailable” many times over the live broadcast, including moments during the Sidney Crosby coverage. Now, considering the complexity of this brand new technology, I think it did an admirable job.

Note 2: For the record, the following are some of the Twitter updates @CTVOtorch at the time of me writing this blog entry (the first picture captured at the top of this post) showing who are carrying the Torch and where the Torch is going next, etc. And the status in French too!

Le flambeau est en train de passer d’Enfield à Waverly, N.S.
8 minutes ago from TweetDeck
We are finished in Enfield and are now on the way to Waverly, N.S.
10 minutes ago from TweetDeck
Larry Corbin is carrying the torch in Enfield, N.S.
15 minutes ago from TweetDeck
Richard Niedermayer is the current torchbearer in Enfield, N.S.
18 minutes ago from TweetDeck
We are now in Enfield. N.S.
19 minutes ago from TweetDeck
Donna MacNeil is currently carrying the torch.
20 minutes ago from TweetDeck
John Marshall has the torch!
23 minutes ago from TweetDeck
Actuellement, Elizabeth Wile porte la flamme.
26 minutes ago from TweetDeck
Elizabeth Wile is the current flame runner in Elmsdale, N.S.

P.P.S. “Crosby to join Olympic torch run in Halifax“. Sidney is cool but I think the story is the Canadians in big or small places across the country.

An excerpt from The Independent (UK), “Meet cyberwoman, the battleground for the next election“,

Tomorrow, David Cameron will spend an hour online answering questions put to him by users of the Mumsnet site. It will be his second guest appearance. The first worked out very well, because he appears to be equally at ease whether he is asked about policy or more personal matters such as his home life.

Gordon Brown, by contrast, does not handle personal questions comfortably, and endured days of ridicule after his Mumsnet experience, when he was unable to answer a question put to him a dozen times about what his favourite biscuit was.

David Cameron is unlikely to have the same difficulties as he is bombarded with questions ranging from the serious – whether child benefit should be means-tested, for instance – to the deeply trivial, such as whether he prefers oatcakes on their own or with cheese.

“That is Mumsnet to a T,” its founder, Justine Roberts, said yesterday. “It can be very serious, and it can be very silly. From my perspective, it did not matter at all whether Gordon Brown answered the question about biscuits. I think the reason it got asked 12 times was that people were slightly frustrated that the answers they were given to other questions were a little bit by rote, and because it seemed to be the easiest question to answer.”

Cool presentation by Stowe Boyd, Social Business.

Nice quotes, “The Individual Is The New Group”, “A Village, Not An Army”, “Small Talk Is Big Again”.

Audio show in mp3 repost from TVO Search Engine,

American military recruiters have moved online, using web quizzes, Xbox shooters and sophisticated data mining to woo young recruits. Post your comments on the Search Engine blog: http://www.tvo.org/searchengine

CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein at 2008 Banff World TV Festival

From Inside The CBC (emphasis added),

At the packed hearings CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein often seemed exasperated with the approach from both sides. He pressed officials repeatedly on why the carriers and broadcasters couldn’t solve this issue themselves. “Why is it so difficult for you to sit down and negotiate?” he asked a Rogers official.

Von Finckenstein said he was very frustrated by the messy, public battle between the conventional broadcasters and the cable and satellite carriers, the likes of he had never seen before. “I have trouble realizing why we are in this mess.” He said broadcasters and carriers are in a “symbiotic relationship. There should be a symbiotic solution.”

Nevertheless Von Finckenstein realized that the fee-for-carriage argument is contentious and long-running. He noted it was first discussed at the CRTC in 1971. Still Von Finkenstein is looking for a resolution of the issue, saying the debate is not “about enshrining old business models…” but “establishing a framework for group approach.”

Von Finckenstein said he didn’t want the CRTC to impose a solution, he said he wanted the two sides to come together and figure out a way to split the pie. “I don’t understand why you don’t realize it’s in your long-term interest to come to an agreement.”

“I think [the carriers] and the broadcasters are destroying each other and chasing viewers off the medium.”

“Tiger Spirit, a feature documentary exploring the issue of reunification of North and South Korea, won the Donald Brittain award for best social/political documentary program.” – CBC News

Congrats Min Sook, I am so happy for you!

Check out the film trailer and an earlier audio interview with Min Sook about the film when it came to 2008 Calgary International Film Festival.

You can also check out Min Sook’s new film trailer for My Toxic Baby and my audio interview with her.