INCREDNET

Free phone calls via Gmail

2010-08-25T22:40:00.000-07:00

All hail Google. Again.

Check it out at Gmail.com/call.

The geek inside me just jizzed his pants.

McNugget Rampage

2010-08-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

Climategate: Just one of 94 "gates" Al Gore doesn't want you to know about

2010-08-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

“The most telling point is that after spending $30 billion on pure science research no one is able to point to a single piece of empirical evidence that man-made carbon dioxide has a significant effect on the global climate.” Source

Well, we've all heard about Climategate and the scientific scandals designed to fool people into believing their Honda Civics were somehow warming the planet. But that was just the beginning. Here are 10 more "gate" scandals that have rocked the quickly vanishing global warming movement into oblivion (see source below for a link to the rest, and click on the title links for each one listed here):

1. Acceleration of sea level rise-gate
Claims of accelerating sea level rise are misleading.

2. African agriculture claim-gate
IPCC wrongly claims that in some African countries yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 percent by 2020.

3. AIT-gate and British High Court
35 errors or gross exaggerations are found in Al Gore’s Oscar winning mockumentary An Inconvenient Truth.

4. NEW! Alaskan glaciers-gate
Loss of glaciers in Alaska was grossly exaggerated.

5. Amazon rainforest-gate and here (NEW!) and here (NEW!)
IPCC cites “robust” source: green activist organisation WWF. WWF’s source was merely an anonymous brief on forest fire risks posted in 1999 and taken down four years later.

6. Antarctic sea ice-gate
Antarctic sea ice underestimated by 50%.

7. NEW! Authoritarian science-gate
The science says… Science is increasingly used as an instrument of authority to impose public policy.

8. NEW! Australia-gate Australia temperature adjusted upwards to show more warming.

9. Bangladesh-gate
IPCC inflates Bangladesh doomsday forecasts in 2007 4AR.

10. NEW! Biofuel-gate
Efforts to save the planet by using bio-fuels are in fact rapidly destroying it.

Check out the remaining 84 gates here:

http://pgosselin.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/climate-scandals-list-of-94-climate-gates/

Sorry, hippies. I didn't mean to ruin your day.

Truthful iPhone 4 Ad

2010-08-08T01:46:00.001-07:00

The WINDroid has arrived

2010-08-05T02:14:00.001-07:00

Finally, my fellow geeks, the day has come. You can now pair your WIND Mobile unlimited voice and data plan to a new WIND-branded Android smartphone for under two bills. No contract of course.

People have been waiting for months to see some droid goodness @ WIND and although you still won't get any high-end Nexus Ones or Samsung Vibrants directly from our favourite new carrier at this point, you can now pick up the Huawei U8100 compact touch screen smartphone. This device is basically identical to the T-Mobile Pulse Mini which is sold overseas and manufactured by Huawei as well.

It's quite basic with only a QVGA resistive touch screen but it's uber powerful at the same time as it runs Google's Android 2.1 right out of the box! Since Android is now the fastest selling smartphone OS in North America it only makes sense that WIND got on the bandwagon, and hopefully higher end models will be offered sooner than later.

Although let's be honest...those who are truly geekoids have already gotten their unlocked top of the line Androids running on WIND service. This basic model is targeted towards the budget friendly crowd and will be a hot seller. It will also introduce even more people to the supreme awesomeness of Google's Android software and overall radness of knowing you're helping to iKick Apple's arrogant ass.

Lucky as I am to be proudly working for WIND, I had the chance to play with this phone for most of the day and I have to admit I'm quite impressed. Sure it ain't no high res movie machine. It ain't no Snapdragon powerhouse. The keyboard can be a pain. But it does run Android, and that means a lot. It has instant access to thousands of applications and has a cool easy to use interface that people just love. It plays your own media and YouTube quite well and feels REALLY good in your hand. Perfect size for small pockets and for those who think devices like iPhones and Qwerty sliders are just too damn big.

The design is gorgeous, it looks and feels far more expensive than it really is. The only branding on the device is a WIND logo on the back cover and a start-up/shut-down screen saver. As far as I can tell the software isn't crippled at all and it's really a true Android experience.

Web pages load fast over both 3G and wifi, although the screen real estate and resolution hamper the experience somewhat. Still better than many higher end non-Android phones mind you, and it will be more than adequate for its target market. Facebook and Twitter are pre-installed, and countless more goodies await in the Marketplace.

There is a bit of lag at times depending on what's running in the background but I'm sure an upcoming upgrade to Android 2.2 Froyo will alleviate a lot of that. (Someone out there is probably already upgrading it, and I'm already stoked to see the results)

The new mini-droid is now officially available at WIND stores for a mere $160 + tax. I know this sounds like an ad for WIND, but I'll have you know that I ended up buying one myself. I'm posting this from my laptop which is tethered to my U8100 right now! This thing makes a great modem too, fyi. Ummm...yeah, and for that price, I simply cannot find anything to complain about. So, go get one. Or you could spend a day waiting in line and signing a three year overpriced contract for an overhyped phone that loses signal when you touch it. Ha. Or perhaps you just like the little picture of fruit on the back. Whatever.

I bet if you try this affordable droid instead, you'll end up on the Google train before you know it and you'll smartly spend your hard earned money on a Nexus One in no time... ;)

Bid Adios to the Anti-Global Warming Movement

2010-08-03T11:48:00.001-07:00

Now that Harry Reid has abandoned cap-and-trade, the movement has no ideas left.

Future historians will pinpoint Democratic Sen. Harry Reid's energy legislation, released last Tuesday, as the moment that the political movement of global warming entered an irreversible death spiral. It is kaput! Finito! Done!

This is not just my read of the situation; it is also that of Paul Krugman, the Nobel laureate-turned-Democratic-apparatchik. In his latest column for The New York Times, Krugman laments that “all hope for action to limit climate change died” in 2010. Democrats had a brief window of opportunity before the politics of global warming changed forever in November to ram something through Congress. But the Reid bill chose not to do so for the excellent reason that Democrats want to avoid an even bigger beating than the one they already face at the polls.

Not only does the bill avoid all mention of an economy-wide emission cap through a cap-and-tax—oops, cap-and-trade—scheme, it even avoids capping emissions or imposing renewable electricity standards on utility companies, the minimum that enviros had hoped for. Beyond stricter regulations on off-shore drilling, it offers subsidies to both homeowners to encourage them to make their homes more energy efficient and the nation's fleet of trucks to use cleaner burning natural gas. This is not costless, but it is a bargain compared with the “comprehensive” action on energy and climate change that President Barack Obama had been threatening.

Krugman blames this outcome on—you'll never guess this!—greedy energy companies and cowardly Republicans who sold out. But the fault, Dear Paul, lies not in them, but in your own weakling theories.

The truth is that there never has been an environmental issue that has enjoyed greater corporate support. Early in the global warming crusade, a coalition of corporations called United States Climate Action Partnership was formed with the express purpose of lobbying Congress to cut greenhouse gas emissions. It included major utilities (Duke Energy) and gas companies (BP) that stood to gain by hobbling the coal industry through a cap-and-trade scheme. Meanwhile, the Breakthrough Institute, a highly respected liberal outfit whose mission is to rejuvenate the progressive movement in this country, points out that environmental groups spent at least $100 million over the past two years executing what was arguably the best mobilization campaign in history. Despite all of this, notes Breakthrough, there is little evidence to suggest that cap-and-trade would have mustered more than 43 votes in the Senate.

This means that lucre is not the only motivating force in politics. Indeed, lobbyists are effective generally when they represent causes that coincide with the will of constituents, which is far from the case here. Voters are reluctant to accept economic pain to address remote causes with an uncertain upside. Heck, they are dubious even when the cause is not so remote and has a demonstrable upside. Take Social Security and Medicare. It is a mathematical certainty that, without reform, these programs will go bankrupt, jeopardizing the health care and retirement benefits of tens of millions Americans. Even though the cost of action is far smaller compared with the cost of inaction, persuading voters to do something is an uphill battle.

Yet even in the heyday of the consensus on global warming there was never this kind of certainty. The ClimateGate scandal—in which prominent climatologists were caught manipulating data to exaggerate the observed warming—has significantly weakened this consensus. But even if it hadn't, climate change is too complex an issue to ever be established with anything approaching iron-clad certainty. Hence, it was inevitable that it would run into a political dead-end.

This is exactly what the Reid bill represents. Indeed, if Democrats backed-off from their grand designs to cut carbon emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 with sizable majorities in Congress and a “celestial healer” in the White House there is little chance that they will ever be able to accomplish anything better at a later date. And if America—the richest country in the world and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases—won't act, there is a snowball's chance in Mumbai that India or China will.

Of course, authoritarian countries have a little bit more leeway than democracies to push unpalatable remedies. But it is not within the power of even China's autocrats to shove an energy diet down the throat of their people on the theory that the pain from it will be short-lived because it will trigger a search for better and cleaner energy alternatives—the totality of the green pitch for action.

This doesn't mean that there aren't a few more whimpers left in the global warming movement before it finally passes. On the international front, the buzz is that the Fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change currently in the works will be even more alarmist than the previous one. However, thanks to ClimateGate, it will give greater play to alternative voices. “Going forward, the general perception won't be one of consensus,” notes Cato Institute Senior Fellow Jerry Taylor, an expert on energy issues, “but one of increasing appreciation of disagreement on the issue.”

Domestically, green groups will prod the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions more aggressively. But this will be harder to do when Republicans inevitably make gains in Congress in November. Indeed, they will likely revive a Senate resolution floated by Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, banning the EPA from regulating emissions from stationary sources, which lost by just four votes last month. Global warming warriors are also talking about fighting the battle for emission cuts state-by-state. But they will lose on that front too. California, which embraced such cuts four years ago, is already facing a ballot initiative in November to scrap the law, as it loses business and jobs to other states. Indeed, the same collective action problems that prevent global action on climate change will inevitably bedevil state-level action too.

The global warming warriors will likely have to go through the five stages of grief before accepting that their moment has passed and the movement is dead. Thinkers more sophisticated than Krugman will no doubt point to many proximate causes for its demise beyond evil Republicans such as lack of engagement by President Obama, bad economic timing, filibuster rules, what have you.

The reality is, however, that the crusade was doomed from the start because of its own inherent weaknesses. RIP.

Source

Android Beats iPhone in Smartphone Sales

2010-08-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

Android is now the fastest-growing smartphone OS in both overall share and sales of new devices — and for the first time, people in the U.S. bought more Android phones than iPhones.

According to a Nielsen study released Monday, 27% of all purchasers of smartphones in the past 6 months bought an Android phone, up from 17% in a poll from the year’s first quarter. The Android OS jumped to 14% of overall smartphone share, just behind Windows Mobile at 15%. Apple dropped from 27% to 23% of new smartphone sales, but kept its 28% second-place position in the total smartphone user base.

The report is probably most troubling for Blackberry, which while still first overall in total smartphone users and new sales, has seen a steady decline in its share of new purchasers, from 45% a year ago to 33% in the recent quarter. Only 42% of Blackberry owners say that they want to purchase a Blackberry next, with a full 50% leaning towards either an iPhone or Android.

Nielsen’s data is not broken down by carrier, but it’s no coincidence that Verizon has heavily promoted the Motorola Droid and other Android phones over both Blackberry and Windows smartphones, while Motorola has in turn pushed against the iPhone, which is exclusive to AT&T. (See Motorola’s new ad campaign for the Droid, “No Jacket Required.”)

John Gruber, whose popular blog Daring Fireball is mostly about Apple news and products, commented: “How much of Android’s U.S. success is attributable to Verizon’s strength as the number one U.S. carrier? I.e., how different would these numbers look in an alternate universe where Verizon, not AT&T, is the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. carrier?”

Gruber also noted that by only counting smartphones, Nielsen’s statistics exclude the iPad and iPod touch, which run Apple’s iOS; including these non-phone mobile devices would give a better picture of the total market for developers targeting each of these platforms. But it’s unclear whether Apple benefits more by having devices like the iPad counted with smartphones or laptops: another new report by IDC shows that if iPads are added to the company’s notebook sales, Apple jumps to third place in the global mobile computing market.

Source

What a fitting story to share as WIND Mobile is about to join the Android bandwagon on August 4th!

Sex On Fire Remix

2010-07-31T15:14:00.000-07:00

Eargasms are free.

Ahoy Gorgeous

2010-07-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

Chicks Ahoy boat cruise July 30, 2010

In your face, Suicide Girls!

2010-07-30T03:46:00.000-07:00

WHAM BAM'S latest babe, the lovely Katie. Keep an eye on Whambambabes.com for lots of eye candy from this former Suicide Girl in the very near future!

Left-wing scientist bails on global warming movement

2010-07-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

Haha! Now even the left wingers are defecting against Al Gore's fantasy predictions.

Physicist Dr. Denis Rancourt, a former professor and environmental science researcher at the University of Ottawa, has officially bailed out of the man-made global warming movement. He declares it a 'corrupt social phenomenon...strictly an imaginary problem of the 1st World middleclass'. As thousands of other scientists around the world have agreed, he is correct.

> Exclusive New Video: Calls cap-and-trade an 'horrendous scam' -- Joins other left of center scientific and activist dissenters.

Watch it HERE.

“I argue that by far the most destructive force on the planet is power-driven financiers and profit-driven corporations and their cartels backed by military might; and that the global warming myth is a red herring that contributes to hiding this truth. In my opinion, activists who, using any justification, feed the global warming myth have effectively been co-opted, or at best neutralized,” Rancourt said.

Source: Climate Depot

More VPD brutality

2010-07-29T01:43:00.000-07:00

Sick. Just sick. Those wearing a uniform are increasingly becoming the enemy of the people.

And they wonder why? Last week this video surfaced showing a VPD officer pushing a woman with cerebral palsy to the ground on Hastings St. The officer in question has been reassigned. REASSIGNED! What the hell is this garbage? They either get reassigned or get paid leave whenever they are caught. Forget about when they're NOT caught!

He should be thrown in fucking jail along with the rest of his cronies back at the ol' station who probably laughed at the whole incident while preparing their bullshit press releases. Too bad this woman wasn't capable of fighting back. The officer deserved a swift kick in the nuts.

Blackberry 6 is almost here

2010-07-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

This new OS paired up with the upcoming Bold 9800 = pure sexy. I'm renewing my contract for an iPhone 4 and immediately selling that Apple hunk of junk so I can buy this ultimate BB unlocked! If you want a brand new iPhone 4, complete with reception problems and all, message me...lol.

Super MJ

2010-07-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

WOBBLEGIRL does dubstep!

2010-07-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Bahahahaha...is it wrong that I can't stop laughing?

Banned iPhone 4 Promo Video

2010-07-22T21:59:00.001-07:00

iFix

2010-07-20T23:36:00.000-07:00

Yes yes, this is my third post about Apple's flawed phone. So, what do you do if you actually bought a shiny new iPhone 4 and it's singing the reception blues? Here's a band-aid. Really.

Meet Antenn-aid – the Band-Aid for your iPhone 4

This is fucking awesome. And nicer than duct tape I suppose. Order yours from Antenna-aid.com.

iFail

2010-07-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

Consumer Reports:

> Thumbs Down for the iPhone 4

> iPhone Fail Log

> Update won't fix your reception problem

BAHAHAHAHA!!!

UPDATE:

> Here is an iFix for the problem!

Consumer Reports: Can't Recommend iPhone 4

2010-07-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

Is there an app for getting reception on an iPhone? Yep, it's called duct tape. Seriously. LOL.

UPDATE: Even after Apple's "antennagate" press conference to try and convince us there's nothing wrong, Steve Jobs offers all iPhone 4 owners a free rubber case and Consumer Reports still gives iPhone 4 the big thumbs down. As they should.

Sorry Steve, the problem does NOT happen on my Blackberry Bold 9700, no matter how much I try. With your iPhone, people don't even have to try and it loses signal. You shouldn't need to put a case on an $800 product to make it work properly!

Bad design, bad PR response, epic iFail.

Rogers is getting scared

2010-07-06T00:02:00.000-07:00

The Big Bad Red of the Canadian wireless world is already beginning its fight against WIND and other new entrants into the marketplace. Rogers has officially announced it is launching a third wireless brand to join their existing two brands (Rogers and Fido), this time targeting the same customers as WIND Mobile. They're calling this new company "Chatr Wireless" and it will be offering unlimited talk and text in the exact same five cities that WIND is currently operating in. Coincidence? Not a chance. Hilariously obvious? Definitely.

This is a slap in the face to all customers already on Rogers and Fido since those customers will not have access to the cheap unlimited plans. Clearly Rogers does not want to lose the high-revenue smartphone users on the two main brands. Chatr will not be offering data plans, so don't even think about bringing your Blackberry, iPhone, or Android phone over there. Forget smartphones altogether, actually. Smooth Rogers, smooth. We're not falling for it! And once everyone finds out who's running Chatr, g'luck with that. :)

I Want a Disco Chair

2010-07-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

No really, I do. And here it is.

Clearly the engineers over at Kiwi&Pom had me in mind when they designed this thing. It's made from 200 meters of electroluminescent wire, and yeah it can flash on and off and stuff.

The only qualm I have with it is the name. Seriously guys, throwing the word "disco" in any product name is just a big fail. Maybe call it the Rave Chair or Electro Chair. Yes, that's it. Electro Chair. Cool. Something a little more 21st century. K thx.

City Fido Flashback

2010-07-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

Remember this ad that started it all? I do. And I remember seeing it on TV and calling Fido to switch to this kick-ass $40 unlimited plan immediately! I kept it for 6 years, and now have the even better $80 retention plan which gives me unlimited talk, text and 6GB data. And I have an unlimited WIND line too. Nothing beats unlimited, hands down.

G20 Police State

2010-06-28T00:55:00.000-07:00

Wow. Burning police cars everywhere and smashed windows galore. "We own the car" chants from protesters. I agree with that point. However, a bunch of black coat anarchists go around kicking cops and hardly any charges laid against them? Well of course not, because a lot of the time they ARE cops. Anyone who actually believes all the violence is actually committed by citizens and not also by undercover agents is out to lunch. Cops love to justify more funding, security forces, and chances to rob our rights. They've done it before, they'll do it again.

Also, the minute I heard that the police were given the "power" to demand ID and search anyone in certain areas, I laughed so loud it woke up my neighbours. And then I realized how that stupid idea will no doubt INCREASE tension and cause even MORE hatred towards the police. My god, is the government that stupid to think people will sit by and take it up the ass?

I don't give a shit who or what government agency gave the police this supposed power, because the minute any peace officer tries to actually enforce such an act against a free citizen is the minute they become public enemy number one. NO cop has that right, no matter what any court says. Every person should fight against anyone who infringes on their rights, uniform or not. Both the police and the courts have become the true criminals here, not the guy walking up to some fence.

And when the government throws in a few Agent Provocateurs, it's high time to fight back with force against the thugs in power. I'm not promoting violence, I'm against it. Although there are genuine idiots and anarchists in the crowd, a lot of the frustration is now coming from average people who are upset about the police tactics. Those cops brought it on themselves in a big way. And if they wanna act like tough thugs themselves, we must remind them who really hires and pays them. Oh hey, does anyone remember exactly what the protesters were protesting about in the first place?

Happy G20. :)

iPhone 4 will be sold unlocked in Canada

2010-06-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well, all you fruity phone fans can rejoice. We may have to wait a few weeks longer than our American friends for the new iPhone, but we're definitely getting the last laugh. According to Apple's site the iPhone 4 will be available "commitment free" and ready for any compatible carrier you choose. Innovative, don't you think? Hooray.

Oh wait...this just makes the iPhone available the same way as every other phone on the planet. Muahahaha. Oh yes, an innovative "great new idea" from Apple. Lolz.

Although I support Apple selling unlocked devices and sticking it to the carriers a little bit, I still hate their locked-down OS mentality and anti-competitive nature as of late. Therefore I'm still an avid supporter and promoter of the new even-sexier and way more capable Google Nexus One. Google = Open. Apple = Closed. Oh and FAO Mr. Jobs, Google has been selling them unlocked right from their site for months now. Unlocked + open source Android FTW. No hard feelings, Steve, but you're a follower not an innovator. Even your so-called iPhone "Face-time" (video calling) has already been done on dozens of other phones for over three years now. Old news.

Myself? Oh hell, I admit I'll probably be sim-swapping between the iPhone 4, Nexus One, and my ultimate toy...the BB 9700 on WIND Mobile (coming soon to JC's gadget portfolio). See, that's just how I roll. Owning three phones is cool. I know a lot of you girls will never understand that, but seriously, owning more than ten pairs of shoes is just ridiculous so don't even try to argue. :)

Canadian man uses a gun to save his wife from criminals, but RCMP tried to charge HIM

2010-06-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

This may be old news, but I just stumbled across the video. KUDOS to this fine gentleman. He protected his business, his wife, and himself. But our paramilitary RCMP still tried to have him charged with firearms "offenses".

Hahaha fucking ridiculous! They do not want us to practice our right to self defense, and the government continues to attempt to disarm Canadians at every chance. And they always play the "what if" card to justify their position. IE: "Well what if a child was hurt in the crossfire?". Umm...well, what if the guy had no gun and both his wife and himself were now dead, and the suspect was still at large?

Besides, the RCMP are so out to lunch that think they have a right to shoot and/or taser people to death for the horrid crime of threatening them with a stapler in the airport.

Scary thought, eh? You protect yourself successfully and the RCMP basically tell you that's a no-no and you should "call them" instead. Pfft. Fat fuckin' chance. Thankfully the courts agreed, and no firearms charges were ever laid against him. Three cheers!