Forbidden Planet

Self cleaning windows are a marvel of modern technology. They are capable of breaking down grime and organic matter on their surface, thus reducing the amount of effort you need to spend cleaning them. This is all achieved through the use of a relatively benign compound: titanium dioxide (or TiO 2 for you chemistry freaks). TiO 2 is fairly inert and non-toxic. However, don't push it, everything is toxic in the sufficient amounts or if irresponsibly used - just think of dihydrogen monoxide (H 2 O). It is used almost everywhere as a whitening agent – toothpaste, icing, paint, plastics, etc – because it is incredibly white and non-toxic. It does have one interesting property: it is a photocatalyst. That means it interacts with light and facilitates a chemical process, while not actually taking part in the chemical process. For example, nickel is used as a catalyst in the process of hydrogenating margarine (adding an extra hydrogen atom to a liquid fat and making it a not so good sol...

Sofia was griping that the folks who were going to deliver the new stove on Saturday where not able to give her a better delivery time than simply, "Sometime between 08:00 and 13:00". Sofia was wondering why they couldn't give a better estimate (as I suppose many people do). The answer is simple: they don't know. Couldn't they know? Couldn't someone write up a clever piece of software that would calculate the routes and times for them? Yes, but it is not that simple. You see, the problem is that the delivery company wants to maximize the number of items it delivers and minimize the distance traveled. When we bought the stove the previous Sunday, I am pretty sure we were not the last people added to the delivery schedule the following Saturday. Consequently, other deliveries might be added which might influence the delivery route. Any changes to the delivery route may impact the delivery time. Of course, once the delivery list is finalized, it should be possibl...

Inspired by Ingrid's post and from listening to Nina Simone singing "The Other Woman" on the way to work this morning. The other woman finds time to manicure her nails The other woman is perfect where her rival fails And she's never seen with pin curls in her hair The other woman enchantes her clothes with French perfume The other woman keeps fresh cut flowers in each room There are never toys that's scattered everywhere And when her baby comes to call He'll find her waiting like a lonesome queen Cos when she's by his side It's such a change from old routine But the other woman will always cry herself to sleep The other woman will never have his love to keep And as the years go by the other woman Will spend her life alone - Jesse Mae Robinson.

Isn't life interesting? As it passes us by (or do we journey through it?), sometimes we find ourselves in circumstance were we are asked to do something for others - like lying. If you are reading this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, (even if we don't speak often or you don't know me at all) please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad - but it has to be fake. This is a do it yourself meme, borrowed from Ingrid who had done it a while back (unfortunately, the comments seem to have been lost). It was also done by Ms. Q - whose comments are not lost.

Looking for a little something to uninspire you? Look no further than here . Note: I am fine. Just tickling my funny bone.

Ever notice how relationships can change when your status or position change? Five months ago I was transferred to a different project (still in the same building - just on the other side). This means I lost my fantastic view and had it replaced with a view of the parking lot. sigh. Now I can't watch the little goslings in between blogging working. However, there is a collective shun mentality that seems to come over people. I worked on the previous project for almost 6 years and of the remaining project members (it has shrunk over the years) some behave differently towards me now than others. I would say that interaction with former male colleagues has changed more than interaction with former female colleagues - not that I am terribly chatty or social at work, to begin with. Maybe this has to do with the way males and females interact or maybe it has more to do with not being part of the "tribe" anymore. Are men more likely to shun outsiders than women? Do males prefe...

Quote is generally unattributed, although one or two places attribute it to Eleanor Roosevelt. Image grabbed from here .

Long before Star Trek had the Borg (overly complicated in my opinion), Doctor Who had the Cybermen. I can hardly wait until they start airing the episodes in Canada. Image grabbed from here . You can get your Doctor Who fix over here .

One cold rainy autumn evening several years ago, I went to pick up Sofia from the Customs Canada Revenue Agency building (tax building) on Heron Road (it is the building just south of the red blip). It was an evening saturated with gloomy foreboding. The trees were bare and the wind drove a chilling rain. The roads were greasy and shiny from the oily black rain. A tumultuous and turbulant wasteland of scarred clouds boiled in the sky. As I approached the building, I noticed what I thought was some weird atmospheric phenomena around the top of the building - a swirling ring of dark cloud, a freak eddy of winds herding noxious nightime vapours into a black halo around the building. When I got out of the car, I realized that it was not some freak wind and clouds, but thousands upon thousands of crows circling the building, cawing loudly. I have no idea if this is normal crow behaviour, but it certainly was very atmospheric.

(I hate blogger, it ate my post after I invoked spell check - what follows is a severely curtailed version of my original post). I went to the Millionaire Mind Intensive workshop this morning. They were overbooked (apparently a computer glitch and this has never happened before). My name was not on the books (although my friend's daughter's name was - despite my friend requesting this be changed last week). I Suppose I sould have gone as Melody instead of Richard. They managed to squeeze in an extra 200 people. I was one of the lucky ones. However, I opted instead for the turn away package which was $10,000 worth of audio material (yeah, right) and guaranteed premium seating for the next event in November. Impressions: poorly organized and coordinated. Certain registration queues were much longer than others (the R-S queue, mine and my friend's, was significantly longer than others). There was a lack of simultaneous translation equipment so they had to stop the presentatio...

Instead of an internal developmental reality that affects every aspect of a child's life, "intellectual talent" is more and more perceived as synonymous with (and limited to) academic achievement. The child who does well in school, gets good grades, wins awards, and "performs" beyond the norms for his or her age, is considered talented. The child who does not, no matter what his innate intellectual capacities or developmental level, is less and less likely to be identified, less and less likely to be served. A cheetah metaphor can help us see the problem with achievement-oriented thinking. The cheetah is the fastest animal on earth. When we think of cheetahs we are likely to think first of their speed. It's flashy. It is impressive. It's unique. And it makes identification incredibly easy. Since cheetahs are the only animals that can run 70 mph, if you clock an animal running 70 mph, IT'S A CHEETAH! Certain conditions are necessary if it is to attai...

Ever notice that your mental state is bleh? Over the past little while (years, not weeks), I have been noticing definite connection between how much sleep I get and how I mentally feel the next day (actually, it has more to do with what time I get to bed). Sleepiness is easily controlled, but mental attitude is not - whether you are feeling good about yourself, the world, etc or not. I also notice that calorie dense foods have the same effect. While cashews, chocolates, or cookies may satisfy some immediate need for gratification, the bloaty, bleh, I'm in insulin shock feeling that follows is not conducive to being a happy and chipper camper. So where am I going? (Home in a few minutes to cook dinner) As I get older, I find there seems to be a lot of truth regarding healthy living and taking better care of oneself than I gave credence when I was younger (mind you, I have never really abused myself like some have). So what do you think, is a younger body able to accept more punishm...

A friend of mine invited me to an intensive 3 day Millionaire Mind Intensive workshop this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday. How intensive? 09:00-23:00, 09:00-22:30 and 08:00 - 19:00, respectively. It is a free invite as she had attended a The Power Within workshop last year (and purchased some materials related to this upcoming workshop). Originally, she had planned to go with her daughter, but since she was busy, I got the invitation instead. Hopefully it will help kickstart my motivation or perhaps give me new perspectives. To quote from the promotional literature: This course will transform the way you think, feel, and act in terms of money and wealth. More importantly, you will learn exactly what it takes to "win the money game". You will also learn specifically what may be holding you back from reaching your full potential right now. Many of the positive changes you make will occur instantly, right at the course. Others will occur over time, as you practice your new...

When Sofia and I went shopping for wedding bands in Canada, she was shocked that the purest rings were 18kt. For her, that was unacceptable. She kept asking how many grams of gold was in each ring - the salesperson had no idea. In Peru, you buy the gold and get your rings made - so you know how many grams of gold you have. She was trying to convince me that anything less than 24kt was shameful - nobody in Peru would buy such cheap rings as we have in Canada. Fortunately, I prevailed and we bought our bands in Canada (I have a 10kt band and she has a 14kt band) - which I tihnk look much better than the ones her siblings have. Of course, when they heard that mine is only 10kt, you could see the disbelief in their faces that we settled for such cheap imitations. Image grabbed from here .

For those who have been praying for my mother, a continued hearty thanks. She was released from the hospital 9 days ago (previous Wednesday). She said it was good to be able to sleep in her bed again. Her blood work continues to show that her recovery is progressing well and her new bone marrow seems to be recovering well. Her immune system is still very weak and we will not be seeing her this Sunday because Sofia and JJ are sick and on antibiotics (I think Tania needs some too, since her initial treatment does not seem to have taken). For those who tuned in late, my mother was diagnosed in January-2005 with non-Hodgkins lymphona. After completing her initial treatment in August-2005, the cancer recurred in January-2006 - whence she underwent a second (and final) treatment. Apparently, the chances of the cancer recurring are 3%.

Following a recent trend of insubstantive posts and borrowing from others (in this case Sassy Lady ) - I have bared my soul to an electronic oracle that promised to rate my life. It is probably more or less on par for the course for this middle aged, middle classed, middle expanding guy. This Is My Life, Rated Life: 7.4 Mind: 7.3 Body: 6.1 Spirit: 8 Friends/Family: 6.4 Love: 7.3 Finance: 7.6 Take the Rate My Life Quiz My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people. —Orson Welles

I was listening to CBC radio the other day and there was an interview going on with Derek Walcott (Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1992). On the whole it was not terribly interesting, but he was a good speaker and kept you listening. In answering how he became a writer, he digressed a bit on how people perceive art and commented "Europe suffers from a veneration of history." I was immediately struck by it because it was such a beautiful expression "suffers from a veneration of history" or more simply "veneration of history". It has a way of rolling around on the tongue, it feels weighty and substantial. It could launch a hundred papers or a thousand discussions. It would make a credible paperweight. What are your thoughts? Is it a weighty thought and phrase or is it simply some academia speak generated by a random jargon generator efficiently leveraging accessibility managed trends through dynamic convergence of synergistic principles and participle...

Ingrid is currently canvassing for folks to help her with a perception survey of Greenpeace as part of her Master studies in International Communication Management. I will personally vouch for Ingrid as I have known her since 1992 and she is a wonderful person . The survey is anonymous, although it does require some demographic information. You can jump directly to the survey here . As an incentive to encourage people to take the survey, I am willing to describe how I met Ingrid and my initial impressions of her - if 5 or more readers of this blog take the survey (just leave a comment saying you did - I may check with Ingrid just to be sure no one is stuffing the ballot box). NOTE: there are quite a few questions and many of them require you to fill in text boxes (i.e. you have to put on your thinking caps) - so, it takes a more than 5 minutes. (and, if you do like me, and leave one check box unticked, it won’t accept the form – but it won’t tell you which question you didn't an...

I think mine says I need to practice drawing more. Some of the pictures on this sight are awesome. This is meme was gently borrowed from Ingrid . "Your house tells the world that you ought to be a leader. You are a freedom lover and a strong person. You are shy and reserved. If you've drawn a cross on each of the windows, you always want to live alone. Once you have a problem, you need a friend with you. Your life is always full of changes. You will avoid being alone and seek the company of others whenever possible. You love excitement and create it wherever you go. You see the world as it is, not as you believe it should be. You added a flower into your drawing. The flower signifies that you long for love. It also safe to say that others don't see you as a flirt. You don't think much about yourself." Draw your own house here .

As you probably know, Luigi Galvani used to entertain himself by making severed frogs legs dance. This would occur because he used to hang the legs on an iron rail and skewer the legs with a brass rod. By touching the brass to the iron, a small electric current would flow and cause the legs to twitch. Since January of this year, I have noticed some "twitching" in my own mental processes – rather like Frankenstein's monster being energized into life. It is very refreshing. For several years I was in a rather down mental state . It seemed as though I had been switched into a permanent "flight mode" and simply looked and grasped at anything I thought might help me escape. Fortunately, this seems to have ended about 9 months ago (not withstanding small normal ups and downs ) - although, to be honest, it was more like treading water, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Since January 2006, I have noticed that my mind seems to be filling with more ideas and that...

The Prisoner , "A Change of Mind"

I wonder about a lot of things and questions pop into my head all the time (clearly the government is conspiring to drive me insane by beaming incessant questions into my brain via zero-point energy microwaves transmitted from cell phone towers – luckily I know how to protect myself). Anyway, while taking a break from thinking about “Why am I different from other people?” (clearly a narcissistic exercise, but arguably better than my former line of thought “Why are other people different from me?” – which was definitely arrogant), I pondered some genealogical questions. I will be the first to admit my understanding of familial relations is pretty weak. I really don't understand things like "great aunt thrice removed". Maybe this has to do with growing up with only my parents and two siblings and no other relatives anywhere near Canada. So, my question is … actually, it is two questions: Preamble: If I have children with the same woman, they are siblings. If I have ch...

The personal DNA test gave me some food for thought. I do not disagree with the description Reserved Experiencer - it seems to suit me to a T. Capturing my contradictory nature of being both hungry for new experiences and cautious in approaching them. I was surprised by my Confidence rating (80% of respondents claim more confidence than I) and Agency (88% of respondents claim more control over their lives than I). I cannot deny there are areas I lack confidence. However, I think this is likely a reflection of inherent shyness and tendency to think first, act later (I find most people, and you are free to disagree, tend to act first, think later – which, I think, leads to regret because a post mortem analysis may indicate that the actions were inconsistent with the perceived values of the person) As regards to believing that my life is mostly controlled by factors external to me … hmmm … I think it would be fairer to say that I have little control over factors external to me, rather ...

[Found this meme on Ingrid's blog, thought it might do in lieu of anything original from my brain] Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you've read, italicize the ones you might read, cross out the ones you won't, underline the ones on your book shelf, and place parentheses around the ones you've never even heard of. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger) (His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling The Life of Pi - Yann Martel Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell Catch 22 - Joseph Heller Th e Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien - started it, but it was really boring The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon Lord of the Flies - William Golding Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 1984 - ...