Posting post Weekend

Although I knew I hadn't posted in a few days, I hadn't realized it was five days since I had done so - you, one of my legion of fans - must be very disappointed not to have a regular Ben update.

So what's going on? Thursday is a bit of a blank although I read in my WW journal that Karina and I ate at home. Karina had a minor catastrophe with the crash of her computer while in North Bay -- looks like we're drafting the Wedding List again.

On Friday afternoon K and I met with a Wedding Planner who is going to help us with some of the details. Reviewing the list we still have a lot to do, but we're not in too bad a shape. The major stumbling blocks at present are the selection of colours and the decoration of the Hall. Friday evening (after another cold table at poker) Karina, Paula, Jason and myself headed out for dinner and a movie. We saw the romantic comedy "Music and Lyrics" with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. It was very enjoyable -- Grant can play the piano and sing with confidence!

On Friday I also secured tickets to the Arcade Fire show at Massey Hall on May 15th -- which means I'll have to get back from my planned trip to Liverpool on the Monday.

The weekend was fairly uneventful - apart from training with Humberto in the morning (Liverpool won over Sheffield), my day was spent working on the spare bedroom and feeling a cold coming on.

After church in the morning, I spent most of the day in bed with my cold and drugs yesterday. I did, however, watch the majority of the Oscars and what a snoozefest it was. No great surprises - apart from Dreamgirls getting blanked for Best Song.

It's still snowing here since early yesterday evening - there is probably 10-15cm of fluffy white on the ground. Tonight I'm headed to a Project Childcare Foundation board meeting. Karina is away to North Bay for a few days with her new computer in tow.

Prodi steps down

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has resigned following the failure of a foreign policy motion to pass through the Italian senate.

On the Weekend.

This past weekend was pretty eventful -- Amanda returned from Africa, Chi and Karina had their 30th B-day Bash (formal dress to boot) and K, A and myself headed up to Caledon for dinner on Sunday. I'm exhausted!

Bad things are happening in the hockey pool as the contest is now pulling very tight -- there are four of us in the running. So I have a few days to decide if and how and would spend my next trade.

Tonight is my first meeting on the Project Childcare Foundation board. Should be exciting!

Hockey Pool News

It's coming down to the quick in the Richmond St. Hockey Pool -- I have to decide if I'm going to lay out the big bucks for the next trade before the league's deadline. Seb and I now have largely the same roster -- he's betting on Malkin and Alfredsson, I'm on Kariya and Staal.

Talking urinals to fight drunk driving

New Mexico is hoping to keep drunks off the road by lecturing them at the the urinal.

The state recently paid US$21 each for about 500 talking urinal-deodorizer cakes and put them in men's rooms in bars and restaurants. When a man steps up, the motion-sensitive plastic device says, in a woman's voice that is flirty, then stern: 'Hey, big guy. Having a few drinks? Think you had one too many? Then it's time to call a cab or call a sobre friend for a ride home. Remember, your future is in your hand.'

Daily Reading - popurls

I can't recall if I mentioned it before, but this site is now one of my favourites (along with the BBC) - popurls. I like it as it's a good way to get a snapshot view of the hot topics of the day - on the back-end it's an aggregation of some of the top pop culture RSS-enabled sites.

Franken to run for Senate

It's official - Comedian and left-leaning Commentator Al Franken said today he will run for U.S. Senate in 2008, confirming his long-suspected plans to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

Franken's announcement came on the final day of his radio show on Air America. Franken took his career in a political direction when he wrote "Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations."

Evolution returns to Kansas

The Kansas school board, long ridiculed for its resistance to teaching evolution, prepared yesterday to repeal rules backed by social conservatives and switch to science guidelines that embrace Charles Darwin's mainstream theories.

The new board, with a 6-4 majority of Democrats and moderate Republicans, was to debate and vote on what would be the fifth set of science standards for public schools in eight years.

The existing standards suggest widely accepted evolutionary concepts - like a common origin for all life on Earth and changes in one species leading to a new one - are challenged by new evidence. Those rules, adopted in 2005, were pushed by supporters of ``intelligent design,'' which holds that life is so complex that it must have been created by a higher authority.

An alternative, drafted by scientists and educators, would treat evolution as well-supported by research. It also would rewrite the standards' definition of science to limit it to the search for natural explanations for what is observed in the universe.

Chinese mountain goes green

Workers who began spray painting Laoshou mountain last August told villagers they were doing so on orders of the county government - but were not told why.

Some villagers guessed officials of the surrounding Fumin county, whose office building faces the mountain, were trying to change the area's feng shui - the ancient Chinese belief of harmonizing one's physical environment for maximum health and financial benefit.

Others speculated it was an unusual attempt at "greening" the area in keeping with calls for more attention to environmental protection. Photographs of the mountain showed the exposed rock covered in an artificial green the colour of Astroturf looming over houses against a scrubby background.

Y! Pipe integrated with AJAX

So I have some homework to do to get some interesting news aggregation working for PCF - here's my research requirement, to implement: Y! Pipe integrated with AJAX | #comments in one of my domains.

Agreement reached at North Korea nuclear talks

The U.S. envoy to talks on North Korea's nuclear program said Tuesday in Beijing that negotiators reached a tentative agreement on initial steps for the Communist nation's disarmament.

Assistant secretary of state Christopher Hill said the agreement outlined specific commitments for North Korea and would set up working groups to implement those goals. The groups will begin meeting in about a month.

Monty Python - The Dead Parrot Skit

It's still a riot!

Buy a Toyota for $1 - drive it... on your PC.

Toyota launched two new Scions models in Second Life -- an online community with 1.2 million 'residents' -- and at the Chicago Auto Show Thursday, holding simultaneous press conferences in both the real and virtual worlds.

Second Life, run by Linden Labs, is an electronic universe where people's virtual representations, called avatars, can fly, teleport, chat and buy products and services.

Second Life users can log into kiosks in 'Scion City' and buy a Scion for 300 Linden dollars, or $1.

Bremer quizzed over cash for Iraq

The former head of the US-led civilian administration in Iraq has defended his decision to send billions of dollars in cash to Baghdad in 2003 and 2004.

Paul Bremer told a Congressional committee investigating allegations of waste and fraud that he had done his best to kick-start Iraq's economy.

The funds came from Iraqi oil revenue and previously frozen assets.

Much of the money went missing and critics say there was no system to track how it was used.

Quote from a committee member: "Who in their right mind would send 360 tons of cash into a war zone? But that is exactly what our government did".

Followup: Gernadan Band Leader Relieved

The leader of a Grenada police band that performed Taiwan's national anthem at the inauguration of a China-financed cricket stadium was temporarily relieved of his music duties.

Inspector Bryan Hurst will not lead the Royal Grenada Police Band while investigators determine how his ensemble came to play the anthem of Taiwan instead of its rival during the opening of the US$40 million Queen's Park stadium last weekend, according to police spokesman Troy Garvey on Tuesday.

More LFC Takeover Details

Chairman David Moores said today he will sell his 51 per cent stake in the 18-time English champions to George Gillett Jr., owner of the Canadiens, and Tom Hicks, who owns the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers.

Moores recommended other shareholders do the same, leaving Liverpool on the verge of becoming the third Premier League club owned by Americans.

The 218.9 million pound (C$509.8 million) offer from Gillett and Hicks includes an agreement to pay off about 45 million pounds (C$104.3 million) of club debt and pledges to build and finance a 60,000-seat stadium.

'I believe this is a great step forward for Liverpool, its shareholders and its fans,' said Moores, whose family has owned the club for decades.

'This club is my passion and forms a huge part of my life. After much careful consideration, I have agreed to sell my shares to assist in securing the investment needed for the new stadium and for the playing squad.'

Broadcaster ITV said it would also sell its 9.9 per cent stake, and Gillett and Hicks said they had received acceptances from 62.2 per cent of Liverpool's shareholders under the deal worth 5,000 pounds (C$11,644) per share.

"Chewbacca" arrested for head-butting

A Chewbacca impersonator was arrested after being accused of head-butting a Hollywood tour guide who warned the furry brown Wookiee about harassing two Japanese tourists.

'Nobody tells this Wookiee what to do.'

Amen to that brother.

House motion passes supporting Kyoto

Members of Parliament voted Monday in favour of a motion from Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion that reaffirms Canada's support for the Kyoto Protocol.

Members of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government followed party orders and voted unanimously against it, but 161 MPs voted in favour and 115 against the motion. Harper was not present for the vote.

Dion's non-binding motion, which was introduced Feb. 1, demands the government 'honour the principles and targets of the Kyoto Protocol in their entirety,' and calls on the Tories to create and publish a credible plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

(Wonder if we'll stop seeing those annoying Tory ads about the Liberal's lack of action on the environment...)

Kyoto vote tonight

Members of Parliament will be voting this evening on a motion from Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion that would reaffirm Canada's support for the Kyoto Protocol.

When asked how the Conservatives will vote, Minister of Environment John Baird declined to answer directly but said 'in the best interest of Canadians.'

Bush submits $2.9 trillion budget

US President George W Bush has submitted a $2.9 trillion budget to Congress including almost $700bn in new military spending.

Much of the money is earmarked for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 2008 budget also sets out plans to curb domestic spending, including $66bn savings over five years from Medicare.

Senate Budget committee chairman Kent Conrad, a Democrat, was skeptical of the projections.

"The president's budget is filled with debt and deception, disconnected from reality, and continues to move America in the wrong direction," he said.

"This administration has the worst fiscal record in history and this budget does nothing to change that."

Grenada band plays Taiwan anthem at opening of China-financed stadium

A diplomatic gaffe marred Saturday's inauguration of a Chinese-financed stadium in Grenada when a band performed the national anthem of Chinese rival Taiwan.

Chinese Ambassador Qian Hongshan and scores of blue-uniformed Chinese labourers who built Queen's Park stadium as a gift were visibly uncomfortable as Taiwan's anthem echoed inside the 20,000-seat venue.

Describing it as a blunder, Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell pledged an investigation into how the Royal Grenada Police Band could have played the anthem of Taiwan instead of China.

Elements of 'civil war' in Iraq

A US intelligence assessment on Iraq says 'civil war' accurately describes certain aspects of the conflict, including intense sectarian violence.

However the report, compiled by US security agencies, adds that the controversial term does not adequately sum up the complexity of the situation.

The National Intelligence Estimate gives a bleak assessment of Iraq's future unless the violence is stemmed.

The White House described the report as 'tough but fair'.

Comment: Global Warming exists, Civil War in Iraq exists... this is a bad day for the Bush White House.

Climate change 'unequivocal,' scientists say in Paris report

International scientists and officials hailed a report toay saying that global warming is 'very likely' caused by man, and that hotter temperatures and rises in sea level 'would continue for centuries' no matter how much humans control their pollution.

The head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, called it a 'very impressive document that goes several steps beyond previous research.'

A top U.S. government scientist, Susan Solomon, said 'there can be no question that the increase in greenhouse gases are dominated by human activities.'

The 21-page summary of the panel's findings released today represents the most authoritative science on global warming, which the experts describe as an 'unequivocal' problem.

Liverpool F.C Ownership Drama

There's been some big developments at LFC today as Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett is set to take ownership of the club.

The French implement smoking ban!

A widespread ban has come into force in France on smoking in workplaces.

People lighting up in airports, railway stations, hospitals, schools, shops and offices will face fines. Restaurants and bars have until December to comply.

Tortilla protest

Tens of thousands of people have marched through Mexico City in a protest against the rising price of tortillas.

The price of the flat corn bread, the main source of calories for many poor Mexicans, recently rose by over 400%.

President Felipe Calderon has said the government will clamp down on hoarding and speculation to ease the problem.