Category Archives: Random

Mostly about other sites on the web you should check out.

Alberta missing the link

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I was born and raised in Calgary, spent a great 16 years there.  I still have a soft spot for the province and defend it from people’s belief that it is filled with right wing conservatives.  I always felt the province had a special sort of “conservative” view that was for smaller government and business, but pretty much middle of the road on everything else. Above all I always thought people in the province looked out for each other.  I started having some doubts about this view when the tar sands projects were allowed to run rampant with a lack of concern about the future of these areas and the people living downstream.

Well my doubts have been sadly bolstered this week with the announcement of a new bill with a section allowing parents to remove their kids from classes when certain topics are discussed.  I can understand that some parents may want to take care of sex education at home.  I however can’t fathom why the law of evolution would be a possible topic to miss.  Sure I understand that some people’s religious beliefs don’t jive well with parts of evolution but the science of evolution is a fact.  What about gravity or geology,  I can only imagine the young earth people lining up to remove kids for these topics as well.

Our government and education are supposed to be secular.  Science classes should be taught on the basis of scientific knowledge and not pandering to religious groups.  If they are really this insecure with their beliefs then I suggest home schooling.  This way the kids can blame the parents when they are older and ask them why they missed out on the fundamentals of their education, while they try to find a career in which this knowledge doesn’t matter.

For a province rich in field of natural science, think the Royal Tyrrell Museum, it seems strange to still be having these debates.

I hope the people of Alberta tell the government to get back on track.

Spaceflight Now

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If you are lucky enough to catch a rocket launch, then Spaceflight Now can be a huge help .  On a recent trip to Florida I managed to see the launch of a Delta-4 heavy rocket.  The launch was a surprise and was pushed back several times because of technical glitches and weather.  Due to the nature of the payload – NRO spy satellite – the official sites had little details. Spaceflight Now had all the details and on the night of the actual launch had a play-by-play of the several restarted count downs.

Tandoori Beaver Tails

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Tandoori Beaver Tails is a great blog written by one of my colleague at work.  Kulpreet definitely writes a lot better then I do and he also tends to ramble on a lot more, which in his case is a good thing.  He has expanded on my Google Trends post with a really interesting set of searches that you should take a peek at, Canada: According to Google Trends.  There is also some fun commentary on politics.  So go give it a read.

Hook It Up

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This post has been a long time coming!  Every time I walk into a Future Shop, Best Buy or The Source – I take a little stroll down the cable aisle.  I really should stay away because that little stroll stresses me out – I fly through the emotions of amusement, shock and then anger.  What does this to me is the price of the A/V cables at these various stores.

What a rip off!  A $150 for a 1 meter HDMI cable has to be a misprint.  A quick chat with one of the sales guy confirms that the price is right.  When I express my shock at the price I get the standard sales pitch of “The quality is amazing!” and “You won’t get the same picture from a cheaper cable.”  One sales guy even went so far to suggest that the cable did up converting.  Pretty impressive for a piece of wire – idiot!

What a bunch of crap! Don’t get suckered in.  These expensive cables are all just marketing hype – so do yourself a favour stay away and save your money.  Actually the only cable I have ever had fail on me was a very expensive Monster audio cable.

My background is computer engineering, so I am by no means an expert on signal integrity and such exciting topics.  However, I do work with a whole bunch of these types who share this view.  Debating the theory behind all this would take me way off topic and is better left to A/V sites.

So what should you do when you get that new piece of A/V equipment?  First tell the sales guy to take a hike when he walks you over to the cable aisle, then go home and check out these sites:

  • Mono Price – I have bought a bunch of stuff from this shop.  Prices are almost too low – equivalent HDMI cable to above is less then $5!  They are base in the US. Shipping is usually over a week using USPS so no crazy brokerage fees.  Great customer service.
  • Blue Jeans Cable – I have never purchased from them but I am thinking of giving them my next order.  The reason why is they are sticking it to Monster Cable.  Read more here.

If you really want a laugh then check out this cable from Denon – $500 for a 1.5 meter ethernet cable.  If you bought one of these then get in touch with me because I have a few high quality things to sell you.