Birth#_2,719,717,908

Jeff Rubin says: get ready for a bumpy ride!

2010-02-10T13:52:00.002-07:00

I've just finished reading Jeff Rubin's latest book titled "Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller". I was pleasantly surprised with its readability, well structured argument, and solid list of supporting source notes.

Jeff draws on his twenty years as Chief Economist at CIBC World Markets to make the case that our world is about to get a whole lot smaller as transportation costs rewrite global economics. Global markets grew up and thrived when oil was averaging $20 per barrel. Current oil prices are near $70 per barrel and projected to rise significantly as the world's supply of conventional oil stocks deplete at the rate of 4 million barrels of oil per day.

Total world oil production now sits at 73.3 million barrels per day, with the US alone consuming more than 27 percent. Western Europe, the OPEC countries, Russia and Mexico together consume another 34 percent. China, Japan, India, Brazil, Canada and South Korea jointly account for a further 30 percent of world oil consumption; leaving just nine percent to all remaining countries. Jeff predicts that demand will continue to outstrip supply as China, India and Brazil strive to grow their economies in an attempt to achieve a standard of living nearer that of Western countries.

We have become so dependant on a continuity of oil stocks that we are now pouring tens of billions of dollars into unconventional oil supplies like Canada's oil sands (estimated to contain 165 billion barrels of oil). The technological hurdle of extracting oil from the sand is such that best estimates put us at only producing 4 million barrels of synthetic oil per day by 2020. The environmental costs are such that we may never reach those targets. The production of a single barrel of oil from the Canadian oil sands pollutes 250 gallons of fresh water, consumes 1,400 cubic feet of natural gas, and emits over 220 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We expend 1 Btu of energy for every 3 Btu we extract from the sand -- 33 times the expenditure when compared to extracting and processing conventional oil.

With ninety percent of every shrinking barrel of oil committed to transport fuels, the disruptive economics on transportation will have a huge impact on our lives. Get ready for far less travel, ever smaller and fewer cars per capita, smaller homes, denser cities, fewer imported goods, and more costly and less varied food stuffs.

If you're betting on alternative sources of energy to save the day, Jeff Rubin pours cold water on that idea. No mix of alternative energy will be able to adequately step in to alleviate the world's diminishing supply of cheap oil.

It's not all bad news though. Jeff predicts that local economies will be revitalized as rising transportation costs bring jobs back home. He also sees a better future for our cities and neighbourhoods as we are forced to wean ourselves from an unhealthy addition to cheap oil, the automobile and suburban sprawl.

Get ready for a bumpy ride into the future!

Solving the Raven's Progressive Matrix in Outliers

2009-12-10T12:32:00.018-07:00

Working my way through Malcolm Gladwell's series of books, I came across an interesting puzzle in his book Outliers (note: thank you to anonymous for noticing that the original image was incorrect... the image on the left is now the one found on page 78 of the Hardcover book).

This particular puzzle comes from an intelligence test called Raven's Progressive Matrices. It is supposed to be a really difficult question that comes at the end of the Raven's test.

There may be more than one way of solving it but there is only one correct answer. I've posted my solution below and a brief description of how I solved it.

Warning don't read beyond this point if you want to solve the puzzle yourself.

My Solution:
After spending 5 to 10 minutes looking at the puzzle, it struck me that there were some interesting linkages within each arrangement of club, diamond, and heart shaped symbols occurring within each box; and that I could use this pattern to solve the puzzle.

Within each of the eight squares I took note of when all three club symbols 'touched' each other (i.e., the squares containing the symbols were beside or in a diagonal with each other) and also when one or more of them did not touch each other. Then I did the same for the diamond and heart shaped symbols.

Below, I've used a capital letter 'T' to show where this touching occurred among all three symbols of a given type and a capital letter 'A' to show instances where this level of touching was absent. I've used a lower case letter to indicate my prediction of what pattern should be found in the solution for the ninth square (to solves the puzzle).

CLUBS
T A T
T A T
T A t

DIAMONDS
T T A
A T A
A A t

HEARTS
T T A
A T T
T T a

Looking at the eight possible solutions for the puzzle (squares A through H), only square A satisfied the prediction of 'touching' for Clubs, 'touching' for Diamonds, and 'absent touching' for Hearts.

Square A is the solution to the puzzle.

I'm not sure why but as I looked at the puzzle I imagined this strange vision of our double helix and the pairing arrangements that occur there. Somehow this helped me to search out and see the hidden information contained within each of the eight squares.

Too cool!

Memories of Three Long and Two Short

2007-01-29T18:54:00.001-07:00

Long before the pushbutton, decades prior to the rotary dial... there was the crank.

Using the telephone while I was growing up on the prairies meant learning the proper cranking technique. With five farms sharing one "party line" it was easy to make a mistake. Our farm could be reached by three long cranks followed by two short ones.

In those days there was no long distance direct calling. Unless you were on our party line, and could crank us directly, you had to go through a live local operator to be put through. She worked out of the nearest small town in Saskatchewan and manually switched incoming and outgoing calls using a push/pull corded switchboard.

The local switchboard operator pretty much ran bankers' hours, which meant there was no calling out at night. People relied a lot more on their neighbors, and when you had a 911 you called your neighbours first and hoped for the best.

There was no privacy on a party line. "Rubbering" (eavesdropping on your neighbour's telephone conversation) was an early form of reality entertainment. Chances are whenever you received a call you could count on two or three of your neighbours to pick up so they could rubber in on your converstation. As with now, everyone was interested in the latest gossip.

It was pretty obvious when someone rubbered in. You could hear them pick up and the signal strength would continue to drop away as more people picked up. If you were on a long distance call you often had to ask your neighbours to hang up so that you could hear the person at the other end.

People despised their neighours for rubbering, but as I recall everyone participated. Rubbering tended to peak when babies were due, a marriage was in the offing, during calfing season, after a rainfall, during harvest season, during or after a snowfall, when someone had visitors from out of town, when any of the neighbors returned from a trip further than the nearest town, or when somone was ill, dying or recently deceased.

And while it helped foster a closer sense of community, telephone ettiquite on a party line meant not staying on the line for more than five minutes. This was sorely tested on occasions when the weather kept us indoors and everyone turned to the telephone for some escape.

It was literally a shocking experience when the phone companies replaced the crank telephones with the rotary dial wall-mounted sets in the mid to late sixties. Some of the older and more enterprising lads on our school bus discovered they could remove the hand crank generators from the older telephones to "electrocute" their younger passengers.

They would coerce us into holding hands while forming two lines running around each side of the bus thus forming a human chain. Then after getting the front person in each line to hold onto a bare wire they would begin cranking the generator ever faster. Soon we could feel an uncomfortable surge of electrical current course through our extended arms. At some point it would get to be too much and someone would break the chain. The first two people to let go seemed to get the worst shock whenever this would happen.

To this day I can't believe the bus driver didn't step in to stop these activities.

Fast forward to today and the genesis for my crank telephone flashback.

In pursuit of a lower monthly telephone bill I recently purchased a glossy black Belkin Skype Wi-Fi phone. It runs Skype's proprietary voice-over-IP (VoIP) application and connects through my wireless access point.

Through Skype, I also purchased a $17.95 CDN calling package that lets me call anyone in Canada or the United States for free. International calls, to Australia for example, cost approximately two cents per minute. The call quality is not pin-drop perfect but it's acceptable and we can speak with people on their cell, landline, computer or Wi-Fi phone.

Based on our current long distance calling pattern, we should recoup the $199 CDN cost of the phone within six months. We've kept our local line for the time being. Once our telecom provider offers broadband Internet without requiring us having a local phone line, we'll probably drop our local phone line altogether and purchase a Skype-In account.

As an aside -- Dell offered the best price, return policy, and no-charge shipping. Three other online discount retailers only offered a two-week return period, and the item had to be broken or inoperative in order to qualify for return. With them, if you were dissatisfied with the quality or performance of the phone you were out of luck. Not so with Dell, they offered a three-week satisfaction based money-back guarantee.

NightWatch -- Awesome Guide to the Night Sky

2007-01-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Growing up on the prairies, far from any city lights, I took the splendour of our star-filled night sky for granted.

These past thirty years I've been living in the bloom of a large always-bright-at-night city skyscape. Light pollution in the suburbs means that only the nearest planets and the brightest stars are visible from our backyard. Whenever I get the opportunity to leave the city's light behind it's always a pleasant surprise to once again experience the brilliance of an unpolluted night sky.

What with all there is to see amidst such a profusion of celestial objects, it's a good idea to bring along a guide to get acquainted with all that glitters overhead. The best guide I've found so far is Terence Dickinson's "NightWatch".

In the picture at left, Terrence strikes a professorial pose with one of his telescopes in his backyard roll-off-roof observatory.

Terrance has devoted his life to the study of the night sky. He has authored fourteen books on astronomy and is the editor of SkyNews, a Canadian astronomy magazine. In the 1960s and 70s he was an astronomer at two major planetariums; and since 1976, has been a full-time astronomy writer and editor.

Terrance's fascination and sense of wonderment with all things celestial is infectious. Thumbing through any NightWatch chapter makes you want to linger longer with this book. It is a real incentive to setting up a lawn chair in the backyard to spend some time staring up at the night sky.

The fourth edition of this practical guide to viewing the universe was published in late 2006. Casual night sky observers, amateur astronomers and professionals alike will marvel at the wealth of information, incredible pictures, ingeniously easy-to-use sky charts and eloquent prose found within its 192 ring-bound pages. Besides being well-engineered for outdoor use in dim light, it is simply gorgeous and would do well on display in your favorite conversational room.

I really like the fact that even if your eyes are the only equipment you own for stargazing, this guide will provide many hours of enjoyment as it takes you on a tour of the local planets and spectacle of the spring, summer, autumn and winter night sky. You won't have to travel further than to your own backyard to appreciate how informative this book can be. For those with binoculars, or telescopes and a car (to get beyond the city lights), NightWatch contains a wealth of star charts to help you probe the depths of our galaxy and those far beyond. You'll find easily navigable directions to double stars, variable stars, star clusters, globular clusters, nebula, and the galaxies.

This guide is of particular value for those considering the purchase of stargazing equipment, and who hasn't had the craving to own their own telescope. Too often though the first time buyer falls victim to purchasing a high-power department store "trash-scope" and later regrets having parted with their money. Terrence devotes an entire chapter to acquainting us with the many varieties of binoculars and telescopes. In a very understandable manner he guides us through the many factors to consider when selecting our first set of equipment.

If photography is your thing, you'll love the chapter on photographing the night sky. Cameras do a superb job of gathering and recording starlight. This fourth edition has been thoroughly updated to keep pace with the current digital revolution.

Even if you never set foot outdoors to gaze up at the night sky, this book is a wonderful educational tool for becoming more aware of galaxy we live in and our place in the universe. Spend a few hours with NightWatch and you'll find yourself always coming back for more.

January is National (in the U.S.) Radon Action Month!

2007-01-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

Radon is a radioactive gas that is colourless, odourless and tasteless. It is formed by the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water. Radon is a silent, deadly, killer; and it may be lurking in your home.

That's all I needed to hear to dig a little deeper. What I discovered (with a little Google research) should be common knowledge, yet few people that I've spoken to in recent weeks have any understanding of the danger that Radon represents to themselves and their families.

Exposure to radon increases your risk of developing lung cancer. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer overall. A recent 2006 report by Canada's Radon Working Group indicates a measurable risk of lung cancer at radon levels as low as 100 Bq/m3.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that about 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S. are radon-related. Your risk of developing lung cancer from radon depends on the concentration of radon in the air you breathe and the length of time you are exposed.

Confirmation of this comes in part from the Iowa Radon Lung Cancer Study, a large-scale epidemiology study initiated in 1993 and funded by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The study assessed the risk posed by residential radon exposure. The 5-year study was performed in Iowa and found that cumulative radon exposure in the residential environment is significantly associated with lung cancer risk. It found that "after adjusting for age, smoking, and education, and using categorical radon exposure levels, a 15 year exposure at levels equivalent to EPA's action level of 4 pCi/L yielded excess odds of 0.50 i.e., an increase in lung cancer risk of 50%".

The World Health Organization (WHO) says radon causes up to 15% of lung cancers worldwide. In an effort to reduce the rate of lung cancer around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched an international radon project to help countries increase awareness, collect data and encourage action to reduce radon-related risks.

Radon gas can move through small spaces in the soil and rock upon which a house is built. It can seep into a home through dirt floors, cracks in concrete walls and floors, sumps, joints, basement drains, under the furnace base, and jack posts if the base is buried in the floor.

Radon is nine times heavier than air, and tends to remain close to the ground. If you have anyone sleeping in a basement area in your home, they may be at greater risk of radon exposure. At the present time there are no accurate methods of predicting radon levels in homes. Similar houses within a single neighbourhood can have indoor radon levels that vary by a factor of 20 or more. The only realistic method of determining the indoor radon concentration is to have it measured.

The U.S. Surgeon General says that you should "test your home for radon every two years, and retest any time you move, make structural changes to your home, or occupy a previously unused level of a house. If you have a radon level of 4 pCi/L or more, take steps to remedy the problem as soon as possible". The U.S. EPA strongly recommends action for any house with a concentration higher than 148 Bq/m3 (given as 4 pCi/L), and encourages action starting at 74 Bq/m3 (given as 2 pCi/L).

After doing some online research, I decided to purchase a radon detector (shown in picture at upper-left) to measure the radon level in a bedroom basement. The initial reading after a 48 hour period showed a radon level of 2.5 pCi/L or 92.5 Bq/m³. This level is just high enough for concern. I'll need to conduct tests over a longer period of time to obtain a more reliable reading, and that's what I plan on doing next.

If those results show cause for concern, I'll refer to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation's guide "RADON - A Guide For Canadian Homeowners" which sets out a number of actions that homeowners can take to reduce radon levels within the home.

Check out this link for a look at some recent public service announcements by the U.S. EPA concerning the dangers of Radon.

Units of Measure: Results from devices that measure concentrations of radon gas are reported as either “Becquerels per cubic metre” (Bq/m3) or “picoCuries per Liter” (pCi/L). Canada and other countries which have adopted the metric system use Bq/m3. One pCi/L equals 37 Bq/m3. Results from devices that measure the radiation emitted from radon progeny are reported as “Working Levels” (WL) or milliWorking Levels (mWL). The ratio between radon gas and its radon progeny vary with conditions. In most houses, 0.1 WL is approximately equivalent to 800 Bq/m3 (22 pCi/L) of radon.

Get your home tested for radon -- it's the only way to find out to what extent you and your family are at risk.

Antioxidants, Big Guns In The Fight Against Unstable Radicals

2006-12-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

What better way to end the year than on a positive note. We all eat to live, some love to eat, and a few of us live to eat. I know that I fall into the third camp. Fortunately my significant other is an excellent chef. No microwave TV dinners for me!!

Perhaps what we eat does not define us, but it certainly will have an impact on our quality of life and our longevity. In this post I've highlighted a number of consumables that warrant your close attention. Incorporate them into your diet and chances are you'll live a healthier, happier, and longer life.

Free radicals perform both valuable (e.g., the intracellular killing of bacteria) and destructive (e.g., causing damage to our DNA) roles within our bodies. To help ward off the destructive aspects, our bodies enlist the aid of antioxidants as a defence mechanism to minimize free radical induced damage and to repair damage which does occur.

While more long-term research is needed to confirm and fully understand the effective role that various antioxidants play in sustaining a healthy body, there is a growing body of evidence pointing to the value of consuming foods which are known to be antioxidant rich. The following food sources seem to hold promise in contributing toward a healthy lifestyle. Treat the list below as just a sample of some of the healthier antioxidant rich food choices that are available. If you are affected by any health problems you may want to consult with your physician prior to changing your diet.

Allium Vegetables -- Garlic, the "stinking rose", of the allium family of vegetables is proof that when it comes to food, stinky isn't always a bad thing. Onions, scallions, leeks and chives are also well known members of this family of vegetables. They contain many substances now being studied for their anti-cancer effects, including: allicin, allixin, allyl sulphides, quercetin and a large group of organosulfur compounds. In one of the largest studies of its kind, the Iowa Women's Health Study (which included more than 40,000 women) demonstrated that of all the fruits and vegetables studied, garlic had the strongest association with a reduced risk of colon cancer. Researchers continue to assess this vegetable group's ability to lower cholesterol levels, reduce blood pressure, fight free radicals, keep blood from clotting, and help treat asthma and yeast infections.

Berries -- Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are full of fibre, minerals and vitamins. They are also loaded with proanthocyanidins, antioxidants that can help prevent cancer and heart disease. A new study shows that purple berries, such as elderberry, black currant, and chokeberry, are as much as 50% higher in antioxidants known as flavonoids than some of the more common berry varieties, such as blueberries and cranberries. Berries contain a wide rage of antioxidants and each kind is associated with specific health benefits.

Carotenoids -- The Institute of Medicine encourages consumption of all carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables for their health-promoting benefits. Carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupes, and other vegetables and fruits with deep orange and bright yellow colors signal the presence of the phytochemical carotenoids, including beta carotene. These contain powerful antioxidants are thought to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Some carotenoids (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin) can also be made into vitamin A by the body.

Coffee -- Coffee is increasingly receiving positive press as a health food, and by some accounts it is the number one source of antioxidants in the U.S. diet. In my recent post (see "Coffee... back in (the) black"), I noted that coffee has been cleared of blood pressure risks and recent scientific studies show that, when brewed, it contains a concentrated source of antioxidants. It seems the pendulum may be swinging back into the black for coffee and it may yet receive a clean bill of health. Attributed benefits include lower incidences of diabetes, cancer, Parkinson's disease, and heart-related death. Drink it earlier in your day and then switch to tea during the afternoon followed by a glass or two of red wine in the evening.

Cruciferous Vegetables -- Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts, and bok choy all appear to help protect against cancer. Do not let the smell of the sulphur compounds that are released while cooking keep you away from this highly nutritious vegetable. They contain sulforaphane, a naturally-occurring antioxidant which has also been shown to be effective at inhibiting Helicobacter pylori growth. Broccoli's phytonutrients work as antioxidants to disarm free radicals before they can damage DNA, cell membranes and fat-containing molecules such as cholesterol. In broccoli these compounds actually signal our genes to increase production of enzymes involved in detoxification, the cleansing process through which our bodies eliminate harmful compounds.

Olive Oil -- The health benefits associated with olive oil consumption are well documented. Olive oil contains a number of compounds, called polyphenols, which are believed to act as powerful antioxidants. The high monounsaturated fat content in olive oil is highly beneficial to one's health. A recent European study found that those who had 25 millilitres of olive oil per day had reduced levels of a substance which indicates cell damage that can lead to cancer. It's important to pick the right olive oil, to get the greatest health benefits. I love drizzling virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar over sliced crusty whole grain bread and then eating it while sipping on a glass of red wine.

Red Wine (Red Grapes) -- Red Grapes contain substances called resveratrol and quercetin. These potent antioxidants boost heart health by acting as free-radical scavengers, reducing platelet aggregation and helping blood vessels remain open and flexible. Resveratrol can also protect against cancer and reduce the risk of inflammatory diseases, gastric ulcers, stroke and even osteoporosis. A quick search on WebMD yields a plethora of information which speaks to the health benefits of moderate red wine consumption. I would recommend wines made from the Tannat grape. They contain one of the highest levels of procyanidin (a type of polyphenol) which is a highly effective anti-oxidant in the fight against heart disease. Tannat wines are most effective when produced from grapes grown at high altitudes. Try a "don Rodolfo" from Argentina as it is grown at 6,000 ft altitude. Another good choice is a Madiran from France. It's important that the wine is fermented in the 'old world' method where the vintner allows for a contact time (i.e, where the fermenting liquid is in contact with the grape skins and seeds) of at least three weeks. Barring health complications, women can safely drink one glass a day while men can drink two. Drink responsibly. Never drink and drive.

Tea -- White tea, green tea, black tea, and oolong tea come from the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Tea contains catechins, a type of antioxidant. Tea has been shown to boost metabolism to aid weight loss, block allergic response, slow the growth of tumours, protect bones, fight bad breath, improve skin, protect against Parkinson's disease, even delay the onset of diabetes. It was originally thought that green tea had more antioxidants than black tea, but recent studies suggest that they are equally beneficial. Green and black teas may have 10 times the antioxidants found in fruits and veggies.

Tomatoes -- Tomatoes contain the antioxidant glutathione which helps boost immune function and protects cells from toxins such as free radicals. They also contain one of the most potent carotenoid antioxidants, lycopene, which helps reduce rates of certain kinds of cancer and heart disease. Eating tomatoes is also helpful in the prevention of macular degeneration and in maintaining a higher level of mental function as we age. Eating cooked tomatoes is best since the cooking process allows for greater absorption of the desirable antioxidants. Eating cooked tomatoes with olive oil is even more beneficial since the lycopene found in tomatoes is fat-soluble and can further improve absorption.

Bon Appétit!!

Best wishes for a Merry Winter Solstice!

2006-12-15T19:09:00.000-07:00

Best wishes for a Merry Winter Solstice!

Sometime in Junior High I came to the opinion that organized religion was not for me. As I matured that conviction became stronger and I've never regretted the decision to leave the trappings of religion behind.

I am not an agnostic. Agnosticism seems like a convenient 'out' for those wanting to hedge their bets -- when it comes to religion I'm not a fence sitter. If that makes me an atheist, then I prefer to fall in with those atheists which stress a lack of philosophical interest in religious belief rather than those with a determination to prove there is no God. I consider myself an enlightened rationalist and tend to agree with Bertrand Russell's assessment: "My conclusion is that there is no reason to believe any of the dogmas of traditional theology and, further, that there is no reason to wish that they were true. Man, in so far as he is not subject to natural forces, is free to work out his own destiny. The responsibility is his, and so is the opportunity."

Having said that, what is an enlightened rationalist to do then in the coming days of merry making? Is it hypocritical to engage in gift giving and merry making at this time of year when millions of Christians are celebrating Christmas? No, not at all!

Truth be told, Christians hijacked traditional celebrations held this time of year (those honouring the Winter Solstice) from the Pagans many centuries ago. History shows that early Christians borrowed this celebratory time for their own Christmas celebrations sometime in the fourth century AD. Later in the fifth century AD the date was set to coincide with the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol commemorated on December 25. Who can blame them; it was probably hard to resist joining in a good time being had by all -- what with so many Pagans engaged in merry making during the Winter Solstice.

As youngsters, our science teachers instructed us on the physics behind the Winter Solstice. We learned that the Earth doesn’t rotate "upright" in space; it has a 23.5-degree tilt. With this tilt, sunlight falls more directly on some parts of the planet at specific points of the Earth’s annual journey around the sun. Earth's Winter Solstice happens whenever the northern hemisphere’s tilt away from the sun is most pronounced. This occurs every year on Dec. 21 or 22.

The holiday timing of the winter solstice is rooted in ancient religions. Throughout history, humans have observed this seasonal milestone and created spiritual and cultural traditions to celebrate the rebirth of sunlight after the darkest period of the year. Gift giving, Yule logs, kissing under the mistletoe, displaying bright lights and erecting cut evergreen trees in our homes all have their origins in our Pagan past.

The sun god, Mithra, had followers more than 3,000 years ago, and over the years, his cult was popular in several ancient cultures. Mithra was known as Mithras in Rome, where, in the 3rd Century, the Emperor Aurelian declared that the birth of Sol Invictus, the Invincible Sun, would be celebrated on Mithras' birthday, December 25th. (A festival of the birth of the Invincible Sun (or Dies Natalis Solis Invicti) was celebrated when the duration of daylight first begins to increase after the Winter Solstice, -- the "rebirth" of the sun.)

Pagans of northern Europe celebrated the winter solstice (the Yule time) in part by burning a log on the shortest day of the year to symbolize the rebirth of the sun. A festival developed around the shortest day of the year that celebrated the return of the light.

On the shortest day of the year, the Druids -- Celtic priests -- would cut down the sacred mistletoe plant (considered sacred because it mysteriously grew on the most sacred tree, the oak) with a golden sickle, being careful not to let it touch the ground or it would lose its magical powers. The mistletoe was ceremoniously cut and a spray given to each family, to be hung in the doorways for good luck. To hang it over a doorway or in a room was to offer goodwill to visitors. Kissing under the mistletoe was a pledge of friendship. Mistletoe is still forbidden in most Christian churches because of its Pagan associations, but it has continued to have a special place in Christmas celebrations.

The Roman midwinter holiday, Saturnalia, was both a gigantic fair and a festival of the home. Riotous merry-making took place, and the halls of houses were decked with boughs of laurel and evergreen trees. Lamps were kept burning to ward off the spirits of darkness. Schools were closed, the army rested, and no criminals were executed. Friends visited one another, bringing good-luck gifts of fruit, cakes, candles, dolls, jewellery, and incense. Temples were decorated with evergreens symbolizing life's continuity, and processions of people with masked or blackened faces and fantastic hats danced through the streets.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not upset that the Christians hijacked this celebratory time for their own. I harbour no ill will toward Christians. Some of my best friends are Christians, though most are Christians by fiat and not through any self-informed choice or action on their part. Heck, in my books, the more people that I'm able to celebrate with at this time of year the better.

As a side note, concerning the birth of Christ, if biblical references are to be believed it is doubtful that Christ was born anytime near this late in the year; but that's a topic for another post. If you are interested, a bit of Googling will provide evidence that the shepherds of the day would never have been out in their fields tending their flock of sheep that late in the year. Historical records indicate that the sheep were brought in from the fields by mid October due to the inclement weather of the season.

May the warmth of the reborn sun always shine brightly on you and yours!

Coffee... back in (the) black

2006-12-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

Ah coffee! As a young lad one of my earliest olfactory memories was waking to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee on a cold winter's morn.

We lived in a small neat two-storey mail-order Eaton's farmhouse out on the prairies in the late 50's. Insulation hadn't come of age yet when I was a boy. Even under the covers it was bone chillingly cold inside whenever the mercury dropped below -20F. And, often as not, it always seemed to be that cold. You have to remember, this was well before global warming. Just before my dad would head into the basement to shovel coal into our hungry little furnace he would fire up the wood stove and put on a pot for coffee.

Google it and you'll find that coffee seeds (they're not really beans at all) come from the cherries of a tropical evergreen shrub which was native to northeast Africa and southwest Asia. Coffee cultivation actually originated with the Arabs. One legend has it that a goat herder by the name of Kaldi noticed his goats getting frisky after eating the ripe cherries of a nearby bush. Kaldi sampled the cherries and soon found himself refreshed. He shared the discovery with his mates and the rest is history.

It's interesting to note that coffee's earliest use may not have been in the form of a beverage. By some accounts, the seeds were first combined with animal fat as a source of nutrition by nomads as early as the sixth and ninth century AD. By the seventeenth century coffee had made its way to the capitals of Europe. Now, with yearly consumption exceeding 400 billion cups, coffee is said to be the second most traded commodity (next to oil) in the world with Brazil and Columbia being the two largest coffee producing nations.

In my youth, coffee was one of the first 'adult' beverages that I was allowed to sample. Later, as an adult, it became a personal favourite. On particularly taxing work assignments it was easy to consume five to eight cups a day. I noticed though that after about the fourth cup my eyes would begin to twitch, my chest felt like it was tightening and I became noticeably more anxious. That coupled with media reports which questioned the long-term health effects of coffee consumption led me to reluctantly give it up a decade ago.

I was pleased then to recently discover that, if you are in generally good health, there is no reason to throw away your coffee pot. It has been cleared of blood pressure risks and recent scientific studies show that, when brewed, it contains a concentrated source of antioxidants. It seems the pendulum may be swinging back into the black for coffee and it may yet receive a clean bill of health. Attributed benefits include lower incidences of diabetes, cancer, Parkinson's disease, and heart-related death. Needless to say, coffee is once again a popular beverage with me. My daily limit seems to have levelled out in the two to three cups a day range.

While there are positive signs that it may be a healthy beverage, make no mistake, coffee is not a panacea. As the American Institute for Cancer Research points out "it can’t be a substitute for berries, legumes, nuts, and other fruits and vegetables that provide antioxidants along with a wide range of vitamins, protective compounds and dietary fibre". And if history is any guide I'm sure I'll see contradictory reports surface to muddy the waters yet again.

But until then, hey, I'm glad to once again be waking to the aroma that draws me back to those crisp prairie winter morns of my youth.

Canada -- Losing The Battle In Afghanistan

2006-09-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

Don't be misled by military spinmeisters telling you that we're winning the war in Afghanistan because we're killing more of them than they are of us. Even if the numbers are true, this war is not like those fought by nations' standing armies of yore. In this war, comparing our body count to theirs is irrelevant. Those old enough to recall the daily body counts offered up by the then US military PR machine during the Vietnam war know all too well how that war ended.

This war, like the Vietnam war, can not be won if we continue our current course.

The lions share of our strategy, money, tactics and muscle has been spent these last five years on chasing ghosts (a heterogeneous mix of Taliban, neighbouring Islamic fundamentalists, local warlords, irate poppy farmers, and disillusioned Afghan citizens now fighting for local warlords and/or the Taliban). During that time we have been largely ignoring the plight of the Afghan citizenry who have had their villages bombed, their livelihood destroyed, been driven into abject poverty and are now seeing their children die of starvation and disease.

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention... they started out calling this mess Operation Enduring Freedom. The freedom to piss away nearly 100 billion USD, the freedom to get thousands more killed fighting the 'war on terror' (whatever the hell that is), and the freedom to further alienate us from the Muslim community.

In June of this year, the Senlis Council issued a report ("Canada in Kandahar: No Peace To Keep") which is heavily critical of Canada's blind adoption of the US government's failed military policies in Kandahar. Any success we were hoping to achieve in our reconstruction and development mission (at least that's why I thought we were there) is clearly in jeopardy. The reports' strongly worded concerns for the safety of our troops and the citizenry of southern Afghanistan have been realized in spades with the recent fatalities we've seen these past months.

Our efforts in Afghanistan are doomed unless we restructure our priorities and place more emphasis on relieving their poverty, establishing a means of sustainable livelihood (some interim period must be allowed for poppy farmers to make the transition), rebuild key elements of their infrastructure (electricity, running water, hospitals, schools) and help them develop an effective security force composed and run by Afghan nationals.

Being The Meat In The Sandwich

2006-09-19T07:41:00.000-07:00

We experience life in a series of stages; each bittersweet, with its own rewards, challenges, joy and pain. Just when you feel comfortable with the stage you are in, the curtain rises on the next, ready or not.

You have to experience living through each stage first hand to really understand it with any clarity. Sure, you can learn something through the experiences of others who have been there before, but it takes living through the experience oneself to gain that sense of knowledge and intimacy which can't be had any other way.

The transition from one stage to the next can span a number of years and be quite stressful. It entails leaving the relative comfort of the familiar behind and traversing unfamiliar ground. These transitions happen unnoticed at first, and then one day something slips and you awake with a startling revelation that life will never be the same. This sudden awareness can catch you off guard and leave you with a sense of panic.

This is where my wife and I find ourselves now; we are entering the next stage of our lives. Not that long ago we had a son in high-school and one in his final years of university living at home with us. Our parents were long retired, healthy and living what seemed like their 'golden years'. Life for my wife and I was happy, warm, predictable, and comfortable -- like a well worn jacket. Time, however, does not stand still, no matter how much we would like it to. Subtle changes had been underway for some time, then awareness, and suddenly it seems like we've been catapulted from a dream into this most recent stage. We've woken to an empty home, the sounds of our children gone, their familiar faces missing at meals, finding our aging parents coping with all that comes with the last stage of their lives.

It wasn't immediately obvious to me but as I write this it strikes me that the curtain is rising on a new stage of life for all three generations of our family. I'm no expert but I have the feeling that being the meat in the sandwich is going to be as challenging as anything we have faced before. Being in the middle means being stretched. You find yourself still wanting, and rightly needing, to be parents to your children while now being called upon to becoming parents, of a sort, to your own parents.

As a parent to your children you want and need to be supportive of them as they come to terms with the challenges of establishing their own independence in an often harsh and fast changing world. We've been there ourselves, albeit twenty-some years earlier when the world seemed a saner place, and we still have fresh memories of what our children face in this new stage of life they are entering. In recent years we experienced the sadness and joy of seeing our sons set out on their own to establish their own homes, careers and family. Even though they have moved away from home, we will always want to shield our children from life's hurts and pains, offer our support and be there with them to celebrate their accomplishments.

My wife and I can recall a time in our late twenties when our grandmothers' health was starting to fail and our parents were entering their retirement years. Our parents were experiencing the same transition that we are now. I know they occasionally commented about how fast life seemed to be changing, how busy they seemed to be even though they no longer had children at home, and how unsure they were about what lie ahead. At the time we were so busy with raising two young children and paying the bills that we were largely unaware of what lie ahead.

Nothing really prepares us for seeing first hand the ravages that time visits on our aging parents -- osteoarthritis, a serious heart attack, prostate cancer, strokes, epilepsy, alzheimers, cardiac problems requiring a pacemaker, and an invasive form of breast cancer.

This time is especially bittersweet. With luck, we will be here to see and support our children as they grow and live life as adults and support our parents as best we are able.

The MAD Science Experiment Of Modern Life

2006-03-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

It took decades to discover and then come to terms with the tragic outcome of daily exposure to materials like asbestos, lead, PCBs, and DDT.

Wouldn't it be comforting to think that we would never ever again put ourselves in such a predicament. Well... reality bites. Let's face it, we eat, work and sleep in sea of manmade carcinogens -- we are living the MAD science experiment of modern life.

In early March of this year Wendy Mesley, a well known broadcaster with the CBC in Canada, disclosed that her blood contained 45 of 60 known or suspected carcinogens being tested for. Shocking? No, ungh-ungh, nadda -- you see, that's the scary-assed point here -- her level of contamination is considered average for anyone living in North America. In "Chasing the cancer answer" Wendy takes us on a wild ride of awakening.

Her story sadly is not unique. In November of 2005, CBC News reported that Environmental Defence, an industry watchdog group, found 88 chemicals including PCBs, flame retardants and insecticides in blood and urine samples of Canadians. Although the sample size of eleven volunteers was quite small, it is still quite disturbing.

South of the border, in July of 2005, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) published a benchmark investigation of industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides in umbilical cord blood. They found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in umbilical cord blood. Of the 287 chemicals they detected in umbilical cord blood, 180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests. The EWG found that one of these contaminants, perchlorate - the explosive ingredient in solid rocket fuel, has contaminated drinking water and soil in at least 35 U.S. states, with most of the known contamination coming from military bases and defence contractors.

Through a combination of ignorance, benign neglect, misplaced trust and corporate cynicism, we are allowing ourselves to be poisoned into cancer by commonly used, legal carcinogens and, worse, condemning an alarming number of children and young adults to the same fate.

What can we do?

Become informed. Guides like the "CancerSmart Consumer Guide" and the "Guide to Less Toxic Products" can provide information on ways to avoid intimate contact with carcinogens and toxins.
Be careful (be vvery vvery careful) of those products that you eat, drink, apply to your skin or bring into your home.
Inform others whom you know and raise hell with those in positions of responsibility to get these poisons under wraps.

Looking For Answers Through The Lens of History

2006-02-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

Sadly, throughout history, man's pursuit of his religious beliefs has left untold misery, ignorance and intolerance in its wake.

Last September, cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad as a terrorist were widely published in Denmark. In the past week, newspapers and magazines in a number of European countries have reprinted the cartoons. Worldwide, Muslims are condemning the images as a heinous crime against their religious beliefs. In recent days the protests have become more violent as foreign embassies have been set afire and Islamic groups call for attacks on Europeans.

Many who work in the Western media seem astonished that events are unfolding as they are. They defend their right to reprint the cartoons citing their "freedom of expression" and call on Muslims worldwide to be reasonable. For the most part, Westerners are reacting to the Muslim protests with shock, ridicule and anger. Some in the Western media are quick to write the protestors off as extremists, fanatics or terrorists. Westerners seem to have forgotten their past, for it is there that the seeds of understanding can be found.

Having some knowledge of history helps in appreciating the furor that is now sweeping through the Muslim community. Europeans, once highly religious and firmly in the grip of an iron-fisted manifestation of Christianity, are now largely secular citizens. In contrast, the vast majority of Muslims have retained a strong religious identity and their population is growing within the midst of many European countries.

Were a European cartoonist to denigrate the image of Christ in Europe's not too distant past, he would likely have found himself burned as a heretic after weeks of unspeakable torture. As his tormentors -- fellow Christians, perhaps even his neighbours -- inflicted unimaginable indignities to his person, the cartoonist would have 'confessed' and turned in the names of others who were also 'guilty' of heresy. They too would soon find themselves sitting atop a fire that slowly cooked them alive. It is easy to forget the maniacal workings of those whose faith drove them to the most extreme acts of cruelty during the period of the Inquisition which ran its course in Europe from 1184 through to the end of the Spanish Inquisition in 1834. The last documented burning of a heretic occurred in 1850... not that long ago.

In retrospect then we shouldn't be shocked by what has happened. Muslims have retained their faith more fully than we Westerners have and it shows in their reaction to the cartoons. Europeans, now largely secular, find no need to enforce stricture on the publication of cartoons which poke fun at religious beliefs.

Where do I stand on this? Humanity as a whole needs to come to terms with the irrationality of all religious faith. We need to work harder at asserting human dignity and further our pursuit for fulfillment through reason and scientific method.

The books below may be of interest:

The End of Faith; Sam Harris
Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism; Susan Jacoby
Ghost In The Universe; Edis Taner

Memories Of Jet Lag Come Flooding Back

2006-01-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

It's amazing the things we can repress. I had pretty much forgotten my out of body experiences with jet lag until a recent conversation brought them flooding back.

Some years ago I found myself making a number of business trips back and forth to various cities in South Korea. The fourteen hour flights heading West across the Pacific to Seoul were almost bearable. My flights there saw me landing just hours before sunset. Sleep in the air never came easy for me, even in business class. By the time the bus dropped me off at the hotel in Suwon and I unpacked my bags it was nearly midnight. I'd been awake for 28 hours. Ok, awake might be misleading... I'd not had any fitful period of sleep for 28 hours; yeah, that's more like it.

1 - 2 - 3 A.M. and I'm still awake. I peer into the mirror and zombie eyes stare back at me. No sense trying to sleep, it's impossible. Time to shower, shave, grab a bite to eat and off to the first meeting. Feeling a little weird, but I think I can manage it. Oh damn... it's not quite noon and I'm done. Can't focus, can't process what's being said, ears ringing, skin hurts, floating in and out - disjointed from my body, must sleep... mussttt slleeepppp.

Three days, a week, sometimes two and it's back East across the Pacific. Flights going West to East were the worst. Sure they were shorter, courtesy of the jet stream, but they sucked the soul right out of me. Landing in North America, resetting your watch, and noting that it's actually earlier in the day here than when you left Seoul is kind of neat to ponder -- but hell to experience. Flying West to East was so bizarre -- by the time I landed I'd been awake for 19 hours and my watch was telling me it's only noon. What's with that?!?#

I found my limit when two trips came less than a week apart and each of them involved just a three day stay. By the end of the second trip by body was waving the flag of surrender. It took nearly a month to recover.

If you find yourself in similar circumstances, consider the advice offered at the links below:

How to Avoid and Combat Jet Lag - Lawrence Bryson, M.D.
Reducing Jet Lag - Thomas Reilly, School of Human Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University
Taking The Air Out Of Jet Lag - National Sleep Foundation
Jet Lag and Melatonin - Jian M. Ding, MD PhD, University of Minnesota
Jet Lat - A Review From Lancet - Jim Waterhouse; Thomas Reilly; Greg Atkinson

Simple Steps You Can Take Toward Anonymity On The Internet

2006-01-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

On January 18th, 2006, the U.S. Justice Department filed court papers which claimed that Google was not complying with a subpoena, issued in 2005, for access to online search information related to searches made through the Google search engine. While Google failed to comply, it became known that other unspecified search engines did turn over the requested information.

The online public should have been thinking about this well before. If they haven't, then here is another wake up call. While a few may be taking appropriate steps to protect their online identify and actions, it is likely that most do not. It may be ignorance of the issues -- which include: nuisance from spammers, identity theft, and potential for later embarrassment should their online activity become exposed -- or perhaps they incorrectly assume they can do little to protect themselves over concerns of complexity or cost.

In lieu of any mandatory privacy protection guarantees, it is up to each of us to take steps to protect our anonymity and privacy while operating in the online realm. A simple step is to stop leaving your calling card (IP address) at every website that you visit.

The Windows solution offered below is based on freely available technology. While this solution should not be relied upon if you need strong anonymity (i.e., perhaps your life may be on the line), it is a simple first step that offers some measure of protection. It can be used to keep websites from tracking you and to connect to websites and services that your Internet Service Provider may be blocking.

Ingredients:

FireFox (web browser)
NoScript (a Firefox extension to minimize the risk of leaking information through Java scripts)
Tor (an anonymous online system -- see also the TorFAQ)
Privoxy (a web proxy)
SwitchProxy (a Firefox extension to easily turn your enable / disable your proxies)

Instructions:
Detailed setup instructions, and good explanations, will be found at the websites associated with each of the links below. The entire process can be done in less than an hour by anyone with a moderate knowledge of computers. If you are nervous, call upon a daughter, son, granddaughter, grandson, niece or nephew.

Download and install the latest version of Firefox. You can use Internet Explorer if you prefer, but I have found it easier to manage my online privacy using Firefox as my web browser.
Download and install NoScript.
Download and install Tor and Privoxy and then configure your applications to use Tor. Have Tor and Privoxy running and configure Privoxy so that it points to Tor.
Run a test to be sure that Tor and Privoxy are working.
Download and install SwitchProxy and configure it.

Anonymity on the Internet should be a basic fundamental right of every citizen. You can make a difference by engaging others in informed dialog and by raising this topic with your local politicians. For additional information on the topic of anonymity on the Internet visit:

the Electronic Frontier Foundation's webpage on the subject
the briefing paper "Nameless in Cyberspace: Anonymity on the Internet" by Jonathan D Wallace
the article "Staying anonymous in the internet jungle" by Matthew Tanase
the "Onion Routing" webpage on the topic

The Origin Of My Blog's Name

2006-01-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted something unique and meaningful for the name of my blog.

Why not my approximate birth rank within the continuum of births since the dawn of our species?

A rough calculation shows that the Earth's population reached 2,719,717,908 when I was born.

Earth's human population -- a timeline:

one million years ago there may have been 100,000 of our ancestors huddled around fires in small family groupings;

forty thousand years ago, by the beginning of The Upper Paleolithic Period, we came together to hunt and fish as our numbers grew to 330,000;

ten thousand years ago, during the Middle Stone Age, our population increased to 3,000,000 as we formed communal groups and began the domestication of plants and animals;

five thousand years ago, with farming firmly established and civilization well underway, our ranks had grown to nearly 20,000,000;

by the second century A.D., at the height of the Roman Empire, our population was now greater by ten fold coming in at 200,000,000 inhabitants;

just after the turn of the 16th century, as the Protestant Reformation began, our population reached the 400,000,000 mark;

in 1825, some twenty-five years after the French Revolution, and right about the time George Stephenson's invention led to the first railroad opening in England during the beginnings of the Coal Age, we crested 1,000,000,000 people;

one hundred years later, well into the Oil Age and during the development of quantum mechanics, our population had doubled to 2,000,000,000; and

our numbers have since swollen to 6,498,272,696 as of January 26, 2006.

Early last year I read a very thought provoking book: "A Short History Of Progress" by Ronald Wright. Runaway population growth was one of the topics addressed. He made me think about where we are going...