Blogger Kills Cyclist

A blogger in Ottawa has just posted an opinion piece saying that the City of Ottawa's bike path detour (or maybe it is the NCC's) is bad and his is better. As an argument for his position, he mentions the tragic cyclist death that recently occurred.

However, according to investigators, the cyclist was not travelling on the detour, but speeding north on Boyce (and not obeying the stop sign). Now, obviously, the investigators could be wrong (the cyclist is dead and the driver obviously didn't see him). The cyclist could have been travelling West on Walter (no stop sign to obey) on the official detour and the inexperienced driver could have cut him off by turning right (north on to Boyce from Walter).

Agrandir le plan

But if the investigators are correct, and the 53 year old cyclist was travelling north on Boyce, he was presumably trying to reach the unofficial pathway detour that runs parallel to the pathway under construction. The blogger mentioned that he shared ("several weeks ago") his unofficial detour with others. It is possible, although unlikely, that the cyclist saw the blogger's unofficial detour, and decided to use it (and not obey the stop sign on the way there). 

If the investigators were correct, and the cyclist was heading North, than this is what he was cycling towards: a playground. 

Agrandir le plan Notice how narrow the path is. That is the unofficial detour that the blogger was recommending. Sure, there are no SUVs on that path, but there might be children walking!

Please blog responsibly. You never know who could die if you aren't careful.

Skip Channels On Rogers Digital Cable

In these dog days of Summer, you may start to glance at TV shows on
some of the more obscure channels on your cable box. Or at least you
try to, until you realise you'd have to pay extra. And you are not
about to pay extra to watch TV in the Summer.

The solution with the Motorola digital cable box Rogers has in NB and
NFL is to skip channels (this may be possible in Ontario on the
Scientific Atlanta boxes, but I don't know how). The process is quite
simple, but somewhat time consuming.

1. Write down the channels you don't get (start at 01 and press
channel up). Take your time as some of the channels may take a few
seconds to appear while showing the 1-888 number. I ended up writing
some of them on my notepad on my iPhone, which is why I have the list
below (basic digital in Moncton, but with TMN and an HD TV).

2. Press settings, press it again, select My Preferences, scroll down
to Skip Channels, press select on each channel you don't want. You can
exit at any time by pressing "exit" (return by pressing settings
twice).

3. Once you are done and have pressed "exit", press "guide", then the
yellow "A". Select, Custom, Hide, Hide Skipped Channels, B Use Always.
And voilà!

4. An other way to do it would be to press the favourite button
(bellow the blue B) on each channel you are remotely expecting to ever
watch, then guide, the yellow A, then Custom, Display, List Favourite
Channels, select B Use Always.

5.Then you might want to sort them alphabetically (Guide, A, Sort ABC)

6. If you have been overzealous in your TV channel skipping, just
press Guide, List All.

7. If you have your A button set to custom hide skipped channels, the
B Theme button becomes quite useful. For example, If you select
news/public affairs, it won't try to get you to watch CNN or Fox News
(If you skipped them), but instead will recommend specific shows on
CPAC, PBS and NBC, channels you already pay for.

Some of the channels I skipped (I have basic digital cable in
Moncton). Some others were obvious and I didn't write down.

287 292 293 297 298 299 307 308 310 315 324 325 326 330 331 332 334
335 336 337 338 339 340 342 343 344 345 361 to 384 386 397 408 415 416
417 418 420 421 427 428 429 430 to 499 511 512 513 536

Note that you can skip the music, radio and On Demand channels, as
they are easily accessible (Settings, right arrow).

(Via iPhone)

Kobo eReaders Now $128!

Is 2010 the year of the ebook? Yes. For those of you too cheap for an iPad, an who insist a perfectly good 3.5 inch, genuinely pocket size, iPhone or iPod touch is too small, than the Kobo may be for you. If you weren't keeping score, June early adopters forked over $149 for the privilege of reading books on Kobo's non-wireless ereader. However, Amazon just launched a US$139 (plus $10 for delivery to Canada) Wifi only Kindle (shipping in September if you order today).

Reasons not to buy an eReader:

1. You work for Canada Post.

2. Your province only gives a sales tax rebate for the paper version of books (I'm talking to you New Brunswick)

3. You library is backwards and doesn't loan electronic library books (Ottawa and Calgary, amongst others, do, but they ARE NOT compatible with the Kindle).

4. If it weren't for book stores, you'd never get out of the house.

5. You have a crush on the cashier at your local bookstore.

Kobo is owned in part by the"good people" at Chapters-Indigo.

More from me on the Kobo.

PS. If you get a Kobo, get the black one. Oh, and can we close the libraries yet?

Can't see this email? Read on the web » Add to safe list » Send to a friend » eReading: anytime. anyplace. Get the Kobo eReader this weekend - now $128! Where to Buy» Designed by booklovers for booklovers, the Kobo eReader includes: E Ink technology and adjustable font sizes - makes reading easy on the eyes Read right out of the box – comes pre-loaded with 100 FREE eBooks Sync N'Read – The Kobo eReader includes the Kobo Desktop Application which means you can shop for eBooks, organize your library and download eBooks right away! Contact Us Visit http://www.kobobooks.com/companyinfo/contact.html or send an email to: help@kobobooks.com Follow Become a fan Follow us blog.kobobooks.com Questions? Find help at: http://www.kobobooks.com/companyinfo/help.html Your security is important to us and we take great measures to protect your personal information. For details, see our Privacy Policy. ™ Kobo is a trademark of Kobo, Inc. © 2010 KOBO Inc. All Rights Reserved.

iTunes Canada avec films du Quebec!

La donation sur iTunes

Fini la discrimination chez Apple et iTunes, nous les Canadiens pouvons maintenant louer des films dans notre langue (le français; lien iTunes). Il y a même quelques films québécois dont La donation (lien iTunes)!

Mise-à-jour 23:45: Il semblerait que les gens chez iTunes sont fières de leur coup.

Rural Areas Smell and Are Noisy

Some of you travelling this Summer will be keeping an eye out for an affordable retirement home in a picturesque setting. But don't be fooled: rural areas can be as pleasant as an industrial park.

As polluting industries slowly leave our cities, Canadians need to be reminded that we are still a rich country because of our natural resources. Or more precisely, because we exploit our natural resources. We don't hunt seals for sport, we hunt seals so we can buy stuff.

We also have pig farms, windmills, uranium mines, coal mines, clear cut wood lots and all sorts of noisy, smelly endeavours out in the country side.

And that is a good thing.

American 4G, Not So Much

You know what bugs me, false advertising. The grass isn't always greener folks. Look at what Sprint promises for it's "4G" Wimax network: an average speed of 3 to 6 Mbps.

I get 2.5 Mbps on my 3G iPhone, in my basement apartment. And look what this person get's with Rogers (presumably in Toronto) with the iPhone 4: 6 Mbps. Rogers call it's network 3.5G.