Attention Employees: There are Gummy Worm Thieves Among Us!

"It has come to my attention that there are thieves among us; this is never a good thing".

Do you have a gummy worm theft problem in your office? Apparently, I do. I'm pretty sure my boss has an office memo quota because his latest is about gummy worm thieves with a sincere promise to eventually catch and fire them. "These individuals have to go, they will eventually get caught".

But according to the memo, "these individuals are difficult to detect and catch" (the entire office is covered with video surveillance, ostensibly to prevent data theft). If you have any tips on how to catch an office gummy worm thief, I'd like to know so I can collect some brownie, err, gummy points with my boss.

I've never tried a gummy worm, but they must be amazing if people are willing to risk their job over them!

Here are some gummy worm thieves I found on the Internet:

-Busted...Gummy worm thieves | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Non-Touch Kindle In Canada

Cost

If you live in Canada, it will cost you C$122.86, plus HST, for the cheapest Kindle. The Kindle Touch and the Kindle Fire are simply not available to Canadians.

By comparison, the Kobo Wifi will cost you $109 (the newer Kindle Touch is $140) . If you are really cheap, you can pick up a refurbished Kobo 1st gen (not wifi) for $70 at Future Shop.

Cost of ebooks

Remember that with a Kindle, you are really stuck buying books from Kindle's store. Many books are not available to Canadians and those that are, are almost always more expensive in Canada. However, when you factor in the sales tax, that American Kindle store does not charge, the Kindle store books are usually about the same price as other ebooks (at Kobo or iBooks, for example).

Library books

Also, keep in mind you can't read library books on a Kindle (at time of writing, that option is limited to some US libraries). 

Comparison

If you will spend a significant time with your ereader. Possibly in intimate places like your bed and the bathroom. However, why spend more that you have to.

iOS

-I love my iOS devices (iPhone and iPad) because I can shop for ebooks on many different stores as well as the New Brunswick library. Reading, however, is an other issue. The main problem is that I have the entire freeking Internet at my finger tips. To say there are distractions to reading a book on an iOS device is an understatement. The iPod touch is the lightest reading device and very portable. The iPad is bigger and heavier than an ereader, so less portable, but it is easier to read formatted text like magazines. Anything that had glass will have glare. However, the back-lit iOS devices can become challenging in very bright situations (at the very least, you will have to take off your sunglasses).

-Kobo. Every Kobo feels rushed and imperfect. That is just the way they do things. However, you won't suffer from feature creep. They use the standar ePub, so works with elibrary books and you technically could buy from different stores. I'd advise against the non-wifi model as not having to sink to your computer is a luxury that is worth the extra coin (think buying books while on the can). The advantages of touch are debatable in my opinion. I don't remember doing anything but turning the page while reading books on my iOS devices. Glare is a factor when reading under bright lights or outside. Non-glossy paper wins in that respect. 

-Kindle 3G. You can buy an ebook no matter where you are IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. Even if you are house bound, that might be worth the extra $50. Of course, if you don't have a router, or any intention of getting one (and live within the Telus-Bell coverage area), it is the cheapest option.

-Kindle with keyboard and wifi. If you are realistic, and have access to wifi, you won't spring for 3G. And the keyboard is there if you suddenly get the urge to type something while reading a book. But I've never typed anything while reading a book on my iOS devices.

-Kindle without keyboard or touch capability. This Kindle is Koboesque is its lack of features. But is has wifi. And if you aren't the type to write in the margins of paper books, you don't need a keyboard, virtual or otherwise. The lightest eink reader (but almost twice the weight of an iPod touch).

Need more information? If you really like books, more is never enough:

http://altavistagoogle.blogspot.com/search?q=ereader

Online Movies in Canada

Here is a list of legal online movie sources for Canadians:

Like with alcohol, know your limit! Most Internet providers have bandwidth buckets. You go over, you will pay much, much more. And yes, streaming movies counts. As a guideline, figure about 600mb per movie. Double for HD (5GB with the PlayStation Store!)

-iTunes: Rent or purchase, computer, Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, English, French (limited selection), HD (720p)

-Play Station Store: Rent or purchase. PS3, English, French, HD 1080p (large files), taxes included in price.

- Netflix: Subscription, computer, Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PS3, Xbox360, Wii (in 480p), some Blu-Ray players and other devices, English, French (very limited selection). Control over resolution and compression (file size) in account settings.

-Crackle: Free, ad supported, computer, iPad, English.

-Youtube, rent, computer, Android tablet and phones, English, interface available in French, 480p. 

-http://www.nfb.ca/ , good luck finding anything worth watching, but you paid for it (via federal taxes). 

-Rogers On Demand Online, ad supported, limited selection for non-cable subscribers.

-Shaw subscribers: vod.shaw.ca

-Videotron subscribers: http://illicoweb.videotron.com/illicoweb/accueil

-Bell TV: Bell TV subscribers: http://tvonline.bell.ca

Do you know of any others?

Here is a list of Canadian Internet service providers (ISP) that don't charge for bandwidth overages:

-BellAliant.

The Hangman’s Daughter Did Not Have a Kindle Tablet

The Hangman’s Daughter is the English version of Die henkerstochter, a German book set in 1600 Bavaria. I just bought it because I was reading an article in the New York Times about the upcoming Kindle Tablet.


According to the article, Amazon bought the English rights to the German book and sold 200,000 copies of it. Then, someone thought it would be a good idea to publish a paper version of it.


In case you were wondering, Gutenberg invented the movable printing press in 1439. So although the Hangman's Daughter didn't have this week's new Kindle Tablet, she could have had access to a book. 

"If You Are Not Annoyed [at military spending] There is Some Problem" (Ron Paul)

Americans were not attacked in 2001 because of their way of life, and certainly not because of their wealth (Ben Laden was far richer than the average American). Americans were attacked because of their military presence in the Arab world. Ron Paul knows this. Do you?

Tablet Wars

I like wars wear humans don't die. Although if people lose their job and the country doesn't provide a social safety net, they could actually starve or freeze to death (or if they lose their healthcare benefits and are/get sick). But lets agree that fewer people will die in the tablet war than in, say, the American Civil war. That's a safe bet, I think (people do die mining for all those rare minerals... ).

Prices including New Brunswick's 13% HST.

-32GB iPad2: $699.47 (taxes incl.).
-32GB Sony: $678 (taxes incl.)
-32GB Blackberry Playbook: $677.99 (taxes incl.).
-32GB Motorolla Xoom: $565 (taxes incl.)
-32GB Toshiba: $565 (taxes incl.)
-16GB Samsung Galaxie Tab: $565 (taxes incl.)
-32GB Acer Iconia: $452 (taxes incl.)
-0.5GB Viewsonic View Pad: $334 (taxes incl). 
-6 inch,1GB Kobo eReader, Touch Edition: $158.20 (taxes incl)
-6 inch Kindle (at Staples): $179.67 (taxes incl).
-3.5 inch, 32GB iPod touch: $360.47 (taxes incl).

-Future 7 inch 6GB colour Kindle: $282.50 (taxes incl), subject to change (and regional availability).

As you probably know, HP has decided to stop making the HP Touchpad. Then they decided to sell them for $100 and $150. Now everybody wants one, and people are paying between $300 and $400 on ebay and various sites like Craigslist and Kijiji...