Anyone who knows me moderately well will know I'm kinda a geek when it comes to science, science fiction and the universe. Basically I am fascinated by what we know and more importantly DON'T know about our existence. Without getting into a deep philosophical debate, I'd just like to share this wonderful animation, outlining the perspective of the SCALE of our universe. It made me feel absolutely insignificant, and amazed.
Check it out!
Ben Sage, Sales Representative. http://www.bensage.com http://www.oxfordcountyhomes.ca Re/Max a-b Realty Ltd., Brokerage. 519-536-7535. 521 Dundas St., Woodstock, ON
Showing posts with label Distractions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Distractions. Show all posts
Friday, December 18, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Blackberry Bold (my communication weapon of choice) mixes Pleasure with Business
Reprinted from The Globe and Mail
But there's a reason so many people lose their minds once they're separated from their Blackberrys – what RIM's device does, it does really well. And the new Bold 9700 might just be the best Blackberry we've ever seen. There are no great departures from the traditional model, sure, but the Bold still looks tremendous. RIM is slowly trying to make the phone sexier for the average consumer, but they'll be damned if they sacrifice the no-nonsense business capabilities of the Blackberry in the process.
Ups: This is one mighty fine-looking Blackberry. The keyboard has been compressed somewhat from previous iterations, and yet manages to provide a better typing experience than any other phone we tested. RIM has replaced the trackball – which we often broke on previous versions – with a sort of flat track pad. This comes in mighty handy when web browsing. Anyone who has tried to use the trackball to browse the web on a Blackberry knows how frustrating an experience it is to find yourself maniacally skipping from one link to the next. In the Bold, you control a mouse with the track pad, giving you much better control of where you want to go on a page. Web browsing still isn't nearly as good as on the iPhone or the top-end Android phones, but it's far better than it used to be on a Blackberry.
RIM makes few changes to its traditional user interface with the Bold. The home screen contains some of the most-often used functions, such as the mailbox and the calendar. Touch the menu button, and you're transported to the full slew of options. Essentially, the learning curve for anyone who has ever used a Blackberry before will be about 10 seconds long.
Downs: There are no monumental changes here, just a really good version of a well-known smart phone. The Blackberry may still do typing and push email better than any other phone, but it's no longer the only product offering such functions as push email. The non-core functions, such as the media player and the camera, aren't as good as many other phones, especially those with a similar price tag. RIM's Blackberry app market is substantially larger than some of its competitors, such as Palm, but still lags far behind the iPhone.
Ben Sage, Sales Representative. http://www.bensage.com http://www.oxfordcountyhomes.ca Re/Max a-b Realty Ltd., Brokerage. 519-536-7535. 521 Dundas St., Woodstock, ON
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Kids are so gullible, AKA. the Physics of Santa Claus
The Physics of Santa Claus, Thanks to "Robbo Delicious"
1. No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.
2. There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 378 million according to the Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.
3. Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, and assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of his sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course we know to be false but for the purpose of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc.This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.
4. The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 punds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (refer to point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal load, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.
5. 353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecrafts re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy per SECOND, EACH! In short, hey will burst into flames almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create a deafening sonic boom in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousanths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal* forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250 pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.
In conclusion - If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead by now.
Happy Holidays!!!
Ben Sage, Sales Representative. http://www.bensage.com http://www.oxfordcountyhomes.ca Re/Max a-b Realty Ltd., Brokerage. 519-536-7535. 521 Dundas St., Woodstock, ON
1. No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.
2. There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 378 million according to the Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.
3. Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, and assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of his sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course we know to be false but for the purpose of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc.This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.
4. The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 punds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (refer to point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal load, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.
5. 353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecrafts re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy per SECOND, EACH! In short, hey will burst into flames almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create a deafening sonic boom in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousanths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal* forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250 pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.
In conclusion - If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead by now.
Happy Holidays!!!
Ben Sage, Sales Representative. http://www.bensage.com http://www.oxfordcountyhomes.ca Re/Max a-b Realty Ltd., Brokerage. 519-536-7535. 521 Dundas St., Woodstock, ON
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
A Thanksgiving Tradition, with a Twist - The Deep Fried Turkey!
A Delicious Feast – with a twist!
Ever consider something a little bit different for Thanksgiving? Perhaps this year could be the year to break tradition and try something fun and exciting! How about feasting on a delicious Deep Fried Turkey with Stuffing, Cole Slaw, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, with Pumpkin Cheesecake for desert!!
Why deep fry? Doesn’t that add a whole bunch of FAT to the turkey?
Now, I’m no dietician, however, think about this for a second. When you bake a turkey, the fat in the bird drips out of it, into a pan and is collected, turned into gravy, and poured back on top of the turkey & potatoes (and other things!). In a deep fried turkey, the hot oil singes the exterior of the bird, trapping all that juice inside the bird, where it keeps the meat tender, juicy and delicious! I do tend to avoid eating the exterior of the turkey though!
How to deep fry a turkey?
****DISCLAIMER***** Deep Frying ANYTHING is dangerous. Please be extra cautious and have a contingency plan if something happens to go wrong. If you wish, I will happily come by and share my knowledge and experience as you prepare and eat your delicious thanksgiving feast.
I recommend using “Butterball” brand turkeys. They are consistently the most moist, delicious turkeys available. I recommend smaller turkeys, between 10 and 15 pounds. When Deep Frying, the turkey must be COMPLETELY THAWED, cleaned out, and dried off prior to cooking. Place the turkey on the included metal “poultry holder.” Do not use a stuffed turkey!!!
Assemble your deep fryer, as per manufacturers instructions. See below for specific tips on setup!
HOW MUCH OIL TO USE - Place your turkey in the pot, and fill it with water until the entire bird is JUST covered. Remove the bird and measure the volume of water required. (I normally visually measure it, or measure the distance from the top of the pot to the water level). Empty the pot and dry all of the water. Fill the pot with the same volume of oil (use a quality oil with a high smoking point – 450°F preferably). The pot should not be more than ¾ full when the bird is added, or you may risk of splatter or fire!
Heat the oil to 350°F. Once the oil is at a steady temperature, using oven mitts and the included hook, SLOWLY and CAREFULLY lower the turkey into the pot. It is normal to splatter a little bit, so be mindful of the splattering oil. It is normal for the temperature of the oil to decrease by 40 – 50 degrees after the turkey is immersed, but avoid over-heating the oil – if the temperature was steady before, it will return to 350° again.
Keep an eye on the temperature. Never let it get too much hotter than 350°. The bird wil need about 3.5 minutes per pound to be completely cooked. That means your average turkey will be delicious in under an hour. Yumm!! Let it stand for about 10 minutes before you carve it.
Large outdoor Deep Fryer kits are available from Hardware stores such as Canadian Tire, and TSC Stores. Grab one that has the poultry holder, and lifter. Be sure to seat your deep fryer on a stable, flat surface, and if there happens to be snow (oh no!), consider placing it on a piece of plywood or paneling, so the snow that is supporting it doesn’t melt in the event of splatter!! It is not recommended to place your deep fryer on concrete or patio stones, as splattering oil can cause long-lasting stains or damage! Grass is best! Also, be sure to have it a safe distance away from any combustibles, such as your deck, house, or shed!
Ben Sage, Sales Representative. Re/Max a-b Realty Ltd., Brokerage. 519-536-7535. 521 Dundas St., Woodstock, ON
Ever consider something a little bit different for Thanksgiving? Perhaps this year could be the year to break tradition and try something fun and exciting! How about feasting on a delicious Deep Fried Turkey with Stuffing, Cole Slaw, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, with Pumpkin Cheesecake for desert!!
Why deep fry? Doesn’t that add a whole bunch of FAT to the turkey?
Now, I’m no dietician, however, think about this for a second. When you bake a turkey, the fat in the bird drips out of it, into a pan and is collected, turned into gravy, and poured back on top of the turkey & potatoes (and other things!). In a deep fried turkey, the hot oil singes the exterior of the bird, trapping all that juice inside the bird, where it keeps the meat tender, juicy and delicious! I do tend to avoid eating the exterior of the turkey though!
How to deep fry a turkey?
****DISCLAIMER***** Deep Frying ANYTHING is dangerous. Please be extra cautious and have a contingency plan if something happens to go wrong. If you wish, I will happily come by and share my knowledge and experience as you prepare and eat your delicious thanksgiving feast.
I recommend using “Butterball” brand turkeys. They are consistently the most moist, delicious turkeys available. I recommend smaller turkeys, between 10 and 15 pounds. When Deep Frying, the turkey must be COMPLETELY THAWED, cleaned out, and dried off prior to cooking. Place the turkey on the included metal “poultry holder.” Do not use a stuffed turkey!!!
Assemble your deep fryer, as per manufacturers instructions. See below for specific tips on setup!
HOW MUCH OIL TO USE - Place your turkey in the pot, and fill it with water until the entire bird is JUST covered. Remove the bird and measure the volume of water required. (I normally visually measure it, or measure the distance from the top of the pot to the water level). Empty the pot and dry all of the water. Fill the pot with the same volume of oil (use a quality oil with a high smoking point – 450°F preferably). The pot should not be more than ¾ full when the bird is added, or you may risk of splatter or fire!
Heat the oil to 350°F. Once the oil is at a steady temperature, using oven mitts and the included hook, SLOWLY and CAREFULLY lower the turkey into the pot. It is normal to splatter a little bit, so be mindful of the splattering oil. It is normal for the temperature of the oil to decrease by 40 – 50 degrees after the turkey is immersed, but avoid over-heating the oil – if the temperature was steady before, it will return to 350° again.
Keep an eye on the temperature. Never let it get too much hotter than 350°. The bird wil need about 3.5 minutes per pound to be completely cooked. That means your average turkey will be delicious in under an hour. Yumm!! Let it stand for about 10 minutes before you carve it.
Large outdoor Deep Fryer kits are available from Hardware stores such as Canadian Tire, and TSC Stores. Grab one that has the poultry holder, and lifter. Be sure to seat your deep fryer on a stable, flat surface, and if there happens to be snow (oh no!), consider placing it on a piece of plywood or paneling, so the snow that is supporting it doesn’t melt in the event of splatter!! It is not recommended to place your deep fryer on concrete or patio stones, as splattering oil can cause long-lasting stains or damage! Grass is best! Also, be sure to have it a safe distance away from any combustibles, such as your deck, house, or shed!
Ben Sage, Sales Representative. Re/Max a-b Realty Ltd., Brokerage. 519-536-7535. 521 Dundas St., Woodstock, ON
Monday, September 14, 2009
Its 2009, and our american friends still can't accept alternate theories on the origin of life...
This week, the Toronto International Film Festival was opened by the John Amiel drama "Creation" This is a biographical drama is receiving rave reviews, and centers around the struggle that young evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin had with his faith, as he began to write his monumental document "The Origin of Species."
This film has many deals in place to screen around the Globe, but many US distributors are reluctant to take it on.
Give me a bit of strength. Honestly. Here is a country that is responsible for some of the most gruesome, violent, and disturbing movies known to man. Movies themed around Rape, Abortion, Mass Murderers, Abductions, War, etc are all perfectly normal and acceptable to my American brothers, so why wouldn't such a fundamental curiosity like our very origins be open to some discussion?
It makes me embarrassed that we share so many values with Americans.
Ben Sage, Sales Representative. Re/Max a-b Realty Ltd., Brokerage. 519-536-7535. 521 Dundas St., Woodstock, ON
This film has many deals in place to screen around the Globe, but many US distributors are reluctant to take it on.
Give me a bit of strength. Honestly. Here is a country that is responsible for some of the most gruesome, violent, and disturbing movies known to man. Movies themed around Rape, Abortion, Mass Murderers, Abductions, War, etc are all perfectly normal and acceptable to my American brothers, so why wouldn't such a fundamental curiosity like our very origins be open to some discussion?
It makes me embarrassed that we share so many values with Americans.
Ben Sage, Sales Representative. Re/Max a-b Realty Ltd., Brokerage. 519-536-7535. 521 Dundas St., Woodstock, ON
Hey CRTC - Don't let monopolies squeeze out the little guy!!
MTS, small ISP take internet fight with Bell to court
Reprinted courtesy of CBC NEWS
MTS Allstream and independent broadband provider Acanac are asking a court to overturn a CRTC decision that grants Bell Canada the right to impose new internet charges on wholesale customers.
The companies, respectively based in Winnipeg and Toronto, have filed a notice of motion with the Federal Court of Appeal that says the regulator made an "error of law" by allowing Bell to go ahead with its usage-based billing plan.
Under the plan, Bell will institute new charges on wholesale customers — companies that rent parts of its network to provide their own internet services, including MTS and Acanac — based on their monthly bandwidth consumption. Bell will set each end user's monthly allowance, then charge extra for every gigabyte above the limit.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission provisionally approved the usage-based billing plan in early August. A few weeks later, the regulator asked Bell to justify the prices it intends to charge.
In their filing, MTS and Acanac say the CRTC is bound by the Telecommunications Act to ensure that rates for services it regulates are just and reasonable at all times. But since Bell doesn't have to pay itself those rates, the filing says, they are in fact unfair.
"Nowhere [in the order] is there any indication that the commission considered a usage-based charge to be just and reasonable and if it did, what evidence on the record it considered in coming to such a conclusion," court documents say.
Jacqueline Michelis, a spokesperson for Bell, said the regulator made the right decision.
"There is no error in law that would justify the court granting leave," she said.
Companies are able to file appeals with the courts over CRTC decisions if they believe the regulator has made an error in law, or if it has acted outside of its jurisdiction.
MTS and Acanac are part of a campaign started last week to overturn another CRTC decision, which limits wholesale competitors' access to the broadband infrastructure owned by the likes of Bell and Telus. MTS is looking to have that decision, which the CRTC made last December, overturned by cabinet.
The Coalition for Competitive Broadband seeks to muster public support for the appeal, which cabinet must act on by Dec. 11. The government can overturn the CRTC's decision, and send it back to the regulator for a review, or reject the appeal.
Industry analysts have said the access ruling and the usage-based billing decision have left MTS, which sells internet service to businesses across Canada, and smaller wholesale ISPs fighting for their lives.
Ben Sage, Sales Representative. Re/Max a-b Realty Ltd., Brokerage. 519-536-7535. 521 Dundas St., Woodstock, ON
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Distractions: Support a friend of mine entered in the Urban Film Festival!
A friend of mine made a short film called "I can, can you?" that was just recently accepted into the Toronto Urban Film Festival (TUFF). It was one of 77 films chosen from 248 entered from 11 countries. Even though it is a short 1-minute film he put a lot of work into filming and editing.
He's already received a lot of good feedback and recognition for it. His film was even mentioned in a Toronto Star article last week! (http://www.thestar.com/article/690682)
Please take a minute to watch the film and vote!
You can check it out by clicking on this link and then following the instructions below. Watching the film and voting takes about 3 minutes in total.
http://www.torontourbanfilmfestival.com/films/i-can-can-you
TO VOTE:
He's already received a lot of good feedback and recognition for it. His film was even mentioned in a Toronto Star article last week! (http://www.thestar.com/article/690682)
Please take a minute to watch the film and vote!
You can check it out by clicking on this link and then following the instructions below. Watching the film and voting takes about 3 minutes in total.
http://www.torontourbanfilmfestival.com/films/i-can-can-you
TO VOTE:
- Click on the link above
- Leave this email open as you will have to come back to get the password
- Watch movie :)
- Click on "Create new account" highlighted in blue beside "login" at top
- Choose a username and enter your email address
- Go to your Email inbox or junkbox and record or copy the password given to you
- Return to TUFF website (link above) and "log in" to your account using your username and password
- Click "Vote for this movie"
- That's it! Close the window without logging out (you will not have to enter passwords again)
- If you want to vote again on another day, return to the TUFF website and vote
I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for your support. Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might like it.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Distractions: The People of Walmart
You know, Wal-Mart has an entirely different clientele south of the border. Here's a distraction that might keep you laughing for days.
check back often for new "specimens"
Meet:
The People of Wal-Mart
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Distractions: T-Pain - Buy you a drank iphone app.
I spend a fair amount of time on the internet. Looking about for various forms of internet tripe to digest. I thought this was funny enough to share.
T-Pain shows the world how easy it is to be T-Pain. (if you don't know who t-pain is, it's ok. He sounds like everyone else "them kids" listen to these days. Mechanically tuned singers and underproduced post-hip-hop hand-clap beats.
Worth a laugh though!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btN5yuVcRes&feature=player_embedded
T-Pain shows the world how easy it is to be T-Pain. (if you don't know who t-pain is, it's ok. He sounds like everyone else "them kids" listen to these days. Mechanically tuned singers and underproduced post-hip-hop hand-clap beats.
Worth a laugh though!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btN5yuVcRes&feature=player_embedded
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