Archive for December, 2006

This is my good friend

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006

That’s a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug believed to work through inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX), thus inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis. There are at least 2 variations of cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and COX-2), and this inhibits both COX-1 and COX-2. It appears that its analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory activity are achieved principally through COX-2 inhibition; whereas COX-1 inhibition is responsible [...]

My progeny Simpsonified

Monday, December 11th, 2006

This weekend my local comic shop had local Renaissance man1 Mike Holmes in the store doing Simpsons-style caricatures of people who came by.
While I passed on the chance, for fear of looking a little too much like Comic Book Guy in the finished result, Sarah was quite excited about the opportunity. I am fairly certain [...]

We Live In Science Fiction.

Monday, December 11th, 2006

From time to time I am forced to stop and pause to reflect for a moment on the nature of the crazy technological changes that have happened in my lifetime.
Sometimes it’s realizing how cool it is that I can carry a phone around with me in my pocket, and that phone lets me get in [...]

Another One Bites The Dust…

Sunday, December 10th, 2006

Quoting from the Independent Online:
Augusto Pincohet 1915-2006: He took his crimes to the grave
Augusto Pinochet, the former dictator who ruled Chile with an iron fist from 1973 until 1990, died in a high-security military hospital in the capital, Santiago, yesterday. His death from heart failure leaves a disputed legacy of brutal political repression; salvation from [...]

New ISP

Sunday, December 10th, 2006

Well, after five years with my previous ISP, they finally pissed me off enough to overcome my basic intertia, and I switched over to Bluehost this weekend.
If you’re seeing this message, then you’re already seeing my site on Bluehost. I also moved a couple of other sites, and a couple of mailing lists I run.
To [...]

Change in real cost of food items

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

So, essentially, the worse something is for you, the cheaper it has become over the last two decades, while at the same time the things that are most good for you are becoming more and more expensive.
The trend is clearly towards a society where only the upper classes can afford a healthy diet.
You know, the [...]

How my evening went.

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006

My lovely little “first snow of the year” turned into 15cm (six inches) of heavy fluffy blizzard.
I may not have mentioned, but my wife is out of town this week, back in Ontario for a family emergency. This means it’s just Sarah and I here, and that means that Sarah is already spending longer at [...]

It had to happen eventually.

Monday, December 4th, 2006

Yes, the first snow of 2007 is finally falling. You might not be able to tell from that photo, but it’s really coming down in the big wet flakes. If I have to shovel later, it’s going to be one of those really heavy loads.
This is the view from our rarely-used sitting room, which clearly [...]

Weirdest thing I saw this weekend

Monday, December 4th, 2006

I was out for a drive with my daughter on Saturday, enjoying the ridiculously beautiful (and unseasonable) day. We decided to drive down the South Shore, along the coast.
As we passed one of the beaches, there was a lot of cars there, and a lot of people out on the beach. Now, it was unseasonable [...]

I would like some obscure information

Monday, December 4th, 2006

I know that somewhere out there, someone has this information, but I can’t seem to find it.
Imagine you have ten empty shelves. You’re going to fill these shelves with books, and assume that you want to shelve the books alphabetically by author. Further assume that the books you want to shelve are more-or-less randomly distributed [...]

Dion, huh? Interesting.

Sunday, December 3rd, 2006

Look, I didn’t want Ignatieff. He pissed me off.
I was interested in seeing how Bob Rae would have played out. I think that would have been fun to watch either way–if he transcended his baggage in Ontario, or if it was a glorious disaster. (Certainly, as an NDP, it would have been interesting to see [...]

Forthcoming books…

Sunday, December 3rd, 2006

Pal Gwenda points out the online version of Locus’ Forthcoming Books list through next September and asks what we’re lusting after.
I’ve gone through the list and tried to pick out the top three each month, where “top three” is defined as “three I am most excited about reading”, which is not necessarily the same thing [...]