THINGS THAT DEFY COMMENT

1)

     GM offers the 2013 Camero with a "hot wheels" upgrade package for an additional $6,995 US . The beaming metallic blue car combines the high performance of the Camaro ZL1 to look like Hot Wheels dinky cars, such as red-lined wheels, a thick matte black stripe on its hood and flame graphics.


2)

Yep - the ultimate unicycle - a self-balancing, one wheel, electric scooter. 

Range Up to 30 miles  Speed 25 mph   Range  30 miles  Max Rider Weight 250lbs

Max Hill Incline 30%    Estimated Retail Cost $3,500  Estimated Retail Cost $3,500

PROGRESS IN ENTERTAINMENT

1) Winnipeg hits the VIP Cineplex Odeon scene. The theatre’s 12 existing auditoriums will be converted to eight traditional auditoriums and three VIP cinemas. VIP cinemas will similar to dinner theatre where you are served at your seat. Concessions will include specialized offerings, including flatbread pizza, calamari, and yes… alcoholic beverages. All seats are reserved. Feature auditoriums are exclusively for adult guests.

  2)  Disney has purchased Lucasfilm.
      
           Disney aggressively pushes forward to bring three new "Star Wars" features to the big screen, with "Episode VII" scheduled for release as early as summer 2015.
        Experts say this won't corrupt Star Wars  (???).

Canada’s New “tough on crime” Laws In Action

 The Winnipeg Free Press (Nov 2/12) reported:

1) Florante Cemania, the father of four, has been given a "mandatory minimum" 3-year prison sentence. Based on a tip, the police found seven ounces of cocaine and $27,000 behind a ceiling tile in his garage. Apparently he was hiding it for an acquaintance - it wasn't even necessary to prove that either the money or drugs were his. He and his wife came from the Philppines in 1990 and both he and his wife had been working until both he and his wife were laid off in 2010. He had no criminal record - not even a speeding ticket.

2) Two Winnipeg men have admitted to a brutal attack around a bonfire that ended with their so-called friend being stabbed in the neck, the tip of the knife breaking off and lodging near his spine. Alcohol was a factor. Mark Woodcock and Tyler Hiebert pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated assault. Woodcock was given 20 months in jail for his role, while Hiebert received 18 months of supervised probation.

3) A few days later, in Winnipeg,  there was a "mob" beating of an unsuspecting stranger for no apparent reason in Winnipeg. His injuries included a broken jaw, ribs and hand. One of the leaders of the this  gang violence was sentenced to 2 years in jail. Drunkenness was offered as a defense.

Credit Card Convenience Features

1) Wi-Fi Card allows you to purchase at a distance (and to be copied at a distance)

2) VISA and MasterCard new no-touch, no-PIN card payment system which speeds up the shopping process is raising security concerns. It does not require a PIN, or signature or identification.
 It is nice and easy and fast, both for you and for ANYONE else who happens to find (or steal) the card.

Migration etc.

 Canada Goose, Pelicans and Monarch Butterfly

Geese:

     From the vantage point of our residence on Crescent Lake we can observe the spring arrival of geese on their migration north. We have always watched with interest and amusement the raising of families of geese – usually one or two families per season each consisting of two parents and usually 4 to 6 goslings.

The view of migrating Canada geese from our porch in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba

    

As summer comes along they become more organized into groups as they move around the lake training to “follow the leader” in straight and evenly spaced lines in preparation for their fall migration south.

    This spring we observed a pair of geese with more than twenty goslings, some of which were obviously hatched prior to others. This is referred to in the literature as, “adoption, creche or mixed brood, gang-brooding and kidnapping” which isn’t very helpful in knowing how this feat is accomplished. The probable answer is in the susceptibility of goslings (and other birds and even animals) to filial imprinting (from the German for "stamping in") during the first few hours after hatching. The parents wanting a lager family need only be the closest moving large object at the right time and the young goslings will follow them as their "imprint" parents. I imagine this could happen accidentally as a pair of geese swims past groups of goslings at the opportune time and have them added them to their family as they go by.

A pair of geese and their expanded family

      Imprinting was popularized in the movie Fly Away Home (1996), based on the actual experiences of Bill Lishman, who in 1986 started training geese to follow his ultra light plane and succeeded in leading their migration in 1993.

    Research fostered around imprinting has led to related learning about the importance of very early experiences in the development of the brains and activities of animals in a wide range of activities affecting them throughout their lives, even to the “negative imprinting” in human siblings (raised together for at least 6 years) that makes sexual activity between them unthinkable for them.

Pelicans:

    Most years we think it is a major event to see a few pelicans on Crescent Lake for a day or two in the summer. This year we have observed as many as 58 pelicans on the lake (actually an ox bow of the Assiniboine River) at one time.

   They staying day after day to feed in a group frenzy (presumably on the little fish accidentally pumped into the lake from the Assiniboine River). We have no idea why the sudden increase in their numbers here.

Pelican flight coming in

Pelicans feeding as a group

Monarch Butterflies:

   

      In spite of a worrisome decrease in 2010 in the Mexico population of Monarch butterflies, there has been a breathtaking increase in the general butterfly population in western Canada in 2012. 

     Their migration between Mexico and other countries is complicated by the fact that although the species migrates north and south every year (like birds) their life cycle dictates that no one individual completes the entire journey which is spread over a number of generations, The ones that return to overwinter in central Mexico are at least great-grandchildren of the one who had left that same 60 square miles but have never been there before themselves .

 

    The following diagram from Parks Canada may be helpful, but if it is still confusing take comfort in knowing you are not alone. The transfer of route information through the generations is unusual to say the least. 

Monarch Butterfly migration to overwinter

Life Cycle of Monarch Butterfly

 The End

MODERN PROGRESS ??

The Swiss Army Knife

It has always been the ultimate survival tool. They hope to have a model available around September for under $3000 to bring their previous USB models up to 21st century standards with a one terabyte flash drive. For my low tech readers, one terabyte of storage is adequate for about 330,000 photos, 220 million pages of text, or two years of non-stop music – more than enough to survive any emergency situation.

Your data is safe from hackers with the drive’s AES256 technology and fingerprint security. And, to avoid heavy-handed attacks, it also has a self-destruct mechanism that burns the CPU and memory chip if there's any attempt to force the drive open.
An interesting addition to these drives is a small LCD display on the side probably for showing.

Zambonis

The 8.5 km ice trail on the Assiniboine and Red rivers in Winnipeg is maintained by a “Zamboni" (actually an Olympia) with a 6.5L turbo diesel engine fueled with used oil from cooking French Fries. It is reported to race at 80 km/hr when it is not cleaning the trail.
As an aside, both the Assiniboine River Trail and the Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa are experiencing significantly shorter skating seasons. Also, people across Canada seem to be finding it impossible to maintain “back yard” skating rinks. A five year study at McGill and Concordia universities has found a “significant shortening of the out door skating season..

FYI – both Zamboni and Olympia have electric models of ice cleaners and they were used in the Vancouver Olympics.

 

MOBILE PHONE AS SELF PROTECTION (?)

You can now buy stun guns (tasers) disguised as cell phones for as little as $65.
It seems to be “common knowledge” that there are 4-shot  22 caliber cell phone guns available somewhere for the past 10 years. My research does not provide any site from which to purchase one. However, if someone points their cell phone at you, maybe you should look to see if there are four parallel holes in the end of it – they might be gun barrels.

If you aren’t concerned about getting through airport surveillance you might want to check out a gun disguised as a knife – maybe not the best way to disguise a gun.

CONGRATULATIONS TO JUSTIN BIEBER ON HIS 18th B.D.

                           (just one of our famous Canadian performers)

His Fisker Karma car (a gift from his manager) is expensive and fancy, and also tries to be environment friendly. It is a hybrid with solar panels, uses reclaimed, recycled and reusable materials throughout the interior cabin, and comes with either leather upholstery or with non-animal materials.
But if you are planning to buy me a car for my birthday, please consider the Telsa.  It does 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds,and goes 245 miles per charge. Any model would be fine but gull wing doors are always nice.