Verify Source Before You Post

Language & Grammar / Memes; Internet & Social / Social Order & DisorderLeave a comment

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I recently joined a small but dedicated group on Facebook. It’s called “Verify Source Before You Post.” Every reader of this blog and my older Mumpsimus Blog will recognize this as a favorite topic of mine. I’ve written perhaps a dozen posts over the last five years trying to correct numerous bad quotes or mis-attributions. It’s a losing battle, it seems. When I say small, it is, by FB standards, tiny: 17 members right now. But that will, I hope, grow as time progresses. Surely there must be more people out there concerned with fact, with accuracy, and with the ……… click below for more ↓

More Facebook Mis-quotes

Balderdash & Hoaxes / Language & Grammar / Memes; Internet & Social / Social Order & Disorder2 Comments

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Saw three images (“posters”) on Facebook today with “quotes” I’m pretty sure are mis-attributions. As usual, I feel compelled to check out their validity. First is one allegedly by “St. Francis of Assisi.” This would be simply “Francis of Assisi” if you’re not Catholic or don’t believe in saints or canonization. One day I’ll post a blog piece about canonization and its politics, but not now. The quote is: “What we are looking for… is what is looking.” That seems one of those gooey, touchy-feely New Age thoughts, and Francis never said anything even remotely close to that. The late ……… click below for more ↓

Diablo III: Hype or Gaming Excellence?

Memes; Internet & Social / Science & TechnologyLeave a comment

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The hype was huge and long. Diablo III was rumored, hinted at, promised, delayed, and even denied for years. Then it was embraced when it finally arrived after more than a decade’s hibernation since the success of Diablo II, released in 2000 (and 16 years since the original, released in 1996). Good technique for raking in the money: the anticipation meant huge sales initially. The spammers love it, of course, because it provides a wonderful, accessible platform for scams through its live in-game chat system that allows them to post text ads promising in-game gold and experience points in exchange ……… click below for more ↓

Patronage: Canada’s Shame

Canadian Politics / Municipal PoliticsOne Comment

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Patronage is the dirty secret behind most nations and governments. It’s a shameful, embarrassing, corrupt and very undemocratic practice in which friends, supporters and benefactors get plum contracts, jobs, appointments, cash, perks and bonuses. These are usually parcelled out not on the basis of achievement, ability, or talent, but rather simply because of political cronyism. Canada is no better, and probably somewhat worse than most Western nations in how its governments practice this loathsome act of onanistic rewards. But unlike many more democratic nations, Canada maintains an official, government-sponsored body for patronage: the Senate. Our patronage Senate is something you’d ……… click below for more ↓

The Tin-Foil Hat Brigade in the Lab

Balderdash & Hoaxes / Faith / Memes; Internet & Social / Social Order & Disorder2 Comments

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You have to admire science. Nothing is beneath its inquiring eye. When I read that students at Berkley U had seriously investigated the nature of the ubiquitous-in-the-wingnut-community tin foil hats, I had to smile. Once again, science saves the day. Bad news for the wingnuts. While research didn’t prove tin foil hats will stop the aliens from eating your brain, it did suggest that the hats may amplify certain frequencies that may be in the control of either governments or corporate interests. According to the researchers at berkeley.intel-research.net/arahimi/helmet/, The helmets amplify frequency bands that coincide with those allocated to the ……… click below for more ↓

A Pyramid Hoax Reappears on Facebook

Atheism & Spirituality / Balderdash & Hoaxes / Memes; Internet & Social / Science & Technology6 Comments

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This Facebook headline caught my skeptic’s eye right away: “Energy beam coming from the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun.” After I finished guffawing at the gullibility of some folks, I decided to spend a little time researching how widespread this silliness had become. As expected, and sad to relate, it was all over the Net. Seems every psychic-New-Age-crystal-therapy-astrology-aura-UFO-conspiracy-theory-Atlantis-Elvis-is-alive obsessed wingnut site has repeated the claims, usually copying and pasting them directly from the original source without even bothering to investigate the claims: A team of physicists detected an energy beam coming through the top of the Bosnian Pyramid of the ……… click below for more ↓

Dogs and dog owners need places to socialize

Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Urban Design & GrowthOne Comment

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How many dogs live here in Collingwood? No one knows for sure, but we can make some good estimates, based on numerous surveys and national statistics. It’s a lot. Dog owners are a very large special interest group, perhaps larger than any other demographic group in town. I’ve done some research and read many studies on pet populations done since 1996 (like this one from 2001 and this one from 2007). All of the major census figures of the older surveys are consistent with the most recent surveys. Nationally, we have between 35 and 39 percent of homes with one ……… click below for more ↓

Digital Connections is in print

Books & Reviews / Municipal PoliticsLeave a comment

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Municipal World has released my newest book: Digital Connections. It came out this week. This book is about the benefits and challenges of using social media for municipalities and municipal politicians. The target audience is politicians, staff, boards and committees, but a lot of what I wrote can apply to anyone in business or industry. The sell sheet says: Social media: everyone’s using it today. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, blogs, and photo/video sharing sites. These and other services have literally hundreds of millions of users. But what does it mean for your municipality? Or for you as a municipal politician? ……… click below for more ↓

What happened to the video business?

Arts / Collingwood / Film & Reviews / Personal Reminiscences3 Comments

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In the early to mid 1990s, Collingwood had three independent video outlets. Then it had two and one franchise (Rogers). Several variety stores also had a small video rental business. Then the independents closed and another franchise (Blockbuster) moved in. Now the two corporations are gone and there is no place in town to rent videos. I am deeply disappointed. What happened to the video rental business? Was it so unprofitable? Or is it just a plan by Rogers to increase revenue through it’s “on demand” service? Or to drive customers to Netflix and get more revenue from their overuse ……… click below for more ↓

Goodbye, Carlos Fuentes: 1928-2012

Arts / Books & Reviews / Politics / What I'm Reading NowLeave a comment

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I was in a bookstore in Israel in 1980 or thereabouts, looking for a book in English to read during my visit. I found Terra Nostra, a 900-page novel by Carlos Fuentes, in a Penguin paperback edition. I had read another Fuentes’ book, A Change of Skin, a few years earlier, so I picked it up. I’ve carried Terra Nostra with me ever since that day in Israel. It’s still on my bookshelf. I don’t remember if I ever finished it. I remembered that book this morning when I read that the Mexican writer, Carlos Fuentes, had died last night, ……… click below for more ↓

Having a purpose strengthens your brain

Atheism & Spirituality / Personal Reminiscences / Science & Technology / Social Order & Disorder3 Comments

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A story in Science Daily caught my eye recently. It was titled, “Greater Purpose in Life May Protect Against Harmful Changes in the Brain Associated With Alzheimer’s Disease.” That suggested a different approach to brain ailments than what I’ve usually read. Most are medical or surgical. This one is philosophical. I’m not one for either self-help or New Age palaver. Most of it strikes me as unmitigated pap that borders on the religious. It’s like the gazillions of diet books and websites. I’m not sure which would rake in the millions faster: to form a new religion or a new ……… click below for more ↓

Flatulent dinosaurs warmed ancient earth

Science & TechnologyLeave a comment

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An amusing story on Science Daily says researchers have determined that the giant, herbivorous sauropods of the Mesozoic might have been responsible for the era’s warm climate. Well, not the dinosaurs themselves, but rather the methane-producing bacteria in their guts: “A simple mathematical model suggests that the microbes living in sauropod dinosaurs may have produced enough methane to have an important effect on the Mesozoic climate,” said Dave Wilkinson of Liverpool John Moores University. “Indeed, our calculations suggest that these dinosaurs could have produced more methane than all modern sources — both natural and man-made — put together.” So basically, ……… click below for more ↓

So-called psychic healers don’t see auras: they’re just ill

Atheism & Spirituality / Faith / Science & TechnologyLeave a comment

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A story on Science Daily News this weekend reports that seeing so-called auras may in fact be the result of a neurological disorder, not simply another pseudoscience scam. Self-described psychics who have bilked the gullible based on reading these alleged auras will have some ‘splaining to do. So-called psychic healers – aka charlatans – are likely to be in line for some big lawsuits once this story gets out! The disorder is called “synesthesia.” People who are afflicted by it have regions in their brains cross connected so that they see sounds, taste colors, smell textures and so on. Their ……… click below for more ↓

54,232 words… and it’s done

Books & Reviews / Language & Grammar / Municipal Politics / What I'm Reading Now8 Comments

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I passed 54,000 words yesterday in my book on Machiavelli for municipal politicians. A little tweaking today, and an additional selection from The Discourses pushed it to 54,232 words. It prints out at 163 letter-sized pages. Even though that count includes chapter titles and subheads, as well as the opening notes and quotes, dedication, bibliography, and back page copy, it’s still about 20,000 more than my original target. I just don’t seem to be able to stop working on it. I’m still reading books about him and his writing – bios and denser, academic tomes by scholars like Mansfield and ……… click below for more ↓

What is your dog thinking?

Science & TechnologyOne Comment

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A story on Science Daily News says scientists are using an MRI scanner to look into the thought processes of dogs. As the article notes, “The researchers aim to decode the mental processes of dogs by recording which areas of their brains are activated by various stimuli. Ultimately, they hope to get at questions like: Do dogs have empathy? Do they know when their owners are happy or sad? How much language do they really understand?” I don’t need an MRI scanner to figure this out: food. More food. When do we eat? Can I have some of that? What’s ……… click below for more ↓

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