Hikado

Summer Reading

2009-07-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

Malcolm Gladwell’s most recent book, “Outliers” focuses on re-evaluating our views on success. He suggests variables such as when someone is born, their upbringing, and who they know influences whether they will fail or succeed in life. Although some if his views on success may be controversial, he does provide an interesting evaluation on how we view success in contemporary society. Take for example, the world famous Microsoft king, Bill Gates. Most of us would agree he is a computer wiz, because he dropped out of high school and now he has a billion dollar money making software company. He did all of this without a formal education! At a very young age, Bill’s parents invested $3000 in a computer for their son to use, when most people didn’t have access to a computer. He was exposed to technology as a young boy so he was given this advantage over everyone else. The outside world sees Bill Gates as a success but his success is based upon a series of advantages and luck.

One of the first advantages he discusses is what month someone is born. In the NHL, a large number of players happen to be born in the earlier months of the year such as January and February. These children have a time advantage over children born later in the year like in November or December, because the cut off time for minor league drafting is Jan 1st in Canada. Children born earlier in the year have more time to practice so they will perform better when it comes time to demonstrate their skills for the hockey draft.

His case study is based on the assumption that every child is equally determined and hardworking, but not every child born in the earlier months of the year will be as hardworking and dedicated to get a spot on a major league hockey team. Amongst the group of children born in January and February, you will have some people who might be lazy and less motivated than others to achieve goals in life.

His second advantage explores how our childhood and upbringing will influence our success later on in our lives. For instance, conditions like whether you are of upper, middle, or lower class will have an impact on our achievements in the future. A list of the world’s most famous and wealthiest individuals such as Cleopatra, Caesar, and King Tutankhamun are just some of the names he pulls out to support his argument. During ancient times it was much more important to have valuable connections with delegates and government officials in order to achieve success, but in our contemporary society this degree of emphasis may not apply.

Malcolm’s most recent book is very interesting and imaginative. His writing style is always pleasant to read. Although I did not always agree with his theories, I’d still recommend people to explore his ideas.

Let it Snow

2008-12-29T20:31:00.000-08:00

This Christmas there is a record breaking about of snow here. These weather conditions created havic for people during the holiday season. Many people got the opportunity to experience a "wind chill", effect for the very first time. Geographically, our region always has a mild rainy winter with little or no snowfall.
This bizzare weather pattern also makes me question Al Gore's argument of global warming in the Inconvient Truth movie. It appears that the icebergs in Alaska are still standing despite his dooms day like senario he presented to the world.
Maybe the world isn't going through global warming, but rather a natural cycle of El Nino and La Nino.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

This year Halloween was a blast. I was greeted by a goblin as I entered into the haunted house. A ten foot figure resembling Notradamus stood outside at the entrance way and a crawling corpse clawed its way towards trick or treaters as they made their way towards to the haunted house enterance. As I glanced inside, the main living room a white spooky ghost weaved around me with a cold, deep BBBooooo....tone.

The party was a blast and the LA DJ did an awesome job playing and mixing tunes for everyone.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Let my people go

2008-06-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

"The Greeks ground up dried rhubarb root and used it as a laxative," The Daily Telegraph says. "Knowing the British were also partial to rhubarb, the imperial Chinese commissioner Lin Zexu wrote a letter to Queen Victoria in 1839 threatening that unless Britain stopped sending opium to China, the Chinese would refuse to export powdered rhubarb, thereby killing her citizens by constipation. The Queen appears not to have had the letter translated. But [Lin] hadn't realized that rhubarb grows abundantly in Britain."

The Globe and Mail. "Social Studies" June 27, 2008.

A purpose for buttons

2008-06-27T11:28:00.001-07:00

"Buttons were originally nothing but ornamentation sewn onto clothing," Christa Poppelmann writes in 1,000 Common Delusions. "The first may be traced back to 2000 BC, and even in antiquity otherwise plain togas and tunics were ornamented with sewn-on buttons. It was only about 1300 AD that the idea arose of using the buttons as fasteners. The immediate result was a rise in particularly close-fitting fashions. During the Renaissance, a veritable 'button mania' broke out. Many pieces of clothing were inundated with hundreds and even thousands of buttons, and they all needed to be buttoned up."

Teen slang in Japan

2008-06-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

Two recently published dictionaries are dedicated to deciphering the slang of Japanese teenagers, Reuters reports. Dubbed KY, the teen lingo is created by spelling out Japanese phrases using the English alphabet and then abbreviating these words to form acronyms. KY stands for kuuki yomenai, literally translated as "can't read the air," which means "not in tune." The phrase KY appeared in the mainstream media last year, when the cabinet formed by previous prime minister Shinzo Abe after an election loss was called the "KY cabinet" - not in tune with voters. Other KY slang:

HR: hitori ranchi, lunching alone.

PK: pantsu kuikomu, I have a wedgie.

JK: joshi kosei, female high-school students.

CZ: chakku zenkai, your fly is unzipped.

KW: kimochi warui, gross.

Daily Caffine Dosage

2008-06-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

Coffee, but hold the coffee
Coffee-sniffing rats have confirmed what caffeine addicts suspect - the mere whiff of a good morning brew gets the brain up and going, The Australian newspaper reports. "These results [help] explain why so many people use coffee for staying up all night," said researchers led by neuroscientist Yoshinori Masuo with Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. To track coffee aroma's trip from cup to brain, scientists exposed sleep-deprived and well-rested rats to the smell of fresh-roasted Colombian coffee. The nose is directly connected to the brain and it is known that inhaled compounds are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. Dr. Masuo said it is likely the results would hold true for people and, if so, he hopes to determine if it is better to smell coffee than to drink it when weary workers need to stay awake.

Facebook Clones

2008-06-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

ANDY GREENBERG

Forbes.com

June 17, 2008 at 2:16 PM EDT

Since Facebook opened to the general public in 2006, anyone can become a part of Mark Zuckerberg's booming social network. But if users aren't satisfied to merely create a Facebook profile, Agriya Infoway, based in Chennai, India, offers another option: Create your own Facebook.

Agriya sells what it calls "Kootali," a $400 software package that lets developers replicate Facebook's design and features, complete with friend networks, photos and "mini-feeds"—even Facebook's font. Fifty copies of the software have been purchased in the last six months, says Agriya's chief technology officer, Aravind Kumar, though he says many hundreds more have been distributed on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.

Kumar isn't concerned about the legal implications of piggybacking on the Palo Alto, Calif.-based social network's success. "We haven't stolen any of Facebook's content or images, so we haven't done anything wrong," Kumar says. "We're just giving Facebook's look and feel to our customers."

Those customers, mostly unknown sites like Faceclub.com and Umicity.com, don't pose much of a competitive threat to Facebook. But, according to Forrester Research analyst Jeremiah Owyang, Agriya's cloning software represents a more general problem for Facebook: that any skilled developer can recreate the site's basic social networking functions. "Social networking features are a commodity," Owyang says.

In other words, Facebook's advantage is not in its proprietary software but in its massive user base. And in countries where Facebook has yet to penetrate the mainstream Web audience, that low competitive barrier may mean the site is no more likely than its copycats to attract users.

Some international sites that closely mimic Facebook's design and features are already enjoying Facebook-like success. Creators of the German look-a-like site StudiVerzeichnis—German for "Student Index"—have gathered around 6 million registered users. VKontakte, a Russian university-based networking site whose name translates to "In Contact," boasts that it's not only the most popular social networking site in the country, but with 4.5 million unique visitors a day and 13.3 million registered users, the most popular site in Russia.

The Chinese site Xiaonei, whose name means "In the School" in Mandarin, claims to have received around 15 million unique visitors in April. The site's parent company, Oak Pacific Interactive, received $430-million the same month in venture capital funding targeted at Xiaonei from the Japanese investment firm Softbank.

The copycats' explosive growth comes at a time when Facebook seems to be exploring its own international offshoots. Since January, the social network has invited volunteers to translate its pages into languages ranging from Italian to Mandarin and has launched Spanish, French and German options. Li Ka-Shing, one of Facebook's biggest investors, recently upped his stake in the company by more than $40 million, saying he saw synergies between Facebook and the telecom business of his conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa — a company that runs mobile networks in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

But Facebook's clones may have already saturated some international markets. In China, for instance, where the Web audience numbers more than 220 million users by the count of research firm BDA China, Xiaonei has already registered more than 90 per cent of college students, according to Oak Pacific Interactive's chief operating officer, James Liu. He compares Facebook to Google, eBay and MySpace, all of which have tried to penetrate China's Web market and been trounced by local competitors.

"We've seen what happens to these multinational corporations that try to enter to China," he says. "Every one has failed miserably. We don't expect any exception in the case of Facebook."

Taking legal action against international doppelgangers isn't likely to help, says Gregory Rutchik, head of the Arts and Technology Law Group. Web design, he says, is a form of expression where even minor tweaks may be enough to avoid copyright infringement. Litigating country by country, he adds, would be a long, expensive and uncertain process.

Facebook may have another reason to avoid copyright lawsuits, points out John Dozier, an Internet-focused intellectual property lawyer. Flinging copyright complaints, he suggests, might work against Facebook if it finds itself on the receiving end of a copyright suit—a likely possibility on a site where users can post any content they choose.

"Facebook is being particularly careful," Dozier says. "They recognize the danger that overly aggressive copyright claims can backfire."

As for Facebook's mimics, they emphasize small differences they say set them apart. VKontakte's founder, Pavel Durov, argues that his site's shade of blue is slightly different from Facebook's, and that it offers better location-based searching. Xiaonei's James Liu points out that Xiaonei has fewer barriers separating networks of friends, and offered instant messaging even before Facebook added the feature in April.

But Wang Xing, who created Xiaonei in 2005, admits that the site's design was originally "borrowed" from Facebook. In fact, he's borrowed it twice: After selling Xiaonei to Oak Pacific Interactive in 2006 for an undisclosed sum, Wang essentially cloned his Facebook clone.

Hainei, Wang's second social networking project launched near the end of 2007, is aimed at adults rather than students, but its design is practically identical to Xiaonei's—and Facebook's. In six months, it's attracted more than 100,000 registered users, Wang says.

Asked if he feels any compunction about taking features wholesale from Facebook—twice—Wang points to Mark Zuckerberg's own copycat problems. Since 2004, the owners of rival site ConnectU have claimed that Zuckerberg stole intellectual property from their social network while working as a software developer for the site.

"ConnectU accuses Facebook of stealing their idea. Does that matter?" Wang asks. "No. We don't worry about that. It's not about the idea. It's about execution."

Jane Tuv contributed to this article.

Globe and Mail

HI THERE. QUIT SMOKING

2008-06-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

This week marks the start of a cellphone service for New Zealanders who want to quit smoking; about one in five are trying. The Clinical Trials Research Unit at the University of Auckland has found that sending smokers regular, personalized text messages - containing advice on quitting, support or a distraction - more than doubled their chances of having stopped smoking when checked six weeks later.
Source: The New Zealand
Herald

MANNERS FOR NETWORKING

2008-06-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

The etiquette authority Debrett's has come up with "five golden rules" for social networking on the Web:
You don't have to make friends with people you don't know. Think before you poke.
Always wait 24 hours before accepting or removing someone as a friend. The delay will help you gather your thoughts.
Always send birthday cards or call your friends when there's important news.
Consider your friends' feelings before posting pictures.
Think carefully about your profile picture. If you don't want to see it in your local newspaper, don't put it online.

CHEESE FOR NEGOTIATIONS

2008-06-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

"Scientists have found that people with high levels of the brain chemical serotonin are more likely to succeed in delicate negotiations affecting their own interests," Jeremy Laurance of Britain's The Independent reports. "Serotonin is created in the body from the amino acid tryptophan, which is present in several foods such as cheese. Cheese is a particularly good source for this amino acid.

Psychologists at the University of Cambridge who manipulated the diets of volunteers to alter their serotonin levels found that when the levels of the brain chemical were low, the volunteers were more likely to allow emotion to rule their heads and make decisions that harmed their long-term interests."

The Legend of Sawney Beane

2008-06-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

SAWNEY BEANE was born in the county of East Lothian, about eight or nine miles eastward of the city of Edinburgh, some time in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, whilst King James I. governed only in Scotland. His parents worked at hedging and ditching for their livelihood, and brought up their son to the same occupation. He got his daily bread in his youth by these means, but being very much prone to idleness, and not caring for being confined to any honest employment, he left his father and mother, and ran away into the desert part of the country, taking with him a woman as viciously inclined as himself. These two took up their habitation in a rock by the seaside, on the shore of the county of Galloway, where they lived upwards of twenty five years without going into any city, town, or village.
In this time they had a great number of children and grandchildren, whom they brought up after their own manner, without any notions of humanity or civil society. They never kept any company but among themselves, and supported themselves wholly by robbing; being, moreover, so very cruel, that they never robbed anyone whom they did not murder.
By this bloody method, and their living so retiredly from the world, they continued such a long time undiscovered, there being nobody able to guess how the people were lost that went by the place where they lived. As soon as they had robbed and murdered any man, woman or child, they used to carry off the carcass to the den, where, cutting it into quarters, they would pickle the mangled limbs, and after- wards eat it; this being their only sustenance. And, not- withstanding, they were at last so numerous, they commonlyhad superfluity of this their abominable food; so that in the night time they frequently threw legs and arms of the un- happy wretches they had murdered into the sea, at a great distance from their bloody habitation. The limbs were often cast up by the tide in several parts of the country, to the astonishment and terror of all the beholders, and others who heard it. Persons who had gone about their lawful occasions fell so often into their hands that it caused a general outcry in the country round about, no man know- ing what was become of his friend or relation, if they were once seen by these merciless cannibals.
All the people in the adjacent parts were at last alarmed at such a common loss of their neighbours and acquaintance; for there was no travelling in safety near the den of these wretches. This occasioned the sending frequent spies into these parts, many of whom never returned again, and those who did, after the strictest search and inquiry, could not find how these melancholy matters happened. Several honest travellers were taken up on suspicion, and wrongfully hanged upon bare circumstances; several innocent inn- keepers were executed for no other reason than that persons who had been thus lost were known to have lain at their houses, which occasioned a suspicion of their being mur- dered by them and their bodies privately buried in obscure places to prevent a discovery. Thus an ill placed justice was executed with the greatest severity imaginable, in order to prevent these frequent atrocious deeds; so that not a few innkeepers, who lived on the Western Road of Scotland, left off their business, for fear of being made examples, and followed other employments. This on the other hand occasioned many great inconveniences to travellers, who were now in great distress for accommoda- tion for themselves and their horses when they were dis- posed to bait, or put up for lodging at night. In a word, the whole country was almost depopulated.
Still the King's subjects were missing as much as before; so that it was the admiration of the whole kingdom how such villainies could be carried on and the villains not befound out. A great many had been executed, and not one of them all made any confession at the gallows, but stood to it at the last that they were perfectly innocent of the crimes for which they suffered. When the magistrates found all was in vain, they left off these rigorous proceed- ings, and trusted wholly to Providence for the bringing to light the authors of these unparalleled barbarities, when it should seem proper to the Divine wisdom.
Sawney's family was at last grown very large, and every branch of it, as soon as able, assisted in perpetrating their wicked deeds, which they still followed with impunity. Sometimes they would attack four, five or six foot men together, but never more than two if they were on horse- back. They were, moreover, so careful that not one whom they set upon should escape, that an ambuscade was placed on every side to secure them, let them fly which way they would, provided it should ever so happen that one or more got away from the first assailants. How was it possible they should be detected, when not one that saw them ever saw anybody else afterwards? The place where they inhabited was quite solitary and lonesome; and when the tide came up, the water went for near two hundred yards into their subterraneous habitation, which reached almost a mile under- ground; so that when some who had been sent armed to search all the by-places about had passed by the mouth of their cave, they had never taken any notice of it, not supposing that anything human would reside in such a place of perpetual horror and darkness.
The number of the people these savages destroyed was never exactly known, but it was generally computed that in the twenty-five years they continued their butcheries they had washed their hands in eke blood of a thousand, at least, men, women and children. The manner how they were at last discovered was as follows.
A man and.his wife behind him on the same horse coming one evening home from a fair, and falling into the ambuscade of these merciless wretches, they fell upon them in a most furious manner. The man, to save himselfas well as he could, fought very bravely against them with sword and pistol, riding some of them down, by main force of his horse. In the conflict the poor woman fell from behind him, and was instantly murdered before her husband's face; for the female cannibals cut her throat and fell to sucking her blood with as great a gust as if it had been wine. This done, they ripped up her belly and pulled out all her entrails. Such a dreadful spectacle made the man make the more obstinate resistance, as expecting the same fate if he fell into their hands. It pleased Providence, while he was engaged, that twenty or thirty from the same fair came together in a body; upon which Sawney Beane and his bloodthirsty clan withdrew, and made the best of their way through a thick wood to their den.
This man, who was the first that had ever fallen in their way and came off alive, told the whole company what had happened, and showed them the horrid spectacle of his wife, whom the murderers had dragged to some distance, but had not time to carry her entirely off. They were all struck with stupefaction and amazement at what he related, took him with them to Glasgow, and told the affair to the provost of that city, who immediately sent to the King concerning it.
In about three or four days after, his Majesty himself in person, with a body of about four hundred men, set out for the place where this dismal tragedy was acted, in order to search all the rocks and thickets, that, if possible, they might apprehend this hellish cure, which had been so long pernicious to all the western parts of the kingdom.
The man who had been attacked was the guide, and care was taken to have a large number of bloodhounds with them, that no human means might be wanting towards their putting an entire end to these cruelties.
No sign of any habitation was to be found for a long time, and even when they came to the wretches' cave they took no notice of it, but were going to pursue their search along the seashore, the tide being then out. But some of the bloodhounds luckily entered this Cimmerian den, andinstantly set up a most hideous barking, howling and yelp- ing; so that the King, with his attendants, came back, and looked into it. They could not yet tell how to conceive that anything human could be concealed in a place where they saw nothing but darkness. Never the less, as the bloodhounds increased their noise, went farther in, and refused to come back again, they began to imagine there was some reason more than ordinary. Torches were now immediately sent for, and a great many men ventured in through the most intricate turnings and windings, till at last they arrived at that private recess from all the world which was the habitation of these monsters.
Now the whole body, or as many of them as could, went in, and were all so shocked at what they beheld that they were almost ready to sink into the earth. Legs, arms, thighs, hands and feet of men, women and children were hung up in rows, like dried beef. A great many limbs lay in pickle, and a great mass of money, both gold and silver, with watches, rings, swords, pistols, and a large quantity of clothes, both linen and woollen, and an infinite number of other things, which they had taken from those whom they had murdered, were thrown together in heaps, or hung up against the sides of the den.
Sawney's family at this time, besides him, consisted of his wife, eight sons, six daughters, eighteen grandsons, and fourteen granddaughters, who were all begotten in incest.
These were all seized and pinioned by his Majesty's order in the first place; then they took what human flesh they found and buried it in the sands; afterwards loading themselves with the spoils which they found, they returned to Edinburgh with their prisoners, all the country, as they passed along, flocking to see this cursed tribe. When they were come to their journey's end, the wretches were all committed to the Tolbooth, from whence they were the next day conducted under a strong guard to Leith, where they were all executed without any process, it being thought needless to try creatures who were even professed enemies to mankind.
The men had their hands and legs severered from their bodies; by which amputations they bled to death in some hours. The wife, daughters and grandchildren, having been made spectators of this just punishment inflicted on the men, were afterwards burnt to death in three several fires. They all in general died without the least signs of repentance; but continued cursing and venting the most dreadful imprecations to the very last gasp of life.

Source: University of Texas at Austin, Jamail Centre for Legal Research. Tralton Law Library: University of Texas School of Law. http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/newgate/beane.htm

Look at my painful car

2008-06-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

"They're painful. So painful that pedestrians can't help staring at them," Minoru Matsutani writes in The Japan Times. "The heavily decorated vehicles called itasha have been experiencing a nationwide resurgence lately, reflecting Japan's animé craze. Combining the words itai (painful) and sha (vehicle), itasha are literally 'painful cars' with exteriors pimped out in tacky illustrations or stickers of female animation characters." They are popular with single men in their 20s and 30s. "We like animé characters and want to show off. It's as simple as that," said "Sabugoro," a 28-year-old from Kawasaki. But they use common sense. "We tell each other to stop the engines and follow the traffic rules. None of us parks illegally."

Beijing Olympics

2008-06-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

The Olympics in China is two months away. Seeing the games being hosted in Beijing it makes me proud to say I am Chinese. Despite the controversy over their style of governing, I personally believe had they denied China this opportunity it would have only force China into a deeper level of isolation.

Historically states such as Japan received support and assistance from countries like the United States to help them achieve greater openess. As a member of the United Nations and NATO, you'd expect to receive ecouragement and support from sister nations in this consortum. Hosting the Olympic Games will bring more openness to China. There are already signs of this occur as a result of the tragic Sichuan earthquake in China. The PRC's willingness to allow live media coverage of the natural disaster shows their willingness to embrace change and possibly democratic reforms in the fututre.

China has taken steps to strengthen their economy by investing in the construction of a $4.2 million dollar railway that opened in June 2006. A section of the rail line stops in Tibet. This transportation system will bring a large influx of traffic into the region thus bring prosperity to Tibet. Strengthing the state's economy is a cruical component of China's plan to have a greater degree of democracy in their country.

It saddens me to hear how Tibetan protesters are advocating against the PRC and their poor track recording involving torture and the lack of free speech when they themselves are also guilty of the same crime. During the Olympic Torch relay in Paris, Tibetan protestors violently attacked atheletes as they ran bearing a symbol of peace in their hands. On one hand, these protestors openly preach peace and non-violence, yet they are harming innocent people. The Olympic games is suppose to be a neutral event that is not political. These protestors need to learn not to make a non-political event into a political one. The purpose of the games is to foster sportsmanship by bring a diverse group of people together with one similar passion for sports.

Krazy

2008-05-31T16:50:00.000-07:00

The Vancouver Art Gallery is always a great place to go to on a Sunday. My visit this time featured animation, cartoons, and gaming. For me the highlight of this exhibit is the Japanese Anime segment that features the popular Japanese Anime productions.
If you're not an avid fan of animation, there is the Emily Carr and Modern Women Artist exhibit on the top floor of the gallery. It features art work done by Canadian women during the 1800's when most of the art world was dominated by males. Women were expected to fulfill their roles in the house. Nevertheless, this display reveals the hidden talent of female artists such as Emily Carr within the art industry during this time period.
After viewing these exhibits, I visit to the Art Gallery gift shop is a must. I was amazed at the number of different gift items being sold there. Anyone looking to impress someone in their life that seems to have everything should check out this gift shop. There are some very unique and interesting souvenirs inside their small and cozy gift shop.

Stanley Park

2008-05-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend I managed to get out and visit some of the most exciting and unique tourist attractions in Vancouver. The Horse Drawn Stanley Park Tours are a must for everybody. My tour guide was just wonderful. She took the time to explain each section of the park to her group. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable ride because the trees in the park form the perfect shade for a hot, summer day.

Rocky Mountains

2008-05-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

After coming back from a trip to see the Rocky Mountains, I've come back with a greater appreciation for the beautiful landscape we have in Canada. Most importantly, I have a better understanding of the history behind the making of the spiral tunnels and communities such as Kamloops.

Liberal Party Walkout

2008-02-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

It is upsetting to hear how professional politicians can act so much like little immature children in the workplace. Today the Liberal party decided to walk out just before a vote was to take place on the Conservative Crime Bill. The Bill includes raising the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16 years old, dangerous offenders, and it would addresses violence and gun crimes.
The bill was passed in the House on Nov 28th . It is currently in the hands of the Canadian Senate. Today's bill by the Conservatives was suppose to establish a deadline for Senate to pass the bill by March 1st. However, the Liberal party and its members decided to stage a walk out just before the bill was introduced in the house today.
I think any Liberal party member who did not attend or walked out of the House today should not get paid because it is their responsibility to represent the interests of Canadians and clearly today they have failed to do their jobs. Canadians have already spoke that this is a bill they want to see passed and implemented to reduce violence in their communities.
The Liberal party's soft on crime approach is the exact reason why Canadians continue to live, in fear of criminals such as the Balcony Rapist.

Loss of a 600 year old Gate

2008-02-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

In Seoul, Korea a historically significant piece of architecture was loss to fire. Officials suspect arosen to be the cause and thousands of emotional spectators are going to see what remains of the 600 year old Gate. Over the weekend, firefighters atempted to put out the blaze with their machinery, but it wasn't enough. Public criticism has arisen about the lack of action and agression demonstrated by the firefighters in trying to put out the fire. The gate was built in 1398 and served as the main southern entrance for the walled city of Seoul when it became South Korea's capital more than 600 years ago. South Korea's government is making a pledge to spend 20 billion dollars to rebuild this structure. Thousands of tourists visit the Gate and it is considered to be one of the largest Sightseeing pitstops for visitors around the world.

Social Networking

2008-02-10T18:57:00.000-08:00

Every person with an email will or has already been a victim of chain emails, they are called chain emails people who send these messages often forward a poem, message, or inaccurate claims/myths to ALL of their friends. As a person who detests getting these annoying messages, I usually just end up pressing the delete button without reading them. They take up valuable space in my inbox and quite often are a waste of time to read. Most people live busy lives and reading any senseless email message is not a top priority for them.
My last chain email claimed that I was going to be plaqued with bad luck if I do not forward this message to TEN other people. That just makes me mad at the sender. Why would you pass on you problem to someone to handle? It is just plain immature. If it isn't already bad enough that you had to send me and your fellow associates another irritating chain email.
My internet provider offers users a "Junk Mail" option so, when I check my inbox I can easily tag any messages that are Junk Mail and my internet provider will automatically delete any of these messages before they reach my inbox. I think the next option they should provide is a Anti- Chain Email option for email users.

Killer Sidewalks

2008-01-29T17:47:00.000-08:00

Most of us woke up this morning to find a nice sprinkling of snow outside. It is a remarkable thing to see untouched snow outside. I have a beef with side streets especially unplowed sidewalks.
This morning I noticed how some residents didn't bother to take the time to shovel out their snowy sidewalk so people could get by without injuring themselves. I am fully aware of the fact that your sideway is government property and that your local municipal work crew should be the ones coming to sweep and clean your side walk, but there are only a limited number of city work crews available for the whole municipality. Their main priority is getting major streets and intersections cleared for buses and cars.
It would be terrific if homeowners, could take just a couple of minutes to shovel out a pathway for pedestrians to use so, they do not slip and fall outside your home. Sometimes I think chivalry is dead, because a simple nice gesture such as snow shoveling is not being done by certain citizens in our society. There ought to be some sort of a bylaw created in my municipality, to make it mandatory for homeowners to do some simple snow shoveling for individuals like the mailman as they pop mail into your mailbox. Anyone who refuses to do so, should be fined for being lazy.

Dieting For Dollars

2008-01-28T14:36:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, CBC News Sunday featured an interesting story on weight loss. The number one New Year's resolution among individuals is to loose weight, eat less, and excercise. No wonder companies such as Jenny Craig, the South Beach Diet and Weight Watchers rake in millions with their weight loss businesses. One doctor in the United States is using money as an incentive to help his patients loose weight. Everytime someone looses weight, they will get money $$ from Dr. Chemplavil's glass cash jar.
Grace, is one of Dr. Chemplavil's patients, she managed to shed and keep off her weight with the help of Dr. Chemplavil's unique approach to weight loss.
After watching this remarkable story, I wondered whether government tax incentives would help encourage our obese society to become physically active?
If employers gave their staff a bonus for participating in a sport or physical activity, would their employees embrace the idea?

Gie her a haggis!

2008-01-27T23:11:00.000-08:00

This Friday was Robbie Burns Day. So to pay tribute to the famous late poets works I've cut and paste this wonderful address to the Haggis. Every year this poem is recited before the Haggis is consumed by Scots all around the world.

Address To A Haggis

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,
Are bent lyke drums;Then auld Guidman,
maist like to rive,
"Bethankit!" 'hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spewWi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering,
scornfu' viewOn sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank,
a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic,
haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms,
an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!

2008-01-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel a little envious of our Southern Neighbours especially when is it about their Presidential selection process. As a Canadian, I wish our elections had the drama and high energy that our American neighbours manage to cook up every time an election takes place in their country.
There is a growing concern that less and less young people are getting involved in politics. I wonder if Canadian elections developed enough hype and drama like the USA ,would it help to encourage young voters to participate in politics?
Obama, according to the news reports, is successfully getting more youth involved in the Presidential election process. His solgan on "CHANGE" definately targets a common goal all youth and young adults have in life, the yearning to bring about some sort of change or to make the world a better place. Also, explains why they have a tendency to seek out positions with non-profit organizations such as Green Peace or World Vision. These organizations provide hands on opportunities for youth to bring about change in their world. I've read that youth have a tendency to be turned off with politics because politicians have a common habit of stating promises that they never manage to keep or fulfill once in office.
It will be interesting to see how Super Tuesday will work out as 20 states in the USA vote. Being someone who is passionate about seeing other young people become politically active, my hope is to see Barack win this presidential election. Because he is making an effort to get young Americans out into the polls voting for someone. Go Obama!

Rambomania

2008-01-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

Went to go see the final installment of the Rambo series yesterday. If you're a fan of action films, you better soak up this movie because it is filled with suspense. There wasn't a lot of dialogne just a lot of action. I couldn't help but flinch out of my seat, for the first couple of scenes where soliders released landmines into a crop field. The story unfolds in Thailand, where a group of missionaires seek out the help of John Rambo to get them to Burma by boat. The film was very disturbing at times when the Director shows human bodies being blown up, heads being chopped off and women being gang raped by soliders. At one point during the film, I wanted to turn away from the screen because, it showed prisoners being forced to run into a crop field littered with land mines by the Burmanese military. I thought the film provided a very extreme perspective of jungle like combat in Burma. The main character and hero, Rambo, is depicted as being a very, tough, rough, and edgy ex- Vietnam fighter.

Signing the Roof

2008-01-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

Last Weekend, Richmond residents came out to sign their names on the last section of the 2010 Speed Skating Oval roof. The cold, damp, and cloudy weather didn't manage to deter many members of the public from this special occasion. Radio station Crave 95 was on site encouraging people in the line up to practice their throwing skills. HBC had a retail booth selling Olympic Mascot toys to attendees. Children and parents were entertained with music, games, and the chance to meet past Olympians at the roof signing.
When it had finally come time for me to make my mark on this historic building. I spent quite a bit of time trying to find an actually spot on the roof to sign on. I managed to squish in a blurry version of my signature near the edge of the roof. All of the volunteers on hand were very kind and helpful. Every participant got an Olympic pin and a hard copy record of Signatures were recorded by the greetings.

Support the CBC

2008-01-17T14:13:00.000-08:00

SUPPORT THE CBC SWITCH TO FM!!!

The CRTC is currently reviewing CBC Radio's application request to move from AM to the FM Dial. There will be a public hearing on February 26, 2008 in Vancouver. In the mean time, the public and loyal listeners are being asked to submit their written comments via the CRTC website.
Check out the link for more details:
http://www.cbc.ca/bc/making-the-move-to-fm/

All written comments must be submitted into the CRTC before Wednesday, January 23, 2008.

Show some patriotism and send in your comments or appear at the upcoming public hear.

iToilet

2007-09-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

It seems like almost everyone I know loves the new ipod. Ever since the very first ipod shuttle came out, every music lover now has or is longing one. Apple is been able to tap into a music lover's obsession with their line of digital music devices. The company, Apple has certainly gone the extra mile to make their music player stylish, and just plain AWESOME. It makes every electronic junkie excited but, I do not think I would go to extreme lengths like some people who go out and purchase an ipod toliet roll dispenser for their home washroom.
The ipod was designed to allow people to take their music on the road with them. Their light- weight, sleek design, and slim dimensions are ideal for the student or office worker on the go. It gives people a great amount of portability.

3rd Annual BC Sardine Fest

2007-09-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

For the first time this year, I attended the BC Sardine Festival in Steveston, British Columbia. The small, but energetic attendees make the event a fun filled family outing. Several chefs were on site for Sardine demonstrations. I managed to arrive in time for the beginning of Stephen Wong's cooking demonstration with Japanese Miso paste spread on Sardines. At the close of the demonstration, little children dress in sailor outfitts and caps with the BC Sardine Festival logo on their costumes diseminated into the seated audience to serve some tasty Sardines cooked up by Steven Wong.
It was a terrific way to spend a Saturday afternoon with a plate of freshly cooked Sardines in front of you, while taking in the Jazzy band music in the background as you sit on the pier of the Steveston docks looking out into the distance. It is only the third year this festival has been taking place in Richmond, but I am certain that it will continue to grow and attract others from different parts of the Vancouver.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

2007-09-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

Gladwell sets out to explore the trigger element that causes something or someone to become profoundly well known, famous, or popular in our society. He attempts to illustrate how the smallest deed or action can make a tremendous impact on society. For instance, after reading his book, many readers took up his challenge to formulate proposals that would some how change or impact the lives of ordinary citizens. In one example, a US library decided to make a professional sign to attract the public into the library since the building happen to be located in a poor neighbourhood.
I thought Gladwell's book produced a very good read for anyone interested in marketing and psychology. There are several cases in his book where I was able to draw parallels with his examples from basic psychological concepts and terms learnt by me while I was a first year post-secondary student taking psychology 100 to fullfill my breadth requirements.
His scientific and persistent method of evidence to support his thesis is interesting, but a little difficult to follow at times. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed his adaptation of stories into his overall theme.

The China Fantasy by James Mann

2007-08-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Mann tests the common belief among Americans that China will become democratic, just as long as, we keep helping China become more economically advanced. The theory is that if we continue to allow China to become members of the UN and in other organizations composed of developed nations, this country, will gradually move towards becoming more democratic by continuing to be exposed to democratic nations and their leaders. Nevertheless, we could argue just because we are continuing to help China develop economically, this might not make them democratic. Instead, we are just making them more wealth while their authoritarian governance continues to exist in their political system.
Many Post - Soviet Union nations attempted to transform their authoritarian political systems once Russia collapsed in the 1990s. Every authoritarian state faced some major problems during their transition towards democracy. Most post Soviet states are not fully democratic in their governance, but they would be considered as being partially democratic nations. Uzbekistan continues to struggle with democracy in their country. Despite continually claims by their leader, President Karimov that his country is democratic, there continues to be predominant traces of the old Soviet style of rule being used throughout his state.
One of the difficulties associated with transforming an authoritarian government into a democratic one rests in the political culture and history of the country. For instance, the electoral system is an institution of democracy and many proclaimed democracies in several regions of the world conduct elections, but they are not legitimate under the United Nations standards.
In authoritarian countries like China, some of the people may not know what democracy is. The word "democracy" is like some abstract concept that they do not understand, because they have never lived or experienced what it is like to be apart of a democratic system, when they have been living under an authoritarian system their whole lives.
Mann does discuss how China has evolved and changed dramatically over the years. The author does a superb job outlining the historical and political aspects of China within the context of world events. Mann gives his readers a short, concise background to the US-China relations throughout the Regan years up to the present time period. His historical time line is not at all dry or boring for any non-historical bluff. It is a great read for any human rights, international relations, or political science enthusiasts. Mann concludes with a broad optimistic solution to the problem where he believes there needs to be a greater need from the Chinese population to pressure their state into bringing a greater degree of democratic measures in to the country. He is confident the growing young, intelligent, middle class generation will spark this democratic revolution in China.

Lady Bird Johnson Dies

2007-07-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post reported that Lyndon Johnson's wife passed away at the age of ninety-four. She was most well know for her ability to develop strong relations with people and this developed into her nickname "Ladybird". Lady Bird was an influential force in Lyndon Johnson's political career. Her family is well know in many southern states for the businesses operated by her family. The Bird family interesting has had the most number of Bird senators ever elected into office generation after generation. Even today there is Bird senator in office.

BOOK REVIEW

2007-07-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

After speaking to a fellow colleague about Frekonomics, a book he was reading, I finally got around to reading the book myself. At first I was a little skeptical about whether I would actually be able to get through the whole book with out encountering economic jargon in a book that was clearly written for any economic bluffs you may know. I have to admit I was surprised at how easy it was to get through the novel. Levitt did an exceptional job outlining intriguing scenarios that involve the application of economics. The author presents a very unique way of uncovering sources of problems or situations that occur in North America everyday. He presents an interesting case with Paul Feldman, an Economist, who decides to leave the profession and enter into the food industry as the bagel man who sells bagels to employees of large corporations. Feldman would set out a cash basket with a sign with the suggested price in corporate cafeterias everyday.
As an economist, he made sure to keep an up-to-date record of his profit and earnings on a daily basis. His collection rate was at about 95 percent. At first he attributed his underpayment to oversight. However, he started to explore the possibility of fraud when he noticed his attempts to reduce his oversight did not disappear with particular bagel drop offs.
Feldman reached some interesting conclusions about honesty in his business. Based on his experience he found that office employees had a tendency to be more honest than employees higher up in the corporate hierarchy. Feldman suggests bosses and executive members are more likely to cheat more than those employees below them. So in the bagel case, he found that executives more less likely to deposit a cash donation in the cash basket, when they helped themselves to a cream cheese bagel. He hypothesized that executives cheat out of an "over developed sense of entitlement."(Levitt, 51) The author parallels their behaviour with instances on how they also, may have managed to achieve their current executive position by finding ways to advance quickly up the corporate ladder.
I would recommend this book to anyone. He has some very fascinating case studies to share with the reader whether you love Economics or not. This is definitely a great summer read for the beach or, anyone looking for an easy quick read with some fascinating stories and economic case studies for the average person.

Hong Kong Take Over Anniversary

2007-07-02T16:38:00.001-07:00

Wow! It is hard to believe, but July 1st, 2007 marks the tenth anniversary of Hong Kong's power being transferred back from Britain to China. The pre-hand over sparked a mass exodus of Hong Kongers' into neighbouring international countries such as Canada.
I know that during this period, in Vancouver, there was a large influx of Hong Kong immigrants. Their views, ideas and perspectives molded and shaped the city that we now know it to be as our home. Every time I make a tourist stop to Stanley Park where the beginning of Coal Harbour meets the coast line. I look out into the distance and see how the landscape of Downtown Vancouver's West End and Hong Kong's Harbour landscape closely resemble each other in architecture and landscape. Any visitor from Hong Kong would agree that the image of Coal Harbour and the West End's glass towers looks significantly similar to Hong Kong's Harbour scenery.Vancouver HarbourHong Kong Harbour

TD Canada Trust Jazz Festival 2007

2007-07-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

Once again the Vancouver Jazz Festival takes over the city for the next two weeks with performances by signature and renowned artists from all over the world. This year I attended a performance at the Commodore Ballroom. Adahm Shaikh & The Collective (Live Tribal Fusion). I hate to admit it but, the performance I witnessed was a huge disappointment for me as a Jazz Festival supporter. An Hour into the start of the event, Adahm Shaikh did not enter into the main stage to show off his world famous musical talent. Instead, the audience was stuck with a DJ that kept mixing songs with an ear blasting deaf tone for everyone to hear. The dance floor housed a measly six people and they were all terrible dancers. After spending little over an hour for the show to actually start , I decided to leave because, the crappy music and painful sight of horrible dancers forced me to make a dash for the exit.
The only enjoyable moment of the concert was the newly renovated interior of the Commodore Ballroom. Overall the seating plan and layout of the dance floor in conjunction with the upstairs balcony and double bars makes it a must see visit for any young adult wanting to experience a terrific night life in the Downtown Vancouver Core.

Laurine Harrison

2007-07-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, I got an email from SFU about the sudden death of Laurine Harrison, the Ombudsman for Simon Fraser University Students. This came as a complete shock to many of us who worked with Laurine or knew her as an employee of the Student Society.
A memorial service was held at St. Andrew's Wesley Church. The well attended service had a very touching eulogy presented by Robert Clift and Sarah Dench. Looking around the room almost everyone's eyes shed at least one tear as they listened and heard about what a wonderful person Laurine was to each and every person she came into contact with during her career with the Simon Fraser Student Society.
It was evident that she will be greatly missed by students and co-workers.

2007-06-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend I attended the Eat Vancouver Food Festival at BC Place Stadium. Every year thousands of Vancouverites gather to taste, learn, smell, and see some of the best Chefs, restaurants, and suppliers show off their mouth watering dishes and food products. This being the first year, I attended this event, it was quite overwhelming at first to be surrounded by aisle after aisle of food booths, cooking shows, pamphlets, displays, and contests for attendees to indulge upon. A couple of products really stood out for me. There happen to be a supplier with pre-chopped all natural garlic at the show. I was amazed to see so many organic and vegetarian products being sold. My second favourite item was the fresh juice booth run by individuals of the Arthur Juice Company where they offered tasty, refreshing juice samples with a variety of flavours for any juice enthusiast in your household. Since, Italian food is considered to be my favourite food of choice; I discovered a store named Bosa Foods at this food festival. They carry all sorts of Italian food products from Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil, to authentic Cheese and pasta. I felt like I was in Italy, as my senses were tantalized by the smell, taste, and sight of Italy circling around me.

I did manage to catch a couple of cooking demonstrations at the event; it was very difficult to pick and choose which ones to attend when all of them each had unique recipes being made. Rob Feenie cooked up his signature dish, a pumpkin squash pasta recipe while reminiscing of his Iron Chef experience. Anna Olsen from the Food Network drew a crowd of fans for her afternoon cooking demonstration. Several fans purchased books followed with a personalized autography and long line ups of fans wanting a picture with the celebrity cooking host. Despite all of the cheering and enthusiastic clapping my favourite cooking demonstration took place at the International Cooking Stage, where Chef Kevin Dundon, cooked up a wonderful, spring appetizer with a Raspberry salad dressing as a starters plate. His main entree was rack of lamb-stew, and he finished off with his famous chocolate dessert said,”to be only eaten by two consenting adults behind closed doors.”

Sudoku in the Bathroom

2007-06-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

I was recently flipping through a magazine when, I noticed an advertisement on bathroom products. The company appeared to be marketing customized, printed toilet paper for households. Upon seeing this ad, I couldn’t help but let out a burst of laughter as I noticed the picture in the ad displayed a bathroom with a roll of Sudoku puzzles printed in black and white, on individual square sheets of paper.

Torch Lamp Hazard

2007-05-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, night as I was typing away on my computer. I suddenly heard a strange cracking and popping sound coming from the torch lamp in the living room. The cracking sound started to occur more frequently. Poof! My spider plant hung from the ceiling just above the lamp caught on fire and a blade of the leaf illuminated into a red hot poker. Automatically, my hand darted towards the outlet where the lamp had been plugged into. I pulled the plug out of the wall and the intense popping died down . While leaving a strong scent of burnt plastic filled the air.

After disassembling the lamp, my father discovered it hadn't been very long since we purchased this new lamp as part of the energy save program hosted by BC Hydro. We pulled the original dusty box out of the storage room to discover, that the lamp was not certified by the Canadian Standard Association. Upon discovering this information, I suggested we make a trip to the local fire station to see and speak to a Fire Marshall who could take action to prevent future home owners from undergoing a similar experience like mine. The community news paper is bound to get an editoral letter from me in an upcoming edition. This seriously is a problem, when the product claims to be energy efficient yet, it does not have the Canadian safety seal as required by Canadian law.

Undergraduate Journal of World History

2007-04-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

This month, I managed to pull together the Undergraduate Journal of World History. This long overdue project was made possible with the help of my executive committee. After a one year delay, we still managed to get the publication completed despite some of the hurdles, we experienced during the process. It is great to see the final print version!
On top of that the processing department of the SFU Library will also be adding The Atlas and The Undergraduate Journal of World History to their permanent collection. It is a great joy to hear about this wonderful news. Students from cross disciplinary studies will be able to access this publication as a research tool. I know all of the students featured in this journal will be thrilled to see this magnificent project being housed in the library's permanent collection.

AAAhhhh.... silverfish and graduation clothing!!!

2007-04-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

Two months ago, I attended a forum meeting where we had a university representative come to make a presentation on changes the university would like to make. One of the changes proposed is to look into whether SFU should rent their graduation gear? SFU currently owns and maintains their own galleria, however, the sixty year old set is starting to become a high maintenance chore for the convocation staff members. Some of the gowns need to be sent out to be re-stitched due to wear and tear. Other gowns have holes in them. According to our speaker, the gown fabric for these graduation gowns is no longer being manufacturer, so there is no way to replace poorly damaged pieces in the collection.
The most shocking and traumatizing detail of the presentation is that our speaker revealed how all of the caps and gowns are stored in a room infested with silver fish. All of the gowns are sent to the dry cleaners to be cleaned and washed before the June Convocation ceremonies, but items such as, the caps can not be cleaned. Upon hearing this detail, I could not help but squirm in disgust.
Our university chancellor is not in favour of renting gowns because, he pointed out that the cost associated with renting gowns will most likely drive up the graduation fee thus making it difficult for some students to swallow the lavish bill. Furthermore, the Chancellor's other concern is how the university has been reusing these gowns for over sixty years. It has become a tradition to pull out those dusty, insect infested gowns out of that dark warm room for years.
While, I can understand the Chancellors thoughts on the cost factor, renting gowns can affect the cost associated with graduating. I believe it is important for students to have gowns and caps that are clean for this special occasion in their academic career. Many students will be walking across the stage for their family members or parents who may of helped contribute funds towards their education. Paying a extra bit of money would not matter when, their own child will be walking across the stage.
My major concern is how the university continues to engage in practices that are not hygienic for students to be using clothing items that could pose a bacterial or allergic risk for graduands.
The already existing galleria as stated by a university representative, can not be used for much longer. Evident tearing and the thinning of fabric are just a few of the many problems associated with maintaining these historical gowns.
Many students have been emotionally upset with the lack of cap sizes available for students to wear on the day of their ceremonies. Some graduants have been broke down into tears because, they were forced to wear an incorrect cap size during their ceremonies due to the incomplete galleria set owned by the university.
I recently visited a friend of mine who had graduated from SFU and she echoed the same concerns I have brought forward hear. She pulled out her graduation photos to show me how her head looked like a pyramid. After looking at her photos, I felt ashamed to be associated with SFU because, graduation is a one time event that students will have the opportunity to celebrate their success with their friends and family, when they walk across the stage to symbolize a right of passage from school into the workplace. Mishap such as not having the proper size cap and gowns for graduants will only intensify the anxiety and frustration students have on this special occasion while they celebrate with their family, friends, and classmate. The least they could do is make an effort to ensure this event will go smoothly for students by making sure their are clean gowns and caps with the proper sizes available for students to use.

Comercializing Kids

2007-04-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I watched a documentary about the corporate marketing trend spreading into into Canadian classrooms. Schools are increasingly being tempted to allow these big box corporations into their schools in exchange for some desperately needed funding.
It was evident that the state is failing to provide the essential money schools need to teach their students. Several American school districts have found them selves in such dire financial circumstances that they have allowed corporations to air their 10 minute commercials in classrooms and students are forced to subject their minds to these news segments everyday. A very, sad, but true fact as illustrated by the documentary.
The most shocking example was focused on an elementary school in Surrey, BC where the school agreed to allow McDonald's and the 2010 Olympics to sponsor a fitness event, and in exchange this school would receive $200 dollars to replace old inadequate fitness equipment in their school gymnasium. At first it appears to be a nice corporate gesture, but when you realize how the company is actually manipulating the minds of young children not quite old enough to challenge this notion it is troubling. The documentary never mentioned whether parents and faculty members got a chance to discuss this project ahead of time. Because a through forum would have revealed that this project could have some repercussions afterwards for the school.
Personally, I would not mind if a corporation wanted to make a contribution to my school and maybe have a plaque or name put on the wall for their donation, but I think the line has to be drawn when there is aggressive marketing involved in the scheme to push their corporate slogans into the faces of students. Students have the right not to deny companies access into their classrooms. Elementary school children especially should be protected from the corporate marketing in their school environment since most of the students are not old enough to understand the possible implications associated with this issue.
http://www.canada.com/globaltv/globalshows/globalcurrents/Corps_Classrooms/index.html

Year of the GOLDEN Pig

2007-03-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

For Chinese families, the New Year is probably the most important event. It lasts for 15 days and before the two week celebration, households engage in what they call 'spring cleaning'. People do all of their cleaning and sweeping before the festival commences to avoid sweeping away their luck during the 2 week festival. You are not permitted to have any debt, because individuals who do will risk being cursed with bad luck for the rest of the year. It is very important to resolve these affairs before the New Year begins otherwise, you will face back luck for the rest of the new lunar year.

On the eve of Chinese New Year, people must return home to have dinner with their family. For instance, if a daughter and son are living abroad in Spain, they would fly home to have dinner with their parents in China. At dinner, married couples will give out little red envelopes with money to children and non married family members. The red pockets are given to them for good luck.

DAY 1
The first day is often the most exciting day. Anyone who is Buddhist will make a visit to their local temple to offer donations and offerings to the gods. This day is often marked with lion dances to expel any evil spirits from your place. Firecrackers symbolize the beginning of the two week festival.

Day 2
The second day of the Chinese New Year is for married daughters to visit their birth parents. Traditionally, daughters who have been married may not have the opportunity to visit their birth families frequently.

Day 3
On the third day of the festival, families usually stay home to prevent themselves from entering into any arguments with other people.

Day 4
Family members will often go and visit family and friends to wish them a happy and prosperous new year.

Day 5
This day is dedicated to the celebrating the birthday of Gods and some individuals in China, will eat dumplings in the morning for breakfast

Day 7
The seventh day is know as "Everyones' Birthday", because on this day everyone is one year older.

Finally on the fifteenth day of Chinese New Year, people have glutenous ball soup and some people take part in the lantern festival.

Stranded on the mountain

2007-01-12T22:50:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, Jan 10th hundreds of students were stranded at SFU because the heavy snowfall prevented Translink buses from running up and down the hill. The university's slow decision making skills resulted in absolute chaos on campus. By 4:30 pm all buses travelling up and down the mountain were put on stand by for safety reasons. The university did not issue a statement to outline there was a shut down until 5:00 pm so many students were left waiting outside in the freezing, cold temperatures while Translink buses were parked to one side of the road.
When I left campus, the last 135 Bus just pulled away and I ended up with the crowd of other students looking creative ways to get to the bottom of the mountain. My two friends and I decided to call a taxi, but after making reservations and waiting for 45 minutes outside for a taxi, we decided to head indoors for some warmth. The word out on the street was that the pub was open and still operating while all other food service establishments shut down.
When we arrived at the pub, the place was packed with students! I have never seen the school pub so full before.
I eventually got of the mountain, but it was a terrible experience for many students. I decided to trek down the mountain with my friend and halfway down a generous staff member offered to give us a lift down to my car.
The following day I heard that SFU Residence offered to rent rooms out to students for $10 and many jumped at the chance.
SFU's department responsible for making school closers should amend their policies to allow for a more adequate amount of time for students to leave campus. On Wednesday, the university did not issue a closure notice until Translink bus drivers refused to drive any students of or on the hill. The official notice uneffectively communicated the situation students would be facing due to the snow storm. University officials should have made this decision earlier on in the day instead of waiting until it was too late for students to find any means to leave campus.
It is estimated close to 300 students were stuck on campus that night due to the weather. Almost all of the regular buses resumed their schedules with huge delays by around 9:30 pm.
Many individuals, just like me, were almost force to camp out over night at our office until the following morning when transit services were sure to be up and running by then.

Annoying Sales People!

2007-01-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

I went into the downtown Vancouver Sport Check- Coast Mountain store to spend my holiday gift card. I was planning to purchase a new jacket for myself. As I browsed the shelves and racks of jackets several sales reps greeted me. One or two of them were helpful. But, I started to get irritated with the agressive and annoying sales employees, when I started to try on a couple of jackets, half a dozen different salespersons would approach me and say,"Can I help you?"
I replied, "Thank - you, but someone is already taking care of me."
Two mintues later after a sales associate walked away from me to reshelve a jacket that was too big for me. I was approached again by another Sport Check employee who said, "Hi, Are you finding everything you need?"
I answered," Yes, I'm fine."
By the time, my original sales person returned to check up on me at least three different employees came to ask me if I needed help finding or looking at something.
What was really irritating is that before I could actually take a good look at a jacket or even try it on to see how it fit a zillion sales representatives would pop out of nowhere and interject with their well scripted company greeting.
After spending 20 minutes in the store, I think I had 7 different Sales associates come to ask me if I needed help. I finally left the store empty handed and irritated at the annoying sales tactic used by Sport Check employees. I did not like being constantly asked by employees, if I required assistance. When I need you, I will go and fetch you, otherwise just leave me alone !

High School Drop Outs and Driver's Licence Removal

2006-12-21T10:40:00.000-08:00

Monday, December 18, 2006

by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff

High school dropouts in Ontario run the risk of losing their driver's licence, thanks to a new law there, but education authorities in B.C. say such a plan might actually hurt a student's future, rather than help it.

"I think it demonstrates how concerned people are about trying to improve graduation rates," said B.C. Minister of Education Shirley Bond. "This is a pretty interesting way to 'incentivize' kids to stay in school. Whether it will work or not, we will watch and see, but it demonstrates that passionate concern. It is not something we are contemplating here."

Bond said First Nations students are the most demonstrative group that does not see public school through to completion. Only 48 per cent of aboriginal British Columbians get their diploma in the customary time frame. She said this speaks not to a truancy problem but of a systemic problem that would only be exacerbated by punishments.

School District 57 has a 20 per cent aboriginal student population and is a leader in provincial efforts to improve scholastic results for First Nations children, with an aboriginal education specialist on district staff and an aboriginal education board working in tandem with the mainstream trustees.

SD57 school board chair Lyn Hall said the plan in Ontario was nothing short of punitive.

"It's not going to work here. We've never discussed any kind of plan like that and I can't see why we would," he said. "We use school-driven discipline here, we have no truancy court, and I think we do well within the system we have now. I'm not sure what they're trying to achieve. For me it doesn't send the right message."

Hall said such measures could heap government-sanctioned injury on students already struggling for connection to regular society.

Prince George District Teachers' Association president Karen MacKay agreed, from the classroom perspective.

"A child decides to drop out of high school for many reasons," MacKay said. "If someone drops out to get a job to support their family, is it going to help them if you also take their driver's licence away so they can't earn a living either? There are all kinds of reasons kids drop out. It has a lot to do with population, demographics, socioeconomic conditions, and nothing we really should be punishing them for."

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said, upon passing of the new law last week, "It is simply saying to our young people that it's no longer acceptable in a knowledge-based economy for you to drop out at the age of 16 and hang around the shopping mall."

Bond said that B.C. does have the luxury of having dropout rates better than the crisis they are in other North American jurisdictions, and she does not know the dynamics of the Ontario situation.

"Some of the students we are trying to reach have a number of issues and challenges and using driver's licences like this, I don't think is the answer for them," she said. "I think you have to look at the system, ask questions about the system, rather than imposing something on students. But...but...I am going to watch with interest."

A Holiday Poem for Students

2006-12-07T16:20:00.000-08:00

(Author: sadly unknown)

Twas the night before finals, and all through the College,
the students were praying for last minute knowledge.
Most were quite sleepy, but none touched their beds,
while visions of essays danced in their heads.

Out in the taverns, a few were still drinking,
and hoping that liquor would loosen their thinking.
In my own room I had been pacing,
and dreading exams I soon would be facing.
My roommate was speechless, her nose in her books,
and my comments to her drew unfriendly looks.

I drained all the coffee, and brewed a new pot,
no longer caring that my nerves were all shot.
I stared at the notes, but my thoughts were muddy,
my eyes went a blur, I just couldn’t study.
“Some pizza might help”, I said with a shiver,
but each place I called refused to deliver.

I’d nearly concluded that life was too cruel,
with futures depending on grades made in school.
When all of a sudden, our door opened wide,
and Patron Saint Put-It-Off ambled inside.

His spirit was careless, his manner was mellow,
when all of a sudden he started to bellow:
“On Cliff’s notes, on Crib notes, On Last Year’s Exams,
On Wing-It and Sling-It and Last Minute Crams!”

His message delivered, he vanished from sight,
but we heard him laughing outside in the night.
“Your teachers have you pegged, so just do your best,
Happy Finals to All and to All a Good Test!”

Let it Snow...Let it Snow....

2006-12-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

Vancouverites are living in a winter wonderland with all of the snow that it got in the past week. We are clearly not very prepared for snowfall, when it comes in the Lower Mainland. Several schools, colleges and universities were forced to shut down, because they could not keep up with the snow storm.
Our weather has just been irraticatic for the past month or so. First, we had several weeks of heavy down pour and this led to numerous cases of flooding, but the most inconvient effect was the boil water advisory. Turmidity levels in the vancouver, burnaby, and survey reservoirs had high levelS of turmidity in the drinking water. All residents were told to boil their tap water before they drink from it because the GVRD was scared that there may be micro organisms that could be still alive and harmful if they are consumed by an individual with health problems. After the rain started to let up, the temperature dropped and the next thing we know is there is snow in the forecast.
I do admit it is nice to see the snow lining the barren tree branches and sidewalks. It just adds to the spirit of Christmas, although it would have been nice to have the snow fall during the week of Christmas, so then we can say we had a white Christmas, but I suppose we can not complain too much.

Turk-Cake Fusion

2006-10-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

This Thanksgiving weekend will be unique from all the rest. Coincidentally, the 2006 turkey dinner holiday also marks the celebration of the Chinese Mid - Autumn festival. Eating Chinese Mooncake and having family dinner outtings are a couple of the traditions associated with this annual festival.

Some people believe the tradition first originated from the tale involving a famous Chinese archer who was highly respected by the Gods. The Gods decided to develop a special pill that would allow the archer to live forever. One day the archer's curious wife discovered the pill inside a nicely designed chest box, she opened it and swallowed the pill. As punishment for her actions the Gods bannished her to the moon forever.

Others associate the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival and mooncake to this historical event thousands of years ago. The historical significance of this festival can be traced by to the time when China was ruled by royalty. All of the dynasty's subjects were upset and angry at their rulers and they had planned an elaborate scheme to over throw the ruling dynasty during the festival. On the eve of this event, everyone bought mooncake for the Mid-Autumn festival. Hidden inside the mooncake was the time and place of when the coup would occur.

Today the festival is widely celebrated throughout the world and Chinese families can select mooncake with a variety of different fillings. The most traditional mooncake flavors are lotus and red bean filling with an egg yolk at the centre. Over the years other fillings with pork, ham, egg and green tea also become very popular flavors for mooncake enthusiats.

Since the Mid-Autumn festival and Thanksgiving weekend collide on the same weekend, our household plans on having a turkey dinner with mooncake for dessert. It will definately be a unique and interesting holiday for me and my family as we celebrate two very important events one originating from the East and the other from the West.

Barnston Island

2006-08-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

In Surrey, there is a small agricultural island located off on the coast of the Fraser River. A recent proposal to removed Barnston Island out of the agricultural land reserve (ALR) sparked concerns over the lack of consideration given to protecting more farm land from disappearing out of the ALR. A classmate in my political science class did her project on this problem and after hearing about the growing amount of land being taken out of the ALR, I made an effort this summer to take a moment to go and visit this unique island in Surrey.

Once I turned off into Exit 50 of Highway 1 East, I had some difficulty deciding whether I was suppose to turn left to 140 Ave East or right to 140 AveWest. I eventually found the ferry terminal located at the foot of 104 Ave. In less than five minutes, a tug boat with a ramp pulled up towards the dock. There was a little traffic light posted on the left, used to indicate when it was safe for vehicles to drive up onto the ferry. In five minutes, the ferry had reached the other end of the river and I was at Barnston Island. I was greeted by a large vast landscape of green, rich farm land with barns, stables, cows, and horses habitating this unique island in the middle of the GVRD.

There is no parking on the island so, I just quickly took a couple of snap shots of the place. During the drive, one could spot a family of eagles soaring in the sky. It is difficult to take photos while driving in a 50 km/h zone. Fortunately my uncle agreed to take over as the driver. The trip was a pleasant, peaceful experience that gave me, the city girl, a good feeling of what country life would be like with out any running water.

Barnston Island is a great place for any bike enthusiasts or hikers. It took me about 45 minutes to drive around the island because I was driving at 30 km/h, but if you follow the 50km/h speed limit you should get around the whole island in 20 minutes. During my visit, I learnt Avalon Milk company, an independently run and locally based dairy business operates out of Barnston Island. If you look across the river from the ferry terminal, a visitor will see a local saw mill plant. Some local residents on the island also have their own fishing boats parked out on the side of their land just a kiddy corner away from the small barnston island dock. Apparently a portion of the island is a First Nations Land Reserve and when you enter the reserve area, you will see a sign posted up on the side of the road with the following message: "Welcome to the First Nations Land Reserve on Barnston Island."

A couple of households still had signs posted that said "Save Barnston Island!" These signs were left overs from the Barnston Island protests when there was a high possibility that the Island would be taken out of the ALR and this would mean the zoning code for the area would also change in conjunction to this developement. All of the local media outlets covered this well publicized story and how there was a lack of accountability on the ALR board commitee. The final decision was to let Barnston Island remain in the ALR despite a large amont of pressure brought on by some developers and land owners on the island to have this place developed into a industrial or commercial area.

I am glad to hear the ALR commitee ruled in favour of keeping this unique agricultural island in the ALR, because BC is one of the only provinces in Canada that still holds rich, top grade 1 soil, a very rare kind of soil in the world. It would be a shame to see this land developed for commercial uses when, there is already a shortage of farmland in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. More and more farmland is disappearing as the growing pressure and need for more residential housing rises, but the question is what would we gain if we remove more farmland out of the agricultural land reserve? Developers and land owners would probably gain a short term profit, but the whole GVRD would lose valuable farm land and a stable food source forever. It is important for us to protect the remaining agricultural land in our province, because it helps to sustain and level off the food demand from the city. We all need food to survive and if we continue to diminish our agricultural land, our city will be forced to become increasingly more dependent on international food sources to provide a sufficient food supply for the population.

Marijuana Grop Op

2006-08-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

This Thursday our community noted a police drug bust at a residential house in our area. Police officers told neighourbouring households the residency was being used as a grow operation for drugs. RCMP officers, city officials from Richmond's public works department, and hydro spent close to five hours confiscating plants from the home.
A police officer went around the neighbourhood collecting information and conducting interviews with anyone living near by the residence.
Everyone living in or around our street thought it was strange how a rather large house could remain vacant without any tenants for so long. Furthermore, one neighbour spoke to me about how bright light could be seen from the house late at night.
We always hear the RCMP launching ads about educating the public on how to identify grow ops in the neighbourhood, but in this case their tips have failed to help residents in this neighbourhood identify and reduce more grow ops from poping up in the municipality.
In the afternoon, I went to do some snooping. It was fascinating to see the inside of a grow op house . From the outside window of the house, any resident could peek in and see large heavy duty wires hanging from the ceilling, well cut out gysum board, remanants of the light system used to help the plants grow quickly, and long silver tubing used in this elaborate grow op set up to redirect toxic fumes from these plants.
Three days after the bust, a strong odor still seeps out of the house. A couple of people were spotting at the house today cleaning and renovating the interior. As I sit in the kitchen, looking out of the window almost every car passing through the neigbourhood has stopped to take a look at this house. It has almost become a local tourist attraction and a source of curiousity for many of the residences living in this small Steveston community.

2006 Red Bull Flugtag

2006-08-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

There were a bunch of crazy aircraft designs at this first time event. Young and old spectators came out to line the shores of Concord Pacific to see the wacky, hilarious, and energetic teams as they launch their aircraft machines off a massive 20 metre ramp and into the water.

Every team is judged on three criteria:
A) Distance: How far their aircraft fly?
B) Creativity: Did their design suck? or was it neat?
C) Sportsmanship
A team is composed of 5 people (1 pilot and 4 pushers). Only the pilot is allowed to remain in the aircraft for the whole time, during and after the launch.

My favorite aircraft was shaped as a pig. Some of the teams had some awesome costume designs and others had some really wacky dance moves. The crowd was really hyper and rowdy which was sort of nice because, every team got a good cheer from the spectators before they launched their aircrafts.
The event was great! Most importantly the hot, sunny weather made the buff beach guys turnout without their shirts. OOoo la la!!!
I hope there will be another Flugtag event next year, because it was a blast to see all of these teams launch their creations off the flight deck. Wwhoooo!!!

Snakes on a Plane

2006-08-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

I went to go see the Vancouver Premier of Snakes on a Plane last night. The advanced screening session in the Downtown Paramount theatre was definately filled with energy enriched, testosterone ragging males and most importantly female Samuel L. Jackson die hard fans. While in line I saw a fan with air plane wings made out of white cardboard like material straped on to his back like a knapsack. "ZZzzzoooommmm......"
A couple of scenes in the movie will make you jump out of your seat! There was a lady sitting beside me who was easily startled by the quick, rapid movie shots where a snake will dart out of no where and attack an innocent passenger on the airplane. A lot of digital special effects scenes helped to make the film more thrilling for the audience. I credit the actors and the writers on their ability to implement comic relief throughtout the film so, it did not appear to be lame or awkward. I definately laughed at a some of the hilarious parts of the film. The movie is aimed at augmenting our Ophidiophobia of slliitheringgg...reptilia creatures on a plane.

Some of my favorite lines for the film with Samuel L. Jackson playing a FBI agent named Neville Flynn:
"Snakes on CRacK?"
"Enough is enough! I've had it with these motherf**kin' snakes on this motherf**kin' plane!"

Lego Mania!

2006-07-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

"Lego: Secrets of the Pharaohs" will be at Science World until Sept 2006 as it makes its debut in Vancouver. These magnificent art pieces took several hours to design and assemble.
The exbit was well amazing, but I felt Lego should have put some thought into using tan coloured Lego blocks instead of bright yellow Lego pieces to make these statues appear and feel more like the real archeological artifacts. Design experts attempted to use their cheap lighting tricks to bring down the tone of yellow to a light tanish shade, but the dominant yellow is the wrong shade of colour. They should have invested some money into producing a new line of Lego blocks for their Egyptian themed project. I think the bright yellow, orange-red, sky- blue, and grassy- green colour theme takes way that ancient Egyptain art flare. Don't get me wrong these primary colours are great for contemporary amateur Lego enthusiats, but if you are going to make a reproduction of a Egyptian piece, don't use barn yard red, because it just doesn't cut it. It totally spoils the whole thing. Colour makes all the difference in the world. Despite my rant on the poor decision of Lego to make a Egyptian exbit with their traditional primary colour set, the exbit does have some merit for it's historical caption at each station. Quite a bit of thought was put into actively engaging the young ones, I recommend a weekend at Science World's Lego exbit for any couples with children. They will love it!

STicky Rice

2006-06-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

Every year at the end of May our family has a tradition where we make sticky rice from scratch. This activity dates back to a very old Chinese event often associated with the annual dragon boat festival held in Vancouver.
There was a well known poet named Qu Yuan in China who was loved by the public for his charasmatic personality.
One day Qu wrote an article critcizing the Emperor of falling into corruption and abandoning his moral duty as a leader. The emperor of China was deeply offended by Qu Yuan's article so, the fearious emperor ordered Qu be killed.
Once news of Qu's death made it to the local villages, they all worked together to retrieve his body from the Mi Lo River. Little paquets of sticky rice bound with bamboo leaves were made to discourage man-eating fish from feasting on Qu's body. All of the villagers with boats quickly paddled out with loud beating drums to deter these dangerous fish away from the dead corpse.
Today this patriot poet, Qu's is still celebrated as a yearly event in Vancouver, where the public will come out to watch the famous Dragon Boat Race on the banks of False Creek.