McDonald's Does Not Recycle · 23/04/2008 03:02 PM
I went to McDonald’s today for lunch, I know it’s gross but that’s not the point of my story today.
Anyways, I was there and after I finished my meal I was happy to see that alongside the regular garbage bins they also had recycling containers. They were split up into plastic (spoons, cup lids and straws), paper (napkins and food containers), glass and something else which I forget.
I was getting ready to separate my garbage when the worker who was changing the garbage bag on the trash bin said “Don’t bother, sir, just put it in here” pointing at the trash. I looked at him confusingly and then put my cup lid in the plastic recycling and then he said “It all ends up in the same place in the compactor and then the dump. I don’t have time to sort it.”
This made me a bit angry and I asked why they even bother to have the recycling containers and he said “I don’t know, just to look good.”
I needed to get back to work so I didn’t talk to the manager. But this is really stupid. I hope that this is not corporate policy. I am going to try and write a letter to the head office, not that it will do any good.
You probably don’t need another reason not to eat at McDonald’s. But if you do here it is.
Very Interesting Use of the Nintendo Wii · 25/01/2008 11:55 PM
This is a very cool application of the technology that Nintendo has created for the Wii Video system.
Copyright Laws · 29/11/2007 04:13 PM
So there is a chance that the Canadian government is going to pass a law much like the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) that has been in the USA for quite some time now.
The problem with this law is that it makes criminals out of ordinary people and takes away people’s fair use rights.
Most people will agree that if I were to purchase a CD from a store there is nothing wrong with me ripping that CD onto my computer so that I can load it onto my iPod. Or make a copy of the CD as a backup or in order to have a copy in my car that I’m not worried about getting stolen. This is called fair use. It’s the same right that allows you to use your VCR or DVR to record TeeVee shows and watch them at some time other than when they were originally broadcast.
Some people, but not as many, would also agree that there is something wrong with posting the ripped music to Kazaa, BitTorrent and other P2P file sharings sites. Or burning a copy of a CD for all of my friends. This is called piracy, or stealing. Even when there is no profit being made by the people distributing the music/video/software etc.
The law that is being proposed doesn’t directly take away our right of fair use, but it does in some cases make it illegal to carry out that right.
The new law will make it illegal to bypass (circumvent) any copy protection that is imposed on us by Record Labels, Movie Studios, Software companies and other copyright holders.
This means that it would be illegal to break the copy protection in order to rip CDs, make backup copies of expensive computer software, and do many other things with our media that we take for granted as part of our fair use rights.
My problem with these laws is not that I want to be able to steal as much music and movies as I can possibly download. My problem is that I want to be in control of how an when I can use my digital devices and media. I don’t want to have to purchase 5 copies of each new music release so that I can listen to it at home, in the car, at work, on my iPod etc.
A concrete example of this happening is when Amy recently bought a fancy new cell phone. The phone can play MP3s that you copy onto it from your PC. Amy was really excited to use a bunch of her music as ring tones and sound effects on the phone. But after she had copied over all of her songs the phone told her that only music purchased from the cell phone provider could be used as a ring tone. WTF? She had already paid money for all of that music. Now she has to pay another $3 per song just for the privilege of having it as a right tone? And there is no technical reason for this. I am sure it wasn’t the phone manufacturer’s choice to impose this limitation on their customers.
The issue here is about choice and freedom. Who should be deciding what you can and can’t do with your digital devices and the media that you have bought and paid for? You? Or someone else?
The music and movie industries are embracing this kind of legislation because they didn’t have the foresight to embrace the Internet and change their business model to take advantage of it. Instead they are lobbying lawmakers to pass these kinds of laws in order to take away rights from the end users and generate profits by selling you the same media several times over.
For more information check out this short article in The Globe and Mail Be sure to check out the comments on the article as well.
The Electronic Freedom Foundation has prepared a listing of some of the unintended consequences of the DMCA.
China · 25/05/2007 08:13 AM
Three weeks from today Amy I an will be landing in Shanghai as we are going to be visiting China for a week!
We are both really excited about this trip. Neither of us ever thought we would get to travel to somewhere so far away. I am really excited about seeing and experiencing a culture that is very different form my own. I really hope to see some of the ancient temples and other architecture, as well as the landscapes that China is famous for.
We are going to spend some time in Shanghai too, seeing what modern China is like.
It’s going to be a great trip. Although I suspect, like most vacations, it is going to feel too short.
Dormant · 04/05/2007 06:44 AM
Well I let my blog go a little dormant there for a few months. Whoops!
I have an excellent excuse though. Last November I met a girl, an awesome girl. We have been spending so much time together I haven’t had much left over for blog posts.
However, I am going to try and write here more often in the future. But you may also want to check out this website to see what’s going on in my life.
Oui Wii · 22/02/2007 01:59 PM
I don’t play either of the two video game systems that I already own, but for some reason I keep wanting a Nintendo Wii.
Also I don’t really have the money to spend on buying one at the moment. Since I am saving up for other more important things.
Today it’s exactly four months until my birthday, I’m just saying.
Gone to Whistler, Back Later · 12/02/2007 07:24 PM
I’ve been in Whistler, BC since Saturday. I’m here on vacation for a week staying with my friends Alison and Kristine who moved out here in October.
Yesterday I went and checked out the new Symphony Ampitheatre section of Whistler mountain. It was pretty cool with some good tree lines and some really nice views. Although there were a few flat spots.
It snowed almost all day yesterday. So this morning I made sure to get up early so that I could be one of the first to get some runs on all the fresh snow. Alison and I went to almost the top of Blackcomb mountain and then hiked up a ridge called Spanky’s Ladder. Then we strapped our boards on a headed down the other side of the ridge. The snow was pretty deep, deep enough to get the floaty feeling, but not deep enough that it totally covered up some of the old moguls that were underneath. Still it was a lot of fun, and quite a good workout. From there we had to take a 4.8 km run down to the chair lift. Alison and I had a few more runs together, including some in the trees, before she had to head off to work.
After that I decided to go and check out the terrain park and halfpipe. The terrain park was pretty good with some good medium sized jumps that were just right for me. But what I really wanted to do was get some runs in the halfpipe. In Ontario the halfpipes are usually really icy and poorly maintained. I was not disappointed by what I found. The half pipe was just about perfect. The transition was good, the walls were nice and smooth with no big chunks taken out of them. It was a thing of beauty! On my first run down I got above the lip a few times, which is something I’ve been working on. Then instead of hiking back up the halfpipe I decided to go in for a quick bite to eat. That might have been a bit of a mistake. When I came back out after lunch it was nice and sunny. But something happened on my way down to the halfpipe. The wind must have shifted because a thick blanket of fog rolled in and visibility was down to about twenty feet. I took a few more runs in the halfpipe and hiked back up hoping the fog would clear. It didn’t so I decided to pack it in for the day. My legs were also starting to get tired and it was time to rest them.
So far so good. Hopefully it’ll be clearer tomorrow, and hopefully the low hanging clouds will have created some more fresh snow on the mountains.
Apostle of Hustle, February 7th at the Rivoli · 08/02/2007 12:18 PM
Apostle of Hustle was really good last night. Really really good. They played a mix of songs from both of their albums and did a cover of Little Red Corvette by Prince, which was particularly good. They also did some songs in spanish which were excellent even though I didn’t know what they were singing about.
I couldn’t stay for the whole show as they didn’t go on until late and I was really tired after working all day. But I really enjoyed the hour or so that I did see.
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