Winter has not taken its hold thus far. We’ve had a bit of snow, several dramatic shifts in temperature, lots of rain and now, on our 900-foot drive, lots of ice.

Because there was not enough snow to warrant a service call to clear the lane, we just packed the snow down with the weight of the cars as we drove in and out of our property. A significant thaw, followed by rain and then followed by freezing temperatures, transformed the lane into a skating rink.

Ice. Lots and lots of ice.

The temperatures went up again yesterday, plus 7 degrees Celsius, with more rain and the drive was best approached with skates. The ice pack is so thick that the rain acted as a proxy for a Zamboni machine, resurfacing the ice and making it very slick. Even my all wheel drive had a bit of difficulty getting up the hill.

As I have complete responsibility over my 900-foot road, I elected to treat the most challenging part of the hill with a de-icing agent.

The agent in question is packaged in 88-pound bags. Very easy for your typical consumer to handle.

To make the handling of the 88-pound bags even more enjoyable, the company elected to cover the outside of the packaging with a corrosive white powder. After handling the bags, most everything on your person becomes white. I suppose this makes it easier to become one with the snow. However, the acidic compounds that allow the material to dissolve ice are not recommended as a moisturizer for your skin. Removing the white powder from your outdoor clothing and from your skin simply rounds out the experience of securing the de-icing agent. I had yet to get it home.

At around ten in the evening, Lorraine and I had parked my car at the crest of the hill. How would we apply this particular de-icing agent? Particularly without any skates?

We used a wheelbarrow, a car, and several shovels.

We hauled an 88-pound bag out of the car and into a wheelbarrow. We slit the bag and emptied the contents. We turned the high beams of the car to illuminate the drive as it was pitch black and raining. We filled our shovels and, using an interesting dance technique — let’s call it the de-icing shuffle — we carefully slid along the ice, releasing the agent as we went along.

Treating the downhill portion of the lane was so much fun. In the dark. White powder everywhere. Slip, sliding away.

We repeated the process for each one of the 88-pound bags and called it a night.

On the way out this morning, the lane was once again filled with ice. If the de-icing material had made any significant impact it was not noticeable to me.

Here is to a sustained end of January thaw. Perhaps I will get lucky and the ice will melt down to the gravel. If not, I could always get a set of new tires.

I have seen this one several times before and I suspect that it may not be too scientific but it is an interesting test of how our brains process visual data.

A Short Neurological Test

1- Find the C below..

Please do not use any cursor help.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2- If you already found the C, now find the 6 below.

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
69999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

3 – Now find the N below. It’s a little more difficult.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

If you were able to pass these 3 tests, you have a good ability to “stop seeing the pattern” and see the underlying elements. This is more interesting once you understand how powerful the brain is at pattern recognition. Let me demonstrate it below:

eonvrye that can raed this rsaie your hnad.

If you can raed this, you have a sgtrane mnid too

Can you raed this? Olny 45 plepoe out of 100 can.

I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by
istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! If you can raed this sarhe it.

I had been quite concerned about this flagrant disregard of privacy laws. Good to see the Federal Trade Commission finally taking some action.

WASHINGTON — Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz today announced a record fine against Santa Claus for violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

“Mr. Claus has flagrantly violated children’s privacy, collecting their consumer preferences for toys and also tracking their behavior so as to judge and maintain a data base of naughtiness and niceness,” Leibowitz said. “Worse, he has tied this data to personally identifiable information, including any child’s name, address, and age. He has solicited this information online, in some cases passing data to third parties so they may fulfill children’s wishes. According to unconfirmed reports, he has gone so far as to invade children’s homes in the dead of night. He has done this on a broad scale, unchallenged by government authorities for too long.”

Claus was fined $2 million and ordered to end any contact with children. Prior COPPA fines include $1 million against now-virtually-unknown social site Xanga, $400,000 against UMG Recordings, and $35,000 against notorious toymaker Etch-a-Sketch.

The FTC action follows similar complaints against Claus brought by European privacy authorities. European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding has complained about Claus holding data on children outside of EU data-protection standards in North Pole server farms. German head of consumer protection Ilse Aigner has called for an investigation of Claus’ use of Google Street View in navigating his Christmas Eve visits. German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Peter Schaar has demanded that Claus give children, naughty or nice, the right to be forgotten in his data base. And Thilo Weichert, head of the privacy protection office in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, demanded that German web sites take down any Facebook “Like” button referring to Claus.

Meanwhile, Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart has attempted to bring together an international coalition of privacy officers opposed to Claus’ practices. In California, Claus has been threatened with severe penalties for nonpayment of the state sales tax. And the UK has vowed that Claus will be detained and could face extradition should he set foot in any English chimneys on Christmas Eve.

Reaction to the FTC decision was mixed in Washington. Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry vowed to kill the Federal Trade Commission, relieved that he had finally recalled the final agency he had marked for death. Rival Newt Gingrich suggested that Claus apply for U.S. citizenship, “having contributed much to U.S. industry by stimulating greed at all ages; we need more Clauses and more spending to fix this Democrat-ruined economy.” Ron Paul suggested that Claus set up a Liberatarian nation at the North Pole and offered to run for office there. Herman Cain, whose candidacy remains on hold after allegations of sexual improprieties, said that he “always wondered why the old coot didn’t get in hot water for plopping kiddies on his lap; seemed a lot creepier than anything I ever did.” President Barack Obama refused comment.

From his North Pole headquarters, Claus said through a spokesman that he endeavored only to fulfill children’s dreams. “I regret that the world has come to this: treating any adult who wants to make a child happy as a dangerous stranger,” he said. “The problem with our modern world is not technology but fear, suspicion, and cynicism.” He vowed to continue his Christmas mission of joy. “What’s the worst they can do to me?” he asked, “cookie me?”

Contact: Elfelman Public Relations

Via.

Filed under “Things I did not know before today”.

The National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) has officially recognized the year 1510 as the first recorded instance of a decorated Real Christmas Tree, a tradition born in the city of Riga, Latvia. Entities all over the world also have recognized this milestone.

Not a lot is known about the first Christmas Tree in Riga, other than it was placed in the public marketplace and decorated by the men of the Order of the Blackheads, a long-time merchant’s guild. The men wore black hats and after the ceremony, they burned the tree. Legend has it that the first Riga tree was decorated with paper flowers. Today, a plaque marks the spot where the original tree stood.

The tradition of the first Christmas Tree is sometimes credited to Martin Luther, with the story that he was walking in the woods when he was awestruck by the beauty of the moonlight on the evergreen trees and took home the first Christmas Tree to his family. Luther reportedly decorated the tree with candles to recreate the beautiful effect of the moonlight on the branches. However, historians believe Martin Luther’s tree was decorated in northern Germany a few decades after the one in Latvia.

Religious symbolism – Christian and pagan – inspired many of the decorations that adorn Christmas trees. The evergreen tree itself is said to symbolize Christ, life, nature and the Holy Trinity. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again.

The pagans of northern Europe celebrated the winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan sun god Mithras being born and was observed on the shortest day of the year. As the sun god grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras, and the sun, to reappear next year.

The term Christmas Tree first appeared in Strassburg, Alsace, in 1604, though Christian families incorporated the trees into their celebration of the birth of Christ much earlier. Paper roses that adorned many trees in the 1500s are said to represent the Virgin Mary. During the 1600s churches used Christmas Trees to help teach the story of creation, decorating them with apples to represent the tree in the Garden of Eden. In the 1700s, trees decorated with gilded nuts and cookies were often referred to as “sugar trees.”

Via.

For the Celebrate Christmas concert that I have been working on for the past few months, I create a multimedia presentation which includes, amongst other things, short clips from movies. And given that it is a Christmas concert, the clips are usually from Christmas movies.

I have a top ten list (not in order of preference):

• National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
• Christmas With The Kranks
• Deck The Halls
• It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
• Dr Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas
• Home Alone
• The Polar Express
• Miracle on 34th Street
• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer

No. Not yet. Regular posting is about to begin.

Apologies to those of you who drop by on a regular basis. Life just got a bit out of control and I have not had enough cycles to post consistently over the past few months.

Made the upgrade to OS X Lion. Took about 30 minutes to download on a very fast Internet connection and roughly the same amount of time to load.

Chrome does not behave very well under the full-size app mode of OS X Lion.

OS X Lion gets the mouse to scroll the wrong way. I have spent hundreds of thousands of hours scrolling mice. There was nothing natural about it to me and I reset it back. Life suddenly became so much better.

Older apps under OS X Lion are history.

I guess you have to be really careful about downloading stuff on the Internet. And not just because you  might exceed your monthly bandwidth cap.

Counted well over a hundred of these MAC 250 Entour units at the recent Taylor Swift concert in Toronto. Over 300 grand on intelligent lighting alone (the show had lots of other lights as well).

I must admit that I had never thought to put my iPhone into the bottom of my acoustic guitar. Is that really what happens to the strings?

I had not heard much about Jerry Pournelle since Byte Magazine shut down in July of 1998. But he was and is still active and writing. This incident happened shortly after the death of Byte Magazine. In Death Valley no less.

The typical Tour de France rider eats a lot of food. And I would say that it is definitely much harder to ride than eat.