Cool T-Shirt - This Game Sucks From

From threadless.

SyFy wants a Battlestar Galactica Spinoff

Umm, didn't they already do that?  It's called Caprica. Oh wait, the report states that they're happy with how Caprica's performing in the all-important 18-49 year olds market.  So is it Stargate Universe that they're trying to replace?  Or are they just attempting expand their presence and control of all original content that is considered Sci-Fi (sorry, read that 'Space Opera').

According to these reports, SyFy executives and producers are looking to position this Battlestar Galactica -verse based series as  "a return to the franchise's space-opera roots".


From The Hollywood Reporter via AOLtv

Paralympic Opening Ceremony - Review

Overall I liked the ceremony - it had a lot of heart, even if it wasn't as big or showy as the Olympic one.  It's purpose and tone was entirely different than the Olympic Opening Ceremony.  I suppose that makes sense.  The goal of the Olympics was to showcase Vancouver, and Canada and how well the organizing committee can put on a successful games - it's a huge commercial really. Whereas the Paralympics are focused solely on the athletes and the fact they are participating.

And really, while obviously Canadian examples of Terry Fox and Rick Hansen were profiled, the theme of "One Inspires Many" fits very well with the International Paralympic Committee's vision and mission.

Interestingly, before the Olympic Opening Ceremony most interest surrounded the probability of Rick Hansen or Terry Fox's parents being the final torch bearer who was to light the cauldron.  As it turned out, all were involved on the final day's run (Rick Hansen making it into the stadium).  And at no time did I ever hear anyone make any Olympic vs. Paralympic arguments.  It was all about how to best represent Vancouver, Canada, athletic endeavour and the human spirit. Kinda makes you warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?

Paralympics broadcast live on CTV

Cudos to CTV for broadcasting the Opening Ceremonies for Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games live.  They weren't going to do it (as it had never been broadcast live before).  Kinda a nice touch eh?

They've upload a great video overview of the ceremony (don't worry, it's short).

Interestingly, just as in the Olympic Opening ceremony the colour commentator quietly left the host (the venerable Brian Williams) half way through in order to participate in the lighting of the torch.  It seems that CTV and VANOC think alike in terms of who Canadians want to be involved.

Some official photos have been uploaded VANOC already. And if you missed it or just don't like the talking commentators, ParalympicSport.tv has a stream of the official IPC broadcast feed. Go Internet!

Everyone in Canada was Watching the Olympic Men's Gold Medal Game - Here's Proof!

The water utility in Edmonton, EPCOR, published the most incredible graph of water consumption last week. By now you’ve probably heard that up to 80% of Canadians were watching last Sunday’s gold medal Olympic hockey game. So I guess it stands to reason that they’d all go pee between periods.
But still—the degree to which the water consumption matches with the key breaks in the hockey game is stunning.

EPCOR regularly tracks water consumption during major sporting events, and saw a similar milestone pattern in the 2006 Stanley Cup final with the Edmonton Oilers, Mr. Gibbs says.

Similar surges were seen across the country during Vancouver's Olympic Men's gold medal hockey game. Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator reported a 300 megawatt increase in power use just before the game started as people fired up their TVs.

I'd be really interested to see Vancouver's consumption from Metro Vancouver and BC Hydro.  But the real question is: what would have happened if they all flushed at once?

Courtesy: Pat's Papers & Globe & Mail

Study: traffic jam with no cause ... except the drivers.

As a non-driver living in the urban lifestyle in the concrete jungle, traffic always interests me.  NewScientist has a short video on a study performed in Japan that looks at the cause of traffic jams that seemingly have no cause.  The study proves that there is indeed a cause, but it's not an accident; it's a result of the drivers simply driving.



The lesson: There is no traffic jam and yet you ARE the traffic jam.   ooOOoo!

Experiencing Selves vs. Remembering Selves from TED.com

OK, this is cool.

How does one measure happiness? (no, I don't mean Happyness, although that was a good movie).  In the embedded TEDtalk below, Nobel laureate and founder of behavioural economics Daniel Kahneman reveals how our "experiencing selves" and "remembering selves" perceive happiness differently.  This new insight has profound implications for economics, public policy and our own self-awareness.

[ted id=779]

Interesting eh? I found the final example to be most interesting.  Specifically the results of the Gallop poll which looked at the correlation between happiness and financial income.  The result was that, in the USA, a threshold of $60,000.00 exists.  Below $60,000.00 income is highly correlated to happiness, but beyond that value, it's flat.  BUT that only holds true for the experiencing self.  The remembering self likes money, and wants to have lots of it.

So, to quote Daniel:

Below 60,000 dollars a year, people are unhappy, and they get progressively unhappier the poorer thy get.  Above that, we get an absolutely flat line.  I mean I've rarely seen lines so flat.  Clearly what is happening is money does not buy you experiential happiness, but lack of money certainly buys you misery, and we can measure that misery very, very clearly.  In terms of the other self, the remembering self, you get a different story.  The more money you earn the more satisfied you are.  That does not hold for emotions.

So then the question becomes, how can I get $60,000 to experience right now?!  :P