Landing at Kennedy Airport from Hong Kong was, as I’ve argued before, like going from the Jetsons to the Flintstones.

He is referring, of course, to [...]]]> New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman calls on the US to re-evaluate its technological priorities in a great op-ed on December 23^rd entitled “Time to reboot America.” From the article:

Landing at Kennedy Airport from Hong Kong was, as I’ve argued before, like going from the Jetsons to the Flintstones.

He is referring, of course, to the night and day difference between the facilities offered by North American airports and their Asian or European counterparts. Friedman attributes this differences to America’s habit of

… diverting and rewarding the best of our collective I.Q. to people doing financial engineering rather than real engineering. These rocket scientists and engineers were designing complex financial instruments to make money out of money — rather than designing cars, phones, computers, teaching tools, Internet programs and medical equipment that could improve the lives and productivity of millions.

He goes on to say “…we don’t just need a bailout. We need a reboot. We need a build out. We need a buildup. We need a national makeover.”

While his article is directed at the US, I would say it applies to Canada as well. The down right ridiculous and made up fees we are charged on our cell phone contracts are reason enough to demand a reevaluation of the whole system. Not to mention the stunts Rogers pulled and is still pulling with the iPhone and B(H)ell Canada’s internet throttling.

Other Articles

“Time to reboot America”
It’s time to nuke the FCC

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The Torontoist, is running a series entitled Metrocide, taking a look at statistics and how the city’s homicide rate has changed over the years. Today’s entry, Metrocide: A History of Violence begins [...]]]> In light of this past weekend’s murders, the area of focus for Toronto based news outlets (papers, blogs, etc.) is on homicides.

The Torontoist, is running a series entitled Metrocide, taking a look at statistics and how the city’s homicide rate has changed over the years. Today’s entry, Metrocide: A History of Violence begins with

1981 was the first year for Canada’s Wonderland and NOW, the year of the Toronto bathhouse raids, and the year that Terry Fox died. That year, Toronto the (still) Good had 40 less homicides than there were in 2007—and the second-highest homicide rate of any year since.

The Toronto Star has a more somber look at murders committed between 2005 and now. Taking advantage of Google maps, it plots each murder on a map of the GTA complete with the victim’s names and other details about the homicide. The map is sortable by year, age, gender and type (as in shooting or non-shooting).

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As you can see, a gallon of Visine (3.78541178 litres for those of you of the non-imperial persuasion) costs $1,021. That’s $269.72 per litre (CAD270.40). No one better invent the car that runs on Visine!

[From The Consumerist]

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As you can see, a gallon of Visine (3.78541178 litres for those of you of the non-imperial persuasion) costs $1,021. That’s $269.72 per litre (CAD270.40). No one better invent the car that runs on Visine!

[From The Consumerist]

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The reader who suggested it did just that [...]]]> An idea so crazy it actually sounds fun. Photojojo, a site dedicated to photography tips an tricks has a great suggestion from a reader for a photography project: “Tie a disposable camera to [a bench], leave it there for a day, then come back and develop the pictures.”

The reader who suggested it did just that and left a note saying:

Good afternoon,
I attached this camera to the bench so you could take pictures. Seriously. So have fun. I’ll be back later this evening to pick it up.
Love, Jay

He got some interesting results.

Technorati Tags: photography, photojojo,

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Among the other contenders:

We’ll have to wait and see who takes home the prize!

See the brackets after the jump.

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Posts [...]]]> Consumerist.com is once again running their Worst Company in America “contest.” The brackets have been seeded and the first battle will be between Comcast (throttling ISP) and Menu Foods.

Among the other contenders:

• Facebook
• Google
• Wal-Mart
• CNN
• eBay
• Toyota

We’ll have to wait and see who takes home the prize!

See the brackets after the jump.

Technorati Tags: Consumerist, Worst Company in America, consumerist.com

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Read the whole article for more explanations.

Posts that may be related:Six relationship tips from [...]]]> From Wisebread.com, 9 ways Star Wars can inspire you to save money:

1. They do their own maintenance and repairs.
2. They build things from scratch.
3. They find multiple uses for objects.
4. They share.
5. They recycle.
6. They barter.
7. They don’t give a hoot about costly fashions.
8. They protest.
9. They don’t need expensive entertainment.

Read the whole article for more explanations.

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