Category: News Item

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It’s been flagged. It’s been in the bathroom.

iCartaThis is going a little bit too far. The iCarta lets you take your iPod into the bathroom with you. Why and for what reason? Because you can? But do you want to? I mean, I thought the click wheel on my mini got kind of filthy from my sweaty hands making mid-run adjustments, but this takes things to a whole new level.

The four external speakers are not the only cool feature of this “accessory”. It comes with two USB ports and charges your iPod while you… um… wait? It’s also waterproof and requires AC power.

Oddly enough, there is this news story coming out of Santa Clara, CA.

A pink iPod Mini, just four inches long, caused a huge headache for maintenance workers at the Santa Clara University for the last few months.

A female student accidentally dropped the iPod in the toilet.

It got stuck in a way that maintenance crews could not get it out. They told NBC11 News they first tried to break the iPod into pieces, but that failed. One maintenance worker called the device “indestructible”.

In order to get the iPod out from under that building, crews simultaneously flushed as many toilets as they could and they turned on every sink. That caused a water surge which pushed the iPod into a larger more accessible pipe.

It cost the university $1,000 a week to fix this problem. It took months.  [nbc11]

Something to make a mental note of when mounting your iCarta.

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The Bill Gates bomb just went off

Suddenly the richest man in the world wants to step down from his throne at Microsoft and the world erupts in a gasp. That might be overkill to say, but checking my RSS feeds yesterday and today, news of Bill Gates departure[googlenews] by 2008 was the headline all over the place.

Taking billions from his empire and applying his efforts towards his foundation is a very respectable move. I could say something about this being good for his company, but I won’t. It’s about time some one with influential power did something good for the world, and PC operating systems won’t solve those problems.

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They are pushing for the ban in Iowa as well

The amendment to ban gay marriage in the U.S. is not limited to the federal level. States around the nation are taking on the issue, and Iowa is included.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle[wiki] says banning gay marriage is a “quality of life” issue. Nussle, who is leaving congress after serving 16 years in the House, supports amendments to the federal and state constitutions that would ban gay marriage. “I’m an original co-sponsor of the amendment to protect marriage at a federal level. It was just re-introduced and I’m an original co-sponsor of that as well and I believe Iowa needs to set a standard when it comes to quality of life, and that’s based on the union between a man and a woman,” Nussle says.

Nussle says “activist judges” are “out of control” and have “free-lanced” on cases which have set in motion a fight over whether gay and lesbian couples have the same rights as married men and women. “I believe there’s a clear difference in this election between the candidates on this issue,” Nussle says. [radioiowa]

I’ve always had it in my mind that, aside from the idea of seperation of church and state, the government should always make laws regardless of sex or race. More often than none, much of those laws that have been created revolve around crime. People want the right to celebrate their love through marriage, regardless of their sexual orientation.

It’s all a matter of governments officially recognizing the union of a same-sex marriage, but there is also a slight stigma that conveys a sense of it being against the law for homosexuals to be in love, in the eyes of the state. We struggled with similar notions, such as apartheid, in the past. All humans deserve the respect and ability of being treated as equals.

I know who I don’t want for “guber” this fall back in my home state, but don’t think you can escape to Canada where gay marriage is llegal today. Prime Minister Harper[wiki] is pushing for a vote to repeal the law this fall. Conservative mindsets are noticeably on the rise in North America.

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Always wear sunscreen

You always hear that sunbathing can be dangerous to your health, but this is pushing it.  She was just a woman catching some rays while in California for her son’s wedding, all the way from Souix City, Iowa.

OXNARD, California (AP) — Two police officers patrolling a beach in an SUV on Monday ran over and killed a sunbather, authorities said.

The officers did not immediately realize they ran over the woman and continued driving, police Cmdr. Tom Chronister said in a statement.

The officers, who were not immediately identified, had stopped on a small berm of sand to watch a swimmer who they believed to be in distress. When they saw the swimmer was fine, they drove over the berm and apparently over the woman’s head, authorities said. [cnn]

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The plan for building a southern fence

The immigration bill passed the U.S. Senate with funding approved to “strengthen” the border with Mexico, but that made me curious about the plans for this new fence. So often you hear about the massive funding approved for some government project, but the specific details are difficult to find. Interviews with politicians in Washington give some insight, but not a whole lot. Saying exactly where or what tends to affect the bidding for the contract for whatever company takes on the task, but the lowest bidder always wins.

The details I’m looking for come from the interest group pushing hard for this reform. WeNeedAFence.com offers their opinion on what the border should be, either in its entirety or along “strategic points” along the boundry to Mexico. Barbed wire, ditches, motion sensors, and double fences. It’s the dream setup for any militaristic entity wanting to promote a “you’re not wanted here” message.

The message this promotes is unhealthy. Illegal immigrants are a problem, but the problem won’t go away that easily. It’s never been proven that gaps in the southern border has directly led to terrorism, and you might recall news story prior to 9/11 when a man tried entering Washington State from Canada with bomb making materials.

The same interest group makes a comparison of the U.S. situation with terrorism to Isreal’s.

A secure, state-of-the-art border fence must be one element of any comprehensive effort to address the illegal immigration problem. Similar fences in Israel have reduced terrorist attacks by up to 95%. [weneedafence]

If that’s true, and there was, very recently, a sizable terrorist plot broken up in Ontario[news.google], located much closer to Washington D.C., shouldn’t there be as much concern for Canada? Our biggest trade partners? That might impede on both of our economies though, so that would be potentially damaging. More, visible terrorists plots to the north, but more economical effects coming for the south. The money is always the winner.

Here’s an idea. Create stiffer penalities for employing illegal immigrants and follow up on them. And by that I mean fines. Then you can take the millions that you don’t blow on building a fence combined with the cash you make on actually enforcing laws to pay off the debt for the war in Iraq. Even that idea has holes, but it makes a whole lot more sense than a big “do not enter” sign.

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Luring In Illegal Immigrants Via Email

News coming out of Iowa.

When a lawyer for Estephanie Izaquirre, a parentless teenager from Honduras, received an e-mail from an immigration official in Des Moines saying the girl should come downtown and “complete the paperwork” Thursday, he thought that meant she was about to get her green card.

Instead, a deportation officer arrested Izaquirre, five days after she graduated from East High School in Des Moines.  [desmoinesregister.com]

Both sides of the issue present arguments that are understandable, but the fact is that this girl is fresh from graduating high school.  That is hardly a  high crime compared to some of the other immigrants staying in the U.S. illegally.  More so, “at age 17 (she) was granted special immigrant juvenile status as an abandoned, abused child with nowhere else to go.”  She moved beyond that status and became illegal when turning eighteen.  I would like to think that immigration officials would consider that history prior to arresting her just a few days after her eighteenth birthday, having it translate over to an approved status as an adult.

The more you consider all the elements of this situation, the less it seems to make sense.  Immigration being the hot topic in the news right now, authorities are doing everything they can to show that they are doing their job.  This might be evidence that they are doing too much in certain areas.  Lori Chasser has it right by saying, “What are we going after juveniles for? I mean, can’t we concentrate on drug traffickers and human traffickers? I don’t understand where we’re going with this enforcement.”

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Give Indonesia A Break

The tsunami, bird flu, earthquake, volcano, mudslide, and another earthquake. Those are just a few of the headlines that have come out of Indonesia over the past year or two. Isn’t it amazing that a country can experience so much turmoil and yet the rest of the world casually goes about its business without too much concern? There are some relief efforts on the way, but the people there are living on the edge. [google news: indonesia disasters]

This isn’t war or politically related strife. It’s mother earth unleashing its fury upon the people who live there. It’s astounding, and the human will to push on is amazing. People regroup, recover, and move on. It’s not easy, but I have nothing but respect for the people living there.

Could you imagine this happening elsewhere in the world? Is anyone leading massive, fund raising efforts to help Indonesia rebuild? Is anyone writing horrible country songs or over hyped pop songs about it?

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Don’t You Want To Be an Immigrant, Too?

Border line in the road.One thing Rebecca has been asking me lately is about the southern border of the U.S. She asked, kind of laughing in doubt, if there are just these holes in the fences where people walk through from Mexico into the southern states. I tell her yes, that’s exactly it. The holes are not huge, but it’s not unusual to have people just wandering into, and out of, the U.S. It’s probably gotten tougher over the past few years, but these things happen.

It’s so strange to think about this issue being where I am now. I’m currently an immigrant to Canada. And let me tell you, even being an American, getting into this country to legally stay is not an easy task. You might think so, but as I was told many times, it’s easier to get a permanent resident status if you are a refugee from a third world country than it is for an American.

It might be easy to get to Canada and stay here without making yourself legal, but you wouldn’t be able to apply for provincial programs or a social insurance number. I do hear that there is some money to be made in the business of illegal drugs, but there seems to be a high risk factor in that industry for some reason. If you’re lucky enough to not be deported after that, then you have a ticket to reside in the crown’s wonderful prison system with no chance of getting any residential status here. Doesn’t that sound lovely? Continue reading “Don’t You Want To Be an Immigrant, Too?”

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High Crime for High Gas Prices

There has been a couple of crimes lately involving people attempting to steal gasoline around the lower mainland. One was a total gas and dash on the edge of Surrey, almost into Delta. That station attendent was sent to the hospital and the suspect is yet to be found. Of course, this comes on the heels of another incident last year where the attendent was dragged to death trying to stop another person pulling a gas and dash.

Last night was a theft that you would only hear about in the movies. $2,200 worth of diesel lifted from an underground tank in the middle of the night. They are saying that a theft of that porportion would need a 5-10 ton truck just to haul the barrels of fuel away.

It’s incredible, but with gas prices making their way upwards, it’s like people are robbing banks. This could just be the beginning of a trend, and I’d like to not believe that.

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Iowa City is a Smart City

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has published their list of “50 Smart Places to Live” in the U.S. and listed Iowa City, IA at #10.

…we asked hundreds of you for the criteria you’d use to pick a place to call home. You told us you wanted good value in home prices and a reasonable cost of living — not surprising, considering that choosing a place to live is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll ever make — combined with a great quality of life. [article]

Iowa City was and still is my choice of places to live when it comes to my home state. The cost of living is getting to be a tad of the nutty side. Rent in the downtown area seems to go up almost every year even with new apartment complexes going up all over the city.

Compared to a lot of larger communities in Iowa, IC has a great arts and music scene for my taste. Rebecca and I were talking about it the other night. I’ll forever cherish my many nights of whiskey and live music at Gabes, but it’s not a place for the faint of heart. Still, there’s a lot more to it than that. I’ve thought to myself quite often that Vancouver is what Iowa City would be like on steroids.