NASA sends probe to Martian North Pole

Two scientists from Dalhousie University in Halifax will have an anxious years wait as their laser probe lifted off today from Cape Canaveral in Florida aboard a Delta II rocket destined for Mars. The Phoenix Mars Lander is expected to reach Mars next spring and is equipped to study the climate of the red planet's northern pole. Odds are not in their favor however, as only 1 in 3 missions to Mars is, historically, successful. Good luck gentlemen, I'm sure that the weather here in Atlantic Canada has prepared your equipment well for its destination! CBC News Story.

Some will pay just about any price for an iPhone in Canada

The Globe and Mail has the tale of two Canadian iPhone owners who were willing to pay largely for their iPhone's. One figures his first months bill will be $500 while the other spent an hour in lockup at the US - Canada border, lost his phones and has to pay another $400 in fines! Curb your enthusiasm folks, it will get here eventually.

Simpsons movie does not dissapoint

For the first time in a long while I was able to get everyone in my household to agree to a movie night out. Not that we don't like movies, it's just that we all have different tastes and we don't often find a movie that everyone wants to see. The Simpsons Movie was one of those rare shows that we all were itching to see, and from the moment it began until the last credit rolled we were all glued to the screen. If you are a fan, then you'll want to get off of the couch and experience The Simpsons Movie on the big screen, but don't give up and dash for the door when the credits start to roll because Matt Groening has hidden a few nuggets in there as well. I don't want to be a spoiler so I won't elaborate, you just don't want to miss it! Thanks for a great family night out Matt! D'oh, I also wanted to say I'll be picking up the DVD when it hits the shelf, we each noticed a few references to past episodes and I'm sure we missed more than we caught.

Allow me to translate

In my previous career I worked as a warehouseman / purchasing agent for a mining company. One of my duties was taking stock of consumables in the "shop" which included welding supplies like oxygen and accetaline. The welders would store the full tanks in one area, and the empties in another. On occasion I'd find tanks that were marked "M.T." (empty), since this was well before instant messaging, I have to assume that the welder who marked the tanks was either a bit of a joker or a little illiterate. Never the less, I think I know what happened to this guy...

He now works for the department of highways in Nunatsiavut! Thanks Jan!

Image copyright J. McKenna 2007

Black Hatter demonstrates webmail - Wi-Fi vulnerability

Here is a story from the BBC that comes from the current Black Hat conference in Las Vegas. According to the report, Robert Graham of Errata Security has developed tools that allow hackers to sniff traffic on public Wi-Fi networks and intercept cookies that an unsuspecting web-mail user may be passing from their laptop to their web-mail host. The information contained in the cookies could allow the hacker access to the user's web-mail or social networking site's account but would not likely allow them the ability to change passwords, as this often requires knowledge of the current password. To quote an 80's TV classic, "Let's be careful out there!"

Web jumps to life in wake of disaster

In the wake of the Minnesota 35W bridge collapse, the Internet is a wash in stories, photos and video of the disaster. The personal accounts of hundreds of individuals who's lives have been some how touched by the tragedy are being told through blogs, video, and photographs uploaded to flickr and other sharing sites. Wired blogger Joe Brown has a round up on his Autopia blog. A terrible tragedy that unfortunately is not without precedent, this calls into question the state of an aging North American highway infrastructure.

Microsoft testing the waters with free version of Works

The BBC is reporting that Microsoft, feeling the heat from rivals like Sun and Google, is going to offer an ad-supported free version of Works with the release of version 9 later this year. Works is the version that generally ships with PCs or is available for $39.99 US, and is comprised mostly of Word and Excel. Not bad for the consumer...

Time wasted or athletes in training?

On my commute to work this morning, the local FM station ran a story citing a study that suggested the typical office worker wastes over 2 hours of their 8 hour day. The studies authors suggested that surfing the web and socializing were the major time wasters. I think that faceball might be a contributing factor! Thanks to net@night episode 30 for this link, great show Amber and Leo!

Russia dives for oil, gas at the North Pole

A Russian scientific expedition to the north pole also has political and economic goals, with the Russians planning to deposit a flag at the bottom of the sea. The team hopes to prove that the Lomonosov Ridge, a 1,240-mile underwater mountain range that crosses the polar region, is a geologic extension of Russia, and therefore can be claimed under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Denmark also believes the ridge is an extension of their territory, while Canada seeks to maintain sovereignty over the region and is planning to invest $7 billion in a fleet of patrol vessels. The American government is also contemplating an investment in the Coast Guard's ice breaking fleet in order to protect it's interests. Looks like more than global warming is heating things up at the pole... let's hope that Megatron isn't disturbed by all the activity! CNN story here.

Gearing up to be your own IT help desk

c|net's "The Real Deal" episode 69 - "Be your own IT department" hosted by Tom Merrit and Rafe Needleman is a great listen if you are the tech go-to guy/gal on your block. I loved this episode for all of the software tools that are discussed. I hadn't considered creating a thumb drive tool box before, but this makes so much sense! Rather than trying to remember URLs, load up the flash memory with dozens of helpful utilities and be prepared for whatever that Windows machine throws at you. Tom and Rafe list dozens of apps that will help track down and fix whatever is ailing Granny's PC. Thanks guys, great episode!