I read this story a few days ago, and found it extremely sad. Hundreds of dead baby penguins have started washing up on distant shores. It is difficult to imagine what must have been going through the heads of Rio de Janeiro beachgoers in recent months as they have seen hundreds of baby penguins wash up onshore dead. At last count, more than 400 penguins, swept from the shores of Patagonia and Antarctica, have been found dead on Rio de Janeiro’s beaches, reports the AP’s Michael Astor. .. Erli Costa, a biologist at Federal University, has a different theory: He thinks rapidly fluctuating ...

I’ve always been a fan of the super-hero genre of films. Spiderman II was without a doubt my favourite of the bunch so far, mainly because of the character development and chemistry between Peter and Mary-Jane. While I have enjoyed the Batman series of films, I was never really that interested in the character. I think of all the versions, I like Michael Keaton’s version the best. Batman Begins was an interesting film, but I wasn’t entirely sold on the depiction of Batman by Christian Bale. Photo From Fox News I’ve seen The Dark Knight twice now, and I think it’s as close to perfection ...

Today I read an article about a unique solar powered community in Canada. The actual location of this community is Okotoks, Alberta. The residents there have created a solar array for their houses that manages to completely power 52 homes. The 52-home solar community has installed an array of solar panels on the roofs of their houses and garages. Glycol solution runs through an insulated piping system, or collector loop, that connects the array of solar panels. The solar panels absorb the solar energy during the daytime and heat the glycol solution. The glycol solution travels through the collector ...

So my friend Adrian is a really smart guy. I think he’s completed four or more years of post secondary education, and managed the entire IT department singlehandedly at my company. I put him up to a challenge to see how long it would take him to figure out how to get the case off my iPhone 3G. Here’s the end result. Only took him 43 seconds. Not bad. This entry was written for Blogathon 2008, and in support of the Union Gospel Mission charity. If you’d like to donate to the cause, please visit the blogathon donation page and fill out the form near the middle. You can also follow the blogathon ...

San Francisco is without a doubt one of my favourite cities in the world. It’s situated right on the Pacific Ocean, nestled snugly between Marin Country and Oakland. While Napa Valley is usually extremely hot, San Francisco boasts a fairly moderate climate, with sunshine occurring on most days of the year. In August, there’s going to be a WordCamp session down in San Francisco. Given that I’m a huge WordPress advocate, and that I love the Bay Area, I registered today and made the quick, impromptu decision to attend. Flights out of Vancouver are around $400, but are only around $250 return ...

A New Day Begins In Vancouver I took this photo at around 5am this morning. Watching the sun rise or the sun set is something I will never tire of. Seeing the orange-red glow stretch across the horizon always makes me think what a beautiful thing it is to be alive, and what an amazing part of the world I live in. There are some people who think sunsets are cliche, and that taking photos of them is a waste of time. But I think the complete opposite, and as long as I have a camera, there will always be a sunset or a sunrise worth taking a photo of. This entry was written for Blogathon 2008, and ...

Today is my father’s birthday. He has been spending the last few days on a great fishing trip adventure, flying around various parts of British Columbia with some friends and fishing. As I’ve pointed out before, my dad is not only my father, but also one of my good friends. We’ve had lots of great adventures together, and hopefully we’ll keep the tradition going. Given that we’re both so busy these days, it’s not very often we manage to get together and hang out. But that fact makes the time we do spend together that much more enjoyable. So on that note, I want to wish my dad an awesome ...

As most people know, both WordPress and Drupal belong to the class of software known as content management systems (CMS). The benefit of these systems is that they allow users to create content easily, often by typing in content via a dashboard or some other simple form of entry. The actual HTML generation is taken care of by the CMS, allowing the user to focus on creating content without worrying about the details of the HTML. I’ve had my personal blog for nearly ten years now, and have been on WordPress for nearly three. As I write content, there’s always the implicit expectation that my ...

Anyone who has attempted to design a website before knows that not all browsers are created equal. In terms of web development, a lot of my time goes into making a website work on Internet Explorer 6, since many people still used it even though it is hopeless broken with regards to being standards compliant. To help make browsers more compliant, several initiates have emerged over the last few years. The first is an effort by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) to have the source code for websites validate against W3C standards. While several exist, most developers attempt to conform to TRANSITIONAL ...

I’m not a big fan of flying, so whenever I hear a story about a plane breaking apart in mid-air, I get a bit worried. Today a Qantus 747 busted a hole in the fuselodge in mid-flight, causing the oxygen masks to come down and the pilots to execute an emergency landing. Passengers described hearing a loud bang and seeing debris fly into the cabin. As the plane depressurized, oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling and cabin crew members shouted to passengers to put them on. “There was a terrific boom and bits of wood and debris just flew forward” into the first-class area, a passenger, Dr. ...

Well, ladies and gents, we just passed the halfway mark over here. I have to say, writing 24 blog entries has turned out to be more difficult than I imagined. I managed to close my eyes for a few minutes there are recharge my batteries slightly, but I’m currently in this weird groggy limbo that is making it hard to write anything. For those of you arriving here on the day shift, welcome. Please browse the pages and visit all 24 entries so far. As you know, I am doing this 24 blogging marathon to support the Union Gospel Mission. If you are a reader and wouldn’t mind supporting their cause, ...

The following is a guest post by the always lovely Shira Lazar. Shira is an amazing reporter based out of Los Angeles, and was nice enough to offer to help me out with a guest posting. You can read more about Shira Lazar on her main site, or head on over and check out her blog, The Pop Report. Thanks again Shira! After a few hours of sleep, I’m back and ready to rumble in San Fran. My fellow Canuck and blogger, Duane Storey, has been doing a 24-hour blogathon for charity starting last night at 10pm and has been getting friends to do guest entries- so here’s my contribution. Last night at ...

Oh, is that right? You mean making crappy vehicles for years and years, and then basically ignoring the whole gas problem might put your company in jeopardy? I guess Ford should have turned the suck-knob down a few notches over the last few years, because apparently they just posted their worst quarter ever. Old Ford Truck, Photo By Steven Eret On Flickr That’s not to say I don’t have friends with Ford vehicles, and the stuff they have seem fairly decent. But compared to vehicles imported from Japan or Europe, North American cars are just built to lower standards. American auto companies ...

Well, I imagine by now many of the early morning shift people are in full swing. It seems like so long ago I wrote my first entry, and here I am at number 28. It sure is getting difficult finding content on short notice, but I’m managing to stay ahead of the curve somehow. My Blogathon Setup Rebecca did a quick tally on her blog, and I think between all the participants we are up to around $500 so far. That number doesn’t include people who have gone directly to their charity’s website and donated directly, so ultimately the number will be a bit higher. In terms of people on this blog, ...

If you pledge between now and 10pm tonight, I’ll feature your name on the top of the next blog post. So please head on over to pledge, and then drop me an email or a comment. Help me reach my goal of $1000, and support the Union Gospel Mission. Sometime last night, while in the middle of a weird, sleep-deprived trance, I blogged about a community in Canada that recently converted to solar power. To show that our American friends down south can be innovative and green as well, I want to talk about another community that has recently embraced the wind. Wind Turbines, Photo From here In Rock Port, ...

Blogathon is a team effort, and as such, I’m happy to be blogging along side of some of Vancouver’s best bloggers. So, here are some shouts to some of my fellow bloggers participating in Blogathon, not all of who are on the sunshine shift tonight (but will be checking in at various times during the weekend): Tania Morrison (Ottawa), Raul, Shane Gibson, Karen Hamilton, Ayeza Garcia, Isabella Mori, Danny Dang, Mehnaz Thawer, Jenn Lowther/Nadia Nascimento, Barbara Doduk, Chris Richardson, and Colleen Vince. I had a little nap after work tonight hoping that it would give me a bit of extra leverage ...

Two more people have donated recently to the Union Gospel Mission. They are: - Kevin Haggerty Grant Jordan Thanks for your support. If anyone else pledges before my next entry, drop a comment or an email and I’ll make sure I add your name. I don’t have the exact number, but I think that brings us close to $300, with a goal of $1000. So if you can help us hit that goal, please head on over to the pledge page and lend some support. To sweeten the deal, I’ll give any person who donates $50 or more to the Union Gospel Mission an 8×12 photo of your choosing from my HDR gallery located at SmugMug. One ...

The following is guest post by my good friend, Keira Mellis, who happens to have a really amazing blog herself over at Keira-Anne.com. Also, we’ve received another donation, one that’s eligible for my free photo giveaway. Here’s a list of recent donations. Michelle Palazzo YOU – if you click here and pledge Also, to sweeten the deal, any person who donates $50 or more to the Union Gospel Mission will receive a free 8×12 photo of their choosing from my HDR gallery located at SmugMug. Since it’s rather apparent that our blogalicious friend, Duane, has such a deep love for the spirit ...

As you well know by now, I am supporting the Union Gospel Mission for Blogathon. The Union Gospel Mission provides assistance to the homeless people in Vancouver, and those who are in the most need. At last count, this blog has raised at least $320 or so towards the charity, and I’m hoping to bring it closer to $1000 as the event continues. As I mentioned in my last two posts, anyone that donates at least $50 to the United Gospel Mission will receive a free 8×12 print from my HDR gallery. It can be a permanent reminder for you of the contribution you made to help some of the less fortunate ...

The Tyee had an interesting piece last year where they detailed seven different ways the city could potentially help the homeless. These seven items apparently were based on real-world examples of efforts in other cities that ultimately helped. I encourage everyone to head over to The Tyee and read the original article, but I’ll give a short list here. Idea One: Trade Fairs for the Homeless Idea Two: Raise the Welfare Rates Idea Three: Train Young Workers Idea Four: Spread the Love Around Idea Five: Buy a Few Hotel Idea Six: Give Addicts Time to Heal Idea Seven: Bring Governments Together The ...