The Late Night Report: Paper Clip to House in 14 Trades,The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming & Ted Steven's doesnt' know anything

Man Trades Paperclip for House in 14 Trades
A Montreal man who decided he wanted a house but didn't have the pocketbook do buy it has made his dream come true. Kyle Macdonald of Montreal, has been offered a two storey farm house for a paid role in Corbin Bernsen's Dona on Demand. McDonald who started out with a large red paper clip traded it for these items Paper Clip, Fish Pen, Handmade Doorknob,Camp Stove, Marine Statue, and a 100 Watt Generator. McDonald worked his way up to a paid movie role when he was offered a two storey farmhouse in the town of Kipling Sask. Kipling is going to hold a competetion for the movie role. In comparsion I had a person, who at last check had a Discman for a paperclip, so you never know, this could become the next fad.
Russia given green light to send in Commando's
Russia's parliment gave President Vladamir Putin the green light to send commado's after terrorists around the globe. The russian parliment approved the measure unanimously. The measure was introduced by Putin after five Russian diplomats where killed in Iraq. The bill gives the Russian President (in this case Putin) the authority to dispatch a special forces team to track down and in Putin's world "eliminate" the terrorist threat. A special forces team from the GRU (military intelligence) is expected to be waiting in the wings to pursue the terrorists in Iraq.
Putin is often criticized for his roleback of democratic freedoms in order to furthur his power. In 2004 two Chechen rebel envoys where killed in a suicide car bomb blast in Qatar. Then men involved where accused of being GRU agents. Moscow denied the charge at first, but admitted it later.
U.S. President George W. Bush has said that the main topic of discussion at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg will be expanding democratic freedoms in Russia. "I don't necessarily agree with every decision he's made about what's happening inside of Russia, but it's very important for me to keep a good personal relationship with him so I can have good, candid discussions," Bush said.
Personally, I don't believe that the discussions will yield any results, considering the fact that Russia has sacrificed democratic freedoms for political power since the berlin wall fell! Take the example of Checnya. The Russians are fighting for a little piece of land and have deprived the Chechan people of freedoms for years! The words of Bush are hollow and are only to put the issue to rest so he can move on with "more important issues" (i.e. Approval Ratings, the Sothern Border etc.)
EDITORIAL: Why Ted Stevens should not be a Senator
Now I know that I'm not American, but seriously guys, some of your Politicans do not know what they're taking about. Take Ted Stevens for example. One of the oldest Senators, he is the author of a large telecommunicans bill that is about to go to vote in the full senate. However he has no frigin idea what he's taking about! He described the internet as a "series of tubes" and saying "the internet was sent to my staff". The moron doesn't even know what he's talking about! Why is he chair of the telecommunications comittee? Get someone who actully knows what he's taking about in there! For pete's sake please! We need to make sure Net neutrality passes through the Senate so that companies will not be biased in the way they provide us with internet connections! Although this is unlikely to effect me here in Canada, I am still concerned about it however.
There is one more way we could save net neutrality. Pesident Bush could refuse to sign the bill into law and use what is reffered to as a pocket Veto. He would not sign the bill and not return it to congress within the 10 day period. This however, is unlikely and the bill will most likely become law with the next few weeks.

Fair Warning

This Post is fair warning that I will not posting on this Blog from July 10-July 15. I will be participating in the Tidal Impact Youth Conference here in Halifax. It will consume most of my time over the next 5-7 days so I will not have time to check my Email, Blog, IM etc. I have posted The Late Night Report post tonight earlier tonight at around 11 p.m. local time, other than that, don't expect any posts for the next week or so. Once I get back, I'll have plenty of free time, so expect a few more posts than usual. Oh and I got a compliant the today from a Random Person (You know who you are.) that she couldn't comment. Comments are now allowed from annoymous sources. Until next Time,
Nathaniel

The Late Night Report:The New Dell Case, Remember 7/7 & Liberal's criticize PM's visit to Washington

Dell Releases New Concept Case for Next Generation PC

Dell has released a concept sketch of it's next generation PC. And to say the least....it will be interesting. For a fair comparison, I will use my (current, soon to be replaced) Dell Demension 4400. It's your regular "tower" conncept with optical drives in in the sides most likely either facing vertical or horizontal. At this point many of the hardware aspects of the next generation PC are unclear, however speculation points a Core Duo 2 chipset with ATI graphics. However there is another possiblity: AMD chips. Dell recently purchased a million chips from AMD and that number could rise in the coming months. The system itself looks like a stero system. It's a log shape with the Dell Logo tattoed dead center and numerous what look like expanion slots on going outward from the center. In front on the left there looks to be an all-in-one controller for audio and system settings etc. Dell has not realeased any additional information as of yet concerning hardware configurations or a tentative switchover plan to the new concept.
Remembering 7/7
One year after the deadly bombings in the London that killed 56 people and injured more than 700, the British people are calling for a public inquiry into the bombings. 56 people where killed when 4 bombs where detonated during the morning lunch hour. Three of them where on three trains on the London underground and the other on a double decker bus. The first images appeared where not those of major media networks but images taken by survivors on cell phone camera's. The bombings have traced back to groups linked to Osama Bin Laden's Al Qadea terrorist network. Calls for a public inquiry into the bombings have, so far, been ignored by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Various plaques have been unveiled King's Cross, Russell Square, Edgware Road, Aldgate and Tavistock Square. Hopefully Canada will not be the next target of such agression by these seriously misguided indivduals.
Liberal Leader Criticizes PM's Washinton Visit
Interm Liberal Leader Bill Graham critized Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to Washington saying "Suddenly everyone's jumping "Suddenly everyone's jumping up and saying this is a much more cordial relationship because the president referred to the prime minister as 'Steve,' " Graham said. "Well, my recollection is he referred to [former] prime minister Paul Martin as 'Paul,' too." As far as I can tell all Mr. Former Defence Minister/Mr. Interm Liberal Leader is bitching because he didn't get his cabinet post back in the last election. Another former cabinet minister, Scott Brison, called the Federal Budget back in March "Pretty thin Gruel" All I see is bunch of former cabinet minsters sooking over the fact they're not used to being on the other side of the house. Graham, a formerdefence and foreign affairs minister, was appointed Interim liberal leader after Paul Martin resigned in January. Instead of honest critics all I see is a bunch of bimbo's who are thinking "We should have done that and gotten all the credit for it". Therin lies the difference between the Liberals and Consevatives. When the consevatives came into office, they actually wanted to change the system. All is see here is a bunch of sockies.

New Dell Concept PC unvieled

A concept sketch of the next generation of Dell's PC's has been unvield. While Hardware specs have yet to release speculation points to an Intel Core Duo 2/ATI Processor chipset. I'm finished the Late Night Report Post and It'll be out in a few hours.
Nate

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The Late Night Report: Microsoft to Support Open Document, Calderon Wins the vote by a Razor thin Margin & And Arar still fears for his life

Microsoft to Support Open Office Files
Microsoft has bowed to pressure from numerous goverments and will support the .odt or Open Office format used by the open source productivity suite of the same name. The decesion is an about face for the Redmond based sotware giant who initally stated that it would not support Open XML file format's. However under considerable pressure from numerous European goverments, Microsoft will now support the file format through a plug in to it's soon to be released Office 2007 productivity suite. Who knows? Within the next few years, Microsoft might even open up the source code to Office.
Calderon Wins Mexican Presidential Vote by Slim Majority:Election Official
Andres Calderon has won the Mexican presidential election by the slimist of margins, 0.6%. The leftist candidate in the tightly contested race, Canderon cliamed victory over his rival, Lopez Obrador of the rightest Democratic Revolutionary Party. The vote has been going around the clock since Wednesday night when the Electoral commision ordered a review of the results. Obrador says he will appeal the decision to the Federal Electoral Tribunal. If he decides to fight the decesion (which he said he will do) the tribunal will review the vote once more and decide on a winner in November. The new President takes Office in Decemeber.
Arar still fears for Life
Mahar Arar, the man from Ottawa deported to his native Syria on a stopover at JFK International Airport in 2002. Arar, a computer Engineer from Ottawa was deported to Syria by U.S. officials in 2002. A public inquiry has since taken place and the final report is due on it September. ""Is my name on a list?" Arar asked in the interview with the Globe and Mail. "If so, what kind? Who put my name on the list? And how to I get my name off?" Arriving on a domestic flight from Edmonton to Montreal he had difficulty using an electronic terminal, the Air Canada employee had trouble finding his name on the reservation list and his boarding past was marked S-S-S-S (Selected for Secondary Security Screening)

The Late Night Report: Israel Rolls into Gaza, Future Ipod Designs & Men who vandalized War Memorial Identified

This is the start of a late night report serious that will run hopefully each night throughout the summer. I will select on headline from International, Technology and Canadian News each. Sometomes I will not be able to make the deadline, so my apologies in advance. Here are tonight's headlines.
Israeli tank squadron rolls into nothern Gaza
A small tank squadron of the Israeli amry has rolled into northern Gaza, supposedly to A) Search and destroy Hamas and B) Rescue Cpl. Galid Shalit who is being held by Militants at an unkwown location within Gaza. The location itself will not remain secret for long, however. Israel maintains one of the most comprehensive and top notch intelligence networks in the world and it is only a matter of time before Mossad discovers where Shalit is being held. It is unclear how extensive the Israeli offensive will be, however it is clear it will be far reaching.
Future Ipod Designs Pattented in Europe
Apple Insider has learned that Apple Computer has patented several potential designs on new Ipods, iPhones and Ipod Nano's. Several of the designs remain unclear however. They could be unveiled in the coming months or years. With pure Speculation, this could be part of the "Ultra-Portable" being rumored to be under development by Apple. The rumored release date is January 2007 at the Macworld Conference and Expo. The other designs refer to the the widescreen Ipod video rumored to come out at the end of the year as well as second generation Nano's.
Men who Urinated on War Memorial Indenified, Charges to be Laid
Police claim they have identified all the men in the photo's urinating on the war memorial in Ottawa. Police have assured Major Micheal Pilon (Ret'd) that charges will be laid. Pilon says he spotted revellers pouring beer on the site last year but didn't have any evidence to back it up. This time he has pictures to prove it. Meanwhile Ottawa MP David Mcguinty has called for new punishments for desicrating War Memorials. Prime Minister Steven Harper, speaking at an Ottawa radio station called it"thoughtless," but "it doesn't represent the views of any segment of Canadian society, we all strongly honour our vets." Veterans Groups are calling for better security around the memorial.
I hope you enjoyed the first installment of the Late Night Report. I will post one every night that I can throughout the summer.

OS X Leopard on Ipod?

According to Engadget, someone has modded the Ipod for wireless internet as well as well as tablet-like capabilities. Is this the Ultra Portable that has been rumored by Think Secret and Apple Insider? Or is it the new version of the Ipod interface? We'll find out soon enough. If it doesn't appear at Apple's WWDC tradeshow this August, it will later in the fall where Apple usually announces upgrades to iTunes and Ipod.
Hopefully, this isn't I hoax,
Until Later,
Nate

Japanese Perfecting device that records smells

Neowin reports that Japanese scientests are working on a device (called an "odour recorder") that records smells for later playback.

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The Almost Superman

Ever gone to a movie that you had a vauge idea what it was about but you whern't exactlly sure what it was about? I've gone to a few of those and that's what I went to tonight. I went to see the crittically acclaimed Superman Returns directed by Bryan Singer. I went into the movie thinking that "Oh this is going to be really good, I'm going to love this". However I came out of the Theatre slightly disappointed, for a number of reasons.
[Warning Spoiler Alert]

The Plot itself: It seems kind of silly really, having Lex Luthor, the Genius of Geniuses, come up with an almost cartoonish idea of creating an island for people to live on. That along with the fact that the movie leaves more questions unanswered than not, leaves me hesitant to give it the thumbsup. How did Lex Luthor find the location of the Fortress of Solitude? What happens to the control crystals when the island is destroyed? What will happen to Richard? Will he disappear? Will Lois and Superman be together again? This movie leaves many questions unanswered than answered.

The Villian: Kevin Spacey, I have no doubt, is a fabulous actor. But's he is a horrible Lex Luthor. He made Lex seem almost as much of a clown as a villian. Spacey potrayed him in such a way as too make it seem to give Luthor no respect.  In contrast with villians like Green Goblin and Magneto, you grow to have a respect for there genius and cunning. Not with Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor. If they intend to make another Superman film, I suggest they replace Kevin Spacey. You'd think that someone like Byran Singer could come up with a stronger plot than a villian who is going to sell real estate.

The Boy: And What are they going to do about Jason? Richard has no idea that Superman is the father, nor does he have any idea of the power he possses. If and when they do write a second plot for a second Superman movie. Will Jason's powers develop to the extent of his fathers? Will he abuse his power? Will Lois and Superman ever be together again?

The Good
The Soundtrack by John Ottman
The Cimemtography
The Special Effects
Brandon Roth as Superman

The Bad
The Plot- It wasn't thought out enough
Kevin Spacey- He needs to be replaced
All the Questions: What happened to the cyrstals from the Fortress of Solitude? What will happen to Richard etc.

My Rating: 7.5/10 Good But Not great
If Bryan Singer wants to do another Superman go ahead, but change a few things first.
Well that's my take,
Respectfully I remain,
Nathaniel C. Rand



   

Into the Lion's Den

They say that the first job is the hardest. Well I'm finding that getting the first my first job is the hardest. I've been to all the major employers around my home (Blockbuster, Rogers Video, Sobey's, Superstore, Dairy Queen, Wal-Mart A&W) and I havn't got a job yet! Well that could change tomorrow. I went a job fair last week that Staples was running. I went through 3 interviews with 3 different managers in the space of an hour. They told me that I should recieve a call in the next week with a time for a 4th interview. So I waited and today while I was out picking berries the call came. I was told by Mom to call my contact back at Staples. I did and they said that I would be interviewed for the final time on Tuesday at 4. So if I get the Job will depend on the interview tomorrow. Into the Lion's Den I march. Wish me luck!
Respectfully, I remain,
Nathaniel C. Rand 

Blog this Blog that Blog Blogger this That

Well I'm switching over from MSN spaces to Blogger, for reasons that are numerous but I perfer not to go into detail here. I hope that Blogger will acomodate all my needs and, knowing Google it will.
Anyway, I'll post something of intrest later,
Nate