FYI: I was born Palestinian...

No, I am not. :)

Clevergirl reported on her blog about Laila.

When you're a Palestinian,

When home is the Gaza Strip,

When you're a journalist and have to travel,

When you're a mother, with two young kids in tow...

Intenational dirty politics that seem so remote, so immaterial...

Suddenly takes a very ugly face when people do suffer.

Sometimes I wonder about citizenship and its value, especially on a passport. Nor to mention the passport itself.

Not to mention wars...

Have we evolved so much from the cave men?

Mhhhh....

I know that my blog has little readership, but I figure that even symbolically, I have to spread the words. Read Laila's blog.

I still believe in human rights...

... and still naive to believe that we're smart enough to eventually make it happens.

Cheers,

-E

Captioned telephone...

Last February, I was in New York City for a weekend. To get some much needed respite from my caregiver duties and to see some blogfriends who I haven't seen in a long long time.

Anyhow, on a Saturday morning, I happened to watch TV and waiting for the weather forecast to come up. In the meantime, I saw ads for NY Relay.

To those not familiar, a traditional "relay" service is a way for deaf and hard of hearing people to communicate with the outside world, as well to receive calls. They have a device which goes to the phone. Pretty much a terminal, with a tiny screen and a keyboard. That device is called a TTY, or sometimes TDD (Telecom Device for the Deaf)

Incoming calls must go to a relay service, and the person talks voice with an operator. The operator in turn will call the other party, with the TTY. So, she will "relay" the voice conversion over the TTY device, and for the deaf person, she can type on the keyboard, which will be seen by the operator, which in turn will "relay" that text voice to the talking party.

There are variations of this. Such as IP Relay, which is the same idea, but over the internet, and there is also VRS (Video Relay Service) like Sorenson VRS which sadly is available *only* in the US, which, instead of relaying words, they relay *Sign Language* to spoken English. The video portion goes over the internet, and voice over traditional phone lines. I saw that in action, and I was absolutely floored! We should have that in Canada. Again, that's something our government doesn't see the need, but the the Americans do. (End of mini-rant here. :) )

But all these services operate the same basic way: If you want to reach a deaf / hard of hearing person, you have to call a special phone number *first*, in order to reach an operator. Ditto the other way around, for a deaf person to call an hearing person.

So I was genuinely curious at NY Relay's ad for... the Captioned Telephone (watch their video).

At first, I was thinking of voice recognition, which is a nightmare for computers to do, as anyone can notice that when calling some voice automated services like 411 directory assistance... with *very* varying success. :)

No, there's no voice recognition circuitry.

It's still a phone with a screen, and as the ad goes on, you dial *directly* the person you want to reach, as you would do with a normal call, and talk normally. Every word you say are captioned. I was wondering how.

This would be great for my dad who is almost completely deaf, and even for me, while I'm not deaf nor hard of hearing, but sounds do not translate well into "words" by my brain. Much like TV with closed-captioning was always on, I would love to listen to a conversation to get the gist of it, while reading the captioning on a screen.

I am also thinking of a few friends which this phone would be a wonderful gift. It would be great for them to call me directly and vice-versa. :) No more operators to dial in first!

There is a gotcha. Or even two, from a Canadian perspective.

The "Captioned Telephone" does two things. You call directly the other party so there's the convenience of a traditional phone call... but the phone also calls the relay service.

It shifts the paradigm of a relay service. The operator is no longer the person in the middle, relaying text to one side and voice the other side. The operator is set aside, and he just type everything that is heard on the line. In effect, this is the "closed captioning" like on TV, except that it's done over the phone.

I suspect there must be delays. First, you don't get an operator instantly, and throughout a lively conversation, I suspect the operator may fall behind, just like closed-captioning of live events, on TV. :)

The additional gotcha is that just like ip-relay, ditto for VRS, the "Captioned Telephone" works... only in the US, as always. So it's useless in Canada.

Anyway, there's a good idea. I wonder how it's going to evolve, over the time.

I suspect that at some point, phones will be equipped of voice recognition, which a keyboard could also be plugged in. Such an universal device would work every way possible, between deaf, hard of hearing and hearing people.

That said, if everyone knew Sign Language, the use of video would make the telephone obsolete. :)

Anyway, just sharing my joy of seeing technology helping people. In this case, to break the communication barrier. This is something that will always be of great interest to me (even more so here, since I have some vested interests, as a functionally hard of hearing person. :) )

Cheers!

-E

Internet on the go: I bite at the bait...

I bite at Fido's offer for "broadband internet" (so called 3G), 1Gig for $30 per month.

This is getting decent, and closer to what the Americans charge.

For the upcoming months, I'll be traveling once to twice per month. (Those who know me, I'm a caregiver to my parents, and I need a break. Since it takes so much planifications with our social services to have such breaks, the deal I've done with them is to set ahead of times all those breaks, so they'll be able to do my job while I'm away (and on top of what they _already_ do, which is _a lot_)

The good side is now I know all my vacations all the way to September. The bad side of course is that it's rigid. I can't change days easily. Oh well... )

If you have traveled a little bit... and like me you bring your laptop, you know there are less and less hotels offering *free* internet service. And when it's free, it's so lousy that you congratulate yourself for not paying for it.

Then, on trains (and even some buses) Wi-Fi internet is becoming available (at a cost, of course), and of course it's already there at all major airports. When you have to kill time, internet is great for that. :)

When you have to pay for your internet access, it seems that most providers in the US and Canada have come up with a standard price: Around $10 for 24 hours.

Then, Fido's $30/month for broadband service would pay for itself after 3 days of use per month. Which is likely to happen, in my case.

ANd for work, I need a backup access to the company's VPN. I'd love to ditch my land line and the antiquated 56k modem for that reason. That would be the other reason for giving a try.

First hurdle: Fido itself. My cellphone can also act as a cellular modem to my laptop. So I ask the $30/month data deal to be added to my voice cellphone service. After lenghty search, the sales' rep told me that my cellphone isn't eligible.

Huh ?

No, I need to buy or get for "free" if I sign a 2-year contract with Fido a USB key that acts as a cellular modem.

-Ma'am, my cellphone does *already* that. I carry already too much electronic devices with me when I travel, so why I need your USB thingy when my cellphone can do the same thing ?!?

The problem is with Rogers, (owners of Fido). In other words, they're doing just about every illogical things they could do. (For instance, we were the *last* industrialized country to have the iPhone in Canada, because Rogers has the monopoly on GSM in Canada, and they thought that the iPhone wasn't important and no one would buy it. This got Apple people fuming at Rogers.

The same could be said when Rogers bought Fido, the first thing they did, was to ditch the Sidekick (called Hip-Top in Canada), which was the iPhone's ancestor (and still an aptly competitor today), while in the US, T-Mobile were playing big on the Sidekick, and even developping niche markets, (like the deaf community) with special rates for them. (Affordable unlimited data-only rates). There were also many fascinating applets designed for deaf Sidekick users.

Phone makers and cellular carriers in the US saw the potential of mobile internet, while in Canada, they didn't even bother until... it was almost too late, having to upgrade their network as fast as they could to provide mobile internet.

So, to make a long story short, I got their USB stick. Mumble...mumble...mumble... End of rant. :)

On the photo, it's the "Novatel Wireless". They tout heavily that it is "installation free". The part that they don't tell you... You *must* be logged in with an administrator account. Hello ?!?

Since it's out of question that I do this, so yes I had to install the software and use the "run as" trick, so their software would run with admin power while I'm logged in as a regular user. It's clunky, but it works. The documentation is so skimpy that it is almost worthless.

Now the acid test. Mobile... internet. Since there's nothing more mobile than a train... I thought it would be a good test!

When 3G service is available (the light turns blue on the Novatel USB key), throughput is almost as good as broadband. There is a noticeable tiny delay, but web pages load up fairly quickly. Essentially, it's just as good as the broadband internet that you're used at home.

First gotcha: 3G data service is available in big cities. As the train leaves Montréal, 3G also leaves. 3G service is incredibly spotty on the Montréal-Toronto corridor. A glimpse in Cornwall, Kingston, Brockville, and of course, it gets rock solid when I arrived in Toronto.

Then there's "EDGE", which is the next best thing when 3G service isn't available. Think of a 56k modem... on a good day. :) It's a sharp drop in speed, but it is still tolerable. I didn't tune up my web browser, but I figure that using a large cache would help tremendously. So most of my trip were on EDGE service. Personally I didn't mind.

"GPRS". G as in Gasp!!! If I remember well the specs, it's the equivalent of a 9600 baud modem... when operating in ideal conditions, which almost never happen. Access to the internet is almost unusable. You must surf with graphics off, for instance.

To my surprise, I saw a couple of times my USB key flashing me that its data link with the network has downgraded to GPRS when we were deep in rural Ontario, with no city, town nor villages in sight. Ouch. That tells you how Rogers/Fido are serious about mobile internet.

A few dead spots too, but not all that noticeable. I was too busy typing text on forums and the like, so by the time I was ready to hit enter, I got again a useable signal. :)

So my experience of "mobile internet", in its true sense, going from point A to point B... if the bus or train offers onboard Wi-Fi access, it's likely to be superior over cellular service. You might want to pay for the extra bucks and save on frustrations.

I figure that if I were in the US, the Novatel USB key would shine. Here in Canada, and the poor state of Rogers' network, all in all, my impression is that the key did its best given the circumstance.

Now, at the hotel in Toronto, I stayed for 3 days. It would have cost me $30 for 3 days if I used their Wi-Fi service from my room. So I stay on cellular. 3G service was available of course, and it was rock solid and speedy the entire 3 days. I love it!

So, as a substitute for Wi-Fi / wired internet access when you're sitting still, say at your hotel room, airports, etc... and in you're in a big city with 3G service is available, that USB key really shines. I love it!!!

Another negative point agout Rogers/Fido: contrary to broadband providers at home (cable, satellite, telcos), they have no web page nor any program to run that would measure your internet usage.

For light usage (my case), there's no problem, but if you're using it regularly, even without downloading files, that 1Gig limit could be reached easily.

My Canadian 2-cent...

Ah technology... when you're a caregiver...

As some of you already know, I spend between 5 to 7 hours everyday at my parents' house. It's a labour of love yes... but it's a full-time job on top of my full-time paying job.

And there are just 24 hours in a day, and I have to get a few hours of sleep among a few things. You know, a few basic things.

I've been thinking this weekend, how technology, especially internet have made my life easier. To a point that it made possible to maintain my parents at their home, while things are working their slow way to relocate them to a nursing home.

Banking... no need to waste time at the bank. Over the internet, I pay all the bills, do fund transfers, etc. A few days ago, I've done my yearly contribution to my RRSP (Registered Retirement Saving Plan. Sort of our 401k here in Canada) in just a bunch of clicks. Total time: 5 minutes.

I am thinking that not too long ago, I would have wasted at least an hour or two to get physically at the bank and wait for my turn.

A few hours saved do not appear that much, but when you think of the basic things you have to do, when you have so little time for yourself, saving an hour here and there does make the difference... so I can be a caregiver... and have time for me.

Grocery? IGA accepts online orders. You can choose the store you want to order from and they will deliver to your door at the day and time you tell them to do. Imagine the time you normally spend at the grocery store. At least an hour if not more, right? For me, in about 10 minutes, it's all done.

One thing neato is that you can store up to 10 shopping lists on their web site. So I have a shopping list for recurrent things, week after week, so in just one click, I can put all of those items in my "basket". From there, I do my online shopping for the few items not on the list.

Of course, there's a list for my parents, and what the heck, I have also my own list for my own stuff. Me too, I want to save time on my own grocery!

Drawbacks? There are some. For instance, at the store... if the bananas are green, maybe you wouldn't buy them, but instead you would satisfy your craving with those seemingly juicy green raisins from California just next by. When I'm online, I've no way to tell. There have been a few surprises.

Also the online version of the IGA store is just a "subset" of a brick and mortar IGA store. Not all the brandnames can be ordered online. So you have to take what's available online.

All in all, considering the situation I am in, I can accept that.

All these sites charge a few dollars, from $2 to $10 which can vary according to the amount of goods you buy, or whether their cost or their size.

However IGA charges a flat fee of $7, and you have to order at least $35 of goods. With 3 persons to feed, that's not a problem. :)

Those fees are costly? Yes and no. If you have to take a car... how much it would cost you? From my perspective, I don't own a car, and time is a factor. How much time it takes, using the transit system, to get there, and to return home? Imagine if this is a salary, and even at minimum wage... how much it would cost?

Worse, if you buy lots of stuff (say at the grocery store) or you must buy bulky items, the taxi ride back home will cost you a lot of money.

Clothing, consumer goods: One site that is a life saver: Sears ! It takes a while to shop online about clothes (try to find stuff that _really_ fits) but I have been lucky so far for my parents. It would have been out of question to have my dad and my mom at the shopping center. Their online shopping brings the store to them... and for me, I also save a lot of time. Based on my experience, delivery time is usually 3-5 days. Decent.

Latest thing I bought: Absolutely decadent plush bathrobe. One for mom, one for my dad and what the heck, I'm allowed to pamper myself, no? One for me. Oh, sweet o sweet! :)

Hardware stuff: Two web sites I like: Canadian Tire and Rona. For various things. At my parents' place recently , I had to change their shower curtain, and they needed a new laundry basket, the old one gave up.

Drawbacks? Canadian Tire's web site is a tad clunky. The photos are tiny and the descriptions minimal. A few times, their online order section was down. Oops.

Rona's site was flawless and their delivery time is blazing fast, usually the next day or two. I recently ordered a set of mops and buckets to clean their floor (a chore I have to do everyday because of my dad's health conditions). The problem with Rona is that the choice is extremely limited.

There have been a few other sites, but those are the web sites I usually go for my online shopping.

I've been thinking that just a few years ago, these sites wouldn't exist... and I'm wondering how I would cope. It would have been unbearable.

As a computer programmer, I have to say that I am pleased to see the things made possible by my profession. :)

Cheers,

-E

Sprucing things up

Poor little blog. I haven't written for the past several months!

Though, if you know my main blog at Fast Cupid, you know that I had my hands full for the past 6 months.

Things have been piling up, and the format of these blogs at FC doesn't exactly help. (Can't post direct link, can't post multiple photos, etc). Also it's a dating site. Do you really want to talk about mental illness (of my parents)? Or human rights (like the latest war Israel did in Gaza)? Or lighter stuff, like the latest electronic gizmos I've seen? Mhhh...

I've been "tagged" by Clevergirl. I figure that before tagging other people, this blog has to be up to speed again, and squeaky clean. :)

Cheers!

-E

What's wrong with this picture ?

Indeed, one might wonder... after all, it's just a backroad among many on Cape Cod...

There are lots of "For Sale" signs.

In the America of George Bush, running a costly war on the credit card, their currency gets devalued.

Since oil is *imported*, it's no suprising to see gas at $4 a gallon (even $4.25 !) . Since the economy runs on oil... and also on many other imported goods...

And to make things worse for a place like Cape Cod that thrives on tourism, the Bush administration did everything to close borders... so the tourists aren't there anymore.

If you are European, who wants to go to the leeeeeenghty visa process and to top it all, to get fingerprinted like a criminal?

If you're Canadian, do you love spending hours at the border, not to mention spending a lot of time in very unpleasant interrogations with a US custom officer? There you go.

And this is on top of the housing market own woes, and those loans that banks knew too well that people could barely afford to pay.

I was cycling on these backroads, and couldn't help but thinking of the drama going on...

-E

Deafness and privacy...

Why the silence on my blog? Oh, I spent a week and a half of vacations on "the Cape" and around, err... I mean Cape Cod, and then I venture to Boston and to the Lowell Folk Festival before going back home.

While on the Cape, I went to the beaches, and I cycled along the backroads of Eastham (and on their great Rail Trail). I had a great time.

While cycling on one of these backroads (notice the traffic "congestion". It sure beats Route 6!), I encounter that sign: "Deaf Child Area".

I had to pause. There's always a good intent in everything, but the way good intents percolate into reality, things go awry and miss the target.

Maybe I'm fussy because of my own work, I see privacy issues everywhere, but if I were parents, I wouldn't like to advertise the fact that I've deaf children. It's not a matter that my neighbours would know (I'm sure they would know!!!), but about people passing on that road, period. That's none of their business... and that might even giving ideas to bad people who might take advantage of my kids *because* they are deaf.

Yet, I can see the good intent behind that sign, for drivers to pay attention that there are kids who won't hear you coming.

The problem isn't with deafness, the problem is the road. The problem is the crazy drivers on that road! The problem is that there's no one enforcing the slow speed limit on these roads!

As you can see, this is a fairly deserted road and it parallels busy Route 6, the main thoroughfare on the Cape. So, the temptation to bypass the heavy traffic and to floor the gas pedal on these winding roads is there. So whatever is on the side of the road, kids, adults, deaf or not, walking or cycling... they all are in danger.

As a cyclist, my ears are my rear view mirrors. Problem is, when there's a car facing me, its engine noise covers everything else. I might not hear a car behind me. Or that car behind me makes so much noise, that it hides the fact that there are *several* vehicles behind that car.

A few times there have been very close calls, everytime because of vehicle speeding in excess of 60mph on these winding roads, and at that speed, they were just too busy attempting to stay on that road without hitting anything to even notice your presence.

I consider these backroads, while to be enjoyed (and *I* enjoyed cycling on them!), as far more dangerous than a busy street in downtown Montréal as a result. And I am a hearing person!

A sign that reads "Deaf Child Area" won't do much to vehicle speeding on that road. The driver doesn't care, and even to hearing people, things happen so fast there's no time to do anything.

And in the week and a half I've been cycling on these little roads, I haven't seen a single police cruiser. They were all busy ticketing motorists on Route 6. Maybe that's where the problem is...

Cheers,

-E

Where is George? The strange travel of a dollar bill...

<--- To avoid problems with the law, I hide part of the serial number.

As some of you already know, next week I'll be back in the US! Just a tiny week of vacations that I could slice in. Given the situation at home, it's the best I can do for now. So I take all the respite I can.

So I figure it's time that I should check how much US money in my waller and when I'll have some spare time, I'll go to the bank and get some more before I leave Canada.

Checking closer those US bills, I stumbled on a strange looking $1 bill. (See both photos)

Stamped a few places on the bill, it said: "Track this bill", and then the url of a web site.

Oh dear, I thought I got a bogus $1 bill. At least I didn't lose much. :)

Apparently, this is legit. I learn this is a project that started 10 years ago, and thousands of $1 US bills have been tracked. Enter the serial number, and you'll see where your US $1 bill went.

Apparently, mine went from Ohio to Washington State. Not sure where I got that. Maybe during the time I was in California last May? Or it went back to the east coast and I got it at Blogadelphia (the bloggers' gathering in Philadelphia) ? Or in Boston?, both in June?

(Gee whiz, it looks like an STD, however with an happier outcome: Where and from whom I got that!!! ).

Fascinating to track the whereabout of a dollar bill. Already a round trip from the east to the west coast, it now has crossed the US border, now in Canada, and soon it will return in Massachusetts during my vacations.

The site is wheresgeorge.com .

I'm hesitant to let that $1 bill go, it feels like I met a friend who has traveled a lot and still has a lot to say.

On the other hand, the very purpose of these marked bills is that they continue to travel all over the continent....

So when I'll be on the Cape next week, I'll let that little guy goes, and I'll check its whereabout on the web site. :)

Out of curiosity, have you ever received such a marked bill? If so, did you know where it traveled?

Cheers!

-E

Cellphone monopoly...

Sometimes, I wish our CRTC has teeth, like its US counterparts, the FCC. The airwaves belong to the public domain, and like radio and TV broadcasters, cell phone operators are given a privilege to use some of that precious resource for commercial purposes.

In return, they should make good use of it, and this is on that principle that both CRTC and FCC do rule.

Two frustrating news went on yesterday. It reminds you that these cellphone operators operate as a monopoly in Canada and therefore they are laughing at you big time, since the CRTC doesn't want to intervene...

1) Bell *AND* Telus, 2 of the 3 cellphone operators both announced *at the same time* that not only outgoing text messages are billed, you will also be billed for *incoming* text messages.

Since text messages are likely to come from either their own network or from the other network, you really want me to believe that Bell and Telus didn't talk to each other, and it was just sheer coincidence that they both come to the conclusion they must bill incoming text messages as well and also a coincidence they made the announcement... on the same day, yesterday?

Hello?

What about Rogers (who also own Fido)? No plans to do double dipping like Bell and Rogers. On the other hand, since it costs twice as much to send a text message.... Bingo! It's a monopoly (or more technically an oligarchy, or a triopoly, since we have just 3 cellphone operators in Canada).

2) Rogers announced that they have "listened" to the uproar of protests from their customers about the iPhone and how insane it is priced here in Canada. Ah.

They'll now offer a data plan for $30/month. Rogers is making a lot of publicity that they are slashing the costs of the iPhone by half, initially priced at $60/month.

Where's the gotcha? Actually there are several of them. First, it's a time limited offer (until the end of August).

Second, it's a *data plan* (therefore no voice) at $30/month. Since monthly basic cellphone (voice) service is about $30. ... we're back to $60/month, so there's no savings at all. Gotcha!

A footnote: A data-only plan isn't that bad, and it would make sense to deaf people. This is what T-Mobile in the US offers for their Sidekick. However, the Sidekick has applications for the deaf people, such at internet relay, a service which we don't have in Canada, nor VRS, thanks again to our government procrastinating. Since we have a Bush-like Conservative government, don't expect anything good coming from them anytime soon.

So a $30/month data plan for the iPhone won't bring much benefits to the Canadian deaf communities... except of a better rate, and even there, the plan will be available only for two months. Not much to cheer about.

About myself? For the time being, it's no, I won't bite at the bait. Later? Maybe.

Since I'm often in the States, I'm still thinking of buying a US phone and I'll cough out the roaming fees when I'm in Canada. :) It would still be cheaper.

Besides, I'm still debating about the Sidekick vs iPhone. The one key feature missing on the iPhone is a *real* keyboard, like on the Sidekick. Other than that, the iPhone would be the perfect phone for me!

That being said, I have ZERO sympathy for Rogers, Bell and Telus. The only 3 cellphone operators in Canada, they are merrily price gouging the market, knowing that they can do so with total impunity from the government.

Like its wired counterpart, those wireless cellphones have become so useful that you can't think of getting rid of them. That's the bet the 3 Canadian cellphones have made. Grrr.... :)

Cheers nonetheless!

-E

Donor card... worthless ?

Indeed. This is what a colleague of mine, besides the grief of losing a sibling, discovered.

Personally, it's the *third* time I'm seeing this, so it comes as not a surprise, but everytime, it angers me the most, for many reasons.

You have certainly heard in your area some campaigns to donate your organs. In most provinces and US states, it is usually on the back of the driver's license, or healthcare card, or even specifically carrying a donor card,.

You can sign those cards, stating that you have indeed given your consent to donate your organs.

Usually, when there's a campaign going on, they'll make you feel guilty for not signing such cards, reminding you of so many lives that could be saved if everyone did.

So, you probably do like what I've done, and like thousands of people, including the colleague's *brother*, we all have signed those cards.

If it's the end of the road for us, what is more noble than agreeing that parts of us would help to prolong someone else's life? Conversely, if on one day we are at the receiving end, wouldn't we be thankful to that brave soul who did sign his donor card?

Usually, campaigns for signing such cards go along these terms. Except they forget to tell you one *key* ingredient... or if they address it, they voluntarily tone down its importance... and yet, this is the whole point which explains why such donor cards / transplant cards... are essentially *worthless*.

Have you realized that your signature on the back of these cards is in *no* way an authorization to do anything with your body? Yup. That's what my colleague found out the hard way.

Authorities have to contact members of your family. At this time of the year, everyone is on vacations.

Bingo.

Impossible to contact the family in a timely fashion... So the signature on the back of his donor card WAS NOT HONORED... since no one could be reached in a timely fashion.

And that was the end of the story, and in a tragic irony, a brother who was a very active proponent of those donor cards.

But it's the law as dumb as it is, even if you sign your card, someone ELSE has to give an ok.

And when you dig this further, you realize that the shortage of organ transplant is *NOT* because there are lacks of donors, in fact, they are indeed plentiful, but it is in contacting the family in a timely fashion that is the problem.

So the next time there will be a campaign, or when a volunteer, in his or her good will is seeing you in person to persuade you to sign that card, card that you have probably signed by the way, would you tell that person to redirect his or her good will to where it... matters?

To change the law, so when you sign a donor / transplant card, that there should not be time wasted, nor even a glimpse of an hesitation in questioning your signature?

Think about it.

On all the documents you have signed during your entire adult life, say from a credit card purchase to your yearly income taxes, even something as important and life binding as a marriage contract, no one ever came *later*, asking someone *else* whether it was really you who signed those documents, and whether you really intended to sign those documents?

So... why is it, when at the most crucial point in life, when it is literally giving life to someone else, even more so when time is a critical factor ... why anyone would purposely question your signature?

Nonsense.

You really want to hear from me on how to really make organ transplant working ? Do you really want to help to save lives?

Do help change the law.

Cheers,

-E

Post travel notes: When they didn't know they were geeks: Le musée mécanique in San Francisco

The Musée Mécanique is located at the end of the Embacardero, a few minutes of walk from Pier 39 as well as from many hotels, including mine.

(Notice the traffic: Pedestrians, cyclists and ahem... seagulls. Definitively, we're in San Francisco, here. :) ).

On arrival in SF, I was intrigued. What a French sign, with the proper accents at the right places, in the USA ? Wow... By the way, In French it means literally "The mechanical museum". How curious...

One of the fun of traveling is to let your curiosity guides you. So, I got guided. :) Besides, how curious to enter a museum... through the mouth of a woman. Definitively sexist, if you ask me., Heehehe! ;)

(A little footnote on the timestamps of some of the photos: For some reasons, my digicam reverted to year 2007. Those photos were really taken in May of *2008*).

Entering the museum, you'll be greeted by these machines. From another time, where mechanical parts ruled.

Grandma who will draw tarot cards for you, and the machine on your right will tell you about your personality. See? I'm a sexy guy. I knew that, of course. ;)

Has it occurred to you... that we do the very same things today? There are web sites that will draw tarot cards and supposedly predict your future. Also all of those online questionnaires, telling you a bit about your personality...

I've been thinking that those people who crafted these machines, if they live today, they would be called geeks. Don't you think?

The sign on the right cracks me up. It reads: "To be happy, see what every married woman must not avoid!". How funny. :)

The machine on the left gives a clue. In the second half of 1800s through the early 1900s, the gold rush was going on. Cities like San Francisco were largely inhabited by men... who left their families on the east coast to become rich quickly and then to return home.

Men being men, and away from their official spouse, do I need to elaborate? It was the early era of moving pictures, so with the privacy of these "viewfinders", one could see some dirty pictures.

Dirty pictures which by today's standards are pretty tame. By the way, all these machines are functional. Toss a nickel, a dime or a quarter, and bingo!

There was a set of beautifully restored mechanical piano players. All functional. Drop a coin, close your eyes, and it feels that you're in a saloon!

(A bit on digression, a few days later I was on my way to Yosemite National Park. In the Sierra Nevada, we stopped briefly at what is considered to be the very last saloon standing, at least in California. And it feels like in the movies. To a point you have to pinch yourself. Where the De Loreans, I'm traveling in time, here! :) )

It was difficult to take the photo because of the poor lighting. I had to use a flash, but this is an entire village that got "mechanized".

Animals, people, over 150 moving "objects".

It was eerie to see this in action.


This has nothing to do with the museum, but a trip in San Francisco isn't complete without a trek on its famous bridge.

It was just two months ago...

If you ask me, I'd return there right away.

Sigh. :)

Cheers,

-E

Deaf world: Some debates that will never end...

I was reading DeafPulse (which you get the 10 most recent headlines on this blog), and reading other Deaf web sites...

CI, aka Cochlear Implant. It's a big thing in the deaf world. I guess that it is alike to a Christian seeing Satan in person. :)

I'm fighting all I can on behalf of my dad, and the last thing on top of many illnesses is deafness... it goes without saying, pun not really intended that I have to rely on Sign Language to get understood. Or words on a piece of paper, but even then you have to write in big letters, as his eyesight is also getting worse. Also a miracle that my dad was able to remember a few signs and to make use of them.

On top of other illnesses, it feels like the last straw. At least for me. But it's no use to get angered, frustrated, or anything. It's life as it unfolds, with the best and the worst and you have to take that.

One thing I notice how the world, so wide and infinite, gets narrower for him. While I have also my own 'bouts (I hear well, but decoding human speech is a nightmare for me, so I sometimes appear to others as if I were deaf), but I haven't realized what it means being deaf.

We're in an audible world, from the doorbell, the telephone, radio, even television, when all these audible infos become out of reach, you live in a strange narrowed world, because all those audible you depend on during all your life... are no longer there, and you realize the sheer void.

I had that in mind when I was reading several heated debates about CI. Whether parents who took decision on behalf of their children, or as a grown up, to go for cochlear implants.

For my dad, it's way too late of course, but I have been thinking that in the very audible world that we live in, if I were in that situation at my age, I'd seriously consider the option.

Which doesn't mean I'd stop using Sign Language, far from it, but I have to realize that 99% of the people around me, from friends to neighbours to colleagues haven't learned it. So I have very little use of Sign Language (but I continue to wish that Sign Language should be taught at school, just like other languages, because it *IS* a full fledged language, with its own culture. It's *NOT* a sub-standard language, just for the "disabled", with the double quotes! )

I'm a fervent partisan of "Vivre et laissez vivre". It's a French phrase to just say to let people decide for themselves. I feel in cases like that, there's no right or wrong choices to take. These are just... personal choices.

But in the deaf community, it isn't different than other communities. There are always some outspoken (?) people monopolizing as many means of communication as possible, and claiming high and low that we should all go their way.

When there's a language, there is a culture. There IS a deaf culture. The dilemma is when you are a minority, then you are in survival mode.

Incidentally, this is the debate we keep having in my province (Québec). Anyone who wants to understand the language debate there, the key to do so is to view from the angle that we're a tiny minority in North America, even in our own country. 24% of Canadians speak French. Stated otherwise, that's 76% who does NOT speak French, and the numbers have been steadily declining since Stat Can began to do statistics, a hundred years ago...

So I see in the deaf community the same patterns of self-defense. The debate against CI is also that. It is perceived as removing people from the deaf culture, which is not entirely false, but it isn't entirely true.

It is my understanding that the deaf culture while being a minority and having to beg from the majority for its needs, is far from going extinct.

The geek in me, who sees technology progressing, I have to say: Who could have thought a few years ago that there would be plenty of "vlogs", video blogs, people signing merrily in ASL? there are web sites in ASL, and already movies in ASL? Who would have thought there would be plenty of materials on the internet to feed things like DeafPulse?

Aren't these things... an expression of a *culture*, that is vibrant and dynamic? I would think so, and thanks to the technology, for providing a support for which a language can be transmitted. In this case, *visually* transmitted.

I was looking at the millions of channels on digital cable. I was joking a bit, but I am serious, what about an ASL channel? I'd sign for it right away. What about newscasts, game shows, sitcoms in ASL? There are millions of deaf and hard of hearing people across the US and Canada. Sorry, but closed captioning doesn't cut it.

There are TV channels that are on the air with an audience less than that. Besides, there are already linguistic channels, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese, German.

I think it's a matter of time someone who has the money will come up with a nationwide ASL channel? (and put closed captioning for the NON-hearing impaired? ;) )

I'd be the first to sign up, that's for sure.

So it seems that debates like against CI are so futile and such a waste of energy... it's being at standstill while the world keeps moving forward.

What else to say, or sign for? PEACE and ILY? Maybe...

That's a way to sign Vivre et laisser vivre, I'd say...

-E

Blogatus interruptis ?

<--- Hugfest at Blogadelphia. You should recognize the guy in kilt. I think. Oh that, and the Fluevog shoes worn by the huggee. :)

It's been a month I haven't blogged here (and not much on FC either) except for the "Blogadelphia" reports.

When things move on professionally, when you have also to parent your own parents, sometimes you just appreciate... some time off.

Also, life as a single for this long, and I'm not eager to go back to the dating scene for as long as I barely have time even for myself... it does compel for more time off... and to enjoy the sweet feeling of being alive.

On the other hand, I *do* have things to say, and it's piling up! About my stay in San Francisco in May (such as the Musée Mécanique, or about geeks who didn't know they were geeks when they crafted these incredible machines)... and also geeky stuff while at Blogadelphia, as well in Boston, and a few things in between.

I'm just back home, right in time for Oh Canada (July 1st is Canada Day). I saw blurbs from Rogers and Fido about the iPhone. This is from the same guys who a few years ago have nuked the Sidekick, the iPhone's ancestor (and still a very apt competitor today... everywhere else in the world, *EXCEPT* Canada. Grrrr.... )

So it goes without saying from people who don't understand what these devices are all about, nor the huge market for those devices, the fact they delayed the arrival of the iPhone in Canada by a year, and the rumors flying high that Apple officials were royally pissed off at Rogers and Fido for the GSM monopoly they have in Canada...

Those are hints that as a customer, Rogers and Fido will scr*w you royally. In other words, paying top dollars for a brain damaged iPhone... unless you are willing to pay even more $$$ to get... essentially what eveyone else in the world do get from their iPhone, at a fraction of the cost. Sigh...

I was in the US just days ago... and sigh! Ok, I'll go with big with stereotypes, but it's like women with flagrance (I'm tempted to add Fluevog shoes as well. Tee hee!!! ;) ).

I'm a geek who can't resist electronic toys. I saw the iPhone in store in Boston, also the newest (and coolest!) Sidekick at a T-Mobile store in Hyannis...

One word: Sigh!!! :) Even more sigh that these guys were willing to sign me up right away, even after I told them that I'm Canadian and live most of the time in Canada. How *TEMPTING* is that? :)

Other little silly news I've heard: VIA Rail is not able to keep its trains on time. Mhhh, ok, they call that... news? :)

The worst line? Toronto-Ottawa. The 2nd worst line? Ottawa-Montréal. There must be something with Ottawa, I guess. ;) Seriously, it's all single track upthere, and freight trains always get priority... so no wonder. The day the Canadian government will get serious, things will change.

While in the US both in May on the west coast and June on the east coast, I rode Amtrak a couple of times. Now I feel good about VIA Rail. :)

On the geek front, I was surprised, even in first class, that there's no Wi-Fi access on their train. On the west coast, I rode between LA and Sacramento a few times, then from Sacramento to Vancouver BC.

On the east coast , I was on their popular "corridor" section, between Philadelphia and Boston. (This would be somewhat equivalent in Canada with our corridor service between Montréal and Toronto). So we can badmouth VIA Rail on many things, but we're one step ahead of the Americans by providing Wi-Fi access on all their corridor trains. Besides, with all those delays I've just mentioned, isn't it fun to kill time on the internet? Wise move for VIA Rail. ;)

Happy Canada Day everyone (Also a belated Saint-Jean Baptiste Day... a week ago! :) )

Cheers,

-E

Greetings from Yosemite, California!

Leaving Québec, welcome California! Leaving damp grey weather, welcoming, enjoying, treasuring... sunny California weather. It is H-O-T! Around 100F even in supposdely cool San Francisco, and 85F here in cool Yosemite Park, at an atltitude of 4000'.

Leaving San Francisco and its clogged freeways, it's California route 120 all the way to Yosemite Park.

Route 120 is a fascinating road.

Past the glow of San Francisco and its urbanity, the scenery flirts with the desert.

Of all times, men have been fascinated by wind, and how to harness it.

A common sighting on route 120, are those modern windmills.

It is a hot debate in Québec, while in California, they're doing it.

Ugly? Who defines beauty? The Eiffel Tower was once deemed by many Parisians as the most ugliest pile of steel.

To me, it is an eerie sight. Neither ugly nor beautiful just... mhhh... well, with the desert and the blazing heat, just eerie. It is *also* audibly eerie. Wind turbines are a tad noisy. The sound they make is difficult to describe.

On the way to Glacier Point, at some 8000' of altitude. Notice the tall trees...

Oh, my digicam is working all right, it is S-N-O-W on the ground. Snow at an ambient air temperature of 80F.

Got a problem? Not me. :)

After driving through the desert, now those tall trees. Going through snow during a California heatwave makes sense, right? Right. ;)

Life isn't a string of contradictions?

The view at 8000', at Glacier Point.

Doesn't it inspire... respect, serenity, peacefulness? Away the craziness and ugliness of the urban city? Before your eyes, the wonders of nature, in her full beauty.

Time to dream... of a better world, isn't it?

One would wish to stay for a little while. However, hiking in altitude, every little step reminds me... that I'm a sea-level creature.

While hiking, this little guy zoomed by just before me.

Hey my friend, be careful!

As if he understands what I'm telling him. Oh silly me. :)

He's now basking under the sun, I think he got it right. It's good for reptiles, it's good for humans too. :)

A trip to Yosemite isn't complete without a photo of its famous waterfall.

Not appearing clearly on the photo was a rainbow at the bottom of the fall.

If you're planning a trip to Yosemite, they'll tell you the best time to see the waterfall is now, in May. In the summer time, the waterfall dries up.

You know what? It's been a few days that I'm in California... I'm not eager to return to Québec. Naw... :)

(I hope that I've made you jealous. :) )

Cheers from Yosemite National Park, California!

-E

Artificial deafness...

If you are reading my other blog on FC, you know that I'm about to travel. A tour of the west coast, as far south as San Francisco, and then the slow ride all the way to Vancouver. From the coast to the desert. An Eskimo in the desert definitively strikes my imagination. ;)

Suffice to say that I had it rough for the past couple of months, and taking a break from Montréal is definitively welcome.

On this blog, I'd rather like to focus on the geeky aspect of travels...

In case one wonders, San Francisco is 6 hours of flight from Montréal. Just as far away as... London, England. Add 30 minutes and you're in Paris. :)

And I wonder whether it was from excessive travel by plane (I completely max out last year), tinnitius (aka "ringing ears") has become an unwelcome guest, and the more I flew, the more it lingered.

Last summer in Seattle, I spotted this pair of headsets at an electronic store. "Quiet Zone" from Koss. It can act like a regular headset, plugged to your iPod/MP3 gizmo or like here with the adapter, plugged to the plane's PA system. But you wouldn't shell US $100 + a pop for these headsets. Besides, I'd say the sound quality is just average.

In fact, the best way to enjoy these headsets is when they are *NOT* connected to any sound device. Not bad eh?

Enter the wonderful world of active noise cancellation. In other words, artificial deafness. :)

Sound travels in the air as a sinewave. Like any sinewave, if you apply to that sinewave another sinewave that is 180-degree out of phase, both sinewaves cancel each other. The result? Silence.

Short of implanting an on/off switch onto my ears, this is the next best thing, at least in theory. (oh sweet dreams! I could be deaf to politicians and not just figuratively when they do speeches during an election. Neato, n'est-ce pas? :) )

In reality, these headsets cut down the noise considerably, but they fall short of the promised artificial deafness.

Also with the Koss, supposedly for my own safety (?), the headset will allow the human voice to go through. This is partially true. It filters the higher pitch voice of women, while male voices tend to get through in a bit muffled state.

Nonetheless, they cut down noise enough to make a long flight trip enjoyable. Enough to finally enjoy that in-flight movie, news bulletins or whatever is coming out of your iPod-like gizmo without having to boost the volume to the max, if you want to hear anything.

I lend my "deaf ears" to a few colleagues who had to travel by plane, and they all love it. The drawbacks, because there are always some, the thing is bulky (because it has to cover each ear completely) and somewhat heavy to wear. The battery doesn't last long. Just a few flights. All in all, a small price to pay to avoid tinnitius and major headaches.

These headsets also work very well on buses and trains.

On a philosophical side, isn't an irony that there are lots of research done and money spent in hearing aids and cochlear implants to help deaf and hard-of-hearing people to hear... and on the other hand, there's also a lot of big bucks invested to help hearing people... to become deaf.

All in all, my idea of an on/off switch implanted onto my ears isn't all that far out. :)

Cheers,

-E