floccipics

A Christian nation

2011-01-03T11:08:00.002-05:00

Man with a cat on his head feeding pigeons

2010-12-26T21:34:00.000-05:00

A Banksy Christmas

2010-12-26T21:25:00.002-05:00

Sunspot 1123 Hurls Filament toward Earth

2010-11-13T18:49:00.000-05:00

Source.

Richard Dawkins - Author of Confusion

2010-11-11T22:05:00.000-05:00

Even if this isn't real ... lol.

Big government

2010-11-08T20:18:00.001-05:00

Mont Tremblant in October

2010-10-26T22:57:00.002-04:00

See more from this album, here.

Awesome!

2010-10-24T12:30:00.001-04:00

September in California

2010-10-24T12:06:00.000-04:00

The business trip last month, in California (Los Angeles, Santa Monica and San Diego, were visited). The full album is here.

Photos from recent Asia travel

2010-10-11T21:17:00.000-04:00

The entire album can be found here.

WHAT!

2010-09-06T21:08:00.002-04:00

Sky over Toronto

2010-09-04T00:02:00.002-04:00

Out with friends for dinner tonight, and the sky was dramatic.

Luthor and Lex

2010-08-29T09:53:00.000-04:00

Source: The High Definite

Prayer

2010-08-27T13:20:00.001-04:00

Escape!

2010-08-27T13:01:00.003-04:00

Move on, nothing to look at here ... ... just a cat riding a turtle.

Clouds

2010-08-22T21:56:00.001-04:00

Shot taken from the street outside my office, last week.

Ideology

2010-08-21T00:26:00.000-04:00

Sunset couch

2010-08-17T22:43:00.000-04:00

Took this photo tonight, when my daughter and I were out for a driving lesson. We were going in circles until I decided to take the shot.

Zombie love

2010-08-02T10:02:00.000-04:00

Source

Click for awesomeness

2010-07-18T07:59:00.000-04:00

The world is meaningless ...

2010-07-08T19:42:00.004-04:00

... you are free!

How the Wikileaks video release was reported in the news

2010-04-05T23:22:00.001-04:00

So, after posting the Wikileaks video of Namir Noor-Eldeen getting blown to bits by an Apache helicopter in 2007, I thought to myself, the world must be enraged by this -- especially Americans, who're now seeing what their military's up to in foreign parts. So I started surfing some news sites.

ABC News is all concerned about Tiger Woods. Of all the things that should be prominent on their news website -- it's Tiger Woods ...??? What?

Over in the UK, the top news is the US Consulate attack in Pakistan -- but there is Tiger again. WTF? Why? BBC only manages to reference the Wikileaks video as the fourth bullet under their More Top Stories section, where it's titled, "Wikileaks posts video from Iraq." That doesn't tell you anything.

How about the CBC? Nada. No reference at all on its front page.

CNN Arabic? Nope. While I can't read Arabic, and I can tell just from the photos that there's nothing newsworthy happening to Arabs in the world. According to CNN, anyway.

On the international front however, CNN doesn't disappoint. They've got a photo, titled, "Video shows journalists' deaths in Iraq," with the following byline:

Newly released video shows a 2007 attach by a U.S. Apache helicopter in Iraq. Several people were killed in the attach, two of them journalists. The helicopter crew members believed they were firing on armed insurgents.

Oh, wait, they do disappoint. They continue to tow the US military line that the helicopter crew thought they were firing on insurgents -- and in their report, publish the claim that the crew thought the cameras were guns. It's also interesting to note that CNN refers to Wikileaks as, "a site that publishes anonymously submitted documents, video and other sensitive materials" -- missing the point completely.

And the US homepage of CNN News references the story in the second bullet, under their Latest News section.

While I don't consider anything Fox News does as worthy of reading, I thought I'd check anyway, since many Americans consider the pabulum they publish as news. They did reference the Wikileaks release as follows:

Army Accused of 'Video Game' Killings -- Wikileaks releases video it says shows U.S. forces firing on and killing as many as 25 civilians in Baghdad.

Which is fair and balanced -- especially since WIkileaks didn't make the claim of "25 civilians" -- but did accuse the military of playing video games with civilians.

How about Reuters itself? After all, two of its people was killed in the incident. Well, in Canada, right under the Tiger Woods admits he lied and deceived headline (really people, who gives a fuck?), they have the following:

Leaked U.S. video shows deaths of Reuters' Iraqi staffers
8:11pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters that killed a dozen people in Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff, was released on Monday by a group that promotes leaking to fight government and corporate corruption.
Full Article

However ...

Reuters US has decided to spare the American general public any consternation over their military downing a couple of journalists.

Over at Google News, where more and more people flock for their news, much to the dismay of a purple-faced Murdoch, the Wikileaks story was number 5 on their world news view.

The Guardian UK also presented the Wikileaks story on their front page. While you had to drop down below some UK political news, it was there with a photo of Noor-Eldeen. The Guardian presented the news as follows:

Wikileaks releases Iraqi deaths video
Pentagon angered by secret footage of American air crew gunning down 12 civilians in July 2007.

Now that, was "fair and balanced."

MSNBC presented the news on its front page with a lot of emphasis:

Video shows U.S. firing on civilians in Iraq
A Reuters photographer is said to be among the dead in 2007 Baghdad incident seen in footage posted online.

But the only thing I didn't like about that presentation, was the the inference, however minor, that a Reuters photographer may not have actually died in the incident.

And on Al Jazeera, where all wars on Arabs are fought, it was the biggest thing going.

Video shows 'US attack' on Iraqis
Wikileaks footage believed to show US military shooting on crowded Baghdad square in 2007.

Of course, everyone's got their spin, and Al Jazeera doesn't fail to disappoint either. Eight people in the square may constitute a crowd for some people, but I think that is a little bit of a stretch.

And there you have. How the Wikileaks news did, and didn't make the news.

Namir Noor-Eldeen however, is still dead.

Project 903 Lun Missile Launcher Ekranoplane

2010-03-08T18:05:00.002-05:00

Source: http://igor113.livejournal.com/51213.html

It's a plane! It's a boat! It's a tank! No, it's the Project 903 Lun Missile Launcher Ekranoplane!

in reference to:

"In 1989, after the tragic accident on nuclear submarine "Komsomolets" where 42 mariners died, the decision was made to re-equipment the second "Lun", being at that time under construction, into a search-and-rescue maritime ekranoplane "Spasatel". The second copy of "Lun" had 6 engines, instead of 8. A considerable part of the work had already been accomplished by the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union, followin which there was a drastic reduction of the budget of the Russian Navy."
- Lun Class Ekranoplane - Project 903 (view on Google Sidewiki)

The basement

2010-03-06T07:06:00.001-05:00

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata

2010-02-21T08:07:00.002-05:00

Unstable intruder

2010-02-19T21:15:00.001-05:00

Al-Qaeda, USA and Iraq

2010-02-18T21:45:00.001-05:00

Washington deals with snow storm

2010-02-09T21:47:00.001-05:00

Making fun of Christians ...

2010-02-09T21:35:00.002-05:00

... at least they don't threaten to kill you for this.

You know it's good when ...

2010-02-08T20:27:00.001-05:00

Prorogue Bay

2010-02-04T21:25:00.000-05:00

Foxtrot's inner geek

2010-01-30T12:14:00.000-05:00

Mars, the 1,000 year project

2010-01-26T07:35:00.001-05:00

IDS10

2010-01-24T23:40:00.000-05:00

A few shots from the Interior Design Show 2010. I was there, earlier today with my designing daughter.

Mythbusters

2010-01-17T10:29:00.001-05:00

Be wary of the believers ... they come, and know not what they speak

2010-01-16T19:25:00.002-05:00

Narcissism by google

2010-01-15T18:34:00.000-05:00

Haiti earthquake

2010-01-14T00:12:00.001-05:00

Some of the photos via the link, are disturbing.

Whales ... marvelous creatures

2010-01-10T21:01:00.000-05:00

Freedom bomb

2010-01-03T19:17:00.001-05:00

I had this idea once ... "freedom bomb." That was it. I wrote the words on the back of a movie ticket. It was Hot Fuzz, which I saw on May 1, 2007, at 6:55PM, at First Markham place. That's not important.

I googled "freedom bomb" now, a couple of years later, and this is what I found. My ideas aren't that unique. Neither am I, probably.

Where are all the dragons?

2009-12-29T10:01:00.000-05:00

God doesn't give a rat's ass!

2009-12-28T12:10:00.000-05:00

XKCD explain gravity wells

2009-12-28T09:21:00.001-05:00

Africa is awesome

2009-12-27T10:00:00.001-05:00

Photography: Steve Bloom.

Fat Americans forced into a tight fit

2009-12-26T19:45:00.000-05:00

If god hates fags ...

2009-12-21T16:42:00.000-05:00

No burritos, America!

2009-12-20T09:54:00.000-05:00

Just in time for Christmas

2009-12-14T04:48:00.001-05:00

This is stupid

2009-12-14T04:37:00.001-05:00

Winter is here

2009-12-14T04:33:00.001-05:00

Twilight Moms ... WTF?

2009-12-14T04:23:00.000-05:00

... disturbing on so many levels.

Classical mechanics at work

2009-11-22T14:32:00.001-05:00

Big Mac index

2009-11-18T10:39:00.001-05:00

Source: the Economist.

I always knew atheists would one day save the world.

2009-11-15T10:36:00.002-05:00

How to kill an idea

2009-11-13T00:30:00.001-05:00

Choose your religion!

2009-10-22T23:51:00.001-04:00

Chicks: death by plastic

2009-10-20T23:05:00.001-04:00

These photos were taken by Chris Jordan at the Midway Atoll in the North Pacific. These are the remains of albatross chicks that were fed plastic by their parents until they died -- from starvation, poisoning and choking. I can't imagine the slow, horrible and confused death they must experience. The Midway Atoll, about 5,200 km from San Francisco and 4,100 km from Tokyo, is a National Wildlife Refuge, administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

One day, we're going to pay for the horrors we're inflicting on the planet.

Thanksgiving weekend in Ottawa-Gatineau

2009-10-13T23:02:00.000-04:00

Fall was definitely out in full bloom this Thanksgiving weekend in Ottawa-Gatineau ... and a hint of winter somewhere in the air. See more shots from this past weekend, here.

50 years of space exploration

2009-10-10T23:15:00.001-04:00

Caption this

2009-10-06T08:02:00.000-04:00

They sleep wherever they want

2009-10-04T21:40:00.001-04:00

Careful with the ball

2009-09-30T22:43:00.000-04:00

Spoon

2009-09-30T22:30:00.001-04:00

Solar system

2009-09-30T22:06:00.000-04:00

Up to no good

2009-09-30T22:04:00.001-04:00

Awesome cars

2009-09-29T22:34:00.001-04:00

What a dick

2009-09-28T23:11:00.001-04:00

Eco-elevator

2009-09-28T23:08:00.001-04:00

Michelle hugs everyone but Berlusconi

2009-09-28T22:44:00.002-04:00

Source: the Telegraph. I guess the Obama's aren't impressed with the buffoon.

Awesome wheels

2009-09-28T22:40:00.000-04:00

Dude, that's a cool turban!

2009-09-28T22:34:00.001-04:00

A summer walk in the park

2009-09-26T22:02:00.001-04:00

Finally getting around to posting these ... the girls took me for a walk in the park for Father's Day this year. Took a few shots.

Queen West Art Crawl

2009-09-26T20:40:00.001-04:00

Spent a little time last weekend out at Queen West, taking in a little of the Art Crawl after lunching at Fresh, where we had a totally healthy vegetarian lunch, that was wickedly overpriced.

The Beaches

2009-09-26T20:32:00.003-04:00

A couple of photos I took back in the middle of summer, just hanging out at the Beaches. It's a great place for bumming around on the weekend. Lots of good, cheap places to eat, and to do some people watching.

Dummy

2009-09-26T11:35:00.001-04:00

At a lost for words

2009-09-24T14:47:00.000-04:00

We can quote the bible too

2009-09-24T12:06:00.000-04:00

Is that an AK47?

2009-09-24T12:04:00.001-04:00

Get out of the car!

2009-09-24T12:02:00.001-04:00

Mobile phone impact

2009-09-21T20:08:00.000-04:00

Goofus and Gallant

2009-09-13T20:51:00.003-04:00

South Park kids

2009-09-12T09:28:00.001-04:00

Hubble is back

2009-09-09T22:26:00.000-04:00

Hubble is back with the WFC3 taking some awesome shots! In this family portrait of the Abell 370 galaxy cluster, gravitational lensing can be seen in all its glory.

Vladimir and Dmitry

2009-09-07T08:21:00.000-04:00

I saw this photo, and the first thing that popped into my head: kid on the bottom right, Vladimir Putin, and behind him is Dmitry Medvedev. And the kid on the left ... Putin just wants the damn candy apple!

Racing cats

2009-09-07T07:34:00.001-04:00

Real life Klimt

2009-09-06T17:52:00.001-04:00

More, here.

A brief history of the future

2009-09-06T00:21:00.002-04:00

Wakey-wakey!

2009-09-05T08:19:00.000-04:00

Iceland panoramic photos

2009-08-30T00:16:00.002-04:00

These are some of the panoramic photos I took during our Iceland vacation. You can view the full set on Webshots. To fully appreciate it, you would need to be standing there in Iceland. The camera is a poor substitute. Having said that however, you may wish to view the set full screen on a large monitor. I uploaded the full, high resolution images, but Webshots would have compressed the jpegs to save on bytes.

More vacation photos are coming!

Heaven and hell

2009-08-12T17:34:00.001-04:00

If Jesus fought Nazis ...

2009-08-11T22:42:00.000-04:00

They just keep breeding

2009-08-09T16:08:00.001-04:00

I want a house with lots of these

2009-08-06T07:23:00.000-04:00

Why public opinion sucks

2009-08-04T22:54:00.001-04:00

Americans finally make it back to the moon

2009-08-04T22:14:00.000-04:00

Actually, it's wrong

2009-08-04T22:12:00.001-04:00

This stupidity no longer amuses me

2009-08-04T21:53:00.001-04:00

Great shot of a big bird

2009-08-04T21:51:00.001-04:00

Lord of the rings

2009-08-04T21:47:00.001-04:00

Terra Cotta Conservation Area

2009-08-03T21:49:00.002-04:00

Terra Cotta Conservation Area at EveryTrail

My wife and I went for a 7.4 km walk through Terra Cotta Conservation Area this morning. The walk took us 2 hours 41 minutes because of all the photos we needed to take. We walked along part of the Terra Cotta Lane first, a 3.2 km loop, then hopped onto the Bruce (Vaughn) Trail to finish with 1.8 km loop of the McGregor Spring Pond Trail -- which we did one and a half times to make it back to the parking lot.

A little about the Terra Cotta Conservation Area from the hand out at the entrance:

Located on the beautiful Niagara Escarpment (a World Biosphere Reserve) and close to the geographic centre of the Credit River watershed, Terra Cotta Conservation Area is an outdoor enthusiast's dream. Stroll around our award-winning human-created wetland, and watch for signs of wildlife now returning to the area, or travel deep into the escarpment woodlands to explore its rugged landscapes. Whether strolling along a pond loop trail, enjoying the forest community, picnicking, or casting a like in Wolf Lake, you will experience nature close up at Terra Cotta Conservation area; a centre for environmental learning.

The only wildlife we saw were birds, insects and lots and lots of frogs. Trees there were plenty of as well, and while you wouldn't normally call them wildlife, there was one tree that was holding court in the forest. I responded to it, but I'm not sure it heard, understood or cared. Hear an audio sample below.

For more photos from the walk, see my Webshots gallery.