Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Jul 4, 2011, 2:13 pm
If you don't follow the high-tech news, you probably missed this because it was tucked away quietly, out of the general limelight of "nerdy wiz-kid becomes ultra-bazillionaire" stories like that of Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page. If you read that first link, you'll find that a big media corp paid ov...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Jul 3, 2011, 5:50 pm
I recently started what will be a longish process to move my blog over to the Amazon cloud. This is not because I'm unhappy with the Typepad service - it has been excellent over the last 6 years. However, I want to have more opti0ns with the format and content of the blog (like the return of my Squi...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Jun 28, 2011, 7:19 am
More email of late regarding this article. All the same propaganda that I've been sent before. Just to save these people some effort, I'd like to post some things to help them. UN Security Council Resolution 817 (1993) does not, as my detractors claim, formally name the country just north of Greece....
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Jun 23, 2011, 6:23 pm
I saw this today and it *had* to be shared... it's worth watching to the end (I think anyway): Enjoy!
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Jun 19, 2011, 8:14 pm
No, there was no baby batman. Thank Ghod. It was Turdus migratorius - the American Robin (apparently a migratory turd??) While down at the cottage, Squidette and I noticed a nest above the light on the porch. After some scolding by nearby robins, I noticed that the robins would take turns flying up ...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Jun 13, 2011, 3:38 pm
This is an amusing internet meme that's circulating. I took the liberty of correcting the picture, in case you see a different one. Click for full size... Enjoy.
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Jun 12, 2011, 11:49 pm
Yes, it was a stupid idea. I differentiate it from being a regular bad idea because sometimes an idea can have unforeseeable consequences, or situations can change that render an otherwise good idea to the bad bin. The U-Pass as it is currently implemented is a stupid idea. It was malicious from the...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Jun 5, 2011, 9:53 pm
... seems to be spending more time in pain. For the past week I have been suffering what appears to be a slipped/herniated disk at the C6 vertebra. It's pinching the nerve slightly, so in addition to the basic pain that goes with that, my left arm gets to hurt AND I get numbness/tingling in my left ...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - May 21, 2011, 4:31 am
... if we're lucky, fundamentalist Christians will be gone to their eternal reward that absolutely nothing interesting is going to happen despite the crazed rantings of a group of Americans with some money. They've predicted the end of the world before, and their rationalizations that will be made p...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - May 20, 2011, 3:45 pm
Cat defending against a dangerous intruder...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - May 20, 2011, 7:56 am
It's been out of the spotlight due to the impending Rapture, but today is the day we highlight the oppression of free thought and expression by a different group of inhuman tyrants: Islamic fundamentalists. They get their knickers in a knot over depictions of Mohammed... and anything else that they ...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - May 17, 2011, 7:25 am
... and I have to ask: Can I have your stuff? I mean, it's not like YOU will need it if you're going to float off to Heaven on Saturday. Your stuff is just going to go to waste, so why not give it to me. It could be your last benevolent act before heading off to an eternity of bliss: Make my life a ...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - May 16, 2011, 7:23 am
A guest blog by Michael T. Richter on Monday, 16 May 2011 at 06:33 For complicated reasons related to evil banks I had a problem with my passport. The problem, you see, is that my marriage certificate (required to get a mortgage with my wife) has my old passport number on it. Naturally my new passpo...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - May 2, 2011, 7:44 pm
Because your shipment drove past me on Elgin St. today: These people ducked around the corner and deployed a squad to walk around with a sign proclaiming the end of the world and handing out pamphlets. They seemed well behaved, except for the flaming crazy part. People who believe that God is coming...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Apr 27, 2011, 10:17 pm
Seriously. I found this over on Squid-a-Day... NASA is sending squids to space, and not the Superconducting QUantum Interference Device kind either - actual cephalopods. Read and enjoy!
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Apr 22, 2011, 10:14 am
(... or "Why I am not interested in alumni gatherings") In 2012 it will be 25 years since I graduated from Royal Roads Military College, and the alumni group is starting the planning for what will be the fest of the year, or at least as a bunch of people in their mid to late 40's can have a "fest". ...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Apr 13, 2011, 9:08 am
... but don't bitch when you get more religion, less transparency, less consultation, less consideration in your government. I was a long-time Conservative supporter and donor. I started supporting the Reform party back under Preston "Refoooooooooooooorm!" Manning. I wasn't keen on his religious age...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Mar 27, 2011, 5:23 pm
Ladies and Gentlemen; The campaign has begun and hype machines are about to spin up. I offer these words of advice for all candidates. Heed them. Your political future hangs on it. That's a pretty big statement from one guy who writes an obscure blog. I know that. But don't think for a second that I...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Mar 25, 2011, 10:15 am
The topic of Richard Dawkins comes up from time to time on here, and I thought I'd spend a few minutes expounding on what I think of the guy. If you haven't heard of him, Dr. Dawkins is an evolutionary and behavioural biologist who has morphed into a sort of atheist fundamentalist. He does the lectu...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Mar 23, 2011, 12:33 pm
The media is working itself toward a fervour over the upcoming royal wedding. A tweet went out today from @canadait linking to a post that annouced that the video of the royal wedding would be available within hours of the event. Awesomeness... I think. I'm going to ask the "Question That Shall Not ...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Mar 20, 2011, 10:53 am
I found this article today. I think it is well written and conveys an important message: The Catholic Church Still Doesn't Get It It is important to recognize that child sexual abuse isn't just limited to the Catholic church. Many religious orders have been hit with allegations (and convictions) of ...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Mar 9, 2011, 8:34 am
Already, through the screen, I can here the "WTF?!" sounds... People thinking "Squid, you're an atheist, you don't have Lent." And you're correct, I don't have Lent, but since so many of the superstitiously inclined do, and use this time to change a habit, I thought I might do so as well. So I'm giv...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Feb 18, 2011, 9:47 am
Most followers of this blog may not be aware that I was recently unemployed for 20 months, mostly by choice. It had become apparent back in May of 2009 that I was not happy with my employment situation: The company was making it clear that I had no room for advancement. The company had restructured ...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Feb 8, 2011, 9:17 am
Ladies and Gentlemen; Thank you for your recent offering of a CPC membership card and request for donation. I am delighted to see that you maintain my contact information accurately. As you know, I was a long-time donor and support of the Conservative Party of Canada, and the Reform Party before tha...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Jan 31, 2011, 1:23 pm
Usage Based Billing. UBB. The new 4-letter word of internet service in Canada. The CRTC is allowing the big providers to start charging for internet service based on the amount of bandwidth used. You know, like it used to be 20 years ago before marketers started offering "unlimited" packages and pet...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Jan 23, 2011, 7:04 pm
My apologies... this is my first real blog of 2011, and I have to start on a bitchy note. This afternoon I got a whiny email from a "gentleman" in Greece. Seems he was complaining about a file sent out by a radio group I belong to that contained a reference to Macedonia - that country that used to b...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Jan 1, 2011, 12:01 am
Wishing you a happy new year and hoping the stars will be right for you!
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Dec 30, 2010, 1:17 am
It's year-end and I was running some useless stats on my D&D group. One of the stats I wanted to look at was "what about all the pizza that people consume?" Now, I couldn't get nutritional information for the specific pizza they usually get, as it is acquired from a local pizzeria. But I did use the...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Dec 28, 2010, 8:35 pm
I'm tired of reading the bleating of the Assange sycophants pouring out their syrupy platitudes about how poor Julian Assange is a crusader for democracy and how Wikileaks holds the righteous high ground in the holy battle against evil government. Give. me. a. break. Julian Assange is a whining malc...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Dec 21, 2010, 9:24 pm
It being Cephalopodmas, it only seemed fitting to have an article about one of my favourite cephalopods: the Northern Taiga Octopus, aka Octopus sylva borealis. I present to you this excerpt from the Field Guide to the Terrestrial Cephalopods of North America, third edition: 031 Northern Taiga Octop...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Dec 14, 2010, 11:35 pm
Once again, a big password breach is in the news (Gawker), and password security is coming to the forefront of the mind of internet users. Because of this, I've decided to write an article that I hope will appeal to the average internet user, although the information contained here is probably of va...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Dec 11, 2010, 9:14 am
Over at Crispian-jago.com there was a great article that summarizes the bulk of the world's irrational bollocks in one convenient table. Click the image to read it, or visit his web site for the comprehensive article which has definitions for each item in the table.
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Dec 3, 2010, 8:00 pm
The cephalopods are starting their propaganda campaign as a prelude to invading Japan... (click to watch)
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Nov 30, 2010, 9:42 am
Happy St. Andrew's Day! In Christian legend, Andrew was one of the Original Twelve disciples of Jesus, who founded the church of Christ in various locations near the Black Sea. According to legend, in 832 A.D. Óengus II led an army of Picts and Scots into battle against the Angles, led by Æthelsta...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Nov 29, 2010, 9:55 am
... So in summary, the Cyber Protection Supply Arrangement costs companies money, pushes rates down, drives costs to companies and workers up, transfers risk to the companies and workers doing the work, doesn't create significant opportunities for new players, and is abused by some government agenci...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Nov 10, 2010, 12:32 pm
A guest blog, by Michael Richter There is a bizarre notion that infects society from time to time, and that bizarre notion is that democracy works universally. It doesn't. I'm not even talking here about how some cultures are not ready for democracy and how trying to force democracy on them proves i...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Nov 7, 2010, 4:06 pm
You may have noticed a new icon over on the right. I've recently opened The Happy Squid Store, where you can purchase assorted happy-squid goodies. Canadian orders include applicable taxes. Since I'm in Canada, I can't see what it does for US orders. As of a few minutes ago, there's even a sale on s...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Nov 5, 2010, 9:04 am
From John Reno Music on You Tube. Enjoy!
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Nov 4, 2010, 10:55 am
I am Yahoo! Yahoo!-Man That Yahoo!-Man. I do not like that Yahoo!-Man. Would you like some toolbar spam? I do not want it, Yahoo!-Man. I do not want your toolbar spam. Would you like it here or there? I do not want it here or there. I would not like it anywhere. I do not want your toolbar spam. I do...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Nov 2, 2010, 7:01 pm
This is a sort of non-sequitur post... it's just a passing thought that ran through my mind. Someone asked me for a picture of my Hallowe'en pumpkin, which I provided. When I uploaded it, I got to thinking how, if it was in a women's magazine, it would be photoshopped to be barely recognizeable as a...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Oct 27, 2010, 11:54 pm
A trending concept in business cost reduction is to shift the cost burden of cell phones and electronic devices onto employees. Have a read here at CNet. Apparently, Harrah's Entertainment, and other companies have convinced their employees to use their personal cell phones, at personal expense, for...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Oct 25, 2010, 7:43 am
Please, get out and vote. Municipal elections are the most important as they effect each person's life directly - unlike the relatively unimportant federal elections. It's funny that more people vote in federal elections, less in provincial and less still in municipal. It's funny because in reality,...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Oct 20, 2010, 12:13 pm
This is a great online comic strip for the more geekily inclined. Today, they hit the nail squarely on the head: This is a great argument to use on the people you know who try to slather you with their woo-woo bull. And remember, they're not talking about selling bullshit to people, they mean actual...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Oct 17, 2010, 11:23 am
A friend and I often have discussions about technology - we're geeks, it's what we do. He tends to be more out on the cutting edge of personal electronics than I am. Despite the fact that we share a plethora of opinion on a multitude of subjects, the general topic of personal electronics is a place ...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Oct 12, 2010, 11:42 am
I'm not generally a reviewer of games, but in this case, I think I have to make an exception. There is so much FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt... basically "bollocks") floating around regarding the newly released Civilization V that I thought I'd weigh in. My point of view is not as a die-hard...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Oct 10, 2010, 12:10 am
It's 10/10... Squidurday! Squidurday is when we celebrate the 10-armed squids and their cousin cuttlefishes... This is, of course, my favourite day. And it is a happy coincidence that the day after Squidurday is, in fact, my wedding anniversary :)
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Oct 9, 2010, 1:09 am
It's 9/10... Nautilus Night! Nautilus Night is when we celebrate the lesser-known living and extinct cephalopods...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Oct 8, 2010, 1:08 am
It's 8/10, and that marks the start of International Cephalopod Awareness Days! And today is Octopus Day when we celebrate the 8-armed species of legend, lore, and nightmare...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Sep 27, 2010, 8:23 pm
If you follow my amateur radio blog, you will notice that I am taking someone to task over a club membership site. The web designer of that site, seemingly on his own initiative, has decided to block access to users of Google Chrome. It seems that the site designer has an issue with Google Inc. On t...
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Darin Cowan posted an article on The Squid Zone - Sep 16, 2010, 3:56 am
When I was 17, I was facing the end of high school and thinking about the future. Like most lads, I had a bunch of ideas about what I wanted to do with my life. One of them was to join the military, which I did. But there was a close second... I was thinking of becoming an electrician and working on...
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