Statistics are HOT

In case you have been wondering if the Swine Flu reporting is appropriate or maybe a little bit over heated, Hans sets us straight.



So, are you more scared of Swine Flu, tuberculosis, or driving to work? According to Transport Canada in 2006 there were 2889 people killed in motor vehicle collision. So a 13 day period as discussed in the video, in Canada 102.90 people would be kill on the roads compared with the 31 people world wide that were killed by Swine Flu.

Bad acting

Do you ever feel like the quality of acting has really fallen off over the years. I am not talking the content, that is your own personal view. I am talking about the ability of the actor to convince you that what you are seeing is believable. Here is a fine example:



These two should spring for some more acting lessons.

Did you know a Balsam Fir can bury itself, sort of

I was actually looking for information on growing a Hemlock in the Edmonton area when I cam across this article on the strategies of shade tolerant tree species. It is really odd to think of a small Balsam Fir you pass in the forest that is only 10 cm - 20 cm in diameter, could be more than 100 years old. And this is a common strategy among the shade tolerant tree species. Very cool

Are you Marie Curious?

If chemistry has always bored and/or baffled you, this might spark some interest. At the very least the music is pretty sweet.

The World of Chemistry

Are you Marie Curious? That isn't my joke, but I do like it.

Thanks for the link Mike.

How much sugar are you eating?

I was surprised by a few of the items. The liter of cola, while larger than I might have guessed, I did expected to large. Others like a serving of grapes and oranges were completely surprising.

Sugar Stacks

Clean coal ad

I was watching an episode of Democracy Now about the Power Shift '09 demonstration in Washington DC, and they showed this clean coal ad:



I found it very entertaining.

Climate Wars

If you want to despair about the future of the climate, here is an interesting and informative three hour series on climate change.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

To summarise what I have listen to so far, the range of opinions in the scientific community is:
1. The future is bad
2. The future is a lot worse than bad
3. Opinion two is like a pleasant Sunday stroll.

And the data we are getting now suggests the first two opinions are no longer viable.