Vancouver Passenger Plane Crashes Beside Runway

Yesterday afternoon, at around 4:10 pm, a Vancouver charter plane crashed on the main road beside the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond B.C. The 7-passengers and 2 pilots were immediately rushed to the hospital once medical crews arrived about 4 minutes after the crash. If not for the heroics of the some of the bystanders who witnessed the crash and started pulling people out before the medical crews arrived, some lives may have been lost. 

Sadly, the RCMP have confirmed that Luc Fortin, 44, from North Vancouver has died in the hospital. "Despite all possible medical efforts, he was pronounced dead at Vancouver General Hospital about five hours later, at 9:10 p.m.," said a statement released by the B.C. Coroners office on Friday morning. All of the seven passengers in the plane were taken to the hospital and the two crew members, and two people who sustained injuries  in a car stuck by the plane. Two people remain in critical  condition, two others were discharged overnight, and four were in stable condition. There was still no word about the two people who were in the car, or on the condition of a pedestrian who was taken to the hospital after reportedly being struck by debris from the destroyed plane. 

The Beechcraft King Air 100 was only about fifteen minutes into it's flight when it started developing a problem. So the pilot corresponded with flight control and requested an emergency landing and they were given clearance for runway 26. On it's approach the aircraft banked hard to the left and crashed 900 meters short of the runway. Landing on Richmond's Russ Baker Way and hitting a lamp post and a car. 

This was a very unusual crash, and the cause it still left unexplained. In recordings of the conversation of the pilot and the air traffic controllers, everything seems calm and typical. He also even turned down the request for emergency services to be on scene. The cockpit voice recorder was immediately recovered and sent to Ottawa for analysis. The pilot had reported that an oil indicator light came on. However that didn't seem like a big deal, it ended up being very tragic. Lovelace, a veteran pilot spoke out about the situation and said that something catastrophic must have happened in the last thirty seconds of flight, because the pilot was very, very close to making a landing. Everyone wants to know what happened because it just doesn't make sense. 

My Thoughts

I think the heroics of the bystanders that all witnessed and helped out after the crash should be recognized by the city of Vancouver. If not for them, more lives may not have been saved on that tragic day. They were truly the first responders, because emergency crews didn't arrive for about 4 minutes later. Jet fuel burns so hot that is hard to even be withing 20 meters of it, and these people went right up to the raging fire and black smoke and started pulling people out of the wreckage. I am also very interested to find out the cause of this accident because it seemed as though it was just a normal incident that happens all of the time in air transportation, and it didn't have an effect until 30 seconds before landing. Even experts cant think of a possible reason for the crash of flight 204 on Thursday afternoon. 

Screen Time for Children Is Higher Than Ever

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/us/screen-time-higher-than-ever-for-children-study-finds.html?_r=1

In America, the screen time for children under 8 has rose significantly. Children are now using alternatives to TV such as iPad's, iPod's, Playbooks and other types of tablets to get their fix. Some can hardly speak, but they know how to unlock a smartphone and how to use the interface.

A study conducted by a non-profit San-Francisco group known as the Common Sense Media, showed the statistics of screen time from birth for youth. The study showed the half of the children under 8 had access to a smartphone, a video iPod, or an iPad and other types of tablets. However Television still remains the main source for screen time as the study showed that close to half of children under 2 watch DVD's or TV on a typical day for around 2 hours. Out of all the children under 2, the screen time is 53 minutes which is more than double the amount of time devoted to reading to children, at 23 minutes per day.

My Opinion


Clearly there is an important issue with screen time for youth in the United States that parents need to be aware of. Children are spending way too much time watching TV and playing apps when they could be learning something educational at an important time in their life when their minds are like a sponges. Yes, I understand there are some applications available that are educational, but children shouldn't be playing with tablets and other mobile devices when they are so young. They need to use this time of their life to absorb as much valuable information as they can to set themselves ahead of the others that are becoming couch potatoes. This will greatly help them in the future as they will not have as great of influence to watch TV, and will be more inclined to finish their homework and then watch TV to reward themselves. Ultimately, if you do well in school, then you will have a high chance of getting a great job which will help you support your own family and set yourself to become wealthy in the future.

The Artificial Intelligence Pioneer John McCarthy Has Died

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/10/25/john-mccarthy-obit.html

John McCarthy was a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence who believed that computers could be used to stimulate aspects of human intelligence. He was a professor emeritus at Stanford University, and also taught at Princeton, MIT, and Dartmouth in his career.

Stanford University announced that he passed in his home in Palo Alto on Monday morning. He is a Boston native who, at the age of 84, died a very decorated and respected man. He coined the term "Artificial Intelligence" in a 1955 research paper. He invented Lisp, which is a programming language which paved the way for voice recognition technology innovations such as the new personal assistant on the new iPhone known as Siri.

McCarthy was and inspiration to many scientists and researches and his legacy will always have a mark in the history of the field.

My Opinion


I thought this was a very interesting article. I have studied about artificial intelligence in the past and it is a very cool topic. Although I never knew anything about how the field was created and who the pioneers of the science were. As soon as i saw this title on CBC.ca I was immediately drawn to it and had to give it a read. Most people would be surprised at how much research and time gets put into creating artificial intelligence, and how many issues occur with the programming. It is a field that requires great intelligence to be successful in, and pioneers of the science should always be honored and commemorated.

Atlanta and the Zombie Apocalypse

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/us/zombie-apocalypse-in-atlanta.html?_r=1&hp

The Southern America city known as Atlanta has been nicknamed "The Zombie Capital Of The World." Numerous horror shows like "The Walking Dead" are filmed here. The Horror business is really big here. Five star movies have been made here such as "Halloween II" and "Zombieland," which help pump millions of dollars into the local economy. 

Atlanta is also home to some of the world's largest zombie film festivals, zombie haunted houses, and zombie parades. There were 6000 people that applied to be zombie extras on "The Walking Dead," and only 200 are chosen each season. It is a difficult job because the pay is meager, the weather is hot, the hours are long, are your friends can barely recognize you in the background will all of the fake blood and spray on corpse-paint. "You have to be the sort of kid that grew up practicing your zombie walk in the mirror," said Kevin Galbraith, a lanky, 115 pound, 24-year-old from Georgia State University. "I feel more alive than ever when I'm dead," said the lucky college student who has beat the odds and has been cast both seasons of the shows existence. 

So why is Atlanta the mecca for zombies?

There are many theories as to why Atlanta is so the most popular place for zombie-associated things. The main reason why is because it is where the birth of the hit TV show "The Walking Dead" occurred. The reason producers decided to film this show here is because a large southern city was desired, and Atlanta is where DragonCon is held. A fantasy and science fiction expo which is one of the worlds largest gathering of zombies. Also this sprawling city has countless abandoned or foreclosed properties which make it easy to look spooky. 

The government also plays a big role in the scene too. In 2005, the bureaucrats provided Georgia with some of the nations most advantageous tax incentives for filmmakers. Since then, the money spent on film-making on everything from music videos, to television commercials and so on, has skyrocketed from $132 million to $759 million. 

Political Debate 2011: Healthcare

Last Tuesday on the 27th of September, representatives from the Liberals, NDP, and the P.C. party all  gathered for an election debate. Representing the P.C. party was Tim Hudak, representing the Liberals  was Dalton McGinty and representing the NDP was Andrea Horwath. They were addressed with ten  questions that were sent in by the Public, and were asked to discuss the topic. They received 2000  videos that were sent in. Mr. " " was the moderator for this debate.

When the politicians received the question about public healthcare, their was lots of mixed emotions in  the room.  McGuinty and Horwarth were the two who started off the 1 on 1, and then Hudak was added a couple minutes later. It was a difficult debate, all three politicians were very aggressive and expressed their true feelings about healthcare.

Bringing back the healthcare and changing priorities is what Andrea Horwath has in plan if she is elected into the premier position. She also promised to cap plans for CEOs in hospitals and improve home healthcare. She also believes we need to work on keeping public emergency rooms open and need to cut wait times.

McGuinty, in defense of his position, expressed that our province has the shortest waiting times in the country for major hip and knee surgeries and so on. He thinks the Prime Minister and the Premier of Ontario need to sit down and hammer out a new healthcare plan, he also noted that there is lots of room for exciting innovation in public healthcare.

Mr. Hudak made a bold statement, saying that he would invest 6.1 billion dollars into healthcare, as well as homecare. His was trying to gain support from patients in hospitals that he has great recognition for.

My Opinion

Overall, I thought it was a great question with lots of intuitive answers. However I think Mr. McGuinty won this debate because his answers were well presented and he was clear about the audience he was speaking to. The other two were just throwing out answers and really didn’t have anything to back up their thoughts, they both just kept saying "the people I'm talking to," which has no specific regard to any individuals. In an election debate nobody wants to hear the ear candy that these politicians ramble on about. They need to be able to produce facts to backup their platform and reinsure the public that they are a good selection for premier. Sure Mr. McGuinty was mumbling a bit, but that's because he was thinking deeply about his responses and always had something to support or defend his argument.  

Oshawa Military Museum May Have to Sell Historic Tanks

Toronto Sun

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/29/oshawa-military-museum-may-have-to-sell-tanks

Oshawa, Ontario is where The Regiment Museum is found which has a link to history dating back to the 1850's. It has about 70 operational vehicles including the famous Sherman, M60 Patton and M551 Sheridan Tanks, as well as a large variety of armored personnel carriers and jeeps. 

Members of the Ontario Regiment Museum say they may have to sell some of their historic military vehicles in order to keep their doors open to the public. "It is a constant struggle to keep the doors open," said museum spokesperson Terry Woods. "We are in danger of selling some of our vehicles to stay open." He said it takes a great deal of money to maintain all the enormous tanks and heavy equipment. Plus, on top of that you have the cost for fuel for these big diesel downers. 

The museum is primarily supported through donations and fundraising, including the $100 it costs to become a member and volunteer at the museum. A fundraising event is planned for this Saturday at the museum at 1000 Stevenson Rd. N., on the south side of the Oshawa airport. Which will feature a 1945 U.S. made Sherman Tank. 

Aside from being one of the oldest continuously serving reserve regiments in Canada, The Ontario Regiment Museum is also one of the senior armoured regiments in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. The Ontario Regiment was officially formed from the nine independent rifle companies in on September 14th, 1866.

My Opinion

I think the Ontario Government needs to take action on this. Canadian needs to keep its valuable history that helped to form this very lifestyle we live now. Ontario has already had other museums shut down in the past few weeks and it would sure be a shame if we lost this one too. There is just too much history in this place for it to be auctioned off to some hillbilly. You would think Canada would support one of its longest serving regiments, that has protected this country since the beginning. 

iPhone 5 Could be Unveiled Next Week

Toronto Sun
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/27/new-iphone-could-be-unveiled-next-week

Exciting news for iPhone fans, Apple Inc looks to set next week to unveil its much-awaited new iPhone. Which analysts say will work better with remote computing devices and have a bigger screen. The new iPhone would be the first major product launch under Tim Cook, who took over last month as chief executive after co-founder Steve Jobs resigned last month. It is unclear if Jobs, who is now chairman will take the stage at the event.

Introduced in 2007, the iPhone, with the touchscreen template now adopted by its rivals, remains the gold standard in the booming smartphone market.

The new model, which most have dubbed the iPhone 5, will have a bigger touchscreen, better antenna and an 8-megapixel camera. Hon Hai Precision Industries Co Ltd and Pegatron Corp of Taiwan will make the new phone, and have been told to gear up capacity for up to 45 million units in total.

The iPhone 4 launched back in June 4th of 2010 in black 16 gigabyte and 32 gigabyte models, and released white ones in April. During the developer event in June is usually when the company refreshes its iPhone lineup, however they delayed the new model this year. Some analysts are expecting another version of the iPhone 4 to be released along with the next model.

"The new (iPhone) 4 will tackle the prepaid market and the (iPhone) 5 will have the A5 chip that's in the iPad and be faster, thinner and possibly with a bigger screen," Colin Gillis, analyst with BCG Partners said. He cited possible voice-recognition features as well. -Toronto Sun

In the third quarter which ended June 25th, Apple sold 20.34 million iPhones. Which analysts say helped it vault past Nokia and Samsung Electronics earning the title of the world's biggest smartphone maker. Shares of Apple rose 0.6 percent to $405.66 on Nasdaq early Tuesday afternoon.

My Opinion


To be honest, it really doesn't matter when Apple releases their new model, they are already taking over the electronic market, and already have enough power to keep going without a new product. Whether its next week, next month, or next year, they are still making large amounts of profit, and will probably double that profit with the release of a new laptop.

I think it would be very interesting if Apple bought out another mobile phone company to expand their company, however this is unlikely to happen because they are already large enough and have differentiated themselves from the other companies, which is what makes them so successful. They are always launching new, which creates the excitement and demand for the "new thing". Nobody ever wants to have old technology, we all want to walk down the street with our paper thin phone pressed against our ear, and our 3D laptops in our backpacks.

Research Exposes Rise In Bluetooth Security Risks

Codenomicon, a Finnish data security firm, says software faults in Bluetooth devices are becoming easier to exploit, putting users at risk. 

Bluetooth radio technology is becoming more and more popular, as it is widely used to connect cellphones and other Bluetooth devices to their accessories. And the security of these devices has never been considered a major issue.

However, in a research paper, Codenomicon said that it found critical problems in all Bluetooth-enabled car-kits it tested this year.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Bluetooth car-kits allow users to talk hands-free while they drive. Faulty security can give criminals access to important information on users phones and coding errors could lead to corruption to the car's electronic system and put drivers safety at risk.

"The problems are in the implementation. Coders make human mistakes," said technology chief Ari Takanen. Adding in that deciding which device was more secure was extremely difficult.

"Quality of the software is rarely visible to consumers."

When asked to comment on the findings, Bluetooth industry lobby Bluetooth SIG said the technology was secure.

"One of the reasons these members pick Bluetooth wireless technology is because of the strong security Bluetooth technology can provide through effective implementations of the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) who build these products," said Mike Foley, Bluetooth SIG's executive director.

My Opinion

As the industry is quickly expanding, and it becomes more and more popular and the demand for Bluetooth products is increasing, the security on these devices needs to be top notch. Especially with the new rules that Ontario is implementing about being on your cell phone while driving, people are buying Bluetooth devices to cure the addiction. I am convinced that pretty soon Bluetooth will become standard in all vehicles, meaning the security of these devices has to be able to defend against criminals.  If not, massive amounts of personal data could be leaked, leading to a technology crisis and major controversy.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/23/bluetooth-devices-security-risks-rising-research

American Hikers Finally Released From Iran Prison

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/world/middleeast/iranian-lawyer-says-2-american-hikers-hopefully-are-about-to-be-freed.html?_r=3&hp

It all began when Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal where backpacking through the outback and they wandered over the border from Iraq by mistake, however their situation became quickly entangled with Iran's foreign and domestic politics. In the last few days, their fate became of part of what analysts call a power struggle. A dispute between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the conservative establishment he has angered.

"Mr. Ahmadinejad had promised last week that the men would be freed as a humanitarian gesture, "in a couple days""- New York Times. It seemed as the announcement was to gain favourable attention for the Iranian leader before he flew out to New York to attend this week's United Nations General Assembly meeting.

However soon after his announcement, Iran's judiciary denied that the men would be freed imminently, saying it took exclusive authority to order their release and striking a very public blow to the presidents standing.

"Analysts said they believed that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s conservative critics were willing to allow the release Wednesday because they wanted Iran to project a magnanimous image as it takes to the world stage and because they had accomplished their goal: delivering a message to the president that he is not fully in charge" (New York Times).

In the end they weren't going to completely undermine the president of the country, but they did make their point.

Ahmadinejad got what he wanted, the men were release before his speech at the United Nations, however the judiciary got what they wanted as well.

Before the Americans’ arrival in Oman, their families said in a prepared statement that “the joy and relief we feel at Shane and Josh’s long-awaited freedom knows no bounds” and that they would now “catch up on two lost years and make a new beginning, for them and for all of us.”

My Opinion

I believe that the United Nations needs to address the issue of governmental corruption in some countries such as Iran at one of their gatherings.These men were put in jail, without any evidence that was presented to the public, on the belief that they were American spies. They were also charged a $500,000 bailout fee for the two men, an unethical and unfair agreement for the United States Government. Iran's judiciary should not be allowed to hold these men in confinement for two years, based on the belief that they were American spies. Number one I think they should have to produce visible evidence to the public, and number two, I think they should have a discussion with Iraq, in order to determine a suitable punishment.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/09/19/passports-cost.html

Canadians could end up spending a lot more than the standard $87 for a passport in the near future when the new electronic (e-passports) go mainstream.

The first version issued to top government officials cost $225 as claimed in an expense file by Stephen Harper. The cost of e-passports for Harper and his family was picked up by taxpayers.

Passport Canada is in the midst of consulting Canadians on e-passports. As stated in an email response to CBCNews.CA on Monday.

E-passports are valid for five years, just like the current standard versions. A similar passport with a chip in the U.S. costs $135 and lasts 10 years.

The main difference with an e-passport is security and preventing fraud. The chip holds key personal data such as the holder’s photo and your country's specific signature that proves the passport was issued by the Government of Canada. The visible photo must match the photo stored on the chip as well as the ghost photo printed in ultraviolet ink. The chip is also electronically locked, so it will indicate if someone as accessed the information stored on it and tampered it, and fraud will be detected.

Passport Canada points out that 95 other countries, including the U.S. and U.K., use the e-passport with "no reported chip failures". In the unlikely event that a chip cannot be read, the passport is still valid because is still contains all of the security features on the current, non-electronic Canadian passport.

This is obviously way too much money for Canadians to be spending on passports and a tax grab at that. I would assume that Passport Canada wold reduce this ridiculous price, because I don't think many people would buy a new passport at this price, especially for your family. 

I am also not convinced that it has that much more security potential because we all know that electronic things have glitches and issues that can ruin them, and I think this is what is going to start happening to the chips located inside the passport. If a credit card with a chip in it costs little to nothing and has about the same amount of personal information on it, then why is a passport so expensive?