Star blast likely most distant object ever seen

This article talks about how scientists have detected the most distant explosion ever near the edge of the observable universe. The stellar blast was first spotted by a NASA satellite in April 2009, but researchers announced Wednesday that they have since gathered data placing it more than 13 billion light years away. This means that the explosion happened when the universe was still very young. Andrew Levan, one of the scientists behind the discovery, said this blast from the past blew open a window onto the universe's early years, showing that massive stars were already dying within the first few hundred million years of the birth of the universe. Scientists have said that the intensity of the explosion creates, in a few seconds, the same amount of energy expended by the sun in it's whole 10 billion year life span.

I think that it is quite amazing that scientists have discovered an explosion that is approximately 13 billion light years away. I mean 13 billion light years is a hard number to wrap your head around. It means that the light produced from the explosion took 13 billion years to reach the earth and it's traveling insanely fast. According to Wikipedia, which is always right, light travels at approximately 186,282 miles per second. This means that light could travel around the world about 7.5 times in one second. Also, in the article it talks about how the energy from the explosion in just a few seconds equaled all of the energy that has every been created by th sun and all of the energy that it will ever create in it's 10 billion year life span. All I have to say is, that there was one hell of an explosion 13 billion years ago!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/05/26/science-grb-swift-distant.html

Blind people echolocate with visual part of brain

This article talks about the how some people who are blind sense objects that are around them by using a technic known as echolocation. Echolocation is basically when a blind person makes clicking noises, which travel away from the mouth until they are deflected by objects back towards the person, to detect things that are around them. In a study, scientists have discovered that these blind people that use this technic use the part of their brain that people with vision use to see. Some people who use echolocation are so good at it that they can actually use it to hike, mountain bike, and even play basketball. They discovered that people use the seeing part of the brain, when they echolocate, by doing a test in which they measured the amount of oxygen consumption different parts of the brain have while performing specific tasks. The more oxygen a part of the brain uses the harder it is working. The last thing that the scientists discovered during the study is that when blind people use echolocation they actually don't really rely on their ears at all.

If seen shows about people who use echolocation to get around on a day to day basis and I find it to be quite amazing. I don't understand how it's even possible to sense what is in front of you by feeling echoes made a clicking sound that you made. The actually quite mind blowing. Anyways, it's also quite interesting how people use the seeing part of their brain while they echolocate. In a way it's kind of like they actually are seeing what's in front of them. I find it hard to believe that some blind people who are really good at echolocation could actually use their skill to go mountain biking and to play basketball. for me that's just a little to unbelievable. I mean I can barely play basketball with 20/20 vision.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/05/25/science-echolocation-blind.html

No internet in 1/5 Canadian homes

This article talks about how, many Canadians still don't have internet access in their homes. About a fifth of Canadian households, many among the poorest in the country, still have no internet access in 2010. Around forty six percent of people who are considered to be low class citizens, (people who make $30,000 or less) have no internet access at all, according to Statistics Canada's 2010 Internet Use Survey. Then in the high class level, (people who make $87,000 or more) only three percent of people lack internet access. The survey also discovered that older people are more likely not to have interest in have access to the internet. This can be explained because they have lived the majority of their lives without it and they have no interest in taking time to learn how to use it. One of the last things that the survey brought to light is that families with young kids and teenagers are far more likely to have internet access.

According to the survey one out of every five people in Canada don't have access to the internet. This really surprises me for a few reasons. First of all I live in a society that literally everyone has access to the internet pretty much 24/7 all year round. I guess it does make sense though that some older people just aren't interested in the internet because they have lived their entire lives without it, even though most of the older people that I know, such as my Opa, are on the internet all the time. Also I don't find it very surprising that lots of people who are considered lower class don't have access to the internet, probably due to the fact that it's just to expensive on a monthly basis. Over all though I am quite surprised that one out of every five Canadians don't have access to the internet.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/05/25/technology-internet-use-statistics-canada.html

Canadians' love of texting bigger than ever

This article talks about how texting has become ever more popular in Canada over the years. Canada is the birthplace of the Blackberry and mobile e-mail, and we're among the most obsessed users of Facebook and now texting. Texting is considered to be somewhat of an old-school form of electrical communication; it was first introduced in Canada in 2002 and it is now bigger than ever. According to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, 56.4 billion texts were sent in Canada in 2010, up 60 per cent from the 35.3 billion sent the previous year. Although Canada has so many different new ways of communicating people still seem to like texting more than anything else. "I think text messaging has a certain appeal just because it is so instant and so quick and all you have to know is a person's phone number," said association spokesman Marc Choma. Overall the article basically talks about how texting is one of the largest forms of communication in Canada and how it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

I'm quite surprised at the number of text messages sent in Canada in 2010. 56.4 billion is an extremely large number, that's about an average of 4.7 billion texts sent per month. Personally, I'm a big fan of texting my friends because it's probably the easiest way to communicate with somebody who isn't in the same room as you. I think the number of text messages sent in Canada is going to keep growing because more and more people are getting cell phones every year and texting isn't going to take a back seat to any other form of electronic communication.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/05/17/texting-canada-popularity.html

Fossil of a giant ant found in North America

This article talks about how a fossil of a giant ant has been found for the first time in North America. The same sort of fossils were found previously found in Europe and these giant ants have been said to have lived 50 million years ago. This winged queen ant was found and collected in the Green River Formation in Wyoming and some scientists believe that it is a new species. The giant ant is about the same size and mass of a small bird such as the hummingbird seen in the picture above. Bruce Archibald, a Simon Fraser University researcher, identified the ant and has said, "It's pretty impressive." Archibald, a specialist in fossils of insects, is leading the research project on the ant. Archibald has realized that the fossil closely resembles a giant ant species that lived in Germany during the Early Eocene period. This new North American species has been named Titanomyrma lubei. The fact that the ant fossils have been found in different continents shows that during the period in which these ant lied they must have found a way to travel from Europe to North America and back.

Personally, I find the fact that there used to be giant ants is rather scary. I can just imagine coming face to face with one of those things which would probably result in me running away as fast as I possibly could. It was said in the article that during the time that these ants lived the earth was in a tropical climate, which means it was very warm all around the world. This could explain how the ants traveled between North America and Europe. It could have been hot enough that the ocean could have been dried up enough to leave a pathway between continents. Another way to explain this travel is the fact that these giant ants had wings. For all we know the ants could have been able to fly around for days at a time. Overall though, I think the world is a better place with these giant ants extinct.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/05/06/science-giant-ant-archibald.html

Sony to restart Playstation Network

This article talks about how the Playstation network is being rebooted after being down for nearly a month. The server had been shut down on April 19 due to a security breach. Hackers had breached the security and had gained access to the personal information of over 77 million accounts world wide. This incident had been considered one of the biggest data breaches on record and Sony admits that the hackers likely gained access to names, addresses, and credit card information of the users of the Playstation network. The network has already started to function again in the Americas and it will continue to restart in Europe, Australia, New Zealand an the Middle East. The restart has been set to be completed on May 31.

I believe that the fact that the Playstation network was hacked shows just how inferior it is to Xbox live, which has never had any security breach problems. I'm sure that Sony has lost a lot of money due to this incident not only because the server was down, but because they are giving special 'welcome back' packages to all active users of the Playstation network. In the long run, Playstation has probably lost many current and future customers due to their lack of security in the Playstation network. It is scheduled to be back up around the world by May 31, with added security features such as extra firewalls.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/05/14/playstation-restoration.html

Getting bin Laden

This article talks about how Obama ordered a commando raid that ended up killing terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden. Obama said that the risks were outweighed by the possibilities. He also said that the helicopter raid "was the longest 40 minutes of my life," during an interview with 60 minutes. Obama and his personal aides knew what was happening during the raid, but they could not get clear information on what was actually happening in the compound itself. Obama has said that it was a very difficult decision to order the helicopter raid because they couldn't guarantee that Osama bin Laden was, in fact, in the compound. Obama has also stated that bin Laden must of had some sort of support network inside of Pakistan in order to stay hidden for so long. Bin Laden was hiding in a heavily guarded compound Abbottabad, a city with various Pakistani military bases, for years.

As we all know Osama bin Laden was the mastermind behind the devastating disaster known as 9/11. During this attack around 3,000 American citizens died. Because of this the American government has been tracking down bin Laden ever since. The fact that Osama bin Laden has been confirmed dead is very great news to the people of the United States and the world. Bin Laden was the leader of the Taliban and the fact that he's dead could result in less terrorist activity in the world. I wish I was as bad-ass as the Navy SEAL's that brought down bin Laden once and for all.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/05/08/bin-laden-wives.html

Asian 'Unicorn" gets Nature Reserve

This article talks about how a nature reserve has been established in central Vietnam for the critically endangered saola. The saola looks like a small deer or antelope with two horns. It is locally know as the Asian 'unicorn'. Researchers believe that the saola are numbered from a few dozen to a few hundred which is why the WWF has made the nature reserve. The land set aside last week in the central province of Quang Nam is rich in bio-diversity and home to an estimated 50 to 60 saolas, said Pham Thanh Lam, director of the Forest Bureau in the province. The article also talks about how hunting is a way to earn a living for many ethnic minority people. Lam said that if they didn't establish a nature reserve for the saola, it would have definitely become extinct. Aside from the reserve the WWF is making an effort to educate people who live in the area about the saola's possible extinction.

I think that the WWF made the right move by establishing a nature reserve for the saola. Because many of the people in Vietnam have to hunt for food it was inevitable that the saola would have become extinct if somebody didn't do something. When a species numbers gets bellow a thousand you know that they could be on the verge of becoming extinct; the saola's numbers are anything from a few dozen to a few hundred so it was absolutely essential that the WWF made a reserve when they did.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/04/18/tech-vietnam-saola.html

Liberals narrow gap to 6 points in campaign’s ‘first possible shift’

This article talks about how Liberals have narrowed the gap in the poles for the election coming up soon. The reason for this is that, according to the poles, the NDP lost support while the Liberals gained support. Support for Michael Ignatieff’s team jumped from 28.7 percent to 32.7 percent, while NDP support dropped to 15.9 per cent from 19.6 per cent. Bloc Quebecois is staying steady at 8.7 percent while Green Party support went from 4.1 percent to 3.7percent. Also, 21.7 percent of Canadians that were surveyed say that haven't decided which party they're going to vote for yet. “Most of the Liberal gains were in the Prairies, co-incidental with the tour of Michael Ignatieff and his announcement of his election platform."“This suggests that voters are becoming increasingly focused on the platforms and ideas proposed by the federal parties,” Says Mr. Nanos, the person taking the poles.

I think the fact that people are switching their support from NDP to Liberal is very interesting. To me, the campaign is really only between the Conservatives and the Liberals so the fact that they're pretty close in the poles should make the actual election pretty close. I don't really have an opinion of who should win, considering I can't vote, but I'm sure that which ever party wins will probably do a good job of running the government.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/liberals-narrow-gap-to-6-points-in-campaigns-first-possible-shift/article1964548/

Election set for May

This article is about how Harper's Conservative government has lost the confidence of the other political parties and how there is going to be a federal election on May 2. Harper finally lost the confidence of the House of Commons on Friday and asked the Governor General David Johnston to dissolve parliament for a general election. Harper believes that most Canadians won't be happy about have an election simply because he doesn't think they want one. This is going to be Canada's fourth election in seven years. All of the other parties believe that it is time for a change because Harper's government isn't doing things in the best interest of Canadian citizens. Liberal leader, Michael Ignatieff, has said that some of the members of the Conservative party have been accused of electoral fraud and stealing money from their clients in their past careers. "Mr. Harper has demonstrated that his Conservatives have really no interest in working with other parties."

I believe that it is a good thing that there is going to be a federal election. The reason for this is that it gives Canada as a country a chance to decide once again who they want to run their country. I don't really have that much of an opinion on which party should win, but the fact is a lot of people want change so an election won't hurt. Everyone knows that the election is pretty much Liberal vs. Conservatives so I guess we'll see what happens in May.

http://thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3045056

NASA spacecraft Messenger now circling Mercury

This article talks about how NASA has a spacecraft called Messenger orbiting Mercury. Messenger successfully veered into pinpoint orbit Thursday night after a 6 1/2 year trip and 7.9 billion kilometers. Mercury is the fifth planet in our solar system that NASA has orbited. NASA has said that positioning Messenger was very tricky because of the gravitational pull of the sun. Everyone at NASA is very happy that Messenger is in place and now it can do it's job. Messenger will begin to take pictures and scan of Mercury in NASA's attempt to understand how it works. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun in our solar system and because of that Mercury has a very extreme climate. The surface of Mercury reaches up to 800 degrees, but in some craters that don't receive any light it is colder than 300 degrees below zero.

I think that the fact that NASA will be able to learn a lot more about how Mercury works is really great. We will have a grater understanding of our solar system after Messenger has collected data on Mercury. Maybe NASA will find life forms on Mercury that could help us understand our solar system more. Although it would be cool if Mercury had life forms on it I think that it is very unlikely. No life form could live in the conditions on Mercury because it's either way to hot or way to cold. Overall though, the fact that NASA is collecting data on Mercury is quite amazing.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/nasa-spacecraft-messenger-now-circling-mercury/article1946951/

Toronto doctors try Microsoft's Kinect in OR

This article talks about how some doctors at Sunnybrook Hospital are using the Xbox 360 Kinect to save time and prevent contamination in the operating room. Basically, a team at Sunnybrook Hospital has started using the Xbox 360 Kinect, a hands-free gaming console equipped with a motion sensor, to virtually manipulate hey medical images during surgery. The doctors use hand gestures to zoom in and out of the images that they need to see during surgeries without leaving the operating table. Surgeons typically have to leave the sterile field around the patient when they want to pull up images such as MRI or CT scans on a nearby computer. They then have to go through a meticulous cleanup before returning to the area to make sure they don't bring in any bacteria that could harm the patient. This whole process can waste a lot of time. Because Kinect is hands-free, surgeons can stay in the sterile area by the patient and control what happens on the Kinect and bring up images that they need to see to continue with the surgery that they are performing.

The fact that the Xbox 360 Kinect, a gaming console, is innovating the way surgeries are done is truly amazing. I don't own a Kinect, but I do have an Xbox 360 and I have tried the Kinect. Basically it's a camera that sees in 3-D and it scans your body movements and you control with hand and body gestures. In the article it mentions that the doctors at Sunnybrook Hospital that have used the Kinect during surgeries say that is made everything a lot easier and faster. So far the Kinect has only been used at Sunnybrook but I'm sure that if it continues to work successfully and save time during surgeries that Kinect will soon be seen in Hospitals all over Ontario and in time all across North America.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/gadgets-and-gear/gadgets/toronto-doctors-try-microsofts-kinect-in-or/article1947107/

France fines Google over Street View privacy breaches

This article talks about how France has fined Google due to the fact that Google collected personal data from Wi-Fi networks while they were going through France with their Street View cameras. What happened was that when Google went through France with their Street View technology the technology collected data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks, which means that Google has gathered information from many French Citizens including things like: e-mails, web browsing histories, online banking details, and even passwords. This incident, which people have been calling "Wi-Spy," was caused by an engineer's careless error as well as a lack of controls to ensure that necessary procedures to protect privacy were followed. Google has two months to appeal the fine, but Google has said that they will do their best to delete all of the information that they collected "by accident".

I think that it isn't right that Google has collected personal information from people without their consent because, in a way, it's stealing. Google isn't literally stealing the information from people, but they are copying it and storing it. I think that this situation can be compared to someone cheating on a test. Google is, in a way, sneaking around the classroom and looking at everyones answers. Although Google has claimed that it was a mistake, there is no way of being sure. It's possible that Google collected peoples e-mail addresses to send them messages advertising Google products such as Android phones. This is just an example of something that Google could do with the information that they have gathered but there are endless possibilities. Maybe Google truly gathered all of that data by accident.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/france-fines-google-over-street-view-privacy-breaches/article1949730/

Internet Usage

This article talks about how Canadians have been crowned the most active users of the internet in the world, according to a new global report. According to a report done by ComScore, Canadians spend an average of 43.5 hours online every month. This almost twice the global average of 23.1 hours per month. In second place, America had 35.3 hours spent on the internet per month. Canada saw a two percent increase in internet users and they think it's due to the fact that more people over the age of 55 are starting to use the internet.

I don't find this surprising at all. The reason for this is that I live in an environment where everyone uses the internet everyday. Since everyone at St. Andrew's has a laptop and there is wireless internet throughout the school, these stats don't surprise me at all. I probably spend more than the Canadian average of hours, 43.5, on the internet per month. I'd say, on average, I probably spend 2 hours on the internet every day and in a month that would be around 60 hours. This is why I don't find the fact that Canada has the highest average of hours spent on the internet per month surprising at all.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/03/09/canadians-internet-most-active.html

Mercury's Health Effects

This article talks about the health issues with mercury and how the UN and Canada are trying to ban mercury in household items. Back in ancient Egypt doctors believed that mercury helped cure syphilis, but nowadays we know that this isn't true. Canada stopped producing mercury in 1975 and now, in 2011, Ottawa has proposed that Canada should ban the import and sale of most mercury products, starting in 2012. The proposal would outlaw mercury in thermometers, thermostats, and batteries. This wouldn't be a big deal because their are other alternative materials for all of these products. This proposal would also limit the amount of mercury in products that require the metal. The last thing that the article talks about is how there are three different form of mercury and how they are all toxic to humans. Some side effects of prolonged exposure to mercury are loss of coordination, memory loss, weakness, illness, and in some cases death.

I believe that mercury should be banned. According to the article, there are alternative materials we could use to replace mercury in household objects. Why take unnecessary risks by using mercury, which is poisonous, when you could just use something else that isn't poisonous. When you look at some of the side effects of prolonged exposure to mercury which include: memory loss, illness, and even death, using mercury when you don't really have to just seems stupid. This is why I believe that the Canadian government should do what ever it takes to ban mercury all together.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/03/01/tech-mercury-in-depth.html

Water trapped inside rocks for billions of years

This article talks about how scientists have found water trapped in rocks that is over a billion years old. These rocks were found 3 kilometers underground in an African gold mine. Also, water wasn't the only thing they found in the rocks. They also found small living organisms called microbes. These microscopic organisms are said to be similar to organisms living at the bottom of the oceans. The oldest thing that they found in the African gold mine was dissolved neon gas. By looking at the composition of the neon gas, scientists have said that it is 2-2.7 billion years old. This means that that neon gas has been on earth for half of the earths life, because the earth has only existed for 4.5 billion years.

The fact that they have found water, neon gas, and microbes 3 kilometers underground is really interesting. I think that these discoveries are really cool but not that helpful because there isn't much you can discover using what they found. The only thing that they should really do with what they found is study the microbes because they're actually alive. Who knows maybe these microbes are some of the earliest lifeforms to exist on earth as we know it.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/02/25/science-water-rocks-sherwood-lollar.html

Remote Control War

This article talks about the advancement of robots in the military, specifically in the United States. It talks about a documentary film, Remote Control War, in which it shows that some soldiers can be sitting in rooms controlling heavy duty aircrafts with a remote while the aircraft is dropping bombs on areas of Afghanistan. They say that this advancement in technology is going to change warfare forever. For example, the U.S. military has robots that can dispose of bombs and if the bomb explodes that no lives are lost only a robot. This makes being in the armed forces a little safer. Also scientists say that in the next couple of decades, robots are going to be able to do anything that a soldier can.

I think that the fact that the military is using remote control aircrafts and robots that can diffuse bombs is really cool, but in the long run it could have a negative effect. The fact that these robots will lower the number of friendly casualties is good, but what happens when the robots become to advanced? If scientists start to develop robots that can think for themselves things could go wrong. All of a sudden robots could start to rebel against humans like in the Terminator. This is why I think that the development of robotic technology in warfare is good but scientists should make the robots capable of thinking for themselves.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/02/23/technology-robots-war.html

The Hitting Age

This article talks about the hitting age in Canadian and American hockey. In Canada the age in which kids can start hitting in hockey is 11, but the people behind these studies believe that it should be raised to 13. According to the study, conducted by the University of Calgary, body-checking in Pee Wee hockey, ages 11 and 12, more than triples the risk of concussions and injuries. However, Charles Tator, a University of Toronto neurologist, doesn't believe that the study done in Calgary has enough evidence to support raising the hitting age in Canada.

When I was 11 I played hockey and I never got injured from getting hit. The reason for this is that I was one of the bigger kids on the ice, but a lot of the smaller kids in the league would get hurt on occasion. This is why I think that hitting in hockey at the age of 11 and 12 is some what of an issue, but not something that should be taken out of hand. I think that if they're going to raise the age of hitting that they should only raise it one year because what's hockey without a little contact?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/02/21/concussion-hockey-bodycheck-age.html

Stretching Before Running Doesn't Help

This article talks about how it doesn't matter whether you stretch or not before running. A study in San Diego concludes that injuries during running are more likely depending on the amount of miles run, the heavier and older the runner, recent injury, and switching pre-run stretching routines. Dr. Pereles did a study on almost 3000 people and he split them into two groups, those who stretched before running and those who didn't. He also took a handful of people from each group and made them change their routines to the opposite. They were monitored for three months and the first two groups had the same results. The third group on the other hand had the highest percentage of injuries. In conclusion, it doesn't matter whether you stretch or not before running, but you should change up your routine.

I personally like to stretch a little bit before running and because I'm a teenager I'm probably less prone to injury than older people, but that doesn't mean that I think everyone should stretch. As it said in the article, you should change up your routine because it will make you more prone to injury. The reasons that I like to stretch before running are that I feel more loose and ready to go after stretching and it's what I was taught to do. Even though I prefer to stretch before running, I know that it doesn't really make a difference. For example, I play basketball this term and nobody on my team stretches and non of us get injured very often. This is why I think that it doesn't matter what your pre-run warm up is as long as your happy with it.

Energy Drinks Discouraged for Kids and Teens

This article talks about the potential harms that the ingredients, like caffeine, in energy drinks can have on kids and teens. The article has quotes from Dakota Sailor, an 18 year old high school student, who says that she had a seizure and was hospitalized for 5 days due to the caffeine in two energy drinks that she had in rapid succession. She has sworn off drinking energy drinks and she thinks that everyone else should to. The report says that some energy drinks have 4 or 5 times more caffeine than regular caffeine-based drinks like coke and Sailor said that some kids drink 4 or 5 energy drinks a day and that that's just dumb. The last thing that the article talks about is how over 300 cases of some sort of sickness have been reported, due to the consumption of energy drinks.

My parents don't like me drinking energy drinks, but that doesn't stop me from drinking them every once and a while. I've drank a variety of different energy drinks and, honestly, they don't have any side affects. I don't think that caffeine does anything to me. I think that the consumption of energy drinks isn't a bad thing if you drink them once or twice a week maybe. I don't think that anyone should drink more than one in a day though.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2011/02/14/energy-drinks-children-risks.html

Protests in Egypt

This article is about the protests in Egypt. The beginning of the article talks about how the vice president of Egypt, Omar Suleiman, said in a press conference that there is no plan of the President, Hosni Mabarak, to step down and resign, this being the main demand of the protesters. The article also talks about how a CBC reporter comments on the protests by saying, "This movement is not shrinking, not losing momentum, but is, in fact, growing and enthusiastic." This shows that the President can't just wait it out becuase the people of Egypt are more enthusiastic than ever and all they want is for the President to resign. The last thing the article talks about is how the protesters look up to a man, Wael Ghonim, an exectutive of Google. Ghonim was captured by the police and held in custody for two weeks. When he was released he continued his work by setting up a facebook page that supports the protests in Egypt.

I think that the fact that the vice president has said that the president isn't going to resign means that the government has no intentions of stepping down just yet. I think he has no choice though because the protests won't stop until he has resigned so he's really just passing by time. I think that it's really great that the protests are gaining strength in numbers because it shows that a nation can unit as one and fight for what they believe is right. I also think that is is wrong that the police arrested Wael Ghonim for no justified reason.


http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/02/08/egypt-cairo-tahrir-google-mubarak.html

What shouldn't you say on the internet

This article talks about how a federal agency is warning people to be more careful about what they say online, specifically when they go on vacation. What you say online can cause serious problems for family, friends, and yourself. it says how you shouldn't use social media sites, like facebook and twitter, to announce that you're going on vacation. The reason for this is that not everyone that views your page, or profile, is your friend. The article says that, for example: if you announced that you were going to Cancun for 2 weeks with your family that this information could be read by the wrong people. Posting something like this makes it more likely that someone will break into your house and rob you because they would know that your house is empty. The article says that you should boost about going on a vacation on facebook until you arrive home from that vacation.

I think that this article has a valid point. You should never tell people that you are going on vacation unless somebody is still occupying your house. I know that I have done this before by posting on facebook that I was going to my cottage for 2 weeks, but it isn't really a problem for me because I live in a nicer part of the world, but for people who live in large cities and apartment buildings, I would tell them to be cautious about what they post on facebook because it could affect them in a negative way.


http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2011/02/05/ns-dont-post-vacation-plans-on-social-media-sites.html

Earth Like Planets

This article talks about the Kepler telescope, which is under control by NASA, has discovered five potential earth sized planets that may support liquid water, and so possibly life. All five of these planets orbit a star in the habitable region so the planets are probably at proper temperatures to support liquid water. Now, NASA has to do some follow-up observations to confirm that what they discovered were actually planets. NASA also released new data on the telescope on more than 1,000 possible new planets outside of our solar system but in our galaxy. William Borucki, NASA said, "The fact that we've found so many planet candidates in such a tiny fraction of the sky suggests there are countless planets orbiting sun-like stars in our galaxy." They haven't confirmed them all to be planets yet but some astronomers think that over 90% of them are probably planets.

I think that it's really amazing that NASA has found new planets that could possibly sustain life, but I don't think that they're very practical. All of the planets that they discovered are outside of our solar system and therefore possibly light years away from us. The idea of ever traveling to them and altering their ecosystems to make them support life is outrageous. So overall, i think that NASA published this information just to make it as if they are making progress in a field that no real progress can be made in.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/02/02/science-space-kepler-planets.html

The Evolution of your Internet Experience

This article is about the future of Internet billing. I discusses how, in the near future, large companies like Bell will start using a system called usage-based billing rates with a 15% decrease in initial cost. This is a type of billing in which you pay an amount that depends on how much you upload onto the Internet and how much you download from the Internet. For example, Rogers Extreme Internet plan has an allowance of 80 gigabytes per month at a cost of $60. If you go over this limit you have to pay an additional $1.50 per gigabyte. The last thing the article talks about is how much you could download or upload with only one gigabyte of space. With only one gigabyte you could download around 200 songs or 1.5 movies.

I think that there is an upside and a downside to usage-based billing. Because Bell would have to decrease their initial cost for plans it would save money for people who don't use the Internet excessively, but for those people who use the internet a lot, they could see a rise in price of their Internet access. Also, because the world, in general, is becoming more of an online place, people could find themselves using more and more gigabytes of information and data per month. This could result in more expensive internet access. This is why I think that it would be bad for consumers if Bell started using usage-based billing methods.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/01/31/f-faq-usage-based-billing.html

Wikipedia Turns 10!

The encyclopedia giant, which first went online on January 15, 2001, turned 10 a couple weeks ago. Wikipedia has become the most visited encyclopedia website on the Internet, with over 400 million unique visitors monthly, according to 2010 comScore figures. Since 2007, the percentage of American adults who use the online encyclopedia grew from 25 percent to 42 percent. The article also talks about how all articles on Wikipedia are supported by the Wikimedia Foundation and are under constant revision by users and editors. Some people don't think that the site is reliable due to the fact that the articles can be edited by anyone who visits the site, but that's why Wikipedia has 80,000 volunteer editors.

I know that that a lot of people, especially teachers, don't like Wikipedia because it can be edited by anyone who visits the site, but personally, I love the site. I've done many research projects through out my St. Andrew's career and I've started with Wikipedia most of the time. The thing about this is that I've never read something one Wikipedia that has been inaccurate, and I know this because I always use multiple websites as resources. Also, even if some random person edits an article on Wikipedia, what are the chances that you're going to view that article? There are over 15 million published articles on Wikipedia and they are under constant revision by the 80,000 volunteer editors that run the site. Overall, I believe that Wikipedia is a reliable website to get information about almost anything.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/01/14/technology-wikipedia-anniversary.html