Download fileThe St. Henri Art Walk folks have provided me with a map of the venues. From 5-9 on November 30th, you can visit studios at your own. See you there!

Every day this week, many of the Metroblogging sites from around the world will be listing seven gifts that their city has given to the world. This past weekend, our writers have compiled, and voted for, a large list of suggestions. Montreal certainly has a lot to offer but we had to separate what is good for us from what is good for the world. In the end, we have come up with a list that most of you will agree with, except maybe for the order of individual suggestions. There was one exception however, the number one choice was an almost unanimous decision…you’ll hear about about it on Saturday. To see what the other cities have to offer, David from Blogging.la has been keeping a running tally.

For our first gift to the world I decided to nominate something that is actually named after our fair city, something that will impact others more than it does ourselves, something that was named by Kofi Annan as “Perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date.”

The Montreal Protocol

In the mid-1970’s it was discovered that halogenated hydrocarbons, commonly used in sprays, refrigerators and air conditioners, can diffuse to the stratosphere where ultraviolet radiation would convert them to chlorines, a potent and long lasting catalyst of ozone depletion. The protocol proposed new rules and funds that allowed for the phasing out of ozone-depleting substances. While the ozone hole still hovers over Antarctica, thanks to the persistence of atmospheric CFCs, the overall level of compliance has been high enough for us to hope that this is one problem that our children won’t be inheriting.

Howdy!

I just started a public Google Calendar for all art exhibits in town.

(if you can’t see the fancy button I made, click on this…http://www.google.com/calendar/render?cid=zekes.gallery%40gmail.com)

Apparently, it is possible to subscribe, will be viewable in searches and all sorts of other cool things. If you know of an art exhibit that is not listed on it, please feel free to email me with the details. And don’t forget to share it with your friends!
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I was out today at exactly noon and I noticed how long the shadows are cast. My shadow was much taller than I am! Even though it’s warm for this time of year, we are entering the darkest two months of the year. The coldest months lag behind the darkest months and I bet we’re in for a rude awakening around here soon. A little snow would brighten things up a bit though, don’t you think? If I have to leave and come home in the dark, at least make it pretty for me during the day. Plus it’s the holiday season, shouldn’t we have a little decoration around here from mother nature by now? At least when there’s snow on the ground, it makes everything a little bit brighter.

As I write these lines, my wife and daughters are getting ready to go to Eaton Centre and the downtown shopping district…on a Saturday afternoon…during the holiday shopping season.

They truly must be insane.

And, of course, they convinced me to drive them there. I really wish that the city could improve its commuter train schedule for this time of the year. At least I’ll be able to hide behind my camera, shopping in a crowd is my own version of Hell.

Although I am sure that there is a special place in Hell for people who coat sugar pills with their own secretions and sell them at Jean Coutu for $14.95, there is an even warmer place for those that prey on the despair of others. If you’re willing to waste a few dollars for a placebo against the common cold, how much would you pony up to save your dying child from an incurable disease?

How about $5000 for a machine that can cure cancer? After all, it come with page after pages of technical jargon and it’s even approved by Health Canada, they say so on their web page. You should also try a bottle of extra-potent herbal supplements. I understand that they cost 10-times more than the regular kind but a lot of research went into choosing just the right color.

Tonight at 9 PM, you can see the second part of a Zone Libre investigation on the seedier aspects of the alternative medicine industry. You will hear about the desperate efforts of a family as they struggled to save their son from a growing brain tumor. In doing so, they bought a machine from a Vancouver company, a Rife Generator, whose specific radio and light waves is supposed to cure pretty much anything, including cancer and fungal infections.

That’s where my lab was brought in. Although we’ve done some work on pediatric brain tumors (our first paper in the field is currently under review), we have a much greater expertise in the study of a fungi called Candida albicans which is the most common causative agent of fungal infections. We thus set-up a series of experiments to determine if this instrument can affect the viability of fungal cells. I have been writing about our collaboration over the past three days and the final results will be posted tonight. Alternatively, you can tune in to Radio-Canada where you will be able to see how ugly I look on TV.

For those who missed the earlier post the 2006 Canadian Blog Awards are running at the moment. The first round is just completed and unfortunately the MetroBlogging Montreal blog, although eminently worthy in a number of categories, did not make the cut.

If I may be excused for this, I’m pleased to say that my blog, The Other Bloke’s Blog, made it to the final five in the Best Business Blog category. Thanks to all who voted for the blog.

Voting starts again from a clean slate for Round 2. The timing is
# Round 2 Voting Opens: Saturday November 25, 2006
# Round 2 Voting Closes: Friday December 1, 2006
You can vote once per day.

Since three of the blogs in this category are from Vancouver and the other from Toronto, I’ve suggested that this may be Montreal’s Blogging Revenge For The Grey Cup. Indeed the way out front favourite is all about the Vancouver Housing Market. Even though it’s hot, I’m surprised it gets so much interest. Perhaps the author has a lot of friends.

So please make a note and see whether we can put Montreal ahead on this one. Thank you for your votes.

I’m an IT consultant and as a result, I work at 3-5 different places in a given year. I’ve taken to conducting a visual poll of people who wash their hands after visiting the bathroom. The results of my visual poll are shocking! There are some places where I figure over 50% do not. Others, do much, much better.

Why am I blabbering about this ? It’s now cold and flu season. Local authorities have montreal pegged as the season currently being as “elevated”. Also, I have a cold! I hate colds… and I don’t understand why I always get them. I wash my hands like my life depends on it. I’m like Jerry Seinfeld in a world of Pappi’s! So please, wash your hands.

J’invite tout le monde (lecteurs et lectrices, auteurs et auteures ainsi que tous vos amis et amies et autres) à venir à un Party de Noël organisé par les étudiants en design de l’UQAM, dont moi-même. Ce party servira à financer une exposition de finissants qui aura lieu en mai 2007.

Date: 21 décembre 2006 à 21h00.
Lieu: Centre de design (map) (1440 Sanguinet entre Maisonneuve et Sainte-Catherine) Métro Berri-UQAM.
Coût: 6$ en prévente, 8$ à la porte.

Je invite à venir en grand nombre et à nous aider à faire de ce party un grand succès. Vous pouvez me contacter directement pour acheter des billets ou encore plus directement: long@longzero.com

Je vous remercie d’avance pour le soutien que vous porterez aux étudiants.

Macdonald College, McGill University, is now marking its centenary out in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue at the west end of Montreal Island. Canada Post has already struck a stamp in its honour. This week-end there will be an all-years celebration Reunion and Banquet in the Centennial Centre Ballroom on Saturday. (Details PDF 141 kb). All Dip/FMT graduates are encouraged to come and enjoy the celebrations.

The Macdonald Community is also planning extra-special participation in the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Christmas Parade on Saturday to commemorate a 100-year partnership between the Town of Sainte-Anne and Macdonald.