Lest We Forget

Today is remembrance day.  And, around the world soldiers past and present remembered those who went to war for they're country.  Global  News collected photo and video images from around the world as ceremonies took place to mark the moment when in WWI fighting stopped.

The peace only lasted for 21 years before WWII came along.  Since that time all wars are remembered during this day in many countries around the world.  Interestingly next year 100 years will have passed since the start of hostilities July 28, 1914.

STM.info Gets a Face Lift

Montreal's transit authority has rebuilt it's website.  More interactive with a map showing the Metro lines plus on the front page you can select what you wish to look up with relative ease.  The left hand side of the site has a tool box where you can choose to plan your trip, check schedules, look up fares and also maps of the system for both surface and Metro lines.  On the right you can zoom into the map and search that way.

On the bottom and top of the page are links to other parts of the site including service updates for the system as a whole.  I played around with it and found that for the most part it does work well. I had to remember that the site is still in beta, but for beta it is not bad at all.  The zoom seemed to be the only issue for me.  I could do it, but the map blurs.  It is most likely an issue with Chrome or that the map is not developed enough for user interface.

My suggestion go and play around on the site.  It's the best way to figure out how to use it and also as you do you may want to feed back to the STM some suggestions.

The new site comes in two flavors.

English  http://beta.stm.info/en
French http://beta.stm.info/fr

Cliff T.

Super Moon

Did you see it?  The super moon.  Well I did not, and I was up at 7 in the morning.  I was with my ham radio   buddies doing Field Day and the cloud cover made seeing the super moon not so super.  But, many around the world did see the moon at it's closest point to the earth.  It happens about every year so the next one will only appear in 2014. Have no fear the media covered this story big time.

ABC, NBC and  CBS featured the story on air and of course on the net.  CBC covered it as did the folks at CTV and Global.  In fact many of the world's media covered the story.  

Undated photo.  This is how a super moon might look on an ocean like the Atlantic or Pacific.

Nouvelle Generation Orchestra

Twenty five years ago, Yuli Turovsky began a journey that spawned the ONG or Orchestre Nouvelle Generation.  The goal of the orchestra is to continue the tradition of encouraging young musicians to enter the world of chamber music.  The secondary goal of the orchestra is to bring the public into the world of classical music.  The notion that chamber music is meant only for the ears of the elites and rich is something that Yuli Turovsky wants to dispel.  

The musicians are all young people who are passionate about the music and who want the audience to not only hear the music, but feel and see it.  

To learn more about this fascinating group of musicians visit http://orchestrenouvellegeneration.com 

Shortwave Radio

IPod, laptop and other devices now connect people to each other and also to audio content.  You can hear in real time and with no noise just about any radio show you want.  This means no fading of signals.  Somehow for an older guy like me that seems odd.

I grew up listening to shortwave radio when I was at my grandma's home and also at my aunt's home.  I found it really interesting to listen to the BBC, Radio Canada and other stations from around the world.  I also heard morse code, CW as ham and other users call it on a regular basis.  In fact it's funny knowing that probably somewhere in the world someone listening on such a radio has heard me key as I work a station using the code.  I know this because I have actually gotten report cards, called QSL's from people who have heard me on the air most have been voice or SSB as we radio types call it.

While it ma be cool to listen to the in studio signal of a broadcaster it's even more interesting to listen to what is known as off air signals.

I found some places on the net where you can find stations to listen to if of course you have a shortwave radio and even if you do not you can listen to off air signals online.

Prime Time Shortwave has a list of stations that you can check out from around the globe.  The list can be looked in many forms from frequency to a listing of each country and who broadcasts from there.

I did not read the article, but it's worth noting that Wikipedia has one on shortwave radio.

If you are just beginning to try SWLing, check this site out http://www.swling.com/

And, if you can not get your own radio use this site to listen to stations off air http://www.globaltuners.com/

Oh yes Gooooogle.  Shortwave radio for more on the subject.

Happy listening.

C. T.

buonanotte

Buonanotte was well known before pastagate but, since the OQLF decided to try and tell the owners that the word Pasta was not a French word and could not be used on the menu at the Italian eatery it has become more famous, in fact on an international scale.  

The owners of the restaurant never dreamed that one word wold bring massive attention to them.  Yet it has thanks to the over zealous inspector who told the owners of buonanotte that Pasta was not a French word.  For the record it is true the French for Pasta is Pâtes.  But, really are you going to tell an Italian restaurant that they can't use an internationally known word like Pasta, even in Quebec it is an accepted word.  But, enough of the language of the menu lets talk about what the restaurant is truly known for, it's food.

Buonanotte is well known for it's food.  The staff at the restaurant serve a variety of foods to tease the palate.  They include Cacio e Pepe, Francobili, and Calamarata on the lunch menu.  You can fish dishes Antipasti and Pizza.  The dinner menu has the same fare with a few extras added to it.  They have a weekend menu, fixed menus from 40 to 60 dollars, a selection of winces to choose from for your meal and of course desert.  The folks at buonanotte also will bring they're eats to you as they do cater.  

On the web at http://buonanotte.com in the city of Montreal at 3518 St. Lauraent.  Hmm I may have to check them out myself.  

Oh yes and you can get a cool Tee to show your support and love for Pasta and buonanotte just like the one pictured above.

Cliff T.

Hacker / Hacking Hack A Day

Hackers and hacking is often viewed in a negative manner.  Most associated with breaching security systems and DNS hacks.  Question, is there such a thing as a good hack / hacker?  I suppose the answer is yes to a point.

I found a website / blog called Hack A Day.  As the title implies each day hacks are uploaded to the site in various categories.  These are pretty interesting.  For example framing an electronics project, or using a suitcase to house a retro style gaming console.  Another interesting idea is a 3D drawing pen.

So you see there are some good ideas out there.  And as I mentioned hacking is good to a point and that point is when the hack is one that causes problems not solutions like the ones mentioned above.  Anyway my goal here is to talk about a blog or Montreal not to discuss ethics.  So besides the hacks mentioned on the site, there are forums, a place to shop and if you feel so inclined you can contact the Hack A Day staff.

Hack A Day is on the web at http://hackaday.com/

Cliff T.