[NON BLOG] Coffee-free, Day 2

I slept soundly last night, more soundly than I have in a long time. Yes, I still had three cups of tea and some Diet Coke, but I'm beginning to realize that I drink far too much coffee. As a single example, I was annoyed a while back when I drank a can of Red Bull in one chug and waited, waited, exasperated for that drink to kick in. It never did.

[NON BLOG] Security

I got into work today an hour and 25 minutes late, since I was unfortunate enough to arrive at the Bloor TTC station just as the chain of subway stations heading north to Eglinton was closed down. I suspected that there was a most inconsiderate jumper. What actually happened was the discovery of a suspicious package.

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

[LINK] Does Walmart hate neighbourhoods?

In his essay "Wal-Mart and New York," satyadasa uses John Heilemann's New York article "Why Wal-Mart Wants to Invade New York" to explore Wal-Mart's threat to the small businesses which underpin urban neighbourhoods.

[C22] A Terraforming Question

I'm happy to say that the most populous human world apart from the Earth is Diana, also known as Alpha Centauri A III. A world jointly colonized by France and its various European allies, Diana is home to well over a quarter-million people despite its relatively inhospitable environment. Diana in the 22nd century is a good stand-in for the Earth in a quarter-billion years or so, a formerly Earth-like world that still has a dense atmosphere and a significant amount of water that has begun to overheat thanks to the gradual warming and expansion of its primary.

It would be fun to terraform Diana--a wholly European Earth-like world, with an entirely Earth-derived ecology, would be a decided asset, especially given how close Alpha Centauri is to Earth. The only question surrounding Diana's terraforming is the not-insignificant question of method. I asked over at rec.arts.sf.science for relatively low-tech methods to cool down Diana. Apart from altering the planetary albedo on the model of Daisyworld, deploying large mirrors to reflect enough radiation from Alpha Centauri A to let its nearly-habitable world cool down was the only method that came to mind. Do any other methods come to mind?

[LINK] Overpopulation Poll

charlemagne77 has an interesting poll regarding population futures up, right here. Go, select the radio buttons you want.

[B5] Four More Episodes

We watched four episodes ("Eyes," "Legacies", and parts one and two of "A Voice in the Wilderness") last night. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Earth Alliance is a political entity with serious existential problems, both in its military and in its colonial affairs, while the divisions among the Minbari are as interesting as Delenn can be vicious.

[NON BLOG] Hanging with talktooloose

We met at the planned location for non-coffee, though I was sadly exhausted by my caffeine withdrawal. We decided to break for some place with a patio and headed down the street to Jingles II (1378 Yonge Street) for some beer and a plate of fried calamari and some good conversation. And thanks for the David Bowie compilation CD! It's just a pity about his knee.

Leaving Jingles II, we overshot the Summerhill TTC by a block. While heading back, we literally ran into someone who must have been the friendly neighbourhood physiotherapist, Dutch-Canadian by her accent, who about the proper physiotherapy centres and the need to use the muscles surrounding the injured knee and how to properly use a cane. Serendipity, it seems, is at work even in the modern city.