Before I Die chalkboard wall has Torontonians filling in the blanks

September 24th, 2012

Summary:

1. Chalkboard in Toronto for people to fill in the blanks about what they want to do "Before I Die, I want      To..."

2. Many different answers:

 Before I die I want to . . .

Feed a baby cow some veal

Buy a cute puppy

Have a swinger party

Take off the mask cause nobody cared before

Go to space

Make life count

Crush capitalism

Be a car repair ninja

Opinion:

There are many thins that I want to do before I die. Find love, play baseball, start a family. But thats just me. All around the world, people are writing about in just a few words that they would like to do before they die.

This is something that I feel is great for any city. Now that it has spread to Toronto, it can only get bigger and better. Its amazing how something so small and seems so unimportant can lift up millions by seeing what they and others want to do with their lives.

There were many different entries on the huge wall at Queen and Dundas Sts., but there were a few that I saw that really stood out to me. People wanted to "Go to Space" and Crush Capitalism", but there was one in particular that I feel should be everyone's ultimate goal in life. One very wise person wrote the simple word "live".

"Live". That's what we should all do, follow your passions, whatever that my be, and live to the fullest extent. Live your life, however you want to.

Samsung pokes fun at people waiting in line for iPhone 5

September 20th, 2012

Summary:
1. Samsung and Apple continue their rivalry with new ad
2. Samsung points out many flaws about the iPhone 5
3. Tells advantages to using the Samsung GS3
4. Pokes fun at Apple users that wait in line every year for the new iPhone
5. This rivalry will only get bigger...

Opinion:

Here we are again. Samsung and Apple are at it again. Their never ending rivalry continues with a witty, clever, and derogatory ad towards Apple users that wait in line for hours and sometimes even days for the new iPhone.

Now, there are somethings that I feel could be behind this ad, and no, I don't think that this was purely for advertising their new smartphone because there was no need to spend money on another ad for the worlds best and most popular smartphone on the planet. I feel that this was more of a comeback and shot at Apple and its users after Apple sued Samsung for $2B and won for crossing their design and looks patents (you can find my blog on this topic in 1st Blog section).

The smartphone race has quickly dropeed Blackberry way behind and has become at two-headed race between Samsung and Apple. I dont see this smartphone rivaly going away anytime soon, so this should cause for more drama (yes there is SOME drama in even smartphones) and more money being thrown around in lawsuits, ads against the other corporation and more.

This technology war seems to have gone beyond simply branding each others products, this seems to be getting more heated and more personal of doing whatever it takes to win this race.

Human Muscle, Regrown on Animal Scaffolding

September 17th, 2012

Summary:

1. Sgt. Ron Strang had part of left thigh blown off in explosion in Afghanistan

2. Strang needed multiple surgeries that left him with a huge divot in his left leg where quad the muscle had been

3. Could not move leg forwards, only backwards

4. Could walk, but only awkwardly

5. Strang was very athletic, but with his new injury, he had to give up running... for the time being

6. Now, he runs on the treadmill with only slight limp, basically unnoticeable to strangers

7. How did this happen, I'm about to tell you...

 Opinion:

2010, there was the Vancouver Olympic Games, the horrific 7.0 Hurricane that struck Haiti, Spain won the   World Cup, and many other important events. Looking back on the year that was, it was an emotional and busy year, but for Sgt. Ron Strang of the US Marines, this year changed his life forever.

Strang was in Afganistan as part of the US Marines in the summer of 2010 when a bomb took off the left side of his quad muscle completely. After a series of surgeries, he was going to be ok, but thought that he may never walk normally, if ever, again.

Enter medical advances over the last 50 years and you have a man who is now walking with ease, is running the treadmill (also something that he couldn't do 2 years ago) and the limp is basically nonexistent. How did this happen, lets find out...

Strang has essentially fully recovered from his devastating injury from an unlikely source. He had muscle from another being out into his left quad to replace the muscle he lost. No, the muscle was not from family or not even from a human for that matter, but from a pig! A pig? Yes a pig. The process sounds like a long and grueling one for both the doctors and especially Strang, but it actually is not and that's the amazing thing.

Basically, the doctors replaced the lost muscle with a material called extra cellular matrix.This can be found in pigs, humans or any animal. It is the natural scaffolding that underlies all organs and tissues. It is produced by cells and for many years, scientists thought that its primary purpose was to hold them in the proper position.

Researchers now know, however, that the scaffolding also signals the body to grow and repair those tissues and organs. With this new knowledge, new body builders are using this material from pigs and other animals to engineer the growth and development of damaged tissues.

Sgt. Strang is one of the first cases in what will become an 80 patient trial to help repair and develop damaged tissues. This trial is financed by the Defense Departments Office of technology Transition, but will include civilians as well. Dr. Peter Rubin, who is a plastic surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, says that the results were "spurring" and that "we are seeing evidence of remodeling of tissues".

All in all, medical advances have not yet found the cure for cancer, or many other diseases, but with this, and other ever growing amounts of medical knowledge, we r not far off from saving and helping billions of lives, just like Sgt. Strang.

                            

In the picture above, you can see                          

the "sheet" of extra cellular matrix                       

being placed and eventually 

bonding with the existing tissue.

                                                                                  Currently, Sgt. Strang lived with his girlfriend Monica

                                                                                     Michna and is recovering well from the transplant.

At Ground Zero, Readers Offer Plain-Spoken Tributes to Those Lost

September 12th, 2012

Summary:
1. 11th Anniversary of the Attacks
2. Bigger deal came last year, because of 10 year anniversary
3. Patriotism is not evident anymore throughout America
4. Site of where Twin Towers fell is still a very important landmark, even without many loved ones and 2       skyscrapers.
5. Outside of the WTC site in NY, there were not as many ceremonies to commemorate those lost.
6. Seems that America wants to forget; move on
7. Presidential campaigns came to a temporary halt
8. 4 total attacks, 3 successes by the Al Qaeda
9. The one miss, honoured by America for the men who crashed the plane that was heading for the White-house.
10. Obama believes America is stronger since the Attacks

September 11th, 2001. The most horrific, unexpected and patriotic day in American history. We all know what happened on this day, when Osama Bin Laden orchestrated a monster attack on the World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and The White-house.

The events that occurred on this day will never be forgotten and this day will have and still does have an affect on everyone. For me, I am a die hard baseball fan; when these attacks occurred, I had just been dropped off for my first day of kindergarten. I don't remember much about the attacks, but I do remember chaos throughout my life for the next couple of weeks, not knowing what it was about was hard, but I knew that I would understand as I got older.

Now, back to baseball. The Amazin' Mets were scheduled to play a road game away from Shea Stadium, however, Major League Baseball made a change in schedule to make sure that the Mets were at home to show respect and to show patriotism. I went onto YouTube yesterday and MLB.com and to this day, the y still will not forget what happened 11 years ago, they want to embrace what happened and come together as a nation. An this doesn't just apply for baseball either. All throughout the USA (and Canada) people do not forget and will not forget the events that occurred on September 11th, 2001.

Every year, there are new documentaries, new survivors coming out with their stories, and I remember last year as clear as day. Throughout America, there were tears, feelings of remorse, sorrow, and pain, but there was a sense of relief and amazement that it has already been 10 years since those brutal attacks. But most of all, I remember that heroism and patriotism. What good that did come out of the attacks was that America helped one another come together to get through a difficult time.

There was not as many ceremonies to honour those lost during the attacks and those who tried to help save lives. I found this appalling and unacceptable. You NEED to honour such a horrific day because  guarantee everyone in North America has been affected by these attacks, and to those people, my prayers go out to you and your families

Everyone has tough times throughout their life, but 11 years ago, a whole nation collapsed, not just 2 towers and to this day, we feel for them. However, you cant "move on" or forget what happened because everyone will still think about and remember what happened, and to not honour those lost would show disrespect and selfishness. September 11th, 2001 is the worst day in American history, whether you want to remember or not.

They say time heals all wounds, but in this case, no amount of time will make the wounds of September 11th, 2001 heal.

"Apple-Samsung Case Shows Smartphone as Legal Magnet"

September 10th, 2012

Summary:

1. Apple sues Samsung for over $1B for Patent Issues

2. Decision came in San Jose, California on August 24th

3. This is another example of how big cell phone patents are becoming and already are

4. Patent and protection of them will only become harder...

Opinion:

Apple and Samsung are the worlds two leading cell phone makers. To put it bluntly, Apple just received a lot of money from Samsung over how a cell phone locks and looks unlocked. Sounds silly right? Why would Apple be so harsh on something that SEEMS so irrelevant when they have enough money already? Because it is not. And I am about to tell you why...

As we all know, the cell phone has completely changed the lives of billions all over the planet over the past few decades. What you may not know is that the market for cell phones and tablets is he fastest growing market in business. Not only has the cell phone changed our lives, but it has changed the way corporations view patents and how their products and their features cannot even be remotely "copied" or "stolen". What makes this even more difficult for all technological corporations that have cell phones as part of their line of products is that there are in excess of 250,00 patents for any corporation to be allowed to patent their products with, and if any other companies violate even one of these patents that has been made by another corporation, they are eligible to be sued for amounts of money that some countries do not have!

In total, Samsung violated several (around six) of Apples patents involving software and mobile devices. With over 250,000 patents to be aware of, it is incredibly hard and sometimes impossible to ensure that you have not violated any of your competitors patents. Apple was awarded $1B in damages and did not violate any of Samsung's patents. Finally, all of Apples patents that they believed were violated were valid in the eyes of the jury in San Jose.

Whether you believe that the current patent system is working or not, be sure of one thing; technology is not cheap to the public, but companies are using this money for ammunition for war, not a war involving tanks and death, but a war involving one weapon, one goal, one money maker, the war of the patent.