While I live in the north, the back of my house has a southern exposure. I would love nothing more than to stick some solar panels on my roof and start making some use of this wasted energy. The problem – its far too expensive. Some rough estimates put the cost at around $30,000 for the installation of solar panels suitable for our needs.

If I look at my current electric bill, we are spending around $1,200 a year on hydro – therefore, even if we were able to get 100% of our electric needs from these solar panels, it would still take 25 years till we would break even. More likely, we would only get half of what we need at most (factoring in cloudy days as well as nights, in which case it may take 50 years till we break even. Yes, a benefit for the environment, but certainly no financial gain.

Wait? How long do solar panels last? Would they even last 50 years? I’m not sure – perhaps financial gain is impossible.

A few years ago I saw something about a company that would come and install solar panels on the rooftops of big business (grocery stores, department stores, etc) at their cost, then sell the power back to the retailer at a rate lower than that of the power company. By doing so, the retailer saved money, the solar company makes money, and the environment can breathe a bit easier. Seems like a win-win-win situation. My question is, where did they go?

After a few Google searches I was unable to find this company – I have to admit I didn’t look very hard, but still. It seems like such a fantastic idea that should have taken off, yet it just disappeared into nowhere.

All we need to do in order to get more people and business on Solar and take a bite out of this whole global warming thing is make it cost effective. Only a select few will go solar strictly for the environmental benefits, but if you throw in actual financial savings (and perhaps even a small profit via net metering) it would be a no brainier!

I think its time for the governments to put more funds into R&D for Solar to help improve the technology and drive down the cost. It seems that the answer to the world wide power crisis is just sitting there staring at us, and nobody is doing anything about it. Come on people…

A Toronto woman is suing Rogers for $600,000 after a cell phone bill allegedly destroyed her marriage and her life.

You are probably wondering, how on earth can a cell phone bill ruin a marriage? Well its simple. She cheated on her husband. He saw the bill with the strange calls and put the pieces together, and then left her.

How is this Rogers fault? Hmm… It isn’t!. Is it? I don’t think so…

If you don’t want your husband to find out you are cheating on him, then don’t cheat on him. I am sure this will go out as one of the stupidest lawsuits of all time, and if by some rare chance she wins (which she won’t) Then it won’t matter anyways because its a sure fire sign that the world is about to come to an end!

Here is the original article from the Globe and Mail.

Research shows that eating specific “anti-angiogenesis” causing foods may not only help prevent and force cancerous tumors etc into remission, but it may also assist those struggling with weight issues.

There are always studies coming out that show that scientists are on the verge of a breakthrough in cancer treatment – seems we have been on this never-ending verge for a long time now.  But perhaps this guy is onto something. I am no doctor, and am hardly qualified to talk about any of this stuff, and as such, I am not certain if this is just a bunch of BS, or if this may just be the cure, but regardless, its an interesting talk. Take from it what you will.

Apparently George Washington owes $300,000 in late fees for two books borrowed on Oct 5, 1789.

The New York Society Library said they are not actively pursuing the overdue fines, but would be very happy if they could get the books back.

Crazyness.

This Ted talk is a bit more serious than most of the videos I post to the site. Its very interesting however, and well worth the 20 minutes.

Jamie Oliver discusses Food & Obesity. He is truly passionate about what he has to say, and the message is very clear – and near impossible to disagree with.

This last weekend my wife, daughter and I spend some time in Richmond (BC). Richmond, and really most of neighboring Vancouver, are full of rich folk. Here I am driving along in my 2008 Mazda 5 surrounded by vehicles like new BMW 7 series, Mercedes and Austin Martins with the occasional Lamborghini and Ferrari thrown in. Thank god there is also the odd mid-80’s Nissan Sentra, and Hyundai Pony’s around to keep me from the bottom of the food chain.

People have money – they buy nice cars, I get it – I’d do the same, but what get’s me is the parents that buy their kids half million dollar cars as their first vehicle. What’s up with that??

For those who are unfamiliar with BC law etc, The graduated licensing system in BC requires student drivers to have a red “L” on the back of their car (it’s a little 5 x 7 inch magnet), and new drivers, in their first 2 years have to display a green “N” on the back.

On this trip I saw many green N’s on BMW’s and other fancy cars, but there were two that really caught my attention. One was on a new Audi R8 – cost, about $160,000. The other was on a new Lamborghini Murcielago, cost about $450,000. Are you kidding me? Really? What on earth has a 17 year old done to deserve his parents buying him a $450,000 car! New drivers should have to drive cheap little beaters till they learn how to properly drive – I seriously doubt that any 17 year old can truly handle a 631 horsepower V-12. But I could be wrong.

Perhaps I am just jealous. When I first got my license I was stuck driving my dads 85 Ford Bronco II. For a 16 year old it was great to have access to a car, but still, it’s no Lamborghini.

I have had some nice cars since. My Mazda 5 may be a mini-van, but it’s practical for my family, and still kinda fun to drive… Fun to drive? A mini-van? Did I just say that? Man I must be getting old. I miss my 07 GTI, and old 72 Datsun 240z.

There are a lot of funny emails that circulate, and they often find their way back time and time again.

Today I received one such email from my friend, I’ll call him … Bill, cause thats his name. This email is about questions people have asked about Canada and were originally posted on some official international tourism website,  (according to the email). Supposedly the questions are real, but the answers were intended to be a joke. I am not sure how true any of this is, but regardless, the Q and A below is still an entertaining read.

Q: I have never seen it warm on Canadian TV, so how do the plants grow? ( England )
A. We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around and watch them die.

Q: Will I be able to see Polar Bears in the street? ( USA )
A: Depends on how much you’ve been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Vancouver to Toronto – can I follow the Railroad tracks? ( Sweden )
A: Sure, it’s only Four thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in Canada ? ( Sweden )
A: So it’s true what they say about Swedes.

Q: Are there any ATM’s (cash machines) in Canada ? Can you send me a list of them in Toronto , Vancouver , Edmonton and Halifax ? ( England )
A: No, but you’d better bring a few extra furs for trading purposes.

Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Canada ? ( USA )
A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe Ca-na-da is that big country to your North….oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Calgary Come naked.

Q: Which direction is North in Canada ? ( USA )
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees Contact us when you get here and we’ll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Canada ? ( England )
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys’ Choir schedule? ( USA )
A: Aus-t ri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is…oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Vancouver and in Calgary , straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

Q: Do you have perfume in Canada ? ( Germany )
A: No, WE don’t stink.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Where can I sell it in Canada ? ( USA )
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Q: Can you tell me the regions in British Columbia where the female population is smaller than the male population? ( Italy )
A: Yes, gay nightclubs.

Q: Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada ? ( USA )
A: Only at Thanksgiving.

Q: Are there supermarkets in Toronto and is milk available all year round? ( Germany )
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of Vegan hunter/gathers. Milk is illegal.

Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Canada , but I forget its name. It’s a kind of big horse with horns. ( USA )
A: It’s called a Moose. They are tall and very violent, eating the brains of anyone walking close to them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA )
A: Yes, but you will have to learn it first.

If you have never checked out TED.com, you should do so. There are presentations from professionals on nearly all topics, and most are extremely interesting.

The latest one I saw that I found very interesting was Dan Buettner, How to live to be 100+.

Here’s the video:

We are a world of fat people. It’s true. (at least around here). It seems that the overweight far outnumber those who are not. I think much of this has to do with being lazy. We eat fast food cause we are too lazy to cook. We drive our cars cause we are too lazy to walk or bike. We take the elevator or escalator cause we are too lazy to take the stairs.  If we weren’t a lazy society, we would not be overweight!

This video is great, and shows that if you put a bit of fun into it, the laziness disappears and people actually get exercise!