Welcome to Tuesday, June 19, 2012’s Clicks of the Day!
Clicks of the Day is a daily round up of news posted Sunday through Thursday with quantity and quality of content differing depending on how busy Linda’s day is.
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Edmonton/Alberta/Canada
- @lindork: Leave Facebook alone!
- City unveils float design for Capital EX parade
- Era ending for City Centre Airport, as regular flights stop June 30
- Don’t pay your employees? Now everyone will know
- Kenney apologizes for insulting Alberta MLA
- Alberta hit by new oil spill on Enbridge pipeline
- Luka Magnotta pleads not guilty in body parts case
- Ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak ‘close to death’
- Fewer smoking, but more drinking heavily: StatsCan
- Medical wait times worsening in some provinces: report
- Put nurses in charge for better, cheaper health care: report
- Weight-loss surgery increases risk of alcohol addiction
- Robot ‘skin’ built with touch superior to humans
- Google bars site that converts YouTube songs into MP3s
- Asians top immigration class
- Basic science of universe questioned, thanks to wacky particles
- Smarter than your average… Black bears demonstrate they can count as well as primates – and prove it by using computers
- Johnny Depp, Paradis officially split
- Viking-era shipwreck found off the coast of Sweden
- Twelve-year-old boy scout, Max Becker, reunited with life savings thanks to four-day search by recycling plant workers
- Theory behind the Freudian slip is finally proven after 111 years, new research claims
- [Video]: Cat has lag issues
This week’s social media column:
“It always makes me laugh a bit when people complain about changes to Facebook. It seems as soon as Facebook starts rolling out some new features or a new design, without fail, everyone attacks it. People complain, question why it had to change, threaten not to use it anymore, and then they accept it. Because what else can you do? Facebook is free. We should be so lucky as to have such a thing in our lives – for free.”
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“The city unveiled its new balloon float design for this year’s Capital EX parade, which comes with a pricetag of $80,000.
The brightly-coloured inflatable float design, titled “Us”, was created by a local company — Artsmith Communications. Designers were asked to submit designs that highlight the city’s cultural diversity, recognize the contribution of Edmonton’s original residents, and make an artistic statement about Edmonton.”
The online reaction to the float design has been … less than positive, lol. Your thoughts?
“On June 30, the last regularly scheduled flight takes off from Edmonton City Centre Airport, but for Northern Air owner Rob King, it’s more the start of a new opportunity than the end of an era. The airline’s first scheduled flight at the Edmonton International Airport, where it is relocating to the Executive Flight Centre, takes place on July 4.”
End of an era indeed.
“Alberta bosses who don’t pay their employees will have their names posted online for all to see, the province announced Tuesday. Human Services Minister Dave Hancock said roughly 1,700 employers owe 3,500 Alberta workers more than $14 million in unpaid earnings. Their names are now listed in a searchable online database.”
That’ll keep ’em accountable. Hopefully, lol.
“Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has apologized to Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk for referring to him as an “a**hole” in an email. The move came after opposition MPs hammered Kenney in question period over the incident, calling on him to make amends with Lukaszuk… Lukaszuk will be in Ottawa on Thursday, and was requesting a lunch or dinner with the federal caucus while he was in town. “I say a definite ‘no’ to Lukaszyk,” Kenney wrote last Wednesday. “I don’t think it makes sense to create a precedent to do a special caucus meeting for every visiting minister from the provincial government. “Plus he is a complete and utter a**hole.””
Wow what a mess. Perils of email buttons.
“Nearly 1,500 barrels of heavy crude oil have spilled from an Enbridge Inc. facility pumping oil sands product to market, the latest major leak in Alberta. he oil spilled from a pumping station on Enbridge’s Athabasca pipeline, 24 kilometres south east of Elk Point, Alta., the province’s Energy Resources Conservation Board said in a statement.”
Another one! Awful. Just awful.
“Luka Magnotta pleaded not guilty to five charges, including first-degree murder, in connection with the killing of a Concordia University student, during a court appearance in Montreal on Tuesday. Magnotta appeared in court via video conference, one day after he was extradited from Germany to Canada. Montreal police say Magnotta, 29, is the chief suspect in the grisly killing of Jun Lin, a 33-year-old Chinese national whose torso was found in a suitcase in the garbage behind a Montreal apartment building last month.”
Ughhh.
World
“Reports from Cairo say former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is critically ill and may be close to death. Some media reports say he is clinically dead, with Nile TV saying attempts are continuing to revive him. The 84-year-old is said to have had a stroke, and was moved from prison to life support in an army hospital.”
Eep.
Health
“Canada’s smoking rate is dropping, but our heavy drinking rate is on the rise, and our obesity rate is refusing to budge, reports Statistics Canada.”
We just don’t know how to take care of ourselves apparently!
“After several years of progress, it appears some provinces are slipping in their quest to reduce the time it takes to receive a number of benchmark medical treatments. Part of the slide can be attributed to hospitals being overcrowded by elderly patients with dementia — a problem that can only get worse as the population ages, said a report from the Wait Times Alliance issued Tuesday.”
Oh our health care system.
“An expanded role for Canada’s nurses would result in better care for more patients and significant cost savings for the health system, says a report written for the Canadian Nursing Association and released Monday.”
Maybe.
“New research suggests that having Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, where the size of the stomach is reduced and the intestine is shortened, thus limiting how much a person can eat, can increase the risk of alcohol-use disorders.”
Bad side effect.
Technology/Social Media/Internet
“Robots may not have a sense of emotional feeling, but thanks to researchers at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering, they may soon have the gift of physical feeling. With the right sensors, actuators, and software, robots can be given the ability to feel, or at least identify materials by touch, the school said.”
One step closer to them becoming aware and taking over the world!
“Google tells operators of YouTube-MP3.org that by converting YouTube music videos into MP3 files, they violate the site’s terms of service and risk “legal consequences.””
Lol. Google knows that YouTube-MP3.org is not the only way in which to convert a YouTube video into an MP3.. right?
Business/Work/Economy/Media
“Asians are the fastest-growing, most educated and highest-earning population in the U.S., according to a new report that paints the majority-immigrant group as a boon to an economy that has come to rely increasingly on skilled workers.”
Go Asians! hehe.
Environment/Space/Animals/Science
“The reigning theory of particle physics may be flawed, according to new evidence that a subatomic particle decays in a certain way more often than it should, scientists announced. This theory, called the Standard Model, is the best handbook scientists have to describe the tiny bits of matter that make up the universe. But many physicists suspect the Standard Model has some holes in it, and findings like this may point to where those holes are hiding.”
:o
“Tests have already shown that our primate cousins can count, but now new research indicates for the first time that black bears also possess the ability. In a series of tests involving three captive bears, researchers found the animals are able to differentiate between the number of dots shown to them on a screen.”
Animals are smart. :)
Entertainment
““Pirates of the Caribbean“ star Johnny Depp has separated from his partner of 14 years, French singer and actress Vanessa Paradis, a representative for the actor said on Tuesday.”
Not typically into celebrity gossip but I am sad about news that Johnny Depp has split from his partner after 14 years! :( Is there no love in Hollywood?!
Weird News, Other News & Fluff
“A centuries-old shipwreck has been discovered lying underneath the waters of Sweden’s coastline. The remains of the boat have been estimated to be about 800 years old.”
Very cool!
“Thanks to the dedicated efforts of workers at a New Jersey recycling plant, a 12-year-old boy has been reunited with his life savings — after they were mistakenly thrown out by his mom.”
So wonderful!
“The theory of unconscious conflict which leads to the Freudian slip has been scientifically supported 111 years after it was theorised, claims research. A new study has revealed how the theory, which forms part of the basis of psychoanalysis, is linked to the conscious symptoms of people with anxiety disorders such as phobias.”
Interesting!
Very cautious cat, lol.
Thor (and/or Loki) Photo of the Day:
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Linda
