Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Politically Correct Greetings

While I would love to take credit for the following ... it's something I received years ago as an email and now send it out myself every few years

(¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯)

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all . . . . . and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make Canada and other western nations great, and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.

(By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

CBC Radio 2 Holiday Program Schedule

Radio 2 has a jam packed holiday schedule from 1800 (6pm) December 24 to 2300 (11pm) Christmas night. They also have an internet live stream if you can't get the over-the-air broadcasts. Also available are five 'Concerts on Demand':

  1. My Song is My Gift: A George Canyon Christmas
  2. Winter Solstice with Spiritus Chamber Choir
  3. Youth Choirs Christmas Gala
  4. Steve Bell & The WSO - A Feast of Seasons
  5. Handel's Messiah

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Microsoft Internet Explorer ... the work of Scrooge or the Grinch?

Still using Microsoft Internet Explorer instead of Firefox? Why? Go get Firefox NOW!

Serious security flaw found in IE

Users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer are being urged by experts to switch to a rival until a serious security flaw has been fixed ... more

Unpatched IE7 exploit imperils millions of computers

Vulnerability affects computers running IE7 on Windows XP regardless of the service pack version, Windows Server 2003 running Service Pack 1 or 2, Windows Vista and Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 as well as Windows Server 2008 ... more

All Internet Explorer versions caught the bug, says Microsoft

The unpatched bug in Internet Explorer 7exists in older versions of the browser, including the still-widely-used IE6 ... more

Monday, December 15, 2008

Health Canada Reminds Canadians of Holiday Food Safety

Health Canada Reminds Canadians of Holiday Food Safety

OTTAWA - Food is an important part of many holiday celebrations. However, many of the foods found at holiday parties, such as baked goods, eggnog, cider, seafood and turkey, can carry bacteria that cause foodborne illness. You can help reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses for your family and friends during the holiday season by following some basic food safety tips.

... rest of the story @ Health Canada

Saturday, December 13, 2008

ummmmm, Cookies

Cookie a day until Christmas

Come back each day until Dec. 24 to open a new door on our interactive calendar, above, revealing a new cookie recipe.

@ The Toronto Star

Friday, December 12, 2008

(Why can't it be) Silent Night

This story originally appeared in December 2005

It’s not Christmas I despise, it’s the soundtrack. As intrinsic to the holiday season as rock-hard fruitcakes, spiteful crowds and overpriced photo ops with mall Santas, Christmas singles creep onto radio playlists in mid-November and don’t stop chiming until the New Year. (There are even stations that devote the entire month of December to holiday music, but the less said about them, the better.)

There’s no shortage of pop singers willing to take a crack at an old chestnut or — heaven forfend! — compose a new one. Here are some of the worst holiday offerings.

... rest of the story @ the CBC

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Hidden Gems

The 'Yuletide Bloggers' listed on the right carry by far the most seasonal selections available. In fact, it's their raison d'etre.

But come the Yuletide, others get into the spirit of things as well ... finding them can be difficult though. Listed below are some searches that may bring forth some hidden gems to tempt you ...

Santas Working Overtime is on the lookout 24/7 for goodies like the above and much, much more. Clear some space on the hard drive and drop by for a visit.

Monday, December 8, 2008

The Year Christmas Almost Ended

In the early 1950's Christmas almost came to an end. In what is still a classified military secret, I can confirm that a radar operator who had too much Eggnog and an interceptor pilot still steaming from being on the naughty list the year before almost caused Santa to be shot down. Only Santa's cool hand on the stick and Donner & Blitzen kicking in afterburners averted disaster.

As a result of that close call, the top brass took steps to ensure Santa was never again mistaken for a Soviet bomber. Times have changed but Santa still gets special treatment @ NORAD Tracks Santa. Oh sure, they have their cover story but we know better.

Previously leaked classified documents have surfaced @ A Christmas Yuleblog for 1968 and @ FaLaLaLaLa for 1964.

But shhhhhhhh, lets keep this between us.

Bell TV Seasonal Channels

Those of you living in Canada and who get Bell TV (formerly Bell ExpressVu) should be aware that they are now running their seasonal channels:

  99 - a 24/7 Yule log channel (en Français)
279 - a 24/7 Yule log channel
936 - Galaxie TraditionalHoliday audio channel
945 - Galaxie FrancoFêtes audio channel (en Français)

The Galaxie site has a few modest extras to share such as lyrics, games, and a few more.

I'm guessing other TV providers also have similar channels available.