While the lungs are cleaning themselves up...

Okay, I'm at home getting over some sort of lung bug. The coughing jags are less troubling, less often and doing a bit of "house-cleaning" finally - possibly even phrasing it that way might be TMI for some, and I apologize for that - and looking at some items of interest, concern and occasional amusement.

Under the "concern" heading:

Kory Teneycke is signing up with Quebecor's attempt to build what appears to be a home-grown equivalent of Fox News. Teneycke used to be a high-level spokesbeing for our current PM, Stephen Harper, as some of you may recall.

The latest attempt to put Canada into a closer lockstep with the US DMCA has been introduced in the House of Commons.

(Recommended sidebar reading: Almost anything Michael Geist's written on the subject.)

Under the "Interest" heading:

I see that Chicago broke their 49 year drought in the NHL playoffs last night. Congratulations to the hockey fans supporting the Blackhawks (Black Hawks? What does the team website say on that?) re: the Stanley Cup win.

(Maybe Ottawa ends their drought at last next year?)

Under "Mild Annoyance":

I notice that Google's started using photo backgrounds on their opening search page. So have other people.

Google Management? One request from a regular user here: cut it out. Please?

Under "Amusement":

Next edition of Apple's Safari browser could be an ad-killer app, according to MIT's Technology Review. Thanks to Justin Beach for the heads-up!

The whole idea of an NDP-Liberal Party merger. Although if it ended up the same way the Progressive Conservative-Reform/Alliance deal did(IE: the smaller party hijacking control from the bigger one)...? We'll see what happens.

For the Due South fans among us

A minor bit of news:

One on my friendlist is already committed to attending RCW 139, the fan-run convention for other fen of that late, beloved Canadian cop/drama/comedy TV mixture about a Mountie from the Territories transplanted into the inner precincts of then-modern Chicago of the 1990's. I'd like to go, I've been offered a round-trip ride between Ottawa and Toronto, but I don't know that I can swing the expense. (Sure, I've got a PayPal account linked to my GMail address that people can send gifts/donations/sketch commissions to if they're so inclined, but I'm not sure I want to put it to that kind of usage. Seems...wrong somehow for this sort of want, as opposed to a genuine need.)

If you'll pay attention to the rows on the guest list table highlighted in green, I think you'll understand some of the reasons why I'd like to go.