I read the news today, oh boy

[Lethal Interjection]

The National Post is still around? I thought they went belly up for some reason.

According to Wikipedia, it has been news-stand only since 2006 in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I know it has drastically diminished it's presence in the last 10 years.

[smiley_cow]

Oh yeah, that's probably where I got confused. I haven't seen them here locally in years.

[Lethal Interjection]

Oh yeah, that's probably where I got confused. I haven't seen them here locally in years.

Nor have I. I don't think I ever consciously thought the paper was gone, but I can't say that I've seen enough of it to say one way or the other. When they pulled out of Man/Sask, they also gave up on being a national paper, despite the title. They just couldn't hold a candle to the Sun*, Star, and Globe And Mail.


*Is this one nationally recognized? I know that from what I see it is very Toronto/Ontario-centric, but I tend to lump it into the group. It could be that I just see the Ontario version. I also don't know very many people who go in for the Globe and Mail, but I do know that it is one of the more respected Canadian papers.

[Liriodendron_fagotti]

If I'm looking up Canadian news, I see the Sun pretty often.

[smiley_cow]

*Is this one nationally recognized? I know that from what I see it is very Toronto/Ontario-centric, but I tend to lump it into the group. It could be that I just see the Ontario version. I also don't know very many people who go in for the Globe and Mail, but I do know that it is one of the more respected Canadian papers.

The Toronto Sun tends to be mostly an Ontario paper, but they have local branches across the country all owned by the same people (Quebecor), like the Winnipeg Sun, Vancouver Sun, Calgary Sun, etc.

Though our local paper the Brandon Sun is owned by the Globe and Mail, so that's slightly confusing.

Star is also pretty much an Ontario paper, at least in the prairies we tend to go for the local major city papers, like the Winnipeg Free Press is probably the most common large newspaper you'd see anywhere in Manitoba, though the Globe and Mail isn't uncommon in public spaces.

[Kaharz]

The Toronto Sun is the only Canadian newspaper I could have named before reading the last few posts. I assumed it was one of the biggest papers in the country.

[DonRetrasado]

We still get the globe and mail, toronto star, national post and toronto sun at my work every day.

[smiley_cow]

Lost Franklin expedition ship found in the Arctic

But did they find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort sea?

[Liriodendron_fagotti]

Lost Franklin expedition ship found in the Arctic

But did they find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort sea?

Didn't you post a song about the Franklin a while back? I looked it up then because I'd never heard of it. Pretty neato.

[Lethal Interjection]

So a be-tumoured Rob Ford dropped out of Toronto's mayoral race. And his brother stood for mayoral election in his stead (which he won't win). More notably, however, Rob Ford is dropping his mayoral bid whilst taking his nephew's spot on a Ward 2 spot (and thus forcing his nephew to drop his bid for the ward). Thus formidably enhancing the Ford legacy.

[DonRetrasado]

There was no way that Mike Ford was a serious candidate for council, more like a placeholder in case Rob Ford couldn't make it due to his failing health or another scandal or whatever. A lot of people called it. Rob Ford had surgery for a similar tumour years ago and has been in and out of hospital for undisclosed reasons throughout his term as mayor, so, they knew he was sick. Who knows what their plan is, now. I don't think anyone expects Doug to get elected, and Rob's health is not gonna get any better.

[Kaharz]

For Ed. Maryland's first bit coin ATM went live. At a bar. The bar is named Bad Decisions.http://technical.ly/baltimore/2014/10/2 ... utlet-atm/

[Edminster]

Joshua Riddle, cofounder of Federal Hill-based Bitsie, said the rate at the ATM is still better than many online exchanges. “The best part is when a company starts accepting Bitcoins, they see who’s really using it,” Riddle said. “Now with this ATM, a business can offer a discount for Bitcoins. There’s no transaction fees for the merchant.”

For his part, Reusing [the bar owner] said he accepts Bitcoin same as cash, with no special deals for those using the cryptocurrency.

One of the tenets of the Cult of Bitcoin is that prices are only high because TRANSACTION FEES force merchants to mark up their wares. This is particularly ironic because at present all Bitcoin transactions are subsidised by the block reward mechanic for confirming transactions to the tune of USD18* per individual transaction. Of course, they're paid by the protocol itself** and by the customer attaching an incentive to insure pickup in the next few blocks*** so bitcoiners don't understand it is in fact heavily laden with fees.

*this number is incredibly subject to change and in the past year has been as high as USD90 per transaction
**until all 21million bitcoins are mined, at which point customer attached fees are all that pay for the network to keep running
***technically you can choose not to attach any incentive, but most miners refuse to process any transactions that don't include money so it may take hours to days for a transaction to actually be included

[GUTCHUCKER]

Dilithium crystals hit by Klingon missiles

Should a new space craft engine have a 'top speed', and go 'twice as fast' as current engines?

[smiley_cow]

Saskatchewan Couple Receives $950k Medical Bill

This story has been circling a lot up here lately, basically a Canadian woman was in Hawaii when she went into labour two months early. She thought she was covered but denied based on a 'pre-existing condition' because she had a bladder infection two months before her pregnancy and she was spotting a bit.

But this is the thing that I've never understood when I see stories about the American healthcare system though is why is it so expensive? Like it costs money to keep a baby in neonatal care for two months, certainly, but it doesn't cost the hospital anything close to a million dollars. Like how do they justify those costs? Where does the money go? Insurance companies? Overpaid administrators? I've been reading up on the story trying to find a breakdown of some kind but no one's really talking about it.

In Canadia we charge non-Canadians to use our healthcare system, and it's a bit expensive, but it's not nearly the ridiculous prices I always see quoted in stories about the American system.