Entries from November 2000 ↓

on a tired subject: Eeyore Urged to Concede “For Good Of Wood” [via Metafilter]

is a Bell Sympatico High Speed (DSL) system from the phone company (sort of). It’s OK overall, but twice in the last month the system totally crapped out on me: during the US election results broadcast on Nov. 7, and Monday night while I was trying to track the Canadian election returns.

My question: what exactly is the point if they can’t handle the load? It’s cheap for cable or DSL here – my current deal is $35 for the service and 120 minutes of long distance. And due to that low price, Quebec has the highest penetration of high speed internet access in the world. But still – it’s gotta work. The really big problem, though? I can’t go to a competitor.

World AIDS day this article on the high prices for AIDS drugs caught my eye. I’m not sure though. Generics cost less because those companies don’t spend much money at all on basic research, clinical trials, product education, etc. So to compare their prices with those charged by the big pharma companies isn’t exactly fair.

It can cost a company billions of dollars to bring any drug to market – whether it’s an AIDS drug or some other therapeutic agent. And generics companies don’t do any of that work – or very little. Maybe governments should be underwriting the drug costs?

Via Prolific: “Poor bear” – fun with a little teddy bear. No interface to speak of, which suits me just fine.

an election here so closely following the US election. And it’s funny that one of the things AP has released on the wire is a photo of a sample ballot.

It’s Election Day here in Canada. A low turnout is expected (which in Canada means about 65 to 70% of registered voters, with registration being an automatic process), probably because many people share the feelings that Ed outlines. I don’t share that view, although I will be holding my nose while I vote – all the candidates stink. But government does have a huge impact on every aspect of Canadian society – including the stock market and the economy at large.