I hate books that leave me wanting for more, with no planned sequels. At 239 pages, Interworld is one of the shortest books that I have read and does exactly that. Written by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves, Interworld tells the story of a young boy who has the ability to travel to any world in any dimension. Throughout his travels, he learns and meets aliens the specialize in magic and science, and how a war is brewing between the two. He also learns about danger, teamwork, and friendship and what it will take to stop the war.

As it may be obvious, this is a science fiction book. It essentially builds the concepts of the various species and worlds in the readers mind, but does not have the length to significantly elaborate upon them. Through sequels, the authors (or new ones) could develop and explore the worlds more, and take the reader on longer, more elaborate adventures. Interworld is written in such a way that the current protagonist need not necessarily be the central figure in any future novels.

People who enjoy this type of book will love the Well World series of books by Jack Chalker. I will post a review about them soon, but I have to re-read them to refamiliarize myself with the story.

Tom Clancy has lent his name to a numerous series of books that have been written by ghostwriters and other authors.  One of those series’ is a video game series known as Splinter Cell.  The series has spawned a few books.  One of these books is Fallout.

Sam Fisher is a special operative who works for a clandestine organization within the United States Government known as Third Echelon.  They carry out black operations for the government in the worlds hot spots.  This book finds Fisher travelling to Kyrgyzstan to Kenya to North Korea in an attempt to stop an insane warlord from using poison to overthrow the world.

As usual with this series, the book takes liberties with the science and technology available.  It is believeable, however, and still retains a sense of realism.  The book is not long, only 353 pages, and provides for some easy reading.  I would recommend reading the entire Splinter Cell series in order, as it provides background on the characters that is normally lacking in a book this short.  That is the one major complaint I have with short books is that they leave no room for character development.  It does, however, make for good video gaming.

Uncle John is the author of one of my favorite series’ of books.  The Bathroom Reader Series are about as unconventional as you can get from a book perspective.  It is a collection of odd facts and trivia set out in a series of articles rarely longer than six pages in length.  Want to know the circumstances surrounding Elvis’ death?  Facts about armadillos, Corning-Ware, sleeplessness, plagues, Kings, Queens, and everything in between line the pages of these books.  This series of books would be mandatory reading should you aspire to try to get on Jeopardy!.  Most of the answers to the questions on that show can be found in the pages of these books.  The average book generally exceeds 500 pages, and can be read year in and year out.

Some of the books are theme based as well.  There are specific books on Hockey, Music, Gardening, and History.  As I am a big fan of history, that book was one of my personal favorites.  I would love to see them write a book on technology.  Provide me with all sorts of useless information on the history (and the how stuff works) of computers, televisions, radio, even cars and the space shuttle.

I own about twenty of these books.  Some articles are repeated within the different books, but that’s ok.  The fact is you never remember the entire book, so it is all good.  They seem to come out with one or two a year, and I buy them when they come out.  I have found that Wal-Mart is the cheapest place to buy these books.

I did not get a chance to catch UFC 103 until recently, ergo the reason for the delay in this post.  One thing I can say is that Vitor Belfort established with emphasis that he is a force to be reckoned with at 195 lbs…and that he’s probably more dangerous at 185.  Can he compete with the best pound-for-pound fighter in the division, Anderson Silva?  Time will tell, because there is a plethora of interesting matches upon the horizon.

The middleweight division is quickly filling up with quality fighters.  You have Belfort, Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami, and (even though his record of late is not stunning) Wanderlei Silva.  Even though it will never happen, I would love to see an eight man tournament for the right to face Anderson Silva for the title.  As it stands, even a four man tournament would be cool.  Belfort vs. Hendo, and Marquardt vs. Silva.  Unfortunately that leaves the unmarketable Okami as the odd man out.  Or – give Belfort a title shot – and have a four man tournament with the rest of the fighters.  If the UFC wants, they could bring in arguably the best 185 lb. fighter not in the promotion – Gegard Mousasi (who these days is fighting heavyweights) and throw him in the mix.

Alternatively (or in addition), they could ask Georges St. Pierre to move up in weight.  A fight at catch weight between GSP and Anderson Silva would do great business for the UFC.  This is a possibility because GSP has cleaned out the welterweight division and there are no fighters on his level currently with the promotion.  I would love to see them bring in Jake Shields, but he is currently signed to Strikeforce.

Many people think that The Spider would completely destroy Rush in a fight.  I tend to disagree, and not because GSP is Canadian.  Both fighters are classy individuals and I respect them a lot.  I have seen both fight in person and have watched almost all of their fights.  Breaking down this matchup, Silva would have the edge in striking and if the fight came down to a BJJ match.  GSP would have the edge in speed, takedowns, and ground and pound.  I would estimate that both men are equal strength-wise.  Both men are also in prime physical condition and can go five rounds without breaking much of a sweat. 

From either fighters perspective this makes for an intruiging matchup.  If GSP can get the takedown and control Anderson against the cage, thereby neutralizing his long limbs and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills, he will win a decision.  Despite both fighters being black belts, I think Silva has the advantage BJJ-wise (hell, he trains with Demian Maia, Lyoto Machida, and the Noguiera brothers).  Standing with Anderson would be a mistake, and I’m sure Forrest Griffin would agree.  GSP certainly knows this, and has to stay away from The Spider’s lethal boxing and muay thai skills.

For Anderson Silva to win, his gameplan would have to be to use that lethal striking effectively.  To date, no opponent has been able to effectively counterattack Silva’s striking.  Furthermore, while his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills may be more polished than those of GSP, I think St. Pierre is versed enough in the art to ensure that he does not get trapped in a submission.  It would be a close ground matchup that would depend heavily on which fighter is on top.

In other UFC 103 action, Mirko Cro-Cop was beaten soundly by Junior Dos Santos, effectively ending his mixed martial arts career.  He announced his retirement in the post-fight news conference.  He has has a distinguished career, but after twenty years of fights the beatings have caught up to him.  While there are no certainties regarding retirement in this sport, I think Mirko’s time has passed.  With so many multi-dimensional fighters on the horizon – younger, hungrier fighters – the writing was on the wall.

In other fights, Tyson Griffin beat Hermes Franca, Koscheck beat Trigg, and in an upset Paul Daley beat Martin Kampmann.  Kampmann and Mike Swick were supposed to fight for a shot at GSP’s welterweight title, but an injury to Swick forced the substitution and Daley took full advantage.  I would think that a Daley vs. Swick matchup is coming soon to a UFC near you, with a title shot on the line.

When you are a victim of bank fraud, it brings out a myriad of emotions in you.  You’re pissed off, angry, irritated, concerned, sad, worried, and anxious.  It has nothing to do with getting your money back (as the bank covers it), but its the time it takes them to complete their investigation and the “how did they get access to my information” that makes you sit back and wonder.  It also makes you think about how you could have been placed in a pickle and how the people who perpetrated the fraud could have gotten ahold of your information.

Last Wednesday, I found myself in that very situation.  On a lark, I logged into my account and low and behold discovered that my balance was in the negative.  I found this most disturbing, so I immediately called the bank who verified that they had shut my access card down due to suspicious activity (albeit after the criminals had obtained the funds).  After answering many questions for loss prevention (as obviously, they had to verify that I was indeed the legitimate cardholder), I had to venture to my branch to obtain a new card (as the old one was now permanently offline).

It takes the loss prevention department at the bank 7-10 business days to perform an investigation and return the funds to your account.  During that time, you are left in limbo.  You have no access to those funds, although you will not be responsible for service charges if your account goes into the red due to pre-authorized payments being withdrawn from your account during that time.

All I can say, is to be careful where you use your debit card.  In some cases, it is a machine on top of the ATM that scans your card.  In other cases, such as a gas station, it is the attendant scamming the card.  Once they have your number and your PIN, they clone the card and it is generally used within a few days.

Now – here is something that I do not comprehend.  I used my access card about an hour prior to the fraud taking place.  I live in Oakville, Ontario and the fraudulent act was committed in Verdun, Quebec.  You would think that with all the security that we have these days that the bank would figure out instantly that it was not possible for me to travel from Oakville to Verdun in less than an hour, and shut down the card.

Secondly…after shutting down the card, the bank did not call me, e-mail me or otherwise inform me.  That is the second time that they have shut down the card without any notification.  This could end up to be terribly inconvenient if you are buying gas or at a restaurant and you do not have any alternative methods of payment.  It’s a good reminder to always have cash or a credit card on you.

Needless to say, on one hand I am happy with the bank refunding my money and trying to ensure that I am protected.  However, the lack of common sense and the fact that the money is not immediately put back into my account after it is established that I was not involved in the theft is rather irritating.

Last weekend, my Summer of Fun continued as I returned to Clifton Hill, visited Niagara Falls again, travelled to Buffalo and experienced Body Worlds 3: The Story of The Heart.

For those who have not seen Body Worlds, I highly recommend that you make the time to go.  It costs $22.00 to see the exhibit, but it is worth it.  I have now seen Body Worlds 2 and Body Worlds 3.  When is the original coming to visit near me?  It took us close to three hours to get through the exhibit.  I enjoy reading about how the body works, despite not having much (or any, for that matter) of a medical background.  The pre-natal and fetuses are very interesting, if not somewhat disturbing.

Some people consider it exploitation of the body, but others see it as a wonderful way to illustrate how things work inside us.  I will grant you that it is bizarre, however.  On the other hand, some may consider it forward thinking.

In other adventures, we walked the lower part of Clifton Hill and took in the tourist trap that it is.  It was the quickest way to Niagara Falls.  Even though we were there previously, we wanted some better photos.  It’s free, so all is good there.   We will probably make a third visit to Clifton Hill and go through some of the attractions (it’s amazing how fast time flies when you are having fun).

Due to that, and more than a few unforeseen circumstances, the Summer of Fun tour has taken longer than anticipated.  But that’s ok, it will continue until we are done.  Maybe we will have to change the name to the Fall of Fun tour.  Ah well, its all good.

The Liberal Party of Canada is threatening to force an election in Canada, with the vote to be held sometime in the fall.  To hold an election in Canada, it costs the taxpayers somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 million dollars.  Even if the country was not in the midst of a recession, that’s still a lot of money.  Ergo, I wonder – with the outcome likely to be a minority Liberal or Conservative government – is this such a good idea?

This is where governments fail their constituents.  When you look at the population as a whole, most people are moderate.  They have some conservative tendencies, and some liberal ones.  Some people lean towards the Green Party or the NDP.  It’s a very small percentage of the population that are completely right-wing or left-wing.  Ergo, when a government is elected, and they try to implement their policies, they can rarely please the majority of people.  This is even further complicated when the sitting government is a minority one.

When you stand back and watch the constant fighting and bickering between the four major politcal parties, I often ponder if they want power merely to impose their ideas upon Canadians or if they truly think that they can manage the country better than the incumbent?

Personally, I’m not a fan of any party.  Nobody strikes me as wanting to work in the best interest of Canadians and Canada.  They all seem to be interested in the power, or providing for their friends.  I guess the old adage of “power corrupts” is true.  But, you have to scratch the backs of the people who helped get you elected.

Everyone who knows me well knows that I enjoy food.  Years ago, I used to eat for quantity, not taste.  Nowadays, I do not indulge myself as much, but I truly savor the food that I consume.  Yesterday I visited an ice cream parlour /cafe in Toronto called La Paloma, and I tasted some of the best ice cream that I have ever had.

I had a large cone with three separate flavors;  smarties & white chocolate (I forget the actual name, forgive me), watermelon, and s’mores.  It was a tad expensive but for prime Italian ice cream (and the diverse amount of flavors) the cost was excuseable.  Of the three flavors, my favorite was the watermelon.  I tend to enjoy the sorbet flavors more than the sweet ice cream, and the watermelon perfectly fit my taste.

Some of the other flavors that they offer are Amaretto, Ananas (Pineapple), Anguria, Arancio, Bacio, Banana, Caffe, Cassata Siciliana, Castagna, Ciliegia, Cioccolato, Cocco, Croccangelo, Donatella, Fragola, Fruta Passione, Frutti Bocso, Gelsi, Gioia Mia, Kiwi, Lampone, Limone, Mandorla Tostata, Mango, Mela Verde, Melone, Menta, Moca, Nocciola, Noce Sorrento, Panna Cotta, Pesca, Pistacchio, Pistacchio Sicilia, Rocher Caterina, Stracciatella, Tiramisu, Torrone, Vaniglia, Zabaglione, Zuppa Inglese, and many many more.

La Paloma (Authentic Gelateria and Cafe) is located at 1357 St. Clair Ave. West in Toronto.  I suggest that if you are in the neighborhood you drop by.

This book, from Robert Ludlum’s Covert-One Series, is a thriller much like Tom Clancy writes.  This is the second book that was written by a ghost writer for Ludlum that I have read.  The Janson Directive was the first (review pending).

This book follows an evil environmentalist attempting to destroy the world with a cutting edge technology known as nanophages.  Covert-One, a black-ops division of the United States Government, must track him down and sanitize the threat.  Lt. Col. Jon Smith has been assigned that task, by any means necessary.

This is the fifth book in the Covert-One Series, but the first that I have read.  I do not enjoy reading a book in mid-series, but this one did not rely on the history of the first four.  While some of the characters are holdovers, their history is not terribly relevant.  The book is short and makes for leisurely reading.

Searching through the Internet for information on nanites and nanophages, I did not find much help.  This is a new – and very experimental – technology.  As the book illustrates, there are potentially very good uses for the technology.  There could be – should someone have the resources – as unlikely as that may be, I may add – terrible uses for the technology.  I like learning about new technologies, even those in fields that require a lot of effort to understand.