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If you’re fascinated by modern ruins like I am, then you’ll want to pick up this month’s Canadian Geographic magazine for a piece on the community of Uranium City, Saskatchewan.

In 1982, the mine at Uranium City closed down and the community of 8000+ saw its population rapidly decline.  Today, the town is a shell of its former self.

Photojournalist Daniel Hayduk prepared the piece for the magazine and has additional coverage on his website.  It is a great read with stunning images.  There is also a companion video Daniel prepared, which is over on Youtube.

Apple launched the 2009 edition of the Worldwide Developers Conference with two big announcements - a launch date for the much-anticipated iPhone 3.0 operating system, and the new iPhone 3GS hardware. While the new OS is a must-have for any iPhone owner, the 3GS is more like a hardware version of a .1 release and not a must-buy.

The new 3GS is promised to have improved performance that will outpace the processing power of current-release iPhones, but the tangible hardware-exclusives are not worth the unsubsidized price-point current 3G owners will have to shell out.

3GS owners will have a built-in compass (ummm…), built-in video recording, editing and upload (something that admittedly has me drooling, but is also a first-gen release), and a new 3MP camera (again… for serious pics, I’m using my REAL digital camera and not a phone). That leaves improved performance of apps like Safari, Mail, etc. as selling points, and THAT is not enough to make me want to upgrade.

Come OS3.0 day, iPhone 3G owners will effectively end up with brand new phones - complete with landscape keyboard in key apps, push notifications, tethering, MMS, new APIs which will equal hot new apps, and more. For a guy like me who tweets, checks Facebook, ends the occasional e-mail and surfs the web a bit, OS3.0 will be all the upgrade I need… for now.

So - how long should one wait to upgrade hardware? I don’t know about you, but I’m waiting until:

- video editing gets a solid point revision
- I can’t run 3rd party killer apps on the 3G hardware
- iChat and iSight come to the iPhone
- a major OS overhaul which requires new hardware
- my current phone breaks (knock on wood, this won’t happen in the next 25 months)

In short - to all my iPhone 3G friends… wait! 3GS may be faster and have a couple of new bells and whistles… but I don’t believe it is necessary to change hardware just yet!

Sent from my iPhone 3G.

+J

Before :

Back in the day (late November 2008) :

235 pounds
38″ waist on jeans
L-XL T-Shirts
L Dress Shirts

After:

Today’s numbers (May 9, 2009) :

- 194 pounds
- 33-34″ waist on jeans
- M-L T-Shirts
- M Dress shirts

Goal :

- 185 pounds
- 32-33″ waist on jeans
- M T-Shirts
- M Dress Shirts

The police presence - while noticable - isn’t attracting attention from area residents. But six police cars and an ambulance dotting a block in the quiet neighbourhood of Lakeview is an unusual sight.

Inside a duplex is a man police say won’t come out. Police tell CKOM News he’s the ex-husband of a woman living at the residence. Police allege he assaulted her before they were called to the scene.   The woman and her three children escaped from the duplex, and the man now remains inside.

As the standoff continues, residents stroll by and children play in the street - seemingly unaware of what is happening.

This morning is a bit of a happy one for me.  It’s the first time in 3-4 years that I’ve stepped on a scale to see the number 200 show up.  Pretty cool - considering that at the end of November I was weighing in at 235.  

(In other by-the-numbers news, my jean size has dropped from 38 to 34 in that same period of time… and I’m now buying medium t-shirts for the first time since I was 14.)

People have been asking me about what I’ve been doing to drop weight… and to quote a colleague of mine who has also dropped a lot of weight recently, “it’s 90% what you put in your mouth.”  Granted - I’ve been on a pretty regimented gym routine - but I attribute a lot of the shrinking to changing my eating habits.

But the weight loss does come at the expense of my palate and some favourite things I used to chow down on that I don’t anymore.  So… here it is.  The list of five things I don’t eat anymore (but kinda miss)…

1.  KFC Gravy

The Colonel had a secret recipe not only for great chicken, but also for a killer gravy.  And killer indeed.  An individual serving clocks in at 100 calories (63 of those from fat), 7g of fat, and 750mg of sodium.  Yikes!  Still… I kinda miss it…

2.  McDonald’s anything…

Back in January, I had a craving for McDonald’s that I had to satisfy.  So, on my way home from work I picked up a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Medium Fries, and a Diet Coke.  After not having eaten McD’s for some time, it was the most vile thing I had eaten in a long time.  Simply put… every time I get a craving for something from the golden arches, I think of that experience back in Janaury (and how ill I felt afterward), and I remember why I don’t eat there anymore.

3.  Starbucks Sweets…

Mmmm… Venti Coffee Frappuccino… Venti Non-Fat Caramel Macchiato… Apple Fritters… They all taste so good.  And are soooo sugar filled.  I’ve nuked them all from my Starbucks routine.  Today, I’m a Venti Americano guy, and if I’m craving something sweet, I’ll reach for a Tall Black Tea Shaken Lemonade (and that is a rare treat.)

4.  Chocolate (kind of)

I shouldn’t say I’ve eliminated chocolate completely from my life.  It’s the one thing I simply can’t nuke.  But I’ve changed how I consume it.  I might go for a single Mars bar per week.  Or a handful of M&Ms from the quarter vending machine in the kitchen at work.  But I don’t keep it in the house.  And usually if I’m reaching for a chocolate bar, it’s a comfort thing — so it’s a good chance to check up on my “how am I feeling” factor…

5.  Cookies

Again, I’ll never turn down the rare offer of a cookie from a friend (thanks to JGL producer Tammy on Thursday for bringing in some fab oatmeal-raisin cookies from Tastebuds), but I don’t actively seek out cookies anymore.  Chewy chocolate chip have always been the go-to thing for me… and buying a bag of them would usually end up seeing them devoured in a single night.  

So, while I’ve excised five things I loved from my diet, there are five things I do eat with some routine or regularity…

1.  Almonds

These are the ultimate go-to snack at work for me.  I keep a bag on my desk, and when I get the munchies I grab about half-a-handful.  They are protein and fiber-rich, and are good for keeping me from wanting to snack.

2.  Chicken

I love chicken.  I always have.  At home, I usually prepare it as a stirfry.  I often pick a lot of prepared-lunches with it in (ie: SmartOnes Chicken Parmesan, Lean Cuisine Chicken Carbonara).  I’m a huge fan of using chicken as much as possible…

3.  Hamburgers

Yes.  Hamburgers.  This is the once a week treat that I can totally justify.  The patties I buy are the Safeway Eating Right Extra Lean Steakhouse burgers.  They are low in sodium… and taste awesome.  They let me get away feeling I’m still eating a hamburger without all the crap found in fast food ones…

4.  Apples

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, right?  They’re one of the few sources of sugar I take in on a daily basis.  Juicy and tasty and good-for-you.

5.  Rice

I can’t remember the last time I cooked a potato.  But I really love using rice if I need a starch with a meal.  It really adapts well to many different flavours, and is easy to cook.

So there you have it… not a food diary per se, but a tiny glimpse in to what I’m eating (and what I’m not).

I leave Regina George’s parting words for you…

Some language NSFW, depending on where you W.

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon : Weeknights at 0035 ET / 2335 CT on N… B… C!

Developing…

I was sitting here doing some reading when all of a sudden my cell phone beeped signaling a new text message.  Looked down — it was from Twitter!

It’s been about 2 months since Twitter discontinued outbound SMS messaging to Canadian cell phones because of high fees being charged back to Twitter from the providers.  

Apparently I’m not alone.  A quick search shows others are getting messages now too.

If you are — which provider are you on?  When did you get your first message?

I’ll start… Sasktel and 6:23pm CT.