Wrote a blog post for RTH:

Global food prices continue to rise. United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has warned that “We risk the spectre of wider-spread hunger, malnutrition and social unrest on an unprecedented scale”.

Food riots in Haiti, rice rationing in India and even the United States, panic buying in Britain: so far, Canadians have been insulated from these phenomena, but not for long. Our rendezvous with rising prices for life’s essentials is on the way.

To markets, food is just another commodity, subject to the same profiteering and speculation as tech stocks, minerals and oil futures.

The difference is that food, like air and water, is the most basic of necessities. Not being able to afford food is a death sentence.

Markets for food used to represent a means to fairly compensate farmers and a motivation for them to keep growing food. Now, global markets have set up a powerful and dangerous competition for a vital resource.

Go read the rest if you’re interested.

Some people who saw this remarkable photo of what appears to be a wolf have claimed that it is fake or altered.

I contacted the person who sent me the photograph originally and she was kind enough to provide a full-sized version of the photo, which you can see here:

Wolf, full-size

I’m no photo expert but I think this goes a long way to disproving the critics.

I know it may seem hard to believe that they did indeed have a close encounter with a wild animal that is notoriously shy, but these things do happen. The rarity of the event just makes it all the more incredible.

These people didn’t notice that they weren’t alone until they looked at the photo on their computer.

The photo was taken in Campbell River, British Columbia.

The people in this photograph were hiking in Seal Bay Park. At the end of their walk, they found some butter mushrooms on a mossy log, and were inspecting them. One of them decided to take a photograph, but not being terribly good at photography, the photo was taken off center.

When they returned home and downloaded the pictures off of the camera they got quite a surprise – a large animal that appears to be a wolf heading straight towards them.

They theorize that the flash from the camera scared it off, although I don’t know if it would be a danger or not. Certainly, it’s not the kind of animal you would normally want to be too close to!

EDIT: If you think this photo is fake, check out the full sized version.

EDIT 2: Here’s the story behind the photo as told by the woman in the foreground whose back is to the camera:

This wolf picture incident has just been crazy! It’s spreading around like wildfire! For sure you can use the pic if you’d like. The story behind it is pretty ridiculous. I was visiting my brother, niece and my niece’s mother with my mom in Courtenay, BC. Me, my mom, XXXX and XXXX went for a hike at Seal Bay Park. This picture was taken at the end of the walk…me, XXXX and XXXX were inspecting some really cool butter mushrooms on a mossy log. My mom decided to take a picture, but she’s not very good at it, so it came out totally off center (imagine if she was actually good at taking pictures- we never would have even seen it!!!). We didn’t notice anything at the time, and the “wolf” wasn’t even noticed until after getting home, and my mom had put the pictures on the computer. She didn’t even notice at first, but my other brother was like “what the hell is that??!!”. So, yeah. I don’t even know if it is a wolf, but there were no dogs or anything! around. It’s just a pretty creepy picture- that’s all I know! And it was actually my mom who took the picture (I’m in it- in the gray jacket), so credit for the photo isn’t necessary. Well, that’s my story!

From the Globe and Mail, Too much caffeine raises risk of miscarriage:

New research warning expectant mothers against drinking too much coffee during pregnancy is adding further fuel to the heated debate over the role caffeine plays in a woman’s risk of miscarriage.

Pregnant women who consume more than 200 milligrams of caffeine, or more than two regular cups of coffee, on a daily basis are twice as likely to suffer a miscarriage as those who consume none, according to a study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research.

The researchers interviewed 1,063 women and found that 12.5 per cent of participants who reported no caffeine intake suffered miscarriages, compared with 25.5 per cent of women who said they consumed more than 200 milligrams a day.

In a related study, researchers found that engaging in a variety of practices collectively known as as “the finer things in life” while pregnant – a list that includes sex, laughter, most foods with flavour, and sunshine – slightly increased the possibility of having a baby with an abnormally large head and/or unusually small genitalia.

As a result, pregnant women are now being advised to spend the nine months of their pregnancy in a darkened room eating rice flavoured with water and avoiding all human contact.

All morning, Google Calendar has looked different than it usually does.

I believe I have some appointments today, but I don’t know when they are or who they are with.

Sometimes, even mighty Google is no match for that free calendar, complete with recipes, sitting on my fridge at home.

Unfortunately, it’s at home. Not that it really matters, since it doesn’t have any of my appointments on it. They’re all sitting somewhere behind that 404 page.