Skype launched today on the iPhone with great fanfare…at least it did south of the border. You cannot get the free Skype app from Canadian iTunes. A report on CBC cited patent restrictions, however you can get Skype on the PC in Canada as well as for Windows Mobile handsets.

Last week JD Power released the latest vehicle dependency ratings. On top are Buick, Jaguar, Lexus and Toyota. Suprising this year is that both VW and Suzuki rated lower than Land Roger, who was dead last last year.

LIGHTS won the award for “New Artist of the Year” at the Juno’s tonight.

I’ve been looking for a nice camera bag to wear that is comfortable and not too bulky. A normal backpack is too big and usually the camera will be tossed around in the big pocket. Slingbags are something that I saw only from LowePro but now I see an alternative from Tenba. Both are pictured below and come in different sizes and colors.

These bags are perfect for one or two lenses and a flash, but not a full set of gear for a pro. Good for vacations.

CNN posted a nice article about foods with heart-healthy fats and antioxidents. The full article on part of their FitNation series.

• Oatmeal
• Salmon
• Avocado
• Olive oil
• Nuts
• Berries
• Legumes
• Spinach
• Flaxseed
• Soy

CanadianDriver just posted an interview of Randy Rodriguez, the designer of the new Nissan 370z. Born in Surrey, BC, he now resides in California and works for Nissan Design America. He currently owns an original 1971 Datsun Z and based a few of the design elements on that car, and a shark. See the full interview for the details.

LIGHTS has a new video out, on MySpace video for now – not sure if it’s hitting the TV or not, but it’s cute. Check it out below:

Lights “Ice”

In the US, new roof strength laws are being passed that will make sure that all cars meet a certain minimum level of strength, which will protect occupants in rollovers. However, these laws are still in the process of being created and passed, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has gone ahead and started grading cars based on their own standard.
A good rating is strength-to-weight ratio of 4+. Acceptable is 3.25-4, and marginal is 2.5-3.25.

The following scores were measured on small SUV’s:
Volkswagen Tiguan Good
Subaru Forester Good
Honda Element Good
Jeep Patriot Good
Suzuki Grand Vitara Acceptable
Chevrolet Equinox Acceptable
Pontiac Torrent Acceptable
Toyota RAV4 Acceptable
Nissan Rogue Acceptable
Mitsubishi Outlander Acceptable
Honda CR-V Marginal
Ford Escape Marginal
Mazda Tribute Marginal
Mercury Mariner Marginal
Kia Sportage Poor
Hyundai Tucson Poor

I haven’t been an investor for long, but long enough to see the TSE change to the TSX change to the TMX. I wonder what name they will adopt next year? When I used to work at a bank, the amount of money they spent on adopting new corporate logos was staggering. I wonder how much these two changes have cost them.

At least they have been getting some competition, some players in alternative trading platforms in Canada have started recently:

• Pure Trading – the first alternative trading platform, run by CNSX Markets
  
• Alpha Trading – an effort started by our major banking instutitions
• Chi-X Canada – run by Instinet who operated a large platform in the US before they were bought out by NASDAQ.

Ontario offers a free service that allows you to talk to a registered dietician by phone or email. It’s part of EatRight Ontario, a government initiative that promotes healthy nutrition.