Better tax breaks

Your comment on labour troubles at Revenue Canada ["Insect," Aug. 31] suggests that disgruntled Information Tech workers delete "errant tax files" to "gain public support." This member of the public is already inclined to support the IT workers, but deleting someone else's tax bill wouldn't improve my mood. You see, I pay my taxes, and I think everyone else should, too. I don't agree with everything the government does with our money and I believe that everyone who disagrees about that should say so, in a public way. But giving an unscheduled break to people who are already getting services that I--and not they--pay for, doesn't seem either fair or effective as a form of protest. If you're deleting tax bills, why not start with organizations that benefit the poor, women, children, artists or community groups?

--Elise Moser

Crazy speed?

I just read your article on Bell's higher speed modems ["Need for speed," Education & Technology supplement, Aug. 31]. Where did you get your information? I have the Nortel Networks 1 mbps modem, and it sure as hell doesn't even come close to transferring 1 mB a second. The only Internet connections which transfer 1 mB are for commercial use only. I average 90 kbps downloading, and everyone is restricted to uplaoding at 15 kbps--not 150 kbps! What, are you crazy? When you have a 56 kbps modem, how fast are your downloads? 3-4 kbps. Don't tell me they're 56 kbps! Yes, I'm excited for the new modem to come in, but it will not be as fast as you're making it seem and I believe you shouldn't mislead people. Also, you were saying that Vidéotron cable offers over 2 mbps transfer when it does not even come close to making 1 mbps.

-- Anonymous

[Writer Michael Citrome responds: Almost every number relating to computers is a power of 2. That's why there are 8 bits in a byte, 1024 bytes in kilobyte (kBps), and 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte (mBps). A megabit (mbps) is 1024 kilobits, and a kilobit (kbps) is 1024 bits. A megabit is one eighth of a megabyte. Most communication speeds are expressed in megabits. So when you read that a modem uploads at 150 kilobits per second (kbps), it translates to 15 kilobytes per second, which is what your Web browser displays. In short, if you see a number that seems to be exaggerated or downplayed by say, oh, a factor of 10, check to see the unit following it.]

The stink, a theory

As a former resident of the Plateau's most odiferous street, I am very much aware of the funky smell on St-Urbain, mentioned in last week's Front Section ["Big stink on St-Urbain"]. I am very much aware of precisely what said odour is. It's not waste left over from animal experimentation, it's not burning flesh, and it's not scientist body odour.

It's seaweed. Certain species of algae have a type of polysaccharide in their cell walls which, after extraction and processing, becomes a material called agar. Agar acts like Jell-O powder--by mixing it with liquid, you get a jelly-like substance. Microbiologists discovered that by adding agar to liquid media, you could plate bacteria on petri dishes and study them easily. Since then, hundreds of different agar-based media have been developed, all with a special purpose. One of the most popular agar mediums contains, essentially, beef juice. It's chock-full of nutrients that bacteria simply adore and it emits the offending odour in question.

So, in non-science talk, that stink is beef juice and other assorted jelly that is most likely being poured into petri dishes and test tubes. Scientists use it to grow bacteria--it has nothing to do with burning flesh. Yeah it stinks, and yeah, there could be a better ventilation system, but it's giving bacteria a home. Just plug your nose and count yourself lucky that you didn't spend four years in my university's microbiology department, where conditions were best described as "beefily humid."

-- Jennifer Gardy

[Ed's note: For more on the stink, click here]