At least one Canadian experiment, investigating why astronauts are “clumsier” in space, is on hold because of the destruction of the Columbia space shuttle, reports The Globe and Mail Feb. 4. York University neuroscientist Barry Fowler’s research into the decline of hand-eye co-ordination in space was to have been conducted on a shuttle mission in May.
Carpooling cuts costs and boredom
Kelly Glaze used to drive to and from work alone, bored for almost two hours a day. Today, she travels with four co-workers from her home in Tottenham, west of Schomberg, to her job at York University, reports the Vaughan Citizen Jan. 30. “It is great companionship. We have a nice chuckle in the car on the way home,” she said. Her commuting costs are only $70 monthly, about a third of what she used to spend driving alone.
Can Ford afford van’s change of name?
Ford Motor Co., is changing the name of its flagship minivan, the Windstar, to Freestar when it introduces a redesigned version of the vehicle next week at auto shows in Toronto and Chicago, reports The Globe and Mail Feb. 4. The move could be dangerous if the redesign of the vehicle is not substantial enough to justify a change of name, said Alan Middleton, marketing professor at York University’s Schulich School of Business. “The more dramatic the change, the more rationale there is for a new name.”