Golf Digest and Norlinks Annnounce Golf Digest Canada

Partnership to Provide Online Content for new Website, Mobile and Tablet Devices

NEW YORK, September 21, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ - Golf Digest has entered into a license agreement with Norlinks Digital Media for the online launch of Golf Digest Canada. As purely an online venture, Golf Digest Canada will be available on the web and on digital platforms including tablets in Canada and will offer content provided exclusively by the editors of Golf Digest and Golf World. Canada has the highest number of golfers per capita in the world and Golf Digest Canada aims to become the Number one online golf destination for Canadian golfers.

"We at Golf Digest are pleased to partner with Norlinks to provide online articles and photography from our talented staff," said Golf Digest Chairman and Editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde. "There is a strong appetite for golf content in Canada. And we're happy to share our news reports, equipment ratings, instruction tips and travel reporting."

Golf Digest Canada will feature content from Golf Digest and Golf World. It will also have ecommerce functionality and virtual gaming provided by the World Golf Tour.

"To be able to partner with the world's greatest golf publication is an honour for us here at Norlinks. Our goal over the year's will be to grow the viewer base with unique technology in our products and supplement the Golf Digest content with Canadian generated content. Our journalists will also add Canadian content to the iconic ratings from Golf Digest such as Top 100 Golf Courses and The Hot List. With digital technology gaining ground in ease of use and access I believe we have a fantastic opportunity to grow the game of golf in Canada" Stu MacDonald Chairman, Norlinks.

Launched at the RBC Canadian Open Men's Championship on July 21st Canadian golfers can look forward to the strongest editorial line-up in golf content on the web. Golf Digest's offerings range from equipment news to course rankings and travel advice to tips and insight from Golf Digest's great playing and teaching editors including: Phil Mickelson; Jack Nicklaus; Arnold Palmer; Rickie Fowler; Butch Harmon and Hank Haney.

Smartphones As "Digital Keys" Coming To Doors Near You

Photo by Keith Williamson via Flickr CC

from TreeHugger.com
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California

The dematerialization continues, right down to our keys. The plastic ID badges that people hold up to readers at doorways to get into secure areas could soon be replaced by simply holding up your cell phone. Plastic keys could become so last decade.

Forbes reports, " HID Global, a California-based division of Sweden's Assa Abloy, is testing software that acts as a digital key when loaded onto a smartphone. The software, which interacts with physical ID card readers via an application or by swiping it near a reader, could eventually replace the plastic badges that millions of people worldwide use to securely enter their offices and other facilities."

Starting out at college campuses, the company tested the technology at Arizona State University. Instead of using campus ID cards, students can use cell phones. After a month-long test run, feedback from students is apparently "pretty positive."

It could signal yet another way smart phones are helping us dematerialize. From allowing us to replace a pile of various gadgets from radios to calculators to cameras, replacing paper copies of receipts and documents with digital versions, even allowing us to pay for items via cell phone instead of with paper money or credit cards, smart phones are helping us minimize materials we cart around with us. Replacing yet more plastic could be the next wave.

However, it could be a little while. Forbes reports, "The pace of adoption depends, in part, on the maturation of Near Field Communication (NFC). HID's digital key software uses this short-range wireless technology to talk to hardware readers. Though NFC is attracting attention from handset makers, wireless operators and payment processors, it is still hard to find in most U.S. buildings and cellphones. Before rolling out digital keys, ASU needs to wait until clear NFC standards are set."

Even so, the company feels that this technology is perfect for hotels, offices, even homes, with access allowed or revoked with a quick signal sent to the particular cell phone.

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Headwaters Golf Trail

September 15, 2011 - from the Hills of Headwaters newsletter

The Headwaters Golf Trail, one of Ontario’s first premier golf trails, offers golfers the chance to play 5 very unique golf properties, all nestled within the rolling hills and valleys of the Hills of Headwaters Tourism region, and just steps outside Toronto’s back door.

The five stellar properties that make up the Headwaters Golf Trail are:

Caledon Country Club
Glen Eagle Golf Club
Hockley Valley Resort
Shelburne Golf & Country Club
Woodington Lake Golf Club

FREE GOLF -- BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
Passport to Great Golf: The Headwaters Golf Trail

While many golfers drive to the region to play one course at a time, the Headwaters Golf Trail gives golfers a compelling reason to come back again and again during the course of the season: play each course once during the 2011 golf season, and once you've played them all, we'll invite you to come back to play each course again - FOR FREE!

Simply pick up your Passport at any participating Golf Trail course, have your Passport validated after paying for your green fee, and once you've had your Passport validated at all five courses, you'll receive your next five rounds (one at each Trail course) for free!

Golf in the Hills of Headwaters - it doesn't get much better than this - unless you get to play again for FREE - and you can with the Headwaters Golf Trail!

Pick up your free Headwaters Golf Trail Passport now at any participating course and hit the links!
( Headwaters Golf Trail Passport Rules and Regulations)

Canadian Government and Nature Conservancy of Canada conserve valuable habitat in Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ontario

photo credit: Yi Lou via Flickr

OWEN SOUND, Ontario, September 13, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ - Larry Miller, Member of Parliament for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, on behalf of Canada's Minister of the Environment, the Honourable Peter Kent, announced yesterday the Nature Conservancy of Canada's successful acquisition of the McClennan property - 220 hectares of land in the Township of Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ontario. This project was secured in part with funding from Environment Canada's Natural Areas Conservation Program.

"This acquisition marks another achievement under our government's Natural Areas Conservation Program. With this investment, we are taking real action to protect and conserve our ecosystems and sensitive species for present and future generations," said Minister Kent. "Your actions today will help to protect the abundance and variety of life that will constitute an integral part of our natural heritage tomorrow."

The Northern Bruce Peninsula Natural Area is the second highest ranking area in the Great Lakes Eco-region of Ontario for global biodiversity values. It is home to many rare vegetation communities and several significant ecological systems such as alvars, wetlands, and limestone plain forests.

"This piece of property will be a great compliment to the Bruce Peninsula's national park," commented MP Miller. "This will help to preserve the area for all of us to enjoy for years to come."

The McClennan property contains wetland, forest and shoreline habitats, and supports at-risk and globally rare species such as Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake and Hill's Thistle. The property is adjacent to Gauley Bay where large aggregations of waterfowl, such as Common Goldeneye, Lesser Scaup, and Ring-necked Duck, are common during migration.

"This project on the Northern Bruce Peninsula is the result of incredible partnerships with public and private partners, as well as passionate individuals," said Chris Maher, Ontario Regional Vice President for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. "Together we are building an incredible conservation legacy that our grandchildren will surely thank us for."

The Government of Canada's $225-million Natural Areas Conservation Program is an important on-the-ground initiative that takes real action to preserve Canada's environment and conserve its precious natural heritage for present and future generations. It is through the ongoing contribution from all donors that we can ensure the protection of natural areas in Canada. As of March 2011, the Natural Areas Conservation Program has protected 160,796 hectares, almost three times the size of Quebec City, which includes habitat for 101 species at risk.

For more information on this announcement, please visit the Web site of Environment Canada at http://www.ec.gc.ca/.

A less invasive hip replacement surgery available in Canada

MONTREAL, September 8, 2011 /Canada NewsWire Telbec/ - A new cutting edge hip-surgery technique is being offered in Montreal by Dr. Benoit Benoit, orthopaedic surgeon. The new procedure, Anterior Minimally Invasive Surgery (AMIS), is a progressive and major breakthrough, as it doesn't cut through any muscles - an essential factor for fast recovery.

Patients undergoing the surgery can possibly benefit from significantly reduced time spent in hospital, decreased post-operative pain, less blood loss, reduced risk of dislocation, a faster return to daily activities and a vast overall improvement to their quality of life.

The procedure uses the same hip replacement components as conventional procedures, but with an anterior approach that allows the hip replacement components to be placed safely through a single incision without disconnecting any muscle from bone or interfering with any nerve connections. While the anterior approach is not new, developments in the instrumentation used in the procedure means the operation is less demanding than previously, which is why it is gaining in popularity.

Although the technic is new in Canada, there have been more than 50,000 AMIS cases done worldwide.

Dr. Benoit has learned the AMIS technic in Switzerland, France and Ottawa, during fellowships programs.