Archive for January, 2006
January 31st, 2006 -- Posted in Commentary |
What do you think of this story?
Cyclist-driver clash photos spark online debate
According to the website, the male driver tossed some litter onto the street. The female biker picked it up and tossed it back into the van. He threw coffee on her and the two appeared to fight.
If it isn’t the average individual who challenges litterers, who will it be? Police wouldn’t “waste their time”, and any charges could be denied because it’s usually not the police who observe the littering. [I just now read the bit stating “Toronto police Const. Kristine Bacharach admits it would be tough to press littering charges β which draw a $305 fine in Toronto. “You almost need the police officer to witness it,” said Bacharach.” What good is a $305 fine if it never gets made?] I think the only time charges would be laid would be in the case of dumping an entire truck load on someone’s private property. Everytime someone just leaves their coffee cup somewhere, or spits out gum, or flicks a cigarette butt, they’ll get away with it unless someone challenges them.
I heard a comment that the passerby violated the litterer’s personal space by throwing his garbage back in his truck. What a load of ptoey. He waived his right to his personal space by violating the public’s clean space. Personal space is not a human right, but I do believe that human’s have the responsibility to care for our space. It’s really sad that “picking up after oneself” is expecting too much in terms of our contribution to society.
“The courier should NOT have thrown it back in, but instead just yelled at him to draw attention to him and make him look like an ass,” one posting said. “Instead, she (allegedly) threw it back in, which is just asking for trouble. She is not the police, and it’s not her job to be judge and jury of a crime.”
And how would he have responded to yelling at him and making him look like an ass? He’d have flipped her the bird and driven off, forgetting all about it, leaving a pile of garbage behind.
Opening the litterer’s door vs. throwing coffee at her and stomping on her bike. Hmm… where should blame go?
Some of the better comments:
i see she has a u-lock tucked under her belt. she should have been using that on the guy attacking her. nothing quashes road-rage like a 5-pound steel bikelock swung full-speed into one’s face.
actually, they’re not too far and few in between, because prevalence of occasions like this increases when nothing is done in anyone’s defense. as a canadian living in america for school, i’ve seen a lot of senseless shit. american’s think nothing of it and move on with daily life. the same is happening to canada. canada is 12 years behind the U.S. (fact quoted to me by a police officer friend of mine) in terms of crime. the worst is not yet here and i should hope that we have developed better strategies for keeping our streets safe but more importantly, a strong sense of community when it comes to aiding others. the point is that in this forum, there are several individuals even attempting to blame the girl. while it would have been “safer” and “less provocative” of the situation to take it in stride and walk away, that’s what the states does. what should be on everyone’s minds is that it’s wrong to litter and those who do should be held accountable. second, it was nice to see everyone come to her aid. there comes a point in time where the community needs to fight crime itself.
What would you do if someone dumped coffee on you? getting assaulted definitly justifies damageing property and damaging property does NOT justify that asshole assaulting her. what SHOULD you do if someone messes with you? get 3rd degree coffee burns and cry about it? bottom line, damage property and if they get out of the car with a baseball bat damage their face with your U Lock.
… and that’s after only reading 20% of the comments. Good stuff there.
January 31st, 2006 -- Posted in Cooking |
Does not the title alone make you drool? Wow, and it was as good as it sounds. The outside of the pancake was a little crunchy, and nicely browned. The inside was moist and soft, but not fall-apart like McDonald’s crappy pancakes. Jenn ate hers with syrup (and I too indulged for my dessert ‘cakes), but my main course was served with sour cream, cheese and salsa. Fantastic!
January 30th, 2006 -- Posted in Pictures |
Holy cow is this ever fun, and simple, and challenging. The best I did was 7th out of 95.
January 29th, 2006 -- Posted in General |
How lucky am I? I come home from work yesterday to find our new kitchen table all assembled and ready to go. It didn’t fit in the car last weekend but Doug managed to get it home this weekend. Don’t ask. I also come home to a nice cooked meal.. Then this morning I wake up to my laptop being brought to me followed by homemade cinnamon buns! I am SOOO lucky!
January 26th, 2006 -- Posted in General |
If you haven’t seen my computer setup, here’s a replica.
So, using my great deductive logic, if Google looked in 1998 how my setup looks in 2006, in 2014 my setup will looks like Google’s does now. Congratulations Jenn - be very scared.
January 26th, 2006 -- Posted in General |
When people ask what I do, they invariably get confused - maybe it’s because I say that I’m an IT guy (it’s usually the lowest common comprehension point), but I deny doing anything with setting up, configuring, or troubleshooting desktop PCs and printers. So, this article struck home with me. I’m not a programmer of the conventional languages (C++, Java, etc.) but rather NPR (and to a lesser, and more recent extent HL7), which the former, though proprietary, is still based on and utilizes common programming principles.
Indeed, I have had people ask me Socratic “computer questions”, to which I respond quite honestly that I don’t know. They often have the audacity to retort, “But I thought you were an expert?” Nope. I’m a programmer, not a computer guy.
If I’m anyone, I’m a Linux (or perhaps *NIX) guy. This distances me even further from those who think that I’m some kind of “expert”, because for most folks, “expert” is equivalent to “Windows expert”. They like to ask me lots of questions about their “Microsoft”, as I’ve heard it called. I have an expert-shaking response prepared for any such inquiry: “I don’t know.”
“What does it mean when the computer says that——”
“I don’t know.”
See. Now, it’s not my intention to fire back with all the sensitivity of a postal worker who moonlights at the DMV. But that’s how it has to go. Because, frankly, I really just plain old don’t know. I don’t do Windows.
January 26th, 2006 -- Posted in General |
This will definitely make it to Jenn’s birthday list
The Slanket is a polar-fleece blanket with integrated, outsized sleeves that let you eat popcorn, work the remote, or hold your phone while remaining safely shrouded in blankie.
January 26th, 2006 -- Posted in General |
Someone google’d the post I made from way back when for the scary McCall’s toques.
Well, sometimes knitting isn’t always scary - sometimes it can be pretty cool:
[link]
January 26th, 2006 -- Posted in General |
Whatever happened to hymn books? Yes, I love choruses but I also love hymns. What advantage hymn books have over overheads is they actually have the music!! Churches teach all these new songs and you are supposed to sing along… but you don’t know them! Then, I sing harmony but there is no music to follow for me to know what to sing. On the odd chance that they do sing a hymn (which is always on the overhead), I pull out the hymn book and follow there. How do they expect people to learn to read music if they don’t get a chance to see music! I still remember being taught how to follow the music in the hymn book and how the words went to each line (instead of reading the next line)… Anyway, if they are going to sing chorus’s, I would love a chorus book!
January 23rd, 2006 -- Posted in General |
I was so hoping that it would be an annual tradition to cancel the NHL all star game. It’s such a stupid event and so mediocre in it’s quality. At the very least they should defer it till the end of the year then play the Stanley Cup Champions against the best of the rest of the league - it’d be neat to see how much teamwork vs. individual skill contributes to a great team.
January 22nd, 2006 -- Posted in General |
So where does the line of looking like an interested party to being a stalker start when it comes to blogs. I read lots of different blogs of people I don’t know, people I met once, people I find interesting, etc. People say interesting things, have interesting photos and teach me about life! So last night we are at the Science Centre and I see this guy - I know him! Well, I don’t know him, he is from a blog! It is from someone I went to college with, who has a link on their page, and it is that links brother as she has posted pics of him before. You can’t say hi because you don’t know them, and even if you said hello and explained it they would think you were some sort of stalker! The blog world is strange. And now that you can find a website for almost any friend you went to school with, they all think it is weird when you contact them. Personally I would be thrilled to have old friends write - others just find it plain strange. Oh well. Needless to say we didn’t say hello. But Krista, if you are reading this, I saw Sada’s brother at the Science Centre! Or at least 90% sure - I didn’t ask him.
January 22nd, 2006 -- Posted in General |
We had a busy day in the GTA yesterday. Our adventure started at Lick’s because every good adventure starts with a full stomach. For your information, the one on Queensway accepts Canadian Tire money at parr, and has free refills on the large pop!
Our next stop was IKEA. This was by far our most successful trip to IKEA. It seems we always go with great intent and leave with nothing. We bought curtains for four of our windows which is good news. We hope to put them up today… we’ll see.
Then it was off to MEC. I didn’t find a coat I liked but I finally got the happy face insert for my water bottle! Yeah. Doug did well though and got some cycling pants, hiking pants and a sweater.
We stopped briefly at Mr. Sub to refuel and then headed to the Science Centre to see Body Worlds 2. First off, if you plan on going, don’t go on a Saturday and definitely buy your tickets in advance. We were faced with many lines - lines for parking, to buy tickets, to see things in the science centre, lines to see movies, lines, lines lines. Anyway, we arrived at 4:30 and our tickets for Body World (the earliest we could get) were for 8pm. So, we took in 1.5 hoursi n the Science Centre (it closes at 6), then a movie, The Nile, and then had an hour to kill in the gift shop and just wandering around.
Body Worlds was neat - especially when you go with someone that knows anatomy and can explain things. Doug’s favourite part was listening to the ignorant talk. I could see him grin a few times while eavesdropping. I thought they bodies would look more real and they didn’t so I wasn’t grossed out at all. It’s amazing how it looked like art - and each exhibit has a name, just like art. Very neat. I didn’t know there were animals as well - I turned around and there was a horse! The best is the camel. Overall, a great experience. There were some sketch artists wandering around as well and their work was amazing too. The exhibit leaves mid- February so check it out!
January 22nd, 2006 -- Posted in Commentary |
Rick Mercer’s prediction of a Conservative cabinet
For example:
David Sweet β Minister responsible for the Status of Women
βThere’s a particular reason why Jesus called men only. It’s not that women aren’t co-participators. It’s because Jesus knew women would naturally follow. Men, on the other hand, had to be called.β
- Conservative Candidate David Sweet former President & CEO of Promise Keepers Canada
January 20th, 2006 -- Posted in Cooking |
I think this would look great in my kitchen - it’d really accent the wooden utensil bucket!
January 18th, 2006 -- Posted in General |
Okay, so this morning I am working at the board office so knew I had to get some plans ready for a supply this morning. And wouldn’t you know, yesterday afternoon, someone decided to cancel some buses! But didn’t really let the school know. So then we are scrambling trying to get everyone home… I had one student until 4:45! Luckily one EA stayed behind (I owe her BIG time) and helped out so I managed to get some plans together. The poor secretaries fielding calls, making call, keeping track of kids… Ahhhh! I’m hoping for a much calmer day. My saving thought was that I get to go to Starbuck’s this morning on the way to the board office! Yeah!!!!
Doug and I got an inappropriate chuckle last night as we were out on our porch checking out the ice… someone was trying to walk up our driveway to the sidewalk and kept sliding down. Oopss. I guess we need some salt …
Doug made a “Fantastic” salad last night with some great homemade sesame dressing. Yummm! He finished it off with homemade granola on frozen yogurt.
January 17th, 2006 -- Posted in General |
So we picked up our voter cards and killed 2 birds with one stone and voted last night. The most amazing thing was how friendly and professional the elections employees were! My goodness - I just wanted to invite them over for dessert and drinks.
And they had this map of the electoral districts of Canada - it was amazing. I love maps. ::Psht:: ::Psht:: ::Wipe:: ::Wipe:: FANTASTIC!! Hmm… you gotta see the actions… makes more sense - it’s one of those great things Jenn learned at one of her courses (FYI, “Tribes”) this past weekend.
Speaking of maps, I was staring into my maps of Algonquin and Killarney and I found some great routes - a 3-4 day route for the spring, and a 6 day route for the fall. I can’t wait to get the canoe back in the water. Sigh - I still kick myself at times for leaving the plethora of lakes in the Kingston area… I’ll make up for it with weekend trips. And there are alot of other perks.
I have massively kicked butt at work this week. Not that everyone notices, but I’m being totally productive and accomplishing great things. For example, got the details of the most recent dietary order to default into a dietitian assessment — which on it’s own isn’t so spectacular, but the fact that I did it in 15 minutes and it had been on my to do list for a month or so makes it significant to me. ::Psht:: ::Psht:: ::Wipe:: ::Wipe:: FANTASTIC!
January 15th, 2006 -- Posted in General |
There is nothing like starting your day with good old fashioned eggnog body wash… Yumm…
I have been at a course this weekend. It’s called Tribes . I ended up in a fun tribe and snacks are provided so it has been okay.
Does anyone have a water softener? Anything we should look for when we get one. We have been here almost three months and it’s amazing the film we have on stuff already. I just figured someone had marketed well to the area that they needed water softeners, but it appears they really do!
January 11th, 2006 -- Posted in General |
Our new garbage collection involved ‘garbage’ every other week. I can never remember the schedule so our garbage keeps collecting!! We were away over the holidays and kept missing garbage day. Recycling is every week so that isn’t a big deal. We still haven’t given in to the three coloured bag system… we bought clear bags for our garbage but still use our blue box instead of blue bags… Hopefully I remember that next week is garbage week…
January 8th, 2006 -- Posted in Holidays |
We spent the last week in Kingston visiting our old stomping grounds and some friends. We ate at some old favourites and I went to my Starbucks twice in one day. Yeah! We stayed at a hotel for two nights and played on the water slide and then spent two nights with some friends north of Kingston. It was like staying at a B&B but better. We slept by the woodstove, the boys cooked, we went cross country skiing, played Dutch Blitz (it had been far too long). It was nice to hang out with Jen and Jamie as I hadn’t seen them since they got back from their year in Ethiopia (great safari pictures). There are some new things in Kingston that I would have enjoyed and I miss being in walking distance to others - I still have to find where everything is here! It was a nice week away and a nice combo of busy and relaxation. It was great to see everyone again !
January 3rd, 2006 -- Posted in Canoe Adventures |
There’s an interesting website/meme that discusses “dangerous ideas” (ie. an idea you think about (not necessarily one you originated) that is dangerous not because it is assumed to be false, but because it might be true). One of the ideas submitted (scroll down to Leo Chalupa):
My dangerous idea is that what’s needed to attain optimal brain performance β with or without prior brain exercise β is a 24-hour period of absolute solitude. By absolute solitude I mean no verbal interactions of any kind (written or spoken, live or recorded) with another human being. I would venture that a significantly higher proportion of people reading these words have tried skydiving than experienced one day of absolute solitude.
So, my question is - have you had a 24-hour period of absolute solitude? I think I have, though it is possible that even on my solitary canoe excursions, that I ran into or heard someone speak. I fully believe in the value/health of such an idea - I think I’ll try again this spring.
Now what exactly does this have to do with a “dangerous idea”? I should probably finish reading his response before I quote him.
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