Well he's dead.
I think the whole process has been a sham, and as I discovered when i took some ethical philosophy courses a few years ago, for me the ends never justify the means.
That course actually made me think a lot more about ethics and how to construct and ethical argument. One of my essays was actually on the death penalty and I actually found one of the most convincing arguments to be a utilitarian (in other words the ends justify the means, ie whatever makes the most people happy) argument against the death penalty.
In essence the argument was that in killing these people we are in effect letting them off the hook. It's a quick relatively painless process, as opposed to slaving away or sitting in a jail cell for 20 years.
Anyways that's all for now.
December 30, 2006
December 20, 2006
What the hell are the conservatives thinking?
Why should they abolish the Wheat board?
Now this isn't a subject that a whole lot of people outside of western Canada are interested in. Heck probably nowhere near a majority of western Canadians even know what the wheat board does or how it works.
My problem is not substance but the way it is being done. By threatening people, and firing them because they don't toe the line. Because they have a process to essentially undermine the organization without due process. Even if it is stated in your electoral platform there is a process. We do after all live in under a system of laws. Even the government is bound by the law.
However the government of Canada is in the process of undermining and destroying the Wheat board. Having worked with other supply managed systems, I hope they don't undergo the same process. Of betrayal of systems which have worked well for farmers (not necessarily as well for consumer let it be noted, I DID MENTION THAT) that are particularly Canadian, that are part of a regulatory culture and regime, and that at the end of the day have been effective at achieving their stated objectives.
Why destroy that for some abstract ideology? Why crucify and destroy already struggling farmers and farm communities? (This is where the term crucifixion economics comes from, it's awful stuff)
I think the wheat board is a valuable tool in protecting the interests of Canadian farmers. The reality is that small farmers are not going to have the clout of the wheat board to negotiate prices. Anybody who imagines the opposite is doing exactly that, imagining.
Now this isn't a subject that a whole lot of people outside of western Canada are interested in. Heck probably nowhere near a majority of western Canadians even know what the wheat board does or how it works.
My problem is not substance but the way it is being done. By threatening people, and firing them because they don't toe the line. Because they have a process to essentially undermine the organization without due process. Even if it is stated in your electoral platform there is a process. We do after all live in under a system of laws. Even the government is bound by the law.
However the government of Canada is in the process of undermining and destroying the Wheat board. Having worked with other supply managed systems, I hope they don't undergo the same process. Of betrayal of systems which have worked well for farmers (not necessarily as well for consumer let it be noted, I DID MENTION THAT) that are particularly Canadian, that are part of a regulatory culture and regime, and that at the end of the day have been effective at achieving their stated objectives.
Why destroy that for some abstract ideology? Why crucify and destroy already struggling farmers and farm communities? (This is where the term crucifixion economics comes from, it's awful stuff)
I think the wheat board is a valuable tool in protecting the interests of Canadian farmers. The reality is that small farmers are not going to have the clout of the wheat board to negotiate prices. Anybody who imagines the opposite is doing exactly that, imagining.
December 16, 2006
Some ammunition for those who oppose market fundamentalists
The CBC program IDEAS did a great series on Karl Polanyi and I heard some of it today and it reminded me that I should really recommend to anyone interested in economic issues, the book he wrote in the early 50s called the Great Transformation.
It's a great book, it destroys the claims that economists make. Specifically the idea that the market reflects natural behaviour. In fact he brings up one of my favorite criticisms, and I think one of the best deserved. The attempt by economists to use market based ideas when looking at the past.
In fact as Polanyi notes, the creates of a self- regulating market is a stark utopia.
No other civilization before the development of the industrial revolution promoted the values that the market dictates. All people have traded, but we are the first to try and base our civilization on the market, a mere mechanism, a tool.
The individualism, competitiveness, acquisitiveness and especially the divorce of economics from politics or the social order, are all things that no civilization has pushed as hard as we have. Not many societies have stressed individualism and competitiveness as values.Probably none before ours could afford to, for it would have destroyed them.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of his book, and probably on of the more cited, is his idea of the double movement. That the market and society are fundamentally at odds with each other, and if the market forces itself into an area, there is a spontaneous building up of opposition to such a move. A sort of pushing and pulling between the market and society. For as he argues, the market alone would destroy any civilization.
The fact that this work is still so accessible and feels so current speaks to its applicability in an age so dominated by the assumptions of the economists, and gives voice to those who oppose the spread of market principles to everyday life. It provides well articulated cogent and strong material to do battle with the market fundamentalists.
We seem to be in a period between ages, and at such a critical juncture we can only hope the economist lose, for if they do, we all win.
It's a great book, it destroys the claims that economists make. Specifically the idea that the market reflects natural behaviour. In fact he brings up one of my favorite criticisms, and I think one of the best deserved. The attempt by economists to use market based ideas when looking at the past.
In fact as Polanyi notes, the creates of a self- regulating market is a stark utopia.
No other civilization before the development of the industrial revolution promoted the values that the market dictates. All people have traded, but we are the first to try and base our civilization on the market, a mere mechanism, a tool.
The individualism, competitiveness, acquisitiveness and especially the divorce of economics from politics or the social order, are all things that no civilization has pushed as hard as we have. Not many societies have stressed individualism and competitiveness as values.Probably none before ours could afford to, for it would have destroyed them.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of his book, and probably on of the more cited, is his idea of the double movement. That the market and society are fundamentally at odds with each other, and if the market forces itself into an area, there is a spontaneous building up of opposition to such a move. A sort of pushing and pulling between the market and society. For as he argues, the market alone would destroy any civilization.
The fact that this work is still so accessible and feels so current speaks to its applicability in an age so dominated by the assumptions of the economists, and gives voice to those who oppose the spread of market principles to everyday life. It provides well articulated cogent and strong material to do battle with the market fundamentalists.
We seem to be in a period between ages, and at such a critical juncture we can only hope the economist lose, for if they do, we all win.
December 03, 2006
Stéphane Dion and the Liberal party
Well I had been expecting to see Bob Rae as the next liberal leader tonight, but it turns out that the Liberal leadership convention really did offer up a surprise.
Stéphane Dion won the liberal leadership. It was fascinating to watch, and I watched the coverage all day doing little else, besides a bit of homework.
It was riveting to watch the spectacle of the Liberal party choose a new leader, there was little dynamism however and I truly believe that the Liberals will lose the next election.
Because of a number of things going on recently I have been thinking about finding time to commit to doing volunteer work and becoming more engaged in the community.Although not the first thing I thought of, the action this weekend made me think about joining a political party. I have never really seriously thought about this before, and my dad had often cautioned me about thinking hard before making such a big decision, but I think the time may have come for me to at least look into it.
For me it wouldn't be so much about the partisan competition, but about becoming involved in an institution that can make a difference.
Again who knows at this point if I'll actually join one or not, but all the action this weekend certainly has got me thinking about it.
Stéphane Dion won the liberal leadership. It was fascinating to watch, and I watched the coverage all day doing little else, besides a bit of homework.
It was riveting to watch the spectacle of the Liberal party choose a new leader, there was little dynamism however and I truly believe that the Liberals will lose the next election.
Because of a number of things going on recently I have been thinking about finding time to commit to doing volunteer work and becoming more engaged in the community.Although not the first thing I thought of, the action this weekend made me think about joining a political party. I have never really seriously thought about this before, and my dad had often cautioned me about thinking hard before making such a big decision, but I think the time may have come for me to at least look into it.
For me it wouldn't be so much about the partisan competition, but about becoming involved in an institution that can make a difference.
Again who knows at this point if I'll actually join one or not, but all the action this weekend certainly has got me thinking about it.
November 26, 2006
Well at least he embarassed the Bloc
What did Stephen Harper accomplish this week with his motion recognizing Quebec as a nation?
Well he didn't define nation. He didn't make a coherent statement on Canadian nationalism. He didn't make many inroads in Quebec except for getting some press./
He did however do two things, save Michael Ignatieff's bacon, and embarass the Bloc.
Interestingly enough you'll have something close unanimity on the conservative motion to recognize that Quebeckers form a nation. The Bloc is supporting the conservative motion, because they got embarrassed by the fact that all other parties were supporting it and they would have come out not supporting the recognition of Quebeckers as a nation.
Now first of all Quebeckers do not form a nation in nay accepted meaning of the word. Anybody with access to a dictionary can be sure of that. Nor is there much a difference in meaning between the French and the English meaning of nation.
The political class seems to be using such a false distinction to imply that there is nothing to worry about. In either French or English as Jeffrey Simpson has written is is the United Nations or Nations Unies, exactly the same title in either English or French.
The sorry thing is that Stephen Harper the man who argued that we must stand up to Quebec's demands. The one who took such a hard line before and after the 1995 referendum is in danger of moving towards the liberal position of courting soft nationalists in order to win seats in Quebec. Will his supporters support this?
It simple proves that things look different once you're in government than on the opposition benches. Something I hope the liberals will spend some time learning.
Also a quick question, why does the bloc exist in our federal parliament anyways?
Well he didn't define nation. He didn't make a coherent statement on Canadian nationalism. He didn't make many inroads in Quebec except for getting some press./
He did however do two things, save Michael Ignatieff's bacon, and embarass the Bloc.
Interestingly enough you'll have something close unanimity on the conservative motion to recognize that Quebeckers form a nation. The Bloc is supporting the conservative motion, because they got embarrassed by the fact that all other parties were supporting it and they would have come out not supporting the recognition of Quebeckers as a nation.
Now first of all Quebeckers do not form a nation in nay accepted meaning of the word. Anybody with access to a dictionary can be sure of that. Nor is there much a difference in meaning between the French and the English meaning of nation.
The political class seems to be using such a false distinction to imply that there is nothing to worry about. In either French or English as Jeffrey Simpson has written is is the United Nations or Nations Unies, exactly the same title in either English or French.
The sorry thing is that Stephen Harper the man who argued that we must stand up to Quebec's demands. The one who took such a hard line before and after the 1995 referendum is in danger of moving towards the liberal position of courting soft nationalists in order to win seats in Quebec. Will his supporters support this?
It simple proves that things look different once you're in government than on the opposition benches. Something I hope the liberals will spend some time learning.
Also a quick question, why does the bloc exist in our federal parliament anyways?
November 19, 2006
Doing some reading and some research
I've been reading a fair amount lately, and i just finished reading Adrienne Clarkson's Autobiography and while I wish there was a bit more stuff about the office she held I did really enjoy her comments. I enjoyed the way she wrote as well, telling anecdotes and weaving her experience as governor general into almost every chapter and every experience.
She seems to have had quite an interesting life and i thought it came across well in the book. Her barbs are pointed, but fair(I would say)
I think she definitely raised the profile of the office and made into her own. I don't think we'll see a GG of her quality again for quite some time, certainly not (at least I don't see it happening) from Michaëlle Jean.
The other book I just started reading is that of Thomas Homer Dixon. His new book is called the upside of down. While I hope it's not too much of a repetition of the material that Jared Diamond tread over in his last book, i'm optimistic about it.
I got his first book, the Ingenuity Gap from my parents who found it in the bargain bin at Chapters. A bargain it certainly was, the book won the GG's award for non-fiction and I thought was an interesting book about the limits of human ingenuity.
I went to see him talk a few years ago, and he was certainly an interesting speaker. The panel was one to remember because it was only a few days after sept 11th, 2001. The topic was supposed to be something related to globalization but after some of the speakers couldn't come it was refashioned a bit and of course all the questions were about terrorism. It was interesting nonetheless and I was actually wodnering what had happened to Homer-Dixon just before I saw the new book.
The research I refer to in the title is the research I am doing for my history class. The history of tourism in Canada. I think I have a topic although i'm starting to have doubts about whether I really want to do it. So if anybody out there has suggestions of topics for a paper on Canadian tourism history i'd welcome the suggestions.
My topic is the Olympics in Calgary in 1988. I am curious in loooking at how such 'hallmark' events as they are called in the literature impact cities. The way in which they are promoted and the differences between promoting tourism and promoting an event like the Olympics and its impacts of tourism etc.
I'm curious if anyone out there has any other suggestions so send them in.
She seems to have had quite an interesting life and i thought it came across well in the book. Her barbs are pointed, but fair(I would say)
I think she definitely raised the profile of the office and made into her own. I don't think we'll see a GG of her quality again for quite some time, certainly not (at least I don't see it happening) from Michaëlle Jean.
The other book I just started reading is that of Thomas Homer Dixon. His new book is called the upside of down. While I hope it's not too much of a repetition of the material that Jared Diamond tread over in his last book, i'm optimistic about it.
I got his first book, the Ingenuity Gap from my parents who found it in the bargain bin at Chapters. A bargain it certainly was, the book won the GG's award for non-fiction and I thought was an interesting book about the limits of human ingenuity.
I went to see him talk a few years ago, and he was certainly an interesting speaker. The panel was one to remember because it was only a few days after sept 11th, 2001. The topic was supposed to be something related to globalization but after some of the speakers couldn't come it was refashioned a bit and of course all the questions were about terrorism. It was interesting nonetheless and I was actually wodnering what had happened to Homer-Dixon just before I saw the new book.
The research I refer to in the title is the research I am doing for my history class. The history of tourism in Canada. I think I have a topic although i'm starting to have doubts about whether I really want to do it. So if anybody out there has suggestions of topics for a paper on Canadian tourism history i'd welcome the suggestions.
My topic is the Olympics in Calgary in 1988. I am curious in loooking at how such 'hallmark' events as they are called in the literature impact cities. The way in which they are promoted and the differences between promoting tourism and promoting an event like the Olympics and its impacts of tourism etc.
I'm curious if anyone out there has any other suggestions so send them in.
November 12, 2006
Long time; No post
Well I haven't posted in a while and it really is because not much is going on right now, well not things i'll discuss on this blog anyways.
However I will say i am excited to see the new bond movie. Even more so after seeing a rather disappointing movie with Hugh Jackman in it. It seems like he's in every new movie coming out, but the one I saw was The Prestige. The movie itself wasn't too bad but I managed to figure out the main 'surprise' about 3/4 of the way through the movie.
Well that and it didn't really make much sense to me anyways.
The other thing that i've been thinking about is Paul Wells new book, Right Side Up. I've been following Well's blog for a couple of months now and generally i have to say i am impressed.
The book goes a step beyond and really clarifies for me how Paul Martin failed. I've heard a few interview with him, and my friend Pat and I went to get our copies of the book signed. He seems like such an unassuming character, but he is at his best in the new book.
He writes well and really fits the demise of Paul Martin into a larger context. i am a pretty astute follower of politics, but I am new to the game, a lot of these battles go back further than I can remember so it's nice to see someone with a bit more perspective.
I also think it's valuable as Wells mentions to remember why everybody thought Paul Martin was going to be such a great PM. He really had everyone thinking he was going to do such wonderful things. It turns out those impressions didn't last long.
Anyways that's what i've been up to. I also picked up two other books this weekend. Heart matters by Adrienne Clarkson, and a new book by Thomas Homer Dixon, somebody I discovered by accident courtesy of the bargain bin at Chapters.
Oh and I had a lemon meringue pie tonight.. doesn't it look yummy...
However I will say i am excited to see the new bond movie. Even more so after seeing a rather disappointing movie with Hugh Jackman in it. It seems like he's in every new movie coming out, but the one I saw was The Prestige. The movie itself wasn't too bad but I managed to figure out the main 'surprise' about 3/4 of the way through the movie.
Well that and it didn't really make much sense to me anyways.
The other thing that i've been thinking about is Paul Wells new book, Right Side Up. I've been following Well's blog for a couple of months now and generally i have to say i am impressed.
The book goes a step beyond and really clarifies for me how Paul Martin failed. I've heard a few interview with him, and my friend Pat and I went to get our copies of the book signed. He seems like such an unassuming character, but he is at his best in the new book.
He writes well and really fits the demise of Paul Martin into a larger context. i am a pretty astute follower of politics, but I am new to the game, a lot of these battles go back further than I can remember so it's nice to see someone with a bit more perspective.
I also think it's valuable as Wells mentions to remember why everybody thought Paul Martin was going to be such a great PM. He really had everyone thinking he was going to do such wonderful things. It turns out those impressions didn't last long.
Anyways that's what i've been up to. I also picked up two other books this weekend. Heart matters by Adrienne Clarkson, and a new book by Thomas Homer Dixon, somebody I discovered by accident courtesy of the bargain bin at Chapters.
Oh and I had a lemon meringue pie tonight.. doesn't it look yummy...
October 30, 2006
Ignatieff and the quebec nation
WARNING THIS IS A POLITICAL POSTING.
Quebec as a nation?
I am amazed at how quickly people have started jumping all over Michael Ignatieff recent incredibly stupid decision to try and force a resolution at the Liberal convention in Montreal to study some way of recognizing Quebec in the constitution. Rightly so I feel.
I was watching CPAC(which thanks to some new knowledge I can now listen to without the translators. Thank god for SAP technology) tonight and they had two guests, one was Jeffrey Simpson (I had no idea he could speak French so well) and William Johnston.
Jeffrey Simpson repeated mostly his argument in Saturday’s Globe and Mail that only someone who wasn’t in country during Meech and Charlottetown could come up with such a stupid suggestion as Ignatieff’s idea of recognizing the Quebec nation. William Johsnton was also talking about how silly Ignatieff’s position is. Johnston brought up two points which I thought were worth mentioning here.
As he mentions clearly in his book on Stephen Harper, the supreme court has already ruled on what would happen in the case of a successful referendum. There would have to be a constitutional amendment in order for Quebec to leave to country. This means that all the provinces would have to come to some sort of agreement on how we would move forward. There is no pretending anymore (after the supreme court reference) that Quebec can unilaterally separate from Canada. After all we live in a democracy under the rule of law. Quebec cannot unilaterally declare independence. The constitution would still apply and Quebeckers are subject the constitution as are all Canadian provinces and territories.
The second point he made, and this I didn’t know before, is that no right to secession exists under international law. Apparently Quebec hired a group of experts from the UK,US Germany and France who said as much in a report published in 1992. There was some sort of tenuous right to secession in cases of formerly colonized countries but outside of those cases, no such right exists. Quebec as a rough approximation of the French Canadian community, has language rights, education rights, the province of Quebec has many other rights guaranteed under the constitution as well and so has no right under international law to secede.
Now Quebec separatists wrongly assume that every nation must have a state. This is simply not true. Such a position creates divisions and really Canada can stand to have a strong Quebec.
The funny thing is that the Liberals are reeling from sponsorship scandal in Quebec still to this day. One of the few places the Liberals can gain in the next election is in Quebec. I think it might be the only area of the country where they can gain seats. The sense of opportunism about these appeals only makes them that much worse.
The 1995 referendum was an extremely close call because no one actually stood up for Canada during that campaign.
The Liberal party seems to be attempting to buy the allegiance of Quebeckers by putting a few symbolic words in the constitution. The general thinking of many in the Liberal party and many who were in government, is that they need to purchase the allegiance of Quebec. This kind of thinking is what led to the sponsorship program in the first place.
The idea that instead of articulating a coherent defense of Quebec and it’s place in Canada, they simply throw money at the people of Quebec. It’s an incoherent plan, it wastes money and ultimately leads to resentment. I think that was a big lesson of the sponsorship scandal, Quebec liberals were literally trying to buy the votes of the people of Quebec.
Now on another note, I think if it came down to it. I’m thinking more and more that if Bob Rae wins the liberal leadership, it wouldn’t take too much for me to vote for him and his (new) party.
Quebec as a nation?
I am amazed at how quickly people have started jumping all over Michael Ignatieff recent incredibly stupid decision to try and force a resolution at the Liberal convention in Montreal to study some way of recognizing Quebec in the constitution. Rightly so I feel.
I was watching CPAC(which thanks to some new knowledge I can now listen to without the translators. Thank god for SAP technology) tonight and they had two guests, one was Jeffrey Simpson (I had no idea he could speak French so well) and William Johnston.
Jeffrey Simpson repeated mostly his argument in Saturday’s Globe and Mail that only someone who wasn’t in country during Meech and Charlottetown could come up with such a stupid suggestion as Ignatieff’s idea of recognizing the Quebec nation. William Johsnton was also talking about how silly Ignatieff’s position is. Johnston brought up two points which I thought were worth mentioning here.
As he mentions clearly in his book on Stephen Harper, the supreme court has already ruled on what would happen in the case of a successful referendum. There would have to be a constitutional amendment in order for Quebec to leave to country. This means that all the provinces would have to come to some sort of agreement on how we would move forward. There is no pretending anymore (after the supreme court reference) that Quebec can unilaterally separate from Canada. After all we live in a democracy under the rule of law. Quebec cannot unilaterally declare independence. The constitution would still apply and Quebeckers are subject the constitution as are all Canadian provinces and territories.
The second point he made, and this I didn’t know before, is that no right to secession exists under international law. Apparently Quebec hired a group of experts from the UK,US Germany and France who said as much in a report published in 1992. There was some sort of tenuous right to secession in cases of formerly colonized countries but outside of those cases, no such right exists. Quebec as a rough approximation of the French Canadian community, has language rights, education rights, the province of Quebec has many other rights guaranteed under the constitution as well and so has no right under international law to secede.
Now Quebec separatists wrongly assume that every nation must have a state. This is simply not true. Such a position creates divisions and really Canada can stand to have a strong Quebec.
The funny thing is that the Liberals are reeling from sponsorship scandal in Quebec still to this day. One of the few places the Liberals can gain in the next election is in Quebec. I think it might be the only area of the country where they can gain seats. The sense of opportunism about these appeals only makes them that much worse.
The 1995 referendum was an extremely close call because no one actually stood up for Canada during that campaign.
The Liberal party seems to be attempting to buy the allegiance of Quebeckers by putting a few symbolic words in the constitution. The general thinking of many in the Liberal party and many who were in government, is that they need to purchase the allegiance of Quebec. This kind of thinking is what led to the sponsorship program in the first place.
The idea that instead of articulating a coherent defense of Quebec and it’s place in Canada, they simply throw money at the people of Quebec. It’s an incoherent plan, it wastes money and ultimately leads to resentment. I think that was a big lesson of the sponsorship scandal, Quebec liberals were literally trying to buy the votes of the people of Quebec.
Now on another note, I think if it came down to it. I’m thinking more and more that if Bob Rae wins the liberal leadership, it wouldn’t take too much for me to vote for him and his (new) party.
October 29, 2006
Still here
Well I haven't posted much recently, but life continues pretty normally here in Ottawa.
I spent some time with some old friends while I was in Regina, and then this weekend, I managed to get a hold of someone i hadn't heard from in a few years. My friend was an exchange student a few years ago, who I lost tough with and through the magic of MSN I did manage to get a hold of him again.
Other than that life continues at a normal pace. I'm in the process of applying to do my MA. I'm really hoping that something comes from that.
I've been playing quite a bit of Simcity this weekend. It's such a fun game, especially now that I have a large enough region that my cities grow like magic.
I also have managed to start my research project for my class at Carleton. It should prove to be quite interesting. It's on the promotion of the Olympics in Calgary in 1988 and Montreal in 1976(well Calgary for sure, maybe some Montreal stuff too)
That reminds me; I saw something funny on TV today . Does anyone remember that really weird 'B' movie with David Duchovny called Evolution? Well it was on TV today. I've always wondered whether that movie wasn't just a big product placement by Head & Shoulders.
(For those who haven't seen it, H&S is the thing that kills the aliens in the movie, and at the end of the movie there's an actual H&S commercial)
Anyways that movie sucked, but made me laugh(mostly at how bad it is).
I spent some time with some old friends while I was in Regina, and then this weekend, I managed to get a hold of someone i hadn't heard from in a few years. My friend was an exchange student a few years ago, who I lost tough with and through the magic of MSN I did manage to get a hold of him again.
Other than that life continues at a normal pace. I'm in the process of applying to do my MA. I'm really hoping that something comes from that.
I've been playing quite a bit of Simcity this weekend. It's such a fun game, especially now that I have a large enough region that my cities grow like magic.
I also have managed to start my research project for my class at Carleton. It should prove to be quite interesting. It's on the promotion of the Olympics in Calgary in 1988 and Montreal in 1976(well Calgary for sure, maybe some Montreal stuff too)
That reminds me; I saw something funny on TV today . Does anyone remember that really weird 'B' movie with David Duchovny called Evolution? Well it was on TV today. I've always wondered whether that movie wasn't just a big product placement by Head & Shoulders.
(For those who haven't seen it, H&S is the thing that kills the aliens in the movie, and at the end of the movie there's an actual H&S commercial)
Anyways that movie sucked, but made me laugh(mostly at how bad it is).
October 22, 2006
Out on the prairies again
I'm not too sure when i'll be out here on the Saskatchewan plains again. I'm not spending christmas here, and it looks like my mom is determined to move out of the city within the next year.
Not that there's been much to come back to, to be honest. The great majority of people that I hung out with in highschool left the city, and the ones that are still in town i've grown apart from. It's also interesting to see how the city has changed in 6 years. I find it quite different from the days I remember it. Whether that's my perspective that has changed or the city itself has changed.
It amazing the little things that you notice when you return to a place you haven't been in a while. I guess a lot of small things add up over time.
It is also a reflection of the new place that you've been. I find Regina a fairly dull and gray city, but only in comparison with a much greener city like Ottawa. I'm sure Regina has always been a dull gray city, especially in the fall light and the dust of spring, I jsut never noticed it as much before.
Oh I also want to say that I enjoyed watching RDI this morning and seeing the Quebec perspective on things. I also got to watch CBC News SUnday for the first time in a while and I have to say I appreciate them looking into harder issues than the regular news. I also like the political commentary (of course) as well.
Those are my thoughts for the day. I'm reading an interesting book right now too, called stumbling into happiness, it's quite good.
Not that there's been much to come back to, to be honest. The great majority of people that I hung out with in highschool left the city, and the ones that are still in town i've grown apart from. It's also interesting to see how the city has changed in 6 years. I find it quite different from the days I remember it. Whether that's my perspective that has changed or the city itself has changed.
It amazing the little things that you notice when you return to a place you haven't been in a while. I guess a lot of small things add up over time.
It is also a reflection of the new place that you've been. I find Regina a fairly dull and gray city, but only in comparison with a much greener city like Ottawa. I'm sure Regina has always been a dull gray city, especially in the fall light and the dust of spring, I jsut never noticed it as much before.
Oh I also want to say that I enjoyed watching RDI this morning and seeing the Quebec perspective on things. I also got to watch CBC News SUnday for the first time in a while and I have to say I appreciate them looking into harder issues than the regular news. I also like the political commentary (of course) as well.
Those are my thoughts for the day. I'm reading an interesting book right now too, called stumbling into happiness, it's quite good.
October 15, 2006
So i've been thinking about what books I should buy. I'm thinking in part that I should start reading some classics, and get a more fundamental sense of what western civilization is and where it comes from. These would be both political and philosophical classics.
I feel as thought I need a better grounding for some of my discussions about modern topics and I think it would help to read some of the authors in their own words.
That list remains to be developed though, and so I have a few books here I've been thinking of getting soon.
Heart Matters by Adrienne Clarkson [given that i'm such a fan of her husband I suppose it makes sense to get her book]
Right Side Up by Paul Wells [I like his blog, and i'm curious what he has to say]
Sorry I don't speak French by Graham Fraser should be an interesting read. Language politics interest me especially living in ottawa as a fluently (relatively speaking) bilingual anglophone
French Kiss by Chantal Hebert. I like what she says most of the time on CBC's the national so her book should be interesting.
The world is Flat by Thomas friedman. I like his stuff usually, though I find it extrremely oversimplified. I have been waiting for a long time for this to come out in paperback. Hopefully it won;t be too much longer
Stumbling on happiness by Daniel Gilbert just plain looks interesting..
Thats the list for now. No surprise it's moslty non fiction with a strong emphasis on Canadian politics for the moment. I haven't seen a book on international affairs that looks promising for a while now. Maybe I just own all the good ones?
I feel as thought I need a better grounding for some of my discussions about modern topics and I think it would help to read some of the authors in their own words.
That list remains to be developed though, and so I have a few books here I've been thinking of getting soon.
Heart Matters by Adrienne Clarkson [given that i'm such a fan of her husband I suppose it makes sense to get her book]
Right Side Up by Paul Wells [I like his blog, and i'm curious what he has to say]
Sorry I don't speak French by Graham Fraser should be an interesting read. Language politics interest me especially living in ottawa as a fluently (relatively speaking) bilingual anglophone
French Kiss by Chantal Hebert. I like what she says most of the time on CBC's the national so her book should be interesting.
The world is Flat by Thomas friedman. I like his stuff usually, though I find it extrremely oversimplified. I have been waiting for a long time for this to come out in paperback. Hopefully it won;t be too much longer
Stumbling on happiness by Daniel Gilbert just plain looks interesting..
Thats the list for now. No surprise it's moslty non fiction with a strong emphasis on Canadian politics for the moment. I haven't seen a book on international affairs that looks promising for a while now. Maybe I just own all the good ones?
October 09, 2006
Thanks be given
Well i had a fun thanksgiving weekend. The two brothers were up, one was my brother the other my girlfriend's younger brother.
It was interesting to see the two of them meet actually, not much was said between them but it was interesting nonetheless.
I cooked a whole chicken for the first time and I have to say it turned out pretty well. Now that that's over I guess it's time to get back to work. Not looking forward to it, the day after long weekends are always busy at the bank, and we're short one person and we'll be short 2 people later in the week, this will guarentee a busy week for me.
I must have read Ayn rand's book Atlas Shrugged about 4 or 5 times. Now I find it interesting that i enjoy her books so much because I am deeply opposed to her views on almost anything. I do however find that the sense that her characters are outsiders misunderstood by the world does appeal to my sense of self and some of my own struggles in my childhood.
I find however through reading her writing as well as starting to follow more conservatives blogs and just through changes in my own thinking I am becoming more conservative over time. Though I would consider myself a moderate in almost eveyr way, I find that the conservatives (in general and the political party) are becoming more appealing.
It also helps that i find a lot of the progressives that i know and a lot that i have read are barking up the wrong tree and are just as vitriolic and stupid as the religious right in the US. On many many issues I find myself disagreeing in fundamental ways with the NDP and many on the left.
Now this does not mean that I am going to embrace the religion of the right, ie 'the free market will solve everything' nor will I ever believe that cutting taxes is the solution to every problem, btu I do find my political stances moderating.
Now I have always been a moderate in most ways, I think in terms of economics I was on the radical side of things, if you finished my post on intellectual property rights, I have moved from the position of abolishing them, to trying to find some sort of accomodation of property rights within a more humane and just system. In the end though I may end up being in favour of abolishing them. (Some radicals call the enforcement of these rights tantamount to criminalizing sharing)
ANyways thats my two cents for the moment.
It was interesting to see the two of them meet actually, not much was said between them but it was interesting nonetheless.
I cooked a whole chicken for the first time and I have to say it turned out pretty well. Now that that's over I guess it's time to get back to work. Not looking forward to it, the day after long weekends are always busy at the bank, and we're short one person and we'll be short 2 people later in the week, this will guarentee a busy week for me.
I must have read Ayn rand's book Atlas Shrugged about 4 or 5 times. Now I find it interesting that i enjoy her books so much because I am deeply opposed to her views on almost anything. I do however find that the sense that her characters are outsiders misunderstood by the world does appeal to my sense of self and some of my own struggles in my childhood.
I find however through reading her writing as well as starting to follow more conservatives blogs and just through changes in my own thinking I am becoming more conservative over time. Though I would consider myself a moderate in almost eveyr way, I find that the conservatives (in general and the political party) are becoming more appealing.
It also helps that i find a lot of the progressives that i know and a lot that i have read are barking up the wrong tree and are just as vitriolic and stupid as the religious right in the US. On many many issues I find myself disagreeing in fundamental ways with the NDP and many on the left.
Now this does not mean that I am going to embrace the religion of the right, ie 'the free market will solve everything' nor will I ever believe that cutting taxes is the solution to every problem, btu I do find my political stances moderating.
Now I have always been a moderate in most ways, I think in terms of economics I was on the radical side of things, if you finished my post on intellectual property rights, I have moved from the position of abolishing them, to trying to find some sort of accomodation of property rights within a more humane and just system. In the end though I may end up being in favour of abolishing them. (Some radicals call the enforcement of these rights tantamount to criminalizing sharing)
ANyways thats my two cents for the moment.
October 05, 2006
The latest member of our family
Welcome to our family de-humidifier I hope you help with our windows being covered in water and that you don't break down for many years...
October 03, 2006
Been busy
So I haven't really kept up my pledge to post more often. I am still trying to get my life organize and settling into a routine. There's alos been a few curveballs at work, with one person leaving and the hunt for a new person beginning.
Things are going alright around here, i'm definately enjoying playing badminton twice a week. i'm really happy i made that commitment and my Spanish lessons are going well so far.
I feel that there's so much for me to learn in Spanish (which i guess is true), I am slowly feeling like i'm beginning to stop thinking about the grammar all the time and i'm beginning to think about what it is I am trying to express.
I'm wondering whether I should take French classes too next semester. I really need to improve my French grammar skills.
Thats what i'm thinking about these days..
Things are going alright around here, i'm definately enjoying playing badminton twice a week. i'm really happy i made that commitment and my Spanish lessons are going well so far.
I feel that there's so much for me to learn in Spanish (which i guess is true), I am slowly feeling like i'm beginning to stop thinking about the grammar all the time and i'm beginning to think about what it is I am trying to express.
I'm wondering whether I should take French classes too next semester. I really need to improve my French grammar skills.
Thats what i'm thinking about these days..
September 27, 2006
On a lighter note
After such a lengthy post last time, i figure i'd do something a bit lighter.
I am really enjoying my ipod. To be honest I was always qutie intrigued by the idea of the ipod, but quite surprised at how quickly it became ubiquitous among young people. On buses it's no longer rare to see several people plugged into their ipods, with their distinctive headphones during my morning commute.
With my recent purchase of a sleek and shiny black ipod nano, i now understand why. Unlike my (previously)absolute distain for cell phones, (and of course I now own one )I was always curious about the appeal of the ipod.
It's small, it's intutitive and simple to use and it does exactly what it is supposed to do.
I've also discovered the podcast. I had heard about podcasting and listened to a few stories on the radio about podcasting but until I had my ipod I wasn't really plugged in to that whole universe. Well right now because I haven't yet got an FM adapter for my ipod, i'm missing out on my usual CBC radio fix. There's also the problem that because the computer is not in my bedroom and now my stereo acts as the speakers for my computer we no longer have a stereo in the bedroom.
I've been able to really easily get podcasts of some of my favorite shows easily, downloaded into bite size peices perfect for the bus or other travel.
I'm really happy with my ipod and I now understand the appeal of the podcast. I think CBC radio has done a good job of integrating this new technology into its broadcasting appartus. I really really like CBC radio, and I think this is something the CBC does really really well. I'm not much of a TV person so I don't watch a whole lot of TV anyways but I really don't get much out of CBC TV.
SO i guess my point is CBC radio is good!
I am really enjoying my ipod. To be honest I was always qutie intrigued by the idea of the ipod, but quite surprised at how quickly it became ubiquitous among young people. On buses it's no longer rare to see several people plugged into their ipods, with their distinctive headphones during my morning commute.
With my recent purchase of a sleek and shiny black ipod nano, i now understand why. Unlike my (previously)absolute distain for cell phones, (and of course I now own one )I was always curious about the appeal of the ipod.
It's small, it's intutitive and simple to use and it does exactly what it is supposed to do.
I've also discovered the podcast. I had heard about podcasting and listened to a few stories on the radio about podcasting but until I had my ipod I wasn't really plugged in to that whole universe. Well right now because I haven't yet got an FM adapter for my ipod, i'm missing out on my usual CBC radio fix. There's also the problem that because the computer is not in my bedroom and now my stereo acts as the speakers for my computer we no longer have a stereo in the bedroom.
I've been able to really easily get podcasts of some of my favorite shows easily, downloaded into bite size peices perfect for the bus or other travel.
I'm really happy with my ipod and I now understand the appeal of the podcast. I think CBC radio has done a good job of integrating this new technology into its broadcasting appartus. I really really like CBC radio, and I think this is something the CBC does really really well. I'm not much of a TV person so I don't watch a whole lot of TV anyways but I really don't get much out of CBC TV.
SO i guess my point is CBC radio is good!
September 24, 2006
Intellectual Property rights
Now this post will be exactly as boring as it sounds..(it's rather long too)
However it's actually a pretty interesting issue. I first approached this in an economics class as a research project, but I found there was very little literature on the subject by economists. Most of it was not very well modeled or it was prety clealy ideological stuff without much research behind it. Now this may have reflected the poor quality of economic journals and research available at Carleton, or it may reflect the fact that a lot of economists assume by definition that property rights are an essential part of capitalism.
Now I remain to be completely convinced on the subject. Despite reading (most of) Hernan de Soto's thte mystery of capitalism, I remain sceptical that IPRs (intellectual property rights, if you haven't figured that one out already) are beneficial. One of my favorite authors, John Ralston Saul mocks the attempt to capture information that is one way of describing IPRs.
I used to think that i was in favour of abolishing intellectual property rights and in many wasy I still am, but I can also see the other side of the issue. I would never ever go as far as those at the Fraser Institute in vancouver who advocate individual(or corporate) ownership of absolutely everything including air and water etc.
Intellectual property rights are essentially an amalgam of different types of property rights. They include copyright, patents as well elements of industrial design protection. The rules on these products have been increasingly tightened over the last decade or so, to the point where they are included in the trade provisions of the WTO.
There has been a lot of talk about copyright protection in the digital age. I see the entire debate framed in terms of power and who has the right to control content. This is one the unlooked at issue when we talk about property rights. Like most questions in the modern economy, the issues do not hinge simply on economics, but are questions about power relations.
Copyright is a fair example of this. Copyrights are designed to ensure that artists get paid for their work. If an author rights a book, you cannot go around and copy it without getting a license or paying a fee to the author for the right to reproduce that material. If a recording artist makes a CD you cannot go around and distribute it for free. There already exists a fee collected by the government on purchases of blank CDs and tapes to give something back to artists whose work may be copied. However the law does not apply strictly there are some provisions for fair use. It's not as if the next time I lend someone a book i'll go to jail for it.
I was thinking about this topic because I saw Carleton's access agreement on copyright while making photocopies for a course at the university. Now Carleton as an academic institution is governed by rules about photocopying. When it makes coursepacks for students, there are very strict rules about the amount of material allowed froma single source as well the school pays a royalty fee in order to use the material. Now I think this seems to be a reasonable thing to do. Many professors use many sources and to imagine that they do not have to pay for it is a bit of a stretch even for one who doesn't approve of strict copyright laws.
However many students are against it because it raises the cost of their books.
With the recording industry's campaign for more stringent copyright laws in Canada, and its attempts to sue people in the US, it is defending the status quo model, which makes record companies lots of money, a few artists more or less rich, but leaves control largely in industry hands. Luckily the supreme court has found more or less that downloading music is legal. I don't see any lawsuits coming in Canada yet anyways.
The issue is whether the companies can get legal protection for thier existing business model. they are trying to prevent a new model which provides more risk for those companies while allowing for much more of a voice for independent music.
The final area where intellectual property is, I think, hardets to defend is when it comes to science. Scientists have for a long time relied on a model in which open debate and publication are essential to the advance of a wel regarded solid body of knowledge. The entire scientific method in which hypotheses are carried out with the intention that they be replicated to prove their strength is being undermined by a reliance on intellectual property rights. If a scientist produced some knowledge which may be useful these days it is immediately protected under some kind of intllectual property right. Universities have become hubs of such practices. Even if they use public money to fund the research, the benefits will be entirely private.
Not only does this mean that the sharing of knowledge which is such an integral part of scientific pratice is undermined, but it also means that research itself is undermined. We need more people researching the same problems to come up with a solution. If each group engaged in this research is unable to share its results with others it means a lot of wasted effort on dead ends, or perhaps breakthroughs take much longer to diffuse among the researchers.
The pharmaceutical companies are the most guilty of the practice of using intellectual property rights to defend their interests. Now they make the claim that they need the available rewards (ie protection) in order to invest the large sums required to develop new drugs. Now there is some merit to this argument. However the truth is that large parts of research that help to develop drugs come from the public sector. These companies also spend much more money on marketing than they do on R&D. If they need more money for R&D they can surely take it from the billions they spend convincing us that we are sick.
There is also the clear need for exceptions to these rules in face of a health crisis, the pandemic of AIDS in Africa in particular. These companies have fought tooth and nail any attempts to give lower cots drugs to these countries.
One last comment is that the way that most countries in the worlds have developed has been through the use of the one advantage thye have lower cost labour to start manufacturing goods and then moving up the value chain. This is what the US did, Japan and Korea did, and most countries that have been able to develop. IPRs have largely destroyed the possibility of other countries following in the footsteps of those who have led the way. It is hypocritical for a country like the US to talk about the need for patents to be protected, when its entire bookpublishing industry was built on the basis of ignoring copyright protection on british books. The US was one of the last countries to develop a more comprehensive IPR regime.
Alas this is still agenda is pushed by the strongest. Those who are at the top need protection against those who are weak. It seems that in an age where information is currency, it needs to be protected against those who would erode its value.
I'm still up in the air a bit, but mostly I just don't see how to develop an alternative set of incentives. I hope we can get there some day, when sharing isn't seen as a crime.
However it's actually a pretty interesting issue. I first approached this in an economics class as a research project, but I found there was very little literature on the subject by economists. Most of it was not very well modeled or it was prety clealy ideological stuff without much research behind it. Now this may have reflected the poor quality of economic journals and research available at Carleton, or it may reflect the fact that a lot of economists assume by definition that property rights are an essential part of capitalism.
Now I remain to be completely convinced on the subject. Despite reading (most of) Hernan de Soto's thte mystery of capitalism, I remain sceptical that IPRs (intellectual property rights, if you haven't figured that one out already) are beneficial. One of my favorite authors, John Ralston Saul mocks the attempt to capture information that is one way of describing IPRs.
I used to think that i was in favour of abolishing intellectual property rights and in many wasy I still am, but I can also see the other side of the issue. I would never ever go as far as those at the Fraser Institute in vancouver who advocate individual(or corporate) ownership of absolutely everything including air and water etc.
Intellectual property rights are essentially an amalgam of different types of property rights. They include copyright, patents as well elements of industrial design protection. The rules on these products have been increasingly tightened over the last decade or so, to the point where they are included in the trade provisions of the WTO.
There has been a lot of talk about copyright protection in the digital age. I see the entire debate framed in terms of power and who has the right to control content. This is one the unlooked at issue when we talk about property rights. Like most questions in the modern economy, the issues do not hinge simply on economics, but are questions about power relations.
Copyright is a fair example of this. Copyrights are designed to ensure that artists get paid for their work. If an author rights a book, you cannot go around and copy it without getting a license or paying a fee to the author for the right to reproduce that material. If a recording artist makes a CD you cannot go around and distribute it for free. There already exists a fee collected by the government on purchases of blank CDs and tapes to give something back to artists whose work may be copied. However the law does not apply strictly there are some provisions for fair use. It's not as if the next time I lend someone a book i'll go to jail for it.
I was thinking about this topic because I saw Carleton's access agreement on copyright while making photocopies for a course at the university. Now Carleton as an academic institution is governed by rules about photocopying. When it makes coursepacks for students, there are very strict rules about the amount of material allowed froma single source as well the school pays a royalty fee in order to use the material. Now I think this seems to be a reasonable thing to do. Many professors use many sources and to imagine that they do not have to pay for it is a bit of a stretch even for one who doesn't approve of strict copyright laws.
However many students are against it because it raises the cost of their books.
With the recording industry's campaign for more stringent copyright laws in Canada, and its attempts to sue people in the US, it is defending the status quo model, which makes record companies lots of money, a few artists more or less rich, but leaves control largely in industry hands. Luckily the supreme court has found more or less that downloading music is legal. I don't see any lawsuits coming in Canada yet anyways.
The issue is whether the companies can get legal protection for thier existing business model. they are trying to prevent a new model which provides more risk for those companies while allowing for much more of a voice for independent music.
The final area where intellectual property is, I think, hardets to defend is when it comes to science. Scientists have for a long time relied on a model in which open debate and publication are essential to the advance of a wel regarded solid body of knowledge. The entire scientific method in which hypotheses are carried out with the intention that they be replicated to prove their strength is being undermined by a reliance on intellectual property rights. If a scientist produced some knowledge which may be useful these days it is immediately protected under some kind of intllectual property right. Universities have become hubs of such practices. Even if they use public money to fund the research, the benefits will be entirely private.
Not only does this mean that the sharing of knowledge which is such an integral part of scientific pratice is undermined, but it also means that research itself is undermined. We need more people researching the same problems to come up with a solution. If each group engaged in this research is unable to share its results with others it means a lot of wasted effort on dead ends, or perhaps breakthroughs take much longer to diffuse among the researchers.
The pharmaceutical companies are the most guilty of the practice of using intellectual property rights to defend their interests. Now they make the claim that they need the available rewards (ie protection) in order to invest the large sums required to develop new drugs. Now there is some merit to this argument. However the truth is that large parts of research that help to develop drugs come from the public sector. These companies also spend much more money on marketing than they do on R&D. If they need more money for R&D they can surely take it from the billions they spend convincing us that we are sick.
There is also the clear need for exceptions to these rules in face of a health crisis, the pandemic of AIDS in Africa in particular. These companies have fought tooth and nail any attempts to give lower cots drugs to these countries.
One last comment is that the way that most countries in the worlds have developed has been through the use of the one advantage thye have lower cost labour to start manufacturing goods and then moving up the value chain. This is what the US did, Japan and Korea did, and most countries that have been able to develop. IPRs have largely destroyed the possibility of other countries following in the footsteps of those who have led the way. It is hypocritical for a country like the US to talk about the need for patents to be protected, when its entire bookpublishing industry was built on the basis of ignoring copyright protection on british books. The US was one of the last countries to develop a more comprehensive IPR regime.
Alas this is still agenda is pushed by the strongest. Those who are at the top need protection against those who are weak. It seems that in an age where information is currency, it needs to be protected against those who would erode its value.
I'm still up in the air a bit, but mostly I just don't see how to develop an alternative set of incentives. I hope we can get there some day, when sharing isn't seen as a crime.
September 23, 2006
A nice little concert
I just went to go see the Wailin' Jennys live here in Ottawa. It was a good concert and though the crowd was a bit older they were appreciative.
The concert was held at the national library and archives building a nice little venue where many of the folk festival's concerts are held during the year.
It's always nice to see a performer (or group of performers) live and see what they are like, hoe they react to each other, and in this particular case to see all the different instruments they play. Each member of the Jennys played like 3 instruments.
Anyways a good time was had by all. I even picked up some new CDs, I hope they are as good as the last Juno winning CD by the Jenny's
The concert was held at the national library and archives building a nice little venue where many of the folk festival's concerts are held during the year.
It's always nice to see a performer (or group of performers) live and see what they are like, hoe they react to each other, and in this particular case to see all the different instruments they play. Each member of the Jennys played like 3 instruments.
Anyways a good time was had by all. I even picked up some new CDs, I hope they are as good as the last Juno winning CD by the Jenny's
September 17, 2006
On being a tourist
Well i am now taking a course on the history of tourism in canada. It is a cultural history and should prove pretty interesting. I don't have a topic yet for my main paper but i'm starting to get a sense of what the course is about.
Since I was also thinking a bit about what being a tourist means this weekend, I decided to write about what it means to be a tourist.
How does one become a tourist?
Well I think this is something that often came to my mind over the 12 weeks I was travelling in New Zealand and Australia. I started thinking about it a little bit in my short trip to Europe but this longer trip made me think about it a bit more.
Being a tourist even in a country that at times felt so familiar, is a bit disorienting.
I found myself trying to fit in as well as observe things for myself a lot of the time. Except for the few weeks when I was with my girlfriend and the short times I stayed with family, I was pretty much travelling alone. I was not always alone, and there were a few times when i travelled with a group but I was largely alone.
I actually found it hard to connect with people at times. Even other travellers. There were other times when connecting with other people came easily. I suppose travelling amongst hostels where ready made networks of people to help are easily available makes travelling that much easier. I was also lucky to speak the language.
The hardest thing I think about being a tourist is that the experience is ephemeral. There seems to be this need and desire to try and capture the essence of the experience. That's why people take so many photos (even more so now with digital cameras) and buy postcards and useless things they would never buy if they saw in the store at home. People also seem to try and collect stories, anything that will being the experience to life.
I suppose that is the reason people travel, is to have an experience. I guess that's why some people love to travel and others prefer not to. Some people enjoy those experiences more than others.
I find it interesting that already in the literature there seems to be an attempt to distinguish between the tourist and the more authentic 'traveller'. This is a somewhat artificial distinction, but it does seeem appliable nonetheless. But what is the difference.
I don't know if such a clear distinction can be made, but I think it hinges on the engagement with the environment. Of course anyone travelling toa foreign country by definition is forced to engage with that environment. I would argue that the tourist has largely a superficial engagement. They either aren't there long enough to engage or they have other interests. Now the question becomes whether anyone can actually escape being a tourist. Even a year is not truly long enough to engage deeply with a landscape either cultural or physical.
(On a side note: I think the really interesting thing though, was to meet people who had left one country to make another one their home. I find that decision fascinating and I met one gentleman during my travels and I just find their experiences really ineresting)
So how does one become a tourist? Simple, they leave their home town/region/country/ and go somewhere completely different. What is involved however in that decision is the interesting part, the question isn't so much how does one become a tourist (however one defines it) but why.
I think this course i'm taking will provide all sorts of interesting discussions about these questions.
Since I was also thinking a bit about what being a tourist means this weekend, I decided to write about what it means to be a tourist.
How does one become a tourist?
Well I think this is something that often came to my mind over the 12 weeks I was travelling in New Zealand and Australia. I started thinking about it a little bit in my short trip to Europe but this longer trip made me think about it a bit more.
Being a tourist even in a country that at times felt so familiar, is a bit disorienting.
I found myself trying to fit in as well as observe things for myself a lot of the time. Except for the few weeks when I was with my girlfriend and the short times I stayed with family, I was pretty much travelling alone. I was not always alone, and there were a few times when i travelled with a group but I was largely alone.
I actually found it hard to connect with people at times. Even other travellers. There were other times when connecting with other people came easily. I suppose travelling amongst hostels where ready made networks of people to help are easily available makes travelling that much easier. I was also lucky to speak the language.
The hardest thing I think about being a tourist is that the experience is ephemeral. There seems to be this need and desire to try and capture the essence of the experience. That's why people take so many photos (even more so now with digital cameras) and buy postcards and useless things they would never buy if they saw in the store at home. People also seem to try and collect stories, anything that will being the experience to life.
I suppose that is the reason people travel, is to have an experience. I guess that's why some people love to travel and others prefer not to. Some people enjoy those experiences more than others.
I find it interesting that already in the literature there seems to be an attempt to distinguish between the tourist and the more authentic 'traveller'. This is a somewhat artificial distinction, but it does seeem appliable nonetheless. But what is the difference.
I don't know if such a clear distinction can be made, but I think it hinges on the engagement with the environment. Of course anyone travelling toa foreign country by definition is forced to engage with that environment. I would argue that the tourist has largely a superficial engagement. They either aren't there long enough to engage or they have other interests. Now the question becomes whether anyone can actually escape being a tourist. Even a year is not truly long enough to engage deeply with a landscape either cultural or physical.
(On a side note: I think the really interesting thing though, was to meet people who had left one country to make another one their home. I find that decision fascinating and I met one gentleman during my travels and I just find their experiences really ineresting)
So how does one become a tourist? Simple, they leave their home town/region/country/ and go somewhere completely different. What is involved however in that decision is the interesting part, the question isn't so much how does one become a tourist (however one defines it) but why.
I think this course i'm taking will provide all sorts of interesting discussions about these questions.
September 16, 2006
Well lets try this again.
I wrote a big long nice post which got deleted as i mentioned before. So here's attempt #2.
I want to try and start a specific time aside for writing every day. So let's see how this works. Now just because i'm writing eveyr day doesn't mean it will all be online but here goes..
I was just walking listening to a new dixie chicks song Lubbock or leave it and it made me think about how in the ten commandments the first one is thou shalt not kill. I know it's in there somwhere anyways, it may not be the first.
Well in my philosophy class we talked about whether such a universal law is possible. And the implications of it. For example, if you had to make a choice whether to save lives if doing so would kill one person, would violating this law be ok,. etc.
This relates to the song, because the song talks about religion in the south (of the US) and there being 'more churches than trees". In the US however many people, including many christians (i imagine) support the death penalty. Which means that they support the violation of the principle 'thou shalt not kill', in the specific cases where the death penalty has been awarded.
So there is this internal contradiction there.(I don't necessarily think that it is hypocritical, however many of the opponents of the death penalty use the same arguments ie thou shalt not kill, and the importance of forgiveness as reasons for repealing the death penalty) However I was thinking that that fact alone does not itself undermine the universal applicability of the command 'thou shalt not kill"
I don't think there is anywhere on earth that the rule does not apply.Except in very specific contexts. That is the key to remember. I imaine even in tribes which practiced cannibalism, or sacrificed people, it was only in very specific contexts.
I personally beleive that there are such universals rules such as 'thou shalt not kill'. I don't think they necessarily all belong to the christian doctrine, but I do believe such rules exist.
I think everyone could agree that as a general principle thou shalt not kill is a good one.
That's all for now
I want to try and start a specific time aside for writing every day. So let's see how this works. Now just because i'm writing eveyr day doesn't mean it will all be online but here goes..
I was just walking listening to a new dixie chicks song Lubbock or leave it and it made me think about how in the ten commandments the first one is thou shalt not kill. I know it's in there somwhere anyways, it may not be the first.
Well in my philosophy class we talked about whether such a universal law is possible. And the implications of it. For example, if you had to make a choice whether to save lives if doing so would kill one person, would violating this law be ok,. etc.
This relates to the song, because the song talks about religion in the south (of the US) and there being 'more churches than trees". In the US however many people, including many christians (i imagine) support the death penalty. Which means that they support the violation of the principle 'thou shalt not kill', in the specific cases where the death penalty has been awarded.
So there is this internal contradiction there.(I don't necessarily think that it is hypocritical, however many of the opponents of the death penalty use the same arguments ie thou shalt not kill, and the importance of forgiveness as reasons for repealing the death penalty) However I was thinking that that fact alone does not itself undermine the universal applicability of the command 'thou shalt not kill"
I don't think there is anywhere on earth that the rule does not apply.Except in very specific contexts. That is the key to remember. I imaine even in tribes which practiced cannibalism, or sacrificed people, it was only in very specific contexts.
I personally beleive that there are such universals rules such as 'thou shalt not kill'. I don't think they necessarily all belong to the christian doctrine, but I do believe such rules exist.
I think everyone could agree that as a general principle thou shalt not kill is a good one.
That's all for now
September 13, 2006
September 07, 2006
Not too much to say
Well I am almost finished a book on John Kenneth Galbraith.
For anyone who doesn't know me, I hate economists. I distrust almost all economists and I have major problems with how they approach the world.
Anyways it appears to me that John kenneth Galbraith might be the one economist that I know of that I could support. It's funny because it appears that for most economists what he said was anathema. He actually thought that power mattered in economics and I find ti fascinating the degree to which this idea is still treated with hostility among economists.
I am fascinated by the biography and I really think I really want to read his own words to see what he says in his own words.
For anyone who doesn't know me, I hate economists. I distrust almost all economists and I have major problems with how they approach the world.
Anyways it appears to me that John kenneth Galbraith might be the one economist that I know of that I could support. It's funny because it appears that for most economists what he said was anathema. He actually thought that power mattered in economics and I find ti fascinating the degree to which this idea is still treated with hostility among economists.
I am fascinated by the biography and I really think I really want to read his own words to see what he says in his own words.
September 03, 2006
September 02, 2006
A musing about the corporate world
About GM.. after watching the movie Who killed the electric car, I went and had a discussion with a friend of mine about the movie, in particular it was about the role of GM as a political actor.
Now my friend criticized me for my lack of understanding of business. But I still strongly believe that you have to understand the modern corporation as a political actor.
A few days ago about a week after my debate I was reading a biography of John Kenneth Galbraith. In his book A new Industrial State, he talks about how the modern corporation has moved beyond the profit maximizing entity described in the economics textbook.
Now JKG was an economist, but it seems to me that he was one of the few who realzied the impact of power on economic relations. Economists still to this day largely ignore the social context in which their theories apply.
Anyways the main thing that my friend kept repeating (which seems to be to be a conservative mantra) is that GM is a profit maximizing entity, if it doesn't make business sense they won't do it. While this is true in the long run, is GM doesn't make a profit it will cease to exist, modern corporations are political actors.
Galbraith seems to understand this implicitly in his work. He suggests that the coporation as an entity can have other goals that the maximization of profit. It might be a steady return on investment (ie they do not take risks that might endanger a steady level of profit) or it might be the return to shareholders , or it might even be that the CEO wants the largest pay possiblewith stock options this has become a more common problem).
Companies as large as GM also have a lot at stake, and thus become risk averse as well. They might simply decide that because of their weight in the market, they can prevent competition and keep making profits out of what they are already doing.
This is the profound failure examined in Who killed the electric car. As mentioned in the film, GM had a 2-3 year lead on its competitors in terms of it work on the electric car. Largely because they deemed the stakes too high, they fought tooth and nail against the imposition of the Zero emmission vehicle regulations that were in place in California rather than exploiting its edge in R&D and product development of the electric car. In other words they chose steady profit doing what they were doing, rather than disrupt their other product lines and face real competition.
In other words they chose certainty over the uncertaitny of developing a new product.
This is the problem with the large corporations, they are no longer innovators.
While it is true that companies need to be a certain size in order to attract capital and create interesting products there becomes a certain point where they are too big and too unwiedly to compete and they start becoming defensive.
The most interesting example in modern times is the degree to which Apple even though it is a small company makes Microsoft shake in its boots. Apple has become the leader through its innovation, and creativity while its competitors defend their positions and copy what Apple does. Microsoft has for years depended on its ability to buy upsart competitors in order to actuially acquire and create new products. Microsoft becaues of its size doesn't seem to need to innovate, it simply buys the innovations of others and repackages them as if they created it themselves. This is why a truly innovative company like Apple scares Microsoft silly.
Imagine a competitve market of small and medium sized companies, this is truy what we should be aiming for rather than the oligopolies and cartels we arebusy constructing now.
Now my friend criticized me for my lack of understanding of business. But I still strongly believe that you have to understand the modern corporation as a political actor.
A few days ago about a week after my debate I was reading a biography of John Kenneth Galbraith. In his book A new Industrial State, he talks about how the modern corporation has moved beyond the profit maximizing entity described in the economics textbook.
Now JKG was an economist, but it seems to me that he was one of the few who realzied the impact of power on economic relations. Economists still to this day largely ignore the social context in which their theories apply.
Anyways the main thing that my friend kept repeating (which seems to be to be a conservative mantra) is that GM is a profit maximizing entity, if it doesn't make business sense they won't do it. While this is true in the long run, is GM doesn't make a profit it will cease to exist, modern corporations are political actors.
Galbraith seems to understand this implicitly in his work. He suggests that the coporation as an entity can have other goals that the maximization of profit. It might be a steady return on investment (ie they do not take risks that might endanger a steady level of profit) or it might be the return to shareholders , or it might even be that the CEO wants the largest pay possiblewith stock options this has become a more common problem).
Companies as large as GM also have a lot at stake, and thus become risk averse as well. They might simply decide that because of their weight in the market, they can prevent competition and keep making profits out of what they are already doing.
This is the profound failure examined in Who killed the electric car. As mentioned in the film, GM had a 2-3 year lead on its competitors in terms of it work on the electric car. Largely because they deemed the stakes too high, they fought tooth and nail against the imposition of the Zero emmission vehicle regulations that were in place in California rather than exploiting its edge in R&D and product development of the electric car. In other words they chose steady profit doing what they were doing, rather than disrupt their other product lines and face real competition.
In other words they chose certainty over the uncertaitny of developing a new product.
This is the problem with the large corporations, they are no longer innovators.
While it is true that companies need to be a certain size in order to attract capital and create interesting products there becomes a certain point where they are too big and too unwiedly to compete and they start becoming defensive.
The most interesting example in modern times is the degree to which Apple even though it is a small company makes Microsoft shake in its boots. Apple has become the leader through its innovation, and creativity while its competitors defend their positions and copy what Apple does. Microsoft has for years depended on its ability to buy upsart competitors in order to actuially acquire and create new products. Microsoft becaues of its size doesn't seem to need to innovate, it simply buys the innovations of others and repackages them as if they created it themselves. This is why a truly innovative company like Apple scares Microsoft silly.
Imagine a competitve market of small and medium sized companies, this is truy what we should be aiming for rather than the oligopolies and cartels we arebusy constructing now.
Long weekend!
Well I don't have any big plans for the long weekend. Hopefully I can do a bit of cleaning up here, I have lots of newspapers to get rid of among other recycling,.
I am finally done the 3 week training program at work and so next week I will be a regular full time employee which is exciting.
I'm trying to get into a course at Carleton this fall and (winter actually) entitled the cultural history of tourism. It actually looks really really interesting. I was surprised to find out it's a forth year course. It's taught by a professor which I had a few years ago and I like. Right now it's full but I have a feeling I should be able to get in.
I had a look at the course outline and it really does look i'd enjoy it, and of course I'm hoping I can get a good reference out of it as well as sharpen and work on my academic skills.
I just hope i'm not being too ambitious this fall, I'll be playing badminton twice a week and after a testing session at the college here, i'm being tempted to take a french grammar course on saturday mornings.
My girlfriend is taking a course all day saturdays and so I figure I should do something on saturday too.
I'm thinking it'll be fun to be a bit busier and feel like i'm accomplishing things this fall.
Of course the big deadline looms too i'll be applying to do my Masters in january.
Fun times....
I am finally done the 3 week training program at work and so next week I will be a regular full time employee which is exciting.
I'm trying to get into a course at Carleton this fall and (winter actually) entitled the cultural history of tourism. It actually looks really really interesting. I was surprised to find out it's a forth year course. It's taught by a professor which I had a few years ago and I like. Right now it's full but I have a feeling I should be able to get in.
I had a look at the course outline and it really does look i'd enjoy it, and of course I'm hoping I can get a good reference out of it as well as sharpen and work on my academic skills.
I just hope i'm not being too ambitious this fall, I'll be playing badminton twice a week and after a testing session at the college here, i'm being tempted to take a french grammar course on saturday mornings.
My girlfriend is taking a course all day saturdays and so I figure I should do something on saturday too.
I'm thinking it'll be fun to be a bit busier and feel like i'm accomplishing things this fall.
Of course the big deadline looms too i'll be applying to do my Masters in january.
Fun times....
August 27, 2006
Who killed the electric car?
Well besides the provocative title, the movie though not as powerful or professionally done as other muckracing movies of late, does provoke a lot of questions about the future of the automobile.
There are a few conspiracy theory type moments, like the revelation that GM destroyed all of its electric cars, and one of the big moments is when the vigil surrounding the last 78 EV1 (electric cars), which happened to be stored in one parking lot are taken to the middle of the desert and destroyed.
In general this movie stays away from conspiracy theories and concentrates on the central issues. It attempts to prove that there was demand for the electric car, and the interviews with several of the owners proves only that there were some who loved the car, and that the potential was there to build that demand.
The movie also attempts to prove that the limitations on the car were real, but the dificulties were possible to overcome.
Of course Big Oil is given a role as one of the guilty parties in destroying the electric car, but not a very prominent one. The big bad guy is the head of the California Air Resources Board. The board came up with the regulations which were to force the car companies to build electric (Zero emission vehicles) cars. These were repealed by this 'bad' guy (I can't remember his name) after there was heavy lobbying by oil companies and car companies and the fedreal government decided to sue california so that the regulation could not come into effect.
One of the funniest moments was when they showed the advertising for the electric car. The entire ad focused on the negatives and barely portrayed the positives of the car. With ads like that i'm not surprised it failed.
The entire movie endeavoured to show that GM effectively built a wonderful product but undermined it every step of the way. The main thread is that it threatened too many people, and in fact GMs entire product line would have been threatened.
It makes a rather compelling case, though the usual caveats about bias need to be mentioned as well.
I thought it was a good movie, well worth seeing.
The really really shocking thing for me, was the degree to whihc lobbyists have penetrated and really deformed (in John Ralston Saul's formulation) the democratic process. Every single public official in the movie was bought off by someone. It was disgusting. It is only at our peril that we imagine the same thing isn't true here in Canada.
There are a few conspiracy theory type moments, like the revelation that GM destroyed all of its electric cars, and one of the big moments is when the vigil surrounding the last 78 EV1 (electric cars), which happened to be stored in one parking lot are taken to the middle of the desert and destroyed.
In general this movie stays away from conspiracy theories and concentrates on the central issues. It attempts to prove that there was demand for the electric car, and the interviews with several of the owners proves only that there were some who loved the car, and that the potential was there to build that demand.
The movie also attempts to prove that the limitations on the car were real, but the dificulties were possible to overcome.
Of course Big Oil is given a role as one of the guilty parties in destroying the electric car, but not a very prominent one. The big bad guy is the head of the California Air Resources Board. The board came up with the regulations which were to force the car companies to build electric (Zero emission vehicles) cars. These were repealed by this 'bad' guy (I can't remember his name) after there was heavy lobbying by oil companies and car companies and the fedreal government decided to sue california so that the regulation could not come into effect.
One of the funniest moments was when they showed the advertising for the electric car. The entire ad focused on the negatives and barely portrayed the positives of the car. With ads like that i'm not surprised it failed.
The entire movie endeavoured to show that GM effectively built a wonderful product but undermined it every step of the way. The main thread is that it threatened too many people, and in fact GMs entire product line would have been threatened.
It makes a rather compelling case, though the usual caveats about bias need to be mentioned as well.
I thought it was a good movie, well worth seeing.
The really really shocking thing for me, was the degree to whihc lobbyists have penetrated and really deformed (in John Ralston Saul's formulation) the democratic process. Every single public official in the movie was bought off by someone. It was disgusting. It is only at our peril that we imagine the same thing isn't true here in Canada.
August 23, 2006
Guess who bought an Ipod
Me...
That and meeting crazy Brent on the bus were pretty much the highlights of my week so far.
I bought the Ipod yesterday on a whim, and it's really nice, I'm not someone who has tons and tons of music, but i've been riping all my favorite tracks from ym Cds to my computer since I bought the new computer a month ago or so.
Wow is the Ipod really easy to use, I got a 2Gig one and it's black and so tiny!
And it does all sorts of fun things when you push the centre button
That and meeting crazy Brent on the bus were pretty much the highlights of my week so far.
I bought the Ipod yesterday on a whim, and it's really nice, I'm not someone who has tons and tons of music, but i've been riping all my favorite tracks from ym Cds to my computer since I bought the new computer a month ago or so.
Wow is the Ipod really easy to use, I got a 2Gig one and it's black and so tiny!
And it does all sorts of fun things when you push the centre button
August 21, 2006
Nothing much to report...
Nothing much going on around here, had my girlfriend's brother up for a few days.
Went to go see the parliament buildings, and man is the library of parliament ever gorgeous now. What an impressive building. The tour had a few things I hadn't seen before as well, and we even got to go inside the house of commons.
I'm having trouble registering for my course at Carleton so i'm hoping that gets resolved soon.
That's all
Went to go see the parliament buildings, and man is the library of parliament ever gorgeous now. What an impressive building. The tour had a few things I hadn't seen before as well, and we even got to go inside the house of commons.
I'm having trouble registering for my course at Carleton so i'm hoping that gets resolved soon.
That's all
August 16, 2006
Those wacky liberals
I have to say this isn't the most political of blogs, but I am someone who follows politics quite closely.
I think the Liberal leadership race is really a race among second tier candidates. Not that any of the candidates are second tier, but the fact of the matter is the timing is not good for any of them. There is also the fact that none of them are heavyweights within the liberal party, this may or may not be a good thing.
I think the liberals are really in a tough spot, they need to find someone who can grow the party, and who can stand up to Stephen Harper. I find it unlikely that Harper will allow the leader to get very comfortable before an election is called. He'll try to do what Chretien did to Stockwell Day, destroy the opponent before they even have a chance.
I think the Liberals need to take some time to reflect on why they lost to Stephen Harper, they haven't really begun that process yet.
I think the Liberals lost because they have no idea what thye stand for anymore. Canadian politics has been moving towards a more ideological politics which favours those on the left and on the right with strong ideologies. This environment doesn't favour a party without principles.
The liberals also have to face the fact that they cannot continue to talk left and act right forever. Someone has to realize the contradiction sooner or later. The hypocrisy is evident especially in their positions on Kyoto. We'll sign it but DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to acheive the goals, other than budget a bunch of money that will eventually be spent on something relating to Kyoto.
Will any of the leaders be able to create something coherent out of the current Liberal mess, well I certainly don't think so, nor would I want that job
I think the Liberal leadership race is really a race among second tier candidates. Not that any of the candidates are second tier, but the fact of the matter is the timing is not good for any of them. There is also the fact that none of them are heavyweights within the liberal party, this may or may not be a good thing.
I think the liberals are really in a tough spot, they need to find someone who can grow the party, and who can stand up to Stephen Harper. I find it unlikely that Harper will allow the leader to get very comfortable before an election is called. He'll try to do what Chretien did to Stockwell Day, destroy the opponent before they even have a chance.
I think the Liberals need to take some time to reflect on why they lost to Stephen Harper, they haven't really begun that process yet.
I think the Liberals lost because they have no idea what thye stand for anymore. Canadian politics has been moving towards a more ideological politics which favours those on the left and on the right with strong ideologies. This environment doesn't favour a party without principles.
The liberals also have to face the fact that they cannot continue to talk left and act right forever. Someone has to realize the contradiction sooner or later. The hypocrisy is evident especially in their positions on Kyoto. We'll sign it but DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to acheive the goals, other than budget a bunch of money that will eventually be spent on something relating to Kyoto.
Will any of the leaders be able to create something coherent out of the current Liberal mess, well I certainly don't think so, nor would I want that job
August 09, 2006
Picture Post
Pictures from Kingston.. We did a boat cruise of the thousand Islands. Which from Kingston esentially consists of going to the thousand islands and as soon as you see them... turn around.. (and this takes 3 hrs) but anyways....
Fireworks!!!
I went to go see the Grand Feux du Casino at Lac Leamy today. It was fantastic, for only 10$ we got to see a 30 minute fireworks idsplay that was of an amazing quality.
Fireworks set to music with all sorts of special effects. We didn't get the full spectacle because of a tree in the way but it was amazing nonetheless.
In other news..well there isn't any.
Fireworks set to music with all sorts of special effects. We didn't get the full spectacle because of a tree in the way but it was amazing nonetheless.
In other news..well there isn't any.
August 04, 2006
Looking for some kind of engagement
I have spent the past week in 'training' for my new job. The training is really really tedious and boring, especially because I have had a smilar job in the not so recent past.
I have spent osme time therefore thinking about what I want in the future and what the job market looks like for people like me. This was further compounded by a discussion at work, about how a university degree is not enough as well as a recent article in the NY times about how a lot of older workers are unemployed and not working. (of course this points to a large problem about the accuracy of unemployment figures. In economic theory you have to be looking for a job to be considered unemployed. Only those who are actively looking are therefore counted in unemployment statistics.)
I finished reading Jeremy Rifkin's book The end of work a little while ago and it seems that the example from the NY times article seems to reinforce the immediacy of the problems that he identifies.
Now I don't want to get into a technical argument in this point, but I feel like there are few opportunities for young people these days to find decent work doing something engaging and actually getting paid a decent wage. Sure tons of NGOs hire people, but a lot of it is volunteer or low paying jobs.
I guess I shouldn't complain because I have a job, but I need to find something that engages me. I see a lot of people in my situation, they graduated from University and couldn't find anything in thier field and end up working a low-paid service industry job. I'm not knocking the service industry but it's starting to feel like a waste of my job. These are jobs that need to be done, but at the same time most of the jobs that are created nowadays are low paying, low skilled service jobs. Where have all the other jobs gone?
I think i'm a bit lucky because the boomers are strating to retire soon, so hopefully the shortage created by their loss will allow me to find something more meaningful. But i feel bad for many of the people 10 years ahead of me, they really seem to have been screwed by the boomers.
One thing I was also thinking about recently was how the move to 24 hour a day businesses, wether grocery stores, or shopping malls moving to later hours has provided a boom in service industry jobs. This can't continue forever, I wonder if anybody has done any research on anything like that.
I have spent osme time therefore thinking about what I want in the future and what the job market looks like for people like me. This was further compounded by a discussion at work, about how a university degree is not enough as well as a recent article in the NY times about how a lot of older workers are unemployed and not working. (of course this points to a large problem about the accuracy of unemployment figures. In economic theory you have to be looking for a job to be considered unemployed. Only those who are actively looking are therefore counted in unemployment statistics.)
I finished reading Jeremy Rifkin's book The end of work a little while ago and it seems that the example from the NY times article seems to reinforce the immediacy of the problems that he identifies.
Now I don't want to get into a technical argument in this point, but I feel like there are few opportunities for young people these days to find decent work doing something engaging and actually getting paid a decent wage. Sure tons of NGOs hire people, but a lot of it is volunteer or low paying jobs.
I guess I shouldn't complain because I have a job, but I need to find something that engages me. I see a lot of people in my situation, they graduated from University and couldn't find anything in thier field and end up working a low-paid service industry job. I'm not knocking the service industry but it's starting to feel like a waste of my job. These are jobs that need to be done, but at the same time most of the jobs that are created nowadays are low paying, low skilled service jobs. Where have all the other jobs gone?
I think i'm a bit lucky because the boomers are strating to retire soon, so hopefully the shortage created by their loss will allow me to find something more meaningful. But i feel bad for many of the people 10 years ahead of me, they really seem to have been screwed by the boomers.
One thing I was also thinking about recently was how the move to 24 hour a day businesses, wether grocery stores, or shopping malls moving to later hours has provided a boom in service industry jobs. This can't continue forever, I wonder if anybody has done any research on anything like that.
July 31, 2006
First day in a new job
Well lay on the reading!!! That pretty much sums up my first day of work today.
Nothing much else to report really, didn't do a whole lot while I was off between jobs.
Got a few things done around the house yesterday.
The one bad thing is i've had trouble sleeping the last two nights. Not sure why. I usually have had no trouble sleeping, but I really hope I can get into some sort of routine soon.
I'm thinking of maybe trying to get my cycling done in the morning before I start work. It would be awsome,but I have to motivate myself to do it first. I actually haven't been on my bike in like 10 days or so. I feel like I didn't get any riding done in July at all. I hope to rectify that in August and also start planning the fall out.
Apparently there is a assesment for french language placements at the end of August at the college here and i'm leaning towards taking a course. I need to work on my writing skills. Actually the University close to me probably has something I could look at too..
Nothing much else to report really, didn't do a whole lot while I was off between jobs.
Got a few things done around the house yesterday.
The one bad thing is i've had trouble sleeping the last two nights. Not sure why. I usually have had no trouble sleeping, but I really hope I can get into some sort of routine soon.
I'm thinking of maybe trying to get my cycling done in the morning before I start work. It would be awsome,but I have to motivate myself to do it first. I actually haven't been on my bike in like 10 days or so. I feel like I didn't get any riding done in July at all. I hope to rectify that in August and also start planning the fall out.
Apparently there is a assesment for french language placements at the end of August at the college here and i'm leaning towards taking a course. I need to work on my writing skills. Actually the University close to me probably has something I could look at too..
July 25, 2006
As one window closes andother one opens
Well my last day of work was yesterday. It was the first job I ever actually quit, and had to give notice. I was actually starting to enjoy the job and felt like I was finally comfortable with everything there. I'm glad to be leaving don't get me wrong, but I was finally feeling like part of the team there.
It's interesting how quickly you can become a part of an organization's culture and team. One of the things I learned a lot about during my involvement in WUSC (World University Service Canada) an organization I was involved with for much of my time in university, was that organizational behaviour and effectiveness matters. Unfortunately this was mostly because we couldn't seem to get anything done, and I was always trying to figure out why.
A lot of what my dad was doing in the last few years was workshops designed to increase the effectiveness of organizations. I wish I had access to some of those resources. He was really good at what he did and was really good at his presentations and getting results of out those meetings.
I am glad to be leaving the hotel where I was working and starting my new job. I have a few days off before then so i'm going to try and see some people i've been meaning to see lately.
It's interesting how quickly you can become a part of an organization's culture and team. One of the things I learned a lot about during my involvement in WUSC (World University Service Canada) an organization I was involved with for much of my time in university, was that organizational behaviour and effectiveness matters. Unfortunately this was mostly because we couldn't seem to get anything done, and I was always trying to figure out why.
A lot of what my dad was doing in the last few years was workshops designed to increase the effectiveness of organizations. I wish I had access to some of those resources. He was really good at what he did and was really good at his presentations and getting results of out those meetings.
I am glad to be leaving the hotel where I was working and starting my new job. I have a few days off before then so i'm going to try and see some people i've been meaning to see lately.
July 23, 2006
Looking forward to working 9-5
I am really excited to start working a job 9-5. I will have my evenings free, which I hope to put to good use this fall, and also weekends off.
It isn't going to be the greatest job, but it will give me some stability and free banking!
So all is good here, nothing much going on here. I have a few days off between jobs, which will be nice. Hang out with some people I haven't seen in a while.
That's all for now. I'd like to start taking more pictures too. (and Hopefully a Digital SLR is on the way.. i'm strating to think maybe sooner rather than later). So i'll try and start taking more pics before I get the new camera.
It isn't going to be the greatest job, but it will give me some stability and free banking!
So all is good here, nothing much going on here. I have a few days off between jobs, which will be nice. Hang out with some people I haven't seen in a while.
That's all for now. I'd like to start taking more pictures too. (and Hopefully a Digital SLR is on the way.. i'm strating to think maybe sooner rather than later). So i'll try and start taking more pics before I get the new camera.
July 21, 2006
On quitting a job
I wrote my very first resignation letter. I have been lucky I suppose in that I have never had to quit any of my rpevious jobs. All were summer jobs or contract positions.
In fact i've never really left any of my jobs for negative reasons. I've not been fired yet either.
I really should be happy with that kind of record.
Quitting a job is hard, especially one where you know that your departure will have a negative impact on all of the people you used to work with.
Overall I had a good experience over the last month, the people were great and it was definately better than the month before which i spent largely sitting around doing nothing..
In fact i've never really left any of my jobs for negative reasons. I've not been fired yet either.
I really should be happy with that kind of record.
Quitting a job is hard, especially one where you know that your departure will have a negative impact on all of the people you used to work with.
Overall I had a good experience over the last month, the people were great and it was definately better than the month before which i spent largely sitting around doing nothing..
July 18, 2006
Job Saga summer 2006 (thanks for pointing out my mistake)
It appears that the job saga of this summer is over for me. As soon as everything is finalized and signed I will let everyone know, but suffice to say I think I will soon have a stable full-time job.
I'm quite excited to say the least.
I'm also looking into buying a digital SLR, possibly as a christmas present, if I can wait that long. They look so sweet, and I really think that I would use it. I find that I take a lot more pictures now with a digital camera than I ever would have with a regular film camera. There are afew annoying things about the digital camera I have that sometimes I think would be solved with a digital SLR.
One is clearly the speed at which i can take a picture, the other is the boot up time
The LCD screen can also be annoying at times, and it's hard to tell how clear the pictures will be. WIth my new monitor I can really see the difference between a good picture I took and one that isn't quite right.
Plus I just want the latest high-tech gadgets.. like most guys these days
I'm quite excited to say the least.
I'm also looking into buying a digital SLR, possibly as a christmas present, if I can wait that long. They look so sweet, and I really think that I would use it. I find that I take a lot more pictures now with a digital camera than I ever would have with a regular film camera. There are afew annoying things about the digital camera I have that sometimes I think would be solved with a digital SLR.
One is clearly the speed at which i can take a picture, the other is the boot up time
The LCD screen can also be annoying at times, and it's hard to tell how clear the pictures will be. WIth my new monitor I can really see the difference between a good picture I took and one that isn't quite right.
Plus I just want the latest high-tech gadgets.. like most guys these days
July 12, 2006
Crowd Sourcing
I heard an interesting news piece yesterday and it seems to me to be part of what i'll call for the purposes of this post, the 'American Idol' effect. I think it's pretty interesting that so many people vote for American Idol, it's an intriguing new element added to reality TV shows.
In a way it's interesting that people have turned to seeing amateurs to get their entertainment, I suppose it's a reaction to overproduced pop music and overwrought plots of modern television (Ie in music and in TV)
The news piece talked about a phenomenon is called "crowd sourcing" apparently a term only recently coined in Wiredmagazine. The idea is that companies outsource their R&D (Research and development) problems to the internet where anybody can try and solve the problem they have for a fee. It also encompases the idea of custom generated content(the example given was a T-shirt company).
In the case of R&D, companies put problems they are having trouble dealing with on a website, and anybody wo has access to the site, mostly scientitsts and engineers, will get a cheque if they can solve the problem. Apparently they have a success rate of 30%.
In the case of the T-shirt company is that people send in designs for a T-shirt then vote on which one they like best, and then the company will produce it. That's the aspect I see as being part of the American Idol effect.
People all of a sudden (or maybe are finally able to express) have this desire for taking part in the creative process. It's almost democratic. However I really think it's a bit silly that people choose to be involved in the production of the clothes they wear or the music they listen to. In a way I can see how it might be considered empowering, but I feel it's trule a nominal impact that you're having.
I think in a way it undermines the craft and the experience of the process.I think it works best for shows like American Idol, because they have so many people who think that can sing. That's the funny part about watching the audition process, so many of these evidently talentless people or to be fair lacking much talent think they are superstars.
In an ingenious way, I think it's also a way mostly for companies to reduce their risk, by essentially pre-screening their talent in the case of American Idol, or products in the case of the T-shirt company. It's also the rise of the amateur which is cheaper to produce or buy off.
The gentlemen on the show quoted a statistic saying that 57% of American teenagers produce some form of media content , music, video, websites etc. It reminds me a bit of a book I read by Hal Niedzviecki called We Want Some too and his later book admitting his view was a bit out of sync with what was going called I'm special: How individuality became the new conformity
People seem to be in touch with this new trend towards amateurization. I think it reduces the quality of what's available, but it does increase the choices I suppose.
I think really presents a bit of a false choice, people want to be involved in the creation of products because they can get more customized and personalized touch, as well as the feeling of having been involved. However a lot of these people do it in their spare time because they aren't really able to make any money out of it. Why can't we get more of these people working better jobs and actually producing this stuff for a living?
In a way it's interesting that people have turned to seeing amateurs to get their entertainment, I suppose it's a reaction to overproduced pop music and overwrought plots of modern television (Ie in music and in TV)
The news piece talked about a phenomenon is called "crowd sourcing" apparently a term only recently coined in Wiredmagazine. The idea is that companies outsource their R&D (Research and development) problems to the internet where anybody can try and solve the problem they have for a fee. It also encompases the idea of custom generated content(the example given was a T-shirt company).
In the case of R&D, companies put problems they are having trouble dealing with on a website, and anybody wo has access to the site, mostly scientitsts and engineers, will get a cheque if they can solve the problem. Apparently they have a success rate of 30%.
In the case of the T-shirt company is that people send in designs for a T-shirt then vote on which one they like best, and then the company will produce it. That's the aspect I see as being part of the American Idol effect.
People all of a sudden (or maybe are finally able to express) have this desire for taking part in the creative process. It's almost democratic. However I really think it's a bit silly that people choose to be involved in the production of the clothes they wear or the music they listen to. In a way I can see how it might be considered empowering, but I feel it's trule a nominal impact that you're having.
I think in a way it undermines the craft and the experience of the process.I think it works best for shows like American Idol, because they have so many people who think that can sing. That's the funny part about watching the audition process, so many of these evidently talentless people or to be fair lacking much talent think they are superstars.
In an ingenious way, I think it's also a way mostly for companies to reduce their risk, by essentially pre-screening their talent in the case of American Idol, or products in the case of the T-shirt company. It's also the rise of the amateur which is cheaper to produce or buy off.
The gentlemen on the show quoted a statistic saying that 57% of American teenagers produce some form of media content , music, video, websites etc. It reminds me a bit of a book I read by Hal Niedzviecki called We Want Some too and his later book admitting his view was a bit out of sync with what was going called I'm special: How individuality became the new conformity
People seem to be in touch with this new trend towards amateurization. I think it reduces the quality of what's available, but it does increase the choices I suppose.
I think really presents a bit of a false choice, people want to be involved in the creation of products because they can get more customized and personalized touch, as well as the feeling of having been involved. However a lot of these people do it in their spare time because they aren't really able to make any money out of it. Why can't we get more of these people working better jobs and actually producing this stuff for a living?
July 09, 2006
NEW COMPUTER!!!!
Woohoo!!! I have a brand spanking new(well pretty close, it was the floor model) with a 19" LCD display. I can finally start playing some of the games i've been waiting to play like MOHAA Pacific Assault, and Simcity 4 the way it's supposed to be played..
Other than that not much is new, still trying to figure out the job situation.
I'm hoping to put some pics in an online album soon, so lookout for that sometime soon
Other than that not much is new, still trying to figure out the job situation.
I'm hoping to put some pics in an online album soon, so lookout for that sometime soon
July 07, 2006
I hate the new way to call customer service
Whether it's Emily the voice automated system for Bell or any other company, I hate the new way to get through to customer service. I guess these days it's a luxury to actually talk to someone.
The only problem is that 9 times out of 10 I have to end up talking to someone anyways and I just waste time and energy trying to get the computer to let me talk to someone.
It's so annoying. Today I had to talk to both Rogers and Bell and geez, i spent more time listening to their prerecorded annoying and stupid messages than I did on the phone with real people.
At least i got through relatively quickly, i can't imagine being on hold for 40 minutes..
The only problem is that 9 times out of 10 I have to end up talking to someone anyways and I just waste time and energy trying to get the computer to let me talk to someone.
It's so annoying. Today I had to talk to both Rogers and Bell and geez, i spent more time listening to their prerecorded annoying and stupid messages than I did on the phone with real people.
At least i got through relatively quickly, i can't imagine being on hold for 40 minutes..
July 04, 2006
Another job opportunity..
Man they keep on rolling in, at least I have something right now, and a few prospects. Things are looking, one of them may even involve the government...
Boy the outlook has improved recently.
Glad to be working..
Boy the outlook has improved recently.
Glad to be working..
July 02, 2006
Down in Barrie...
Been having a good time here in Barrie.. but I can't get over the low density sprawl everywhere, or thelong drive it takes to get anywhere.
I know i've been spoiled by the fact that in Regina it takes less than 10 minutes to get anywhere by car, and the fact that I lived really close to the main drag in Regina. Even knowing these things, i'm amazed at how car reliant people seem to be in southern Ontario, and how much time they spend in their cars. I could never live down here.
I don't really want to own a car ever, and besides someone has to offset the emissions from leslie and noel's new SUV.
I have also been doing a fair amoutn of thinking on different subjects lately, I think I should start writing more about different issues and maybe even do some research if I can find the time. There are a lot of courses and other things i'd like to get involved with this fall and beyond. I'm hoping I can find a 9-5 job for the fall so that I can be more involved in those projects.
A short list to date:
French writing course
Spanish lessons
Curling
Cross-Country Skiing
Cooking course
Re-join a choir
Flute lessons
Volunteer work
Badminton
(maybe even a photography course)
And of course, since i'm planning to apply to do my MA, I have no choice but to take one mandatory second year poli sci course this fall too.
Hopefully it all works out in the end. I just hope my interview on Wednesday goes well....
I know i've been spoiled by the fact that in Regina it takes less than 10 minutes to get anywhere by car, and the fact that I lived really close to the main drag in Regina. Even knowing these things, i'm amazed at how car reliant people seem to be in southern Ontario, and how much time they spend in their cars. I could never live down here.
I don't really want to own a car ever, and besides someone has to offset the emissions from leslie and noel's new SUV.
I have also been doing a fair amoutn of thinking on different subjects lately, I think I should start writing more about different issues and maybe even do some research if I can find the time. There are a lot of courses and other things i'd like to get involved with this fall and beyond. I'm hoping I can find a 9-5 job for the fall so that I can be more involved in those projects.
A short list to date:
French writing course
Spanish lessons
Curling
Cross-Country Skiing
Cooking course
Re-join a choir
Flute lessons
Volunteer work
Badminton
(maybe even a photography course)
And of course, since i'm planning to apply to do my MA, I have no choice but to take one mandatory second year poli sci course this fall too.
Hopefully it all works out in the end. I just hope my interview on Wednesday goes well....
June 28, 2006
Shift work
I enjoy shift work for the most part, there are however some annoying aspects, like not being able to plan anything at all. You can't take part in anything that has a regular schedule..
I guess there go my plans for the fall. I was really hoping to find a 9-5 job. I was looking forward to one. I guess it'll have to wait. Or maybe i'll find a new job. I'm still going to keep looking for new jobs.
It's kind of weird though that sense of not really being in a place for the long term.
I hope to find a great internship for next summer, so if you know of any ideas or places to look, keep me in the loop
I guess there go my plans for the fall. I was really hoping to find a 9-5 job. I was looking forward to one. I guess it'll have to wait. Or maybe i'll find a new job. I'm still going to keep looking for new jobs.
It's kind of weird though that sense of not really being in a place for the long term.
I hope to find a great internship for next summer, so if you know of any ideas or places to look, keep me in the loop
June 27, 2006
In honour of having posted more than 100 times
I've posted over 100 times to this blog already. It seems to have gone by so fast, the last year.
I can hardly believe all the things that have happened. It always seems to be like that, while life is going on so many changes seem to happen. It's often also hard to pinpoint exactly when those catalyst moments arrive that change everything.
The big decisions are the obvious ones, the choice of university, the graduation from high school, getting married, your first child ...etc
But often life is in the little moments in between and it's been nice to record them here on this blog. I have blogged before a little bit. In fact it was before the word blog was even really in the conciousness of the world. It's hard to believe that sometimes.
I've enjoyed posting here and even though it's been a bit erratic over the last little while so has my life, all sorts of ups and downs. I'm still waiting for the stability that comes with a 9-5 job, so i guess until then, i'll keep you posted!
I can hardly believe all the things that have happened. It always seems to be like that, while life is going on so many changes seem to happen. It's often also hard to pinpoint exactly when those catalyst moments arrive that change everything.
The big decisions are the obvious ones, the choice of university, the graduation from high school, getting married, your first child ...etc
But often life is in the little moments in between and it's been nice to record them here on this blog. I have blogged before a little bit. In fact it was before the word blog was even really in the conciousness of the world. It's hard to believe that sometimes.
I've enjoyed posting here and even though it's been a bit erratic over the last little while so has my life, all sorts of ups and downs. I'm still waiting for the stability that comes with a 9-5 job, so i guess until then, i'll keep you posted!
June 24, 2006
June 22, 2006
Some good news
I got a job interview, actually I had two. The phone calls were only minutes apart. It seems that I have finally found a situation that might work for me.
I won't jinx it and mention any specifics on this site, but suffice to say I am now much happier about my prospects than I have been for a while. Both are offering full time hours so i'm quite optimistic that sometime next week I may be gainfully employed!
I always remember that phrase, because in my first job after i was in university, when i went back home in the summer, the secretary who was nominally my boss, used to always ask if I was gainfully employed. SHe joked about it often, asking if I was being kept busy in the job (mostly because she knew I wasn't)
Anyways I think even if I don't get either position, I am happy for the experience of going through interviews, and also it means i am getting somewhere. I think that's been one of the hardest things over the past couple of weeks, i've put in 20 or so applications, and no interviews, not even hearing back from people. It starts to get to you.
Things are looking better now..
I won't jinx it and mention any specifics on this site, but suffice to say I am now much happier about my prospects than I have been for a while. Both are offering full time hours so i'm quite optimistic that sometime next week I may be gainfully employed!
I always remember that phrase, because in my first job after i was in university, when i went back home in the summer, the secretary who was nominally my boss, used to always ask if I was gainfully employed. SHe joked about it often, asking if I was being kept busy in the job (mostly because she knew I wasn't)
Anyways I think even if I don't get either position, I am happy for the experience of going through interviews, and also it means i am getting somewhere. I think that's been one of the hardest things over the past couple of weeks, i've put in 20 or so applications, and no interviews, not even hearing back from people. It starts to get to you.
Things are looking better now..
June 20, 2006
A little bit too much Al Gore
Well I went to go see An Inconvenient Truth and while the laying out of the facts supporting global warming was a nice change from the debates we usually have about climate change, there was a bit too much Al Gore in this movie for me.
He goes from his climate change slide-show to him talking about losing the election to Bush, his father's decision to stop growing tobacco because his daughter (Al Gore's sister) dying from smoking. It also features a lot about how he has been obsessed with climate change since his university days.
It really does come off as genuine, but the personal nature of it, means that suggestions about the political motivations of the movie can't be completely refuted.
All in all though a thought provoking movie about what we are doing to the planet. I liked the credits, which showed tons of easy ways to reduce the impact we as individuals have on the planet. (Even if that will not be enough to completely solve the problem)
Another interesting movie that's coming out and had a preview there, waswho killed the electric car? should be another good movie
He goes from his climate change slide-show to him talking about losing the election to Bush, his father's decision to stop growing tobacco because his daughter (Al Gore's sister) dying from smoking. It also features a lot about how he has been obsessed with climate change since his university days.
It really does come off as genuine, but the personal nature of it, means that suggestions about the political motivations of the movie can't be completely refuted.
All in all though a thought provoking movie about what we are doing to the planet. I liked the credits, which showed tons of easy ways to reduce the impact we as individuals have on the planet. (Even if that will not be enough to completely solve the problem)
Another interesting movie that's coming out and had a preview there, waswho killed the electric car? should be another good movie
June 19, 2006
A bit of Irony
It's kind of ironic what i'm reading right now. I'm reading The end of Work by Jeremy Rifkin. Interesting book!
It looks at the impacts of automation and technology and how they destroy jobs. You can well andtruly see it today everywhere you look. The interesting thing, which he correctly notes is that the impatcs are largest in the service sector. Think about how many companies are moving to automated phone systems with their infuriating tree-like systems. If you want this press 1, if you want this press 2...
Having worked in a bank I remarked several times about how we were encouraged to tell people how they could not come into a bank and do their transactions online, or by phone. Essentially we were in the process of destroying our jobs.
There now seem to be increased levels of structural unemployment and this could have truly disastrous consequences.
The irony of course, is that I picked up this book, while on my to date unsuccessful search for a job. I hope this will turn around soon, but I really haven't had much luck so far.
It looks at the impacts of automation and technology and how they destroy jobs. You can well andtruly see it today everywhere you look. The interesting thing, which he correctly notes is that the impatcs are largest in the service sector. Think about how many companies are moving to automated phone systems with their infuriating tree-like systems. If you want this press 1, if you want this press 2...
Having worked in a bank I remarked several times about how we were encouraged to tell people how they could not come into a bank and do their transactions online, or by phone. Essentially we were in the process of destroying our jobs.
There now seem to be increased levels of structural unemployment and this could have truly disastrous consequences.
The irony of course, is that I picked up this book, while on my to date unsuccessful search for a job. I hope this will turn around soon, but I really haven't had much luck so far.
June 13, 2006
I have finally succumbed...
I have succumbed to the idea of going to a temp agency. I went and filled out the form and gave them my resume today. I'm not sure exactly why I have been so against going to a temp agency, but I don't really like the whole idea.
I think it's a bit silly how much the government relies on these agencies, ostensibly to save on their wage bill, but really I think it is to become more 'flexible'. I find this idea of wage flexibility so ridiculously anti-labour and anti-people for a number of reasons. I realize that to an extent the pressures of flexibility are due to technological change, and also to the increasing individualism of our age, but I still don't like it.
I'm somewhat of a luddite I suppose, in the common usage of the term. I think however that I am more someone who questions the value of technology, and the values associated with it. I think in so many ways we fail to realize the impacts of technology. Now some of these can be predicted others not, but it is important to understand the process of technology's social impacts.
I also noticed how little control workers have these days. I was in the bank today, and it seemed that every second transaction needed the approval of a manager. There seems to be so little discretion given to the individual tellers anymore. I worked in a bank and you can see how much of an impact the computerization has had, it forces you to deal in a very limited and specific mannger with each transaction. Anything different from the prescribed method 'fails to compute'. The funny thing though, is that any hope of increased accountability due to these change,collapses when faced with reality. Each time the manager or supervisor had to authorize anything, they gave it a cursory glance, barely enough time to even understand the transaction let alone review it, and then gave authorization.
Well sorry i got off track just there, anyways back to the job hunt. I just hope I fidn something soon. I'm at the point where I may just have to take anything that comes my way, not something i'm really looking forward to. I've sent in several applications over the last week or so, so hopefully I can get to the interview stage and move on from there.
I hope the temp agency will pull through and find me something
I think it's a bit silly how much the government relies on these agencies, ostensibly to save on their wage bill, but really I think it is to become more 'flexible'. I find this idea of wage flexibility so ridiculously anti-labour and anti-people for a number of reasons. I realize that to an extent the pressures of flexibility are due to technological change, and also to the increasing individualism of our age, but I still don't like it.
I'm somewhat of a luddite I suppose, in the common usage of the term. I think however that I am more someone who questions the value of technology, and the values associated with it. I think in so many ways we fail to realize the impacts of technology. Now some of these can be predicted others not, but it is important to understand the process of technology's social impacts.
I also noticed how little control workers have these days. I was in the bank today, and it seemed that every second transaction needed the approval of a manager. There seems to be so little discretion given to the individual tellers anymore. I worked in a bank and you can see how much of an impact the computerization has had, it forces you to deal in a very limited and specific mannger with each transaction. Anything different from the prescribed method 'fails to compute'. The funny thing though, is that any hope of increased accountability due to these change,collapses when faced with reality. Each time the manager or supervisor had to authorize anything, they gave it a cursory glance, barely enough time to even understand the transaction let alone review it, and then gave authorization.
Well sorry i got off track just there, anyways back to the job hunt. I just hope I fidn something soon. I'm at the point where I may just have to take anything that comes my way, not something i'm really looking forward to. I've sent in several applications over the last week or so, so hopefully I can get to the interview stage and move on from there.
I hope the temp agency will pull through and find me something
June 07, 2006
Bored in Ottawa
Well I am still looking for a job. I think i'll have to hit the streets and start taking a more active approach to looking for jobs. As much as everyone hates looking for jobs, searching online is much easier i suppose for those who already have jobs, but for those at home it really sucks.
I hate the whole process of passwords and usernames that I can never seem to remember after creating them about a dozen times a day. Trying to paste your resume into their stupid screens and waiting for some kind of response.
It sucks!!!
I will probably start taking a more active approach sometime next week. Not sure exactly what i'll do but it'll be something to keep me busy. Whenever you next see a man dressed in a suit on the corner with a sandwhich board advertising that he'll work for food or something, watch out it may just be me. Maybe that would work better than what i've done so far
I hate the whole process of passwords and usernames that I can never seem to remember after creating them about a dozen times a day. Trying to paste your resume into their stupid screens and waiting for some kind of response.
It sucks!!!
I will probably start taking a more active approach sometime next week. Not sure exactly what i'll do but it'll be something to keep me busy. Whenever you next see a man dressed in a suit on the corner with a sandwhich board advertising that he'll work for food or something, watch out it may just be me. Maybe that would work better than what i've done so far
June 03, 2006
Losing one's sense of Canada
I have heard this a few times recently (from a few friends, and then on the cover of The Walrus), that since the conservatives have come to power, that they feel that the Canada they knew is disappearing. Now I would hope this wasn't simply partisanship. I know some of the people tend to be Liberal supporters, and of course the Walrus seems to be an NDP magazine. If anyone dares link being Canadian, to being a Liberal again, I think I will puke. We may see that slogan come out in the next election campaign.
I heard one of the people describe it as a sense that we are becoming more individualistic, and less community oriented. Now that's a critique that has been appearing for a long time.
My basic problem with such a statement, is that it remains undefined, it's merely a criticism that says, i don't like the conservative government, and i don't know why.
Now I will freely admit that for the moment I am very impressed with the Harper government, I am somewhat conservative, in the more tradition bound sense of the word, but until recently (as in since the last election) I would never have even thought of voting for the Conervatives. I may be naive in supporting the conservatives for the moment I freely admit.
However my problem is that many of what the new government is doing, is exactly the same or extremely similar to what the Liberals have been doing. The Liberal problem with the tax cuts, was they didn't go far enough on the income tax side , and that a GST cut is useless. What kind of criticism is that?
I don't buy this argument, I think it's bogus, and until someone defines it for me, i'm not listening to it anymore
I heard one of the people describe it as a sense that we are becoming more individualistic, and less community oriented. Now that's a critique that has been appearing for a long time.
My basic problem with such a statement, is that it remains undefined, it's merely a criticism that says, i don't like the conservative government, and i don't know why.
Now I will freely admit that for the moment I am very impressed with the Harper government, I am somewhat conservative, in the more tradition bound sense of the word, but until recently (as in since the last election) I would never have even thought of voting for the Conervatives. I may be naive in supporting the conservatives for the moment I freely admit.
However my problem is that many of what the new government is doing, is exactly the same or extremely similar to what the Liberals have been doing. The Liberal problem with the tax cuts, was they didn't go far enough on the income tax side , and that a GST cut is useless. What kind of criticism is that?
I don't buy this argument, I think it's bogus, and until someone defines it for me, i'm not listening to it anymore
June 01, 2006
I'm trying to get back into a regular update mode for this website. Things are good here, my girlfriend has taken off for work for the week, although she should be back tomorrow.
Haven't been up to a whole lot lately, dreaming about my new computer, waiting to hear about jobs. I spent last night with some friends from my old work, it really was a blast. I also learned some rather disturbing news involving colleagues. I guess you realy don't know everything about the people you work with. Nor would you want to I suppose.
Thats all for now.
Haven't been up to a whole lot lately, dreaming about my new computer, waiting to hear about jobs. I spent last night with some friends from my old work, it really was a blast. I also learned some rather disturbing news involving colleagues. I guess you realy don't know everything about the people you work with. Nor would you want to I suppose.
Thats all for now.
May 30, 2006
One quick comment
Ok I think the 'law & order' platform of the Conservatives is kind of stupid. But i was thinking the other day that it is kind of funny to see a party based largely in rural Canada complaining about 'Big City' crime. The Conservatives have few if any seats in the big cities where most of Canada's crimes take place. They hold mostly rural seats. I think almost all the seats they have in Ontario are rural seats.
They brought in David Emerson (Vancouver) and Michel Fortier (Montreal) were brought in to try and add some voices from the cities. I guess Harper didn't feel the need for any representation from Toronto, since only Liberals are there anyways.
Still i think it's pretty funny. The other thing is this whole Law & Order thing is going to be way too expensive and have no impact on crime.
They brought in David Emerson (Vancouver) and Michel Fortier (Montreal) were brought in to try and add some voices from the cities. I guess Harper didn't feel the need for any representation from Toronto, since only Liberals are there anyways.
Still i think it's pretty funny. The other thing is this whole Law & Order thing is going to be way too expensive and have no impact on crime.
May 29, 2006
Still Looking.. Jobs anyone?
Well I am still looking for a job. This is one of the longest periods of unemployment since I started working. I've had one interview and have a few things that might pan out as well.
I started too late for almost every single summer job or internship, though the one interview I had was for a summer job. So therefore this is a search for a 'real' job. Now a real job doesn't necessarily require an office, but it does have to mean something and offer some sort of possibility for a future. (This doesn't include the generic skills gained from any job)
I have started to look at volunteer work, to get me out of the house and do something new and interesting. I decided to focus on working with 'New Canadians' and on literacy work. I have an appointment this week to talk to volunteer ottawa an organization that tries to link people up with volunteer opportunities.
The time off has really been difficult for me to use efficiently. I guess it's so true that you accomplish more when you have more to accomplish. I've done some reading but being the bookworm I am I probably could've done most of it while working.
At least i've had hockey playoffs to keep me busy, and i'm not too strapped for cash right now either. Maybe with the World Cup coming up, it'll keep me occupied until I find a new job.
I started too late for almost every single summer job or internship, though the one interview I had was for a summer job. So therefore this is a search for a 'real' job. Now a real job doesn't necessarily require an office, but it does have to mean something and offer some sort of possibility for a future. (This doesn't include the generic skills gained from any job)
I have started to look at volunteer work, to get me out of the house and do something new and interesting. I decided to focus on working with 'New Canadians' and on literacy work. I have an appointment this week to talk to volunteer ottawa an organization that tries to link people up with volunteer opportunities.
The time off has really been difficult for me to use efficiently. I guess it's so true that you accomplish more when you have more to accomplish. I've done some reading but being the bookworm I am I probably could've done most of it while working.
At least i've had hockey playoffs to keep me busy, and i'm not too strapped for cash right now either. Maybe with the World Cup coming up, it'll keep me occupied until I find a new job.
May 25, 2006
At least the weather is nice...
Back from the prairies and glad to see that it is no longer gloomy and cloudy here in Ottawa. We had great weather for most of the time in Regina, it got up to about 30 for 2 days there.
It was a good time spent in Regina, we had a tour of the RCMP training grounds which was really good. i think it'll be very nice when they finish the new hertiage centre and museum which is supposed to be done next year.
Oh and my mom made me and my girlfriend aprons. That was a bonus!
It was a good time spent in Regina, we had a tour of the RCMP training grounds which was really good. i think it'll be very nice when they finish the new hertiage centre and museum which is supposed to be done next year.
Oh and my mom made me and my girlfriend aprons. That was a bonus!
May 19, 2006
On the Prairies
Well I arrived here in Regina yesterday with my girlfriend. It's the first time the two have us have been to my house here together. So far so good, it's been a lot of fun.
We even made it to the Milky Way already (it's the best ice cream shop in the world, owned by a couple of old ladies.It is truly a Regina institution), within a few hours of getting to town.
Aside from that we haven't been up to a whole lot, just relaxing, deciding on what things to bring back to Ottawa, what to leave at home. I have tons of this to do and i have only really started thinking about these things.
One thing I had already picked out was the VCR. You can't even buy these things anymore. I think it's silly, it's all about forcing people to use DVDs. OH well, the only reason I want it is so I can tape the World Cup games that i'll miss while working in JUne and July (I hope to have a job soon)
Actually it was kind of cool, because i found a lot of the tapes I recorded from the last World Cup. I forgot about that stupid haricut ronaldo had. Anyone remember that one? The triangle in front and the rest shaved.. I guess if you play soccer that well, no one cares about your fashion sense
We even made it to the Milky Way already (it's the best ice cream shop in the world, owned by a couple of old ladies.It is truly a Regina institution), within a few hours of getting to town.
Aside from that we haven't been up to a whole lot, just relaxing, deciding on what things to bring back to Ottawa, what to leave at home. I have tons of this to do and i have only really started thinking about these things.
One thing I had already picked out was the VCR. You can't even buy these things anymore. I think it's silly, it's all about forcing people to use DVDs. OH well, the only reason I want it is so I can tape the World Cup games that i'll miss while working in JUne and July (I hope to have a job soon)
Actually it was kind of cool, because i found a lot of the tapes I recorded from the last World Cup. I forgot about that stupid haricut ronaldo had. Anyone remember that one? The triangle in front and the rest shaved.. I guess if you play soccer that well, no one cares about your fashion sense
May 16, 2006
Well well...
Now this post isn't made to offend, it merely parrots some comments i've made to a few friends, and it does reflect my current thinking., You have to admit though, Michael Enright looks and talks as if he lives in New York.
Is Michael Enright an American?
Now anybody who doesn't listen to the CBC will have no idea what i'm talking about, but here goes.
I have been thinking a lot recently about how much southern Ontario feels like the US. I find a good example of this in terms of Michael Enright, he's very much a part of the CBC Toronto elite. To me he sounds like an American, he makes references to baseball rather than hockey (he did a piece on how he never learned to skate). He talks with reverence about U.S magazines like Harper's and loves to talk as if he's a part of the New York elite. He talks about the democrats more often than he does the liberal party of Canada. He uses the words liberal and conservative as if he's an American.
This is an example of how American I find Southern Ontario. After reading Lament of a Nation I realize how much this has been a result of the concious integration of the Southern Ontario into the American economy.
I don't know why i never realized this, or why it has struck me only recently. Perhaps travelling and meeting both Americans and people from Ontario made me realize this.
The funny thing is that I think sometimes Ontarians become the most stridently anti-American, because they have so few real differences from those they are criticizing
Is Michael Enright an American?
Now anybody who doesn't listen to the CBC will have no idea what i'm talking about, but here goes.
I have been thinking a lot recently about how much southern Ontario feels like the US. I find a good example of this in terms of Michael Enright, he's very much a part of the CBC Toronto elite. To me he sounds like an American, he makes references to baseball rather than hockey (he did a piece on how he never learned to skate). He talks with reverence about U.S magazines like Harper's and loves to talk as if he's a part of the New York elite. He talks about the democrats more often than he does the liberal party of Canada. He uses the words liberal and conservative as if he's an American.
This is an example of how American I find Southern Ontario. After reading Lament of a Nation I realize how much this has been a result of the concious integration of the Southern Ontario into the American economy.
I don't know why i never realized this, or why it has struck me only recently. Perhaps travelling and meeting both Americans and people from Ontario made me realize this.
The funny thing is that I think sometimes Ontarians become the most stridently anti-American, because they have so few real differences from those they are criticizing
May 15, 2006
Fun weekend
I had a good weekend. Had some friends over friday night, went out saturday and saw another friend on sunday. All in all some good times.
It was pretty interesting on saturday night actually, because it was somthing of a miny reunion from my high school. I hung out with 3 girls who i went to high school with. Now these were not people that I knew all that well, but it was still fun to reminisce and enjoy thinking about high school. Not something I do very often!
I think it's pretty neat though, how because we went to the same school, we can chat it up, even though we would never have hung out in highschool. It's fun, I mean these are not people I see myself becoming best friends with but at the same time it's nice to chat and hear stories about what other people are doing.
People change so much after high school (well in my case, the people that left the city did) and it's interesting to see where life can take people.
That's all for now
It was pretty interesting on saturday night actually, because it was somthing of a miny reunion from my high school. I hung out with 3 girls who i went to high school with. Now these were not people that I knew all that well, but it was still fun to reminisce and enjoy thinking about high school. Not something I do very often!
I think it's pretty neat though, how because we went to the same school, we can chat it up, even though we would never have hung out in highschool. It's fun, I mean these are not people I see myself becoming best friends with but at the same time it's nice to chat and hear stories about what other people are doing.
People change so much after high school (well in my case, the people that left the city did) and it's interesting to see where life can take people.
That's all for now
May 08, 2006
Another blog?!?!?!?!
I decided to start another blog. This one will be more academic minded, more serious, an area where I can start to think about different topics in a more in depth manner. I don't imagine that nearly as many people will visit it as this site, but it's for me to start writing on more serious topics. I have been doing a lot of thinking about how I miss certain aspects of academia, I miss the debates and the conversations. I hope to spend more time doing research and thinking about things this summer, and writing. I need the practice, and I need to start taking writing more seriously.
If I am do go and do my masters I need to improve my writing skills, and I hope this can be a part of the process.
If I am do go and do my masters I need to improve my writing skills, and I hope this can be a part of the process.
May 07, 2006
Nice and Quiet weekend, job Interview tomorrow
Not a whole lot going on around here this weekend. Had a few people over tonight and it was nice. We tried something new in the kitchen and it worked out well.
I have a job interview tomorrow, i hope it goes well. I am in need of a job. This particular job that I have applied for looks like it could be a good fit, but i'm still a bit nervous. Even more so because it's a bilingual interview and I haven't been speaking much French lately. I just hope it goes well even if I don't get the job.
I've only really had one bad interview and it was a while ago and not for a position I really wanted. So hopefully that can continue.
Actually for some odd reason the person who phoned me, gave me the names of the three people who will be interviewing me. I did what most people my age probably would think to do with that info, I googled them. I could only find two out of three but it was pretty interesting. I got a photo of one of them to turn up.
I have a job interview tomorrow, i hope it goes well. I am in need of a job. This particular job that I have applied for looks like it could be a good fit, but i'm still a bit nervous. Even more so because it's a bilingual interview and I haven't been speaking much French lately. I just hope it goes well even if I don't get the job.
I've only really had one bad interview and it was a while ago and not for a position I really wanted. So hopefully that can continue.
Actually for some odd reason the person who phoned me, gave me the names of the three people who will be interviewing me. I did what most people my age probably would think to do with that info, I googled them. I could only find two out of three but it was pretty interesting. I got a photo of one of them to turn up.
May 03, 2006
Budget
Well this is my first political post in a while.
Essentially I want to talk about the fiscal imbalance. I think it's a bit ridiculous for the provinces to complain about money. They are the ones that created this problem by cutting taxes so much in the 1990s. Yes federal coffers are bulging, however this was the plan, they decided to balance the books, and have done a really good job managing the federal treasury. Yes they did this in part by screwing the provinces.
However the real problem with Canadian federal provincial squabbling is about jurisdiction. The federal government has a lot of money, the issues that Canadians care about are mostly in provincial jurisdiction. Thats the cruz of the problem.
Harper has a solution, and I must say I like it better that Martin's plan (if he even had one). Essentially Harper is going to cut taxes at the federal level, reducing the pot of money the provinces complain about, and he is also going to reduce federal intrusion into the provincial jurisdiction. Essentially he is making the provinces more responsible. A lot of people complain about decentralization, but there is already a large degree of it in health care and education. The federal government has not been able to get any concessions out of the provinces in return for holding the purse strings anyways.
I think it will actually make for better federal provincial relations, especially if the provinces start working together (like Alberta and BC seem to be doing) on issues of mutual concern. The one thing it will also do is force provinces to be more accountable, they won't be able to bitch that Ottawa isn't helping them enough as much( though i know they'll still complain). I'm really curious to see what the full effect will be if he follows through in the way I think he will
Will it transform federal politics?, damn straight it will. Will it be bad for Canada? Well allI have to say about that is that, nothing Harper will do can be any worse than the ridiculous lack of focused policy of Paul Martin's Liberals.
I have to say that I believe that Paul Martin was the worst Prime Minister since I've been alive. (I admit freely however that there haven't been many PMs..)
Essentially I want to talk about the fiscal imbalance. I think it's a bit ridiculous for the provinces to complain about money. They are the ones that created this problem by cutting taxes so much in the 1990s. Yes federal coffers are bulging, however this was the plan, they decided to balance the books, and have done a really good job managing the federal treasury. Yes they did this in part by screwing the provinces.
However the real problem with Canadian federal provincial squabbling is about jurisdiction. The federal government has a lot of money, the issues that Canadians care about are mostly in provincial jurisdiction. Thats the cruz of the problem.
Harper has a solution, and I must say I like it better that Martin's plan (if he even had one). Essentially Harper is going to cut taxes at the federal level, reducing the pot of money the provinces complain about, and he is also going to reduce federal intrusion into the provincial jurisdiction. Essentially he is making the provinces more responsible. A lot of people complain about decentralization, but there is already a large degree of it in health care and education. The federal government has not been able to get any concessions out of the provinces in return for holding the purse strings anyways.
I think it will actually make for better federal provincial relations, especially if the provinces start working together (like Alberta and BC seem to be doing) on issues of mutual concern. The one thing it will also do is force provinces to be more accountable, they won't be able to bitch that Ottawa isn't helping them enough as much( though i know they'll still complain). I'm really curious to see what the full effect will be if he follows through in the way I think he will
Will it transform federal politics?, damn straight it will. Will it be bad for Canada? Well allI have to say about that is that, nothing Harper will do can be any worse than the ridiculous lack of focused policy of Paul Martin's Liberals.
I have to say that I believe that Paul Martin was the worst Prime Minister since I've been alive. (I admit freely however that there haven't been many PMs..)
May 02, 2006
Wedding Weekend and a trip to Niagara Falls
I had never been to Niagara Falls before last weekend. The end of the weekend consisted of an early morning trip to Niagara, because we were so close and a few of us had never been there before.
I have to say I was a lot less impressed than I thought I would be. I enjoyed it, and I thought it was also neat to see how close it was to the U.S border. Ultimately though i'd classify it as one of those things you have to do once in your life.
The wedding itself was a really really nice event. Perfect setting for the reception. It looks like i'll be in some of the wedding pics, they had a professional photographer and everything so i'm looking forward to seeing those.
All in all a really good weekend.
It's nice to be able to relax now though. I have nothing going on until the 18th when I head back to Regina, so it's a nice feeling. Things are also looking up on the job front, I found a few jobs to apply for so hopefully (crossed fingers) something will turn up soon
I have to say I was a lot less impressed than I thought I would be. I enjoyed it, and I thought it was also neat to see how close it was to the U.S border. Ultimately though i'd classify it as one of those things you have to do once in your life.
The wedding itself was a really really nice event. Perfect setting for the reception. It looks like i'll be in some of the wedding pics, they had a professional photographer and everything so i'm looking forward to seeing those.
All in all a really good weekend.
It's nice to be able to relax now though. I have nothing going on until the 18th when I head back to Regina, so it's a nice feeling. Things are also looking up on the job front, I found a few jobs to apply for so hopefully (crossed fingers) something will turn up soon
April 27, 2006
Wedding Bells
We are off tonight to a friend's wedding. i am quite excited, it'll be the first one I have been to in a long time. It's also the first time i'll be part of the wedding party. I am excited about that too.
The wedding present has been arranged, the tux i go pick up tomorrow. It seems as if everything is arranged. It's probably been about a decade since I have been to a wedding. I guess it's getting to that point in life that I should be attending several over the next few years.
I hope that no one I know ever gets divorced, it seems like such an expensive proposition, not only in money, but in terms of the difficulties this puts on both parties, especially if children are involved. I think that our generation will hopefully be able to reduce the level of divorce. One of the reasons is that a lot of kids are from divorced families and won't want to put their own children through that. The other thing is that people are waiting longer to get married, which I would guess means they are putting more thought into the whole thing.
I hold the view that marriage really is about partnership, and my dad always said he didn't think he could raise a family or live his life fully without a partner. Here's hoping that we can all see the wisdom in that statement
The wedding present has been arranged, the tux i go pick up tomorrow. It seems as if everything is arranged. It's probably been about a decade since I have been to a wedding. I guess it's getting to that point in life that I should be attending several over the next few years.
I hope that no one I know ever gets divorced, it seems like such an expensive proposition, not only in money, but in terms of the difficulties this puts on both parties, especially if children are involved. I think that our generation will hopefully be able to reduce the level of divorce. One of the reasons is that a lot of kids are from divorced families and won't want to put their own children through that. The other thing is that people are waiting longer to get married, which I would guess means they are putting more thought into the whole thing.
I hold the view that marriage really is about partnership, and my dad always said he didn't think he could raise a family or live his life fully without a partner. Here's hoping that we can all see the wisdom in that statement
April 26, 2006
Getting into a new routine
So far so good, i'm enjoying the new apartment and now that everything is all set up, i've been enjoying it even more.
I didn't realize how much i missed playoff hockey last year. Like most people, I guess I just sort of did without it. It's so exciting though, especially now that Ottawa is playing well.
Now the only thing left i have to go and pick up is my bike. I hope to ride a lot this summer, it'll keep me in better shape and I really enjoy the biking in Ottawa. I hope to explore more of the trails this year. I didn't do nearly enough of it last summer, so hopefully I can catch up on it this year.
I guess thats all I really have to say for now. I should update one more time before I leave for a friend's wedding tomorrow night.
I didn't realize how much i missed playoff hockey last year. Like most people, I guess I just sort of did without it. It's so exciting though, especially now that Ottawa is playing well.
Now the only thing left i have to go and pick up is my bike. I hope to ride a lot this summer, it'll keep me in better shape and I really enjoy the biking in Ottawa. I hope to explore more of the trails this year. I didn't do nearly enough of it last summer, so hopefully I can catch up on it this year.
I guess thats all I really have to say for now. I should update one more time before I leave for a friend's wedding tomorrow night.
April 24, 2006
A quick update
Well we are in the new apartment. We moved in on saturday and all went well. No major problems yet. A few leftovers still to pick up from Jen's place and then we're all done moving.
I don't particularly like moving, but then again who does.
I slept on an air mattress for the past week, so having the bed set up is nice.
I am not too sure what i'll be up to for the next little while. Now that our internet is set up, i guess i have to start the job hunt.
I don't particularly like moving, but then again who does.
I slept on an air mattress for the past week, so having the bed set up is nice.
I am not too sure what i'll be up to for the next little while. Now that our internet is set up, i guess i have to start the job hunt.
April 16, 2006
Out in the suburbs or is exurbs? or ex ex exurbs?
I'm here in Barrie, Ontario. It is actually interesting to me, to see how foreign such a place is. I am coming to realize why people move into and live in the suburbs, but i still can't get over the fact that it seems so generic.
Half the houses are identical, there are no trees because they won't mature for like 15 years, not a whole lot of sidewalks, and then they have these large empty parks that 100 houses back onto.
This is what it looks like in southern ontario, but i've never lived in a place like it. I don't find it that inspiring. Then again maybe this will change when I have kids and want a nice backyard. The main driver is of course also economic, people can actually afford to live in the suburbs, though they lose any supposed benefit if you consider the amount of time they waste in their cars, even if they don't have to drive miles to work.
I'll always remember in my first year of university being asked whether i lived in "the city" or not. I didn't even understand the question at first. Where I come from, you either live in Regina or you don't. There is nothing in between. It's a city of 200,000 people but there aren't really any suburbs. You can drive anywhere in the city in 15 minutes or less. I'm still not sire exactly what the person who asked it meant but I was very perplexed by it at the time. I suppose in an area like this one here, or the fact that pretty much everyone in southern Ontario relates their location to a distance from Toronto, it makes more sense.
I'm reading an interesting book, Whats the Matter with Kansas aside from taken shots at Ann Coulter every few pages, he looks into how Kansas became a Republican hotbed. Interesting read, i don't think there are a whole lot of parallels with the Canadian prairies though, so that's a bit disappointing.
Half the houses are identical, there are no trees because they won't mature for like 15 years, not a whole lot of sidewalks, and then they have these large empty parks that 100 houses back onto.
This is what it looks like in southern ontario, but i've never lived in a place like it. I don't find it that inspiring. Then again maybe this will change when I have kids and want a nice backyard. The main driver is of course also economic, people can actually afford to live in the suburbs, though they lose any supposed benefit if you consider the amount of time they waste in their cars, even if they don't have to drive miles to work.
I'll always remember in my first year of university being asked whether i lived in "the city" or not. I didn't even understand the question at first. Where I come from, you either live in Regina or you don't. There is nothing in between. It's a city of 200,000 people but there aren't really any suburbs. You can drive anywhere in the city in 15 minutes or less. I'm still not sire exactly what the person who asked it meant but I was very perplexed by it at the time. I suppose in an area like this one here, or the fact that pretty much everyone in southern Ontario relates their location to a distance from Toronto, it makes more sense.
I'm reading an interesting book, Whats the Matter with Kansas aside from taken shots at Ann Coulter every few pages, he looks into how Kansas became a Republican hotbed. Interesting read, i don't think there are a whole lot of parallels with the Canadian prairies though, so that's a bit disappointing.
April 10, 2006
I'm Heading back
I will be back in Ottawa on wednesday! Everything got moved up and i booked my ticket on sunday night.
I haven't been in Ottawa for some time now, I hope it is still the wonderful place I remember it being. A lot of thing are starting to fall into place, I'll be moving into an apartment with my girlfriend. I'll be starting to look for a new job.
I'm moving into an era of increased stability..The last few months of living out of a suitcase have taken a toll. It's been tough at times, to have to wear the same clothes week after week, and not really having a sense of stability. That's something i'm looking forward to for sure.
I can't wait to get into a routine..
Ottawa awaits!
I haven't been in Ottawa for some time now, I hope it is still the wonderful place I remember it being. A lot of thing are starting to fall into place, I'll be moving into an apartment with my girlfriend. I'll be starting to look for a new job.
I'm moving into an era of increased stability..The last few months of living out of a suitcase have taken a toll. It's been tough at times, to have to wear the same clothes week after week, and not really having a sense of stability. That's something i'm looking forward to for sure.
I can't wait to get into a routine..
Ottawa awaits!
April 07, 2006
Somehow finding the words
Yesterday I went to the ceremony celebrating the life of my father who passed away on April 1st, 2006.
It was a nice ceremony, and the church was packed. I didn't dare look back to see, but one gentleman came and told us he hadn't seen the church that full in the 50 years he had been going to the church.
I think that alone speaks volumes about the man my father was.
For me personally one of the things I have often thought about,(particularly as I have just been overseas and something which reinforced my feeling of being Canadian) was how the love I feel for Canada came from my dad. He was the one who forced us through French immersion, something for which I am especially grateful now that I live in Ottawa. He was so proud of this country, in a way only somebody who chose to come in here, made this place home out of all the other options he had to choose from. Unlike many of his countrymen he specifically chose Canada. He met Pierre Trudeau when he was on a trip through Guyana where he was born. He always talked about being a Trudeau Liberal.
These are the things that cannot be passed down. Those us who have grown up here, can't have quite the same undertstanding of what it means to be Canadian as those who have chosen to be here. It's just one of those things, immigrants have always given meaning to Canada, something those us born here just can't quite grasp.
It was fitting as well that on the memorial board at the reception after the service, that one of the pictures was my dad smiling (as he always was) and clutching his Canadian citizenship papers.
It was a nice ceremony, and the church was packed. I didn't dare look back to see, but one gentleman came and told us he hadn't seen the church that full in the 50 years he had been going to the church.
I think that alone speaks volumes about the man my father was.
For me personally one of the things I have often thought about,(particularly as I have just been overseas and something which reinforced my feeling of being Canadian) was how the love I feel for Canada came from my dad. He was the one who forced us through French immersion, something for which I am especially grateful now that I live in Ottawa. He was so proud of this country, in a way only somebody who chose to come in here, made this place home out of all the other options he had to choose from. Unlike many of his countrymen he specifically chose Canada. He met Pierre Trudeau when he was on a trip through Guyana where he was born. He always talked about being a Trudeau Liberal.
These are the things that cannot be passed down. Those us who have grown up here, can't have quite the same undertstanding of what it means to be Canadian as those who have chosen to be here. It's just one of those things, immigrants have always given meaning to Canada, something those us born here just can't quite grasp.
It was fitting as well that on the memorial board at the reception after the service, that one of the pictures was my dad smiling (as he always was) and clutching his Canadian citizenship papers.
April 01, 2006
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