I've been a Calvin and Hobbes fan for a long time. Actually it all started after a friend gave my dad a copy of one of the books which contained some of the strips. I grabbed it from my dad (who i don't think ever actually read it) and never looked back.
I was thinking that some of my copies were pretty ratty, and maybe I should look into getting the complete series, which I recently discovered was available. This week was my birthday and so instead of actually going out and purchasing it my wife bought it for me as a birthday present.
I'm sure it will bring back a lot of memories. I think the strip had particular appeal to me as I was growing up, and in my adolsecent years at the time. The idea of an irascible, annoying but snarky child held some appeal then. It was around for only 10 years, from 1985 - 1995. It's been a long time since there have been any new strips, so I'm sure when I start going through them some will feel dated, but they seemed so timely then.
I'm sure as I keep rereading them, some of the strips with the parents will become even more relevant.
Apparently there is also a new book that's come out about the whole story of how Bill Watterson ended up creating the strip. I'm looking forward to finding that and reading it.
February 20, 2010
February 16, 2010
Flexitarianism
Quick post today, unfortunately I've been getting out of the habit of posting on Saturday mornings.
This terms is something I came across after I bought Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, a cookbook I am thoroughly enjoying.
It's a great cookbook, because it gives you basic ideas of how cook all sorts of vegetables, but also includes information on cooking techniques, which potatoes to use for what and all sorts of handy information.
Flexeterianism is about consciously choosing to eat less meat on a regular basis. My wife and I have certainly done that. Mostly for me it's about exploring what other kind of meals are out there, and also for environmental reasons. It's astonishing how much energy and time goes into producing meat, and how especially with industrial farming how unsafe it is.
The hard part for me has been trying to make the change, I read Fast Food Nation a while back, and was appalled at the meat packing plant parts in a chapter he calls "The Worst Job in the World" , and how Mexican immigrants were exploited and shipped into Tyson plants. The sad fact that "European Union" days when they prepared thing for the European market were much safer, as they require a much slower speed and more rules.
Then there's the continuing stories about E-coli including this one, which make me question whether to ever buy pre-packaged hamburger again.
So it's taken me a while to get to this point, and I still feel pretty awful about eating fish, which I try to do every week, given the exploitation of the ocean and declining fish stocks. I don't eat much shrimp even though I like it, even less since I heard about all the destruction they cause in East Asia.
But it's difficult to deny yourself things, and I totally understand those who continue to eat a lot of meat. This includes myself on some weeks, but I have chosen to noticeably reduce my meat consumption.
It's been fun to discover the wonders of eggplant, bok choy, and last week, brown lentils. I made a few dishes and they were great! So I expect that I will continue down this path, though it may be difficult this spring after I buy a BBQ.
I'm sure there are some pretty good vegetarian options for the grill though. I am looking forward to grilling eggplant for sure.
This terms is something I came across after I bought Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, a cookbook I am thoroughly enjoying.
It's a great cookbook, because it gives you basic ideas of how cook all sorts of vegetables, but also includes information on cooking techniques, which potatoes to use for what and all sorts of handy information.
Flexeterianism is about consciously choosing to eat less meat on a regular basis. My wife and I have certainly done that. Mostly for me it's about exploring what other kind of meals are out there, and also for environmental reasons. It's astonishing how much energy and time goes into producing meat, and how especially with industrial farming how unsafe it is.
The hard part for me has been trying to make the change, I read Fast Food Nation a while back, and was appalled at the meat packing plant parts in a chapter he calls "The Worst Job in the World" , and how Mexican immigrants were exploited and shipped into Tyson plants. The sad fact that "European Union" days when they prepared thing for the European market were much safer, as they require a much slower speed and more rules.
Then there's the continuing stories about E-coli including this one, which make me question whether to ever buy pre-packaged hamburger again.
So it's taken me a while to get to this point, and I still feel pretty awful about eating fish, which I try to do every week, given the exploitation of the ocean and declining fish stocks. I don't eat much shrimp even though I like it, even less since I heard about all the destruction they cause in East Asia.
But it's difficult to deny yourself things, and I totally understand those who continue to eat a lot of meat. This includes myself on some weeks, but I have chosen to noticeably reduce my meat consumption.
It's been fun to discover the wonders of eggplant, bok choy, and last week, brown lentils. I made a few dishes and they were great! So I expect that I will continue down this path, though it may be difficult this spring after I buy a BBQ.
I'm sure there are some pretty good vegetarian options for the grill though. I am looking forward to grilling eggplant for sure.
February 06, 2010
Productivity
I started a new job and it involves working with a lot of economic researchers.
It's been interesting to see their focus on Canada's weak productivity performance.
We've shown weaker productivity than the Americans for most of the last 40 years.
One of the things I find really interesting though is the need for dialogue with departments like HRSDC that are concerned with the labour market.
There are so many interesting that come up, but that really have to deal more with labour market dynamics and potential impacts on it than my department can handle alone.
The biggest challenge facing the Canadian economy I really think if going to be demographics. It's in some ways the elephant in the room even on an issue like productivity.
It will be quite interesting to see whether this presents a positive shock (in other words business will be forced to invest in capital which will improve productivity) or negative (i.e. lost opportunities because they can't find workers.
It's been interesting to see their focus on Canada's weak productivity performance.
We've shown weaker productivity than the Americans for most of the last 40 years.
One of the things I find really interesting though is the need for dialogue with departments like HRSDC that are concerned with the labour market.
There are so many interesting that come up, but that really have to deal more with labour market dynamics and potential impacts on it than my department can handle alone.
The biggest challenge facing the Canadian economy I really think if going to be demographics. It's in some ways the elephant in the room even on an issue like productivity.
It will be quite interesting to see whether this presents a positive shock (in other words business will be forced to invest in capital which will improve productivity) or negative (i.e. lost opportunities because they can't find workers.
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