I've been listening over the course of the last few days to the 2007 Massey Lecture The City of Words this week and every time I listen to the podcast I get something out of it.
I've been thinking lately about the fact lately about the inability of some people to put themselves in someone else's shoes. The inability to empathize or recognize "the other". This is something that has recently crystallized for me, in understanding the way some people see the word. Some people have difficulty imagining the plight of the other, the see everyone else as a poor reflection of themselves and fail to understand how or why others think differently. In political language this kind of rhetoric is disguised by the language of "rationality". I have recognize that there are certain things about myself and experiences that I have had that allow me to better understand and empathize with the other.
First, I am a visible minority. As someone who has one white parent however this puts you in a somewhat awkward position, particularly in a country that for many reasons refuses to engage in conversations about race. This fact in some ways put you automatically in a position of being forced to recognize that there is a sense in which you will always be on the 'outside'. This is simple something that white Canadians, particularly those of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc generations often have trouble understanding. I would imagine that this would be even more true in parts of Canada where there are few visible minorities. I think that being a visible minority in Canada (which I believe is a Canadian invention, It is defined as "persons, other than Aboriginal people, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." See here.
The other experience I have had that also leads me in the same direction is the fact that I as in the French immersion program. I've heard annecdotaly that many of the participants in the program come from immigrant families, more than you would expect given their numbers anyways. One of the things that it teaches me, and I've seen whenever I've seen people struggle to learn a new language is how "things can be different" in language, how language structures thought. No one who has really learned another language well can pretend that language is just a vessel for ideas. It affects what we can communicate and in what way.
The example given by Alberto Manguel in the 2007 Massey lecture is a good one. He explains how Don Quixote opens with a line that would be literally (roughly ) translated as "In a certain place of La Mancha whose name I don't want to remember..." this construction is required because of the construction of the language,whereas Melville in Mobdy dick uses the same literary device saying "Call me Ishmael". In Spanish this is an impossibility because Melville can embrace all of humanity in those three words, whereas in Spanish you have to define your relationship to your reader. Listen to the lecture for a much much better description, I tried to simplify it here, but used the basic point from the comments in his lecture.
I owe my participation in the French immersion program to my father's strong belief in this country and how important understanding French was. I inherited from him a love of Canada. I think is something that those who simply are Canadian because they were born here, often fail to recognize. Immigrants choose Canada, and this choice has an impact on their perception of the country. Some make this choice without information, or with little thought, but many who choose this country do so because of what it stands for, what opportunities exist, because of what the country "is". I was often amazed at how deep my fathers attachment to this country became. One of my earliest memories and I'm sure one of his best moments was the day of my father's citizenship ceremony. He was surely among the proudest Canadians I have ever met, and it is in large measure because he chose this country.
July 22, 2010
June 05, 2010
World Cup fever
I thought I'd post about soccer since it's right before the world cup of soccer, which starts next week in South Africa.
I've been thinking about soccer quite a bit lately, as I have been playing soccer video games, playing soccer myself (well rec 6 on 6 soccer..) and reading about soccer.
I recently bought John Doyle's new book The world is a ball , after hearing him interviewed on CBC about it. So far it's a pretty good tale of his experience in following the game of soccer worldwide. He's not a sports columnist so it definitely has a different flavour to it. He's the regular TV columnist and I actually quite enjoyed his previous book on how TV changed things in Ireland when it arrived.
I'm looking forward to watching the world cup games. For whatever reason (maybe because they wear my favorite colour orange), I cheer for the Dutch soccer team. I've cheered for them since the mid 1990s. Don't really know how I ended up being a fan of theirs. But I've been loyal to them.
I've been lucky also since the last world cup to have enjoyed watching games with two of my Canadian-born Dutch friends.
I'm hoping they can win it all this year. I think that because it`s the first time the competition is being held in Africa, like the first time it was in Asia it`ll be chock full of surprises.
I just hope it is well organized and everything runs smoothly. The soccer will be beautiful regardless.
I've been thinking about soccer quite a bit lately, as I have been playing soccer video games, playing soccer myself (well rec 6 on 6 soccer..) and reading about soccer.
I recently bought John Doyle's new book The world is a ball , after hearing him interviewed on CBC about it. So far it's a pretty good tale of his experience in following the game of soccer worldwide. He's not a sports columnist so it definitely has a different flavour to it. He's the regular TV columnist and I actually quite enjoyed his previous book on how TV changed things in Ireland when it arrived.
I'm looking forward to watching the world cup games. For whatever reason (maybe because they wear my favorite colour orange), I cheer for the Dutch soccer team. I've cheered for them since the mid 1990s. Don't really know how I ended up being a fan of theirs. But I've been loyal to them.
I've been lucky also since the last world cup to have enjoyed watching games with two of my Canadian-born Dutch friends.
I'm hoping they can win it all this year. I think that because it`s the first time the competition is being held in Africa, like the first time it was in Asia it`ll be chock full of surprises.
I just hope it is well organized and everything runs smoothly. The soccer will be beautiful regardless.
May 29, 2010
Enviromental Cancer risk
I've been thinking about this recently, as I discovered (courtesy of Mindful Merchant) that the shampoo I use is potentially toxic and has negative environmental impacts.
Being a new home owner as well, has meant looking at ways of boosting the look and feel of our lawn (our backyard is pretty pathetic and weed covered at the moment). The province has a ban on pesticides, but that doesn't mean that it's being respected necessarily (I remember seeing a CBC report about how pesticides were still available).
In the United States the President's panel on cancer (It's well-established body, not specific to any president) mentioned that there needs to be more research into environmental cancer risk, and that not a lot is known about some of these risks.
The fact that there are so many chemicals that are essentially unregulated, simply because there are no resources and way too many of them is quite scary. There of course is also the fact that the chemicals of course interact with each other and so may be benign in one situation but not when mixed with other chemicals or a different situation.
I read silent spring last year as part of an environmental book club and it was really interesting to see how little thought was given to the consequences or just spraying new chemicals every which way. Of course it was easier to do back then, with no environmental movement, no environmental agencies in government and the whole thing feels as if it couldn't happen again, because it was such a different time.
However the chemical industry has both expanded and learned some lessons in terms of its approach to dealing with these issues. I'm most concerned about the U.S. as their regulatory system seems to succumb more easily to pressure and they are a lot more media savvy so it ma be more difficult to oversee and understand what they are really up to.
I'll close this this:
One of the things I remember from the movie I am Legend even though I didn't really like the movie was the fact that they cured cancer but caused something much worse as an unintended consequence of it, and killed lots of people.
Kind of a scary thought.
Being a new home owner as well, has meant looking at ways of boosting the look and feel of our lawn (our backyard is pretty pathetic and weed covered at the moment). The province has a ban on pesticides, but that doesn't mean that it's being respected necessarily (I remember seeing a CBC report about how pesticides were still available).
In the United States the President's panel on cancer (It's well-established body, not specific to any president) mentioned that there needs to be more research into environmental cancer risk, and that not a lot is known about some of these risks.
The fact that there are so many chemicals that are essentially unregulated, simply because there are no resources and way too many of them is quite scary. There of course is also the fact that the chemicals of course interact with each other and so may be benign in one situation but not when mixed with other chemicals or a different situation.
I read silent spring last year as part of an environmental book club and it was really interesting to see how little thought was given to the consequences or just spraying new chemicals every which way. Of course it was easier to do back then, with no environmental movement, no environmental agencies in government and the whole thing feels as if it couldn't happen again, because it was such a different time.
However the chemical industry has both expanded and learned some lessons in terms of its approach to dealing with these issues. I'm most concerned about the U.S. as their regulatory system seems to succumb more easily to pressure and they are a lot more media savvy so it ma be more difficult to oversee and understand what they are really up to.
I'll close this this:
One of the things I remember from the movie I am Legend even though I didn't really like the movie was the fact that they cured cancer but caused something much worse as an unintended consequence of it, and killed lots of people.
Kind of a scary thought.
May 23, 2010
Public Service Renewal
Well for the first time in a while I thought I'd write a post about my work. Now this post is slighlty dated as I had hoped to post it last week when this was fresher but it's still very relevant.
I work for the federal government and one of the things we have heard a lot about is Public Service renewal, meaning the attempt to start hiring so that they will actually have the capacity to replace all the boomers that wll be retiring over the next several years.
I along with some colleagues decided to organize a group discussion on the topic recently and thought it didn;t go quite as I expected it to go, it went really well.
It felt really good to have a forum for discussing these issues and I hope that we can keep the energy going and momentum and keep things moving along. It was really encouraging to see the response in terms of turnout and the energy in the room as well.
It turns out that there is a lot of interest in changing things and adapting to the new forces in the world.
Two things that struck me, the first was how much focus was on management and more particularly the generational divide. I haven't seen as much of this recently in my own work situation, I suppose because I have had bosseson the younger end of things.
The second was the need to really engage on the issue of technology and the impact on how we do things. I was struck by the lack of enthusiasm expressed by some particularly when coupled with the seeming techno-optimism of others.
Anyways it was an interesting event and the first of many in this necessary conversation about renewal.
I work for the federal government and one of the things we have heard a lot about is Public Service renewal, meaning the attempt to start hiring so that they will actually have the capacity to replace all the boomers that wll be retiring over the next several years.
I along with some colleagues decided to organize a group discussion on the topic recently and thought it didn;t go quite as I expected it to go, it went really well.
It felt really good to have a forum for discussing these issues and I hope that we can keep the energy going and momentum and keep things moving along. It was really encouraging to see the response in terms of turnout and the energy in the room as well.
It turns out that there is a lot of interest in changing things and adapting to the new forces in the world.
Two things that struck me, the first was how much focus was on management and more particularly the generational divide. I haven't seen as much of this recently in my own work situation, I suppose because I have had bosseson the younger end of things.
The second was the need to really engage on the issue of technology and the impact on how we do things. I was struck by the lack of enthusiasm expressed by some particularly when coupled with the seeming techno-optimism of others.
Anyways it was an interesting event and the first of many in this necessary conversation about renewal.
May 08, 2010
Lisbeth Salander
Like many others it seems I've been reading the Millenium series. It's a Swedish mystery series that's generating a lot of attention. I've enjoy it for the most part but I think in some way the most interesting part is the character of Lisbeth Salander. It's too bad that he won't be writing any more books as he died just before it was actually published.
In part this is because she apepars to have Asperegers. She has a photographic memory, extremely bright and yet has serious issues with authority and didn't even finish school. One funny moment I enjoyed is where the teacher gets mad at her because she gives the 'wrong' answer to a problem when in fact it's the texbook that has a mistake in it. That made me laugh.
The book is interesting and you can tell it's a critique of Swedish society, I imagine that some of it is lost in the translation, as well as some of the language obviously.
Interesting book, interesting characters and a good read.
In part this is because she apepars to have Asperegers. She has a photographic memory, extremely bright and yet has serious issues with authority and didn't even finish school. One funny moment I enjoyed is where the teacher gets mad at her because she gives the 'wrong' answer to a problem when in fact it's the texbook that has a mistake in it. That made me laugh.
The book is interesting and you can tell it's a critique of Swedish society, I imagine that some of it is lost in the translation, as well as some of the language obviously.
Interesting book, interesting characters and a good read.
April 25, 2010
A few snippets
I was feeling a bit glum in a public place this past weekend. I went alone to see a few events at the Ottawa writers festival.
I as encouraged by the turnout however, and by the fact that you got a couple of hundred people to come and talk and engage with ideas on a sunny afternoon in Ottawa in April.
I attended the presentation by Andrew Potter of his new book, The Authenticity Hoax which was interesting. I was a bit disappointed though in that he didn't rally answer any of the questions asked of him.
Actually the star of the show in my view in some ways Dan Gardiner, who writes in the Ottawa Citizen. I had actually ever heard of him before, ok probably not never , but not enough to know who he was, but he came off well and was quite good in his questioning.
One interesting moment was when a little boy of 11 asked a particularly well framed and intelligent question, the audience clapped. That surprised me as I didn't really understand why at first. I guess he impressed people. It was likely the best question of the night, and Potter dogged and ignored it, then talked about his love of video games (which was I'll admit slightly related to the question).
Tonight was Terry O'Reilly and Mike Tennant discussion The Age of Persuasion. I'm actually surprised that I like their radio show as it's about advertising and often I'm not even really aware of the ads they are talking about as I don't watch much TV, but still it's super interesting. I guess it's true that a god teacher can make you want to learn about anything.
One interesting thing was how many of the same people I saw from the night before, some of them even asked questions again. I wish one guy in particular had not.
One funny moment was whan a guy basically got up there to pitch himself for school trustee and then asked a dumb question, and muttered wish I hadn't asked that as he walked away from the mic.
I as encouraged by the turnout however, and by the fact that you got a couple of hundred people to come and talk and engage with ideas on a sunny afternoon in Ottawa in April.
I attended the presentation by Andrew Potter of his new book, The Authenticity Hoax which was interesting. I was a bit disappointed though in that he didn't rally answer any of the questions asked of him.
Actually the star of the show in my view in some ways Dan Gardiner, who writes in the Ottawa Citizen. I had actually ever heard of him before, ok probably not never , but not enough to know who he was, but he came off well and was quite good in his questioning.
One interesting moment was when a little boy of 11 asked a particularly well framed and intelligent question, the audience clapped. That surprised me as I didn't really understand why at first. I guess he impressed people. It was likely the best question of the night, and Potter dogged and ignored it, then talked about his love of video games (which was I'll admit slightly related to the question).
Tonight was Terry O'Reilly and Mike Tennant discussion The Age of Persuasion. I'm actually surprised that I like their radio show as it's about advertising and often I'm not even really aware of the ads they are talking about as I don't watch much TV, but still it's super interesting. I guess it's true that a god teacher can make you want to learn about anything.
One interesting thing was how many of the same people I saw from the night before, some of them even asked questions again. I wish one guy in particular had not.
One funny moment was whan a guy basically got up there to pitch himself for school trustee and then asked a dumb question, and muttered wish I hadn't asked that as he walked away from the mic.
April 18, 2010
My reading list.
So it looks like it's been a few weeks since my last post unfortunately. My in-laws came up last weekend, and I guess the week before that was Easter, though I did actually have the time to post.
Anyways on to today's post.
I heard an interesting interview with Yann Martel, about his new book Beatrice and Virgil. It was a bit of a strange interview; I think they were trying hard not to give anything away.
It reminded me of the website What is Stephen Harper Reading, which provides a series of suggestions for the Prime Minister to read.
I've actually pulled a few things of that list for my own reading list. I'm not much of a fiction reader though. Generally I read non-fiction, though I do occasionally like to spice things up and read some fiction. I used to read some science fiction, but haven't lately.
Here's my current (expanding) reading list in addition to Beatrice and Virgil of course..
The new Extraordinary Canadian biographies ( Marshall McLuhan, Louis Riel and Lafontaine & Baldwin)
The structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn (I've had this for a while.. about time I should read it.)
The End of Energy Obesity: Breaking Today's Energy Addiction for a Prosperous and Secure Tomorrow by Peter Tertzakian
and The year of the flood when it comes out in paperback this summer.
Anyways on to today's post.
I heard an interesting interview with Yann Martel, about his new book Beatrice and Virgil. It was a bit of a strange interview; I think they were trying hard not to give anything away.
It reminded me of the website What is Stephen Harper Reading, which provides a series of suggestions for the Prime Minister to read.
I've actually pulled a few things of that list for my own reading list. I'm not much of a fiction reader though. Generally I read non-fiction, though I do occasionally like to spice things up and read some fiction. I used to read some science fiction, but haven't lately.
Here's my current (expanding) reading list in addition to Beatrice and Virgil of course..
The new Extraordinary Canadian biographies ( Marshall McLuhan, Louis Riel and Lafontaine & Baldwin)
The structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn (I've had this for a while.. about time I should read it.)
The End of Energy Obesity: Breaking Today's Energy Addiction for a Prosperous and Secure Tomorrow by Peter Tertzakian
and The year of the flood when it comes out in paperback this summer.
March 27, 2010
Time sure flies
It's been four years since I went to New Zealand and Australia which was initially the reason to start this blog. It enabled me to share the pictures I took on that trip. Go back and look, they are fantastic.
It also means it's been almost four years since my dad passed away.
I find I miss his advice in my current job, he worked in the same field as a public servant, and of course the big life events are always times when I miss him as well. He wasn't at my wedding, he won't see my kids (when I have them), etc.
It's tough, knowing that he won't be around to see all those events.
Can't believe it's been four years already.
It also means it's been almost four years since my dad passed away.
I find I miss his advice in my current job, he worked in the same field as a public servant, and of course the big life events are always times when I miss him as well. He wasn't at my wedding, he won't see my kids (when I have them), etc.
It's tough, knowing that he won't be around to see all those events.
Can't believe it's been four years already.
March 20, 2010
DST
Being from Saskatchewan i never participated i the ritual of daylight savings time until I moved here. I still find it odd even though I'd been doing it now for 10 years or so.
It's even weirder now that the Americans have started playing around with the dates that the clocks change.
I don't really understand the point. You're just shifting clocks around, not really adding or subtracting actual daylight hours. Apparently the opposition to the move came from farmers in Saskatchewan, not sure why though.
The real reason at least as far as I can tell that Saskatchewan doesn't change it's clocks is that if they did, the two main cities would fall on different sides of the time zone line. As it stands Saskatchewan just simple jumps from one time zone while everyone else is on standard time, and another when everyone else is on daylight savings time.
All I know is that when I was in school is was great, because during DST I could call my parents at a more convenient time, as they were two hours behind meaning that even though I was up later it was still early enough to chat with them.
It was kinda of amusing one year when we went to Florida as the time change fell the weekend of our trip, the rest of my family was even more confused about the change than I was.
Still, I don't really understand it, but I guess it's one of those things. It does highlight the fact that time is really somewhat arbitrary often it matches poltiical boundaries regardless of whether it makes sense or not.
Given that Canadian (or was he considered Scottish?) Sir Stanford Fleming had such a role in standard time, I think it's a bit amusing that we have one of the world's few 30 minute time zones. But that's a whole other story.
It's even weirder now that the Americans have started playing around with the dates that the clocks change.
I don't really understand the point. You're just shifting clocks around, not really adding or subtracting actual daylight hours. Apparently the opposition to the move came from farmers in Saskatchewan, not sure why though.
The real reason at least as far as I can tell that Saskatchewan doesn't change it's clocks is that if they did, the two main cities would fall on different sides of the time zone line. As it stands Saskatchewan just simple jumps from one time zone while everyone else is on standard time, and another when everyone else is on daylight savings time.
All I know is that when I was in school is was great, because during DST I could call my parents at a more convenient time, as they were two hours behind meaning that even though I was up later it was still early enough to chat with them.
It was kinda of amusing one year when we went to Florida as the time change fell the weekend of our trip, the rest of my family was even more confused about the change than I was.
Still, I don't really understand it, but I guess it's one of those things. It does highlight the fact that time is really somewhat arbitrary often it matches poltiical boundaries regardless of whether it makes sense or not.
Given that Canadian (or was he considered Scottish?) Sir Stanford Fleming had such a role in standard time, I think it's a bit amusing that we have one of the world's few 30 minute time zones. But that's a whole other story.
March 14, 2010
New Formula 1 season
This is probably the first season I have been so excited for the beginning of a Formula 1 season.
And no it`s not because Michael Schumacher is back. It`s because of that and everything else, whether it`s Jenson button`s move to Mclaren, the move of Fernando Alonso to Ferrari, or my hopes to see Sebastien Vettel win a world championship.
If you have no idea who i`m talking about, you`re not alone, and I`m not that surprised. Even though it mostly consists of the same people going around in circles, there is something interesting about it, with all the personalities involved, and the occasional incredible pass. Doing anything at 160 km/h adds some drama.
I think in part because the only North American GrandPrix is in Montreal (thank god they brought it back this year), I`ve noticed that Quebeckers and maybe even Montrealers more specifically are big F1 fans. Outside there, they can be hard to find, though recently I`ve met two others who are fans which was quite exciting.
I was thinking of going to Montreal for the Grand Prix this year, but it doesn't look possible. I am hoping to be there next year!
Anyways I hope the season gets better, because the race today was boring, so much for all the drama of the new pit stop system. It sucks for fans, so hopefully they'll figure out how to make it more interesting.
And no it`s not because Michael Schumacher is back. It`s because of that and everything else, whether it`s Jenson button`s move to Mclaren, the move of Fernando Alonso to Ferrari, or my hopes to see Sebastien Vettel win a world championship.
If you have no idea who i`m talking about, you`re not alone, and I`m not that surprised. Even though it mostly consists of the same people going around in circles, there is something interesting about it, with all the personalities involved, and the occasional incredible pass. Doing anything at 160 km/h adds some drama.
I think in part because the only North American GrandPrix is in Montreal (thank god they brought it back this year), I`ve noticed that Quebeckers and maybe even Montrealers more specifically are big F1 fans. Outside there, they can be hard to find, though recently I`ve met two others who are fans which was quite exciting.
I was thinking of going to Montreal for the Grand Prix this year, but it doesn't look possible. I am hoping to be there next year!
Anyways I hope the season gets better, because the race today was boring, so much for all the drama of the new pit stop system. It sucks for fans, so hopefully they'll figure out how to make it more interesting.
March 07, 2010
On sleep
Since I move into this new place, my sleeping habits have been affected.
In part because I now have to wake up slightly earlier to get to work, but also just the change if environment appears to have affected. We also got a new bed, which is an obvious culprit.
Unlike most people I would assume however, my problem is that i can't seem to wake up as easily on Saturday mornings. I mean this seriously. I find one of the big impacts has been on this blog, I was pretty good for a while at writing ever Saturday morning, alas I have been less diligent in the last 6 weeks or so.
Perhaps this will correct itself, but we shall have to see.
I've become quite curious about the nature of habit formation, and so instead of making grand New Year's resolutions, I tried to identify a few good habits I wanted to start keeping. I probably started too many at the same time, I think there were five of them.
It's been difficult for me to adjust in some ways to not having a regular position though as well, I'm in a development program in which I change jobs every 6 months. I keep telling people i don't see very often, that "the next time you see me I'll probably have a new job" and it's true. Even in the world of the public service where people change jobs seemingly all the time, it's a bit much for me.
I am getting better at adjusting and fitting in though, but still it wears on you and can be quite stressful, as I find it takes a month or so before you even know who people are, let alone what they do.
Over and out.
In part because I now have to wake up slightly earlier to get to work, but also just the change if environment appears to have affected. We also got a new bed, which is an obvious culprit.
Unlike most people I would assume however, my problem is that i can't seem to wake up as easily on Saturday mornings. I mean this seriously. I find one of the big impacts has been on this blog, I was pretty good for a while at writing ever Saturday morning, alas I have been less diligent in the last 6 weeks or so.
Perhaps this will correct itself, but we shall have to see.
I've become quite curious about the nature of habit formation, and so instead of making grand New Year's resolutions, I tried to identify a few good habits I wanted to start keeping. I probably started too many at the same time, I think there were five of them.
It's been difficult for me to adjust in some ways to not having a regular position though as well, I'm in a development program in which I change jobs every 6 months. I keep telling people i don't see very often, that "the next time you see me I'll probably have a new job" and it's true. Even in the world of the public service where people change jobs seemingly all the time, it's a bit much for me.
I am getting better at adjusting and fitting in though, but still it wears on you and can be quite stressful, as I find it takes a month or so before you even know who people are, let alone what they do.
Over and out.
February 20, 2010
Calvin and Hobbes
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.
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 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.
January 23, 2010
Video game nostalgia
Thanks to an Xmas present from my brother I was able to have some good nostalgic memories about playing SNES games.
It came out between 1990 and 1993 (....ok I checked wikipedia..) I would've been about 10 years old or so when we got one. It was great, and it was the only system for a period of about 5 years, so they made tons of games for it.
Our ended up being stolen in the end, but I always remember SuperMario World. It's amusing to think how much time I must've spend playing that game, as I swear I know all the ins and out and secrets of the entire game.
I don't watch a ton of TV now, but I think back, I must've spent hours and hours watching TV as a kid, and also played a lot of video games. I remember how angry i got at my parents because my mom decided that she was going to use the TV as a babybsitter for my youngest brother, I was appalled that he was just sat in front of the TV so often. Although the rest of us have glasses, I'm pretty sure the fact that he sat 1 foot in front of the TV contributed to him needing glasses as well.
I wonder what it will be like for any children we may have, heck I still remember life before the internet. Any kids I have will be post-google kids, and will never have known a time before wireless internet everywhere and cell phones for everyone! Crazy to think of how much things have changed...
However despite my opposition, I guess we're all influenced by TV and video games to a certain extent regardless of how much we watched or how often we played.
SuperMario certainly brings back good memories for me
It came out between 1990 and 1993 (....ok I checked wikipedia..) I would've been about 10 years old or so when we got one. It was great, and it was the only system for a period of about 5 years, so they made tons of games for it.
Our ended up being stolen in the end, but I always remember SuperMario World. It's amusing to think how much time I must've spend playing that game, as I swear I know all the ins and out and secrets of the entire game.
I don't watch a ton of TV now, but I think back, I must've spent hours and hours watching TV as a kid, and also played a lot of video games. I remember how angry i got at my parents because my mom decided that she was going to use the TV as a babybsitter for my youngest brother, I was appalled that he was just sat in front of the TV so often. Although the rest of us have glasses, I'm pretty sure the fact that he sat 1 foot in front of the TV contributed to him needing glasses as well.
I wonder what it will be like for any children we may have, heck I still remember life before the internet. Any kids I have will be post-google kids, and will never have known a time before wireless internet everywhere and cell phones for everyone! Crazy to think of how much things have changed...
However despite my opposition, I guess we're all influenced by TV and video games to a certain extent regardless of how much we watched or how often we played.
SuperMario certainly brings back good memories for me
January 16, 2010
Furniture!
Man is it expensive, my wife and I were out shopping for a bedroom set. We paid a ridiculous amount, and then had to pay again a huge was of cash for the mattress!
I just hope they last as long and are as comfy as advertised.
We also finally managed to put a desk together today. Easy to assemble it said... well unlike IKEA stuff which is easy to assemble (and just as easy to fall apart,)this one was in 27 steps! It took quite a while, but I just thought it was a bit suspicious at 27 steps to completed. A lot of the pictures weren't all that clear either.
However it does look quite good, and will serve it's purpose well.
Ah the joys of moving into a new house,I suppose at some point in the near future I'll feel settled in. I'll then be able to talk about something else.
I just hope they last as long and are as comfy as advertised.
We also finally managed to put a desk together today. Easy to assemble it said... well unlike IKEA stuff which is easy to assemble (and just as easy to fall apart,)this one was in 27 steps! It took quite a while, but I just thought it was a bit suspicious at 27 steps to completed. A lot of the pictures weren't all that clear either.
However it does look quite good, and will serve it's purpose well.
Ah the joys of moving into a new house,I suppose at some point in the near future I'll feel settled in. I'll then be able to talk about something else.
January 10, 2010
Back from the holidays
What a crazy December! We bought a house in November, and made the slightly crazy decision for a closing date only a month later. It worked out very well, but it meant a very busy time.
Adjusting to a new house is always interesting, dealing with "new house noises ", and for us it's our first house, meaning we are also adjusting to new home ownership.
Some things are great, like not having to walk a kilometere (ok a bit less) from the car to the apartment door, having a dishwasher, being able to have a BBQ ( a big plus for me!!!). This is also in addition to benefit of having extra space.
The downsides at least so far are shoveling snow and the additional maintenance (though we haven't had to really do anything yet).
So far things are going well, adn we're settling in. It's fun now because we're buying a lot of furniture and getting everything sorted out. Imm looking forward to having nice solid book shelves.
I need some place to put all the boxes of booksI have lying around the house after all...
Adjusting to a new house is always interesting, dealing with "new house noises ", and for us it's our first house, meaning we are also adjusting to new home ownership.
Some things are great, like not having to walk a kilometere (ok a bit less) from the car to the apartment door, having a dishwasher, being able to have a BBQ ( a big plus for me!!!). This is also in addition to benefit of having extra space.
The downsides at least so far are shoveling snow and the additional maintenance (though we haven't had to really do anything yet).
So far things are going well, adn we're settling in. It's fun now because we're buying a lot of furniture and getting everything sorted out. Imm looking forward to having nice solid book shelves.
I need some place to put all the boxes of booksI have lying around the house after all...
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