...and all this is to whom?

Filters encore

2009-09-20T12:28:00.000-04:00

Janice Gross Stein (Director of the Munk Centre for International Studies) was quoted in Montreal's The Gazette with:

People are saying this election was stolen; why bury young Canadian soldiers for this government?

Now, she was speaking about the recent Afghan elections, but what struck me was how easily it could have been applied to the Bush regime.

Too bad we didn't think that way back then!

What I don't understand...

2008-06-23T19:29:00.003-04:00

Lately my wife and I rented a car for a wedding we were invited to in Montréal. Probably due to the high price of gas, it is now unusual to find a compact or economy car for a weekend rental almost anywhere. What gets me is that they have no problem BOOKING you one, and then telling you that you have a RESERVATION for one. Then, (and this has happened the last 3 times we tried to rent) they tell you when you arrive that they don't have any left.

What is funny is that though the habits of customers have changed the words spoken by the car reps haven't.

"Sorry sir we don't have any more of that size. All we have are pickups, SUVs and Luxury Cars.. SO!!! you get a free upgrade!!!!!!!"

It doesn't feel that great anymore considering how much gas they suck back.

I would love it if they somehow updated their system. If only they could invite these devices that could communicate the amount of cars available vs. the amount rented or booked. If only someone could come up with a network to allow that huge amount of data transfer.

I understand that you can't control when someone returns a vehicle..but after this many times and after the conversations I have had with the reps. The non-returners are not the issue.

Months later...

2008-05-22T20:41:00.002-04:00

I thought about starting fresh. Simply hit the delete button and move on but it doesn't feel that easy!

My first year of University at Concordia is over. I have been forced to take 5 years which is one more than the standard 4 for Mechanical Engineering. This was due to my having been out of school for several years. It made sense though cause really I needed a review of Physics and Calculus, etc.

I'm hoping to keep this blog more active now!

My integrity

2007-11-02T15:00:00.001-04:00

Real integrity should require the same virtures commanding all aspects of our lives. For example, in our work and personal lives they should be the same.

More filter filler...

2007-10-23T11:58:00.000-04:00

To improve our filter, the best thing we can strive for is to decompose our common misconceptions about generalities. We also then can identify how individuals (whom we know personally, meaning close acquaintances or friends) fit within those generalities. (To see them specifically among our new definitions)

My 1st day

2007-09-04T11:59:00.000-04:00

So today begins what? A new life? No.. not so much.. but the start of something new for sure! I had my 1st day of classes at Concordia University this morning. Chemistry 205 in the mornin and Physics 204 right afterwards. (And an ethics course tonight) It has been a little exciting, though todays courses were just short of being a write-off.

Montreal has also been fun so far. Suzy and I have been feeling like we've been on vacation since we arrived. I guess today is the 1st "real" moment, the 2nd will be when she starts work next week.

I haven't felt myself missing people yet but maybe that is cause I still feel on vacation. This is the first big move for me (as the Steve I am today) so I am awaiting what will, or what might hit.

And yeah, Toronto feels different than Montreal. Montreal so far has felt like Cape Town! Try and process that one.. but Suzy, Mamy and I have all felt it.. Vive South Africa I guess...

We didn't even "almost die"

2007-06-19T18:05:00.000-04:00

T and I did the Becel Ride for Heart a few weeks back. We did the 50Km ride from Exhibition Place, along the Gardiner, up the DVP to York Mills and then back. It was a fun thing to do, nice challenge and the weather and crowd was amazing (and packed - 12000 people went out!)

The ever passing moment

2007-06-15T08:09:00.000-04:00

I've always been a big reader, at times fluctuating from 1 book on the go with 2 in the back to 3 books on the go with one in the background. Lately Suzy read the 1st volume "Fellowship of the Ring" while I read both Salt (political/religious filters) and Stone (genocide with a twist) by Adam Roberts. I love the ideas behind his works, he brings such fascinating stories to life! I'm also trying to get through American Theocracy again. (everytime I do, something else seems to leap up and grab my attention) Currently the author is talking about the downfall of the UK's coal fueled industrial power at the beginning of the 1900's and what the US did to supplant them as leaders of oil.

Haven't been to too many movies but did see both Oceans 13 (which yes was fun and still had that feeling of being ultra-cool) and the hilarious Knocked Up. The audience LOVED that one and reacted almost as much at times as it did for Borat. (Though for different reasons.. still Kristin I think you will love the stoner chick)

Putting those two topics together, they are going to be filming The Time Travellers Wife soon! I loved the book and those who have gotten through it have too. (it looks rather large but what a story)

Spheres of influence

2007-04-28T18:24:00.000-04:00

That influence you:

1. Yourself: a. your thoughts b. your past
2. Others: a. words b. actions
3. Environment: a. stereotypes
4. Big Brother (eg. work, religion, groups)

There must be more categories and breakdowns, or is this essentially it?

Kin

2007-04-05T08:23:00.000-04:00

Downtown Kinshasa... what do I remember from this pic? Well, vodacom will probably always remind me of Cape Town where I first encountered this phone card company. Celtel (red sign) of course has to remind me of visiting Suzy's bud Tanya at work. We were dropped off by the driver Theo near our mom's work and walked past the French embassy parking to the Celtel store. (Blessedly air conditioned I might add)

I also remember my surprise that the red, octagonal signs are actually in English. They read STOP in a french country...

The last thing I dearly remember here is when Mamy and us would go to the grocery store Dan and I would talk about the building you can just make out starting to go up on the upper right corner. For some reason those concrete slats hanging below the windows reminded us of some sort of shielding from some futuristic anime or something. It looked vaguely military-like..

Ah Kin...

Move forward or back

2007-03-16T13:21:00.001-04:00

Equilibrium of collinear forces

If the resultant of forces acting on a body (in the same plane, and in a straight line) are zero the body will not move or will continue to move at the same speed. In other words, if moving already on a project, any additional force upon you will cause deceleration of your momentum. It is hard at times though to know how much force you need to exert on an issue. (whether of thought or action) I guess one has to break out of simply reacting to things as they happen or only to stop them once they happen. If already moving you will continue to move but will only notice a slowdown once it is huge. When hit you don't strike back with an equal force but a greater force. Just like when you start some work - you must imply greater force to start than you need to continue. (sorta like breakaway torque)

Ender's game

2007-03-06T09:08:00.000-05:00

The author of the book that this post is named for is Orson Scott Card, whom I had heard of before but whose book I knew nothing. My mother gave me the book for my 30th as it was published in the same year I was born. If you had never read it you won't get what I mean but if you have:

I never thought I was emotionally invested by pg19 but when Valentine cried to Ender "Come back to me! I love you forever!" it just hit me...

So now in my 30's and once again.. ah.. same ol. What stock am I supposed to put in my age again?

RDC / DRC

2007-02-26T09:13:00.000-05:00

It can be confusing I know.. but it is really odd that on professional sites (ie/ corporations, job search sites, etc) they still call the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zaire. The reason it can be confusing is due to another country called simply Congo or The Congo. That this country also happens to be a neighbour to the DRCongo just adds to the mix. But the name Zaire died as of 17 May, 1997.

Usually people refer to the north/western one as Congo-Brazzaville (after the capital city) and either DRC, (RDC in French) DRCongo or Congo-Kinshasa. But definitely NOT after the Mobutu name of Zaire!

Present*Cause = True History

2007-02-23T00:12:00.000-05:00

If the present is to us only whatever gets through our current filter
then don't we constantly change who we are in some ways?

If this is true then how much of our present/past is lost?

Sad week

2007-02-17T12:31:00.000-05:00

We return most likely this week... what a position to be in. So far, unless something changes, this is approximately what we did:

Toronto - Frankfurt, Germany (stayed for 8 hours exploring)
Frankfurt - Cape Town, South Africa (stayed for about 15 days or so)
Cape Town - Jo'burg, South Africa (stayed overnight)
Jo'burg - Kinshasa, RDCongo (stayed for about 2 weeks)
Kin - Lubumbashi(do I have the spelling right now?), RDCongo (for just 1 day)
Lub - Chingola, Zambia (stayed overnight)
Chingola - Ndola, Zambia (for about 5 days)
Ndola - Lub, RDC (stayed for 2 days)
Lub - Kinshasa, RDC (stayed for 1 week)
Kin - Cape Town, SAfrica (staying for 3 days)
Cape Town - Toronto (fin)

boo hoo maintenant

The time away from the computer

2007-02-06T08:11:00.000-05:00

We visited Lumbubashi (spelling?) in the Southern Congo (DRC) and then drove across the border into Zambia... which of itself was quite the adventure. When I can upload pics I will tell the story of the broken down car, no man's land, bribes, etc.

Dan, Suzy and I are back in the mother city of Kinshasa now having just arrived by cargo plane this morning! Hey, it was free!

We leave for Cape Town on 16 Fevrier.

What is important

2007-01-26T10:34:00.000-05:00

The thing that I was told would strike me the most... is the thing that hits me the most here. I was told by those who had left Kinshasa that, given who I was it's the people here who would stay in my heart when I left more than any other difference or event.
This isn't a huge tourist event country.. (there is a ministry of tourism and we even saw the building but everyone just sorta laughs about that) but the things we see just walking down the streets or inside bars, pool halls (and tonight clubs) strike. The way people talk to us about the conditions, politics, philosophy, life here and elsewhere... the moaning about Isreal's involvement in Lebenon and how much of an impact that had to what is going on there right now, joking, playing, learning... well I can keep adding those type of words but never truly explain to you that there is a life here we have felt that is quite different. I wonder truly more now what will hit me when I return.

It's hard to tell certain stories without seeing the audience who is reading it. Most will have to remain until I return and talk in person... but to remind me:

SAA v. the Koreans
The military at the airport and customs officer. "Not even a coke?"
"HE doesn't have a ring!" avec "Dan! Yakka!" (Jay you're gonna love that one)
La communion

Cars and roads

2007-01-26T10:13:00.000-05:00

So, how is it here?

Some things here in Kinshasa are different for sure. The cars are not just a bit rundown, not in the same way that they are old etc in Cuba. Here one cannot even believe that they are running with people inside! It's not just ducktaped... it's the whole thing. Dan said it best: Il a dit "the cars here look like paper that has been crumpled into a ball, then stretched back out. Every surface of some of them looks reformed."

Taxi buses in Capetown were not always in the best condition, some were downright scary too. Here they are vans held together at times by rope, where the people stick out of windows and doors as they try and hold as many people as possible. All this while the sides of the streets are clogged with others twirling their fingers (going towards the big round-about), or pointing left or right (downtown). Some roads are well paved, others are dirt with enough pressed down bottle caps, plastic and debris it forms a sort of paved road though the bumpiest ones imaginable!

Please don't get the wrong idea, I love it here... it is very different and the fact that these people can keep these things going is amazing to us. It's the details in every corner (not hidden under every, but sticking out from) that intrigue me and keep me looking, thinking, writing. I love this place.

The plane ride into Kinshasa

2007-01-26T06:19:00.000-05:00

Je suis in the country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo now. We arrived into the Kinshasa airport just before lunch time on Monday of this week. (Updates were so long coming cause we could not find a working café)

I must admit I was expecting much more Kinois on the plane... instead the plane was mostly Mundele (spelling unsure - Lingala for white) and Koreans. That was a suprise but most of those I talked to here said its normal and expected too.

One other litte thing...the pilot from SAA made a comment that sounded well... a bit defensive upon landing. The landing was NOT smooth and he said something to the effect of "well, we are obviously in Kinshasa now folks..."

Once I was off the airplane I wanted to take a photo of Dan coming out the rear of the plane... good thing I didnt. Though the war is over, photos are still not allowed in certain areas. The Koreans with us DID take photos and right away military and civillian personnel were all over them. Whew for us.

20 Janvier - actions/thoughts

2007-01-20T11:44:00.000-05:00

We took a few tours the last couple of days... one that Suzy and I had gone on before with her mom and our best bud Pascale. The new tour guide was amazingly informative and we really appreciated her. The next one was a tour all around the surrounding area where Dan and MS went to a township tour. To know what that was like keep checking her blog or talk to Dan about it.. My mother and I didn't feel it and so went to this huge garden area.

The whole 2010 FIFA World Cup thing here is angering a LOT of people. The corruption in FIFA and the local government... basically equals no help to the country here really and no loss of profit for FIFA. Nice deal they made but not nice for how they were promoting this decision. I have more to say but will have to go over it in person. At times there is too much to say online and some of it is for sure, slanted. Still, the only ones happy right now seem to be the businesses winning the inflated contracts to build. Inflated because the government is running out of time to build so they can charge whatever they want to help the GOP save face...

oh yeah, and the fact that the local (huge soccer fans I mean) population will not be able to afford to go to the games at all... sorta dampers it all too

20 Janvier - the trip continues

2007-01-20T11:32:00.000-05:00

6.33pm local time

My mother and MarieSade were dropped off at the Capetown airport at about 4.30pm today. It was odd to think of their part of the trip as over and ours as still having weeks (almost a month) to still go... Our flight leaves for Jo'burg tomorrow morning at 9.40am however, due to some other family members leaving earlier on we are being picked up at 4am!

I loved my time here, we stayed in the area known as Sea Point in The Centurion all-suite Hotel. If you walked out of our sliding doors (near Dan's couch bed) you were right on the pool deck. The only funny thing was that there was a KFC right below us... so whenever we went out the smell of it would overpower us. I still wonder if smelling it in Toronto will remind me of this visit?

It's possible that we visit Sun City while in the Jo'burg area tomorrow and then on Monday fly out to Kinshasa, DRCongo! (from which we may apparently decide never to return from...)

17 Janvier

2007-01-17T14:24:00.000-05:00

Wednesday here again... unbelievable that we start basically another vacation in a few days. (Sunday morning we fly to Jo'burg, Monday morning we - Dan, Suzy, me - off to the DRCongo)

Sitting here in the café, listening to Muse and the Postal Service, legs, back sore from climbing all the way up Table Mountain... c'est la vie...

Climbing - it was death for sure. (We climbed up yesterday - it took us all about 5 hours or so, including all breaks and our lunch break)

Suzy said "No way!" (Actually wasn't feeling her best too...)
Dan forgot any liquids but had the best lunch, found the best lunch site (under a huge rock with the blistering sun just hidden), was the first up all the 1085 meters and saved us by running to get water to meet us at the top.
MS wore jeans and a jacket almost the whole way up but made it still looking and sounding like MS.
My mother dragged her whole 52 years up and was absolutely exhilarated by the adventure.

We all made it and can now all say that we have climbed our first full mountain to then watch the sunset while clouds parted between us.

Le semain passé

2007-01-15T14:55:00.000-05:00

Since I last wrote many things have happened.

Wednesday
We got married! Suzy and I had our traditional wedding which was amazing and for which we bought traditional outfits as well. (Both of us, my mom, MarieSade and Dan)
The family had 2 huge tents set up in the back yard for afterwards with a ton of food, tables, and later spaces for dancing.. which we did almost all night! It was amazing and we do have some photos that will come... later on. (www.addendums.blogspot.com or on others)

Thursday - today
We did a lot, hung with the family, the others (besides Suzy and I) visited Robben Island, Bo-Kaap and the 2 Oceans Aquarium.. we swam in the Atlantic Ocean at Camps Bay, went clubbing on a packed Thursday night (also in Camps Bay at a place called Ignite) rode taxi-buses all day, toured the city, etc. (The family, when they get together, it is a fun, food, drink and dancing filled event!)

Everywhere we go we can here Xhosa, Afrikaans, French (with the family) and of course the ever present English. When we go to Kinshasa, there will be a little bit of a difference...

Airplane

2007-01-09T03:07:00.000-05:00

The one thing that hits me about long plane rides.. is the 2nd leg of the trip. The first part from Toronto to Frankfurt was fine. A long trip but no problem.

(Frankfurt itself wasn't very busy or bustling because they have laws about Sunday shop openings. We ended up in Starbucks of all places for an hour or so but did get to wander the empty streets and look at the different architecture etc. The Goethe house was fascinating though and we did have fun there but then it was say noon.. we still had 5 hours to go and nowhere else to see. We went back to the airport and slept.)

The 2nd leg to Capetown was about a 12 hour flight. It was super long, I did get to sleep in spurts but after awhile your legs and feet don't feel right no matter how much you stretch or get up and Dan and I almost felt like we were going to go insane.

Still, South African Airways was a much better flight in terms of service, food, movies, games then was Lufthansa which was just bare bones.
----
Traditional wedding is Wednesday evening and apparently Suzy's mother is going to get it filmed. That will be something to see when we get back!

Later

2007-01-06T03:58:00.000-05:00

We are still up packing at 4am but it's nice right now. Slow pace, no rush, just waiting for the trip.

Suz and I leave at 5:30 today and return around the 1st week of March. There may be times we are at an internet café and maybe we will feel the urge to post but other than that there might only be thoughts of us left to carry on... still, we shall return.

(For those that don't know, small bit of Europe then off to the African continent for over a month)

D'Anon - back 2 the filter

2006-12-30T20:07:00.000-05:00

Anon quoted Mr. Mills as saying that (in part)

...Freedom is, first of all, the chance to formulate the available choices, to argue over them -- and then, the opportunity to choose.

To which I wrote the following back:

Nice quote Anon. Of course though it can be argued simply that the Freedom so described can still be affected by deterministic mental/physical environments. But on 2nd glance it isn't so easy...

But upon reflection my point doesn't cover one word. One simple word that I overlooked. - chance - What I wrote still makes sense but Mills captured it by saying it was only a chance that anyone person would use that freedom. We've all been given it and can't argue that we have it.

His next important word is "choices." These are limited to us depending on where we live, grew up, social conditioning, yadda-yadda. So freedom is not the domain of choosing between the choices presented but in the formulation of our choices is the chance for freedom.

Thoughts? I just sorta rambled this one out here. Will post it and then see what I think upon later reflection.

Party pics

2006-12-28T17:35:00.000-05:00

Suzy put up some pics from the party. Click here to go see em!

Free Will

2006-12-19T14:32:00.000-05:00

If I suffered from a compulsive neurosis, so that I got up and walked across the room, whether I wanted to or not, or if I did so because somebody else compelled me, then I should not be acting freely. But if I do it now, I shall be acting freely, just because these conditions to not obtain; and the fact that my action may nevertheless have a cause is, from this point of view, irrelevant. ~ A.J. Ayer

So why did I decide to quote this today? Both from the point of view of your filter of me and my own voluntary or involuntary reasons?

(The) interaction of genetic and external influences makes my behaviour unpredictable, but not undetermined. In the gap between those words lies freedom. ~ Matt Ridley

nostalgia

2006-12-19T12:11:00.000-05:00

Click the title for my gift

Oui, je sais...

2006-12-19T11:10:00.000-05:00

It has been a long time since I graced these pages with any words at all. In a departure from previous posts I just wanted to say that we leave on our trip soon and time is just moving so slowly! Then I look at Marieseda's blog and see that timer going down so fast and it.. well it's almost here.

I am excited to see what I come back with. Inside. In my head and heart. Many people have told me what they expect of me once I return. What they know I will 'become' and how that filter will be forever altered. These experiences will take you places even without effort. Arriving back at home will be so hard...

A question of...

2006-12-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

In the beginning of November I found an article titled Pupils excel when boys, girls split up: Principal

I wanted to discuss some of the things it brought up.

Setup:
Glenmerry Elementary School in the southeastern section of British Columbia.
Girls were scoring higher on tests than boys and so the staff decided to separate the genders except for the classes of music, French and one phys-ed class.

Results:
They, (currently in grade 7) have excelled on provincial scores in the past 3 years hitting an all-time high.
The performance of the boys has now even exceeded the girls in some areas.

I just wondered what this made you think of? Just given this info is there a reason that jumps out at you?

Stated reasons:

Girls ask more questions, boys are more task oriented and more self-centred. Boys worry about themselves while girls worry about the group. Segregating them took away these social pressures.

My thoughts: I don't have too much to say about the results but the stated reasons jumped out at me. The first point about asking more questions or being more about themselves I guess makes some sense. It's saying maybe that girls might interrupt more often and boys don't seem to learn that way. That boys prefer to do it by doing it and figuring it out themselves?

The 2nd point though is sorta odd. It seems to equate all girls as being essentially equal in this regard as opposed to boys. I don't know, I am home sick today so maybe I am not stating this fully concretely but it seems a bit off putting that end part in there. I wonder that there still isn't some other benefit than test scores lost by segregating?

But so far the results seem to be good right?

Understanding (in a car crash)

2006-12-04T18:48:00.000-05:00

There are so many things that make us up. Some things we control, some we control or affect without realizing it. Some things we have no clue affect us the way they do or even THAT they do.

...what we call personality is to a considerable degree a question of brain chemistry. There are a score of different ways in which this one chemical, serotonin, can be related to innate differences in personality. These are overlaid on the score of different ways that the mind's serotonin system responds to outside influences such as social signals...social behaviour is not some external series of events that takes our minds and bodies by surprise. It is an intimate part of our make up, and our genes are programmed not only to produce social behaviour, but to respond to it as well.
Genome. pg 172 by Matt Ridley

Just another thing to think about in terms of understanding. There is so much that goes into who we really are. But the degree to which things do affect us, well that can't be so easily stated.

Understanding (filter cont.)

2006-12-01T18:17:00.000-05:00

Diogo
...in many cases you don't have the time or even the relationship with some people to request clarification...
Suzy
Sometimes you might have the time and the relationship but the you still cant put it across. Sometimes there is practically no way...
Heb. 5:12a(Contemporary English Version)
By now you should have been teachers, but once again you need to be taught the simplest things...

In no highschool kid way is this question meant. Have you ever wanted to know the honest truth of how you came across? Not asking someone simply "what do you think of me". But to know the how and therefore the why that you came across that certain way to them at that time? Of course really this is impossible for the most part. Like Suzy said, sometimes you have what Diogo longed for, what is necessary for this conversation to really start in earnest and yet still there is some seemingly "hidden" thought process that the other person cannot see that they are employing. Something that seems so clear to you to exist. I have known some that when pushed, sink inside a cave of quick (and easily noticed and deflected) denial. But once in that "cave" they will not be prodded to come out without attacking and sadly now the one who pushed believes that they were correct about their assumptions of hidden motives or thoughts. (Even if only hidden from the person showing them) And they are thinking the same thing really back. It gets almost scary as Diogo said earlier if you get what I am saying.

Edit: It's always good to keep ~~Many times keeping~~ it in your head that we are all learning. ~~is good.~~ As long as that isn't always a crutch to say to yourself that it's still the OTHER person who really needs to learn.

I went back and tried to expand what it was that I meant here in this post. To make sure I got across my current thoughts on this. And this isn't some insider conversation between friends nor technically speaking a reaction to something going on in my life. It's meant positively, its focus is for me and therefore also for others to grow. (Who want to of course...) Comments from others who have thought about these issues would be awesome. It's something I have spent some time in this life wondering about.

Filter abuse continued.. sort of

2006-11-27T13:52:00.000-05:00

Filter - what helps you define what things mean as they enter your own mental sphere.

What I refer to as "The Game" is the taking of the process of thought which helps you determine what is meant by certain actions or words of others, and deciding that since that is how "everyone" sees it, that is how it should/must/will always be. Or, the taking of that idea/process and doing things knowing that they can only be interpreted according to that idea.

Imagining violence

2006-11-25T16:00:00.000-05:00

I just started to think about all those who come up with the torture scenes in movies. (etc) Also, all those authors who get inside the "minds of the killers" and write these huge sections detailing the thoughts and drives and then actions and longings for what they do...

It's not about equating it with those who have disorders or fantasize about committing crimes but I guess you could argue it isn't totally unrelated.

A lot of mystery writers have a knack for being able to freak people out with the scenes they come up with. Is it just great writing or almost..something else?

Filter abuse

2006-11-25T08:15:00.000-05:00

This is a big point.

The filter in your head is very important but don't delude yourself to the point that you feel it is/was everyone else's filter too.

Everything is as it always must be?

Insane perhaps but I'll deal with it

2006-11-23T16:57:00.000-05:00

The following is based on the results of my post (so far) titled "A change..."

Relationship Definitions (according to the site the quiz is at)
In the 9 of us that answered (2 via email) we only used 7 types (and I included one extra)

Advisor - provides an area of insight the other lacks
Companion - similar modes of expression, bear each others company well
Compliment - compatible strengths w/ opposite emphasis
Contrast - point and counterpoint on each function
Enigma - totally foreign in every aspect
Tribesmen - share sense of culture but w. different interests + abilities
Pal - work + play well together, minimal natural conflict
Pedagogue - each is both mentor + student

I've provided a coloured legend to go along with the Relationship types to show the connections expected by those who analyze these.

I think that you have to look at these things with as much objectivity as possible. It's not like these things are 100% true nor that everyone in every category is IN every category even. My J score last time was 1% and now I have a P score of 11%. It's not that much different. However my N score of 88% is too high to leave much work for it's opposite attribute to do. (S)

Moving on, I liked also looking at each other's "Enigma" and here are some characteristics we can't comprehend:

Type - Enigma
INTP - isfp

trend setters, followers, more in touch with the reality of their senses, more adept at acting then reflecting

INFP - istp

flexible desires that become rigid when their lifestyle is threatened

ENTJ - esfj

enjoy tradition, being in charge, strong allegiance to rights of seniority, hyper-vigilant

ENFJ - estj

thrive on order and supervision of others, enforce the rules dictated by tradition, great need for belonging

ENFP - estp

act on impulses, to whom an admission of weakness is a failure, use Feeling to disarm "victims" to be able to "beat them"

So far we all answered as "N"'s but we have to know some "S"'s. I wonder who they are and what they feel about their type report? How far can this go towards understanding people? I guess that is iffy. Once you even give a type one is probably starting to get off of a real view of someone. And the analysis alone will be more and more flawed the further you take it but as I was trying to say with my title, the consequences of "analyzing too much" are not as interesting as actually doing it!

hard

2006-11-23T13:05:00.000-05:00

It's hard to keep in mind (better phrase than just the word 'remember') that everyone else in the world still has to subjectively, objectify the what and way of the words you speak. Even when you are being objective.

It's harder still to keep in mind that to each person they aren't just the centre of their universe but the very centre of it's being. And that they can be the central focus of it's cause and can be the central focus of the resulting effects. (At times - even when not directed at them) People hold various truths that they just don't end up telling you about.

You can only find out through...other people.

A change...

2006-11-21T14:52:00.000-05:00

Two years ago, Dan, Kristy and I took an online typology test. (Jung-Myers-Briggs)

After getting the results we read the report on the listed type. We all found it highly exact with regards to how we and others saw ourselves. I decided to take it each year to see if there were any changes.

For both years I answered as an ENFJ (Extroverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging) character to various degrees. (Some of these don't mean what you might think. For instance Feeling has it's opposite which is Thinking. Thinking doesn't mean abstract thought but more following rules etc.. it's odd and that was a basic explanation but still)

Here are the results from the last 2 tests.

Sept 2005 - ENFJ (2nd time)

Moderate expressed extrovert: 56%
Distinctly expressed intuitive personality: 75%
Moderately expressed feeling personality: 38%
Moderately expressed judging personality: 33%

Nov 2006 - ENFP (third time)

Distinctively expressed extrovert: 67%
Very expressed intuitive personality: 88%
Moderately expressed feeling personality: 25%
Slightly expressed perceiving personality: 11%

Yes it is just an online test, but if you go back and change the answers you hemmed and hawed about not much changes. The type is usually dead on still.

Take it here. Let me know?

Wish

2006-11-17T15:09:00.000-05:00

Imagine if the companies would agree to do this.. imagine if there was a way to "share" the GO and TTC tracks to pull them all together.

This map doesn't show the line that goes express from Union to York University and beyond. Nor does it show the continuation of some lines into Union Station as they stop nowhere else except Union. I just wanted to show what areas would be accessible.

Funny that this will always be a what if..

Edit: I can't seem to get the blue image away. Click the image to view the map.

Maybe the only short term solution

2006-11-16T12:13:00.000-05:00

On the TTC and the growing population of Toronto that accompanies our zero infrastructure growth. Let me know what you think, si vous plait.

Suvivalist Toronto

Thanks El

2006-11-16T07:58:00.000-05:00

So many memories of the brothers T.

Jesus saves!
Gretzky scores!

The workers slave. The rich get more.
One wrong move and we risk the cup.
So play The Man, not the puck.

Connected

2006-11-14T10:13:00.000-05:00

Maybe this is a stupid little blurb to some but I really enjoy hitting the "Next Blog" button (especially from work when a bit bored) and just seeing what I will stumble across. What is also nice is seeing just the huge amount of non-English language blogs as compared to say a year or so ago. You really do get to connect... (at least after using a translating program on the page)

Poll #3 - Left - Right or not?

2006-11-11T09:30:00.000-05:00

I wonder what views people have on the news media (any) bias?

Are they too left, too right, balanced.. of course there are more options. But on the surface, the gut feeling, what is it? This is not the only place where this poll is listed but I figured at least a few of you could look over on the right hand side of this page and cast your anonymous vote.

Merci.

Fwd: Re: Fwd: Fwd:(2) Fwd: Fwd: >>>> hehe! lol!!!

2006-11-10T11:34:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, I don't usually send forwards but you know you should never turn down free money, lol, see ya!

== Subject: AOL and TIME WARNER free money tracking email system!!!!! ==
>>
>>== I know this is TRUE because I am an ACCOUNTANT and AOL will be sued if they don't follow through with this.
>>>>
>>>>
>> For every 5 people you email this to AOL will send you some stupid amount of money for something equally stupid using software that hasn't been invented and that you haven't downloaded. You have been sent this email at least 10 times but why not forward it lol! You never know that this MAY just be the time it is real. Oh and ps. If you send this to at least 6 people something funny will show up on your screen. I can't tell you what it is because it is really funny but you will love it!

Mrs. Cathy Smorsken
Public Relations
IBM Canada

-------
This email contains information that is confidential in nature. If you receieved this email, in error or purposefully the person sending it to you is a fucking moron.

== Do you Yahoo!? Sign up now for our new Beta email! ==

We almost died

2006-11-07T14:42:00.000-05:00

I love to explore. If I see a hill or mountain around and we're not doing anything else I will really want to at least try to climb it. When I lived on Overlea Drive in North York I went with various people climbing down this huge hill through a forest. We also had snuck down the side of a huge bridge over Leaside Park. When I lived on Wynford Drive with Dan, three friends trekked down with me into the Don Ravine as well.

When J and I went down we started to walk along the GO train tracks. On these bridges there are spaces where you can stand safely if a train were to pass. We figured that if a train was coming we would definitely hear it before it got too close. Unfortunately we weren't versed in train sounds I suppose. A GO train came around a bend in the track at full speed and we didn't hear it until it came into view. We were about half way down this bridge. Instead of trusting the little "spot" on the bridge we turned and ran back. It's not exactly clear on this picture but there isn't much on the side of the tracks. It's about a 3 foot drop into dense growth. We ran to the end of this bridge and threw ourselves down over the edge of the tracks.

Yeah we were pretty dumb that day...

V for Vendetta (2)

2006-11-05T23:58:00.000-05:00

Remember, remember, the 5th of November...

My wife wrote a post about this movie the other day on her site. We had two friends over today who ended up watching this with us again. While searching for some info about it online I found the following quote about the movie in its Wikipedia article.

Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, called V for Vendetta "a vile, pro-terrorist piece of neo-Marxist, left-wing propaganda filled with radical sexual politics and nasty attacks on religion and Christianity".

I fail to see how this movie actually attacks Christianity, especially since I consider myself quite Christian. There is a priest who likes little girls, is morally corrupt yes and has accomplices too. There are also citizens who give into their fear and for years allow their government to hold the true power in their lives. So then does that make this film one filled with "nasty attacks on civilian citizens of a country and Britons in particular"? No of course not. Wow Ted, what a great point you made.

Borat

2006-11-04T17:40:00.000-05:00

We went.

We loved it.

We really did.

It was absolutely amazing - shocking - funny - horrifying - scary

Let us never, ever visit small town USA without sort of being afraid...

#

2006-11-03T18:22:00.000-05:00

Numbers cannot mean anything on their own. I mean we all realize that for learning math, sure 1+2=3. No problem. We all intuitively grasp that really we are not talking about 1 of anything or 2 of anything just simply the numbers. But the assumption made is of course that we are talking about the same things.

1 apple + 2 apples = 3 apples
3 pieces of fruit = 1 orange + 2 apples
2 different fruit selections = 1 orange + 2 apples
Would you life some fruit with dinner? (1) = 1 orange + 2 apples available.

In real life of course the number is not just quantitative. It's own quality, it's reality is defined by what comes after.

Therefore in a sense I say that

1000000000000 000000000000000000 00000000000000 000000000000000 0000000000000000 000000000000 0000000000000000 000000000000000 000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000 000000000949494984 4000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000001 .0654646 089798465164440 000000000000000000 0000000000009
cannot exist unless it describes something. So, in a way you can't just keep adding a 1 to a number and it goes on forever. At some point there is a top number that describes the amount of 'whatever' in the universe, and there cannot be said to be one more of anything above it except for a meaningless number.

Until

2006-11-03T10:20:00.000-05:00

With an ever increasing amount of unknowns we sure place a lot of certainty on our own unshakable opinion.

Zero Plurality

2006-11-03T09:11:00.000-05:00

The number zero is not a singular number, it's plural.

How much time is left?
A - 2 hours
A - 1 hour
A - 0 hours or No hours.

How many widgets are left in the bin?
A - There are 34 left
A - There is 1 left
A - There are none left

my sister was the inspiration for this post

Actually, just about me

2006-11-03T08:06:00.000-05:00

It was snowing last night when I got off work, this is the second snowfall I have seen so far this fall. What last night was a first of for me was that it was so cold I now need to bring some sort of ear protection with me.

I really don't mind snow, the cold, of themselves. I love the silence of a morning fresh with new snow and I even don't mind driving in a new snowfall on a less crowded highway. I have been in one winter "accident" where the car I was driving went off the road and into a ditch. It took my friend and I almost 1.5 hours to free the car and push it back up onto the road. It was an adventure though rather than a hardship. What I don't like about winter is packed TTC buses with the heat cranked up so high you sweat in your winter jacket along with everyone else. ;)

Bullshit post

2006-11-02T15:14:00.000-05:00

I am working on something related to what I thought when I saw this. Apparently a lot of people are visiting here for a gc.ca site (Govt of Canada) so to all those government types, hello! What do you do?

mac·ro·ec·o·nom·ics

2006-11-01T18:05:00.000-05:00

I am reading Stephen Lewis's lectures (titled: Race Against Time) and couldn't get over the following paragraph.

here you had a country Malawi with huge human capacity problems that wanted desperately to retain its professionals in health and education, and increase their numbers, but the IMF wouldn't allow them to do so. We're talking about a sovereign government, fighting the worst plague in history, with but a handful of professionals: according to the minister of health, Malawi has one-third of the nurses it needs (4,000 instead of the 12,000) and perhaps 10 per cent of the doctors (300 rather than 3,000) for a population of 12 million. And they weren't being allowed --I repeat, this sovereign government wasn't being allowed -- to hire more staff and pay better salaries, because it would breach the macroeconomic straitjacket.

Yet, politics are bullshit right? Who cares, they're all liars anyway so let's just ignore them. Well, I guess there are people so cushioned by the bullshit safety of their life that they only have to think about things like this when forced to. They get the illusion of thinking that ignorance is a good option they are welcome to take.

DOAP

2006-11-01T13:32:00.000-05:00

What a movie this was! It isn't really clear what the year is supposed to be when the movie was made, but it is obviously later than 2007, at least late 2008 or more. This movie looks back in time to the year 2007 when George W. Bush was assassinated in Chicago as he left a meeting where he addressed the state of the United States economy. Using a few actors and some real interviews and film clips this piece is woven together I feel rather accurately.

Patriot Act III is introduced and other changes because of his death as Cheney is made President. It doesn't have an activist or left leaning conclusion nor does it expose some huge thing that is going on now. Rather it is almost real life. What you could see happening for sure without any stretch of the imagination required. It's as if it did happen. An effective story that seemed as if like I said, it was already history.

Only twice did I notice the add-ons. One was an obviously fake newspaper front page and the other when a name was edited into a Cheney speech. Other than that you can believe that every interview and shot was indeed made for the purpose of this film only. DOAP works.

Not that we're competing...

2006-11-01T11:04:00.000-05:00

Krupo found that for October he had received 1501 spam emails.

I on the other hand only received 1063 pieces of spam for my blogger email encyclical last month. I guess I have much more work to do to win...
grr!

To begin

2006-11-01T10:18:00.000-05:00

I’m never sure where an author begins their piece… the idea? Did they live it? Did they flesh it out or did they just start writing it? I am unsure because the first few pages on the sheet can’t really be captivating and impressive. More likely they just have to keep writing until the story takes some life of its own. Until it grows and then they can go back and erase what came before and pretend. They can rewrite the start and make it seem as if they meant to follow the path the reader does. Just like with any movie, I mean we’re no longer stupid enough to actually think it was filmed in sequence, right?

Validation

2006-10-28T11:27:00.000-04:00

Is what someone says invalidated by either who they are/were or what they erroneously said about another area?

I wouldn't think so as the logic or truth of an argument on it's own should be able to be supported by the very logic or truth of the actual subject, which is the argument, not the person. Yet, when discussing facts, ideas, "truths" with someone of a different mindset they try and attack the person rather than the idea. Either because the issue is too hard to tackle or just that it is their habit to do so. It's a fairly petty tactic but it does have its draw too. One could argue that the idea itself only could have taken form in the mind along with the other wrong assumptions they made or mistakes they committed. The problem is getting drawn into that sort of argumentation in the first place. If I hold what some historical figure said to be of value, and someone attacks that persons life or ideas in another area I have to make a choice. I could start to irrationally defend the person to preserve my initial point or laugh at that sort of logic. Ignore what the person said and just say this: If I said that I spoke a certain idea, or that a friend had whom the "attacker" did not know, then they would only be able to discuss with me what was brought up. They would not be able to bring up other, round-about arguments that deflect attention from what was being discussed. In other words I am discussing an "ad-hominim" argument.

I could have simply written a post that read: "I hate when someone uses an ad-hominim argument!" But that wouldn't have been enough for some reason. ;)

Toronto Municipal Election

2006-10-25T13:40:00.000-04:00

Well, since Nadia asked me a question about absentee voting, (in the Poll #2 post) and since I have yet to look into much regarding the runners, I thought I would do a bit of research. I want to start off at least with links to the main sites one could go to for info. I may use this info and repost it on Toronto Metblogs but for now this is for me!

Some info I found I ended up posting here. (regarding cycling issues and such things)

Poll #2 - voting in Toronto

2006-10-24T15:40:00.000-04:00

Poll #2 is up in the sidebar. Please leave any comments here. Merci

Wedding photos

2006-10-24T15:14:00.000-04:00

Suzy has set up a skyblog you can link to from here. It's where we are going to put up all the wedding photos instead of here and there on all 3 of our seperate blogs. Enjoy til you get bored as she said!

Poll

2006-10-13T14:45:00.000-04:00

I signed up for Vizu polls so I could (if and when I want to) add them here when I feel it appropriate.

My hopeful rules will be:

1. Don't poll just for the sake of it. Try and keep things interesting and relevant to something!

2. Do a post after the poll is done talking about the results.

That's really it, technically this post was just made to announce my use of them but, it's just one more piece of clutter that may or may not be useful. I accept either outcome.

doublethink .. ala 1984

2006-10-12T16:05:00.000-04:00

- definition
n.
Thought marked by the acceptance of gross contradictions and falsehoods, especially when used as a technique of self-indoctrination: “Doublethink . . . is a vast system of mental cheating” (George Orwell).

Modern example: Paxnortona: O'Really?

Um...run

2006-10-11T18:45:00.000-04:00

For our tiny honeymoon, we went to a Niagara-on-the-lake bed and breakfast. On Tuesday, Sept 26th we rented 2 bicycles from our hosts and rode to Niagara falls and back. (Approx a 50 km trip we were told.)

We stopped at many historic markers, benches, markets, etc... and then we saw this!

AARGH! What person cannot conjure an image here as something more than just normal..tree-ish-ness. Especially since it sits all by itself. I think it creeped there overnight...

SketchUp

2006-10-07T18:20:00.000-04:00

This was my first attempt at using Google's new SketchUp program.

It is fairly easy to use and the tutorials do a nice, quick job of getting you acquainted with the tools. Pretty interesting little toy and I would like to experiment some more with it.

Les Jacobs

2006-10-04T15:42:00.000-04:00

May I announce...

Juste

2006-09-20T00:57:00.000-04:00

... a few more days now!! Wow!

Made in (or only in) Canada

2006-09-14T22:04:00.000-04:00

Spotted all over Toronto.

Ordered?

2006-08-31T10:54:00.000-04:00

People like to impose order on their surroundings. I suppose that many of us have our own reasons for the order in which we strive to keep things. (Even if just for that one day that we originally set things up.) I read a post on the Design Observer page about ordering books by colour that was very interesting.

So on a slightly different but still relevant topic, I wondered how do all of you out there order your CD's? Alphabetically? By when you bought them? In no order at all? Is there a reason for your obsession or have you never thought about it?

Crisis

2006-08-30T11:34:00.000-04:00

Why bother rewriting a good article when you can link to it?

Still, at my work we had a course given titled "Navigating Organizational Change". It was supposed to help us deal with the lay offs that started in 2001/2002 and that continued up til last year. One of the first things listed in the course book was the following:

"The Chinese term for 'crisis' has two ideograms. One that means 'danger' and also one that means 'opportunity'."

Read about why it's all so wrong: A Chinese crisis.

1st of 3

2006-08-27T08:49:00.000-04:00

At 10:30am today, Suzy and I start the first of 3 huge steps on our journey together. It's a long story... but a happy one!

Je t'aime, na lingi yo Suzy.

Up and coming

2006-08-18T17:04:00.000-04:00

**edited on Aug 20** < I had the link to the Old Mill very very wrong!

Just over 1 month to go before the wedding!

Am I excited? Sure am! The details seem daunting but good planning and a will attitude to laugh at what really doesn't matter have helped. On Monday Suze and I are meeting with our minister and his assistant, plus the Best Man, Matron of Honour and our coordinator. (main contact for the wedding day to the Old Mill)

We are going to draw up as much of a time line as we can etc. That should help cement the plan for the day and will relieve any stress everyone thinks we should really be feeling!

I find that (probably like when having a baby) when talking about the wedding plans or the marriage in general people at times stop thinking rationally. They run off every cliche they can think of, offer the most ridiculous thoughts about what Suzy and I are thinking (people who don't know us) etc. It's funny when people share their deep thoughts on relationships and you sit there listening and realizing that though their life is horrible, (and that they feel they have a need, nay a right) they demand that you must be going through the same thing. To allow themselves to concede that things could have gone any other way (other than badly at the wedding or after with the marriage) seems like it would destroy them. So they stake out their position on this subject and fight... I guess with themselves mostly.

Maybe some don't understand what I mean but it's sorta like this: imagine your parent always telling you that your girl/boy-friend will cheat because their husband/wife did. Using only that logic.

Ugh.

But lest you get the wrong idea, things are fine! I just find this interesting and post worthy. I like analysing motivations... ;)

Which part was a slip?

2006-07-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

The Israeli ambassador to the US, Daniel Ayalon said on CNN last night with Paula Zahn the following items I found interesting.

"We are now in the forefront of the war, of global war of terrorism"Sure, he just said it wrong... but how appropriate.

Now, we do what we have to do. And we will continue doing that. Now, there is some kind of inconsistency, Paula, with the position of the Europe -- European Union, or for the U.N., for that matter.

On the one hand, they ask us for a -- an early, or immediate, cease-fire. On the other hand, they ask us for restraint. This does not go together. Because we are restrained, we cannot go for an early cease-fire, because we are very systematic. We are very careful. We suffer a lot of casualties by being care -- by being careful, and not targeting civilians, but only Hezbollah strongholds, which specifically are located in densely populated areas.

I think that it was...CNN, that showed that one of the...guys of the...UNIFIL position was e-mailing, for the last four or five days, to U.N. headquarters that Hezbollah is being all over them. What Hezbollah is doing, specifically locating themselves smack- dab to U.N. positions. This is why they were caught in the crossfire. This is why they were hurt, because of Hezbollah's tactics.
.
ZAHN: ... they also maintained they had made repeated calls to warn that this fire was coming closer and closer, and to -- to make the Israeli forces not bombard that area.

AYALON: Yes, but when you call the forces, which are themselves under fire, things happen. You know, friendly-fire also happens. We, of course, regretted it. But the --the source of the problem is the Hezbollah tactics.

- all emphasis is of course, mine

The price I paid...

2006-07-25T13:21:00.000-04:00

Well, Krupo effectively answered the question I asked in my last post. And as much credit as I gave myself when posting I overlooked a very simple point.. what was it? Read his comment! As much as I was upset at our response, there was (politics aside) nothing wrong with him picking some people up. So then, now what else do I put up here?

Passing a soccer ball around with some buds, I ran into a field to retrieve a bad pass and entered a strange and awful battle with a hornet leaving me...in pain.

(Better now of course! I was given calamine lotion and a paste of baking soda & water to spread over it.)

Not to bitch but...

2006-07-21T08:28:00.000-04:00

Wouldn't it have been much more effective in terms of helping people if the Prime Minister Stephen Harper had taken his plane to those still trapped in northern Lebanon? Those stuck at the ports that couldn't get on the boats? Especially that horrible first day when he did arrive?

...on their way home Thursday aboard the prime minister's plane after a hellish boat ride to Cyprus.

- The Canadian Press

In other words all he did was pick up 100 people who already were technically evacuated out of the danger area. What the fuck!?

C'est tout!

2006-07-14T18:24:00.000-04:00

There is quite the difference between Bridal Dress shopping and Tux renting! Suzy was in each shop for a while, it takes time, is way more involved seemingly. Then for me, I took about 15 minutes. And yes I did care enough to try and pick what I liked the best. In fact I am even choosing a less than standard design for the suit etc! So if anything my choice should have taken longer than usual!

I still do have to return and actually try it on since they didn't have any in stock, but everything was easily laid out. All the big decisions were made, colour, style, jewelry etc.

And the price is quite different as well...

Hydro

2006-07-07T07:39:00.000-04:00

My fiance came with me to visit my extended family last weekend. We had a great time and the drive wasn't all that bad either. I thought we would leave very early on Saturday (July 1st) so that we would get through the border traffic in Detroit quicker. We left at 4am and encountered absolutely no traffic! We were stopped at the border for about 1/2 an hour only too! On a (almost) double holiday weekend. (Technically it isn't a long weekend in the US as the 4th was on a Tuesday)

Though Suzy helped me drive I still needed some massaging action after being in the car for the 8 hours it took us to get to south western Ohio.

I saw this in a mall in Dayton, Ohio and decided to give it a go. Multi-water sprays up your body in pulses, then gives one continuous spray while going down your body.

It costs $1/min and I bought 8 minutes to which the lady added 2 minutes for free. (Thanks for paying for this Suzy.)

Above is a pic of my waiting to be covered in pneumatic, hydraulic love...

In your right hand is a button to stop the spraying (whether pulsing or continuous) on any section of your body. By your left hand is an E-stop in case of emergencies etc.

It was pretty good, now it wasn't great but it was nice. The only complaint I had was that I didn't take my belt off. So that one section of my back didn't get the feeling...

Boat tour

2006-06-30T13:12:00.000-04:00

A cabbie once remarked to me how interesting it was that when you travel to other cities, you check out the sites. You take harbour tours, visit islands, see historic monuments etc. But, that in the city in which you live, you take it for granted.

I had this in mind when we (my fiance and I) went to her works thank you party aboard a boat. The boat left dock around 6:30pm or so and returned at about 10pm. While waiting for dinner we did figure-8's between Toronto's harbour area and the Toronto Islands. After dinner started to be served we took a leisurely trip around the interior of the islands. Once the tables had been cleared away and the dancing really started we left that sheltered area and went south of the islands. The boat stayed there pretty much until about 9:40 or so before heading back to dock.

You don't get to dance that often while looking at the scenery we had. You also don't get a nice, cool, lake breeze streaming in every few minutes! Near the end of the night as we were still on the top deck (of 3 total decks) dancing away we started back in towards the harbour. We passed about 30 feet from the Toronto Island Airport, passed runways and tower, hangers and prop planes. It was something that simply can be described as cool, that we were able to see all of this while on our way back in.

As for pictures, I did take them and will publish them over at my photoblog Addendums.

My camera seems to be in the throes of death. No matter the type of batteries I use, they usually read as dead by the camera which promptly shuts down after about a half hour. This wasn't always the case so I assume something happened to it. The only other option I used to have was my Motorola V220. Not a bad phone at all and it has a handy camera to use. But recently I had been given a new Nokia 6682 to try out. Having been stuck without the use of my main camera I went with this one and... well you'll see the results soon on my other blog. I just am glad I had that with me, I know you don't have to take pictures but if you know me... well I always like to have the option!

Oh my god

2006-06-29T11:59:00.000-04:00

Well, since the author only has 3 posts up so far I don't feel bad simply linking to his main page.

Ghost and Admission

All 3 posts are great, but the 1st one is just awesome! It's on why ghosts haven't been all that effective lately... well you should just go check it out.

ur Magazine

2006-06-20T22:44:00.000-04:00

My cell phone company, Rogers, sent me a free cell-tech magazine titled ur.

Some interesting ads and articles inside of it, but by far the best and most important line in the whole piece was:

Your phone is your life - pg 12, Summer 2006

Liberty

2006-06-20T13:11:00.000-04:00

I found some quotes from JS Mills that I thought were just fascinating. They are from his work On Liberty published in 1859.

Liberty he defined as "to set limits to the power which the ruler
should be suffered (allowed) to exercise over the community."

Imagine if FOX news (or others) used the word Liberty in that context!

The rules people are governed by "appear to them self-evident and
self-justifying...because they are their customs" "The effect of
custom" on rules of conduct "is all the more complete because the
subject is one on which it is not generally considered necessary that
reasons should be given, either by one person to others or by each to
himself. People are accustomed to believe, and have been encouraged in
the belief...that their feelings on subjects...are better than reasons
and render reasons unnecessary."

Every time we even try to discuss something that upsets a persons internally balanced, self-willed ignorance, (not to convince them that we are right just to open up a conversation to just the glimmer that there could be another way of looking at it) they almost take it as an attack. To most people there need be no other reason necessary. "You just gotta support the GOP!"

From Dan to me to you

2006-06-13T22:47:00.000-04:00

The notion of stability
is dialectically opposed
to nature.- Dan Telegdi

Energy is required in any situation to keep it from breaking apart. The more unstable the situation, the more energy is required. Energy has a fixed total value in our universe.

Then every attempt at stability destroys it somewhere else?

FIFA

2006-06-13T10:12:00.000-04:00

I've watched about 5 games now so far.. and by far must say that the best one to this point has been Ghana Vs Italy! Woo what a game that was! Excitement and heartbreak, if you just caught the score you'd see that Italy won 2-0. The 2nd goal was sad and reminded me of what happens to the Toronto Maple Leafs at times. Eddie Belfour loves playing out of his net and so did Ghana's net keeper.

Here's how some FIFA analysts called the game:

This is the kind of football people like to see. There were many opportunities at either end, an open game with chances for both teams.

It was open game, not a tactical one which was a surprise to me. Italy are not used to playing like that, they often let teams come to them and play, then when they have the ball it is difficult to get it off them.

The reason it was an open game was that Ghana played like Brazil, when they had the ball they wanted to do something with it all the time. Perhaps Ghana need two strikers like Italy, if they had operated with a front two we may have seen a different game.

However, both teams had a lot of chances and it was an enjoyable game. This was one of the games where the football was there for all to see.

Toronto Terrorism Cell?

2006-06-02T23:06:00.000-04:00

According to the CBC website and CTV 11pm news tonight arrests were made involving a supposed "terror cell" here in Toronto. Apparently they were doing some suspicious things like filming the CN Tower and the Subway system.. time will tell what is going on here. The CBC website does offer two clues:

At least eight people were taken into custody on terrorism-related charges, though there is little more information available.

More than 100 officers were involved in the sweep, including members of the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team.

More arrests and more charges are expected overnight.

Shocking

2006-05-30T15:51:00.000-04:00

While reading a BBC article which included the following:

reports from Iraqi witnesses and in the US media allege that, after a roadside bomb had killed a colleague, marines went on a rampage and may have killed as many as 24 people

I then noticed this picture with a caption I wanted to capture here.

No shit.

Superluminal

2006-05-25T08:11:00.000-04:00

Sort of a ps to my last post. "The speed of light was broken again..."

Well, they put a pulse of electromagnetic radiation, they put a beam of light, a laser light into one end of a tube just a few centimeters long, just that long with a gas in it made of metal, the metal cesium, and they measured the pulse going in, and they compared it with a pulse apparently coming out. And the pulse coming out comes out faster than it should, about 300 times faster than it should by what you would expect - Bill Nye, "Speeding Light" July 20, 2000, PBS

So then it seemed in that experiment that c was not just doubled, but was 300 times slower than the signal propagated inside the cesium gas.

c++

2006-05-25T08:01:00.000-04:00

The speed of light was broken again by researchers at Universities in Germany and in the US. As reported on the Discovery channel website and at other places.

Technically I suppose what travelled faster than light was "information" but that still has to ultimately be an actual signal of some sort. Very odd but wonderful!

I only wonder what would happen if they lengthened the erbium laced fibre optic?

At some length does the amount of speed exceeding c slow down? Or does the transmission still occur in the same way? And then if it does not slow down, then how far could a cable be laid where the light is transmitted still above c?

Updated, finally

2006-05-19T11:38:00.000-04:00

I have been through a bit of an ordeal lately it seems, however now things are much nicer. I was sick for about 10 days first, then once I recovered I moved. After the move (about a week after) I had to go to see my family doctor because my back was killing me. I was then away from work May 10th til May 18th.

I can now stand and walk and move around with more freedom and lo and behold, can post again.
---
There was also many fun moments. I don't mind moving. I find it an interesting experience especially all the things that you can discover while doing it. Mainly the importance you attach to the things you own. Pack up everything and then see what happens when you are 'forced' to live without them for awhile. With my back in pain I still have not completed my unpacking. Many things have sat in boxes untouched and frankly forgotten. I was able to decide to toss or give away a few things already and wonder about the rest. As well as this, a new, semi-permanent environment stretches you as well especially since this is the first time I will be living alone.

Update

2006-05-03T08:24:00.000-04:00

Thanks Krupo and others for advice and help with this.

I moved into my new apartment on Sunday April 30th and still have loads to unpack. (Eg, Birchmount area) I also don't have any internet access except at work. (And I only work 3, 12 hour days per week)

I'm considering changing ISPs and considering getting a real phone line to save my dwindling cell minutes.

Living alone hasn't hit me yet, I suppose it's because while there I have a lot of work to do with setting everything up that I haven't had a day to just relax and live there.

...very sad

2006-04-28T13:51:00.000-04:00

What if I told you, that using normal techniques, HIV has never been proven to cause AIDS? What would this mean to you? We accept at times that because of money, scientific research is strained or moved or stopped. We accept it, not because we like it, but because we are realistic. We watch movies like "The Constant Gardiner" and understand that, though a movie, this is real. Well, do not dismiss out of hand the claim that AIDS research, based on HIV, might be motivated by more than a desire to heal.

"The HIV hypothesis ranks with the 'bad air' theory for malaria and the 'bacterial infection' theory of beriberi and pellagra [caused by nutritional deficiencies]. It is a hoax that became a scam." - Dr. Bernard Forscher, frmr editor - U.S. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences

"I think zidovudine [AZT] was never really evaluated properly and that its efficacy has never been proved, but it's toxicity certainly is important. And I think it has killed a lot of people. Especially at the high doses. I personally think it not worth using alone or in combination at all." - Dr. Andrew Herxheimer - Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology, UK Cochrane Centre, Oxford

"In the old days it was required that a scientist address the possibilities of proving his hypothesis wrong as well as right. Now there's none of that in standard HIV-AIDS program with all its billions of dollars." - Dr. Richard Strohman - Emeritus Professor of Cell Biology at the University of California at Berkeley

"I do not regard the causal relationship between HIV and any disease as settled. I have seen considerable evidence that highly improper statistics concerning HIV and AIDS have been passed off as science, and that top members of the scientific establishment have carelessly, if not irresponsible, joined the media in spreading misinformation about the nature of AIDS." - Dr. Serge Lang, Professor of Mathematics, Yale University

"If there is evidence that HIV causes AIDS, there should be scientific documents which either singly or collectively demonstrate that fact, at least with a high probability. There is no such document." - Dr. Kary Mullis, Biochemist, 1993 Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Just something to ponder rather than simply tossing it out. Is it possible? Is any part of Fahrenheit 9/11, (that people fight against) true? Did Operation Paperclip happen? Does Israel have nukes? Did Bush lie? Is there at least a possibility? And if our decision to give people killer drugs to combat AIDS as caused by HIV (they aren't fighting to say that AIDS does not exist but that there is no proof of a relationship) is based on nothing but $$$, do we not have some obligation to try and find out?

This exists

2006-04-26T11:14:00.000-04:00

Image taken from this USDA: BARC page.

Is it just me or does anyone else find this fascinating!? Reminds me of thoughts I had while watching 'Honey, I shrunk the kids!' years ago.

Fast Food Theocracy

2006-04-15T12:46:00.000-04:00

Reading about the history of oil production, (dating back to when oil really hit markets for illumination purposes etc by way of Sperm Whale oil, etc) and the present looming crisis laid out in 'American Theocracy' reminded me of something else.

I remember reading about how the United States began to grow in suburban regions and interstate based towns in the book 'Fast Food Nation'. (Ones my friends and I called just Gas towns. They seem to only exist to help motorists along their way to nicer locales. But somehow always have enough local teens to man the necessary stations...) That our present planning motifs all centre around the automobile. If a gas shortage hit like the sort that has been predicted to come in the next 10 - 30 years then the 2 northern countries in our continent are in for a big shock. Although alternatives are around, they are not being explored fast enough so that if a shortage did hit, then these small towns and huge suburban sections are going to feel that gas drain or at least super high prices more and faster than others. And might literally physically suffer for this lack of planning and foresight.

As far as the cries of gas shortages being just a two sided political debate, this book is showing more and more evidence that politics be damned..this is coming.

American Theocracy

2006-04-13T15:58:00.000-04:00

If you look under my "Currently Reading" section of the sidebar you will see this book: American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips. I have been searching for a book like this for a little while now.

Over three decades of Bush presidencies, vice presidencies, and CIA directorships, the Republican party has slowly become the vehicle of...petroleum-defined national security; a crusading, simplistic Christianity; and a reckless credit-feeding financial complex...On the most important front, I am beginning to think that the southern-dominated, biblically driven Washington GOP represents a rogue coalition, like the southern, proslavery politics that controlled Washington until Lincoln's election in 1860. (pg x)

The American heartland...cherishes SUVs and easy carbon dioxide emissions policy, and applauds preemptive U.S. air strikes on uncooperative, terrorist-coddling Persian Gulf countries fortuitously blessed with huge reserves of oil. (pg xii)

Just who is Kevin Phillips? From his website: After Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980 restored the 1968-72 dynamics, Phillips was generally acknowledged as the Republican party’s principal electoral theoretician. In 1982, the Wall Street Journal described him as “the leading conservative electoral analyst -- the man who invented the Sun Belt, named the New Right, and prophesied ‘The Emerging Republican Majority’ in 1969.” So reading his book will not give me a 'distorted view of Republican doctrine through rosy Liberal lenses' but was written from someone IN the 'Right.'

Within the church that I go to I have always found many U.S. members equated their beliefs with their strong country. That God helped the world but lived in the U.S. What I mean is that their patriotism was tightly mixed up in their head with their feelings for God and religion. An attack on their GOP (if Republican) was an attack on their beliefs, was from the Devil, was a sign of spiritual immaturity. This book deals with some of these issues and others. I can't wait to see what I can learn from his research and analysis.

What is going on?

2006-04-05T08:33:00.000-04:00

I woke up today to find some small, white particles on the ground. I almost forgot what this stuff was but I think the name is ...snow?

April 4th and there is snow on the ground!? I used to remember that years in the past snow on my birthday (March 4th) was a rare event. Sure, today there is not even 1 centimeter on the ground but it is still snow!

le la les sa son ils on votre notre...

2006-04-01T17:04:00.000-05:00

Come Monday evening and I have finished my French Lessons.
(Beginners 1)

I am not sure if the test is oral or written, though so far most of my classes have been about speaking though the homework is mostly written.

I feel accomplished in that now my thinking goes automatically to French in certain circumstances. The phrase "I think that" is thought as "Je pence que." "About" or "on the topic of" is "au sujet de" ... etc.

I can't wait to continue speaking, writing and learning more about this language that I will share with my new family this coming September!

Save a Bureaucrat!!!!

2006-03-24T17:38:00.000-05:00

I am sure many of you have read about the unknown bureaucrat who wanted donations to total $1,000,000 (yes one million dollars) so he/she could quit their job.

Well, the site at saveabureaucrat.com is not working anymore. I wonder if all the press either got too negative, their site was hacked or a DOS attack was done or they were found in the "real" world?

Here are some quotes from Google's cache of the site.

Hi. You don't know me, but there is one thing you should know about meÂ?I'm desperate. Desperate to escape my 9 to 5 job I've been at for over 10 years now. It's not that I don't appreciate the steady hours and the decent pay, but it's just that after a while it starts to sap the energy and soul out of you

You see, I believe I could offer the world a lot more than I am right now. I could be helping people in some way - making a difference in their lives. Instead, I feel like an old curmudgeon frustrated by having to deal with paper being passed around at a snail's pace, day in and day out. But how can I justify quitting my job and giving up my security and pension?

This is where the request for money comes.

You can send $$$ to the Paypal account or to:

Save a Bureaucrat
P.O. Box 23120
Ottawa, ON
K2A 4E2
Canada

If anyone lives in Ottawa they could just hang out at this box til the person showed up. (Boring)

Donations Received So Far
$59.26

Number of Donations
5

I suppose the site might have also been taken down due to a huge lack of interest. Or the fact that the top 3 listed donations were probably from the person themselves.
Look at the names of the donors:

1. $20.41, V. Generous
Chicago, IL
2. $15.00, I.S. Kind
Toronto, ON
3. $10.12, S. Empathy
London, England

I wonder what this person would have done though? (in a non-cynical way I mean)

When you just don't get it...

2006-03-24T11:26:00.000-05:00

I get to sample news highlights in an RSS feed I setup with my Gmail account. Many times there are interesting articles from Discovery News regarding nano-technology or other advances. Or, I receive the titles of recent updates from Metroblogging Toronto. At times I also check the Reuters "Oddly Enough" news articles out. They cover strange happenings, weird arrests, etc. One offs, stories from the fringe, that sort of thing.

One of today's articles was sort of different. It was titled, "Oddly Enough: Libya's Gaddafi lectures U.S. on democracy".

Why I decided to write about this is because one part of his speech was true. I do not have enough information to say if his Jamahiriyah system of government (people's congresses) is a military dictatorship or not. I can't say that he isn't just full of shit completely. I do find truth in the 2nd part of his statement here:

"He touted Libya's political system as superior to "farcical" and "fake" parliamentary and representative democracies in the West."

Now, no system allows the public to vote on every issue. Politics and reality aside this is simply because jobs would never be completed if every part of every decision had to be given to the public to review and be voted on. At some point someone makes the choice at least to narrow the available options so that the public can pick 1 of 3 or 4 etc. Although no system is perfect there are many examples of the difference between US and Canadian ideals and practices. Many times the influences of the Military-Industrial complex, (defined in a speech by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower) take us down paths that lead away from what is for the public good and that damage the public trust. Where profit becomes a goal that can only be fulfilled by the intervention of the state.

"The wealth of nations" is no concern of the "architects of policy", who, as [Adam] Smith insists, seek private gain. The fate of the common people is no more their concern than that of the "mere savages" who stand in the way. If an "invisible hand" sometimes provided others with benefits, that is merely incidental. ~ Noam Chomsky "Year 501 The Conquest Continues"

What are real rebels wearing this year?

2006-03-17T14:39:00.000-05:00

Is it just me or does the person who thinks they see through what is wrong with our society by using the phrase: "We should fight this life's ideas, this culture's norms and fear itself by eating that ice cream bar,(etc) calories be damned! I don't have to look how they want me too!" sorta miss the point?

Now there is a point to be made there. But, I bet they still think the phrase "support our troops" means supporting the GOP.

Just keep on...fighting those powers I guess.

Apartments

2006-03-15T11:09:00.000-05:00

I have been spending as much free time as possible looking for an apartment to rent here in Toronto. I have lived in some nice areas (Wynford Heights, Thorncliffe and Overlea) and am now looking to move out on my own before my wedding in September.

For less than $900/month I am not finding a lot so far that peaks my interest. It seems that there are many $1050, $1100 on Yonge street that just aren't that great, you just pay for the location. Then there are these small buildings at Laird and Eglinton, (great location, TTC-bus access etc) which are cheap at $795/mo and $825/mo but have dirty, dingy, smelly lobbies, hallways, doors, stairwells, elevators etc. You may be ok in the small apartment but man would you never want anyone to visit!

So this is my new job. Find a place before May 1st that doesn't cause me to have to trade off both items too much. $$ or cleanliness. Am I worried? Nope not at all. I was just appalled by the conditions in many buildings around East York, North York and Scarborough.