Purity Question

I love all of the 500 Question Purity Test, but the best "have you ever" question in it is:

Question #390.

Have you ever...

...played in or with shit.

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Two New Sets

I've added two new sets on my Flickr site; "The Platform", a series showing the construction and enjoyment of our forest hang out, and "Under Construction", all of the pictures that I thought were cool that I took on a tour through my friend's workplace - the construction site of a planned 18 storey residential tower in downtown Vancouver.



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Best Cookie Fortune Ever

"So what is your plan?"

"It's a secret venture. But rest assured, it will work out brilliantly."



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Does Anyone Trust The Cops? (Part II)

Part I was a previous post of the same name.



I think it's pretty clear from my previous posts that I don't trust the cops. They're corrupt, (often) not very bright, power-hungry goons who take relish in abusing their power - at least it sure seems that way to me based on my experiences around here.

The Vancouver police have started a lobbying campaign to convince downtown condo owners and building managers to make master keys of their buildings available to them much like the fire department does - in lock boxes near the front doors. Their issue is that it's quite difficult for them to get into secure buildings without concierges and that even when they do manage to get in the front door, they often can't activate the elevator without another key.

So far the police have convinced only 6 buildings to allow them unrestricted access.

Apparently, I'm not alone in my distrust. Condo owners, residents, and managers have been resisting the request because they're "concerned that police might abuse their access."

In fact, one man said that "he'd have more peace of mind knowing the police would have to buzz for access just like everyone else."

It seems we're as concerned about keeping the police out of our homes as we are about keeping thieves and murderers out. I can't decide who this is worse news for: law enforcement or the public?


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Our Disrespect

A 97 year old Polish woman was honoured today for her role in saving 2,500 Jewish children during the Holocaust. Even after she was captured, tortured, and slated for execution, she never gave up any information. She was saved at the last moment by colleagues who bribed a guard.

I began to cry as I finished reading about what she had done. But what really made me sad was how disappointed someone like Sendler must be with the world we now live in. She was willing to sacrifice everything for her fellow man, for what was right and decent, for humanity. She valued all of those things more than herself and I strive every day to try to be that kind of person. Then you look around in your life and you see nothing but self-absorbed people. On the same page as this article there are stories about Zimbabwean Prime Minister Robert Mugabe's brutal treatment of his people, human rights violations in Afghanistan, hit and run vehicular manslaughter, atrocities in Darfur, thousands of civilians killed or wounded in Somalia, and it goes on. Each of these have a common lament by some diplomat wondering why nations, people, neighbours aren't moved to act.

The way we turn a blind eye to these things, or separate ourselves, or brush it aside as someone else's problem that is too far removed from home disrespects the actions that we herald by women like Sendler. What we were supposed to learn from horrors like the Holocaust was that all people have a responsibility to stand up for each other, to fight what is not fair or right on behalf of others, to protect those who can not protect themselves, to understand the value of the human collective over ourselves. Instead we have become all the more selfish and insular.

I look around sometimes and I don't believe that anyone I see would be willing to sacrifice themselves for anything. And somehow this behaviour is now applauded. We owe people like Sendler and those she saved so much more than that.




Note on the photo by Ron Haviv:

"Balkans: A Muslim begs Serbian commandos for his life. He later fell or was thrown out of a second-story window. April 1992."

Source: Responding to Threats of Genocide Today

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Industry Musings

My boss forwarded me an e-mail she received from a friend of hers after that friend's husband experienced some airport delays. I'm just going to paste it in below because I think it's quite awesome.

Eric arrived back yesterday from a business trip to Vancouver. On Northwest Airlines he left Vancouver on Friday morning and arrived in Seattle. He was delayed there for many hours due to "mechanical problems", such that by the time he arrived in Detroit he had missed the final flight out to Fort Wayne. His luggage however arrived right on time ... in Minneapolis, which is a long way from either Detroit or Fort Wayne. So he spent the night in the Comfort Inn in Detroit with no luggage and a $5 meal voucher in his pocket and nowhere to spend it at midnight after the restaurant had closed. The first flight to Fort Wayne was not until noon the following day, so in actual fact his trip took 28 hours in total. He received a $35 future travel discount for his trouble.

Which brings me to muse... Why do we continue to allow Airlines to be the only industry permitted to take payment in full up front, without being required to either provide delivery of the service as purchased, or reasonable compensation?

Imagine, for example, if you had booked a catering facility for your wedding reception. When you arrive on the day and time, you are told that there are mechanical problems in the kitchen, but they are trying to make repairs as quickly as possible. Three hours later as the bridal party and guests are beginning to grow restless, it becomes known that the repairmen have now been working for 8 hours and by union contract they will be taking an 8 hour sleep break. But not to worry... they will be back first thing in the morning and if all goes well the reception should be off to a start before noon. Now, there is another wedding party booked tomorrow afternoon which will place both parties in an "overbooked" situation. But provided some people are willing to wait for a later reception, and others don't mind who they sit with for dinner, everything should be okay. "Don't take that tone with me, Ma'am. I'm trying to help you. This is not my fault. Those responsible are just faceless names on the Forbes List of Richest People who you will never be able to appropriately vent to. So just stifle your opinions and complaints, and if you are not able to do that, you will be held in a secure area for a time out until you learn to treat Catering personnel with the respect and courtesy they deserve. Where is your cake? Let me check. Ahhhh I've located it in Dallas, Texas. No problem. It will be delivered directly to your door sometime in the next 48 hours provided someone is home to receive it. If not, we will hold it for 4 days in the unclaimed cake department and then sell it off at our monthly unclaimed cake sale, and keep the proceeds. Here's a complimentary toothbrush and a razor. A refund???? Of course not. You purchased the advanced booking discount reception which clearly states no refunds under any circumstances other than death of both the bride and groom, but not one exclusive of the other. Previously anticipated death will not be an acceptable claim."

So here's what I think. They should start a new Airline to be operated as simply a human delivery service. It should promise delivery in say, 3-5 days, or a full refund. That way there would be no surprises, no disappointments. This Airline would be called "Iffy Jet".

What Country Am I In Now?

Back at work and not very pleased about it. In the last two weeks I've been to Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Bahamas, England, France, Germany, Belgium, and Holland. By the time I made it to Frankfurt the time zones and different languages had my brain all in a tizzy. I kept using French when I was supposed to be using German, and sometimes I'd forget which country I was in or had just been in - it was fantastic! The Dave & Tim European Tour was the best tour I've ever done with Dave Matthews; not only did I get to chill in some amazing cities and meet lots of people from all over the planet, but I also got to meet Dave twice and Tim once, and I also got to stand at the front of the stage in front of Dave for both the Brussels and Amsterdam shows! I've never been that close to the music and doubt I ever will again - bliss is what it was.

Besides the shows, arriving in a new city & country every day was a wonderful challenge. I managed to see tons of locales at each city and do a little food tour for traditional local eats in each place too: crepes and take out sandwiches in Paris, crazy sausage in Frankfurt, fries and waffles in Brussels, and Bitteballs (don't know how to spell it) and this other kind of crazy hot dog/sausage with filling in Amsterdam.

I'll be posting more about the trip in little bits, but now, I must get back to work. I need to focus because my flight was delayed three hours in London last night (and I had already been at the Amsterdam airport for many hours before getting to London) and when I finally made it back to Vancouver I realized the clocks went ahead one hour. So I'm still very much in a haze of different time zones and languages - oh, and I need a new hard drive before I can even upload my pictures because that is how full my GBs are! Pictures and stories soon!


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Flickr Update

I have added new images to Life In Macro and started a new photoset for my first cruise.

As always, I'm here to answer any queries - enjoy!

Delayed Developments

I'm back in Fort Lauderdale. Sitting at the airport waiting for our delayed flight to Toronto so that we can miss our connection and take a late flight home to Vancouver. Yay. Now I just have to find the time to pack for my flight to London tomorrow afternoon. I guess I'm lucky to have these problems! I haven't uploaded any of my pictures yet but when I do I'll post an update and link. I'll warn you now, the laptop is not coming to Europe with me, so there will be another blank week with no posts. I could have posted on the cruise ship...if I hadn't been motion sick nearly every minute of every day. Now that's a good time! I'm one of the few people who lost weight on the 24 hour a day eating cruise. Sitting here by Gate H4, I still feel like waves are rocking me to nausea. Maybe boat vacations are not the best idea for me.

Well, guess that's it for now, I'm going to go back to peeling the skin off my sun burn - more airport fun!

Spage World Tour

My world tour began yesterday morning with a 4 a.m. wake-up call. Being in the throes of the flu made it rather difficult to get motivated, but I wasn't going to let anything stop me from going on this trip.

I'm at a hotel in Fort Lauderdale right now, waiting for a bus to transport a big group of guests to the giant Princess ship waiting at the dock. Yep, I'm going on a cruise. My grandma, aunt, and uncle are taking me on a one week Caribbean cruise. We're hitting Jamaica, the Caymans, the Yucatan, and some island in the Bahamas.

What makes this a world tour? Well, the day after we get back to Vancouver, I'll be back at the airport. I'll be flying to London and then taking a train to Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels, and Amsterdam for four Dave Matthews solo shows. That's four concerts in four countries in five days - oh my!

I have no idea how much I'll be able to blog as I go because I have to use the Princess computers for this leg and I'm not even sure if my laptop will make it to Europe, but I'm going to do my best!

-Picture is over the top of my lap top right now, my uncle across the table, and the hotel dining room beyond-

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Elevator Flyer

He's Firm On That

Regarding portion sizes in the new Canada Food Guide, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute, says that "...anybody following the food guide almost certainly will likely gain weight."

So Dr. Freedhoff, by following the food guide you are nearly sure that there may be a chance that some people might gain weight. I'm pretty sure that comment would be just as accurate if he was talking about a comet passing through the galaxy, or a zebra crapping on the Serengeti instead of following the food guide, so I don't think we should be too concerned about it.

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Ah, Hipocrisy

One year ago, not one week after winning a seat in the Federal election, a local Liberal MP named David Emerson crossed the floor and joined the Conservatives in exchange for a plum cabinet appointment - including being responsible for our fucking Olympics. And that wasn't enough because Emerson then made it clear he didn't give a shit what his constituents thought and proceeded to insult them. Outrage was had by all, and there are still many people in his riding actively protesting his defection.

In parliament, there were echos of our discontent, calls for a by-election, criticism of the Prime Minister who the previous year had cried foul over one of his Conservative MPs crossing the floor to the Liberals, and general foaming at the mouth. Conservative MP Garth Turner "said then that anyone who crosses the floor should step down and run in a by-election". It was this kind of party criticism that got Turner kicked out of the Conservative caucus last fall.

So what? Well, at 5 p.m. ET today it will be officially announced that Garth Turner, who is now an Independent MP, will be crossing the floor and joining the Liberal Party. (article)

*sigh*

Maybe parliament is going to follow the Survivor route on this one. Osten is to Survivor as Belinda is to the House of Commons? It seems to me that if all of this floor crossing becomes the norm, then couldn't all MPs just run for the party that is showing the strongest in the polls and then jump ship to their preferred team after being elected? Seems pretty effective, and nobody seems to mind all that much. Man, I hate politics. Okay, I love it. But only because I hate it. I'm here to rally the peeps, if you don't like what's going on, you gotta make it known. If you don't know what's going on, well, that's a bigger problem than rogue MPs.

"And remember one thing: No matter who we elect into office, the people you elect, the people I elect, you have the fucking power, we are the fucking leaders: don't let these bastards dictate your life or try to tell you what to do, alright!" -Billie Joe Armstrong (Bullet In A Bible)

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One Month & One Week

The title refers to how long I've been unemployed. But I'm back baby! Let's kick off my return to the Federal Government with a little morning blogging!

It's funny that this new story came out today about how there are apparently a lot of kids (ages 10-17) who are being unwillingly exposed to pornographic images online. Funny because Wook and I were recently talking about how in the last few years you rarely ever come across unwanted porn online anymore. In fact, sitting here now, I can't even remember the last time I got some HOT4U pop up or anything like that.

This particular article is about a survey conducted by the University of New Hampshire. They say that 42% of the 1,500 Internet users they asked saw some form of human nudity online in the past 12 months, and of that group, 66% said that they had not sought it out.

Of course these phone interviews took place with the permission of a parent (who might have been near the young person being asked the questions). So how many teens do you think sat in front of their parents and admitted that they had searched for the porn they were 'exposed' to. How many do you think cried innocent? Yeah. Exactly.

Even if sitting alone to answer the poll, self-reporting is notoriously unreliable because people are inclined to try and give an answer that the questioner is looking for, or they just want to lie for personal reasons.

Oh well, at the very least, you have to love the alarmist cry in the name of kids. What does Rev. Lovejoy's wife always wail on The Simpsons? "Won't anyone please think of the children?!" Several paragraphs are devoted to how accidentally viewing porn is so traumatic for teenagers - and sums up with "Still, many survey participants said they were not disturbed by what they saw". Of course.

But really, my point is, based on how during what I would call my many hours every week of 'normal' Internet use I never stumble across surprise porn, I hardly believe that this is headline newsworthy. It just seems like another attention getting issue of the moment based in hearsay. Another attempt to change something about the world the adults don't like by using the guise of protecting children. Or is my Internet experience not at all what others encounter? Or am I wrong to think that a 16 year old has probably seen a naked boobie before? And if by 17 still hasn't, just might do a little online search?

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Navigator

We're driving, we're stoned, we can't remember (as usual) which street Chalet Swiss is on. My passenger is no help at all.

"Braemar! What street is it on?"

"Fa-nu-nuh..."


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