Or child with batter?
It MIGHT be that little Delaney got her fingers in the Mother’s Day cake. And then rubbed her eye.
Month: May 2011
King Harper now rules Canada
Though I didn’t vote for him, this result might just be the least terrible of the possible scenarios. (A coalition government under Jack Layton would have been shaky, at best.)
The unlikely candidate, Stephen Harper, now has a majority. And authority.
It’s as if Presto Manning has finally come to the throne. Harper helped Manning found the Reform Party. And succeeded him as the representative for Calgary Southwest.
Jack Layton will make a good Leader of the Opposition. His MPs are young and inexperienced, though. Party discipline will be a problem.
Ruth Ellen Brosseau of the NDP won her Quebec riding despite holidaying in Las Vegas during the campaign and not speaking much French.
… Brosseau works in Ottawa as an assistant manager at a pub and lives in Gatineau, Que. Bill Curry of The Globe and Mail has described her as a “classic parachute candidate.” ….
At the outset I suspected this would be an interesting election. It was.
As for the issues, I’m only slightly alarmed at having King Harper in power.
I’m OK with buying the jets, surprisingly. The other good option is to wait until a better model is available. Cost will be higher if we do that, of course.
Last year I was quite happy with where they were going on Internet regulation. That may turn sour now, however.
Gun registry? … I don’t know enough about the issue.
Cold on Climate Change? … not my issue
My biggest complaint about the Conservatives is their tough on crime stance. It doesn’t work. It’s a waste of money.
Michael Ignatieff is the biggest loser. If you don’t like this outcome, blame the Liberal leader more than anyone else.
libraries are dinosaurs
I love libraries. And spend a lot of time in them, everywhere I travel.
But as government monopolies, most are slow to innovate. In all you can spot outdated technologies and nonsensical policies.
The painfully slow introduction of digital media is the most conspicuous example. Librarians like to pretend they offer digital video and books … but to actually access those files can be a nightmare.
Libraries will be somewhat defunct, you see, once digital media is ubiquitous.
I’m pleasantly surprised to report that Signal Hill Library in Calgary, recently re-opened after renovations, has been vastly improved. It’s bright, welcoming and the electronic media access has been upgraded considerably.
Fake “MAC Defender” antivirus scam
Macs almost never get a true computer virus.
But there is a scam reaching Apple computers right now. I saw it go by once.
Ignore and it’s not a problem. They’re trying to get your credit card number and/or master password.
Fake “MAC Defender” antivirus app scams users for money, CC numbers
car rental insurance
Renting in the USA can be incredibly inexpensive. I have a vehicle right now in California that cost only $115.49 / week, including taxes.
Yet AS ALWAYS I was faced with the dilemma of what additional insurance to buy.
Should I buy none, counting only on my VISA card’s promised collision/loss damage insurance?
Or should I get one of the three different options available from the rent-a-car company:
$10/day
$12/day
$30/day
Reading this article in the Globe and Mail doesn’t answer my question:
Do I really need car rental insurance?
Leave a comment if you’ve any advice for me.
Adventure Will Change Your Life
Here’s another shout out for Alastair Humphreys’ Adventure blog:
The world sounded a scary place until I stepped out into it. Sure, it sounded exciting. Exotic places like Pakistan or Guatemala or Syria: I knew they had fascinating cultures and people that I’d love to get to know. I’d seen beautiful photography of extraordinary places and read exotic stories of crazy, bold adventures.
But I always assumed that countries like that were for real travelers; dusty, crazy guys with more nerve and experience than I would ever have. The world’s wild places were for me to enjoy from the comfort of my own home, nothing more. I enjoyed vacations. But adventures? I didn’t think they were for me.
But all that changed.
I set out one summer morning to seek adventure. I don’t know how I summoned up the nerve to begin, but begin I did. I climbed onto my bicycle, pedaled away from my front door, and didn’t stop riding for four years until I arrived back home. I cycled right the way round the world. I wasn’t rich (the whole trip cost approximately $10,000), I wasn’t brave. I wasn’t very fit. I just did it. I pedaled away from all that I was familiar with in England. …
read more and be inspired – Adventure Will Change Your Life
economics hip-hop music video
Brian found a site that actually makes Economics interesting.
“Fight of the Century” is the new economics hip-hop music video by John Papola and Russ Roberts at EconStories.tv.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession ended almost two years ago, in the summer of 2009. Yet we’re all uneasy. Job growth has been disappointing. The recovery seems fragile. Where should we head from here? Is that question even meaningful? Can the government steer the economy or have past attempts helped create the mess we’re still in?
In “Fight of the Century”, Keynes and Hayek weigh in on these central questions. Do we need more government spending or less? What’s the evidence that government spending promotes prosperity in troubled times? Can war or natural disasters paradoxically be good for an economy in a slump? Should more spending come from the top down or from the bottom up? What are the ultimate sources of prosperity?
Keynes and Hayek never agreed on the answers to these questions and they still don’t. …
They’re working on a sequel. (VIDEO)
should we rejoice in death?
Comparing the restrained BBC TV coverage of Bin Laden’s death with the jubilant American TV coverage, I much preferred BBC.
The celebrations reminded me of those in the Middle East … after 911.
I understand spontaneous revelry. And don’t blame the kids in the photo above. But be clear that the world is a less peaceful place after Geraldo Rivera found himself in the international spotlight, again.
Those turned off by the jingoism passed on this quote:
”I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.”
~ MLK Jr.
I like it too. Martin Luther King did not actually say that, though. The source is still not attributed.
Some are saying it was started by Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller.
Longer version:
“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
I’ve got mixed feelings.
It’s OK with me that Bin Laden was killed. Hopefully we can more easily move forward now. Troops can be brought home more quickly, for example. There are some pluses.
But as a symbol, Osama will live on, now a Martyr to many. Likely the world will be less safe during the coming months. Zealous celebrating and mockery can only inflame.
How To Be Alone
In the near future we’ll see more media like this: text, audio, video combined. Watched mostly on tablet devices.
A convergence of the written word, movies and music.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
A video by fiilmaker, Andrea Dorfman, and poet/singer/songwriter, Tanya Davis.
Davis wrote the beautiful poem and performed in the video which Dorfman directed, shot, animated by hand and edited. The video was shot in Halifax, Nova Scotia and was produced by Bravo!FACT
… more information on Tanya, … or visit her facebook page …
This video was shot on a Panasonic HVX 200 and the animation was hand drawn+painted and then scanned into Adobe After Effects, exported as QTs and edited on FCP.
Thanks Rocco.
Obama roasts Donald Trump
Ouch.
The Donald gets powned.
For the first time in his life, Trump is a laughing stock.
President Barack Obama is shifting from consoler to comic for his appearance before the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, DC. And some of his most prominent would-be rivals are in attendance, including Donald Trump. (April 30)
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (short version)
HuffPo:
Would-be GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump wasted no time eagerly snatching at another silly, deliberately distracting, media grabbing attention issue, when his crusade to get President Obama to release his birth certificate came to a quick end on April 27.
The issue now is Obama’s alleged mediocre academic performance. …
Right. … We need an intelligent President. … President Trump, for example.
Rick McCharles 