I was browsing through the local AM news radio station's website this morning, which I find to be one of the better sources of timely local news, despite its less than insightful writing typically filled with grammatical and spelling errors.
On occasion I look over at the national and international columns to see if there's anything I missed in the bigger news sources, and I did so this morning, to see a mention of the first annual North America Outgames, which apparently slipped past me earlier in the week on CBC.
Now I've made it known before that I have no issues with people's lifestyle choices, so long as they don't adversely affect others, in ways beyond just making them uncomfortable for whatever reason. But when groups of whatever minority or belief go out and bitch to society about not being more broadly accepted or feeling segregated, and then create for themselves an event like this, you have to wonder what they really want.
Are they saying that being gay makes them uncompetitive in sports on other levels? The valid (and correct) argument is that gay people are no different than anyone else save for their lifestyle choice. Are they intentionally trying to draw parallels between themselves and those that truly are disadvantaged, for whom the Special Olympics was created?
If you want to do a better job of being accepted rather than shunned by certain communities, it would seem like a good idea to stop perpetuating mentalities of difference where really none exists. If you can't hack it as an athlete, you can't hack it, go on and find your calling elsewhere. Its not prejudice that's keeping you from Olympic gold.
April 06, 2007
March 30, 2007
Fun Fact Friday III
House centipedes eat a variety of insects and spiders, and thrive in humid, warm environments, making them most active in the spring and fall in mid-latitudes associated with weather change. The conditions most conducive to these qualities are basements and bathrooms. Their rigid bodies make them very quick. Girlfriends, upon seeing a said quick moving house centipede in the spring, bolting across her boyfriend's basement floor may herself bolt up the stairs and wait for you to "do something about that thing eww eww eww", and proceed to shake out all blankets before being able to watch TV again.The U.S. Department of Labo
The samples from Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction in the Fun Lovin Criminals song Scooby Snacks were taken without legal permission, and so Quentin Tarantino has gone on to collect writing credit and royalties for the song.
My thesis deadline is April 6th, exactly one week away. I have not written a word. April 6th is also a recognized holiday (good friday), and setting due dates or exams on said day is against school policy. I'm wondering exactly how I might work this to my favour; perhaps by waxing born-again for a few days.
March 23, 2007
Turning into a Plot: RedOx
Thanks to Steve for accurately depicting my flow model:
My final thesis presentation was yesterday, and given that I haven't started putting down my thesis on paper or on screen yet, it was a bit of a challenge to scramble everything together into a coherent, intelligent sounding presentation. Ultimately, I'm not sure that it ever did reach those goals, but its done and gone now. In theory, my undergrad will be done and gone in three and a half weeks, but I really don't see me having a fully edited copy of my thesis in by then, while still having managed to squeeze in some exam prep.
This evening the department is hosting its annual banquet for the 4th year students, and despite the fact that its a cash bar, I'm going to try to put on a happy face and see if I can't score myself at least some summer work around the school, while I decide what I want to do in terms of going on to a masters, or joining the real world.
My final thesis presentation was yesterday, and given that I haven't started putting down my thesis on paper or on screen yet, it was a bit of a challenge to scramble everything together into a coherent, intelligent sounding presentation. Ultimately, I'm not sure that it ever did reach those goals, but its done and gone now. In theory, my undergrad will be done and gone in three and a half weeks, but I really don't see me having a fully edited copy of my thesis in by then, while still having managed to squeeze in some exam prep.
This evening the department is hosting its annual banquet for the 4th year students, and despite the fact that its a cash bar, I'm going to try to put on a happy face and see if I can't score myself at least some summer work around the school, while I decide what I want to do in terms of going on to a masters, or joining the real world.
March 21, 2007
March 18, 2007
St. Patty's Gong Show
Actually, contrary to most expectations, St. Patty's this year wasn't much of a show at all. There was no hitting the Bomber beer tent before noon to have my recommended yearly intake of green food colouring. There was no group sabotage of otherwise drinkable beer with salt and pepper shakers. There wasn't even a noon 'til midnight binge, barely removing myself from the same chair at the BarleyWorks this year. Instead, some 'retro' EA Sports game on PS2, some Belgian and German wheat beers (since I dropped the ball on getting myself a substantial quantity of, or in fact, any Harp or Smithwick's), and some movies.Not very Irish of me, I'm aware, but I have my health to show for it today. Will I use the lack of feeling like I got punched in the liver to get to work on the final presentation for my thesis I am expected to make on Thursday? Probably not. Will I watch more of round 2 of college hoops, and pretend like I knew what was going on beyond the top 4 or 5 teams in the country before this tournament started? More than likely. Will I listen to the Jays game, and think about ways in which Gustavo 'DUI' Chacin's career could now parallel Boomer Wells'? You bet.
There's still one week til the Fantasy Baseball Draft, get signed up!
Update: I was listening to the Ongoing History of New Music archives earlier this week, in particular to a two part show on Tool, when Alan Cross played a sample of a lullaby version of one of their songs. Curious, I looked it up and found that, not only are there some hilarious renditions of Tool, but a bunch of other bands from Bjork to Metallica and a bunch in between. Check out some of the samples here.
March 09, 2007
Its March; Gimme a Break
Snow days are spectacular events when they happen. A few days after the fact however, once your assignment and exam time-line for the following week gets all compressed; not so much. On the plus side, I'm done everything for 2 of my classes til exams. On the horizon though, 3 exams in a 24 hour period, 4 exams in 4 days. Under some circumstances I could probably have one of those deferred, but because the distance education office and registrars office seem to refuse to work together (a recurring theme with many of the University administrative services) I likely won't be able to do much about getting bent over and made a multiple-choice bubble colouring bitch.But this week is over, and the weather is looking up. Forecast highs above freezing for the next week, and some rain in there to help melt the thick pack of grungy gray-white, pebble and car-part filled snow lining the streets.
Hopefully I'll manage to unwind this weekend, have a few beers, and help the girlfriend celebrate her birthday. Then next week I can resume the stress involved with grinding out my thesis before the 22nd, and hoping to hell that the government tax system gets its shit together soon so I can file my return and get some much needed cash returned to my needy student self. That's enough whining for now though.
Funny story for the day. I'm out picking up some gas, and running some other errands. I'm stopped at a traffic light, when this year or two old black Nissan Sentra pulls up to me with sports seat belts and after-market rims, and the sound system blasting out some modern hip-hop. I look at the driver, and there's this balding, greying, forty-five to fifty year old white guy droppin' more bombs than the bible's got psalms right along with his system. That, combined with the fact that it was warm enough for me to have the windows down and hear it all, made my day.
March 03, 2007
Down in Dunedin
Well would you look at that. Baseball's spring training is already under way, and that means its also time for Fantasy Baseball:
LooBall 2007
Yahoo League ID: 157649
Password: norod
Sign up and do your worst. Winner gets....uhh not sure what I'll get myself yet, but maybe I'll offer something for second place just to be nice.
Beyond that, I could ramble on about the Jays chances this year, and how they depend on the healthiness of the top 2 in the rotation, or on Vernon Wells having the same jump start that he did coming out of the World Baseball Classic last year, but its all been roughly said before. All that needs to be said is that the AL East is gonna be tight this year, and the Jays have a legitimate shot at the playoffs.
LooBall 2007
Yahoo League ID: 157649
Password: norod
Sign up and do your worst. Winner gets....uhh not sure what I'll get myself yet, but maybe I'll offer something for second place just to be nice.
Beyond that, I could ramble on about the Jays chances this year, and how they depend on the healthiness of the top 2 in the rotation, or on Vernon Wells having the same jump start that he did coming out of the World Baseball Classic last year, but its all been roughly said before. All that needs to be said is that the AL East is gonna be tight this year, and the Jays have a legitimate shot at the playoffs.
February 27, 2007
An Inconvenient Freedom of Information
I was just going to leave well enough alone on the climate debate and An Inconvenient Truth's win at the Oscars, but after reading so many people praising the work, despite its flaws, and after hearing people run on in general conversation like experts, spawned by having seen the movie, I thought maybe I should say something. Then a buddy of mine sent me a link to this account of Al Gore's own energy consumption. True to political form, every coin has its flip side.
Now I really don't see much fault in the overall increase in consumption over a year, as 2006 was the warmest on record according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and even Mr. Gore needs some A/C in the summertime (although one has to wonder how often Tipper and Al are actually at ye old homestead). I do however find fault in that a figure like this has a consumption 20 times greater than the average household, and lets not forget all those other rich folk out there who similarly skew that average. Its been proven time and again that leading is best done from the front, not from behind, and yet there's still some hypocrisy to be found in someone who is self proclaimed as passionate about his work.
How could one forget those dramatic closeups and personal accounts of a concerned Al Gore interweaved within the actual documentary material. That said, its not even the not so subtle political commentary in those sequences that irked me most about the movie, but the fact that such a directed approach was presented in what has shown time and time again to be a much larger problem. The fact of the matter is that while carbon dioxide is infact an important greenhouse gas, so are a number of other things, including most dominantly water vapour. The media in general has a tendency to gloss over this fact.
In addition there are a number of feedback mechanisms that are not as well understood as they need be, and evidence exists for historical (that is in geologic context, not human) dramatic climate changes on the order of decades to a century that are entirely natural. The movie glosses over these ideas, and others in presenting our contribution of carbon dioxide in particular as the be all and end all in causing global warming. The warming concept in itself is shortsighted, as some evidence suggests that a small period of warming may infact lead to a strong subsequent cooling effect.
Now I don't fault Al Gore for getting the message out there. I do believe it is very important to stir common debate about the subject and for people to be more aware. I just wish it could have been done in a more level manner, and not glossed over, or outright misrepresented key concepts of the situation (for instance the claim that 'no scientist believes global warming isn't occurring') creating similar bias in the newfound experts.
I myself can't claim to be an expert in the matter either, just perhaps more familiar than most. And I'm certainly not saying that global warming or climate change definitively isn't occurring, and believe it is truly important to pursue alternative energies and improve efficiency, even if only from a health perspective, or a concern over global resource consumption (one need only begin to bitch about gas prices to see that much). Kyoto and similar agreements are important enough in those considerations alone, as well as somewhat leveling the global economic playing field. All I ask is for a less biased presentation to the general concerned public, before too many people are rushing around in a panic with their single perspective.
Now I really don't see much fault in the overall increase in consumption over a year, as 2006 was the warmest on record according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and even Mr. Gore needs some A/C in the summertime (although one has to wonder how often Tipper and Al are actually at ye old homestead). I do however find fault in that a figure like this has a consumption 20 times greater than the average household, and lets not forget all those other rich folk out there who similarly skew that average. Its been proven time and again that leading is best done from the front, not from behind, and yet there's still some hypocrisy to be found in someone who is self proclaimed as passionate about his work.
How could one forget those dramatic closeups and personal accounts of a concerned Al Gore interweaved within the actual documentary material. That said, its not even the not so subtle political commentary in those sequences that irked me most about the movie, but the fact that such a directed approach was presented in what has shown time and time again to be a much larger problem. The fact of the matter is that while carbon dioxide is infact an important greenhouse gas, so are a number of other things, including most dominantly water vapour. The media in general has a tendency to gloss over this fact.
In addition there are a number of feedback mechanisms that are not as well understood as they need be, and evidence exists for historical (that is in geologic context, not human) dramatic climate changes on the order of decades to a century that are entirely natural. The movie glosses over these ideas, and others in presenting our contribution of carbon dioxide in particular as the be all and end all in causing global warming. The warming concept in itself is shortsighted, as some evidence suggests that a small period of warming may infact lead to a strong subsequent cooling effect.
Now I don't fault Al Gore for getting the message out there. I do believe it is very important to stir common debate about the subject and for people to be more aware. I just wish it could have been done in a more level manner, and not glossed over, or outright misrepresented key concepts of the situation (for instance the claim that 'no scientist believes global warming isn't occurring') creating similar bias in the newfound experts.
I myself can't claim to be an expert in the matter either, just perhaps more familiar than most. And I'm certainly not saying that global warming or climate change definitively isn't occurring, and believe it is truly important to pursue alternative energies and improve efficiency, even if only from a health perspective, or a concern over global resource consumption (one need only begin to bitch about gas prices to see that much). Kyoto and similar agreements are important enough in those considerations alone, as well as somewhat leveling the global economic playing field. All I ask is for a less biased presentation to the general concerned public, before too many people are rushing around in a panic with their single perspective.
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