Posts on Craig's Linked List

Life Goes

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 14:05:29 -0600

Canada Day (being a holiday and the first day of the second half of the year) seems like a good day to make a first-time-in-forever update. Time to maintain that “barely-posts” status and fend off “totally abandoned.”

2020, of course, has been rough on everyone. I think I’m doing better than average. I’ll take this opprtunity to list off some good things in my life and call it “practicing gratitude”:

Site Messaging

Mon, 13 Jan 2020 23:08:02 -0700

This site represents my ongoing effort to create a Facebook alternative with as few barriers to entry as possible. As part of that, I’ve added on-site messaging to my contact options. Post a message here, and I’ll get notified straight away; you don’t even have to open your email or messaging apps.

By total coincidence… my birthday is tomorrow! So why not try it out and send me a message. 😉

2020 Vision

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 -0700

Way back in 2006¹ I started a blog². I started out posting quirky and (to me, at least) funny intellectual curiosities, and eventually transitioned to discussions on software development. It I had maybe five followers total³.

A year later I signed up for a Facebook account and transitioning there, doing all the things one does on Facebook: writing posts, uploading photos, Liking things, connecting with people. It was a relatively restrictive platform, but it came with two important aspects: a feedback mechanism (in the form of Likes and comments), and an audience. People were coming to Facebook, Facebook fed them my content, and Facebook made it easy for them to respond. It was a good system, and the more that people used it, the more attractive it became. Today, almost a third of all people on the planet are actively using Facebook.

How Would You Replace Facebook?

Sat, 23 Nov 2019 17:11:22 +0000

Question for you: If Facebook wasn’t an option, what would you do to stay in touch with your friends and family?

Specifically: if I left Facebook, or if you left Facebook, or if other people in your life left Facebook (and many already have), what would you be willing to do to replace what Facebook gives you?

It should come as no surprise that Facebook has a ton of problems that are degrading our society, relationships, and mental health:

Team Trees

Sat, 26 Oct 2019 20:36:33 +0000

If you’ve been on Youtube this week, you may have seen this multi-channel fundraiser for #teamtrees. The idea: raise $20M to plant 20M trees to help offset carbon emissions.

https://www.teamtrees.org/

The recent elections just put the anti-carbon-tax UCP in Alberta and threatened to put the anti-carbon-tax CPC in Canada. I voted against the 70% of CPC votes in my riding; due to our voting system, my vote counts for almost nothing.

Juice Jacking

Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:32:28 +0000

Related to my last post: there is a cyber attack called “Juice Jacking”: someone installs a malicious USB port at a place where you’d plug in to charge your device, and that port installs hacking software on your device.

You can guard against this by using a “USB Condom”: a special (and cheap) USB adapter that only has the power cords connected. No software can physically cross the wire, so no hacking is possible.

Hacked iPhone cables

Sun, 11 Aug 2019 15:53:37 +0000

This is the end of buying cheaper, off-brand cables. A hacker modified a regular iPhone cable to include an entire WIFI access point and used it to hack into a remote computer (consensually, as a demonstration).

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/evj4qw/these-iphone-lightning-cables-will-hack-your-computer?utm_source=reddit.com

Capital One Data Breach

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 03:47:49 +0000

Have you applied for a Capital One credit card (or other account) since 2005? Your SIN, name, address, DOB, email, and other info may have been one of the 1 million that have been leaked.

Note that it doesn’t matter whether you got the card or not, or whether you cancelled it. This would include new (post-Amex) Costco credit cards too.

https://www.capitalone.com/facts2019/

Oh and bonus round bullshit: “No bank account numbers or Social Security numbers were compromised, other than about 140,000 Social Security and 80,000 bank account numbers.”

Chernobyl

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 14:06:01 +0000

This photo popped up in one of our channels at work today. You know that scene in Chernobyl where the workers on the roof (the “most dangerous place on Earth”) are limited to 40 seconds at a time (or else they’ll die)? One of the people up there was a photographer, and managed to get this photo. (Whole rolls of film were destroyed due to the radiation.) Looks like it came straight out of the show.

Day 14: Return Home

Sat, 18 May 2019 22:30:51 +0000

I didn’t expect Calgary to be the wettest of all of the trip locations, but such is life.

Coming home after two weeks abroad is a mix of relief, familiarity, foreignness, and mundanity. It feels like home, but also like another new country. I’m sure that will disappeared over the next few days.

This has been a long trip in the making; in some ways it started when I landed from Paris two years ago. I’m not sure where or when I’ll be travelling next, but that will come in time.

London 2019

Sat, 18 May 2019 11:42:30 +0000

Neat chess set in the Tower Bridge gift shop with the buildings of London as pieces.

Day 13: Getty Archive Tour

Sat, 18 May 2019 07:28:45 +0000

As Sarah and I are both employees of Getty Images, we had the opportunity to get an inside look at the Getty Archive in east London on this trip. The Getty Archive is a collection of 80 million photos and films across nearly all possible media: paper prints, cellulose and glass negatives, video tape, and even images made onto leather. The earliest date back almost 200 years to the birth of photography (well before it was even called that).

Day 12: Return to London

Fri, 17 May 2019 16:17:49 +0000

So you’re strolling along through an airport at a leisurely pace and as you step onto one of those escalator-like horizontal moving walkways you add your current walking speed to the forward motion of the walkway and so instantly you go whoosh as your body tries to catch up to your feet and you’re disoriented for a quarter second.

That’s roughly what it feels like coming back from the eastern Mediterranean to London and The West.

Checked Babies

Thu, 16 May 2019 12:48:06 +0000

Coming to an airline near you: checked baby service. Parents don’t pay for checked babies; instead, all of the other passengers take up a collection. Airlines: I’m available for hire as a consultant.

Day 11: Izmir

Thu, 16 May 2019 11:41:22 +0000

Zeynep left to return to home and work today. I tremendously appreciated her on this trip. Not only is she a great friend, but also our interface to Turkish language and culture.

Izmir looks like a fairly typical large & dense city. Most buildings (especially residential) are eight stories high and packed one after each other. Traffic is thick and less orderly relative to Canada but still very manageable when on foot. The streets were very clean, and felt safe as we walked around at night.

Day 10: Winding Down

Thu, 16 May 2019 09:02:44 +0000

Today was our last full day in the Seferihisar area with Zeynep. We planned a day at the beach, but the sky was overcast and the water cold, so we didn’t go for a swim. We spent most of the day at a beach cafe in Sığcık with Zeynep’s friend Ezgi, talking about life in Turkey and elsewhere.

On this trip, we’ve kept to well-developed areas and spent time with secular social-democratic people. From our narrow slice of Turkey it’s easy to consider it a country and culture very much like our own. We have great mobile Internet, ATM and credit cards work fine, air conditioning is common, there’s lots of newer cars on the well-paved roads.

Learning backgammon in Turkish

Tue, 14 May 2019 14:27:09 +0000

Turkey 2019

Tue, 14 May 2019 14:22:34 +0000

House of the Virgin Mary 2019

Tue, 14 May 2019 14:16:52 +0000

Mary is not mad, just very disappointed in you.

Sarah and Zeynep wearing “appropriate dress” for their trip to the House of the Virgin Mary.

Sarah getting “purified” from the holy springs.

The Virgin Mary’s graphic team is on point.

Day 9: Ephesus

Tue, 14 May 2019 13:47:29 +0000

You know you’re so foreign when the guy with the automatic rifle checking identification just takes one look at you and waves you through.

Today we visited some of the major tourist spots around western Turkey. Our first stop was the House of the Virgin Mary. It’s certainly a beautiful site, set up on a mountain covered in dense forest. As with all things spiritually-focused, I found myself contemplating the dichotomies of the religious and secular worlds, and the elements of humanity that allow religious belief to develop.

Day 8: Sığacık, Turkey

Mon, 13 May 2019 11:37:50 +0000

We spent the day in the seaside town of Sığacık, a place for fishing boats and tourists. The high season doesn’t start until June, so almost all of the tourists were Turkish not too plentiful.

Sığacık (and it’s parent city of Seferihisar) are part of the “Slow City” movement known as Cittaslow. It espouses many quality of life improvements you’d want in a modern city: walkability, green spaces, organic food served leisurely, and environmental consciousness. The snail is the Cittaslow mascot.

Day 7: Flight to Turkey

Sat, 11 May 2019 20:27:18 +0000

I’ll keep this short as we’re still out at dinner. We got to Izmir in Turkey just fine, and are having a great time with Sarah’s bestie Zeynep and her mom. Turkey has been great so far; we’re having a blast. More updates tomorrow.

Day 6: National Garden

Fri, 10 May 2019 21:26:52 +0000

Today was a relatively lazy day; I spent most of the morning prepping for our trip to Turkey and fighting with various service providers.

In the afternoon we toured the National Garden: Athens’ equivalent of Central Park. It was appropriately lush and nicely peaceful (considering it’s surrounded on 4 sides by heavily trafficked streets).

Dinner was out in the Monastriaki district, a restaurant-and-bar-heavy commercial district that skewed more local than Plaka. The food we had in Athens was simple in composition but always rich in flavour, and was probably my personal highlight of the stay.

Day 5, Part 2: A Different History Lesson

Thu, 09 May 2019 21:48:02 +0000

On our way home we saw a crowd gathered at Zappeio Hall for some sort of celebration, complete with a stage, lights, balloons, and an orchestra. Sarah, always looking for fun and adventure, excitedly dove in headfirst, with me following close behind.

The occasion: May 9, better known as Victory Day for the Soviet Union in World War 2. About a thousand people had gathered to celebrate the Red Army’s victory over the Nazis, complete with both Russian and Hammer-and-Sickle flags, speeches, Russian anthems, fireworks, and war propaganda films featuring Stalin on a big screen. There was even a children’s choir! It was full on Communist/Russian nationalism right in the heart of Greece for Zeus only knows what reason.

Day 5, Part 1: Live at the Acropolis!

Thu, 09 May 2019 21:45:10 +0000

Today we hit Athens’ most famous attraction. The Acropolis is the rocky hill overlooking Athens that’s had structures built on it since about 1200 BCE. By the time Pericles started to build the most famous “ancient” structures (most famously the Parthenon), the place was already around 800 years old. 2500 years later, the site has gone through several bouts of construction, lapses, destruction, desecration, religion changes, pillaging, restoration, restoration of the restorations, and now 16,000 tourists a day. If it was made of anything other than marble and limestone it would have disappeared centuries ago.

Day 4: Temple of Zeus

Thu, 09 May 2019 07:12:49 +0000

Today was another exploratory day. This time we walked around a more commercial district. Athens is a very densely packed city — probably more so than Paris due to the narrowness of the streets. Most of the time I’m surrounded by six story buildings, but occasionally the view breaks out into the surrounding mountains.

We went to the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, formerly one of the biggest ancient temples right in the middle of the city. Now only a half dozen columns remain, one toppled due to a storm two hundred years ago. The scale of these things is mind boggling when you consider that they were erected using only muscle and geometry. What’s more: most of the stone that used to make up the columns was removed elsewhere using the same level of technology. “That’s a fine piece of art and engineering that weighs many tons; it would look lovely in my home city 500 miles away.”

Day 3: Plaka, Athens

Tue, 07 May 2019 21:42:50 +0000

Turns out we weren’t as time-zone adjusted as we thought; woke up at 5am and then slept again until 1pm. Not that it mattered one bit.

With half the day gone, we went exploring the Plaka and Monastiraki districts on foot. These are probably the most touristy parts of Athens, filled with lots of shops and restaurants. However, it was a much finer experience than the similar areas I’ve been to in Mexico and Florida. Alongside the t-shirt and trinket shops were also some classier clothing and jewelry stores. I only encountered 3 pushy vendors; the rest either took “no” for an answer or waited to be approached. Certainly a refreshing change from some other places I’ve been.

Day 2: Flying to Athens

Mon, 06 May 2019 21:45:05 +0000

Today was mostly spent in transit. Walk to breakfast, Tube to Heathrow, plane to Athens, taxi to apartment, walk to dinner and groceries.

I can here expecting an experience reminiscent of Latin America. What I’ve gotten so far is something much more European & modern feeling. I guess that shouldn’t be surprising, but the past decade of news from Greece (all debt, protests, and Grexit) left me expecting something far more dystopian. Aside from the graffiti covering everything on the first story, the tiny bit of Athens that I’ve seen has been quite cosmopolitan. We’ve only interacted with four people so far, but they’ve all been very pleasant, friendly and helpful.

Day 1: London

Mon, 06 May 2019 10:53:36 +0000

It’s been two years since I was last in London. It feels good to be here again. London is the closest thing I have to a home east of Saskatchewan. I have family here. I know the language. My accent is just one of dozens. I can navigate the city without getting too lost. I can envision living here if a good enough reason come along. The architecture makes every walk an experience.

Arrived in London

Sun, 05 May 2019 13:23:06 +0000

Got to London safe and without too much sleep deprivation.

Facebook asked me to confirm my identity by identifying my friends. So thank you everyone for being so recognizable.

Eastbound!

Sun, 05 May 2019 00:09:38 +0000

Good day to leave for someplace sunnier.

Racism in Canada

Mon, 15 Apr 2019 16:42:54 +0000

EKOS Poll asking about perceptions of immigration and race. Specifically, they asked whether there were too many visible minorities / “non-whites” coming to Canada, regardless of overall immigration. Straight up, “keep out brown people” sympathies.

42% of all Canadians. 71% of CPC supporters. 19% of Liberals (which had the lowest agreement of all party supporters).

Keep this around next time someone claims that racism isn’t a big problem in Canada.

Birthday, 2019

Mon, 14 Jan 2019 14:46:11 +0000

Celebrating my birthday with this beautiful troublemaker.

Frech Turmoil

Mon, 03 Dec 2018 20:20:46 +0000

I’m glad I got to see Paris when it was still peaceful.

These are the largest protests in 50 years. Police are running out of tear gas and have asked the army to intervene.

These protests have wide public support on both the “right” and “left” (in the city where these terms were invented).

They’re sparked by new taxes on gasoline and diesel as France tries to reduce its carbon emissions.

Guess Where We Are

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 01:05:45 +0000

2018 Calgary Olympic Bid

Mon, 05 Nov 2018 14:59:32 +0000

So I’m (probably) gonna vote No for the Calgary Olympic bid plebiscite. (Advance voting starts tomorrow; main vote is on the 13th)

In general, I would like to see the Olympics in Calgary. I was originally leaning Yes, but in the past couple of weeks I’ve changed my mind.

It’s mostly come down to the recent debacle over who-pays-for-what-and-how-much. Not so much because the specific numbers or designations aren’t to my liking… but because the process is haphazard and poorly planned. The publicized debate in the recent council meetings have been pretty telling; nobody seems to have a good handle on how to pay for this thing.

Alice Dreger on Anatomy Destiny

Tue, 23 Oct 2018 03:58:55 +0000

Alice Dreger has been researching the bridge between genetics and physiology/psychology for ages, and is kind enough to share her wisdom with us in this TED talk.

The short version: genetics, sex, and gender are not nearly as simple as you think. Even before we dig into the tricky issues of culture and society, the fundamental biology – nature itself – is messy and varied and super interesting.

This is worth educating yourself about. Chances are you’ll have an opportunity to educate others when they talk about what makes a “real” man or woman.

Work Perks

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 18:13:01 +0000

Conservatives: If I'd Only Known

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 18:43:24 +0000

“Schuman also said he offers to “help any conservative Instagram page that I find,” adding “had I known about the content, I would never have offered.””

So you go around blindly offering to raise money (from “older, wealthier people”) for groups who you describe as “conservative”, and then get egg on your face when the group turns out to be filled with Nazis & racists.

Here’s some suggestions I have for Mr. Schuman, the rest of the United Conservative Party of Alberta, and people who self-identify as “conservatives” everywhere:

Doug Ford's Power Grab

Mon, 10 Sep 2018 18:58:10 +0000

Summary for those not keeping track: Doug Ford: “I’m going to roll back progress in Ontario by 20 years. “ Toronto: “You suck!” Ford: “Screw you Toronto, I’m going to upset your internal election by removing half your districts, just to fuck with you.” Ontario Judge: “You can’t do that.” Ford: “Screw you Ontario courts, I’m going to override you using a part of the constitution what has never been used in Ontario and was used in Quebec to suppress human rights and impose martial law, because I can.”

Jordan Peterson

Sun, 19 Aug 2018 19:47:12 +0000

Serious question: How much Jordan Peterson do I need to listen to before I can honestly claim that he’s not worth listening to?

36:58 so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xc7DN-noAc

Lighting

Sat, 18 Aug 2018 19:36:12 +0000

Got a new photo light and giving it a whirl. This is straight out of the camera.

#withfilter

Wed, 15 Aug 2018 15:01:31 +0000

Calgary comes with its own sepia filter today!

A Happy Place

Sun, 05 Aug 2018 22:38:59 +0000

I love this spot. Great mix of nature and modern technology.

Changing Times

Mon, 23 Jul 2018 05:36:36 +0000

In the wake of the latest Toronto mass shooting, I realized something about myself.

When I was growing up in the 80s, and I heard “bombing” on the news, I immediately thought “Irish.”

When I was a teenager/young adult in the 90s, and I heard “bombing” or “shooting”, I immediately thought “Islamic.”

Now, in the last half of the 2010s, when I hear “shooting”, I immediately think “incel.”

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/danforth-logan-shooting-1.4757409

Les Miserables

Sun, 22 Jul 2018 01:58:13 +0000

Pretty good seats. I’m sure we’ll be able to smell Javier’s sense of self-righteousness.

Opposing Views

Thu, 21 Jun 2018 00:30:49 +0000

“Listen to people with opposing viewpoints”, they said. “Try to understand where they’re coming from”, they said.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/20/corey-lewandowski-womp-womp-girl-with-downs-syndrome-family-separated-border-video

Bitcoin Retrospective

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 13:07:30 +0000

“If you bought at $Y, you’d be $X poorer now.”

When I wrote this, $Y was $15,030. As of today, $X is $8,326. (78% annualized loss.)

Democracy: You Get What You Deserve

Fri, 08 Jun 2018 04:54:19 +0000

Ontario Liberals: 20.53%. Green 4.62%.

If only 1/3 of these people had voted strategically for the NDP, then Doug Ford wouldn’t have won a majority government.

I hope you’re happy.

Doug Ford

Mon, 21 May 2018 01:45:55 +0000

Doug Ford is basically Ontario’s version of Donald Trump. He defiles the truth, is ambivalent towards reality, and stokes partisan anger for his own benefit.

The party that supports him has about 40% support, and currently has a 90% chance of winning a majority government.

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/onvotes/poll-tracker/

Note that 40% is significantly less than half. The NDP is currently in a strong second place with about 30% support.

This message is for the Ontario Liberal and Green party voters out there; they have the remaining 30%. You, most of all, are going to decide who gets elected to power in two weeks, and possibly how your province will elect its leaders in the future.

Intersex Q&A

Tue, 15 May 2018 00:29:09 +0000

A 90+ Tweet super-interesting Q&A / AMA thread on what “intersex” means, how intersex people fit into our world, and how it breaks thwarts a lot of bad arguments on gender & sexuality. Lots of good quotes, but I’ll cherry-pick this one with even wider appeal:

“I think rather than argue about where to draw arbitrary lines we need to ask why we need those lines and how we can make systems better to embrace and support people with dignity and kindness.”

Reducing Traffic

Sun, 06 May 2018 19:42:55 +0000

Not just “Why”, but also: “What you can do to fix traffic.” Short version:

Leave more space between you and the car in front of you.
Accelerate earlier & more slowly. Decelerate less often & less jarringly.
Yes, use that empty lane that ends & converges into the ones beside it.
Zipper merge, and allow other people to zipper merge.

And I’ll add one of my own: 5. Wave courteously & generally be nice to other drivers, because the above 4 points only work when people feel like other people are being nice to them.

Toronto Van Attack

Tue, 24 Apr 2018 04:49:12 +0000

Tons of interesting things surrounding the Toronto van attack.

Yes, it can happen here too.
This CBC article is great. A good amount of detail for <12 hours in, with appropriate caveats. Neutral tone, clear language.
Kudos to that one cop for taking him alive, especially (by the looks of it), single-handedly. This is despite the attacker making intentionally threatening gestures while trying to appear like he had a gun. A lot of police would have just shot him; now he can be questioned, understood, and brought to trial.

Gerald Stanley Not Guilty

Sat, 10 Feb 2018 15:56:56 +0000

A white man shoots an indigenous man in the head, and then is found Not Guilty by a jury. It happened, ss Alyssa Joy writes: “70 km from my house where I grew up.”

I won’t state a unequivocal position on whether this was the right verdict or not. If you’d like to, feel free to do so below.

But I would like to comment on how difficult, messy, and imperfect it is for our Justice System to actually deliver “justice” as we like to think of it.

Radicalization

Tue, 06 Feb 2018 14:46:24 +0000

CSIS just put out an analysis of how people become “radicalized”. This summary is a Twitter thread so it’s relatively tricky to read, but worth doing so.

https://twitter.com/AmarAmarasingam/status/960591809368948736

Birthday, 2018

Mon, 15 Jan 2018 05:11:10 +0000

So “personal updates” was a recurring theme from my “what would you like to see from my feed?” Since today is my birthday, now seems like a good time for a personal update about the past year, and the forthcoming one.

2017 was plenty tough, not only on a professional level, but on many personal fronts too. I spent the past few months doing a lot of questioning about work, relationships, life, and my own self.

A Bit Frosty

Tue, 26 Dec 2017 18:24:04 +0000

Heading out for a beautiful Saskatchewan walk.

Saskatchewan Christmas

Mon, 25 Dec 2017 18:52:47 +0000

Christmas dawn in Saskatchewan.

Bitcoin Searches

Fri, 22 Dec 2017 15:54:34 +0000

Follow up to my recent post about BitCoins being in a bubble: this graph plots their value along with the number of Google searches.

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/7ldxy7/2017_bitcoin_value_versus_google_search_interest/

Standard of Guilt

Wed, 13 Dec 2017 17:49:36 +0000

I left this as a comment discussing Roy Moore, and how he should be described as an “accused pedophile” rather than a “pedophile”, because he’s “innocent until proven guilty”:

“Innocent until proven guilty” is only the standard for criminal convictions, where we’re depriving the accused of their fundamental freedom (and thus warrant a very high bar to clear). It is not, and should not, be the standard in all circumstances.

Joining Getty

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 23:29:28 +0000

Today I signed a contract to work with Getty Images. This time, it’s said and done; no contract negotiations to derail. So I’m actually employed once again!

I’d like to give a shout out to Randstad, the recruiting company that I went through to get this job. Unlike the other one, the person I worked with there was very helpful, and their contract was approved by my lawyer without any changes required. I’ve dealt with a lot of recruiters over the past few months, and I’d definitely recommend Randstad over the rest.

Bitcoin

Sat, 09 Dec 2017 16:48:45 +0000

So yesterday I had two entirely unconnected sets of friends bring up investing in Bitcoin, and a third did so a few weeks ago. I private messaged with one of them about why this is a crappy idea, and then edited into this post to share with the rest.

TL;DR: Bitcoin is in a classic economic bubble and will crash at some point. It is not a good idea to invest in Bitcoin; save your money and invest elsewhere.

Government of Canada

Fri, 24 Nov 2017 19:19:43 +0000

Maybe it’s just my luck, but every time I’ve dealt with the Government of Canada over the phone lately (EI, corporate taxes, etc), I’ve always gotten someone who is helpful, knowledgeable, cheerful, and easy to understand.

What is this madness???

Penn & Teller

Sat, 21 Oct 2017 04:11:37 +0000

Great show.

I Earned This One

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 04:07:51 +0000

This Is Not Fine Print

Tue, 03 Oct 2017 20:49:00 +0000

I just turned down a job offer because the company’s employment agreement was set up to devour everything I’d possibly dream up software-wise (even after I’d stopped working for them), and/or get me sued by one or more companies.

Two lessons here:

Always read your contracts.
Don’t get greedy when writing your contracts.

Confidence in Knowledge

Thu, 07 Sep 2017 15:37:22 +0000

It’s not just what you know, it’s how confident you are in your knowledge, and how accurate you are in your confidence.

This test illustrates the point. True/false answers on trivia, plus your estimation of how confident you are. The goal is to get your correct % closest to your confidence %.

http://confidence.success-equation.com/

Charlottesville Vigil

Thu, 17 Aug 2017 03:40:16 +0000

Second vigil of the year, this time in honor of Heather Heyer and the other victims of Charlottesville.

There were a few people (early 20s and people of colour from what I could see) dressed all in black and masking their faces while carrying Antifa flags. Also the organizers used some explicitly communist language.

Beyond that though I found it quite sedate, and definitely non-violent in tone as well as action. Lots of messages of inclusiveness… except the one explicit exclusion of anyone who had any support for Trump and the white supremacists. Personally, I was OK with this.

Resume Writing

Tue, 08 Aug 2017 14:48:23 +0000

Write a 500 word essay that convincingly justifies your value as a person. Lay out your soul while simultaneously not oversharing. You’ll have to guess at what your audience wants to hear; any misstep may well be used as a reason to reject you. But you have to be unique enough to stand out from the crowd, because uniformity means dismissal. Repeat at least twice a day, every day. Each iteration has to be uniquely crafted to the recipient. Expect to be ignored and/or rejected outright 90% of the time. You’ll receive no feedback.

Air Scrubbing

Fri, 21 Jul 2017 02:11:27 +0000

I love rain, even brief showers, on a hot, smoky day. It’s like nature is giving the air a bath.

Both Sides Are Not Just As Bad

Sun, 18 Jun 2017 18:34:10 +0000

I often hear things along the lines of “extremists on the left are just as bad as those on the right.” Marco deconstructs this with respect to political violence.

TL;DR: Violence is far more prevalent on the far-right side of the political spectrum… and is steadily creeping towards the mainstream. The left doesn’t mirror this.

http://politicalomnivore.blogspot.ca/2017/06/left-vs-right-calls-for-violence.html

Making Liberals Mad

Fri, 02 Jun 2017 23:52:39 +0000

This is the most important thing to understand about our current political environment:

“Right now Trump’s major value proposition–arguably his primary value-prop all along–was Making Liberals Mad. That’s what he does best. It’s arguably all he does. "

http://politicalomnivore.blogspot.ca/2017/06/how-you-should-think-about-latest-trump.html

CPC Leadership Election

Mon, 29 May 2017 04:55:33 +0000

Well, the experiment is over, and the Conservatives have chosen Andrew Scheer as their new leader. Here’s my thoughts on the election:

I received 23 emails from Scheer’s campaign until I got sick of them and unsubscribed in March. His messaging was pretty typical conservative fair: cutting taxes, balance budgets, defeat the Liberals and Justin Trudeau. Also, a weird emphasis on adding Property Rights to the Charter. There were a couple of themes that were somewhat anti-Islam but nothing too onerous.

All-Day Breakfast

Mon, 24 Apr 2017 10:45:18 +0000

What do you do when you wake up at 4 am, still on Paris time? Make crepes, apparently.

Slumming It

Sat, 22 Apr 2017 21:27:00 +0000

You know you’ve hit the seedy part of Paris when most of the signs are in English.

Sainte-Chapelle 2017

Fri, 21 Apr 2017 19:35:02 +0000

Notre Dame 2017

Fri, 21 Apr 2017 19:33:02 +0000

Walking the Streets

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 22:25:37 +0000

In related news, I was intending to post this earlier: on our way back from dinner on our first night in Paris, we happened to encounter a 6-man French military squad (I’m not sure which branch) patrolling the streets. Green camo fatigues and (actual) assault rifles. They were not unfriendly, but didn’t say much; just went about their business. Similar soldiers at Versailles and the Louvre, and at the train stations too.

A Nice Night Out

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 21:37:13 +0000

Cynthia and I went out for a lovely meal at a very fancy French restaurant today, just blocks from the Champs Elysee. Fortunately, we were not shot in the process. #safe

The Louvre

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 16:14:56 +0000

The Louvre overwhelmed me. Billions of brush strokes, chisel cuts, and carvings, all made with such intent, over untold hours of labor. And here I am, spending, at best, 30 seconds of time appreciating them, if I’m able to notice them at all. 25,000 people are doing the same thing every day.

It’s Too Much art in one place. You could fill a thousand galleries with the pieces here. Some of the paintings would cover half my apartment. I walk with a sense of dread imaging what a stray bomb or fire would do to the works of humanity.

Thoughts on Paris, Mid-Trip

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 20:37:15 +0000

One of the more useful skills to have is setting your expectations according to the people you are traveling with.
Paris residential architecture isn’t as interesting as London. But the architecture of the major attractions is incredible.
The Eiffel Tower was far more impressive than I expected. It’s huge, and has a much greater presence than buildings that are technically taller. It’s also ringed with the names of famous French scientists and intellectuals.

Verseilles 2017

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 20:17:53 +0000

Musée Rodin 2017

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 20:38:21 +0000

Paris 2017

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 20:26:09 +0000

Last day in Paris

Background Music

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 20:23:20 +0000

Here’s the music that playing in my head as I walk through Paris. I invite you to play it in the background as you browse through my photos.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hopaQjQFUYw

British Museum 2017

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 20:08:43 +0000

Victoria & Albert Museum 2017

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 19:51:05 +0000

Leaving London

Mon, 17 Apr 2017 09:06:14 +0000

Thoughts on London as I leave:

It reminds me a lot like New York, but with the volume turned down to a comfortable level. There’s lots of hustle, bustle, and metropolitaniality, but lacks a certain oppressiveness. You can still see the sky, even in the central commercial areas. Less garbage too.
I think that’s partly because of the obvious British influence on Canadian culture. Things just feel familiar here, even with the British accent.

Windsor 2017

Sat, 15 Apr 2017 21:27:36 +0000

London 2017

Sat, 15 Apr 2017 07:52:33 +0000

Women's Day Challenge

Thu, 09 Mar 2017 01:39:41 +0000

Challenge for men on International Women’s Day - donate $0.20 of every dollar you earn today. Let the women in your life decide where that money will go.

(Also, don’t post about how much it is to make yourself look good. Just be honest and do it.)

(Female friends: please send me your thoughts on worthy causes. PM or comment here is fine. Thanks!)

Jiu Jitsu Tournament Cancelled

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 14:43:52 +0000

It’s silly that Canadians can’t (legally) choose to take part in a sport / art that is generally (and relatively) safe but happens to involve specific activities. (Strikes with the fists, hands, and feet.)
It’s silly that is disallowed while our our (stereotypical) national pastime – hockey – regularly and expectedly has televised fist fights. Nobody goes to jail for that.
It’s troubling that the only reason that the competition was cancelled this year (and not the previous 8) is that the cops decided to involve themselves for this particular time & event.

Border Crossings

Wed, 22 Feb 2017 02:22:38 +0000

Important points from this story:

The person blocked from entering the US didn’t commit any crime. He even tried to provide evidence that he wasn’t guilty of the crime they said he was committing. CBP didn’t care, and blocked him anyway, with no recourse. (I’ll let you ponder whether him being gay had anything to do with him being blocked.)
When he tried to cross a second time, he offered to give CBP his passwords. They they didn’t need them, because they’d already saved them from the last time he tried to cross. (Change your passwords people.)

The Power Handshake

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 02:22:20 +0000

So this is ultimately silly, but indulge me.

Here’s Trump shaking hands with his own Supreme Court nominee:

https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/files/2017/02/GorsuchHandshake.gif

Here he is with the Prime Minister of Japan:

https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/rehost/2017/2/10/1990b49c-3c7d-46ec-9cbe-d35868e1a892.gif

Here’s Trudeau, one step ahead of him:

https://i.redd.it/idvxkvzpknfy.gif

I really hope that this is a metaphor for US-Canada relations in the immediate future.

Guilt by Association

Sat, 11 Feb 2017 20:21:29 +0000

This is the age we live in: when your FB friends/acquaintances and your religion can get you banned from the Land of the Free. /s

I personally have never had a border guard asked if I’ve attended a mosque or who my Facebook friends are. I wonder why that is.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/another-canadian-citizen-refused-entry-united-states-border-1.3976230?cmp=rss

Trade Wars

Thu, 09 Feb 2017 05:36:11 +0000

This is a very, very difficult line to walk. I don’t know what the right answer is.

One thing is clear though: we need to start making trade deals with other parts of the world. We can’t be dependent on the US any more.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canadians-want-trudeau-to-stand-up-to-trump-even-if-it-leads-to-trade-war-poll/article33948451/

Papers and Digits, Please

Wed, 08 Feb 2017 06:52:30 +0000

Today I Learned that you can be detained and arrested if you do not provide your phone & computer passwords to Canada Border Security agents when entering Canada, regardless of whether you’re a citizen, and irrespective of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

http://www.canada-usblog.com/2016/08/16/the-waiting-game-we-will-have-to-wait-longer-to-find-out-about-what-canadian-courts-think-of-cbsa-asking-for-passwords/

Demagogues

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 14:42:33 +0000

“‘This mosque attack is no accident: It’s a direct result of demagogues and wannabe demagogues playing to fears and prejudices,’ Chong tweeted.”

Although Chong did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump and Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch by name, Chong’s spokesperson Chisholm Pothier confirmed to CBC News that Trump and Leitch were the “demagogue” and “wannabe demagogue” the MP was referring to in his tweets."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trump-leitch-politics-fear-1.3959265

Sainte-Foy Mosque Vigil

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 02:42:55 +0000

Until tonight, I’d never attended a march, rally, protest, or similar event. Tonights’ vigil for the victims of the Sainte-Foy mosque was my first.

It was everything it should have been. A major theme of solidarity, transcending religious lines. Rejection of terrorism, both domestic and foreign. Speeches by religious leaders, including Jewish and Indigenous. Calls to stand against misogyny, racism, xenophobia, isolation, and hatred. Lots of people of all ethnicities, including lots of white people (as is Calgary), and thanks to everyone for their show of support. Explicit mentions of humanism. Clear anti-Trump message. Spontaneous singing of O Canada.

Punching Nazis

Sat, 28 Jan 2017 15:35:08 +0000

“And yeah, punching their lights out may only serve to close their minds further, but, it does in fact teach them to keep their nonsense to themselves and not spout it publicly, and that they aren’t safe if they do. So, I just can’t get behind the idea of ’no, you can’t do that, it’s just more violence!’ because I’ve been there and know that’s the language they speak, that I once spoke; it was the language I best understood at the time.

Orwellian

Tue, 24 Jan 2017 14:33:52 +0000

A Redditor applauds the use of the word “Orwellian” to describe “alternative facts”:

“Trump has demonstrated an uncanny, almost unbelievable ability to just bend the past however he wants. And you can protest all you want; nobody is really stopping him. We all get shocked in the moment - How could he have the unmitigated gall to say this shocking thing? But he delivers these shocks so regularly that nobody has time to fully process them. If a scandal blows up for more than two days, Trump will just do something else outrageous and the former story will be dropped to cover the new one. Trump is exploiting the media’s goldfish attention span He’s overloading the news, giving them so much scandal that they don’t even have time to cover it all.”

Indivisible

Sun, 22 Jan 2017 16:18:08 +0000

So, how do you actually change things in today’s political landscape, assuming the people who you want to vote for aren’t already in power? (And assuming you aren’t ready to use guns.)

The Indivisible Guide describes how the Tea Party swept to power in the US, transforming the GOP into the thing it is today, and enabling Trump to win his election.

Now, a group of progressive citizens, many with direct political experience, are getting together to use the same organization strategies to fight against the damage that will be caused if they do nothing.

Protests

Sun, 22 Jan 2017 16:07:55 +0000

The Women’s March was pretty awesome. I probably would have gone if I’d happen to know about it.

Now, there’s a problem: protests are great to gain attention, but they don’t actually change policy. The Guardian, in their usual awesomeness, talks about how protest movements fail. We’ve seen lots of examples in recent history too.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/19/womens-march-washington-occupy-protest

My next post: what to do to take this from spectacle to action.

Birthday, 2017

Sat, 14 Jan 2017 18:26:40 +0000

Just in time for my 40th birthday! Now get the hell off my lawn you punks.

Carbon Tax

Mon, 19 Dec 2016 15:00:59 +0000

It’s encouraging to see that CBC’s “How the carbon tax will affect 6 families” includes a single dude who can totally afford it but still is grumpy about it. Everyone is represented!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-carbon-tax-impact-climate-change-canada-1.3895133

Taking a Stand on Trumpism

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 15:04:08 +0000

Follow my logic here please:

A certain percentage of the population are total assholes.
I will not, under any circumstances, abide by their behaviour, regardless of their other redeeming qualities. The story below is one example of this. I am a generally tolerant person, but I will not tolerate behaviour like this.
Anyone who does accept, condone, or even ignore behaviour like this is part of the problem. That doesn’t make them as bad as these people, but they are still having a negative impact on the world by not fighting against crap like this.

Joining the CPC

Sun, 20 Nov 2016 16:55:27 +0000

Based on the idea from Amber Van D, I plunked down $15 to become a member of the (federal) Conservative Party of Canada. My primary purpose is to vote in the upcoming CPC leadership election.

I had a brief moment of feeling “dirty” about giving money to “them.” I’d like to talk about why I think this is not a useful concept, and why I can feel good about paying to join.

Third Party Votes

Wed, 09 Nov 2016 04:54:33 +0000

Listen up everyone.

Go to any map with state-by-state vote tallys and check the states that still aren’t called yet. (Below is ABC’s which is pretty decent).

Check out the difference between Trump and Hillary. Then check out the number of votes cast for 3rd party candidates.

Notice that the difference between the two actual contenders is generally a lot less than the sum of the Stein/Johnson votes.

Meaning that all of those people who “voted their conscience” ended up putting Trump into power.

Backdoor to Democracy

Sat, 17 Sep 2016 14:49:03 +0000

Ok, so here’s the plan:

We wait until October when Trump is beating Hillary in the polls.
We propose to join the US, but only on the condition that Hillary drops Tim Kaine and makes Nenshi her running mate.
Hillary, in desperation, accepts the deal.
We exercise this legal loophole, forcing our way into the US.
With our Canadian votes, the Democrats win the Presidency and majorities in the House and Senate.
We (politely) insist the Democrats follow our lead in cleaning up the messed-up American political system. Otherwise, we threaten to leave, ensuring a Republican return to power.

WE CAN DO IT!

Go!

Thu, 21 Jul 2016 23:54:57 +0000

It’s a beautiful day to Pokemon in Central Memorial Park.

Fort Mac Fires

Fri, 06 May 2016 02:40:50 +0000

Three years since the floods, ten since the hurricane. The fires in Ft. Mac look way scarier than either of those.

In case you haven’t heard yet, both the Alberta and Canadian governments are matching donation to the Red Cross. So every dollar you gives counts triple.

https://donate.redcross.ca/ea-action/action?&ea.client.id=1951&ea.campaign.id=50639

David Suzuki

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 05:19:17 +0000

I’m impressed; David Suzuki sounds exactly like he did when I was watching him in the 80s.

It’s disheartening to hear him, of all people, describe environmentalism as “failed” so decisively.

Also: Peter Mansbridge does a pretty fine job of interviewing. Double win for the CBC.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/david-suzuki-turns-80-cbc-the-national-1.3492707?cmp=rss

Worst CAH Draw Ever

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:47:39 +0000

Worst CAH draw ever.

Abusers

Mon, 08 Feb 2016 14:47:01 +0000

Here’s one of the many good reasons of Why People Don’t Accuse Their Abusers. Regardless of what was done to you, you can expect anything you said or did to be used against you.

http://canadalandshow.com/article/why-did-jian-ghomeshi-keep-lucy-decouteres-letter

Winter Solstice

Tue, 22 Dec 2015 14:59:48 +0000

Happy Solstice everyone. Remember, things get brighter from here on out.

Calgary Graffiti

Fri, 04 Dec 2015 18:16:20 +0000

I love that:

People cared enough to respond in this way, as opposed to something more negative.
CBC (and others?) saw it as newsworthy enough to report on it, even though it’s not stereotypically sensational.
We, as consumers of news media, appreciate the positive message enough that CBC can find it viably newsworthy.

Our society needs more of this.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/tuscany-lrt-graffiti-scrubbed-replaced-messages-love-1.3350559?cmp=rss

Dog Wistle

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 05:14:28 +0000

I’ve had to explain “Dog Wistle Politics” to more than a few Canadian friends now. (That’s a good thing; it means it’s not common here.)

In politics, a “Dog Whistle” is the use of language that isn’t particularly offensive or notable on it’s surface… but is really a signal to a particular group of people/voters that the candidate is aligned with their beliefs. Those beliefs are usually unpalatable to the general public, and thus need to be kept on the down-low to avoid backlash. Hence, the message that only certain people can “hear”.

Gender Neutral Washrooms

Thu, 24 Sep 2015 15:45:26 +0000

Reasons this is awesome:

This is a pretty logical decision all the way around.
It supports LGBT inclusiveness.
It’s done by a Catholic school.
It’s in “conservative” Alberta.
It’s in a small, rural town.
It’s not all-or-nothing; there’s still two gendered washrooms for those who don’t buy-in to the concept right off the bat.
They’re doing it without a lot of fuss, consternation, or cost.

This is a great test bed for the rest of the system/province/country/world.

Ben Carson

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 17:28:31 +0000

Ben Carson (a neurosurgeon, professor, and director at Johns Hopkins) is living proof that “educated” (or even “doctor”) does not equate “smart”.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/ben-carson-big-bang-a-fairy-tale-theory-of-evolution-encoura#.jhJ24lq73

Strategic Voting

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 16:33:15 +0000

TL;DR: If you are in Calgary/Centre, and you prefer any party over the Conservatives, then there’s really only one choice on who to vote for: Kent Hehr for the Liberals. It’s a close enough race to matter who you vote for.

The How & Why to follow:

To everyone in Calgary Centre Federal Riding: (That’s roughly the area between Deerfoot, Glenmore, Sarcee, and Memorial)

As of the latest ThreeHundredEight riding poll, The PC candidate Joan Crockatt is in a neck-and-neck race with Liberal Kent Hehr. (36.4% vs 35.8%).

Science Isn't Broken

Thu, 20 Aug 2015 16:58:04 +0000

“Taken together, headlines like these might suggest that science is a shady enterprise that spits out a bunch of dressed-up nonsense. But I’ve spent months investigating the problems hounding science, and I’ve learned that the headline-grabbing cases of misconduct and fraud are mere distractions. The state of our science is strong, but it’s plagued by a universal problem: Science is hard — really fucking hard.

If we’re going to rely on science as a means for reaching the truth — and it’s still the best tool we have — it’s important that we understand and respect just how difficult it is to get a rigorous result.”

Voting reform

Fri, 07 Aug 2015 15:30:49 +0000

Voting reform is definitely one of the most underrated campaign issues. It gets very little press but affects how our entire system of government works.

In particular, it serves to keep two political parties (the Liberals and the Conservatives) in power, alternating between the two. And it ensures that upstarts like Elizabeth May and the Green Party remain irrelevant.

The NDP are the ones most likely to do anything about it. The Conservatives sure won’t, as they’re the ones benefiting the most from the left & centrist vote splitting. The Liberals are unlikely to as well, as historically they’ve benefitted from being the most centrist/mainstream.

Shelter In Place

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 21:12:19 +0000

Just got this from my building management… one day late, of course:

“In the event of severe weather, like a tornado, the best and safest place for all residents is in the parkade of the building”

…unless, of course, the severe weather involves flooding, in which case that’s a very bad place for all residents to be.

Life Expectancy

Tue, 14 Jul 2015 18:59:55 +0000

I’ve got just under 44 years left:

http://gosset.wharton.upenn.edu/mortality/perl/CalcForm.html

(82.45 years total, 53% left).

What interested me most was the upgrades:

If you have 2-3 drinks per day, your life expectancy would be 0.11 years longer If you do not drive, your life expectancy would be 0.08 years longer If you do not have any stress listed in the table, your life expectancy would be 0.78 years longer If you become a conditioning exercizer, your life expectancy would be 0.97 years longer Consuming all 5 classes of food everyday has maximized your life expectancy If you do not have any sexual partner, your life expectancy would be 0.55 years longer Having between 7 and 8 hours of sleep a day has maximized your life expectancy

Ralph Klein, COMMIE!

Fri, 08 May 2015 17:20:49 +0000

Ralph Klein, COMMIE!

So, like I do, I had to fact check this claim. Turns out it’s not only right, but it’s understating things: the corporate tax rate in 2000 was 15%.

http://www.finance.alberta.ca/publications/tax_rebates/rates/hist1.html

I think this makes things pretty clear though. While the post-Klein PCs may have not done a great job managing finances, Alberta’s deficit-or-surplus state probably has more to do with oil prices than with tax levels.

So, the NDP’s 2% corporate tax hike isn’t going to be devastating. If we’re devastated in 4 years, it’ll almost certainly because of energy prices, not government policy.

Password Security

Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:51:11 +0000

I wrote this up for work after getting a complaint about a 12-character minimum password length I set for my upcoming website launch. I figured it was worth sharing.

That 8 character password of yours? If it’s just letters (both upper and lower case), it can be hacked in 3 hours using a single desktop computer. Making this 9 characters increases the time to 8 days. 12 characters: 3000 years.

Top Down in January

Mon, 26 Jan 2015 02:20:27 +0000

Top down on January 25. Because why not.

Fetishizing Happiness

Thu, 01 Jan 2015 22:54:15 +0000

An awesome thought (with video) by Sean Carroll to kick off 2015:

“What I’m against is fetishizing happiness… we make a mistake, because we think that there is some way to be, some situation we can put ourselves in forever, and then that will be like heaven. But the nature of life itself is movement and change and evolution; there can’t be a perfect state of being… So what do we have instead? … It’s that story [that we tell about ourselves] that gives meaning and success to our lives; it’s not the attainment of any one state of being where we get there and we stop. It’s a story with a beginning, and a middle, and inevitably – according to the laws of physics – an end. And how well that story is, once you’re done telling it, is the measure of success of your life.”

Street Harassment

Thu, 13 Nov 2014 16:51:22 +0000

The best article I’ve read so far about street harassment. It’s written by a man, and mostly focused towards men (but really towards harassment apologists). It hits all the points and eloquently demolishes all of the standard counter messages out there.

“Saying hello is like a single drop of water. It’s harmless, it’s natural, it’s inconsequential, and yet it can also be an implement of torture. And certainly, if a man says hello to a woman he fancies even though she’s given no sign of interest, that is a selfish act. It’s an attempt to mask his desire for her attention behind a veil of courtesy. But unless that guy says hello to everyone all the time, like a Midwesterner, it’s not about being friendly.”

Unicode Hug

Fri, 31 Oct 2014 06:04:27 +0000

Here. Have a Unicode hug: ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ

Infrared PIN Theft

Sun, 31 Aug 2014 16:15:58 +0000

Ok, this one is VERY MUCH WORTH WATCHING. It affects you directly if you use a payment card with a PIN (which is almost everyone these days).

The gist is that with a cheap, unobtrusive, and easily available infrared camera, someone can steal your ATM PIN code by snapping a pic of the keypad right after you use it. Researchers claimed an 80% success rate, and this video shows how easy it is to do.

Marina Abramovic

Mon, 30 Dec 2013 20:00:30 +0000

“Marina Abramovic and Ulay started an intense love story in the 70s, performing art out of the van they lived in. When they felt the relationship had run its course, they decided to walk the Great Wall of China, each from one end, meeting for one last big hug in the middle and never seeing each other again. at her 2010 MoMa retrospective Marina performed ‘The Artist Is Present’ as part of the show, a minute of silence with each stranger who sat in front of her. Ulay arrived without her knowing it and this is what happened.”

Holy Shield

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 21:15:21 +0000

A cleric defending Ukranian protesters from riot police. The hard hat totally gives him +1 to AC.

http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/drugoi/484155/8818789/8818789_original.jpg

Representative Democracy

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 17:18:40 +0000

When almost three-quarters of the country disagrees with the actions of just-over-half of the government, you can’t really claim Representative Democracy any more.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-01/americans-by-72-oppose-shutdown-tied-to-health-care-cuts.html

Alberta 2013

Fri, 23 Aug 2013 15:52:33 +0000

Oyen, Alberta

Drumheller, Alberta

The beginning of the home stretch.

Screw Walking

Sun, 21 Jul 2013 01:09:04 +0000

10 hours in to not having a car and I’ve already discovered that not having a car really sucks. I guess that settles that decision. :-P

Late Night Encounter

Tue, 16 Jul 2013 07:18:09 +0000

Well that was an interesting experience.

I park in Bridgeland because of the flooded parking garage. To return home, I walk south across the Bow via Langevin Bridge. My place is right on the border between ritzy riverfront condos and the still-skeezy areas of the East Village; I’m never out of sight of the drop-in centre.

I’m out late, returning home after midnight. It’s been a tough day, but I just

Accupuncture

Thu, 11 Jul 2013 17:38:35 +0000

Because after you’ve been evacuated from your flooded home, the thing you want most is needles stuck in your ears.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2013/07/11/calgary-acupuncture-flood-w.html?cmp=rss

Flood Parking

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 23:22:12 +0000

So my car has a new (temporary) home in Bridgeland as the street parking becomes for-pay again, and the new rains slow the repair of the garage. It’s about a 15 min walk away, so it has to be important to be worth getting. Time to see what life without any car at all would be like.

Ikea Delivery

Fri, 05 Jul 2013 00:46:05 +0000

Ikea guy just delivered my furniture. His partner was AWOL, so he lifted 6 boxes up the stairs by himself. (He refused my offers of help until it came to the mattress & box spring, which were impossible to maneuver up the stairwell with just one person.)

His delivery immediately prior was to the other tower in my complex. He lifted whatever he was delivering up 8 floors of stairs. The Asian recipients followed him up, and apparently were laughing the whole time.

Air Conditioning

Wed, 03 Jul 2013 18:48:09 +0000

Here’s the funny thing about air conditioning. We add heat to the outside so that we can take heat from the inside (which came in from the outside) and put it outside. And there more heat there is outside, the more heat comes inside.

Canada Day 2013

Tue, 02 Jul 2013 05:44:38 +0000

Fish Parking

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 16:26:47 +0000

There are, literally, fish in my parking garage.

Enmax Chapter 1 Verse 1

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 16:26:12 +0000

And Enmax said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Enmax saw that the light was good, and they separated the light from the darkness.

Returning Home

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 05:28:11 +0000

Got into my apartment yesterday. No power except the emergency lighting in the stairwells. But it’s not soaking wet either. Apartment was dry, no damage that I saw. Threw out everything in the fridge, but nothing new was growing, so that’s a win. Drove past tonight and saw some pretty heavy-looking machinery doing their thing, likely pumping and cleaning. I’m guessing I’ll be going home in the next day or two. I’m really looking forward to it; I miss my own space.

Flooding, Day 4

Sun, 23 Jun 2013 19:08:20 +0000

My neighbourhood isn’t open but I see lots of areas that are safe for return. Very happy with all of the Calgary infrastructure & repair operators.

Flooding, Day 3

Sat, 22 Jun 2013 07:45:22 +0000

Took a walk down Meredith Road and zoomed in to my apartment building across the river. Flood waters to north, east, south, and west, but the main floor of my building appears to be spared. The status of the parking garage remains to be seen, but for now I’m considering myself fortunate.

Thoughts on the Floods

Fri, 21 Jun 2013 20:18:31 +0000

So, here’s the perspective that I’m carrying with me today. In 2005, right before I moved back to Calgary, I was living in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida when Hurricane Wilma hit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Wilma

By the time it got to me, Wilma was a weak Category 2/strong Category 1. This was not long after Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast at a Category 5.

There’s a lot of differences that stand out to me between now and then:

Flooding, Day 2

Fri, 21 Jun 2013 15:00:22 +0000

Here’s my building. The flood waters aren’t up to the foot of the building, which is excellent news for me. Still concerned about the parking garage (3 levels deep), as that could have flooded, and spilled who knows what vehicle fluids into it. But so far it’s looking good.

https://twitter.com/pipesking/status/348057512249012224/photo/1

Higher Ground

Fri, 21 Jun 2013 00:18:16 +0000

Downtown communities getting evac’d one by one, and the waters are still rising… So I packed up my stuff and got north of the river ahead of the traffic surge. Clothes, computer, phone, passport, wallet, cash, full tank of gas, I’m good to go. Might sleep on my own bed tonight, might not, we’ll see. But I’m safe and doing fine.

Flooding in Calgary

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 21:49:04 +0000

Just checked the river near my place… there’s at least 8-10 feet (and very wide) before it would crest the banks. Not too worried. Pity anyone who falls in though.

Still prefer this to a hurricane.

An empty Memorial Trail

Beneath the 4th Ave Flyover on Memorial Trail

Three mounted police officers patrolling Memorial Trail

Floodwaters on Memorial Trail

East Downtown Calgary across the Bow River

A duck swims past stranded cars on a flooded Memorial Trail

Wait a minute, logs don't float upstream. Huge beaver paddling up the Bow at Langevin Bridge.

Riverfront Avenue along the flooded Bow River

High water crashes against Langevin Bridge and the 4th Ave Flyover

Parking

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 20:08:44 +0000

I think I’ll park my car outside of the parking garage tonight.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2013/06/20/calgary-city-emergency-plan-ch.html

Calgary is Debt Free

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 20:07:38 +0000

You know what’s kinda scary? Most Western people (especially from my generation onward) have lived under governmental debt (often huge piles of it depending where & when) for all of their lives. Here’s one small step in the opposite direction.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2013/03/01/calgary-alberta-debt-free.html?cmp=rss

The Half-Life of Truth

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:04:12 +0000

THe half-life of truth is 45 years.

http://reason.com/archives/2012/12/24/half-the-facts-you-know-are-probably-wro

New York 2012

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 23:10:59 +0000

I changed rooms in my hotel… Didn’t realize that I was only 1 block away from the Empire State Building.

Safety Deposit Box

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 22:09:11 +0000

Retrieved my passport from my bank safety deposit box after depositing a reasonably large sum of money. Totally felt like I was in a spy movie.

Saddle Up

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:42:30 +0000

Saw a bunch of horses “parked” outside of Costco while their riders (presumably) shopped. Why yes, I do live in Alberta, why do you ask?

Making a Difference

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 21:36:16 +0000

So, how much does your vote count? If you live in Nevada, then there’s a 10% chance that your vote could decide who gets to be the next US President. 7 other states have probabilities > 1%. Everywhere else… it doesn’t matter one bit.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/election-forecast-obama-begins-with-tenuous-advantage/