New-ish Beginnings

my Powerbook crashed on me so this will be the digest version of my original musings on post-Election thoughts.

I predicted on a bet on Sunday (without looking at any final polls) the following results for yesterday's election:

132- Conservatives
90- Liberals
58- Bloc Quebecois
27- NDP
1- Independent

The actual results are as follows:

124- Conservatives
103- Liberals
51- Bloc Quebecois
29- NDP
1- Independent

I'm surprised that the Bloc were unable to grab more seats than they did. The Federalist in me is pleased. It's good to see both the Liberals and Conservatives with some sort of representation in Quebec.

Regionally, nothing's changed, with the West still more or less Conservative (particularly, Alberta's Blue Sweep) while all of Southern Ontario went Blue except for the GTA (which has become a Liberal/NDP bastion). The fact that few urban areas were willing to consider the Conservatives as an alternative distresses me as to whether or not there will be a new divide among Canada between the urban and rural populations vis a vis the 'East-West' clash (which actually baffles me a little, in that we've been unable to solve the problem before). While the pundits hope that a western Canada PM will change that (i.e. voice Western Canada issues), the problem remains that the attitude of Us vs. Them is still with us, that we're not trying to reconcile ourselves into one nation but that the other kids have the power now.

However, that is not to say that I don't believe Harper will just focus on Western Canada issues. His party's put out a very articulate vision of what they want Canada to be (even if you disagree with it) and have gained support throughout Canada. For that, they deserve credit and kudos. I dislike the knee-jerk pessimism of him being in office that is prevalent with my peers. Martin's disappointing run at the office shows that even with people we thought had the vision of Canada that we thought was good, they don't necessary turn out to achieve anything. For that, PM Harper should be given at minimum, the benefit of the doubt, if not a fair chance for him to show what he can do for all of Canada.

I don't believe that Harper has a hidden agenda, and with the configuration of our future Parliament, it seems like there will be much consensus building that he'll have to preside over. How he'll reconcile the social conservative wing of his party with the rest of Canada will be interesting. Another question will be whether the consensus needed will result in actual compromise in the bills that are passed (since it'll require 3 of 4 parties to vote in favour) or whether they'll be diluted to mean nothing. How his cabinet will fair will also play a factor, since none of them will have any experience handling a Federal Portfolio (even if they do have provincial experience). It's been said before. It's easy to criticize and be the opposition. It's much more difficult once you're in power, how to actually run the machine that is the federal government.

With that, I wish PM Harper luck and fortitude. Maybe we can finally leave the doldrums and restart the national conversation about what it means to be Canadian and how we should treat each other.

Away from my desk

It's been a good 2 or more weeks since I've posted. I didn't realize how busy it would be with one class for this term. Yes, you heard me right. It's strange how a lot of the classes that aren't for credit (auditing, TAing, etc.) are taking up so much of my time, and all of them are front-ended up to Reading Week. It's bizarre and inconvenient, to be sure.

The term's shaping up to be what I expected, which is hardly a surprise. Restarting my thesis was like turning the crank on the old car engines of yore. It takes a few tries, and sputters out once in a while. As for everything else, everything shifts, but nothing really changes. relations change but stay the same. Everything is in flux, like everything else, so I'm really not contributing anything new here.

There are lots of stories to tell out there, and I'm sure there are gems buried in my Bloglines (which must be piling up links of its own), it's allowing myself the time to go through it that's the problem. The world changes, but I'm not keeping up with what's going on, and that bothers me.

But I have a giant Toblerone and the complete Calvin and Hobbes Collection by my computer. I guess that'll do for comfort...Til next time...which will actually be soon.

This is how we start the new year...

Via Metafilter, Bourque, AP, etc.

Woman Marries Dolphin.

There's really nothing else to say except that the whole thing's just weird.

Science is what it is, no more, no less

Most in the scientific community have responded with relief over the Dover ruling. However, a professor of philosphy has written an interesting response to the ruling...which I disagree with wholeheartedly, hence this long post.

In his piece, Professor George argues that there is no strict dichotomy between science and non-science. He gives three points that I'm contesting:

1) "Science employs the scientific method. No, there's no such method: Doing science is not like baking a cake."

Actually, yes there is. As any science student knows, the general scientific method that ALL science experiments use are based on 3 main principles: hypothesis, experimentation and observation of the results. If the observations follow the hypothesis, then it leads to a scientific theory that holds for now but could be disproved in the future. The other requirement is that the experiment is repeatable by others (one reason why we don't have cold fusion, or clone humans). If your claim doesn't meet these requirements, it's not a valid scientific inquiry. Thus, using his analogy, just as there are many different recipes to bake a cake, the general principle of how to bake a cake still holds. So yes, there is such a thing as a scientific method.

2) "Science can be proved on the basis of observable data. No, general theories about the natural world can't be proved at all. Our theories make claims that go beyond the finite amount of data that we've collected. There's no way such extrapolations from the evidence can be proved to be correct."

First off, you can't prove "Science." It's not a thing TO BE proved. I'll attribute that to...sloppy writing. As scientists, our theories can never prove til the end of time that something is what it is. Scientific inquiries only state that based on the available data and knowledge and experimentation, X holds. If Y, also based on scientific inquiry, comes and contradicts X, then X no longer holds and we have to This is why there is such a push to try to reconcile general relativity with quantum physics because one is contradicting the other in different areas. Thus, general relativity is still being used at a macroscopic level to explain gravity because no other explanation works but isn't used when studying quantum events. Perhaps scientists have done a poor job to convey that, but it doesn't mean we should scrap the whole notion of scientific inquiry altogether.

3) "Science can be disproved, or falsified, on the basis of observable data. No, for it's always possible to protect a theory from an apparently confuting observation. Theories are never tested in isolation but only in conjunction with many other extra-theoretical assumptions (about the equipment being used, about ambient conditions, about experimenter error, etc.). It's always possible to lay the blame for the confutation at the door of one of these assumptions, thereby leaving one's theory in the clear. And so forth."

Scientists aren't trying to lay the 'blame' on the extra assumptions to protect one's theory (well, they shouldn't). However, we want to be able to consider as many possibilities as possible about why such an event occurred as it did. We want other scientists to show that these extra assumptions either do or do not affect our results and thus either validate or refute our theory. If there are indeed that many caveats, then it would never be used as a general explanation for something until they are explained away using scientific inquiry

At this point, it seems like this professor has a poor notion of science that any undergrad science student could refute his points. But it gets better. He goes on to argue that astrology or parapsychology should be accepted as 'science' (DAMN! Brought my crystal ball into my biology exam and my dissection kit into my astrology class...) and instead teaching 'science' should be based on the 'best science':

"Intelligent design shouldn't be taught in the science classroom any more than Ptolemaic astronomy and for exactly the same reason: They are both poor accounts of the phenomena they seek to explain and both much improved upon by other available theories."

My question are, what standard does one judge what best and poor science are? And who gets to be the judge? Since he's robbed the authority of the scientific community to decide whether a theory was reached using accepted scientific methods, what are the new means then? He doesn't provide an answer to that.

Two more quotes and that's it:

"We should be less proprietorial about the unhelpful moniker "science" but insist that only the best science be taught in our schools."

...so the moniker 'science' is unhelpful, but it's ok that he uses 'best science'? I'm confused.

"If we're to be honest, either we should find alternatives to the courts to protect our curricula from bad science, or we should start arguing in court that the separation of church and state would be violated by intelligent design's injection into the science curriculum on account of its predominantly religious motivation." (emphasis mine)

Let me answer the emphasized part with Judge Jones' actual ruling:

"To briefly reiterate, we first note that since ID is not science, the conclusion is inescapable that the only real effect of the ID Policy is the advancement of religion" (pp. 133-134)

"The proper application of both the endorsement and Lemon tests to the facts of this case makes it abundantly clear that the Board’s ID Policy violates the Establishment Clause...We have concluded that it is not, and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents." (p. 136).

I didn't even have to read the entire ruling but skim the Judge's conclusion to find this. Did Prof. George even read the ruling or do ANY research? I'm an amateur blogger at best and I found this out in five minutes.

There's my response. I'll be awaiting yours...if you're willing to wade through all of this.

Add this to your blogroll...RIGHT NOW!

Boing Boing is probably the best blog I've started reading in the last 6 months. Not because of it's insightful analysis but because the stuff that get's posted are either ridiculous and hilarious. Here's a sampler as my Christmas present to you:

New Swiss Money has AIDS, A fetus, and skull

Cute Overload...seriously...

Everything You Know About Sex Is Wrong...WRONG WRONG WRONG!

Waiter, there's a rooster in my Soup!

Droidel, Droidel, Droidel (You heard me)

Park(ing) in San Francisco

Who steals a Penguin...seriously? It's like someone throwing a shoe...

Trouble with the Little Red Book

Fish With Two Mouths...GROSS!

If not one of these stories appeal to you...then I can't help ya.

And another year ends

First to answer some earlier questions, my 'self' that needs to slip away is a metaphorical one, not a physical one...the physical self stays.

Before I continue, I think we need something light-hearted, say two students from U Michigan running around their library as Pac-Man and the Ghost (Quicktime, Courtesy Boing Boing).

Now onto more mundane things. My third term of my Master's has ended and I'm about to go home for a 2 and change week's worth of respite. For what it's worth, it's been a mixed-bag term.

Academically, it's been horrible. My thesis has been untouched and our project course brought neither joy, wisdom or anything of worth save maybe our report that could be used in my portfolio. Frankly, there was such little innovation bound in those pages that it probably ain't worth much anyhow.

Personally, it's a strange journey. Many of the people I have met are great people, as I've blogged about before. I've also grown to intimately know the friends still here as well, and that too is something to be enjoyed. However, in other areas there is no progression, no regression, nothing. People around me get hurt and there's very little that I can do, and it's a shitty feeling. I guess it also doesn't help that it's December and I miss that feeling of fingers touching...

One bright spot is our victorious intramural volleyball team, which one the rec-league this Fall. We're all jonesing for our t-shirts, but I've a feeling that Duane Parliament's gonna conveniently forget that he promised us these items.

There were definitely high hopes for this term, from me and some of my friends. It's darkly funny how it's turned out instead. And while I would normally say, 'oh well, next term's going to be better,' I'm gonna hedge my bet just a little this time around.

The Canadian election's about and I've no frickin' clue what's going on. Trying to keep up with the world this term has been excruciatingly tough, no thanks to our Project Course and Ga-TI-neau. What I do like is that there's a lot more policy being bantered about, particularly from the Conservatives, for which I give them kudos. Whether I'll agree with their policies or not remains to be seen, but at least it's making me want to read about what their plan is for Child Care or Defense, and it's making everyone (including me) play catch-up. It's too bad their leader's Stephen Harper. Otherwise, I'd definitely consider voting Conservative...but for now, I'll stick with the Greens until I've finished digesting the respective platforms.

Finally, on two points that gives me a sliver of feeling of hope that humanity isn't as bloody useless as it's making itself to be,

First, the minority US Senate has successfully filibustered the Defense Bill that has the scenery-chewing Alaskan Senator Ted Steven's tacked-on provision to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Instead, the bill will be passed without the ANWR provision and once again, the Refuge will indeed be a refuge...until Ted Stevens decides once again to tack it onto every bill that passes through the Senate...

Second, while Kansas' Board of Education decided, in an act of supreme arrogance and stupidity, to rewrite the definition of 'Science,' a federal judge in Dover, Pennsylvania has ruled that Intelligent Design is, well, not so intelligent; and neither can one really rewrite the definition of science. You can read the full decision HERE, and the kicker is that the judge is Judge John E. Jones III, a Republican appointed by Bush...I'd like to see Bill O'Reilly spin this one (though if he can spin Jon Stewart's show as one against Christmas, then I guess he can spin anything)...

Well, that should leave you with enough of me to chew on. Hope it's delicious.

My self isn't slipping away

The path I walk now is a day to day struggle still. Particularly in social situations, my old self keep creeping back, and thoughts slowly insinuate itself back in. It is a difficult situation to want to let go while half of you still hold on to the loose threads. Everyday I try to fight it off and some days are certainly better than others. But there needs to be a solution to this. I can't afford to keep going the way I am going. I need to lose my self. That seems to be a workable solution. I don't know how it can be done. I am looking for guidance. Because going back to the way things were just makes the situation more and more difficult for myself. I didn't like who I was then. But slowly, it's creeping back into me.

And I worry.

Three's company

Three interesting items that came to my attention today:

1) Courtesy Bourque, In an attempt to become more neutral, the Red Cross is considering changing their logo from a Swiss cross to a diamond, so that more aid organizations from various cultural backgrounds can be part of the international organization. I personally don't like the logo all too much, but I can understand the sentiment.

2) Courtesy metafilter and Jen, Forbes recently put out the 15 richest fictional characters. A fun little thought exercise.

3) Courtesy Yahoo News. A satellite image of the polar regions and the distribution of sea ice. the yellow line indicates the extent that it used to be. Instead, we're probably seeing the continual loss of sea ice. It is hard to say how this will affect the gulf stream or the North Atlantic current. But the loss of this much sea ice is disconcerting...

Blame Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Ramadan, etc.

According to Workopolis, a website devoted to employment searches, work productivity declines as we approach the holiday season.

I just love it when I get to shift blame on something or someone else. See, my slackery is not due to my poor work ethic...it's because the holidays are coming! They're the ones enabling me, or not enabling me, as the case may be...

A smorgasbord of 'On'...

There are so many places to begin. Not posting in the last three weeks has irritated me to some degree, not so much because there wasn't any interesting stories happening but rather nothing really stood out. But since I'm trying to avoid work right now, it's a pretty good time to write about everything that's been going on. Beware: It's going to be long, but it's a smorgasbord, so I guess you can pick and choose...

On not working
My work ethic is atrocious. Someone needs to pistol-whip it into shape. Not that blogging right now is of any help. My friend Tara has an insatiable ethic that is to be admired and copied. She's given me many fishes, I'm just not learning how to fish (weird metaphor, I know). Maybe I need to be her protege or something....

On silence in the blogosphere
I've been noticing that quite a few of the blogs I regularly frequent are shutting down, particularly my friend Matt, who was the one who convinced me to start blogging in the first place. Not that it's new, but there are others, more prominent than our little corner of the blogosphere, who've retired because of other commitments and such. While there are many new ones popping up everyday, I've yet to find those who have the same level of passion, skill and often times humour, as the blogs of old. I've yet to decide whether to update my blogroll to reflect these changes (as it would also be time consuming) but it is a shame to see them go.

On salmonella kicking my ass
Part of the reason why I've been slacking off and reading blogs is due to the fact that I contracted salmonella with some of my friends, unfortunately, through some contaminated bean sprouts at a Phnom Penh in Kingston. It's now been linked to a distributor, not the restaurant (God knows I love that place, not that, well, I believe that God exists. But anyways). And while the Ontario Medical Officer of Health has put out advisories about this issue, people are still getting sick. In any case, with a clean bill of health, I've to catch up on everything else. Still, being part of the initial cases that blew the lid on this was kinda cool (but medically speaking, very not cool). I was part of the tipping point, as it were. A tipping point of salmonella.

On Hating Gatineau
A mandatory project course on developing land in Gatineau, Quebec that I'm taking in fulfillment of my planning degree is leaching my soul drop by drop. I've no time to concentrate on my other courses, innovative thinking is stifled, my thesis has been untouched since September, and emotions are running high as the end approaches. I've just lost complete interest in the project but it still consumes my life like spontaneous combustion. I'm glad I don't have to sell our plan to the clients, because it would be the worst piece of salesmanship since the Bloody Zit Froster incident.

On the fall of the Canadian government and the subsequent election
I'm WAY to late out of the gate on this one, since the election's been called for Jan. 23rd and campaigning is in full swing. My brief thoughts are this: the Liberals can't stay in power, the Conservatives can't win a majority on their issues, the NDP can't win a majority because no one likes them enough, and the Bloc Quebecois just needs to go away. So, ideally at this point, is a Conservative minority government propped up by the Liberals or NDP from time to time, hopefully moderating some of the Tories more...extreme social views. These next few weeks will be oodles of mudslinging, policy bashing fun! You'll feel dirty, but at least you won't contract any diseases afterwards.

On how the environment will be FUBARed still
If you don't know what FUBAR means, rent the movie Fubar. Moving right along. I don't have 8 years to discuss how we are continually damaging our environment, from the contamination of rivers in China to the inactivity on climate change (though apparently they've finally agreed on the rules). When no one's willing to lift a finger until 8 years of meetings have been concluded, I have little hope left for the natural environment that we rely on everyday of our lives.

On the overwhelming stories of the day
This is part of the reason why there's been no daily blogging. Too many interesting stories pique my interest but not enough time for a deeper analysis. Again why the smorgasord analogy is so apt. Why savour a particular dish when you can just gorge at the trough?

On TV
The Daily Show is doing more different things (they had the White Stripes performing last night) and while I don't know if it's any better, but I've certainly been more impressed by the Colbert Report since it's inception into the Canadian airwaves. Both shows commented on the fall of the Martin government this week and the fact that some Canadian news outlets thought that this was news made me sad...but what does make me happy is the fact that the first season of This is Wonderland is now for sale. A wonderful Canadian legal drama that is well casted, funny and endearing at the same time. Go out and buy it or watch the third season that's currently on the CBC, wednesday's at 8pm EST.

On happiness
It's just a good feeling to make someone else happy, especially through simple gestures like a card, chocolates, or flowers. Oh, if only everything else was so simple...

On traffic calming
I can't just leave this post without something quirky. Courtesy of Metafilter and Urban Cartography, a British citizen has employed novel ways to slow down the traffic that race through his neighbourhood. No rumle strips or speed bumps. Instead, 11-foot rabbits, a giant bed, and the placement of an entire living room in the middle of the road are used to force drivers to slow down and for the rest of us to think about how we conceive of the use of a road. A must read even if you have no interest in traffic calming.

So I've stuffed myself with blogging, but the irony is that I haven't eaten yet, so off to lunch I go. Until next time.

Darwin's Legacy

With the continued media coverage of the fallout in the rulings about Kansas and Dover, I thought it best to provide something more than my casual rant.

E.O. Wilson is one of the world's preeminient biologists and a pulitzer-prize winning author. In Harvard Magazine, he ruminates on Darwin's contribution to science and its impacts beyond those borders. He argues that 'scientific humanism' may be the only solution out of the supposed dichotomies between 'god-centered religion' and 'atheistic communism.' To me, this smacks of oversimplification as it grounds all of humanity in our biology and leaves culture and societal forces in the ether, as it were.

Still, it is a worthwhile article that should be read by more people than it will be.

Je me souviens

There will be no ranting today, no silent rage, no hating of Kansas or any other state.

Today there is only remembrance. I am here today because they were there then.

Fueling my silent rage (yet again)

"In addition, the board rewrote the definition of science, so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena."

...all because six Republicans from the Kansas Board of Education think that astrology, alchemy and magic are also valid fields of science.

Oh, and they approved the introduction of Intellent Design into the science curriculum yet again...

Can somebody please pray to their lightning god to strike them down now or something?

(Courtesy CNN)

I am Jack's Zen Revelation

It's funny where inspiration or revelations come from. Particularly when it comes after a drinking invitation and in the shower, you just have to pause and wonder.

But onto the meat of this post.

A few weeks back, I was lost, without purpose. And a convergence of events led me to question re-evaluate my position in life. In so doing, I invoked Rabbi Hillel's three questions. The universe opened up for me tonight and I've the answers:

1) If I am not for myself, then who is for me?

No one and everyone. And that is the point.

2) If I am only for myself, what am I?

This one needs a longer explanation. Throughout my life, any TV show (Babylon 5), music (NIN), movie (Fight Club) or book (A Prayer for Owen Meany) that involved the theme of self-sacrifice had a particular resonance with me. For example, on one episode of Babylon 5, the character states,

"The Third Principle of Sentient Life is the capacity for self-sacrifice."

Of all the lines ever spoken on that show for example, this one always stuck with me. As my university career progressed, I volunteered less and less because of circumstance. It happens, that's the way it unfolded. I accept that. As I grew older, I felt more empty inside. Upon reflection, the only times when I could feel good about myself was when I was able to help somebody about anything, big or small.

That was it. And as the prospects for personal relationships grow smaller, I realize that this is the my calling. While it may not be the ideal answer, it is the one given to me and I have been asked to accept it. For that, I will have to learn to be content. And of course I have to learn it. It is not an easy road. True altruism never is. Jesus, the teacher, showed me that. The result of a Catholic upbringing. And so I take this road less travelled, in my own small way.

So to answer the second question, "What am I?" The answer is simple,

"I am one who serves."

3) If not now, when?

That's obvious. It IS now. It begins today.

A Sudoku of epic proportions

I guess anyone designing games involving squares will eventually move themselves towards a cubic version of the game.

And so, my friend Danna has led me to a cubic version of Sudoku. I haven't worked on Sudoku enough for me to tackle this right now. but damn is it impressive.

A likely unlikely ally

According to an interview conducted by Associated Press,

a representative from the Vatican stated that religion is compatible with science and that a dialogue needs to be maintained so that science doesn't lead us down the road to the 'A-bomb' and religion isn't lead to fundamentalism.

This has been, in these two stories HERE and HERE, been interpreted as a denunciation of Intelligent Design and a support of evolution.

I would disagree in parts. Just because John Paul II's states that, "evolution is more than a hypothesis is more than proof" does not mean the Catholic Church believes in evolution completely. They just think it's plausible, moreso than Intelligent Design AS a science. But as a belief, that's exactly what they believe. I guess it's still debatable whether one can believe in the mechanics of evolution and still uphold a creator as source of evolution. I don't think they're incompatible, but I also don't think Evolution proponents should make make this a bigger deal than it really is.

Overreach, much?

According to the Washington Post,

the FBI have the authority to basically examine your life all in the name of defending freedom.

WOW. the story of this current administration gets better and better.

When a Hummer makes ME smile...

and no, it's not what you're thinking, so stop it.

I'm actually referring to this post from California where high gas prices have caused Hummer dealers to be overstocked with inventory. To hide this fact from potential customers, they moved the merchandise to a 'secret' location that was eventually found by the bloggers. They posted pictures of rows upon rows of unsold non-military Hummers...

and boy does that make me feel all warm and tingly inside (once again, think of something else...) to see these blackholes of gasoline remain on the lot. And while these urban tanks aren't contributing any new greenhouse gas emission/air pollution to California, it's already impacted the environment because of the resources consumed to build these monstrosities.

So, my question is, wouldn't it be great if these cinder blocks of the road (I'm running out of clever names for the damn Hummer) get recycled into say, Smart Cars? Hell, you could probably get 8 smart cars out of 1 Hummer! Yes, I know that they're made by two different companies, but a man can dream, can't he?

WHY MUST THEY FUEL MY SILENT RAGE (that's no longer silent!)

Courtesy of the CBC:

U.S. Senate votes for drilling in Arctic refuge

Hey, hey Dubya! Remember about a month ago when oil prices were much higher than they are now, and wait, what was it that you said?

Oh yes, this: "We can all pitch in by using, by being better conservers of energy"

...and I'm not kidding you, but I think Jon Stewart, me and everyone else who cares one whit about the environment had an aneurysm that night because those words and you saying them just didn't connect in our logic processes and our brains just collapsed on itself.

Well, I think that your Senate just ignored the hell out of you today. That, or you really didn't mean what you said about conservation because you're all just a bunch of assholes who couldn't care less about it deep down inside.

And of course, a wildlife refuge is one of the last places where human presence is scarce and truly is a refuge habitat for wildlife. But let's blow THAT idea out of the water by throwing down oil platforms...because now the animals can find refuge underneath an oil rig...AWWWWW...isn't that precious!

And in trying to find the Bush quote, I bumped into this little ditty:

Few energy benefits to extra daylight, observers suggest as Ont. follows US.

I talked about this before HERE. Where the hell was I when this was passed? This is what I get for not paying attention. I had really, really hoped that our government wouldn't be so dumb as to follow the US's lead because the supposed benefits are so trivial and the new problems that arise will create new headaches for everyone else! God, didn't anyone see that Simpsons episode where they solve one pest with another and then to get rid of the second pest they bring another, ad nauseum? To think, I had such hopes that common sense would prevail over this. Boy was I wrong.

What a crappy way to end the night.

FEMA, Google, Forbes. Take your pick.

Because I'm not particularly well versed in the Gomery revelations or the legal wherewithal to discuss the Alito nomination, I decide instead to pick on the incompetent, the behemoth, and the rich:

I'm homesick! This place sucks! Courtesy of Boing Boing and CNN

So a democrat on a committee investigating FEMA's feeble response to Hurricane Katria released a series of emails that then management chief Michael Brown was sending to contacts outside of Lousiana...and boy are they hilarious. Particularly amusing are those about his attire,

"Tie or not for tonight? Button-down blue shirt?"

and

"Please roll up the sleeves of your shirt, all shirts. Even the president rolled his sleeves to just below the elbow. In this [crisis] and on TV you just need to look more hard-working." (italics mine).

The capper of course is, "Can I quit now? Can I come home?" that he sent to the deputy director of public affairs. Granted, there's a chance this was taken out of context, but seriously. You're on the ground supposedly directing a relief response and you sound like a 12-yr old homesick camper. WTF? and WHY is he still being paid? WHY? WHY? WHY?

Play fair, Google! Courtesy Boing Boing and Forbes

Google started the Google Print Library Project, whose aim is to provide snippets of the entire library of several US universities free online. This is not new. Rather, five publishing companies have come together to sue Google to halt this project.

This is a piece written in the Washington Times opposing the project. While I agree the definition of 'snippet' will need to be defined precisely (if not already done so), there's definitely a tone of fear of technology beneath it. Hell, I half-expected these two to come out and say that Google is communist because they want to provide free content...

Instead, we have this Forbes piece that argues that the Print Library Project may not be as scary as it seems. At the very least, it doesn't try to scare me into thinking that agreeing with Google will destroy the print industry as we know it. And managed properly, this online archive would be a great asset for students, researchers or infojunkies like me.

Communcation? Hello? What? Courtesy Forbes

This is a series of articles dealing with, well, communication. It runs the gamut of communication issues: in science, culture, etc. Plus interviews with the likes of Walter Kronkite, Stan Lee and Wil Wheaton! I'm still painstakingly reading through this, but do browse. There's gotta be an article or interview there to your interest.


And that's all the communicatin' I'm doin' tonight. Now i just need a good sign-off line like, "Good Luck, and Goodnight" but y'know, not plagarized.

Convocation

First of all, I must congratulate my very best friend Matt on receiving his Masters of Arts in history. He's now the frontrunner out of all my friends in the academic prestige category.

I attended his convocation ceremony and several things struck me. When honorary degree recipients are asked to address the graduands, they should not use it as their personal platform to vent. David Schindler today (or yesterday afternoon, I guess) went on this nowhere rant about the evils of capitalism, George Bush, America, etc., etc. While I respect him immensely as an aquatic ecologist, I was most disappointed in failing to use this opportunity to inspire the graduands. Instead, he probably turned more people off on his cause against climate change, US foreign policy, etc than gain them.

Seeing my first year physics TA and my first year calculus teacher receive their PhDs once again reminded me about how long I have been in Kingston for my university career. As such, it always makes me introspective about what I've accomplished and what I've gained here (it also doesn't help that the news lately has been dreadfully dull such that I've to post about the trivial matters that is my life). While I've certainly grown in some respects, there are still areas where improvements can be made.

So there are now officially six months left in my tenure at Queen's. It'll be interesting to see what this place has left to offer me. At the very least, it'd be nice for me to be able to answer these three questions...

Urge to spend rising...rising...

Courtesy of Chromewaves, an unlikely source:

It appears that a 3-volume hardcover edition of the Complete Calvin and Hobbes set has just been released and boy would it be in my hands right now if not for my lack of funds. Alas, it shall be mine soon enough. If not now, or in 6 months, or in 6 years, it will be mine eventually. Much like other things like the LOTR DVD set, West Wing DVDs, etc.

What a beautiful set of books though.

No sleep for the blog-ed (...or How I stopped worrying about sleep to post about fake blog worth and Apple)

Two interesting sites via BoingBoing:

How much is your blog worth? gives you a dollar value for your blog based on research on an AOL purchase of a weblog company and uses external links via Technorati as a measure of worth. Definitely fun and obviously flawed when this site is supposedly worth $4,516.32 and something say, oh, I don't know, Inkless Wells, is worth $0.00?! Anyways, BoingBoing is worth $9,386,606.58...that's a whole lot of Boing...err...Bling.

iPod + Christianity = iBelieve?! I don't even know if this is a satirical product on the Apple Cult or whether this is a serious product. It seems serious enough, and it scares the bejeezus out of me just the same. Must everything be turned into a cross?

On a related note, what is up with Apple problems with the iPod Nano and the Video iPod. Did they not test the durability of the Nano? And is anyone really going to watch videos on such a small screen? I'm sure Apple's not slipping, but these don't seem to be top-notch products that Apple's been known for...

Convergence

It's a funny thing when events and ideas converge in your life and you watch it unfold but don't quite know what it means. Maybe funny's not the right word, more quirky perhaps.

In the last few weeks, I'd found myself in a slump over my school year, my thesis, my life in general pretty much; though, it's sometimes a useful thing to always return to the basic questions about what you should do with your life. By way of Bob Rae, asking these three questions of Rabbi Hillel I find to be a good starting point:

1) If I am not for myself, then who is for me?
2) If I am only for myself, what am I?
3) If not now, when?

I'm definitely not saying I've answered these questions, but they were definitely on my mind. Then, as our normative decision-making class switched to ethics, we were confronted with a simple basic question, "What does Planning profess?" Needless to say, our entire class were silenced by our lack of...insight.

Then, tonight in the class I TA, we'd invited a local planner for a Q & A on general and local planning issues. One of the students boldly asked, "What is the point of planning if you're so straitjacketed by upper levels of government and such? Defend your job." While some may find the question rude, and others find it pertinent, I found that I could not come up with a straightforward answer for myself (which makes my normative class very handy right now). The planner gave a general technical answer but definitely did not satisfy me philosophically.

So in the back of my head, I once again start on this journey of trying to figure out...why the hell I'm even here, let alone posting about this.

Castaways and Cutouts

When you're lost and adrift, the only thing you can rely on is your reason and instincts. But if your instincts fail you, your reason gives no answers, and your faith has been sitting on the front steps for years, where do you turn to? Where do you place your trust?

How then do you experience the world? What if the world you perceive is merely a simulacrum, populated by castaways with nothing else to do and cutouts who pop up at appropriate times? And if you lose yourself in this theme park, how then do you differentiate between what is real and what isn't?

Does anyone have an idea? Because I don't.

Jeez, and I thought I eat a lot...

Via Metafilter courtesy of BBC.

Whenever I'm down, nature always finds a way to bring me back up. Today, it has brought me this story.

This is a picture of the gruesome aftermath of a bitter fight in the Florida swamps between a the non-native burmese python and a Florida alligator. Apparently, the python tried to swallow the alligator whole but it is believed that the alligator had enough fight in it after being consumed to puncture and explode the python's stomach, leaving this delicious aftermath. There is no snake head because it's missing...go figure.

BBC Link

Illegitimus non Carborundum

It's been a little over a year now since Matt convinced me to start a blog and it seems like a reflection is always called upon when you reach that 1-year mark. And what has happened since that late summer evening?

• In two words, not much. Compared to my early posts, I don't think my writing style has improved any. I pay a lot more attention to certain things and have ended up spending more time trolling for interesting stories. I've found many good blogs with fascinating people, excellent analytical minds and sharp wits. For that, I am content.

• My posting will probably continue to be sporadic, if the last few weeks are of any indication. The upcoming months will be busy with projects and my thesis, if I ever get around to it. The 'net is wide and deep though, so I'm sure to find a good topic to discuss when I pry myself away from my work (HA!).

• Which is another thing I've noticed of late. I used to write more about personal events and happenings but that has seriously curtailed recently, for which I don't have much of an explanation. My guess is that my life's been pretty much uninteresting over the summer, except for my trip out to Calgary and Chris' wedding, which I seriously have to take the time to upload some pics (I promise I will, I promise...famous last words of a procrastinator though).

• But this may be an interesting year. The incoming year at Urban Planning's a very fun bunch of people and I've gotten to know a few of them quite well. So shouts out to Jen, Karen, Josh, Ryan, Bryan, Sarah, Tasha, Andrej and Emily...

• Meanwhile, the last couple days has been pretty hectic, getting various sections of reports done and staying up way later than I should to get it done. Surprisingly though, I haven't been groggy or overly tired, which is unusual. I'm still currently alert and more or less coherent. How is this possible? A LOT of random yelling and wild gesticulation to relieve the stress, methinks. But if I can parlay this into an ongoing thing then this may be the chance where when I'm whining about needing more hours in the day, that I'll be getting it. I could obviously increase my productivity by working more efficiently during the day, but who wants to be logical like that?

Well, that's the state of things right now. The forecast calls for possible dark clouds on the horizon in the upcoming weeks. But like all forecasts, nothing is certain. I have yet to figure out the repercussions, but hopefully they will pass without incident. There's also the ongoing scavenger hunt of life, where I'm still trying to find that first piece of the puzzle. It's right under my nose, I just know it.

Oh well, keep your head up, lest you walk into a bastard...

Adrienne Clarkson

who I thought was a pretty good Governor General, promoting Canada within and outside our borders.

But don't take my word for it, here's Paul Well's take, as well as her installation speech and speech on the Unknown Soldier.

There's certainly a degree of eloquence in those speeches that are definitely lacking within our current political landscape.

Final thoughts on Homecoming

It was fun while it lasted.

When the accidental result of an Aberdeen street party came about, it was such a good idea. Thousands of people just on the street enjoying each other's company. It appealed to my 'take back the streets' nature.

No Longer.

Aberdeen should be no more and Homecoming will be different in years to come and we have no one to blame but ourselves. Aberdeen was never supposed to be about racial slurs, preventing ambulances from reaching those in need, throwing beer bottles at cops, sucker-punching them or lighting a car on fire.

This is not how we're supposed to showcase Queen's Homecoming to the rest of Canada. We crossed the line and we can't go back. The city of Kingston and Queen's WILL do everything to prevent another Aberdeen from happening.

Kingston Police need to be commended for their actions Saturday night. All reports indicate that while there were ample opportunity to use anti-riot tactics to end the night, they chose restraint instead in the face of idiocy.

I also don't buy the 'the cops made the crowd edgy' argument. If you can't police your friends from doing stupid things like antagonizing cops or flipping over cars, then the actual police will. That's their job. So keep your friends under control if you don't want someone else to.

I was excited to introduce my new friends to the surreal experience that were the previous Aberdeen street parties. Now, I'm just ashamed. I will miss it.

For local news coverage, go HERE, HERE and HERE. Good blog posts HERE and HERE.

When Gods meet Queer Eye...

Via Metafilter, courtesy of the New Yorker:
Intelligent Design

Technorati vs. Google Blog Search

Wanting to get a sense of what happened at Aberdeen St. during Queen's Homecoming, I was recommended to check out blog postings on the event...which has now become a comparison on how well the new Google Blog Search fares against the well-known Technorati in finding posts of interest. So, out of the top 50 hits, here are the ones that are relevant:

1) Google Blog Search:

-Good for you Queen's Students...
-queen's madness

2) Technorati:

-Taking out the garbage (which is actually the post below...)
-Homecoming Thoughts (see the post below 'Taking out the garbage')
-Mmm pancakes...
-Queen's Homecoming weekend...and I feel horrible
-queen's madness

And then there's OptimusCrime, who've posted about the Day and the Night.

So what are my conclusions?

1) Neither Technorati nor Google Blog search was perfect, since they missed out on OptimusCrime, amongst others. It's a tie.
2) In the end, the debacle that was Aberdeen resulted in at least one car being flipped and set ablaze. My question is, since there were so many cops on the scene, how could they not have stopped the car from being destroyed?
3) Drunken students, wherever they're from, are stupid. But the Queen's community will be blamed for most of it even if a good proportion are friends from abroad.
4) We'll get Kingston's reaction in the Whig-Standard tomorrow. Probably more calls for crackdowns on next year's party.

Oh, what a time to be in Kingston...

Taking out the garbage

Taking out the garbage is usually a Friday job (see the West Wing...and my garbage day is ACTUALLY Friday too), but it's been Homecoming so I'm a little behind:

- I guess I'm as surprised as everyone else how quickly Queen's distanced itself from Radler. But good on you, Queen's. I can actually be pleased with the administration for once.

-It's a privilege for Mac/Linux users to listen to CDs on their computer now?! This is PC DISCRIMINATION!!!

-My first encounter with Cradle to Cradle design. Or at the very least, an idea that asks not how our manufactured products will have minimal impact on the environment, but how it can improve upon it.

-My friend Matt can do this but I've been trying to figure it out on my own...now I've a handy guide to help me along!

-The CBC lockout needs to END!!! I miss This is Wonderland, The Newsroom, and even the odd episode of The Hour. Granted, I don't watch the CBC too often, but for Andria's sake, bring back CBC Radio!

Homecoming Thoughts

This weekend has been Homecoming at Crazy Go Nuts University. For many first year master's students in my program, they have little idea why Homecoming is so Crazy Go Nuts here. For the daylight activities, check out these photos from Optimus Crime. It's seeing the old alumni walk around and the Queen's Band play in these pictures do a Queen's tradition make.

As for after-hours, there is the Aberdeen party. In the last few years, students have become prone to congregate on Aberdeen street, turning the heart of the student Ghetto into a giant living room (though there have been rumours that the street party existed in the '80s but disappeared sometime after only to return now). I always find it a blast to just walk through the giant crowd, seeing most people enjoying themselves outside on the street and randomly bumping into someone you hadn't seen for a while but had returned for Homecoming.

While the numbers have grown to thousands attending, it's pissed off Kingston residents and city council because of the noise and garbagery that occurs. So while the cops were out in force last night, particularly with a threat to shut down this street party, they did not succeed. However, making sure next year's Homecoming will be just as fun on Aberdeen has definitely become more difficult with reports of bottles being thrown at cops and having a car overturned.

Sigh...all good things...

Evolution, schmevolution...or why ID needs to step away from the science lab

So The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's been having a hilarious take on the evolution 'debate' (and I use the term loosely, because I don't think there's enough credible evidence by Intelligent Design (ID) proponents to warrant a debate) with a series of segments from Back in Black to Ed Helm's magical mystery evolution tour.

Tonight, Jon upped it a notch by trying (in the loosest of terms) a panel format, inviting an evolution proponent, an ID proponent and...metaphysical theorist?!? (definitely scraping the bottom of the barrel for the third guest).

Obviously, nothing's going to get resolved. What interested and irked me was the evolution proponent advocating that alternative theories like ID can be taught in science classes.

NO! WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!

Intelligent Design or any other theories that have NO scientific evidence (the evidence that 'science doesn't know everything' and 'things are complex; therefore, it couldn't have evolved' doesn't count) should not be taught in a science class. Teach all the uncertainties you want. Science hasn't solved or figured out everything. I don't dispute that. It doesn't, however, gravitate to the response that "therefore, God or some higher being must be involved." Anytime that a higher being is invoked, it goes straight to a comparative religion class or creation myths, not biology.

By inserting God/higher being/creator/etc. into a scientific process ends it. Why try to discover the reasons behind something we don't understand when obviously God/allfather/Zeus/etc. is THE reason. Therefore, we don't need to reason...BRILLIANT!

Believing that God started the Big Bang is fine. That's faith. However, that being lesson one in an astronomy class is not. Therefore, Believe in all the higher powers you want, but God has no place in the scientific method (notice that I'm not talking about the scientist, who can be the most faithful adherent to any religion he/she wishes).

Everybody's getting frickin' engaged!

So I've actually known for a while now that my friend Allison Finlay was recently engaged in Saskatchewan, but I didn't have a picture or anything to go with it...until now.

Congratulations, Nick and Allison!

You Can't Always Get What You Want...

...But you should always ask a few question's first, just in case you can.

So Republican Dennis Hastert gave himself a political shitstorm yesterday when he made comments about the fact that since there would be federal funding involved in rebuilding NOLA (New Orleans Louisiana), there should be a discussion about how they should rebuild it even though he never said that NOLA should never be rebuilt. The reactions on the 'net were fierce. At least he got the discussion that he wanted.

Leaving aside the probably not-so-good timing Hastert's words, I would just like to pose a few questions and comments about the rebuilding of NOLA.

Obviously, I have no cultural, historical, personal, etc. connection to the city itself. I understand its cultural, political and economic significance to the US (French Quarter, probably economic engine of Lousiana, major port in the US). However,

1) Is there an area upstream where parts of the city could be rebuilt so that there would be a greater distance (and land, hence a buffer) between the city and any hurricane coming off the coast? Could the residential areas be moved further inland while keeping the ports closer to the mouth of the delta? While I don't necessarily advocate use separation, if it's not economically viable to also move the ports inland, then at least when a major storm breaks, less people will die.

2) Could major landmarks like the French Quarter, the universities and the Superdome be run with negligible economic effects if you moved parts of the city away?

3) Insurance companies are going to be emptied after Katrina. Which begs the question, if most of the city is rebuilt in similar fashion, what will be individual rates and city-wide rates like? What will the differential be? What are the economic impacts? Will they even insure that area?

4) I was talking to Matt about this tonight and he mentioned that a natural disaster like this should not happen to an advanced nation like the US. It should have had the capacity to minimize the damage and lives lost better than it has. We wondered aloud about why it couldn't have evacuated the whole population (even those that couldn't do it themselves). I had never heard of such a thing...until tonight. Typhoon Talim hammered the coast of Fujian province yesterday. While the economic and infrastructure damage probably won't be as significant, it was reported that they evacuated 500 000 from the province and 291 000 from neighbouring Zhejiang province. They evacuated 800 000 from 2 provinces? How could the US not have evacuated more of the city, which has a population of 500 000 in the city proper and another 5-700 000 in the neighbouring areas?

5) Just because other US cities rebuild areas afflicted by disasters (e.g. Californian homes from wildfires, LA, San Francisco, etc.) over and over, does it mean that NOLA should be rebuilt over and over? A bridge jumping analogy comes to mind. If many parts of the city are a lost cause, it means they will have to rebuild from scratch anyways. Here's an opportunity to reduce the risk and the damage+life toll when the next one hits. Why not take that chance or at least, while the cleanup's happening, have someone study the feasibility? I'd like to invoke the precautionary principle now. With many of NOLA's poor afflicted, couldn't this be a big opportunity for major public housing projects, or at the very least, provide them with a fresh start? And as for other parts of the US, I totally agree. If you've been living in an area where parts of the city is being destroyed by fires, tornadoes, etc. then follow New Orleans' potential lead and prevent people from building where you know shit's going to happen. It's not a hazard anymore, it's a risk: you know what the probability is of it biting you in the ass, and evidently, it's pretty high.

6) How does one think city planning would solve this problem? As much as I'd like to believe that planning is a panacea for everything, I don't think planning could solve it. It's not a planning issue, but one of geography. There doesn't seem to be a lot of space to build to begin with, so I can't see how NOLA can be planned so that it doesn't become a lake unto itself again as it is right now.

7) And what makes people think that building higher and stronger levees will solve the problem? NOLA's IN A BOWL! And it's getting deeper by the year. The levees and barriers themselves are heavy, so those are sinking too. marshes were being destroyed and while there were projects to bring them back, Katrina took care of those nicely. It seems like they want to make NOLA into a fortress to keep out nature...and reality.

8) Some have remarked that they would never ask New York or Chicago to relocate...but those cities have lower probabilities of a major naturally recurring weather events hitting them, especially when their geography is absolutely less precarious than New Orleans. If someone invokes the couple hundred feet tidal waves from The Day After Tomorrow, they're fired.

9) Others mention Netherlands and Venice as examples of safe cities on a delta-like coast. Netherlands again don't have hurricanes barrelling down at them every couple of years. Though if sea levels do rise substantially from climate change (and that's not definite), it'll be interesting to see how they respond. As for Venice, they're realizing their problem but they have no real solution yet. If the unthinkable does occur and Venice is force to relocate, what would Americans and New Orleanians (?) think then?

10) I'd like to reiterate once more how so many parts of the geography+historical human influences on the geography has added to the damage that Katrina did. When a city's below sea level, bounded by a major river, a lake much larger than the city itself, and receding wetlands that buffered against storm damage because of a channelized river that shunts sediment used to replenish the delta into the ocean...well, let's just say the house has you on odds. I mean, I'm surprised and I'm sure a lot more people are grateful that such disasters haven't been a recurring thing.

I don't know what the answers are or will be, but they should at least be able to ask hard questions and not bury their heads in the sand and think if they rebuild again, everything will be alright.

Not the attention I was expecting

I was surprised when I saw comments on the post I made below. When I checked them out, I realized that I just got spammed. While some authors have mentioned that spamming was a sign that their respective site was getting more popular, I think this incident is merely the fact that spamming blogs has finally reached my tiny corner of the blogosphere. I thought I was safe, but I was wrong.

Non-partisan, but towards the Liberals.

Christy Clark, a cabinet minister for Gordon Campbell's BC Liberal government, filed her candidacy papers for mayor of Vancouver.

What's funny is this,

"Clark filed candidacy papers with the Non Partisan Association (NPA), a business-leaning civic party that is affiliated with the Liberal Party of B.C."

How can you be non-partisan when you are affiliated with a party that has a particular political ideology? Do people even think about what words mean anymore?

Katrina, Preludes and Aftermaths

Via J. Kelly Nestruck, it seems Ottawa radio stations have stopped playing the Tragically Hip's "New Orleans Is Sinking" to be sensitve to what's happening in Louisiana. Moving right along...

While the gulf coast (New Orleans, Biloxi, etc.) flooding from hurricane Katrina has not reached 'Tsunami disaster" levels (as some American officials have suggested), it's still a major disaster that's having repercussions in the rest of North America.

For one thing, oil production has more or less stopped in the gulf coast, considering the rigs are missing, though the US government is preparing to open up its emergency reserves. Still, expect prices to keep going up in the next little while, oil scarcity or no.

Meanwhile, on the softwood lumber front, one housing advocate is asking for Canadian lumber duties to be dropped so a greater supply of lumber can help with the rebuilding efforts. A spokesman for Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports stated instead that the duties would be exempt ONLY for donated lumber from Canada (I would HOPE that they wouldn't be stupid enough to keep duties imposed on lumber that we're giving away for free). What I don't understand is that their supply won't be enough to keep prices low while they rebuild and with a fresh supply of Canadian lumber, they'd be able to rebuild quicker. This especially since parts hit hardest are also where much of their poor were living. Are they that adamant in protecting their lumber market to prevent building efforts to be more effective (And hearing that Home Depot stock prices are skyrocketing before and after the hurricane is why I love capitalism so much...winners and losers, all around...).

Meanwhile, PM Martin's finally getting around to calling President Bush on sending our sympathies and offering aid. Now, he also plans to discuss the softwood lumber issue at this time (since people were clamouring for him to do it, oh, 3 weeks ago but I guess it's better than never...oh wait, no it's not. Though, maybe it's because Martin didn't want the long distance charges to Crawford.). In any case, US Ambassador David Wilkins is probably right in saying Bush probably doesn't care about softwood lumber right now. My advice? Wait until New Orleans and other submerged cities have been drained and US cities get hammered with high lumber prices...that's when Martin should call.

As to Opposition criticism of our government's slow response to this incident, I'm not sure what's going on. On the one hand, as Anne McClellan states, we've offered our aid support...no word on US invitations. This from DailyKos seems to indicate that DART and other teams such as Vancouver's Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) are ready to go but again, we're waiting for the US to give us the go-ahead. Maybe it's not CONCLUSIVE evidence that we were quick to respond, but it's more than what the Opposition is offering as proof.

Finally, some have begun to wonder aloud whether the damage to New Orleans could have been minimized. Not going on a Bush-bashing here, but the Army Corps of Engineers themselves admit that funding towards projects to shore up flood control projects were diverted to the War in Iraq. A question of priorities, I guess, though I'll bet locals are now wondering whether they've got their priorties straight.

Funding aside, this was also a geographical disaster waiting to happen. Scientific American published in 2001 an extensive article on New Orleans' risk if a hurricane came barrelling down on them. Having a city built between A giant lake and the Mississippi river was probably never a good idea to begin with. But we wanted to think we could control nature, so we built barriers, levees, canals and channeled the river straight into the ocean so we could get to our oil.

Hindsight being 20/20, we realize now that the levees and the channeling prevent fresh sediment from replacing the soil in the marshes and deltas that have dampered storms from ages past. Not only do tides wash away sediment, now saline water from the ocean are creeping further into the delta and killing off the mangrove and other wetlands, thus losing further protection. Meanwhile, for all the pumps and canals that drain New Orleans when smaller storms hit, they also drain away groundwater seepage, causing further subsidence in the city (literally, New Orleans IS sinking), and creating a deeper bowl. Where did the water get pumped to? Lake Pontchartrain, because well, it needs more water. So when levees broke on the lake, the city got flooded. But it's staying that way because our own man-made barriers are keeping the water in. Double-edged swords, we've made for ourselves.

The thing is, this isn't a new phenomenon. The Corps and researchers were well aware of the situation. Years of bickering and self-interest delayed projects from ever starting. Finally a plan came to consensus and things were under way. This was a win-win situation for them. New Orleans would replenish its wetlands and coastal marshes to dampen future storms. It would become a case study on how to save many of the other developed coastal wetlands in the world. The US would've been a world leader in this area.

Then Katrina happened, and they've been pushed back years. But they will have a chance to make it better. New Orleans will be rebuilt. The question is, how will they do so? If the mentality is,

"The levees will be made bigger and stronger. American engineers will not give in. They tamed the Mississippi on its run to the sea. They aim to tame it there as well."

then they're screwed. It's not that I think they can't make bigger levees. It's that it won't solve the problem. It's not working against nature, it should be working with. Rivers meander for a reason (slows down the current). Sediment get deposited for a reason. Marshes and wetlands have dampened storms for longer than we've settled here. So why build structures that would indirectly ruin these natural features? Lousiana has plans to do just that. They just need money from the US Federal Government. It's up to Bush now to step up with the money.

Oh and one more thing. Stop SHOOTING the people trying to help you. Ass.

I love Texans...and Zombies

via Metafilter

Nick Muntean, a University of Texas student, organized 15 random actors to act as zombies as they lurched towards the American Idol auditions, warning the already rejected-hopefuls outside that, "Television rots your braaaaaaains!"

In perfect irony, one American-Idol wannabe, Jacob Gandia remarked, "I don't get it."

Unfortunately, the producers had discovered the call for zombies on Craigslist, so they were all ready waiting for the zombie invasion. Eventually, they convinced all of them to sign release forms so Fox could broadcast their images on American Idol.

Sigh. Even brain-eating zombies get co-opted by Fox...American Idol no less!

New Orleans is sinking man and I don't wanna swim...

that, and probably because I wouldn't be able to if I was there when Hurricane Katrina makes landfall. I hope that damage will be minimal and casualties none or few, but being a Category 5 (which is the most powerful, and only 3 or 4 have ever been recorded) and all, the Southern US coast won't be a pretty sight afterwards. No joke, this storm's got everyone pissing their pants.

Nature sure can get angry when it wants to...

A valiant effort, Jon. But alas.

Tonight's Daily Show was a good reminder why Jon Stewart is just a comedian, as much as people would want him to be otherwise.

A comparison. His guest last night was Senator Trent Lott, who'd published his memoirs, "Herding Cats." the entire interview was light (but not silly) as Stewart and the former majority leader traded barbs (particularly about Lott's remarks at Strom Thurmond's birthday) and discussed the book. A wholly enjoyable segment.

Tonight's guest, however, was Christopher Hitchens, out promoting his book, "Thomas Jefferson: Author of America" With a understandably huge interest in the Iraq war, Jon had someone on who had an understanding of the geopolitical issues surrounding the war and thus had an the opportunity to ask Hitchens why if there were other countries that were perhaps a greater threat to the US (Iran, North Korea), why they went into Iraq instead.

The first point they discussed was some Bushisms, particularly the "We're fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here." Hitchens argued it was bullshit, as the global war on terror is either everywhere or nowhere--there can't be a 'there' and a 'here.'

While I agree with that, I wonder if it's possible that the disconnect exists because somehow Bush thinks that the US is somehow should be above the fray, so that while the war on terror is fought 'down there' in the world so that it's not fought 'up here' in the US? Or is it merely a statement that logically isn't true, as Hitchens argues?

Next, Hitchens said that countries had signed a convention (couldn't make out which one...anyone out there that can help?) stating if any of 4 principles were broken, a country's sovereignty was forfeit. Since Iraq broke these four principles, it's sovereignty was forfeit. Therefore, Bush was merely upholding that convention by following US policy, as passed in the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act...

But if you read the act, you'll find this statement: "It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime." (bold emphasis mine). It is NOT US policy to be the effort to overthrow the regime. Regardless of other arguments about the war, this one by Hitchens isn't true.

Hitchens also stated that Bush was correcting Pres. G. H. W. Bush's mistake of letting Saddam Hussein continue to run Iraq.

My question about this argument is, regardless of whether it was a mistake on the Senior Bush's part (it was), were there other MORE immediate threats to the US besides Iraq that would've warranted action in 2002-3?

For the first time since I've started watching the Daily Show, it wasn't a comedic interview as Jon turned it into a really serious debate. And while he's a smart guy, Jon couldn't give us any good responses to Hitchen's arguments. They were few and it seemed that at times he fell back on HIS talking points about wanting the war to be accountable (which it should always be) and be run competently (is it?) or making jokes to try to fall back on what the interview should've been like. Hitchens definitely sensed that the crowd wasn't going to be on his side (as he snidely remarked about the lack of applause on anything he said...). Maybe it was the lack of time that didn't allow Hitchens and Stewart to flesh out their one-on-one, but Stewart definitely seemed to be on the defensive for most of it as Hitchens through strike after strike.

In my opinion, Jon Stewart doesn't have the knowledge to have a serious debate with a guy like Hitchens. BUT, he would definitely make a good moderator on a debate program, kind of like Crossfire, but good. Imagine though, A one-hour debate show, with Jon Stewart as the moderator and host, Christopher Hitchens as one guest, Fareed Zakaria as the other.

Now THAT would be a show I'd tune in to...even if it was on CNN.

Update 2:16 AM: corrected the title of Hitchen's book.

Nothing, just look at the picture...

Courtesy of these guys...

First Hello Kitty...now THIS!

Good Idea: Getting kids to eat healthier.

Bad Idea: Getting kids drinking beer...

...well, not quite. My friend Erica pointed me towards this bizarre story. Apparently, there's a company in Japan that markets a non-alcoholic drink called "Kidsbeer" (I can't make this shit up). It's a guarana-based drink (so think Molson Kick but without the alcohol) and comes in the same brown bottles as regular beer. The best part, however, are the quotes that the president of Kidsbeer gives,

"Children copy and mimic adults...If you get this drink ready on such occasions as events and celebrations attended by kids, it would make the occasions even more entertaining." (Because, You obviously can't have fun without drinking beer...)

and the product's slogan,

"Even kids cannot stand life unless they have a drink"
(Are kids' lives that miserable in Japan???)

This is definitely one product that goes in the "What the world could do without" pile.

Oh Ezra, why you gotta be like Godzilla?

So this was supposed to be an early night for me until I came across this piece by Ezra Levant. Let the dissecting begin:

"Don't believe what the Alberta-bashers tell you."

I'm really sick and tired of this everyone against Alberta mentality. Can we (that's all of Canada, just in case anyone's wondering) all please grow up and start acting like mature adults?

"Oh, sure, crude oil hasn't been $65/barrel before. But that's not because oil is more expensive than ever. It's because inflation has eroded the value of the dollar."

I'm not an economist nor have I followed gas prices, but it sounds reasonable.

"Of course, nobody talks this way about other items that we have to buy -- like, say, automobiles. The average auto in North America is 62% more expensive today than it was in 1980, in real dollars. But cars are made in Ontario and Quebec. Oil is drilled in Alberta. It's easy and fun to pick on Alberta for its oil wealth. (Want proof? Canada's auto industry negotiated an exemption from the Kyoto Protocol. No fanfare, just a quiet side deal. Alberta's oil remains in the Kyoto bulls-eye.)"

It's not that we're purposefully avoiding the discussion about automobile prices or other petroleum-based product, it's just that we're a little slow. Sorry, our bad.

And again, who's picking on Alberta? This isn't a schoolyard! Anyone who thinks Alberta controls world oil prices and thus screwing them of their money are idiots. I frankly wouldn't want the auto industry to get that exemption and instead be forced to raise fuel efficiency standards, but my government dropped the ball on that one.

Oil companies are demonized as large, impersonal, profiteering organizations rigging prices.

Mr. Levant should know that EVERY large corporation is demonized as such. Stop singling out Oil Patch. You're biased against the rest of the corporations in Canada!

"Most reporters have an anti-business bias to begin with. Add in oil and you tap into their environmentalist biases, too."

Most reporters also work in a 'business.' I guess they're biased against themselves. Damn self-hatin' reporters.

I also didn't know that not liking pollution was a bias. I guess I'm biased against pollution.

"There are some notable voices -- Gwyn Morgan of EnCana and James Buckee of Talisman are examples of oilmen with the courage to challenge the economics and science of Kyoto."

Here's what I pulled off of EnCana (bottom of the page, "the Voluntary Challenge and Registry Inc.") and Talisman's (2004 Corporate Responsibility Report, section titled "Kyoto Protocol") website. Granted, EnCana's more vague on what they're doing about climate change, but they acknowledge it while Talisman has a full section on working on the Kyoto Protocol. Either Morgan and Buckee are saying one thing but doing another (which is which is the reader's guess) or Mr. Levant's behind in the news...

Take out the inflammatory rhetoric about Canada against Alberta, the Feds against Alberta, the auto industry against Alberta, the media against Alberta and Godzilla against Alberta (Alberta just can't get any breaks, apparently), and what you have is, well, 3 paragraphs arguing that oil prices aren't that high but everything else has become more expensive, so suck it up. Which is pretty reasonable. It's too bad it got buried by the other nonsense. It's just frustrating when pundits from one side or the other accuse their opposites of being inflammatory. The hypocrisy is just so blatant, kinda like the people in the Godzilla costumes. Now if only we can all stop fighting imaginary battles and get on with governing the country.

On a related note, I don't want people to think I'm just picking on the conservative pundits. They just tend to be the loudest and get noticed more often. If I find a liberal pundit saying stupid things, I will go to town on it.

Thoughts for the evening

Watching the Daily Show I wondered, "Does Pat Robertson or anyone else for that matter realize how ridiculous he (Robertson) looks praying to GOD to open up more US Supreme Court vacancies, besides the fact that he's doing it on television?"

And reading CalgaryGrit, I'm surprised by the knee-jerk reactions that some conservative commenters have towards any responses from anyone from Ontario. I mean, I wouldn't be the first to say that there are dingbats (and I use the term in the most lovingly way, of course) on all sides of the political spectrum who couldn't argue themselves out of a paperbag and only know to spew vitriol at each other.

But when someone like James Bow (and there were others) tries to have a reasoned debate about the the NEP (which I know is a source of resentment by people from western provinces) and all we get are comments like,

"Alberta was going into a recession anyways so it was ok to steal 80 billion dollars from them" (as if it's some ongoing conspiracy hatched up by Trudeau to screw each and every Albertan personally...)

and,

"nice attempt at revising history. Where do you live now? Oh, yea it's Toronto" (because where you live automatically invalidates your opinion, right? Isn't that what SOME people, whom I shall not name, accuse left-wing commenters of doing? Congratulations, you've won a free pass to Hypocrisyville!)

it's little wonder why no one takes you seriously...because no one should. In any case, I don't know anything about the NEP and I would LOVE it if some conservative commenter can just go onto CalgaryGrit and debate with James Bow and all the others in a civilized manner so that maybe, just maybe, I'll learn something new about our national history.

Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada

I should be reading Robert Wright's A Short History Of Progress; instead, I'm blogging about the comments made in a Globe and Mail forum about PM Martin's appointment of Michaelle Jean as our next Governor General (GG).

While most were delighted about the appointment, others were less enthused. The extreme comments being the 'let's get rid of the position completely' to 'she's a journalist and therefore she automatically doesn't qualify,' 'well, we might as well have Ron Maclean as our GG' and 'why can't we get a Aboriginal Canadian (agreed, but there can only be one person in that position at a time, folks). The other negative comments generally centred around the "why couldn't we appoint a Canadian-born person' and 'Martin's kowtowing to minorities, Quebeckers, women and therefore ignoring white men from the West.'

How quickly some forget. That's not to say that there weren't commenters who defended the decision. But blogging being what it is allows me to research first.

1) Starting with the Right Honourable Vincent Massey in 1952, we've alternated GGs from Quebec and the rest of Canada. I don't really see a problem with that (we are a bilingual country) though if people want to alternate between provinces and territories, I don't see a problem with that either. In any case, Martin may not be changing this recent tradition (for better or worse), but I don't think he's kowtowing to anybody (The timing certainly benefits him, but prominent Quebeckers have been speculated upon these last few weeks anyways).

2) The last 'white, Canadian-born' Governor General was the Right Honorable Romeo LeBlanc, and he stepped down in 1999. Gosh, that's, like, in the last century! It's been such a long time! Get over it, people. By the time Ms. Jean steps down, it'll have barely been a decade. Are our collective memories that short? Oh by the way, EVERY Governor General before Adrienne Clarkson has been 'white.' But then, we aren't looking at the colour of their skin, right? Or appeasing the 'white' population, were we?

3) As for appointing a CBC journalist, skimming the biographies, the only people with prominent journalism experience but no political experience since Massey has been, wait for it, two: Ms. Jean and GG Clarkson. TWO! Jeanne Sauve (sorry, don't know how to add accents) and Romeo LeBlanc served both on Parliament Hill and in journalism. Plus, pre-Massey GGs were usually Earls or Viscounts and such. How does that make them any more qualified to serve as Head of State then Ms. Jean?

4) The last three non-Quebecker GGs (Rt. Hon. Roland Michener,Rt. Hon. Edward Schreyer and Rt. Hon. Ramon Hnatyshyn) were born in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. How's that for not representing the West? If anybody should be pissed, it should be the Maritimers. Everyone before Massey (born in Toronto) were British nationals. Guess what, as our country changes, those who serve as its head should probably change in accordance. Why is that so shocking?

I don't know if Ms. Jean is qualified or not for the position. She's certainly accomplished. I thought GG Clarkson did a fine job serving Canada's interests at home and abroad, as did all of the previous GG. I wish Ms. Jean much success in her position and hope that these next few years she's able to show those naysayers why she was the right choice.