The early morning news said it all; the professors at my favourite university are on the sidewalks, with polite picket signs and polite rhetoric. Parity, at any cost.
posted in politics | Comments Off on Strike fever | 202 words
The evening news brought fascinating images. Our current prime minister is on an officially secretive visit to Afghanistan (secret for reasons of security). There, he spoke of the importance of our mission there, while admiring the inukshuk and grabbing a photo opportunity at the controls of a Hercules aircraft.
posted in politics | Comments Off on Visit in stealth mode | 117 words
The provincial government and the money arm (aka Hydro Quebec) both saw fit to announce increases in my spending today. Electricity will simply cost more from now on, and the fee for a driving permit will move towards double. No reason given.
posted in politics | Comments Off on Not everyone is frozen in place | 150 words
Today, I went to work. If you check the calendar, it shows that we have landed on a Saturday, yet I was at the board office to operate a videoconference. Highly unusual; I haven’t had to break the Monday to Friday routine in a very long time. All to assure that one person in Chibougamau could listen in to presentation of the QEP / Reform / rewrite of the curriculum by four of the consultants. Note that this was really a “listen in”; the communication was not in both directions. Oh well, so the name videoconference is mis-applied. Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures.
posted in computing, politics | Comments Off on Extraordinary circumstances | 163 words
One would think that a member of the press, (more specifically, the editor of a newspaper) would understand when the “freedom of the press” is inappropriate. This week, the editor of the UPEI Cadre has shown that to be perspicacious is not innate. A decision to republish the “Muslim cartoons” from a Danish newspaper has led to the issue from this week being banned from campus, and the story has been repeated from sea to shining sea. The university president has weighed into the fro, and the campus police have shown their ability to show up too late for the party (the copies were hidden elsewhere).
posted in media, politics | Comments Off on Bad press | 126 words
How is it that, with each election, we tolerate that the signs on our utility poles last long after the thrill of the polls has gone? No matter the level, the various candidates show great logistical ability in getting “their” spots adorned, sometimes even in anticipation (there are no sign police to ensure the laws are followed). But, once all the counting and cheering/weeping is over, those same signs seem to take on a life of their own. Nobody wants them. The teams have all (it would seem) disbanded, and the cleanup is left to Mother Nature. Isn’t she busy enough without that added on?
posted in politics | Comments Off on Signs past their time | 179 words
ONLY Rex Murphy could turn such a phrase. The current election campaign is halfway through, and his description follows:
posted in politics | Comments Off on Tenacity of lichens | 184 words
