I have seen the light. Rather, someone else saw it and captured it. Now, I want to be a capturer too.
posted in media, technology | Comments Off on New item on my wish list | 260 words
The city has made its revised property evaluations public, and almost every house in the city is now worth almost 40% more than a week ago.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Evaluation or monopoly | 226 words
Anyone who has tried grocery shopping on a weekend, and that counts in anybody who has a regular job and wants to eat, has run head on into the law that protects “the little guy”. The law that prohibits more than a limited number of employees in a supermarket after darkness or during the day of rest. The law that guarantees that the depanneur won’t be put out of business by the huge corporate monsters that feed all but a select few.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Service or Self-serving | 425 words
Earlier this week, I watched the first half of a CBC docu-drama that revisited what has become known as the Oka crisis. I will be forced to miss the second section, but given that this is based on history, I at least know how it all “turned out”. Not as hard on a person as when the power fails during a first-run movie…
posted in history, media | Comments Off on In the eye of the beholder | 278 words
New puppies are just so cute. We welcome them into our homes, in spite of the whining and chewing and “marking of territory” (otherwise known as wetting where they please). We cajole and give treats and sit with our cute puppies thinking that this is true bliss. No wonder dogs adopted humans; we are easily trained and SO gullible.
posted in pets | Comments Off on Stealth mode | 331 words
I spent today as a student. In-service training for me, so that I can provide in-service training to many others. The topic for today’s lesson was report cards.
posted in history | Comments Off on B+ is no longer good enough | 314 words
We went shopping tonight. I started out to buy light bulbs, but we were distracted and ended up at Staples/Bureau En Gros. The place where we leave lots of after-tax income in the hands of the media. Paper media, electronic media. Pens and pads. Blank CDs. Replacement wireless routers. Replacement school bags. Replacements for all the stuff that three students, a teacher and a geek need to get through the days.
posted in economy | Comments Off on After the storm | 129 words
My university lost a fine teacher yesterday.
A lifetime spent teaching Latin and other Classics is one that won’t have much meaning to the youth in our schools today, but only a generation ago, the study of Latin still carried a value. The study of Latin at university was rare, but still recognized as worth something in intellectual terms.
posted in history | Comments Off on Nunc dimittis | 297 words
Some jobs make me stop and think: There but for the grace of God go I. I mean, there’s the exceptional ones, like an infantry soldier in Afghanistan, or the person hanging from a winch on a SAR helicopter. Not for the faint of heart, those ones. But closer to home, there are the people who assure that our essential services keep on keepin’ on. The people who take care of the exceptional situations. In particular, the personnel who repair “the lines” for Bell and Hydro.
posted in environment, technology | Comments Off on Up a pole or down a hole | 361 words
An early morning in September, with the first traces of autumn in the air. The business district starting up for another day of commerce. Traffic was fluid. The day shift was in place in the local factories. All the hustle and bustle of a major city. Almost nine years before, the greatest engineering structure in the area had been damaged, but none thought to forecast a total structural collapse. Fine steel and iron, set in place by the master builders from the Mohawk reserve in Kahnawake reserve, Strong foundation sunk deep into the bedrock below. And, without warning, disaster. The communications lines worldwide would hum with the news. A city would be brought to a standstill. Could this be the result of the ongoing war? (The Quebec Bridge collapsed on this day, ninety years ago.)
posted in history | Comments Off on On this day in history | 299 words
