10th
September
2008
It’s easy to mock the rich when you aren’t. It’s easier to mock the stupid rich. The rich that gamble their excess, in the hope of having even more. That might be a definition of greed, come to think of it… not the mocking; the gambling. There are those that believe gambling to be a sin, or a sickness. When it’s done at the organized level, it means far too much coverage in the media. Did you ever count those pages of numbers in the “financial section” where there are columns and columns of numbers that purport to show a pattern for those who invest.
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posted in economy |
9th
September
2008
You heard it here, first. When they turn on the Large Hadron Collider in a few hours time, it is going to make absolutely no difference. I will still have to get up tomorrow morning, put the dog out (and in) and go to work.The bus will still be a few minutes late. You can relax.
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posted in environment, politics |
8th
September
2008
Shopping might not be EASIER than in the pre-web days, but it sure makes for a well informed consumer. I’ve mentioned this before; no matter what you want to purchase (in the retail world), somewhere, someone, somehow has gone down the trail before you, and left enough stories of their stubbed toes to keep you watching where you tread.
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posted in technology |
7th
September
2008
I’m just back from the hunting grounds. That’s where parents go, at the beginning of each new school year, to try to complete the treasure hunt designed by sadistic educators. Around and around the aisles, dodging others with exactly the same mindset, constantly scanning the edges of counters where the article you need may have been carelessly abandoned by another. All this, to assure that Johnny Who Can’t Read will be able to write, on a wide range of paper types with an even wider range of marking tools. Blood from the parent, included.
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posted in education |
6th
September
2008
Try to imagine going to the drive-in movies, without a car, where there are six or seven screens in a row, all showing the one movie. Or how about someone starting a row of music boxes, where the music has to be in chorus. Or maybe we’ll just let the technicians worry about the whole aspect of how it works, and just enjoy a really big show.
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posted in media, technology |
5th
September
2008
On one hand, we’ve got millions of people asking other people “What kind of music do you like?” Like they really care about the answer. On the other hand, you’ve got Dr. Adrian North, from the Heriot Watt University over in Edinburgh, Scotland. When he asks the question, he really does care enough about the answer to pay attention.
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posted in music |
4th
September
2008
Anyone who uses a tool wishes they had something that is of better quality. The musician, who wants a new horn/bow/didjeridu. The carpenter, who lusts after one of those Japanese handsaws that are on display at Lee Valley. The writer, wanting a sharper penknife to cut a finer quill (it could happen). The computer geek that wants a “better mouse”. Let’s accept that classier tools make happier craftsmen.
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posted in technology |
3rd
September
2008
Admit it, readers. There’s a certain pleasure in looking at old pictures of people we know, especially those taken when the subjects were wilder and crazier than now. On the odd occasion, we’ll even accept that the evidence includes us, because we’ve all the moments that define youth. CBC (on the French side of the room) has had a real success over the last couple of seasons with a program called Ici Louis-José Houde.
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posted in humour |
2nd
September
2008
As a parent, you do what you can to keep the next generation happy. Even if it involves shopping for odd utility clothing on websites, or taking a trip to the hardware store in the middle of a summer evening, to buy odd pieces of PVC to go with the utility gear. I’m ahead of myself.
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posted in technology |
1st
September
2008
My sympathies are extended to any employee in retail that lives with a soundtrack. Background music, not of their choosing. My sons are unable to handle some of the local FM radio stations after spending part of their waking hours each day listening, over and over again, to the same insipid choice of songs that seems to beat one’s soul into pablum. And I’ve just returned from grocery shopping, where I ended up singing along to a cover of a Roger Whittaker song.
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posted in economy |
