Cosmology: The Many Directions of Time -- I blogged this some time ago and tried to find it again talking to my Dad last night. Of course, when I wanted it, I couldn't find it. And then I see the guy's won a Pritzker Fellowship. Cool! I got excited, and so did some other people who could be expected to know better. Good-bye Dark Matter, good-bye tuning-fork model of classification of galaxies, hello possible explanation for quasars and Seifert Galaxies. This looks like it could be the next revolution in cosmology and physics. But it comes with a caution for anyone who hooks Genesis 1 and the Big Bang theory too closely. As usual, marrying theism too closely to one scientific hypothesis can always bite back later.
Literature: I feel like a kid again. Tomorrow, a brand new book by one of my favourite authors, now passed-on for 30+ years, is coming out. Christopher Tolkien has left publishing all of his Dad's doodles and scribblings and put the Narn î Hin Húrin out in book form. It's coming out tomorrow. I'm so excited. Time to go revisit Neldoreth after Nirnaeth Arnoediad, Nargothrond after Finrod's departure, to see what a real friend Beleg Strongbow was. Children of Hurin, coming out tomorrow. This one I think I'll bother to buy hardback.
Auditory pleasure: I am so enjoying the Drew Marshall Show, even if I wind up listening to most of it delayed over a week -- how can you justify spending four hours on a Saturday (1:00PM-5:00 PM EST/EDT Saturday) glued to your computer with a family and a house to deal with? I don't know. Check out the site, check out his (first and probably only ever) appearance on Huntley Street. If Joe Molson-Six Pack can relate to any Canadian Christian personality out there, it'll be Drew. Interviews of special interest to Canadians with Stephen Lewis, Roméo Dallaire, Bruce Cockburn, Stephen Harper, Valeri Bure (Pavel's brother), Don Cherry, Paul Henderson -- and most of them are archived for on-demand listening later.
2007-04-16
2007-03-28
To Gord MacDonald, presenter and host on CKNW
Dear Mr. MacDonald,
As a member of the news team for CKNW, I'd like to thank you for all the work you and your colleagues do to keep British Columbians informed about what is going on here. You are, overall, a rich source of information, and in general you discharge your responsibility to do so admirably, as your team's steady stream of awards appropriately confirms.
In regard to the one year anniversary of the sinking of the Queen of the North, there was one aspect of your coverage in the open line session that disturbed me, and if you were to give second thought to the things you were saying, perhaps they would give you pause as well. Before saying more, let me state that I share your frustration, that of all other BCers, even more those of the families of Mr. Foisy and his companion, and of the community of Hartley Bay who face an environmental disaster in the making with the 240,000 L of various oils still at the bottom near Gil Island, at the utter lack of candor on the part of the standing watch at the time of the sinking. It seems unthinkable that with two lives lost and a large cache of underwater diesel the consciences of these folks would not drive them to saying clearly and distinctly what was going on. But that is the state they are in, and if they persist in that state, ultimately they will be reprimanded by their employer and who knows but that they will face charges of negligence causing bodily harm or death eventually.
My concern is the zeal with which you were enjoining the Fourth Officer and the Quartermaster to abandon their rights to due process, implying even a moral obligation to doing so. I would remind you that if you yourself were accused, truly or falsely, of acts that could conceivably result in your imprisonment or significant loss of opportunity to earn income in your trade, that right to due process might be your only safeguard against unjust application of any penalty, or in the case guilt of a lesser offence, of an excessive penalty. These rights to due process are one of the most precious benefits we receive as citizens and we should not encourage others to abandon them, nor make them seem ridiculous or unduly cumbersome. I know individuals who have lived in regimes where these benefits are not bestowed on citizens -- some as citizens who have escaped, some as expatriates who saw co-workers harassed and were themselves expelled unjustly.
Your station's status as the primary source of local news in Vancouver give you a special responsibility, not just to hold the feet of the powerful to the fire when wrong-doing has been done (as seems clearly to be the case in this instance at some level or other), but also to honour and safeguard, in every possible way, these freedoms which keep us from living at the mercy of authorities who are free to assume that we are guilty at their whim and are already under serious threat in the low-level insanity North America has bought into in the aftermath of 9-11 as well as in the face of regular perceived breaches of justice that trouble the public when otherwise guilty persons get let off on technicalities. Those technicalities could very well defend one of us, you or me, from false accusation on some other occasion and we would do well to remember that when we -- and especially you, in this position where thousands of people listen to you and take what you say very seriously in forming their own opinions -- are tempted to deride these protections when they seem to obstruct us from finding out "what really happened" in some contentious situation.
As a member of the news team for CKNW, I'd like to thank you for all the work you and your colleagues do to keep British Columbians informed about what is going on here. You are, overall, a rich source of information, and in general you discharge your responsibility to do so admirably, as your team's steady stream of awards appropriately confirms.
In regard to the one year anniversary of the sinking of the Queen of the North, there was one aspect of your coverage in the open line session that disturbed me, and if you were to give second thought to the things you were saying, perhaps they would give you pause as well. Before saying more, let me state that I share your frustration, that of all other BCers, even more those of the families of Mr. Foisy and his companion, and of the community of Hartley Bay who face an environmental disaster in the making with the 240,000 L of various oils still at the bottom near Gil Island, at the utter lack of candor on the part of the standing watch at the time of the sinking. It seems unthinkable that with two lives lost and a large cache of underwater diesel the consciences of these folks would not drive them to saying clearly and distinctly what was going on. But that is the state they are in, and if they persist in that state, ultimately they will be reprimanded by their employer and who knows but that they will face charges of negligence causing bodily harm or death eventually.
My concern is the zeal with which you were enjoining the Fourth Officer and the Quartermaster to abandon their rights to due process, implying even a moral obligation to doing so. I would remind you that if you yourself were accused, truly or falsely, of acts that could conceivably result in your imprisonment or significant loss of opportunity to earn income in your trade, that right to due process might be your only safeguard against unjust application of any penalty, or in the case guilt of a lesser offence, of an excessive penalty. These rights to due process are one of the most precious benefits we receive as citizens and we should not encourage others to abandon them, nor make them seem ridiculous or unduly cumbersome. I know individuals who have lived in regimes where these benefits are not bestowed on citizens -- some as citizens who have escaped, some as expatriates who saw co-workers harassed and were themselves expelled unjustly.
Your station's status as the primary source of local news in Vancouver give you a special responsibility, not just to hold the feet of the powerful to the fire when wrong-doing has been done (as seems clearly to be the case in this instance at some level or other), but also to honour and safeguard, in every possible way, these freedoms which keep us from living at the mercy of authorities who are free to assume that we are guilty at their whim and are already under serious threat in the low-level insanity North America has bought into in the aftermath of 9-11 as well as in the face of regular perceived breaches of justice that trouble the public when otherwise guilty persons get let off on technicalities. Those technicalities could very well defend one of us, you or me, from false accusation on some other occasion and we would do well to remember that when we -- and especially you, in this position where thousands of people listen to you and take what you say very seriously in forming their own opinions -- are tempted to deride these protections when they seem to obstruct us from finding out "what really happened" in some contentious situation.
2007-03-27
Two Earthquakes -- Ireland and Québec
Yesterday was a huge day. I woke up to pictures of 11th hour meetings with Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley at the same table promising to form a power-sharing executive in six weeks. In this matter I have more praise for Sinn Fein and Gerry Adams than for Paisley, but not very much more. For the unionists, I understand that thirty years of conflict make them gun shy, and I understand that there's less of an official connection between the DUP and the so-called unionist, so-called militias than there was between Sinn Fein and whatever body the "volunteers" became in the last decade, but... It seemed petty to me that in the face of a hard, legislated deadline, the DUP could dig their heels in and threaten further unrest in the face of what some folks in the six counties could only interpret as double-charging on water. Good on Sinn Fein for acting to prevent the collapse. But both these parties are still working off of very different dictionaries. Until they can agree on what the end game will be (and their founding documents contain absolute contradictions there -- to join Ireland or to remain a province of the UK), any agreement will be in constant jeopardy. But I have more hope for Ireland than I did. No matter who holds the reins, all parties have to feel that they are full citizens in their own country, not systematically discriminated against regardless of how they identify themselves.
And then, in my own country, I had no idea what to expect in the results of Québec's provincial election. I turned on the telly just before supper and saw the ADQ in the lead and I've been shaking my head ever since. No sovreignty referendum for the next little while I think. Whew! What Mario Dumont is going to do with his huge rump is anyone's guess: echoes of the Reform Party sweep of the west after Mulroney stepped down as Prime Minister of Canada. It also remains to be seen what "Autonomism" (Dumont's idea of what Québec's relationship with Canada should evolve into) means and how easily it may transform, transmute, revert to "Soverigntism" (the Parti Québécois's position that the province should separate from the rest of Canada). I wonder, too, what this means for electoral results in Québec in the next Federal election which can't be that far away.
And then, in my own country, I had no idea what to expect in the results of Québec's provincial election. I turned on the telly just before supper and saw the ADQ in the lead and I've been shaking my head ever since. No sovreignty referendum for the next little while I think. Whew! What Mario Dumont is going to do with his huge rump is anyone's guess: echoes of the Reform Party sweep of the west after Mulroney stepped down as Prime Minister of Canada. It also remains to be seen what "Autonomism" (Dumont's idea of what Québec's relationship with Canada should evolve into) means and how easily it may transform, transmute, revert to "Soverigntism" (the Parti Québécois's position that the province should separate from the rest of Canada). I wonder, too, what this means for electoral results in Québec in the next Federal election which can't be that far away.
2007-03-22
Panasonic Fluorescent Bulbs
So... according to Panasonic, Home Hardware carries these bulbs (regardless of what the packaging shouts about "Gen IV" etc, they're known within Panasonic as "EFA" bulbs). But before you go running down to your local branch, phone ahead. My closest store bought stacks of them when they first came out but they didn't sell well. He can order them in but they're not necessarily in stock just yet.
Also... I mentioned to the person I talked to at Panasonic, Canada, that the 23W bulb was a little too dim, that a brighter one would be nice. She said their supplier had chosen not to produce anything brighter. Perhaps there's some technical problem still to be overcome.
And... if you do go in for replacing your bulbs at home with any kind of fluroescent bulbs, you should be aware that they contain mercury and should really be recycled in some other way than through the trash (unless of course you want mercury in your local water table some decades from now). Not that any municipality that I know of has that kind of recycling infrastructure in place yet, but it's something that somebody should be doing something about.
2007-03-20
Canadian Federal Liberals the new BC Protest Party?
I laughed long and hard when I heard the story.
For years, federally, British Columbians have tended to vote Progressive Conservative, Reform, Alliance or now, again, Conservative -- in part because the party in power, the Liberal Party of Canada could be trusted to ignore BC, to pour largesse on Québec, Ontario, even Manitoba but never on BC. We neither had a large population whose employability needed to be shored up (Ontario), nor a tendency to question our future within Canada (Québec). We even had an unnecessary recession in the 90s because of fiscal policy that was good for everyone east of the Rockies -- well, in deference to Alberta, everyone east of Lloydminster.
Yesterday, the minority Conservative government tabled their 2nd budget (a small wonder in itself), during which speech the MInister of Finance, the Hon. Joe Flaherty, betrayed his (and his staff's) oblivion to their being anything Beautiful in BC when he proclaimed that the Rockies were the country's westernmost beauty spot. Then he went on to lay out a budget which, while I as the head of a single-income household with three children will benefit from, shortchanges BC on several fronts, especially in federal infrastructure dollars towards better public transportation. Less than a fortnight ago, $1,000,000,000 was announced in spending for Toronto's system. So, perhaps we, as the 3rd largest city don't quite deserve that much but, no further money at all? I was surprised.
But I was not as surprised as I was to hear about a Liberal MP from BC loudly complaining about how the budget had abandoned BC. Hearing that, I laughed and laughed and laughed. The barefaced hypocrisy stunned me. Where were you, Mr. Liberal MP in the Trudeau years, the Chrêtien years, even the Martin years? Were you in the back of caucus meetings being sat on so that your constituents' reasonable requests got ignored? Actually, I think this MP is a relative newcomer to parliament but certainly other members of the Liberal contingent from BC were there before their current stint in the minority. Where were your voices then? Why should we take your calls for redress seriously, as in, "if only we vote for these guys, BC will be better off next time."?
And I laughed but my laughter was hollow. I don't suppose that trying to leave confederation will help BC much, but our population is growing and we have a similar unemployment rate to that of Powerhouse Alberta. Still, I think we would do well never to expect anything from Ottawa, save appeals for votes, even from parties that unseat the current government after years of promising us a better deal, if only we vote them in next time. Proportional representation in the Commons would be a better idea, but I see no political will for that among the haves: Conservative, Liberal, NDP. That might not fix things either but it might enable BC to have a stronger voice, a unified contingent, willing to become part of any and every ruling coalition, so long as the next government takes BC's needs seriously, instead of having them look west, see a scary Alberta and ignore anything from beyond that point. If BCers care less and less about Canada, Canada will have nobody to blame but successive Winnipeg-and-east-thereof governments that have treated BC as no more than that vacant lot beyond the Rockies. I like the idea of Canada and I hope things don't continue to develop along that vein.
For years, federally, British Columbians have tended to vote Progressive Conservative, Reform, Alliance or now, again, Conservative -- in part because the party in power, the Liberal Party of Canada could be trusted to ignore BC, to pour largesse on Québec, Ontario, even Manitoba but never on BC. We neither had a large population whose employability needed to be shored up (Ontario), nor a tendency to question our future within Canada (Québec). We even had an unnecessary recession in the 90s because of fiscal policy that was good for everyone east of the Rockies -- well, in deference to Alberta, everyone east of Lloydminster.
Yesterday, the minority Conservative government tabled their 2nd budget (a small wonder in itself), during which speech the MInister of Finance, the Hon. Joe Flaherty, betrayed his (and his staff's) oblivion to their being anything Beautiful in BC when he proclaimed that the Rockies were the country's westernmost beauty spot. Then he went on to lay out a budget which, while I as the head of a single-income household with three children will benefit from, shortchanges BC on several fronts, especially in federal infrastructure dollars towards better public transportation. Less than a fortnight ago, $1,000,000,000 was announced in spending for Toronto's system. So, perhaps we, as the 3rd largest city don't quite deserve that much but, no further money at all? I was surprised.
But I was not as surprised as I was to hear about a Liberal MP from BC loudly complaining about how the budget had abandoned BC. Hearing that, I laughed and laughed and laughed. The barefaced hypocrisy stunned me. Where were you, Mr. Liberal MP in the Trudeau years, the Chrêtien years, even the Martin years? Were you in the back of caucus meetings being sat on so that your constituents' reasonable requests got ignored? Actually, I think this MP is a relative newcomer to parliament but certainly other members of the Liberal contingent from BC were there before their current stint in the minority. Where were your voices then? Why should we take your calls for redress seriously, as in, "if only we vote for these guys, BC will be better off next time."?
And I laughed but my laughter was hollow. I don't suppose that trying to leave confederation will help BC much, but our population is growing and we have a similar unemployment rate to that of Powerhouse Alberta. Still, I think we would do well never to expect anything from Ottawa, save appeals for votes, even from parties that unseat the current government after years of promising us a better deal, if only we vote them in next time. Proportional representation in the Commons would be a better idea, but I see no political will for that among the haves: Conservative, Liberal, NDP. That might not fix things either but it might enable BC to have a stronger voice, a unified contingent, willing to become part of any and every ruling coalition, so long as the next government takes BC's needs seriously, instead of having them look west, see a scary Alberta and ignore anything from beyond that point. If BCers care less and less about Canada, Canada will have nobody to blame but successive Winnipeg-and-east-thereof governments that have treated BC as no more than that vacant lot beyond the Rockies. I like the idea of Canada and I hope things don't continue to develop along that vein.
2007-03-12
Fluorescent Bulbs I Can Live With
It's happened. I never thought it would, but I have found a replacement fluorescent bulb whose light bulb doesnn't feel like a refugee from some under-lighted cavern, far from warmth or "real" light. It's a "Panasonic - Gen IV Light Capsule" -- UPC in Canada is 92281 09308. It uses 23W and puts out what feels like 45 or 50W incandescent worth of light. And it's a nice warm reddish colour. Much preferrable to the harsh fluorescent panels in the ceiling.
2007-03-08
Translink Re-org
There have been a spate of things I have wanted to write about these last few weeks but have been unable to grab a moment here or there. So, there's a compile going on and I have a moment to mention this story that greeted me when I picked up the paper this morning. I wish I felt any confidence that this was going to improve transit and transportation in the Lower Mainland. The revised governance and the expanded sphere of responsibility is good. The missing link is still funding. Where is the funding for all these projects going to come from?
One aspect of the announcement is that public-private partnerships will be fostered by revised zoning and encouragement to develop around transit hubs in return for the private sector building certain parts of the transit system. Great. But where does infrastructure improvement that doesn't have a built-in opportunity for development get its funding from?
It's time, it's time, it's time for governments to admit that the steady stream of gasoline tax already being collected belongs not in general revenue where it's currently being sent, but in paying primarily for better transit, secondarily for better roads. Using that money for any other purpose is an illegitimate redirection of those funds that is tilting the playing field up hill for any sensible transit policy and downhill for whatever else it's being used for.
I despair of that conclusion ever being reached by the people who could make that idea a reality.
One aspect of the announcement is that public-private partnerships will be fostered by revised zoning and encouragement to develop around transit hubs in return for the private sector building certain parts of the transit system. Great. But where does infrastructure improvement that doesn't have a built-in opportunity for development get its funding from?
It's time, it's time, it's time for governments to admit that the steady stream of gasoline tax already being collected belongs not in general revenue where it's currently being sent, but in paying primarily for better transit, secondarily for better roads. Using that money for any other purpose is an illegitimate redirection of those funds that is tilting the playing field up hill for any sensible transit policy and downhill for whatever else it's being used for.
I despair of that conclusion ever being reached by the people who could make that idea a reality.
2007-01-08
I have decided something...
What have you decided, Pooh?
I have decided to move all the noisier things (about sports and other trivialities -- what Noam Chomsky would call the real opiates of the people) to another blog, namely So Much Depends... and I'll keep this one for "more important" (at least more important-looking) issues.
Also, now that google has assimilated blogger, I'm going to try the e-mail posting route again -- there used to be a several-days' turnaround between things I e-mailed and having them show up. Quite unacceptable.
Some of the issues that have concerned me most, in my 24-time-zone village.:
I have decided to move all the noisier things (about sports and other trivialities -- what Noam Chomsky would call the real opiates of the people) to another blog, namely So Much Depends... and I'll keep this one for "more important" (at least more important-looking) issues.
Also, now that google has assimilated blogger, I'm going to try the e-mail posting route again -- there used to be a several-days' turnaround between things I e-mailed and having them show up. Quite unacceptable.
Some of the issues that have concerned me most, in my 24-time-zone village.:
- Turkmenistan's self-absorbed "Father of the Turkmen", who spent insane amounts of money erecting gold-covered monuments to himself passed on over Christmas, and for just a moment or two, I hoped the Turkmen would get a more sensible leader. Imagine my dismay when I read that the new leader said he would continue the policies that had resulted in so much more greatness for Turkmenistan under his wonderful forebear.
- DOJ v. Microsoft is being replayed in Iowa courts these days (groklaw, as usual, is covering it...), among other things, once again covering "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish" and other such joys.
- My youngest niece and nephew are about to turn two. She lives twenty minutes drive away, he eight time zones. Elly has been a careful, cautious person with her affections, taking some time even to accept her siblings' affection. I think she finally likes me. Nothing is so precious, on a personal level, as the confidence of the smallest that you are a safe person to be with -- nothing in human relations deserves such careful guarding and preservation.
- I sincerely hope that Ethiopian military adventurism is conducted, over the long haul, in a saner fashion and with more peaceful, stable outcomes than that of other countries. Oh, let there be peace in Somalia, no more warlords, no more blackhawks, no more political strife outside the ballot box and legislative chamber...
2007-01-05
I never get here anymore but...
I've found a new use for this. There are a couple of articles I mean to read some time when I find the time. Linked from Groklaw's news clicks: They are World Domination 101 and World Domination 201. Then there was also a long article by Joel Spolsky explaining some guy I've begun to wonder if I should know about already, named Steve Gillmor -- but using some interesting Talmudic techniques. I probably don't really care about Steve Gillmor, but Joel's take on him looked generally informative enough to be woth perusing, at least briefly.
Anyways, now my blog has become my über-bookmark. I wonder how long it'll take to become my über-coffee maker -- and then whether it'll be an über-maker or make über-coffee? I should be careful here, or I'll require someone to come after me with rashi and tosefot sections of their own...
I've found a new use for this. There are a couple of articles I mean to read some time when I find the time. Linked from Groklaw's news clicks: They are World Domination 101 and World Domination 201. Then there was also a long article by Joel Spolsky explaining some guy I've begun to wonder if I should know about already, named Steve Gillmor -- but using some interesting Talmudic techniques. I probably don't really care about Steve Gillmor, but Joel's take on him looked generally informative enough to be woth perusing, at least briefly.
Anyways, now my blog has become my über-bookmark. I wonder how long it'll take to become my über-coffee maker -- and then whether it'll be an über-maker or make über-coffee? I should be careful here, or I'll require someone to come after me with rashi and tosefot sections of their own...
2006-10-06
The Canucks did what??
The 2006/07 hockey season (NHL) just got under way and I placidly expected the Vancouver Canucks to be bottom feeders all summer after trading away Bertuzzi, Allen and a draft pick to Florida for an uninspiring Roberto Luongo and Krajicek. I know Luongo's always gotten high ratings from scouts, including a berth as an alternate goalie for Canada's Olympic squad in Torino -- an honour I thought he couldn't possibly deserve given the way he played any time I saw a Florida game (and without excessive spending on Pay-Per-View and satellite channels, that wasn't much).
So they go to "the Joe", home of the Detroit Red Wings and, come playoff time, dead octopuses, to meet the many-time President's Trophy winners in their opener and I thought, natch, they're going to lose, badly and embarassingly.
And I was prepared not to care very much -- the local lads in the WHL, the Vancouver Giants, were so very satisfying to watch after the Canucks failure to make it to the post-season, that I thought I could get my "fix" of hockey in some other way. Here in Canada, hockey is big, almost like soccer is in England, or rugby in New Zealand, or like basketball in inner-city USA. I'm embarassed to say how much I enjoy seeing a good hockey game, regardless of the teams -- but there's something about the home squad doing well. It just sort of gives you a lift.
So imagine how much I enjoyed driving home with the 3rd period commentary on Vancouver holding a 3-1 lead! (something they haven't been able to do with any team for three years or so) And succeeding! It almost made how light the traffic was between 5:45 and 6:30 unnoticeable (maybe everyone had gone home early to see the game? it sure was light...),
And they won. Very confidently. Go figure. And held Detroit of all teams, to zero goals on nine powerplay attempts? Who are these guys? Same team, new vitamins I guess... Or perhaps Nonis (the General Manager -- in hockey a different individual than the coach most often) knows more about hockey than we all thought he did.
I'll still probably never get to more than one game in five years but it'll be more fun to drive home hearing about a winner on the ice. Can they do it again in Columbus tonight? 23h30 GMT will tell...
The 2006/07 hockey season (NHL) just got under way and I placidly expected the Vancouver Canucks to be bottom feeders all summer after trading away Bertuzzi, Allen and a draft pick to Florida for an uninspiring Roberto Luongo and Krajicek. I know Luongo's always gotten high ratings from scouts, including a berth as an alternate goalie for Canada's Olympic squad in Torino -- an honour I thought he couldn't possibly deserve given the way he played any time I saw a Florida game (and without excessive spending on Pay-Per-View and satellite channels, that wasn't much).
So they go to "the Joe", home of the Detroit Red Wings and, come playoff time, dead octopuses, to meet the many-time President's Trophy winners in their opener and I thought, natch, they're going to lose, badly and embarassingly.
And I was prepared not to care very much -- the local lads in the WHL, the Vancouver Giants, were so very satisfying to watch after the Canucks failure to make it to the post-season, that I thought I could get my "fix" of hockey in some other way. Here in Canada, hockey is big, almost like soccer is in England, or rugby in New Zealand, or like basketball in inner-city USA. I'm embarassed to say how much I enjoy seeing a good hockey game, regardless of the teams -- but there's something about the home squad doing well. It just sort of gives you a lift.
So imagine how much I enjoyed driving home with the 3rd period commentary on Vancouver holding a 3-1 lead! (something they haven't been able to do with any team for three years or so) And succeeding! It almost made how light the traffic was between 5:45 and 6:30 unnoticeable (maybe everyone had gone home early to see the game? it sure was light...),
And they won. Very confidently. Go figure. And held Detroit of all teams, to zero goals on nine powerplay attempts? Who are these guys? Same team, new vitamins I guess... Or perhaps Nonis (the General Manager -- in hockey a different individual than the coach most often) knows more about hockey than we all thought he did.
I'll still probably never get to more than one game in five years but it'll be more fun to drive home hearing about a winner on the ice. Can they do it again in Columbus tonight? 23h30 GMT will tell...
2006-10-03
One of my distractions...
As some of you know, I read groklaw somewhat regularly. The other morning, I may have waken someone up with my belly-laugh when I read (after too many days hearing about Hewlett-Packard Inc.-- I understand why: PJ's stock in trade as a journalist are this kind of leak and there is some need for journalists to be able to do their thing without being spied on -- and the "d" link above is truly chilling but still. Did it need THAT many articles? I thought not.) that Novell had amended their counterclaims against SCO to require them to pass along their SCOSource license fee revenue back to Novell: if their heretofore collected license fees are ruled as belong to Novell, then this slander of title suit brought by SCO against Novell may serve to strangle their case against IBM to death. And that wouldn't be entirely a bad thing, I think.
(I remember thinking some time ago, that it was odd that given the tenuous hold SCO had on Unix IP, they should then be able to claim license fees on Unix IP from all Linux users without so much as a breath about paying any portion of them to Novell. And now Novell has said so plainly...)
Still, it might be better if SCO v. IBM could continue, at least to the point that it would be a matter of accepted case law in the US that Linux does not contain infringing material from Unix. There's already more than enough noise in the Linux market over the GPLv3 process (and I plan to post my opinion on that front some time...) to have lingering threats murmuring out from any other shadows. The extent to which Linux has been developed out in the public eye is probably a cautionary lesson towards anyone else who might try this on other fronts but even so, it'd be good to have a conclusion reached, appeal-proofed and in the books for all to refer to.
Back to SCO, though, and its claimed right to collect license fees (and then hang onto the loot), IANAL (but like other groklaw readers, I have been attracted to the idea of becoming one through the description of the SCO odyssey and some of the IP law issues that still remain to be settled) but it seemed to me pretty clear that all SCO ever had the right to do was collect monies on behalf of Novell. I wonder that anyone ever took them as having more value than that? If Martha deserved to do hard time for her small insider trading misdeeds, Darl and the top management of SCO deserve more for their pre-meditated pump and dump on a wing and a lie. Much more. I wonder if any indictments against them are in the works?
As some of you know, I read groklaw somewhat regularly. The other morning, I may have waken someone up with my belly-laugh when I read (after too many days hearing about Hewlett-Packard Inc.-- I understand why: PJ's stock in trade as a journalist are this kind of leak and there is some need for journalists to be able to do their thing without being spied on -- and the "d" link above is truly chilling but still. Did it need THAT many articles? I thought not.) that Novell had amended their counterclaims against SCO to require them to pass along their SCOSource license fee revenue back to Novell: if their heretofore collected license fees are ruled as belong to Novell, then this slander of title suit brought by SCO against Novell may serve to strangle their case against IBM to death. And that wouldn't be entirely a bad thing, I think.
(I remember thinking some time ago, that it was odd that given the tenuous hold SCO had on Unix IP, they should then be able to claim license fees on Unix IP from all Linux users without so much as a breath about paying any portion of them to Novell. And now Novell has said so plainly...)
Still, it might be better if SCO v. IBM could continue, at least to the point that it would be a matter of accepted case law in the US that Linux does not contain infringing material from Unix. There's already more than enough noise in the Linux market over the GPLv3 process (and I plan to post my opinion on that front some time...) to have lingering threats murmuring out from any other shadows. The extent to which Linux has been developed out in the public eye is probably a cautionary lesson towards anyone else who might try this on other fronts but even so, it'd be good to have a conclusion reached, appeal-proofed and in the books for all to refer to.
Back to SCO, though, and its claimed right to collect license fees (and then hang onto the loot), IANAL (but like other groklaw readers, I have been attracted to the idea of becoming one through the description of the SCO odyssey and some of the IP law issues that still remain to be settled) but it seemed to me pretty clear that all SCO ever had the right to do was collect monies on behalf of Novell. I wonder that anyone ever took them as having more value than that? If Martha deserved to do hard time for her small insider trading misdeeds, Darl and the top management of SCO deserve more for their pre-meditated pump and dump on a wing and a lie. Much more. I wonder if any indictments against them are in the works?
2006-09-27
Another long hiatus
I guess I'll have to give up on the possibility of becoming the most influential new blogger of the year. <sigh>
So, what have I been doing instead? A lot of things -- well actually, only a few things, but I do them again and again until they begin to look like a lot of things. I could tell you all the things I haven't done.
I haven't changed employers but my employer has changed (we were bought out).
I haven't sold my house (but its value has gone silly).
I still get to work by automobile (but my erstwhile carpool of four has vanished and I'm now sharing rides with one other person).
And I haven't written a lot of blog entries (but I have continued to watch my village unfold).
Enough negativity! Let me tell you a bit of what I have done.
I've continued reading. A lot. (but there are still more things I want to read)
I've continued to enjoy the company of my gradually-becoming-adult sons.
I've experienced the worst commuting-September in Greater Vancouver that I can remember. (Usually at least three trips are taking 2x the no-volume travel time or more per week)
And I've begun to ponder how I can prevent that fact from taking a toll on me. Move? Down-size the house and then down-size my salary needs, therefore change jobs, even careers? The good news on that front is that there has been a significant up-tick in the job opportunities that are flying about. The down-side of that is the extent to which those opportunities still require a river crossing to get there.
Oh well... at least my carpool is humming along again.
Overall, I guess the reason I haven't written and published anything is that things have been happening so fast in the world and I've been so busy that things go by faster than I can get to saying anything intelligent or interesting about them.
With your kind indulgence (which I'll probably never know if anyone is extending to me) I'll try again...
I guess I'll have to give up on the possibility of becoming the most influential new blogger of the year. <sigh>
So, what have I been doing instead? A lot of things -- well actually, only a few things, but I do them again and again until they begin to look like a lot of things. I could tell you all the things I haven't done.
I haven't changed employers but my employer has changed (we were bought out).
I haven't sold my house (but its value has gone silly).
I still get to work by automobile (but my erstwhile carpool of four has vanished and I'm now sharing rides with one other person).
And I haven't written a lot of blog entries (but I have continued to watch my village unfold).
Enough negativity! Let me tell you a bit of what I have done.
I've continued reading. A lot. (but there are still more things I want to read)
I've continued to enjoy the company of my gradually-becoming-adult sons.
I've experienced the worst commuting-September in Greater Vancouver that I can remember. (Usually at least three trips are taking 2x the no-volume travel time or more per week)
And I've begun to ponder how I can prevent that fact from taking a toll on me. Move? Down-size the house and then down-size my salary needs, therefore change jobs, even careers? The good news on that front is that there has been a significant up-tick in the job opportunities that are flying about. The down-side of that is the extent to which those opportunities still require a river crossing to get there.
Oh well... at least my carpool is humming along again.
Overall, I guess the reason I haven't written and published anything is that things have been happening so fast in the world and I've been so busy that things go by faster than I can get to saying anything intelligent or interesting about them.
With your kind indulgence (which I'll probably never know if anyone is extending to me) I'll try again...
2006-06-05
Oh, Canada! What a feeling
Oh, it felt good. To listen to NPR interview Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonnell of the RCMP regarding the 17 people arrested this weekend was refreshing and proud-making. Lines of note follow.
Q: Why move now?
A: It got to the point where for public safety... It got to the point where we could no longer control the risk.
...
Q: How does it add to the challenges that you face that you need not only monitor recent immigrants but people who are actually citizens if you're worried about this kind of thing?
A: Well, actually, we don't monitor recent immigrants. We don't monitor citizens. But we're always looking for indications of criminality and pursue that. This is not a police state. ... I've never worked in a community that didn't exhibit some level of criminality... We practice community policing. The community is the eyes and ears of the police force.
And he signed off with a typical Canadian phrase... "take care" which I hadn't realized was so Canadian.
Okay, so this is a bit disingenuous with the existence of Echelon but still... The difference in tone was obvious. Painfully obvious. Another up-tick of exiting Americans coming to Canada? Perhaps.
Q: Why move now?
A: It got to the point where for public safety... It got to the point where we could no longer control the risk.
...
Q: How does it add to the challenges that you face that you need not only monitor recent immigrants but people who are actually citizens if you're worried about this kind of thing?
A: Well, actually, we don't monitor recent immigrants. We don't monitor citizens. But we're always looking for indications of criminality and pursue that. This is not a police state. ... I've never worked in a community that didn't exhibit some level of criminality... We practice community policing. The community is the eyes and ears of the police force.
And he signed off with a typical Canadian phrase... "take care" which I hadn't realized was so Canadian.
Okay, so this is a bit disingenuous with the existence of Echelon but still... The difference in tone was obvious. Painfully obvious. Another up-tick of exiting Americans coming to Canada? Perhaps.
2006-05-30
And when I'm sick...
I go home and learn some more.
Today something has shaken me again but before I mention that, there are a couple of other things worth sharing with you all...
A friend of mine recommended the Kite Runner. I got up to a certain point and stalled but then read through to the end. For anyone who wonders what anybody ever saw in Kabul as a place to live, read this book and weep for a land that got strapped onto the rack when I was in High School and has only had the rope tightened since. This is not an easy read, but I think I understand Afghanistan a little better than I did.
Some time ago, I came across a link to Alexander Mayer's site -- I don't remember where. At that time, I viewed his introductory presentation and downloaded the two longer lectures as well. And there they sat. They're heavy on the math -- not so much so that I couldn't follow them, I just needed a bit more time and attention than I could give to them at that time. Friday I was off sick and went through them. I think he's on to something... I wonder what a "real" astronomer / cosmologist thinks, but I'm inclined to believe he's solved the Red Shift problem in an acceptable way. (I also liked the Michael Crichton speech it linked to -- not because I doubt that global warming is happening, but warnings against all kinds of junk science are always worthwhile.)
By the way, Mr. Crichton, I would link to the version on your site, except that your webmaster added some really stinky javascript to the page which I don't want to inflict on my readers -- resizing the browser window in the a way appropriate only when accessing things from your website's speeches page.
Today, I was struck by an interview with James Carroll on NPR regarding his book House of War. What touched me the deepest was the story of his father assigning him to take his mother and brothers far away in case he was kept inside at the Pentagon. Next to that was his father's assertion that if we didn't, as a race, find new ways to resolve disputes, that he felt we would not survive to the end of the 20th Century. That guess has proven wrong but it shows that we've all been living with war for far too long.
Today something has shaken me again but before I mention that, there are a couple of other things worth sharing with you all...
A friend of mine recommended the Kite Runner. I got up to a certain point and stalled but then read through to the end. For anyone who wonders what anybody ever saw in Kabul as a place to live, read this book and weep for a land that got strapped onto the rack when I was in High School and has only had the rope tightened since. This is not an easy read, but I think I understand Afghanistan a little better than I did.
Some time ago, I came across a link to Alexander Mayer's site -- I don't remember where. At that time, I viewed his introductory presentation and downloaded the two longer lectures as well. And there they sat. They're heavy on the math -- not so much so that I couldn't follow them, I just needed a bit more time and attention than I could give to them at that time. Friday I was off sick and went through them. I think he's on to something... I wonder what a "real" astronomer / cosmologist thinks, but I'm inclined to believe he's solved the Red Shift problem in an acceptable way. (I also liked the Michael Crichton speech it linked to -- not because I doubt that global warming is happening, but warnings against all kinds of junk science are always worthwhile.)
By the way, Mr. Crichton, I would link to the version on your site, except that your webmaster added some really stinky javascript to the page which I don't want to inflict on my readers -- resizing the browser window in the a way appropriate only when accessing things from your website's speeches page.
Today, I was struck by an interview with James Carroll on NPR regarding his book House of War. What touched me the deepest was the story of his father assigning him to take his mother and brothers far away in case he was kept inside at the Pentagon. Next to that was his father's assertion that if we didn't, as a race, find new ways to resolve disputes, that he felt we would not survive to the end of the 20th Century. That guess has proven wrong but it shows that we've all been living with war for far too long.
2006-05-16
Real Canadian #4
If you see a Canadian in a Tim Horton's taking a pull on a double-double and sighing, "Just like back home...", why not turn around and ask what sport the founder, "Tim Horton", played. If he or she doesn't know, or calls it "ice hockey", as opposed to just plain, "hockey", you may not be talking to a Canadian. On the other hand, the younger generations may not remember #2 and his contributions, especially to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres.
Canada vs. Kyoto: Both win?
Canada is getting a bad rap these days for the current government spurning the Kyoto Accord -- when in actual fact it was the last government's abundant rhetoric and sparse action that have brought us to the current pass of appearing as a US-style Kyoto scofflaw. In the midst of all this, a Canadian company, Iogen, may be showing a creative way forward with a neutral-or-better carbon footprint: using a combination of waste-straw and fancy enzymes to produce ethanol. Couple that with hybrid-fuel cars that can burn 80% eth and we may have another way out of the crunch that's surely coming whenever we pass the peak of oil production.
2006-05-15
Never in the US but at America's behest? You bet...
An alarming story on the Register about widespread collection of employees' biometrics in a centralized database. So many warning whistles here: in India, you can't work in a certain class of job without being in the registry; it includes biometrics -- to guarantee the identity of the workers (how soon will chipping be mandatory, too?); it's "Self Regulatory" which gives the collective of American Überemployers plausible deniability (reminds me of chilling effects, self-censorship and the Chinese baidupedia); there is no privacy, no shield from failed relationships with former employers for the workers in future. How would we like the same things to happen here in Canada (or other countries of the wealthy west)?
This is obviously a response to Western consumers' unease with service orgs in the developing world having access to our personal details. Coupled with a bit more apathy and there's nothing preventing this from becoming widespread everywhere, for any and every possible job with even minimal responsibility. I know... it's going to come anyway, eventually, but I'd rather it didn't happen at all and not any time soon: not even in my kids' generation.
This is obviously a response to Western consumers' unease with service orgs in the developing world having access to our personal details. Coupled with a bit more apathy and there's nothing preventing this from becoming widespread everywhere, for any and every possible job with even minimal responsibility. I know... it's going to come anyway, eventually, but I'd rather it didn't happen at all and not any time soon: not even in my kids' generation.
Skype Out competing harder
I just went past skype.com looking at my balance (less than €1 for the second time since I started) and I was surprised to see that they're offering free calling to all numbers in the US and Canada until the end of the year. Probably, they're feeling the pressure of the various VoIP offerings here and they're trying to fight back. Sometimes the customers win...
2006-05-12
Mistaken, amused -- and a thinner razor than I thought
So, I went back to Neil Young's website and he is still playing the album. He must have been getting slashdotted on the week-end. And speaking of slashdot, it's interesting to hear the micro-kernel vs. macro-kernel debate being rehashed. At least it would be if (a) someone had mirrored all parts of the conversation or (b) realworldtech.com hadn't gone down in the first place. Finally, it comes out today that a single juror was enough to prevent Moussaoui's execution. Unless this individual is sought out and assiassinated, we'll probably never know who it was, but whoever you are, thank you.
2006-05-09
Living With War -- Online No More
I tried to listen again on the week-end and Neil's taken the album down. Good advert, though. I'm more likely to buy a new album by any artist today than I have been for a long time.
Won't need no shadow man to run the government
Won't need no stinkin' war...
Won't need no shadow man to run the government
Won't need no stinkin' war...
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