Bowie Meets Crosby

Trying to post this for a while to my blog. Hopefully it works this time. Great video. A classic.

Snow Removal

To those who constantly suggest that it's illegal to shovel snow into the street (yeah, I'm looking at you Matt Galloway), I ask you: where would you suggest we put it? You'll see here my neighbour, like the vast majority of people on our street, has piled snow as high as she can against the house.

Headbanging does create risk of brain damage, says study

But how do they know the brain damage wasn't there beforehand?

read more | digg story

Nui Blanche

Ok I'm a little behind in posting these. Anyway Nui Blanche was extremely cool and an evening for the adults to enjoy one another's company. Almost like a date. And, like a date, it had pie at the end.

A momentous occasion. The odometer rolls over to 100 000. The celebrations in the streets may commence.

Bag Run

Bag Run
Originally uploaded by CHAD COOMBS

A fantastic photo and a reminder to bring your own bag.

For those of us who buy clothing

New Portable Sewing Machine Lets Sweatshop Employees Work On The Go

Prop 8--The Musical

Love it.

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... by Jack Black

TheStar.com | entertainment | The Day the Earth Stood Still: Misbegotten makeover

Check out this review of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Ouch! Cupcake will be displeased.

Socialist Project | The Bullet

Socialist Project | The Bullet

Manager Achieves Full Mastery Of Pointless Managerial Jargon

During what was described to them as "a look-forward meeting to discuss and evaluate the company's event-chain methodology," MediaLine employees stood with mouths agape Wednesday as they witnessed the very moment at which project manager James Atkins attained complete mastery over the fine art of meaningless corporate doublespeak.

read more | digg story

Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization

Hipsterdom is the first “counterculture” to be born under the advertising industry’s microscope, leaving it open to constant manipulation but also forcing its participants to continually shift their interests and affiliations. Less a subculture, the hipster is a consumer group – using their capital to purchase empty authenticity and rebellion.

read more | digg story

Writing Teaching Book

I'm toying with the idea of writing something about teaching social workers research methods. There's a lot of textbooks that discuss research methods but not a lot that discusses the process of teaching them. Social workers in particular are expected to pickup research methods and understand them but very few are eager about it. Most social work students are there to pick up practice methods and research is just a bitter pill they have to swallow.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

I don't believe it

For some reason Flock is now working with my Blogger account. Hazzah!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Good Post on the State of Digital Media in Canada

CBC's Jesse Brown writes this.

The usual b/s from Greenspan which brought us all to the brink of economic meltdown.

How True

Obama's Victory

Is anyone else concerned that when Obama wins today (and I'm convinced he will), that he won't turn out to be the American saviour he's being billed as. Of course he'll be better than McCain or Bush (duh) and the the fact that's he's black make it a major accomplishment and a milestone in American politics but once his victory is accomplished, what then? I'm concerned that he'll be quite a moderate liberal. I mean as the Onion has pointed out, even during the Clinton administration, the poor were incarcerated in record numbers and welfare rates were once again cut beyond livable levels. Are Americans just in for more of that kind of leadership. After all, he's a politician and politicians need to do things that will be popular and win them votes. Often, the things that are best and even the things politicians KNOW are best, aren't the things they do because they need to win votes.

Kitty Tries to Stay Awake

Reminds me of my son.

Sarah Silverman and The Great Schlep

OK this is pretty funny and OK maybe more than a little offensive. Offensive in a good way maybe?

Large Hadron Rap

Rappin' about CERN's Large Hadron Collider! Could this be any more awesome? I think not.

read more | digg story

TVO Kids Day

A brief addition to my previous post.

Catch Up

It's been quite some time since I've submitted a blog post. I have a strange relationship with my blog. One the one hand I have very few readers so in a sense it's more like a diary. On the other hand I know that it's essentially a public document so I'm very hesitant to discuss issues that are actually meaningful to me. This tension between private and public often prevents me from making any posts at all. Anyway, one of the many posts I didn't make was regarding TVO Kids day I attended at Black Creek Pioneer Village. Great fun! As you can see above I got the chance to meet Steve Paikin, host of The Agenda. That was kind of exciting for me as I have a lot of respect for his work. The kids also had a blast (yes, I was there mostly for the kids). Here they got a chance to meet Polkaroo "in person". What exactly is Polkaroo anyway? Polkaroo made a lot more sense when he was 0n Polka Dot Door. Whatever . . .  the kids love it. I must admit I was very impressed with the caliber of entertainment provided to the kids--and all for no other cost than that of admission. There were puppet shows, TVO Kids personalities doing skits and getting the kids to dance. We were there the entire day including buying the lunch there (the TVO Kids meal which included lunch bags one of which I'm now using). Great day!

Good Movie

Test post

This is a test from the mobile

York University | Experiential Education - Atkinson | Video

York University | Experiential Education - Atkinson | Video

Check out my time in the limelight. I come across as a bit of an idiot but I can't believe how eloquent the students are. They should be very proud.

Junk Mail

Terry O'Reilly's Age of Persuasion segment on 23 things I'd like to change about advertising is great stuff. An interesting note: his website includes a link to the red dot campaign which suggests that in addition to posting a notice on your mailbox indicating you don't want junk mail, you need to send a note to Canada Post that indicates your wish to not receive unaddressed junk mail (or ad-mail as Canada Post prefers to call it).

 

The note that the red dot campaign supplies for you reads:

Please remove me from all unaddressed mail distribution. This letter, combined with a “No Junk Mail” sign on my mailbox, expresses my wish to stop receiving unaddressed flyers and mail. I understand that it may take a couple of weeks before the database is adjusted and the junk mail stops.
I also understand that Canada Post will still deliver some unaddressed items, such as community newspapers and letters from the House of Commons, provincial and municipal electoral offices and Elections Canada. And I realize that some unaddressed mail comes from distributors other than Canada Post, so I may still receive mail from these other services.

This would be ideal. After listing to O'Reilly's episode, but before I knew about the red dot campaign, I wrote Canada Post a rather testy email:

I understand there is a way to opt-out of unaddressed admail but after searching on your site for 45 minutes I've given up trying to find the form I need to fill out.

I received this response:

Consumers who do not wish to receive unaddressed material should put a note to this effect on their mail receptacle. The note should be placed inside the receptacle in the case of a community mailbox, group mailbox or postal box. As a result of such a note being placed on or inside a mail receptacle at a particular address, Canada Post will no longer deliver the following mail items: free samples, coupons, flyers and newspapers, government mailings, free distribution magazines, catalogues, non-profit and event information. As well, Canada Post will no longer deliver municipal service notices (e.g. schedule of snow removal, changes in garbage pick-up, announcement of town hall meetings). However, since Canada Post is only one of many distributors of unaddressed materials, consumers may continue to receive these materials from other distributors. The only unaddressed materials that Canada Post will continue to deliver to these customers are as follows: community newspapers, as well as House of Commons, provincial chief electoral officers, municipal electoral offices and Elections Canada mailings.

NB, that the list I received from Canada Post is a lot more exhaustive and includes things I would actually like to get, like municipal service notices (it also doesn't say anything about having to send a note to Canada Post which actually makes things easier). Sigh . . . I can't decide if I want to opt-out or not because, as usual, they make you opt-out of so much more than you want.

globeandmail.com - Exit, the Dungeon Master

OK. I'll admit it. I played D&D when I was in my late teens. Those of you who know me are are no doubt underwhelmed with surprise. Anyway, it was a hell of a lot of fun back in the day and I have many fond memories of hanging out with friends and playing all sorts of role playing games throughout the night. Gary Gygax was sort of a brand name back then. His name on a game meant something. With me and my friends (who moved from D&D to other, what we considered to be, more sophisticated games) his name was sort of the microsoft brand among games. He was the powerhouse and if you knew nothing about role playing games you had at least heard of D&D. Well anyway, it's kind of amazing to me that he's gone. He certainly was, indirectly, a positive influence in my youth and, as a geeky teenager, provided me with a medium to make friends that I otherwise might not have had.

read more | digg story

Finn Fun

Today Irmina and I traded places. She took Asha to church and I looked after Finn. Irmina thinks it's a good idea for Finn and me to spend more time together so he bonds with a male role-model. I just like a change now and then.

I finished the breakfast dishes and then took a nap. My strategy when I want to nap with Finn is to lie down and fall asleep and after playing for a while around me, sooner or later, he lies down and falls asleep too (kind of a non-strategy strategy). Although he did lie down, he was quiet but awake when I woke up; so it was semi-successful. Afterward I gave him some lunch, did the dishes and we played. We played with his older sister's leap-pad, read some books, ate some snacks, and played in the tent.

He also played very well on his own for a few minutes while I graded a couple of papers. When the rest of the family returned we had both had fun together; and I felt better rested than I have in weeks. Irmina had done some errands including picking up for me that copy of Don Quixote that I've been wanting to read.

The Agenda with Steve Paikin - Wanted: The Perfect Parent

Oh how true. Aunthood or Unclehood is parenting-lite. But I suppose the question to me seems why NOT support for the mother? Support for a decision that ensures your child's safety doesn't seem so outrageous to me.

read more | digg story

Subsidized Again

forever young?
Originally uploaded by smannion

As you may already know, my mum is a person who has mental health concerns. She has lately been forwarding all her mail to an imaginary person and her phone has been cut-off: probably because she didn't pay the bill.

She is also a person in subsidized housing. To maintain her subsidy her housing provider requires proof of income once yearly. Well since she's been ignoring all letters and she doesn't receive phone calls they were forced to jack up her rent to more than triple what she normally pays as of last December. In January her rent bounced altogether. I've been in touch with them and they're very sympathetic. In fact they are the ones that got in touch with me to inform me of the situation. I should also add that my mum would never accept what they're telling her because she insists, among other things, that rent is now free and that the prime minister has made it so.

Anyway, I called CPP and pleaded with them to send me her proof of income, or to even send it directly to her housing provider; but they said they couldn't because of privacy. In the end, however, they did agree to put my name on it and send it to her address.

So that Sunday I went to her house and told her that I was expecting a letter and to please save it for me. She said she would. Crossing my fingers I visited her again yesterday and lo and behold she produced the letter. Naturally she insisted I forward it on directly to a person she named (this person is in her head). Instead, I called her housing provider and faxed the information over. Yay! What's even better is that they will retroactively refund her money for the period she was charged market rent. Double Yay!

E-Mail From Aunt Accidentally Opened

So many aunts; so many emails exactly like this one. It's my worst nightmare.

read more | digg story

Clouds gather as 'sulky' Musharraf retreats to bunker

Just classic. We long to spread democracy throughout the globe, as long as your people vote for someone we like. When they don't all bets are off

read more | digg story

Community Activism

Make sure you check out the website Leon's Boycott for our community response to having our local Early Years Centre/Boys and Girls Club being evicted by its current owner a member of the Leon's family.

Feature: How to Stop Checking Email on the Evenings and Weekends

Feature: How to Stop Checking Email on the Evenings and Weekends

I gotta admit. These are some pretty useful tips.

Community Uprising

My neighbourhood is pissed at having our early years centre evicted by a member of the Leon's family.

Crazy Canuk Punk

How can you not love them. Featured recently on CBC's Sessions. Good punked out, high energy fun.

How I See My Wife

 

It's the classic soft focus, sepiatone nostalgia shot that's perfect for Valentine's Day.

Alarming Bus Trips

I'm on the bus with Asha taking her to a birthday party when I hear a squeal from the back of the bus. It peaks my attention but I don't think anything of it. A few minutes later it happens again and I can see that close the the back of the bus a man and a woman are sitting beside one another and the woman looks upset. As the bus moves along it's becoming more and more clear that the man is somehow hurting the woman (I can't quite tell how). I'm becoming concerned about letting this go so I tell the driver that I think there seems to be something up with the couple at the back. The driver says OK thanks but keeps going. Finally, she yelps again and I tell Asha to stay where she is and I go to the back of the bus. Something has heated up between the guy hurting the woman (I'll call him jerk from now on), and another guy sitting opposite them (I'll call him Ted-although I don't know him or his name). Ted saying things to jerk that he'd like to take jerk outside and beat the crap out of him. Jerk's responding things like "fine--anytime". It seems clear to me that Ted is on a similar page to me and sees jerk abusing his girlfriend or partner. I ask Ted if he needs any help but he doesn't quite understand me. I turn to jerk's partner and ask her if she's alright. She says "I'm OK". I turn to Ted who says "she's not OK". I think Ted's right. Ted and jerk continue by trading insults and challenges whereupon it seems like it's Ted's stop and, all the while Ted gets off the bus. The driver has come over by this point and suggests to the woman that she sit closer to the front. She moves to a two-seater in roughly the middle of the bus and I go back to be with Asha. A few seconds later jerk moves beside her. I go over and politely ask jerk to move. He says he says he just wants to talk to her. I repeat the request and he insists he just wants to talk to her. It's clear he isn't going to move. I shrug my shoulders and go back to my daughter. By this time it's out stop so I make sure the driver knows that the jerk is beside her again and get off.

I feel really badly about this. I wish I had done more. Maybe I should have been more forceful with the jerk. Maybe I should have insisted the driver call the police. It made me question some things. I guess there will be people in the world who will continue to do bad things no matter how nicely you ask them not to. That sounds ridiculously naive but it really was a shock to me. Particularly as a social worker and someone who really believes there are peaceful alternatives to every conflict. Am I wrong?

Wasted Day

48-Hour Internet Outage Plunges Nation Into Productivity

BOSTON-An Internet worm that disabled networks across the U.S. Monday and Tuesday temporarily thrust the nation into its most severe maelstrom of productivity since 1992.

I HATE it when I waste a day. I have a huge amount of work to do and it feels like a frittered the day away (especially on the internet). What it means is either I stay late or bring work home so that everything gets done. It would have made so much more sense to do it during the work day. My new plan for Monday is to not actually turn on my computer until I've done a good chunk of the reading I have to do. I think this will be a good way to manage things.

New hitch in Bobby Fischer's marriage plans

New hitch in Bobby Fischer's marriage plans

I love the way this just appeared in Google Canada's news feed. The story is from way back in 2004. I'm thinking the biggest hitch in his marriage plans is that he died yesterday.

Videogames and You

Half Of 26-Year-Old's Memories Nintendo-Related

BROOKLYN, NY—According to an fMRI of Philip Jenkins' brain during memory recall, his parietal lobe is activated equally for the words "mother" and "Banjo Kazooie."

Frighteningly, I can almost relate to this. Man I played some cool videogames when I was young. They seemed less high tech back then but somehow more engaging. Could of course have something to do with the fact that I'm older but I'm not sure that that's all there is to it. It's almost like filmmakers that make really crap movies that have amazing special effects. The F/X don't make them any less crap. I played some great games that were nothing but text, e.g., the famous Infocom games.

I should point out that most of my great memories of gaming were when I was with some buddy where we were either playing cooperatively or trying the beat the crap out of each other. Either way it was a very social experience and not really isolating at all. The great memory comes from that shared experience.

Mac Mojo: The Office for Mac Team Blog

Finally! (not that I have a mac. not that I wouldn't love one)

Mac Mojo: The Office for Mac Team Blog