Blog
A random collection of vague ideas and ambiguous opinions that arise at the most inopportune time and are hastily scibbled down on scraps of paper, typed into digital form, and foisted onto an unsuspecting global populace who, let’s face it, couldn’t give a rat’s ass.
My Digital Nightmare
Update: this occurred in August of 2016. As of late 2017 things are running pretty smoothly. Recently, as in a few weeks back, I had a bunch of nice websites. Good layouts, interesting information,...
Why I Built a Personal Website
Why build a personal website? Well, I figured the time had come. I've been using computers and the internet since before the World Wide Web existed, back in the good old ARPAnet days, when Geeks...
Social engineering in the workplace
I used to work for the town of Fox Creek (Alberta, Canada) as the town’s Development Officer and Planner. It was a small town so everybody knew where the town office was and most of the...
In Praise of City Wilderness
I am spending part of this lovely summer evening sitting at a picnic table along the shore of a small lake. About 30 feet from me is a family of Canada Geese, the young goslings still covered in...
Another Look at Our Stuff
A friend of mine died today: George Carlin. He wasn’t a friend in the personal sense but we had a long history together. I don’t recall exactly when it was during my teen years that we first met but...
Using a Peacock to Get a Job
I’ve been going to job interviews since the late 1980’s, trying to land that one perfect job. Or at least, that one job that was full-time, long-term and which doled out paycheques large enough to...
The National Geographic Curse
There is an uncomfortable trend occurring in the field of environmental science these days; it’s the tendency of university researchers and scientific organizations to use volunteer field...
No thank you, we’re metric
I was driving home this evening after watching the fireworks when I saw an interesting sign. See, this weekend is our town’s annual Pioneer Days, a celebration of our heritage as one of the true...
Clash of the asinine ironies
I’m not one to watch a fine bit of irony walk by without commenting on it. But today was especially noteworthy because two very ironic moments slipped right past each other on their way to see if...
Indiana Jones and the Rise of the Crystal Numb-skulls
This summer’s release of the latest installment of the Indiana Jones adventures has had two effects so far. The first is to persuade huge crowds to stream into theaters to catch the newest antics of...
The World of Soccer
Yesterday I was alluding to the fact that the small town I live in is like an island of traditional fine arts culture amidst an ocean of western culture. Balerinas and lyrical dancers surrounded by...
A Plié Among the Pick-ups
,I just returned from my daughter’s dance recital. She has been taking lessons from a dance academy here in town for the past year and with spring comes the year-end recital. And what a recital it...
Whither the Water?
Nicholas Stern, the former chief economist of the World Bank and author of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, made a rather provocative statement the other day. He said, at the...
Sunny Summer vs. Creepy Celebrities
I was thinking today about something that really bugs me: Hulk Hogan. As far back as my memory goes, the Hulk has been the biggest blowhard going. Loud, annoying and obnoxious. But when he retired...
Just Another Hill of Beans
So another scientist has weighed into the debate over the health effects of coffee. Dr. Esther Lopez-Garcia of Autonoma University in Madrid, Spain, has found that “long-term, regular coffee...
My Coffeemaker Meets Ancient Man
An amazing thing happened the other day. I got up at the usual time, staggered down the hallway, paused long enough to turn on my computer, then continued another few feet to turn on the coffee...
How to Buy a Christmas Gift for Your Wife
Each year, with Christmas on the horizon, millions of men will venture forth to buy gifts for their wives. And most of them will have no idea what they are doing. Certainly, most guys mean well, and...
My Family, Once Again
Another Christmas Day has come to an end. The guests have finally left and taken their noise and laughter with them. Numerous empty bottles are standing next to a large pyramid of dirty dishes. And...
The New Book of Genesis
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters....
How to Ace a Creative Writing Course
There will come a time in your life when the voices in your head can no longer be ignored. When their constant coaxing and cajoling has finally convinced you that perhaps they are right. Perhaps...
Christmas in Paradise
All of the sudden I am awake, staring at the ceiling. A garbled voice off in the distance yells something about "only fifteen days left". I look at my smartphone and the numbers read 9:18. Slept in...
The Buffet Conundrum
I love buffets. I love standing before that great, long trough of food, knowing that the choices before me are mine to make and that I will go away a happy man. But I have one small problem: I just...
How to Choose a Christmas Tree
Each year, with Christmas on the horizon, millions of people will venture forth to pick the family Christmas tree. And most of them will have no idea what they are doing. On the whole they are...