tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163169802011-12-14T20:00:03.750-07:00This is me, Rob. The title is about how I see the world, it is no use getting too wrapped up in the here and now. Because it is better to win than be right, I think.Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.comBlogger3601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-15786450663626362502010-01-21T15:11:00.003-07:002010-01-21T18:10:48.205-07:00

(Obviously, this is inspired by the current fund-raising efforts for Haiti. If there ever was a "perfect" disaster, this is it, and I have been stirred and moved by the extraordinary world response to it.)I work for a charitable organization. I have worked for charity pretty much since I ever started doing work, both on a volunteer basis and paid (although I am paid, I have to say that it is the

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-36859124737140249092010-01-13T02:02:00.004-07:002010-01-13T02:29:50.016-07:00

For much of my life, I have been surrounded by people browner than myself.It is getting to the point, that I have been working for people browner than myself longer than I have worked for middle aged white guys, although I am a middle aged white guy now myself.I think this is a Good Thing.I sometimes think that us managerial middle aged white guy types, are almost the Gurkhas of the modern world,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-719357495179247582009-12-21T22:32:00.003-07:002009-12-21T23:49:17.575-07:00

I work for Calgary Catholic Immigration Society. People sometimes suppose that I am part of a large religious organization.Well, we aren't particularly organized, and as for religion, we are all over the map. Me myself personally, well, I kind of hang in there with the Guthries, when asked on any questionnaire as to what my religion might be, I always wish there was an "all" box. I

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-63642284029152910682009-09-27T18:21:00.002-06:002009-09-27T18:53:45.095-06:00

I've always had a problem with crying. Even as a nervous teenager, I cried at the drop of a hat and was very ashamed. I always assumed I would somehow grow out of it. In fact, as I get older, I get weepier. Forrest Gump for example, and not that great a movie, has reduced me to a soggy useless gasping mess every single time I have seen it, even though I have seen it before and know every single

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-87484494913309168642009-09-14T21:30:00.004-06:002009-09-14T23:04:19.033-06:00

Norman Borlaug shuffled off this mortal coil.The guy was simply one of the greatest men of all time. How many people can claim to have saved a billion lives? It makes Fleming look second rate (and Fleming saved my own life at least twice).He did it with years of hard grinding test-plot and lab work; I can remember watching my father do the same thing, using a toothpick to ferry pollen from one

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-17045684718931221462009-05-26T00:01:00.003-06:002009-05-26T00:23:23.052-06:00

After my brave declarations, nothing. For a long time.I am finding it difficult, actually, as a mid to high ranking executive, to blog. Most of the things I am interested in, if I stated my opinion clearly, would get me in trouble with either my constituency (such as it is), my base, my boss, my board, and/or my funders. I'd be willing to take on the last, if a) my approach would not get me in

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-81355004686348265782009-03-15T11:29:00.004-06:002009-03-15T12:21:08.715-06:00

How you identify yourself is important. My mathematician big brother identifies as an engineer, even though to my knowledge he has never taken a single engineering class, per se, and has no such identification in terms of letters he can put after his name to impress you. But he actually is an engineer, you see. Builds things and makes them work and all that.Me, well academically I identify as an

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-82223306364372493062009-03-07T10:24:00.002-07:002009-03-07T18:15:28.241-07:00

Fall, 1998: the sister says, "she's turning around again." The four year olds were always dancing around, but one of them had a bit of a thing for rotating counterclockwise. It took three or four comments before we paid attention. Yes, she was turning around again. And couldn't be stopped. It wasn't long before she was turning around again, and then falling down.Fall, 1999: I'm on the phone to

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-16611435687675827172009-03-03T18:24:00.003-07:002009-03-03T18:43:43.199-07:00

The key thing that happened, was that the cost of transmission was passed to the sender, instead of the recipient: May 1, 1840, the introduction of the postage stamp. Within 2 years, the volume of UK mail more than doubled, not all that impressive on the modern scaling front I suppose, except that this was all hardcopy, which makes it a scaling achievement never ever duplicated since. Especially

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-35311163239115754182009-03-03T01:21:00.002-07:002009-03-03T01:46:00.227-07:00

The accountants that presumably work for you are bad enough. Those are simply insane, and very stupid. And they don't work for you anyway, they work for their own little Baal.The ones that work for your contract partners are right off the insane scale and deep into Joker territory. (I fantasize about getting on my Batman suit and beating them severely around the ears with some reality,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-45976336545453253152009-02-19T22:45:00.003-07:002009-02-19T22:58:28.642-07:00

The story of Prohibition and its repeal are well known of course-- Prohibition didn't work, created and fueled organized crime, yadda yadda. What is interesting however, is that it was enacted in a time of high prosperity, when rising revenues made liquor taxes less essential to the public bottom line, and because it was sold on the basis that prohibition would save the state substantial sums, in

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-72028751261002860772009-02-15T02:17:00.002-07:002009-02-15T02:32:23.051-07:00

Does nobody remember the Millennium panic? Elevators falling from the skies and so on? Poor little Rob preparing Risk Analyses for his panicked board? It was all supposed to be the End of the World. Except it wasn't.Everybody needs to take a Deep Breath. The sky is not falling. The delivery of goods and services to human beings will not end. We are not about to enter Mad Max land any time

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-27300796256475048602009-02-14T16:06:00.002-07:002009-02-14T16:33:02.029-07:00

Because of my job, I have to be fairly well informed on economic conditions. Also, because of my job, I am sort of inherently earlier informed about economic conditions, because immigrant workers tend to function as something of the canary in the coal mine. For example, it was in November that we remarked on a substantial increase in immigrants relocated from Ontario to Calgary, having been laid

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-84429757662469734822009-02-13T20:37:00.003-07:002009-02-13T21:38:56.249-07:00

We have been assiduously sending staff off to be trained on FOIPP and PIPA lately. Because that is what you do these days. Liability and Risk Management and all that. Boards are very Concerned.(That would be, the Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy Act (Province of Alberta) and the Personal Information Protection Act (Government of Canada).) Sounds a little Orwellian? Geez, guess what,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-73565708894466828002009-02-13T00:28:00.000-07:002009-02-13T00:32:19.182-07:00

Our Board is basically made up of very good hearted business guys. In their world, the buildings are crashing down. It took some effort, to get them to understand that we are basically in a recession-proof business. It goes something like this:1. Immigration volumes haven't been affected by economic conditions since the Great Depression: a) because attempts didn't work then, and more importantly

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-63940673935222259362009-02-07T14:37:00.002-07:002009-02-07T14:50:45.734-07:00

Dusty old space.Well, I took a good deal of time off on this thing, thinking it over. And thinking it over again. And thinking it over again again. I am still pretty dubious about it, but the conclusion I have finally come to, is that yes, while I will do this, no, I will not do it the way I did before.It has to be a joy, not a duty, not a chore.I have concluded that life, while full of chores,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-4197805963539936282008-11-22T22:53:00.003-07:002008-11-22T23:42:22.043-07:00

I have to make not one, but two presentations next week, where I think I have something Important to say, to people that need to hear it. I am pretty sure that they aren't going to agree with what I have to say, mind you, but I now have sufficient street cred that they kinda have to give me a chance on the podium.On The Other Hand, however, I have always strongly argued that the only people with

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-2907584746868565492008-11-16T21:22:00.004-07:002008-11-16T21:58:32.308-07:00

They actually tried to keep this PBS documentary off the airwaves. Thankfully, we have the intertubes. It's about an hour of laggy graininess, as is anything over the 'tubes, but worth some investment of time and attention.It is a must watch, I think. Mind you, it made me physically ill, watching it, I was so angry I was almost literally beside myself.I think it should be mandatory watching for

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-73664198181830531652008-10-13T21:59:00.004-06:002008-10-13T23:11:14.452-06:00

Last US election, there was a certain desperation amongst intelligent "liberal" Americans that led to idle thoughts of and internet memes about emigration to Canada, or even secession and union, which didn't pan out of course (just try and explain "red tory" to an american and watch their eyes' spin-- UEL all the way, baby!). This time around, while it seems certain that the long US nightmare

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-49948138967613251422008-10-10T06:12:00.005-06:002008-10-10T06:56:46.301-06:00

One of the cool things about being a parent is when you get to try and explain current events to your children. This isn't necessarily propaganda; my kids disagree with me pretty stiffly on a few things. Well, teenagers and fascist instincts go together like jam and peanut butter really, I think because they have spent their whole lives mostly in a pretty fascist system (both school and home, are

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-58976759658070856852008-10-08T10:25:00.004-06:002008-10-08T10:38:48.630-06:00

I have a number of odd theories, and the one that pisses big bro off the most is something the Michener discovered in his execrable 1962 novel Caravans (all of his novels are execrable and I have read them all; one of the memes of my own life is that whenever I am stuck somewhere with nothing to do or watch, the only available reading material will be an execrable Michener novel): the quality of

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-40746398381536070542008-10-01T19:45:00.002-06:002008-10-01T20:19:16.311-06:00

At work we have a problem. It turns out to be a pretty intractable problem.We operate a number of transitional housing projects, places we can stow people with a variety of housing issues and keep them off the street while we stabilize their situations. Which, frankly, we are pretty good at.But one of the facilities now has bedbugs. Now all I knew about bedbugs up to a few months ago was what I

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-87747815936209190402008-09-15T23:46:00.005-06:002008-09-16T00:55:15.052-06:00

Mercenaries are useless, disunited, unfaithful They have nothing more to keep them in a battle Other than a meager wage Which is just about enough to make them wanna kill for you But never enough to make them wanna die for yaJohn CaleOn a fairly regular basis, we are contacted by consultants, hired by one level of government or another, looking for data for research they have been hired to

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-57151993144315103952008-09-06T21:40:00.004-06:002008-09-06T22:23:09.953-06:00

So I spent a few days in the Canadian Rockies, and I do have to say, the Glacier Icefields Highway is just about the most beautiful place in the planet, about three hours of oh gosh every couple of minutes as you drive.Nevermind that the prices are insane and the place tends to be full of Japanese tour-buses, (thinnned out a lot by September thank god) what I was mostly thinking was that it kinda

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-43994574872165056742008-08-30T00:00:00.001-06:002008-08-30T23:48:59.955-06:00

I've been doing the therapy thing for a while now, and I have to say that I unreservedly hate it. Not least, because one of my problems, if I am honest, is that I think and probably am a good deal smarter than most people, which includes therapists. Ever spent an hour talking to someone dumber than you about your Issues? It isn't fun.But in spite of that, it has been good for me. I am a very

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-25859962402837352992008-08-12T21:01:00.003-06:002008-08-12T22:22:21.219-06:00

I am troubled by a task I have to face tomorrow. I am speaking at a human rights event, and for me, speaking at human rights event is right up there with the Pope giving mass. Should be no big deal.It was supposed to be a set of homeless immigrants speaking, followed by us helpers reflecting on their stories and making policy suggestions, except that we could not find any homeless immigrants

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-25815933787189624192008-08-12T20:34:00.002-06:002008-08-12T20:42:03.156-06:00

I have had no less than three computers blow up under me in the last 24 hours. All three just decided to not POST. In one case, I am pretty sure the CPU blew, in the other two, it might be memory or video cards. Or possibly motherboards. At any rate, it totally suxorz, and the machines are now in the hands of techies and sysadmins, god bless them and may peace be upon them and every other

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-53683381305778479262008-08-11T21:53:00.003-06:002008-08-11T22:13:48.958-06:00

I do love the Olympics. Even though, if you watch the tv coverage, you'd think it was just a swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball competition. Fencing, for example, hardly rates.(I do love the fencing, and the US women are freaking unbelievable at it.)Mostly, I think, I love the team sports, because there is much more opportunity there for guile and strategy. It is the mix of brain and brawn

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-76217836044835181212008-07-16T22:37:00.007-06:002008-07-17T00:03:30.414-06:00

Now, when you are growing up, and I don't care when or where, at some points in the experience of growing up, your parents will shock you. No, I don't mean about THAT, though THAT shock inevitably happens, but aside from that enormously normal common human THAT, I think almost everybody also gets their metaphorical wheels kicked out from under them at some point, when their adolescent ethical

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-58980465501881921662008-07-04T10:38:00.003-06:002008-07-04T11:30:40.651-06:00

A pretty big item in my biz for the last almost 10 years has been a fairly major shift in Canada's refugee policy. Historically, Canada had agreed to take X number of refugees from an area identified by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the UNHCR would refer some, and Canada would select on the basis of "best able to settle in Canada." This meant, generally speaking, the most

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-9276876122805187132008-06-15T12:09:00.002-06:002008-06-15T12:52:21.021-06:00

Like most of us, I imagine, as a father, on father's day, I don't think all that much about my role as a father. Mostly I think about my dad.As someone who has spent a lot of time working with the socially and psychologically fucked-up, and as a group they tend to have a lot of daddy issues, and much as my relationship with my dad had its difficulties, let me say that he really was a totally

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-16209260396331006612008-06-08T22:03:00.003-06:002008-06-08T23:00:22.663-06:00

I really am not one of the singularity boys. I don't buy it, 15 ways from Sunday I don't buy it. Rude guffawing horse-laughing don't buy it. In fact, as an old anthropologist, the singularity boys rather remind me of cargo cultists: if we can make enough and big enough simulacra of the real thing, god will Somehow arrive. If the intertubes gets big enough, with enough computers hooked up to it,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-80515228708815643742008-05-31T12:01:00.002-06:002008-05-31T12:08:13.991-06:00

As a very experienced, hell I'll admit it, OLD person in the biz, one of the annoying things that happens all the time is young 'uns busting into the biz and figuring out things that we settled, oh like 20 years ago, back when I was a young 'un annoying my elders.Right now, we have a lot of people coming into the biz, and there are a number of natural things that they want to do that I find

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-4171732312537217732008-05-26T16:37:00.002-06:002008-05-26T16:43:16.319-06:00

What do you call a fourth day rain in a row?Monday.And I thought that Cowtown was technically a desert. The grass in my yard has gone feral, and tries to grab you as you walk by. I have weird alien mushrooms, yes mushrooms, growing, nay thriving and multiplying. Most of my desert adapted herbs are drowning in the pools of slime that my herb beds have become. My fence is falling down in places,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-30289108440683612802008-05-26T00:44:00.003-06:002008-05-26T00:59:26.086-06:00

I rather do enjoy overhearing introductions to me, explanations of me. This week at a conference, I was introduced (or described to the innocent prior to an introduction) at least twice that I overheard, as "Crazy Rob."Thankyou. I am crazy, I believe at least three unacceptable things before breakfast every morning. And I usually end up saying at least two of them out loud by lunch, and you know

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-24919059912464914902008-05-25T23:59:00.002-06:002008-05-26T00:02:21.470-06:00

The following is a position paper I wrote for my Board. I have updated a few facts.The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program has undergone significant change over the last decade. Originally designed as a program to provide agricultural labour from the Caribbean and Mexico (which it still does), it was first modified in the 90s to deal with difficulties employers were having finding certain

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-78305203310351667752008-04-24T18:38:00.004-06:002008-04-24T19:44:43.139-06:00

It was my birthday, the other day. I spent a lot of it thinking about my dad. As I get older, I spend more and more time thinking about my progenitors. But my dad especially.He hated administrators. I am, pretty much these days, an administrator.He loved scientific technique, and taught it with an intensity that probably still echoes in lecture halls of the professors he trained. Me, I hate

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-78180661173790665502008-04-23T00:03:00.002-06:002008-04-23T00:10:13.691-06:00

Guess what I've been doing instead of blogging for the last two weeks?Talking about Temporary Foreign Workers. To big cheeses and folks on the street, to people in the loop and out of it.I am very worried that we have an impending slow motion catastrophe on our hands, and the problem is not that it isn't on anybody's radar, but that it is and has become a bit of a short-sighted football. Our

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-41515764236145375612008-04-07T12:46:00.000-06:002008-04-07T12:50:47.879-06:00

I did a count the other day, helping out another organization that wanted to improve its database around immigration categories. There are currently nearly 100 registered categories, for meta-data purposes, of legal immigrants to Canada.This is the simple part of the system, I kid you not.There are a huge variety of programs and special arrangements and so on that can be categorized as "temporary

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-60056886923904689072008-04-04T00:18:00.000-06:002008-04-04T00:19:28.009-06:00

"Fixed fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of mankind." Gen. George PattonNow the Maginot Line is a fascinating example of extremely poor thinking, on a whole bunch of different levels.First of all, it can be seen as the classic example of fighting the last war, a problem that bedevils the military in any country. Especially victorious militaries, they have less incentive to try and

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-16662810297353961312008-04-03T01:11:00.002-06:002008-04-03T01:23:49.813-06:00

One of the biggest problems in dealing with mental illness, is that there is no clear on/0ff yes/no switch no the matter. Insanity, in terms of ability to function, is a continuum, a matter of degree, not a binary. This really really hard to accept, even for people dealing with it professionally, let alone personally.In terms of social policy, funding, and so on, it is almost always binary.

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-44462874306561864572008-04-01T19:23:00.002-06:002008-04-01T19:24:36.108-06:00

I can remember my first personal experience with a TFW, in I think about 1988. He was a Korean guy, who had been brought in as some kind of martial arts instructor. He ended up sleeping above the gym, working 7 days a week, and in deep trouble if he strayed. He came to me (I was an employment counselor at the time), to help him figure out if he could take the job offer he had gotten to be a chef

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-39254892250214647262008-03-31T17:53:00.000-06:002008-03-31T17:54:19.761-06:00

In 1996, the most current year I have the hard data for, Alberta actually received more people showing up from foreign countries on Temporary Foreign Worker permits than as regular Landed Immigrants/Permanent Residents. What is going on? Some background:Canada has a bit of a (not wholly deserved) reputation as an exemplar of sound immigration and integration policies. For the past decade or so,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-33675391648735414142008-03-30T20:46:00.002-06:002008-03-30T21:00:35.214-06:00

Every occupation has its jargon and acronyms; here is one that is becoming bigger and bigger and bigger in my sector, and is starting to gain some traction in the public sphere: TFWs. That would be, Temporary Foreign Workers.(I have a great deal to say about the subject, so I will be splitting it across several posts.)It has gotten to the point that the Standing Committee on Citizenship &

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-53295915597052984782008-03-25T01:17:00.003-06:002008-03-25T01:32:40.821-06:00

I've been thinking hard about resurrecting this thing.I let it go for a while for a bunch of reasons. One of them being that I'm not sure what the point of it all is, who I'm talking to, and about what. And historically, TakingALongView has caused me far more problems than it has given me anything back. But, still, there is something to it.The problem is, the last few false re-starts have

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-36364760399467620872008-01-03T21:27:00.000-07:002008-01-03T21:28:31.910-07:00

That pretty much describes my home computing environment. Thanx.2008 Predictions:I strongly suspect that the Pats will go down in heroic flames in the playoffs. Sorry, I just hate them a lot, I just can't be unbiased on the matter. I will cry in my soup a lot if they win the Super Bowl. Because I hate them a lot, did I make that point clear? If there is justice in the universe, one of the

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-26644409019087049872007-12-08T08:52:00.000-07:002007-12-08T08:55:54.499-07:00

I can remember after 9/11, in the shock we all felt, we held a meeting at work. A Muslim colleague read from the Koran, a Bahai colleague from Bahá'u'lláh, a Christian from one of Paul's letters. We prayed together, I guess. I said nothing, but this is what I was thinking:Imagine there's no Heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-17311851447840550482007-12-07T00:08:00.000-07:002007-12-07T00:53:21.778-07:00

As a family, we went out and watched Beowulf the other night (not really all that good). Then tonight, zoning out on the couch, I watched Rob Roy. And it occurred to me, as a fairly generic Northwestern European descendant, well, my ancestors were very very violent people.Well, I don't know for sure, my particular ancestors could have been early Christians and good little Freya worshipers who

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-26922843363013263312007-11-27T01:39:00.001-07:002007-11-27T02:05:57.566-07:00

You know what one of the big kerfuffles we are having in Canada right now is? The length of the skirt allowed for female airport security check-in staff. What happened was, a Muslim woman felt that it was a little immodest, and altered it with her sewing machine. Whoa, big trouble, it turns out that the uniform requirements are very precise. Well, they are under review now, and it is a good thing

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-9067900594450250752007-11-22T15:05:00.000-07:002007-11-22T15:24:56.430-07:00

This is an incredible short film by Amnesty International. It is disturbing, you may not want to watch it. It is about "enhanced interrogation," the guy playing the prisoner is in an authentic and legal "stress position" as described in the CIA's interrogation manual. It is an actor, but he really is suffering. Much bigger/higher quality versions may be found here. Although they will be

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-65634619611392150732007-11-17T11:47:00.001-07:002007-11-17T11:57:24.883-07:00

Baseball is, like no other sport, accessible to statistics, at a level of obsessiveness, detail, and high level math. But here is a pretty simple set of stats presented graphically that pretty much dooms Mr. Bonds (I'd like to post the picture because I don't know how ephemeral the link is, but blogger won't let me, some clever internal copyright wardens I expect.)Yes, steroids work.

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-25654220014759672082007-11-15T10:03:00.000-07:002007-11-15T10:48:09.565-07:00

In my business, as you might imagine, this story has got quite a few people upset. I have colleagues who know people who know the family involved. Basically, what happened is that on October 13th, Robert Dziekanski arrived from Poland to join his mother, who lives in Kamloops. He had never flown before, he was a simple man. After 16 hours of flying, he arrived in Vancouver and got confused and

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-79505875311836683712007-11-08T22:59:00.000-07:002007-11-09T00:02:08.764-07:00

The Economist (won't link to the awful website) has a big piece on religion and politics this week. Interesting stuff. On a macro level, surely the mix is not good, to be sure, though the article is a little overblown.But it leaves out this: if good is done in tiny increments on a long haul daily basis, and evil in big sweeping moments of terribly nauseating destruction, the fact remains that a

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-6139866633462117812007-11-07T08:27:00.001-07:002007-11-07T08:27:59.872-07:00

The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy.All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.It works the same in any country.Herman Goering, at the Nuremberg War Trials

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-89566966091309854772007-10-25T23:27:00.000-06:002007-10-25T23:39:00.322-06:00

Ooh, scary, oil investment will drop and the megacompanies will pull out and Alberta will crash and burn! And drag all of Canada down too!I don't think so. Still lotsa money to be made.There is a pretty universal sentiment hereabouts that the oil company holiday has gone on just about long enough. And if taxing them more (yet at a lower level than every other jurisdiction on earth), is going to

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-12760801986311361512007-10-22T12:46:00.000-06:002007-10-22T13:02:05.484-06:00

Quebec is in an uproar, and it is most unpleasant. What got the ball rolling, was last year an Orthodox synagogue in Montreal, located next to a Y, asked if the Y could frost the windows in the swimming pool area, because the sight of girls in bikinis was proving distracting to the young men in the Torah classes. Didn’t sound all that controversial to me, but it set off an uproar, which devolved

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-83845836634405997252007-10-16T23:17:00.000-06:002007-10-16T23:25:59.733-06:00

In a strange city, want to find a good place to eat? That is a place with great food, lotsa ambiance? If you can use google etc creatively, find a well reviewed place where multivarious mid-level politicians (not the Big Boys) are frequently sighted.These folks eat out a lot. They want a central, noisy place. Yes, every city has a political place to be seen in, and you don't want that one. You

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-5188476060916930552007-10-10T17:03:00.000-06:002007-10-10T17:05:46.678-06:00

One Two Three FourWe wondered what it was for.Five Six Seven EightThen it was way too late.Nine Ten Eleven TwelveWe had what to solve?Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen SixteenThen we had too many teens. Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen TwentyA cup this deep is never empty.(Apologies to Feist)

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-52587398379915998132007-10-09T22:40:00.000-06:002007-10-09T23:24:28.631-06:00

I work in a very spiritual world.The pay sucks, the working conditions can often suck, and the actual work, well sometimes it can get pretty nasty.On the other end of things, in our sector, dogmatic arguments and petty empire building and vicious back-biting are right up there with your basic Vatican back-stairs power struggle.My own organization like many others was founded on the basis of

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-76050060217689545572007-10-07T17:30:00.000-06:002007-10-07T17:35:02.853-06:00

I really love this. Iraq is disturbingly off our day to day radar, and it shouldn't be. It is real and happening right now.By the way, the Iraqi refugee count is, at best estimates, pretty much at two million people outside their country. Two Fucking Million? What are we doing about that?Nothing.We are scared.

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-52787559306085980102007-10-06T08:48:00.000-06:002007-10-06T08:56:35.996-06:00

One of the difficulties I have writing fiction, is the cruelty involved. It isn't interesting, unless a character you know deeply and love, because you created them, has something bad happen to them, and/or does something bad. When you write a story, you are basically playing god, and when you find yourself sitting in god's chair, you find yourself necessarily doing evil. Nothing would happen

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-39433634900783731222007-10-05T00:22:00.000-06:002007-10-05T00:37:06.691-06:00

I had a rather busy day, and didn't get around to blogging, and I am about to go to bed, but I want to put up something, and I remembered this.http://www.cleanishappy.com/Now, I'm not usually much for bathroom humor, but this pretty much made me put a cup of coffee through my nose. Watch each vignette, or the first four anyway, in order. Aside from proving that actors generally have no dignity,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-60055037412853046122007-10-03T10:40:00.000-06:002007-10-03T11:03:39.481-06:00

In my line of work, communication is always an issue. This kind of thing happens all the time:At least nobody tried to improve communication by yelling.But, I as I sat in a meeting yesterday, I realized that an awful lot of miscommunication goes on when everybody does speak the same language. What happens, is people have an idea or point of view, and they are so certain that they are correct,

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-41055112611475502402007-10-02T19:15:00.000-06:002007-10-02T22:01:48.230-06:00

A few items in the news recently that I don't think I can put up links to that will last or not get eaten by a subscription wall:We have some gang wars going on right now, the boys are offing each other all over the place. Grow-op wars of course (the number of recent busts is startling, so that if the cops are getting the usual one out of twenty or less, there must be a truly astonishing amount

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-13007197210949469412007-10-01T14:21:00.000-06:002007-10-01T14:52:55.817-06:00

When they brought in IRPA (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act) back in 2002,I found it a bit scary, as it had provisions for putting people aiding refugees in getting into Canada into jail and basically throwing away the key. Depending on how you interpret things, that could be, um, me, you you see. Oh no they said, this is just to catch human traffickers, we would never ever use it against a

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-14757495799763047672007-10-01T00:28:00.000-06:002008-12-09T12:38:21.988-07:00

Koff Koff, gee but it's dusty in here. Got to clean the place up a bit.Yes I am still alive, and not given up on the whole blogging thing. Butthe whole summer thing has been going on, andI have been doing an outrageous amount of public speaking, and preparing speeches and writing here seems to involve about the same sources of energy, so here has lost, andI have been doing a rather large amount

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-22095713547081147202007-09-03T18:02:00.001-06:002008-12-09T12:38:22.395-07:00

I just took a week off at a time I really shouldn't have and took off for Saskatchewan. It was a lot of driving, across the Canadian prairies in harvest, and it was gut-wrenchingly beautiful and terminally boring. I really do live in an amazing part of the world. For photography fanatics, check out this: the Neutral Hills are an area in southern Alberta & Saskatchewan that lay between the

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-1897275827575803542007-08-19T15:45:00.000-06:002007-08-19T15:55:44.693-06:00

I think this deserves a read. Senior NCOs like staff sergeants are the backbone of any army, they tend to be very brave guys, and not likely to speak up no matter how much nonsense they are subjected to. When your sergeants are so pissed off and speaking up and telling you that you are wrong, by gosh you oughta give a listen. The neocon shitheads won't of course. These poor guys are about to

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-52645964118801986142007-08-17T23:34:00.001-06:002007-08-18T01:10:03.569-06:00

I have been looking for a good excuse to post this, but not found much, which is actually really disappointing.I dunno, my background on this one lies in my lifelong interest in strategy, and really, in Anthropology: a) why do people as groups do this or that, and b) what makes for success when you understand a)?Why did they do 9-11? To do evil? Because they hated American freedoms? Utter

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-48148113061545770222007-08-13T23:12:00.000-06:002007-08-13T23:36:28.110-06:00

So, in news that will make all my female readers grin and all my male readers wince, I have once again learnt the old lesson: no matter how many times you wash your hands, no matter how toxically powerful the soap, no matter how long you wait, after you cut up a whack of jalapeños for the killer curried chicken you make for supper, eventually you will have to pee and forget that your hands are

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-61494758870513744662007-08-06T19:59:00.000-06:002007-08-06T20:39:16.307-06:00

Read this.People who torture people are scum. There are no mitigating circumstances whatsoever. It is wrong, always wrong, wrong in all circumstances, and will certainly destine you to hell under any religion I know of. The language of the law: No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political in stability or any other public emergency, may be

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-54425254237497006632007-08-04T10:58:00.000-06:002007-08-04T10:59:32.455-06:00

(I'm going to try and keep up to a minimum of a Saturday posting schedule, I can do that much at least.)I dunno. Blogging. It has started to feel a little like photography to me.You see, there was a time I was an avid photographer, say from about age 8 or 9 until I was 15 or 16. I got pretty deep into it, by the end, but it started when my dad gave me a very cool little Minolta pocket almost spy

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-42518941250706300482007-07-28T11:46:00.000-06:002007-07-28T12:26:43.893-06:00

I'm a dyspeptic these days.There's the Harry P phenom, and while I don't hate Harry, I don't love him either, it is all an extremely well crafted derivative fair to middling kid's book. Like the old lady said about Shakespeare, it is just a bunch of cliches strung together. Except in Rowling's case, it really is a bunch of cliches strung together. Lame and all, but very well put together. Me, I

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-31371957671850908422007-07-18T21:13:00.000-06:002007-07-18T21:14:26.553-06:00

First of all, it has been summer vacations, when dads and husbands pay attention to, or at least humor the foibles of their immediates, which I have been doing. And on top of that, a lot of family stuff going on, and a lot of professional stuff going on.But that really isn't it.I have to rethink this space, a whole bunch, what it means to me and why I should put energy into it in the face of

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-22190121475372393942007-06-20T07:47:00.000-06:002007-06-20T07:49:56.843-06:00

I spent an inordinate amount of time last week on one particular situation, the last half day of which was time in court.Court. It was a very complex mess, with multiple agendas from those present, most of which had little to do with the good of the children or the mother or the family or the community, but a great deal to do with covering your ass and looking important and playing games. I've

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-33924096182911402202007-06-17T14:17:00.001-06:002007-06-17T14:50:52.900-06:00

I really kind of hate to say this, but I was right and everyone else was wrong. Four or so years ago, I was pretty sure what would happen, and sure enough. But the bandwagon was leaving the station and people had dollar signs in their eyes, and I was sick to my stomach. I stood up and asked questions when I could, and was bafflegabbed and ignored and put out to pasture, all by myself, on this

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-14459469435343115742007-06-16T14:57:00.000-06:002007-06-16T15:41:46.020-06:00

I've linked to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights before, as my bible, my religion, and the bit of text every single human being should know and insist on. But you want to know what really got me into this whole human rights social justice business?THE SNEETCHESby Dr. SuessNow the Star-bellied Sneetches had bellies with stars.The Plain-bellied Sneetches had none upon thars.The stars

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-29976217713627083162007-06-08T14:53:00.000-06:002007-06-08T14:58:14.824-06:00

In social services, as in everything else, there are seasons, and there are reasons for those seasons, which in our sector are often interesting.In my own particular niche, for example, we get rushes of refugee arrivals twice a year, December and in March. Why those two months? Well, immigration counts its numbers on a calendar year basis, so it hurries things up in December to make its quotas.

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-22637472908909867432007-06-06T19:12:00.000-06:002007-06-06T20:18:35.639-06:00

(This is about four completely unrelated events.)1) New additions to our shiny new personnel policies:a) All Criminal Record Checks must be mailed directly from the Police to us, and a prospective employee cannot submit a previous one in already their possession. Because we are truly decent underpaid guys does not mean that we cannot be the victims of the mentally ill, or con men.b) All new

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-15105034144370438692007-06-05T23:34:00.000-06:002007-06-06T00:03:26.058-06:00

Blew off the day in depressing meetings. First one was a case conference on a Child Welfare case, where the Judge is giving everybody a hard time. I think I've got that one fixed, but just in slower motion than I had hoped.Next was on what we are doing for refugee and immigrant children in the school system. Rather a lot actually. But far far less than what is necessary. Well, we'll push at it

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-59486322239764124662007-06-02T08:08:00.000-06:002007-06-02T08:08:55.122-06:00

Some point in the Fall of 1988, my wife told me that she was pregnant. I remember the day like no other in my life, we went out on a walk in shockingly beautiful surroundings, the sky blue and pure like a lasers and the gold of the leaves on the green grass like letters from god we waded through and kicked aside. I had flies, honeybees, in my eyes, I saw and felt that there was a future, and that

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-39251549897652272462007-05-27T23:16:00.000-06:002007-05-28T00:02:28.570-06:00

Even back in the 70s, I learnt not to read much British SF, it was always a real downer. You'd think I'd pick up on the same thing in film, and confine myself to hollywood blockbusters, but no.I watched "Children of Men" tonight, and I don't think I have never been so devastated by a movie. It is a list of everything that is wrong with the world right now, put together in a chain where you can't

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-28641695488571386122007-05-24T17:49:00.003-06:002007-05-24T18:26:43.771-06:00

I spent the day at a gov of AB "consultation" (they do love having these things, in person and on-line, it gives a rather Maoist patina of popular democracy to their one party state type decisions). This one was on "Safe Communities & Crime Reduction," one of our new premier's five re-election planks (why do these always come in fives in Canadian politics these days?).The basic problem is, of

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-56704044946622148272007-05-21T12:48:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:49:07.545-06:00

The boy turned 18 the other day. Legally, I'm done, I can kick him out of the house with the assistance of the police should I ask. He was joking about planning an 18th birthday trip to a strip club so he could legally drink, observe nekkid ladies, and gamble all at once, one-stop shopping as it were, just because he now legally could, sort of as a FU to all the rules he has had to live under all

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-36753899051972636342007-05-13T21:40:00.000-06:002007-05-13T21:41:13.526-06:00

Well, here in cowtown, we are expecting and getting ready for a Transit strike. We last had one about six years ago, and weathered it pretty well, so I hadn't given it much thought until the press phoned me up to get my reaction, and no, I have no real idea why they picked me. Looking for poor people who actually use transit maybe, immigrants you know, something like that is my best guess.Had we

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-86592046839206325462007-05-06T22:36:00.000-06:002007-05-06T23:06:31.734-06:00

I spent most of this weekend feeling perhaps the end of dadness. Dadness is a very odd feeling, I've had it since the hospital really, I'm a rebellious rock'nroll dude, why on earth am I being entrusted with children? What complete idiot is putting these lives into the care of a guy that wears a black leather jacket and mirrorshades?My daughters went out for clothes for a cousin's wedding, and

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-69468629274292290022007-04-29T12:38:00.000-06:002007-04-29T13:20:59.418-06:00

I haven't been posting much, mostly because life is pretty good right about now. But here are some things on my radar screen:1) I've been thinking about posting about atheism, because for some reason or other it is memeing all over my view-screen lately, and I keep stumbling into it. I really do wish atheists were more intelligent; they are getting so creamed because they seem to have a really

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-50847169396812956582007-04-21T08:37:00.000-06:002007-04-21T08:41:29.937-06:00

In Western Canada, contrary to public belief, we actually have four seasons.They are Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Road Construction.Somehow, global warming has got us stuck in the last two at once.Gah.

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-83566801139761755372007-04-20T20:25:00.000-06:002007-04-20T20:25:50.405-06:00

I've been mulling over a bunch of thoughts for a week or two now, and I am pretty sure that there is something or other that would tie them all together even if it totally escapes me now; if I were writing a column or an essay, I would mull it over a whole bunch more weeks if that was what it took, and find the sucker, but since this is a blog, I will flail away at it all in public. (Ed: On the

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-41654743489429248162007-04-18T14:32:00.000-06:002007-04-18T14:40:07.306-06:00

We are going to be getting a lot of this for the next while (template applicable to anything other than an ordinary afternoon in Baghdad).Of course [the V. Tech Shootings] are a uniquely tragic event, and it is vital that we never lose sight of the human tragedy involved. However, we must also consider if this is not also a lesson to us all; a lesson that my political views are correct. Although

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-76068767841944462382007-04-17T12:18:00.000-06:002007-04-17T12:51:18.781-06:00

I was talking to my kids about the Virginia Tech shootings last night and this morning. As a bunch of teenagers in school, they are quite concerned. Not that they might get shot by a crazy person, but they are pretty sure that they are going to be afflicted with a whole bunch more pain-in-the-ass security theatre. I would guess that they are absolutely right.Me, I also feel sorry for

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-39507360891597668902007-04-14T13:03:00.000-06:002007-04-14T13:35:47.598-06:00

Hey, I don't do this too often, and I don't keep a blogroll really, but here are a few sites that I follow religiously, that don't might not be getting enough attention (I mean like I follow BoingBoing religiously too, but so does half the planet):xkcd is about the funniest cleverest and occasionally touching comic going.I've speculated for years about the possiblities of a hypertext/internet/

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-5939024540106534202007-04-12T23:34:00.000-06:002007-04-12T23:35:40.631-06:00

Well, I keep trying to post about one thing, and the preamble hijacks me and I write about another thing entirely. So no preamble, here are the bald unpopular statements that I believe to be true:I think that the US has a major obligation to stay in Iraq. Maybe or maybe not they should have gone in (obviously not on the grounds they did, but arguably yes on other grounds, and obviously not on the

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-75716542721480934442007-04-09T11:18:00.000-06:002007-04-09T12:53:54.549-06:00

I, non-practising christian that I am, actually take this weekend pretty seriously. It is about sacrifice, and the meaning of life, and a time to pause in the exultant rebirth that is spring to take a hard look at the roots of that rebirth, which are death and defeat. Usually, this time every year, I haul out my old King James and read a bit, or think a bit, or very rarely, actually go to church.

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-72938349514167236092007-04-06T18:22:00.000-06:002007-04-06T19:01:16.483-06:00

Anybody, safe in their armchairs, dissing the British sailors for refusing to be manly (name rank serial number and a stiff upper lip etc) and not simply parroting the Iranian line is either an asshole or and idiot, or quite likely both (I simply refuse to link to any of them, jerks don't need the attention), and I am simply appalled at how much air-time that point of view is getting. I would

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-62798336587292507362007-04-06T05:55:00.000-06:002007-04-06T05:55:07.596-06:00

There are liars, there are stockbrokers, and then there are ISPs, in descending order. Even good ISPs can't say "a" and "the" without lieing (pace Dorthey Parker).Admittedly, we need more bandwidth at work, but there is no goddamn way our email should be so broken. Everything comes down in an appropriate flash, and goes back up sweet if you do it plain, but if you send an email with any kind of

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-4093501097283850482007-04-03T18:44:00.000-06:002007-04-03T22:22:57.914-06:00

(Warning, boring professional topic, too simplistic for the informed, and terminally dull for those outside the biz.)Canada's immigration system is largely governed by the "Points System," well the 60% of it that is reserved for economic migration is, not the 40% that is the restricted quota for family sponsorships and refugees and so on, but that's a whole 'nuther topic. (Though I should like

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-59124856909645840472007-03-31T15:43:00.000-06:002007-03-31T16:57:57.048-06:00

(The problem with saying "Don't Feed the Trolls," is that every time you say it, you do...)The latest blogstorm is all over the place, but it feels highly reminiscent, and I had to think about it a bit before it came to me. Way back in the misty early days of the internet, like less than a decade ago, there was quite a bulletin board culture which has dissipated to a large extent (much to my

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-56693892724940842872007-03-29T20:39:00.000-06:002007-03-29T20:44:32.248-06:00

1. The new daylight saving time dates. Nobody told the computers, now dates and times are all fucked up everywhere. I'm not sure that the very marginal savings are worth it at all. It sucks.2. Calgary Traffic Planners. The city is impossible because it was designed in the 70s, on the model of quiet neighbourhoods with limited access points, and everything forced onto a number of high volume "

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16316980.post-91351748218616455782007-03-26T23:34:00.000-06:002007-03-26T23:54:00.806-06:00

Went and saw 300 a couple of weeks back, yes I am both a graphic novel and greek history buff, and and both of me enjoyed it a great deal. Though the two sides pertaining argued a lot, there are actually more than a small number of factual correctnesses for the pettifogging to worry about. (It's just though there is no evidence at all for the leather speedos, on the homoerotic side, and none for

Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08555662894379930689noreply@blogger.com0