Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
Monday, June 23, 2008
Nothing worth doing
Today I'm going to share a quote I found on another blog. Yes, it may be the epitome of laziness to copy from another blog that was itself copied from something else. But it's a good quote.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Silverlight
A while ago when I visited the Microsoft website, it tried to get me to install something called Silverlight. I turned it down and looked up a bit more information about it. It turns out that Microsoft finally made a product to compete with the Adobe Flash browser add-on that almost everyone has.
I'm not militantly anti-Microsoft, but I would like to see them lose some of their market dominance. Generally, I don't think monopolies are a good thing, so I like to support Microsoft's competition, especially free high-quality programs. But where does Adobe fit in here? Adobe is one of the few software companies that truly dominates the market for software that almost everyone has. How many computers have you used lately that don't have Flash and Adobe Reader installed?
So in the Flash vs Silverlight battle, who should I support? Until now, Adobe had a virtual monopoly in that type of software, but if somebody has to have a monopoly, it's nice if it's not Microsoft. On the other hand, competition can encourage innovation. I ended up installing Silverlight, and I think its video quality is better than Flash's, so I see innovation happening already.
What would really be nice is if websites didn't tie people to certain products. If Flash and Silverlight could be replaced with an open standard and anyone could make programs that support that standard, then I wouldn't need multiple products that basically do the same thing.
I'm not militantly anti-Microsoft, but I would like to see them lose some of their market dominance. Generally, I don't think monopolies are a good thing, so I like to support Microsoft's competition, especially free high-quality programs. But where does Adobe fit in here? Adobe is one of the few software companies that truly dominates the market for software that almost everyone has. How many computers have you used lately that don't have Flash and Adobe Reader installed?
So in the Flash vs Silverlight battle, who should I support? Until now, Adobe had a virtual monopoly in that type of software, but if somebody has to have a monopoly, it's nice if it's not Microsoft. On the other hand, competition can encourage innovation. I ended up installing Silverlight, and I think its video quality is better than Flash's, so I see innovation happening already.
What would really be nice is if websites didn't tie people to certain products. If Flash and Silverlight could be replaced with an open standard and anyone could make programs that support that standard, then I wouldn't need multiple products that basically do the same thing.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Hockey Night in Canada song
So there was a big uproar when CBC decided not to renew the rights to the Hockey Night in Canada theme song. It looked like this could get bigger than that time they weren't going to renew Ron MacLean's contract.
On the way home from work today I heard that CTV/TSN got the rights to the song. When I got home, I checked my email and found out that someone invited me to a Facebook group called "Boycott CBC until they bring back Hockey Night In Canada's theme song!" Umm. It might be a little late for that. I don't think CBC can legally get it back for a while.
I think I know how the Conservative party can win a majority government. Just get Don Cherry fired and make it look like Liberals pulled the strings.
On the way home from work today I heard that CTV/TSN got the rights to the song. When I got home, I checked my email and found out that someone invited me to a Facebook group called "Boycott CBC until they bring back Hockey Night In Canada's theme song!" Umm. It might be a little late for that. I don't think CBC can legally get it back for a while.
I think I know how the Conservative party can win a majority government. Just get Don Cherry fired and make it look like Liberals pulled the strings.
Monday, June 02, 2008
The house is filling up
Last weekend a co-worker of mine moved into my house, so now I'm not all alone here. It's nice to have another person here, and the extra money doesn't hurt either. It will take some time to get used to each other's schedules and not having the entire fridge to myself, but it should be a good thing overall. Besides, this gives me some more motivation to clean up and throw some junk out.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Fear is my strategy
I got together with some friends for some paintball today. The weather was great (not too hot, not too cold), and it's an exhilarating sport (and apparently it's safer than bowling--who knew?). I think it had been three years since the last time I played.
There is one problem for me going to paintball: I fear pain. When I experience pain, I can usually handle it, although it sometimes slows me down and makes me more cautious until it goes away. But I think the anticipation is the worst part. And it hurts to get hit by a paintball.
Most of the games today were team elimination games--two teams trying to wipe each other out. The teams start at opposite ends of the field. I usually stayed somewhere near the back while some others went forward further where they were more exposed to enemy fire. I'm sure this was partially because I didn't want pain. I got hit a few times anyway. After a few quick exits, I sometimes survived until near the end of the game and helped a lot in getting the enemies' last people eliminated.
The first time this happened, we were in a field with towers on each end. We sent two people up onto the tower where they could spy on the enemy and tell us where they were. It was pretty hard for the enemy to hit the guys in the tower without actually getting to the stairs and going up there (which was also pretty hard), but someone managed to hit one of them. Anyway, I ended up being the last person left on my team aside from one or two people in the tower. The other team only had one person left, and if there had been anyone in their tower, they'd abandoned it. With the help of the people up in the tower, I eliminated their last person. And I owe it all (partially) to my fear of pain.
There is one problem for me going to paintball: I fear pain. When I experience pain, I can usually handle it, although it sometimes slows me down and makes me more cautious until it goes away. But I think the anticipation is the worst part. And it hurts to get hit by a paintball.
Most of the games today were team elimination games--two teams trying to wipe each other out. The teams start at opposite ends of the field. I usually stayed somewhere near the back while some others went forward further where they were more exposed to enemy fire. I'm sure this was partially because I didn't want pain. I got hit a few times anyway. After a few quick exits, I sometimes survived until near the end of the game and helped a lot in getting the enemies' last people eliminated.
The first time this happened, we were in a field with towers on each end. We sent two people up onto the tower where they could spy on the enemy and tell us where they were. It was pretty hard for the enemy to hit the guys in the tower without actually getting to the stairs and going up there (which was also pretty hard), but someone managed to hit one of them. Anyway, I ended up being the last person left on my team aside from one or two people in the tower. The other team only had one person left, and if there had been anyone in their tower, they'd abandoned it. With the help of the people up in the tower, I eliminated their last person. And I owe it all (partially) to my fear of pain.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Complaining etiquette
If I got a free cookie from Cookies by George and it was stale, am I allowed to complain, or do I have to keep my mouth shut because it was free? (Just to confirm: I didn't get said cookie at a Cookies by George location. At the store, I'm sure they don't sell stale cookies. Just very very yummy cookies. Mmm.)
If I got the cookie at the blood donor clinic because I donated blood, does that mean it actually wasn't free, so I do have a right to complain? Or does the fact that they never promised me Cookies by George and they don't always have Cookies by George mean it really was free?
If I got the cookie at the blood donor clinic because I donated blood, does that mean it actually wasn't free, so I do have a right to complain? Or does the fact that they never promised me Cookies by George and they don't always have Cookies by George mean it really was free?
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Sympathy for the beaver
"All them birds and predators just take from the land, but the beaver always gives a dam."
--The Arrogant Worms
There's a buffer zone between the plant where I work and the nearest neighbourhood. The buffer zone is basically a park, but it's owned by the owners of the nearby plants. One day last week during my lunch break, I went for a walk with a co-worker, and we decided to walk down a trail that goes along a creek. As we got closer to the end with the beaver dam, we saw lots of freshly-cut trees lying on the ground, with lots of teeth marks where they were cut. The beavers had been busy.
When we got to the dam, we saw another co-worker. He showed us two beaver traps that had been set on the dam. (I'm not sure if they were set by the city government or by the company that owns the land.) He said a couple of beavers had been caught and killed earlier that week.
I couldn't help but be disappointed. They're killing our national animal! And then the less sympathetic side of me kicks in and reminds me that beavers are a pest when they're in a city. The co-worker who showed me the traps pointed out how few tall trees there are near that part of the creek, and he said it's because of years of beaver activity.
Maybe it's necessary to keep the beavers out of the city to keep the park in better shape, but I wish it wasn't necessary. Are these trees any more important than the ones they cut down to build the plants? Besides, I still think the area around the creek is beautiful even if all the trees are short. But maybe it would get a lot worse without any animal control around there, and maybe it's harder for predators to get into the city so beavers can naturally do more damage there.
--The Arrogant Worms
There's a buffer zone between the plant where I work and the nearest neighbourhood. The buffer zone is basically a park, but it's owned by the owners of the nearby plants. One day last week during my lunch break, I went for a walk with a co-worker, and we decided to walk down a trail that goes along a creek. As we got closer to the end with the beaver dam, we saw lots of freshly-cut trees lying on the ground, with lots of teeth marks where they were cut. The beavers had been busy.
When we got to the dam, we saw another co-worker. He showed us two beaver traps that had been set on the dam. (I'm not sure if they were set by the city government or by the company that owns the land.) He said a couple of beavers had been caught and killed earlier that week.
I couldn't help but be disappointed. They're killing our national animal! And then the less sympathetic side of me kicks in and reminds me that beavers are a pest when they're in a city. The co-worker who showed me the traps pointed out how few tall trees there are near that part of the creek, and he said it's because of years of beaver activity.
Maybe it's necessary to keep the beavers out of the city to keep the park in better shape, but I wish it wasn't necessary. Are these trees any more important than the ones they cut down to build the plants? Besides, I still think the area around the creek is beautiful even if all the trees are short. But maybe it would get a lot worse without any animal control around there, and maybe it's harder for predators to get into the city so beavers can naturally do more damage there.
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